Barry speaks in debate on Afghanistan

Parliament was recalled from recess for a special debate on the ongoing situation in Afghanistan

Barry started by saying that “There is no point in criticising the Government’s strategy; there has not been one. When President Trump announced his decision to withdraw troops last year, our Government should have prepared to relocate all those Afghan families to whom we owed a debt of honour: the interpreters, the medics, the aid workers. They should have; they did not. They should have fast-tracked all the outstanding settlement applications from British citizens wanting to bring their children and partners from Afghanistan. They should have; they did not.”

Barry then went on to mention cases of constituents who are stuck in Afghanistan and have been let down by the lack of foresight and poor responses from the Home Office.

Barry finished by saying “The Afghanistan that we hoped to build 20 years ago may be lost for now, but our Government need a plan and a vision for the sort of world that we want to build. Afghanistan will be how we are judged in future. Are we to be trusted? Do we keep our word? Do we have the will to support the values that we preach? Do we have the foresight to prepare against the things that we fear will happen? Any dispassionate observer of this Government would have to answer no, but this is not just a political failure. It is a moral failure of which the price is now being paid by others: British citizens with family members trapped in Afghanistan, those who fought and served alongside our own valiant troops, the women, the religious minorities and all those who now face a well-founded fear of persecution.”

You can watch his speech in full below.

Barry calls out Government incompetency in Building Safety debate

Barry spoke in today’s second reading of the Building Safety debate, which follows on from multiple speeches he has made in debates relating to the previous Fire Safety Bill.

Unfortunately, he was cut off by Madam Deputy Speaker before he could conclude. So copied below is the text of his whole speech, that he would have delivered if time allowed. You can also watch the speech he made at the bottom of this page:

I am not sure what is worse for leaseholders, the fact that they are in constant fear because their homes are unsafe. The  fact that they cannot afford to make them safe and are being harassed by greedy managing agents, or the fact that they are  "trapped" in their  flats without any easy  option to sell and move on with their  lives.  Today’s Statement and this Bill does not fundamentally change that for all the reasons the Father of the House set out in his brief but excellent speech.

During the passage of the Fire Safety Bill Ministers promised these issues would be addressed in the Building Safety Bill.

 Lord Greenalgh said:

“it is unacceptable for leaseholders to have to worry about costs of fixing historic safety defects in their buildings that they did not cause”

“building owners are responsible for ensuring the safety of residents”, and he said they should “protect leaseholders from the costs of remediating historic building defects.”

I don’t know what the correct term in parliament is for someone who makes promises they don’t keep, but I know what they call them on the streets of Brent North. They call them a government minister!

Extending the scope and duration of the Defective Premises Act (DPA) in The Building Safety Bill shows the government does not understand the extent of the problem.

I would ask the Minister to explain to my constituents who live in the Wembley Central Development how this will help them?  The original Developer of their homes-  St Modwens have washed their hands of these defective properties. They sold them to an off-shore company in Jersey in 2018 following the introduction of the new Building Regulations.

They were in partnership with Sowcrest, who are now in a very convenient liquidation. So who exactly does the minister think my constituents can chase here?

What is the government prepared to do about buildings with obscure corporate ownership?

I first contacted St Modwens in 2017 immediately after the Grenfell tragedy. They repeatedly assured me these buildings were safe and in 2018 confirmed in writing that no fire safety defects had been identified.  I am now told the cladding on this building is the same as used for the Grenfell Tower and the Fire Safety Report  has identified fire stopping defects throughout the construction process.

But In May of this year St Modwen agreed to a takeover bid of £1.2 billion from Blackstone.  Can the Minister tell me how this Bill will make them accountable for their actions?

It wasn’t the leaseholders who decided to use flammable cladding, to leave out fire stopping in voids or cut corners. Developers made those decisions.

 My constituents do not have either the deep pockets or the legal expertise to fight these corporate chameleons who start off in London and end up in Jersey as a different company. And this Bill shows the government either does not understand or does not care.

