Mary Glindon
MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend · Labour · United Kingdom
“T7. Earlier this year, Ravenswood primary school in Newcastle applied to the school rebuilding programme as surveys had deemed the school building to be beyond repair. A subsequent visit promised by the Department has not materialised.”
“The virus disproportionately affects disadvantaged and marginalised communities. It is preventable and curable. Left undetected, it can cause fatal cirrhosis and liver cancer.”
“I am sure we are all aware of the importance of the role played by civil servants across the whole country. People often devote their whole working lives to these roles, so the least they deserve is to get the pensions they have paid for on time, and for their loved ones to receive their entitlements following bereavement.”
“I hope the Cabinet Office ensures that all Departments have proper discussions with the trade unions representing members affected by changes, especially where the closure of offices would be damaging to local economies and communities. An economic impact assessment really should be conducted before such plans go ahead.”
“Could we hit pause and review its ability to deliver before civil servants start to go unpaid, too? Today, civil servants from the Public and Commercial Services Union are starting strike action at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in a dispute over staff restructuring.”
“Last year the drugs, alcohol and justice APPG, which Sir David supported and I formerly chaired, published a paper reminding us that although alcohol misuse costs our NHS an estimate £3.5 billion, there has been no alcohol strategy since 2012.”
The complete record
Every one of 602 lines we hold for Mary Glindon, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 13.
“Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government seem to have forgotten and neglected the area north of Teesside? This great part of our region, whether it is Tyneside, Northumberland or Wearside, always seems to be forgotten. We were forgotten when it came to a freeport, levelling up and now Britishvolt, which, as my hon. Friend says, would have created jobs across the region and given it a brighter future.”
“The unsuccessful bids of North Shields and Wallsend were capped at 80% by the Government, who deemed our area not to be a priority, yet the Prime Minister’s leafy constituency and many marginal Tory seats were deemed a priority. Will the Government urgently commit to a review of the levelling-up fund’s allocation criteria to ensure that money goes to areas where it is really needed, such as North Tyneside?”
“According to the Fuel Poverty Monitor released by National Energy Action today, from next April onwards the number of households in fuel poverty in the UK could reach 8.4 million. What additional targeted support will the Government provide for those on the lowest incomes—particularly those who are not receiving benefits—when the energy price guarantee increases to £3,000 in April?”
“Figures suggest that at least £3 billion has been spent on agency staff in the civil service over the past three years, plugging the gaps in our public sector at a huge premium to employment agencies. With Public and Commercial Services Union members in the civil service now out on strike for fair pay and terms and conditions, and thousands of contingency staff already drafted in to break the strikes, can the Minister say how much this dispute is costing the taxpayer? Does he agree that it is a false economy not to give these dedicated public servants a decent cost of living pay rise?”
“T2. Further to my previous question on best value in the public sector, can the Minister confirm how much money the civil service strike is costing the taxpayer and whether any cost-benefit analysis has been carried out on the merits of giving civil servants a decent pay rise?”
“T5. Does the Minister agree that unjustifiable Iranian bombardments on Iraqi Kurdistan and other attacks require resolving disputes between Baghdad and Irbil plus accelerating economic and political reform, and that these should continue to be key themes for our excellent diplomats there?”
“Following a ballot of more than 150,000 civil servant PCS members, a massive 86.2% voted for strike action on pay, pensions, job cuts and redundancy terms. The strikes will start next week at the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency, National Highways and the Rural Payments Agency. Does the Minister accept that responsibility for this situation lies firmly with his Government for imposing an insulting pay deal of just under 3%—a substantial real-terms pay cut—amid a cost of living crisis?”
“We are spending £700,000 a day on storing personal protective equipment in China. That is enough to put almost 19,000 children, including those in North Tyneside, in full-time nursery. Does the Minister think this is an efficient use of taxpayers’ money?”
“In this crucial debate, what about women’s aftercare? We are talking about changing the law, and a number of my constituents are concerned that that would lead to abortion up until birth. We know that about 80% of women want the time limit reduced. Beyond that, what about the mental health of women who have had an abortion—where is the care for them? Where does this address things that have never been properly addressed for years and years?”
