Parliament's party history for this member: Labour ( – present).
Register of interests
Every entry the member has in the Register of Members' Financial Interests, as Parliament currently publishes it. The wording and values are the member's own declarations; nothing here has been assessed by this site.
Totals add only the entries that declare an amount received: payments for work, donations, gifts, and funded visits (register categories 1.1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). Ongoing employment is listed but not added, because its figure is a rate rather than a sum received. Each entry is dated by when the benefit happened, not when it was registered, and placed under the party the member sat for on that date. A member who changed party therefore has a separate total for each.
Date
Category
Entry
Declared value
Sitting for
Source
3. Gifts, UK sources
British Phonographic Industry Limited (BPI) - £3,432.00
A large number of people from Hong Kong have chosen to make Stockport and Greater Manchester their home, and they make an invaluable contribution to our town and city region. Many of them have been worried over the last couple years about potential upcoming changes to indefinite leave to remain. I have met many of them over the last few months. What more can the Secretary of State say to reassure the people from the Hong Kong community who have used the British national overseas visa scheme that they are welcome in this country and that they will have a fair shot in terms of ILR?
I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am a member of the CWU. I thank the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Sorcha Eastwood) for securing this important debate. Of course, Ms Lewell, it is a pleasure to serve in this debate with you in the Chair.
If we need an example of disaster and chaos in privatising a public asset, we need look no further than Royal Mail. The water industry is a close challenger, but we would have an even longer debate if we were to discuss the issues in Royal Mail versus the issues in the privatised water industry. We need to recognise that in 2013 Royal Mail was privatised by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition. It is important to know that the root cause of the issues is that privatisation, which has been a disaster. My hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) mentioned that one option we should consider is renationalising Royal Mail, and I support that.
In my constituency of Stockport, I conducted an online survey—I do not need to reiterate the points about doing postal surveys, which would probably never get there or come back in time—and 89% of respondents experienced a service disruption or delays to Royal Mail deliveries and were dissatisfied with Royal Mail. I do not want to repeat the points that have already been made, but I have also been to my local delivery office on numerous occasions and the postal men and women do a fantastic job. None of us in this House on a cross-party basis has issues with our postal workers. The issue is with the toxic management, how the business is run and the lack of governance. It could be argued that Royal Mail management is better off paying the fine than actually meeting its obligations to the public. Stamp <span id="429WH" class="column-number" data-column-number="429WH"></span>prices keep going up, but letter deliveries keep getting worse. The hon. Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) suggested that there should be no further rises in the price of stamps until Royal Mail can demonstrate on a long-term basis that it has consistently improved letter delivery standards.
Just this week a resident reported that a first-class letter took over 10 days to arrive and they received birthday cards a week late. Another constituent, from Ainsdale Grove in Reddish in my constituency, contacted me to say that their entire street received large batches of delayed post, with some letters dating back to 25 September. That is completely unacceptable. As I said, I am a proud member of the CWU, but I want to see Royal Mail management working with the CWU. There have been reports that almost 400 postal workers are leaving their jobs at Royal Mail—there must be an extremely toxic culture for that number of people to be leaving. I could say a lot more, but time is limited.
I thank the hon. Lady, my constituency neighbour, for securing the debate. This is a very important issue. The hon. Lady, the hon. Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison) and I, although we are from two different political parties, work well together on issues like this. Does she recognise that Stockport council has had £2 million in the inclusive mainstream fund allocation under this Government? The council has also had just over £2 million for the Experts at Hand programme. Does she share my frustration that Stockport council has met the 20-week deadline for only 18% of education, health and care plans, in comparison with the English average, which is said to be 50%?
I appreciate the Minister’s points about the capital investment, but not a week goes by when a parent does not contact my office about their frustration with the local council not meeting the assessment deadline. I encourage the Minister and the Department to engage with Stockport council, because 18% is just not good enough. There is also a point to be made about parents from low-income backgrounds often just giving up, whereas people from other backgrounds perhaps continue the fight, contact their local councillors or pursue legal remedies.
<Question HRSContentId="{EEB73660-7FC6-4A17-977E-34CE48D84A5B}">8. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{A68F7A79-65DA-4BDD-9DA6-DE958B9288D4}">What steps she is taking to help increase levels of housing stock in Stockport constituency. </QuestionText></Question>
I congratulate my good friend the Secretary of State and the Ministers on their appointments. As a fellow Stopfordian, she knows Stockport well. In Stockport, nearly 10,000 households are on the waiting list for housing, and Stockport council has spent more than £2 million on temporary hotel accommodation for people who have nowhere else to go. Stockport also has one of the highest levels of residential tower blocks in Great Manchester. Many residents are living in ageing high-rise homes, including those in Lancashire Hill in my constituency, and they are raising serious concerns with me about the condition of their housing and their flats. Will the Secretary of State set out how her Department will support councils not only to build new social homes in our communities, but to invest in and protect existing housing stock, so that everyone has a safe, decent home to go to?
