David Pinto-Duschinsky MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Jun 2025 · Serious Fraud Office · Hansard source

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  I thank you, Sir John, for chairing this debate and all hon. Members who have taken part in it for their thoughtful and stimulating contributions. Given the time constraints, I will make just three observations about the points that have been covered today. First, this debate has thrown into sharp relief the appalling and devastating impact of fraud. I was struck by the points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd North (Gill German), who powerfully outlined the impact of fraud not just on individuals’ finances, but on their mental health. She articulated a crucial point, namely that fraud is not just a crime, but a form of exploitation. Her points were powerfully echoed by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who, as ever, was a forceful advocate for his area. He brought home to us not just the impact on individuals—it was really striking that everyone who spoke in the debate talked about the depth of that impact—but the particular dynamics in Northern Ireland. My second point is that this debate has focused on a few key potential solutions. A number of Members talked about the massive progress that the SFO has made, and it is important that that progress is acknowledged —indeed, it was really cheering to hear from the Minister about the progress being made across a broad front. Many speakers also emphasised the importance of co-ordination between agencies. My hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) said how important it is that existing agreements are effectively enforced. I was also struck by the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) made that we must ensure consistency of enforcement. My third observation—the key one—is that there has been real consensus in this Chamber about the devastating impact of economic crime and the absolute necessity of tackling it. I hope that we can build on that consensus as we collectively confront the challenge that we face. Question put and agreed to. Resolved , That this House has considered the Serious Fraud Office and tackling fraud and economic crime.

• 7 May 2025 · Personal Independence Payment: Disabled People · Hansard source

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  A strong social security system is not just the cornerstone of a welfare state, but a hallmark of a decent society. However, it is exactly because the system is so essential that we must safeguard its future. It is our duty not just to help the most vulnerable today, but to ensure that the system is sustainable so that it can offer support tomorrow. That is the central challenge when we consider PIP. The number receiving it has more than doubled in the five years since the pandemic, and more than 1,000 new people join it every single day. Although health conditions have become more widespread in the years following covid, due mainly to the Conservatives’ terrible mismanagement of and under-investment in the NHS, the number of people on health-related benefits such as PIP has, on some metrics, increased at twice the rate that underlying health conditions have. Those of us who believe in the welfare state cannot simply ignore this issue, and neither can we posit speculative new revenue sources to wish the problem away. Some of my hon. Friends have mentioned a wealth tax as a possible solution. I say to them gently: if only it were that easy. Dr Allin-Khan, “no country in the world has ever successfully had a wealth tax”. Those are not my words, but those of Paul Johnson, head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. If we are to protect the system, we must not seek to freeze it in aspic or ignore the problems it faces. Instead, we must confront the problems head on and seek reforms that will allow the institutions of the welfare state and the values they encode to endure.

• 25 Mar 2025 · Terms and Conditions of Employment · Hansard source

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  I start by declaring an interest as a proud member of the GMB and Unison unions. This is a debate about four numbers: 3 million, £1,400, £2,500 and 10 million. Three million is the number of people who will benefit from the fantastic measures being announced today; £1,400 is how much they will benefit—a real life-changing amount—while £2,500 is how much someone aged 18 to 20 years old will benefit from these changes and 10 million is the number of people whose lives will see a transformative impact from our Employment Rights Bill. All of that is being achieved by a Labour Government, with our plan for change delivering security for working people, but so much of it is opposed by the Conservatives. On a day when we are debating giving a pay rise to 3 million people, it is striking and speaks volumes that the Opposition Benches are completely empty. That is the difference between the Government and the Conservatives. That pay rise is the difference that a Labour Government make. The Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Dame Harriett Baldwin) just tried slightly to rewrite history, but I am old enough to remember the pre-minimum wage era and who brought it to an end: a Labour Government. The introduction of the national minimum wage was a radical and transformative step, and it was opposed every step of the way by the Conservatives. When Labour included a policy for a minimum wage in our 1992 manifesto, Michael Howard claimed that it would destroy up to 2 million jobs. When we brought it to this place as legislation in 1998, the Conservatives fought it tooth and nail every single step of the way. The Conservatives’ concerns turned out to be totally unfounded. It was a pointless opposition to measures that increased the wages of more than a million workers immediately in the UK, as the evidence from my hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) pointed out. Indeed, the shadow Chancellor at the time, now better known for his railway journeys, eventually ended Tory opposition to the minimum wage, saying: “The minimum wage has caused less damage to employment than we feared.” How different the picture looks today. We have a Leader of the Opposition who recently said that the minimum wage was “overburdening” business and that maternity pay was “excessive”. In an article for ConservativeHome, the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Mel Stride) said that our measures to boost employment rights and make work pay would have a negative effect on business, “especially in lower-wage sectors like hospitality and retail”. Perhaps the shadow Chancellor does not realise that the entire point of these measures is to bring these workers—in particular, young workers—out of low pay, to improve retention, to keep people in work and to boost our economy. The low-wage, low-growth economy that the Conservatives presided over for 14 years brought with it stagnation and a growing number of people who either left employment or never entered it in the first place. Given that, we all know where we stand. I will wrap up by saying that this measure represents a choice. Our choice is to increase the minimum wage and put money back in the pockets of working people. It is a choice to put people first. It will help thousands of people in Hendon and millions of people across this country, and it is a choice I am proud to support.

