That this House has considered matters to be raised before the forthcoming adjournment.
A great event occurred in May: the Conservative party took control of Harrow Council for the first time in more than 12 years. The Conservative administration is already making a massive difference. More than half a million one-hour free parking tickets have been provided, revitalising the high streets in Harrow. I suggest that other councils might like to consider such a policy, because it increases footfall and people’s use of local shops. It will be expanded to council-provided car parks next year.
A key issue being addressed right now is the enforcement of measures tackling illegal fly-tipping, illegal houses in multiple occupation and beds in sheds. I am pleased to say that the threatened development over Stanmore station car park has been put firmly on the back burner. Indeed, the new administration has reduced the permitted height in suburban settings to no more than six storeys, which will prevent any high-rise developments in suburban, leafy areas. I am pleased to see that. The new customer experience action plan for interactions with the council, which will enable residents to speak to a real person as opposed to a robot, is to be commended.
Before the election in May, Harrow Council was a catawampus in a state of complete disorganisation. The new administration has opened the books and is looking at the financial mess in which the council was left by Labour; those of us who were elected to this House in 2010 had a similar experience. There was an in-year deficit. Rather than constraining spending, the council had used up all its financial reserves—about £15 million—to plug the budgetary holes. Had it carried on, it would have gone bankrupt, as Croydon has done twice in the past year. It was all caused by overspending across departments and by the use of agency staff, who cost a lot more than contracted staff. I am pleased that the new chief executive and the new administration have announced a 10-point plan to control expenditure and ensure that the council lives within its means.
There is a debate in Westminster Hall right now about the outrageous decision by the Labour Mayor of London to introduce an ultra low emission zone across the whole of London from next year. This is another attack on drivers. In my constituency, in which the average household has two and a half cars, drivers will have to pay an extra £12.50 a day just to get to work, get to hospital, drop their kids off or do their weekly shop. Electric cars are still far too expensive and in very short supply, and public transport is certainly not frequent or reliable. That leaves most of my constituents in a very difficult position—particularly our key workers, who have to work the night shift when no public transport provision is available and driving is the only option.
The Mayor has clearly not taken public opinion into account, because more than 66% of those who were consulted opposed the expansion. Indeed, our estimate in my constituency is that only 1% of people are in favour, so the Mayor is flying in the face of the public’s views. The recent strikes have exacerbated the position for those who rely on cars to get to work, school, hospital or the shops because public transport cannot be trusted or relied on. He is, of course, a flibbertigibbet—a flaky, overly talkative person who delivers very little in his office. Very sadly, I understand that he is going to stand again in 2024.
On Home Office matters, I think the whole House agrees that there has been a lack of clarity for many constituents whose family members are stuck in Afghanistan. They believe that the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme is still open, but we know that it is not. That is causing many problems, because many people were told that they should escape to a third country such as Pakistan and then apply. They did not get a response in time, so when their temporary visitor visas expired they were returned to Afghanistan, back into the hands of the Taliban.
I turn to Ukraine. We have been very generous across the country in receiving visitors to our shores, but as I warned the House at the start, there are security concerns about potential Russian spies posing as Ukrainian refugees. Two individuals in Harrow were posing as Ukrainian refugees and reporting back to the Russian authorities on people in Harrow. The sponsorships are coming to an end, and we are now seeing Ukrainian families turning up at local authorities up and down the country, having been declared homeless and evicted. We also still have 11,000 Afghan refugees stuck in hotels waiting for housing. There is serious work to be done to help the people we have agreed to assist.
The situation in Iran is critical. Hundreds of people have been killed, thousands have been imprisoned for protesting, and many tens of people have been put on trial and condemned to death. I condemn the Government of Iran for suppressing the protests, I deplore the violent behaviour of the Iranian police in regard to the protests, and I am extremely concerned to hear of threats being made to organisations and the press in this country, who are reporting on what is going on. Indeed, there was recently a petrol bomb attack on a National Council of Resistance of Iran base in outer London.
I continue to urge the Government to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and work with international counterparts to impose sanctions. The House will have an opportunity to express its opinion when we come back after the recess, because on Thursday 12 January I will be leading a debate on the matter. It has been nearly 100 days since the crowds started protesting, following the murder of Mahsa Amini. I look forward to that debate and to the Government responding in a timely fashion and actually doing something about it.
In September there were serious clashes between Hindus and Muslims in Leicester, and I took up the plight of the Hindus on whom attacks were being made. In my constituency more than 37% of people are of the Hindu faith, and they were extremely stressed by the actions of a small group of people from outside Leicester who came in and caused all the trouble. It is clear that that needs to be combated, and I hope that when we next look at the Government’s listed places of worship grant scheme there will be appropriate provision for Hindu temples as well as other places of worship to ensure that they are safe.