“T6. Arriva in North Tyneside is letting down my constituents. Buses do not turn up or are cancelled at short notice. Surely enough is enough when pupils at North Gosforth Academy need counselling because they are so worried about getting to and from school. Can the Minister do something to force Arriva to be a more responsible and reliable service provider?”
“T6. Imprisonment for public protection—IPP—sentences are a stain on the criminal justice system, but the Justice Committee’s recent report offers a way forward. Will the Minister take the opportunity to act on the report’s key recommendation of a mass re-sentencing exercise, or will he allow the hopelessness, despair and even suicide among IPP prisoners to shamefully continue?”
“In September, the then Prime Minister committed to publishing a response to the independent review and an accompanying implementation plan before the end of the year. I appreciate that the Minister is new to her post, but I hope it is clear that any further delay in bringing forward reform of children’s social care will continue to let down the country’s most vulnerable children and the professionals who work to support them. Will the Minister confirm that her Department still intends to respond to the review before the end of the year? The current system is clearly not working for either social workers or the children they are supporting. While we are content to support these measures today, we will continue to press the new ministerial team to bring forward their plans for reform with urgency.”
“When strengthening the accountability framework for social workers, it is important that the new regulations do not compromise due process and the fair treatment to which every employee is entitled. I hope the Minister will engage with trade unions and other concerned organisations and work to reassure social workers of the intention behind the new measures. I hope she will provide some assurance on this point today. Finally, I would like to use this opportunity to press the new Minister on the wider crisis in children’s social care. The independent review of children’s social care starkly sets out the pressures and challenges facing children’s social care and makes a compelling case for change.”
“They also make changes to the fitness to practise investigation proceedings, including broadening the regulator’s powers to require disclosure of information and to initiate interim orders. Among other changes, they make provision for interim orders to come into force immediately. The changes are supported by Social Work England, and the majority of the 48 consultation responses were in support. As the Minister will know, important concerns were raised during the consultation, including by trade unions, about the impact of these measures on social workers and, in particular, the plans to allow the regulator to publish details of orders before an appeal has expired.”
“The changes the Government are bringing forward today will expand the duties of Social Work England in a range of areas, including disclosing information on applicants to the register of social work to specified organisations including social work employers, NHS bodies and fellow regulators when this is deemed to be in the public interest. They will ensure that all fitness to practise sanctions made against social workers, with the exception of final orders, will appear immediately on the register. The regulations will give the regulator discretion to grant voluntary removal from the register where there are fitness to practise issues, with such issues to be published, provided they do not infringe on individuals’ rights.”
“The independent review of children’s social care, published earlier this year, calls for a total reset of children’s social services, and 50% of all children’s services departments are rated “inadequate” or “requires improvement” by Ofsted. At the heart of this crisis is a workforce feeling increasingly under pressure, with rising case loads and staff recruitment and retention problems across the social sector. I pay tribute to social workers and their vital work, as did the Minister. They are being let down by an absence of leadership from this Government, but the Opposition fully accept the need for regulations to be updated to ensure social workers remain accountable.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Dame Maria. I am pleased to speak to this statutory instrument on behalf of the Opposition and my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes), who is very sorry that due to a long-standing prior commitment she is unable to be here today. I start by welcoming the new Minister to her post. I wish her well. Social workers across the country are working hard every day to support families and protect children. They are making difficult decisions about some of our country’s most vulnerable children and young people, often in the most harrowing of circumstances. Social work is too often undervalued.”
“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this Adjournment debate and echo what she says about bus services. In the north-west of North Tyneside, Arriva has cut the 43, the 44 and the 45—and now it is not only cutting but cancelling the buses it has cut. Surely people in North Tyneside and in Blaydon deserve better from our bus companies?”
“I congratulate the Minister on his new role. Pay for drivers is still pretty low, and while some have had their pay increased, others have not. When they are earning only £10 an hour for the responsibility they have, surely the Minister must try to do something to improve that.”
“Young people in the north-east potentially have to wait up to three years for mental health treatment. Local Metro Radio launched Charley’s campaign to get young people more timely health support. The campaign is in memory of 12-year-old Charley Patterson, who took her own life waiting for treatment. Labour has a fully costed plan to guarantee mental health treatment within a month of referral for patients who need it. Will the Minister commit to adopting that target now?”
“The earliest visit I can recall was in 1967, when the Queen came to open the then new Tyne tunnel. It was a school day, but one boy in my class lived near the tunnel and was given half a day off to join his family in the crowds welcoming the Queen. I was in awe of that and a bit envious, I must admit. Little did I know that, 45 years later, I would be welcoming the Queen as a new MP, joining the crowds, including schoolchildren, when the Queen made her last visit to North Tyneside to open Tyne tunnel 2. I, my family and all my constituents have a great fondness for the Queen. During her reign she gave us so much—much hope, much pride, much inspiration and much joy. On behalf of my constituents, I send my heartfelt condolences to King Charles and all the royal family as they mourn such a personal loss.”
“Only three months ago, the country was celebrating the late Queen’s platinum jubilee, and we gathered in this place to pay tribute to Her Majesty for her years of dedicated service to our country and the Commonwealth. We could not have imagined that we would be gathered here today to pay our tributes upon her death. But amidst the sadness, it is surely comforting to remember that, in what were to be Her Majesty’s last days and months, she enjoyed a massive outpouring of admiration, affection and gratitude, witnessed at the many events across the country to celebrate her 70 glorious years on the throne. We enjoyed many jubilee celebrations in my constituency of North Tyneside, where we have always given the Queen and the royal family the warmest of welcomes, whenever they visit.”
“Public sector workers and care workers in North Tyneside say that the Chancellor’s package on the cost of living crisis does not address their daily financial struggles, because under his Government, their pay has not kept pace with inflation. What practical steps will he take to address that overriding problem for my constituents?”
“The Port of Tyne is an important economic player in North Tyneside, as well as across the whole of Tyneside and the region. On behalf of the port, I invited a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister to visit just over two months ago, but as yet, I have not heard anything. As the port is so keen to showcase all the good work it is doing, could the Leader of the House urge the Minister to respond positively to the invitation?”
“T4. What is the Department doing, working with the Department of Health and Social Care, to improve the recovery of cancer trials and clinical research more broadly? Will the Minister meet me and Cancer Research UK to discuss how the rate of recovery can catch up with comparable countries post pandemic?”
“I will round off the celebrations on 5 June at the Longbenton estate jubilee party in the local community garden. As others have said, fingers crossed for good weather. On behalf of everyone in the North Tyneside constituency, I thank the Queen for her years of dedication and service to our country and Commonwealth, and congratulate her on her historic platinum jubilee. May God grant her good health for years to come.”
“The people of North Tyneside have always given the Queen, her late beloved husband the Duke of Edinburgh and all the royal family a great welcome whenever they visit our region. The north-east has great affection and deep respect for Her Majesty, and thousands will join in the jubilee celebrations. I very much look forward to attending several events in my constituency, starting this weekend when I will join the Wideopen and North Gosforth Community Association at Daverson hall for their early weekend-long jubilee event, although I will not be able to be there all weekend. On 2 June, I will celebrate with the residents association of Yeoman Street in North Shields—the street next to where I was brought up—at their jubilee street party.”
“I always loved listening to my mother recalling her memories of the day: watching the procession in the rain and—something that always struck me—watching the Queen appearing, a tiny figure waving from the gold state coach. I have a television story to add to those of the right hon. Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick) and my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman). I knew there was a television in my late husband’s street; indeed, it was his family who had the tiny television. My husband was about six at the time. He said that the house was full of neighbours, and that people were trying to peer through the window to watch the coronation on the tiny set. That shows just how interested people were in such a big event.”
“It is an honour to follow the hon. Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax), because it is about 12 years since, in June 2010, I followed his maiden speech in the Chamber with mine. It is also both an honour and a pleasure to take part in this Humble Address debate in honour of our Queen’s 70th jubilee. My late parents were, like many of their generation, contemporaries of Her Majesty and other members of the royal family. and always had great admiration for them. Just like my parents, I am a proud royalist, and have enjoyed celebrating many royal events since my childhood. My parents, with several members of the family, were fortunate in getting tickets for seats on The Mall for the coronation in 1953. We still have those tickets; my dear aunt kept them as a memento.”
“I doubt we will get that in this Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, but what we will see, I hope, in the not too distant future is a Labour Government who deliver for our area and keep their promises to the north-east.”
