Thursday Volume 695 13 May 2021 No. 3 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 13 May 2021 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2021 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 259 13 MAY 2021 Business of the House 260 calm. We ask them to do all they can to halt the House of Commons terrifying attacks and loss of life and to work with allies to help restore a peace process. Thursday 13 May 2021 My predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Walsall South (Valerie Vaz), has a remarkable work ethic, championing colleagues and staff in this place The House met at half-past Nine o’clock and showing calmness in a crisis, and I thank her. She is a hard act to follow. PRAYERS I was also pleased to see in recent elections the high regard that the people of North East Somerset—the Leader of the House’sconstituents—have for their previous [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] MP, his predecessor. They voted in large numbers for Virtual participation in proceedings commenced (Orders, Labour’s Dan Norris as our metro mayor. Will the 4 June and 30 December 2020). Leader of the House join me in congratulating Dan on [NB: [V] denotes a Member participating virtually.] his successful election as the Mayor of the West of England? Will he support Dan’s call for a better deal for Business of the House his own constituents from this Government? I know that the Leader of the House prizes democracy, Mr Speaker: I welcome Thangam Debbonaire to the one of this country’s greatest exports, so will he agree Front Bench as shadow Leader of the House. that it does not deserve the treatment it was given in the 9.33 am Queen’s Speech? The Government propose to restrict the right to vote by requiring photo identification, yet a Thangam Debbonaire (Bristol West) (Lab): Will the mere 0.000002%—I thank my hon. Friend the Member Leader of the House please give us the forthcoming for Ogmore (Chris Elmore) for that figure—of the votes business? cast in 2019 were found to be fraudulent. The reason given for this attack on democracy is one conviction, The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Jacob Rees- out of more than 47 million votes. Ministers have said Mogg): The business of the House will include: that as we have to ID to pick up a package, we should MONDAY 17 MAY—Continuation of the debate on the need it for voting, but 3.5 million people do not have Queen’s Speech on safe streets for all. photo ID. In any case, these Ministers are clearly not TUESDAY 18 MAY—Continuation of the debate on the picking up their own parcels, as they would know that Queen’s Speech on affordable and safe housing for all. many forms of ID without photos are accepted. Will WEDNESDAY 19 MAY—Conclusion of the debate on the Leader of the House please explain to his own the Queen’s Speech on a rescue plan for the NHS and constituents why they cannot vote by giving their name social care. to a clerk and being counted by a teller, when that is THURSDAY 20 MAY—General debate on the restoration how their own MP votes in this place—in normal times, and renewal of the Palace of Westminster. at least? Will he join me in saluting the respect the British public have for democracy and reconsider the FRIDAY 21 MAY—The House will not be sitting. Government’s reckless, expensive and anti-democratic The provisional business for the week commencing decision? 24 May will include: The Queen’s Speech was astonishing for the lack of MONDAY 24 MAY—Remaining stages of the Finance Bill. understanding of the problems that we had before the pandemic—problems made worse by it—and for the TUESDAY25MAY—RemainingstagesoftheTelecommunications lack of ambition to tackle them. We need urgency and (Security) Bill. boldness to create those decent, secure jobs, to halt WEDNESDAY 26 MAY—Conclusion of remaining stages climate change, to build truly affordable homes and to of the Environment Bill (day 2). boost productivity. THURSDAY 27 MAY—General debate on dementia action We also need to know what has happened to the week, followed by general debate on implementing the Prime Minister’s much-hyped plan to fix social care. 2020 obesity strategy. After a truly terrible year in which the need for this plan Both debates were previously recommended by the could not have been any clearer, there is barely a whisper Backbench Business Committee. of it in the Queen’s Speech—a paltry nine words. Hon. and right hon. Members will also wish to be Meanwhile, there have been £8 billion of cuts from reminded that the House will rise for the Whitsun recess social care budgets by successive Tory Governments at the conclusion of business on Thursday 27 May and since 2010, and we have a welfare state for the 2020s return on Monday 7 June. built on the life expectancy of the 1940s. It is 659 days since the Prime Minister promised us a plan, but, nearly Thangam Debbonaire: I thank the Leader of the 10 years after the Dilnot commission published its House for that, and, in this role, I look forward to recommendations, which could be that plan, older people working with him and with you, Mr Speaker, especially who made this country what it is have had to spend on making this world heritage site the most accessible it their own hard-earned money on a care system that is can be, and in particular autism-accessible in tribute to urgently in need of such a plan. Will the Leader of the our late colleague, Cheryl Gillan. House ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social The news and images from the middle east this morning Care to come to this House and explain this dereliction are truly horrifying. We join the Government in urging of duty? 261 Business of the House13 MAY 2021 Business of the House 262 [Thangam Debbonaire] most senior scapegoat of Hartlepool seems to be the right hon. Lady, which seems a little bit harsh. She is The Government fail to appreciate the strength of the Admiral Byng memorial former shadow Leader of feeling across Parliament and the country about the the House of Commons. cladding and fire safety crisis, exposed so tragically and I turn to the important questions that the hon. Member cruelly by the Grenfell Tower fire. Members of all parties for Bristol West (Thangam Debbonaire) asked. Absolutely, know the struggles of their own constituents. They have trying to restore a peace process is important, and the repeatedly tried to get the Government to stick to their Government have called on both sides to show restraint; promise—oft made—that residents would not be made that is of fundamental sense. We hope that peace will be to pay for dangers they did not cause, so will the Leader re-established, and we are working with our allies. of the House ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Of course I congratulate Dan Norris on being elected Communities and Local Government to lift the burdens as the Mayor of WECA—the West of England Combined from residents in buildings both above and below 18 metres Authority—much though I do not think WECA should and place those burdens firmly on the industry that exist, because I think it is a means of taking money out caused them? Will the Leader of the House urge him of North East Somerset and giving it to Bristol, which also not to wait until the Building Safety Bill, but to act is not something I have ever been much in favour of, but now and vote with Her Majesty’s Opposition next week I wish him well in his new role. on our building safety motion? It is important that elections are fair and proper. The Finally, the Leader of the Opposition has, of course, hon. Lady mentioned that we do not have to prove who welcomed on our behalf the Government’sannouncement we are when voting in the Division Lobby in normal of a public inquiry into covid and the Government circumstances, but she is forgetting that we are not response, but the Prime Minister needs to heed the cry allowed to wear overcoats in the Division Lobby, just in of bereaved families, who have been calling for this case we send somebody through to vote in our place. inquiry for over a year and want lessons to be learned urgently, not next year—they want them in time to Mr Speaker: Or hats. inform any further waves, which are still, sadly, a risk because of the variants. Will the Leader of the House Mr Rees-Mogg: Or, indeed, as Mr Speaker helpfully ask the Government to publish the lessons learned says, hats. Therefore, there are requirements in this review urgently and to heed the words of survivors and place to prevent personation, and surely what is good bereaved people? enough for the House of Commons to prevent personation The covid memorial wall, with its thousands of red is right. [Interruption.] Although that was a wonderful hearts facing us across the Thames, bears witness to the heckle, at the moment we are using our identity cards to loss and pain of the last year. We owe it to those people vote, so the hon.