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Lucy Powell MP: speeches

2141 published records · newest first.

Speeches

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Code of Conduct and Modernisation Committee · Hansard source
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    As the hon. Gentleman knows, his party has four other Members in this House; the House is considered in terms of its Members, not in terms of the popular vote. What he describes is a consequence of formulas that are long-standing and have brought about effective representation on many Select Committees.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Code of Conduct and Modernisation Committee · Hansard source
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    The hon. Lady makes a really good point. Absolutely, this is about conflicts of interest and conflicts of attention. As I have made clear, and will further make clear in my opening remarks, this is a first step. We need to look at some of those other areas to give our constituents confidence that this will eradicate the kind of behaviour that she describes. This House has considered such issues before. Most recently, the Committee on Standards reviewed the code of conduct in the previous Parliament. The independent Committee on Standards in Public Life also looked at the matter several times, issuing recommendations in 2009 and in 2018 on MPs’ outside interests. I thank them for their work. Today’s change forms part of an ongoing conversation that I trust will continue as we begin to rebuild public trust in this institution. We will go further. The other motion before the House will establish a new Modernisation Committee of the House of Commons, fulfilling another manifesto commitment. The Committee will be tasked with driving up standards and addressing the culture of this House, as well as improving working practices.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I welcome my hon. Friend to her place, and I am sorry to hear of the tragic circumstances in her constituency. This Government are committed to tackling issues around firearms—not just the symptoms, but the root causes, as she says—and there will be ample time to discuss these matters. Of course, there will be Home Office questions next week, where she may want to raise these matters further.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    The business for the week commencing 29 July will include: Monday 29 July—Second Reading of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill. Tuesday 30 July—Second Reading of the Budget Responsibility Bill. The House will rise for the summer recess at the conclusion of business on Tuesday 30 July and return on Monday 2 September. The business for the week commencing 2 September will include: Monday 2 September—General debate. Subject to be confirmed. Tuesday 3 September—Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill. Wednesday 4 September—Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the Budget Responsibility Bill. Thursday 5 September—Second Reading of the Great British Energy Bill. Friday 6 September—The House will not be sitting.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I thank my hon. Friend for her important question. I, too, have met many of the families from Gambling with Lives, and their stories are utterly tragic. We are committed to redoubling our efforts to reduce gambling-related harms, and she will be aware that the previous Government proposed a number of measures, which we are looking at taking forward.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    Let me be absolutely clear: we on the Labour Benches are incredibly proud of the programme laid out by His Majesty in the King’s Speech last week. By any measure, it is one of the most bold and ambitious programmes of any incoming Government—tackling the challenges that the country faces, delivering on our manifesto commitments, ensuring that our mission-led Government bring about the change that the country wants, and bringing back a Government of service. It is absolutely right that Members elected on a manifesto to bring in that King’s Speech should vote for it in overwhelming numbers, as they did in Parliament this week. I am incredibly proud of the huge numbers of people who supported that King’s Speech programme. The issue of child poverty has been raised a number of times in recent weeks. This Labour Government, like any Labour Government, are absolutely committed to tackling child poverty—not just its symptoms, but its root causes—whether through early education, housing support, or the Sure Start programme and other such measures. That is why we have established a cross-cutting Government taskforce to look at all of those issues, and we will come back regularly to this House to report on its progress.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I thank the hon. Member for that question. This Government are committed to UK steel production, particularly in Scunthorpe, Port Talbot and other parts of the UK. He will know that we have a big plan for the green transition of steel, and we are bringing forward the industrial strategy council measure and others that will support the long-term future of British steel in this country. The next questions for the Department for Business and Trade are shortly after we return from recess, and I am sure that he will want to raise the issue then.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I am pleased to see the hon. Gentleman in his place today. I would expect nothing less. I was also pleased to see that, during his Adjournment debate this week, he was intervened on many times. I have heard him many times in this House and at business questions raise the issue of freedom of religion or belief. He will know that the Government are committed to continuing to support those measures and that we will continue to champion them in government.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I am sure that my hon. Friend’s constituents will thank him greatly for raising the matter. The Government are giving careful consideration to a number of levelling-up grants that we are keen to follow through on. He will be aware, though, that the difficult economic situation that we have inherited is much worse than we foresaw. The funding was not actually there for a number of the previous Government’s commitments, but this Government will do our very best to support places like Halesowen with the additional funding that they need.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. We have committed to tackle knife crime by banning zombie knives and other matters, but she is right that we need to tackle the root causes and the symptoms, which is why we have plans for a Young Futures programme. The Home Secretary and the Mayor of London discussed that and all knife crime-related issues yesterday. My hon. Friend may want to be present for Home Office questions next week when I am sure she will get an update from the Home Secretary.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    What a fantastic question. I know from my own constituency that noisy off-road bikes speeding around local streets and intimidating residents are a nightmare. That is particularly prevalent in the Friar Park area of my hon. Friend’s constituency. As she rightly said, the Government are committed to giving the police the powers that they need to crush nuisance dirt and quad bikes within days of their being seized. That legislation will be brought forward in due course.