In May, I was fortunate enough to be drawn in the ballot for private Members’ Bills for the second time. My Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 has helped single homeless people and prevented others from becoming homeless, and now my new Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Bill is having a potentially good effect on the market. It is outrageous that rogue landlords are exploiting vulnerable people and forcing them into a position in which they should be receiving support. I look forward to the Bill Committee, which will meet on Wednesday 11 January—I thank those colleagues who have volunteered, or been volunteered, to serve on it—and to the Bill’s coming to fruition in the new year.
I am receiving a substantial amount of constituency casework involving the many people who are being placed in emergency housing far away from Harrow. It is impractical for local authorities to keep doing this. It cannot be fair for people who have lived in Harrow for a long time to be placed in, for instance, Wolverhampton, Birmingham or Luton, and it forces up property prices in those areas as well.
As chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health, I strongly support the Government’s smokefree goal for England, which is to reduce smoking prevalence to below 5% by 2030 and subsequently to make it obsolete. The long-awaited Khan report was published earlier this year, setting out strong guidance on what needs to be decided on and implemented. The key issue is that the Government have still not announced the position relating to the tobacco control plan. The APPG suggested licensing local retailers to sell tobacco, and we produced a ten-minute rule Bill on the subject. I look forward to the Government’s support.
Let me now raise two international issues. The first is the India trade deal: I look forward to its coming to fruition early next year, because it presents a tremendous opportunity to both the United Kingdom and India. The second is Israel, which has experienced a series of interesting elections. Now that a stable Government seems to be in the process of being formed, I hope we can ensure that there is a proper trade deal with that country.
The 1922 Committee, of which I am secretary, has had rather a busy year, with a confidence vote and three leadership contests. I am pleased that we have reached the end of that year, and look forward to a much quieter year from the Committee’s perspective.
Finally, I wish everyone a very merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah and a happy, peaceful, prosperous and healthy new year. I myself look forward to a restful period with friends and family before coming back refreshed in 2023. I send Christmas wishes to all my colleagues in the House—including you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and Mr Speaker—and all the staff who support us and enable us to do our jobs: the catering teams, the security teams, the cleaners, and everyone else who makes this job possible. I hope they all have a very merry Christmas and a good break, and that we can all come back refreshed in the new year.
Order. Before we commence the debate, let me remind all Members of Mr Speaker’s expectation that those who speak in it will remain for the winding-up speeches. Let me also say that Back-Bench speeches will probably have to be confined to about seven minutes. If all Members adhere to that, we should get everyone in. If not, Mr Evans may find it necessary to reduce the time limit later when he is in the Chair.
I suspect that many Members, on this side anyway, have considered basing their speeches on Charles Dickens’s famous Christmas ghost story. It may not be original, but who does not wish that the Prime Minister could be visited by spirits and wake up determined to lead a kinder, more compassionate Government—a Government with a plan to tackle the evils of poverty, low wages, homelessness, debt and desperation; a Government whose Ministers lie awake at night devising policies to free people from fear or hunger, rather than dreaming of deportation flights? I have seen many versions of “A Christmas Carol” over the years, but there is no doubt that this Government are best captured by the 1992 Brian Henson version, the one with a cast of Muppets.
For too many families in Britain, conditions this Christmas are nothing short of Dickensian. Pensioners are sitting in the dark with a tiny electric heater, too worried about their gas bill to turn on the central heating. Children are going to bed hungry, their parents not knowing how they are going to make ends meet. I think Dickens would be horrified that almost 180 years after his story was published, its lessons have still not been learnt. While gas and oil companies make extraordinary profits, this Government refuse to tax them effectively to protect our constituents from the cold of winter, as Labour has proposed, and they show a similar disregard for my constituents who rely on our health services.
Last week, when Nottinghamshire MPs met local NHS leaders, it was clear that the Government’s stubborn refusal to negotiate on pay is utterly self-defeating. Those NHS representatives told us that nurses struggling to pay the bills are working fewer NHS hours and picking up bank or agency shifts instead, costing the NHS billions extra, while others are leaving the profession altogether. Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has begun providing hot meals for £2—an initiative to help staff cope with the cost of living crisis—after becoming aware that some were going without decent meals. Ministers clapped NHS workers during the pandemic, but now they look away as those same staff are resorting to food banks. It is shameful that the Prime Minister and his Health Secretary are refusing to sit down with nurses and other NHS workers, listen to their concerns and talk about their pay. Bah humbug indeed!
I would like to raise a number of points in relation to both home and abroad. I raise the first on behalf of Eaton Bank Academy in Congleton. The energy efficiency payments that the Department for Education has provided this month will be put to excellent use on quick-win projects such as LED lighting, but to achieve longer-term efficiency saving goals such as photovoltaic panels or door and window replacements, the school is asking the Government to consider a return to the Salix loan scheme that was recently available but seems to have been replaced by a more complex decarbonisation fund that is harder to access and targeted at larger multi-academy trusts. With energy prices on the rise, the return of Salix loans would be welcome, given that schools are not allowed to borrow money by any other route. While I am on schools, I want to thank the Government for including Sandbach School in the recent announcement of refurbishment funding under the Government’s school rebuilding programme. Sarah Burns, the headteacher, says that
“this will secure the wonderful buildings that are part of the heritage of Sandbach town, ensuring the school can continue to provide the best possible learning environment for students.”