• 14 Mar 2025 · Rare Cancers Bill · Hansard source

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  I start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) for raising this deeply important issue. I know that I speak for everyone here in finding his words about his father-in-law, and the story of Kira, very moving. I join him in welcoming Kira’s family. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) for her campaigning on this issue—her sister would be very proud of her. I also pay tribute to everyone who has spoken, for both their bravery and the immense bravery of their constituents and their family members. I particularly want to recognise the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood) and the story of Dan, the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding), my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers) for her powerful speech about her father, and my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) for his speech about his grandparents. I give a special mention to my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn); I am so sorry that I did not get a chance to meet his brother Alex. He sounds like a phenomenal human being. I am so sorry for my hon. Friend’s loss, but I know that his brother would be very proud of him. My heart goes out to those who have shared their stories. I thank them for their bravery. As so many stories show, the term “rare cancers” is misleading. The cancers we class as rare in total account for almost half of all cancer diagnoses each year, and as has been mentioned, tragically they account for over half—55%—of all cancer deaths. Given that, on average, one in two of us develops some form of cancer in our lifetimes, the chances of experiencing one of these so-called rare or less common cancers, or seeing them diagnosed in a loved one, are far higher than the term suggests. In the coming year, 182,000 people will be diagnosed with these types of cancers—equivalent to the population of a city the size of Swindon. Sadly, 92,000 people will lose their lives as a result—the population of a city the size of Chester. Behind each one of those tragic statistics lies a story of families bereaved; of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children lost, and of lives torn apart. That was brought home to me when I visited Chai Cancer Care in my constituency to hear the stories of many people battling to live with cancer. Their bravery is inspiring and they need our help now. I commend the Government’s work to improve cancer outcomes for all. Last month they launched the call for evidence to inform the development of a national cancer plan, and I hope that we can pass the Bill to support those efforts. Illnesses classified as rare or less common are among some of the very cruellest. The Bill seeks to address some of the fundamental reasons why diagnosis of a comparatively rare form of cancer can leave patients with a disproportionately lower chance of making a full recovery. For a start, rare cancers are harder to diagnose. There are many reasons for that. Some of the more common cancers have screening programmes, which means that many people are diagnosed before they have symptoms. Sadly, that is much less common in the case of rare cancers. Additionally, doctors see the symptoms of common cancers more frequently, and so are more likely to spot them. Also, currently, 82% of patients with a rare or less common form of cancer are not offered a clinical trial. The Bill will seek to reduce the knowledge gap on rare cancers, proposing a national specialty lead for rare cancers to advise on research design and facilitate collaboration in rare cancer research, and a specific rare cancer registry to share information to improve the recruitment of participants for rare cancer clinical trials. However, although we need to incentivise research, it is not the only barrier that we face to improving rare cancer outcomes. The comparatively lower occurrence of many rare cancers mean that, although drugs to combat them often exist, for economic reasons they are not developed by the pharma industry, despite the pressing and urgent need for them. These orphan drugs have the potential not only to save thousands of lives but to provide hundreds and thousands of families with that most valuable thing, to which my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley referred: more time with their loved ones. Under normal market conditions, pharma companies may be unwilling to invest in the research and development of new treatments for diseases that affect fewer people than the most common forms of cancer. The figures are stark: five of the six less survivable cancers received only 17% of the research funding for more survivable cancers. By proposing that the Secretary of State will be required to review the current laws on marketing authorisations for these orphan drugs, and by placing a duty on Government to support research and innovation further, the Bill would go a long way to achieving something that many of us would view as common sense: incentivising the production of these medical products and putting them to use where they are so badly needed in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West and his team for the work they have done to improve the power of collaboration among Members of Parliament, the charity sector and patient advocates. Drawing on medical expertise and lived experience, their diligence in bringing about the Bill is borne out by the widespread support it has gathered across the House. According to Pancreatic Cancer UK, the Bill has the potential to transform survival for rare cancers by encouraging a greater focus and drive to research, and the Brain Tumour Charity has also praised it. I know from my own experience, talking to constituents in Hendon and visiting hospitals such as the Royal Free, just how crucial one word can be: hope. Cancer is one of the defining health issues of our time, causing the death of 460 people in this country every single day. We know there is no silver bullet. We must fight cancer on all fronts, from research to prevention to diagnosis to treatment, and I know the Government are wholly committed to doing that. Thanks to huge oncological steps forward in recent years, outlooks for cancer patients have improved dramatically. We have reached the milestone of more than 50% of people diagnosed with cancer in England and Wales now surviving their disease for 10 years or more, yet this number falls sharply for many of the rarer cancers we have talked about today. We must recognise—as this Bill does—where the shortfalls are in our shared knowledge and the resources we put into the rarer forms of this disease. We have a duty to put this right. We must ensure that those suffering from rare and less common forms of cancer, and those yet to be diagnosed, have as much cause for hope as possible. I support this Bill.

