Business of the House
Vikki Slade Excerpts(5 days, 6 hours ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
Jason Arday’s death is an utter tragedy, and I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s tireless work on behalf of Professor Arday and his family and friends. I hear what she says about what may have happened in past instances, but there is currently a coroner’s inquest into Professor Arday’s death, which the Government want to be particularly careful not to cut across. There will be an opportunity to respond to that, and I know that the Culture Secretary is very keen to work with her on this matter.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
Every time I raise child maintenance failures in this House, my inbox and social media feeds are flooded with parents sharing harrowing cases of domestic abuse being perpetuated, income being undeclared and children being used as weapons in their parents’ relationship breakdown. A report from the other place made sweeping recommendations for change. The long delays and poor processes are really harming children, who should be at the heart of these decisions. We have already had several debates on this issue, as the Leader of the House will know, in which there have been commitments to change. Will he ask the relevant Minister to bring an update to this House, so that we can see what the Government are actually going to do?
Sir Alan Campbell
I understand the way in which the hon. Lady raises that point, because there is incredible frustration—and more, often—across constituencies about the workings of the Child Maintenance Service. Let me take that away and ask the relevant Department if it will consider an update to the House when it is appropriate.
Business of the House
Vikki Slade Excerpts(1 week, 5 days ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
As I said to our hon. Friend before, the Government take this very seriously. Cabinet Office questions are next Thursday, so my hon. Friend might want to raise the matter there. I sense the feeling across the House. The Government have updated the House on developments, but let me go away and see if another update is required.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
When the power fails, the electricity supplier provides generators; when the water fails, the supplier provides water; but when the data switches off, silence. My community of Bloxworth went without for over a week before Openreach even bothered to reach out. They could not access their GPs or important business and personal calls. Data is now critical infrastructure, like power and water, and in the event of conflict, we know that interference with data is more likely than boots on the ground. May we have a ministerial statement or a debate in the House on the resilience of our critical information infrastructure?
Sir Alan Campbell
I hope that Openreach has heard what the hon. Lady has said. I agree absolutely on the importance of data in our modern lives. The Government take the matter very seriously, as they do the matter of resilience, and they are doing some in-depth work on how we can improve the situation. At the appropriate time, I am sure they will want to bring forward any further proposals to the House.
Business of the House
Vikki Slade Excerpts(1 month, 4 weeks ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
My hon. Friend will know that the Government have been instrumental in bringing forward advanced industrial rights for working people; it is therefore sad to learn of what is taking place in her constituency. Should she seek a debate on our return, she could make that case. I hope that the dispute is over by then, but if she wants to hear from the relevant Minister about what further we can do, and perhaps what other measures are needed, she could apply for an Adjournment debate so that she might get that assurance.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
As the school summer holidays start, most children will be excited about six weeks of lazy days and endless play, but for young carers summer can be more like groundhog day, as children as young as five have to support their family. I pay tribute to those children and to MYTime Young Carers in my constituency, which works to support them, along with Romsey Young Carers and Newcastle Carers, who I met last week at the launch of the “Equity for Young Carers” report, where I shared my Bill—the young carers champion Bill—which would ensure that an individual in schools takes responsibility for their education and potential. As we are expecting the education Bill in the autumn, will the Leader of the House agree to a debate in Government time on how we can better support our young carers and ensure that they get the recognition and support services they need?
Sir Alan Campbell
The hon. Lady raises a really important matter and looks to the legislative route by which we might take for that. I pay tribute to everyone involved with young carers—they do a fantastic and often unrecognised job. If she wants a meeting with an Education Minister to talk about what might happen in the legislative process, I will help her to achieve that.
Business of the House
Vikki Slade Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
E-bikes and e-scooters can be a great way to travel around the city, but we have heard too many tragic stories of unsafe e-bikes and e-scooters. Rogue sellers not only risk bringing dangerous products into homes but undermine confidence in active travel. I will ensure that my hon. Friend’s concerns are raised with the Department for Transport, and should he seek a meeting with the relevant Minister, I will help him to arrange one.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
As well as it being world cup and Wimbledon season, we are in the middle of sports day season. I am sure that many hon. Members will be heading home to take part in parent races. My hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) raised with the Secretary of State for Education the issue of transitional relief following the reduction in the sports premium in schools. The Secretary of State responded that there was a misunderstanding, and that she would speak to my hon. Friend. However, the headteacher of St James’ school in Gaunt’s Common—a double award-winning sports school—and trust leaders in my constituency are equally confused, and need clarity in order to plan before schools break up. Will the Leader of the House ask the Secretary of State, or a Minister, to come back to the House and provide us all with clarification?