The companies can afford lengthy litigation.  Leaseholders cannot.

 Finally The Minister must explain why there is so little progress on the Building Safety Fund?

I wrote to St Modwens on the 23rd June 2021. I still await a response.

I have also written to Fidum/Fox Cooper, the new managing agents for the New owners based in Jersey.  I asked them about their application to the Building Safety Fund BSF for the removal of the unsafe cladding.  I have received no response.

But Fidum have now told residents that they missed the closing date of the 30th June for the second application because they are still waiting to have eligibility confirmed for the first! And therefore cannot move to stage 2 of the application process.   I contacted the BSF directly on the 23rd June and was advised I would receive an urgent reply from the Ministry of Housing – now precisely 4 weeks later I have received no response.  All of us knew that the system that government had put in place was inadequate.

What we didn’t expect was that it would be incompetent as well.

 

Barry speaks in Environment Bill report stage debate

The Environment Bill returned to the House of Commons just before parliamentary recess for the second day of report stage. Barry voiced his support the Labour frontbench amendments on banning burning of vegetation on all peatland areas to protect the UK’s most vital carbon sinks. Barry also called for the House to support amendments on food labelling, so consumers could make informed decisions on the products they purchase based on their climate and ecological footprints. Finally, Barry spoke of his support for New Clause 12 to revoke existing fracking licenses following the loopholes in the Government’s moratorium on fracking in place since the end of 2019.

Barry draws attention to the impact of ESW1 regulations in Fire Safety Bill speech

In this speech, Barry focused on the impact of the EWS1 regulations and the callous way vulnerable residents in Blackberry House are being treated.

Barry goes on to say “ Charitably, EWS1 forms are the Government’s attempt to force a proper assessment of fire safety defects. Less charitably, they appear to be an attempt to outsource the crucial work of assessing dangerous buildings after Grenfell Tower to an unregulated private market.”

You can watch Barry’s speech below.

Barry once again calls out Government over their deplorable treatment of leaseholders

Barry has spoken in the recent Fire Safety Bill- Lords amendment. Barry referenced constituents in Wembley Central apartments, a large group of residential tower blocks in Brent North.

Barry spoke of his dismay that leasholders are being forced by government to pay billions of pounds retrospectively for the misconduct of others: such as the builders, the developers or even those producing the government’s own advisory documents, and, in particular building regulation control.

It is vital that the government focusses on addressing the very real issues in building control regulations that allowed this scandal to happen in the first place.

You can watch Barry’s speech below.

Barry questions Minister over the cutting of the UKs aid budget

In today’s Urgent Question on the reductions in the Offical Development Assistance (ODA) budget, Barry questions the Minister over the timing of the cut in the aid budget.

As the Covid crisis in India worsens, many Brent North constituents are traumatised by the scenes we are seeing in India. Barry questions that if “no country is safe until the virus is under control in every country” why is the government continuing to endanger lives both at home and overseas?

Barry calls out woeful inadequacy of Budget in addressing Climate and Biodiversity crises

Barry spoke on the first afternoon of debate following Rishi Sunak’s Budget speech. He firstly reminded the House that Coronavirus is a zoonotic disease, and as such has emerged due to human exploitation of the natural world and will be repeated unless we rethink our relationship with nature. On this, Barry called for not only greater investment but a complete rethinking into our institutional and economic frameworks, highlighting recommendations from the Treasury’s Dasgupta Review to view the biodiversity crisis as a crisis of asset management. He called for recognition that our economy is bound by nature and our present levels of consumption are outstripping nature’s ability to produce the services and goods we demand.

Barry also highlighted the potential for jobs creation through a true Green recovery, with the potential for 1 million jobs by 2030. However he highlighted this will only come through long-term investment and efficient infrastructural programmes, citing the failures of the Green Homes Grant in incentivising homeowners to retrofit their homes. Finally, Barry addressed the need for financial sector alignment to the net-zero target, welcoming the update of the Bank of England’s mandate to include Climate and Environmental sustainability in dictating monetary policy but calling for climate and nature-related financial disclosures for listed companies.

