Labour

Tracy Brabin MP, Labour’s Shadow Early Years Minister, responding to the poll by Action for Children on Children’s Centres, said:

“Tory cuts to funding for children’s services are making it impossible for councils to provide the support that children and families need.

“It should shame ministers that they’re overseeing such a dramatic fall in these services when nearly half of children fail to meet developmental milestones by age five. It goes to show ‘social mobility’ is nothing but a catchphrase to them.

“With Sure Start Centres closing across the country at an alarming rate, as their funding continues to be slashed, there are more and more children who need support, but are not able to access it because of this Government.

“The next Labour Government will provide these vital services with the funding they need, including a ring-fenced grant of £500 million a year for Sure Start.”

Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to reports that the Treasury sought to conceal pay statistics, said:

“The Conservative Government’s divide and rule tactics must end.“

“Phillip Hammond has sought to pit private sector workers against public sector workers, to justify a pay cap which has seen real wages slashed in our public services.

“The figures revealed by the GMB today show that last year public sector wages were below the private sector, despite Hammond continuing to publicly demonise our public servants.

“Hammond’s subterfuge on public sector pay cannot be allowed to continue. Labour is committed to seeing parliament and the hard working public sector workers receive the answers they deserve around this Tory stitch-up.”

John Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, responding to Sajid Javid’s comments on the housing crisis on the Andrew Marr Show this morning, said:

“If hot air built homes, Ministers would have fixed our housing crisis. Any promise of new investment is welcome, but the reality is spending on new affordable homes has been slashed since 2010 so new affordable housebuilding is at a 24 year low.

“Rather than set more targets they can’t meet, Ministers should back Labour’s plan to build 100,000 genuinely affordable homes a year, including the biggest council housebuilding programme in more than 30 years.”

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for Social Care, responding to a leaked draft of this year’s Tory manifesto, said:

“This leaked draft manifesto shows just how damaging the Dementia Tax could have been for people in need of care.

“But the danger for people facing catastrophic long-term care costs isn’t over. It seems from social care minister Jackie Doyle-Price’s recent comments that the Tories are still considering this disastrous policy.

“Labour will build a sustainable National Care Service funded by sharing risk across the population to avoid people facing catastrophic costs for care.“ 

Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, John Healey MP, responding to Sajid Javid’s refusal to fund the retro-fitting of sprinklers in high-rise buildings on the Andrew Marr Show, said:

“Conservative Ministers were told four years ago to get sprinklers retro-fitted into high-rise buildings following two fatal tower block fires, but failed to act.

“Today, even after the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower, Sajid Javid has confirmed the government is still refusing to provide any funding to install sprinklers. This is a neglect of government’s responsibility to worried residents across the country. 

“Ministers should act now and help fund these vital fire safety measures, starting with the highest risk blocks.”