Business of the House

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 22nd June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

My right hon. Friend is very knowledgeable on those subjects. I can tell him that that argument has been put forward to me by other quarters, but I have looked at it and there is no impediment to the outside and the inside of the tower being done at the same time. I know that I speak for Mr Speaker and others when I say that we want the work to be done well, with the least disruption, while also ensuring that there is value for money for the taxpayer.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Supporting the Privileges Committee report on Boris Johnson earlier this week, the Leader of the House said

“the integrity of our institutions matter.”—[Official Report, 19 June 2023; Vol. 734, c. 585.]

Mr Johnson’s actions were not right, and they were not honourable. The Leader of the House is also Lord President of the Privy Council, so can we have a statement from her, in that role, on whether she would recommend that Boris Johnson be stripped of his title as a right hon. Privy Counsellor?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I understand why the hon. Lady and Members are exercised about this matter and cross at the former Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip and former Prime Minister. As a matter of information, such a thing would be advice from the Prime Minister given to the King, and I would prefer His Majesty to be kept out of such matters. The threshold, for people who have been booted off the Privy Council previously—for example, having committed financial fraud—is much higher than the situation we were discussing on Monday. I understand where she is coming from and her motivation, and the integrity of all these systems is very important, as I said on Monday, but I do not think it is an appropriate course of action in this instance.

Business of the House

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 15th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

May I start by thanking my hon. Friend for all the work she did on the Public Bill Committee, which completed its consideration of the Bill on 23 May? The Government are looking at how we can quickly achieve the objective she is focused on. She is right that we need to reduce any unnecessary burdens, while also maintaining both victim and witness confidence in the process. I will announce future business in the usual way.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Will the Leader of the House join me in expressing our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the 16-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed in Bath last weekend? He is the second young victim in Bath of this awful crime within six weeks. Will she confirm that here in Parliament we will do our utmost to get to the root causes of why young people are carrying knives, and that we will be working in our communities with all stakeholders and police forces across the country to erase this blight on our communities?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sure that I speak for the whole House in saying that we all send our condolences. Such an appalling attack is an absolute tragedy. The hon. Lady will know that this issue has been a focus of the Home Secretary. I thank all Members of the House who have been campaigning on it—most recently, my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Anna Firth) raised the matter of how people can get the particularly brutal and unpleasant knives. This is an important matter for us all in this place, although that will be no comfort to the families who have had to endure these appalling tragedies.

Business of the House

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 8th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

That is an excellent topic for debate. There are many aspects to this, and of course it plays into the Government’s programmes on patient records and other things. I will make sure the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has heard my hon. Friend’s suggestion, but he will know how to apply for a debate in the usual way—he has heard a fantastic advert from the Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee—and I am sure such a debate would be well attended.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

The Government have excluded NHS contractors from the latest pay award given to NHS workers. NHS contractors in my Bath constituency will miss out on £2,000, on average. Can we have a statement from the relevant Minister on why healthcare contractors have been excluded from the pay uplift?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising this important point. Given that the next Health and Social Care questions are not until 11 July, I will happily write to the Secretary of State on her behalf.

Business of the House

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 25th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my right hon. Friend for all the work she is doing, which I know will be supported by Members across the House. We are incredibly proud to be the headquarters for the CPA and the incredible work that it does. We should retain that, and we want to retain that. She will know that I have made representations to the Foreign Secretary, and I know that he is working on this matter. I thank her for raising it again. I know that she will have not just my support but support from across the House in achieving that.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

The loss of the former Member for Redditch is keenly felt across the House and, although I did not know her personally, as I only entered Parliament in 2017, I send condolences to her family on behalf of the Liberal Democrats.

It is incredibly disappointing to hear from the Bath Interfaith Group that the Government are removing funding for the Inter Faith Network. This comes just a few weeks after the King included “all faiths” as part of his coronation. At a time when polarisation and division are rife, we must support the Inter Faith Network to promote understanding, co-operation and good relations between all faiths. Can we have a debate in Government time on the efforts to promote interfaith relations?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for her kind remarks regarding our former colleague. She raises an important matter. She will know that there are several sources of support and funding from different Departments, but I will let the Cabinet Office know her concerns and ask that the appropriate Department get in touch with her office about this matter.

