Angela
Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the Social
Mobility Commission’s report out today, said:

“The
Social Mobility Commission is only the latest expert body to explicitly call
for the Government to abandon their plans to increase selection in our schools.
It does nothing to help most children do better in life. The Government should
finally start listening to all the evidence against new grammars and
concentrate instead on helping all of our children to reach their full
potential, not just the few. 

“Funding cuts will make the attainment gap between advantaged and
disadvantaged children even wider at a time when inequality is steadily
worsening. With the Budget next week, the Chancellor has the chance to put the
needs of all our children first and give education the money it needs.”

Louise
Haigh, Labour’s Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy, commenting on
the Government’s announcement on a new internet safety strategy, said:

“The Government are passing the buck when
it comes to keeping people safe online.“

"The Digital Economy Bill – passing
through Parliament – didn’t make a single mention of online abuse or education;
they have failed to live up to their own benchmarks through the UK Council for
Child Internet Safety and have failed to introduce their long-promised
mandatory codes of practice for social media providers.”

“With
online bullying on the rise Ministers don’t need to hold another summit; they
need to take concrete action. That’s why Labour has called for statutory online
education to be introduced so children can make informed decisions online and
ask questions in a safe environment; for the introduction of mandatory codes of
practice for social media providers to prevent abuse; and for the Government to
stop the neglect of child mental health services.”

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, commenting the death of Sir Gerald Kaufman, said:

“I’m very sad at the passing of Sir Gerald Kaufman MP.

“An iconic and irascible figure in the Labour Party, Gerald worked with Harold Wilson when he was Prime Minister in the 1960s and became a Labour MP in 1970.  

“Gerald was always a prominent figure in the party and in Parliament, with his dandy clothes and wonderful demeanour in speaking.  

“Gerald came from a proud Jewish background. He always wanted to bring peace to the Middle East and it was my pleasure to travel with him to many countries.

“I last saw him in his lovely flat in St John’s Wood in London, surrounded by film posters and a library of the film world.

“He loved life and politics. I will deeply miss him, both for his political commitment and constant friendship.”

Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to revelations that NHS Shared Business Services failed to deliver more than 500,000 letters from hospitals to GPs in the five years to 2016, said:

“This is an absolute scandal. For a company partly owned by the Department of Health and a private company to fail to deliver half a million NHS letters, many of which contain information critical to patient care is astonishing. Patient safety will have been put seriously at risk as a result of this staggering incompetence.

“Jeremy Hunt now needs to tell the whole truth of why patient safety has been put at risk in this way. This has all the signs of a cover up by the Health Secretary and he immediately needs to make clear what he knew and when.

“The news is heart breaking for the families involved and it will be scarcely believable for these hospitals and GPs who are doing their best to deliver services despite the neglect of the Government. We urgently need to know how this was allowed to happen, how many patients were involved and how many have been harmed, and whether patients remain at risk.

“This happened on the Secretary of State’s watch and now raises serious questions about Mr Hunt’s handling of this shambles.

“It appears this matter was discovered at least by January 2016, and six months later in July 2016 Jeremy Hunt chose to issue a 138 word statement to Parliament. This statement was perfunctory, complacent and evasive, failing to reveal any of the catastrophic detail of how 500,000 pieces of correspondence, including test and screening results and pathways following hospital treatment, had failed to be delivered and were in fact languishing unopened in a warehouse.

“Instead Mr Hunt glibly told Parliament that “some correspondence in the mail redirection service has not reached the intended recipients.”  For a Secretary of State who supposedly has transparency as his watchword this looks like he has tried to hide the scandal from patients and the public. It’s totally unacceptable.

“Quite simply the public will be naturally angry that the Secretary of State who oversees NHS Shared Business Services has failed in his first duty to protect patients.“

Debbie Abrahams MP, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary responded to comments by George Freeman, Head of No.10 Policy Unit, saying:

“Mr Freeman must immediately apologise for the comments he made regarding sick and disabled people.

“Freeman dismissed the needs of people with mental health conditions saying support should go to “really disabled people” rather than those who are “taking pills at home, who suffer from anxiety.

“Not only does this fly in the face of the commitment to ‘parity of esteem’ for people with mental health conditions, but it directly contradicts Theresa May’s comments on mental health and two recent tribunal judgements.”