Business of the House

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

The business for the week commencing 20 January includes:

Monday 20 January—General debate on the impact of food and diet on obesity, followed by a general debate on financial education. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee.

Tuesday 21 January—Remaining stages of the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill, followed by a motion to approve the draft Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2024.

Wednesday 22 January—Motion to agree a money resolution relating to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, followed by Second Reading of the Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill [Lords].

Thursday 23 January—General debate on Holocaust Memorial Day.

Friday 24 January—Private Members’ Bills.

The provisional business for the week commencing 27 January will include:

Monday 27 January—General debate on the creative industries.

Tuesday 28 January—Remaining stages of the Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords].

Wednesday 29 January—Second Reading of the Arbitration Bill.

Thursday 30 January—Business to be determined by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 31 January—The House will not be sitting.

For the convenience of the House, and in view of the three important statements that are taking place today, the motion on the draft Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2024 will not be moved today.

I am sure that the Leader of the House and every Member will join me in welcoming the news overnight of a ceasefire in Gaza. Let us hope and pray that it is as effective, comprehensive and long-lasting as possible.

Back at home, all one can say is that it has been another extraordinary week for the Government, though possibly not in the way that they would have wanted. We have had the Government’s anti-corruption Minister herself being named for corruption by another country in the face of an international investigation into embezzlement of development and other funds. We have had the unusually unlovely sight of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in a desperate search for growth that has taken her to Beijing and back—though with precious little result, it seems. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales said this week that stagflation—that toxic combination of recession and inflation—is now “a live risk”. Even the very, very modest GDP growth reported for November was below expectations.

At some point, the Government’s current spending splurge will doubtless start to nudge growth upwards over the coming year, but in the meantime we will have to look forward to the grim prospect of the national insurance changes in April and the horrors of the Employment Rights Bill, which even by the Government’s own estimates will cost employers an extra £5 billion a year. So dire has the Chancellor’s position become that she has been forced to ask Cabinet colleagues for ideas of growth. Given the galaxy of business talent around the Cabinet table, how can that possibly go wrong?

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has been forced not only to express “full confidence” in the Chancellor—always a death knell—but to insist that she will remain in post for the full period of this Government. Let us see how that works out. It has been extraordinary, in particular, to see her attacked by her own colleagues, who have said:

I, too, am sure that the whole House will welcome the developments between Israel and Gaza over the past hours and days, with a long-overdue ceasefire and the release of hostages now looking like a real possibility, although that is still to be confirmed. This will hopefully now lead to much-needed aid getting in,usb the end of the killing, the hostages being released, and, I hope, what will be the beginning of a long-term political solution for the region. We will hear shortly from the Foreign Secretary with further details on that.

First, I will explain one of the pieces of business I have just announced, and set out why the Government will table a money resolution relating to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill next week. In order for a Bill Committee to consider any clauses that could have spending implications, the Government must first table a money resolution. That is not the Government agreeing to fund the measures in a Bill; it is purely to enable the Bill to be debated in Committee. In the case of this Bill, this relates to one small component that is yet to be debated and agreed. Without the motion being agreed to, that debate could not happen and that component could not remain in the Bill. The Government have taken the view that that would act against our commitment to remain neutral on the Bill. The House should debate and decide on these matters for itself. I hope that, as with Second Reading, colleagues will focus on the substance and not the processes of this sensitive private Member’s Bill.

It really has been quite incredible to watch the collective display of amnesia on the Conservative Benches over recent weeks—it is like the past 14 years did not happen. I see that the Leader of the Opposition is out today in what has been briefed as her finally telling the truth about the Conservatives’ record: they did not have a plan for growth, they were not honest with the British people, and they negotiated a bad Brexit deal. However, it sounds like the right hon. Member for Hereford and South Herefordshire (Jesse Norman) did not quite get that memo.

Community organisations are the backbone of many events in towns and villages across North West Leicestershire. For the past 10 years, the Rotary Club of Ashby de la Zouch Castle has organised our annual charity Santa fun run in Ashby, which I have had the pleasure of taking part in alongside hundreds of local people. Last week, the club presented cheques to LOROS hospice, Rainbows hospice for children and young people, and Staunton Harold Sailability Trust. It was great to hear that the fun run has now raised over £100,000 for local charities that support residents in need. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking the volunteers for their commitment to support our communities, and could the House be granted an opportunity to discuss what further support could be provided to volunteers to ensure that they continue to thrive?

I will certainly join my hon. Friend in thanking the volunteers in her constituency for what sound like fantastic local fundraising activities. I thought she was going to ask me to go on a fun run—to which the answer was going to be no—but otherwise I welcome her question.

