Starmer pledges to review minimum barrier heights in multi-storey car parks
Gabriel Santer died after falling from the top of a multi-storey car park in the city centre in October 2020.
The Prime Minister said he wanted to 'prevent future tragedies', and the Government will conduct a call for evidence on minimum barrier heights in car parks.
This came after Labour MP Peter Dowd urged Sir Keir to back his calls to increase the minimum required height of guarding.
Mr Dowd's Multi-Storey Car Parks (Safety) Bill also proposes 24-hour staffing of such car parks, to improve safety.
During Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Dowd, MP for Bootle said: 'Gabe Santer, a 15-year-old, fell to his death from a multi-storey car park in Liverpool in 2020. He's one of the many dying in such tragic circumstances, including in my constituency.
'My Multi-Storey Car Parks (Safety) Bill seeks to prevent such deaths.
'Will the Government look carefully at its content as part of a national suicide prevention strategy?'
The Prime Minister replied: 'The answer is yes, we will look at the content of it, and I'm grateful to him for raising it.'
He added: 'Across the House, we have all got tragic experience of suicide, and our thoughts are with Gabe's family and with his friends.
'We will conduct a call for evidence on part K of the building regulations about minimum guarding heights, so that necessary protections are in place to prevent future tragedies. We will also look at the contents of the Bill.'
Defence minister Maria Eagle previously presented 'Gabe's Law' to Parliament in 2023, in a bid to reform the safety of car parks.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Migrant policies ‘creating more barriers to child safety', says charity
Conditions at the UK-France border are becoming 'more dangerous' for young people, a charity has warned, after it was revealed that at least 15 children died trying to cross the Channel last year. Young children hide under tables when they think they hear the sound of sirens because they are commonly scared of the police, according to organisation Project Play, who raised concerns of teargas and evictions. Advocacy coordinator Kate O'Neill, based in northern France, told the PA news agency there has been a rise in police violence which is disproportionately harming children. She said: 'Ultimately the children we're meeting every day are not safe. 'They're exposed to a level of violence, whether it's they are directly victims of it or the witness. 'We're ultimately at all times putting out fires… the underlying issue is these policies of border securitisation… that are creating more and more barriers to child safety and child protection.' She said there was hope when the Labour Government took office a year ago that there would be some improvement, adding: 'This is not at all what we've seen. 'They continued to make conditions more difficult and more dangerous.' She said: 'The smash-the-gangs narrative is not effective and it's harmful because ultimately the only way to put the gangs out of business is to cut the need for them.' It comes as the grassroots organisation published a report that said at least 15 children died trying to cross the English Channel last year, more than the total of the past four years combined. The charity that offers play services, parental support and safeguarding casework to children aged 0-18 living in sites around Calais and Dunkirk, documented rising violence, trauma and child deaths linked with UK border policies and funding to the French to ramp up enforcement in 2024. In February this year, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper agreed to re-purpose £7 million of cash to French counterparts to bolster enforcement action on the nation's coastline to tackle Channel crossings. 'What we really need to see is some cross-border accountability for the incidents and the fatalities in the Channel,' Ms O'Neill said. The campaigner said one of the main calls as a result of the group's research is for an official source of the number of deaths and information on these deaths to be recorded. Figures for the report came from International Organisation for Migration, Calais Migrant Solidarity and other networks in northern France. 'We don't have the identities of all of them. 'In fact, these deaths are going unrecorded and unreported,' she said. One in five crossing the English Channel between 2018 and 2024 were children, according to Project Play. Meanwhile, Ms O'Neill said tactics for French police to intervene in crossing attempts in shallow waters is already happening despite the changes needed to the rules to allow this having not yet come into force. She said: 'This is not a new tactic… it's something that has been happening for a long time in Calais and surrounding areas. 'My feeling is that this is increasing based on the number of testimonies we're receiving from children and their families recently.' 'It's really dangerous because the children often are in the middle of the boats.' But on Friday, Ms Cooper said intervention in French waters was 'critical'. 'That's one of the big things that has changed, the way in which the boats operate in shallow waters,' she said. 'We have to have the action on those because that's that is where the prevention needs to take place.' Ms Cooper also pressed the case for introducing the new criminal offence of endangering life at sea under the Government's Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, after seeing 'awful cases' of children being crushed to death in the middle of overcrowded boats. Project Play worked with more than 1,000 children in 2024, and believes in the last few weeks there have been a 'very large amount' of children they worked with who were born and went to school in a European country, such as Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Ms O'Neill said families' visas granted five or 10 years ago in other European countries for refuge have since expired and they have not been allowed to stay, which she said is behind the increase in crossings to the UK. She said since Brexit meant the UK left the Dublin regulation, the country is a 'viable option'. The European Union law set out that the first EU country an asylum seeker entered was responsible for processing their claim, and the UK can no longer send asylum seekers back to other member states since leaving the bloc. Ms O'Neill said: 'Most people we're speaking to, that is why they're going. 'They're not going to claim benefits from the UK or to do anything for free, but it's the next nearest safe place they can be. 'This needs to be addressed… as a European-wide issue instead of just a UK-France thing.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. 'Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in Northern France and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening international partnerships and boosting our ability to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal gangs.'
