Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Universities Minister, commenting on the
University and College Union (UCU) report into student loan repayments, said:

“The Tories have tripled tuition fees, abolished maintenance
grants for poorer students and frozen the repayment threshold, hitting
graduates on the lowest incomes. This report confirms yet again that the impact
has been deeply unfair and it is getting harder and harder for ordinary young
people to access higher education. 

“It is professions such as nurses and midwives that are being hit
the hardest, and if the NHS can’t recruit the staff it needs then we will all
be worse off as a result. 

“The Government needs to decide if they think it is fair that the
debt burden should fall so heavily on the very people our society relies so
heavily on.”

“It
is deeply concerning that the size of the Army has fallen yet again on this
Government’s watch.

“Since
Michael Fallon became Defence Secretary in 2014, the number of fully trained
soldiers has fallen by over 7,000. That trend is simply not sustainable and it
has very real consequences for the UK’s defence capabilities.

“We
know that satisfaction with pay and service life are some of the biggest
reasons why servicemen and women are leaving the Armed Forces in their droves.

“If
the government was serious about tackling this crisis in recruitment and
retention, they would agree to lift the public sector pay cap to give our Armed
Forces the pay that they deserve.”

Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow
Transport Secretary, commenting on the Government’s scrapping of plans to electrify
the Great Western Mainline between Cardiff and Swansea, said:

“The Tories have been promising the electrification of the Great
Western Mainline from Paddington to Swansea since 2012 and today’s announcement
confirms that they have been taking people for a ride.

“The cancellation of
works means passengers will be denied the faster, greener, more reliable train
journeys they were promised, and South Wales will miss out on the economic
activity that improved rail services deliver.

“The decision betrays
a promise to South Wales and the Transport Secretary sneaking out the news on
the final day before he goes on his summer holidays adds insult to
injury. 

“The Tories do not act
in the interests of the whole UK. They have put their own survival,
finding £1 billion for a deal with the DUP, ahead of everything else
and it’s communities like those in South Wales that pay the price.”

Chris
Williamson MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, commenting on
the Home Office’s statement on adding fire and rescue inspections to HMIC’s
responsibilities, said:

“After
an unclear Home Office statement, Ministers must tell the public exactly what
extra resources, staff and expertise will actually be provided.

“If
today’s statement is really a cloak for cuts to existing fire and rescue
inspectors, and over-stretching the inspectors of the police services, it will
be strongly opposed. The police and the fire service both need expert and
thorough inspection, and the public will be right to demand that they have it.
Labour will oppose any cuts to the inspection regimes under the guise of
efficiency and savings.”

John
Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, responding to the release of new
information on fire safety tests of tower blocks, said:

“Five
weeks on from the Grenfell Tower fire, the Government’s system of fire safety
checks on tower blocks is not fit for purpose.

“The
latest statement from Ministers, smuggled out yesterday evening as the Commons
finished for the day, confirms that there are still 52 tower blocks with the
same type of cladding as Grenfell Tower that have not been tested. Even worse,
it confirms there are still thousands of other tower blocks around the country
which may not be safe but which Government tests have ignored.

“These
fire safety tests are vital to reassure residents that their homes are safe,
but the testing process to date has failed to do this. The tests are too slow,
too narrow and confused. Residents are still worried and landlords are in the
dark. Secretary of State Sajid Javid must report fully to Parliament tomorrow
before the summer recess and explain how he is going to get a grip of this
mess.”