Business of the House

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Thursday 19th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend makes a really interesting suggestion, and I am certainly happy to take it away and look at it.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

I echo the calls from the right hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes) and my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) for us to have a debate on youth violence and the Government’s serious violence strategy. It might be helpful if I remind the Leader of the House of her comments on 29 March. On the strategy being published, she said:

“It will be very important, when the strategy comes forward, for the House to have a chance to debate it”.—[Official Report, 29 March 2018; Vol. 638, c. 957.]

If she is worried about what the Home Secretary might think about this, when she was asked about this on 16 April, she said:

“I will take that very good question to the Leader of the House. I would relish such a debate.”—[Official Report, 16 April 2018; Vol. 639, c. 24.]

When are we going to have that debate on the serious violence strategy?

Business of the House

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Thursday 29th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am sorry to hear about the experience in the hon. Lady’s constituency. She will be aware that the Government’s new serious violence strategy, due to be published shortly, will put a far greater focus on steering young people away from a life of crime, while continuing to put together a strong law enforcement response. We are supporting communities to prevent violent crime, and we have awarded £765,000 to community groups and almost £300,000 to community projects that are working to end gang violence and exploitation.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Previously, we have been told that the Government’s serious violence strategy would be published in the spring. Yesterday, we were told that it was imminent, and today we have been told that it will be published soon, or shortly. I could ask for a debate on what “spring”, “imminent”, “soon” and “shortly” mean to the Government, but I am not going to do that. May we have instead a debate on the Government’s serious violence strategy, when it is published—and, I do not know, perhaps even a vote on it?

[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.

Business of the House

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Thursday 22nd March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I take issue with the hon. Lady’s assessment. This Government have been committed to helping people, from wherever they come, back into work. Universal credit, as a benefit, is enabling more people to have the incentive to get into work without immediately losing their benefits. The Government are supporting people with disabilities back into work. There are 600,000 more disabled people in work than there were in 2010. The Government’s intention throughout has been to enable people to improve the quality of their lives, and to get into the workplace. It is no surprise that there are now over 3 million more jobs, with some of the highest employment levels ever, which gives more people the chance to have the security of a wage packet for themselves and their families.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Yesterday was the first day of spring, and the Government said that they would be publishing their serious violence strategy in spring. All I want to know is, when will you be publishing it, and when you do, may we have a debate on it in Government time?

[Mr Speaker]

I will not be publishing it, but the Leader of the House might, and we will, I am sure, be deeply obliged to her if she does.

Business of the House

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Thursday 15th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said yesterday, we have all been shocked by the horrific reports in Telford, where some of our most vulnerable citizens have been preyed upon by terrible criminals, and we should all be praising my hon. Friend the Member for Telford (Lucy Allan), who has been totally right to speak out as she has. I am very pleased that the authorities are now going to conduct an inquiry, and it is important that this work gets under way as quickly as possible, so we can get to the truth. My hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Chris Green) raises an important point about the relative lack of reporting on this subject versus other perhaps more gossipy types of scandal, and he is right to raise the concern about even-handed reporting.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House might have noticed that I have asked on several occasions for debates on youth violence and its root causes, and I have noted that we have not secured Government time for them. She often gives creative suggestions about how we might go about securing debates. One way we could do that is by having an Opposition day debate, and perhaps I could lobby our Front Benchers to discuss youth violence in an Opposition day debate, so please may we have time for Opposition day debates?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for her work in this area. She is supporting the Government in looking into such serious violence and will be aware that the Government’s new serious violence strategy is due to be published in the spring. It will look at ways to steer young people away from a life of crime, while putting in place measures to prevent and reduce the effect on victims of serious crime. She asked for an Opposition day and I can assure her, as I assured the hon. Member for Walsall South (Valerie Vaz), that Opposition days will be forthcoming in the usual way and in accordance with the Standing Orders of this House.

Business of the House

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Thursday 8th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am sorry to hear about the prospective job losses. As the hon. Gentleman points out, Babcock International has announced 500 job losses. As he will no doubt be aware, 100 of those posts are unfilled, making the reduction in actual headcount potentially 400. Although the restructuring is a commercial matter for that company, a consultation period with staff and trade unions is nevertheless under way, and is expected to conclude in mid April. In the meantime, the Government are closely monitoring the situation, and the Department for Work and Pensions is on stand-by to provide support for those affected via Jobcentre Plus’s rapid response service.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

May I also wish a happy birthday to the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart)? Indeed, he shares it with somebody who has every intention of continuing to be 21 again.

On Friday 2 March, several busy Southeastern trains were stranded for hours outside Lewisham station due to severe weather conditions. Many passengers self-evacuated from the trains, and we were extremely lucky that no one died. May we have a debate on updating the guidance for stranded commuter trains to keep our passengers safe?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady raises a really important and topical matter, as she so often does, and I encourage her to seek an Adjournment debate to discuss this directly with Ministers. We are all very concerned to hear about the risks that people pose to themselves and to the train system when they decide to self-evacuate from trains, and we need to put a stop to that. She will be aware that safety plans are in place, but it is vital that people abide by them for their own safety.

