Nia
Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to the announcement
that BAE Systems will be cutting 1,915 jobs in the UK, said:

“This
is truly appalling news for BAE’s workers and for communities across the UK.

“The
jobs that BAE are cutting are highly-skilled and their loss will be felt in
areas that have a strong tradition of defence manufacturing.

“It
is time for the Government to address the clear uncertainty that is felt by the
industry and come forward with an urgent plan to save these jobs. This must
include the possibility of bringing forward orders to provide additional work
for BAE’s employees, such as replacing the Red Arrows’ fleet of Hawk aircraft
that are approaching the end of their service life.”

Dawn Butler MP,
Shadow Secretary for Women and Equalities, commenting on the release of the
government’s Race Disparity Audit, said:

“The real ‘uncomfortable truth’ is
that Theresa May knew that cuts to services would disproportionately affect
groups with protected characteristics. So much so that she wrote to the then
Prime Minister in 2010 warning that ‘there are real risks’ that women, ethnic
minorities, disabled people and older people will be ‘disproportionately
affected’ by proposed cuts.

“But as Prime Minister, knowing full
well the damage that would be caused by the Conservative cuts, Theresa May has
done nothing but exacerbate the problem. Far from tackling burning injustices,
she has added fuel to the fire.

“If the Prime Minister really feels
so strongly about this issue, why did she sit on this report and refuse to
share it with parliament – despite Labour asking her to publish it three months
ago? This Government’s report is not enough. What we need are solutions and a
sustained effort to really tackle burning injustices.“

Ends

Notes to editors

At the last election, Labour issued
a race and faith manifesto to tackle problems of discrimination. Policy
proposals included:

• introducing equal pay audit requirements
  on large employers

• launching an inquiry into
  names-based discrimination and consider rolling out name-blind recruitment
  practices if necessary

• implementing the Parker Review
  recommendations to increase ethnic diversity on the boards of Britain’s largest
  companies

• enhancing the powers and functions
  of the Equality and Human Rights Commission

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow
Minister for Mental Health,
commenting on the findings of the CQC’s State of Care Report 2017, said:

“It is unacceptable that over a
third of NHS core mental health services require improvement on safety.

“Tory cuts have led directly to
the problems mental health services are experiencing, including falls in nurse
numbers, poor physical environments and long waiting times for child and
adolescent mental health services.

“Labour will invest in mental
health services and ring-fence budgets so that funding reaches the front line.

Ends

Jonathan
Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to the
CQC State of Care Report 2017, said:

“The
detail of this CQC report reveals damning evidence of the Government’s
inability to maintain health services at the standard which patients expect.

“The NHS is now running
at ‘full stretch’ with hospitals full to unsafe levels, and ongoing problems in
staffing and recruitment which Tory ministers have failed to grasp.

“The Government must
step in and give our health and care system the resources needed to provide the
best possible care. With services already straining at the seams, patients will
be increasingly at risk if Ministers refuse the NHS the support it needs. Next
month the Chancellor in his budget must finally put the NHS on a secure
financial footing for the long term.”

Ends

Barry
Gardiner MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, and Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary
to the Treasury, comment on the government’s Trade and Customs White Papers
published today.

Barry Gardiner MP
said:

“We needed clarity
on how the Government will ensure a level playing field for British businesses
in our trade defence and trade remedy mechanisms. We got none.

“We needed
clarity on how the Government will continue the third country Trade Agreements
we are part of through the EU. We got none.

“We needed
clarity on how the Government is laying down our schedules at the WTO and the
proportion of tariff rate quotas we will keep after we leave the EU. We got
none.

“Above all we
needed clarity about how trade negotiations and treaties would be scrutinised
in parliament. We got worse than nothing: an emphasis on speedy implementation
with barely a nod to ‘due process in parliament’. This is simply unacceptable.”

Peter
Dowd MP said:

“The
Government’s Customs White Paper continues the ambiguity that they have made
British businesses suffer under.

“While
there is talk of delegating the necessary powers to the Government for post-Brexit
customs arrangements, the Government goes worryingly further, seeking to
undermine parliament by giving itself the power to set import duties without
the normal legislative process.