Gill Furniss
MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough · Labour · United Kingdom
“T8. Earlier this month, I met Devon Andrews, whose daughter Cherish tragically passed away from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning while on holiday with her partner.”
“The infected blood scandal has rightly been described by the chair of the infected blood inquiry Sir Brian Langstaff as the worst treatment disaster in the history of our national health service.”
“These issues could have been mitigated if, as Sir Brian wrote, “decisions about those who should receive compensation are not made without them.” The minimal involvement of the people affected in the development of the compensation scheme has introduced problems and injustices.”
“In a recent report, the National Audit Office found that there is currently no dedicated team within Government that has central oversight or offers support to those setting up or administrating compensation schemes, and victims have no route for formal redress.”
“Under a provision called the special category mechanism, people can claim additional compensation for the financial loss and care costs that they have occurred as a result of their infection. However, this additional compensation applied only from 2017—an arbitrary administrative date inherited from a previous support scheme.”
“Many of those affected have had to live with the consequences of those failures for decades. One such person is my constituent John, who I know will be watching the debate. Like many hepatitis C patients, John was initially unaware of his illness.”
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“After the next speaker, we will limit speeches to three minutes. That means that your microphone will be cut off at that time, so I would appreciate it if you looked at the clock while speaking.”
“I am delighted that our Labour Mayor of South Yorkshire, Oliver Coppard, is bringing local buses back under public control. Does the Minister agree that taking back control of our buses will allow us to deliver on a low-carbon future for local transport services? What steps is she taking to increase the roll-out of zero emission buses nationwide?”
“T6. I have often raised the importance of further education and the transformative impact it can have. I know that the Minister and the Secretary of State share my belief in excellent education for all, instead of the broken skills system that the Tories left behind. To that end, what steps is the Minister taking to ensure that students without the necessary qualifications to get on to T-levels do not end up falling through the net?”
“Order. I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to be called in the debate. I also remind them that interventions are meant to be very brief if we are to allow everyone to speak in this big debate.”
“We have quite a lot of speakers, so I will limit speeches to three minutes each so that everyone will get an opportunity to get in the debate. I reiterate that interventions should be brief so that colleagues get the opportunities that they are here for.”
“Order. I ask Members to keep strictly to three minutes. You are going over that limit and speaking other people out. If you cannot keep to the limit, we will have to put the timer on, and you will be cut short.”
“There are still many of you wishing to speak, so I will restrict you each to two minutes because we want to hear a response from the Minister and the spokespeople. I call Alison Hume.”
“About 10 Members have indicated that they wish to speak or intervene, which is unusual in a 30-minute debate. To make a speech in this debate, a Back Bencher must have the leave of the Member in charge, Ms Kyrke-Smith, and of the Minister. Obviously, there also needs to be time enough. If you wish to make a speech as opposed to intervening and have secured the necessary permissions, please stand as usual when the Member in charge has finished moving the motion and remain on your feet while I assess demand and the need for a time limit. I am expecting that we will need a two-minute limit. I request that other Members seek to intervene very, very briefly and only during the speeches of the Member in charge and the Minister. I will call the Minister to reply at 11.20 am.”
“I was delighted recently to visit Chaucer school, a great school in my constituency with fantastic young people and innovative and motivated teaching staff, but 14 years of Tory government did not do enough for more than 300,000 children across the country attending schools that are stuck and kept receiving poor Ofsted judgments. Will the Prime Minister set out how this Government will tackle inequality and tear down barriers to opportunity through our plan for change?”
“I am grateful for this opportunity to raise the plight of women with endometriosis and the everyday struggles they face in the workplace. Endometriosis was first identified in 1860, but progress in improving the lives of women suffering from it has moved at a glacial pace since then. As the Women and Equalities Committee so accurately put it: “Women and girls are missing out on their education, career opportunities, relationships, social lives and are having their fertility impacted because of neglected reproductive health conditions.” This debate focuses on the impact of endometriosis on women in the workplace. I chose this specific focus of attention because an examination of all the issues facing women with this condition would far exceed the time constraints of an Adjournment debate; it would span an entire Parliament and more.”
“I thank the hon. Member for that point. The issue has been known about for a long time. The women’s health strategy, published in 2022, painted a picture of what workplaces should be like over the next 10 years, arguing that women should “feel able to speak openly about their health and to be confident that they will be supported by their employer and workplace colleagues, with an end to taboos” and that “women experiencing women’s health issues such as period problems, endometriosis, fertility treatment, miscarriage and menopause” must “feel well supported in their workplaces.” This is a far cry from the reality facing women in the workplace today.”
