Kate Osborne
MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East · Labour · United Kingdom
“Like many other MPs, I am still being contacted by constituents about their civil service pensions and the unacceptable delays. It is deeply concerning that my constituent Julie, who retired from the civil service in February, had her pension finalised only in September, and these delays are causing huge distress and financial hardship.”
House of Commons26 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for his detailed response; it will mean a lot to the descendants of the marchers and members of our community who may be watching this debate. I also thank the hon.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We see similar challenges playing out now. These commemorative events and today’s debate are about remembering those who bravely marched to demand better, but they are also about looking to the future and embracing the potential of the north-east, because the challenges that faced working-class communities then continue to face them.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Local weekly earnings remain below the national average. Almost a century on from the march, generations are still growing up in and around Jarrow unable to find suitable work and with high levels of inequality and poverty.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Our history must be remembered and celebrated for the benefit of a new generation, but it must also be used to move forward, to learn from and to build a better world, because while some progress has been made, there is still a lot to do.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Those are the same fundamental challenges that the Jarrow crusaders marched to confront 90 years ago, and they are why we cannot afford to be complacent about the progress we have made.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“Q8. Tens of thousands of people were marching through London last weekend protesting against this out-of-touch Government, rail workers are on strike, and Royal Mail workers, NHS workers, teachers and even barristers are on the verge of taking industrial action. All workers are struggling to cope with the worst cost of living crisis in history. Ministers are planning to boost City bosses’ pay while demanding wage restraint for everyone else, so can the Prime Minister tell me when he is going to stop giving meaningless soundbites and instead start supporting working people across our country?”
House of Commons22 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I stand with the FBU in its call for the Grenfell inquiry to recommend reversing the disastrous deregulation that led to this fire, and insist on investment in our fire and rescue service and the implementation of the recommendations that have already been made. I also stand with the FBU and the victims and survivors in their call for contractors and senior politicians to be held accountable for the part that they played. In the face of the injustice and struggle that has besieged the survivors and the family and friends of the victims at Grenfell Tower and the wider north Kensington community, I would like to pass on from the people of the Jarrow constituency our solidarity in their fight for justice. History will remember your strength and determination to make sure that such a disaster can never happen again.”
House of Commons16 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“At the forefront of this economic failure is the housing sector, with the fire at Grenfell Tower being the worst example of what happens when the interests of the market are put first and people’s lives a distant second. This is a rotten political culture that puts profit over people, that outsources work to companies that carry out these deadly construction decisions without oversight, that has a Government who are slashing local authority budgets, making them less able to monitor rogue landlords and homes that are unfit to live in, and that forces cuts on our emergency services. It is this rotten culture that leads to disasters like the Grenfell Tower fire.”
House of Commons16 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This disaster has shown us, in the worst possible way, the deadly nature of Britain’s housing stock—a housing stock built against a backdrop of deregulation, where a culture of chasing profits and cutting corners was, and still is, prioritised over building safety and people’s lives. In this place today, we have to question how such a disaster was allowed to unfold, and remind ourselves that political rhetoric such as “cutting red tape” has real world consequences. Over the past 40 years, the dominant ideology of deregulation and allowing market forces to decide what is in the best interests of this country has not worked, with devastating consequences.”
House of Commons16 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In the five years since Grenfell, the chief executives of the four biggest building companies linked to the fire have collectively received £50 million in pay, bonuses, shares and dividends—a point that was also made by my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter)—yet the people and families who still live in buildings with flammable cladding are being asked to pay for its removal themselves. That cannot be right. This Government are failing to protect people. Their own statistics show that less than 1% of those who have applied to the Government’s 2020 building safety fund for buildings 18 metres or higher have had their dangerous cladding removed. That is not just dangerous, but a disgraceful indictment of this Government.”
House of Commons16 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As with many of this Government’s policies, their response showed the disregard that they have for working class lives. We should never forget that the right hon. Member for North East Somerset (Mr Rees-Mogg) accused the 72 people who died at Grenfell of lacking common sense. The Grenfell Tower fire shows the way that working class communities are treated in this country. Residents had warned about health and safety issues for years, and were ignored. Grenfell Tower would not have happened to wealthy Londoners. It happened to mainly migrant and black Londoners and now, five years on, we have seen no accountability from those responsible for this horrific tragedy—or to call it what it was, social murder.”