Next I wish to ask a question of the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on behalf of constituents who are seriously concerned about activities at their town council. They are at a loss as to how to have their concerns independently investigated and addressed. The principal unitary authority, Cheshire East Council, does not see this as its responsibility, saying:
“Cheshire East Council has no power over the town and parish councils within its Borough and has no legal or other standing to involve itself in a matter in respect of which it has had no involvement. Neither does Cheshire East Council have power to scrutinise the precepts issued by town and parish councils within its Borough.”
I do not know how you feel, Mr Deputy Speaker, but it seems to me that everything in this country at the moment is broken and bust, including the Passport Office, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and the asylum system, which even the Home Secretary says is broken. The Royal Mail never seems to deliver letters in a timely fashion any more, including those from GPs or for doctors appointments. There are repeated medicine shortages in several key areas. People cannot get an appointment with their GP, an ambulance never turns up on time and cancer results turn up weeks late. Trains are cancelled all the time—and that is when there are no strikes.
We have ploughed millions of pounds-worth of crops back into the fields because there are not enough people to harvest them. We are not training enough people to be GPs, dermatologists, radiologists or radiographers. We are wasting millions of pounds on agency staff, meaning nurses are working alongside agency nurses who are not able to do the same job but are being paid twice as much. We have a 7.1 million-person backlog in the NHS in England, and that is not all the fault of covid: it was 4.8 million before covid even arrived. Bars, restaurants and people who work on building and construction sites are desperate for additional staff. Lots of bars and restaurants are not opening on Monday evenings, or are closing early, because they cannot get enough staff.
Inflation is running at 10.7%, despite the fact that in February the then Prime Minister—it was a few of them ago—said we should not be worrying about inflation. Well, lots of families are, because they have also seen mortgage rates rise, in large part due to the actions of the crazy Government we had a few weeks ago. Public sector staff are understandably angry, worried and determined, because they have faced real-terms cuts in their living conditions year on year for 12 years now. People are losing their homes: the number of people who have turned up in my constituency office in recent weeks who are terrified of eviction over the next few days is worrying.
I will try to be quick. I want to mark the fact that on 6 December 40 years ago, the Ballykelly bomb occurred. I heard it go off. I was the incident commander and I had to supervise the recovery of bodies and people who were badly hurt. I held a girl who died in my arms, which was awful—it really rendered me hors de combat for at least 20 minutes. In total, 17 people—young people—were killed that night. Five of them were ladies; one of them was a civilian boy; and the other 11 were soldiers.
I went out and represented all of us at the Ballykelly bomb commemoration earlier this month. I laid a House of Commons wreath on behalf of us all. When I was there, there were two men present who have just about always been there—when they could be, and with very few exceptions—over 40 years. Mr Peter Gresty, the chairman of the regimental association of the Cheshire Regiment, organised the event, which was extremely well done. Major Ron Goodwin, the regimental sergeant major of the Cheshires in December 1982, has been there almost every year since then to remember the 17 young people who were killed. His job was always to read out the roll call of those who lost their lives. I will end by doing the same, so that those people who lost their lives 40 years ago still live on in some small way. Their names are: Private Terrance Adam, Lance Corporal Steven Bagshaw, Mr Alan Callaghan, Lance Corporal Clinton Collins, Miss Patricia Cooke, Private Paul Delaney, Miss Ruth Dixon, Miss Angela Hoole, Lance Corporal Philip McDonough, Miss Valerie McIntyre, Private David Murray, Corporal David Salthouse, Private Steven Smith, Lance Corporal David Stitt, Miss Carol Watts, Private Neil Williams and Private Shaw Williamson. May they rest in peace. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]
It is a pleasure to speak in my first pre-recess debate. I have learned a lot over the past year, and indeed in the past 18 months since being elected. This time last year, I was still very much the new MP on the block, and The Spectator was kind enough to name me as newcomer of the year, although, to be fair, in 2021 there were not that many of us newbies to choose from, so I did not get too carried away with that accolade. This year, though, by my reckoning, there have been six by-elections—thankfully, none as toxic as the one I went through. With one Lib Dem, one Conservative and four new Labour MPs, I think we can say it has been a busy year, and overall a good year, at the ballot box.
It has been all change in many ways in 2022. One day last week, I found myself in the company of not only our new monarch, but four Prime Ministers—three ex-Prime Ministers and one current—which was something of a surreal experience. Of course, change can be positive and negative, and I am sure all of us in this place have our views on the many changes we have seen this year. However, I have worked hard to keep my promise to the people of Batley and Spen not to change just because I now have two extra letters after my name. I am a proud Yorkshirewoman and we are known for our straight talking. As such, I have always done my best to tell it how it is from the perspective of myself and my constituents, but I always endeavour to do so with courtesy and respect, and a willingness to listen to other points of view.
