Jon Ashworth MP raises in Parliament issue of increased food bank use in Leicester

Jon Ashworth MP spoke in the Food Bank Debate in Parliament today, highlighting how Leicester has seen an increase in food bank usage.

Speaking during the debate, Jon said: “Many of my constituents will be disappointed that the Minister... showed no contrition whatever for the acceleration of food banks on the Government’s watch. The issue is not whether food banks existed four or five years ago, but the sheer explosion in the number of food banks and demand for them in the past 18 months.” More on the News page...

Written Answers - Work and Pensions: Employment and Support Allowance
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's plans are to support employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants whose work capability assessments are being reconsidered, but who are unable to claim ESA during the reconsideration or appeal period. More...

Written Answers - Cabinet Office: Civil Servants: Recruitment
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what the current ethnic make-up is of all staff in the senior civil service; (2) what the gender make-up is of all staff in the senior civil service. More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Cabinet Office: Government Efficiency
Jonathan Ashworth: We know that universal credit will not be delivered on time, that £40 million has been wasted, that £90 million will be written down and that the IT system Agile was deeply inappropriate. The Opposition have learnt that Agile was used on the insistence of the Cabinet Office, so will the Paymaster General, who boasts of his efficiency drives, give us a full explanation of his... More...

Written Answers - Cabinet Office: Civil Servants: Recruitment
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what the ethnic breakdown was of all applicants who successfully completed the Civil Service Fast Stream application process between the 2011 and 2013 intakes; (2) what the ethnic breakdown was of all applicants who applied to the Civil Service Fast Stream programme between the 2011 and
2013 intakes; (3) what the gender make-up was of all...
More...

Written Answers - Cabinet Office: Civil Servants: Greater London
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what the gender make-up is of Civil Service staff in London; (2) what the gender make-up is of all Civil Service staff; (3) what the ethnic make-up is of Civil Service staff in London. More...

Business of the House: Autumn Statement
Jonathan Ashworth: My constituent Mrs Patricia Zachariah complained to me yesterday that her gas bill was set by to rise by 86%. Does the Chancellor think that that is acceptable? If not, why did he not take strong action today to deal with the energy companies that are causing so much difficulty to our hard-pressed constituents? More...

Business of the House: Sexual Violence in Conflict
Jonathan Ashworth: I have listened carefully to the Foreign Secretary's remarks on Burma. He will know of the reports of sexual violence against the Rohingya minority in Rakhine and against other minorities in Kachin state. In the light of those reports, there is scepticism about the depth of the regime's commitment to the initiative. What assurances has he sought from the regime, and what role does... More...

Business of the House
Jonathan Ashworth: On Monday the Government accepted the position of Labour Front Benchers on capping high-cost credit, ahead of certain defeat in the other place. Yesterday the Government accepted many of the proposals of the shadow Home Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), in order to take the wind out of a Government Back-Bench rebellion. More...

Jon called on the Government to invest more in child care and early years development in a debate in the House of Commons

Jon, who just this week returned from paternity leave following the birth of his baby daughter, warned that the Government’s child care policies will have a damaging impact on families across the country.

Opposition Day - [12th allotted day] - Child Care
Jonathan Ashworth: I will take your guidance, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am the father of a two-year-old toddler and now a two-week-old baby girl, as well, so perhaps I should declare an interest. [Interruption.] My hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan) asks me their names. My two girls are called Gracie and Annie, but enough about my family; let me move on to the substance of the debate... More...

Written Answers - Home Department: Detainees: Young People
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been detained by the UK Border Agency from 1 October 2012 to 31 March 2013 who were subsequently found to be under the age of 18. More...

Written Answers - Defence: Iraq
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the health problems in Iraq arising from the use of uranium-depleted munitions and the nerve agent Sarin during the first and second Gulf wars; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle such health issues in an effective and appropriate way. More...

Written Answers - Health: Mental Illness: Housing Benefit
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will commit to greater investment in housing-related support for people with mental health problems. More...

Business of the House
Jonathan Ashworth: Further to the answer of the Leader of the House to my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Thomas Docherty), a few weeks ago I wrote to the Home Secretary about her proposal for a £3,000 visa bond on visitors from India and Pakistan, which is causing consternation in my constituency. Last week a Home Office official rang my office to say that they were sorry, but there...More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Home Department: Antisocial Behaviour
Jonathan Ashworth: What steps the Government are taking to tackle antisocial behaviour. More...

