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Showing every spoken contribution, including 12,832 under 12 words. Hide short remarks
My hon. Friend is right: Royal Mail’s service has been unacceptable for far too long. The leadership have been asked in to see Ministers on a regular basis. Ofcom is looking at the situation as well. Let us be clear: they need to bring forward a plan to restore service standards to the level they need to be at. They need to do it quickly, or we will consider further measures.
I answered the hon. Gentleman last week, and I set it out very clearly in the statement that I made. It was all covered in that statement, and there is no more I need to add.
The mental health strategy will do precisely that. It will confirm the plan to open 100 new community mental health centres across the country to get mental health support right into communities, and the Health Secretary is ensuring that we also bring forward 59 mental health emergency departments to give same-day support to people experiencing a crisis. I am pleased to say to my hon. Friend that there will be one of each in Sunderland.
I will ensure that a Minister meets the hon. Lady to discuss that proposal, because I find myself in agreement with it. The right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) has been very powerful on this point about unpaid carers or family carers who often sink under their responsibilities and find it very, very difficult. Sadly, in the case of Matilda—the hon. Lady’s constituent—it is obviously a devastating situation, so I will arrange that meeting, and I thank her for raising the issue in the House today.
I recognise that Ian is obviously in a very difficult position. I am pleased to say the Exchequer Secretary has announced that we will bring forward a new approach to this issue. We have been working on a solution that will remove VAT as a barrier to free-of-charge donations of innovative medicines. It will be permanent, backdated to 23 June, so that it supports companies to continue to make donations. We will set out the details shortly, and I am sure a Minister will be pleased to meet my hon. Friend, too.
The second round of auditions, Mr Speaker! I saw Essex got a mention this week, but it was still a question about London. I did increase police numbers in my time as Mayor of Greater Manchester, but the right hon. Member will know it is not something you can do from the local level alone; you need Government support as well to do that. Sadly, that support for the Metropolitan police was not forthcoming in sufficient quantity during the period that he was in office—so he cannot come here and absolve himself of any responsibility in his quest to come second to Sadiq next year.
I will. Marie Lyon has been an incredible, indomitable fighter for women affected by Primodos. I pay full tribute to her. I was so sorry to hear about her recent illness, but I can say from this Dispatch Box today that, as Prime Minister, I will work with Marie and my hon. Friend to get justice for the Primodos victims.
The hon. Gentleman and colleagues will know that I did go to Northern Ireland shortly after coming into office to speak to all parties, including on this very important issue of the budget. I returned here and found more money for Northern Ireland, in a very difficult situation, I have to say, when we are finding more money for defence—despite what the right hon. Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch) says, we will fully fund the defence investment plan. Even in those circumstances, I found extra money. There comes a point when people have to work together to set a budget. It cannot always be our responsibility. We stepped forward and I ask all parties in Northern Ireland to do the same: set a budget and get Stormont functioning as it should.
My hon. and learned Friend is doing a sterling job in speaking up for his constituents. I agree that Lindsay and Craig’s sentence is appalling and unjustifiable. That is why the Foreign Secretary has raised this case directly with his Iranian counterpart. We will continue to pursue the case relentlessly until Lindsay and Craig are safely returned home to the UK and reunited with their family.
The hon. Lady makes a very strong point. Getting energy bills down, gas and electric, is at the very top of my list of priorities. It matters for households. She described the number of people in debt, which is an appalling situation for so many people to be in. It matters to businesses, too. Businesses are struggling with the cost of energy and to get grid connections. That is why the energy sector needs significant reform, and we will make it. We will go further, on the back of the VAT cut, and we will set out more in due course.
I know how important this issue is. Child trust funds for disabled children are crucial, and they need to be unlocked quickly. I will ensure that Treasury Ministers are working with other ministerial colleagues to make progress quickly; hopefully we will have an answer for my hon. Friend soon.
