Hilary visiting the site of the recent violent disorder in Ballymena, Northern Ireland with PSNI officers who were there
Hilary visiting the site of the recent violent disorder in Ballymena, Northern Ireland with PSNI officers who were there

Iran and Israel

At the time of writing, there is a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel, Iran and the United States of America. At one point, there were fears of a full-scale regional conflict following America’s bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, but it seems that there’s been a step back from the brink by all involved.

It has been the long-standing view of the UK Government – and many other countries – that Iran cannot be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, and the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have shown great skill in managing recent events, not least in consistently calling for de-escalation.


Welfare Reform

The Government has announced that it proposes to make two changes to the Welfare Bill after further discussions.

Firstly, recognising that the proposed changes have been a source of uncertainty and anxiety, we will ensure that all of those currently receiving PIP will stay within the current system. The new eligibility requirements will be implemented from November 2026 for new claims only.

Secondly, we will adjust the pathway of Universal Credit payment rates to make sure all existing recipients of the UC health element – and any new claimant meeting the severe conditions criteria – have their incomes fully protected in real terms.

We will also take forward a ministerial review of the PIP assessment, led by the Minister for Social Security and Disability, to ensure the benefit is fair and fit for the future.

These commitments will sit alongside our raising of the standard rate of the Universal Credit – the biggest real-terms permanent increase of any benefit since the 1980s – the protection of the incomes of the most vulnerable who will no longer be reassessed and the introduction of “right to try”.

Our reform principles remain; to target funding for those most in need and make sure the system is sustainable for the future to support generations to come.

We believe those who can work, should, and those who cannot, should be protected. So we will front load more of the additional funding generated by these reforms for back to work support for sick and disabled people.

Taken together it is a fair package that will preserve the social security system for those who need it by putting it on a sustainable footing, support people back into work, protect those who cannot work and reduce anxiety for those currently in the system.


Spending Review

The Spending Review is about investing in Britain’s renewal, and the decisions announced were only possible because of difficult choices we’ve made on tax and spending. Key points are:

  • A £20bn increase in defence spending and a £2bn uplift for our security and intelligence agencies. Defence spending will now rise to 2.6% of GDP by April 2027 – the biggest sustained increase since the Cold War.
  • We will end the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers in this Parliament; and cut the asylum backlog to save the taxpayer £1bn a year.
  • We are investing £30bn in the biggest rollout of nuclear power for half a century; including £14.2bn for Sizewell C, supporting more than 10,000 jobs.
  • We will increase police spending power by an average 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period.
  • There will be a record cash investment in the NHS to deliver more appointments, build new hospitals and buy new equipment to improve care. We will increase real terms, day to day spending by 3% per year for every year of this spending review. That’s an extra £29bn per year for the day to day running of the NHS and an extra £4bn of annual capital investment.
  • We are investing £39 billion over the next decade in a new Affordable House Plan – the biggest cash injection into social and affordable housing in a generation.
  • There will be £15.6bn of investment in transport to connect our cities and towns. For other regions, we are providing for a fourfold increase in Local Transport Grants by the end of the Parliament.
  • We are providing record investment in training and upskilling our young people with £1.2bn a year by the end of the spending review to support over a million young people into training and apprenticeships.
  • We have announced that free school meals will be extended to over half a million more children. We are also announcing: almost £370m for school-based nurseries; £555 million of transformation funding for children’s social care; investment rising to nearly £2.3bn per year to fix our crumbling classrooms; and £2.4bn per year to continue our programme to rebuild 500 schools.

 

Hilary at the recent Hunslet Gala
Hilary at the recent Hunslet Gala

Labour update

Here’s a list of other things that our Labour Government has achieved recently:

  • The £3 cap on bus fares is being extended.
  •  NHS waiting lists have fallen to their lowest level in two years, with nearly a quarter of a million off NHS waiting lists since July.
  • The outdated Vagrancy Act will be scrapped, decriminalising rough sleeping for good.
  • A £500 million boost for hydrogen infrastructure will secure thousands of jobs across our industrial heartlands and homegrown energy to power British industry for generations to come.
  • Thousands of steel workers’ jobs will be protected as the Transport Secretary announced that British Steel will provide Britain’s rail tracks for the next 5 years at least, in a new contract with Network Rail.
  • Nearly 4 million households will benefit from the uprating of the standard rate of Universal Credit – the largest, permanent real-terms increase to basic out of work support since 1980, according to the IFS.
  • More than 6 million households on means-tested benefits will get £150 off their bills next winter.

 

Hilary at the British Irish Council in Northern Ireland
Hilary at the British Irish Council in Northern Ireland

Concern over Leeds Hospitals Maternity Services

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its latest reports on maternity and neonatal services at Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s University Hospital. CQC inspected maternity and neonatal services at both hospitals in December and January to follow up on concerns received from whistleblowers, people using the services and their families about the quality of care being delivered.

Maternity services at both hospitals have declined from good to inadequate overall. Neonatal services at both hospitals have been rated as requires improvement overall. This is the first time neonatal services have been rated as a standalone service.

The overall rating for Leeds General Infirmary has declined from good to requires improvement and St James’s University Hospital remains rated as requires improvement. The Trust has put in place a plan for improvement including better staffing.


UKREiiF

Last month, Leeds welcomed over 16,000 delegates to this year’s UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF). The organisers told me when I visited that they had had overwhelmingly positive feedback, and it was fantastic to see so many people soaking up the sunshine at Leeds Dock and around the Royal Armouries as they joined the huge range of events and sessions that took place each day. During the week the Royal Armouries’ exciting plans to develop the waterfront site were unveiled. This is an event that brings a lot of money into the city centre economy.


 

Hilar at the Burmantofts Festival with local Ukrainian families and Councillor Asghar Khan
Hilar at the Burmantofts Festival with local Ukrainian families and Councillor Asghar Khan

Assisted Dying Bill Progresses

The Assisted Dying Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons on the 20th of June with a majority of 23 votes. I voted for the Bill, as I have done consistently during its parliamentary passage so far, and I hope it will progress as it now moves to the House of Lords.


Local, Political and Parliamentary Activity

  • Attended Hunslet, Burmantofts and Beeston Festivals
  • Attended the British Irish Council in Newcastle, Northern Ireland
  • Visited the British Library
  • Gave evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs and the House of Lords Windsor Framework select committees
  • Meeting with EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic in Brussels
  • Attended Trans Lobby in the House of Commons
  • Visited Studio Ulster in Belfast
  • Visited Verallia Glass in Hunslet
  • South Leeds Life Column
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