Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill

Debate between Katherine Fletcher and Kemi Badenoch

2nd reading
Wednesday 20th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)]

I would like to commend both the Secretary of State and her team for bringing forward this Bill. The sub-postmasters have faced a miscarriage of justice that has taken many people’s breath away. I am aware that this is specific and focused legislation, but two South Ribble constituents came to see me who had been Royal Mail customers, and they described scenarios of prosecutorial practice very similar to what sub-postmasters were subject to. Would the Secretary of State consider expanding the scope of the legislation in future to other people who may have been subject to poor treatment?

[Kemi Badenoch]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. I can look specifically at the cases she raises, but I think they may actually be covered by this Bill. I would be wary of expanding the scope too broadly. The consensus we have with the CPS, the judiciary and so on has been achieved by the legislation being very tightly scoped, but we do want to make sure that people who have been at the end of an injustice can have those wrongs righted. I am very happy to look at the specific cases of her constituents.

Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities

Debate between Katherine Fletcher and Kemi Badenoch

Thursday 17th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

We are all appalled at the details that we are hearing about Child Q. As I said before, I cannot comment until a full inquiry has come out, but it is important to understand what led to the failures. They are very significant failures, if what we are hearing and all the details that are coming out are true. We have systems in place to look again, learn lessons and make sure that they are not repeated. I am sure that everyone in Government will be seeing what we can do to ensure that happens.

[Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)]

I have listened with great interest right from the start of the statement and to all of the questions, and two things strike me. Racism is totally abhorrent and I can completely understand why Members, especially Opposition Members, are absolutely fuming that it is not completely exterminated from our society, but I say as a scientist that we have to fix that problem via evidence and ensure that we are helping the people whom we seek to help. Does my hon. Friend accept that the evidence in the report and delivering on it is the most important thing to stamp out the evil of racism in this society?

[Kemi Badenoch]

I can assure my hon. Friend that that is the case. The evidence and looking underneath it at the details of what is happening is important; otherwise, how can we tell when looking at something negative that has happened to someone from an ethnic minority whether that is racism or not? In many cases, when the commission examined a case where racial discrimination was given as a reason, it found that that did not explain the disparity. One example is the difference between black African and black Caribbean students when it came to exclusion. There is a statistic that black children are more likely to be excluded from school than white children, but looking at the data, black African children, who are far more in number than black Caribbean children, are far less likely to be excluded than white children, even within the same communities, compared to black Caribbean children. They have the same skin colour. Racism does not explain that disparity. That is an example of why people need to look at the evidence and not immediately jump to a discrimination conclusion.

Covid-19: Disparate Impact

Debate between Katherine Fletcher and Kemi Badenoch

Thursday 22nd October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the community champions scheme and on the new funding today. Our excellent Lancashire local resilience forum has been advocating for that and there is no substitute for on-the-ground intelligence. Will she ensure that the champions are prioritised for tier 3 areas such as Lancashire, to make sure we can make the most of getting the transmission rates down?

[Kemi Badenoch]

Evidence shows that Government covid-19 guidance is not reaching certain communities or audiences who are being disproportionately impacted. That is why we are providing up to £25 million to local authorities, and voluntary and community sectors, to improve the reach of official public health guidance and other messaging into specific places and groups most at risk—and that does include tier 3. We want to ensure that the funding is used to support communities and groups who have been shown to have suffered a disproportionate impact.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Katherine Fletcher and Kemi Badenoch

Wednesday 21st October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kemi Badenoch]

My hon. Friend is right to raise the importance of children of all backgrounds being in school and their educational attainment and wellbeing more broadly. The Government have been clear that limiting attendance at schools should be a last resort. We are providing laptops for the most disadvantaged pupils and 4G routers for families who do not already have mobile or broadband, for example. More broadly, on disparities in attainment, the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities is looking at outcomes for the whole population. That means ethnic minorities and white British people as well. The commission will set out a new positive agenda for change and look at the issues that my hon. Friend has raised.

[Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble) (Con)]

What steps she is taking to encourage girls and young women to lead in science, technology and emerging industries.