As such, I was pleased to serve on the Online Safety Bill Committee this year, where you were in the Chair, Mr Deputy Speaker. I listened carefully to the points of view of a wide range of people and organisations, not once but twice, after the Government presented the Bill, got cold feet over it, sat on it and then recommitted it. Sadly, it is weaker now as a result, but it remains an important piece of legislation to protect children, and indeed all internet users, from harm. I pay tribute to the many organisations that gave evidence to the Committee, including the Carnegie UK Trust, HOPE not hate, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Barnardo’s and of course the Epilepsy Society, which worked so hard with my office and colleagues from across the House to secure the inclusion of Zach’s law in the Bill, to make the evil practice of epilepsy trolling illegal. My constituents Zach and his mum, Claire, from Hartshead, have being tireless in their campaigning, and I am delighted that this Christmas their efforts have finally been rewarded.
Before the House adjourns for Christmas, I wish to raise several important constituency issues. First, we have a challenging situation at King Edmund School, just off the Ashingdon Road. The school is in the process of having a major block demolished, as part of a multimillion-pound Department for Education-financed improvement programme. Unfortunately, during the demolition process, quantities of asbestos were discovered. This led to the headteacher, Mr Jonathan Osborn, very reluctantly having to close the school several weeks ago, on safety grounds, on the basis of strong advice from DfE officials.
It was originally hoped that all the demolition rubble containing the asbestos would be cleared, using specialist contractors, by Christmas. That would have allowed for the site to be cleaned and checked to ensure that asbestos was no longer present, and for the school to reopen on 3 January, at the beginning of the new term. At least, that was what both I and my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (Sir James Duddridge), whose constituents also attend the school, were originally told by the Department for Education. However, delays to the clearance process, caused in part by bad weather, have extended that process until at least mid-January.
My hon. Friend and I are now concerned that the timings are slipping and could yet slip even further. Regrettably, I detect no real sense of urgency among officials to fix the problem. The inconvenience is not just to pupils, many of whom have already had their education significantly disrupted due to covid, but to their parents, who have had to juggle commitments, including work, to keep their children at home, but who cannot necessarily rely on the good will of their employers forever.
Temporary arrangements are being organised to try to accommodate at least some pupils in neighbouring schools, but I do not want to see those arrangements somehow becoming semi-permanent while people play pass the parcel with important safety issues. There is thus a pressing need to get the site completely cleared of all the building rubble and thoroughly retested, so that Mr Osborn can with confidence safely reopen the school with minimum further delay. I urge Ministers to use their good offices to keep up the pressure to permit the school to reopen safely as soon as practically possible in the new year.
This morning, I joined nurses on strike outside Great Ormond Street Hospital. They were out there not because they wished to be but because of their utter desperation about the situation they are in. After seven years of inadequate pay rises, huge workloads and a huge fall in nursing numbers—to the extent that the numbers recruited barely keep up with the numbers leaving—there is a crisis in the national health service. The strike by the Royal College of Nursing is an example of that.
The picket was joined by people from hospitals in other parts of the country, including a group from Southampton, who came with their own handwritten slogan that said to the Secretary of State:
“Open your fat purses and pay for the nurses”.
They were demanding a decent pay rise. I would have thought that the very least the Secretary of State could do before the Christmas break is meet the nursing and health unions and listen to what they have to say, not just about pay, but about their working conditions, the stress they are under and the poverty in which many of them live.
We surely cannot be proud of the national health service if we clap for its staff during the covid crisis but ignore the mental health stress that they go through the rest of the time and expect them to continue on what is often very low pay. Some of them even have to access food banks just to survive. Surely, we can do a lot better than that for our national health service workers. We must stop threatening them with more privatisation—of the ambulance service and so much else—and with bringing in the military to do the jobs of nurses and ambulance staff during this particular dispute. That is not what the military exists for; it should not be used as a battering ram to deliver those services by a Government who refuse to meet the workers’ representatives.
Having visited the local Royal Mail workforce several times in the past few years, it seems to me that there is an agenda to basically reduce the job of postal workers to a zero-hours, gig economy, disposable job where they do not know what hours they are doing next week or tomorrow. We seem to have disgraceful behaviour by the chief executive and senior management at Royal Mail in their failure to reach an agreement with CWU.
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However, it is not only NHS workers whose voices are shut out. Last Thursday, Nottinghamshire firefighters and support staff, the chief fire officer, the chair of the fire authority and the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union all travelled to Parliament to make the case for fair funding for our county’s fire service. Not one of the seven Nottinghamshire Conservative Members attended, and the fire Minister was nowhere to be seen. Firefighters, like nurses and paramedics, often face unimaginable stress at work. Last month, despite the bravery and dedication of the emergency services, Fatoumatta Hydara and her two young children, Naeemah and Fatimah, were killed in a house fire in Clifton, in my constituency. I am sure that you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and the whole House will join me in sending condolences to their family and friends.
