National Resilience
5. What steps her Department is taking to improve national resilience.
Showing every spoken contribution, including 12,832 under 12 words. Hide short remarks
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National Resilience
I welcome the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead Central and Whickham (Mark Ferguson), to his rightful place on the Front Bench. As Ministers may be aware, in late July there was a severe wildfire off Second Avenue in Harlow; I thank the fire services and fire officers who attended and dealt with the issue so well. What is the Minister doing to increase awareness of fires starting, particularly in the dry weather, which is likely to continue next year as well?
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Air Traffic Control Disruption
As you will be aware, Madam Deputy Speaker, this issue has had a huge impact on my constituency of Harlow. Not only do many passengers use Stansted airport, but over 1,000 members of its staff live in my constituency. I have full faith in the Minister and his ability to lead on this issue, but can he reassure my constituents that he is doing everything he can to hold the leadership of NATS to account and to ensure that this does not happen again, and to ensure that, as the hon. Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare) said, if something like this does happen again, there are contingency plans in place?
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Ukraine and Russia
I welcome the new Defence Secretary to his place and thank him for his statement, particularly his ongoing commitment to support our Ukrainian allies. Going last is very difficult, particularly when my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) has asked exactly the question that I was going to, so I am desperately trying to think of something else to ask. I absolutely echo what my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell about disinformation online, normally from Russian sources. Whether it is extreme right-wing views or extreme left-wing views, this AI-generated nonsense is designed to disrupt and undermine our democracy. As this is the last question, can I ask the Secretary of State to reflect on that and to once again give this Labour Government’s commitment to support our Ukrainian allies?
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Social Housing Bill [Lords]
I agree with the majority of what the hon. Gentleman has said so far; he may come on to things that I do not agree with later in his speech, but we will have to wait and see. Will he reflect on the fact that the impact of councils losing their council housing stock has been that they have had to spend more and more money on temporary accommodation? It is a zero-sum game for local councils and the impact on families and young people has been particularly difficult, including in my constituency of Harlow.
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Fathers and Positive Male Role Models
I want to start by asking all of us to think of a positive male role model from our youth. If you are lucky, you now have a face in your mind and a smile in your heart. If you do not, we as a society owe you our apologies and a promise to do better for those who will come next. I have been very lucky in the positive male role models I have had throughout my life. My dad was the first; he ran his own electrical business in Stirling. Back then, he was not—and he still is not—particularly good at talking about emotional connection. He taught mainly by example: work hard, treat people properly and earn their trust. I helped out in his shop from a young age, alongside characters such as Colin, Keith, Andy and Bill. I doubt any of them ever went to work thinking that they were going to be positive male role models, but I was watching. Of course, when we talk about positive male role models, there is one relationship at the heart of this debate: fathers and their children. When my wife and I brought our daughter home from the hospital, we unclipped the car seat and carried it into the house. We sat on the couch, with the car seat on the carpet in front of us, and we stared at this tiny baby. I looked at my wife and said, “What the hell do we do now?” We both burst out laughing—well, I think it was laughter; it may have been hyperventilating. But we worked it out, as parents do. I can look back now and admit that I was not as supportive in those first weeks as Anne would have wanted. I felt huge pressure to get back to work—I was self-employed at the time—so when I read that financial pressure is the biggest barrier that fathers identify to taking more leave, I recognise something of my own experience. When our children were young, I presented a radio show from Monday to Friday, and Anne worked as a radio journalist on Saturday and Sunday. That is how we kept two careers going while raising a family and paying the bills. For my parents’ generation, many families could be supported by one salary. For my generation, that could perhaps be managed at a stretch. For my children’s generation, two salaries are not a choice but a necessity. If we are content with this economic model, we have to make it easier for fathers to take their share of the parenting responsibility. That means looking seriously at paternity leave, including the financial barriers to taking it and the position of self-employed fathers. This is not simply about fathers. If we want mothers and fathers to have equal opportunities in the workplace, we need to make it possible for them to take a more equal share at home. The two go together. The connection between fathers taking on more care and us tackling the motherhood penalty is important. I would go further: we need to look at the wider economics of family life, and that means housing. Building more council houses and reducing the cost of putting a roof over a family’s head is a key family policy. The less pressure there is on the family budget, the more choices parents have about work, childcare and that most precious commodity: their time. There is something else we should say in this debate to those thinking about not just positive role models but doing something a little more formal, such as volunteering with a charity of a group: it is hugely rewarding. We all want a sense of belonging, and to feel that we are getting something from and giving something to our families and communities. There is something profoundly rewarding about watching a child develop, find their confidence, form their own views and gradually become the next generation. Perhaps we should get better at asking men to step forward, and make it easier for them to do so. I hope my children would say that I have been a present, approachable and loving dad—I have not asked them today, just in case—although I do know my place in the family hierarchy. When my daughter was about four, she asked me who my favourite child was—her or her younger brother. I said, “I love you both equally. That is like me asking who your favourite parent is.” She went very quiet, and I asked what was wrong. She said, “I can’t tell you, Dad. I don’t want to make you sad.” If I could give my 30-year-old self, starting out as a father, one piece of advice about fatherhood, it would be this. Do your best. Accept that you are human—I am going to start crying here—and that you will get things wrong. Try again, and try to do better. That approach in itself is a valuable lesson to show all children.
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Business of the House
This weekend, Stirling will welcome thousands of music fans for Radio 2 in the Park. It seems a fitting moment to celebrate radio more widely, particularly in my constituency, which has such a strong radio tradition, from Central FM—where I spent many happy years behind the microphone—to Stirling Community Radio, Air3, Trossachs Radio and Radio Royal. Will the Leader of the House join me in welcoming Radio 2 to Stirling and make time for a debate celebrating BBC, commercial, community and hospital radio, and the rather special relationship we all have with it? If you will indulge me, Madam Deputy Speaker, “It is 12.57. On your smart speaker and on your radio, this is the House of Commons, the voice of democracy, and now it’s time to hear from the Leader of the House.” [Laughter.]
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Ukraine and Russia
The threat from Russia is clearly changing the way that we think about the defence of our country. In my constituency, the Civil Defence Social Club still exists, but civil defence itself does not. What discussions is the Defence Secretary having with Cabinet colleagues and, crucially, the devolved nations, including the Scottish Government, about what modern civil defence should look like? As is demonstrated by many countries, the closer a country is to the Russian border, the more military and civil society converge in a system of mutual deterrence and, if ever required, national defence. What more should Britain learn from that whole-of-society approach?
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Social Housing Bill [Lords]
I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for council and social housing. The scale of the housing crisis in our communities today represents, in a crowded field, the most consequential and damaging retreat of the public realm in the UK, and a dereliction of its most basic duties. Everyone deserves a safe, comfortable and stable home where they can put down roots, so it is very welcome that, through this Bill, our national politics begins to recognise that the provision of things that people cannot live without cannot be left to private markets, which respond to demand, not need—and those will never be the same thing in a deeply unequal society like ours. The consequences of the failure to understand that fundamental economic reality are writ large across our nation. More than 130,000 households are trapped in temporary accommodation; many of them are stuck in bed and breakfasts and hostels, which are no place to raise a family. Frankly, it will remain difficult to talk seriously about national pride while 170,000 kids are homeless in this country, and are left without the space to learn, play, grow and simply enjoy their childhood. The human cost, measured in the futures and happiness of a generation, is proof enough of the urgent need for a change in direction. The choice before us, then—our new Prime Minister is absolutely right on this—is whether we continue with a model that provides unsuitable accommodation at extortionate prices, or put the public back in the driving seat. I welcome the attention in the Bill to retaining the social housing stock we already have. For far too long, we have lost social homes faster than we have built them. Putting a firm stop to that trend, alongside the Prime Minister’s commitment to a new generation of council homes, puts us in a position finally to get the housing crisis under control. I remind the House that in six years—at a time of shortages, debt, constraints and even greater competing demands on public expenditure than we face now—the post-war Labour Government oversaw the construction of more than 800,000 council houses, some of the best ever to be built in this country. Now is the time to recognise once again that the only way to get high-quality homes that those on waiting lists can actually afford is to directly plan and deliver council housing for people on low incomes, and that only the Government on behalf of the people can mobilise the patient capital capable of realising all the wider benefits that decent homes for all will secure for our society. With fresh leadership in the Department, I look forward to supporting this important legislation to ensure that we deliver the quality social homes that our communities need.
