Rishi Sunak refuses to apologise to Brianna Ghey’s father over trans jibe – UK politics live | Politics

Scottish government to consider levy on shops to claw back profits from minimum unit price for alcohol as it rises by 30%

Severin Carrell

Scottish ministers are considering a new public health tax on shops after increasing the minimum price for alcohol by 30% in an effort to combat Scotland’s rising alcohol-related deaths and hospitalisations.

Shona Robison, the deputy first minister, confirmed a Guardian story earlier this week that the minimum unit price (MUP) will increase from 50p a unit to 65p, to keep pace with inflation and maintain fiscal pressures on alcohol abuse.

The new price will come into force on 30 September; it means a basic bottle of whisky will now cost £18.20, up from £14. “Alcohol harm remains a significant issue in Scotland,” she said. “It continues to contribute to worsening health outcomes,” particularly for men in deprived areas.

Scotland’s finance secretary, Robison also confirmed that ministers are considering demands for a new public health levy to claw-back the excess profits that shops earn from MUP, although she said the government already spends £112m a year on alcohol and drug treatment units.

The Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde university estimates retailers have earned around £30m a year in unearned profits from MUP because they keep the difference between the higher price paid for drinks and the wholesale price of the product.

Scottish Labour and public health charities argue the case for a claw-back is now even greater; a higher 65p minimum price means higher unearned profits. Labour said the levy’s on proceeds should be spent on alcohol treatment and recovery projects.

Robison said they were consulting businesses and health experts on doing so, with a decision due before the next Scottish budget later this year. Scotland had a public health levy on large retailers between 2012 and 2015, which raised £95m.

The Scottish Retail Consortium said it welcomed the increased unit price but was furious at the prospect of an “unevidenced and unreasonable” new levy. “Any mooted tax rises are nothing more than a thinly veiled cash grab at the expense of an industry already under immense pressure,” it said.

119 schools in England affected by Raac will have buildings replaced, DfE says

Richard Adams

The government has announced that 119 schools and colleges in England affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) will have buildings replaced as part of its long-term school rebuilding programme.

In a written statement, Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, said:

Our priority will always be to ensure the safety of pupils and staff, which is why we took a cautious approach for schools and colleges. Although the technical advice does not recommend removal in all cases where it is present, we have taken a precautionary approach for the education estate in England to remove Raac.

The Department for Education said its national survey of schools and colleges, with buildings dating from when Raac was widely used in construction, was now complete. Its final update added three more, including Barking and Dagenham College, a further education college in east London, and Thornleigh Salesian College, a secondary school in greater Manchester.

The DfE said that of the 234 found to have Raac-infested buildings, 119 are to get new buildings through its rebuilding programme, while 110 will receive grants to renovate or remove the affected parts. It said that “a small number” are still carrying out additional checks.

There are roughly 500 schools in England awaiting rebuilds, with about 50 completed every year, meaning that some schools could be waiting for several years before the work is completed.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the rebuilding effort was welcome but raised further questions over funding. He said:

Given the severe pressures on the school estate as a whole, we need assurances that this work will be funded wholly through additional capital expenditure and money will not be diverted from other sources. There must also be clear timelines set out for when this work is going to be completed.

The Raac crisis was exposed at the end of last summer, after the government received further evidence that buildings including Raac were in danger of decay and collapse. By the end of August, days before the start of the new school year, the Guardian revealed that the DfE was telling schools to make contingency plans against the risk of collapse. It then abruptly ordered more than 100 schools to close.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said:

While dealing with Raac is crucial, we really need to see more ambitious investment from the government to bring the schools estate up to scratch overall – from Raac, to asbestos, to general disrepair – it needs a plan to tackle all school building issues before they become the next big crisis. That can’t happen without more money from the Treasury.

Campaigners have criticised the government for delaying plans to ban no-fault evictions as new figures show a steep rise in repossessions in England, PA Media reports.

The latest statistics published by the Ministry of Justice show that some 26,311 accelerated possessions have been made from the second quarter of 2019 until the end of 2023.

Landlords can apply for an accelerated possession order if their tenants have not left by the date specified in a section 21 notice. Section 21 of the Housing Act allows no-fault evictions.

There were 9,457 such repossessions last year, up from 6,339 in 2022 – a 49% rise.

As the figures were released, Commons leader Penny Mordaunt outlined upcoming business in parliament but made no mention of the renters (reform) bill.

Labour’s Lucy Powell, responding in the Commons, complained that the report stage of the bill “was promised by early February, but it’s nowhere to be seen”.

In a statement, the party’s shadow minister for housing and planning, Matthew Pennycook, said: “The stark rise in section 21 notices served last year lays bare the devastating impact that the Tories’ failure to abolish them is having on hard-pressed renters.”

He vowed that if the government does not “get on and quickly pass the Bill abolishing section 21 evictions, that the next Labour government “will get the job done”.

