PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Business of the House - 10 October 2024 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

Twenty-one today, Mr Speaker.

The business for the week commencing 14 October includes:

Monday 14 October—Second Reading of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill.

Tuesday 15 October—Second Reading of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill.

Wednesday 16 October—Opposition day (3rd allotted day). Debate on a motion in the name of the Liberal Democrats. Subject to be announced.

Thursday 17 October—General debate on the international investment summit.

Friday 18 October—The House will not be sitting.

The provisional business for the week commencing 21 October will include:

Monday 21 October—Second Reading of the Employment Rights Bill.

Tuesday 22 October—Second Reading of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill [Lords].

Wednesday 23 October—Motion to approve the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2024, followed by motion to approve the Iran (Sanctions) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.

Thursday 24 October—General debate on Black History Month.

Friday 25 October—The House will not be sitting.

Additionally, the House may wish to know that I have tabled a motion under future business confirming the upcoming dates for sitting Fridays. Subject to the agreement of the House, the first sitting Friday to consider private Member’s Bills will be 29 November.

I, too, welcome the new Chaplain, Mark Birch. I also pay tribute to Lily Ebert, who dedicated her life to ensuring that the horror of the Holocaust can never happen again. I am sure that all Members will want to send their best wishes to the residents of Florida as the damage of Hurricane Milton unfolds.

I thank you, Mr Speaker, and the rest of the House for the birthday wishes. It is a significant birthday for me. Fifty years ago today was also a general election day, and my mum was in labour and voting Labour. I knew even then that I should not come out before the polling station opened. If the House will indulge me slightly, I will take this opportunity to thank my mum and dad, because I would not be here without their life- long support.

Not only was that a big day in the history of my family; it was a rare day in that Labour won a general election. Talking of historic victories, this week marks the first 100 days of our new Labour Government. The work of change has begun. I remind the House that we have made fiscal responsibility an Act, so that Liz Truss can never happen again. We have set up GB Energy, lifted the moratorium on onshore wind, invested in carbon capture and storage, and set up the national wealth fund. We have set ambitious new house building targets, and are ending no-fault of evictions and giving new rights to renters. We are bringing our railways back into public ownership, and providing new powers to stop river pollution. We have ended the doctors’ strike so we can get the waiting lists down, kept our promise to Figen Murray on Martyn’s law, ended one-word Ofsted judgments, set up the border security command, and taken swift action on riots. We are fixing the prisons crisis that the last Government left behind. We are paving the way for better buses across the country. We have tightened the rules on MPs’ second jobs, and we are modernising Parliament and reforming the House of Lords.

And today, 97 days after the election, we are introducing the biggest boost to workers’ rights in a generation, giving people dignity and security at work, not as a nice extra but as an integral part of a strategy for a high-wage, high-skill, growing economy. We have worked apace to deliver a new deal for workers, tackling exploitative zero-hours contracts, ending fire and rehire, and providing day one rights for bereavement, parental leave and statutory sick pay. We are providing flexible working for those who want it, boosting productivity and living standards. This is what Labour Governments deliver. We have produced twice as many Bills in our first 100 days as the Tories did during the same period after the 2010 election. That is our record, and we are proud of it.

The right hon. Member for Croydon South (Chris Philp) asked me about the Chagos islands. We are committed to making statements to the House first when the House is sitting, as is laid down in our “Ministerial Code”. As the Foreign Secretary made clear in his statement to the House on Monday, the requirement for proper parliamentary process and scrutiny will of course be followed. That will include a Bill and the full CRaG process, so I am sure the right hon. Gentleman will have ample opportunity to debate the matter further at that time.

I am aware that the right hon. Gentleman wrote to me about winter fuel payments, because a Sunday Telegraph journalist told me that he had written to me before I had actually received his letter. I know that he likes to come to Parliament to raise these matters first, but he is reaching desperately for a conspiracy when there is none. We granted a vote on the winter fuel payment because we respect Parliament; his party did not. We published the equality analysis, although there was no requirement for us to do so; his party would not have done the same. We have had to make a very difficult decision that we did not want to make in order to fill the £22 billion black hole that his party left behind. [Interruption.] He does not want to hear it, but it is the truth.