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Air Traffic Control Disruption
I thank the Minister for his statement, and for all the work that he is doing to get this situation resolved. Unfortunately, the cancellations impacted some of my Redditch residents yesterday. Will he assure me that he is reminding airlines that they have a continued duty of care to people, and have to get them home as quickly as possible, particularly those who have been stranded far from home?
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Business of the House
Despite being asked to pay more by Severn Trent, residents in Redditch and Wychbold continuously face water outages, as crumbling infrastructure takes days to repair. Despite being on the priority list, many vulnerable residents, including new mums, have been left without bottled water. The benefits of privatisation are seemingly non-existent for my residents in Redditch and Wychbold. Does the Leader of the House share their frustrations, and their sympathy towards a change in ownership model?
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Business of the House
Last month I visited HMP Foston Hall to see the work it was doing giving catering and hospitality experience to women there, but when so many in our prisons are on remand, waiting for trial or temporarily back on recall, it is much harder to do the work that can break cycles of reoffending. Last year, I was able to secure a debate on work in prison, but will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on the broader issue of education, training and work in prisons to prevent future offending and keep our communities safer?
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Social Housing Bill [Lords]
Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that while under the current right-to-buy rules only 20% to 25% of the receipts go back to the local council, under the Government’s proposals it will be 100%, which will make it much easier to build those homes? Richard Parker, the West Midlands Mayor, has already delivered nearly 2,000 new homes and is on target to deliver 5,000. Would he therefore agree that it is possible to deliver the target?
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Social Housing Bill [Lords]
I welcome the Bill that the Government have laid before us today. I want to use my time to talk about community-led housing and its role in delivering on the Government’s social housing ambitions. I have supported such projects in my constituency for many years, because they embody exactly the sort of innovation and local empowerment that we should be encouraging. I would like to acknowledge the work of Eddy Morton, the chair of Stourbridge Community Development Trust and the development manager of West Midlands Urban Community Homes. Through its engagement with Birmingham city council, West Midlands Urban Community Homes has successfully helped to secure the adoption of community-led housing policy, creating a valuable precedent for how local authorities can work positively with community-led organisations. Too often, that process highlights the structural barriers that continue to hold back community-led housing. The reality is that many community land trusts face years of delays before a single home can be built, and every one of those delays has a consequence. Money that could have been used to reduce rents locally or improve environmental standards is instead absorbed by additional development costs, and for small organisations those pressures are especially acute. One of the most consistent concerns I hear is not about a lack of ambition, but about a lack of understanding within parts of local government. Officers may support affordable housing in principle, yet lack the knowledge, guidance or confidence needed to engage constructively with community-led organisations. The result is delay, inconsistency and missed opportunities. If the Government are serious about unlocking the full potential of community-led housing, financial support must be matched by practical support for local authorities and housing associations. There is also a broader point about trust and confidence. Partnerships between housing associations and community organisations must remain true to the principles upon which the projects are founded, and—as has recently been highlighted by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns)—these agreements do not always play out as planned. Could the Minister provide some assurance and guidance to ensure that housing associations honour their commitments to communities and work constructively to deliver genuinely community-led schemes? Will he also set out what steps the Government will take to ensure that local authorities have the knowledge, training and guidance necessary to support community land trusts and other community-led housing? Will the Government consider encouraging councils to identify dedicated officers or champions for these issues to give greater consideration to community organisations when disposing of public land? Finally, what mechanisms do the Government believe are necessary to ensure that community-led housing partnerships remain financially viable and community ownership remains at the heart of the movement?
