Owen Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, commenting on the announcement that new talks aimed at restoring devolution in Northern Ireland will begin next week, said:

“Despite the new name over the door of the Northern Ireland Office, it sounds like more of the same in the talks planned for next week. Twelve months of secretive discussions between Sinn Fein and the DUP has failed and there is widespread scepticism that another round will break the deadlock.

“Karen Bradley must show that she has a clear plan to rebuild trust between the parties and restore power-sharing. This should start with enlisting an independent chair to help address concerns that she cannot be neutral given the Conservative Government is being propped up by the DUP.”

Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on the NAO’s report out today on the costs and benefits of the Public Finance Initiative (PFI), said:

“The National Audit Office confirms that, not only is there little evidence of the benefits of private finance procurement, but also that it “results in additional costs compared with publicly financed procurement”.

“According to the NAO’s analysis of a schools building project, costs under the Tories’ new PF2 schemes are 40% higher than through direct government funding.

“Worryingly, despite this and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s description of PFI as a “fiscal illusion”, it seems that the Treasury has actively decided against removing budgetary incentives which exist in favour of PFI.

“Today’s report only further demonstrates this Tory government's continued commitment to fleecing tax payers for the benefit of large PFI firms. It also raises more questions over the use of PFI in a week in which the Carillion scandal has left many fearing for their jobs and standard of their public services.

“The next Labour government will draw a line under the failed PFI approach to public investment, and will replace it by a transparent and accountable approach, which will reduce the costs and deliver significant savings to the taxpayer.”

Ends

Tom Watson MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, commenting on changes to planning regulations around music venues, said:

“This is great news for music venues, artists and music lovers, and a victory for everyone who has campaigned to protect live music. John Spellar deserves huge credit for bringing his private members’ bill forward and building such a broad coalition of support. The campaign mobilised the whole of the UK’s music industry to call for change - and it won.

“I’m delighted that this policy from Labour’s 2017 manifesto is being accepted by the Government. We must now all make sure that the commitments made today are carried forward as promised by Ministers, so that new building developments take the needs of existing music venues into account.”

Labour’s analysis of the latest NHS England winter data reveals that over 100,000 patients have been stuck in the back of ambulances this winter.

Labour’s analysis further reveals that almost 25,000 patients have been forced to wait longer than one hour. The recommended ambulance handover time according to NHS Improvement is 15 minutes.                                

Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to Labour’s analysis of ambulance delays, said:

“Despite the brilliant efforts of our NHS staff, these findings reveal the uncomfortable reality for many patients this winter. It is unacceptable that over 100,000 patients have been stuck in the back of ambulances for over 30 minutes, a waiting time which is more than double the recommendation of NHS Improvement.

“Under the Tories bed numbers have been cut by over 14,000, and as a result bed occupancy has remained at dangerously high levels this winter. Last week it was 94.9 per cent, which is nearly 10 per cent higher than the recommended safe level.

“Labour will give our health service the funding it needs to remain a world class service for all.”

Ends

Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, speaking in response to reports of a new deal on Calais refugees, said:

“This new attempt to address the refugee crisis in Calais is in reality an admission of failure.

“We have repeatedly been told that security measures would solve the problem, but it has just shifted it from Calais to Sangatte and back to Calais again.  

“We need humane treatment of all these people, safe and legal routes for genuine refugees and the UK Government needs to honour our moral obligations by taking our fair share of refugees.”

Dawn Butler MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, commenting on reports by the ONS and the Young Women’s Trust on the gender pay gap, said:

“Today’s findings are a damning indictment on the Government’s failure to tackle the gender pay gap. While the Government claims progress, this latest analysis exposes severe work inequalities faced by women across the country and it is clear that we need urgent action to address it.

“This year marks 100 years since some women were allowed to vote for the first time. Although much has been achieved since this historic moment, there is still a lot of progress to be made in terms of gender equality and achieving equal pay is one of them.

“Addressing the barriers that contribute to the gender pay gap is key to this. Labour will make it a priority to tackle discrimination in the workplace and provide free childcare.  We will close the gender pay gap and introduce a civil enforcement system to ensure compliance with gender pay auditing. It is not right that women across the country face this unfair treatment.”

Jon Trickett MP, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, responding to reports that the government is now placing Interserve under watch, said:

“The Government awarded Interserve numerous contracts after significant profit warnings, clearly showing us that Carillion was not an isolated case.

“The Tory Government is wedded to a dogma which would rather see public services in private hands, so their shareholders cream off the profits and the British people pick up the bill.

“Even when these huge firms are in unstable positions, the Government would rather risk our services than actually run them for the public .

“The time is up on the few profiteering at the expense of the many.”

Ends

Sue Hayman MP, Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, commenting on the launch of the EU’s plastics strategy, said:

“Labour welcomes the EU plastics strategy published today. The fact that the EU is bringing forward a target of 2030 for member states to phase out single-use plastics demonstrates the lack of ambition and vision in the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan.

“Labour calls on the Government to confirm whether they will amend the approach outlined in their 25 Year Environment Plan in light of the EU strategy published today to ensure that the UK does not fall beneath EU standards on the environment and that action on single-use plastics is not kicked into the long grass.”

Keir Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary, has today written to Sir David Norgrove, Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, following comments made by Boris Johnson that Vote Leave’s claim the UK sends £350m a week to the EU was ‘grossly underestimated’.

• A copy of Keir Starmer’s letter is below.

Dear Sir David,

Foreign Secretary’s comments about the UK’s financial contribution to the EU

I am writing to seek clarification on comments made by the Foreign Secretary yesterday [15 January] about the UK’s financial contribution to the European Union (EU).

In an interview with The Guardian the Foreign Secretary said: “There was an error on the side of the [Vote Leave] bus. We grossly underestimated the sum over which we would be able to take back control.”

The newspaper reports that “Johnson argued that the UK’s EU contribution was already up to £362m per week for 2017-18 and would rise annually to £410m, £431m, and then to £438m by 2020-21 – ‘theoretically the last year of the transition period.’”

The £350m a week claim made by the Vote Leave campaign has been widely condemned as inaccurate and misleading. For example, in September of last year the Statistics Authority wrote to the Foreign Secretary saying, “it is a clear misuse of official statistics.” And yet, Mr Johnson has chosen to repeat this statement and expand on the claim even further. I do not believe this to be acceptable.

I would therefore be grateful if you could make a statement on the accuracy of the Foreign Secretary’s most recent comments.

Yours sincerely

Keir Starmer
Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union

Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, responding to today’s inflation figures by the ONS, said:

“Today’s inflation figures are further bad news for working households. Inflation remains around a five year high, while real earnings are still lower than in 2010, following seven years of Tory economic failure.

“The next Labour government will introduce a £10 per hour Real Living Wage to tackle the wages squeeze, and build a high wage, high skill economy for the many, not the few.”