PMQs

Question

I recently met members who raised concerns about the Human Tissue Act 2004's loophole allowing human remains to be sold at auctions and on social media. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree it is abhorrent for such practices and will the Government take action?

Question

What are the Government doing to bring down inflation?

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Does the right hon. Lady agree that this Government's decisions mean higher inflation for working people?

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What would the right hon. Lady like to say to farmers concerned about their livelihoods?

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Will the right hon. Lady commit to no further increases to inheritance tax or reductions in agricultural property relief?

Question

Why do the Government think that above-inflation pay rises for trade unions are worth so much more than reducing inheritance tax for farmers?

Question

Why does the government punish people who do not vote Labour, including parents sending children to private schools and pensioners unable to pay for fuel this winter?

Question

Will the Government acknowledge that Israel has committed mass forced displacement in Gaza, and will they take concrete measures to comply with their duty to prevent genocide?

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Will the Deputy Prime Minister speak with the Chancellor to ensure health and care providers are protected from taking a hit due to increased NICs?

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Social care providers will be worse off due to increased NICs. Will Ministers look again at these issues?

Question

Teachers forced to pay out of pocket for basic supplies, many leaving the profession. Will Ministers work with me to tackle this problem?

Question

A few weeks ago, from that Dispatch Box, the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs said he had been congratulated by a farmer on the introduction of the inheritance tax. I think that farmer must have been a cannabis farmer, because yesterday we had 10,000 farmers on Whitehall protesting against this madcap decision. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree that the decision should be thrown in the trash can?

Question

My right hon. Friend has come under intense scrutiny from the press at different times, and she must have found it difficult. A press that is free to scrutinise politicians is vital in a free society and a democracy. Is she as concerned as I am by the Stasi-like interview that was given to Allison Pearson of a week last Sunday? Does she agree that the Essex police force and other police forces would be better trying to deal with shoplifting, burglaries and other crimes, rather than intimidating journalists?

Question

Yesterday, I met three constituents in Parliament: Duncan Hawley, his wife Nicola and his 10-year-old daughter Hattie. Duncan is a sheep farmer, and he has stewarded his family farm for most of his life. He is outraged, hurt and worried about the Government's deeply damaging family farm tax. He is deeply worried about food security, food inflation and whether he will even be able to pass that farm on to future generations. My question to the Deputy Prime Minister is simple: why have this Labour Government declared war on British farmers?

Question

The previous Government failed countless women through chronic underfunding of maternity services. At Stroud maternity hospital, post-natal beds have remained closed for more than two years. Local, midwife-led units, such as Stroud, deliver fantastic quality of care for women, while having low intervention rates during birth. Can the Deputy Prime Minister outline what steps this Government will take to improve maternity services?

Question

I know how much professional care work means to the Deputy Prime Minister. Cariad Care Homes in Porthmadog tells me that it will not be able to absorb the additional exorbitant costs imposed by her Government's Budget. It tells me that they pose a threat worse than covid to the business. Will she therefore personally intervene, so that her Government at least make care providers exempt from the rise in employers' national insurance contributions?

Question

Two weeks ago, the Chancellor announced a historic £22.6 billion investment into the NHS, because it is our duty to rescue this country's health service after 14 years of mismanagement, under-investment and, unfortunately, misleading announcements from the Conservative party. In Plymouth, Derriford hospital, which I represent, serves not just my constituency but 19 constituencies across the south-west—it is the only major trauma centre for adults in the south-west—but we have suffered from the decisions made by the Conservatives. Will the Deputy Prime Minister outline how that historic investment will make its way to Plymouth?

Question

The town of Cheshunt in my constituency has no banks or building societies, and we have been told that we are not eligible for a banking hub. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree that every town that wants a banking hub should be eligible for one, so that my residents have access to their hard-earned cash?

Question

I know better than most that, under the last Tory Government, neighbourhood policing was stripped away, leaving the police invisible in towns such as those I represent. As a former police inspector, I am delighted that the new Labour Government have committed to rebuild neighbourhood policing. Will the Deputy Prime Minister assure my constituents that Labour's neighbourhood policing guarantee will soon ensure that every town has a dedicated neighbourhood team?

Question

The Scottish and Welsh Governments have banned the construction of new waste incinerators because of health and pollution concerns. The previous Government paused them and committed to banning them. Why are this Government busy approving them?

Question

Thousands of families in my constituency have moved into new-build developments in Shinfield, Loddon Park and beyond. But many have found their dreams of home ownership punctured by unfair and opaque property management charges. Can the Deputy Prime Minister reassure my constituents by setting out how the leasehold reform Bill will address those concerns, and will she meet me and affected constituents?

Question

Today is Red Wednesday, when we remember all those worldwide who are persecuted for their belief. A recent report by Aid to the Church in Need shows that in the countries surveyed the persecution of minorities increased by 60%. In the light of that, will the Government commit to reappointing the Prime Minister's special envoy for freedom of religion and belief, a post that has remained vacant since July, as soon as possible and hopefully by Christmas, so that we in the United Kingdom can play our part in defending religious and belief minorities worldwide?

Question

Harshita Brella was killed and found in the boot of her car as it was taken from her home in Corby on 14 November. This tragic murder left a community shocked and scared, and it is being investigated by the police. Harshita was protected by a domestic violence protection order that lasted 28 days. It was not renewed. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree that all must be done to reassure the community and bring the perpetrator to justice? Further, does she agree that in some circumstances domestic violence protection orders should last longer than 28 days, when the victims are most vulnerable?

Question

The Spelthorne Litter Pickers is an outstanding organisation of 1,000 volunteers who do great work up and down my constituency, come rain or shine. Last week, they were awarded the King's Award for Voluntary Service. Would the Deputy Prime Minister, the Government and indeed the whole House like to join me in congratulating the Spelthorne Litter Pickers and thank them for all they do?

Question

I draw the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members' Financial Interests as a very proud trade union member. In 2019, the Conservative party promised to deliver an employment Bill that would protect and enhance workers' rights in the UK but never delivered. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree with me that her Employment Rights Bill is the biggest upgrade to workers' rights in a generation?

Question

The whole House recognises the authenticity of the right hon. Lady's back story—her pride in being a carer and her recent elevation. In contrast, the chief constable of Northamptonshire was sacked for misrepresenting his CV, and just last month a nurse was imprisoned for doing the same. Does the right hon. Lady agree that such serious consequences are right and just in such cases?

Question

Despite being its capital, my home city of Edinburgh is, per head, the lowest-funded local authority in Scotland owing to the austerity inflicted on us by the Scottish National party in Holyrood. Now that the Secretary of State for Scotland has secured the biggest block grant for Scotland in history, will the Deputy Prime Minister work with me to ensure that the Scottish Government use it to end austerity for my constituents?

Question

Last week I was contacted by a constituent whose husband has stage 4 bowel cancer. He had a routine scan but did not receive the results until early November, and during that period he received unsuitable chemotherapy and his cancer progressed. Given Shropshire's worst record for CT and MRI scan results in the country, may I ask when the Government will address this problem?