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Labour Party
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12,832 spoken contributions under 12 words (interjections such as “Will the hon. Member give way?”) are hidden. Show them
As my hon. Friend will have heard in my answer to the Chair of the Select Committee, we make no apologies for changing the system. Not enough young people are getting active. As a former secondary school teacher, I know how important that is. I am happy to speak to my hon. Friend and, of course, I speak regularly to the Schools Minister about this issue.
We have always been clear that national sporting governing bodies will set their own policies for who can participate. It is incredibly important that we prioritise fairness, safety and competition, while balancing the need for inclusion and ensuring that everyone can participate.
I have had discussions with ministerial colleagues across Government and spoken to mayors and a range of tourism representatives. The Government are committed to giving powers to local areas to enact an overnight levy, and we will work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and HM Treasury on developing the policy.
I was in Blackpool last week discussing the issue with representatives of the sector and I visited the hon. Gentleman’s constituency a few years ago, so I know how important tourism is to coastal communities up and down the country. Introducing a levy will be up to local areas, and it will make sense for those areas to invest the funds generated in improving the local tourism offer, as many have already committed to doing.
As I just outlined, it will of course make sense for those funds to be reinvested in local tourism, but that will be a decision for local areas. That is why we are working closely with the Treasury and MHCLG, so that local areas can be empowered to make the decisions that are right for their areas.
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, and I pay tribute to him for all his work as the shadow Secretary of State and as a Minister before that. It has been a pleasure to work with him, and I look forward to continuing to do so. Of course, there is more than one tax; we are cutting taxes, but we are also introducing an overnight levy. As I have outlined, we are working across Government, with the tourist sector and with mayors to make sure we get that right for local areas. It of course makes sense for that money to be reinvested in the tourism sector, but that will be up to local areas to decide.
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is an excellent champion for his city of Manchester. He shares a really important example. It is right to caution against scaremongering. It is absolutely right that local areas have the powers to make the decisions themselves.
Tourism drives economic growth and jobs across the country, including the Isle of Wight, and over the summer months the Great British summer savings scheme provided a temporary VAT cut for eligible businesses, to encourage visits to tourist attractions during the school holidays. At the same time, Visit Britain’s “Starring GREAT Britain” campaign is promoting film and TV locations, to inspire global audiences to explore a wide range of regions across Great Britain.
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who I know is a huge champion for his constituency, and indeed on this subject. We are committed to increasing visitor numbers—he will have heard my answer to the previous question on the overnight levy, and there is a strong case for any money raised to be reinvested in tourism. As I said, I was in Blackpool last week speaking to tourism industry leaders and businesses, and far from the doom and gloom that the hon. Member alludes to, I witnessed a great deal of hope, hard work and dynamism.
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has been a strong champion on this issue. It was a delight to visit her constituency earlier this year to talk and to see at first hand the problem that it creates. As the Secretary of State has outlined, this Government are committed to that register, and we know the difference it will make to communities such as my hon. Friend’s and those up and down the country.
I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place and look forward to working with him in the coming months. He will have heard that the review of business rates for pubs and hotels announced just a few weeks ago by the Chancellor has been welcomed by a number of people, including the CEO of UKHospitality, who said it was a “positive move”. Under this Government we have seen the biggest investment in the tourism sector: the £6.3 billion Universal Studios investment at Bedford. It was a pleasure to be there a few weeks ago.
My hon. Friend is a great champion for his city. It was a pleasure to do a sporting visit to his constituency earlier this year. We have a really strong shortlist for the city of culture—and indeed for the town of culture. I look forward to visiting those on the final shortlist in the near future.
Cricket is incredibly popular, and I know how important it is in my own constituency—I visited Worsbrough to see the England and Wales Cricket Board’s schools programme in action. Programmes like that are incredibly important for getting people, and in particular young people, involved and active in sport.