Sir Alan Campbell
I certainly wish everyone involved in sports days all the very best. I have to say, sports day triggers memories that are less than happy, but that is another matter. I know that the hon. Lady asked about a general concern, but if she lets me know the details of the particular school that she mentioned, I will raise the matter with the Department to see if we can get the clarification that she seeks.
Business of the House
Vikki Slade Excerpts(2 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this important matter with the House this morning. The Scottish Government have had the biggest single investment since devolution, so my hon. Friend and her constituents will rightly be scratching their heads as to why community facilities are being lost in the way that they are. I hope that the Scottish Government have heard her remarks today. She is a great champion for her constituents, and I hope that something can be done to save these community facilities, as they are so important.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
Those who care for our loved ones at home are unsung heroes and reduce the financial burden on the NHS. It is therefore tragic when they are subjected to harm or crime from those they bring into their homes. Yet without a carers’ register, families are left open to abuse by those who do not have Disclosure and Barring Service checks or, worse, do not have verified training in first aid, dementia and safeguarding. It is reasonable to expect that the people who provide the most personal care are safe, competent and trained. We undervalue those who work in care, so will the Leader of the House agree to a debate in Government time on professional standards in social care?
Business of the House
Vikki Slade Excerpts(3 months ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
The situation in my hon. Friend’s constituency sounds untenable. The police and local authorities have legal powers to deal with dangerous, abandoned and obstructive vehicles, and they work closely with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to target untaxed vehicles. Should my hon. Friend wish to apply for a Westminster Hall debate or an Adjournment debate, I am sure that it would be well attended. She could then hear directly from the Minister what the Government could do further.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
Ofcom is an important regulator, and it is something that my residents regularly raise, whether it is failings in the postal service, the lack of internet in suburban areas, concerns about bias on TV or political interference on social media. We now have elderly people plagued by scams and frauds on landlines, when Ofcom could easily intervene to block ghost numbers. Ofcom is now looking to take on the issues around nudity, children online and the potential social media ban, but the public is already being failed in so many areas. May we have a debate in Government time on the role and effectiveness of Ofcom?
Sir Alan Campbell
The hon. Lady talks about the matters that Ofcom is looking into, such as nudity and social media, and I am sure she shares the view that those are important. They are the first step that the Government are taking to address a wider issue. On the success of Ofcom, or lack thereof, she could seek an Adjournment or Westminster Hall debate, where she could make these points directly to the Government. It is important that Ofcom does a good job, and if it is being given important jobs to do, it must do so with the confidence of this House.
Progression of Bills through Parliament
Vikki Slade Excerpts(3 months, 1 week ago)
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Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
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Lewis Atkinson
I am not here to speak for the sponsor of anything; I am here to speak for parliamentary democracy. Fundamentally, on Third Reading, MPs clearly backed the Bill. That was the final chance for MPs to have their say. In all those debates, my hon. Friend made his points well and ably, as I made mine, in Committee and beyond. I entirely respect his perspective, but I am bringing us back to the issue of parliamentary democracy.
It is entirely appropriate, and no one is disputing—the petitioners are not disputing—that the Lords should scrutinise and indeed amend legislation passed to them from the Commons; what the petitioners find outrageous, frankly, is the failure to consider it. I will come on to that.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
That is the key. Both the sponsor of the Bill in the House of Lords and others tabled amendments that might well, had they returned to the House of Commons, have had the opportunity to improve the Bill. Would the hon. Gentleman agree that the denial of that opportunity to improve the Bill is an absolute travesty?
Lewis Atkinson
Yes, I agree. I will come on to talk about future consideration of the legislation.
The arguments against the process—that the consideration was somehow flawed—were widely debated before Third Reading, and the Commons reached a conclusion on that. All MPs had to make a judgment, independent of the Whips, on whether they wanted to pass the legislation.