Written Answers - Culture Media and Sport: Public Libraries: Electronic Publishing
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what steps her Department is taking to encourage appropriate models for remote eBook lending in response to the recommendations of the Sieghart Review of eBook lending in libraries; (2) what steps her Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the Sieghart Review of eBook lending in libraries in respect of...More...

Written Answers - Health: School Milk
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the cost to the public purse has been of undertaking the consultation into the administration of the Nursery Milk Scheme; (2) with reference to the Government response to the consultation on the future administration of the Nursery Milk Scheme, whether childcare settings providing milk under the Nursery Milk Scheme will continue to be able... More...

Written Answers - Treasury: Public Sector: Redundancy
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of potential public sector redundancies up to May 2015. More...

Written Answers - Work and Pensions: Social Security Benefits
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances a claimant who has received an overpayment of benefits is required to make a civil payment in addition to reimbursing the original overpayment. More...

Written Answers - Home Department: Entry Clearances
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment she has made of the effect of the Visitor Visa Bond on the number of business trips to the UK from (a) Pakistan and (b) India which seek to secure bilateral trade and investment... More...

Business of the House
Jonathan Ashworth: Will the Leader of the House arrange for the Home Secretary to come to the House and issue a clarification on the apparent proposal to introduce £3,000 visa bonds for visitors to this country from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. That proposal has caused much dismay in Leicester and threatens to put a strain on our economic ties with those nations. More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Topical Questions
Jonathan Ashworth: Following the horsemeat scandals, there are still serious concerns about meat in the supply chain. When will we get a full report? In Leicester there are still concerns about halal food. What discussion has the Minister had with the Food Standards Agency on this? More...

Written Answers - Treasury: Public Sector: Redundancy Pay
Jonathan Ashworth:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost to the public purse is of (a) voluntary redundancies in the public sector, (b) compulsory redundancies in that sector and (c) redundancies in that sector brought about by employment contract changes since May 2010. More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Justice: Afghanistan and EU Council
Jonathan Ashworth: The Prime Minister is right to say that we need to expand trade and overseas investment, and I am pleased that he discussed trade with the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Does he think that his efforts on trade will be helped or hindered if the Home Secretary imposes a £3,000 visa bond on visitors from India and Pakistan? More...

Commons debate - G8
Jonathan Ashworth: In my constituency in Leicester, a city with a tradition of welcoming people, these new rules are causing considerable concern. A British citizen came to see me last week who has been living in Syria and fled from there with her children, for obvious reasons, yet her husband cannot get out because of the rigidity of the rules. People might think that, given the circumstances and what is... More...

Westminster Hall debate - Family Migration Rules
Jonathan Ashworth: Yesterday the Prime Minister was pressed on the issue of arming the Syrian rebels. He said that he has “always believed in allowing the House of Commons a say on all these issues.”—[Hansard, 12 June 2013; Vol. 564, c. 333.] However, he was not explicit on whether the House would have a vote. Is the Leader of the House able to guarantee that there will be a vote on any proposal to arm the Syrian rebels? More...

Written Answers - Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Syria
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the expiration of the recent EU arms embargo on the prospects for peace talks in Syria. More...

Written Answers - Home Department: Asylum: Children
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department issues on the handling of children seeking asylum in the UK whose age is disputed. More...

Business of the House
Jonathan Ashworth: Yesterday the Prime Minister was pressed on the issue of arming the Syrian rebels. He said that he has “always believed in allowing the House of Commons a say on all these issues.”—[Hansard, 12 June 2013; Vol. 564, c. 333.] However, he was not explicit on whether the House would have a vote. Is the Leader of the House able to guarantee that there will be a vote on any proposal to arm the Syrian rebels? More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Prime Minister: Children's Heart Surgery
Jonathan Ashworth: Clinicians at Glenfield hospital, and people across Leicester and the wider east midlands, will welcome what the Secretary of State said today on the suspension of Safe and Sustainable, but I want to ask him a further question on the point that the hon. Member for North West Leicestershire (Andrew Bridgen) made about the future of the extra corporeal membrane oxygenation centre. The decision...More...