The right hon. Gentleman had some brass neck to raise the issue of standards in Parliament. He and his colleagues voted to change the rules of this House when another of his colleagues was found to be in breach of the rules against taking cash for lobbying. His Prime Minister was found to be in serious breach of the rules when he failed to declare a loan he had received for doing up his flat—a loan brokered by someone to whom he then gave the job of chairman of the BBC. And let us not get into the fast-lane, mates- rates covid contracts that cost taxpayers millions of pounds, or, indeed, the fact that his Government changed the rules on socialising while at the same time partying in Downing Street and lying to the House about it for months on end. We will take no lectures from the party opposite.

While we are getting on with changing the country, the Conservatives are soaking themselves in the comfort of the warm bath of opposition. On the day that we are boosting workers’ rights, they are in a race to the bottom on maternity pay. I gently say to the right hon. Gentleman that it is time the Conservatives took a cold shower. Yesterday showed that they cannot even count—perhaps they should have stuck with the “king of the spreadsheet” after all. In just 26 parliamentary sitting days, we have delivered more Bills and more change in this country than was achieved in 14 sorry years of Conservative rule.

My hon. Friend raises a very important issue, and we welcome the level of ambition from the mayor and the local authorities in the east midlands to improve transport in the region. As was outlined in Transport questions earlier, the Department for Transport is undertaking a thorough review of these issues, and I am sure it will soon come back to the House with further information.

I thank the hon. Lady for her birthday wishes and welcome her to her new role. She, too, is a member of the Modernisation Committee, and I very much enjoyed our exchanges at our first meeting in September. I look forward to working with her on the House of Commons Commission, of which I think she will now become a member. Given her background in glazing and construction, I am sure that her insights into the many repairs needed in this place, especially to some of the stained glass windows, will be particularly valuable to the House of Commons Commission. She might not quite realise the heady heights that she has now reached in the House of Commons. Pressing and important matters, such as the cost of a bacon butty in the Members’ Tea Room and the state of the toilets in Portcullis House, await her valuable contribution and insights in the House of Commons Commission. I pay tribute to her predecessor, whom I have known for many years and who always made thoughtful contributions to this session.

The hon. Member for Chelmsford (Marie Goldman) raises some important matters about house building. As she will know, this Government are unashamedly pro house building, but that does not mean that there is a developer free-for-all, as she rightly says. That is why it is important that we boost planning capacity in local authorities, and we are bringing forward the infrastructure Bill to make sure that big infrastructure decisions are taken much more quickly and robustly. I hear what she says about the national planning policy deadlines, and I will make sure that she gets a good reply to that point as soon as possible.

As ever, my hon. Friend makes a very important point. These important cultural, industrial and historical assets are for the community to enjoy into the future. I am sure that the topic he raises would make for a very good Adjournment debate, should he wish to apply for one.

I thank the hon. Member for that very important tribute to Lily Ebert. She did indeed dedicate her life to ensuring that the next generations are educated on the true horrors of the Holocaust, so that they never happen again. The hon. Member has spent most of his parliamentary career educating the rest of us on these important matters, and pushing forward the Holocaust memorial centre here in Westminster. He knows that that Bill continues its passage in the Lords. I was very pleased to ensure that it was included in this Government’s King’s Speech programme and had early passage in the other place. Hopefully, it will receive Royal Assent at the earliest opportunity, should both Houses wish it to.

My hon. Friend makes an important point that has been raised in this House previously. Frankly, the situation is just not good enough, especially for people in rural communities like hers, who rely so heavily on being able to drive. She may be aware that there is a Westminster Hall debate next week on the availability of driving tests; that might be a good opportunity to raise some of these issues. I will, of course, ensure that the Minister has heard her question.

The new hospital building programme is of great interest to many Members on both sides of the House. However, when we came into government, we found that the programme was a complete work of fiction. Money had not been allocated for many of the promises that had been made. We are undertaking a full and comprehensive review of the new hospital programme to make a realistic and costed proposal for all the new hospitals that this country so desperately needs.

