- 10:38 am
- Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
- The business for the week commencing 17 November will include:Monday 17 November—Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill.Tuesday 18 November—Second Reading of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.Wednesday 19 November—Consideration of Lords amendments to the Border Security, Asylum And Immigration Bill, followed by Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the Property (Digital Assets) Bill [Lords].Thursday 20 November—Debate on a motion on the subject of international Men’s day, followed by debate on a motion on an injury in service award. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee.Friday 21 November—The House will not be sitting.The provisional business for the week commencing 24 November includes:Monday 24 November—Remaining stages of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (day one).Tuesday 25 November—Remaining stages of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (day two).Wednesday 26 November—My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will deliver her Budget statement.Thursday 27 November—Continuation of the Budget debate.Friday 28 November—The House will not be sitting.The provisional business for the week commencing 1 December includes:Monday 1 December—Continuation of the Budget debate.Tuesday 2 December—Conclusion of the Budget debate.
- I am sure I speak for many Members when I thank you, Mr Speaker, and the whole of the Speaker’s Office for the work you have put in to make this past week of remembrance so memorable. The gardens of remembrance, the projection of images from the second world war on to the Elizabeth Tower, the wreath laying in Westminster Hall and much else—all these things, I know, took a huge amount of organisation, co-ordination and hard work, so I thank you and your office. I draw colleagues’ attention to the launch of the project to build the remembrance clock at the national arboretum, and hope that they will dig deep to support that.In the spirit of exchanging news stories that have developed over the past two or three weeks, I will, if I may, set out a raft of intriguing items. Nine former four-star generals have condemned the Government’s treatment of veterans on Remembrance Day. One million more people than a year ago are now claiming universal credit without any requirement to look for a job. The Chancellor gave an unexpected early press conference—apparently to prepare people for major tax rises—and the Prime Minister acknowledged yesterday the rise in national insurance. Junior doctors have announced a five-day strike, starting tomorrow, in pursuit of a 26% pay rise, on top of the woefully inadequate—as they see it—29% received last year. No. 10 Downing Street has insisted that the Prime Minister has full confidence in Morgan McSweeney, and that he—or perhaps Mr McSweeney —will still be Prime Minister at the next election.It has rightly been said that our country has moved from being post war to being pre-war. In recent weeks, we have seen a marked escalation of the conflict in Ukraine: Russian forces have made gains in and around the city of Pokrovsk, threatening to cut transport routes and displace thousands more civilians, and missile and drone attacks on energy and transport infrastructure have intensified, with serious consequences for Ukraine’s ability to sustain its economy through the winter. These developments follow reports of a significant increase in Russian arms production and continued circumvention of sanctions through covert oil and gas shipments. At the same time, international aid flows have slowed, and Ukrainian forces are facing actual or potential shortages of money, ammunition or equipment.
- I call the Leader of the House.
- Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker—[Interruption.] Mr Speaker, sorry. It is very early in the day.I thank the shadow Leader of the House for his remarks. I join him in thanking you, Mr Speaker, and indeed all House staff, for this week’s work on remembrance events, which provide an opportunity for us, not just as a House but as a nation, to come together each year to pay collective tribute to those who have served and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. I also join the shadow Leader of the House in drawing the attention of Members to the remembrance clock at the National Memorial Arboretum, which will serve as a permanent memorial to MPs, peers, journalists and staff who died in war, conflict, and because of acts of terrorism. Mr Speaker, I know that you and the Lord Speaker have written to Members regarding this, but I join the shadow Leader of the House in suggesting that, where possible, colleagues may wish to contribute to that fund.I also draw attention to the fact that the Government have today published their response to the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration, setting out plans to mark that period in our nation’s history. My thoughts, and those of the Government, are with the many families who suffered the devastating loss of a loved one during that time. I know that there are members of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice in Parliament today, and we thank them for all they do to provide support to others in their grief. The commemorative programme will ensure that, as a country, we do not forget.This month also marks a number of important awareness campaigns. November is Men’s Mental Health Month, which raises awareness, tackles stigma surrounding men’s mental health and encourages men to seek help and support when they need it. We also recognise Islamophobia Awareness Month. Islamophobia has no place in our society; the Government are clear that we must challenge and eradicate all forms of Islamophobia and ensure that everyone feels safe in their community.
- Two families in High Green in my constituency have now waited two years for a scheme of works to their social houses, which was originally estimated to take just 12 weeks. This is completely unacceptable. I visited them last week and saw that the work that has been completed is substandard, creating damp and mould issues and causing damage to property and personal possessions. This has left families with a horrific impact on their wellbeing and mental health. As the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has now become law, will the Leader of the House tell me how I can secure a meeting with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to discuss how he can further empower Sheffield city council to hold contractors to account under the new decent homes standard in that Act, to enable the works to finally be completed to a high standard for my constituents in High Green?
- My hon. Friend is a doughty advocate for her constituents. This sounds like an untenable situation for some of her constituents. She is absolutely right to say that the Renters’ Rights Act will transform the experience of private renting, and we have also brought Awaab’s law into force in the social rented sector. I will ensure that she gets a meeting with a Minister, so that she can make her case directly and find out more about what the Government intend.
