Lucy Powell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 31 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the Cotgrave community garden in his constituency. As has been mentioned in business questions many times, including today, the role that community volunteers play in making our communities great places in which to live, work and raise a family is absolutely vital. The Chair of the Backbench Business Committee is still in his place; as I said earlier, this type of issue would make for a very good Backbench Business debate.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. Those kinds of events inspire participation and interest in the women’s game and more broadly. That is why this Government are committed to a curriculum review, putting physical education and sport back at the heart of our curriculum. Initiatives such as Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign continue to inspire many young women and girls to get active and get involved. I am sure that they will look closely at what she said.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady raises a really important point. She will know that this Government are committed to ensuring that there is justice for women and girls who are subject to rape and violence. It is a scar on our society that that still takes so long. She will know that the court backlog that she describes is another part of the legacy that this Government are trying to deal with, along with the prisons crisis and others in our criminal justice sector. We will have Justice questions next week, and I am sure that the Secretary of State will be pleased to answer her questions then.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I know from my own constituency that such matters are raised all the time. Fire cover, and having adequate fire officers, is very important to local communities. Budgets have been cut in recent years and I know that Home Affairs Ministers take that very seriously. Home Office questions are coming up shortly, and I am sure that my hon. Friend would get a good response.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Community pharmacies, as the hon. Lady rightly says, play a very important part in ensuring that health services are in the community and provide preventive support for local communities. That is why the Government are rebuilding our NHS. Community pharmacies will play a very important part in that. There is a debate next week on fixing the NHS, where I am sure the Health Secretary will be keen to hear her thoughts about community pharmacies.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I, too, welcome the formation of the Backbench Business Committee, and I welcome the conversations we have begun to ensure that we work together on the allocation of time for Backbench Business debates and others that may be granted by the Government. On the application from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), I am sure he will definitely be in attendance for that debate, should the Committee grant it. There is no question about that, and I expect it will be on the freedom of religion or belief, which is a common theme of his questions in these sessions. I join the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) in wishing everybody a happy Diwali.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for the work he does locally on flood resilience and for raising this matter. We wanted to have the debate next week in part because it is raised during business questions so often. I will, of course, make sure that the relevant Minister comes to this House or gives a statement to it when the report is published.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am sorry to hear of the reaction of the hon. Member’s local community, but we did have to make some difficult choices in the Budget. We recognise the important role that farmers play in supporting their local communities, providing food security and the many other contributions they make to our country. It is worth noting, for her and her constituents, that three quarters of farmers who are currently entitled to receive the full relief on inheritance tax will still get it after the Budget. It is the top 25% that will not. I am sorry to say it, but she will remember that her party lost the support of farmers, and that is why my party now has more than 100 new Members representing rural constituencies.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  It seems that a number of issues for the Environment Secretary are being raised this morning; I will make sure that he is aware of them all, including the important point from the hon. Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones). He rightly points out that the farming community and farmers in this country were really let down by the previous Government as a result of the botched Brexit deal and other matters. This Government are working at pace to ensure that we put food security and the future of our farmers back on the front foot.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member raises an important point, and I am sure that the House will debate these issues in the coming weeks. We are considering such matters in our forthcoming planning and infrastructure Bill, and as he knows, there are forthcoming pieces of water regulation, and he may want to raise that point during debate on those.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I, too, look forward to being able to announce business decided by the Backbench Business Committee in future weeks. He might want to have a word with the shadow Leader of the House about the importance of providing time for general debates and Backbench Business debates, which he seems to think are not of interest to this House. The Government have provided time for some of those debates in the absence of a fully formed Backbench Business Committee. The hon. Gentleman makes a good point: there are some really good debates happening in Westminster Hall next week, including on online safety, the funding of children’s hospices and the readiness of the NHS this winter—a number of issues that get raised in these sessions regularly. I hear what he says about the report into Mermaids, and I will make sure that if there is not a forthcoming statement, he gets a response from the relevant Department.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I feel that it is a bit rich. It is for the American people to decide who their next President is and this Government are committed and determined to work with whoever wins that election. The right hon. Gentleman then raised issues of business, which I will happily come on to. Today marks our 30th sitting day since we won that landslide general election victory. In that time, we have introduced 20 Bills—that is 20 Bills in 30 sitting days: over half of our King’s Speech programme has already been introduced. I remind him that that is way more than the coalition Conservative Government managed in the whole of 2010, which was the last time we had a change of Government. We have passed our first Labour Act in 14 years and made 34 statements to Parliament—more than one a day. There is still much more to come, and I am sure the right hon. Gentleman wants to know about it—on planning, border control, education, mental health, crime and policing, Great British Railways, the Hillsborough law, buses and much, much more. He and I both sat through the last Parliament, although others here did not: we both know that at the end it really was a zombie Parliament, clocking off early on seven out of 10 days in its last year. The last Government had run out of ideas and could not agree on what to do and when, so they did nothing. They dithered and delayed on their own flagship legislation, and we are getting on with delivering some of the things that they failed to do. For example, this morning