I am grateful to all hon. Members across the House who have contributed to today’s debate, which has shown cross-party recognition of the importance of major sporting events and their ability to showcase the very best of our country. I will speak about the Bill, its importance and its provisions, and will address some of the wider points raised in the debate. The UK is an undisputed world leader when it comes to hosting major sporting events, and the benefits of these occasions are felt right across the country. We all fondly remember the London 2012 Olympics, as the Secretary of State and many others have said in this debate. Events such as these bring huge benefits and opportunities. The London Olympics and Paralympics brought £14 billion of trade and investment benefit to the UK, alongside the regeneration of 500 acres of east London, and 400,000 Londoners participated in grassroots sports in the three years following the games. In my area of South Yorkshire, the Olympic legacy park in Sheffield is another testament to the transformative power these international events can have. It stands as the only Olympic legacy park in a city that has not hosted the games. More recently, the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth games contributed over £1 billion to the UK economy, and events such as the 2025 women’s rugby world cup, the 2026 women’s cricket world cup and the recent outdoor European athletics championships—it was the first time the UK had hosted the championships—have brought, and will bring, their own legacy benefits. Of course, we note the huge success of the Glasgow Commonwealth games, and the fact that Glasgow really stepped up to host those games at the last minute. Looking ahead, the grand départ of the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes in 2027, and a potential world athletics championships in 2029, will inspire the next generation and bring live sport to communities across the country. Indeed, we expect the Tour de France stages to be the most accessible major sporting event Great Britain has ever hosted, bringing £150 million in economic benefits across the country. This Government are committed to not only hosting major sporting events, but making sure that the benefits are felt far beyond the field of play. As I have said in this House before, inactivity is the story of inequality, and that is why this Government are investing at least £400 million in community sports facilities across the country over the next four years, and it is why we are determined that major events should support greater grassroots participation. I understand the power of sport to inspire in every postcode. That point was made powerfully by my hon. Friends the Members for Hamilton and Clyde Valley (Imogen Walker), and for Dartford (Jim Dickson). This legislation will strengthen our ability to bid successfully for major sporting events, and it will ensure that we are ready to create more moments like London 2012 or Birmingham 2022. France and Australia already have similar legislative frameworks, and France’s recent success in hosting the Olympic and Paralympic games and the rugby world cup demonstrates the value of having these protections in place. I will briefly run through the Bill’s provisions and how they will be enforced, but before I do, it is worth noting that this legislation is only one component of our broader national ambition. As I recently announced to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, we are developing a major event strategy, to be published in the near future. For the first time, we will have a comprehensive strategy that unites sport, culture, arts and business events under a single strategic framework designed to simplify and drive growth. I recognise the points that the Chair of the Select Committee, the hon. Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage), has raised, and the work her Committee has done. In particular, I have heard her calls on business events. Since I appeared in front of her Select Committee, I have convened more than one cross-Government meeting, and I am committed to ensuring that the Government do better in this area. The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French), asked why we were, in his words, putting the cart before the horse and not publishing the strategy before this Bill. That is because we have legal deadlines to meet for Euro 2028. If we were not debating this ambitious Bill, we would be debating a Euro 2028 Bill, similar to the one for the Commonwealth games that he took through the House.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and his point goes to the heart of this Bill. The process should be collaborative and should work for local people. That speaks to the point I was going to come on to make, which is that event-specific regulations—they will set out which provisions will be applied to an event, including information such as the time period and how the provisions apply to the local area—will be subject to parliamentary debate and scrutiny through the statutory instrument process. Moving on to some of the specifics in the Bill, the ticketing provisions are designed to ensure that tickets can be resold only with the authorisation of the event owner or organiser. This measure will clamp down on ticket touts who seek to exploit sports fans and profiteer from major sporting moments. We saw such legislation work effectively at London 2012, and this Bill will make that the baseline for major sporting events. Where needed, local trading standards authorities and the Competition and Markets Authority will