Life obviously begins at 30. I thank my hon. Friend for raising the important White Ribbon campaign and accreditation, to which she has long been committed. Tackling violence against women and girls is a priority for this Government, and one of our key missions is to halve violence against women and girls over the coming years. We are determined to meet that very ambitious target. Her idea of Parliament undertaking the journey to become a White Ribbon-accredited organisation is very good, and I will discuss it with her and with members of the House of Commons Commission.

I join the right hon. Member in paying tribute to the eminent parliamentarians he mentioned, whom we recently lost. It is important that this House comes together to do that.

I try to give many presents to this Chamber, which was why I was keen to announce the long-term recess dates; I am sure we can all agree that was a present. The right hon. Gentleman is right that the Government and I, as Leader of the House, are committed to the principle that statements should be made to Parliament first, and should be made to Parliament as soon as possible, if the House is not sitting. I take the firm view that Secretaries of State should make those statements. I work very hard to uphold those principles. Of course, there are times when announcements need to be made during the recess for international or national reasons, so it is right that the Foreign Secretary came here at the very first opportunity to make his statement to the House.

I thank my hon. Friend for using an opportunity at Prime Minister’s questions yesterday and on other occasions to ask for a debate about Black History Month. It is thanks to her and colleagues’ efforts that we have been able to announce that debate today, so I pay tribute to her. I am sure the issues she raises will be discussed during that debate. It is vital that the narrative is reframed, and that we expose the attitudes she describes on social media and elsewhere, which are fuelled by ignorance and hate, and put an end to them.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for those birthday wishes. As I have gently said on previous occasions, he slightly misunderstands the situation, but of course we always bring important matters before the House. When those matters require a vote—and, in fact, in some cases when they do not require a vote—we have been, and will continue to be, very forthcoming.

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He is absolutely right: it is shocking that in 2024 this great country of ours still requires such a huge and widespread use of food banks and that we are blighted by food poverty. That is why this Government have set up a cross-cutting taskforce to address child poverty, and why we are committed to the roll out of free breakfast clubs and the creation of more nurseries in our schools. It is also partly why we are so delighted to introduce the Employment Rights Bill today, so that people can have dignity and security in work.

I know that is a matter of concern for many people, and the Government have speedily set about having a review of the funding of BTecs. That review will be completed very quickly, as it is of great concern to further education colleges. We have education questions on 4 November and the forthcoming Technical Education Bill will soon be coming from the other House.

May I take this opportunity to welcome my hon. Friend back as the MP for Leigh and Atherton? [Interruption.] It is a short holiday that she should never have had from being the MP for Leigh, as it was then. I also thank her for all the work that she has done as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on ADHD. I am sure that this would be a very good topic for a Westminster Hall debate if she should apply for one.

The hon. Member would not expect me to comment on the individual cases that he outlines. We do have Home Office questions coming up on 21 October and I am sure that he can raise those matters there. One thing that we have found since the election is that morale and leadership in our police forces are not what they could be, which is why the Home Secretary is embarking on a recruitment drive and reforms in our police force to ensure that we have all the police that we need.

That very important matter has been raised with me before and I know that it is of real concern to my hon. Friend and to many other colleagues across this House. Next week’s Westminster Hall debate on the community benefits of renewable energy projects may provide him with an opportunity to raise it, but if not I will ensure that he gets a good response from the Minister.

First, I wish the hon. Member’s father a happy birthday. What a great birthday he has—good judgment there. The hon. Member raises the important issue of flood resilience, which gets raised in business questions and elsewhere frequently. As we move into the winter months, the issue is of particular relevance. Were he to apply for a Westminster Hall debate, I know that his application would get wide support, but I will consider whether time can be made for these issues before we get into the winter months.

We are delighted that that huge Bill will be introduced today. I put on the record my thanks to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and all their officials, who have worked at pace to introduce this huge and important Bill within 100 days of the election. As my hon. Friend says, it will do many things. I will not go into them now, but it is an important reminder that in 1997, when the previous Labour Government introduced the Bill that became the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, it was resoundingly opposed by Conservative Members, as they are seemingly opposing today’s Employment Rights Bill. I am sure that that will be a matter of much debate in the coming weeks as we discuss the Bill.