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Business of the House
Professor Jason Arday, aged 41 and the youngest black professor in Cambridge’s history, was found dead at his home in my constituency on 13 August, days after resigning his chair and after sustained press intrusion and harassment. An inquest has opened, but there are serious questions for the Government on press regulation and widespread calls for a public inquiry. Tens of thousands attended a vigil in Trafalgar Square, and vigils have been held from Bradford to Bristol. Constituents have sent emails. The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Education have both commented, but there has been no statement in this House. The Government cannot comment on their own terms, in a way that Members cannot scrutinise, and then resist a debate that the whole House can join. Is the Leader of the House aware that this House regularly debates policy arising from deaths while proceedings are live, but leaving those proceedings alone—for example, we debated press regulation in July 2011 after the hacking of Milly Dowler’s phone, fire safety after Grenfell, and policing and the safety of women in March 2021 after the death of Sarah Everard, also my constituent—or during court proceedings, such with as the death of Molly Russell during the passage of the Online Safety Bill, and the deaths of Lucy Meadows and Caroline Flack, which were both connected to press conduct? But the press pursue a black man to the end of his life, and this House says nothing about their conduct. I do not have to tell the Leader of the House why that is wrong, so all I will ask him is when the Government will rectify it.
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Air Traffic Control Disruption
Many passengers and their families across the country will still be wondering whether the disruptions caused by the incident have been fully cleared. Will the Minister confirm the current situation? When does he expect that airports will return to providing the excellent service that they generally provide?
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Business of the House
Earlier this summer, I met brilliant scouts and volunteers at the 1st Shelton Lock scout group. Across Derby South, five of our young scouts are currently fundraising to represent Derby at the World Scout Jamboree next summer in Poland. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating them on their fantastic achievement in being selected for this opportunity, and wish them the best with their fundraising efforts?
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Business of the House
The Government’s new restrictions on fire and rehire are due to come into effect from January next year, yet some organisations are rushing to make use of this unfair and abhorrent practice in the time that remains. They include East End Homes in my constituency, which is deploying this practice against its long-standing housing workers, who are members of Unison, to force through the acceptance of diminished pension terms. Does the Leader of the House agree that that is unacceptable, and that fire and rehire practices should have no place in our society?
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Social Housing Bill [Lords]
As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on domestic violence and abuse, and as a survivor of domestic abuse with direct experience of how that issue relates to social housing, I hope that the Bill can truly ensure that it leaves no survivor behind. Indeed, survivors and survivor-led organisations that have been campaigning for decades welcome many provisions in the Bill, but they have also expressed concern that some of the proposed protections would apply to too small a proportion of survivors. With criminal justice outcomes for domestic abuse so poor, it is clear that civil outcomes should be considered as part of the mandatory grounds for eviction. I am glad to have heard today that the issuing of a protective order will be introduced to schedule 1. I also believe that we should consider enhancing these grounds to include victims and survivors of rape and other sexual offences, including where a perpetrator is not an intimate partner, for instance a flatmate. Will the Minister clarify how the Bill will incentivise or ensure that these powers are actually used by landlords, rather than leaving them as wholly discretionary? On joint tenancies, there are grounds to say that the proposals exclude many survivors who are not listed as tenants, disproportionately affecting younger survivors and survivors of familial abuse. Will the Minister clarify if the Government have considered or are considering expanding these protections by accepting established evidence of residency in place of named tenancy? Furthermore, when a perpetrator has been removed from a joint tenancy, an unsustainable financial burden might arise for a survivor holding sole custody. With the benefits system likely too slow to respond, Women’s Aid, Refuge and others have called for consideration to be given by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Minister’s own Department as to how to incorporate affordability assessments at the point of transfer. Provisions on alternative accommodation raise the issue of furniture poverty, which is faced by far too many survivors. There are calls from experts to introduce a statutory duty for social housing provided to survivors to come furnished, and I hope the Government will pick up on that. Although I have raised many different points for consideration, there should be no doubt that the ambition of halving violence against women and girls in a decade will require painstaking efforts across all Departments and the examination of all frameworks. On housing, there is still far more to be done, and that mean listening to the VAWG sector and to survivors when they point out shortfalls in these proposals. I hope that the Minister will listen to these concerns and offer to meet members of the APPG to discuss our concerns and the implementation of the measures.