“I thank the right hon. Member for that intervention, and I absolutely agree. I pay tribute to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to the right hon. Member for the efforts he has put in over many years. Stigma and a lack of awareness by employers means that reproductive health conditions can have a significant effect on women’s experiences at work. It is almost impossible to remain at work when suffering from chronic pain and the mental toll that these conditions cause.”
“I thank my hon. Friend. The average length of time taken is now eight years, which is not good. Many women feel unable to speak openly about endometriosis as they would other conditions, as if it were something to be ashamed of. Research shows that 23% of women take time off work because of period health issues while 80% lie about reasons for absence if they are related to periods. Having said that, endometriosis is not just about periods; it is a whole-body complaint. I do not think there is an organ in the body up to the chest that has not been found to be affected by what is a crippling disease.”
“I completely agree, and it has serious consequences. Women may need to have a stoma because of the damage done to their bowels. The right hon. Member and I have both met quite young women their 20s who have needed to have hysterectomies and will never be able to bear a child. Endometriosis should not mean that women have to put their careers on hold and leave the jobs they have worked hard to get. Employers can take simple steps such as offering flexible working, access to period products and time off to attend appointments to build the type of workplace envisioned in the women’s health strategy. I am pleased that the Government have brought forward the Employment Rights Bill, which will be the biggest boost to workers’ rights in a generation.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for that point, and I completely agree. Although the Employment Rights Bill does require large employers to publish equality action plans, there is no specific mention of reproductive conditions. What discussions is the Minister having with her colleagues in the Department for Business and Trade to ensure that those issues are not forgotten? What hope can we have that employers will understand the condition if even some medical professionals do not? All too often, we have heard stories from women who have been told, “It’s just a heavy period” and, “Suck it up—every woman goes through this.””
“Absolutely, and I will come to that shortly. That leaves women feeling dismissed, ignored and belittled by the very people who should be helping them. The result is that it takes almost nine years on average to get a diagnosis of endometriosis in the UK. I therefore look forward to hearing from the Minister on the steps she is taking to promote better awareness.”
“It has made a number of recommendations, including on employment rights, and I look forward to reading the Government’s response. I hope that they will listen to calls to give specific mention to reproductive health as part of the Employment Rights Bill, which has cross-party support. I also praise Endometriosis UK for its invaluable work in supporting women with this condition and campaigning for change. It acts as the secretariat for the all-party parliamentary group on endometriosis, of which I am an officer.”
“Will the Minister therefore update the House on how the Government will implement the measures in the women’s health strategy? We must continue to encourage research into endometriosis. Our world-leading researchers are doing vital work in clinical trials to find better ways to manage and treat this condition. They will not stop until they find a cure. Therefore, will the Minister outline what steps she is taking to support clinical research and ensure that women are able to get on to those clinical trials? If we have a cure, it is obvious that we will not have any of the problems that I have spoken about. I commend the Women and Equalities Committee on its excellent report into women’s reproductive health conditions.”
“I am sorry; I have got to make progress. I do not underestimate the task for Ministers in fixing our NHS after it was left in tatters by the previous Government. Waiting lists for gynaecological care have grown faster than those for any other specialty in recent years, leaving many women in agony. The women’s health strategy correctly identified some of these chronic issues, but in the absence of funding to back that up, we have gone further and further backwards from what we need. For instance, women’s health hubs have improved women’s access to healthcare services, but the previous Government failed to give them long-term certainty and their funding is set to run out in March. As the Government work hard to rebuild the NHS, improving gynaecological care must be at the centre of that, because women have waited long enough.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right—that is what we are talking about. For many years, the APPG was chaired by our dear friend David Amess. David campaigned tirelessly for improvements to endometriosis care, and he will forever remain on our minds as we continue his legacy.”
“I will call Sonia Kumar, and then I will call the Minister to respond. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the convention for 30-minute debates.”
“Knife crime continues to have a devastating impact on all too many lives in Sheffield. I recently chaired a roundtable in my constituency, which brought together local leaders, police, schools and voluntary organisations that are all on the frontline. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is vital to work together with key stakeholders so that we can build a collaborative approach to ending knife crime once and for all?”
“It had been relying on an emergency grant from the National Lottery these last few months, and had applied for funding from the Home Office and the suicide prevention grant fund to continue its work. Vida estimated that it saved other services about £50,000 a month through its complex mental health service. I fear that the burden of the surviving mental health and therapy services in Sheffield will only increase with the loss of Vida. The barriers are only more pronounced for those women from minoritised communities. I have total regard for the Minister, and I know how tenacious and committed she is. I am sure she will listen to us all and come back with good responses.”
