Lucy Powell MP: speeches

Speeches

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

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising what I am sure is a huge issue for his constituents. He is right that I cannot comment on the specifics of the case, but I know that the Secretary of State for Transport takes her quasi-judicial role in such cases extremely seriously and is mindful to ensure that due process is followed in all circumstances. I will raise the issue that he has raised with me with Ministers today. It is vital that we upgrade rail freight capacity in this country. We are now at capacity in many places. Interchanges with other services are vital, and I will ensure that he is updated.

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

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  I am sure my hon. Friend welcomes—in fact, he has done—the much deserved announcement this week of an investment zone for his constituency of Wrexham. He is absolutely right that businesses face far too much red tape, especially because of the botched Brexit deal by the last Government, and this Government are committed to reducing that.

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

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that really important topic. She is absolutely right that baby loss certificates in England have provided recognition and comfort to many families who have been bereaved by baby loss. I think her call for the scheme to be extended to Wales is absolutely right, and I will make sure she gets some contact with a Minister to discuss it further.

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

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  I think that is the fourth time banking has been raised with me today, which just goes to show how vital having access to cash and banking hubs is for communities such as those in Wolverhampton. That is why this Government have committed to opening 350 hubs; over 100 are already open. I think that would be an extremely popular topic for a debate. Bill Presented Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57) Secretary Yvette Cooper, supported by the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary David Lammy, Pat McFadden, Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Secretary Hilary Benn, Secretary Ian Murray, Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Secretary Jo Stevens and Dame Angela Eagle, presented a Bill to make provision about border security; to make provision about immigration and asylum; to make provision about sharing customs data and trailer registration data; to make provision about articles for use in serious crime; to make provision about serious crime prevention orders; to make provision about fees paid in connection with the recognition, comparability or assessment of qualifications; and for connected purposes. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Monday 3 February , and to be printed (Bill 173) with explanatory notes (Bill 173-EN).

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

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  I wish Bradley good luck with his degree apprenticeship. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that degree apprenticeships offer a real career opportunity for many of our young people, and they are still not as widely known about as they should be through careers advice in schools. He raises a really important point, with which this Government wholeheartedly agree.

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

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  I join my hon. Friend in thanking those students—year 5 pupils are often the toughest of audiences. She will know that the UK supports a variety of programmes aimed at preventing deforestation, and we are a major contributor to Brazil’s Amazon fund. I am sure that that would make a good topic for a debate.

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

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  The right hon. Member raises a very important matter, and I thank him for doing so, because we recognise how important it is to have a smooth transition for consumers away from the radio teleswitch service. I am concerned to hear what he says about that being off track for many of his constituents. We will continue to work closely with Ofgem and the RTS taskforce to ensure that the deadline is met, but I will absolutely ensure that Ministers come to this House regularly and update him and other Members on progress.

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

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  Post offices play a vital role for our communities, and my hon. Friend is absolutely right to stand up and call for their services to continue in his constituency. He will know that there is such a debate this afternoon—he may wish to raise those issues then.

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

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  My hon. Friend is a real campaigner on this matter, which she has raised with me a number of times. She knows that the SNP Government have wasted over £5 billion of taxpayer’s money on pet projects, including ferries that did not sail. They have had a massive boost to their budget as a result of the UK Government’s Budget, and their excuses really have run out.

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

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  The Government are absolutely committed to municipally run galleries such as the one that my hon. Friend mentions. The culture sector and the cultural offer are at the core of making our towns, villages and cities vibrant places where people want to live and work. I join him in welcoming that.,

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

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  What my hon. Friend raises is particularly concerning given that it relates to a UNESCO world heritage site. Heritage is of course a devolved matter, but we take it very seriously indeed, and it would make an excellent topic for a debate.

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

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  Culture and Holmfirth go hand in hand. Many of us of a certain age will remember “Last of the Summer Wine”, filmed in Holmfirth. I recently went to Compo’s chippy, and I can say that it does great fish and chips. West Yorkshire is one of the priority areas for our creative industries sector plan, and we are working closely with the fantastic Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, who is a real leader in this regard.

