Text of the comments made by Preet Gill, the Shadow International Development Secretary, on 16 July 2020.
This report provides yet more damning evidence that the Prime Minister’s decision to axe the Department for International Development was done on a whim.
It was taken with no consultation, no evidence and no plan, but it is not too late for him to change his mind.
Labour recognises the importance of development and is committed to supporting the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.
The text of the comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 16 July 2020.
The childhood obesity crisis means we need decisive action from Boris Johnson, not more dither and delay.
Ministers promised to tackle our growing obesity crisis but have not implemented a single measure in over two years since the second chapter of the childhood obesity report was published. Ministerial dither is putting children’s health at risk.
Given the fears over the impact of lockdown on obesity levels, it’s urgent that children’s health is now given priority and the action needed is no longer ducked by ministers.
The text of the comments made by Nigel Adams, the Minister for Asia, on 16 July 2020.
Through the conversations I have had today, it is clear that out of difficult times come opportunities, and that the UK-Vietnam relationship is set to go from strength to strength.
Whether that’s in health cooperation with our scientists collaborating to help in the global fight against the disease, work on global issues like climate change, or business links with our bilateral trade tripling from less than £2bn to nearly £6bn in the last 10 years, it is clear that our partnership is growing.
In the post-COVID-19 new normal, we have an opportunity to recover together and better. While I cannot be in Vietnam this week, I am looking forward to fostering the growing relations between our two countries and the wider region as a whole, as part of our renewed focus on partners in South East Asia.
The text of the comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 16 July 2020.
Mr Speaker, with permission, I would like to make a statement on our action against coronavirus and the decisions we’ve been taking throughout the day today to determine what we need in Leicester.
We continue our determined fight against this invisible killer.
The number of new cases yesterday was 642, lower than when lockdown began.
And according to the latest figures, the number of deaths in all settings is down to 66.
We are successfully turning the tide.
And part of this success lies in our ability to take action locally, whenever we see it flare up.
Often this is on a very small scale – swiftly and quietly – like in an individual farm or a factory.
But when needed, we also act on a broader basis, as we have done in Leicester.
And today I wanted to update the House on the situation in Leicester.
At the end of June we made the decision to close schools and non-essential retail in the city, and not to introduce the relaxations that applied elsewhere from 4 July, like the reopening of pubs.
This was not an easy decision, but it was one that we had to take.
At that point, the 7-day infection rate in Leicester was 135 cases per 100,000 people, which was 3 times higher than the next highest city.
And Leicester was accounting for 10% of all positive cases in the country.
This decision was taken with the agreement of all local leaders.
And I am grateful to the leader and officers of Leicestershire County Council, and to the officers of Leicester City Council, for their support and hard work.
Since then, we’ve doubled testing.
And through a monumental programme of communications and community engagement, we’ve been pushing our important messages.
I committed to reviewing the measures in Leicester every 2 weeks.
This morning I chaired a Gold meeting of the Local Action Committee to discuss the latest situation.
And this afternoon, I held a further meeting with local leaders, Public Health England, the JBC, the local resilience forum, and my clinical advisers.
The latest data show that the 7-day infection rate in Leicester is now 119 cases per 100,000 people, and that the percentage of people who have tested positive is now at 4.8%.
These are positive indicators, especially in light of the huge increase in testing in the local area.
But they still remain well above the national average, and the average for surrounding areas.
Thanks to the incredible efforts of people of Leicester, who have followed the lockdown, even while others have had their freedom relaxed, we are now in a position to relax some, but not all, of the restrictions that were in place.
So, from 24 July we’ll be removing the restrictions on schools and early years childcare and taking a more targeted approach to the restrictions on non-essential retail.
Replacing the national decision to close non-essential retail with a local power to close them where necessary. This is all part of our more targeted approach.
However, other restrictions, like those for travel and only having social gatherings of up to 6 people, for example, will remain in force.
And measures introduced on 4 July, like re-opening the hospitality sector, will also not yet apply.
The initial definition of the geography covered by the lockdown was a decision I delegated to Leicestershire County Council, and they made and published.
The Leader of Leicestershire County Council, Nicholas Rushton, has advised me, based on the data and the best public health advice, that he recommends these restrictions now apply only to the Oadby and Wigston area of Leicestershire, as well as the City of Leicester itself.
And I have accepted his advice.
Some say that the local lockdown is unnecessary. I wish this were true.
But sadly it remains vital for the health of everyone in Leicester, and the rest of the country, that these restrictions stay in place.
We will review them again in a fortnight.
I hope that this careful easing of restrictions will provide some comfort to people in Leicester and Leicestershire.
And I’d say this directly to the people of Leicester and Leicestershire – I’d like to pay tribute to you all.
Your perseverance and your hard work has brought real and tangible results.
And you have shown respect for one another.
I understand this hasn’t been easy.
