Labour

Richard Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on press coverage of problems at HMP Northumberland, said:

“While conditions in HMP Northumberland will shock many people, it should come as no surprise to this Tory Government – Labour has repeatedly warned them that this is what is happening in prisons on their watch.

“The Justice Secretary must set out the terms of the investigation she is conducting into the running of the prison by Sodexo. She needs to set a clear deadline for Sodexo to prove they can run HMP Northumberland effectively and warn that if they fail to do so, HM Prison and Probation Service will.

“It is not acceptable to run a prison with insufficient staff, where prisoners can take drugs and threaten staff, and where core security functions don’t work and where fences are cut and alarms fail.”

ENDS

Richard Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on press coverage of problems at HMP Northumberland, said:

“While conditions in HMP Northumberland will shock many people, it should come as no surprise to this Tory Government – Labour has repeatedly warned them that this is what is happening in prisons on their watch.

“The Justice Secretary must set out the terms of the investigation she is conducting into the running of the prison by Sodexo. She needs to set a clear deadline for Sodexo to prove they can run HMP Northumberland effectively and warn that if they fail to do so, HM Prison and Probation Service will.

“It is not acceptable to run a prison with insufficient staff, where prisoners can take drugs and threaten staff, and where core security functions don’t work and where fences are cut and alarms fail.”

ENDS

Nia Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance report, said:

“This report exposes the Government’s complete and shocking failure to maintain its commitment on defence spending to our Armed Forces and to the country.

“Just weeks after the Prime Minister was lecturing our allies about increasing spending to meet the 2 percent NATO commitment, it is now clear that her Government is unwilling to commit the necessary resources to our nation’s defences.

“As the Defence Select Committee has shown, the MoD was already barely scrapping over the 2 percent mark and had changed its accounting methods to give the illusion of keeping the commitment. To be spending less than 2 percent of GDP on defence is utterly unacceptable, particularly in this time of immense global uncertainty.

“Labour is committed to spending at least 2 percent of our GDP on defence spending, as we consistently did when in government.”

ENDS

Jon Trickett MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, responding to warnings from the Institute for Government about deficiencies in the Government Transformation Strategy, said:

“Ministers need to pay attention to these warnings. There’s a real lack of ambition and clarity in the government’s digital transformation strategy.

“While the Government tried to avoid criticism by sneaking it out after the Brexit debate, they cannot ignore the details which they’ll be judged on in the long term.

“Theresa May and her Government should throw their weight behind this strategy to make sure a digital transformation actually takes place – and this isn’t just another flashy strategy that falls by the wayside when Ministers realise they haven’t thought through the details.”

Ends

Debbie Abrahams MP, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the findings of the Intergenerational Commission report, said: 

“We welcome the news that pensioners are now much less likely to be in poverty, continuing the trend put in place by the last Labour Government which saw a huge decline in poverty among older people.

“Nevertheless, this report recognises the ‘high level of inequality’ among pensioners. We cannot allow this Government to hide behind talk of a wealthy older generation, while these inequalities remain.

“Unlike the divisive Tories, we will not trade one generation off against the others by claiming that an improved social security settlement for older people must come at the expense of working families.

“That’s why Labour has committed to extending the triple lock and protecting social security for older people until 2025, and reversing cuts to Universal Credit Work Allowances supporting people in low paid work.”

ENDS