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Showing every spoken contribution, including 12,832 under 12 words. Hide short remarks
I am obviously concerned about the collapse of Papyrus, and I will raise the hon. Lady’s concerns with colleagues. In previous responses, I have outlined our strategy and what we intend to do going forward, but I understand the urgency of what she is saying, so I will take it up with colleagues.
Following the move to Capita, the service levels have been completely unacceptable. Our immediate priority was to stabilise the service and give current and former civil servants the service they deserve. I urge my hon. Friend, and all hon. Members who are concerned about the issue of Capita, to contribute to the Westminster Hall debate on this topic next Tuesday, so that they can hear directly from Ministers. Before that, I would point them towards the written ministerial statement that was published very recently. It not only sets out what the Government are doing about the issue, but gives a commitment from the Minister to provide the House with a substantive update in October, following the conclusion of the technical audit and report from the remedial adviser, so the update that he seeks is on its way.
The Government are doing a great deal in what we recognise is often a very distressing situation. The hon. Gentleman will know that the Casey review came up with a series of recommendations on dementia and other conditions, such as motor neurone disease. We have launched the big conversation on care to ensure that people can feed back their views. Appointing a dementia tsar to help drive forward much needed improvements will be important. We are also investing more in services, but I recognise that there is a great deal more to be done. I will get a further update for him from the relevant Minister.
As I have said in earlier responses, the news regarding Papyrus is deeply concerning. We are entirely committed to suicide prevention, and to ensuring that high-quality mental health support is available, particularly for young people. I will reach out to the relevant Minister, as I have offered to, including on behalf of my hon. Friend. Ministers may want to give an update to all Members on this, because it is an issue of such importance.
I will indeed do as the hon. Gentleman asks, but I find it outrageous that leaders of councils refuse to engage with Members of Parliament who are raising legitimate matters in a reasonable way, as I know the hon. Gentleman will be, on behalf of their constituents. I hope that the leader of the council has heard that, but I will get the hon. Gentleman the information that he seeks from the relevant Minister.
The fact is that the water industry has not been working for people for far too long, and the incident that my hon. Friend raises demonstrates that. That is why the Government are looking at ways to give the public more control and keep bills as low as possible. That is a priority for the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the new Prime Minister. On Monday, there will be a petitions debate on a referendum on public ownership of the water sector, which my hon. Friend and others may wish to attend.
Yes, I do—and, more importantly, so do the Government. Small and medium-sized enterprises are so important to our economy, and I praise Salt of the Earth for its work. I can assure the hon. Lady that it is no mean achievement to get a King’s award, so the business and the wider community should be very proud.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this important matter on behalf of her constituents and the sector. The Government are investing £86 billion to drive scientific breakthroughs across the UK. We have a proud record of science in this country, and we intend to keep that lead. There will be science questions next week, but I am happy to facilitate a meeting with the relevant Minister to allow my hon. Friend to discuss her concerns in greater detail.
It is important that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents get an opportunity to give their views—that is why the consultation is valuable—and that there is time for those views to be considered, so that the Government can act on them. The Prime Minister is a man of his word, so I am sure that he will want to respond on this issue, perhaps once the consultation has closed.
Yes, I do. I hope that the firms concerned have heard my hon. Friend, and that they think again.
The Government are very keen to learn the lessons of what is happening as a result of climate change, because that will be at least as grave a problem going forward—maybe even worse. I suggest that the hon. Gentleman seeks an Adjournment debate on these matters, so that he can hear from the relevant Minister what the Government plan to do to address what I know will be a serious concern for his constituents.
I do indeed. Rick’s life should be recognised and remembered. It is important that we continue to remember the innocent lives lost and the extraordinary bravery of service personnel like Rick. My hon. Friend may wish to attend tomorrow’s Adjournment debate on the anniversary of 9/11 so that he can tell Rick’s story in full, because it is a story that deserves to be told.
As ever, the hon. Gentleman raises a serious issue, and the reports that he raises are concerning. The UK Government condemn any instances of discrimination because of religion or belief, regardless of the country or the faith involved. The British high commission in New Delhi and our deputy high commissions across India regularly meet with religious representatives from different faith communities. I will ensure that I raise the hon. Gentleman’s concerns directly with Ministers and that he gets a response.
