partytracker.uk — a sourced record of what Britain's political parties say and do, party by party, with every entry linked to a primary source

12,832 spoken contributions under 12 words (interjections such as “Will the hon. Member give way?”) are hidden. Show them

1. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Josh Newbury

   Jobs and Employment: Staffordshire

   My hon. Friend is, as always, making a fantastic speech and banging the drum for our great county. Does he agree that if we are serious about creating and filling the jobs he is talking about in Staffordshire, we have to give our colleges the capacity to train the workforce that we need? I welcome the recent investment in South Staffordshire college, including Cannock college, but will he join me in calling for further investment in our training facilities in Staffordshire, so that local young people can access skilled jobs in construction, engineering and all those growing industries?

   Hansard source
2. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Josh Fenton-Glynn

   Performance of Royal Mail

   Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the unenviable task of following my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Dr Prinsley). When I talk to my constituents, they regularly tell me that Royal Mail is failing them, and I know that the Minister, my constituency neighbour, will have heard the same complaints. The issue comes up in surgeries and when we knock on doors, and when letters eventually arrive at my constituency office, it comes up in them too. In a world where we expect things to improve, our postal service is going backwards. That creates anxiety, as people miss bills and NHS appointments, and it pushes people further apart when a postcard from a loved one is lost or a birthday message arrives late. I know that the Minister shares the frustration and is working hard to turn things around. She understands, as I do, that places such as Calderdale often feel the consequences of those failures first. Over the last decade, people in towns and villages such as ours have seen the steady erosion of services that they once took for granted. We have seen that with our buses, banking, department stores and high streets, and people increasingly see it in Royal Mail. Calder Valley does not have a single urban centre; it is a network of towns and villages that stretches from Todmorden and Hebden Bridge through Mytholmroyd, Elland, Ryburn and Brighouse and all the way to Rastrick. When organisations start cutting costs, communities such as ours are among the first to feel the consequences, and it is communities such as ours that often feel the most isolated. My older constituents are more likely to rely on the postal service; it is how many of them hear from their hospitals, the DWP, their bank and the local council. While the digitisation of public services has brought a huge benefit, it cannot come at the expense of those who cannot get online. They are some of the most vulnerable people in our society and the most likely to be affected when post does not arrive on time. A missed hospital appointment, an unpaid bill and interrupted energy supplies can have serious consequences through no fault of their own. What happened to Royal Mail is the story of a failed ideological experiment. For years, we were told that privatisation and market discipline would drive up standards and drive down costs. Instead, my constituents have watched services deteriorate while accountability has become harder to find. There is no real market; my constituents cannot shop around for someone else to deliver their appointment letter or switch providers because their pension statement arrived two weeks late. Like the water industry, it is a service that people depend on but have no choice over. That is why it is so frustrating. This is not just another company; Royal Mail is part of the fabric of this country. Its origins can be traced back to the 16th century. It maintains our iconic red post boxes and the local postmen, who we all value, but in recent years Royal Mail has been treated like a commercial asset, rather than a public service. The Opposition spent years picking through some of our most valued institutions in the hope of making a quick buck, with an ideological trust in the market without properly considering the long-term consequences. My constituents are looking for evidence that things are changing. Life is stressful enough, and we should not have to worry about whether an important letter will show up on time. I welcome the determination that the Minister has shown in holding Royal Mail to account and tackling the legacy that we have inherited, but the truth is that for far too many people in Calder Valley, things are still not good enough.

   Hansard source
3. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Josh Fenton-Glynn

   Performance of Royal Mail

   I wonder whether that 96% of the hon. Gentleman’s constituents would agree with me that perhaps his party’s privatisation of Royal Mail was a mistake in the first place. Perhaps he would like to apologise for that.

   Hansard source
4. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jonathan Hinder

   Topical Questions

   I am grateful to the Policing Minister for her answer to my written question on the Police Federation’s accounts, which have not been published since 2023. In that answer, she made reference to the police reform White Paper, saying that the “Government stands ready” to act. As she knows, seven senior officials from the Police Federation have been arrested since then, so I do not think it is going in the right direction—it is going in the wrong direction. It is time to act, is it not?

   Hansard source
5. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jon Trickett

   Civil Service Pensions

   The right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen) says that people should be held accountable for their actions, but let us remember that the Conservatives allocated this contract to Capita, knowing that it was a recidivist, continually breaking contracts that had been outsourced. It is totally unacceptable that a woman living in Upton in my constituency who gave 40 years of her life to public service has been left with no response from Capita for over 300 days since we contacted them. Since then, she was diagnosed with cancer. We can imagine the problems that people affected by this issue face in any event; pile on the problems that she has with illness, and we can imagine the personal anguish. Has the Minister been able to establish whether Capita is in breach of contract? Finally, let me say this: bring it back in house.

