Sarah
Champion MP,
Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, commenting
on the Government’s failure to act on cross-party recommendations to reduce the
gender pay gap, said:

“The cross party Women and
Equalities Committee’s recommendations aim to improve working conditions for
women of all ages and sectors right across the country.

“But, sadly, it seems that their
recommendations are again falling on deaf ears. 

“The Government has systematically
ignored the evidence the Committee, charities, experts and individuals have
worked so hard to produce.

“This Government continues to
ignore the voices and lived experiences of thousands of women in chronically
low paid, under-valued sectors of the economy such as care, hospitality and
retail.  Industries where zero hour contracts and bad practice have been
allowed to run rife.

“The structural causes of the
gender pay gap must be addressed, otherwise women will simply continue to be
left behind.

“The lack of meaningful response
to the Women and Equalities Committee shows that when it comes to tackling the
serious, underlying causes of gender inequality in our country, this Tory
Government isn’t willing to take the bold action needed.”

Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow
Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting
on the findings of the Public Accounts Committee report on sanctions, said:

“Two years after the Work and Pensions
Select Committee inquiry the Government has failed to implement even their
limited actions to address sanctions failings.

“This report makes it clear that
sanctions have been used inconsistently to punish those struggling to get by
with seven wasted years of austerity.

“This deplorable misuse of sanctions is
further evidence of the Tory Government letting vulnerable groups down.

“Labour has committed to scrapping the
Tories’ punitive sanctions regime, under our plans to transform the social
security system to ensure that, like the NHS, it is there for us all in our
time of need.”

Jonathan
Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to
quarter three figures showing NHS trusts are already in a deficit of £886m,
said:

“Theresa
May’s sustained underfunding of the NHS is stretching the finances of NHS
hospitals beyond their limits. Even with the £1.8bn that was set aside in the
‘financial reset’ last summer hospitals have already run up a deficit of £886m
this year. It will take a heroic effort by NHS staff to meet even the predicted
year-end target in the face of chronic neglect by the Government.

“The
Government needs to be honest about what this crisis means for patient care. It
means cuts to frontline staff, longer waits for treatment and services at risk
of closure. The money which had been set aside for NHS transformation funding,
which should be improving services and bringing the deficit down in future, has
instead had to be used to manage this year’s figures.

“Ministers
are in denial, but the staggering decline in the NHS’s financial performance is
a direct result of decisions they made. Cuts to social care have driven up
hospital attendances while the Government’s inept workforce planning has forced
hospitals to drain resources on expensive agency staff.

“The
simple fact is that Tory Ministers have failed to come up with a workable
solution to these problems. Their agency cap which was meant to help has been
breached more than 2.7 million times already. The Government urgently need to
provide a long-term, sustainable financial package to guarantee the NHS
services which patients need for the future.”

Andy
McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, commenting on
an IPPR report which shows underinvestment in transport in the north, said:

“The
underinvestment in infrastructure spending in the north is totally
unacceptable. We need to ensure economic growth is spread beyond just London
and the South East. Having a balanced economy is good for the UK as a whole but
the Government seem determined to invest in London at the expense of the rest
of country.

“It’s
short-term thinking that means our regions are starved of investment when they
have so much potential for growth, and it shines a light on the Government’s
self-defeating economic strategy which says that meeting the transport needs of
London should come at the expense of our regions.

“Labour
would make sure that the transport needs of the South-East are met whilst
rebalancing the economy and making the necessary investment in transport
infrastructure right across the UK, including prioritising a CrossRail for the
North to improve connectivity between our Northern cities.”

Shadow
Business Secretary, Rebecca Long-Bailey, writes to Greg Clark about potential
sale of Vauxhall to Peugeot-PSA

The
Shadow Secretary for BEIS has today written to Greg Clark, Secretary of State
for BEIS, urging him to guarantee that jobs and terms and conditions of the
Vauxhall workforce will be protected in the event of the company’s sale to
Peugeot-PSA.

Rebecca
Long-Bailey has also requested an Urgent Question on the matter in the House of
Commons, which will be taken at 3.30 today.

On
the threat the proposed takeover poses to the UK workforce, Rebecca Long-Bailey
said:

“These reports are deeply worrying to the
4,500 workers employed at Vauxhall’s Luton and Ellesmere Port plants, and to
the tens of thousands of employees in its retail, support and supply chain
operations. PSA’s history of axing jobs in the name of rationalisation are also
concerning. Britain’s automotive industry has become a world-leader by
developing its skilled and highly-committed workforce and becoming more
productive, not by ruthlessly driving down costs.”