Business of the House

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Thursday 1st March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend is a great champion for his constituency, and I can say to him that the UK Government are committed to working with the Scottish Government to drive forward the cross-border borderlands deal, and we hope to agree a deal later this year which will see significant investment to transform the local economies in the borderlands area. Funding for a study into reopening the line he mentions is being sought as part of this proposition.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

It has been one hell of a week, Mr Speaker, particularly for my little sister. A week last Saturday, my sister broke her neck. She was in the Royal Blackburn Hospital for three days until there was a bed free for her at the Royal Preston Hospital where they could operate. Thankfully, the operation went well and my sister and all of my family are so grateful to all the hard-working doctors, nurses and staff in the NHS, but one thing I noticed was all the extra hours before and after their shifts that the doctors and nurses were doing. May we have a debate on the extra hours done by our public sector workers?

[Andrea Leadsom]

First, I wish the hon. Lady’s sister the very best for a speedy recovery. That must have been a real shock to all her family, and we all pass on our best wishes. I am enormously grateful to and have great respect for all those who work so hard in the national health service. What they achieve is amazing, as is the commitment shown by all workers in the NHS. We have many opportunities to debate the NHS in this Chamber; we have held many such debates. There are nearly 15,000 more doctors and more than 14,000 more nurses on our wards than there were in 2010. There is much more to do; we are undertaking one of the biggest training programmes ever in our history in the NHS to start training more doctors and nurses. We want to alleviate some of the pressures, but I pay tribute to them for all the excellent work they do.

Business of the House

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Thursday 25th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady will be aware that overall police funding has remained steady in real terms and that there are opportunities for police funding to increase next year, if police and crime commissioners use the precept levy that will enable them to do that. The way in which policing is managed needs to reflect new threats from cyber-crime and other types of criminal activity, yet frontline policing throughout the country as a whole has not changed—it has, in fact, slightly increased since 2010.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

May we have a statement on today’s Office for National Statistics figures showing a 21% increase in knife crime last year. Does the Leader of the House support my call for an immediate cross-party, cross-departmental inquiry into the root causes of youth violence, not just the symptoms?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady often raises issues around youth violence, and she is absolutely right to do so. Tackling knife crime is absolutely a priority of this Government. It has devastating consequences on victims’ families and, of course, our communities. Under Operation Sceptre, the Government continue to encourage police forces to undertake a series of co-ordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime. We hosted an all-force briefing event on Operation Sceptre on 23 January, and a record 38 police forces have signed up to take part in the next week of action, which is planned for February. The operation includes targeting habitual knife carriers, weapons sweeps, test purchases of knives from identified retailers and the use of surrender bins. The Government launched a consultation on 14 October 2017, which has now closed, and we are looking at what more can be done to get rid of this appalling crime.

Business of the House

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Thursday 18th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. I was extremely concerned to hear about the cost overrun on the Elizabeth Tower. The House authorities were certainly also disappointed, and they have learned lessons. They have tried to ensure that the proposal for an Olympic-style delivery authority to oversee the restoration and renewal of the Palace will reflect the absolute need to ensure that the project, if it happens, is done with the best value for money for the taxpayer in mind and the tightest possible control on costs.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

In 2017, 80 people were stabbed and murdered in London, and there were 37,000 knife-crime offences—an increase of 26%. This is an epidemic and a tragedy, and it must stop. The current approach is clearly not working, and a new approach is required. We need a cross-departmental debate in Government time on how to tackle the root causes of youth violence, so will the Leader of the House schedule time for one?

[Andrea Leadsom]

All Members are incredibly concerned about the incidence of knife crime, particularly among young people. I am sure that the hon. Lady will be aware that the Home Office is reviewing the matter and taking evidence and will be coming out with proposals for how to tackle the problem.

Business of the House

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Thursday 14th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend raises an issue that is of concern to us all in our constituencies, and often also in our families. It is certainly an increasing problem in the United Kingdom and around the world and we should discuss it regularly, so I encourage him to seek perhaps a Back-Bench debate on the subject, so that we can look at exactly what further measures can be taken to ensure that we do the best we can for those suffering from dementia, and for their families and friends.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

As part of the work of the cross-party commission that is looking into the root causes of youth violence, this week we heard from a panel of experts about the public health approach to reducing violence and the evidence-based results that they have achieved. May we have a debate on this extremely important issue?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady has worked really hard on that issue, for which I absolutely commend her. I encourage her to seek an Adjournment debate on the subject; I am sure it would be of interest to a great number of Members.

Business of the House

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Thursday 7th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on that achievement in his constituency. It is great news for London and it is certainly great news for Rugby. The Government are fully committed to reducing the carbon footprint of our transport system. This is a great new step that will certainly provide relief for many people living in London.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Research carried out by the Citizen Sense project at Goldsmith’s in my constituency shows that pollution in south-east London reached six times the World Health Organisation limit on several occasions during the past year. Can we have a debate on this important public health issue?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady will no doubt have been delighted to hear my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (Mark Pawsey) mention the first London-certified electric taxi, which was built in his constituency. She raises an issue that matters enormously to all of us. The Government are determined to tackle the problem of air pollution, not only in London but right around the country. We are taking strong steps to encourage and help local authorities to pay for new pollution-free zones. Equally, she should speak to the Mayor of London, who, of course, has the challenge of putting in place measures to reduce the poor air quality in our great city.