Business of the House

10:34:00

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

I shall, Mr Speaker. Monday 7 April—General debate on road maintenance, followed by a general debate on neighbourhood policing and tackling town centre crime. Tuesday 8 April—General debate on the potential merits of awarding a posthumous Victoria Cross to Blair Mayne, followed by a general debate on matters to be raised before the forthcoming Adjournment. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee. The House will rise for the Easter recess at the conclusion of business on Tuesday 8 April and return on Tuesday 22 April. The provisional business for the week commencing 21 April includes: Tuesday 22 April—Second Reading of the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill. Wednesday 23 April—Opposition day (6th allotted day). Debate on a motion in the name of the Liberal Democrats—subject to be announced. Thursday 24 April—Remaining stages of the Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill [Lords]. Friday 25 April—Private Members’ Bills. The provisional business for the week commencing 28 April will include: Monday 28 April—Second Reading of the Football Governance Bill [Lords]. Tuesday 29 April—Remaining stages of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill. Wednesday 30 April—Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill. Thursday 1 May—Business to be determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Friday 2 May—The House will not be sitting.

It is some weeks away yet, but this is the last moment I will have to wish you, Mr Speaker, and all Members of this House and staff a very happy Easter; I hope I may do so. Easter is a joyous occasion, full of families and possibly inappropriate amounts of chocolate. I will be making the shadow Leader of the House’s legendary hot cross buns—not very much of the mix actually makes it into the oven, but that is part of the joy. It is lucky, however, that we have several weeks to look forward to Easter, because this week has not been one of joy. We will be debating tariffs later, and we have also had the impact of the national insurance rises, which have pushed up costs, raising inflation, making it harder than ever to hire a new employee and blocking routes into work for young people. My question, however, is this: what on earth is happening in Birmingham? As the House will recall, Birmingham city council is now in the fifth week of a strike with the union Unite over bin collections. Apparently this matter concerns just a few dozen out of some 9,500 city council employees. As the House has heard, 17,000 tonnes of rubbish has piled up so far, growing by a reported 900 tonnes a week. Let us not forget that Birmingham’s bin collections were reportedly three and a half times worse than the worst of other councils even before this strike. The public health implications are now so dire that the council has declared a major incident. The strike comes on top of two other recent fiascos. First, the athletes’ village in Perry Barr was built by the city council to host competitors during the Commonwealth games in 2022 but was never used, and has been sold at a reported loss to taxpayers of about £320 million. Secondly, Birmingham city council tried to install a shiny new Oracle IT system, resulting in a disaster whose costs are set to reach £216-odd million by 2026, according to a report by academics at Sheffield University. As a city, Birmingham is technically bankrupt. It has been controlled by Labour for well over a decade, but my point is not about the council—it is about the Government. The Minister for Local Government let the cat out of the bag in his statement on this topic on Monday, when he said: “Birmingham’s waste service has been in urgent need of modernisation and transformation for many years… Practices in the waste service have been the source of one of the largest equal pay crises in modern…history, resulting in costs of over £1 billion to the residents of Birmingham. This situation simply cannot continue.”—[Official Report, 31 March 2025; Vol. 765, c. 45.] The Prime Minister went further in his own remarks yesterday, saying: “The situation in Birmingham council is completely unacceptable”.—[Official Report, 2 April 2025; Vol. 765, c. 294.] However, neither the Minister nor the Prime Minister has yet offered any criticism at all of Unite, whose action is the cause of all this rotting refuse in the streets. Unite was Labour’s biggest union donor before the general election, giving £553,900 to a total of 86 MPs—although not to the Leader of the House, I am very pleased to say. Does she think there could be any relationship between the Government’s reluctance to call out Unite on the disastrous situation in Birmingham and the half a million pounds in donations their MPs have just received? Some Members of the House may see this whole situation as eerily reminiscent of the 1970s, especially Labour’s winter of discontent in 1978-79, when striking binmen caused refuse to pile up across major cities, including in Birmingham. My worry, however, is about not the past but the future. Labour consistently backed public sector union strikes when they were in opposition—a point the Prime Minister conveniently forgot to mention yesterday—but now they are in power they have thrown money at the unions hand over fist with little or no negotiated improvements. Let us not forget that Northern Rail negotiators have even said that their agreements with the union require them to use fax machines. There is a very serious point here, Mr Speaker. At this moment, the Government are abolishing NHS England and taking direct control of the NHS. Does anyone seriously think that a Government who are incapable of calling out their union donors over bin collections will have any ability at all to withstand pressure from the same and other union donors on the NHS? What will that do to cost control and productivity, to public spending and inflation? I would be grateful if the Leader of the House reflected on those issues in her remarks.