You can watch Barry’s abridged speech to the House and his full speech below.

"My constituents were victims of fraud."- Barry speaks up for residents trapped in unsafe buildings during the debate on 'Unsafe Cladding'

In this debate on unsafe cladding, Barry echoed the anger of residents in Elizabeth House, Damask Court, Capitol Way, and many other developments in Brent North. The residents trapped in unsafe buildings are fed up with sympathy; they want action.

In reality, this debate should have been about a whole range of fire safety defects that have turned their homes into a building site for the past three years, and threaten to do so for three years more.

Instead of expecting building owners and the construction industry to do the right thing, the Government should wake up, impose a windfall levy on the industry, and get this work done.

You can watch Barry’s speech below.

Barry contributes to Report Stage debate on the Environment Bill

On Tuesday, the Environment Bill returned to the House of Commons to give MPs from all parties a chance to reconsider key aspects of the Bill and discuss the proposed amendments. Barry spoke at both stages of the debate, firstly on Environmental Governance and secondly on the Bill’s provisions for reducing the UK’s waste. Both contributions are available to watch below.

In the first stage of the debate, Barry spoke in favour of the Labour frontbench Amendment to remove the Secretary of State’s ability to interfere in the procedures of the new Environmental watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection. This Amendment is key to ensure the Government cannot issue guidance to the regulator and attempt to influence which regulatory actions it pursues, so as to ensure consistency with other non-departmental public bodies such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Barry also used the first debate to draw attention to the need for binding Interim environmental targets so that the regulator could hold relevant actors accountable. He also urged colleagues across the House to speak out against the lifting of the ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, which had been outlawed under EU membership due to their harmful effects on bees and other pollinators.

Barry used the second stage of the debate to draw attention to waste issues, specifically e-waste, of which the UK is the second highest producer in the world. He spoke in favour of a New Clause which would ensure the Government implement the Waste Hierarchy principle, with a specific focus on preventing unnecessarily high levels of waste being produced in the first place. Barry also spoke out on the need for legal limits of air pollution enshrined in the Bill and for the Government to report to Parliament on an annual basis on efforts to reduce air pollution levels.

Barry takes part in Westminster Hall debate on Kashmir

Barry has spoken in a recent Westminster Hall debate on the topic of Kashmir.

Barry begins by giving his view on the unique constitutional entity of Jammu and Kashmir- “As a constitutional entity, the so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir, which is better known to the world as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, is not just strange but unique. It has been given the trappings of a country, with a President, Prime Minister and even a legislative assembly, but it is neither a country with its own sovereignty nor a province with its own clearly defined devolved authority from the national Government.”

He then sums up by saying “the Simla agreement was signed in 1972, when both countries committed to resolving all differences bilaterally and peacefully. That is what they should do, and it is what UK policy is and should be: to let them resolve their differences without political interference from either side.

I deplore the way in which some have always tried to import the conflicts of the subcontinent into our domestic politics. In my borough of Brent, our council leader is a fine and devout Muslim whose family is from Pakistan; our chief whip is a wonderfully authoritative Bangladeshi woman; and our Greater London Authority representative is an enormously respected Hindu.

We all work together for all of the people we serve. My view is parliament should do the same”

You can watch Barry’s speech in full below.

Barry accounts the experiences of dentists in Brent in House of Commons debate

Barry was pleased to co-sponsor a backbench business debate in the House of Commons on Covid-19’s impact on dental services.

In his speech, which was cut short by the Speaker due to time constraints, Barry spoke of how the govenment failed had failed the dental profession even before Covid.

Barry then quoted letters from the Brent & Harrow Local Dental Committee and other dental professionals he had received.

You can watch Barry’s speech below.