Westminster Hall debates - Rakhine and Kachin State (Human Rights)
Jonathan Ashworth: My remarks will be brief, because I have previously spoken at length on these matters in both Westminster Hall and the Commons Chamber. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi) for her excellent speech and the kind remarks she directed towards me. I will cut down my comments so that my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall South (Valerie Vaz) may take... More...

Written Answers - Defence: Iraq Conflict
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of health problems in Iraq arising from the allied use of uranium-depleted munitions during the first and second Gulf Wars; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle such health issues in an effective and appropriate way. More...

Westminster Hall debates - UK City of Culture 2017
Jonathan Ashworth: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Weir. I congratulate the hon. Member for Southend West (Mr Amess), who put in a tremendous performance in opening the debate. Earlier this morning, I was looking at the betting odds, and the bookies have Southend second from bottom, at 14:1, but it will certainly be worth a flutter after the hon. Gentleman's speech. I also noticed... More...

Written Answers - Education: Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration he has given to introducing teaching about teratogenic medicines into the National Curriculum. More...

Written Answers - Health: Sodium Valproate
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will request that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issue regular caution in use warnings to general practitioners relating to the risks posed by taking sodium valproate during pregnancy. More...

Written Answers - Work and Pensions: Sodium Valproate
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential implications for the benefits system of the effects of sodium valproate on (a) the women who took it during their pregnancy and (b) their children. More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Topical Questions
Jonathan Ashworth: In recent days, it has emerged that burgers served in Leicester schools that were classified as halal contained pork. There have been similar examples elsewhere in the country. Will the Secretary of State undertake to have urgent discussions with the Food Standards Agency to ensure that halal food is indeed halal food? More...

Written Answers - Cabinet Office: Press: Subscriptions
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much No. 10 Downing Street spent on newspapers and periodicals in 2011-12. More...

Written Answers - Work and Pensions: Jobcentre Plus
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 22 April 2013, Official Report, columns 702-3W, on Jobcentre Plus, which of his ministerial colleagues visited each of the Jobcentre Plus centres listed in the last 12 months. More...

Written Answers - Prime Minister: India
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Prime Minister what criteria were used to select which backbench hon. Members would accompany him on his recent trip to India; and what the cost was of travel and board for those hon. Members. More...

Business of the House: Child-care Ratios
Jonathan Ashworth: I am aware that the Minister has long championed the policy of loosening the child-care ratios. Indeed, before she joined the Front-Bench team she was writing pamphlets about it. However, if she is so convinced of the merits of the policy, why will she not publish the Penn report, which her Department commissioned, and why has the Deputy Prime Minister let it be known in the past 24 hours...More...

Business of the House
Jonathan Ashworth: May we have a debate on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's city of culture 2017 initiative? I am sure that the Leader of the House is backing Leicester's bid. A debate would allow Members on both sides of the House to express their support for Leicester's overwhelming claim. More...

Commons debates - Burma (Human Rights)
Jonathan Ashworth: I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman for securing the first Adjournment debate of the new Session on this important subject. Some of us in this House are very interested in Burma and have deep concerns about it. He is right that Burma has made progress, but I think we all recognise that it has to make further progress. Does he agree that the Burmese Government should allow the UN special...More...

Public Bill Committee: Finance (No. 2) Bill
Jonathan Ashworth: Further to that point of order, Mr Amess. I appreciate the way in which you made your remarks a few moments ago. To guide the Committee, can you tell us whether there is a precedent for rerunning a vote on an amendment in Committee? If the Government do not want the amendment to the Bill to remain, is not the neatest approach for them to move that it be taken out on Report? More...

Written Answers - Home Department: Asylum: Children
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children seeking asylum in the UK have been stripped searched in the last six months. More...

Written Answers - Treasury: Excise Duties: Beer / Alcoholic Drinks
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the effect on (a) wine, (b) spirits and (c) beer consumption of the decision to freeze beer duty in Budget 2013; (2) when calculating estimated income from alcohol duty receipts, what estimates his Department has made of consumption of (a) beer, (b) wine and (c) spirits in the next three years; (3) what estimate his... More...

