The House debated and voted on the Opposition's reasoned amendment and the Third Reading of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill on Wednesday 10 January 2024. The Bill seeks to prevent public bodies from making procurement and investment decisions - such as direct or indirect boycotts, disinvestment, or sanctions (BDS) campaigns - based on their own moral or political disapproval of a foreign authority.

The Opposition tabled a reasoned amendment in the name of Sir Keir Starmer which would add the following text to the Bill:

“this House, while opposing any discrimination or prejudice in the economic activities of public bodies, believing that all such bodies must act without bias or selectivity when making ethical decisions on procurement and investment and recognising the impact selective and biased campaigns have had on the Jewish community in particular, declines to give a Third Reading to the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill because it does not effectively address the problem it rightly seeks to solve, is incompatible with international law and UN Security Council Resolutions, risks undermining support for groups around the world facing persecution, includes needlessly broad and sweeping draconian powers while placing unprecedented restrictions on public bodies to express a view on current and proposed policy and represents a major departure from the UK Government’s long-established diplomatic position on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Golan Heights, in a way that undermines the UK’s future credibility and capacity to support diplomatic negotiations towards a just and lasting peace in Israel and Palestine based on a two-state solution, at a time when consistent support for that objective is more important than ever.” 

I voted in favour of the reasoned amendment which was defeated  Ayes 228: Noes 284.

I voted No on the Third Reading of the Bill but this passed Ayes 282: Noes 235.

The Bill has now moved to the House of Lords where it will have its 1st Reading tomorrow, 11 January 2024.

 

On Wednesday 10 January 2024, the House debated and voted on New Clauses 5 and 7 to the Finance Bill at its Committee Stage.

New Clause 5 would require the government to produce an assessment of the impact of the Bill’s tax evasion and avoidance measures. The assessment would need to examine whether the capacity and ability of HMRC was sufficient to properly enforce those measures.

I abstained on New Clause 5 which was defeated by a vote of Ayes 18: Noes 300.

The Opposition tabled New Clause 7 which would require the Chancellor to review the effectiveness of measures in this Act to prevent fraud involving taxpayers’ money, and to compare them with other measures that seek to prevent fraud involving taxpayers’ money and the approach taken in other countries. The New Clause would require the Government to be open and honest about what they are doing to prevent fraud involving taxpayers’ money, in terms of the measures in this Bill, other measures more widely and in comparison with the practices overseas.

I voted in favour of New Clause 7 but this was defeated by a vote of Ayes 222: Noes 301.

After the Committee stage, the Bill will enter the Report stage followed by the Third reading in the House of Commons. Once it passes these stages it will move to the House of Lords for its First reading.

Early Day Motions (EDMs) are tabled by Members of Parliament to highlight topical issues. 

I signed the following EDMs on:

'Sub-postmasters':

"That this House notes the increased awareness of the life-changing injustices experienced by sub-postmasters throughout the Horizon scandal; further notes it is now known as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history; notes with concern that sub-postmasters have served custodial sentences, suffered bankruptcy for offences they did not commit and many have died before seeing justice; expresses concern that the actions of the Post Office and the Government have prolonged this crisis and added barriers to justice being achieved; further notes that the Post Office has repeatedly been exposed for having given out false and misleading information throughout this scandal and should play no part in determining who is entitled to compensation or how much they should get; and strongly urges the Government to take action to ensure full compensation is paid, the remaining convictions are looked at en masse, that justice prevail for all postmasters and that those responsible for this gross miscarriage of justice are held accountable."

'Pension restitution for women born in the 1950s':

"That this House welcomes the positive interventions from so many hon. Members from across the House on behalf of women born in the 1950s who have suffered pensions loss through the targeting of their pension rights; pays tribute to constituents and campaigners in their ongoing fight for justice; recalls that women born in the 1950s were subject to discriminatory laws; and encourages the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to join mediation, noting there are no impediments to doing so."

'Integrated Care Board funding for children’s hospices in England':

"That this House notes with concern the huge variance in local NHS spending on children’s hospice and palliative care in England, as found in the recent freedom of information requests published by the charity Together for Short Lives; is concerned that the amounts spent by each NHS integrated care board (ICB) varied by as much as £483 per child or young person in 2022-23; is also concerned by the lack of understanding among ICBs on the number of children who need palliative care or the numbers accessing services; calls on the Government to urgently confirm how and when the £25 million NHS England Children’s Hospice Grant will be distributed in 2024-25; further calls on the Government to direct NHS England to hold ICBs to greater account for the way in which they commission children’s palliative care; asks the Government to direct NHS England to ensure ICBs work with neighbouring ICBs in their region to plan and fund children’s palliative care services; and also calls on the Government to commit to a dedicated long-term strategy in the NHS mandate that addresses the palliative care needed by children and young people."

