Steve Witherden MP: speeches

Speeches

• 29 Jan 2025 · Job Creation · Hansard source

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  I welcome the news that the Secretary of State has signed a memorandum of understanding on four Welsh growth deals with Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Rebecca Evans. Will the Minister outline how this UK-Welsh Government partnership will deliver the well-paid jobs and economic growth needed in areas like Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr?

• 29 Jan 2025 · Outsourcing: Government Departments · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) on securing this crucial debate. I have had the privilege of standing in solidarity with the facilities management staff and speaking at the PCS pickets that have been mentioned by others in this debate. Their demands could not be clearer: fair pay, better working conditions and an end to outsourcing in Government Departments. While delivering vital services such as cleaning, catering and security to keep civil service Departments running effectively, those employed on outsourced contracts are treated as second-class employees compared with their in-house counterparts. The result is a two-tier system with a sharp racial divide. BAME and migrant workers are disproportionately employed in these roles. Last year we saw the long and hard-fought dispute between the Department for Education and its outsourced cleaners come to an end. Reports of those workers being overworked, treated “like rats” and denied the London living wage were truly appalling. Unfortunately, such treatment is common practice when it comes to the subcontracting of Government services to private firms. Many workers on outsourced contracts struggle to make ends meet, especially during the ongoing cost of living crisis, as their wages are often limited to the national minimum or living wage. In some Government Departments and agency workplaces, PCS members have even resorted to establishing food banks to support low-paid staff. Adding to their economic insecurity, those workers are also excluded from access to decent pension schemes. The current outsourcing model weakens the Government’s ability to hold companies accountable. Basic protections for outsourced workers, such as company sick pay, are shirked, often forcing employees to continue working while unwell as they cannot afford to take time off. These outsourcing practices propagate the exploitation of employees. The companies behind them can easily avoid taking responsibility for poor pay and conditions, and the quality and fairness of essential public services are being compromised all the while. Will the Government honour the welcome promise of “the biggest wave of insourcing…for a generation”? Will they bring services back in-house where they belong and show their loyalty to the cleaners, the security staff and all the other undervalued workers who keep this country running, not the profiteering directors of outsourcing companies? Diolch yn fawr.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Agricultural Property Relief · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I congratulate the hon. Member for Caerfyrddin (Ann Davies) on securing this important debate about a topic of major concern for many of my constituents. Farming is at the heart of Wales’s social fabric, playing a vital role in our economy, food security and stewardship of the beautiful Welsh countryside. On Saturday, I met representatives of the FUW in Llansilin and NFU Cymru at a farm in Llanerfyl to discuss the ongoing challenges that farmers face. Farming is currently the least profitable sector of our economy, and changes to APR are having a significant impact on family-run farms. A lifelong farmer in my constituency raised her children on her 220-acre farm. Although considered small, the farm is valued at more than £1 million. Her 48-year-old son, who has farmed alongside her since the age of 18, had hoped to take over the farm. His young daughters now share his passion. Sadly, they now face the prospect of losing the farm they have worked so hard for. Let me be clear. I support progressive taxation to ensure that the wealthiest pay their fair share towards the upkeep of our society. In the 21st century, we see individual plutocrats and super-wealthy multinationals buying agricultural land to avoid paying inheritance tax, with no intention of using it for farming. That reduces our farmed land—something we can ill afford, given our fast-growing population in an unstable world. The proposed changes to APR for farmers come on the back of this and more, and feel like the straw that broke the camel’s back, or as we would say in Wales: “Yr hoelen olaf yn yr arch.— [Translation: The final nail in the coffin .] ”—if the hon. Member for Caerfyrddin can forgive my north-east Wales accent. The changes risk having a deeply detrimental effect on working family farms. What is at stake here? Food security. I have repeatedly spoken in the Chamber about my heartbreaking experiences with hungry children and food banks. In recent years, we have seen something that many never thought they would witness: food scarcity, empty shelves in the supermarkets and astronomical food price inflation. It cannot be overstated how that period of food inflation has affected the poorest in our country. I will not say more about the proposed APR policy as a whole. Prior to my election in July, I attended 10 hustings —we do like our hustings in mid-Wales; my thoughts on this topic are well-known and on the record. However, I will speak about mitigations. First, I respectfully request that the Minister considers raising the threshold. If this policy is to target those who buy farmland solely to dodge inheritance tax, then let us make it so: raise the threshold and actually increase the rate for people like that, so that no family farm is affected. Secondly, I implore the Minister to look at an exemption for farmers who—I risk sounding macabre, but I want to make myself clear—are too late in life to plan for this proposed change. I hope the Minister and you, Mr Stringer, can forgive my emotion. When you sit with an elderly farmer and his wife, both fighting back the tears, and they say, “If only I could die now, if only there was some kind of pill I could take now, so that my children don’t have to worry about this,” that has a profound effect. Diolch.