Yes, I am always happy to create more mayors. [Laughter.] I am not joking—yes. I would like to see a fully devolved south-west of England. I know Cornish Members were in No.10 North this week to discuss a devolution deal. I met Devon Members this week who are seeking the same. I will offer the same to Wessex Members. Let us move quickly to get a fully devolved Wessex and south-west of England.
I do like a pint—sadly, I am spending less time in pubs these days, but I will certainly make up for that by meeting my hon. Friend and having a chat about the home of brewing in this country, Burton upon Trent. It is a proud tradition. I was sorry to hear about the potential job losses, and we will see what we can do to support my hon. Friend and his constituents.
The hon. Lady is right that we have to do everything we can to support our staff in the Probation Service right now. I will ask the Justice Secretary to look at those rules and come back to her.
I will always do that, and I pay tribute to the people who work in social care, who cared for my dad, and who come from around the world to provide support to people, and we thank them for their contribution. It is incumbent on all parties represented in this House to root out the politics of poison, which has seeped far too far into our politics. Where unacceptable, racist and discriminatory comments are made, the firmest of action should be taken on the back of those revelations. That should unite us all in this House, and we are still waiting to see the right level of action from the party opposite.
Indeed we will, and I am happy to make that clear again today. We will take the firmest of action to support the Falkland Islands—the right to self-determination of the islanders, who chose to remain British not so long ago. The Defence Secretary has met his counterparts to reiterate that position, and the Foreign Secretary too. I raised the matter with President Trump. There is no diminution in our strong support to keep the Falkland Islands British.
I strongly support my hon. Friend on that issue. Having had the training myself, and having used a defibrillator once before, I know that they save lives. We should commit to ensuring that they are clearly and publicly available in all communities—something that I have long called for—so I would happily work with my hon. Friend on that. The 10-year health plan talks of a shift from hospital to community. The Health Secretary and I are determined to make that a reality, and heart care is a prime example of where we can make a difference.
I am aware of the high levels of concern among those who served in the SAS, and the right hon. Gentleman has spoken to that. Without going into all the details, I am happy to meet him to discuss the case and see how we can resolve some of the issues that arise from it, giving an assurance to people who served this country that we will have their back and always treat them fairly.
I agree—they do. That is why we are going deeper than just thinking about how we help people in their 20s or late teens into work; we need to rethink how we support young people in the 21st century in Portsmouth and elsewhere. One of the things is an education system that balances academic and technical education, and that gives young people routes into good jobs. The Education Secretary is working hard on that. I know that that will give all young people in Portsmouth a path to a good life. It is the kind of change that will make a difference, and I look forward to working with my hon. Friend on delivering it.
7. What steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Defence to support Northern Ireland veterans.
Forty-seven years ago, Private Robert Vaughan Jones, the brother of my constituent Edward, was one of the 18 British paratroopers tragically killed in the Warrenpoint ambush. Robert’s parents passed away never knowing the facts of their son’s death, and Edward fears that he, too, might never know the full story of what happened. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the Government remain committed to providing closure to the families of troubles victims, and that the transferral of cases from the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery to the new legacy commission will not impact or further delay the delivery of those answers?
I warmly welcome this statement from my hon. Friend and the focus on investment, jobs and resilience not just in the North sea, but in all parts of the United Kingdom. He will know the critical role that Peterborough plays in our national gas networks, having visited the gas transmission and compression site last November to welcome the £870 million investment that National Gas made in the network and in my city. Alongside me, on that visit he also met GMB representatives and apprentices—people I often listen to when it comes to energy policy. Will he join me in thanking GMB members across the country for their commitment and their contribution to the energy debate? Will he confirm that workers will be critical to any future discussions about our energy balance and how we get the mix right for the future?
