Jonathan
Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to the
CQC State of Care Report 2017, said:

“The
detail of this CQC report reveals damning evidence of the Government’s
inability to maintain health services at the standard which patients expect.

“The NHS is now running
at ‘full stretch’ with hospitals full to unsafe levels, and ongoing problems in
staffing and recruitment which Tory ministers have failed to grasp.

“The Government must
step in and give our health and care system the resources needed to provide the
best possible care. With services already straining at the seams, patients will
be increasingly at risk if Ministers refuse the NHS the support it needs. Next
month the Chancellor in his budget must finally put the NHS on a secure
financial footing for the long term.”

Ends

Barry
Gardiner MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, and Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary
to the Treasury, comment on the government’s Trade and Customs White Papers
published today.

Barry Gardiner MP
said:

“We needed clarity
on how the Government will ensure a level playing field for British businesses
in our trade defence and trade remedy mechanisms. We got none.

“We needed
clarity on how the Government will continue the third country Trade Agreements
we are part of through the EU. We got none.

“We needed
clarity on how the Government is laying down our schedules at the WTO and the
proportion of tariff rate quotas we will keep after we leave the EU. We got
none.

“Above all we
needed clarity about how trade negotiations and treaties would be scrutinised
in parliament. We got worse than nothing: an emphasis on speedy implementation
with barely a nod to ‘due process in parliament’. This is simply unacceptable.”

Peter
Dowd MP said:

“The
Government’s Customs White Paper continues the ambiguity that they have made
British businesses suffer under.

“While
there is talk of delegating the necessary powers to the Government for post-Brexit
customs arrangements, the Government goes worryingly further, seeking to
undermine parliament by giving itself the power to set import duties without
the normal legislative process.

Nia
Griffith MP, Labour’s Shadow Defence Secretary, responding to news that BAE will
cut over 1000 jobs on its Eurofighter programme, said:

“This
is devastating news for the workers and their families.

"The
men and women who work on the Eurofighter are highly skilled and the potential
loss of these jobs would have an appalling impact on them, the local economy
and wider supply chains.

"The
Government must come forward urgently with a clear plan to secure these jobs at
BAE, as well as a proper defence industrial strategy to give the industry the
certainty that it needs.”

Peter Dowd MP, Labour’s
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on reports that Airbnb
paid less than £200,000 in UK corporation tax last year, said:

“Once again we
have an example of the Conservatives flat-footed approach to creating a tax
system fit for the 21^st century. Under the Conservatives
multi-national tech companies are running rings around HMRC, and avoiding
paying their fair share of tax, despite seeing soaring revenues.

“The next Labour
government will introduce our Tax Transparency and Enforcement Programme to
clamp down on tax avoidance and build an economy which works for the many, not
the few.”

Andrew Gwynne MP, Labour’s
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government,
commenting on reports that the government has not released funds to make tower
blocks safe following the Grenfell Tower fire, said:

 "Once again, Sajid Javid
is dragging his feet to provide support to local authorities.

 "The government know
their failure to review building regulations, and seven years of Tory cuts
to local authorities and fire services have created this crisis.

 "Rather than learning
from their mistakes they are starving Labour councils of funds as they
work to clear up this mess and keep their residents safe”.