Barry speaks in Westminster Hall debate on persecution of religious minorities in India

In this recent Westminster Hall debate on the persecution of religious minorities in India, Barry questioned whether this is a debate that should be taking place in British Parliament-

“Imagine when the Windrush scandal broke in the UK if there had been a debate in the Indian Parliament about the persecution of black people in Britain. Or, in 2011, when the London riots broke out after the police shooting of Mark Duggan, that there had been questions asked in the Indian Parliament about the impartiality of the Metropolitan police, and how it was that they stood by and did not use force to stop the rioters for four days before those riots were brought under control. Imagine that there had been debates in the Indian Parliament all through the troubles in Northern Ireland, accusing the British Government of persecuting the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland.

I say this, not to minimise the subject that hon. Members have brought for debate in this Chamber today—injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere—but to give ourselves a sense of humility and a little perspective about how we might feel, as parliamentarians, if legislators in India were to pronounce on our institutions from afar, putting us under the microscope in the same way that colleagues are doing for their Indian counterparts today.”

Barry concluded his speech by highlighting the shortcomings of our own government-

“India is a sovereign country with an established democracy, and I respect its right to enact legislation whether or not I think it clumsy or ill-framed.

As people criticise India for legislation that is giving citizenship to tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, perhaps we should recall that just in December, a British Home Office Minister complained to the Home Affairs Committee that we had been unable to get the French to agree to a policy of turning back migrant boats in the channel. As India enacts the principle of non-refoulement, we are busy trying to do the opposite. Sometimes, as a Christian, I think we would do better to cast out the beam from our own eye, and then we might see clearly to cast out the mote from our neighbour’s.”

You can watch Barry’s speech in full below.

"Do we really need another report? Yes, we do!" Barry explains why we need the Climate Assembly report

Barry spoke in the debate relating to the final report from the Climate Assembly UK on the path to net zero. He spoke of the need for this report as, unlike previous reports, it is the public telling politicians what needs to be done and not the other way round.

You can watch Barry’s speech and short intervention during the Minister’s closing remarks below.

Barry's intervention in the Health Statement on Covid-19

Barry asked the Health Secretary “How will his Government now try to ensure they recognise that a person’s spiritual needs are critical for their mental health and that this is just as important for people’s physical health?” Barry also referred to the fact that priests have been unable to administer the sacrament to those dying in care homes and rabbis have been unable to secure a minyan in order to say the Kaddish.

In response the Secretary of State said “Ministers are working with faith leaders on how we can come to an arrangement, as soon as possible, to allow both communal prayer…, and all other aspects of nurturing worship.”

You can watch the full exchange below.

Barry gives passionate speech in the debate on Free School Meals

Barry has given a passionate speech in the chamber during the opposition day debate on free school meals.

The motion being debated is “That this House calls on the Government to continue directly funding provision of free school meals over the school holidays until Easter 2021 to prevent over a million children going hungry during this crisis.”

Barry spoke of the shame of the 5th richest country in the world having over 4 million children in poverty. He talked of how footballer Marcus Rashford shamed the government into providing free school meals over the summer holidays.

Barry also quoted the the words of head teachers of Brent North schools who have emailed Barry with their experiences. The overriding message from these head teachers is- Government paying for free school meals is an absolute minimum.

You can watch Barry’s speech below.

Barry makes two interventions in the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill

In the recent Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill, Barry made two interventions.

Firstly, Barry rose to clarify that he thought without the excellent Labour amendments, this Bill cannot be supported, and if the Government chooses not to relent and accept the amendments then members should vote against the Bill.

In his second intervention, Barry spoke of the concern around clause V. Barry pointed out that the Minister rightly stressed the importance of clarity, however, there was very little clarity about the word 'disorder’ and about what constitutes the economic wellbeing of UK.

When it went to vote, the Government defeated the Labour amendments, so as promised during his first intervention, Barry voted against the Bill.

You can watch both of Barry’s interventions below.