Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 18th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Lindsay Hoyle)]

I call Judith Cummins.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

Thank you, and congratulations, Mr Deputy Speaker.

We are one year on from the Government announcing tougher sentences for dangerous drivers, but despite repeated calls from across the House for the legislation to be brought into force, we are still no further forward. One family member of a victim said:

“The Government’s delay in implementing tougher penalties has denied my family the justice that we need.”

Will the Leader of the House tell us when these families can expect the justice that they deserve?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for her campaigning on this subject. I know that it means a great deal to her, and the whole House appreciates the work she has done. I do not have a further update for her right now, but if she would like to write to me, I can take it up with the Department on her behalf.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 11th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

First, I should like to pay tribute again to my hon. Friend for his Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, which the Government were proud to support. It creates new duties on public bodies, from the NHS to prisons, to enable interventions at an earlier stage to prevent homelessness. That is absolutely vital. He is right to point out the 48 projects right across the country that the Government are supporting to try to prevent rough sleeping. It is unacceptable that we have people sleeping rough in this country, and the Government are committed to stamping it out once and for all.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

This week has been a bumper week for Bradford. First, our rugby league news: the Bradford Bulls were returned to the championship. Secondly, this is the very first Bradford Manufacturing Week. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the Bulls, and all those involved in Bradford Manufacturing Week? May we have a debate in Government time on the skills that young people need to access manufacturing jobs?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising those fantastic achievements. She is a great champion for her constituency, and I am delighted to join her in congratulating the Bradford Bulls and all those involved in Bradford Manufacturing Week. She has raised the important issue of what more we can do to give young people the skills they need to get into those valuable manufacturing jobs, and I absolutely encourage her to seek an Adjournment debate so that she can take this up directly with Ministers.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 5th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I think all hon. Members will want to join my hon. Friend in praising the efforts of the firefighters and the military who are really working hard to try to get these fires under control. I am sure he will want to seek an Adjournment debate or a Westminster Hall debate on this, so that there can be further discussion of the problems and the potential criminality that is causing the fires in the first place.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

A recent report found that 40% of the Government’s top 100 suppliers failed to meet the basic legal requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. May we have a debate on modern slavery in supply chains, and on what progress the Government are making on ending extreme labour exploitation here and overseas?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady is right to raise the issue of modern slavery. I am sure she will recognise that this Government have done a huge amount to try to tackle this scourge with the first ever Modern Slavery Act. She is right to raise the problem of continued slavery within the supply chain. We have Home Office questions on Monday 16 July, and she might want to seek a further update on progress at those oral questions.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 28th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am certainly interested in the issue of free ports, and my hon. Friend is right to raise the potential of ports such as Immingham. We will have Transport questions on Thursday 5 July, when he may like to take that up directly with Ministers.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

The Transport Committee’s report out today confirms that regions such as Yorkshire and the Humber have not received a fair share of rail funding for years and that the formula used by the Department for Transport is unfair to northern regions. May we have a debate in Government time on what exactly the Government will do to remedy this unfair situation and give regions such as mine the transport system that we deserve?

[Andrea Leadsom]

We in the Government are embarking on the biggest rail investment programme since the Victorian era. Thanks to our £48 billion investment in the rail network, we are rebuilding stations up and down the country, improving the carbon footprint and enabling many hundreds of thousands more passengers to use the rail network. The hon. Lady raises a very important issue about the fairness of infrastructure spending in the different regions. She will be aware that we have Transport questions on 5 July, when she may want to raise this specific issue with Ministers.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 14th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am truly sorry to hear such a sad story. I commend my hon. Friend, and also Thomas’s family and friends, for the work that they are doing to highlight this tragic issue. The UK National Screening Committee is looking at the evidence on screening for the major causes of sudden cardiac death in young people. An evidence review document will be developed and will publicly consulted on later this year.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

Last week, I was honoured to receive an award from the road safety charity, Brake, because of my work, alongside many others in this Chamber, on pushing the Government to implement tougher sentences for dangerous drivers. Will the Leader of the House answer a simple question that she failed to answer last week: on what date will this important legislation come into force?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on her award and pay tribute to all the work she has done to try to prevent dangerous driving from being the scourge that it is. She will appreciate that dangerous driving has been decreasing over many years; we are finding fewer deaths on our roads. I cannot give her a specific date, but if she wants to write to me, I can ask Ministers to provide a response to her directly.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 10th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. As colleagues will know, there is a statement to follow. I have no idea how well subscribed it will be, but it is on an important matter. Moreover, the first, in particular, of the two Backbench Business debates is very well subscribed. I would like to accommodate remaining colleagues, but I should be very grateful if they felt able to be especially pithy today.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

I recently visited the charity Carers’ Resource in Bradford. That charity, along with the 7 million unpaid carers for both the young and old across the UK, have been waiting since 2016 for the Government to publish a national carers strategy and action plan. Can the Leader of the House tell us when that report will be published, and will she grant Government time for us to discuss these important issues on the Floor of the House?