Incidents such as that remind us just how vital our fire services are, but in Nottinghamshire, since the Conservatives took power in 2010, firefighter numbers have fallen by 29%, response times are substantially slower, and the service is stretched to the limit. Understaffing was so bad throughout last summer’s wildfires that Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service had to telephone off-duty firefighters and ask them to do extra shifts. On at least one occasion, the nearest second appliance called to Nottingham was from High Peak, more than an hour away.
Underfunding and understaffing are having a very real impact on my constituents’ ability to access vital public services. Record numbers are waiting for NHS treatment, some for more than two years. Patients are left waiting hours for ambulances. Yet another critical incident was declared at Nottingham University Hospitals yesterday, with operations and outpatient appointments cancelled. If the Government do not provide more funds for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, there will be even fewer firefighters and even longer response times. Right now, budget cuts are forcing the fire authority to consult on moving to have just one fire appliance at each of Nottingham’s two fire stations. The chief fire officer describes this as the least worst option, but if the cuts go ahead they will make every one of my constituents less safe by next Christmas.
It is amazing that the Government still have the gall to suggest they are trying to level up this country. Since 2010, Nottingham City Council has had to make over £300 million of savings to its budgets. Government funding has been cut from £126 million to £26 million—almost £700 per resident. Like many other local authorities, it has had no choice but to raise council tax and bid for every pot of money going. Councils should have found out by the end of this month whether their bids for levelling up cash have been successful. Now they will have to wait until the end of January. Funding to redevelop Nottingham’s Broadmarsh and invest in the Island Quarter would unlock further development of those areas, creating jobs, homes and opportunities in our city and stimulating economic growth for the wider region. It is very much needed. The east midlands remain at the bottom of the table for Government investment and as a result our region is unable to fulfil its potential. When will that change?
Christmas should be a time of joy and hope for the new year ahead. I hope that 2023 marks a turning point, although I am afraid that the real change my constituents need will come only when they have a Labour Government. A general election is top of my Christmas list, in case you’re listening, Santa! I remain an optimist. Mr Deputy Speaker, I want to end by wishing you, the whole House and all parliamentary staff a happy and healthy Christmas break. As Dickens had it, “God bless us, every one!”
The local government ombudsman does not cover town and parish councils either, so how can residents get their serious concerns about management by a town council effectively addressed?
I turn now to support for my farmers, whom I meet regularly. Cheshire farmers remain gravely concerned about bovine TB. The current policy of badger culling on a discreet basis in Cheshire has been evidently effective, and more effective than any alternative, according to my farmers. They are asking for Ministers to agree to an extension of the current policy for a further three years from when it would otherwise, very shortly, be finished.
I now turn to the issue of outstanding facilities and other services on new home sites. I welcome the advent of the new homes ombudsman service, and I hope it will be a great aid for the many homeowners who live in the plethora of newly built houses on a number of developments across my constituency who find themselves experiencing difficulties getting developers to complete sites, sometimes years after the last house was built. Homeowners can get support from the ombudsman service only if the builder has registered with the ombudsman. Will Ministers look at how constituents can get recourse to resolve such matters, particularly if the initial developer has passed the estate to a management company?
I want to speak briefly about the Alsager sports hub in my constituency. I fought a long local campaign with residents, in which Sport England was very helpful, to install new state-of-the-art sports pitches, but sadly, only three years later, the pitches have deteriorated to such an extent that I was obliged to indicate to Cheshire East Council that they have been deemed by some to be “unplayable”. I was proposing to raise these concerns in the House, but I am pleased to say that after indicating that to Cheshire East Council, I have now received a letter stating that action is being taken to bring them back up to their previous standard. It is regrettable that they have deteriorated in such a short amount of time. I want to place on record my continuing support for the Alsager community to help to ensure that these sports pitches are properly maintained.
I want to speak about concerns over local train services to Congleton station by Northern and CrossCountry. Constituents regularly tell me that the services are much worse since the pandemic. Indeed, last week on a day outside the strike times, I was unable to get any train from London to Congleton station at all. I call on Ministers to impress upon those operating companies the need to fulfil their franchise agreements and provide a viable service to the people of Congleton. Also, I need hardly mention that my constituents continue to raise concerns about Avanti West Coast services to stations across my constituency including Alsager, Sandbach, Holmes Chapel and Goostrey. This completely inadequate service cannot go on. I understand that the Secretary of State has extended the franchise to give Avanti time to fix matters, but can I press upon him the importance of resolving these issues as quickly as possible?
After the recent revaluation of business rates, one of my constituent business owners has had his rateable value increased by 10%, taking it just over the threshold for small business rate relief, which he will therefore lose, potentially along with other reliefs and grants. He suggests that, alongside a review of rateable values, the threshold for small and medium-sized enterprise relief should increase to £16,500 from April 2023. Can this be looked at?
