Johanna Baxter MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 13 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I met key Scottish stakeholders recently to discuss proposals to bring to the Glasgow city region a metro scheme interconnecting more and more parts of our region, including the towns and villages in my constituency. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is vital for the Scottish Government to show the same ambition for growth in Scotland as the UK Government have shown in their recent transport announcements, and will she work with the Scottish Government to ensure that this project maximises investment and opportunity for my constituents?

• 13 Feb 2025 · Infected Blood Compensation Scheme · Hansard source

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  I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and his commitment to this issue. Will he say a little more about how he is working with colleagues in Scotland to drive forward the final compensation scheme? I share the concerns already expressed by hon. Members across the House about the need for speed in ensuring that victims receive the compensation that they so rightly deserve.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Last weekend, Renfrewshire council confirmed a case of H5N1 avian influenza at Castle Semple loch in Lochwinnoch in my constituency. That outbreak’s proximity to RSPB Scotland Lochwinnoch nature reserve has raised serious concern in the local area. What steps are the UK Government taking to engage with the Scottish Government on that matter, and what action are they taking to support conservation organisations and farmers in Scotland in respect of avian flu?

• 13 Feb 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister’s statement, particularly the commitment that any negotiations about Ukraine must involve Ukraine, because if reports of the call between President Trump and Moscow are to be believed, this is less the art of the deal and more a charter for appeasement. Will we be working with NATO allies to establish a clear road map with defined timeframes for Ukraine’s NATO membership, ensuring long-term deterrence against inevitable further Russian aggression?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Defence Spending · Hansard source

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  In the light of the growing threats facing our United Kingdom, it was genuinely shocking to read at the weekend that Conservative Defence Ministers spent taxpayers’ money sponsoring a race car. My constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire South are livid about the waste of their taxpayers’ money. Can the Secretary of State reassure my constituents that he will continue his actions to root out every aspect of wasteful spending in the Ministry of Defence?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Biomass Generation · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his statement and the strict new sustainability rules imposed on Drax, which will mean that we do not pay a penny for unsustainably sourced biomass. Can he give the House a bit more detail on the role of the independent adviser? Their work to hold Drax to account will be critical to ensuring that this deal progresses.

• 5 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Audit Scotland recently exposed the incredible funding crisis facing our councils in Scotland, with a £759 million funding gap. It also reported that the 12 councils that make up the Strathclyde pension fund are reducing their employer contributions from 19.3% to 6.5%. Does the Prime Minister agree that instead of taking money out of workers’ pensions, the Scottish Government should appropriately fund our councils?

• 3 Feb 2025 · AstraZeneca · Hansard source

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  I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on vulnerable groups to pandemics. More than 1.2 million clinically vulnerable people are still shielding from covid because their mRNA vaccine does not provide efficient protection for immunosuppressed people. Will my hon. Friend set out how the Department is putting the UK at the forefront of international R&D in life sciences to support those very vulnerable people?

• 30 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T6. The pandemic exposed the woeful inadequacy of the previous Government’s statutory sick pay provisions, and I am pleased that this Government have committed to reforming those through the Employment Rights Bill. Will the Minister look at the specific wording of the Bill to ensure there are no unintended consequences of the provisions on the removal of the lower earnings limit for statutory sick pay? Will he meet me to ensure that all workers receive proper statutory sick pay and no one is left worse off?

• 20 Jan 2025 · UK-Ukraine 100-year Partnership · Hansard source

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  I welcome the announcement of the new grain verification scheme, which will help track stolen grain from occupied Ukrainian territories. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is an important UK contribution given Ukraine’s role as a major agricultural producer, which gives it a critical position in global food security?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Covid-19 Inquiry · Hansard source

