Lucy Powell MP: speeches

Speeches

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

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. When we came into government we found the shocking state of capital investment in our schools really appalling. We know that we need to do more, and we are doing what we can initially. We have set aside more than £2 billion for the next financial year, which will probably only scratch the surface, but that will include funding for Hillingdon council to improve the maintained schools in his constituency. He is absolutely right to raise those issues.

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

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  May I thank the right hon. Gentleman for agreeing with the Government that we should not exploit fracking? That was in our manifesto and we are committed to not doing fracking. I will ensure that Ministers update him on those matters, as they have been doing, coming regularly to the House. We have had a number of statements from Ministers from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, who are keen to update the House as and when. However, I will ensure the right hon. Gentleman is updated on that particular issue.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I appreciate that caste discrimination can be incredibly damaging and pernicious. We take our obligations under the Equality Act very seriously indeed, and I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets an update on that.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Absolutely; it is a winning performance from a strong Labour team and it is a winning effort in puns. They are normally my speciality, but I cannot beat my hon. Friend on that one.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this serious matter. I recognise the concern about the loan charge scheme, as do the Government, and we are committed to ensuring that there is a fair resolution for those affected. We do not believe it is right for them to face years of uncertainty, which is why, as my hon. Friend said, we have established an independent review. It is tightly focused so that we can get the report out before the summer, with a Government response, and I will ensure that the House is kept fully up to date on that.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am really sorry to hear about the hon. Lady’s constituent, and I am very familiar with these issues. Unfortunately, my gorgeous cousin recently died of a brain tumour, and it is a terrible illness. It is something that I have personally spoken to the Health Secretary about. There are drugs that could be made more available, and there are trials. The Health Secretary is committed to doing that, and my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) has been campaigning on these issues for a number of years. I will absolutely ensure that the hon. Lady gets a meeting with the relevant Minister.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for organising and being so involved in the careers fair in his constituency. He is absolutely right—we have huge opportunities in this country, and we need to better link young people and the skills they have with the job opportunities of the future.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  We have an acute housing crisis in this country, and the long waiting lists, or even closed lists such as the one my hon. Friend describes, are a symptom of that crisis. That is why the Government are committed to 1.5 million extra homes, of which a huge proportion will be social and affordable homes.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. My hon. Friend can hear from the cheers across the House that this would make a very popular and important debate. It would be a reminder that our armed services have gone to many countries around the world in support of our allies over many years and sacrificed their lives, and we should always remember their bravery and their contribution.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  As the hon. Gentleman knows, the sentencing guidelines were developed and consulted on under his Government last year, and they were not ruled out. The current Justice Secretary—the remarkable and formidable Justice Secretary—has made her position absolutely clear, and she has today written to the Sentencing Council on that. The hon. Gentleman might do better to reflect on the actions of his own Government, rather than attacking this one.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  We take a zero-tolerance approach to breaches of animal welfare, such as those that my hon. Friend describes. The Food Standards Agency has already taken action, but if that has not been sufficient, I will ensure that it does more.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I will absolutely join my hon. Friends in celebrating Emily Rizk’s fantastic work and her achievement. I will also join my hon. Friend in agreeing that youth services and centres, which have been completely hollowed out in recent years, play a vital role in supporting young people, keeping them out of other activities that we might not want them to do. That is why we are committed to the Young Futures programme and many other initiatives.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Market towns are one of our great British assets, so I am not surprised that the debate was so well subscribed—as, indeed, have been many debates in Westminster Hall. We do consider how well subscribed debates have been when deciding which to bring to the Floor of the House. I know that the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee, who is present, already has a full list of debates, but I am sure that he would be open to this proposal, which would allow the hon. Gentleman and other colleagues to celebrate our market towns.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in giving my heartfelt congratulations to Sir John Deane’s sixth-form college for its outstanding contribution and all the great standards it delivers.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. My hon. Friend highlights how important it is to give people independence and mobility so they can go about their lives and work as well. He will be aware that the Motability Foundation is an independent charity, but the Government continue to work with it to ensure that its policies are open and inclusive, as they should be.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am really sorry to hear about the passing of Graham Robins, and I understand that that will have a devastating impact on the school, his family and the whole community. I join my hon. Friend in paying my full respects to the work that Graham did, and to the contribution that he and many others make to our society.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  As I made clear to the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans) earlier, the Government have made it absolutely clear that we disagree with the guidance issued by the Sentencing Council. The hon. Member will know that the process and consultation for developing that guidance happened on his Government’s watch—it absolutely did. The Lord Chancellor has made her position and that of the Government absolutely clear today, and that is why she has written to the Sentencing Council.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am sorry to hear of that case. Ambulance wait times, and the availability of ambulances, are still absolutely unacceptable. They are a symptom of an NHS that is still in crisis. Ambulances find themselves waiting outside A&Es with patients on board, unable to get them inside, which means that they are unable to go on to the next case. We are taking action, and I will ensure that the House is kept updated and that my hon. Friend’s case is looked into.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am sure that many people across Redditch will join my hon. Friend and the local council on 29 March. I congratulate him as a great new MP for Redditch and its local council on bringing back Redditch market.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for raising these matters with me. First, I concur with what she says on World Book Day and school libraries. I am sure that, as Members of Parliament, we have opened a library in a school. I recently opened a library at a school in one of the poorest parts of my constituency, and the young children, many of whom were not even wearing proper footwear, were queuing outside to get their hands on their first book—it was such a fantastic achievement. I am sorry to hear that she has not had the responses and replies she has asked for from Ministers, and I do take these matters incredibly seriously. I will ensure that she does get a reply. The hon. Member has raised the issue of community pharmacies with me on a number of occasions, and rightly so. They are a vital part of our national health service, and they have been left on their knees, with many closing in recent years. We are turning that around, because getting services back into communities via pharmacies and other means is critical to delivering our health mission. I will ensure she gets a reply.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. As a near neighbour of his, I am familiar with Riverside and many of the issues he raises. I hope that Riverside has heard the case he mentioned. He is absolutely right that some leaseholders find themselves trapped in homes that are unsaleable or unaffordable, with high and rising insurance costs. They often find that they are voiceless in the future of their building, with costs going up and up. That is why, first and foremost, we are implementing the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. Just this week we published our commonhold White Paper, which is the beginning of the end of leasehold for good, and later this year we will introduce a draft Bill on leasehold reform.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Absolutely, I join my hon. Friend in celebrating this historic occasion as Natasha and Lauren take to the ring in that first all-women’s boxing championship. This Government are committed to supporting and developing women’s sport, and not just in Blackpool but across the country.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I absolutely will look up what stottie beer is. I thank my hon. Friend for that question, because this Government are committed not just to growth, but to ensuring that growth in living standards is felt in every part of the country, especially in places such as Blaydon and Consett in the north-east. I am pleased to hear that so many businesses from her region came to Parliament this week.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I think the right hon. Member is talking about deporting criminals when they should be deported. He will be aware, or should be aware, that nearly 3,000 foreign criminals have been deported since the election, which is an increase of more than 20% compared with situation under the last Government. However, he is right to point out that there are still gaps in that system, which is why we have brought in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. The Bill will strengthen powers to tackle illegal migration and the small boats, and enable the Government to pick up the pace even further on returning those who have no right to be here.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am pleased that my hon. Friend’s constituents are so keen on recycling. I join him in calling for the Conservative-run council to do more to ensure that his constituents who want to recycle can recycle.