Keir
Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, commenting on
the Government’s announcement that they will publish a White Paper, said:

“This
is a significant and welcome U-turn from the Prime Minister.

“Labour
has repeatedly called for the Government to publish a plan for Brexit before
Article 50 is triggered and we made clear Labour would table amendments on this
to the Article 50 Bill.

“This
U-turn comes just 24 hours after David Davis seemed to rule out a White Paper,
and failed to answer repeated questions from MPs on all sides of the House.

“The
Prime Minister now needs to confirm that this White Paper will be published in
time to inform the Article 50 process, and that it will clear up the
inconsistencies, gaps and risks outlined in her speech.”

Sarah Champion MP, Labour’s
Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, responding to a joint report from the parliamentary committees for
Petitions and for Women and Equalities, said:

“All
workers deserve dignity, safety and equality in the workplace and respectful
dress codes must be part of that.

“The
Government’s insistence that the status quo is adequate on this issue is
clearly not true. This report is clear that many women feel compelled to wear
discriminatory outfits at work or face disciplinary action.

“Labour
urges the Government to undertake its own review into lack of compliance
amongst employers in this area and to bring forward suggestions on how greater
equality in the workplace can be realised.”

Jonathan
Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Health, commenting on
reports that GPs are drawing up plans to charge patients for evening and
weekend appointments, said:

“The
fairest, most efficient and most equitable way of delivering healthcare is to
ensure it is publicly funded and free at the point of use.

“Reports
that GPs are now considering introducing charging would allow wealthier
patients to jump the queue. It is an intolerable consequence of Government
under-funding of General Practice and the Tories’ wasteful re-organisation of the
NHS.

"This
is yet another stark revelation about the reality of Tory mismanagement of the
NHS. The Prime Minister simply cannot keep blaming everyone other than her own
Government for the scale of this crisis. Hard-working people don’t want an NHS
where they are charged for treatments. Theresa May needs to get a grip and
fast.”

Diane
Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, speaking after revelations that
confidential NHS patient data is being gathered by the Home Office to trace
suspected illegal immigrants, said:

“This
is unacceptable. We have already seen this government using schools to gather
immigration data on children. Now we find they are using the NHS in the same
way.

“Other public services should not be expected to cover for
this Tory Government’s cuts to the border agency. People could be
deterred from seeking medical care because they are worried their confidential
information might be passed on. This could do irreparable damage to the people
concerned and it may have public health implications. It should stop now.”

John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, speaking after the vote tonight on
the revised Charter for Budget Responsibility, said:

“This
is not a Charter for Budget Responsibility, it’s a ‘Charter for Alternative
Facts’, as the Chancellor has tonight abolished the OBR’s ability to determine
when a negative shock occurs. This represents a lack of confidence by the
Chancellor in his ability to reach his own targets, as well as a rowing back of
the welcome principles the OBR was created for – impartiality and credibility
of fiscal policy.

“Instead
of less scrutiny by the OBR, Labour would like to see more, such as our call
for the Chancellor to give power to the OBR to assess short-medium term policy
decisions on health spending. Given the last six years of Tory underfunding in
our NHS alongside the Government’s denials of the resulting crisis, we need to
restore not diminish the public’s faith in the Government’s spending plans.

“Under
this new charter the OBR will assume the role of bystander rather than arbiter
of whether or not the economy is facing a negative shock. This is a huge power
grab by the Chancellor, as it means he can decide when and what such a “shock”
will be, and therefore he can suspend his rules when he likes, and make up his
targets as he goes along.

“This
Charter also continues with the practice of lumping infrastructure spending in
with day-to-day spending, meaning that there
will be insufficient scope for investment in our economy, which could hinder
growth and therefore our ability to reduce the national debt.

“Despite all the rhetoric of “pressing the reset button”, the
Autumn Statement has shown that there would be a continuation of austerity cuts
to public services. There is still no more money for the NHS and social care
crisis, or for ESA and Universal Credit recipients facing cuts.

“Labour’s
Fiscal Credibility Rule would provide the adequate level of investment our
economy needs, underpinned by independent oversight coming from both the MPC
and a beefed up OBR, which would report to parliament and not the Treasury.”