   Hansard source
6. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·John McDonnell

   Civil Service Pensions

   I am the chair of the Public and Commercial Services Union parliamentary group. I think we all appreciate that my hon. Friend has inherited a scandal, and I thank her for the access that she has given to the unions and for working with them closely. In her statement, she mentioned the independent audit report. Will the Grant Thornton report be published and, if so, when? The trade unions are willing to work with the Minister on bringing this service in-house—first the front operations, then eventually the computer systems—in a gradual but, I hope, fast way. Let me ask her this. The Government went ahead and outsourced to Capita the payment of salaries in three Government Departments under the Synergy contact. If there is any delay in wage payments at all, will that contract be brought in-house immediately?

   Hansard source
7. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·John Grady

   Knife Crime

   6. What progress her Department has made on reducing levels of knife crime.

   Hansard source
8. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·John Grady

   Knife Crime

   I am concerned about young people and knife crime in my home city of Glasgow. Victim Support Scotland has asked the Scottish Government to carry out a comprehensive review of why young people become involved in knife crime and how effective Scottish programmes are at preventing it. This is backed by my constituent, Neil McCrimmon, and his family. Their beloved son Kory was stabbed to death, and the family has campaigned with great courage against knife crime. I fully support Victim Support Scotland’s call for a comprehensive review. Will the Home Secretary confirm that she would support the Scottish Government, were they to carry out such a review?

   Hansard source
9. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Johanna Baxter

   Road Traffic Collision Reporting: Cats

   It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I thank the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) for opening this debate. I agree with him that the Members contributing to this debate have in their heart concern for the protection, welfare and wellbeing of cats. I also thank the 383 people across Paisley and Renfrewshire South who signed the petition. I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on cats. I also declare an interest as the proud servant of two cats, Clement Cattlee and Mo Meowlam. [Laughter.] That always gets a chuckle in the House. As someone who loves cats very deeply, this issue hits close to home. I have spent many an evening sat up wondering where Clem has got to—she is the one that wanders—and have on more than one occasion sent my husband out in his dressing gown to find her. Like every animal lover in this place, the thought of any pet being hurt or lost in a road traffic accident is truly heartbreaking. I know the agonising distress that families face when a beloved companion goes missing and hold immense sympathy for the heartfelt intentions behind the motion we are debating. Under the current Road Traffic Act, drivers must report collisions involving dogs and livestock, but not cats, even though the highway code rightly encourages drivers to report animal accidents and contact owners wherever possible. It is entirely understandable that so many compassionate people want to close that gap, especially given the disparity in treatment between cats and dogs, which are predominantly the pets we have in households across the country. There is a complexity to those legislative changes. I am conscious that the country’s leading cat charity, Cats Protection, warned that introducing them could have various unintended consequences, including the imposition of criminal and civil liability on the owners of cats involved in collisions, which could inadvertently harm the very animals we are all trying to protect. The owners of animals currently covered by the Act have a legal duty to keep them under control or properly contained. If they cause an accident, their owners can face criminal liability and insurance claims. As cat owners, we know that cats are different from dogs. They are uniquely independent. They are curious creatures and their instinct is to roam, explore and experience the outdoors, which is so fundamental to who they are—certainly, trying to control Clem would be a very difficult task indeed. The current law recognises that cats have a right to roam and cannot realistically be controlled in the same way as dogs or livestock, so bringing cats into a framework designed for dogs and livestock risks creating new legal responsibilities around containment, control and liability for cat owners. That could push cat owners to keep their cats indoors, preventing them from performing the natural behaviours that they need to perform to live happy, healthy lives. The Cats Protection charity estimates that 3% of UK cats are involved in road traffic accidents, and behind that figure is a deeply personal, painful loss for the families of those pets. However, we must ensure that our response does not create a broader harm for the millions of happy, free-roaming cats across the country. That does not mean that something cannot be done—it can and it must—but we must channel our shared compassion into solutions that truly work. As we have heard, microchipping is the most reliable way to reunite pets with their families. That is now legally mandated in England, and I urge our devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to follow suit so that every pet across the UK has that vital safeguard. On scanning, highways bodies across England and Scotland already collect and scan cat road victims and notify their owners. Cats Protection has published a scanning guide for local authorities, and I urge local authorities across the country to ensure that they have sight of that and are utilising it. Going back to my previous point, however, that is effective in ensuring that families receive the closure they so desperately seek only when a cat has a microchip. On drivers, we are a nation of animal lovers, so stopping to help an injured animal should not be too much to ask of any decent, moral person. A driver who hits a cat should take them to a vet for emergency treatment, where they can also be scanned for a microchip—that is the quickest way to identify the owner. Increasing driver education so that motorists know how to act quickly and who to contact will save lives, bringing injured pets to emergency care when every minute counts. I share the deep empathy and true love for these wonderful animals that has brought us all to this Chamber. That must also mean that we protect them by preserving who they are, including their roaming instincts. Every loss on our roads is a tragedy, but taking away a cat’s freedom to roam would be a quiet tragedy experienced by many millions more.