Leader of the House

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Wednesday 24th May 2023 Ministerial Corrections

The following is an extract from business questions on Thursday 18 May 2023.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Last night the Environment Secretary chose to say on ITV that there is “misinformation” about sewage being dumped into our rivers, rather than acknowledging the problem. That is really insulting. People have been made sick after swimming in raw sewage. It is a serious and disgusting stain on our country, yet the Environment Secretary blames “misinformation” for the scandal. May we have a debate in Government time, led by the Environment Secretary, on the alleged misinformation of sewage reporting, including why thousands of sewage monitors are broken?

[Penny Mordaunt]

When we came into office, just 6% of storm overflows were monitored. That figure is now 100%. But I know that there are issues, which are different in different areas, with the monitoring systems.

[Official Report, 18 May 2023, Vol. 732, c. 969.]

Letter of correction from the Leader of the House:

An error has been identified in the response I gave to the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) at business questions.

The correct response should have been:

Business of the House

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 18th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important point, and I am glad that Vahid Beheshti is recovering and regaining his strength. His protest was not just about what was happening in Iran, important though that is; it was also about the increasing intimidation of and threats to murder individuals who are in the UK. That should concern us. Such threats have been made against Vahid Beheshti and others supporting his protest, and the message we should all send from this place, today and every day, is that our eyes are on those people. We will ensure that they have the right to protest and get across their point of view about what is happening in Iran.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Last night the Environment Secretary chose to say on ITV that there is “misinformation” about sewage being dumped into our rivers, rather than acknowledging the problem. That is really insulting. People have been made sick after swimming in raw sewage. It is a serious and disgusting stain on our country, yet the Environment Secretary blames “misinformation” for the scandal. May we have a debate in Government time, led by the Environment Secretary, on the alleged misinformation of sewage reporting, including why thousands of sewage monitors are broken?

[Penny Mordaunt]

When we came into office, just 6% of storm overflows were monitored. That figure is now 100%. But I know that there are issues, which are different in different areas, with the monitoring systems. The hon. Lady will have heard today’s announcement from Water UK about the £10 billion that is being invested by 2030 to stop storm overflows, and it also announced some additional measures to improve monitoring. This is an ongoing situation, and we have a clear, funded plan to end storm overflows. That is incredibly important to our coastal communities, and we need to stick to those facts.

Business of the House

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 11th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for his kind remarks regarding myself. He will know that the Foreign Secretary has recently set out his approach on China, and he knows how to apply for a debate on such a matter. I know the issue is of immense concern to Members from all parts of the House. While we know why we need to have that relationship and why it is incredibly important, given the size of the economy and our supply chains, it is important that we raise the ongoing breaches and abuses of human rights, as well as the matter he raises that concerns him directly. Foreign Office questions are a little way off, so I will make sure that the Foreign Secretary has heard what he has said today.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

May I put on the record my admiration for the role that the right hon. Lady played during the King’s coronation? She was magnificent and represented us beautifully.

Many of my constituents have written to me with concerns about unsuitable living conditions in properties owned and run by Sanctuary. My casework team has written to Sanctuary many times and I wrote to the chief executive six weeks ago, but there has been no response. I know that many other MPs and councils have raised concerns about the unresponsiveness of that organisation. Can we have a debate about the responsiveness of social housing providers, who do, after all, provide a very important public service?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for her remarks. The moral of the story is that when the chief execs of such social housing providers receive letters from Members of Parliament, they would do well to reply to them in good time, otherwise Members of Parliament will come to the Floor of the House and name the social housing provider, and the Leader of the House of Commons will be forced to write to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to make sure that they have heard Members’ concerns. I wish the hon. Lady well and we stand ready to assist her in getting the matter resolved for her constituents.