House of Commons16 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is always a pleasure to follow my right hon. Friend the Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn). I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) on securing this debate and extend my welcome to Emma Dent Coad, who I know is in the Public Gallery today. I wish to open my contribution by paying tribute to the family and friends of the victims and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, the residents of north Kensington and members of the emergency services. This week, as we know, marks five years since this horrific event—one of the worst disasters in modern times. The disaster unfolded in north Kensington and left the community traumatised and 72 people dead. We need truth and accountability to ensure justice for the 72 people who tragically died five years ago, and their families.”
House of Commons16 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have seen those failures of Government in protecting the LGBTQI+ communities at first hand, and I am steadfast in my belief that conversion therapy must be banned for all, including transgender people.”
House of Commons13 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Graham. I thank the 145,000 people who signed the petition, ensuring that today’s debate would go ahead. As politicians, we should always ask ourselves which side of history we are on. When the gay liberation movement started, it had almost no support in the House of Commons. When queer communities came under attack from homophobes and the police, it was left to us to defend ourselves. Now, once again, this Government seem to want the House to be on the wrong side of history. Well, I stand on the side of history that has learned lessons from the past—from when queer communities came under attack from homophobes and the police, and when AIDS arrived and its victims faced stigmatisation.”
House of Commons13 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I do agree. My right hon. Friend referred to section 28. Interestingly, the first march I went on as an activist many years ago—more than I care to remember —was in opposition to section 28.”
House of Commons13 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Government know and have clearly acknowledged that conversion therapy is abuse, yet they seem willing to allow an entire community to continue to be subjected to it. History has judged how wrong some of our politicians have been in the past, and it will judge those who fail to protect our trans community now.”
House of Commons13 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In Britain today, around half of trans people attempt suicide before the age of 26. Many face harassment, bullying and discrimination daily. As my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard) mentioned, trans people and their very existence are not up for debate. Under the Prime Minister, this Government’s strategy is to harness prejudice and stoke a culture war, pitting communities against each other. It is not surprising that the Tories are undermining trans rights. If the Conservative party had a motto, it would probably be, “Never let basic humanity get in the way of a potential vote winner.” If the proposed legislation does not include trans people, it will not go far enough. It is essential to close all loopholes to prevent the possibility of this abuse continuing.”
House of Commons13 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman. There should be no division, as the hon. Member for Darlington (Peter Gibson) said. We know from numerous studies and polls that transphobes are in the minority, but unfortunately, that minority is hardening and seems to have this Government’s ear. As casual prejudice fills the airwaves and column inches, the Government’s failure to deliver a ban on conversion therapy for trans people sends a terrible message. Conversion therapy causes serious mental health problems for those who undergo it, and it has driven people to suicide. Trans people are twice as likely to have been offered conversion therapy as those who are cis, gay or bi, but the Government seem to exclude them even though they are the very people whom the ban would help the most.”
House of Commons13 June 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“T7. I put on record my best wishes to the two opposing sides around my constituency, the men’s and women’s teams of Newcastle United and Sunderland AFC, on a successful season for all involved. To stay on football, I and many of my constituents are disappointed that the north-east has not been selected to host any games in the upcoming 2022 women’s Euros and the closest game will take place more than 120 miles away in Rotherham. Can the Secretary of State tell the House why the north-east will not be home to any of the games? What benefits will people from Jarrow and the north-east gain from that highly anticipated football tournament?”
House of Commons26 May 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Attorney General for her response. In 2020, one in 20 victims of sexual assault reported being drugged or spiked by the perpetrator responsible for their assault, and that was before the terrifying reports last year of young women being injected. Given the scale and seriousness of this spiking epidemic, does the Attorney General regard it as acceptable that just 102 people were convicted for spiking offences in the whole of 2021? What more is being done to tackle this?”
House of Commons26 May 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The simple fact is that it does not have to be like this, and the Government have a duty to alleviate this crisis by making corporations, and those who can, contribute more. This Queen’s Speech was an opportunity to redress the balance, but it was also incumbent on the Government to take action, and they have not. This Queen’s Speech, put forward by this Government, has no substance and shows no willingness to redress the balance of power in this country. Unless they do more, I fear for the people I represent in the Jarrow constituency and for those in the rest of the UK.”