   Hansard source
10. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jo White

    Topical Questions

    The Government have consulted on our proposals for a reformed earned settlement scheme. We received more than 200,000 responses, which are being reviewed and analysed. The Government’s response will be announced in due course.

    Hansard source
11. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jo White

    Topical Questions

    We are currently consulting on proposals for earned settlement, but I would be happy to hear more about the situation facing the hon. Member’s constituent.

    Hansard source
12. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jo White

    Topical Questions

    I thank my hon. Friend for raising this case. As she will know, we received over 200,000 responses, and we are now in the process of carefully considering the feedback received. The proposals set out a fundamental reform of the settlement system, and it is right that we take the time needed to consider the impacts. The House will be updated in due course.

    Hansard source
13. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jo White

    Topical Questions

    Net migration remains high compared with pre-2020 levels, and GDP continues to grow. Over-relying on international recruitment while failing to train and upskill our domestic workforce is not a sustainable economic strategy.

    Hansard source
14. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jim Dickson

    Road Traffic Collision Reporting: Cats

    On the point about families losing cats, a constituent of mine lost her cat shortly before Christmas 2024 after he was run over and killed on Alkerden Lane. The cat was a huge part of her life and she felt very lost without him. Despite an eyewitness urging the car driver to stop they did not. My constituent cannot understand why the driver was under no obligation to do so; I urge Ministers to address that. Does my hon. Friend agree that in such a situation it is simply right and proper for the driver to stop regardless of whether the law obliges them to do so?

    Hansard source
15. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jim Dickson

    Civil Service Pensions

    I thank the Minister for her update and recognise that she is working hard to try to resolve what is a heartbreaking situation for so many pension recipients. I have seven cases currently open with the Department, including the case of a constituent who retired on 1 May but, despite repeated correspondence, has received no payment since then. Another constituent, whose case I first raised with Capita in January, ahead of his retirement in spring, finally received a quotation, with payments expected, only for Capita to decide that the quotation was wrong. He is now back to square one, and is still not receiving any payments. Will the Minister undertake to investigate those two particular cases, as well as others that my office has raised with the Department, and ensure that they are resolved?

    Hansard source
16. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jim Dickson

    Rough Sleeping and Good Growth Funds

    I applaud both the Minister’s ambition to get to zero rough sleeping and the money on the table to get there, but does she agree that the key to achieving that objective is the Government, councils and third sector organisations working together to provide a pathway off the streets into sustained accommodation, with support on every step of that journey for the homeless person? Will she join me in paying tribute to Porchlight in my constituency, which has been working across Kent over the past 50 years to get rough sleepers off the street? It does fantastic work with the NHS and St Edmund church to support rough sleepers in Dartford.

    Hansard source
17. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jessica Morden

    Civil Service Pensions

    I thank the Minister for initiating this statement on civil service pensions and for her strong commitment to hold Capita to account, because we are still getting no updates or progress even on the cases that we were told were a priority, particularly those relating to the bereaved. I know she knows the hardship and anxiety this is causing out there, so in the short term will she push those priority cases harder? I join other hon. Members in supporting her to sort this out.

    Hansard source
18. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jeff Smith

    Topical Questions

    T9. Have Ministers noted the recent report from the University of Sheffield, which showed that drug diversion schemes for people caught in possession of controlled drugs are more successful at cutting reoffending than prosecutions? Will the Minister encourage police forces to use those schemes?

    Hansard source
19. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jayne Kirkham

    Topical Questions

    Will the Government give consideration to supporting police forces and integrated care boards to restore 24/7 independent domestic violence advisers across police stations, and perhaps emergency departments, too? Will they also consider mandatory trauma-informed training and supervision for Devon and Cornwall police?

    Hansard source
20. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·James Naish

    Topical Questions

    T4. I have met doctors at the Queen’s medical centre in Nottingham about the rise in acquired brain injuries among young people due to e-bike accidents. There have been 10 cases since April this year. Nottinghamshire police has already seized 208 such bikes this year, so officers are trying to act, but what more can the Department do to give the police the resources they need to tackle this genuine concern?

    Hansard source
21. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·James Naish

    Performance of Royal Mail

    Earlier today, a constituent of mine contacted my office to say that they had received 22 items in a single delivery, only one of which was first class. Does my hon. Friend know that most items, including public guardian letters and NHS letters, come via Whistl and UK Mail, which means that they do not actually get included in the universal service data that we often hear about. Does he agree that we need to look at updating the way we measure the collection of post, because Royal Mail is failing more than a lot of people realise?