[Andrea Leadsom]

Let me first join the hon. Lady in thanking all the carers up and down the country who do so much in our communities. If she would like to write to me, I will see whether I can obtain further information on where the report is.

Private Members’ Bills: Money Resolutions

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 10th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I think people will be delighted at the progress being made in some very important private Members’ Bills, including Bills to prevent assaults on emergency workers, to provide better support for parents who have been bereaved and to provide better support for those who have mental health problems and are taken into secure units.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

Does the Leader of the House not understand just how offensive it is to Members of this House that the Government are using a procedural device to block debate on this important Bill?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I say to the hon. Lady, as I have to plenty of hon. Members now, there is no blocking. The Government bring forward money resolutions on a case-by-case basis. I have sought very courteously to explain why, on this occasion, money resolutions on other private Members’ Bills are coming forward and this one is not at the moment.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 29th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady has worked closely with the Home Office in providing her thoughts on the serious violence strategy, and I pay tribute to her for that. Obviously, the Home Office is looking carefully into this, along with various stakeholders, including the police and community groups. It will be very important, when the strategy comes forward, for the House to have a chance to debate it; on that, I absolutely agree.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

To deal with the problem of drug-driving, the police need adequate resources to allow for consistent roadside testing. Given yesterday’s unanimous vote in this House, will the Leader of the House schedule an urgent debate in Government time on what more the Government could do to support police forces in dealing with this crime?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady will be aware that there are strong rules on drink-driving—

[Judith Cummins]

Drug-driving.

[Andrea Leadsom]

I beg the hon. Lady’s pardon; I misheard her. There are strong rules on how people use the roads when they are on drugs or alcohol or when they are using their mobile phones, and those rules are upheld by police forces. The Government are ensuring that police forces across the UK have access to up to £450 million of new funding that will meet their policing priorities. Of course it is an operational matter for each police force to prioritise where they see fit.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 14th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend raises something that the UK Government are extremely proud of: our international aid efforts to support all young people everywhere to get a decent education. I encourage him to seek an Adjournment debate or perhaps a Backbench Business Committee debate, so that all colleagues can celebrate the contribution of the UK’s people towards ensuring education for all.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

An estimated 1,400 people with dementia will be stuck in hospital on Christmas day, so dementia patients will make up a quarter of the people who will spend this Christmas day in hospital because of delays in finding them care. With the Alzheimer’s Society describing wards as being “turned into waiting rooms”, will the Leader of the House grant parliamentary time to discuss this important breakdown in social care?

[Andrea Leadsom]

We all share in the desire to see as many people as possible receiving the right sort of care and protection, and some company, particularly at Christmas. The issue of loneliness has been raised in this Chamber a great deal. We all know the NHS faces increased pressures at winter time, which is why we have put in place an extra £335 million, on top of the previously announced £100 million, for accident and emergency departments. Nationally, more than 1,000 extra beds have been freed up since February by reducing delays in the transfer of care, and areas continue to work to increase that number to 2,000 to 3,000 extra beds over the winter period. This is really important for those who find themselves in hospital during the Christmas period.

Business of the House

Judith Cummins Excerpts

Thursday 7th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am delighted to join my hon. Friend in praising the excellent work carried out by the staff at the Royal British Legion’s Dunkirk Memorial House in her constituency. All six of the Legion’s care homes around the country make an enormous difference to the lives of ex-servicemen and women and their families, and I know that my colleagues in the Defence team recognise that.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

A recent joint police and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency operation in Bradford on uninsured and untaxed vehicles has resulted in 540 untaxed vehicles being identified and 29 vehicles being seized in one week because their drivers had no insurance. Nationally, figures are rising on this, with the highest tax evasion rate for more than a decade. Will the whole House join me in congratulating West Yorkshire police on their initiative in Operation Steerside to tackle dangerous driving in Bradford? Will the Leader of the House grant parliamentary time to discuss this issue?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I join the hon. Lady in congratulating her local police force on tackling this; it sounds like an enormous achievement. Again, I encourage her to seek an Adjournment debate to raise these specific points and to share best practice in catching this type of evasion.