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I want to spend my time talking about those individuals who make up our police force. Community policing is one of the foundations of effective policing in this country. It is about far more than preventing crime; it is about building trust, strengthening relationships and ensuring that every resident feels safe, supported and connected to those who serve. Community policing works because it is rooted in local knowledge, and I should know—my dad was once a policeman. However, for too long that connection has been weakened. We need to restore the vital link between police forces and local people, ensuring that officers are visible and present in their neighbourhoods. We need to see police desks on our high streets, so that residents can report crime. The coalition Government woefully underfunded the police, but Hampshire police has seen an extension to its funding that has meant we have increased our police tally to 114 officers from the 99 that we had. That investment has provided my constituency with named officers for all communities, and I have personally met all of our neighbourhood police. I have been on the beat, and I have worked with them in the community, hand in hand. PCs Smith, Joyce, Middleton, Wetherill, Treend and Goldfinch are the very best of what Portsmouth has, and I want to put on record my sincere thanks for the work they do every day to keep my city safe. Yesterday, I was delighted to meet the Hampshire Police Federation in Parliament. The pressures that come with the job—the long hours, the difficult incidents and the emotional toll that policing can take—are some of the main things that we need to talk about. Suicide is a huge health issue in the police. We are rightly shocked and appalled when an officer is killed in the line of duty, but many more take their own lives and that is not treated with the same importance. We must ensure that mental health support is available, accessible and embedded throughout a police officer’s career. Another thing I would like to draw attention to, which has seen a rise in my city, is the doxxing of police officers. It is not okay, and we need to stamp it out.
There was a Westminster Hall debate this morning on e-scooters and e-bikes, and there were over 20 contributions from constituency MPs. The Minister is right to say that it is everywhere across the country.
On Monday, the Children’s Commissioner found that Portsmouth is, devastatingly, the 12th hardest place in England to be a child, and the worst place in England to access post-16 education provision. However, Hampshire, the county that we sit in, is one of the best places to be a child. Does the Prime Minister agree that this must be a wake-up call for my Lib Dem city council, and that we must do all we can to ensure that this changes? Portsmouth’s children and young people deserve so much better.
I know that many people across Portsmouth will welcome today’s measured and responsible announcement; at a time of global instability, energy security is crucial to our national resilience. Home-grown energy is better for Britain, because we can attach strong environmental conditions to it and use tax receipts from it to fund renewables. Can the Minister say a little more about how he plans to make energy independence a key part of our national resilience plan? Will he also say that today’s announcement will not affect our warm homes plan or slow the pace on our path to clean power for all?
North West Leicestershire has an out-of-hospital survival rate for cardiac arrest of just 3.5%—roughly a third of the national average. I have been championing greater defib access and hosting CPR training, and last week I hosted the British Heart Foundation, Resuscitation Council UK and Cardiac Risk in the Young, among others, for a roundtable in Parliament. Discussions focused on the importance of CPR education and defib provision and the benefits of heart screening among young people. October is Restart a Heart Month; will the Prime Minister meet me to discuss my mission to improve cardiac arrest survival rates and defib accessibility, and consider how we can reduce the shocking stat of 12 young people dying each week of an unknown cardiac arrest?
I thank my hon. Friend for his leadership in this campaign. The three things as outlined are no more than what our miners deserve. Just a few weeks ago, I went to an event celebrating 40 years since Whitwick colliery closed. I can feel in the community, every time I go to see them, just how much they need the money in their pockets as quickly as possible, so that they get to live out the rest of their lives with the funds that they have so rightly earned.
I welcome this decision. Can the Minister elaborate on why this pragmatic decision does not impact on the Government’s target to meet net zero by 2050?
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I congratulate the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers) on securing this important debate. It is good to hear him rightly put across the strength of feeling that I am sure many people in Stockton and elsewhere nearby have in support of the staff of the hospital and how people feel about it. It is very important to the communities that it serves, and patients and staff rightly deserve facilities that are safe, modern and fit to deliver high-quality care. I must offer a brief apology to the hon. Member. I am obviously not the Minister directly responsible for this area—we have a clash, unfortunately, which is why I am responding. However, I will make sure that the Minister with direct responsibility hears all of the points that he makes, and I am going to do my best to respond to the questions he has asked.