    Hansard source
22. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Ian Lavery

    Performance of Royal Mail

    I refer the House to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests of support from the trade unions. We have come to something with Royal Mail when the surest way of getting a letter delivered on time is by putting it inside a parcel, but that is the sorry situation we face. What a place to be in with this fantastic national British institution. For years now, residents across my constituency have been contacting me about issues, and we have discussed things with the staff at the sorting offices, working closely with the CWU and the workforce. The situation we are seeing at the Royal Mail is undoubtedly a deliberate ploy to end the universal service obligation. If things are not halted and the private company is not reined in, we will probably see the end of the Royal Mail. Like most other speakers, I pay tribute to the staff and the posties who have done a fantastic job. Did the posties not carry on through covid? These are fantastic public sector workers who at one time were so proud of being posties. That is not there any more. It has been bashed out of them. I recognise that there are time constraints in this debate, but I will mention some of the issues facing my constituents. It is horrendous—it is chaos. We have hospital appointments being missed. We have medical correspondence being missed and delayed. We have financial hardship being caused by late bills and official documents not being received. We have postal votes for democratic elections not being received, and vulnerable residents left anxious and frustrated as they wait for important communications. We have an elderly man who received a fine of £600 because of a traffic incident; he was accused of not returning the letter, despite the fact that he had. It is not just about receiving correspondence; it is about sending it. I am going to say something pretty coarse, but I make no apologies, because it is important. I had an individual who was taking his well man test; he sent a poo sample to the hospital, as you do. Weeks later, he got a letter from the doctor saying, “Sorry, can you do it again? Your sample lay in the sorting office for far too long.” For heaven’s sake, that is coarse, but it is the sort of thing that we are facing. I can see the grimace on Madam Deputy Speaker’s face, and she is right! It is horrendous to think that this is the case. We have got to look at it. What about the people who are waiting anxiously by the letterbox for results of tests for cancer or other medical problems? What about the people waiting for their passports to go on holiday? It cannot continue. It is important to recognise that the speeches in this debate have been broadly in line with each other, apart from those Lib Dems who say that Ofcom should have more powers and will not accept that—perhaps, perhaps—the renationalisation of Royal Mail is the answer. The postal service is not a luxury; it is an essential, critical public service. It should exist to serve the public interest, not simply the interests of the market. If private ownership cannot deliver the reliable universal service that people have every right to expect, then the Government must be prepared to act. I want the second option proposed by my right hon. Friend the Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones): renationalise the Royal Mail and see how it develops. The message today is simple: the excuses and broken promises must stop; the services must be fixed; and if Royal Mail cannot fix them, we should give the public the opportunity to run it properly once again. I am sure that I am not the only Member who received an email this morning from, I think, the director of communications at Royal Mail, telling me how things are going to be better tomorrow. I have met with directors of communications—regionally, nationally, next door—who promised the world and, as is typical for Royal Mail, did not deliver. When I have met them, they have all been genuinely decent people, but they have not had any grip on or understanding of exactly what is happening in Royal Mail itself. I believe the hard-working posties; I believe the people who have been committed to that employment for a lifetime. Royal Mail was established over 400 years ago, and we need to ensure that it continues for another 400 years—perhaps with nationalisation.

    Hansard source
23. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Helen Hayes

    Road Traffic Collision Reporting: Cats

    It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Vickers. I am grateful to CatsMatter for all its campaigning work on the issue of cat road deaths, and to every one of the almost 200,000 people, including 209 in my constituency, who signed the petition in support of a change in the law to require drivers to report collisions with cats to the police. I am a lifelong cat lover, and I know that cats become members of our families. Whether it be my childhood cats Mitzi and Biff; Cos, the elderly ginger cat who we inherited from my husband’s grandmother when she passed away; Bella, the nervous kitten; Mr A, the rescue cat with the assertive personality; or our current cats Sylvie and Pearl, five-year-old siblings who have been with us since they were eight weeks old, I love cats. They are our companions and a constant presence in our homes, each with their own personality. I should give a special mention to Fanny, the Gipsy Hill station cat, who is loved by so many of my constituents. She oversees proceedings at our local station, makes sure that everything is in order and provides comfort and cheer to commuters as they wait for trains. When a cat dies, we feel the loss very deeply. I know the specific anxiety and distress felt when a cat simply does not come home and we have to piece together the reasons why. In our case, we have lost two cats to dogs who were let out off the lead in the vicinity of our home. Both times, our much-loved pet simply did not return, and we discovered only much later what had happened to them. The uncertainty of having a missing animal compounded the eventual loss. Some 230,000 cats are killed on our roads every year, and far too often, a devastating loss is compounded by not knowing what happened or by discovering an injured or dead animal after a protracted search. I know people who, after losing a cat in such circumstances, have never been able to bring themselves to get another one—not because they do not want to, but because the pain of the loss is simply too much to contemplate living through again. The law is out of sync with the strength of public feeling on this issue, and does not adequately recognise the depth of the bonds that so many people have with their cats and how devastating their loss can be. I understand that there are some complexities about changing the law, highlighted by Cats Protection, concerning the difference between cats as roaming animals and other animals listed in the Road Traffic Act 1988, which are all required by law to be kept under control. A duty to report collisions involving cats would primarily be about easing the pain of loss by enabling owners to understand what had happened to their cat and, where appropriate, to seek treatment for it as promptly as possible. A new duty should recognise that cats are roaming animals, and that accidents happen sometimes through no fault of the driver. It would need to recognise that a cat owner who allows a cat out to engage in its natural roaming behaviour is not at fault for doing so. I agree with the points made by other Members about the need for clarity for drivers about which agency they should report a collision to, and that uncertainty extends to drivers who hit an animal currently reportable under the Road Traffic Act as well as under any new regulations concerning cats. I urge the Government to look very carefully at this issue and to work out a way in which the law can be updated to require collisions with cats to be reported. There is a gap between public sentiment and the current legislation. Where that occurs, the Government have a duty to work to fill it.