The hon. Member raises an important matter about a public appointment, the specifics of which I will not get into now, as to do so would not be appropriate. Home Office questions will be on 21 October, but I will ensure that she gets a response from a Minister long before then.

My hon. Friend describes a familiar story. The woeful state of the infrastructure within our NHS and the capital and digital assets are matters of huge importance and great urgency. As I said in answer to an earlier question, unfortunately the last Government’s new hospital building programme was a work of fiction, and we are working at pace to put that right. I understand that Doncaster and Bassetlaw teaching hospitals NHS foundation trust is due to receive its critical infrastructure risk funding soon, but I will ensure that she gets a full response about the future of her hospital.

I thank the hon. Member for the birthday wishes and for all her work over recent months. As ever, she raises another thoughtful and important matter. She will be aware that the Government are committed to imminently bringing forward the tobacco and vapes Bill, which will rightly bring in new restrictions around the sale of vapes to children, and there will be further measures announced in the Bill when it is soon introduced.

The woeful state of our crumbling school buildings is there for all to see, and the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete scandal a year or so ago was just another symptom of the previous Government’s lack of decision making and lack of funding for these things. I am sure that the Education Secretary would be happy to take a question from my hon. Friend in oral questions, which are coming up soon, and I will ensure that the relevant Minister has heard her question.

The hon. Member will know that assisted dying is a matter of conscience and therefore a matter for Parliament; it is not one on which the Government have a view or will take an active role. We will remain neutral. Should someone wish to bring forward a private Member’s Bill, I am sure that it will progress through respectful and lengthy debate in Parliament, as we have had in the past and has taken place in the other House. That is a long-standing convention. The Government have set aside collective responsibility to allow the debate to happen in a thoughtful and thorough way.

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend.

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. Rolling out the availability of pharmacy services is vital for the Government’s agenda on prevention and on providing services—be they GPs or pharmacies—in every community. Those are important matters. I know that the Health Secretary will continue to update the House. Health questions are next week should the hon. Gentleman wish to raise the matter then.

Like my hon. Friend, I am a regular user of Avanti West Coast services and Stockport station. I hope that Avanti’s reliability will be spot on this afternoon so that I can get home in time for a birthday meal—please take note! He raises an important issue. The privatisation programme has not worked, and our trains have for too long been unreliable and expensive, serving the country poorly. That is why we very quickly introduced the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, which is now in the other place. We will soon bring forward a further Bill to establish Great British Railways in order to bring our trains back into public ownership once again.

I thank the hon. Lady for that important question. She is absolutely right: diabetes is one of those illnesses alongside which people can live long, healthy and happy lives if they get the right treatment. Technology is moving at a particularly fast pace in that area, and if every patient could get access to it, that would improve their quality of life. Were she to ask for a Westminster Hall or Adjournment debate, I am sure that it would be well received.

My hon. Friend is the second Member to raise that important topic this morning. He may not be aware but there is a Westminster Hall debate on 16 October on the availability of driving tests. Of course, having qualified driving instructors is critical to that endeavour, so he may wish to attend that debate.

That topic gets raised many times in this House, and we are all well aware of it. It is part of the reason we will be introducing draft legislation on leasehold reform, which is a long-standing issue. I am sure the hon. Gentleman could raise the issue of managing agents in a further debate, either in Westminster Hall or through the Backbench Business Committee once it is established.

Postmasters have had a very difficult time in recent years, and there are still many questions facing the Post Office about the support, recruitment and remuneration of postmasters. I am sure that would make an extremely good topic for a debate in this House.

What better birthday present than a question from the hon. Gentleman, and some pearls of wisdom to go with it! I will take his words on board.

As ever, the hon. Gentleman raises a very important case. Mr Lai’s case is a priority for this Government; the Foreign Secretary has already raised it with China’s Foreign Minister, and we continue to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and to release him immediately.