As I was just mentioning, I will make sure that the Minister responsible hears my hon. Friend’s point and the discussion we have had in this debate and that they can take forward that strategic discussion about the future. I also hope and anticipate that I will be able to answer the questions from the hon. Member for Stockton West in the contribution that I am going to make. If that is not the case, we will certainly follow up in writing with him and with other Members in Tees as well. We recognise the need to plan for the hospital’s long-term future for all the reasons that Members have set out and which are understood. That requires three things: more investment in the NHS estate, greater certainty so that investment can be planned over the long term, and greater autonomy for local leaders to decide how it is best used. That is the approach that we have set out in our 10-year capital plan for health and social care. The challenges at North Tees reflect a much wider problem across the NHS estate. For too long, capital investment was insufficient and short term, with capital budgets repeatedly raided to meet day-to-day pressures. The result is an estate carrying the consequences of years of under-investment, and hon. Members have set out the consequences people are living with. Previous Governments allowed these pressures to build, leaving too many NHS buildings ageing and in poor condition. Patients and staff across the country are living with the consequences. We cannot undo that legacy overnight, but we can change the way the NHS invests in its buildings—moving away from short-term fixes towards sustained investment and proper long-term planning. First, we are investing more. After years of under-investment, we are providing the largest health capital budget in NHS history, with annual spending rising to £15 billion by the end of this spending review period. Within that, we are targeting funding where the need is greatest. The estates safety fund, established in 2025-26, will be provided with £6.75 billion over the next nine years to tackle the poorest-quality parts of the NHS estate and to ensure safe environments for patients and staff. That sits alongside around £21 billion in operational capital over the spending review period, empowering local health organisations to invest in their priorities, including their estates. We are also investing around £5 billion over the spending review period to expand and modernise diagnostic, elective, mental health and emergency services, helping to increase capacity, cut waiting times and improve urgent and emergency care performance, as mentioned by Members in the debate already. Secondly, we are providing greater certainty over that investment. We are providing £65 billion over 10 years for operational capital and estate maintenance, giving the NHS unprecedented long-term certainty to plan and improve its estate. For the first time, providers have multi-year, operational capital allocations alongside longer-term certainty over estate maintenance funding. Instead of having to plan from one year to the next, NHS leaders can look ahead, prioritise investment over several years and develop longer-term plans for their estates and services. Thirdly, we are giving local leaders greater autonomy about how that investment is used. We are devolving more control to the frontline, streamlining capital approvals, giving local leaders greater freedom to invest according to local need, helping projects to move forward more quickly and delivering better value for money for taxpayers. This matters, because those closest to patients are best placed to understand what their communities need. We are giving them more investment, greater certainty over the resources available and greater freedom to decide how those resources can best support local services, which brings me back to North Tees. I have heard the case that hon. Members have made about the University Hospital of North Tees becoming part of the new hospital programme. As the hon. Member for Stockton West mentioned, there are currently no plans to invite further schemes to join the programme, as our focus is on delivering the existing schemes set out in the plan for implementation. However, the new hospital programme is not the only route through which we are investing in the NHS estate. As I have set out, we are providing significant long-term capital investment through the estates safety fund and operational capital programmes to expand and modernise services, alongside the certainty and flexibility I have mentioned. Over the next nine years, more than £1.1 billion is planned through the estates safety fund for the North East and Yorkshire region. Importantly, the fund gives local NHS leaders greater flexibility to prioritise that investment against the most pressing infrastructure risks across the region. The hon. Member for Stockton West asked some questions on funding and what routes are open. This funding means that the case for further investment at North Tees can be considered through that process, making sure that local priorities drive decision making. The longer-term funding certainty we have provided means that decisions can be made on strategic plans for the estate, rather than short-term pressures alone—although I acknowledge the point that has been made about flooding and so on. The North Tees and Hartlepool NHS foundation trust has already been allocated more than £3.2 million through the estates safety fund for vital repairs at North Tees and Hartlepool hospitals over the next four years. That sits alongside more than £78 million in operational capital for local priorities, including repairs at North Tees. However, I say again that the Ministers responsible and others are aware of this debate and the points that Members have quite rightly raised about the consequences of the current position and what staff are dealing with. The Government recently announced £1 million to refurbish the emergency department at North Tees over two years as part of our £140 million boost to NHS urgent care. That builds on £2.7 million already invested in the emergency assessment unit to increase capacity and improve patient flow, safety and experience. We are also investing directly in services across Tees Valley more widely. In 2025, the trust received more than £4 million to expand the Tees Valley community diagnostic centre, which we have discussed, as part of our £343 million expansion of community and crisis mental health services. New facilities are planned in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, alongside a dedicated mental health emergency department at Roseberry Park. Together, this sits within £671 million of planned capital investment to support improved NHS performance in secondary and emergency care across the North East and Yorkshire region over the next four years.
