Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people eligible for but not claiming Pension Credit in Middlesbrough & Thornaby East constituency.
Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase the uptake of pension credit by those eligible in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency.
Andy McDonald: I thank the Home Secretary for her statement. She will be aware that the riots, which sought to exploit the Southport killings for a racist and Islamophobic agenda, included one in Middlesbrough that saw homes, businesses and vehicles damaged in a predominantly Asian and Muslim area, where thugs created roadblocks that allowed only white British drivers to pass. That racist violence caused...
Andy McDonald: ...not for the private profit of train operators. I look forward to speaking with her about the much-discussed expansion of rail connections to our capital city and across the northern region, from my Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency. I commend her for the superb job that she has done thus far by bringing forward this Bill today. I wish her and the Bill every success.
Andy McDonald: ...under public ownership. I welcome Lord Peter Hendy—I mentioned his brother—to the role of railways Minister, which is undoubtedly an excellent appointment. I cannot fail to mention that in my Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency we have some of the worst child poverty in Britain. The Prime Minister is right to say that the abolition of the two-child cap is merely one lever for...
Andy McDonald: Five years on from the approval of a new secondary school in my Middlesbrough constituency, not a brick has been laid and the children of Outwood Academy Riverside remain in an old Home Office block, and the next two years’ intake are going to be bused to Redcar to portacabins plonked on a field. Children are spending their entire secondary school years in temporary accommodation and it is...
Andy McDonald: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when he plans to respond to Questions 8440, 8441 and 8442 on Israel:Gaza tabled on 8 January 2024 by the hon. Member for Middlesbrough.
Andy McDonald: ...of “holes” of a different variety. Thanks to the Conservatives’ decision to slash local government funding, along with the disgraceful mismanagement of the previous administration in my town, Middlesbrough Council has been put in the unwelcome position of having to sell its major income-generating assets to try to deliver a balanced budget. While food banks creak under the strain and...
Andy McDonald: ...close nearly 1,000 ticket offices. That will leave 2,300 working people in our constituencies right across the land out of work. I am concerned about the ticket office staff in my constituency of Middlesbrough and my constituents who use the service, but the same situation applies right across the country. About 25% of the staff will be lost. As a former shadow Rail Minister and shadow...
Andy McDonald: In 2019, the Outwood Academy Riverside free school application in Middlesbrough was approved, with its first year 7 intake arriving the following year. There have been further intakes every year since, but there is still no new building. I have had no response to my request for a meeting with the Secretary of State, but that original intake are destined to spend their entire secondary...
Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the potential closure of train station ticket offices in Middlesbrough on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in the North East.
Andy McDonald: ...page and editorial lamented the apparent decision of Advanced Cables to build its new facility on the Tyne rather than the Tees, quoting Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Sir Simon Clarke), who both blamed me for the company so deciding, without a single shred of evidence for such a ridiculous notion. Companies, of course,...
Andy McDonald: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way on that point. Is she aware that the position of Middlesbrough Council was to say, “Give us the money, don’t give it to yet another self-appointed board under the tutelage of Ben Houchen”? Is she as amazed as I am that Ben Houchen has deliberately excluded PD Ports, the biggest employer and investor in the territory, from the consultation...
Andy McDonald: ...to facilitate development, with the levering in of private investment a key element. People like Sir Alan Cockshaw, a most highly respected figure in the business world, Steve Gibson, the chair of Middlesbrough football club and Bulkhaul, and Paul Booth of Sabic all served on the STDC board and put in many hours of unpaid time—and, indeed, flew to Thailand at their own expense to further...
Andy McDonald: I am grateful for the praise; I just want to point out that I am the Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough—my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) is a different guy altogether.
Andy McDonald: I am an honorary governor of Middlesbrough College.
Andy McDonald: I beg to move, That this House has considered the Middlesbrough Development Corporation. It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Paisley. On Friday 24 February, Middlesbrough Council held an extraordinary general meeting, convened by the monitoring officer, to determine whether the council supported the proposal to create a Middlesbrough development corporation. The proposal was put to...
Andy McDonald: ...of the debate that I have sought today; I want to stress that that is a danger. We all want to see good development in our towns, but how that development is done is important. Over the years, Middlesbrough Council has acquired and assembled assets using public money, and it holds those assets on behalf of all of us in Middlesbrough. The proposal is that if the council transfers these...
Andy McDonald: ...makes an interesting point. I do not share his confidence, and I will set out the reasons why the structure that has been set out is incredibly dangerous. I share his observations about how Middlesbrough Council has been run of late. I will come back to that, but perhaps it is shared territory for us. Critically, however, the council will have no say on how any development goes ahead or...
Andy McDonald: Let me finish the point. It seems that they will be there in a personal capacity, whether they remain in office or not; it is not clear. The Mayor of Middlesbrough, Andy Preston, did not attend the vote by which this decision was made. He was advised by the council’s monitoring officer that he could not attend because of his own personal pecuniary interests.