“I was proud to stand on a manifesto that committed to halving violence against women and girls within a decade, and I am pleased that Ministers are treating it as a cross-departmental problem and have established a ministerial board on tackling violence against women and girls. Combating the epidemic will require specialist local services and charities but, as every Member knows, our councils face extreme budgetary pressures thanks to austerity. When faced with such a grim economic future, the vast majority of councils’ spending goes towards fulfilling the provision of their statutory legal obligations. I wanted to speak about a charity called Vida Sheffield, which is very close to my heart and had been running for nearly 30 years. Sadly, Vida Sheffield recently announced its closure.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Sir Mark. I thank the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) for securing this debate during the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. Due to the nature of domestic violence, the data available to us will never fully record the extent of the abuse, but we know that there was a minimum of 2.2 million victims last year. To me, that number is clear evidence that the issue is endemic. I am sick and tired of seeing women and girls facing the same threats of violence and abuse every day. It is often framed as a women’s issue—something that we need to be aware of in case our actions are somehow responsible for men’s behaviour. And I say men, because the reality is that the vast majority of violence against women is clearly committed by men.”
“This will be a major step forward in a new relationship between employers, the workforce and further education—all working together to build a workforce that is fit for the future. This Government’s steadfast focus is delivering economic growth in every corner of the country—something that has been lacking in my constituency for far too long. I look forward to the establishment of Skills England to help upskill the workforce nationwide, working alongside our fantastic further education sector to succeed.”
“Her wealth of knowledge and experience means that she will be a strong voice for the value of further education in the skills agenda. I also welcome the steps that the Government are taking to deliver on our manifesto commitment to create a flexible growth and skills levy; the investment of £40 million will help to ensure that apprenticeships, with decent employment at the end, are available for people of all skillsets. Employers have long called for reform of the apprenticeship levy, which many have found to be inflexible and unfit for purpose. We need a new system that works for employers and workers alike, and which has further education at its heart. I am pleased that this Government are taking immediate action in this area and backing it up with real investment.”
“There are exciting developments happening in Sheffield. The Sheffield college will soon open its new advanced technology centre—a state-of-the-art facility that will play a key role in meeting the skills needs of employers, accelerating our green skills strategy, and supporting growth in the local and regional economy. The success of the sector is all the more impressive when we consider the funding challenges it has endured. On the last Government’s watch, spending per college student fell by 5% in real terms, but this Government have shown that they understand their value, and I am so pleased to see in the Budget the commitment of an extra £300 million for further education. This Government are filled with expertise in further education. I am delighted to see Baroness Smith of Malvern appointed as Minister for Skills.”
“A thriving FE sector is also vital to meet the challenges of the future. Decarbonisation and new technologies, like AI, are already revolutionising our workforce, and the CBI has found that nine in 10 people will need to reskill in this decade alone. We are in the midst of a skills shortage, with businesses struggling to fill highly skilled positions and instead recruiting from abroad. These are no longer the skills of the future but the skills of today, and we already have the infrastructure ready to go to meet the challenge, with hundreds of colleges filled with thousands of experts teaching countless subjects. My constituency is home to two exemplary FE institutions: the Sheffield college and Longley Park sixth form. I pay tribute to all their staff, who go above and beyond to give students the best support possible.”
“Back in July Britain voted to turn the corner on 14 years of failure at the hands of the Conservative party: 14 years of unfunded tax cuts for the wealthiest, 14 years of austerity that left working people to pick up the bill and 14 years of our public services crumbling. This Budget is a breath of fresh air that delivers on what people voted for, with £1.4 billion to rebuild schools, £30 million for breakfast clubs and an extra 2 million NHS appointments. Today I want to speak about an issue that is very close to my heart: further education. Before entering Parliament, I worked in further education and saw at first hand the transformational impact it can have. I have seen adults of all ages, some of whom have struggled with even basic literacy and numeracy, make major strides forward and go on to university and high-quality jobs.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. Does my hon. Friend agree that the lack of scrutiny may pose a risk to members of the public, particularly in safeguarding and the safety of vehicles? In Sheffield, where I am from, the licensing team is unable to check the vehicles on the road and whether they are being driven by properly licensed drivers.”
