Points of Order

15:05:00

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I wonder if I could seek your guidance. It has now been 36 days since the Home Secretary came to the Dispatch Box to give a statement on the possibility of a national inquiry into the grooming gangs; indeed, it has been seven months since the Home Secretary, back in January, indicated at the Dispatch Box that there would be five local rape gang inquiries. This is causing a huge amount of concern for many victims and survivors of this heinous crime. Yet here we are on the last day before recess without an update from the Home Secretary at the Dispatch Box on the timings, who the independent chair will be, the funding arrangements, and, dare I say, whether Keighley and the Bradford district will be included. I seek your guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker: under Standing Orders, is there any mechanism for you to ensure that the Home Secretary comes to the Dispatch Box before the end of the day to provide an update on the national inquiry into grooming gangs?

I thank the hon. Member for notice of his point of order. I have to say that I have received no notice from Ministers that they intend to make a further statement on this matter, but Ministers on the Front Bench will have heard his point of order.

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. At the start of this month, I submitted a number of parliamentary questions to the Department of Health and Social Care on the subject of the independent commission into adult social care. A number of those questions, despite being due for answer on the 7th of this month, remain entirely unanswered as of today, the 22nd of this month. The Department has also declined to estimate the number of hours spent on the commission by the Department since July 2024 on the grounds that the cost of such an estimation would be too great. I ask your advice, Madam Deputy Speaker, about how I can get those questions answered for the benefit of my constituents, and so that I can fulfil my duty in holding the Government to account.

I am grateful to the hon. Member for giving notice of her point of order. The timeliness and adequacy of answers to written questions are not matters for the Chair, but all hon. Members are entitled to expect full and helpful answers on time. She might like to raise the matter with the Procedure Committee, who I know take a close interest in these matters.

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. You will know that long ago—indeed, before we were born—tens of thousands of young men were sent to a far off place to witness the first British nuclear tests. Ever since, some of us have been campaigning for their interests. Earlier this year, the Government announced that there will be a review into the blood and urine tests taken at the time of those tests; you will appreciate the significance of that, Madam Deputy Speaker, because of the risk of radiation poisoning. The Government have said that the review will be published, but we have no clarity as to when. There are tens of thousands of these records, which are being examined as we speak. Have you had any notice from Ministers on when they will come to the House with an interim report? These men are now elderly; they are dying, of course, because of their age, by the week and month. However, I, along with the hon. Member for Salford (Rebecca Long Bailey) and the descendants of these men, will not give up this fight. It is vitally important that the Government are clear about when those tests will be published—I wonder if you could help in that regard, Madam Deputy Speaker.

I thank the right hon. Member for notice of his point of order. I have received no notice from Ministers that they intend to make a statement on this matter. He has, however, placed his point on the record. Bills Presented Unpaid Carers (Respite and Support) Bill Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No.57) Alison Bennett, supported by Ed Davey, Helen Morgan, Dr Danny Chambers, Jess Brown-Fuller, Wendy Chamberlain, Steve Darling, Vikki Slade, Olly Glover, Gideon Amos, Bobby Dean and Cameron Thomas, presented a Bill to place a duty on the Secretary of State to ensure that unpaid carers are offered respite breaks; to make provision for and about such respite breaks; to require the Secretary of State to publish guidance relating to respite breaks, including guidance about funding; to make provision about support for unpaid carers; including support following the discharge of a cared-for person from a hospital or other medical setting; and for connected purposes. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 12 September, and to be printed (Bill 292). Waste Tyres Bill Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No.57) Tessa Munt, supported by Mr Alistair Carmichael, presented a Bill to abolish the T8 exemption from environmental permit requirements regarding disposal of end-of-life tyres; to make provision about including end-of-life tyres as a category of notifiable waste; to make provision about the processing, recovery, and export of end-of-life tyres; and for connected purposes. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 5 September, and to be printed (Bill 293).