Responding
to comments by Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons, that government plans
for prison ‘league tables’ will be “immensely difficult” to achieve, Richard
Burgon MP, Shadow Justice Secretary, said:”

“The
Chief Inspector has today cast doubt on one of the Justice Secretary’s key
proposals for prison reform.

“League
tables may make good headlines but there is no indication of how they will
improve the performance of the prison service or rehabilitation of prisoners.

“Instead
of gimmicks we need clear leadership from the Justice Secretary to improve
prisons performance now and provide the clear detail the White Paper is sadly
lacking.”

This week, the Government will attempt to push some of the most controversial components of the Trade Union Act through Parliament. The move comes in the same week that the Government are asking us to trust them to protect workers’ rights through Brexit.

A series of provisions will impose strict rules on picketing and undermine the right to strike for millions of UK citizens. Yet, alarmingly, these changes are being introduced as secondary legislation, which will limit the opportunity for scrutiny and debate in Parliament.

Labour will strongly oppose these measures, as it has the entire Trade Union Act.

Jack Dromey MP, Shadow Minister for Labour, said:

“In an increasingly insecure world of work, Labour remains fundamentally opposed to restrictions that will limit the rights of millions of ordinary working people to strike.

“Unions are always careful in taking industrial action never to put at risk life and limb, offering essential coverage and initiating industrial action only as a matter of last resort.

“Theresa May talks of the Tories as the party of the working class. Yet in a country where trade unions are already heavily regulated, she wants yet further restrictions to rob workers of their right to take industrial action, leaving workers all too often badly treated and essentially powerless.”

Commenting
on the LGA warning that the Care Act faces failure without new funding,
Barbara Keeley, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Member for Social Care, said:

“It is time that Tory Ministers accepted that the social
care crisis is caused by insufficient funding in the face of growing demand.
Ministers have ignored repeated warnings from leaders and professionals in the
health and care sectors about the impact of the £4.6 billion of cuts made to
Adult Social Care budgets since 2010.

“It is deeply worrying that councils are now having to
spell out the risks that this lack of funding is causing. We should not
tolerate the fact that growing levels of basic needs are going unmet, care
visits are shorter and there is increased strain on unpaid family carers.

“The Government must listen to this stark warning from
the LGA that councils can no longer meet either their duties or the spirit of
the Care Act. Now is the time for the Government to bring forward genuinely new
funding for social care to protect the vital services that older and disabled
people need.”

Today Labour has tabled a targeted amendment to the Article 50 Bill (the European Union [Notification of Withdrawal] Bill).

The amendment seeks to ensure Parliament is able to hold the Government to account throughout the Brexit negotiations on the impact of decisions on women and those with protected characteristics.

Sarah Champion, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities said:

“Labour has a long record of championing and protecting equal rights and we will hold the government to account using the Equality Act brought in by the last Labour government.

“Whilst we respect the will of the British people, we won’t pander to the will of this Tory government to chip away at hard won progress on equality.”

Responding to the Fabian Society’s report “At the crossroads: the future of British retail”, Chi Onwurah, Labour’s Shadow Business Minister said:

 "This is further evidence that Theresa May’s industrial strategy is little more than window-dressing for continued managed decline under the Tories. Last week’s Green Paper had almost nothing to say about retail, and this report underlines the failure of this Government to respond to urgent challenges such as automation and low productivity.

“It’s clear that this Government’s tactic of cherry-picking favoured sectors for backroom deals is leaving the vast majority of British workers out in the cold. Labour’s industrial strategy will take a whole-economy approach to build a high-wage, high-growth Britain that genuinely works for everyone.“