House of Commons17 May 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Calls for a windfall tax are supported not only by those on the Opposition side of the House, but elsewhere, including by the Tesco chairman, John Allan. If the best this Chancellor can provide is a tacit threat to impose a windfall tax on energy companies, rather than a legislative commitment, that is simply not good enough. The increase in energy prices and the responsibility for the terrifying cost of living crisis stop at the Government’s door, and they have failed to use this Queen’s Speech as an opportunity to rebalance the financial burden in this country. More people will suffer through their lack of action. As we emerge from this pandemic, people in this country are enduring one of the worst cost of living crises seen in post-war Britain.”
House of Commons17 May 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Against the backdrop of these cruel choices, oil and gas companies have managed to turn over record profits in the first quarter of 2022, with Shell recording a record quarterly profit of $9.1 billion, up from $6.3 billion in the final three months of 2021, while BP has seen its profits for the first quarter more than double on the previous year to $6.2 billion. This cannot be right. I was proud to be elected on a manifesto that committed to bringing energy companies into public ownership, which would have regulated prices and ultimately put accountability to the people over profit. This Government should have looked towards countries such as France, Spain and Germany and used the Queen’s Speech as an opportunity to implement a low-percentage price cap on energy prices, and they should have committed to implementing a windfall tax.”
House of Commons17 May 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The TUC has said that the Chancellor’s response to the cost of living crisis has been “woefully inadequate”. It says that he needs to call “an emergency budget to get pay rising, help families with soaring bills, and keep the economy moving”— and it is absolutely right. This cost of living crisis is underpinned by financial injustice and unfairness. It is a crisis where Tory smoke and mirrors cannot hide the truth, and where people have had to choose between eating and heating their homes while paying crippling bills.”
House of Commons17 May 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The cost of living crisis presents the biggest threat in a generation to the living standards of the working class in this country. The removal of the energy price cap has meant that bills have risen by up to 54% for millions of households in the UK. This has meant the highest real-terms energy price increase in living memory, with the worst fall in living standards since the 1950s. Shockingly, the cost of living crisis is having a disproportionate effect on women. According to work done by the shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds), more than 7.5 million women are currently living in relative poverty. That translates to almost a quarter of all women across the UK.”
House of Commons17 May 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“While the debate is centred on the recruitment and retention of foster carers, we also need to look at the challenges faced by the sector more broadly, and at where we can share experiences of local authorities and constituents to not only platform the sector, but raise its profile and actively encourage people to enter into fostering.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“One cannot overestimate the important role fostering plays across child protection and safeguarding. In a climate where, over the last 12 years, local authorities have been forced to adapt their operations through cuts to local expenditure, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, the demand for foster carers has never been greater, with many children needing emergency support. That is why I will focus my opening remarks on why the fostering sector and carers need increased recognition and wraparound support from local authorities and independent fostering agencies.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I beg to move, That this House has considered the recruitment and retention of foster carers. It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Robertson. I thank the Backbench Business Committee and the supporting Members who made it possible to secure this debate. I also thank the Fostering Network, Home for Good and one of my local authorities, South Tyneside, for organising meetings and relevant briefings for me and my team, which were very useful for this debate. I put on record my thanks to those bodies for their work in championing the overlooked and neglected fostering sector. I am sure all Members present will want to join me in welcoming the Fostering Network and foster carers to the Public Gallery. It is great to see them here.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Secondly, the report notes: “Fourteen local authorities reported that their foster care allowances were below the NMA for at least one age group across England. Of these, two were in London, four were in the South East and ten were in the area of the rest of England.” While I thank the Children’s Minister for writing to 13 local authorities on the specific issue of the national minimum allowance, that has to be weighted against this Government’s political decision to put the burden of inflation and the cost of living crisis on the backs of ordinary people.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Members on both sides must ask why those significant shortfalls in the fostering sector are occurring and what we in this place can do to help to alleviate this recruitment and retention crisis. I believe that we need to champion foster carers, but central to that must be deeds, not just words: we need to make sure that foster carers are fairly paid and respected as workers. Set out in its 2021 “State of the Nation’s Foster Care” report, the Fostering Network’s findings on pay are damning: “Over a third of foster carers said that their allowances do not meet the full cost of looking after a child.” That is certainly something I can give personal testimony of, from my experience as a foster carer before entering this place; it has also been said to me today by some of the foster carers present.