Moving abroad to two issues on freedom of religion or belief, there is no let-up for persecuted minorities in Iran while the regime pursues its vicious crackdown on dissent. I condemn the recent sentencing of Baha’i leaders Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi to a second grievously unjust 10-year sentence after they have already lost 10 years of their lives incarcerated with five other Baha’is. They are mothers and grandmothers, and they are among the longest-suffering prisoners of conscience in the world.
Also, I draw Ministers’ attention to the humanitarian plight of Armenians since a blockade was set up a few days ago on a road connecting the historically Armenian land of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and thus to the rest of the world, cutting off 120,000 Armenian residents. I will not go into in the detail I would like, because other Members need to speak, but I ask the Government to look at the urgent need for humanitarian relief for those people.
Frankly, I just think it is time we pressed the reset button in this country. As my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood) said, I do not think that will happen until there is a complete change of Government. We need not just the endless recycling of Government Ministers we have had this year but a proper change of Government, so I want to say to everybody on the Government Benches, in the words of the Sugababes: “Push the button”—it is time for a reset.
I want to talk about energy, because a quarter of the constituents who have come to my office recently are really worried about the price of their energy. Everybody knows that the cost of energy has grown very dramatically, but the service that some of the energy companies are providing is absolutely shocking. I am sure other Members will have heard the same. The customer service from OVO, British Gas and ScottishPower is just terrible. Replies to MPs’ correspondence regularly take several months—even to correspondence market “Urgent” or “Extremely urgent”. One constituent of mine died waiting for a reply from her energy company; another is still waiting for the resolution of a relatively minor matter six months after they got me involved. Companies make it very difficult for people to move to prepaid meters, which is what many of my constituents are desperate to do because they want actual control of their energy costs. Energy companies give up on a case after a single missed call; that is not customer service. They need to completely rethink it.
In addition, Rhondda homes are often very difficult to insulate. It sometimes sounds like a kind of Dickensian television programme but it is true: I have constituents who will sit all day long in a onesie, covered by a duvet, and who will put an electric bar on for only 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening to take the absolute chill off the house. That is going to lead to people in my constituency losing their lives.
Another problem that the Government have failed to address relates to local authorities, many of which have enormous gaps in their budgets for next year. They do not know what they are going to do about keeping open swimming pools, leisure centres and schools. Lots of schools are thinking about letting staff go because they simply have to pay very much increased bills. It is shocking that the Government have not yet come forward with a plan for what is going to happen in relation to non-domestic properties after March.
I want to talk briefly about what I call the botched, bungled Boris Brexit. Let us face it: it has been an absolute disaster for this country on every single level. It is not just that UK performing artists are not able to put together a viable tour around Europe any more—something that we used to be really good at and that the Government repeatedly say they are going to sort but still have not. It is not just the fact that we were promised frictionless trade—that was a fiction, not frictionless trade.
Even the Office for Budget Responsibility says:
“Comparing our recent overall trade performance with other advanced economies suggests that the UK saw a similar collapse in exports as other countries at the start of the pandemic but has since missed out on much of the recovery in global trade.”
In fact, we are 12% below pre-pandemic levels. The Minister who was talking about trade the other day could not decide whether we had done £800 billion or £80 billion of trade deals in recent years. That is leaving out the fact that since the Minister who was in charge of some of these trade deals was sacked, he has now confessed that he thinks they were terrible deals in the first place.
Let me turn to two final things. First, on standards, we still do not have an independent adviser on ministerial interests. That means we still do not even have a correct list on the Government website of who Ministers are and their financial interests. The most recent list was produced in May, which is obviously quite some time ago and several rounds of Ministers ago.
Secondly, the Government’s arguments about personal protective equipment contracts have now completely collapsed. They kept on saying that they were all fine and hunky dory and that everything was done properly. We have been arguing for a long time that there was massive corruption in the way the contracts were dealt out. We now know that even the Government largely agree with us, because they are suing one of the companies in question.
Finally, as you may know, Mr Deputy Speaker, I am very committed to trying to get a better result for people in this country with acquired brain injury. I have been co-chairing the Government’s programme board, which is trying to get a national strategy together. It is great to see that rugby and football are just beginning to take the issue seriously, but there are far too many people in this country whose lives we magnificently save and who could be given a real quality of life if only we put in place all the support that they need. Up to now we have failed to do that. I hope that by next summer I will be able to say that we have a national strategy for acquired brain injury.
I wish the House a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year.
However, if we are to be truly world-leading in this work, we must include more powers in the Bill to address the serious dangers that the online world presents through content that falls below the threshold for being illegal but is seriously dangerous and potentially devastatingly harmful. Such content relates to a range of subjects, including self-harm, suicide, radicalisation and extremism. This content can change lives and cost lives.