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

On the Liberal Democrat Benches, we have been delighted by the recent groundswell of support from across the House for Liberal Democrat policies. In particular, I cite: the support for our Youth Mobility Scheme (EU Countries) Bill; the warm response for the sunshine Bill—the New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill—from my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson), which is coming tomorrow; and the House endorsing a fairer voting system. Will the Government answer this clear yearning by Members across the House for Liberal Democrat policies and provide parliamentary time to ensure those Bills become law?

I notice that this week there was further public support for the Liberal Democrats: I understand that 90% of respondents to a review of their general election campaign thought their party leader’s eye-catching campaign style was very effective. I concur, so here’s to even more bungee jumping and paddle boarding, but perhaps less of the tight wetsuits—I’m not sure I really want to see those! I am pleased that we are able to support a number of the measures coming forward from the hon. Lady’s colleagues. I look forward to continuing to work constructively across the House with Liberal Democrats.

As the junction 28 parliamentary champion, I report that residents across Bolsover are really frustrated by congestion. Can we have a Government statement on what we are doing to tackle congestion across Bolsover?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the issue of congestion in Bolsover, and I congratulate her on doing so today. She will know that this is one of a number of issues the Government are seeking to tackle through their transport and roads strategies.

Will the Leader of the House please ask the Secretary of State for Transport to come urgently to the House and give a statement on the destruction of trees and vegetation along the Liberty line, which runs from Romford to Emerson Park in my constituency? There has been an extreme lack of accountability and communication from Network Rail. It has not consulted local residents or elected representatives, despite promising to do so in 2022 when a similar incident occurred. This is devastating for the local environment and wildlife. Cutting down healthy trees is wrong and Network Rail needs to be held to account for its actions.

I am sure that many colleagues across the House recognise that the felling of healthy trees causes a great deal of local interest from constituents, wherever it occurs, so the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise it. I am not aware of the particular case he raises, but I will ensure he gets a ministerial response.

Gary, a constituent of mine who lives in Thrapston, had his driving licence suspended for six months due to a medical condition. During that time, his employer supported him getting to and from work, but shortly before his licence was due to be renewed it was, once again due to his medical condition, suspended for a further six months. In the light of that and in order to continue to work, Gary applied for support from the Access to Work grant scheme. Following his application, Gary was advised that there was a 30-week wait before his application would be dealt with. Does the Minister agree that the Government have prioritised supporting people who wish to continue to work whenever they can, and that delays in granting applications like this are totally unacceptable and could lead to people losing their jobs? Can we get Gary’s case looked into as soon as possible?

It is completely unacceptable for people to have to wait as long as that. This Government are committed to significantly reducing the waiting times for Access to Work and other programmes, and I will ensure that a Minister looks into Gary’s case and it is resolved as soon as possible.

I call the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee.

I thank the Leader of the House for allowing protected time for this afternoon’s Backbench Business debate, and also for allowing time next week for the annual Holocaust Memorial Day debate. In addition to the business that she announced for Monday, there will be two Select Committee statements on behalf of the Treasury Committee and another on behalf of the Defence Committee. Those Committee statements are important, so I trust that the Government will try not to schedule too many Government statements that would squeeze the time available. We always like to satisfy colleagues, and on Thursday 30 January there will be a debate on proportional representation for general elections.

In Westminster Hall, next Tuesday there will be a debate on the provision of auditory verbal therapy, next Thursday there will be a debate on the United Nations International Day of Education followed by a debate on innovation in the field of rare retinal diseases, on Tuesday 28 January there will be a debate on road safety for young drivers, and on Thursday 30 January there will be a debate on medicinal cannabis.

In addition, may I point out that the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has organised hate marches across London over many months since 7 October? The Metropolitan police have finally decided that it is unacceptable for the campaigners to form up at midday 100 yards from a synagogue where Jewish people were threatened when leaving or joining the Shabbat service, and have insisted that the route of the marches must not go near any synagogue. However, the campaigners have said that they will defy the police and form up outside the synagogue again. May we have a statement from the Home Secretary reinforcing the view that if that happens, those individuals should face the full force of the law and the cost of policing the demonstration to ensure that public order is protected?

Let me first thank the hon. Gentleman for listing a number of future debates. I was pleased that, after he had raised the matter with me in during business questions last week, I was able to protect time for this afternoon’s debate, and that we were able to find Government time for a proper debate on Holocaust Memorial Day next week. As ever, I thank him for his continued work as a very diligent and good Chair of the Backbench Business Committee.

As for the other issue, the hon. Gentleman will know that decisions about the policing of protests and demonstrations are a matter for the police—they are operational matters—but he is right to say that public safety should be at the fore, along with ensuring that no one is subject to antisemitism or any other kind of hate as a result of any demonstration.