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Yes, I agree, and I will refer to a similar point in my speech. As I was preparing for this debate and looking at the statistics, two particular facts on recruitment stood out to me. First, the number of initial inquiries to foster is at an all-time high. There were 160,635 initial inquiries from prospective fostering households in the year ending 31 March 2021. In contrast, only 10,145 applications—a mere 6% of initial inquiries—were actually received. Secondly, according to the annual fostering statistics published by Ofsted, the number of foster carers in England has increased by only 4% since 2014, while the number of children in foster care has increased by 11%. Those statistics show a crisis in recruitment and retention.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In this, it is vital that children are kept as close to the local authority as possible. This approach means that at crisis point there is no delay in support, and any crisis has a better chance of being mitigated, as tailored, traumatic and therapeutic support can be accessed quickly.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Another critical issue that we have to be aware of is the responsibility local authorities and IFAs have in providing vital—often emergency—wraparound support for foster carers and their families. I put on record my thanks to South Tyneside Council, one of my local authorities, for its progressive outlook in prioritising this area. First and foremost, we have to recognise that each child currently being supported through fostering services has different and complex needs, which must be met from the first moment that child comes under the care of their carer. That is why South Tyneside’s model of training carers to degrees, whereby they can be matched with the child best suited to their level of training—a model that is in the best interests of all parties and, most importantly, those of the child or young person—is highly commendable.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right: we cannot keep taking money out of local authorities and expect them to still deliver the same level of services. The impact, unfortunately, is felt by the children and young people who are in the fostering system or child services. The financial pressures and stresses felt by carers, highlighted by the Fostering Network’s research, are only set to get worse. The Nationwide Association of Fostering Providers believes that the Government should urgently make a pay award to foster carers, both within local authorities and independent fostering agencies, to preserve and protect this precious resource for children and young people in need. This would be an important signal to foster carers that the Government really do value their contribution.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In South Tyneside Council, 50% of children are placed into IFAs. We also need to break down the popular perceptions of fostering, which undermine the diverse and varying shapes that it can take. Fostering should not be compared with adoption, although it often is. We need to break through the perception that fostering is a means, whereas adoption is the end, because one size does not fit all. We also need to recognise that circumstances in the lives of carers can change. The value of a carer fostering one child needs to be recognised as the same as a carer who may foster many children. Finally, we need to appreciate that, more often than not, foster carers can be thrust into a situation at extreme short notice. Their presence in the safeguarding process can often be to provide emergency care.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The cuts to local authorities over the past 12 years, along with the present day record levels of children needing emergency foster care mean that my local authority, like most others, must turn to independent fostering agencies to plug the gap. The money local authorities have to spend from Government grants, council tax and business rates has fallen by 16% since 2010. That means that local authorities have an increasingly limited capacity to respond to significant inflationary pressures. While I respect the work that members of IFAs do to alleviate the pressure felt by local authorities, those agencies have the ability to add another complex, unnecessary layer between the child and the local authority, meaning that when crisis hits, unnecessary delays, which are detrimental to all involved, are often hard to avoid.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. As has been said, the funding that is being taken out of the system means that, unfortunately, we are not continuing to provide the support that is needed, in terms of both social workers and the many other people who are involved in children’s care. The system South Tyneside Council has in place means that if a breakdown occurs between the child and foster family, the local authority is accountable, thus upholding the fostering standards to improve outcomes. With such support mechanisms in place, more people will be encouraged to become foster carers. However, we must recognise that South Tyneside’s model relies on factors for which the responsibility lies truly at the feet of Government Ministers.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I hope that today’s debate acts as an opportunity to address Members’ concerns from their constituencies and encourages the Minister to put recommendations in place.