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Tag: Julie Elliott

  • Julie Elliott – 2023 Speech on the Loyal Address

    Julie Elliott – 2023 Speech on the Loyal Address

    The speech made by Julie Elliott, the Labour MP for Sunderland Central, in the House of Commons on 7 November 2023.

    I would like to send my good wishes to the King on the first occasion of his Gracious Speech. It cannot have been an easy thing to do. We have to remember that it follows the long reign of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. There will have been mixed emotions today, and it is important to recognise that; it is not just a job.

    It has been interesting listening to the speeches today. I have found myself agreeing with Members I do not always agree with. The right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) made some important points on net zero, and I agree entirely with the right hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) on the secondary legislation around deforestation. But the debate on the Humble Address has already signalled the difference between the two sides of this House. On our side, we have a Labour party that is a Government in waiting, with plans to cut the cost of living, improve education once and for all, and get Britain building again. On the other side, we have a Government who have simply run out of ideas. They have nothing new to offer to the people of Sunderland or to the country. My constituents expected the Government to finally understand the damage they have caused up and down the country—the damage they have done to our communities because of a lack of investment, to education through lack of care, and to household budgets as the country still reels from the disastrous mini-Budget of the previous Prime Minister.

    It is clear that the Government do not understand that. This was an opportunity for them to admit that they had got it wrong and let the country down, but they did not. There was a total absence of a plan in the King’s Speech. There was an absence of ideas and an absence of care—for the electorate, for the economy, and for the people of Sunderland. The city I represent is a thriving place, thanks to the work of local people and the city council. It has incredible new investment plans to regenerate the city, and it is full of people who work hard to provide for their families. But if we look at the situation that Sunderland is in thanks to this Government, we see that the total school block allocation since 2015 and funding for the local council since 2010 are down, and child poverty and central Government taxes are up. What do people get in return for the highest tax burden in 70 years? They get crumbling schools, rampant inflation and a Prime Minister who prefers to take a helicopter around the country to travelling on public transport.

    I agree with the Prime Minister that the public transport system is woeful and creaking at the seams, but it is his party and his Government who broke it. While the King’s Speech rekindles the idea of Network North, I am not sure how far north that goes, and whether it extends to Sunderland, which I represent. We know that the Government do not care about northern transport. They decided to cancel HS2 and then announce plans that included projects that had been completed, mainly in the south, with a flip-flop on the Leamside line—it was in, then two hours later it was out—although that project would have made a real economic difference to the north-east region. There was a total misunderstanding of the transport system, and we saw the Government’s real agenda.

    Today, we have seen the introduction of long-trailed legislation such as the Media Bill. I engaged in pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Media Bill as a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. Reform of the media landscape in this country is long overdue. The importance and prominence of public service broadcasters like the BBC, ITV and Channel 4—institutions that produce great British content and vital skills training for our next generation—must be protected, and I am glad that legislation has been introduced that brings us closer to where we need to be.

    Finally, I welcome the announcement of a football regulator, which is a matter of concern to people in Sunderland and around the country. Sunderland is a great footballing city that has produced inspirational stars such as Jill Scott and great programmes such as “Sunderland ’Til I Die”, which is based on our love of football and produced by the incredible Fulwell 73. The fanbase and the city care about sustaining the game for future generations and ensuring that the financial playing field is legitimate and fair. The Government have had ample time to formulate a new system since the publication of the very, very good Crouch review, and I am worried that there have been many delays. I am glad that the proposals have been introduced, and I can assure football fans that if there are any more delays and the Government fail to bring in a football regulator, a future Labour Government will act and introduce one.

    I also welcome leasehold reform. It is quite clear that the Government’s plans do not go far enough to fully protect homeowners, but I am pleased that they have taken action. After the Conservative mortgage rate hike and a total failure to build new homes, the Government are no longer on the side of homeowners, but the Labour party is.

    Although I welcome some measures in the King’s Speech, I am extremely concerned about the fact that the Government have brought back the Economic Activities of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, which is designed to put undue controls on public bodies and limit their ability to express their beliefs. This is a time when language and actions matter—we have heard a lot about the horror that is unfolding in the middle east; about the horror inflicted on Israeli citizens by Hamas; and about the tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians who have died in the horror unfolding in Gaza—and there has never been a more sensitive time in the middle east, so to introduce the Bill at this moment shows a lack of sensitivity by the Government. It is adding fuel to the fire, and it is not sensible to introduce it at this time.