May I join the shadow Leader of the House in wishing everybody a very happy Easter? I hope that Members can resist eating too much chocolate and hot cross buns, especially those who are on diets at this time of year. Today is a day to reflect, Mr Speaker, because we face unprecedented times, which have the potential to change the global trade consensus of the past 80 years—a consensus that has brought this country, and most western countries, a great deal of prosperity. We are still processing exactly what the new tariffs will mean for British businesses, and we will shortly hear from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade about that in more detail. Just as President Trump is acting in what he believes is his national interest, we will always act in our national interest. We will do whatever is necessary to protect British jobs, British businesses and British consumers. I am sure the shadow Leader of the House will agree that, in any eventuality, securing the long-sought economic deal with our closest partner, the US, which the Prime Minister has been leading on for many months, is in our national interest, and I am sure the whole House will support him in those endeavours. As the shadow Leader of the House said, this week is the start of a new financial year and the annual uprating of Bills. It is also a very worrying time for families. The cost of living crisis is not yet over, and many people will be wondering, as the month begins, how long their pay cheque will last. We have inherited a very difficult situation, and the global trade war will not help, but we are determined to protect working people. That is what we are all about. We are about making work pay with our Employment Rights Bill. We have seen a £1,400 a year increase to the national living wage. And for young people, there has been an unprecedented uplift to the national minimum wage, which is now up to £10 an hour. The state pension will increase this week by £470. We will take the action necessary to bring down in the long term our bills, including those for water and energy. The shadow Leader of the House raised the situation in Birmingham. I was in Birmingham just last weekend visiting my husband’s family and found the conditions to be totally unacceptable. It is awful what people are living with, and we want to see the situation end, and end immediately. I am happy to tell the right hon. Member that I have no problem in saying that the trade union Unite needs to step up, get back round the table and come to an agreement. A reasonable agreement is on the table, so the trade union and the council should be able to deal with this very quickly. I gently say to the shadow Leader of the House, however, that I do not think the situation in Birmingham covers anybody in glory. To make some party political point about it does not serve him too well. He and other Conservative Members might have a short memory, but this is a failure of successive leaderships of that council, including the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition of the early 2000s in particular. That was a critical phase in resolving the equality pay dispute, which other councils, including in Manchester and other cities, dealt with during that time, while Birmingham’s buried their heads in the sand about it. If the shadow Leader of the House wants a discussion about what has happened with local government finances, let me say that local government was absolutely starved of finances for 14 years under his Government. Month after month, we saw councils go bust, including Tory councils such as Northamptonshire and Thurrock. We have put record investment into local government, and will bring forward a devolution Bill later this year, which will include further measures on auditing local finances. The shadow Leader of the House mentions the impact of industrial action on the working people of this country, but what did his Government preside over? We saw more days of industrial action in our NHS and on the railways under the Conservative Government than we have done under Labour. That is what the Conservatives want to do every time—cause conflict and have industrial action. We have seen an end to industrial action in our NHS. Because the strikes ended, waiting lists have gone down every single month for five months—and another 2 million doctors’ appointments have become available. On the shadow Leader of the House’s watch, rail companies boasted about free cash from the Government for their rail contracts, and we had a record number of days lost to industrial action. We put an end to that. We got this country back to working in the interests of working people, so I will take no lectures from him.

Mr Speaker, I wish you and all the House staff, colleagues in the Chamber, and those outside an early happy Easter. Sky is a household name in Britain and has millions of customers. I am proud to represent Stockport, and Sky is a major employer in our town. Unfortunately, it was announced last week that almost 2,000 jobs are at risk in Sky’s UK operations, with 545 roles in Stockport and more in Leeds and Sheffield impacted. I have been working with my hon. Friends the Members for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) and for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel), and my immediate constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), to support the staff impacted. Serious questions have been raised with me by Sky employees about the mass redundancies, the process being leaked to media outlets before all staff were made aware of the redundancies, and the lack of clarity about the level of support on offer to members of staff. These redundancies will have a detrimental impact on the economies and communities of Stockport, Sheffield and Leeds. Will the Leader of the House allocate Government time for a debate on Sky and how it treats its hard-working, loyal staff?

I am really sorry to hear about the redundancies at Sky, which will affect my hon. Friend’s constituents, as well as some of mine nearby. He is doing his job as a constituency MP by raising this important matter on the Floor of the House. I am sure that the company will have heard his concerns about the announcement being communicated via the media before employees were told. That is just not acceptable. One of the reasons why we are bringing forward our Employment Rights Bill is to ensure that workers have more rights in these circumstances, and that employers have an obligation to ensure that redundancies are handled sensitively, and with regard to people’s long-term interests.