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I also want the Minister to listen to the recommendations set out by the Fostering Network, which with others is calling for a fully funded national fostering strategy, a national fostering leadership board and a national register of foster carers. In addition, the Government need to carry out a comprehensive review of the minimum levels of fostering allowance, using up-to-date evidence to ensure foster carers are given sufficient payment to cover the full cost of looking after a child. There is no one quick fix to address the issues relating to the retention of foster carers. The themes of carers feeling unsupported, making a financial loss and not being treated as workers would lead to a high turnover rate and chronic difficulties in recruitment in any workforce.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The strategy focuses on a fostering hub, where satellite carers work in sync to provide specialist and centralised care to children along with real-time support for those satellite carers. Mockingbird means intervention can take place without the need to necessarily remove children completely from their support network, should an emergency occur. Depending on circumstances, the programme can be adjusted to include birth families and adoptive families, and to provide support for independent living, while giving assurance to foster carers and those in care that a secure and close support network is at hand.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That point came up in my meeting with the head of children’s services in my local authority. As my hon. Friend says, we are desperately short of BAME foster carers. Often children arrive into foster care with nothing apart from the clothes they are wearing. The responsibility lies firmly with the fostering family to pick up from there, otherwise the child would have nothing. What do we need from the Government? I would like the Minister to look at and seriously consider the Mockingbird strategy as adopted by South Tyneside and many others, and to listen to best practice from my and other local authorities. I hope we will hear more on that today from other Members. The Mockingbird model is based on the idea of an extended family.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We need to determine where different functions should sit depending on where they are most accountable and effective and bring the most innovation to children’s social care. There is also a need for a national fostering leadership board. The establishment of a fully funded national leadership board would provide visible leadership, drive forward the national strategy and provide oversight for the sector to ensure a co-ordinated, collaborative and strategic approach to support and drive improvements. Fostering services and foster carers have long been under-supported, under-financed and undervalued. We now need to address these issues to make a real difference to foster carers, the many people who support them and, most importantly, the children and young people who desperately need and deserve the best from us all.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank all hon. and right hon. Members for their contributions. I also thank the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) and the Minister for their comments. He rightly acknowledged the important role that foster carers play, and I welcome his intention to work with the Fostering Network and to look at the allowances. To allow foster carers from all backgrounds—as is necessary and has already been stated—to continue in their role, we have to have the correct support in place. I reiterate how much there needs to be a fully funded national fostering strategy. We have one in place for adoption, and we need one for fostering. There is an urgent need to support fostering at a local level, with the appropriate funding and right structures regionally and nationally.”
House of Commons21 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“First, I ask the Minister what more the UK Government can do at the United Nations to ensure that these issues are satisfactorily addressed, so that there can be genuine progress over the next five years. Secondly, the UK embassy’s call for a ceasefire between armed groups during the elections is a welcome first step. Will the UK Government now commit to encouraging peace talks between the Colombian Government and the ELN? Finally, I ask the Minister and the Government to ensure that the UK honours our role as penholder, taking a lead in international efforts to support a full implementation of the Colombian peace agreement, which is undoubtedly the best hope we have of bringing an end to this human rights crisis and seeing Colombia truly receive peace and justice, once and for all.”
House of Commons20 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“According to the UN verification mission report in January, “With one-third of the time frame envisioned for the implementation of the Final Agreement and despite urgent security challenges across the country, the public policy to dismantle illegal armed groups, criminal organizations and their support networks has not been adopted.” We know the peace agreement contains important mechanisms not just to improve the economic lives of Colombia’s poorest, but to radically improve the security situation. However, key elements have not been advanced, and we must do more in our role as penholder to the Colombian peace process at the UN Security Council. I will raise a few concluding points.”
House of Commons20 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Colombia to mark the anniversary and reminded the Colombian Government that the security provisions of the agreement must be fully implemented, as well as the chapters on rural reform. He also recognised the FARC’s commitment to the peace process, commenting: “The vast majority of former combatants, some thirteen thousand, are admirably striving to build new lives in peace.” Over 300 former FARC combatants have been murdered since entering the reincorporation process. The lack of security in Colombia, and the failure to ensure civilian state presence in large parts of the country, continues to be extremely worrying.”