    The absence of measures to ban conversion therapy is extremely alarming, and is a sign of the Prime Minister’s inability to stand up to his Back Benchers—a weak Prime Minister at a time when we need the very opposite. What is clear today, and what has become increasingly clear over the past few years, is that the Conservative party is out of ideas. They do not know how to solve the problems that they have caused, and they are making the public pay for their mistakes. The King’s Speech was an opportunity to introduce legislation to improve the lives of ordinary people, to do something to bring down the cost of living, and finally to act to increase the hope, aspiration and life chances of our young people. Yet again, the Government have failed to do so.

    Today’s speech by His Majesty has raised many questions about the Government’s priorities, but it has answered three questions definitively. Can people really say they are better off after 13 years of Conservative Government than they were in 2010? No. Does the King’s Speech give them any hope whatsoever that the Government know what they are doing to the lives of working people up and down this country? No. Does this country need a general election to kick out the Conservatives? An emphatic yes. Labour has a plan to fix the economy; the Conservatives are happy to let the economy flounder. The people of my constituency of Sunderland Central and the people of this country deserve so much more.

  • Julie Elliott – 2023 Speech on Sport in Schools and Communities

    Julie Elliott – 2023 Speech on Sport in Schools and Communities

    The speech made by Julie Elliott, the Labour MP for Sunderland Central, in the House of Commons on 10 January 2023.

    It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch). I entirely agree with what she said about the problem of how many of the things covered by DCMS, as I know from sitting on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, also fall under other Departments and they therefore do not get the action they sometimes need. That is a problem for DCMS that the Government need to look at across the piece.

    I am very pleased to be able to take part in today’s debate about the importance of access to sport in schools, and the importance of sport not just in already established communities, but in creating new communities. I am a big believer in the power of sport to bring people together, and also in the health benefits of regular exercise, both mental and physical. It is so important that children have access to sport in school—to a range of sport—and that that access is equitable and fair, whether for children who want to go on to compete at the highest level, to do such things in their spare time for fun or to do so as part of their school curriculum.

    For a start, getting involved in sport and playing sport has incredible health benefits. That does not mean people going out and setting records; it means people going out on their own or with friends to keep fit. These regular sessions are so important in keeping people healthy. Whether it is the Saturday park run with family, Sunday netball or Monday night football, having such an opportunity and getting people out with friends or with clubs is so important.

    Access to sports is also really positive not just in engaging local communities, but in creating them. It is such a good way for people to connect with others who have similar interests, in a supportive environment and where people can learn from each other, make friends and get to know others in their local community. They might have been dragged there by a friend who did not want to go on their own, or perhaps they were inspired by someone they saw doing sport on TV.

    That brings me to my next point. As has been mentioned by a number of speakers, the Lionesses had an incredible win this summer, bringing football home. The feeling the country got from such a victory was not that it was a remarkable miracle, but that it was the result of the hard work of many people over years and years. It is the result of incredible leaders in the game such as Baroness Sue Campbell at the FA, Barbara Slater at the BBC and Alex Scott on TV. It is also the result of volunteer coaches up and down the country going out at weekends to give girls the chance to play, and having to fight for pitch space, resources and attention. We must not forget the huge commitment and sacrifices that family members make in supporting our young people. This was shown most recently so clearly by Sunderland’s own Jill Scott, who said in a recent visit back to her youth side of Boldon girls, near Sunderland, that she does not think she would actually have gone on to play for England without the support of her coach. It is people such as her coach, Paul—we must pay tribute to them—who do so much work to give opportunities to young people outside the school setting.

    That brings me to two further points. First, so many leisure centres and sporting facilities that such teams rely on are under threat from rising energy costs, as many people have mentioned, and there are so many at risk of shutting. I would be interested to know what more the Government are going to do to support this vital sector. Secondly, there is still massive inequality in access to sports for boys and girls. According to the FA, only 67% of schools offer football equally to boys and girls, which is just up from the 63% when the letter was published in the summer, but this drops to around 41% in secondary school. I have to say that things have improved massively since I was at secondary school in the 1970s, when girls were not allowed to play football and when the sports we played depended on the likes and dislikes of the sports teacher. Things have improved, but not enough. How are we supposed to inspire the next generation of Lionesses if our girls simply do not have access to the same opportunities as boys? There is so much lost potential.

    After their win in the Euros final, the Lionesses wrote to the current Prime Minister and the previous Prime Minister, saying that

    “we see this as only the beginning…We want every young girl in the nation to be able to play football at school…This is something that we all experienced growing up. We were often stopped from playing. So we made our own teams, we travelled across the country and despite the odds, we just kept playing football.”