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Social Housing Bill [Lords]
The housing crisis is urgently felt by local people in South East Cornwall, and I warmly welcome the fact that this Government are taking action. In Cornwall, we need first homes, not just second homes. We need genuinely affordable homes for local people that allow them to stay in the communities where they have built their lives. This Bill is good news for our rural communities, because when a social home is lost, replacing it can be exceptionally difficult in areas like mine. Our land is constrained, development costs are high and the pressure from second homes and holiday lets can make it harder for local people to compete in the housing market. I am working with local people to support greater financial literacy and women’s financial independence, because I believe that everyone needs that knowledge to be secure. I welcome the focus in the Bill on protecting victims of domestic abuse, because for a woman who is living with an abusive partner, the question of whether she can leave is often tied to the question of where she can go. In South East Cornwall, I have been encouraging key businesses and developers to build genuinely affordable homes and to consider how they do so. I want to see my community benefit from Government investment. Each year, Cornwall’s infrastructure is put under strain by the influx of tourists. While that seasonal increase helps our economy, it puts pressure on our services. Cornwall council is ready to work strategically with Homes England to make sure that development strengthens communities and does not put them under greater strain. Will the Minister work with Cornwall to secure that strategic partnership and give them more power to make our communities resilient? I welcome the Prime Minister’s focus on growth in every postcode. It might interest the House to know that in South East Cornwall, we have many Plymouth area postcodes. We must see our PL postcodes included in a Homes England deal in Plymouth. I invite the Minister and the Secretary of State to see how much that investment could matter for our area. I know that the Minister wants to see lots of progress, and I am glad to support the Bill. I want to see urgent implementation with Cornwall. I want to see that partnership, and the same applies to Plymouth.
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Social Housing Bill [Lords]
Will the Minister give way?
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Social Housing Bill [Lords]
I am mindful of time, so I will make just two points. First, no one would dispute that the right-to-buy scheme has helped many families achieve the dream of home ownership, which might otherwise have been beyond their reach, but its ideological implementation has had consequences. More than 2 million social homes have been sold since the scheme was first introduced, yet far too many of those properties were never replaced. The result has been a significant reduction in the stock of good-quality affordable social housing available to meet today’s demand. The risk that newly built homes could be lost before the investment costs can be recovered has weakened the confidence of providers to invest in new social housing at anywhere near the scale required. We have more than 1.3 million households on social housing waiting lists, while close to 180,000 children are growing up without the security of a stable home. I welcome the measures that seek to place right to buy on a more sustainable footing, protect existing social housing stock, encourage new house building and ensure that more people can access the decent, safe, secure and affordable homes that every family deserves. However, I would like the Bill to go further in ensuring that homes sold at a discount through right to buy do not immediately end up being let out for private profit. The New Economics Foundation estimates that 41% of homes sold through right to buy are now in the private rented sector—that cannot be justified as a good use of public money. I hope that the Government will consider amendments to prevent this from occurring in future, at least for a period of time after a property is sold. I would be happy to speak to the Minister about how we can bring that forward. Finally, I turn to the introduction of meaningful safeguards for survivors of domestic abuse. These measures recognise that access to safe and secure housing is often fundamental to a survivor’s ability not only to escape, but to rebuild their lives afterwards. We know that perpetrators can exploit housing insecurity as a means of control, leaving victims facing an impossible choice: remain in an abusive situation and continue to endure harm, or leave and risk homelessness and further insecurity. No survivor should ever be forced to make that choice. It is therefore a significant step forward that we are giving social landlords stronger tools to respond, particularly in relation to complex cases involving joint tenancies. Giving survivors the ability to seek the removal of an abusive partner from a tenancy, and enabling them to remain in the safety and familiarity of their own home, is extremely positive. However, I would like the Bill go further by introducing specific measures to tackle furniture poverty among survivors. Escaping an abusive relationship often requires people to leave home at extremely short notice, taking with them little more than a few personal belongings. Worse, many survivors have been subjected to financial abuse, leaving them without savings, access to credit or the means to replace the items needed to create a new, safe and secure home. While it is fundamentally important that victims of domestic abuse are always given priority access to social housing, the reality is that many of the allocated properties are entirely unfurnished. As a result, families who have already experienced trauma can find themselves moving into an empty property without beds, kitchen appliances, flooring, curtains or other basic household items. In those circumstances, the challenge is not simply accessing housing, but being able to live in it. A safe and secure home should be the foundation from which survivors rebuild their lives, not the start of another period of hardship. The Bill is an important pillar of the Government’s work and commitment to create a social housing system that is fairer and more secure and that works better for the people who depend on it. I am proud to support the Bill and the positive changes it seeks to address across our social housing sector.