House of Commons20 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In that letter sent to President Duque, we expressed our deep concern at the lack of progress overall by the Colombian Government in the implementation of some of their crucial obligations in the agreement, leaving the peace process weakened and, so far, denying the Colombian people the opportunity to experience the agreement’s transformative potential to build a sustainable, lasting peace. We still have minimal progress on the coca crop substitution programme. By October 2021, around 45,000 hectares of coca crops had been voluntarily removed by the close to 100,000 families enrolled on the programmes, but there is widespread concern at the slow progress, with roughly only 7% of families having access to alternative economic projects, which are fundamental for the sustainability of the programme.”
House of Commons20 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Overall implementation has been very slow, and in some areas non-existent. The UK needs to do more to support Colombians in their search for peace in their homeland. At the end of 2021, we marked the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Colombian peace agreement, with 147 parliamentarians from across the UK and Ireland signing a statement emphasising the continued importance of the agreement. I think I am right in saying that many, if not all, of the hon. Members here today were signatories to that.”
House of Commons20 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In a tweet, Iván Duque claimed: “Our security forces achieved the neutralisation of 11 FARC dissident members and the arrest of four more.” The incident has drawn parallels with the so-called “false positives” scandal, which saw the Colombian military murder at least 6,402 civilians between 2002 and 2008. The victims were presented as combatants, to imply success in counter-insurgency operations and secure financial incentives. The UN Verification Mission in Colombia and the UN human rights office in Colombia have visited the area to hear testimonies from the community, and have called for answers from the Colombian authorities. I ask the Minister to do the same here today. The 2016 peace agreement was an historic moment that brought genuine optimism to many, particularly in the most impoverished regions of the country.”
House of Commons20 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The victims reportedly included an indigenous governor, a community council president and his wife, and a 16-year-old boy. The Peasant Human Rights Network of Putumayo said that a festival to raise funds for local infrastructure and community projects had been attacked by masked soldiers, who initially claimed to belong to a guerrilla group before opening fire indiscriminately. Members of the local community said that the soldiers placed weapons on the victims, before taking pictures and videos. Despite the killings, the Colombian President defended the operation, claiming that 11 dissidents had been killed.”
House of Commons20 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Despite the historic peace agreement reached in 2016, Colombia remains a country plagued by high levels of violence, with attacks against trade unionists, community leaders, human rights defenders, former combatants, and often women. The murder of social activists continues unabated. According to the local human rights organisation Indepaz, 48 killings were committed in the first three months of this year, an increase on the same period last year. The UN mission received reports of 43 social activists murdered between 28 December 2021 and 25 March 2022. On 28 March, just three weeks ago, there was a reported killing of six civilians during a military raid, in which a total of 11 people were reportedly killed and five more were injured.”
House of Commons20 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McDonagh. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Paula Barker) on securing this important debate on human rights in Colombia. As Members may recall, I led a similar debate on this matter in July 2021. It is a topic that has a place in my heart. I have a particular interest, having visited Colombia on more than one occasion in recent years to witness the situation there first hand. As hon. Members have said, that was with Justice for Colombia, which does such a great job highlighting the Colombian struggle, along with others, such as ABColombia. I will say again that the human rights situation and state violence in Colombia are out of control.”
House of Commons20 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In December last year, the Department of Health and Social Care promised three urgent actions to tackle the gender health gap: the appointment of a women’s health ambassador; legislation to ban hymenoplasty; and the publication of the women’s health strategy for England in spring 2022. Can I ask the Minister when those vital actions are actually going to happen?”
House of Commons19 April 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My best wishes also go to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Dr Wallis). The Minister will be aware that the Cabinet Office recently tendered a contract for the provision of a conversion therapy victim support service. Does he agree that including a consent loophole in the Government’s proposals to ban conversion therapy will allow some of its worst practitioners off the hook, inevitably creating more victims who will need support?”
House of Commons30 March 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Will the Minister confirm whether the Government have received advice from the Insolvency Service? If so, can he confirm that P&O, simply by not notifying the flag states of the intended redundancies within the prescribed time limits, has committed an offence that could and should lead to an unlimited fine being imposed? If not, will he bring forward legislation to correct that position retrospectively and make that unlimited fine happen?”
House of Commons28 March 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