“It is a shame that the life of an MP is not more compatible with pet ownership, otherwise I would not be leaving there empty-handed; in fact, I would probably leave with an armful. The RSPCA’s workload is staggering. Last year, it averaged more than 2,500 calls every single day, received more than 20,000 abandonment calls and rehomed 27,000 animals. We appreciate all that it does. It is heartbreaking to hear stories of pets being abandoned by their owners. Sadly, the cost of living crisis and the surge of so-called pandemic puppies have created a perfect storm, whereby more and more people cannot afford to properly care for their beloved companions.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Mr Twigg, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones)— I hope I have got that right—on securing today’s debate and on her excellent speech. The RSPCA is not just the UK’s largest animal welfare charity, but one of our nation’s most treasured and recognisable institutions. For a startling 200 years, it has been kept afloat thanks to the generous donations of the British public, which just goes to show that we truly are a nation of animal lovers and cherish the work done by the charity to help animals. The RSPCA’s work stretches across every part of the country, and I look forward to visiting my local branch on Friday.”
“Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn—I have said that so many times now that maybe I will remember it—for giving us the opportunity to celebrate 200 years since the RSPCA was formed. This debate has been a great chance to reflect on how far we have come and to discuss what more there is to do, and I look forward to seeing real progress in the years ahead. Most of all, I thank all those associated with the RSPCA—the donors, the workers, the board members and the fundraisers. I really want to congratulate them and wish them a happy 200th birthday.”
“Although it has been vital for many of our most important scientific and medical discoveries, technological advances mean we can look forward to an age where it is no longer needed. I hope the Minister can outline the way forward for us. I am confident that the Government’s work on these issues will extend beyond our manifesto commitments, to ensure that we remain world leaders in animal welfare. Given the RSPCA’s expertise, we must listen when it calls for legislative changes. Colleagues have mentioned regulation, and the suggestion from my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn should be listened to. I will be interested to hear what the Minister says about establishing an animal health strategy, which I feel would have the support of Parliament, should it proceed. I again thank my hon.”
“Member for Wells and Mendip Hills (Tessa Munt). It is comforting to know that pets that have sometimes been abandoned are going to the right people in the right places who can look after them. I imagine that looking after a Chihuahua and looking after a Great Dane are different things— I have not had either, but I imagine there are different focuses and different housing abilities when doing that. The ban on puppy and kitten smuggling is long overdue. The previous Government dragged their feet on it for far too long and animals have suffered as a result, so I look forward to hearing from the Minister about his plans in that area. I also welcome our manifesto commitment to work towards phasing out animal testing.”
“I thank the hon. Member for that pertinent point. Throughout covid, which was stressful for everyone, people’s pets were their comfort and also their form of exercise. It is proven that dogs will calm us down when we are in distress and give us something to get up for in the morning. As difficult as it can be, the RSPCA is always there if owners can no longer afford the cost of owning a pet. There is never an excuse for abandonment, but however the animals get to the RSPCA, it is there for every one of them. I am an animal lover; my father adopted a dog for me when I was a child and I adopted a cat some years ago. When I adopted the cat, I was surprised at the thoroughness of the vetting: we were interviewed, and someone came to my home to check the garden, to see whether we were on a busy road and to do the matching mentioned by the hon.”
“Over the past few months, we have seen shocking levels of suffering in Gaza. The only sustainable way in which to end this humanitarian disaster is an immediate ceasefire and the return of all hostages, but in the meantime aid must be provided to save the lives of innocent civilians. Can the Minister explain why there has been only one shipment of UK aid in more than six months, and none so far this year?”
“I fear that without urgent reform, more consumers will fall prey to similar products that intentionally blur the lines between gambling and investing. Will the Minister commit to helping ensure that the gambling sponsorship code of conduct is introduced as soon as possible?”
“However, the platform’s misleading nature meant that there was a reluctance from both the Gambling Commission and the FCA to take ultimate responsibility for regulating the product, to the detriment of the thousands of Football Index’s victims. Let us not forget that consumers have rights, including a right to redress if their product is mis-sold. Customers in a regulated industry such as gambling have the right to expect that the regulations will be adequate, appropriate and diligent. The users of Football Index have been wronged. The regulatory failings have cost thousands of people dearly, and they deserve compensation for their losses. However, beyond that, we need real systematic change. Football is watched by millions of young people every week, yet they are still subjected to constant gambling advertisements.”
“The Guardian reported: “The only hint on its website that it was actually a betting site was an easy-to-miss strapline, which was added several years into its existence at the insistence of the Advertising Standards Authority.” The authority had previously complained that the language used by Football Index was “synonymous with the language used to describe conventional stock markets and investment products.” The Gambling Commission has been made aware of the concerns, having been warned in January 2020 that tens of thousands of users were being “misled into believing they are investing rather than gambling, with little or no consideration that all of their money is at risk”, and that the platform was little more than an “exceptionally dangerous pyramid scheme” in a formal submission by industry experts.”