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  I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on vulnerable groups to pandemics. I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement today. One of the most striking conclusions of the covid inquiry was that it was the most vulnerable people in our society who were hardest hit, whether that was because they had pre-existing health conditions or because they were on some of the lowest wages in this country. Will he tell the House what steps are being taken to ensure that, in the event of another incident of this nature, support reaches the most vulnerable people in our communities much more quickly than during the covid pandemic?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. The news of a possible deal is very welcome indeed, and I associate myself with the hopes of colleagues across this House that the hostages will be released and returned, and that humanitarian aid will flood into Gaza as soon as possible. We know that the only way to ensure a lasting peace is that two-state solution, so can my right hon. Friend outline what steps the Government will take to support the creation of an international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Women’s Changed State Pension Age: Compensation · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman made an interesting point about individuals having the information to plan for their future. Could he therefore comment on why, under 14 years of his party’s control of the Department for Work and Pensions, one of the major platforms of its work, the pensions dashboard programme, had to be reset? The costs associated with it increased 23% because it basically went off the rails under his Government’s leadership.

• 13 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Recently, the owner of social media site X has used his sizeable platform to undermine the democratic result of last July’s general election; has stirred up hatred towards my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), putting her safety at risk; and has sought mechanisms to depose the Prime Minister. Can the Minister say what actions the Defending Democracy Taskforce is taking to prevent this kind of foreign interference in British politics?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  On 31 December, we marked the 95th anniversary of the Glen cinema disaster—one of the UK’s worst disasters—which took place in my constituency. Seventy-one children, the youngest of whom was only four, lost their life in a crowd crush caused by a smoking canister of nitrate film. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the legacy of those lost lives lies in the UK’s fire and building safety regulations? Next time she sees a lit emergency exit sign, will she pause to remember the children of the Glen cinema?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Public Finances: Borrowing Costs · Hansard source

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  My constituents suffered real hardship as a result of the disastrous mini-Budget pursued by the Conservative party. Does the Chief Secretary to the Treasury agree that in order to improve living standards for my constituents, we must stick to our fiscal rules, maintain fiscal discipline and invest in our public services?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Livingston (Gregor Poynton) for securing the debate. This Labour Government have committed £47.7 billion in funding for Scotland for 2025-26—the largest Budget settlement in the history of devolution. That includes £3.4 billion allocated through the Barnett formula, supporting Scotland’s public services to get back on their feet. The settlement prioritises investment in key public services, including significant funding for our NHS. That is an additional £789 million in health-related consequentials for 2024-25 and £1.72 billion for Scotland’s NHS in 2025-26. Despite that unprecedented financial support, Scotland’s NHS remains in crisis. One in six Scots now sits on an NHS waiting list. Social care remains a significant area of concern under the SNP’s leadership. Whereas our UK Government have announced plans for an independent commission on social care and have put in place an interim package of support, the SNP has had to abandon its National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money while 9,000 people in Scotland wait for social care assessments and support. My constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire South would no doubt question why, given the level of financial support the Scottish Government have, the local SNP-controlled Renfrewshire council has just made the disgraceful decision to approve £19.1 million of cuts to health and social care provision across my constituency. That decision will directly affect the most vulnerable people in the communities in my area. It comes on the back of cuts already made with the closure of the Montrose care home and cuts to vital services such as the Falcon day services, which support people with disabilities. They are further evidence of the SNP’s lack of a coherent plan to fix social care in Scotland. We are running short of time, so to enable others to get in I will leave it here. The Labour Government’s investment in Scotland marks a new chapter for Scotland—one that prioritises investment in public services that work for Scottish people and fixes the foundations of our country. The SNP has no excuses now and nowhere to hide. It should use the money it has been given to support the most vulnerable people in our communities.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Budget: Scotland · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Gentleman agree that that is not buying off union paymasters but delivering a pay rise for hard-working Scots?

• 6 Jan 2025 · Frozen Russian Assets: Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I heard the question from the right hon. Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) on co-ordinated action. While no G7 nation has yet moved fully to seize Russian state assets, Canada and the US have enacted legislation to permit them to do so. Does the hon. Member agree that legislation is an important step forward and that the threat of immediately seizing $300 billion of immobilised assets is a tool that would add pressure on Russia’s already waning economy?