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I welcome my hon. Friend to her place. She and I were involved in Young Labour together—only a few years ago, I feel—so it is great to see her finally in this place where she belongs. She raises the important matter of NHS dentistry and the difficulty that people have getting an NHS appointment, which is particularly acute in Suffolk. That is why the Government are committed to a rescue plan and to providing another 700,000 NHS dentist appointments, which I hope will relieve that acuteness in Suffolk.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    Derby North sounds like a thoroughly lovely place to visit, and I look forward to doing so at some point soon. My hon. Friend has made a strong case, and I think that the issue of town centre regeneration, which has come up many times today, would be a worthy subject for a forthcoming Westminster Hall debate or a general debate in this place.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    The hon. Gentleman makes a really important point. The sense of identity that many people get from the counties that they come from should continue to be celebrated and nourished. I am sure that as long as we have this Speaker, who is a great Lancastrian and very much of his county, we in this House will continue to celebrate the great contribution that our counties make.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that question. He is absolutely right. The Government are completely clear that our commitment to international law is resolute, and we are following the necessary processes in that regard. The Foreign Secretary has made it clear that he is undertaking a comprehensive review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law. He has also made it clear that he will update the House as soon as that process is complete. I hope that that will be soon.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    Can I congratulate my hon. Friend on her re-election? I am sure that her new constituents will be as delighted as her old ones were with how assiduous a constituency MP she is. The topic that she raises would make for a good Adjournment debate or Westminster Hall debate, and I wish her the best in getting that through the draw.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I am glad that the right hon. Gentleman raised that point, because this afternoon we will have a debate on restoring trust in politicians and politics as the Government bring forward their manifesto commitment to take action on the sleaze, scandal and cronyism that we saw in the last Parliament. We want to turn the page on that decisively, as we are beginning to do today. He will know that the Prime Minister’s travel arrangements are security matters, and I am sure that he will respect that.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    My hon. Friend raises a very important matter. Building new schools, and meeting schools’ needs in her local area, is absolutely critical to this Government’s mission of making sure that there is opportunity for all, which is the priority of our Education Secretary. I am sure that my hon. Friend will take every opportunity to raise this issue in Education questions, which is coming up. If not, I will make sure that she gets a good reply from the Minister.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I welcome my hon. Friend to her place as the Labour MP for where we are today. She raises an important matter that should be covered by the children’s wellbeing Bill that was announced in the King’s Speech, which will look at admission and place planning, and giving local authorities a greater ability to do that than they currently have. The next Education questions are due not long after we return from the summer recess, so she might want to raise this important matter then.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I am sorry to hear about that historic church in my hon. Friend’s constituency. He is right that coastal erosion is one of the key challenges that his community and many others face, and it is one of the issues that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is prioritising in his work on the flood resilience taskforce and on coastal community resilience, so I will ensure that my hon. Friend’s comments have been heard and that he gets a full reply.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I am really sorry to hear that the school in my hon. Friend’s constituency is in such a state of disrepair. I am afraid it is a familiar story. Our schools estate is in a very poor state and is in need of serious investment, for which I am afraid sufficient funding is not available at the moment. I know that these matters are of concern to the Secretary of State for Education; my hon. Friend may wish to raise them at Education questions, which are coming up after the recess.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    My hon. Friend raises an important point. We are deeply concerned about the violence of recent days. The loss of life is unacceptable. The right to protest must be restored and access to the internet should also be restored. We urge all sides to have restraint in this regard. I know that the Foreign Secretary and Foreign Office Ministers will want to update the House; we are running out of time ahead of the recess, but all possible steps will be taken to ensure that those important updates are brought before the recess.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I welcome my hon. Friend, the new Member for Portsmouth North, to business questions. We had a different Member for Portsmouth North at the Dispatch Box in previous sessions, so I warmly welcome her. She raises an important matter that will be of importance to other hon. Members. Local authorities have planning powers to limit the proliferation of HMOs, but I know from my constituency how difficult those powers are to exercise. She would be well within her rights to raise that with the Deputy Prime Minister, who I think will be in the Chamber before recess to give an update on some of these issues.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    The hon. Member is right; we raised these issues a number of times when in opposition. The Foreign Secretary has recently updated the House on a number of issues, and I know he plans to continue to do so. I will ensure that he has heard what the hon. Member has said today and provides some answers on that important point.

  • 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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    I thank the hon. Lady for that important question. Having sat through business questions many times in the last Parliament, I know that she raised this topic consistently. The disappearance of banks from our high streets was raised with many of us during the election campaign, which is why this Government are committed to having banking hubs across the country, and to a coherent plan for town centre regeneration. I will consider her request for a debate and pass it on to the relevant Minister.

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