Tom Darling, campaign manager of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, described the bill as “on life-support after being deprioritised by the government”.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “It’s utterly shameful that the government is bowing to vested interests while renters are marched out of their homes in their thousands.”

And Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “Today sees the continuation of an awful trend that has been blighting the lives of renters across our country. As long as landlords can evict tenants through no fault of their own with just two months’ notice, homelessness in England will continue to soar.

“Renters have been waiting five years since the government promised to end these evictions, and yet today we find out the government is delaying their plans again. Since that promise, almost 90,000 households have been forced out because of no-fault evictions – and this number is rising every day.”

DfE says its Raac survey now complete and 234 schools in England found to have problem concrete

Richard Adams

The number of schools and colleges in England with buildings affected by crumbling concrete, known as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), has risen to 234, the Department for Education today revealed.

Three more schools have been added to the list since the DfE’s last update in December, including Barking and Dagenham College, a further education college in east London, and Thornleigh Salesian College, a secondary school in greater Manchester.

The DfE said that of the 234 with Raac-infested buildings, 119 are currently listed to get new buildings through its school rebuilding programme, while 110 will receive grants to renovate or remove the affected parts.

The DfE said its Raac identification programme launched last summer was now complete, with all schools and colleges with buildings likely to have used the material having responded to its survey.

All schools or colleges that advised us they suspect they might have Raac have had a survey to confirm if Raac is present. A small number of schools and colleges are carrying out additional checks for further assurance.

Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, has implicitly criticised Rishi Sunak for his anti-trans jibe at PMQs yesterday.

Speaking during business questions, she suggested he made a mistake and she contrasted Sunak’s much-criticised joke with the emotional mini-speech given by a backbencher who recalled trying to take his life.

She told MPs that she was sure that Sunak had “reflected” on what he said, and particularly what it might have meant to people who are trans. Sunak would be issuing a comment, she said.

She implied Sunak might be about to express some regret for what he said.

But, in the statement he gave to the media this morning, Sunak did the opposite, refusing the accept that his remark was anti-trans and claiming that it was Labour that was in the wrong because it was using the murder of Brianna Ghey to criticise him. (See 11.07am.)

Speaking in the Commons, referring to Brianna’s parents, Mordaunt said:

We’ve also seen a mother meeting the brutal murder of her child with the most profound grace and compassion, turning her anguish into positive action to protect other children.

And we’ve seen a father speak about how the love for his child enabled him to overcome his worries about her being trans.

These are things that our nation is made of: compassion, fairness, tolerance, responsibility, service and love.

We see these things every day in the people that sent us here and we look on them with pride.

Sometimes that pride is reciprocated. I’m sure it was for [Elliott Colburn] in what he said yesterday. [Colburn spoke very movingly at PMQs about how he tried to take his life and about the need for people feeling suicidal to realise “whatever you are going through, you are not alone, that help is out there, and better days lie ahead”.]

And sometimes that pride is not reciprocated.

Whatever the rough and tumble of this place, whatever the pressures and mistakes that are made in the heat of political combat, we owe it to the people who sent us here to strive every day to make them proud of us and this place.

The prime minister is a good and caring man. I am sure that he has reflected on things and I understand he will say something later today, or perhaps even during this session.

And that is not just about Mr and Mrs Ghey that he should reflect on, but I am sure he is also reflecting about people who are trans, or who have trans loved ones and family, some of whom sit on these green benches.

Mordaunt also said she thought Keir Starmer should reflect on his actions too, but her comments were seen as primarily aimed at her own party leader, not him.

Mordaunt is one of the most liberal members of the government on trans issues. But during the Conservative leadership contest in 2022 her views on this topic badly damaged her campaign because she faced relentless criticism, led by papers backing Liz Truss, claiming she favoured self-identification for people wanting to change gender.

Green industralist Dale Vince backs Labour’s move on £28bn, saying it’s ‘arbitrary figure’ and economic responsibility matters

Ben Quinn

Dale Vince, the green industrialist and Labour donor has come out in support of plans by Labour to ditch the £28bn number attached to its flagship green pledge, which he described as “an arbitrary figure which is distracting from the bigger picture”. In a statement he said:

Whether this policy is being ditched or being nailed to the mast, the truth is somewhere in the middle. I think Labour are entirely right to say the economy matters. I think voters want a responsible next government. The current Conservative government hasn’t been responsible with the nation’s money.

This £28bn is an arbitrary figure which is distracting from the bigger picture.

Vince, who said last year that he ws to stop funding direct action climate groups such as Just Stop Oil and instead funnel money towards getting the vote out for Labour at the next general election, added that he was “confident a Labour government will pave the way to the biggest economic opportunity we have, and that’s to achieve energy independence”.