• 22 Jan 2025 · Certificate of Common Sponsorship · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Poole (Neil Duncan-Jordan) on securing this crucial debate. Migrant workers are vital to the UK’s economy and society. They make up over a fifth of our workforce and support essential industries such as hospitality and social care. Just last week, I had the privilege of meeting representatives from Focus on Labour Exploitation, the Latin American Women’s Rights Service, the Southeast and East Asian Women’s Association and the Refugee Workers Cultural Association. They voiced serious concerns about the current visa rules that tie many migrant workers to a single employer, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. The existing legislation not only creates grey areas that allow employers to pay unliveable wages, deny sick pay and encourage abuse in the workplace, but it also strips employees of the agency to challenge those conditions. Many are trapped in a vicious cycle; they are scared to speak out due to fear of arrest, immigration detention or deportation, with no means to move to a safer employer. I fully support our Government’s commitment to reducing visa and immigration abuse, and empowering workers to report exploitation safely plays a crucial role in that. The introduction of a certificate of common sponsorship would enable migrant workers to change employers freely without facing the burden of additional immigration fees, the risk of being unemployed within the 60-day period or jeopardising their visa status. That would empower workers, increase accountability and raise standards for migrant workers, as employers would risk losing their workforce if they failed to treat workers fairly. Such measures will redress the power imbalance between workers and sponsors, giving workers the flexibility to escape exploitative situations and access their rights without fear. What conversations have Home Office officials had with those at the Department for Work and Pensions on the effects of data sharing and protections against employers using workers’ insecure immigration status to threaten and silence them in exploitative situations? The UK’s reliance on migrant workers cannot be overstated and all workers’ contributions must be valued and protected.

• 22 Jan 2025 · Child Arrangements: Presumption of Parental Involvement · Hansard source

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  Women’s Aid highlights that the pro-contact culture in family courts can force children into contact with abusive parents, sometimes against their will. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is crucial that family justice agencies recognise children as victims in their own right, as outlined in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, to prioritise their welfare and, most importantly, save lives?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the register of all-party parliamentary groups. During the covid-19 pandemic, 3.8 million self-employed UK taxpayers were shamefully excluded from Government financial support. Many, including pregnant women and war veterans, were forgotten about by the Conservative party. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how to address the unfairness faced by so many during the pandemic?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Climate Change: UK Leadership · Hansard source

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  1. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to demonstrate UK leadership on climate change.