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Social Housing Bill [Lords]
Is my hon. Friend aware of how difficult it is to sell a shared ownership home when the previous owner is deceased? The estate can end up paying service charges and rent for quite a long period. Will she consider whether there is further action that the Government could take on that?
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Business of the House
Boulby underground laboratory near Whitby is leading the race to host a massive international experiment to search for dark matter. However, the 40% cut to the lab’s operating budget proposed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council has created uncertainty about the Government’s continued support for the project. Will the Leader of the House facilitate a meeting with the responsible Minister to discuss these drastic cuts, and help to secure Boulby’s future as a world-leading centre for physics research?
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Job Support: Public Procurement
14. What recent steps she has taken to use public procurement to support jobs.
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Job Support: Public Procurement
Procurement matters because, done well, it supports local jobs in Gloucester and in communities like mine. Together Gloucestershire is a local organisation that is an excellent example of how procurement can be done differently. It works with local businesses and the public sector to showcase the talent and skill in our county and provides a procurement portal for organisations to access them. Will the Secretary of State meet me and Together Gloucestershire to discuss how that model can be better supported and developed further?
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Social Housing Bill [Lords]
While we are talking about statistics, between April 2012 and March 2024 there were over 124,000 right-to-buy sales and fewer than 48,000 homes built to replace them. Which party was in charge during that period? [Interruption.]
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Social Housing Bill [Lords]
Housing remains one of the biggest challenges in my inbox, and I meet weekly with constituents who are stuck on a waiting list for social housing. In fact, almost 5,000 families in Gloucester are waiting for somewhere to call home. I am proud to support this Government, who are committed to the biggest increase in social housing in a generation. That is in stark contrast to the record of the Conservatives; rough sleeping went up 165% under their Government, and the number of children living in temporary accommodation more than doubled. Their current plan to add another 100,000 to that list is simply not acceptable—not on our watch. I welcome the Bill. I agree that it is right that we incentivise the building of social homes. We need to build more in Gloucester, and I stand ready to work on a cross-party basis with Gloucester city council, local housing associations and Homes England to deliver this. It is also important that we improve the quality of existing social homes and follow through on the promises made to local residents in Podsmead and Matson, who have been promised regeneration of their areas for far too long without seeing it delivered. Finally, I am pleased to see the work that this Department is doing with other Departments to tackle violence against women and girls. No one should be forced to stay in an unsafe situation because they are worried about becoming homeless. I welcome measures to support survivors and victims of domestic abuse, especially new mechanisms to remove perpetrators from their tenancies, not victims. Alongside our Government’s commitment to offer everyone sleeping rough a roof by Christmas—there is £1.6 million for Gloucester city council to deliver this—we are making a clear argument that everyone deserves a safe, decent place to call home. Those are the foundations that we need to rebuild hope in Gloucester and deliver the better future that my constituents deserve.
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Ukraine and Russia
It was great to welcome my right hon. Friend to the Farnborough airshow, and it is great to have him at the Dispatch Box today. Our adversaries in China and Russia are mobilising their financial markets to sustain military aggression. We have seen the industrial ramp-up that has been needed for Ukraine to fight. The Prime Minister confirmed to me last week that the Government are looking at the multilateral Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, which our allies have brought together to mobilise the finance to rearm. The Secretary of State and I have talked about this a lot previously, but does he agree that we need to build the financial resilience to deter, and taking the opportunity to join the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank would send a powerful signal to our adversaries that we have the financial firepower to outbuild and outlast them?
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Air Traffic Control Disruption
It was behind me.
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Air Traffic Control Disruption
I thank the Minister for his statement and for his leadership on this incident. NATS has rightly apologised unreservedly for the incident at Swanwick, which affected, infuriatingly, hundreds of thousands of travellers. Will the Minister join me in thanking the staff of NATS in Prestwick, in my constituency, for their support in the management of this incident?
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Business of the House
Industrial hemp is at the forefront of innovation in agriculture, and my constituent Martin Cessford is a farmer at the forefront of that in Scotland. Hemp has great promise for industrial, health, climate and building applications. However, Martin has been thwarted at every turn by the Home Office and its absurd application of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as it relates to hemp products. With my help, he has made some progress, but his shipment, which is going to Germany for quality control testing, is now stuck in the Netherlands. I asked the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for help over a month ago, but have not heard anything. Might we have a debate in Government time on the tension between the Government’s need for growth and innovation and their Departments standing in the way of that, and will the Leader of the House use his good offices to give the FCDO a shake?
