Business of the House

Wes Streeting Excerpts

Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

We are going to have a debate as soon as we are back on global Britain, which allows us to look to the future now that we have left the European Union. I thank my hon. Friend: he has been a tireless campaigner in the Eurosceptic cause as long as I have known him and is one of the people who ensured that we got the referendum victory, so today is in many ways thanks to his efforts. I thought he was going to ask for a public holiday, and I was going to suggest that he could have one, not tomorrow, but the day after.

[Wes Streeting (Ilford North) (Lab)]

I am sure the Leader of the House will agree that it was totally unacceptable that the Education Secretary laid a written ministerial statement before the Christmas recess only after a press release had been issued by the Department for Education. I think he will also agree that it is worse still that that was issued on the last day of term—in fact, many schools had already broken up. The goalposts have been shifted again today, and headteachers, teachers and support staff also deserve a well-earned rest after a year of busting a gut for children and young people across the country. Can he understand why those staff, who are being asked to return to work on Monday, will look aghast and with horror at the fact that this House is proposing to give itself an extra week, at the Government’s suggestion? On that basis, does he not agree it would be right and proper, if teachers and support staff are back on Monday, that we should be back here too?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

On the issue of written ministerial statements, the House ought always to be informed first, but I would point out that what is going on at the moment is changing rapidly in response to the course of the pandemic. Therefore, things often change and statements are made later than would otherwise be hoped for, because of the necessity of keeping up with the new information.

As regards this House and schools, this House does not sit at the same times as schools—we have come back today—and, as I said earlier, the fact that the House is not sitting does not mean that MPs are not working. Members of Parliament ought to be working, but we have to think about the staff of this House. The hon. Gentleman is being unfair on them. The hours that some members of staff have been working are really heroic, and they have done that to make our democracy function. We should be proud of them and praise them; we should not say, as Rehoboam said to Solomon, that having been scourged with whips they should now be scourged with scorpions. I think the whips have been quite enough.