    Hansard source
24. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Helen Hayes

    Performance of Royal Mail

    As a London MP, my hon. Friend is describing the experience of my constituents as well. When I go to Royal Mail to try to interrogate its poor performance, it is required only to give performance data on the basis of the first part of the postcode, so poor performance in SE24 is disguised by average figures for the SE postcode area. Does she agree that it would be a step forward in Royal Mail’s accountability if it had to report performance on the delivery office area, rather than the whole district postcode area?

    Hansard source
25. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Graeme Downie

    Antisocial Behaviour

    Around 1,000 constituents in Dunfermline recently told me in a city centre survey that they were concerned about coming into the city centre, to places such as the bus station and the Kingsgate shopping centre, because of antisocial behaviour. Will the Minister agree to work with the Scottish Government on the respect orders to ensure that lessons can be learned on both sides of the border, so that people can feel safe in Dunfermline and across England, Scotland and Wales?

    Hansard source
26. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gordon McKee

    Civil Service Pensions

    My constituent Denise lost her husband in September last year, and in the more than a year since she has been passed from pillar to post by Capita, as have many of my other impacted constituents. Now Capita tells me that it has lost the form that Denise submitted in January. Does the Minister share my disgust at this rank incompetence? Will she do everything she can to help Denise and my other constituents?

    Hansard source
27. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gordon McKee

    Rough Sleeping and Good Growth Funds

    One person sleeping rough is one person too many, but recently published figures show that 793 people have been left to sleep on the street in Glasgow this year alone. I agree with the Minister’s assessment that the best way to tackle this is with properly empowered and properly resourced local government. Will she restate and expand on the Prime Minister’s offer to work with the Scottish Government to empower local governments, so that together we can ensure that no one is left to sleep rough in Glasgow or anywhere else in the country?

    Hansard source
28. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gill German

    Antisocial Behaviour

    My recent Pride in Place survey in Rhyl found that antisocial behaviour such as street drinking and fly-tipping is putting many people off visiting their own town centre. With respect orders coming into force today, what guidance is being given to police to make good use of them against repeat offenders so that people want to visit their own town centre again?

    Hansard source
29. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gill German

    Performance of Royal Mail

    I want to put my thanks on record to postal workers across Clwyd North, and in particular in Colwyn bay where there have been recent problems, and to say sorry that they have been left to deal with the consequences of failure that are not of their making. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that frontline postal workers should not be expected to shoulder responsibility for problems stemming from the organisation, and that it is Royal Mail’s responsibility to ensure that resources are in the right place to provide a good service?

    Hansard source
30. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gareth Snell

    Jobs and Employment: Staffordshire

    It is not just about the young people; it is also about the adult reskilling opportunities. The Chancellor’s announcement of the union learning fund was incredibly welcome, but with an ageing workforce in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, and with technological advances often outpacing the skills of the people already in work, we must make sure we keep those people who are in jobs trained to the level that means that they can carry on working. If the Minister could respond to that, I would be very grateful.

    Hansard source
31. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Gareth Snell

    Jobs and Employment: Staffordshire

    I have spoken to the Minister about this issue before, and I have spoken to the Minister for Skills in the other place as well, but the DWP could help to move this forward by looking at the restrictions on apprenticeship provider and assessment register registrations for new apprenticeship providers, and by changing the £100,000 de minimis for subcontracting. There are companies and employers in Stoke that want to take on apprentices but cannot do so because the contracts are already at the limit. If the DWP could look at that, we could revolutionise apprenticeship providers in the county.