• 14 Jan 2025 · Climate Change: UK Leadership · Hansard source

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  The rising death tolls from the wildfires in Los Angeles and the damage to our communities recently caused by Storms Bert and Darragh serve as clear reminders of escalating weather extremes and the urgent need to tackle the climate emergency. Will the Minister explain how the Government are actively driving efforts to cut emissions and champion clean energy, both in the UK and across the globe?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  Palestinian women detained in Israeli prisons face sexual assault, beatings and threats of rape and death, according to United Nations reports. Given our commitment to tackling violence against women and girls, what discussions is the Minister having with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office colleagues about the implications of the gender-based violence faced by Palestinians, particularly as Israel continues to deny access to detention sites?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  25. What steps her Department is taking to help tackle violence against women and girls.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  Before my election, I spent nearly 20 years as a secondary school teacher, seeing at first hand the devastating effects of food poverty on children’s health, concentration and academic performance. I welcome the introduction of free breakfast clubs in primary schools, which will improve child health and learning outcomes in England, as seen in Wales. However, I urge further action to ensure that all children can thrive. Will the Government consider extending free breakfasts to secondary school students, and will consideration be given to access to free school lunches as well?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Workplace Pay Gaps · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) on securing this important debate. Research in 2023 revealed that mothers in the UK earned, on average, 31% less than fathers—a gap worse than the one 40 years before. The motherhood pay penalty has been overlooked by previous Governments for far too long, significantly contributing to gender pay gaps. The undervaluation of care work, combined with the fact that caregiving responsibilities fall disproportionately on women, means that women are often the ones who take career breaks or reduce their working hours when raising children. This leads to limited work experience and stunted career progression. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that while men’s earnings remain largely unaffected by parenthood, women’s earnings drop significantly after having children. In fact, seven years post childbirth, women earn less than half of what men earn. The penalty is even more severe for black and ethnic minority women, who face additional barriers as the impact of motherhood is compounded by existing ethnic pay gaps and gender and race-based inequalities at work. I welcome the Government’s commitment to improving parents’ rights in the workplace through the Employment Rights Bill. The Bill’s increased protections against dismissal for pregnant women, for those on maternity leave and for those returning within six months build on existing safeguards against redundancy for mothers, taking us a crucial step forward in addressing the penalty. Furthermore, the Bill’s removal of restrictions on paternity leave and pay will provide more flexibility and encourage a fairer division of parenting responsibilities between partners. What plans do the Government have to directly tackle the gap between the earnings of mothers and fathers? What specific measures are being considered for single parents, who will not necessarily benefit from changes to paternity leave and who often bear the responsibility for caregiving? Diolch yn fawr.

• 10 Dec 2024 · Storm Darragh · Hansard source

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  I thank my neighbour the hon. Member for Ceredigion Preseli (Ben Lake) for asking the urgent question. Let me add my voice to the chorus of voices thanking the emergency services, and also pay tribute to communities and local businesses such as the Hand in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, in my constituency. The storm brought out the best in society, which is what the worst weather sometimes does. Will my hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to local businesses and civic society for all their work in helping those most affected by the storm?

• 29 Nov 2024 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Assisted dying is already occurring in unregulated ways, with up to 650 terminally ill people taking their own lives each year, often in traumatic circumstances, causing additional pain for their loved ones. The Bill promotes freedom of choice at the end of life in a controlled and regulated manner. Does my hon. Friend agree that legal assisted dying would provide essential safeguards where there currently are none?

• 27 Nov 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  Schools must be equipped to teach boys and young men to hold themselves accountable to women and each other. That is essential to beginning the work of dismantling those toxic cultures and creating safer environments for all. Empowering young people with the knowledge and skills to challenge inequalities and change harmful norms would enable meaningful progress in preventing domestic violence. What discussions has the Minister, who I know is deeply committed to ending violence against women and girls, had with colleagues in the Department for Education about making awareness-raising and prevention work on domestic violence and domestic homicide a priority in schools? How are the Government supporting schools to tackle domestic violence at its core?

• 27 Nov 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  Yes, I 100% agree. The role of education cannot be understated; it is fundamentally important.

• 27 Nov 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) for securing this crucial debate and for her exceptional dedication to tackling violence against women and girls. UN Women’s latest femicides report reveals that globally the home is now the most dangerous place for a woman to be. For far too long, domestic homicide has been treated as an unavoidable tragedy. In the UK a woman is murdered by a man every three days; 62% of those women are killed by their partner or ex-partner, often in brutal and unimaginable ways, and many of them in front of their children. Given those harrowing statistics, the Government must confront domestic homicide for what it truly is: a national emergency. I fully support our ambition to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. Education must play a vital role in achieving that and raising awareness of domestic violence in schools is crucial. For decades, road and fire safety has been taught in schools, yet the harsh reality is that women are 50 times more likely to be injured by their partner than in a house fire, and more than three times as likely to be killed by a partner as by not wearing a seatbelt. Despite that, research from Women’s Aid shows that four in five people in Britain do not believe that the scale of domestic abuse in the UK is greater than that of car accidents or house fires. Educating young people about the true severity of domestic violence is a key part of prevention work. The culture of inequality and misogyny, often rooted in harmful masculine norms, contributes to the widespread tolerance of domestic abuse.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Middle East: Humanitarian Situation · Hansard source