Hon. Members may remember the story of six-year-old Beau from Roberttown, in my constituency, who has shown incredible strength and courage this year in her fight against neuroblastoma. I was proud to bring her into Parliament with her mum, Shirley, earlier this year to join a cross-party roundtable to discuss the possibility of a UK-led vaccine trial for this particular childhood cancer. I hope that the Leader of the House might pass on my request for a meeting with the Health Secretary and the charity Solving Kids’ Cancer early in the new year to discuss that possibility.
Levelling up was claimed to be a priority of the Government this year, but after three Secretaries of State and countless delays to the levelling-up fund announcements, it does not feel as though much progress has been made. I am, however, extremely grateful to the current Secretary of State, who honoured the commitment he made to me in this House to visit Batley—he did it last week—to see the enormous potential of our levelling-up bid to transform and revitalise Batley town centre. I only wish I could secure funding for every town and village in my constituency, as I know that people in Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton, Birstall and the smaller villages I serve feel that Government investment in our area is long overdue. I am, however, hoping for good news for Batley in the new year, and I hope the Leader of the House can pass on my thanks to the Secretary of State for his time last week.
I always try to remain positive, but as I find myself in reflective mode, I think it is impossible to ignore the turmoil and chaos we have seen in Westminster this year. As a fairly new Member, I have been shocked and disappointed by how much of an impact this has had on the business of government, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) mentioned. In the middle of it all are the British public, who are already disengaged from politics and, to say the least, cynical about politicians—a British public who are, in many cases, struggling in their own daily lives, and particularly with their household budgets and access to vital health and social care. Unfortunately, it seems as if the Government have become so preoccupied with their own internal issues that they have given up governing—this at a time when Britain needs strong, authoritative and decisive leadership more than ever. That does nothing for the reputation of us all in this place.
Despite the chaos, it is inspirational to see how people in communities up and down the UK just get on with things. They pull together and keep the country going. I wish to take this opportunity to reflect on all the amazing work that is done locally, in towns and villages across the country, and offer my thanks to the individuals, community groups, voluntary organisations, charities, sports clubs and local businesses across Batley and Spen that keep our community together through challenging times and devote their time and service to others. Without them, our communities would be more fragmented and divided, people would be more isolated, and families and individuals would be struggling even more than they are now.
Also at the heart of our communities are our emergency and public services. I pay tribute to police, fire and ambulance workers across Batley and Spen, and the whole country, along with the thousands of dedicated professionals working tirelessly to keep our NHS going under the most challenging of circumstances. I also pay tribute to those working in education, who I hope can have a well-earned break over the festive period.
I also wish to thank West Yorkshire police and, in particular, Chief Inspector Rebecca Calpin and Batley and Spen neighbourhood policing team for all their hard work and support on cracking down on issues from road safety to antisocial behaviour that have an enormous impact on the day-to-day lives of many of my constituents.
This year, we have also seen the shocking and devastating illegal war on Ukraine. Shortly after the invasion started, Angloco, a brilliant fire vehicle manufacturer in my constituency, stepped up and worked with the charity FireAid to donate and deliver four convoys of vehicles and equipment to support the Ukrainian effort. Vehicles and equipment from Batley have been used to tackle the fires and devastation in Ukraine, as well as help with logistical challenges such as collapsed bridges. I would like to thank Alistair, Sarah and the team from Angloco who have worked so selflessly this year to offer as much help and assistance as they can to the ongoing effort.
I also wish to pay tribute to the fantastic team in my constituency office in Heckmondwike, who have shown such dedication and compassion dealing with more than 2,000 cases, ranging from cost of living pressures to poor housing, urgent immigration and passport cases and everything that can possibly be imagined in between. I thank my local team—Sheikh, Sandra, Dave, Clare, Irfan and Tony—for their unfailing hard work this year. I have always said that we are only as good as our team, and, as I am sure everyone will agree, that is really true in this job. Along with Lance and Omar in my Westminster office, I feel confident that I am lucky enough to have one of the very best teams.
Finally, Mr Speaker, I would like to discuss the towns and villages that make up the constituency of Batley and Spen. It is a diverse, vibrant, no-nonsense community. Like many places, we have our differences, but when times are tough, we pull together. I am enormously proud to serve the constituency in which I was born and have lived all my life. Therefore, I am sure that colleagues will understand how very sad and disappointed I am at the splitting of the Batley and Spen constituency by the Boundary Commission. The constituency has a special place not just in the hearts of those of us who live and work there, but among many others around the country who have admired our resilience and strength in recent years. On a personal level, it will be very upsetting for my family and me to see Batley and Spen disappear from the map as an entity.
I will endeavour to tackle whatever challenges 2023 brings with my usual energy and enthusiasm. I will end by wishing you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Mr Speaker, the other Deputy Speakers, all hon. and right hon. Members and the fantastic, tireless staff and Doorkeepers of this House, whom we rely on all year round, a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year.
