Speaking in response to the report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate
of Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Inspectorate on the failures in
dealing with victims of stalking, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, Diane
Abbott, said:

“This report is deeply troubling. It highlights a series of
failings to tackle stalking, which can have serious or even fatal consequences.

“Government has cut the police by over 20,000. It tries to hide
behind the claim that crime is falling. But many serious crimes are rising,
including crimes of violence.

“Cuts have consequences. Police forces are over-stretched and this
leads to pressure to downgrade crimes, or not fully investigate them, as the
report highlights. The government should stop cutting core police budgets and
give forces the resources they need. Labour has pledged to restore 10,000
police officers when in government.”

Ends

5 July 2017

*Lucas tables cross-party Early Day Motion [1] calling for a Parliamentary vote on any new trade deals

Caroline Lucas MP, Green Party co-leader, is calling on the Government to seek full Parliamentary approval before signing trade deals with the USA, India and others.

Lucas, who sat on the Trade Committee of the European Parliament when she was an MEP, is demanding that Ministers bring any new trade deals to the House of Commons – and submit them to full debates and a vote. Current rules do not give Parliament the power to properly scrutinise trade deals, and Lucas wants a commitment from the Government ahead of likely negotiations with other countries as Britain prepares to leave the European Union.

In an Early Day Motion tabled today Lucas demands the ‘right of parliament to amend and to reject trade deals.’

Caroline Lucas said:

“Britain is about to go through a period of monumental change – not least when it comes to our trade deals. We know the risks associated with bad deals – a race to the bottom on regulations, companies suing democratically elected governments and the outsourcing of jobs. These risks are heightened if such deals are rushed through without any proper scrutiny.

“The Government must give Parliament proper oversight of any new deals – whether that’s the touted deal with Trump or any new deal with Europe. At present deals are snuck through without a proper debate or yes/no vote – it’s time for an urgent democratic upgrade.”

Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now, said:

“If the UK wants to have full control of its trade policy, it needs to develop democratic mechanisms to accompany it. The alternative, will not be taking back power, as was promised by Brexiteers, but losing power to a Trade Secretary who believes the rule of the market is the answer to every problem

“Modern trade agreements are increasingly not about tariffs but about making sure laws and regulations don’t obstruct the free flow of capital. Such ‘obstructions’ are likely to include public services like the NHS, labour rights, consumer standards and environmental protection. So it’s crucial that there is proper parliamentary oversight of these deals or we run the risk of free-market fundamentalists like Liam Fox junking vast swathes of the UK’s important legal protections without anyone being able to do anything about it.

“The fact that Fox is already starting up ‘unofficial’ trade talks with the US without any sort of parliamentary oversight should ring all sorts of alarm bells. Trump is unequivocal that he will only make trade deals that put the USA first, while May is desperate to ink anything to show that the UK has a trading future outside the European single market. That power imbalance means May is likely to concede all manner of ground to Trump for the sake of trying to shore up her own political credibility – and those concessions will carry a heavy price for British citizens.” 

Notes:

1. EDM 128: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2017-19/128

Parliamentary scrutiny of trade deals

That this House is concerned about the lack of parliamentary scrutiny and accountability of trade deals to which the UK is a party and calls on the government to ensure the right of parliament to set a thorough mandate to govern each trade negotiation, with a remit for the devolved administrations; the right of the public to be consulted as part of setting that mandate; a presumption of full transparency in negotiations; the right of parliament to amend and to reject trade deals, with full debates and scrutiny guaranteed and a remit for the devolved administrations and the right of parliament to review trade deals and withdraw from them in a timely manner.

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Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Government, Andrew Gwynne MP, commenting on the decision to bring in an external taskforce to
oversee key services from Kensington and Chelsea Council, said: 

“Despite being a clear admission
of failure, this is a half measure that does not go far enough to address the
woefully inadequate performance of Kensington and Chelsea council throughout
this crisis.

“It
is clear that the community has lost trust in their council. Sajid Javid needs
to finally show some leadership by bringing in external commissioners – in
consultation with residents themselves – to  make sure everyone in the
borough is getting the support they need.“

5 Jul 2017

Scotland’s economy returned to growth in the last quarter, meaning technical recession has been avoided north of the border.

The Scottish Conservatives welcomed the 0.8 per cent increase in growth, but warned there was more for the SNP to do to ensure sustained improvement.

In the previous quarter the economy shrank, meaning a repeat performance this time around would have plunged Scotland into recession for the first time since the global downturn.

Instead, a marked improvement in production of 3.1 per cent helped move the figures in the right direction, although on an annual basis Scotland still lags behind the rest of the UK.

Scottish Conservative shadow economy secretary Dean Lockhart said:

“The return to growth in the Scottish economy after declining in the last quarter of 2016 is a positive change in direction.

“However, the SNP cannot escape the fact it dragged Scotland halfway to recession.

“Scotland continues to under-perform the UK economy on an annual basis at this vital time for growth.

“Compared to the same period last year, the Scottish economy grew by 0.7 per cent compared to two per cent for the UK economy as a whole.

“There are more than enough levers for ministers here to ensure growth north of the border remains sustained, and we’re not brought to the brink of recession again.

“For example, Scotland is the highest-taxed part of the UK, and in the long-term that is going to continue to damage growth and job creation.”

For more on the figures, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40498752

Yesterday, the Scottish Conservatives set out five things the SNP could do to boost growth: http://www.scottishconservatives.com/2017/07/5-measures-snp-must-adopt-as-scotland-stands-on-brink-of-recession/

John Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State
for Housing, commenting on the expiry of the Prime Minister’s
pledge to rehouse those who lost their homes as a result of the Grenfell Tower
fire, said:

“Theresa May promised those who lost their homes as
a result of the Grenfell Tower fire that they would be rehoused within three
weeks, but today it’s clear that this promise has not been met. 

“Support for survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire
is still not good enough. At every stage Ministers have been off the pace – too
slow to grasp the scale of the problems people are facing and too slow to act.

“For the Grenfell Tower survivors and for the local
community in North Kensington, underlying everything is the question of trust.
Ministers must now show that they mean what they say, do what they promise and
act urgently to give those affected by this tragic fire the support they need.”

Ends

Notes

Three days after the devastating fire at Grenfell
Tower, on 17 June, the Prime Minister said: “I
have fixed a deadline of three weeks for everybody affected to be found a home
nearby.” https://www.gov.uk/government/news/grenfell-tower-statement-from-the-prime-minister-17-june-2017.

However, figures from the Grenfell Fire Response
Team, confirmed by Labour this morning are that of 158 households potentially
eligible for rehousing, only 139 offers of temporary accommodation have been
made, and of these only 14 have been accepted.