On
the implications of the proposal for the Government’s industrial strategy,
Rebecca Long-Bailey said:

“a
piecemeal, ad hoc approach will see our automotive sector lurch from crisis to
crisis as the uncertainties created by Brexit begin to take their toll. Waiting
for car makers to go to the brink before offering them support is the very
antithesis of an industrial strategy.”

On
the need to give workers in the UK the same protections given to European
counterparts, Rebecca Long-Bailey said:

“failure
to provide equivalent Government support to Opel’s UK sites as that seen in
France and Germany, and to ensure full parity of treatment between Opel’s UK
and French workers would be a betrayal of the UK workforce.”

Ends

Editors’
notes

–     It
has recently emerged that General Motors is discussing the sale of Opel, which
includes Vauxhall, to PSA Group.

–     4,500
workers are employed at Vauxhall’s Luton and Ellesmere port plants, along with
tens of thousands more who are employed in the retail, support and supply chain
operations.

–     These
jobs are under threat from the proposed sale, should Vauxhall cut back
production, a particular concern given the PSA Group has a reputation for
cutting jobs to rationalise production.

–     The
French Government owns a 14% stake in PSA and the German government is
providing financial support to its Opel sites.

–         
The
full text of the letter is as follows:

Dear
Rt Hon Greg Clark MP,

I
am writing to request an urgent meeting to discuss reports that General Motors
may be about to sell its European business, Opel, to PSA, the owner of Peugeot
and Citroen brands.

These
reports are deeply worrying to the 4,500 workers employed at Vauxhall’s Luton
and Ellesmere Port plants, and to the tens of thousands of employees in its
retail, support and supply chain operations. PSA’s history of axing jobs in the
name of rationalisation are also concerning. Britain’s automotive industry has
become a world-leader by developing its skilled and highly-committed workforce
and becoming more productive, not by ruthlessly driving down costs.

I
understand that you met with PSA executives on 16th February and that the Prime
Minister is due to meet PSA CEO Carlos Taveres shortly. I am keen to hear in
detail what assurances they were able to give you about their plans for
Vauxhall, and what you and your Government are doing to ensure that PSA do not
turn their backs on Opel’s UK workforce.

Like
you, I welcomed Nissan’s decision late last year to continue to invest in the
UK, but argued at the time that all car manufacturers should be given the same
assurances. Recent developments have underlined this point. It was reported
over the weekend that PSA have now been given the same guarantees, but I remain
concerned that a piecemeal, ad hoc approach will see our automotive sector
lurch from crisis to crisis as the uncertainties created by Brexit begin to
take their toll. Waiting for car makers to go to the brink before offering them
support is the very antithesis of an industrial strategy.

This
is particularly so given that the French Government owns a 14% stake in PSA. In
light of predictions by analysts and industry experts that French workers will
be left unscathed by any buy-out, and that job losses will fall elsewhere,
including in the UK, it is hard not to worry that the British Government’s
hands-off approach is letting workers down. Even the German Government is
providing financial support to its Opel sites, and workers in Germany are much
harder to sack than those in the UK. Under such circumstances, failure to
provide equivalent Government support to Opel’s UK sites as that seen in France
and Germany, and to ensure full parity of treatment between Opel’s UK and
French workers would be a betrayal of the UK workforce.

In
the longer run, it is clear that the Government’s Industrial Strategy Green
Paper launched last month has done little to reassure manufacturers weighing up
whether or not to stay in the UK after we leave the European Union. Urgent
action is needed to encourage the reshoring of manufacturing supply chains and
secure single market access for key exporting industries. Without this, there
is a real danger that many of our finest manufacturers will fall victim to new
import and export tariffs.

The
next few days will be critical in determining the future of Vauxhall in the UK.
I would therefore be most grateful if you would agree to meet me as a matter of
urgency to discuss what action you are taking to protect the jobs and terms and
conditions of Opel’s UK workforce. It may also be welcome to involve those MP’s
representing areas directly affected by this issue in our discussions for
example those members representing Luton and Ellesmere Port.

Yours
sincerely,

Rebecca
Long-Bailey

Shadow
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy