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Tag: 2020

  • David Lammy – 2020 Comments on Self-Harm Incidents in Custody

    David Lammy – 2020 Comments on Self-Harm Incidents in Custody

    Comments made by David Lammy, the Shadow Justice Secretary, on 30 July 2020.

    The fact that we are witnessing record levels of self-harm in our prisons is deeply alarming. It comes following 10 years of cuts that have left prisons overcrowded and understaffed.

    These statistics show the massive scale of this problem even before emergency lockdown measures were introduced to the prison estate. With prisoners isolated in their cells for 23 hours per day during the pandemic, the number that are self-harming may have further increased.

    It is vital that prisoners get access to the mental health support they need, which will also help them rehabilitate.

  • Justin Madders – 2020 Comments on the NHS People Plan

    Justin Madders – 2020 Comments on the NHS People Plan

    The comments made by Justin Madders, the Shadow Health Minister, on 30 July 2020.

    Ministers have outlined some worthy commitments on staff wellbeing, but without extra funding staff will continue to be overstretched and overworked.

    The Government promised a full five-year People Plan with detailed, costed action. This falls a long way short of that.

    The Covid-19 pandemic has shown just how valuable and loved NHS staff are – it’s time the Government put together a proper solution for recruitment and retention, including the pay talks that NHS workers deserve. The rhetoric on support for NHS staff needs to be matched with action.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2020 Comments on Customs Lorry Park in Kent

    Rachel Reeves – 2020 Comments on Customs Lorry Park in Kent

    The comments made by Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on 30 July 2020.

    This giant lorry park will stand as a symbol of the Government’s failure to plan properly for Brexit, with so little achieved in four years and only five months to go before the end of the transition period.

    Ministers need to explain how much this park will cost and how it will operate, and reassure residents who understandably fear it will make their lives a misery.

    When Boris Johnson talked about relaxing planning laws, no one thought he meant turning part of the Garden of England into a lorry park the size of about 15 football pitches.

    The Prime Minister promised an ‘oven-ready’ deal and said there would be extra cash for major projects. No one imagined that meant concreting over the countryside to build a lorry park.

  • Ed Miliband – 2020 Comments on the UK’s Energy Statistics

    Ed Miliband – 2020 Comments on the UK’s Energy Statistics

    Comments made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary, on 30 July 2020.

    The figures are moving in the right direction, but not yet at the pace befitting the scale of the climate crisis facing us all.

    As COP26 hosts, the UK should be blazing the trail in the global fight against climate change with a Green New Deal. Yet we are falling behind our European neighbours, whose investment in a green recovery has dwarfed this government’s.

    With billions of taxpayer pounds being channelled by ministers into fossil fuels abroad and the UK still off track for meeting our targets, the Government’s actions are clearly still too piecemeal and inconsistent.

  • Energy Saving Trust – 2020 Statement of Apology on their Management of the Bike Voucher Scheme

    Energy Saving Trust – 2020 Statement of Apology on their Management of the Bike Voucher Scheme

    The statement made by the Energy Saving Trust on 29 July 2020 after problems with their management of the Bike Voucher Scheme.

    Energy Saving Trust would like to apologise for the frustration and inconvenience at the Fix Your Bike Voucher Scheme website being taken offline. This was due to unprecedented high demand at launch, the site was inundated with users attempting to gain access at the same time. The website was designed for high volumes of traffic, however, at the time of the scheme launching, demand in fact far exceeded even our highest expectations.

    Our team continue to work hard to resolve these issues and have the Fix Your Bike Voucher Scheme available as soon as possible. We will post any updates on the website and on our social media channels.

  • Wayne David – 2020 Letter on Humanitarian Assistance in Syria

    Wayne David – 2020 Letter on Humanitarian Assistance in Syria

    The letter sent by Wayne David, the Shadow Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, and Anna McMorrin, the Shadow International Development Minister, to James Cleverly, the Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa, on 29 July 2020.

    Dear Minister,

    RE: UN Security Council Resolution 2533 and cross-border delivery of humanitarian assistance

    We write regarding the failure of the UN Security Council to renew Resolution 2504 on 10th July 2020. The humanitarian impact of failing to authorise border crossings at Bab-al-Salam in north-west Syria and the exclusion of any meaningful action to rectify the border situation in north-east Syria at Al Yarubiyah and Al Ramtha will be catastrophic. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 global health crisis and humanitarian situation, we write to urge the UK Government to use all its influence on the Security Council to broker a way forward to urgently address this deepening emergency.

    Authorised crossing points into Syria provide a crucial mechanism in the delivery of core humanitarian aid to some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. The loss of UN Security Council support for the border crossings at Al Yarubiyah and Al Ramtha in north-east Syria has significantly undermined humanitarian operations and drastically reduced aid to the two million Syrians who require humanitarian assistance. At the time of the loss of both border crossings, only two out of 16 hospitals and four out of 279 primary health centres were operating at full capacity, access to vital medicines fluctuated, and on average only half of aid-dependent Syrians were provided with food aid per month. Increased cross border access, not less, is urgently required.

    Since January the situation in north-east Syria has deteriorated further and COVID-19 has aggravated the aid assistance gap. As of May, only a small number of consignments of UN health supplies have been delivered to the north-east from within the Syrian Arab Republic and Damascus hub, forming three air and two road consignments. PPE, intensive care unit beds, ventilators and incubators have largely been excluded from consignments to hospitals which remain functional.