Keir Starmer is cutting back his ambitious home insulation scheme as part of his decision to scale down Labour’s green policy, Kiran Stacey reports. Kiran says:

The Labour leader will announce on Thursday that he is drastically reducing the scale of the £28bn “green prosperity plan” after weeks of uncertainty over the fate of the plan.

People briefed on the scaled-back plan say the party’s home insulation scheme, which was singled out for attack by the Conservatives earlier this week, would be the major victim of the cuts.

One person added they expected Labour to promise an additional £5bn a year of additional green spending on top of what the government has already committed, allowing the party to stick to its separate pledge to cut government debt levels.

The full story is here.

Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, says today’s NHS England waiting time figures show that people are waiting longer for hospital treatment than ever before. He has released a statement saying:

People are waiting longer for NHS treatment than ever before, and waiting lists are 400,000 longer than when Sunak became prime minister.

The last Labour government cut the maximum waiting time from 18 months to 18 weeks. After 14 years of Conservative vandalism of the NHS, more patients wait longer than 18 weeks than ever before, and the number of patients waiting 18 months has doubled in the past few months. Things are getting worse and worse.

Labour will get patients treated on time with 2 million more weekend and evening appointments, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax status. Only Labour can get the NHS back on its feet.

The headline waiting list figure for NHS hospitals in England has fallen marginally, according to today’s figures. (See 9.54am.) But Streeting is referring to figures showing that only 56.6% of patients get seen within 18 weeks, the target set out in the NHS constitution. This is the lowest proportion in recorded data going back to 2007. And the median wait is 15 weeks, which is also the worst figure in the recorded data.

There has been a sharp rise in people facing long waits in A&E, though the overall NHS waiting list continues to fall, PA Media reports. PA says:

An estimated 7.60 million treatments were waiting to be carried out in England at the end of December, relating to 6.37 million patients, down slightly from 7.61 million treatments and 6.39 million patients at the end of November, according to NHS England.

But hospitals were clearly under pressure as winter took hold, with the number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments from a decision to admit them to actually being admitted hitting 54,308 in January, up sharply from 44,045 in December.

This is the second highest figure on record, just below the record 54,573 in December 2022.

The number of people waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission has also risen, from 148,282 in December to 158,721 last month – again, the second highest figure on record.

NHS England said A&E and ambulance services experienced their busiest ever January.

It said there were 2.23 million A&E attendances, with more than a 10% increase in emergency admissions from A&E, compared with the same month last year.

Junior doctors in England staged the longest strike in NHS history in January, for six full days from 3 January to 9 January.

Today’s waiting times data also revealed some NHS waits for planned treatment are getting worse.

Some 13,164 people in England had been waiting more than 18 months to start routine hospital treatment at the end of December, up from 11,168 at the end of November.

The government and NHS England set the ambition of eliminating all waits of more than 18 months by April 2023, excluding exceptionally complex cases or patients who choose to wait longer.

Elsewhere, 337,450 people in England had been waiting more than 52 weeks to start treatment at the end of December, down from 355,412 at the end of November.

Michael Matheson has quit as Scotland’s health secretary, saying he was leaving the post so the row over his iPad roaming charges “does not become a distraction” to the government, PA Media reports. PA says:

Matheson had been under fire since November last year when details of an £11,000 bill on his Holyrood-issued iPad were made public.

In an emotional statement to MSPs, he revealed his teenage sons had been using the device as a hotspot so they could watch football while on a family holiday to Morocco.

The then health secretary, however, had originally insisted the charges had been run up while he was using it for constituency work during the break.

When he learned of his children’s use of the device, Mr Matheson paid back the charges, which had originally been picked up by the Scottish Parliament.

With the Scottish parliament corporate body conducting an investigation, Matheson said he was “conscious that this process will conclude in the coming weeks”.

In a letter to the first minister, Humza Yousaf, he said: “It is in the best interests of myself and the government for me now to step down to ensure that this does not become a distraction to taking forward the government’s agenda.”

Matheson has posted his statement on X.

Rishi Sunak has claimed that Labour’s U-turn over £28bn as the target for Labour’s green investment spending confirms Tory claims that Keir Starmer “doesn’t have a plan”.

Speaking to reporters in Cornwall, where he was asked about the Labour story, Sunak said:

This is a serious moment. This was the flagship plank of Labour’s economic policy and it now looks like he’s trying to wriggle out of it.

I think it demonstrates exactly what I’ve been saying, that he U-turns on major things, he can’t say what he would do differently because he doesn’t have a plan. And if you don’t have a plan, then you can’t deliver change for our country.

In contrast, our plan is working and people can see that. Inflation has come down, mortgage rates are starting to come down and because economic conditions have improved, we’ve been able to start cutting people’s taxes.

This is slightly different from the argument the Conservative party was making last night, which was that in reality Starmer remains committed to green plans that would cost £28bn a year. (See 10.26am.)