be able to enforce the Bill. While it does not prohibit official reselling of tickets at above face value, we will bring in further legislation in this area. The Secretary of State was clear in her remarks about the draft legislation being there so that we can get this right, but she was also clear that the issue should be a high priority for this Session. The Bill will introduce time-limited restricted zones around competition venues, fan zones and transport hubs to prevent aggressive ambush marketing and unauthorised street trading. Without those protections, the women’s Euros in 2022 faced persistent street trading and unauthorised advertising blimps. In contrast, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games used these powers to swiftly resolve more than 50 advertising and trading infringements, protecting official sponsors and keeping spectator routes safe. The Bill will empower local authorities to undertake enforcement at future events. The Bill ensures that the interests of those with an existing trading licence are taken into account when a determination is made on an application to trade in a restricted zone, but we are absolutely determined to make sure that the Bill is as strong as possible on protecting small businesses. We will work across the House to make sure that it delivers on that. The Bill will prohibit unauthorised association. That will prevent businesses from falsely suggesting to the public that they have an official connection with an event in order to gain exposure. Weak controls around unauthorised association make sponsoring an event less appealing and allow businesses to benefit without giving financial support. The Bill sets out controls to prevent that from happening; it gives the power to enforce the provisions to designated enforcers, which are likely to be event owners or organisers. Protections will have been built in to ensure proportionality, and to help ensure that small businesses can once again benefit from major events on their doorstep. It is our intention to make sure that small businesses benefit from major events, and I am very keen to work with Members across the House to deliver this.
The hon. Gentleman makes a really important and valid point, and I look forward to continuing the conversation with him in Bill Committee, when we can pick up on that point. I will touch on recurrent events in a moment, but first I will touch briefly on transport. The Bill enables integrated, cross-boundary transport plans and temporary traffic powers in England for local traffic authorities. My hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) raised this important point. I assure him that plans will be collaborative, and will have to work with local people. A good example is the games route network used in Birmingham 2022, which ensured that spectators could move safely and efficiently, while minimising disruption to local residents and businesses.
My hon. Friend makes a really important point on behalf of the people he represents, and I would be absolutely delighted to meet him to discuss it further. As the Secretary of State mentioned, we are well aware of the concerns about recurrent domestic events, and we recognise the opportunities available. We will seek to address this issue during the passage of the Bill, and I welcome the comments from those on the Opposition Front Bench. The hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Sarah Bool) made an important point regarding Silverstone, and I can assure her that both the Secretary of State and I are passionate about it too, having been there with the hon. Member for Droitwich and Evesham (Nigel Huddleston). The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul), made an important point on this issue too, and I welcome the comments from the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Weald of Kent (Katie Lam), about working with us on recurrent events. I look forward to doing that in Committee. I welcome the fact that the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine), broadly supports the Bill. I appreciate her point about music events, and she asks why they were not included. The Bill was originally designed for biddable events, which is why music events were not included. Indeed, that is why some of the recurrent events were not initially included. However, we have heard the points made in this House and the other place, and we will work with people to get this right. The whole of the UK stands to benefit from major sporting events, and we are committed to seeing the reward shared across the four nations. From the inception of the Bill, we have worked closely with devolved partners to ensure that it serves the whole Union, and we will continue to work with each devolved Government to ensure that, where appropriate, legislative consent motions are secured. I would like to cover some of the broader points, which were mainly put to me by the hon. Member for Droitwich and Evesham. I do not want to overstate it, but I pay tribute to him for all the work that he has done, both on the Opposition Front Bench and as a Minister before that. He put various questions to me, and I will touch briefly on some of them. He mentioned the 3 pm blackout, which exists to protect ticket sales for lower leagues in the football pyramid. As a former Minister for Sport, he will know that it is an issue for the Football Association, but we support the current situation, as we recognise the importance of this for the lower leagues. He raised a point about alcohol, and he is absolutely right. We debated this during the passage of the