I thank my hon. Friend for asking me a question that is actually within my direct responsibilities, which does make my life slightly easier. The issue that he raises regarding the suitability of location is very important. It is one that I am considering through our work on the mental health strategy. If he would like to have a discussion with me about it, alongside local leaders, I would be more than happy to agree to that. In addition, decisions about the future of local services and estates should be shaped by those who understand them best, and I will take this opportunity to say on the record that that includes Members of Parliament. Too often, MPs have not played that role. As MPs, we frequently have a huge amount of local intel about how to make services work best and I encourage all my colleagues in the NHS to work with MPs and to use the local knowledge that they have. However, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS foundation trust, working with the local NHS, is best placed to assess the needs of its patients, determine the right model of care and plan the infrastructure required to deliver it. The hon. Member for Stockton West asked me some questions about A&E and management numbers. I have just talked about the importance of the insights that MPs have and I encourage local NHS leaders to listen to what he and other colleagues have said in this debate when they are making decisions. We want to ensure that local leaders have a strong foundation to make decisions, and multi-year funding allows them to look beyond immediate pressures, consider investment across their estate and develop credible plans over a longer period. Given what the hon. Member said in this debate, there are clearly two jobs to be done: first, to try to deal with the problems in front of us at North Tees hospital; and, secondly, to develop a longer-term plan for the future in a credible way. I hope that some of the decisions that we have taken will enable those jobs to be done. These are significant problems that we are discussing and, as I have already said, I am realistic about our ability to deal overnight with what is a substantial and strategic problem. However, we must use the opportunity to plan for the longer-term future of North Tees hospital to get a clinically led and affordable plan that is supported by a clear business case—not planning one year at a time, but being able to look to the long term with that investment, greater certainty and more autonomy as tools to plan properly for the future of the services and the estate.
I meet Members of Parliament, from all parties, regularly. I am always happy to agree to meetings with Members of Parliament, and I am sure that my ministerial colleagues feel likewise. Regarding the mayor, we have obviously created new institutions, such as the mayoral council, so that mayors can make representations directly to Government, and I am sure that the mayor is capable of doing that. I will also make sure that, when I follow up on this debate, the Secretary of State is aware of the question that the hon. Member has asked. As I finish my remarks, I will return to the hon. Member’s opening comments about the importance of hospital facilities to local communities, wherever they are in the country. I heard what he said about the importance of North Tees hospital to the people that it serves, which just goes to show what a foundational role the NHS plays for all of us in our family life. I commend the hon. Member for Stockton West for securing this debate today. We have a lot of work to do to get the NHS back to what it should be; we are in a turnaround process. It will be hard, but if we work together collaboratively, with one eye on the immediate term and one eye on the long term, we will get the job done. Question put and agreed to.
