Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Services: Industrial Action

Thursday 7 September 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial questions focused on public services during industrial action.
  • The Minister expressed concern over disruptions caused by rail strikes affecting constituents and students.
  • The response included criticism of militant unions and a commitment to protecting public interests during strikes.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Gagan Mohindra Con South West Hertfordshire
NHS Education Transport
Context

The MP noted the ongoing disruption caused by industrial actions across various sectors, affecting daily commuters, students applying for jobs, and junior doctors. The situation has led to significant backlogs and increased inflation.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to maintain public services during industrial action. Like many of my constituents, I commute to London daily via rail and have had to deal with another summer of disruption caused by ASLEF and the RMT, while students are applying for jobs with unconfirmed grades from unmarked exam papers and junior doctors continue to strike.

Answer from Jeremy Quin

My hon. Friend is right: it is outrageous that his constituents can have their lives totally upended by strikes and by militant unions. We will, of course, respect the right to strike, but we have a duty to protect the lives and livelihoods of the British people. That is what our minimum service levels legislation aims to do.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about ending strikes was not addressed with concrete steps or commitments.

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Q2 Gagan Mohindra Con South West Hertfordshire
Education Employment Transport
Context

The MP noted the ongoing disruption caused by industrial actions across various sectors, affecting daily commuters, students applying for jobs, and junior doctors. The situation has led to significant backlogs and increased inflation.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to maintain public services during industrial action. Like many of my constituents, I commute to London daily via rail and have had to deal with another summer of disruption caused by ASLEF and the RMT, while students are applying for jobs with unconfirmed grades from unmarked exam papers and junior doctors continue to strike.

Answer from Jeremy Quin

My hon. Friend is right: it is outrageous that his constituents can have their lives totally upended by strikes and by militant unions. We will, of course, respect the right to strike, but we have a duty to protect the lives and livelihoods of the British people. That is what our minimum service levels legislation aims to do.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about ending strikes was not addressed with concrete steps or commitments.

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Q3 Steven Bonnar
NHS Scotland
Context

The MP highlighted the contrast between the lack of strikes in Scotland's NHS due to fair pay deals, while strikes continue elsewhere. He questioned why the UK Government has not considered a mediation approach.

Question

The Labour party governs in Wales and the Tories are in charge here in England, while Scotland is the only place in the UK to avoid any strikes in our NHS. That is because Scotland has had and will continue to have the fairest and best pay deals in the UK thanks to the Scottish Government. The Scottish Health Minister recently offered to mediate in the fresh talks between the UK Government and junior doctors.

Answer from Jeremy Quin

We will take absolutely no lessons from the SNP on how to govern countries—I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman looks at the news about what is going on in Scotland or hears about it when he visits his constituency. We have in this country a Government of whom we can be proud.

Not addressed: The specific ask was ignored entirely, with the Minister responding to a political dig instead of addressing the question.

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