    In a report published in February, the UN Secretary-General said:

    “At current consumption rates, medical stocks are expected to run out in the coming months.”

    And in a report published in May, the Secretary-General concluded:

    “The combination of more cross-border and cross-line access was required to sustain recent levels of humanitarian assistance, and preferably increase that assistance.”

    The Damascus hub, as the only remaining route for the delivery of aid assistance, is highly politicised and restrictive. Aid transported via the Syrian Arab Republic is one of the most scrutinized modes of delivery for humanitarian assistance in the world. A further 12 months without improved aid access, with the true extent of COVID-19 still unknown and significantly altering the operating environment, means there is an urgent need for real action.

    Many Syrians in the north-west of the country now face seriously deteriorating conditions with many facing the prospect of having to live in overcrowded camps, sharing living environments with multiple families or sleeping out in the open. Practising social distancing measures in these conditions is impossible. Fresh water is scarce, sanitation access is inadequate, and food insecurity and malnutrition are expected to rise. By severing the authorised crossings, Syrians here await a similar fate to that of the north-east for at least the next 12 months.

    Between December 2019 and May 2020 there was a 128% increase in UN consignments at Bab-al-Salam compared to the previous six months and according to the International Rescue Committee health supplies passing through Bab-al-Salam in May reached one million beneficiaries. The crossing is increasingly relied upon as needs surge. The loss of the border crossing will be extremely serious and there can be absolutely no medical or humanitarian justification for such actions. Our understanding is that both China and Russia must bear responsibility for blocking measures to facilitate this crossing and for the loss of UN support for the north-east crossings.

    There is a pressing need to find a way forward to allow the UN, partners and agencies to provide humanitarian relief and medical support and alleviate and prevent the spread and transmission of COVID-19 in the north-west and north-east of Syria, and to continue to tackle the pre-existing health and social vulnerabilities.

    We believe, the UK must show global leadership and work with our partners on the international stage to ensure every action is taken to guarantee current aid remains unimpeded and that we play our part in the global response to COVID19. This must be done as soon as possible, rather than waiting 12 months until cross border access is a matter for debate and scrutiny at the Security Council again.

    We are also urging the Government to increase its efforts to bring about an end to hostilities in Syria. Recent reports of Russian air strikes and increased terrorist attacks are a clear indication that there could be a return to the levels of conflict which was seen at the start of this year. We would therefore urge the British Government to use all its influence to help ensure that the fragile ceasefire does not break down.

    To conclude, we are calling on the Government to ensure the UK uses its position on the Security Council to work with Germany and Belgium as Security Council penholders on Syria to bring forward new stand-alone resolutions to authorise the border crossings in the north-west and north-east, particularly if the COVID-19 situation deteriorates; work with Security Council members to explore whether the Damascus hub and remaining aid delivery routes can be improved; do everything possible to reinforce the ceasefire in Syria and urge all parties to work closely with the UN Special Envoy.

    We look forward to your reply.

    Yours sincerely,

    Wayne David MP – Shadow FCO Minister for the Middle East and North Africa

    Anna McMorrin MP – Shadow International Development Minister

  • Anna McMorrin – 2020 Comments on Humanitarian Assistance in Syria

    Anna McMorrin – 2020 Comments on Humanitarian Assistance in Syria

    Comments made by Anna McMorrin, the Shadow International Development Minister, on 29 July 2020.

    We believe, the UK must show global leadership and work with our partners on the international stage to ensure every action is taken to guarantee current aid remains unimpeded and that we play our part in the global response to COVID19. We are also urging the Government to increase its efforts to bring about an end to hostilities in Syria.

  • Marsha de Cordova – 2020 Comments on Virus and Ethnicity

    Marsha de Cordova – 2020 Comments on Virus and Ethnicity

    Comments made by Marsha de Cordova, the Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, on 29 July 2020.

    Of course further research is always welcome and will provide an evidence base, but we all know this should have started months ago.

    Given the Government’s poor track record on taking action, let’s hope this time the findings translate into real change.

  • Luke Pollard – 2020 Comments on National Food Strategy Report

    Luke Pollard – 2020 Comments on National Food Strategy Report

    Comments made by Luke Pollard, the Shadow Environment Secretary, on 29 July 2020.

    This report reinforces the urgent need for action on the two biggest food challenges facing Britain: the growing scandal of food poverty and the need to prevent British farmers being undercut in new trade deals.

    Far too many children are growing up in difficult circumstances and do not receive free school meals while their families struggle to make ends meet. The Government should be working to ensure every family can afford for their children to get a healthy hot meal every day.

    Having heard the message from Labour, the public and farmers that we do not want lower food standards, perhaps hearing it from its own advisor will force the Government to secure Britain’s high food and farming standards in law.

  • Ed Miliband – 2020 Comments on Amazon Offering Free Food Deliveries

    Ed Miliband – 2020 Comments on Amazon Offering Free Food Deliveries

    The comments made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary, on 29 July 2020.

    The food retail sector has played a hugely important role during the Covid-19 pandemic, from those working in the supply chain, to supermarket staff and delivery van drivers.

    The pandemic has changed how people live, work and shop, and retailers have adapted in response, with grocery sales helping drive up retail figures.

    The world increasingly moving online means scope for innovation, but there must be a level playing field between the high street and online retail. Time after time the Tories have disadvantaged businesses based on bricks compared to businesses based on clicks.