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

On 15 April, we will mark the 36th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster and remember the 97 people who tragically lost their life on that dark day, as well as their families’ subsequent fight for justice. Last September, the Prime Minister gave a commitment that the Hillsborough law would be introduced in Parliament before we reached this anniversary. A duty of candour for public servants and public bodies is long overdue, and will help stop future cover-ups. It is vital that the legislation delivers on the commitments made to Hillsborough families in a meaningful way. Can the Leader of the House give an update on whether the legislation will be introduced before we rise for the Easter recess? If it will not, when we can realistically expect it?

I thank the hon. Member for raising this issue; it was also raised last week by my hon. Friend the Member for Widnes and Halewood (Derek Twigg). She is right. As we approach the anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, we should remember the 97 lives lost, all the families affected and the years and years of fighting for justice and accountability that the families have suffered since—frankly, with the state fighting against them, in most cases. That is something we should all endeavour to put right. As she says, the Prime Minister and the whole Government, myself included, remain focused on fulfilling our commitment to the Hillsborough families to bring forward and enact a Hillsborough law, which will of course include a duty of candour at all times. That is a very important measure to take forward. At this time, the most important issue is to ensure that the legislation reflects the full range of concerns and experiences, and meets the expectations of the families. The very worst thing we could do is not meet those expectations, given that all the trust issues relate to the state failing to live up to the families’ expectations. We are working on the Bill at pace, but we will take whatever time is necessary to work collaboratively with the families and their representatives, because getting the legislation right is overwhelmingly our priority, as I am sure the hon. Lady can understand.

Last month, Whitburn Band, from a former mining town in my constituency, won the Scottish brass band championships for the third time in four years. The band will represent Scotland at the national brass band championships in London, and at the European brass band championships next year. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Whitburn Band on its remarkable achievement, and wishing its members the very best of luck as they represent Scotland? Will she make time for a debate on the important contribution of brass bands to our musical heritage in communities across the UK?

I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the Whitburn brass band, the Scottish brass band champions, and wish them all the very best in the UK-wide national brass band championships. If I may say so, she is doing a fantastic job of blowing the trumpet on behalf of her constituents. [Laughter.] It is Easter. I wish the band all the best in the championships.

I call the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee.

On the business that the Leader of the House announced, I have to say it is disappointing that we do not have Backbench Business on 24 April. My reading of the business that day is that the Bill is uncontroversial and we are likely to finish early, but we will be denied the opportunity to have a debate on St George’s day, which is of course on 23 April, or a debate on Parkinson’s Awareness Month, which is April. We are contemplating organising three 90-minute debates on 1 May, which is local election day. Colleagues may wish to be campaigning elsewhere, but that would at least allow debates on some of the motions that we have in the queue. It would help if the Leader of the House could confirm when estimates day will be in May. By my reckoning, there are only around four possible dates, and our Committee has to advertise the opportunity for people to apply for an estimates day debate, and then choose the debates. On Tuesday 8 May, there will be a Westminster Hall debate on the persecution of Christians. When we return on 22 April, there will be a debate on residential estate management companies; I remind colleagues that we will sit Monday hours on that day, so the debate will start at 11.30 am, rather than at 9.30 am. On Thursday 24 April, there will be a debate on Lesbian Visibility Week, followed by a debate on the trading relationship with the European Union, which will be quite topical, given the tariff arrangements that have just been announced. On Tuesday 29 April, there will be a debate on compensation for criminal injuries. Most of our allies, including the United States, have indicated their objection to the reappointment of Francesca Albanese as the UN special rapporteur on the occupied territories. This is a woman who has attempted to justify the atrocities on 7 October 2023, and repeatedly excused the atrocities committed by terrorists, yet she is apparently going to be reappointed by the UN. Our allies have called this out, but there has been total silence from the Foreign Secretary and nothing from any of our Ministers, so may we have a statement on how the Government will instruct our representatives at the UN to vote? Indeed, will they register their strong objections to her reappointment?

I thank the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee, as ever, for organising so many good, well-attended debates. He asked about 24 April. I am sure he will recognise that there is a bank holiday that week, and two weeks later, so we have a number of short weeks and a lot of Government business to get through. Given that Tuesday 22 April will be more like a Monday, I am afraid that Thursday 24 April will be more like a Wednesday, which is why, on the Thursday, time was not allocated to the Backbench Business Committee. However, I heard what he said about St George’s day and am happy to have a conversation with him about that. As ever, I will try to give him as much advance notice as I can of estimates day. I thank the hon. Member for raising the issue regarding the UN rapporteur. He will appreciate that such matters are for the UN. However, I will ensure that the Foreign Office has heard his point, as I am sure his constituents have. In general, the Government and I would not find acceptable any comments of the kind that he described; I join him in saying that.