Football Governance Bill, and there are of course different views. The ban was originally introduced to protect fans, but I recognise the debate that is taking place. It is an issue for the Home Office, so I will reflect the points he makes to the relevant Minister. Both the hon. Gentleman and the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart) mentioned the Commonwealth games coverage. Ultimately, the hon. Member for Droitwich and Evesham will know, as a former Minister, that this was a decision for Commonwealth Sport as the rights holder, and there is a balance between accessibility and commercial considerations. I know he was in attendance at the Commonwealth games, and I think that TNT did a very good job of making it accessible. There was also work on radio, with S4C and the BBC, and free-to-air highlights on Channel 5. However, I do acknowledge the point that the fact the BBC did not cover it means there was not so much wider awareness, but he will appreciate that that issue is independent of Government. The Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee made a point about deaf athletes and the deaf Olympics. UK Sport has met those involved, as have I as the Minister, and I would like to assure both the Select Committee and the House, as well as anyone watching our proceedings, that we absolutely have not forgotten the issue. I wrote to the Select Committee earlier this year, and this is something that I and the Secretary of State care very much about. I will update both the House and the Select Committee on that issue. Major sporting events can change lives, transform communities and inspire people to get involved in sport. This Bill will make sure we are ready to secure more of these incredibly important global events and bring their power to communities across the UK. We will champion fans, protect commercial rights and give organisers the reassurance they need to come to our country and cement the UK as a world leader in this space, so I commend this Bill to the House. Question put and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time.
9. What steps the Church of England is taking to work with other faith groups to promote community cohesion.
One of the Church’s greatest strengths is its ability to bring communities together. At a time of heightened community tensions, opportunities to bring all faith leaders together are ever more important. Over the summer, I worked closely with local faith leaders in my constituency to build resilience and manage the situation—an attack on one is an attack on all. Will my hon. Friend set out how the Church can strengthen dialogue, support cohesion and help communities resist division?
This is an incredibly important and timely debate. The latest UK Health Security Agency data, published on Tuesday, underlined how vaccine rates have continued to decline. It also showed that uptake of the meningitis B booster for children aged two fell slightly last year. I find that especially alarming, given the meningitis outbreak in Kent earlier this year. There were 21 confirmed cases, tragically including the deaths of two young people. A number of schools across east Kent also recorded confirmed cases, including one in my constituency. I am grateful for the co-ordinated action led by the various agencies. Their swift response helped to ensure that clear public health advice was communicated and that vaccination programmes could be rapidly rolled out. Although I warmly welcome that action, at the time of the outbreak I joined colleagues from across the House in calling for more to be done. I was therefore pleased that, during the summer, the UKHSA and NHS England introduced a one-off national meningitis B vaccination programme to protect young people at the highest risk before the start of the new academic year, when meningitis B cases typically rise. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation also published a number of recommendations on a routine meningitis B programme for adolescents. Before the summer recess, the Government were considering those recommendations. Will the Minister provide an update on those considerations? The meningitis outbreak in Kent should serve as a warning of the serious consequences when vaccine-preventable diseases regain ground. As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for global tuberculosis, I also point to rising rates of TB in the UK. TB meningitis is one of the most severe forms of TB, particularly in young children. The BCG vaccine protects against TB, particularly serious forms of the infection such as TB meningitis. However, the latest data for the UK shows that, in the first quarter of the year, almost one in five children eligible for the BCG vaccine did not receive it. Vaccinations remain an important part of preventing severe childhood TB, alongside early diagnosis and treatment. However, the BCG vaccine is more than 100 years old and does not provide reliable protection against pulmonary TB in adults. I therefore stress the need for continued investment in research and development on new, more effective TB vaccines. That is particularly important, given the country’s role in global tuberculosis research and development. My hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Dr Prinsley) talked about Reform using its conference stage to talk about an anti-vaccination programme. We have a duty to base our discussions about vaccinations on facts and evidence. As politicians, we have a particular responsibility to promote clear, evidence-based information and to avoid contributing to uncertainty and mistrust.
