Tom
Watson MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, commenting on
Ofcom’s report into broadcasting diversity, said:

“Today’s
report proves that British broadcasting has a diversity problem.

“Women
and people from BAME backgrounds are underrepresented, particularly in senior
roles, but the most shocking fact is that just 3 per cent of the broadcasting
workforce has a disability, compared with 18 per cent of the population.

“Data
can be an important driver of change, but that data needs to be comprehensive.
The huge gaps in diversity data that Ofcom have found are unacceptable, but we
also need to collect data that paints a broader picture, and that means
collecting data on social class too.

“Our
television represents who we are as a nation and those who work on and off
screen should represent the whole country, not just part of it.”

Ends

Notes
to Editors

·         Ofcom’s report
out today can be found here: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/diversity-uk-television-industry

·        
Labour released its Acting
Up report over the summer which looked at access and diversity in the
performing arts. One of the key recommendations was an improvement in diversity
data collection and monitoring. The full report and executive summary is
available here: http://www.tom-watson.com/actingup

Debbie
Abrahams MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on
the Employment and Support Allowance Statistics, said:

“Nearly
two thirds of Work Capability Assessments are still being overturned at appeal,
demonstrating their total failure in adequately judging fitness for work for
sick and disabled people.

“This
not only causes unnecessary stress and anxiety for the thousands who have been
denied support unfairly, it also wastes public money by sending so many
decisions back to the courts.

“Labour
will scrap these punitive assessments and replace them with a holistic,
person-centred approach.”

Ends

Notes
to editors

• The
  full release can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-september-2017

Jim McMahon MP, Labour’s
Shadow Minister for Devolution and Finance, responding to findings by
the IFS that councils are concerned about impact of cuts, said:

 “The
IFS’s shock findings that five out of six councils are not confident they can
avoid significant reductions in service quality over the next five years is yet
more evidence of the damage that government cuts to local government funding is
having. The lack of
certainty over future funding is undermining local councils’ ability to respond
to growing need in their area.

“Earlier this year
we pushed the Government to deliver a properly thought out solution to local
government funding, only for the process to be shelved because of the snap
general election that they called.

"We’re not simply
scare mongering when we say that councils face a very real risk of collapsing
under the combination of growing need – especially for social care – government
cuts to core funding, and the sheer lack of clarity on what a funding formula
will look like in the future. And let’s be clear, it’s local residents who will
ultimately pay the price of unfunded and overstretched services.”

Ends

Notes
to editors

The
report ‘The local vantage: how views on local government finance vary across
councils’ will be available on the IFS website from 00.01 Thursday 14^th
September 2017.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, commenting after
the House of Commons unanimously approved Labour’s Opposition Day motion
calling for the recent increase in tuition fees to be revoked, said: 

“Today the House of Commons unanimously approved
Labour’s motion to revoke the Government’s latest tuition fee hike, which will
cost students up to £1,000 each over the course of their degrees. 

"The Tories brought in this fee hike through a
statutory instrument, not a vote in the Commons, so today is the
first time £9,250 tuition fees has been brought to Parliament, where
it was unanimously rejected. 

"The Government had no mandate to increase
fees to begin with and if they do not now reverse the fee hike they
will be defying the will of Parliament in blatant disregard for our democracy.”

Ends

Jon Trickett MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet
Office Minister, commenting on the
news that the cost of the General Election was £140 million, said:

“Theresa May has been left
with egg on her face and the taxpayer is picking up the bill.

“The Prime Minister
said there was no magic money tree to give nurses a proper pay rise.

“But she spent £140 million
of taxpayers’ cash on a failed bid to boost her majority that’s led to a Zombie
Government.”

Ends