    They said they wanted their legacy to inspire a nation, and they have inspired a nation, but this is a big opportunity to make a huge difference. I want to echo their calls for change. I want to ask the Government what they are doing to heed these calls and properly invest in girls’ sport to level the playing field not just in football, but in all sports. It is what the Lionesses deserve, and it is what our young girls deserve.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Government has not yet implemented its policy to increase the Pension Protection Fund compensation cap for service over 20 years; and when he plans to implement that policy.

    Justin Tomlinson

    I refer the hon.Member to the answer I gave on 1 February 2016 to 24981

    “

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to increase the number of disabled people participating in sport.

    Tracey Crouch

    Government is committed to increasing opportunities for disabled people to get involved in sport and physical activity. Our sport strategy, ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’, places a much greater emphasis than before on encouraging under-represented groups, including disabled people, to take part in sport and physical activity.

    Sport England’s new strategy,Towards an Active Nation, which was published in May, sets out how it intends to deliver against the government’s sport strategy. It will continue to support people who already play sport but it also has a specific focus on those groups who are less likely to take part in sport and physical activity, including disabled people.

    Between 2011 and 2017, Sport England is investing over £170 million to get more disabled people playing sport.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to prevent scam and nuisance calls exploiting unknowing consumers.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government takes all types of fraud, including those operating through telephones, extremely seriously.

    The Government is taking forward a range of measures to tackle nuisance calls, which will increase consumer protection and choice by strengthening the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) ability to take enforcement action against organisations that break the law.

    Specific actions include; lowering the threshold under the the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation 2003 (PECR) to make it easier for the ICO to take action against organisations that break the law, resulting in £3,420,000 worth of fines issued; and we recently made an amendment to PECR, requiring direct marketing companies registered in the UK, to display Calling Line Identification.

    The Department is also working closely with Home Office who recently launched a new joint fraud taskforce to tackle the issue of scams. Further information about the taskforce is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-secretary-launches-new-joint-fraud-taskforce

    “

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he plans to take to consult representatives of the higher education sector as part of his Department’s preparations for the negotiations on the UK exiting the EU.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Department for Exiting the EU has engaged with a number of higher education institutions and groups including Universities UK. Over the next few months the department will continue to engage with key stakeholders in business and civil society, including universities, through a series of roundtables, bi-laterals and visits across the UK.

    We have been clear that we want to create an environment in which the UK as a whole can continue to be a world leader in research, science and the tertiary education sector more broadly.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require private landlords to fit safety devices on blinds to ensure children’s safety.

    Brandon Lewis

    Government has already taken steps to protect children, having worked with various sector bodies and lobby groups to revise the European standard EN 13120 (performance and safety requirements for internal blinds). This means all blinds placed on the market, since February 2014, have to display warning labels on the product, as well as on the packaging, and include safety devices to ensure blind cords are kept out of the reach of young children. It also imposes a maximum cord and chain length where there is a likely hood of young children (0-42 months) being present, which includes residential properties and public places like hotels, hospitals, schools, shops, places of worship and nurseries.

    Local authorities also have powers, under the Housing Act 2004, to inspect properties and where hazards are identified require the landlord to rectify them.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answers of 16 February 2016 to Question 26010 and 11 April 2016 to Question 32109, when he now plans to establish a reading room for hon. Members to access Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership documents.

    Anna Soubry

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Julie Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julie Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent steps she has taken to increase the UK’s energy self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imported fuel sources; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The UK boasts a diverse range of energy sources including oil and gas, nuclear, a number of different renewable technologies and coal. These are home grown sources and it is our policy to add new nuclear and shale gas to the existing mix.

    The recently established Oil & Gas Authority is working to maximize the economic recovery of UK conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources. In addition, the UK has six refineries which supply fuel into the domestic market and DECC is working closely with the industry to remove market distortions and ensure relevant regulations are fit for purpose, so they can continue to be competitive.

    Furthermore, we are seeking to increase our domestic electricity generating capacity by working with three developers taking forward proposals to build six new nuclear power plants in the UK, including the recent commitment by EDF and CGN to take forward the Hinkley Point C Project. Renewables are also increasing our domestic generating capacity having provided nearly one fifth of the UK’s electricity needs in 2014 and we are on track to reach our target of 30% by 2020.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answers of 16 February 2016 to Question 26010 and 11 April 2016 to Question 32109, when he plans to establish a reading room for hon. Members to access Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership documents.

    Anna Soubry

    The next round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will take place in July. The UK reading room will be open in time to access documents related to this round.