My hon. Friend can take a great deal of personal satisfaction and thanks for the Bill getting to this place, along with his union Unison, which we are proud to have worked with on that Bill and on the Make Work Pay policy document that supports it. He is absolutely right: the issues of maternity pay, parental leave, bereavement leave and zero-hours contracts, as well as all the other benefits in the Bill, will be widely debated as it progresses through the House of Commons.

My hon. Friend raises the very important matter of community theatres, and the one in his constituency sounds really important. It is a matter of national shame that so many theatres are struggling to find funding, and I hope that his local authority will reconsider its decision. He may wish to raise this issue next week at Culture, Media and Sport questions.

To see the new medical school opening is a brilliant thing to happen so early in my hon. Friend’s time as the MP representing Bangor. It will be a vital facility in helping this Government to deliver our ambitions for an extra 40,000 appointments a week and all the additional doctors that our NHS so desperately needs, so I am delighted to thank all of those involved, and I thank her for supporting it.

I am sure every Member of Parliament in this House will want to thank the citizens advice bureaux for the work they do across the country in providing our constituents with so much support and advice. I am sure that would be a very welcome topic for a Backbench Business or Adjournment debate if she wanted to apply for one.

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. That is a great topic for a debate. We had Transport questions this morning, but if he wants to put in for an Adjournment debate on that, I am sure it would be looked on kindly.

My hon. Friend highlights the important work that Maggie’s and others do and those affected by cancer that brings on the necessary early onset of menopause and other issues. I am sure she will continue to raise these matters in the House.

My hon. Friend does indeed have a great surname! He is absolutely right that e-bikes can be a blight and a challenge, and there are safety issues. The Government are currently considering these issues, and we have introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill that will consider some of these matters further, so I am sure there will be plenty of debate.

As I know from my own constituency, this matter is raised with Members regularly by further education colleges. The Government have paused the planned defunding of those qualifications, which means that 95 qualifications are again available to learners. The review is taking place as quickly as possible. I hope we will publish it before Christmas, and I can guarantee that there will be a statement to this House at that time.

Linda Maloney sounds like a wonderful woman who served her community in St Helens brilliantly over a long period. It is a very welcome reminder of the important role that our councillors, volunteers and community activists play in making sure that our communities are the best places in which to live and work.

I am sorry to hear of the tragic case that my hon. Friend has outlined, and my condolences go to the loved ones of Mark Noke. We are going to implement the reforms in the Victims and Prisoners Act, but we will also go further. We are going to introduce the victims, courts and public protection Bill later in this Session, and I am sure he will want to follow that with a close eye.

I think my hon. Friend misheard—it is 30! [Laughter.] He raises what sounds like the really ludicrous situation of expecting somebody to find so many payslips over a whole lifetime as evidence, and I will definitely raise the matter with Treasury Ministers.

My hon. Friend might attract some other attention to Bawtry, now that he has said how many bras are on display. He raises an important issue about Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the importance of the screening programme in preventing many deaths—it prevents 1,300 deaths a year. He is right that the programme has been declining, so the efforts of his constituents and others to raise breast cancer awareness and highlight the importance of screening are absolutely to be applauded.

I am delighted to congratulate the Cheshire county under-17 squad on successfully reaching the 2024 USA netball open championships—what an achievement. Netball is a fantastic sport; I really enjoyed it as a youngster, as my daughter does now. My hon. Friend might want to raise these issues in the next debate on the importance of sport in our society.

My hon. Friend raises a really important matter for his constituency, and it is exactly the sort of subject that would benefit from an application for an Adjournment debate in the House.

Bill Presented

Employment Rights Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, supported by the Prime Minister, Secretary Angela Rayner, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Pat McFadden, Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Secretary Liz Kendall, Secretary Louise Haigh, Anneliese Dodds, and Justin Madders, presented a Bill to make provision to amend the law relating to employment rights; to make provision about procedure for handling redundancies; to make provision about the treatment of workers involved in the supply of services under certain public contracts; to provide for duties to be imposed on employers in relation to equality; to provide for the establishment of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body and the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body; to make provision about trade unions, industrial action, employers’ associations and the functions of the Certification Officer; to make provision about the enforcement of legislation relating to the labour market; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Monday 14 October, and to be printed (Bill 11) with explanatory notes (Bill 11-EN).