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PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Topical Questions - 25 July 2024 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

Debate Detail

Contributions from Cat Eccles, are highlighted with a yellow border.
LD
Andrew George
St Ives
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
Pat McFadden
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
My Department has begun its work on helping the Government to deliver on our manifesto, and we are focused on the first steps and missions that we spoke about during the election campaign. We will play our full part in driving forward the announcements made by the Government, such as establishing a national wealth fund, lifting the ban on onshore wind, and beginning the changes needed to get Britain building again. We have also responded to the first module of the covid report published last week, and the Minister without Portfolio, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham West and East Dulwich (Ellie Reeves), made a statement on the IT outage, which exposed the fragility of the systems we all rely on.
Andrew George
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his response. Given that it is the Department’s responsibility to investigate waste, will it also investigate the impact? My inquiries have revealed that £242 million of taxpayers’ money was spent on covid aid that was handed out to holiday home owners in Cornwall during that period, whereas only a fraction of that amount has been given to support those who are desperately in need of affordable homes, with many locals being displaced by the massive growth of holiday homes in the area. Will the Government please investigate the impact—be it positive or negative—of spending that kind of public money?
Pat McFadden
I assure the hon. Member that we take value for money seriously; it has been a theme of today’s questions. The Government supported businesses during covid—necessarily and rightly—but it is important to ensure the best value for money in such schemes. In the end, it is all taxpayers’ money, so that should have been done. Where that is not the case, and where there has been fraud or waste, we will do our best to recover what was wrongly spent.
Mr Speaker
Can we pick up the pace of questions and answers? We are on topicals now. Rachel Hopkins will set a good example.
Lab
Rachel Hopkins
Luton South and South Bedfordshire
T2. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our high streets and communities, and they create local wealth and opportunities across Luton South and South Bedfordshire. They play a vital role in providing social value by distributing growth locally, meeting environmental targets and developing social wellbeing. Does the Minister agree that it is essential to put social value at the heart of the Government’s growth agenda?
  10:25:33
Georgia Gould
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office
Growth is a central mission of the Government. We want to use all the levers available to us, including procurement, to support good growth, jobs and local communities.
  10:25:39
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
Con
  10:29:09
Sir Oliver Dowden
Hertsmere
I begin by welcoming the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to his position. I know that he will be supported by a brilliant team of civil servants who are truly dedicated to public service. As we saw in module 1 of the covid inquiry report last week, biological threats pose potentially catastrophic risks to our nation, and those risks will be exacerbated by long-term trends such as climate change. To help to prepare us, I published the UK biological security strategy. Will he take the opportunity to recommit to its objectives and to provide an annual update to the House on its implementation?
Pat McFadden
I welcome the right hon. Member to his position. I mean that genuinely: it is not easy to step up and serve in opposition after an election defeat, so I welcome what he and his colleagues are doing. I echo his praise for the civil service and the Cabinet Office team, who have supported me and my colleagues in the best way in the past few weeks. On the UK biological security strategy, my answer is simple and short: yes.
  10:27:06
Mr Speaker
Let us keep going in that way.
  10:27:41
Sir Oliver Dowden
I welcome that answer and I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind words. An effective strategy must be underpinned by dedicated resources, which is why one of my final acts in the Cabinet Office was to announce that we would ringfence biological security spending across Government. Will he uphold that commitment, so that important resilience spending does not fall victim to day-to-day spending pressures?
Pat McFadden
If the right hon. Member set aside spending for his commitments, he did something pretty rare for the last Government. When we look under the bonnet, we find that that was not often the case. We will have more to say about that in the coming days.
Lab
David Taylor
Hemel Hempstead
T3. I welcome the Front-Bench team to their roles. The people of Hemel Hempstead put their trust in me because they want change, particularly on issues such as healthcare, on which the last Government failed to deliver. Can the Minister update the House on the changes that the Government are planning to make for my constituents and constituents around the country?
  10:28:17
Pat McFadden
We are getting on with our first steps, including on healthcare, which is a top priority for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. We want to make the NHS fit for the future. We did it before and we can do it again.
  10:28:38
Mr Speaker
I call the Lib Dem spokesperson.
LD
Christine Jardine
Edinburgh West
This summer, we have been celebrating 25 years of devolution in Scotland. In the last Parliament, the Scottish Affairs Committee looked at how the relationship between the UK and Scottish Governments has deteriorated in the past decade and how we can improve it. Does the Minister agree that in the next tranche of devolution, we should look at how to improve relationships with the devolved Administrations and regional authorities? Perhaps we should set up a UK council of Ministers to involve Ministers from all the Administrations and regional mayors.
  10:29:16
Pat McFadden
We intend to set up a council of nations and regions. The hon. Member is right to say that we need to improve relations. That is easier said than done because such organisations are run by political parties, but I hope that the election result, in all its facets, represents the opportunity for a bit of a reset and better relations in future.
Lab
  10:29:54
Joe Powell
Kensington and Bayswater
T4. In just over a month, phase 2 of the Grenfell inquiry will report. There will be implications for the entire Government, but what preparations have been made ahead of the report’s publication? Will the Minister commit to engaging with the bereaved, survivors and the affected community before the Government respond in full to the recommendations?
  10:30:40
Ms Abena Oppong-Asare
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office
I thank my hon. Friend for the question; I know that the issue is close to his heart, as it is to mine. The publication of the report will mark an important milestone for the Grenfell community, and Parliament will have the opportunity to provide the full and proper scrutiny that the issues deserve. As my hon. Friend said, it is important that bereaved families are also part of that process, and we will work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that all those residents are part of it. The Government will do everything possible to drive the change to ensure that lessons are learned and that a tragedy such as the Grenfell Tower fire can never happen again.
Con
  10:30:56
Mr Richard Holden
Basildon and Billericay
T7. In 2005, the tax gap was 7.4%; in 2022-23, the previous Government cut it down to 4.8% Is there a cross-Government mission or target to close the tax gap further?
  10:31:08
Pat McFadden
We will do everything we can to collect the greatest amount of tax possible—that is right. We are interested in value for money and, given the legacy that we have inherited, I assure the right hon. Member that that is needed.
Lab
  10:31:44
Matt Western
Warwick and Leamington
T5. During the pandemic, my requests to the then Government to source personal protective equipment from local, UK manufacturers were largely ignored. Will the Minister insist that any covid corruption commissioner listens to companies such as Tecman and Comtest in my constituency about what happened at that time?
Pat McFadden
All lessons should be learned about the procurement pressures at that time, including the lesson that my hon. Friend mentioned.
LD
  10:31:59
Richard Foord
Honiton and Sidmouth
T9. We heard at the covid inquiry that Cabinet Office structures were not designed to manage a whole-of-Government crisis. What might the Government change to better prepare for the next emergency?
Pat McFadden
The great danger is preparing perfectly for the last war. The real challenge in resilience is looking around the corner for things that have not already happened. As we respond to the covid pandemic, it is important to keep that in mind, and we will try to do that.
Lab
  10:32:49
Sarah Coombes
West Bromwich
T6. The covid-19 pandemic devastated families in West Bromwich. In our borough of Sandwell, 1,476 people lost their lives. Now the covid inquiry is exposing just how poorly prepared we were and that insufficient thought was given to how the pandemic would affect ethnic minority and deprived communities. What will the Government do to work with local government and across the board to ensure that we are better prepared in future?
  10:33:32
Ms Oppong-Asare
The Government recognise that the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups and minority communities and that it will continue to affect many people. It is essential that we review the way we prepare for future emergencies to minimise disproportionate impacts. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will chair a dedicated Cabinet Committee on resilience to oversee the work of assessing and improving our national resilience. We are putting people at the centre of the Government’s missions and we will learn the lessons of covid-19.
Con
  10:33:49
Dame Caroline Dinenage
Gosport
On behalf of the 12% of people in my constituency who have served in the armed forces, I ask the Cabinet Secretary to explain why he is not joined by a veterans Minister on the Front Bench this morning.
Pat McFadden
That is because responsibility for veterans is being transferred to the Ministry of Defence, which is a better home for it. Looking after our veterans will be a big priority in the Ministry of Defence.
Lab
Sam Rushworth
Bishop Auckland
T8. In recent years, rural parts of my constituency were left without power for a week following storm Arwen, and, during covid, children in upland areas were unable to access school due to poor connectivity. Does the Minister agree that resilience requires taking into account the energy and connectivity needs of areas such as Teesdale and Weardale?
  10:34:46
Ms Oppong-Asare
First, let me thank my hon. Friend and his family for walking across the country to raise awareness of child poverty during the pandemic.