    Hansard source
32. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Frank McNally

    Civil Service Pensions

    I thank my hon. Friend for her statement. As I have mentioned in the House before, my constituent Mr Fraser served as a prison officer until he retired in 2020, yet six years on he is still waiting for his accurate pension. Like many impacted by the McCloud remedy, he has been met with barrier after barrier, with little to no explanation—as have I, when I met Capita as recently as the summer. Can she update the House on what specific steps are being taken to clear the McCloud cases so that Mr Fraser can receive what he is entitled to?

    Hansard source
33. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Frank McNally

    Performance of Royal Mail

    I pay tribute to my hon. Friends the Members for Redditch (Chris Bloore) and for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) for the work they have done on this issue over many months. On 11 September this year, my constituents Helen and Joe lost their bank cards in Coatbridge town centre. They promptly cancelled their credit and debit cards, requested new ones and were told that they would receive them within three to five days. More than three weeks later, they had not received anything. They went down to their local sorting office to find not only their four bank cards undelivered but no less than 22 other pieces of mail. They collected them and returned a week later to see if there was anything else. There were 11 pieces of mail undelivered. When they asked the sorting office for an explanation, they were told that parcels get priority. It seems that first-class letters, which should be delivered the next day, are not arriving for up to five days, and some second-class letters are not being delivered at all. Along with Helen and Joe, dozens of constituents have been in touch with me to say that they have missed interviews and failed to receive bank and other financial letters as well as legal documents due to the systemic issues. Critical hospital appointments have also been missed, as has been a theme of the debate. Some of my constituents have waited months or years for critical treatment only for the appointment letter to fail to arrive in time. In Scotland, 30,000 people have been waiting over a year for critical NHS treatment. Imagine the stress they would feel to discover that they have missed a letter telling them that they have an appointment on a specific day. This is really consequential for people in my constituency. I have heard from local businesses who have missed payments or had payments delayed because they have not received documents in the post on time. It is clear that we cannot go on like this. My constituents deserve better, and so do our postal workers. Over the last year, I visited Royal Mail delivery offices in Coatbridge and Bellshill and witnessed the excellent efforts of the dedicated staff there. Our posties are pounding the streets day in, day out in all conditions. The very least that they deserve is for those at the top of Royal Mail to get their bit right. Earlier this year I met with the CWU to hear of the issues that their members are facing. They spoke of the two-tier employment of Royal Mail workers. While Royal Mail has committed to equalising terms and conditions for employees hired post 2022, full equalisation has been left to the ongoing review due to Royal Mail’s claims that it cannot afford it—that is in the context of the company making operating profits of £294 million in the last two years. We know that there is a high staff turnover in the business. Indeed, since 2022 across the country half of new Royal Mail workers left the organisation within a year, as my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North East (Maureen Burke) has said. Such turmoil in workplace terms and conditions has serious consequences for staff morale. I met with the Minister’s predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for East Renfrewshire (Blair McDougall), to raise these issues, and I want to place on record my thanks to him for all his work in his area. I also thank the Minister for her attention to these matters. I know that, like me, colleagues have taken their concerns directly to the chief executive of Ofcom, Dame Melanie Dawes. When she wrote back to me in March, she told me of Ofcom’s work calling on Royal Mail to publish a credible plan to improve quality and restore consumer confidence. That plan was published in April, with Royal Mail promising that it will meet Ofcom’s delivery targets by next April. That is far too slow. More so-called plans mean nothing to constituents like Helen and Joe, or the many others who have contacted me in recent months about missed mail, if they do not produce better outcomes. It is critical that Royal Mail gives evidence to MPs and engages fully in the upcoming summit. It is also important that Ofcom and the Government use all the powers that they have to make this service better for our constituents. The service is simply not good enough, and urgent action is required.

    Hansard source
34. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Rough Sleeping and Good Growth Funds