• 26 Nov 2024 · “Get Britain Working” White Paper · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome the White Paper. I think it is a huge step forward. Mental health challenges have been the biggest single driver of rising inactivity among the young, and we know that mental health can be hugely helped by work. One study shows that just eight hours of work a week will reduce the risk of depression and anxiety by up to 30%. Given that, what will the Secretary of State do to help support those at risk from mental health issues to get back to work?

• 30 Oct 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  No, thank you. I am winding up. As the Chancellor has made clear, our Government will not shy away from taking the steps needed. We will not let our ambition be dimmed. To govern is to choose, and the Conservative party chose to put party before country. This Government and this Chancellor are making a different choice—to invest and rebuild, to fix our NHS, to protect people’s payslips and to deliver change. We are putting our country first. It is a choice that will give us our future back, and we should all support it.

• 30 Oct 2024 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend the Chancellor for her Budget statement, which brought into sharp focus the choice that the country faces. The stakes could not be higher: we face a choice between beginning down a path of national renewal with today’s Budget, or continuing decline and denial if we tread the path of the Conservative party. We cannot fix our problems until we face up to them. The Conservatives parrot empty fantasies about their legacy, but the truth is that they have left our economy, our public services and our finances in ruins. The figures are stark: according to the World Bank, since 2014, real income per capita has only grown by 6%. That is without historical precedent. Poverty and hardship have risen, and meanwhile Britain has fallen behind. Since 2010, if we had kept up with comparable countries, the average household would now be over £8,000 richer. While our economy has languished, our public services have been run into the ground. NHS waiting lists have more than doubled. Criminal prosecutions and convictions have halved in recent years. Our schools struggle to recruit expert teachers. Our prisons are bursting. The list goes on and on. That stagnation is not some kind of accident—some kind of economic act of God. Rather, it is the result of decisions made by the Conservative party. Under Liz Truss, the Conservatives crashed the economy, sending bills and interest rates soaring, but the Truss disaster was but one instalment of their 14-year story of economic mismanagement. Investment is the downpayment we make today to ensure prosperity tomorrow, yet for 14 years the Conservatives turned that logic on its head, mortgaging our future to pay for their political gimmicks and undeliverable plans. They invested 50% less as a proportion of GDP than our peers and hamstrung private investment, leaving us consistently at the bottom of the league table for business investment. That may sound abstract, but the effects are all too real. Over the past decade, we have built only half as much motorway as Germany and a fifth as much rail track as Spain. Our overstretched hospitals have only half the average number of CT scanners seen in other OECD countries, and our crumbling schools have only half the number of electronic whiteboards. Today, Britain has barely half the capital per worker of comparable countries. No wonder we are growing slower—no wonder our public services are at breaking point. The Conservatives failed the British people, and rather than coming clean, they overspent, hid the problems from the public, and hid the scale of their irresponsibility even from the Government’s own budget watchdog: a £22 billion black hole, an emergency reserve spent three times over, with no money put aside for the infected blood crisis or the Post Office scandals. It was a festival of fiscal recklessness. For example, according to the IFS, the Conservatives spent the asylum support budget 25 times over, costing every man, woman and child in the country £110. Their cover-up has been laid bare by the review published by the OBR today, yet they remain in complete denial. They have no shame, and importantly, they have no plan. As the Chancellor’s statement has shown, though, where the Conservatives jeopardised our future, this Government will fix the foundations. This Budget will deliver stability, putting our public finances on a sound footing. Unlike the Conservative party, this Chancellor will never gamble with Britain’s future. Instead, she will begin the work of delivering the investment that our economy and public services need, launching new investments, injecting over £6 billion into our crumbling schools and boosting the NHS with record investment. She will protect the payslips of working people, she will drive forward reform, and she will deliver the change the country voted for. It will not be easy, and change will not happen overnight. The Conservatives have left a terrible inheritance and, as we have heard throughout this debate, they have absolutely nothing to say about the answers they would offer.