Nick
Thomas-Symonds MP, Labour’s Shadow Solicitor-General, commenting on
the Government’s failure to guarantee the SFO’s (Serious Fraud Office) future
as an independent entity, said:

“This
Tory Government needs to recognise the value of the Serious Fraud Office and
its importance to our international reputation for tackling cases of bribery
and corruption. 

“It
would be a grave mistake to dispose of the SFO and its unique structure.
Ministers must provide clarity on its future immediately.” 

16 Mar 2017

Scotland does not want to go back to the “division and uncertainty” of another referendum, Nicola Sturgeon was told today.

At First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said the party would reject the proposals set out by the SNP on Monday.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:

“The Scottish Conservatives reject the proposals set out by the First Minister on Monday.

“A referendum cannot happen when the people of Scotland have not been given the opportunity to see how our new relationship with the European Union is working.

“And it should not take place when there is no clear political or public consent for it to happen.

“Our country does not want to go back to the divisions and uncertainty of the last few years.

“Another referendum campaign will not solve the challenges this country will face.

“We don’t want it. We don’t need it.”

Tory
manifesto commitment on mixed sex wards in tatters as incidents rise 50% in a
year

Theresa
May has been accused of abandoning yet another Tory Manifesto commitment as new
figures reveal the number of NHS patients in mixed sex wards running 50% higher
than this time last year.

New
figures published by NHS England today show that hospitals breached mixed sex
accommodation rules 1750 times during January and February this year – compared
to 1164 in the same period last year

Mixed
sex accommodation breaches have gone through the roof since Theresa May took
over last July – with 5618 in the 8 months since she became Prime Minister,
compared with just 4259 in the whole of 2015.

Ending
mixed sex wards was a key pledge of David Cameron’s Government in 2010 and the
2015 Conservative Manifesto included a promise to “continue to eliminate mixed
sex wards”.

Labour
said today’s figures showed that Theresa May’s decision to restrain NHS
spending was pushing hospitals to the brink.

Jonathan
Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said:

“Tory
cuts to social care have seen hospital attendances rocket and now it seems
Theresa May has given up on her manifesto promise to eliminate mixed sex wards.
Patients expect dignity and respect when they’re being treated in hospital but
this Government is letting them down. The Government has overseen a
catastrophic collapse of patient standards and this failure on mixed sex wards
is yet another sign that England’s hospitals are at breaking point.

“The
Prime Minister needs to get a grip and explain what she is going to do to fix
the crisis which she has created. Every day that goes by brings more news of
patient care getting worse under this Government. Quite simply the Government’s
policy of underfunding and mismanaging the NHS has left hospitals on the
brink.”

Ends

Editors notes

·        
The Conservative Manifesto 2015 (P37) said: “We
will ensure that English hospitals and GP surgeries are the safest in the
world, places where you are treated with dignity and respect. We will continue
to eliminate mixed-sex wards.”

“Mixed
sex wards virtually gone.” Jeremy Hunt, Speech to Conservative Party
Conference, 1 October 2013

http://www.ukpol.co.uk/jeremy-hunt-2013-conservative-party-conference-speech/

“The
number of hospital-acquired infections continues to go down and mixed–sex wards
have been virtually eliminated.”  Jeremy Hunt, Hansard, 23 October 2012

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2012-10-23/debates/12102347000022/NHSCost?highlight=mixed%20sex#contribution-12102347000044

“We said that we would sort out mixed-sex
wards and hospital-acquired infections—promise delivered.”

David Cameron, Hansard, 18 March 2015,
Column 756

·        
Mixed sex accommodation breaches available here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/mixed-sex-accommodation/msa-data/

·        
There were 1040 breaches in January and 710 in
February – a 50% rise on the combined 1164 for the same two months last year.

Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, responding to comments
from the new independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said:

“This review is welcome. Max Hill makes some good points on
removing laws that are never used. We need protection from terrorism, but
pointless laws serve no purpose.

“He also highlights the fact certain communities, in particular
Muslims, feel unfairly targeted.  This will add to wider concerns around
the Government’s Prevent strategy, which should also be reviewed.”

Debbie
Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the Households Below Average Income statistics, said:  

“These
statistics show a worrying increase in both poverty and inequality. Four
million children and two million older people are now living below the
breadline. Those living with a disabled person are more likely than ever to be
struggling to make ends meet.

“This
is a direct result of this Government’s seven wasted years of austerity and
punitive social security cuts.

“The Tories’ shocking failure to tackle
the increasing costs of basic essentials, stagnating wages and their ruthless
slashing of social security is leaving working families worse off up to 2020.”

“Labour would reverse cuts to in-work
support, ban the exploitative zero hours contracts being used on hundreds of
thousands of workers, and guarantee a real Living Wage.”