Let me join my hon. Friend in thanking Stepping Stones for the vital services it provides and celebrating its 35th anniversary. As he suggests, we are developing a new mental health strategy for England. We have announced up to 159 new NHS mental health centres, backed by £343 million over the next four years. I will ensure that he gets a response from the Health Secretary so that he can hear more exactly about what we intend to do.
Small businesses are at the heart of our economy, and we are committed to supporting them. We will bring forward our high streets strategy later this year, which will build on our work to regenerate high streets across the country. I hear and share my hon. Friend’s concerns about car parking charges and rogue companies. If he applied for a Westminster Hall debate, I am sure that it would be well attended by Members across the House.
As my hon. Friend will recall, I have met her and other right hon. and hon. Members to discuss this idea. It is an interesting proposal, and I encourage her to put it to the Modernisation Committee as part of our “pitch your ideas” session. As the deputy shadow Leader of the House, the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont), can confirm, our first “pitch your ideas” session—which we had earlier this week—was a resounding success, so I encourage my hon. Friend to consider that as a way forward.
I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to the volunteers in her constituency who ensure that we remember the Eastside bothy fire—it is important that we continue to do so. I am pleased to hear that funding is being raised for a permanent memorial, and I hope that work with East Dunbartonshire council can progress swiftly so that it is built in time for the 90th anniversary.
I thank my hon. Friend for his question, which goes to the heart of the transparency and patient safety lessons that we have learned from the events at Mid Staffordshire. This Government take such matters extremely seriously, which is why we are progressing the Public Office (Accountability) Bill to place a legally binding duty of candour on all public servants, but of course I will reach out to the Solicitor General and facilitate a meeting for my hon. Friend.
I know that the whole House will join me in offering our condolences to Lisa and all of John McNab’s loved ones. I also want to recognise Lisa for taking such a tragic event and seeking to turn it into a force for good. In June 2024 we set out our ambition to halve knife crime in the decade following the election. Overall, knife crime has fallen by 11% and we have taken 63,000 knives off our streets, but I recognise how important this work is and how much more needs to be done. I encourage my hon. Friend to apply for a Westminster Hall debate, to hear from Ministers what further action they intend to take. Unfortunately, this problem continues, which is why we need to stay focused on it.
I agree with my hon. Friend that waiting eight months for records to be moved across the border is simply unacceptable. Healthcare on the border has been raised with me on a number of occasions, not least by the deputy shadow Leader of the House, and my hon. Friend is absolutely right that we have to work constructively on these matters. I will ensure that the Health Secretary hears the representations he has made today.
I think everyone in the House will join me in praising Worcestershire Royal hospital and its staff for that initiative. Simple gestures such as these help build trust and bring comfort to patients, and I strongly encourage my hon. Friend to apply for a Westminster Hall or Adjournment debate on how we can modernise the NHS further and improve care.
I certainly congratulate those scouts on their efforts, and indeed scouts and volunteers across our country. They do a fantastic job, and I wish them well in everything they do in the future in what is a remarkable opportunity for young people.
Once a radio expert, always a radio expert. I certainly join my hon. Friend in welcoming Radio 2 in the Park to Stirling. Radio continues to be a highly valued medium across our country and contributes significant public value through its trusted news and diverse entertainment, and I thank it for that. Should my hon. Friend seek a Westminster Hall debate, I am sure that colleagues across the House will want to spend some time praising the efforts of local radio in their own areas.
This is an important matter. We want to give people who come here in good faith every opportunity to contribute to our country. The Home Office has therefore paused routine visa cancellations for care workers where sponsor revocation is the sole ground for cancellation, so as to give displaced care workers longer to find alternative employment. I understand my hon. Friend’s concerns, and I will make sure that she gets an update from the relevant Minister on where we are.
We have been very clear as a Government that Royal Mail’s service is unacceptable, and the example that my hon. Friend gives simply underlines the unacceptability of its performance. The public expects a well-run postal service. I know that Royal Mail listens closely to these sessions. I hope that it has heard his concerns, because not just has it been the subject of inquiry by the relevant Select Committee, but it is a priority for the relevant Department.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to praise the good work of Playlist for Life, and I pay tribute to everyone involved in making its work possible. We are looking at how we can better support those with dementia, including through appointing a dementia tsar to help the drive towards much-needed improvements. His point on personalised music is an interesting one, and I will make sure that the Health Secretary is made aware of it and gets back to my hon. Friend.
This is not the first time that wildfires have been raised with me in these sessions, and my hon. Friend is right to do so. We have announced £97 million to upgrade the national resilience assets, including specialised firefighters and equipment. As he says, there will be a wildfire summit in the autumn to see how we can further strengthen our national response capabilities. I place on record again our thanks to all the emergency services, including firefighters. I also want to thank farmers for the fantastic job they did in combating this problem over the extraordinarily dry summer we have just had. I will make sure that the House is updated on the Government’s work going forward, because we are keen to learn lessons and make sure that we have resilience going forward.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that small businesses are at the heart of our local economy, and our small business plan provides wide-ranging support for SMEs, including action on late payments and access to finance, business support and skills. It is disappointing, but not altogether surprising, to hear that Conservative-led Hillingdon council is letting businesses down in this way. I hope that it has heard his words today.
I had a much longer speech prepared for this debate, but with the constraints on time I do not think I will be able to make it. Let me reflect on the fact that for the majority of this debate, the Conservative Benches have been next to empty, with almost no contributions from Conservative Members other than those on the Front Bench. I posit that that may be because of an element of shame on the part of Conservative Back Benchers regarding the contribution that we heard from those on their Front Bench. This is a Tory party—that, not too long ago, was led by somebody born on the upper east side of New York—deciding that it will start defining the value of people as British citizens based on whether they were born here. For shame! I am more than happy to get fully behind this legislation.
Will the Minister give way?
Will the hon. Member give way?
Does my hon. Friend find, as I do in my patch, that those who are on the social housing waiting list for the longest are often those with a disability who need a fully adaptable home? Does he agree that it is vital, when we spend public money on building new homes, that they should be built to an accessible and adaptable standard from the off?
Might I suggest that producing social housing that includes flooring as standard is a fourth area in which the Minister could go further? That is delivered by the private market, but it is not a requirement for social housing providers at the moment.
4. What steps her Department is taking to co-ordinate cross-Government work to strengthen the UK’s long-term economic capabilities.
Britain’s future growth depends on having the infrastructure, energy, skills and industrial capacity to support it, but too often, investment is held back because the problems—whether grid capacity, water, transport or skills—sit across different Departments. How will the Department make sure this Government deal with those problems together, so that we can reindustrialise Britain and bring growth to every postcode?
As we have already heard, today is World Suicide Prevention Day and this week Papyrus, which is based in my Warrington South constituency, went into administration after almost 30 years. Its 24/7 HopeLine allowed young people experiencing suicidal thoughts, and anyone worried about them, to speak to trained advisers, day and night. I have written to all MPs and peers, asking them to sign a cross-party letter to the Health Secretary calling for emergency funding to protect Papyrus’s services. Will the Leader of the House make time for an oral statement from a health Minister on the closure of Papyrus, and the steps the Government are taking to restore HopeLine’s 24/7 service to support the young people who relied on it?
Current service levels are completely unacceptable, and we are holding Capita accountable by withholding payments in the short term and assessing the long-term viability of bringing the scheme in-house. We will continue to use the most stringent commercial levers we have under this contract—which was signed by the last Government—to ensure we have full accountability.
I thank my hon. Friend for raising his constituents’ cases. I have had many similar cases in Doncaster. I assure him and his constituents that I am using all the levers at my disposal to ensure that Capita delivers a better performance at the earliest possible time. We have set out our intention to advance the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation, and we are now actively shaping a long-term strategy to look at what it would look like if we brought the pension scheme back in-house. He will be aware of our manifesto commitment to have the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation, and I am committed to fulfilling that.
Capita’s performance has been totally abysmal, and I too have raised it a number of times in this House. I can assure my hon. Friend that we will be holding Capita to account, including withholding nearly £10 million of contractual payments, because we will not pay for services that have not been delivered. If my hon. Friend writes to me, I will ensure that his case is investigated, and I will get back to him at the earliest possible opportunity.
An independent, Capita-funded remedial adviser has been appointed to identify service delivery issues and to allow us to continue to hold Capita fully accountable. Around 147 surge staff have been deployed in this crisis. The Government remain committed to maintaining resource levels. No team members will be withdrawn from that surge team until service levels are permanently fixed. As I have said in my previous answers, we are using all commercial levers at our disposal, including withholding those payments, so that Capita is held accountable. We are looking closely at options for bringing the pension scheme in-house.