“With so many doubts and concerns about levelling up, perhaps the Government should listen to the chief executive of IPPR North, who warns that they “must prioritise turning the levelling up rhetoric into reality… People need to feel the benefit of ambitious action with full accountability on this critical agenda.” The IPPR is urging the Government to make themselves fully accountable by including in the Bill a new independent body outside London to hold the whole of Government to account against legally binding levelling-up missions. I hope to see that there will be some degree of levelling up and I want to see a level social and economic playing field for North Tyneside and the whole north-east.”
“Smulders in Wallsend employs 600 people; it is desperate to have something done about the cables, and we have been pleading with the Government since 2017—again, no levelling up here, or, in the case of the cables, levelling down. Far from levelling up in the north-east, the Government are levelling down the region, as in total we receive less from the levelling-up and shared prosperity funds than we did from the EU per year.”
“The Tory Government have already failed the north-east on transport, cancelling the High Speed 2 north-east leg, refusing crucial upgrades to the east coast main line, and scrapping Northern Powerhouse Rail. Along with the North East chamber of commerce, I lament the fact that the transport Bill has no good news for our area. We all know good transport links are key to job creation and investment and surely should be part of any levelling-up agenda. Despite promises, the Government have not given us a cast-iron guarantee that the electricity cables over the Tyne will be buried below the water or raised to allow world-renowned companies in Wallsend and along the rest of the Tyne to bring in potentially millions of pounds more in contracts and thousands of jobs.”
“While the Government are making much of their levelling-up agenda in the Queen’s Speech, the reality is that their levelling-up plan has given North Tyneside—where unemployment runs at 6.5%, almost 2% above the national average—category 2 status while the Chancellor’s leafy Richmond constituency has been given category 1 status. Our area also missed out on the potential of 60,000 new jobs and £2.6 billion in new investment with the Treasury refusing freeport status; that affected the area from Blyth down to Wearside. I will never get over the missed opportunities from that, and nor will the people in our area. Of the 45 towns that received towns fund money, 39 were in Tory areas, leaving behind towns like Killingworth and Wallsend in my constituency.”
“When I raised this sorry state of affairs with the Prime Minister at PMQs, he simply brushed the issue aside. Fortunately, the incident is now being properly investigated. In North Tyneside, we have an excellent Labour council, led by our outstanding elected Mayor, Norma Redfearn. Thanks to the hard work of Norma, her cabinet and council officers, the council has fought hard to keep many important and vital services in place, despite fierce cuts from the Government. As a result of Government policy since 2010, North Tyneside has had to make savings of £131 million. The core spending per dwelling is only £1,984, compared with the average of £2,155. In this financial year, the council received £63.5 million of revenue support grant—a cut of 81.4% since 2014.”
“The announcements made in the Queen’s Speech do nothing to increase the trust that the people of North Tyneside have in the Tory Government, nor to alleviate their concerns about the rising cost of living, which is starting to bite really hard in North Tyneside. I have heard from so many of my constituents who are hurt and angered by the antics in No. 10 during partygate, while they rigidly followed covid rules. They were unable to be with relatives in hospitals or care homes and, worst of all for some, were not able to be with them in the last hours of their lives. To add insult to injury, included in the estimated £4 billion of fraud in the furlough scheme is the North Tyneside Conservative party, with a furlough claim for a member of party staff who continued to work during lockdown.”
“I am so pleased that the hon. Gentleman’s birthday is in this month of VApril, and I congratulate him on this debate. Does he agree that the vaping industry, which is supporting harm reduction by encouraging people to turn to vaping, should get more support, and that vaping should be part of the Government’s harm-reduction strategy? Vaping is also more economical. Encouraging people away from cigarettes to vaping would be a good step in the direction of better health.”
“My hon. Friend is probably aware that I am an advocate for vaping. Major reports by the former Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians have highlighted the reduced risk potential of vape products. Does he agree that the Government must address consumer misperceptions regarding the relative risk reduction of vaping compared with smoking combustible cigarettes?”
“The recent attacks in Israel and the violence in Jerusalem and Gaza are a reminder of how urgent it is to support projects that bring Israelis and Palestinians together. Can the Minister now confirm to the House when the UK will join the board of the international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace?”