Secondly, turning to Rayleigh, the residents of King George’s Court have been plagued by persistent problems with their lift, which has now been out of operation for several months. That has led to not just inconvenience, but safety issues, not least when several weeks ago an elderly resident was taken to hospital by ambulance and had to be manhandled down multiple flights of stairs, as the lift was still out of action. I know that for a fact, as one of my local councillors, Councillor Cheryl Roe, was present and witnessed the event.
The block is run by a management company, FirstPort Property Services, which seems totally deaf to the pleas of the residents. I have written previously to Ms Kully Sahdra, the managing director of FirstPort and, on 27 November, I received a totally unsatisfactory reply from Mr Gareth Cayford, the company’s “Director, Retirement”, informing me that his company was “waiting for a part”, an excuse it has apparently been using for months.
The residents of King George’s Court are still paying their ground rent and have a perfect right to receive a decent service in return. I am sure the employees of FirstPort would not be happy if an elderly relative of theirs had to put up with such a situation, so I do not see why my constituents should have to put up with it either. Ironically, FirstPort’s corporate strapline is “for great customer service”—well, you could have fooled me. I therefore call on FirstPort today to stop prevaricating and make sure the requisite part is sourced and installed as soon as possible, before I take this matter up with the Secretary of State in the new year.
Thirdly, I raised the issue of the Rochford oak tree in the House in early November. In short, this popular ancient oak is facing demolition as part of a major new housing development off the Ashingdon Road by Bloor Homes. Having raised the matter in the Commons, I wrote to Mr John Bloor, the chairman of Bloor Homes, on 9 November 2022, to inform him of that as a courtesy, and to ask him and his company to redesign the junction on the entrance to the proposed estate, not just to preserve the tree, but to improve the junction’s safety, which lies directly opposite both an infants and a junior school. Despite having written personally to the chairman more than six weeks ago, I have not received even the basic courtesy of a two-line reply, let alone a substantive response. That is typical of Bloor Homes, which my constituents now routinely describe as “arrogant”, a description with which I completely agree.
I note that the Levelling Up Secretary has recommended that the Competition and Markets Authority conduct a formal market survey into the overconcentration of the UK house building industry, which in recent years has become a highly oligopolistic market, totally dominated by just a few major players. Based on my experience as a constituency MP, especially with Bloor Homes, that is something I would wholeheartedly support and, if and when such an inquiry commences—the sooner the better in my view—Bloor’s peers in the house building industry can probably thank the company for helping to provoke it.
Last but by no means least, we have another pressing issue at Southend Hospital: the amassing of ambulances in the car park. Last Friday, I visited the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust—EEAST—at its Essex sub-control centre in Chelmsford. While there, I discussed with the trust’s chief executive, Mr Tom Abell, and with several long-serving control room staff, the problem of severe pressures on ambulance crews. The best way I can summarise their reaction is to quote an experienced senior dispatcher, who, when I asked what the best solution was, replied:
“You have to do something about ambulance handovers at our hospitals and the people who are well enough to go home but can’t. If you cannot solve that, we are just going to be queuing up in hospital car parks forever.”
Like other MPs in South Essex, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Anna Firth), I have been pushing for the £118 million of capital improvements that we were promised back in 2017, when the merger of Basildon, Broomfield and Southend Hospitals was first proposed. I repeat that plea to Ministers again today. In fairness to the hard-pressed paramedics and their frontline hospital colleagues, given the bureaucratic nature of the modern NHS, the chief responsibility for organising post-hospital accommodation lies with the new integrated care board. At a recent hearing of the Public Accounts Committee, I highlighted that the new Mid and South Essex ICB is underperforming and that its current leadership seriously need to raise their game. I also believe that senior officials at the regional level of the NHS in Cambridge—some of whom promised us the £118 million in the first place—now need to take a far more proactive interest in all this. In essence, I believe that the EEAST dispatcher was right: we need to do this urgently, especially as we move into the depths of winter.
Finally, after what has been a challenging year all round, I conclude by wishing you all the best in your new responsibilities, Mr Deputy Speaker, and by wishing Mr Speaker, all House staff and my constituents what I hope will yet be a merry Christmas and an even happier new year.
Health workers are not the only people taking strike action. We should think for a moment of postal workers, who have now been taking strike action for several months. They are incredibly hardworking people. Everyone in this House loves their postie and likes to say what a great job their postie does, except when they want to be decently paid. They want to be decently paid for their work and recognised as the important part of the community that they are. Royal Mail—a privatised industry thanks to the Liberal Democrats during the coalition Government—is now paying out enormous dividends to its shareholders and an enormous salary to its chief executive, and it is refusing to give the postal workers an offer of at least an inflation-linked pay rise and insisting that any pay rise be attached to job losses, speed-ups at work and yet further pressures on them to undertake that work. I have talked to postal workers all over the country—not just in the past few weeks, but over many years—and they tell me how they once enjoyed the job they were doing and being part of the community, but are now so deeply stressed that they are leaving the service on mental health grounds, because of the pressure under which they have been placed.