The business for the week commencing 7 September will include: Monday 7 September—Remaining stages of the Health Bill (day one). Tuesday 8 September—Conclusion of remaining stages of the Health Bill. Wednesday 9 September—Second Reading of the Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [Lords]. Thursday 10 September—Second Reading of the Social Housing Bill [Lords]. Friday 11 September—Private Members’ Bills. The provisional business for the week commencing 14 September will include: Monday 14 September—All stages of the Sovereign Grant Bill, followed by a general debate, subject to be confirmed. Tuesday 15 September—General debate on the potential merits of a full ban on fracking, followed by general debate on World Sepsis Awareness Month. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee. The House will rise for the conference recess at the conclusion of business on Tuesday 15 September and return on Monday 12 October.
Let me begin by saying that I am sure the thoughts of the whole House are with the people of Nepal and all those affected by the recent devastating flash floods, including the loved ones of 36 missing British nationals. As the Prime Minister said to the House on Tuesday, we will do everything we can to support British nationals impacted in the region and we are working closely with the Nepalese authorities. This summer has seen a significant number of wildfires that have affected many people. I pay tribute to the emergency services who have been on the frontline of tackling the blazes. I also pay tribute to and thank the farmers who have been brave in their work to protect their livelihoods and their whole communities. I put on record our thanks to them. I also pay tribute to the two police officers who lost their lives in Cleveland, PC Blades and PC Clough. They devoted their lives to the noblest form of public service: protecting their fellow citizens. Policing is not just a profession, but a calling answered only by those who are willing to place themselves in harm’s way to protect us all. I think also of their colleagues in uniform, not just in Cleveland but across policing, who have lost friends, colleagues and fellow members of the policing family. As the shadow Leader of the House said, we recently lost a great number of great people from across the world, not least in sport and entertainment, including Billy Boston, one of the greatest and most popular rugby league players of all time—I know that you were a great admirer, Mr Speaker—and Keven Keegan, a football legend who played for Liverpool, Newcastle and England, and who went on to manage the national side. Along with the shadow Leader of the House, I also pay tribute to Dolly Parton. Beyond her legacy as the queen of country music, she will also be remembered through the work of her Imagination Library, which has provided 7 million books to children in the UK, and helped children across the world discover a love of reading. Earlier this week, the House heard from the new Prime Minister. His Administration will oversee the rewiring of the British state—I will get on to the specifics that the right hon. Gentleman raised in a moment—the rebuilding of the resilience of our communities, and the reindustrialisation of our regions. Later this year, our 10-year plan for Britain will set out plans for stronger public control over those essentials, making them work for people and places once again. I am pleased—as you are, Mr Speaker—that the shadow Leader of the House survived the reshuffle, and I welcome him back to his place. He was generous in his offer to run my campaign to continue in my role, which was a successful campaign on his part. I was ready to reciprocate, but that proved unnecessary. I am not sure that I am pleased with the way he described us, but I am genuinely pleased that he has remained in post. We do have our political differences, which is an obvious thing to say, but we share a deep respect for this place, and I look forward to working with him going forward. I am not sure about his suggestion that we are either Morecambe and Wise or the Two Ronnies—I think he flatters himself about his sense of humour with that—but we shall see. There is no confusion, as the shadow Leader of the House suggests, about defence spending. The Prime Minister set out clearly what our position is, and we will have a Budget in the not-too-distant future that will set out what those proposals are. The Prime Minister faced this House on Tuesday for three hours and 20 minutes and then came back to do Prime Minister’s questions yesterday, so there was no shortage of an opportunity for the Opposition to find out exactly what this Government are going to do. On R and R, the shadow Leader of the House knows, as we have talked about it before, that a set of proposals has been put forward. We have thought deeply about the best time to bring them to the House—he should not assume that he will have to wait that much longer for this House to be given the opportunity to make a decision. I agree with the right hon. Gentleman on one thing, which is that the decision has been delayed for too long. As a result, there are costs to that delay, which we are paying whether the House decides to do something about it for the long term or not. I do not agree that the answer is another delay while we go back and look at it again. We have been around that track so many times, which explains why we have got to this place. On that subject, it is odd when a member of the shadow Cabinet leaves to run for office in London—to begin his support for London—yet criticises the Government, when the Opposition are actually whipped against the restoration of this place, which is the iconic building in London. It is part of a UNESCO world heritage site. This is work that is long overdue, and it will create jobs and opportunities not only in London but throughout the regions of our country. The Opposition cannot have it both ways. As the Prime Minister has said, it is important that we pursue and indeed go further on the devolution agenda, and setting up No. 10 North will be the biggest transfer of power and decision making out of Whitehall in a generation. I can assure Members that the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be in charge of the nation’s finances, and he will set out his proposals; having said that, it is important that we get decisions made closer to where those affected will feel the effects. I do have some agreement with the shadow Leader of the House on his point about scrutiny by this House. There is an issue, for instance, around how mayors are scrutinised. As power and decision making are transferred away, it raises the issue of how this House will continue to be able to provide that scrutiny. I will take that issue away and think about it more.