    With permission, I would like to make a statement on the Government’s plan to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness and to deliver good growth in every part of the country. On the Prime Minister’s first day in Downing Street, he made ending rough sleeping his first priority. He did so because having a safe and secure place to call home matters to almost everything else in life. It affects our health and how children do at school, whether people can find and keep a job and the opportunities that come their way in the future. Security is about much more than a roof over our heads; it is about whether the place we call home gives us the chance to succeed. That means putting the foundations in place for strong local economies and thriving places, because, ultimately, the economic growth we want is created by people, and people are better able to get on in life when they have a decent home, a good job and a community with the tools to shape its own future. For this Government, that means backing local leaders, too, giving them the freedom to invest in the homes, high streets, jobs and infrastructure their communities need, rather than making them bid for funding from Whitehall pots. Today, I am updating the House on two important steps in our work: new investment to tackle rough sleeping and prevent homelessness, and the roll-out of good growth funding across England. Both stem from the same belief: national Government should provide the backing while local leaders who know their communities have the freedom to get on and deliver. Earlier today, the Prime Minister brought together local leaders, charities, businesses and other partners in Downing Street to drive forward the pledge he made on his first day in office. Our immediate commitment is to offer everyone sleeping rough a route off the streets this Christmas and to bring forward new accommodation and the right support to help people move ahead with their lives. We are backing that commitment with an extra £432 million from next year, so that local areas can continue to provide a route off the streets over the rest of this Parliament. That takes the total funding supporting the Prime Minister’s pledge to £874 million. This immediate help matters enormously, particularly as the winter approaches. This weekend, the first two named storms of the season brought severe weather across the country. Tragically, two men lost their lives after being struck by falling trees in Dumfries and Galloway and in north London. Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones. For anyone sleeping rough on the streets, that is a stark reminder of the dangers that winter can bring. Getting people somewhere safe is urgent, but just as important is what happens next. It is not enough to offer somebody a bed for a few nights and then see them return to the streets. People sleeping rough may need help with their physical or mental health, finding a job or other complex needs. A route off the streets, then, must come with the support that people need to rebuild their lives, regain their independence and, crucially, find lasting security away from the streets. This programme is designed to be led locally. Rough sleeping does not stop at council boundaries, and neither do many of the services that people rely on. Whether funding goes directly to local councils or through mayoral strategic authorities, local leaders will have the flexibility to bring partners together and respond to local pressures. However, we need to break the cycle of crisis altogether. We cannot wait until someone has lost their home before stepping in. That is at the heart of our national plan to end homelessness: public services working together, intervening earlier and preventing homelessness wherever possible. That is why we have already moved to ban no-fault evictions, repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824 and reform right to buy to protect our social housing stock. We are bringing long-term empty homes back into use and tackling unsuitable bed-and-breakfast accommodation for families. Temporary accommodation should be temporary. All too often, it is anything but. The principle of trust in local leaders brings me to good growth. In our “Rewiring the State” Cabinet statement in July, we committed to supporting mayors to establish good growth funds across England, putting more investment and decisions in the hands of local leaders. Today, I am updating the House on the first steps towards delivering that commitment, ahead of the Chancellor confirming the plans at the Budget. The people best placed to help their communities should be given the freedom to invest in their future. For too long, local leaders have had to navigate a patchwork of Whitehall funding pots, making it harder to plan for the long term and use public money effectively to unlock the most important projects for economic growth. Good growth funds are designed to change that. Today, we are confirming funding of £285 million for 2027-28, comprising good growth funds and transitional capital funding for other areas progressing towards mayoral devolution. That will give local leaders more freedom to invest in the projects their places need, from homes and town centre regeneration to infrastructure that connects people to jobs and opportunities. Importantly, when money goes back into that fund, it can be used to back new projects. That creates a virtuous cycle: public money goes further while mayors gain greater independence to plan and deliver for the long term. I am proud to be a product of local government, and I want local government to have the means to deliver. That is why we are working with mayors to design a new £1.5 billion borrowing facility from 2028, giving them access to finance to back major local projects. We will provide strategic authorities with an additional £150 million in 2027-28 to strengthen their capacity and capability as the range of powers and responsibilities they hold grows, because devolution cannot simply mean giving local leaders more responsibility. If we expect them to take on that responsibility, they need the people, expertise and resources to deliver properly. These are first steps. The Chancellor will confirm these plans at the Budget, alongside the fiscal devolution road map, which will set out the Government’s plan for a new funding system for regional and local government in England. I began with the commitment the Prime Minister made on his first day in Downing Street. Today’s summit at Downing Street was about keeping the momentum behind that promise—getting people off the streets, ensuring that the right help is there for them afterwards and breaking the cycle of crisis that leads people into homelessness in the first place. The Prime Minister also talked on his first day about a Government who invest in people’s successes rather than paying for failure, and that underpins all I have set out today. People can get on in life when they have a decent home, a good job and a community with the confidence and means to shape its future. That means giving people the security they need. It means giving local leaders the powers and investment to create opportunities in the places they know best. That is how we build a country where no one is written off and where every part of the country has the chance to succeed and to share in that good growth. In that spirit, I commend this statement to the House.

    Hansard source
35. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Rough Sleeping and Good Growth Funds

