The Road Investment Strategy was insufficiently planned, poorly thought out and unrealistically costed – Pat Glass

Pat Glass MP,
Labour’s Shadow Transport Minister,  responding to the National Audit
Office (NAO) report into the Government’s Road Investment Strategy, said:

“This report
shows that the Government has made a huge error of judgment. The Road
Investment Strategy was rushed out by George Osborne and David Cameron as a
gimmick for the 2015 election. It was insufficiently planned, poorly thought
out and unrealistically costed.

“This
has raised expectations with motorists and businesses that Labour warned at the
time could not be met and it is clear that the Department for Transport has
questions to answer.

“The Government
needs to seriously reconsider their plans, so that these crucial infrastructure
projects are delivered on time and in budget.”



After seven years of Tory failure on the economy, it’s the super-rich who’ve gained at the expense of the rest of us – John McDonnell

John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, commenting on the revelations by Equality Trust that the average FTSE chief
executive earns 386 times more than a worker on the national living wage, said:

“These
shocking figures show that after seven years of Tory failure on the economy,
it’s the super-rich who’ve gained at the expense of the rest of us.

"It
also exposes the Tories’ rigged economy, where despite real earnings
still being lower than before the crash and public services like the NHS
experiencing their worst-ever crisis, they are handing out £70 billion in tax
giveaways to the super-rich and big corporations. At the same time the Tories
are cutting in-work benefits to the low paid.

"Only Labour will deliver a fair economy that doesn’t hold people back by
introducing a £10 an hour Real Living Wage, a fairer taxation system, and by
tackling excessive boardroom pay with fairer distributions of rewards
within companies.”



Replacing one prison with another prison doesn’t deal with the overcrowding crisis – Richard Burgon

Richard
Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, commenting on the Tory Government’s plans to build
four new prisons, said

“We need
modern prisons fit for the modern age. But simply replacing one prison with
another prison doesn’t deal with the overcrowding crisis. No amount of press
releases can distract from that.”



Barbara Keeley responds to EPI report in to Child Mental Health Improvements

Barbara
Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health, commenting on
the EPI report in to Child Mental Health Improvements, said:

“The
Prime Minister said in January that she wanted to ‘transform the way we deal
with mental health problems right across society’ but the findings in this
report show these were just warm words.

“With
nearly three quarters of Clinical Commissioning Groups failing to meet NHS
England’s improvement standards in children’s mental health, and more than two
thirds of these groups without fully-funded crisis care plans, it is clear that
the Prime Minister’s rhetoric on child mental health is not being matched by
reality.

“The
most worrying part of this report is the increase in the number of young people
being treated on adult mental health wards which shows an abject failure of the
Government to grasp the problems in the mental health system.

“The
Government need to make sure that frontline mental health services get the
money they need rather than using it to balance NHS budgets elsewhere.”



Safety must be always be the top priority, but UK and US bans on carrying electronic devices on aircraft leaves questions unanswered – Richard Burden

Richard Burden MP, Labour’s Shadow Aviation Minister, responding
to the announcement of a cabin baggage ban on laptops on certain direct
passenger flights to the UK from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and
Saudi Arabia, said: 

“The safety
and security of passengers must always be the overriding priority for
Government and for airline operators. If the Government has evidence the level
of security checks on passengers carrying electronic devices is of exceptional
concern in the countries listed then it is right that prompt precautionary
action should be taken.

“This
announcement leaves a number of important questions unanswered and we are seeking
urgent clarification from Ministers. It’s important the Government set out
clearly the precautionary steps they have taken in response to advice from
security services to reassure passengers and the public. The Government must
also work with airline operators to ensure all passengers are given the
necessary information and flights can continue where appropriate with minimal
disruption as possible.”