Just to help the House, I think we will say that these questions will last another hour or thereabouts. Hopefully we will get everybody in, if we help each other. Let us have a good example from Dave Robertson.

Nether Stowe school in my constituency—my old school—has just completed a consultation on closing its sixth-form provision. This has caused a huge amount of stress for kids who are prepping for their GCSEs. They do not know where they will be able to do their A-levels. The other school sixth forms in Lichfield at Friary and King Edward are already heavily oversubscribed, so there is a risk that we will lack academic places for people to do A-levels when they reach 16. A month ago, I asked Conservative-controlled Staffordshire county council to share its planning for how many sixth-form and academic places we need in Lichfield. It has completely failed to provide that information. I need to know that there is a plan, so that everybody who reaches the age of 16 can take courses that are appropriate for them. Will the Leader of the House arrange for me to meet the relevant Minister urgently to discuss post-16 provision in Lichfield?

That was a bad example.

I will try to keep my answers short, Mr Speaker. I am really sorry to hear about the closure of Nether Stowe school’s sixth form. I know that A-level provision is a challenge in many areas, and it sounds like it is in Lichfield. I am sure that Baroness Smith, the Minister responsible for further education, will be happy to meet my hon. Friend, and I am happy to arrange that meeting for him.

While inequalities during pregnancy and childbirth have reduced, they remain a cause of concern for pregnant women from ethnic minorities. According to latest data, black women are 2.8 times more likely to die during and up to six weeks after their pregnancy, and Asian women are 1.7 times more likely to die during the same period. Ethnic minority women also have higher rates for stillbirth and various other complications. Will the Leader of the House kindly make time for a debate to explore those health inequalities and racial disparities?

I thank the hon. Member for raising that important issue, which I know has caused considerable concern and debate across the House over a number of years. She is right to identify the poorer maternal health outcomes for those with black and ethnic minority backgrounds. The Government are committed to addressing that, and I am happy to keep her updated on progress.

May I take the opportunity to thank 1st Priestwood Brownies, 1st Priestwood Guides, the Wayz youth centre and all those who took part in Bracknell town council’s great British spring clean litter pick last weekend? Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking litter pickers in Bracknell and across the country for all they do to keep our communities clean?

I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating the Brownies—I was once one—and all those who took part in the spring-cleaning efforts in Bracknell. I join him in bringing that to the Floor of the House today.

Much to my surprise, but perhaps to the relief of the Prime Minister, at Prime Minister’s questions yesterday not a single Member of this House raised the fact that energy bills have once again increased. In fact, on the Labour party’s watch, they have gone up by £281, despite its pre-election promise to reduce them by £300. Will the Leader of the House afford us all a debate on Government time as to that latest broken promise from the Labour party?

It is always a pleasure to see the right hon. Gentleman here. I am not sure how his promise to stay committed to this House is faring, as I think he has now had another flip-flop on that and I hear he is still going for that second job. For as long as he is here—[Interruption.] He asks if I would miss him. I, and I am sure the whole House, would miss him greatly. He raises an important issue, which is energy bills. He will know that this Government are absolutely determined to lower our bills, to create the jobs of the future and to get our energy security. As a country, we are still far too exposed to international gas prices, as we are seeing with the increase in energy bills this year. That is why we are even more determined than ever—I am sure he will join us in this—to ensure that we have that clean, renewable energy of the future, which is the only way that we will get lower bills.

Will the Leader of the House please share when the Government will publish the impact assessment on the assisted dying Bill? Will she further update the House on current plans for Report stage and Third Reading of the Bill?

A number of Members have raised that with me over the last couple of weeks and I think it was raised last week at business questions too. As I said then, given the close scrutiny of the Bill in Committee and the number of amendments accepted from all sides of the debate, the impact assessment will require significant work by the Government to get it ready. However, we are absolutely committed to doing that in time for Report stage. My hon. Friend asks about the future progress of the Bill. She will know that Report stage of this private Member’s Bill is on the Order Paper for 25 April. It is a matter for the House to decide on the Bill’s progress and I am sure that, as on Second Reading, so ably chaired by you, Mr Speaker, this House will come together in that debate. Hopefully, it will be chaired by you, Mr Speaker —let us see—and we will have a respectful debate in which people can contribute, make their views heard and show the public that we can come together and discuss such issues.