- I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
- Thank you, Mr Speaker. May I join the Leader of the House and the shadow Leader of the House in thanking you and all the staff for playing a role in organising the remembrance events of the past week?I, too, would like to focus on Ukraine this week. Russia’s war is rumbling on and we are about to enter a long and cold winter, in which it looks like temperatures will drop below minus 20°C. We hear that Vladimir Putin has a vicious plot to attack the energy infrastructure of Ukraine, threatening the heat supply to the very homes in which families are trying to survive. As Russia makes advances, it feels like Britain and its allies have reached a bit of a stalling point. We are standing around worrying whether it is legitimate to seize Russian assets, and we are worried about potential future legal claims by the Russian state. All the while, Putin is pouring petrol into his war machine. I feel that the time for deliberation is surely over. Several legal routes have been proposed, and it is now time to act.In the meantime, one of the weapons that we have in our armoury is the sanctions regime against Russia. It is important not only to impose these sanctions, but to enforce them. It was quite shocking to learn this week that the Government were unable to explain why over £30 million-worth of Russian planes were imported into the UK. I note that the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation is much smaller than its equivalents in the US and the EU. In the debate that we may have about Ukraine before the end of the year, I wonder whether we could focus on the role of OFSI and determine whether it is adequate, and whether it has the resources to properly deal with the scale and importance of the UK sanctions regime.
- The hon. Gentleman is right: addressing Ukraine’s financial needs is vital to ensuring that the Ukrainians can continue to defend themselves against Russian aggression. I can confirm that the UK is determined to make progress on this issue at pace, but I am sure he understands that it involves working with other partners in this regard. There is no intention not to move at pace, but other people are involved in this discussion as well. Regardless of whether Russia has a plot for a new stage in the campaign or not, we continue to bolster Ukraine’s armed forces and to increase pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table, because we all want to see an end to the conflict.The hon. Gentleman mentions sanctions. We are pleased that the United States has joined the UK in sanctioning Lukoil and Rosneft, which is very important, but as he points out, it is important that we enforce those sanctions. He raises some interesting points about whether the regime is robust enough. If we are to have a debate before the end of the year, this is the very sort of thing that he might want to raise himself.
- Children and adults across Stourbridge and the wider Black Country are being prevented from accessing vital care and support because all new shared care agreements have been stopped since the start of September. The Black Country integrated care board has placed the blame on GP surgeries, but I have since discovered that this was at the instruction of the ICB. With some children out of school and some adults out of work without further support, does the Leader of the House agree that ICBs need to prioritise funding for these patients, not leave them waiting any longer?
- Yes, I do agree. We are absolutely committed to ensuring that everyone has access to the care and support they need, and we recognise that demand for such support has grown nationally, which is one of the reasons why we have invested over £1 billion in special educational needs and disabilities to create a system that supports every child. However, as the House will know, we intend to take this matter forward with a consultation and ultimately legislation. The ADHD taskforce published its final report last week, and I will ensure that the House is updated on the Government response.
- I call the acting Chair of the Backbench Business Committee.
- The Chairman sends his apologies for his absence today. When we met on Tuesday, the Committee again had great difficulty in allocating time to the many applications that we are receiving. I make the usual plea to the Leader of the House for as much time as possible so that we can accommodate all the various applications. I welcome his acknowledgment of the need for an early debate on Ukraine, which came before the Committee on Tuesday via an application from my hon. Friend the Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin).In addition to the debates that the Leader of the House has announced in the Chamber next week, in Westminster Hall there will be a debate on Tuesday 18 November on the 80th anniversary of UNESCO, and debates on Thursday 20 November on inequalities faced by unpaid carers and World COPD—chronic obstructive lung disease—Day. I urge Members who want debates to coincide with specific events to apply early, because we are now looking to allocate time for debates in February and March.Turning to my own question to the Leader of the House, yesterday—I am sure along with many other Members—I attended the drop-in session organised by Samaritans and the Centre for Countering Digital Hate. I was shown the template letters produced by AI that, in effect, encourage particularly young and vulnerable people to consider suicide, which is an appalling state of affairs. I recognise that Ministers are looking at all aspects of the digital world and so on, but I am sure the whole House agrees that we must take urgent action to combat this. I hope the Leader of the House will arrange a statement by a Minister on how the Government intend approaching it.
- On the question of Backbench Business, the hon. Member will know that I have committed to making sure that the Committee has the time it needs. He will also know that this is a busy time of the year: there is plenty of legislation, not least the Bills coming back from the other place, and we are approaching Budget season. However, I take very seriously the points he makes because inevitably the issues that Members want to raise are serious matters.On the hon. Member’s second point, I thank him not just for raising that question, but for the tone in which he raised it. He has done a lot of work on these matters, which are incredibly serious because of their impact on our constituents. I, too, commend Samaritans, the Centre for Countering Digital Hate and all other organisations that support people on these issues. I will ensure that he gets a response from the relevant Minister on what we intend to do to combat this matter, and if it is appropriate, a statement to the House.
- Several hon. Members rose—
- Order. To help the House, I am going to run business questions until 11.45 am, as we have a lot of business today. If we can speed up the questions and answers, I hope we will get nearly everybody in. I call Baggy Shanker to give the best example.