Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour’s
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, responding to
reports that nearly one in five apprentices are being paid less than the
minimum wage, said:

“That
there are apprentices who are paid less than minimum wage is unacceptable, that
the practice is on the rise is shocking.

“The
Government has not taken sufficient steps to enforce payment of the minimum
wage. Employment rights are only safe in Labour hands.”

Sharon Hodgson MP, Labour’s Shadow
Minister for Public Health, responding
to recent developments on the inquiry into the Contaminated Blood Scandal, said:

“The Government is running roughshod
over the affected community, who have campaigned for justice for so long.

“The community have not been
sufficiently consulted on the terms of reference of the inquiry and the
Government has left open the possibility that the Department of Health could
lead on it, despite the Department’s role in the contaminated blood scandal.

“Over recent days there has been
growing opposition from the affected community, campaigners, organisations and
MPs from across Parliament. The Department of Health should have no involvement
in the inquiry and it should be transferred to another Department.

"Ministers must now keep
their promises, place the affected community genuinely at the centre of
this inquiry, and ensure their views are taken seriously.”

Keir Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting
the European Union, commenting on the second round of Brexit talks, said:

“The lack of progress in these negotiations is deeply concerning
and does not bode well for the future. On issues such as the rights of EU
citizens in the UK and UK citizens in Europe, Labour has been calling for
action since July last year. 12 months later, after having been promised a
swift resolution of the issue, we learn today that there remain
“fundamental divergences” on this key issue. This means more waiting
and more anxiety for millions of families.

“The lack of progress on this and other issues also calls into
question whether phase two of the negotiations can commence in October.

“That will trigger deep concern for businesses and communities
across the U.K, who need much greater certainty and reassurance than they are
getting from this Government.

“The reality is that we have a Government that is unprepared,
divided and incapable of securing a good deal for Britain. We urgently need a
fresh approach.”

“This a damning indictment of the Tory record.

“The Tories have cut police officer numbers again in the latest
12 months and now there are well over 20,000 fewer than in 2010.  And
despite promising to protect budgets, they continue to cut funding even as a
senior figures in policing line up to warn they are overstretched and struggle
to cope with demand.

“Now police have recorded their highest number of crimes in a
decade, including over a million violent offences, and yet today’s figure also
reveal a shocking fall in the rate of charges and summonses.

“The Tories simply aren’t allowing the police to protect the
public. Labour in government will tackle rising crime. We pledge to bring back
10,000 officers. It’s what the police need and the public deserve.”

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Universities Minister, commenting on the
University and College Union (UCU) report into student loan repayments, said:

“The Tories have tripled tuition fees, abolished maintenance
grants for poorer students and frozen the repayment threshold, hitting
graduates on the lowest incomes. This report confirms yet again that the impact
has been deeply unfair and it is getting harder and harder for ordinary young
people to access higher education. 

“It is professions such as nurses and midwives that are being hit
the hardest, and if the NHS can’t recruit the staff it needs then we will all
be worse off as a result. 

“The Government needs to decide if they think it is fair that the
debt burden should fall so heavily on the very people our society relies so
heavily on.”