Q4. When Ian and Emma bought their flat a few years ago, they were told there was a 10-year warranty on its conversion from office buildings. The lift broke down in February this year and it is still not fixed. Emma is disabled, so she relies on that lift and has effectively been trapped in her own home for months. It turns out that the warranty does not cover the lift and residents are being asked for £50,000 to fix it. Will the Prime Minister update the House on when Gloucester residents like Ian and Emma can expect to see his commitment to leasehold reform move forward?
I thank the Minister for his statement and welcome this decision. People in Ayrshire are proud of the role that Scotland has played in powering our nation. Can he say a bit more about what the decision means for supply chain jobs in the North sea sector in Scotland and right across the country?
I want to be kind to the Minister, because I am sure he is still smarting from the verbal caning that he received from Mr Speaker earlier. I want to clarify that I welcome this decision, my constituents welcome this decision and the Scottish Government’s statement welcomes this decision. We also welcome the creation of the energy wealth fund—albeit 50 years too late, as my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) said earlier—but he will be aware that electricity bills are going to go up twice later this year. Can he give me a reassurance from the Dispatch Box today that he will accelerate the Government’s commitment to the Acorn project at St Fergus? Will he give me a commitment that he will accelerate the approvals for ScotWind projects, which are beside my constituency? Finally, will he give me a better answer than the one he gave my colleagues earlier: how much of this £2 billion will be spent for the benefit of the people of Scotland?
May I first apologise to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and the House for missing the very start of the debate? I am sorry that I missed the speech of the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron). The bit I did hear was excellent, and I am sure that he will agree with many of the points I am about to make. I rise not in support of the motion, as much of the text concerns matters that are devolved to the Scottish Government. However, there are a number of points that are relevant to Scotland but reserved to Westminster. I will briefly set these out in the form of questions directly to the Minister. First, no one has yet been able to properly explain to me why the Treasury cannot identify the difference between family farms being handed from generation to generation, and tax-dodging individuals and companies. If that could be explained, surely some tweaks could be made to the Budget that is coming next week. Secondly, why cannot the Treasury extend the annual investment allowance and capital allowances for things like sheds and buildings so that they are fully incentivised? That would surely increase investment and, ultimately, food production. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly for our farmers in Scotland—they lobbied me last week and this was the point they wanted to make—will the Government consider pausing and reviewing the carbon border adjustment mechanism due to come in next year, so that it does not become an additional tax on UK food production through higher fertiliser costs? My final ask of the Minister is that the Government maintain the reduced fuel duty rates for red diesel. This is the kind of measure that will support farmers, secure lower food production costs, reduce food inflation and enhance our national security. It surely is a no-brainer. On 9 July, I asked the Minister to address problems in the pig industry by referring suspected matters to the agricultural supply chain adjudicator or the Competition and Markets Authority. He said from the Dispatch Box that he would follow up on those issues. As far as I am aware, he has not done so yet. Furthermore, a much-anticipated roundtable with the pig farming industry in Scotland has not yet happened. Perhaps I have got that wrong, but I am sure the Minister will correct me. I ask him to respond to the matters raised here tonight.
I want the people who sell sandwiches in my constituency to have jobs, just the same as I want the people who work in the energy industry in my constituency to have jobs. Both types of job are important. It is good to see the UK Government creating a future generations fund from North sea revenue. We have been calling for that for 50 years, so I am glad that they have finally got with the programme. Will the Minister provide reassurance, because we have not had any details of where that money will be spent? Will the money generated from North sea revenues in fields such as Jackdaw in Scotland go into renewables projects in Scotland? Will it support jobs in Scotland? Will it ensure that people in Aberdeen have their futures protected, or will it, like GB Energy, focus on delivering solar panels in England?
4. What steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Defence to support veterans and their families in Northern Ireland.
Why does the Secretary of State think that he and his Government know better than the SAS, the SBS, all other Northern Ireland veterans and the former Defence Minister, the hon. Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns), who all warn that this troubles Bill will risk further prosecutions of our brave veterans?