Business of the House

Will the Leader of the House provide an update on forthcoming business?

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.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton was brutally stabbed in Gillingham near the Brompton barracks a few days ago. I know that he will be in the thoughts of all Members, and will have our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

I extend my thanks to long-serving Doorkeeper John Tamlyn, who has served this House for 36 years—four times longer than I have been a Member of this House. He has witnessed many memorable scenes over the years, and by my calculation has seen no fewer than 10 Prime Ministers come and go—well, nine come and go, and one arrive, but I am optimistic that between now and next Tuesday he may make it 10 coming and going. I am sure that the whole House will wish John well in his retirement after so many years of distinguished service. Thank you.

We do not have a timetable for the election of Select Committees and other Committees. I know that Select Committees can sometimes be troubling for the Government; during my five years as a Minister I was gently roasted—sometimes violently flambéed—by many Select Committees.

You’re welcome!

I thank my hon. Friend for that. It is, however, important that we have Select Committees in place so that Back Benchers can hold the Government to account. If that is not temptation enough for the Leader of the House, let me say this: if her Back Benchers have Select Committees to serve on, they may have less time to plot rebellions. Will she confirm that all Select Committee Chairmen and members will be elected in September—and if not in September, when?

Many Members have expressed concern about the resumption of UK taxpayer funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. UNRWA stands accused of many appalling acts, including running schools using antisemitic textbooks encouraging violence, the documented involvement of at least 10 UNRWA members in the 7 October massacres, and close links between UNRWA staff and the Hamas terrorist organisation. Will the Leader of the House urgently arrange a debate on this decision in Government time, and can she guarantee that no taxpayer money will support, directly or indirectly, Hamas or any activities that encourage or facilitate terror?

The Government have sent mixed messages about plans to scrap the very reasonable two-child cap on welfare payments. Then, on Tuesday, the Government whipped their MPs to vote against scrapping it. There was a significant Back-Bench rebellion, less than three weeks after the election—not even Theresa May managed a rebellion within three weeks of an election, so it was a bit of a first. At this rate, the Government’s majority will be gone by about Easter of next year. [Interruption.] Look, I am always happy to debate these issues. The Leader of the House and the Government will actually have my support on this issue—she may not want it or welcome it, but she will have it anyway—so can we have that debate, not least so that her own parliamentary party and Back Benchers can properly discuss this important issue?

I thank the shadow Leader of the House and join him in paying our respects to those affected by the brutal attack in Kent this week.

In our last business questions before the summer recess, Mr Speaker, I want to put on record my thanks to you, House staff, security staff and others for all your hard work in recent weeks, and I wish you all some kind of holiday over that recess. I also congratulate our new Deputy Speakers; they are breaking more glass ceilings with an all-female line-up that is the most diverse in our history. On the same theme, I also send congratulations to Baroness Eluned Morgan, who is set to become Wales’s first female First Minister—that is a lot of firsts.

Finally, I put on record my thanks to the wonderful John Tamlyn, one of our fantastic Doorkeepers, who is retiring after 36 years of service. The shadow Leader of the House mentioned the number of Prime Ministers under which John served, but I think most of those came in the last few years of his time. As he said to me earlier, the last few years go a lot faster than the early ones.

I also want to address the truly shocking footage we have seen of an incident at Manchester airport. It was right of the Greater Manchester police force to refer itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, given the widespread concern about the incident.

This week we have heard many maiden speeches. There has been a lot of demand, shall we say, but it has been good to see the enthusiasm of many colleagues from across these Benches. Those speeches have told the stories of our nation, of people and places striving to get on, and looking after and looking out for each other; but I am not sure that I can agree that every other constituency is the best in the country, because of course we all know that the best is actually Manchester Central.

This has been a special week for us on the Government side of the House. After long years in opposition, we have finally been able to win some votes in support of our ambitious, bold, fully costed King’s Speech programme. It is one to be proud of. It is the opportunity and responsibility of government made real.

The footage of a Greater Manchester police officer stamping on and kicking a man in Manchester airport is truly shocking and disturbing. That man is one of my Rochdale constituents, and I am meeting his family later today. Our police face a difficult job every day to keep us all safe, but they know that they are expected to demonstrate the highest standards of conduct in their duties. Will the Leader of the House make time for Members to discuss the important issue of police conduct?

I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. As I said, the footage is incredibly disturbing, and there is understandably a lot of concern, particularly in his constituency, given that his constituent was affected. Greater Manchester police have said that the officer involved was immediately suspended from all duties, and a referral has now been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. I will ensure that the Home Secretary has heard my hon. Friend’s question and is in touch with him at the earliest opportunity to discuss the matter further.

I call the Lib Dem spokesperson.

I am pleased to see that the Leader of the House has survived the first rebellion of the new Parliament. Her Government should take advice from one of my Bath constituency’s most famous residents, Mary Shelley, and her creation, Frankenstein’s monster:

“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”

I expect the Prime Minister hopes that the new group of independent MPs he has created will not become such a monster.

Scrapping the two-child benefit cap would lift around 250,000 children out of poverty. As child poverty is one of the main drivers of mental illness, it is no surprise that young people’s mental health services are now at breaking point. More than a quarter of a million young people are still waiting for support after being referred to child and adolescent mental health services in 2022-23. One of my constituents, who struggles with an eating disorder, has experienced two relapses, which they attribute to severely limited CAMHS resources in their time of need. The Liberal Democrats want to ensure that when budgets are tight, support for children and young people’s mental health is not pushed aside. Before it is too late, may we have a debate in Government time on the inadequacy of child and adolescent mental health services?

I also wish the wonderful John Tamlyn all the best in his retirement.

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.

Many of us enjoyed watching the Euros in our local pubs, whose licensing hours were only just extended before this House rose for the general election. My private Member’s Bill would have ensured that extensions for events of national importance would no longer be dependent on Parliament sitting. That Bill passed through this place with zero objections, but failed to make the wash-up. I know that my right hon. Friend likes sport and a good pint, so will she make time for my Bill to become law?

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. Actually, as she will know, I have become quite a lightweight—I am more of a spritzer girl than a full pint girl these days—but I know her Bill was met with wide support in the last Parliament. The private Member’s Bill ballot will be coming up straight after recess, and I hope she secures a spot in it; if she does not, I am happy to talk to her about how we can take some of these matters forward in our future legislative programmes.

I welcome the Leader of the House to her place. This week, she will have noticed that we are celebrating county flags; Parliament Square is wonderfully decorated with the flags of the historic counties from across these islands. Will she commit the Government to continuing that tradition, and work to enhance and cherish the culture of our magnificent historic counties across our United Kingdom?

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.

Coastal communities such as mine in East Thanet have been let down for far too long, with poor public services and a lack of infrastructure. That is made even worse by a shortage of high-quality, well-paid jobs. On top of that, one of those communities’ biggest assets—the sea and its environment—has been trashed as a consequence of Tory neglect and chaos, making sustainable economic recovery even harder. However, that has not deterred my constituents across Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate from channelling their energies into enterprises in hospitality and tourism, as well as in the vital creative industries. Will my right hon. Friend arrange for us to have a debate in this House about the way that this Government’s regional growth strategy will address the long-term challenges and opportunities for our coastal communities, with special consideration of how the visual and performing arts can drive economic—

Order. Business questions will be cut off at about 11.45 am. If we are to get it running, we will have to help each other by trying to ask shorter questions. I am sure that the Leader of the House will assist with quicker answers.

I thank my hon. Friend for that great question. Given all the new Members in the House who represent coastal towns, I am sure that the important contribution of those areas would make a really good topic for an Adjournment or Westminster Hall debate after recess.