Teresa Pearce, Labour’s Shadow
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, responding to the
Local Government Finance Settlement, said:

“Time and time again, this Government
has ignored warnings of the social care crisis, from health, social care and
local government experts and from MPs across the political
spectrum.“

“This Local Government Finance
Settlement is no different to what’s come before. It is all smoke and mirrors –
pushing numbers around but not offering any new money. Shifting the burden on
to council tax payers creates a postcode lottery in social care services.
Wealthy areas will prosper whilst poorer communities will struggle. This was
made clear by the revelation of the sweetheart deal offered to Surrey County
Council behind closed doors, whilst the rest of the country suffers.”

“The brutal cuts handed down by this
Tory government will leave local councils facing a £5.8billion funding gap in
just two years’ time. Libraries, youth centres and Sure Start centres have
closed. Child protection services are creaking. Frail elderly people and
vulnerable disabled people are being left lonely and isolated.”

“This is a crisis made in Westminster
but, as per usual, the Tories are pushing the blame on to councils,
communities, carers and families. The Government must come forward with
immediate funding, as well as a long-term, sustainable and strategic vision for
social care.”

Ends

Sarah
Champion, Labour’s Shadow
Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, commenting on the Court of Appeal judgement on
Civil Partnerships, said:

“It is
disappointing news that Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan have lost their
Court of Appeal battle to enter into a Civil Partnership.

“Labour
are proud to have introduced Civil Partnerships in 2004 as a key step in
achieving true marriage equality for LGBT people.

“But, now
that same sex marriage has been legalised, it is an anomaly that Civil
Partnerships are not available to all couples regardless of their gender and
sexuality.

“Civil
Partnerships should be extended to heterosexual couples who wish to have a
legal union in accordance with their individual beliefs and values.

“Labour
will continue to push the government to look again at this important issue.”

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.”