It was another busy week that saw more of our manifesto pledges come closer to becoming law.
On Monday the Education Secretary gave a statement to the House of Commons, announcing the biggest overhaul of the children’s social care system in a generation. The largest private providers of care will no longer be allowed to profiteer from children needing care, and there will be better safeguards and quality standards for childrens’ homes. Under the Tories, venture capitalists took advantage of a system that was neglected by Government, but we are taking decisive action to protect children and taxpayers’ money.
Our plans will reduce the financial burden on local authorities while improving the day-to-day care for children. Alongside this, we will be strengthening foster and kinship care, to avoid residential placements for most children.
Monday also saw an update from the Transport Secretary on the Government’s plans for better bus services. Greater Manchester is the first area to bring buses under local control in almost 40 years, and we are leading the way in creating an integrated, affordable and accessible public transport and active travel network that will provide a blueprint for other regions across the country.
Another watershed moment for our public transport came on Tuesday when the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill returned to the House of Commons for final votes. This will end the £100 million annual cost to taxpayers currently paid to private operators, improving efficiency and leading to the creation of Great British Railways, unifying track and train under one publicly-owned company.
On Tuesday, the Foreign Secretary made a statement on the war in Ukraine, marking 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion. The bloodshed and horror since the war began has dismayed us all and my thoughts are with the Ukrainian people. I am proud that this Government has not wavered in its support for Ukraine and I also welcome putting more pressure on Russia through sanctions. Just this week, the Foreign Secretary imposed further sanctions due to Iran’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia, as well as announcing action against those who have forcibly deported Ukrainian children.
An Urgent Question on police reform was tabled on Wednesday and the Minister for Policing, Diana Johnson, highlighted the courage, skill, and dedication with which the police carry out their duties, but noted that both officers and local communities have been let down over the last decade as law enforcement has struggled to keep up with fast-changing crimes. We pledged in our manifesto to make our streets safer by reducing violent crime and rebuilding confidence in our policing and justice system. To deliver on this, the Home Office has announced a programme of police reform which will restore police patrols in town centres under the neighbourhood policing guarantee, drive up performance and standards, introduce a new performance unit and improve crucial support services such as IT, aviation and forensics. We will also deliver 13,00 more police officers, PCSOs and specials in our communities. I know this will be welcomed by constituents.
The Minister for Border Security and Asylum addressed a second Urgent Question that day on the use of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers. In her statement, the Minister noted that this Government has inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain due to Tory incompetence, where the large backlog has left thousands of people waiting for their asylum claims to be processed.
I am pleased that the Home Secretary has already taken steps to restart asylum processing and that this Government remains committed to ending the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers. I believe that asylum seekers must be treated with dignity and housed in safe, secure and suitable accommodation while their asylum claim is being considered but hotels are not the best solution for communities or for the individuals placed in them. I am confident however that by increasing resources to the Home Office to process asylum claims, remove those who are not entitled to live here, and tackle the traffickers and criminal gangs will lead to reduced, and safer immigration for those who genuinely need sanctuary.
On Thursday, the Prime Minister updated MPs about the G20 summit and the COP29 international climate conference. He set out the importance of Britain regaining her voice on the global stage so that we can strengthen our national security, boost economic growth and prosperity, and tackle climate change.
I am proud that the Prime Minister used the COP29 summit to announce the UK’s new target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% on 1990 levels by 2035. I welcome his call for other countries to match that ambition and I agree with the investment case he set out for the transformation that we are leading here in the UK. In addition, I also welcome the new global clean power alliance to speed up the international roll-out of clean power, accelerate investment and cut emissions, which the Prime Minister launched at the G20.
Friday was a stressful day for me personally as I was moving house, but I was delighted to get to the Urmston Christmas Lights switch-on and watch the fabulous Flixton Community Band. This was the first of many Christmas community events I plan to attend over the next few weeks. Let me know what’s happening in your neighbourhood.