there is the Football Governance Bill, which they long promised. We have reintroduced it, strengthening the position of fans and financial sustainability in the game. We are delivering where the previous Government did not. What about the Renters’ Right Bill, which the previous Government had long planned but never fulfilled? We have taken it forward. Perhaps the most disingenuous example of all is Martyn’s law. The then Prime Minister promised to introduce it by the summer on the day before he called a general election, knowing full well that he was not going to be able to introduce it at all. We have brought it in. Frankly, we have brought more change to this country in our 30 sitting days than the previous Government did in 14 sorry, sorry years. If the shadow Leader of the House really wants to look at effective use of time, he might ask what his own party has been doing for the last few months. It seems to have taken three and a half months to whittle five candidates down to just two—not that anyone has particularly noticed. However, it is fair to say that we have seen a few signs of life in recent days. The Conservatives have finally shown a bit of oomph, a bit of what it is all about to be the party of opposition—they have taken a really principled stance: to stand against the abolition of hereditary peers.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I go to Glastonbury once a year and I occasionally have some of the local cider while I am there, so I can confirm the south-west of England produces some really good quality cider. It is one of our great exports and one of our great drinks in this country. I am sure that the hon. Lady will want to raise these issues during the Budget debate next week, and I look forward to her doing that then.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating Matchroom in the Community in his constituency on its amazing work. I know from a similar club in my constituency, the Moss Side Fire Station boxing club, that important work is done to engage young people who would otherwise not be engaged and might be causing problems elsewhere. That is why this Government are committed to supporting such youth services.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  As the Opposition Chief Whip says from a sedentary position, he really did try to deliver the Bill. It was a cross-party effort, but the election was called a bit too early for that Bill, and perhaps for some of his colleagues as well, so it did not come to pass. We have strengthened the Bill and put fans at the heart of football. My hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh) will be pleased to know that the Government are committed to hosting the football regulator in Greater Manchester, but he might want to fight with me and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy), about whether it is in Wigan, Manchester or Rochdale.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I wholeheartedly encourage all the association members to vote for Pride in Gloucestershire. I am sure that the event would really help to put Gloucester on the map, would bring a huge amount of interest and, and would support the local economy. As the MP for Manchester Pride, I know how important these events are, and I wish my hon. Friend and his town all the best with that.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  All I can say to the right hon. Gentleman is lucky him for sitting on the programme board for so long. In all seriousness, the safety of this building and of the people who work here is paramount for the House authorities, for me and for the Speaker—you and I discuss it regularly, Mr Speaker. The right hon. Gentleman is correct that we must address these issues. I hope that he will continue to offer his advice and thoughts through the programme board in the coming months; I am not sure whether his party will nominate him to do so, but I hope it will.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I recognise the difficult issues that the hon. Lady raises and which many hon. Members are struggling with and considering. Such matters as assisted dying are matters of conscience that have traditionally always been addressed through private Members’ Bills, because the Government do not have a view. There will be a free vote for Government Members. There will be no Government time, but the Second Reading will get the same time for debate as that of other Bills, and there will be lots of other opportunities for these matters to be debated. The hon. Lady could apply for other debates to take forward other issues, but it will be a matter for the House to decide, and we will take it forward on the basis of what the House decides.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that question, and pass on my thanks to Rabbi Janes and those who have come together in her constituency to deal with these issues. She is right to call for interfaith communities to come together. I am sure that she will continue to do that in her constituency.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the important work of the Stamp Out Spiking campaign. He is right; it is a blight in many of our town and city centres. Work has improved over recent years to reduce the number of people using spiking drugs, but further work is needed. I am sure that the Home Secretary will update the House in due course.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  In my short time in government, I have seen at first hand the exemplary work that our civil servants do every day. Much of the time they do it quietly and secretly and do not get the credit, so it is great that my hon. Friend has raised the matter on the Floor of the House. It is up to individual Departments to negotiate with their trade unions on pay rises. I think the average award this year is 5%, but my hon. Friend is right that, working together with our partners in the trade union movement, we can end industrial action and support people getting higher wages and better working conditions.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Home Secretary came to the House yesterday and announced new steps that we will take to protect our armed police officers. It is welcome that we have cross- party support for those measures, some of which will be included in forthcoming Home Department legislation. I am sure that we will have ample time to debate them further then.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  We recently had a debate in Opposition time on farming, and the important issues that the hon. Lady describes get raised here regularly. This Government support our farmers, support our food security and recognise the difficult period that farmers have faced, especially with climate change. That is why we want to support our resilience and ensure we tackle issues around climate change. There will be ample time for these matters to be raised in the Budget debate, so I encourage the hon. Lady to put in to speak.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Well, I did not know that it was Northamptonshire Day tomorrow. That is a good thing for me to add to the diary for future years. The hon. Lady raises the issue of reliable local bus routes, which she will know have been decimated in recent years. The £2 bus fare has been an important marker in restoring the service, but the Government are introducing a better buses Bill, which will give local areas and local transport authorities more power to franchise and create the local bus services that people rely on.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Social care is a devolved matter. As my hon. Friend rightly says, social care in Scotland is at breaking point because the SNP plans have failed and the national care service there is in name only. He may wish to raise that matter in the forthcoming Health and Social Care or Scotland questions.