Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paulette Hamilton and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 24th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman—he is always most generous. I will never forget when, just a few years ago, I went on holiday in his constituency with my family. I was in the kitchen of the place we were renting when somebody leant through the open door—it was the right hon. Gentleman with a bottle of champagne saying, “Welcome to the New Forest.” He then took time to speak to my family, including my wife’s elderly father and my children. I thank him for his generosity.

[Paulette Hamilton (Birmingham Erdington) (Lab)]

Q8. I thank the Prime Minister for his leadership. One of the concerns I hear most often from my constituents across Erdington, Kingstanding, Castle Vale and south Oscott is about the rapid growth of exempt accommodation. In my constituency and across Birmingham, properties refused house in multiple occupation licences are opening anyway as exempt accommodation, with very little scrutiny. This undermines local communities and decision makers, so will the Prime Minister confirm when new legislation will be brought forward and whether it will close the loopholes? Will that legislation and its regulations be applied retrospectively, so that communities such as mine are protected?

[The Prime Minister]

Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. The Housing Secretary has the power to introduce locally led licensing, and will consult on those regulations in the summer. Under our proposals, national standards for supported housing will be enforced by local authorities. I am proud of the action we have taken to back renters—abolishing section 21 evictions, expanding the decent homes standard, and extending Awaab’s law to cover the private rental market.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paulette Hamilton and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I do not know what social media sites the right hon. Lady has been on this morning, but I think the chair of the Tory party said that this Government are the “firefighters”. Well, in a sense we are, because we are putting out the fires that the Conservatives created. They were the arsonists—the biggest fall in living standards on record, blowing up the finances. We have spent the first year putting out their fires—quite right too—but now we are delivering on the cost of living: funded childcare worth £7,500 for working families, free breakfast clubs and opening new school-based nurseries. That is what we are fighting for: the best start for every child in this country.

[Paulette Hamilton (Birmingham Erdington) (Lab)]

Q2. The Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, is delivering growth and jobs by backing SMEs such as Booghe Toys in my constituency, which has just doubled in size. Will the Prime Minister join me in praising this success and confirm that boosting ambitious small and medium-sized businesses across the UK remains a key priority of his Government?

[The Prime Minister]

May I recognise and congratulate the businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency? We have published our small business plan, which was very well received. It includes new rules; cracking down on late payments, which has long been asked for; a £3 billion boost to more business loans; and fairer business rate systems to support small businesses. That is why it was so warmly received.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paulette Hamilton and Keir Starmer

Wednesday 11th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My choice is to stabilise the economy after 14 years of failure, and I will tell the House why: when a Government lose control of the economy, it is working people who pay the price. I will not let that happen under a Labour Government.

[Paulette Hamilton (Birmingham Erdington) (Lab)]

More than half of people with pancreatic cancer die within three months of diagnosis, and seven in 10 never even receive treatment. Every two minutes in the UK, someone is diagnosed with cancer, but for those diagnosed with the least survivable cancer, time has too often already run out. I am really proud of the Labour Government’s commitment to our NHS, but will the Prime Minister now commit to reviewing the long-term cancer strategy so that we can improve diagnosis and treatment rates in this country?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue; it is the second time it has been raised in this session. I will have a lot more to say tomorrow, when I deal with Lord Darzi’s report. I pay tribute to her for her tireless campaigning, particularly in relation to pancreatic cancer. Cancer patients have been failed by the last Government, and have been waiting far too long for diagnosis and treatment. We will get the NHS capturing cancer on time, diagnosing it earlier and treating it faster, so that more patients survive this horrible set of diseases.