Written Answers - Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Sudan
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UNAMID fulfils its mandate actively to protect civilians in Darfur. More...

Written Answers - Work and Pensions: Jobcentre Plus
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which Jobcentre Plus centres (a) he and (b) ministerial colleagues have visited in the last 12 months. More...

Written Answers - Education: Free School Meals
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to ensure that children living in poverty in (a) the UK and (b) Leicester South constituency are receiving free school meals. More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Defence: G8 Foreign Ministers
Jonathan Ashworth: I was grateful that the Foreign Secretary in his statement and the G8 communiqué referred to Burma and to the need to end religious and ethnic tensions there. I am sure he is aware that, in recent weeks, there have been more reports of sectarian violence against the Rohingya community and other Muslim communities. The root of much of it is Rohingya citizenship. What pressure, through the... More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Defence: Heart Surgery (Leeds)
Jonathan Ashworth: I want to reinforce entirely the point put to the Secretary of State by the hon. and learned Member for Harborough (Sir Edward Garnier) a few moments ago. Safe and Sustainable made recommendations about Leeds and about closing children's heart surgery at Leicester, but in recent days published data show that Leicester has one of the lowest mortality rates. Can the Secretary of State... More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Business, Innovation and Skills: Regional Growth Fund
Jonathan Ashworth: What recent assessment he has made of the operation of the regional growth fund. More...

2 Westminster Hall debates - British Sikh Community
Jonathan Ashworth: Before the hon. Gentleman moves on, I must bring Leicester into this part of the discussion. We are a proudly diverse city, strong and vibrant today thanks in part to the contribution of our Sikh community. I pay tribute to the Leicestershire Sikh Alliance and to the many gurdwaras in Leicester, some of which host me for regular advice surgeries. Given that the Sikh community has played such...More...

Reburial of King Richard III
Jonathan Ashworth: I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. He mentions the licence granted by the Ministry of Justice, which I would argue was granted in the fair and independent way that he has been calling for, but the application for the licence was explicit about Richard. It said that a licence was wanted for an "excavation to investigate the remains of Leicester's Franciscan..." More...

Opposition Day - [19th Allotted Day] - Tax Fairness
Jonathan Ashworth: My hon. Friend should take no lessons from Conservative Members, because when they were in opposition they refused to specify-apart from supporting Labour's spending plans-any of the policies that would be in their 2010 manifesto. More...

Business of the House: UK's Development Work (Girls and Women)
Jonathan Ashworth: I would like to press the Secretary of State a little further on the issue of Syrian refugees, which she touched on in her statement. The number of refugees has now hit the 1 million mark, and two-thirds of them are women and children. The UN has said that it lacks the funds necessary to deal with the crisis. Yesterday, the Foreign Secretary said that the UK “will seek new ways to... More...

Westminster Hall debates - Manufacturing (East Midlands)
Jonathan Ashworth: I thank my hon. Friend; he is absolutely right. I want pay tribute to the work that he has done on Bombardier. The Bombardier decision was tragic not only for Derby and Derbyshire, but for manufacturing in the east midlands. The whole supply chain was affected by it. I agree that trade and increasing exports are an important part of the rebalancing of the economy that we want to see, and... More...

CCTV: Horsemeat (Food Fraud)
Jonathan Ashworth: Given the concerns about horsemeat, and given the announcement at the end of January that pork DNA had been found in pies that were supposed to be halal, many of my constituents are naturally anxious about the classification of halal meat. Can the Secretary of State tell us what meetings he has had with halal certification organisations, and can he reassure my constituents that meat that is... More...

