Labour’s
Shadow Justice Secretary, Richard Burgon MP, has today written to David
Lidington MP, the Justice Secretary, to ask what measures the Government is
taking to address the fact that every prison in England and Wales that has
undergone a fire inspection has failed its inspection.

Richard
Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, said:

“It is
appalling that not a single prison in England or Wales meets the required fire
safety standards. The terrible fire at Grenfell Tower underlines the need to
take fire safety seriously.

“The current
situation not only puts prisoners at risk, it is putting staff and visitors at
risk too. That is why I have written to David Lidington, the Secretary of State
for Justice, to ask exactly what he is doing to address this danger.

“It is vital
that urgent steps are taken to ensure prisons meet the required fire safety
standards, and that instead of keeping reports secret, the results of future
inspections are immediately made public.” 

Ends

Notes to editors:

 Full text of the letter from Richard Burgon MP to David Lidington
MP:

Dear Secretary of State,

I am writing to ask what measures you are taking in response to
the information released by the Crown Premises Fire Inspection Group that
confirms every prison in England and Wales that has undergone a fire inspection
has failed its fire inspection.

It is clear that staff, inmates and visitors are being put at
significant risk by the current fire safety conditions within prisons.
Therefore, I would like you to clarify the following:

 1. What immediate and concrete steps are being taken to improve
fire safety conditions?

2. How can the fire inspections regime be made more transparent so
that failings can be identified and acted on earlier?

Given the danger posed to members of the public, I have made this
letter public. I believe it would also be appropriate for your reply to be made
public.

Yours sincerely, 

Richard Burgon MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow
Mental Health Minister, commenting on the BBC’s research into delayed
discharges from mental health units, said:

“It is a scandal that some patients are waiting years to be
discharged, despite being medically fit for discharge.

“Under the Tories, mental health services have come under
increasing pressure due to underfunding and staffing shortages, and also the
lack of integrated working.

“It is unacceptable that patients are stuck in mental health
units for such long periods waiting to be discharged despite being fit to
leave. The delay puts their recovery at risk and means that other people
who urgently need to access mental health services are not able to get the
treatment they need. It should never be the case that such extended delays are
caused by wrangling between different health bodies over funding.

“Labour would invest more in mental health to ease the pressures
and we would ring-fence mental health spending so that funding for mental
health is not used to fill holes elsewhere in NHS budgets.”

Margaret Greenwood
MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Minister, commenting on the DWP’s Benefit
Cap statistics, said;

“Today’s figures highlight the worrying impact the benefit
cap is having on families across the country, with 68,000 affected by the new
lower cap level, a sharp increase

“Child poverty is also increasing. Last month the High Court ruled
that the cap was “unlawful” for lone parents with young children, with the
judge commenting that the cap was causing “real misery to no good purpose.

“Clearly, this Government’s decision to cut families’ incomes does not amount
to supporting them into work, especially given their total failure to provide
adequate affordable childcare. It is time that we urgently reviewed the Benefit
Cap’s impact and effectiveness.

“Rather than penalising children for its failed austerity plans, the Government
should instead undertake the task of supporting people into work, tackling the
high cost of housing, improving pay and investing in childcare.”  

Angela
Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the EPI report on
trends in educational attainment and disadvantage, said:

“The
findings of this report are deeply concerning but unfortunately come as no
surprise. 

“If you cut school budgets and push out  teachers, as the Tories have
done, then life in school will become even harder for the most disadvantaged
kids. It is no wonder that we are still generations away from closing the
attainment gap.

"The Tories’ key election pledge was to bring back grammar schools and
segregate our children, a move that would make the situation even worse. A
Labour Government would deliver an education system for the many, not the few.”

Andy
McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on the
delays for passengers at European airports, said:

“It is
right that measures have been put in place to ensure safety at a time of
increased terror threats but any measures taken to strengthen security have to
be accompanied by proper border force staffing levels to avoid the chaos we’re
seeing at the moment.

"The
aviation industry warned that problems were around the corner months ago but
the Government hasn’t listened, insisting that we’d already seen the worst of
the delays.

"If
holiday makers are to avoid further havoc, the Government must engage with Schengen
member states to ensure they take immediate steps to resource their borders
controls properly as ensuring safe and smooth travel from and to the UK is in
our mutual interests.”