Sophie and Nathaniel were in the Commons Gallery on the day of Third Reading. They, like people across the country, thought a clear decision had been made: that assisted dying reform would become law, with significant safeguards, subject to some further iteration in the Lords, if required, including an extended implementation period of up to five years to allow any other considerations to be worked through. It was the approach of the House of Lords, specifically a small number of peers, that outraged Nathaniel, Sophie and the other petitioners.
Business of the House
Vikki Slade Excerpts(4 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
My hon. Friend raises a very disturbing story, and I wish Milly well. We have heard time and again in these sessions that when Reform is in local government, it overpromises and underdelivers. I strongly encourage Lancashire county council to listen to my hon. Friend’s contribution and to do the right thing by Milly and people across his community and put this right.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
Many across the House will have watched “Dirty Business” last month and been shocked not only by the behaviour of the water companies, but by the deliberate deregulation and defunding of the agencies that are there to protect our environment. When Storm Chandra devastated homes in my constituency, particularly those in Sturminster Marshall, the Environment Agency door drops did not arrive until after the flooding had entered my constituents’ homes.
One of the causes of flooding is lack of maintenance of ditches by riparian owners. Even when the agency is able to raise it with owners, it has insufficient funding to take enforcement action, relying instead on neighbourly good will. As our climate changes and we have more frequent and severe flooding, will the Leader of the House consider a debate in Government time on the remit and capacity of the Environment Agency to keep us all safe?
Sir Alan Campbell
The previous Government should never have allowed the water sector to get into this state, with record levels of sewage spills and ageing infrastructure, and this Government are determined to put it right both through legislation and by encouraging and resourcing the Environment Agency. I will give consideration to what the hon. Member says about this matter, and she may wish to draw it directly to the attention of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
I understand the concerns about the Environment Agency when such things happen, but a lot of Environment Agency staff are doing a really good and really tough job, day in and day out, and we should send them our support.
Business of the House
Vikki Slade Excerpts(4 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
I certainly join my hon. Friend in saying that Her late Majesty was a remarkable individual, not simply because of the time that she gave to public service but because of the way that she conducted herself, and I think she would be immensely proud of the way in which the current sovereign is working. It is the 100th anniversary of her birth, as my hon. Friend says, and I think it appropriate that we pay tribute to her and mark the occasion in some way. I encourage colleagues to sign his early-day motion.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
A report by the charity MYTIME Young Carers, which is based in Broadstone but works across the country, found that young carers are twice as likely as their classmates to be persistently absent and, shockingly, more than twice as likely to face school suspensions. Young carers are now included in the school census, but 69% of schools do not have a young carers champion. Given the opportunity presented by the upcoming schools Bill, which is expected in the next Session, can we have a debate in Government time on how we support young carers in the classroom through the creation of young carers champions in every secondary school?
Sir Alan Campbell
The hon. Lady will know that the Government are keen to ensure that schools have the resources they need to tackle the issues their children face. I do understand the difficulty of young people who are carers in ensuring they can fully commit to school life. She is right, and there is a Bill going through Parliament currently, but I will raise the issue she mentions with the relevant Minister, because I think she has an important point.
Business of the House
Vikki Slade Excerpts(6 months ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
My hon. Friend raises an important matter, and I hope that Thirteen has heard his words today. The Government expect social housing landlords to manage their stock efficiently and to ensure that vacant properties are made available wherever possible. These are obviously concerning matters, and I will make sure that the relevant Minister is made aware of them.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
Despite relying on public money, the financial accountability and value for money of multi-academy trusts seemingly goes unchallenged, with many leaders earning more than the Prime Minister. Aspirations, which has a school in Poole, spent money on Teslas for its central staff and is now cutting the curriculum to balance the books. Initio is cutting teaching assistants as special educational needs and disabilities increase, blaming reduced pupil numbers, while boosting its exec team. With the current consultation on the White Paper, now is a good time for a debate in Government time on the transparency and accountability of academies, so that we can drive out excess and they can get back to doing what they were supposed to do.
Sir Alan Campbell
When the consultation has ended, I am sure there will be ample opportunity to raise the points that the hon. Lady has mentioned.