Business of the House
Jonathan Ashworth: On Richard III, the case for Leicester is overwhelming, so hands off, York! I ask the Leader of the House to really think about holding a debate on the bedroom tax. When that policy was debated in Westminster Hall recently, no Government Back Bencher turned up to defend it. Given that it will affect so many vulnerable and disabled people, Opposition Members are keen to hear from the... More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Justice: Topical Questions
Jonathan Ashworth: I thank the Ministry of Justice for granting the appropriate licence to the university of Leicester to exhume the remains that have turned out to be those of Richard III. Will the Minister confirm that under the terms of the licence, it is up to the university to decide what to do with the remains and that the university has handed them to Leicester cathedral and that Richard III will be... More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Work and Pensions: High Speed Rail
Jonathan Ashworth: As an east midlands MP, the Secretary of State will know that his announcement today has not been universally welcomed across Leicestershire. It is certainly true that the city of Leicester will not see the same advantages that the wider Nottingham and Derby conurbations will see, with the proposal to put the station at Toton.One way he could win over his Leicestershire critics would be to...More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Basketball (Funding)
Jonathan Ashworth: The hon. Gentleman talked about basketball's popularity in the black and minority ethnic community and the hon.Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Oliver Colvile) mentioned urban areas. As one would expect, therefore, basketball is incredibly popular in Leicester, which has the excellent Leicester Riders. They have told me in recent days that the decision to cut the funding is... More...

Bill Presented - Marriage (Same Sex Couples): Backbench Business - Voting Age
Jonathan Ashworth: It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Bury North (Mr Nuttall). As I think he knows, I joined the Labour party in Bury as a 15-year-old, and when I was 16 and 17, I spent my time doing my best to help dislodge his Conservative predecessor, who is of course now the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire... More...

Westminster Hall debate - Housing Benefit Entitlement - [Hugh Bayley in the Chair]
Jonathan Ashworth: Is it not extraordinary that no Conservative Members are here, other than the Parliamentary Private Secretary, to defend the policy? A couple came to my constituency office, and they live in a specially adapted bungalow. The wife has to have morphine through the evening, so the husband has to sleep in another room. Under the proposals, they will have to move out of that specially adapted...More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Burma
Jonathan Ashworth: What recent reports he has received on the security situation in Rakhine state, Burma; and if he will make a statement. More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Education: Algeria
Jonathan Ashworth: The Prime Minister rightly said that terrorism will be at the top of the agenda at the G8. Given that we are dealing with al-Qaeda affiliates, or franchises, as he puts it, will he give us more detail on the type of co-ordinated action on which he hopes to get agreement at the G8? Will he also say a word or two about his assessment of the security situation in Nigeria? Can he reassure us that... More...

Business of the House
Jonathan Ashworth: May we have a debate on Government waste by Departments? Figures that I have uncovered show that Government Departments have produced more than 5,500 circulars, consultation documents and publications since May 2010 at a cost of over £1.3 million, including such exciting titles as “Code of Practice on Noise from Ice-Cream Van Chimes”, More...

Written Answers - - Work and Pensions: Government Procurement Card
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) staff and (b) special advisers in his Department have use of a Government Procurement Card. More...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Attacks on Civilians (Burma)
Jonathan Ashworth: The Minister will accept that we welcome the reforms in Burma-I am sure we all agree on that-but does he agree that we must send the strongest message to Burma that it has to recognise the diversity of its people, whether that is minorities in Kachin or granting citizenship to the Rohingya in Rakhine? Will he give us more details of the work the UK Government can do at a UN level... More...

Written Answers - Environment Food and Rural Affairs: Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how often his Department produces a staff magazine. More...

Written Answers - Energy and Climate Change: Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how often his Department produces a staff magazine. More...

Oral Answers to Questions — Work and Pensions: Topical Questions
Jonathan Ashworth: The Secretary of State failed to answer the substance of the question put to him by my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr Byrne) a few moments ago. Of those affected by the 1% uprating, 81% are women and 60% are in work. Is not the reality that this Government are clobbering the strivers? More...

Business of the House
Jonathan Ashworth: May we have a debate on the Prime Minister's mid-term review and relaunch this week, and particularly on the full and frank audit of Government achievements? Will the Leader of the House tell us why he supposes the full and frank audit forgot to mention that the Government have trebled tuition fees to £9,000? More...

Oral Answers to Questions - Culture, Media and Sport: Broadband
Jonathan Ashworth: I think it was Ofcom that reported recently that approximately 10% of broadband connections -about 2.6 million households-do not have access to 2 megabit broadband. Further to the answer the hon. Gentleman gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) and my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms), given that access to broadband is vital...More...

Written Answers - Education: Publications
Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answers of 5 July 2012, Official Report, columns 808-11W, on publications, how much his Department has spent on (a) circulars, (b) consultation documents and (c) publications since May 2010. More...