“I congratulate the hon. Lady and her colleagues on securing this important debate. Does she agree that it is not only the people who have had long covid who suffer, but their family members who have to care for them? My constituent Julie Wells has had a working life of nearly 40 years. Her teenage daughter, on a second dose of covid, has been left with totally debilitating symptoms and now needs constant care. Julie hopes at best to get back to part-time work, but she may not. That is a full-time person lost to the workforce because of caring for a family member.”
“Q3. With the Government losing an estimated £4 billion to fraud in the furlough scheme, surely the Prime Minister should have tackled that fraud—especially when, in his own party in North Tyneside, furlough was claimed for a member of party staff even though he continued to work.”
“I congratulate the hon. Member on this Adjournment debate. He may know that I have never smoked, but I am a strong advocate of vaping. Does he agree that, if the Government are serious about reducing smoking prevalence, they must ensure that medical professionals have access to the latest evidence on e-cigarettes and are encouraged to signpost patients to appropriate guidance about harm reduction, as well as information about how to switch successfully, if they cannot quit?”
“This week is the beginning of VApril, which is a campaign run by the industry to support smokers who are looking to quit. Would the Minister support efforts to encourage adult smokers to quit by speaking with local authority stop smoking services, this month in particular, and highlight the role of e-cigarettes in reducing harm?”
“Businesses such as Sidhu’s chippies in my constituency had pinned their hopes on the Chancellor reducing VAT to 12.5%. They are now going to be pushed to the brink as energy costs are set to almost triple this financial year. What hope can the Minister offer Sidhu’s and other businesses that have served their local communities for decades but now cannot guarantee jobs and services into the future?”
“Those announcements are welcome. Will the Minister recognise the work being done by the excellent Northumbria police and crime commissioner, Kim McGuinness, who has such a holistic approach to tackling violence—sexual violence and domestic abuse—against women? She has launched campaigns such as “Fun without fear”, and she commissions work with perpetrators, as well as with victims of domestic and violent abuse, to cover all aspects of work to stop this kind of violence against women.”
“Given that the Federation of Small Businesses has said that small business confidence in the north-east is now at minus 64%, can the Minister say what consideration he is giving to the measures put forward by the FSB to support small businesses in the energy crisis, including scrapping the planned national insurance contributions increase and extending the household rebate to be matched by an equivalent business rate rebate?”
“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this really important debate. She expresses very eloquently the real problem for people in our area: if they do not have a car, their chances of getting the employment that they really want are cut massively. By not providing public transport and not agreeing to Labour’s plans, this Government are strangling opportunity for people in the north-east.”
“My hon. Friend is making a fantastic case for Hadrian’s Wall—not the “Roman wall”; there are others—in the west end of Newcastle. Talking about all of the wall for this 1,900th anniversary is so important. I know that today is about being inclusive of all parts of the wall, so I hope she agrees with the idea developed in Wallsend in my constituency, where I live and she was born. In the planned redevelopment of the Segedunum Roman fort, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and North Tyneside Council, are keen to explore redirecting the trail through the 80 metres of wall foundations that were repaired by the Romans and a reconstructed part of the wall that people can climb. Hadrian’s Wall Partnership Board includes in its 10-year investment programme the establishment of stopping points to highlight the wall in unexpected places—”
“If the Government are serious about levelling up and wish to support endeavours to improve people’s lives, they must ensure that OHID adopts the same evidence-based approach as its predecessor to finding solutions for life-debilitating problems. I once again express my gratitude to my hon. Friend the Member for Bootle for having secured this debate. I hope that in responding, the Minister can provide clarity about the timeline for responding to the TRPR review and for the publication of the new tobacco control plan. I also hope that she agrees that the OHID must remain independent, with its institutional knowledge protected.”
“The UKVIA has industry-led solutions to many of the remaining concerns that prevent people from finally making the switch to vaping. Those solutions include the guidance it produced on introducing restrictions on packaging and branding. I support that paper, and can share it with the Minister if she wishes. The UK is seen by many across the world as a world leader in tobacco harm reduction, with countries, smokers and vapers looking to the UK for guidance in this space. That reputation should not be compromised by the loss of institutional knowledge during the transfer of resource from Public Health England to OHID, and it should not come at the cost of a Government Department delaying publications once again.”