“Internal company documents reveal that Neil Kelly, the director of BetIndex—the Jersey-based company that ran Football Index—said: “the Football Index platform functions somewhat similarly to a stock market, hence for marketing purposes it is sometimes referred to as the football stock market and when the Company uses this term, it is deliberately misspelled as the football ‘stockmarket’.” As one of the previous speakers said, that is working in the dark shadows of the law. It is completely unacceptable, and I really hope that the Minister will put it right. The deliberate misspelling may have reassured directors that they were not operating a stock market, but that distinction was less than apparent to their customers.”
“I remain disappointed that the Government’s White Paper on gambling reform, which required the introduction of a cross-sport gambling sponsorship code of conduct, has been continually delayed. Will the Minister tell us when that code of conduct will be introduced? Will he investigate KiX, which is now operating instead of FI? Sadly, any changes to legislation on football sponsorship are too late for the users of Football Index. Prior to its collapse, Football Index sponsored the shirts of three English Football League teams. Those sponsorship deals helped to convey an aura of trust and respectability that may not otherwise have existed, furthering the dupe that it was an investment platform. Football Index was more than happy to play into that misconception.”
“Thirty-five clubs across the UK have signed the Big Step’s pledge to eliminate gambling advertisements in football, and Premier League teams have agreed not to take front-of-shirt sponsorship deals from gambling firms from 2026. However, that leaves us in the nonsensical situation whereby we recognise the dangers posed by gambling sponsorships but are happy to relegate them to the sleeves of football kits and advertising hoardings around stadiums, despite research showing that only 5% of gambling logos showed during live Premier League football matches would be affected by the front-of-shirt ban—in my opinion, that is 5% too many. We need to do far more to combat the blight of gambling sponsorship in sport.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Mrs Murray. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Liz Twist) on securing this debate on such an important issue, which has caused a great deal of suffering for thousands of people. Several years ago, I met a group of parents outside Hillsborough stadium whose loved ones had tragically taken their own lives after struggling with gambling addiction. The victims were mainly in their 20s and 30s. The parents were taking part in the Big Step, and were walking between five Yorkshire football grounds to call for an end to gambling advertising and sponsorship in football.”
“There is a clear need for a national policy on bowel care in NHS settings for people with spinal injuries. I have listened to patients who have been left feeling abandoned and trapped in a hospital bed without the basic dignity of being able to use the toilet—all because of a lack of training for nurses in providing the necessary support. Will the Minister meet me and representatives of the Spinal Injuries Association to discuss how we can make the situation better and ensure that nobody is denied this basic level of care?”
“Time and again, pensioners have been let down by this Government. They suspended the triple lock, breaking a key manifesto promise; their disastrous mini-Budget knocked hundreds of billions of pounds from pension pots; and their failure to get a grip on the cost of living means that pensioners are mainly living in cold homes over the winter and have a choice between heating or eating. Against this backdrop, is the Minister at all surprised that almost one in five pensioners are now living in poverty?”
“I thank the Minister for his explanation of the changes, and I look forward to his answers about extra guidance for affected schemes and to the questions that I have just raised.”
“The requirements in the regulations should, I hope, help to fix that. Turning to the consultation, I am aware that, while many stakeholders were supportive of the objectives of the regulations, concerns have been raised about the extra administrative burden that they may incur. I am also concerned that underfunding could be a risk to scheme members and pension protection funds, and I would welcome the Minister’s reassurance on that point. Will he outline what discussions he has had with the Pensions Regulator on its implementation of the flexibility that it may well be awarded? Could we please have more guidance on what exactly will be required from each DB scheme? We will not oppose the regulations and we hope that they are successful in promoting good practice across the sector.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Dame Maria. The regulations will place additional duties on the trustees of defined-benefit pension schemes to help ensure good practice. As the Minister pointed out, the vast majority of those schemes are already well run by dedicated trustees who want to do right by their members, but we know that that is not universal and we support measures to ensure that people’s money is well looked after. The defined-benefit pensions sector is an evolving industry. As has been highlighted, the last significant legislation relating to it dates back to 2004-05, a time when many defined-benefit schemes were open. The landscape has changed significantly, and it is vital that regulation keeps up. For instance, research shows that many large schemes are yet to set long-term objectives.”