UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Mary Glindon

  • Mary Glindon – 2024 Speech on Planning, the Green Belt and Rural Affairs

    Mary Glindon – 2024 Speech on Planning, the Green Belt and Rural Affairs

    The speech made by Mary Glindon, the Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend, on 19 July 2024.

    It is a great honour to be in the Chamber to hear so many wonderful maiden speeches, especially those of my north-east colleagues. They have made me very proud today, and I think they are going to be fantastic representatives of all their constituents.

    This is my fifth election to Westminster, but my constituency has changed, with only four wards from my former North Tyneside constituency and six wards added from the former Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency. I thank the people of my former constituency for giving me the honour of serving them for the past 14 years, and I thank the people of the new constituency for placing their trust in me at the general election. I will work hard to honour that trust.

    Voters in the former Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency were fortunate to be represented for 41 years by the right hon. Nick Brown, who commanded great respect in this House. Constituents hold him in high regard for all his work and achievements, both in the constituency and as a Minister in the last Labour Government. He has earned his well-deserved retirement, but personally I am grateful to Nick for all his help and friendship.

    Across my new constituency, people face the same challenges—the cost of living crisis, a shortage of good social housing, hikes in mortgages and diminished public services—and they have all taken a toll on people’s everyday lives. My constituency is crying out for this Labour Government’s shared mission of renewal. I share the view of our new North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, in fully supporting the English devolution Bill. Kim believes that her office will be the delivery arm of the Labour mission in the north-east, and she is keen to start that work at pace. Although I know it will not be easy, I have great hope that the announcements made in the King’s Speech will start to turn the tide and make life better for everyone in this country.

    I was a North Tyneside ward councillor for 15 years before I entered the House, so I have a self-confessed bias for North Tyneside council. The council’s planning committee has not voted against offers or recommendations on any medium or large house building site for over a decade. It has an up-to-date local plan and ambitious housing targets of its own, yet it still has sites stuck in the planning system. Although National Highways agreed in the local plan that strategic sites should proceed and be accommodated in road infrastructure, when it came to planning applications being submitted, National Highways placed a holding objection on the sites, leading to 5,000 new homes being stuck in the system. Alongside dealing with other planning reform issues, I ask Ministers to look at the impact of statutory consultees on delays in the planning system, to help authorities such as North Tyneside.

    The Health Equals campaign coalition, which is made up of 27 organisations, has launched its visually though-provoking campaign, “Make Health Equal”, to highlight the fact that levels of poverty and deprivation lead to people in parts of my constituency and other such areas living 16 years less than people in more affluent parts of the country. The coalition acknowledges that the King’s Speech will start to repair some of the building blocks of health, such as decent and secure housing, good work opportunities and clean transport. It looks to the Government to assess the impact of the King’s Speech on health inequalities, and, in the spirit of unity, to work with such groups to deliver the mission in my constituency and across the country.

    I also make a plea on behalf of the offshore energy industries. Although the Great British Energy Bill is welcome, we must not lose sight of the fact that oil and gas play a massive part in our economy, and will continue to do so. On the tobacco and vapes Bill, I hope that the Government will, unlike the previous Government, take into account the views of the industry.

    I look forward to supporting the King’s Speech in the voting Lobby, along with my 411 colleagues and, hopefully, Members of the Opposition. In so doing, we will vote for an agenda fixed on making the lives of everyone in this country far better.

  • Mary Glindon – 2023 Speech on the Budget

    Mary Glindon – 2023 Speech on the Budget

    The speech made by Mary Glindon, the Labour MP for North Tyneside, in the House of Commons on 20 March 2023.

    I am sorry that I cannot be as enthusiastic about the Budget as the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Brendan Clarke-Smith), but it is good to see somebody so upbeat about something.

    Personally, I am very disappointed with the Budget. I had expected more from a Chancellor who had been a Secretary of State for Health, and subsequently Chair of its scrutiny Committee, with responsibility for one of our biggest and most treasured public institutions—the NHS. There was nothing in this Budget to address the staff crisis in the health service, and no mention of the long-awaited workforce plan. While the controversial decision to remove the lifetime pension allowance may or may not encourage senior doctors to put off retirement, there was no confirmation of a pay award for the health workers, or the thousands of other skilled and hard-working public sector workers across the board, who have had no option but to take strike action after 13 years of pay cuts and a fall in real wages. The OBR confirms they will fall again this year. Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, in commenting on the Budget, was right to say:

    “The Chancellor spoke about a high-wage and high-skills economy but did nothing to deliver it. The UK is still in the longest pay squeeze for more than 200 years. And our public services are still run-down and understaffed.”

    Childcare is important to the Budget and the economy, not just in North Tyneside but across the country. It is a massive issue for parents in North Tyneside and for nursery providers, and we know it will be a priority for an incoming Labour Government. The Chancellor’s increase in funding for childcare is welcome, but the two-year phasing in programme does nothing to solve the immediate need. Where does that leave families struggling to find and fund adequate childcare now? How does it help the childcare providers struggling to pay ever-increasing overheads and meet salaries for existing staff, when the increase in Government funding for free childcare places still falls far short of the hourly rate of pay for those staff? That is not to mention the problems attracting new recruits to the profession; the salary hardly seems appropriate for years of training and the prospect of working long hours when people can earn more money working in unskilled jobs.