There is lots in this Bill that is very positive, but I want to raise a couple of local issues, including one relating to my local Stepping Hill hospital. I thank the Minister for meeting me and my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), to discuss the hospital, because it is at the heart of healthcare provision in my town of Stockport. <span id="793" class="column-number" data-column-number="793"></span>It serves around half a million patients per year and is one of the four specialist hub centres for emergency and higher-risk general surgery in Greater Manchester.
I appreciate that 14 years of austerity, imposed by the coalition Government of Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, and by subsequent Conservative Governments, have taken their toll on the NHS. The Labour Government have been trying to fix things over the last two years, but Stepping Hill hospital is a huge issue locally. I have mentioned the condition of the hospital a number of times in this Chamber, and a number of constituents frequently get in touch with me about the state of the hospital. At one point, Stepping Hill hospital was reported to be delivering only 51% of its usual outpatient services, which is simply not good enough. The staff do an amazing job, and an amazing set of volunteers support the hospital, but so much more needs to be done.
The backlog of repairs at the hospital is estimated to cost around £138 million. The Government have allocated £2.5 million for targeted essential repairs, fire safety and other works, and the foundation trust has been allocated £75 million by this Government over the next four years. That is a positive step, but I urge the Minister to go a bit further for Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester.
The second issue I want to raise is NHS-funded IVF treatment, which I have also mentioned previously. We live in a country where we have a postcode lottery in NHS funding for IVF treatment, and that should not be the case. I have signed new clause 104, tabled by the right hon. Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge (Sir Gavin Williamson), which is about ensuring that the provision of NHS-funded IVF is in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Once again, a number of parents in my constituency have been in touch with me about this issue. Sadly, NHS Greater Manchester ICB has taken the step of reducing provision. It conducted a consultation a few months ago, and 74% of respondents either disagreed or completely disagreed with the proposed one-plus cycle offer. I have submitted a freedom of information request to NHS Greater Manchester ICB regarding the cost and resources that went into the consultation, because it did the consultation and then proceeded to reduce the provision. The change disproportionately impacts low-income women and people from poorer backgrounds, and that is simply not good enough. Greater Manchester has a population of almost 3 million people, and this is a regressive step.
The Government need to do a lot better on mandating legal access to NHS-funded IVF. Current data from a fertility unit in the north-east—one of the only two areas where an ICB funds three full rounds of IVF treatment—shows that the chance of a woman under 40 having a baby after three cycles of treatment is 70%, but the figure for people who get access to one cycle is just 46%. In England, we need standardisation of IVF treatment.
I also support new clause 108, tabled by my good and hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne). I will not say much on this point, because I have spoken on three separate occasions in Westminster Hall and in this Chamber about data hygiene and safety. I have had a very large volume of correspondence from constituents on this issue. Many people in Stockport are worried about foreign tech firms having access to <span id="794" class="column-number" data-column-number="794"></span>their sensitive personal medical records. People need to have confidence that the personal details and data that they provide to the NHS will not be misused.
As I said earlier, this Government have achieved a lot in the last two years, but we need to recognise that there is so much more to be done. Labour Governments always fix things in the long run, but I ask the Minister specifically to go a bit further on Stepping Hill hospital and IVF.
Residents in my constituency, particularly in Portwood and Edgeley, are increasingly concerned about the overconcentration of houses in multiple occupation. Too many communities have been left feeling powerless as family homes are lost and local services come under strain, with increased traffic congestion and parking pressures. Local authorities need stronger planning and licensing powers, alongside <span id="493" class="column-number" data-column-number="493"></span>adequate funding, to manage the concentration of HMOs and protect the character of residential neighbourhoods. Will the Leader of the House allow time for a debate on further powers and resources to help councils regulate HMOs effectively and mitigate their impact on local communities?
<Question HRSContentId="{A53A35FD-CAA7-43A9-B0B1-75AE639B5958}">5. <QuestionText HRSContentId="{A8901032-654D-41A2-B215-B5ACBB17F091}">What discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on community cohesion in Northern Ireland. </QuestionText></Question>