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  7. What steps he is taking to help improve the humanitarian situation in the middle east.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Middle East: Humanitarian Situation · Hansard source

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  The International Development Committee heard testimony from Nizam Mamode, a surgeon who has recently returned from the Nasser hospital in Gaza. He described Israeli drones picking off injured children after bombings. His account echoed an October New York Times report, which cited 44 doctors, nurses and paramedics who witnessed numerous cases of pre-pubescent children being shot in the head or chest during the ongoing conflict in Gaza. What steps are the Government taking to prevent a genocide in Gaza?

• 19 Nov 2024 · Food Banks · Hansard source

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  A number of constituents have written to me expressing their struggle to afford food, despite being in work, and that is not an isolated issue. In mid-2022, almost 90% of those referred to food banks in Wales were in work and had such low incomes that they were living in destitution. Does the hon. Member agree that the working poor, created by the last Government, are disgracefully reminiscent of Victorian times?

• 6 Nov 2024 · Job Creation · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State has said that economic growth is her No. 1 priority. Can the Minister say how the Budget’s confirmation of the investment zones will help contribute to that aim?

• 6 Nov 2024 · Job Creation · Hansard source

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  8. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help create new jobs in Wales.

• 5 Nov 2024 · Income Tax (Charge) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West and Leigh (David Burton-Sampson). I welcome this Budget, which marks a significant milestone for Wales: the largest funding boost since devolution. I am especially proud of the £25 million allocated for the continued safe maintenance of coal tips, which is vital for places such as the Bersham Colliery spoil tip in Rhostyllen, in my constituency, made famous by the Hollywood-style “Wrexham” sign. The Budget is testament to the positive impact of two Labour Governments working together. We should never forget the 14 years of brutal austerity under the Tories, whose legacy has left vital services in disarray, record low living standards, and more than 4 million children living in poverty. After such devastation, investment is not just welcome but essential. Food security is one of the most pressing issues that the UK faces. The Tories failed our farmers, as is clear from dodgy trade deals with New Zealand and Australia, delays in post-Brexit payment schemes and the closure of 12,000 farms, leaving many struggling financially. Investing properly in farming and addressing farmers’ concerns is essential for the industry’s future, so I welcome the £60 million allocated to the farming recovery fund in order to support farmers affected by last winter’s extreme wet weather. I also welcome the £208 million to protect against threats such as peste des petits ruminants, bluetongue and other diseases that blight the lives of our farmers, and the £5 billion for the farming budget over the next two years. Inequality in our society is stark. Raising the national living wage by 6.7% to £12.21 per hour is a key step forward, benefiting about 70,000 minimum wage workers in Wales. Keeping petrol duty frozen is crucial for those of us in rural areas, where affordable fuel is essential to daily life, work and accessing essential services. I know that that was a major concern for many of my constituents before the Budget. Our Labour Government will invest in public services, particularly the NHS and schools, which are devolved but vital. I wholeheartedly welcome the £2.3 billion increase in the core school budget, which will enable the recruitment of 6,500 new teachers and enhance school maintenance. As a dyslexic and dyscalculic child who was illiterate until the age of 11, I know that the Government’s commitment of £1 billion to special educational needs and disabilities will make a real difference.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. A study published by the Disability Policy Centre this week suggests that improving support to get disabled people, those with long-term health conditions and unpaid carers into work, and keeping them in employment, could save the Treasury £38 billion. Paying a higher rate of sick pay has been shown to increase employee retention and is key to reducing economic inactivity. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of the current rate of statutory sick pay on employee retention?

• 21 Oct 2024 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  In early September, over 500 Oscar Mayer workers, organised by Unite the Union, launched strikes against the company’s appalling use of fire and rehire. Many of these workers are my constituents and are facing serious threats to their pay and working conditions, with potential losses of up to £3,000 annually. I hugely support this legislation, but immediate action is crucial to protect my constituents and workers across the UK from such exploitative practices. Will my right hon. Friend provide clarity on the timescales for reforms to unfair dismissal?