    It is always good to see the hon. Member in his place. We have to look at the facts of what we are dealing with. This Government inherited a homelessness and rough sleeping crisis; both rough sleeping and homelessness in temporary accommodation have more than doubled since 2010. I mentioned that I have just come from a summit earlier this morning in Downing Street, where the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State and I convened a range of organisations, charities, faith leaders, civic societies and groups, and council leaders working on this important issue. To understand the challenges of rough sleeping, we have to recognise that it is not about just putting a roof over people’s heads. For many people sleeping rough, it is about the wraparound support. It is about the long-term interventions on substance misuse. It is about support to help them manage their finances. This is what, crucially, that funding will go to. It is not about handing out £200,000 per person; it is about the many organisations who fundraise on an annual basis to address this issue. We on this side of the House are proud that this Government are committed to that, given that, to our shame, we are seeing people still sleeping rough in England in 2026. The shadow Minister outlined the figures and statistics from Manchester. What he failed to realise and mention is the fact that the then Mayor of Greater Manchester inherited that crisis from the then Government, and that there was not enough funding to support some of the key initiatives. So the then Mayor of Greater Manchester took on that initiative, working with many charities to bring forward a programme which we are now looking to replicate in order to be able to meet this commitment. When looking at investment and intensive support for people sleeping rough, we must listen to their lived experience—the lived experience that was shared with us this afternoon and at that summit—to ensure this is an issue not just for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to solve, but working across Departments, across Cabinet, showing that there is real commitment. Now we have a Prime Minister, Secretary of State and Minister who are really focused on looking at how we can end rough sleeping, I hope the Opposition will get on board.

    Hansard source
36. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Rough Sleeping and Good Growth Funds

    I thank the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee for her participation in this morning’s summit. She highlighted the Committee’s statement and recommendations: I hope that she agrees that this Government are going further and faster than previous Governments in addressing rough sleeping. This new cash injection will make immediate provision to address the Committee’s recommendations, help to ensure people are off the streets by Christmas and, most importantly, provide long-term and intensive wraparound support to ensure that no one ends up back on the streets. She knows that the local housing allowance is close to my heart. We continue to raise it with Treasury colleagues and I ask her to continue to press the Treasury on the matter, in the same way that I will continue to do so.

    Hansard source
37. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Rough Sleeping and Good Growth Funds

    I thank the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for her important questions. Local councils, strategic authorities and charities are working hand in hand with the Government to address rough sleeping. At the summit this morning, I heard people excited by the plans and the additional funding, and willing to play their part because they recognise that Government cannot do this alone. Solving this issue will take a whole-of-society approach and everyone coming together. The National Housing Federation has been working with its partners to bring forward and offer over 2,000 properties across the country, although we need many more and this is just a start. Local councils are up for the challenge and they are working with the Government. I hope that the additional funding offers them the guarantee that the Government are committed to the issue in the long term. They had funding guaranteed only until March, but now they have funding for the next three years. We are putting our money where our mouth is to show that we are working on the issue and we are offering support in the long run. The hon. Lady asks about rural local authorities. Rough sleeping comes in many different forms and guises across the country, and it is important for us to take a place-by-place approach. There are a range of complex reasons why people end up rough sleeping. We know that rough sleeping in urban areas is totally different from rough sleeping in coastal or rural areas, so any approach must be led by local councils, strategic authorities and local organisations who know what works best in the area. The hon. Lady asks about our long-term building ambitions. We know that the only way that we can address the vicious cycle of people finding themselves homeless again and going back to sleeping rough is by having safe, secure and affordable social homes, like those that many hon. Members grew up in. Through the social and affordable homes programme, we are making the biggest cash injection to build those homes, and equally protecting the homes that we currently have. We have set out those plans in the Social Housing Bill, which I hope the Lib Dems will continue to support.

    Hansard source
38. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Rough Sleeping and Good Growth Funds

    I thank my right hon. Friend for his support and for recognising the work that we are trying to do and areas where we are working to get additional funding from the Treasury. He is right about ensuring that funding goes out as quickly as possible, and we are working with a range of different councils and strategic authorities to look at how best to get that funding out. Discussions continue to go on with my officials, the Local Government Association and other council leaders to ensure that the money goes out in the most appropriate ways.

    Hansard source
39. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Rough Sleeping and Good Growth Funds

    One of the key pressures that we see is the revolving door of criminals being released with nowhere to go. This is about how we tackle and address the stigma with criminals coming out from prison. We are working closely with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice to identify and ensure that before prisoners are released, they have somewhere safe and secure to go. Ultimately, this is about looking at where the funding is going. With regard to the right hon. Lady’s comment about the tents, I am not aware of that, but I am happy to provide her with additional information.

    Hansard source
40. 26 Oct 2026·Parliament·Labour·Florence Eshalomi

    Rough Sleeping and Good Growth Funds

    I thank my hon. Friend for raising that really important question. The Routes off the Street initiative has to be tailored to a person’s individual circumstances—that could mean accommodation, support or both. Support could include things around mental health, substance misuse, employment or training, or support to access and maintain accommodation. One comment I heard at the summit was about someone who had been sleeping rough for many years who, even when offered accommodation, chose to sleep in a sleeping bag. We have to recognise that for many people, this is not just about securing accommodation; we have to take a tailored and individual approach to how we help people, with many of them suffering long-term trauma and needing additional support. It is vital that we continue to work with colleagues across the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care in looking at the additional support that will help people to stay off the streets.

    Hansard source