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

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that excellent idea with me. He is absolutely right that we need to appropriately mark the late Queen’s extraordinary 70-year reign in a very big way, given all that she contributed to our public life and national identity. He will be aware that the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee has been set up to consider how best we could do that, and I will ensure that his suggestion is fed into that committee.

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

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  I take this opportunity to once again congratulate my hon. Friend on all his campaigning and all the times he has raised with me and other Ministers the lower Thames crossing—I am sure he is pleased with this week’s announcement. I join my hon. Friend in welcoming some of the measures outlined in our devolution White Paper around community ownership and the right to buy, so that communities like his can take on and restore, or bring back to life, vital community assets like the one he describes. I am sorry to hear that the owner of the pub in his constituency is not engaging in the way they should.

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

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  My hon. Friend will know that we have been clear that we will not challenge the judicial reviews in this case. We will consult on new guidance that takes into account the Supreme Court’s ruling on environmental impact assessments to enable the industry to secure jobs and invest in the economy of the future. We aim to conclude that by the spring of this year and I will ensure that the House is updated.

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

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  The hon. Member is absolutely right that it is vital that we recruit more GPs. We have been left a terrible situation with the NHS workforce. That is why workforce planning was at the heart of our recent 10-year plan for the national health service. I will absolutely ensure that Health Ministers and the Secretary of State for Health regularly come to this House to update us on progress, and I will get him a correct figure, if I can, as soon as possible from the Department of Health and Social Care.

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

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  I shall. The business for the week commencing 3 February includes: Monday 3 February—Second Reading of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill. Tuesday 4 February—Debate on motions to approve the draft Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2025 and the draft Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order 2025, followed by debate on motions to approve the draft Social Security (Contributions) (Rates, Limits and Thresholds Amendments, National Insurance Funds Payments and Extension of Veteran’s Relief) Regulations 2025 and the draft Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance Up-rating Order 2025. Wednesday 5 February—Motions related to the police grant and local government finance reports. Thursday 6 February—General debate on Government support for coalfield communities, followed by a general debate on financial education. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Friday 7 February—The House will not be sitting. The provisional business for the week commencing 10 February will include: Monday 10 February—Second Reading of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Tuesday 11 February—If necessary, consideration of Lords amendments, followed by consideration in Committee and remaining stages of the Arbitration Bill [ Lords ]. Wednesday 12 February—Second Reading of the Data (Use and Access) Bill [ Lords ]. Thursday 13 February—General debate. Subject to be announced. The House will rise for the February recess at the conclusion of business on Thursday 13 February and return on Monday 24 February.

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

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  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating Adam Trennery and all those involved in the Get Together After Serving team. It sounds like a really great initiative to support veterans in his constituency. The Government take these sorts of initiatives very seriously, and I thank him for raising it.

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

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  Once again, the hon. Gentleman raises an important breach of freedom of religious belief—in this case in Kyrgyzstan. I will of course raise that with the Foreign Office and ensure that he gets a full reply about it.

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

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  I congratulate Brent on being the reggae capital. We can all recognise some of the great hits that my hon. Friend mentioned, and I am pleased that she is hosting an event today in the Jubilee Room for Liz Mitchell of Boney M. I cannot think of a decent pun on “Daddy Cool”, but my hon. Friend is definitely “Brent cool”. I watch her social media and TikToks, and she probably has a glittering career ahead of her in that regard.

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

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  This Government are absolutely committed to tackling child poverty. We inherited a very challenging context from the previous Government. The child poverty taskforce has been set up, and has funding. Its urgent work has begun, and we will publish the child poverty strategy in the spring. The hon. Gentleman mentions the SNP’s plans to end the two-child cap in Scotland, but he will know that there is not a single penny to back that up. It is a promise in the never-never land, trying to make politics out of this issue. I suggest that he takes seriously what we are doing to tackle child poverty, rather than making party political points.

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

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  I thank the hon. Lady for sending her thoughts to those affected by the air crash in Washington DC. She, the hon. Member for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey) and I are all members of the Modernisation Committee, and we represent three different parties. It is great to work with her on that Committee, and on the House of Commons Commission. As a new Member, she has really got to grips with some of the difficult issues that we face in this place. I thank the hon. Lady for drawing attention to the challenges that her constituents face with bobbies on the beat in her area. She will know that the funding for Essex police will increase by £25 million next year, but I absolutely share her view that strengthening neighbourhood policing is vital for tackling crime and antisocial behaviour. We are committed to providing an additional 13,000 neighbourhood officers and PCSOs nationwide, but local decisions are a matter for local police. She can rest assured that after years of cuts to police forces, we are determined to recruit extra officers. I will certainly make sure that the Home Secretary has heard her question, and that she gets a full response about what is happening in her local area.