My right hon. Friend is a great champion of her local community. We have previously talked about the issue of schools in her area. This Government are committed to empowering local leaders to take action and spend money where communities require it, and they are the best judge of how that money should be spent. I will ensure that the relevant Minister has heard her contribution. She may wish to seek a Westminster Hall debate to raise this issue, which I know has been going on for quite some time; alternatively, if she would like to meet a Minister, I will help her to arrange that.
The Government do not comment on individual firms’ commercial decisions, but I do understand that some of the decisions the hon. Gentleman mentions will cause concern to employees and, in the case of easyJet, to travellers too. We are working to reform UK capital markets to make it easier for companies to raise capital, go public and grow. We do have some of the most innovative businesses in the world, and the most talented leaders and entrepreneurs of any nation, and we continue to work closely with business groups and industry leaders to understand the pressures facing industry and to develop measures to support it, including the measures the hon. Gentleman mentioned. There will be an opportunity to debate these matters up to and around the Budget, but the Liberal Democrats can also ask for one of their Opposition days, on which they might wish to choose this as a topic; it is entirely up to them.
I am happy to reaffirm the Government’s view on these matters. In terms of comments by a particular councillor, these people’s views—not least Reform councillors’—often become clearer, more noticeable and even more abhorrent once they are elected and we see their true nature. They do not represent the view of right-minded people. Councillors are there to represent the whole community, not just to represent those who may share their abhorrent views.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his work and the work of his Committee; I will take away what he says about vacancies on that Committee and make sure that we fill them as quickly as possible, so that he can depend upon having at least a quorum at his meetings. I also thank him for updating the House on the future debate topics. He will know that I refer to that baby loss debate quite a lot, because I recall that situation very well. He will also know that I was extremely concerned about it and have tried since to do everything that we can to ensure that does not happen again, and indeed that other similar topics are given a proper time and a proper place for debate. I will take that point away and see whether we can make sure that happens. On the issue that the hon. Gentleman raises about children in his patch, he will know that as they return to school, they return with help from this Government. Their parents were helped with the cost of uniforms, free school meals have been extended and there has been help for travel costs. The Government are always looking to help families with cost of living issues. I will take the hon. Gentleman’s question away, because I have heard those concerns from my constituency as well: what happens during term time is great, but what happens for some families outside term time? I will refer the matter to colleagues to see what further help we can provide.
The Government are fixing the problem; we introduced the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026, and it has had an impact. Competition ratios have halved, prioritised doctors have filled 98% of roles and in some specialities, such as general practice, all posts have been filled by prioritised doctors. However, my hon. Friend is right to continue to raise and campaign on these matters, and I urge him to apply for a Westminster Hall debate so that he can hear directly from Ministers.