The Government recognise the disruption to education caused by the pandemic and the different access to online learning and IT equipment. We are committed to learning lessons from the past and making improvements for the future. In the immediate term, the Government have invested in delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. We are investing £5 billion as part of this project to ensure that the hardest-to-reach areas across the UK, such as my hon. Friend’s constituency, receive coverage.
DUP
Jim Shannon
Strangford
Further to the question of the hon. Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery), does the Minister hold any statistics on how many individuals are due infected blood compensation in Northern Ireland and how many have been awarded it? I am happy for the Minister to send me the stats if he does not have them to hand.
Nick Thomas-Symonds
The Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I am grateful to the hon. Member for that question. I do not have the specific figures for Northern Ireland to hand, but if he writes to me I would be only too delighted to provide them to him.
Lab
Adam Jogee
Newcastle-under-Lyme
T10. The CrowdStrike outage this week showed how reliant we are on digital infrastructure. What will the Minister do to reassure people in Newcastle-under-Lyme that Britain will be resilient against cyber-attacks and hostile action from those who wish to do us harm?
Ellie Reeves
The Minister without Portfolio
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I made a statement on the CrowdStrike IT outage in this House on Monday. There will be a lessons-learned process as a result of that, and also a Bill going before Parliament to ensure that we are resilient in relation to our cyber-security. That will strengthen our defences and ensure that more digital services than ever are protected.
Mr Speaker
I call Cat Eccles for the final question.
Lab
  10:37:30
Cat Eccles
Stourbridge
A constituent of mine is currently going through the process of adopting a little boy. She and her husband have one daughter already, conceived following several rounds of IVF, but, sadly, that has since been unsuccessful for them and they have chosen to adopt one of the many looked-after children looking for a loving home. My constituent runs a local business—a haberdashery and sewing workshop—that is extremely popular with local people, but in order to integrate the little boy into her family, she has taken time away from her business to be with him at home. She has since discovered that she is not entitled to statutory adoption pay as a self-employed person and will have to take this time off unpaid.

When adopting children from care, there is a really small window of opportunity to successfully integrate the child with minimal disruption. Costs to local authorities for looked-after children are rising. Would you agree that extending adoption pay to self-employed people in line with maternity pay would provide better outcomes for looked-after children?
Mr Speaker
Order. We are all on a learning curve, but we do need to ask short, punchy questions. Also, “you” means me, but I am sure that we will not be doing that again.
Pat McFadden
On this, perhaps the simplest thing is for my hon. Friend to write to me, so that I can get her question considered by the proper Minister.
Mr Speaker
That completes questions. Before we move to the business questions, I shall let those on the Front Benches leave.

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