Oral Answers to Questions

Kate Osamor Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

The hon. Member asked a number of good questions. I have said that the new iteration of the SFI will be out in the first half of next year. My hon. Friend the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs and I are looking very carefully at how we get this right, and I can reassure the hon. Member that we are looking at the distributional analysis on who is getting these schemes at the moment. We do want to make it easier for smaller farms to gain access to the schemes—I can reassure him on that.

[Kate Osamor (Edmonton and Winchmore Hill) (Lab/Co-op)]

2. What steps she is taking to improve air quality.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)]

Poor air quality harms health, and it does not affect all communities equally. Our new environmental improvement plan sets a new target to cut exposure to harmful particles by nearly one third by 2030. We will deliver that by modernising industrial permitting, consulting on tighter standards for new wood-burning appliances, streamlining the assessment of harmful particles in the planning system, and exploring options to reduce emissions from small industrial combustion plants.

[Kate Osamor]

The Government’s policy to strengthen standards for new waste incinerators to receive planning approval was a step in the right direction. However, it was no comfort for my constituents, whose health will be impacted by the massive new Edmonton incinerator, which is currently being built. Can I urge the Government to take further action to reduce the incentive for waste authorities to continue to rely on incineration for decades to come?

[Mary Creagh]

Our future circular economy growth plan and interventions will seek to go beyond recycling and drive circularity in our waste streams, reducing the amount of waste that is sent for incineration and, crucially, to landfill. That is on top of the reforms we are delivering to simplify recycling for all households and businesses, including introducing food waste collections from next April and encouraging reduced and recyclable packaging.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend is a strong advocate for tackling violence against women and girls in his constituency and beyond. He is right that we need to see swifter justice, which is why we are investing in the criminal courts with £500 million extra funding to support victims, 5,000 more sitting days and a package of support and reform to ensure that these cases get to court quickly so that justice can be served.

[Kate Osamor (Edmonton and Winchmore Hill) (Lab/Co-op)]

5. What steps she is taking to help to improve levels of diversity in legal professions.

[The Solicitor General]

I am sure my hon. Friend will agree that a fair and just legal system, which must work for everyone, must also reflect society as a whole. The Government Legal Department has expanded early career routes and is running a national law placement scheme for students from deprived backgrounds. The Crown Prosecution Service runs initiatives such as the Anthony Walker bursary scheme, which supports students from minority backgrounds and provides legal work experience for black undergraduates and graduates.

[Kate Osamor]

I thank the Solicitor General for her response; I know she has done a lot of work in this area. I need to read out a quotation in the Chamber from the Lammy review:

“A fundamental source of mistrust”

in the criminal justice system among black, Asian and minority ethnic communities

“is the lack of diversity among those who wield power within it.”

What impact will the proposed judge-only trials and the empowering of legal professionals have on the trust of under-represented groups in our legal system?

[The Solicitor General]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. It is vital that the judiciary and the legal profession continue to reflect the society they serve. We are working to bring in new and diverse magistrates over the next 12 months and will continue to recruit. It is vital that our judicial benches reflect the communities we serve. Judges swear a judicial oath to act without fear or favour, which is a cornerstone of our justice system.