'Adult literacy':

"That this House recognises that poor literacy skills and illiteracy can consign adults to insecure and low-paid work, lead to poverty and isolation and leave them vulnerable to exploitation; further recognises that people who struggle to read and write can face difficulty in accessing housing, social security, health and care services, education, skills, training and job opportunities, supporting their own children’s educational development and in staying in touch with friends and family; notes that literacy is invaluable in enabling people to communicate with each other and engage with the world around them; expresses concern that the National Literacy Trust estimates 7.1 million adults in England, 16.4% of the adult population, have very poor literacy skills, 931,000 adults in Scotland, 26.7%, experience challenges due to their lack of literacy skills, 216,000 adults in Wales, 12%, lack basic literacy skills and 256,000 adults in Northern Ireland, 17.4%, have very poor literacy skills; believes that these figures amount to a crisis in adult literacy across the UK and that this needs attention as a matter of urgency if we are to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to reach their potential and if we are to address the economic challenges our country faces; and further believes it is vital that adults who struggle with reading and writing get the support that they need."

EDMs are motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons for which no day has been fixed. As there is no specific time allocated to EDMs very few are debated. However, many attract a great deal of public interest and media coverage. 

The HALO Trust held a drop-in on Wednesday 10 January 2024 to provide more information about the Trust's work in building capacity in host nations to exercise responsible control of their stockpiles and strengthen human security.

Unsecured weapons and ammunition threaten the security of civilians and undermine state stability. Across the world, the diversion of weapons from state stockpiles and the unplanned detonation of degraded ammunition has caused immense human suffering.

The HALO Trust works with host nations to develop comprehensive weapons and ammunition management, build secure infrastructure, and provide professional development for security force personnel.

In the main picture, I am seen with Ganiyu Otunba, Partnerships Manager (left), and Stephanie Barnwell, Weapons Marking Specialist (right).

The photo below shows HALO's global Theory of Change for Weapons and Ammunition Management. It is the centre of HALO's strategy for reducing human suffering from armed violence.


Below is an example of training progression in which non-commissioned officers are taken through a series of storage and management courses, and then, after a process of mentorship in the role, are taken through technical skills development. This builds the technical and practical experience necessary to go on to lead courses, and create sustainable capacity.



Find out more about the work of the HALO Trust by visiting: halotrust.org

The Opposition Labour Party was granted the 2nd Allotted Opposition Day on Tuesday 9 January 2024. The motions tabled were on NHS Dentistry and the cost of the Government's Rwanda plan and administration of the asylum system.

Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting MP moved the motion on NHS Dentistry: the Motion said:

"That this House recognises that NHS dentistry is in crisis, with eight in 10 dentists in England not taking on new NHS patients and vast parts of the country considered so-called dental deserts, where no dentists are available; regrets that this has led to people resorting to DIY dentistry or attending A&E to access urgent care; is concerned that tooth decay is the most common reason children aged six to 10 are admitted to hospital; and therefore calls on the Government to provide an extra 700,000 urgent appointments a year, introduce an incentive scheme to recruit new dentists to the areas most in need and a targeted supervised toothbrushing scheme for three to five year-olds to promote good oral health and reform the dental contract to rebuild the service in the long-run." 

The motion was defeated by a vote of Ayes 191: Noes 299.

2 The Second Opposition Day debate was on the cost of the Government's Rwanda plan and administration of the asylum system, and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper moved the motion: The motion called for all the papers on the costs of the Rwanda Plan: 

"That an Humble Address be presented to His Majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give direction to the Home Secretary that, no later than 16 January 2024, there be laid before this House:

(a) a list of all payments, either already made or scheduled, to the Government of Rwanda under the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund, including the cost of the fourth- and fifth-year payments due to the Government of Rwanda under the fund;

(b) any document provided by his Department to HM Treasury relating to the per person cost of relocating individuals to Rwanda under the Agreement for the Provision of an Asylum Partnership Agreement to Strengthen Shared International Commitments on the Protection of Refugees and Migrants (CP 994);

(c) an unredacted copy of the confidential memorandum of understanding referred to in response to question 20 at the Public Accounts Committee meeting on 11 December 2023;

(d) any paper setting out the cost per person of relocating individuals to Rwanda and the Government’s assumptions about the number of asylum seekers to be sent to Rwanda per year shared with or provided by HM Treasury between March and July 2022; and

(e) his Department’s internal breakdown of the 35,119 non-substantive asylum decisions made between 1 January and 28 December 2023 showing the number of such decisions that were classified as withdrawn asylum applications and the number further sub-classified as either:

(i) non-substantiated withdrawals

(ii) other withdrawals." 

The motion was defeated by a vote of Ayes 228: Noes 304.