    Save the Children says that we also need a strategy for investing in skills development for childcare workers. High-quality childcare must be about enabling every child to have the best start in life. That does not seem to be a priority for the Government. Reducing the ratio of adults to children, for example, just sends out the wrong signal.

    Our seven local authorities, including North Tyneside, have welcomed the north-east devolution deal, which will bring £4.2 billion of investment into our region over 30 years and see additional powers transferred from Whitehall to local people. However, the Chancellor did not mention the all-important trailblazer status that was agreed with the Secretary of State at the signing of the north-east authority agreement.

    North Tyneside itself was short-changed in the Chancellor’s Budget. The council will get £500,000 in pothole funding, but that is only £1 of every £8 the Government have cut from the pothole budget since 2021. North Tyneside will not receive any of the regeneration funding that has been announced and will still have to bid as a lower-priority area in the next round of the levelling-up fund. While I congratulate South Tyneside Council on its new levelling-up partnership funding, I am concerned—and, I confess, a little jealous—that there is no such funding for North Tyneside.

    I continue to be worried about the future of small businesses in North Tyneside. The Federation of Small Businesses says that the Chancellor missed the chance to bring in measures that could have jump-started a new era of growth and productivity. For years, small business have been the backbone of the economy. The Chancellor would do well to listen to the FSB.

    With the cost of living crisis still bearing down on households in North Tyneside and across the UK, the Chancellor provided little comfort other than extending the energy price guarantee for a further three months and a few more crumbs from the table. For my constituents and people across the country, times have always been hard under the Tories, and that will continue while they remain in power. It is time for Labour to take the reins.

  • Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many child maintenance cases used Family Based Arrangements since 2010; and what proportion in each scheme has (a) resulted in regular maintenance and (b) broken down, resulting in the use of the collection service, in each year since 2010.

    Priti Patel

    Family Based Arrangements sit outside of the Child Maintenance Service as these are child maintenance arrangements which parents have agreed

    between themselves.

    Information on how many child maintenance cases used Family Based Arrangements since 2010 is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy that employees in (a) his Department, (b) National Offender Management Service and (c) all relevant contractors are paid the living wage as determined by the Living Wage Foundation.

    Mike Penning

    In line with the Government’s commitment given in the budget, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will continue to ensure staff are paid at or above the National Living Wage of £7.20 per hour which will be introduced in April 2016. The MoJ’s third party suppliers are responsible for determining the pay of their employees and from April 2016 they will be legally obliged to conform to the National Living Wage.

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans for the EU Unit to include voluntary sector representation or request input from that sector.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    The new Europe Unit will bring together officials with a wide range of policy expertise from across Government. Many interest groups have directly approached Government Ministers, and Departments will look to ensure stakeholders’ views are properly captured and considered.

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of taxation rules applied to company cars on incentivising the take-up of low and ultra-low emission vehicles.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government has recently consulted on proposals to limit the range of benefits in kind, such as company cars, that attract income tax and National Insurance Contributions advantages when they are provided as part of salary sacrifice arrangements. Responses have been received from a wide range of interested parties and the Government’s response will be published in due course.

    The Government is committed to encouraging company car drivers to take-up the driving of ultra-low emissions vehicles. A separate consultation published on 10 August sets out proposals to incentivise the take up of low and ultra-low emissions company cars.

  • Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints relating to the implementation of charging for the 2012 statutory maintenance scheme have been received by (a) the Child Maintenance Service and (b) Child Maintenance Options.

    Priti Patel

    (a) The information requested is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    (b) Child Maintenance Options (CM Options) is a free service that provides impartial information and support to help separated parents make decisions about their child maintenance arrangements. They are also the gateway to the statutory Child Maintenance Service, ensuring parents who wish to access the 2012 Scheme are making a fully informed decision and have considered making their own arrangements first.

    CM Options will provide information on the charging associated with applications made to the 2012 scheme, but any dissatisfaction in relation to collections charges is directed to the Child Maintenance Service to respond.

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost of enabling works required at receiving courts for them to take on additional work arising from planned court closures under his Department’s proposals on the provision of courts services in England and Wales.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    An assessment of the cost of enabling works is being made and will be included in the impact assessment published with the response to the consultation.

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which UK drug and alcohol treatment is dependent on EU funding streams; whether such streams will remain open until such time as Article 50 is enacted; and what measures his Department plans to put in place to maintain the level of that funding from the public purse after Article 50 is enacted.

    Jane Ellison

    Drug and alcohol treatment services in England are funded by local authorities from the public health grant, which does not include European Union funding streams. Individual drug and alcohol treatment services may have applied for and received EU funding, however this data is not collected centrally.

    As the Prime Minister has made clear, while the United Kingdom remains a member of the EU, current EU funding arrangements continue unchanged. It will be for the Government under the new Prime Minister to begin the negotiation to leave, and set out arrangements for those schemes currently in receipt of EU funds.

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on basic rate taxpayers who drive low and ultra-low emission company cars of proposals contained in the HM Revenue and Customs’ consultation on salary sacrifice for the provision of benefits in kind.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government has recently consulted on proposals to limit the range of benefits in kind, such as company cars, that attract income tax and National Insurance Contributions advantages when they are provided as part of salary sacrifice arrangements. Responses have been received from a wide range of interested parties and the Government’s response will be published in due course.

    The Government is committed to encouraging company car drivers to take-up the driving of ultra-low emissions vehicles. A separate consultation published on 10 August sets out proposals to incentivise the take up of low and ultra-low emissions company cars.