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

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  The hon. Member is absolutely right that skills are at the heart of all these industries that are vital to creating the new jobs and industries of the future through our mission to be a clean energy superpower by 2030. The Government want to take more action to ensure that those who live and work in this country have access to such opportunities by having a much stronger emphasis on skills development and work opportunities through reforming the Department for Work and Pensions and jobcentres, but I will have a look at the issue she raises and ensure that she gets a response.

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

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  I am saddened to hear the case that my hon. Friend raises. She is absolutely right that ketamine is extremely dangerous, and the rise in its use across many of our towns and cities is deeply concerning. This issue has been raised with me a number of times in these sessions, so I will ensure that a response is made available for all Members about how the Government are tackling it.

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

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  All our thoughts are with those affected by the air crash in Washington DC. The scale of this tragedy is still unfolding, and we send our deepest sympathies to all those involved and those still carrying out the rescue operation. This week saw the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. No one could ever forget visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau, as I did with young people from my constituency with the Holocaust Educational Trust. We must never forget. I join the hon. Member for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey) in welcoming the further release of hostages in Israel and Gaza today. Members will have noticed that Mr Speaker is not in his Chair today. I can assure them that he is not taking up a new acting role on the set of “Emmerdale”. He is instead celebrating the life of another northern legend, at the funeral of Lord Prescott. I welcome the hon. Member for Beaconsfield to business questions, on her birthday. I very much welcome working with her on the Modernisation Committee. I have found her contributions to be greatly valuable and enlightening, and I know she does a really good job as a Whip and a constituency MP, supporting colleagues across the House. Given her contribution today, she could perhaps give a few tips to the shadow Leader of the House, the right hon. Member for Hereford and South Herefordshire (Jesse Norman), when he returns, because she has taken a very business questions-style approach. I will follow up with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero if there are issues with correspondence. The hon. Lady raised issues around the economy. I will gently remind her of a few stats. Inflation is down now, thanks to this Government. Wages are growing at their fastest rate in three years. We have created more than 70,000 jobs since we came into office, and business investment is at its highest level in 19 years. PwC has just rated the UK the second best place in the world to invest after the US. The International Monetary Fund and the OECD both predict that Britain will be Europe’s fastest-growing major economy in recent years. This Government are getting on with the job, and it has been another week of delivering the change that people voted for. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will be introduced today, with real action to tackle small boats and smuggling gangs, in contrast to the Conservatives’ costly Rwanda gimmick. The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill gets its Second Reading next week. Despite promises from the Conservative party, it failed to bring that forward. That important piece of legislation will address the huge cost of fraud in our welfare system. We have taken major strides to get growth going, taking the difficult, bold decisions that the hon. Lady asked for, many of them on issues that have been raised in business questions over recent weeks. They include the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor, creating the UK’s answer to silicon valley; the redevelopment of the huge site around the Old Trafford football ground, which even I can welcome, as a City fan; and, thanks to the tireless campaigning of Mr Doncaster Airport himself, my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher), and my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central (Sally Jameson), their airport is set to become thriving once again. We are backing airport expansion across the congested south-east. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) will be over the moon that we are investing in Cornwall’s mineral industry, which he has raised with me many times. We are giving the go-ahead to the lower Thames crossing, which my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Jim Dickson) has long championed and raised with me. We are supporting Port Talbot and Teesside through the advanced fuels fund and Wrexham and Flintshire through the advanced manufacturing investment zone. We are building nine reservoirs—the first in 30 years—to provide water for new homes. We are reviewing the Green Book, to enable better public investment and growth outside London and the south-east. We are taking difficult decisions, some of which the hon. Member for Beaconsfield raised, because we had to fix the foundations to get our country growing again, so that we can invest in the public services that people desperately need and voted for at the last election.