The Active Learning Trust is closing the sixth-form Neale-Wade Academy, which will be harmful to social mobility in Fenland. Given that the hon. Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) raised a similar point, may we have a statement on what action Education Ministers and the regional schools director can take to ensure that the Active Learning Trust, about which there are serious questions, puts in place a recovery plan and is much more transparent about how its decisions are reached?

The right hon. Gentleman raises an important issue for his constituents and for many others about the Active Learning Trust and the provision in his constituency. I will make sure that the Minister is in touch with him. As he says, the regional schools directors, as well as Ministers, should ensure that there is adequate provision that is of a high standard and that trusts such as the Active Learning Trust are held to account for those issues. This is one of the reasons that we are bringing forward the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill—to make sure that accountability for trusts is really there.

One of the biggest issues raised with me in my constituency is the availability of council and social housing. In Conservative-led Northumberland, a recent freedom of information request found that there were more than 300 void council properties in south-east Northumberland alone, with £750,000 lost in rental income. The failure not only wastes money, but leaves people languishing on waiting lists, often in inappropriate housing. May we have a debate on how we ensure council properties are not standing empty for months on end, costing local taxpayers and limiting income that could be spent improving services?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the issue of void council homes in her constituency. As she said, these homes could be housing those desperately in need of a social home, and it involves a loss of income. We are putting extra money into local government to ensure that they have the capital and revenues to bring those homes back into use, but we are also committed to ensuring we have more affordable and social housing for all her constituents.

The Leader of the House may remember that on 5 December I raised the issue of adopters not being eligible for any financial support from the Government if they are self-employed. She helpfully recommended that I table an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill, which I did. I also have had a Westminster Hall debate and raised the issue with the Minister at the Dispatch Box. At every stage, every member of the Government has mentioned a parental leave review. In response to a written question this week, the Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade, the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough (Justin Madders) suggested that this would start “in due course”. What format will the review take, and what is the timetable for conclusion so that all Members can participate?

I thank the hon. Member for pursuing the issue through all those different means. She is an example to other new Members as to how to take forward an issue across a range of opportunities in this House. I will ensure that she gets a fuller response from the Minister about the timescale and how Members can be involved.

A retired postmistress in my constituency served our communities at the post office in Parson Cross from 1994 to 2002 and was affected by the Horizon scandal, leaving her mentally and physically unwell. She has not been paid the compensation she is owed from the fixed sum payment scheme. Please will the Leader of the House advise me on how I can help my constituent and her husband Michael to expedite access to their compensation payment?

I am sorry to hear that my hon. Friend’s constituents have not had their compensation payment. Over 5,000 victims have had their payments made so far, but we certainly have more to do. She will recognise that this Government set aside the proper amount of money necessary for the first time, but I will ensure that her case is expedited.

Following the conversion from paper visas to e-visas, members of the Ukrainian community in the United Kingdom who are refugees are having considerable difficulty renewing their visas because of IT failures within the Home Office system, leaving them effectively without any proof of status. I know the Leader of the House is sympathetic to their plight. Would she be kind enough to ask the Home Secretary, given the shortage of time between now and the recess, if she would make a written statement to clarify the position for everybody?

I was not aware of the issue the right hon. Member raised. I know the matter of Ukrainian visas will be of concern to many Members across this House, and I thank him for raising it. I will absolutely ensure that the Home Office considers a written ministerial statement or some other means to communicate an update on the matter.

I recently met Hertsavers, a credit union providing affordable loans and saving products all across Hertfordshire. Of its nearly 3,000 members, I am proud that the majority are in my community in Welwyn Hatfield. It makes a particular difference to young families through access to loans for people in receipt of child benefit. Would the Leader of the House join me in thanking the trustees of Hertsavers credit union, who work so hard to ensure that people have access to affordable finance in my community?

I absolutely join my hon. Friend in thanking the trustees of Hertsavers in his constituency. Credit unions are incredibly popular and an important part of our constituents having access to loans and finance when they otherwise would not get them. I am sure that would make a popular topic for debate if he wanted to have one.

Diolch yn fawr, Mr Llefarydd. The House should know that, unlike in England, Welsh public services are not fully protected from the cost of increased employers national insurance contributions. That is because compensation from the Treasury does not take into account Wales’s bigger public sector, and it means Wales is losing out on £65 million. Can we have a debate about why it is fair that the NHS in England gets more money proportionately than the NHS in Wales?

The right hon. Member will know that as a result of this Government’s Budget, we delivered a record £21 billion settlement for the Welsh Government— the biggest in the history of devolution. That has allowed additional funds to go directly to the NHS in Wales and elsewhere, and I am sure that that will come through the system soon.