Strong representations have been made to me by my honourable friends, the members for Charnwood, Harborough and South Leicestershire and for the members opposite who represent the city of Leicester, on behalf of constituents who have been impacted, and constituents who wanted to see the lockdown lifted too.
However, there is still a lot to do. And the public health messages remain critical.
So please get a test if you have symptoms.
Keep following the rules that are in place.
Please do not lose your resolve.
Because the sooner we get this virus under control, the sooner we can restore life in Leicester, and across the country, to normal.
Mr Speaker, this statement also gives me the opportunity to inform the House of an issue relating to testing.
We have identified some swabs that are not up to the usual high standard that we expect, and we will be carrying out further testing of this batch.
As a precautionary measure and while we investigate further, we are requesting that the use of these Randox swab test kits are paused in all settings until further notice.
This problem was brought to my attention yesterday afternoon. We contacted settings using these swabs last night, and published the pause notice immediately.
Clinical advice is that there is no evidence of any harm.
Those test results are not affected.
There is no evidence of issues with any of our other tests swabs.
And there is no impact on access to testing.
Mr Speaker, our ability to take action on this local level is the keystone of our plan to defeat coronavirus.
So we can keep this virus on the run and defeat it once and for all.
I’m grateful to you for allowing me to make this statement at this time and I commend this statement to the House.
Text of the comments made by Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, on 16 July 2020.
The Government’s failure to protect our care homes at the start of the pandemic was a national shame. I pay tribute to care staff who did everything they could but were left without tests or protective equipment.
An independent inquiry was always inevitable. But the Prime Minister must now guarantee that social care will be a key area of focus for that inquiry.
We also need action now ahead of a possible second wave this winter. We need to get to the bottom of what happened in care homes so that lessons can be learned, and lives can be saved. We cannot afford for the same mistakes to be made again.
The text of the comments made by Lisa Nandy, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, on 16 July 2020.
The reported actions of the Russian Intelligence Services are wrong and should be condemned. The Labour Party is committed to working with the government to protect the UK’s national security and safeguard our institutions from foreign interference – none more so than those leading the international effort to develop a Covid-19 vaccine.
The long-overdue Russia Report must now be made public, and the Foreign Secretary comes to the House of Commons and provide MPs with concrete steps that will be taken to protect the UK from these kinds of foreign cyber-attacks.
The text of the comments made by Tulip Siddiq, the Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, on 16 July 2020.
It was a pleasure to visit Bessborough Nursery and Pre-School and hear from parents about just how important childcare is to them, both for the development of their children and so that they can get back to work.
Nurseries are going to be crucial for our economic recovery, yet we did not hear a word from the Chancellor about childcare in his statement last week, despite a growing crisis that threatens the closure of a quarter of all providers. We’ve already lost 14,000 childcare providers in the last five years, and we simply cannot afford to lose any more.
Labour is arguing for targeted support for the childcare sector to prevent a wave of nursery closures, which would devastate working families and set back out economic recovery.
The text of the comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 16 July 2020.
Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on universities, but they continue to provide the research and skills our country needs to move past the crisis.
Today’s announcement shows that the Government is willing to let cherished institutions fail, with catastrophic consequences for local and regional economies.
Instead of using this crisis as an excuse to centralise control over universities and force through cuts to courses, the Government should pledge that no university will be allowed to go bust.
The text of the comments made by Julian Lewis on 16 July 2020, following his expulsion from the Conservative Party.
Because the ISC (Intelligence and Security Committee) is a special committee, I feel constrained in what I can say. However, the following points are relevant.
1 – The 2013 Justice and Security Act explicitly removed the right of the Prime Minister to choose the ISC chairman and gave it to the committee members. I remember this well, as I served on the committee from 2010 to 2015 and took part of the legislation through the Commons myself on behalf of the committee. There is no other Conservative MP in the House of Commons with any past experience of working on the ISC.
2 – It was only yesterday afternoon that I received a text asking me to confirm that I would be voting for the Prime Minister’s preferred candidate for the ISC chair. I did not reply as I considered it an improper request. At no earlier stage did I give any undertaking to vote for any particular candidate.
3 – In recent days, the official Number 10 spokesman explicitly denied that the Government was seeking to ‘parachute’ a preferred candidate in to the chair, stating that it was a matter for the senior parliamentarians on the committee to decide. It is therefore strange to have the whip removed for failing to vote for the Government’s preferred candidate.
Text of the comments made by Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, on 15 July 2020.
The UK’s internal market has functioned seamlessly for centuries. When we exit the transition period at the end of the year, we want to ensure the most successful political and economic union of nations in the world continues to grow and thrive.
This plan protects jobs and livelihoods. Without these necessary reforms, the way we trade goods and services between the home nations could be seriously impacted, harming the way we do business within our own borders.
Ensuring businesses will be able to continue trading freely across all four corners of the UK without the burden of inconsistent regulation or additional costs will be essential as we fire up our economic engines as we recover from coronavirus.