As ever, the right hon. Gentleman raises an important issue for his rural constituents. We have taken measures to improve the situation, stamping out the resale of tests, limiting changes to bookings and locations to stop bots, and doubling the number of permanent examiner trainers, but there is still, in some areas, a great deal of work to be done. I will make sure that the Transport Secretary hears his specific concerns and urge the Minister to write to him.
I will try to reassure my hon. Friend: even though ministerial responsibility might change, there will still be departmental and ministerial responsibility for such really important matters in this place. We will continue to have an opportunity to question, and to request statements from, Ministers who are accountable to this House.
I will draw to the attention of the relevant Minister the points that the hon. Lady makes, and make sure that they get back to her on those important matters.
I will indeed join my hon. Friend in congratulating Liam Burns and everyone associated with the Big Golf Race, and thank them for raising so much money for such a worthy cause.
The right hon. Gentleman will have to wait for the Budget for some of the reassurances that he seeks, but I would gently point out to him—and he should know this, given the jobs he did in government—that there are international pressures, such as concerns about inflation, and competition around the world for money to invest in things like artificial intelligence. The difference between this Government and others in comparable situations is that the rates he talks about are the direct result of the Liz Truss Budget. Businesses and households are still living with that, and with higher mortgage rates than are necessary.
I join my hon. Friend in thanking everyone involved in tackling the fires—the emergency services, the farmers and local residents. The Government are spending around £100 million to strengthen the country’s response to wildfires and extreme weather, and, as he points out, we will chair the wildfire summit in the autumn to consider how national response capabilities can be strengthened across the UK. I am sure that Ministers will continue to update the House on any further developments.
Residents would not expect a two-tier system, as the hon. Gentleman is right to point out. There is a statement following business questions on housing. I do not know whether the point that he raises will be in scope of that, but he may want to raise it directly with the Minister.
I certainly join my hon. Friend in congratulating the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity shop on its 25th anniversary, and I thank all the volunteers for their dedicated service. We are committed to supporting the hospice sector and have provided £125 million of capital funding as a boost to it. I would encourage my hon. Friend to apply for a Westminster Hall debate on the subject, because there is agreement across the House on the importance of hospices and the need to consider what more can be done to support them.
We are very much in favour of local communities having more power over the decisions that affect them most. The Government did introduce a road safety strategy last year, but this comes down to local authorities. I hope that the hon. Gentleman’s local authority has heard what he has said today and responds positively to residents in the areas he mentioned. If it does not, he might want to apply for a Westminster Hall debate in which to raise the matter further and see what more the Government could do to help him.
My hon. Friend is a real champion for her area, and I pay tribute to her for that. I absolutely join her in congratulating the Oxleathers pub on being shortlisted for the Pub Aid community pub hero award. Pubs bring our local communities together. I encourage her to seek a Westminster Hall debate, because I know that pubs are of importance to Members across the House.
The hon. Gentleman will know that this is a really important matter for the Government, and we are making progress in all sorts of ways, but I accept that there is further progress to be made. He may wish to apply for either a Backbench Business or Westminster Hall debate, though the Government do update the House when necessary on these matters. On services not being properly funded by the SNP Government, I repeat what I have said before: the SNP Government have had the best settlement ever, and it is just not appropriate for them to not fund services of such critical importance to his constituents.
My hon. Friend will know from the support across the House on these matters that the service levels following the move to Capita have been completely unacceptable. The Government’s priority has been to stabilise service and give former civil servants, who rightly need to be treated better, the service that they deserve. I understand the strong feeling about this. She might want to raise the matter again at Cabinet Office questions next week. The Government and the Department are not being shy in coming forward with statements to the House about what remains a very difficult issue.
Recycling and fly-tipping are important matters for local residents, and the hon. Gentleman is right to raise concerns on behalf of his constituents. He might want to seek a Westminster Hall debate on the subject, so that he can hear from the relevant Minister about what the Government’s approach is. We are doing stuff on fly-tipping, but there is more to be done.