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Topical Questions
The Minister said that Governments are elected to lead. Most people would assume that means that Ministers are elected to lead, because they are accountable to Parliament and to the people. Why, then, are the Government giving away powers to the Cabinet Secretary to direct permanent secretaries, which should be the role of Secretaries of State? Do Ministers not want these powers to actually do their jobs?
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Business of the House
Robert Steele was a beautiful four-year-old boy who died three weeks ago in Newark when he was thrown from an off-road bike that was being driven by a 24-year-old man. This is the culmination of a number of incidents in my town, and many others across the country, involving off-road bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters. Will the Government consider a debate on the policing of these bikes, what further action we can take to prevent terrible tragedies such as this one, and the posture of police forces across the country, including when they can appropriately intercept these bikes and protect members of the public?
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Ukraine and Russia
I welcome the Secretary of State to his place; I knew it would not be long before we saw him back on the Front Bench. I have urged the Government before to use the frozen Russian Central Bank assets. It may be difficult, as he has just said to another hon. Member, but that does not mean it is impossible. Given the leadership that the United Kingdom has shown, can I urge the Secretary of State to lead the way in turning the difficult into the possible?
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National Resilience
Resilience is obviously the crucial question for the country, and the Government are right to be focusing on the need to strengthen the centre of Government to achieve that. My concern is about the legislation that has been trailed. According to a leak—presumably from a briefing from the Cabinet Office—reported in The Times this week, the Cabinet Secretary is proposing to take new powers to direct permanent secretaries of Government Departments. Will the Minister confirm whether legislation is planned to change the statutory basis of the civil service? Most importantly, does he think that the Cabinet Secretary should or should not have the power to direct permanent secretaries?
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Fathers and Positive Male Role Models
Order. I intend to call the Front Benchers just before 4 o’clock and there are 10 people who wish to speak in the debate, if I am counting correctly. An informal speech limit of about four and a half or five minutes should allow us to get everyone in.
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Fathers and Positive Male Role Models
Please do not feel rushed, because this is an important debate. I have put an informal time limit on the annunciator. If Members stick to it roughly, we should get everybody in.
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Fathers and Positive Male Role Models
Thank you all for sticking so beautifully to the voluntary time limit. Everybody got in. I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, Alex Brewer.
- Hansard source
Business of the House
I echo the comments made in relation to the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Nearly 25 years ago, in the April after the attacks, my husband and I visited the site of the twin towers. We were both police officers at the time, and realising that we and our colleagues would have faced the same dangers that others had faced really brought home for us the scale of the sacrifice made. Having attended a debate on confidence in policing yesterday, I know how important trust in policing is. Reform UK’s disdain for British electoral law was broadcast to the nation last week in undercover footage involving the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage)—I have emailed him—and some of his closest advisers. The Metropolitan police were already investigating Reform UK, and they have now confirmed that they are broadening their inquiry to include foreign donations involving polling. I find it ironic that a party that stakes so much of its reputation on claims of patriotism spends far more time trying to get around British law than strengthening it. Will Reform MPs share with the country whether they and their campaigns have ever benefited from any foreign money? I also reiterate the calls I made over recess for Reform’s home affairs spokesperson to provide evidence for the damaging claims he made online against a business in my constituency. Several weeks on, that business and I are still waiting. We are living in an unstable world, where dodgy donations are routine and corruption is common. Bad actors such as Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin and Reform pin-up boy Donald Trump are dedicated to destroying our democracy. The Government and all parliamentarians should be standing up against those threats. Again, for a party so keen to ensure relationships with our nearest neighbours, Reform UK seems happy to jeopardise our sovereignty by encouraging foreign interference. However, the Representation of the People Bill that passed through the Commons last week did not include a donation cap and therefore failed to protect our political system from the corrupting influence of foreign money. Given that the Bill was debated before MPs were aware of these concerning allegations, will the Government find time to legislate to protect British democracy?