Business of the House

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 27th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

My hon. Friend will not have long to wait to raise this with the Foreign Secretary, as the next Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office questions are on 2 May. I am pleased he was able to attend the event he mentioned, and Parliament will have an inward visit from Armenia in the not-too-distant future. I will make sure the Department has heard him, and I encourage him to attend on Tuesday.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

Not a week goes by without high-profile allegations of workplace sexual harassment hitting the headlines, of which the CBI is just the latest example. My private Member’s Bill to protect workers from harassment and sexual harassment in the workplace has cross-party and, crucially, Government support. It has passed all its Commons stages, and it was expected to pass through the House of Lords unopposed. However, three rebels have tabled amendments and the Bill is now stuck in the other place. The Government have assured me of their continued support, and they are working hard to find a solution. If a solution to the impasse is found, we will need a small amount of extra time in this place to resolve the Bill’s remaining stages. Will the Leader of the House and the Government Whips support me in finding that extra time so that this important Bill to protect workers from harassment and sexual harassment in the workplace can pass into law?

[Penny Mordaunt]

Yes, we support the Bill, and the hon. Lady will know that discussions are ongoing. Ministers are engaging with their lordships and others who have raised concerns. She has my assurance that the business managers are alive to this matter, and we will do all we can to ensure these important measures are able to be considered.

Business of the House

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 20th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for asking the second question today on that issue. I urge him to get together with my right hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton) to secure a debate in the usual way, but of course I will make sure that the Department has heard his concerns. I thank him for being a champion for services in his community.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

I congratulate the Leader of the House on her excellent response to the hon. Member for North West Leicestershire (Andrew Bridgen). She was absolutely right.

The Prime Minister has boasted that 500 new dentists are practising in the NHS because of Government reforms. In reality, over 500 dentists are doing just one NHS check-up a year. The British Dental Association has described official data on NHS dentistry as a work of pure fiction; it also says that the Government have never attempted to collect data on the workload of NHS dentists or how much time they spend on private and NHS patients. Can we have a statement from the relevant Minister to explain why the Government are not collecting that important data in the middle of an NHS dentistry crisis?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady will know that that is a huge focus for the Department. The Secretary of State is collecting more data and using it in a way we had not done previously. As I announced in the business statement, on Thursday 27 April we will have a general debate, thanks to the Backbench Business Committee, on progress on reforms to NHS dentistry. The hon. Lady will know that we have brought forward new money and that contract reforms and many other things are under way, not just to deal with the immediate situation, which has arisen in part because of treatment backlogs, but to make the right provision and have the right number of dental schools around the country to ensure a pipeline and a strong workforce in future.

Business of the House

Wera Hobhouse Excerpts

Thursday 30th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on her work, which is a clear example of her wanting to respond to the concerns of her constituents. The report she published is timely, given that we have just published our antisocial behaviour plan. It will introduce tougher punishments, cracking down in particular on illegal drugs; increase police and uniformed presence; and introduce higher fines and some new tools to enable law enforcement to have a good programme to crack down on antisocial behaviour. She is right that there are additional challenges in London, with crimes rates higher under the Mayor of London’s scheme, but I am certain that her plan will help her constituents.

[Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)]

I, too, wish everybody across the House a happy Easter recess, including those who have local elections in their patch. Happy door-knocking!

Opening a new oilfield at Rosebank would fly in the face of the UK’s climate commitments. It would produce 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and most of the oil will be destined for export, so it would not even contribute to the UK’s energy security. Despite that, The Times reports today that Rosebank will clear a major regulatory hurdle today. Can the Government please be open and transparent about this? Will the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero make a statement to the House about the progress of the application, including how it would sit alongside the UK’s climate commitments?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I encourage the hon. Lady to make use of the next available questions, which are on 18 April. She will know that we have published a new strategy on energy security. We are looking to meet our net zero commitments as well as to ensure that the nation is as resilient as possible. That includes a greater focus on nuclear power. I encourage her to look at that very detailed document, which sets out how we will achieve those twin objectives.