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Ministers reveal plan to nearly double onshore wind across England by 2030
Ministers want to expand the country's onshore wind capacity from 14.8GW to 27-29GW by the end of the decade. It comes as part of wider Government ambitions to transition towards a clean power system by 2030, with the hope of boosting economic growth, creating jobs, reducing bills, decarbonising the grid and strengthening energy security. Last year, Labour axed the de facto ban on building onshore wind farms introduced by the Conservatives under David Cameron. The Government's move put onshore wind on an equal planning footing to offshore wind and nuclear, paving the way for projects to be rolled out faster in the coming years. The Conservatives criticised the strategy, accusing Energy Secretary Ed Miliband of making the country's energy 'unreliable and expensive' through his 'obsession with climate targets'. As part of the plan, the Government set out 40 actions for ministers and industry to take to hit the 2030 onshore wind ambitions. These include planning reforms, building supply chains and skilled workforces, resolving issues over how onshore turbines and aerospace infrastructure can co-exist, repowering old turbines, and exploring plans to expand the clean industry bonus for onshore wind. The Government claimed the strategy will support the creation of up to 45,000 skilled jobs by the end of the decade. In the foreword, Mr Miliband said: 'As one of the cheapest and fastest-to-build sources of power we have, onshore wind will play a critical role in boosting our energy independence with clean power by 2030. 'The reality is that every turbine we build helps protect families, businesses and the public finances from future fossil fuel shocks.' 'The reality is that every turbine we build helps protect families, businesses and the public finances from future fossil fuel shocks.' Matthieu Hue, co-chairman of the Onshore Wind Taskforce and chief executive of EDF Power Solutions UK and Ireland, said: 'This strategy is focusing on overcoming barriers and challenges we face across the industry in the deployment of onshore wind while capturing the major socio-economic benefits it can bring to the environment and to local economies. 'This is a critical part of making Britain a clean energy superpower and delivering energy security.' The Government said communities that host wind farms will benefit from money for community initiatives, such as new football pitches or libraries, or even bill discount schemes. A typical 25MW wind farm paying the industry standard of £5,000 per MW of installed capacity per year could deliver £3.75 million of funding to be redistributed among the community on local initiatives of their choosing over a 30-year operating life, according to the strategy document. In a statement, shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said: '(The Energy Secretary) is shutting down the North Sea, concreting our gas wells and he's downgraded our plans for nuclear. 'All this means is that families' energy bills are going to go through the roof, and we'll just end up importing more from coal-powered China. 'The US security services have already warned us that Chinese wind turbines could pose serious risks to our national security, but he won't do a China audit. Ed wants to hit Net Zero targets no matter the cost to the British public.' Elsewhere, the Government recently completed a process to de-risk offshore wind developments, led by the Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme. It said this will inform the Crown Estate's marine delivery route map on strategic use of the seabed so that more offshore wind farms can be built in a way that considers all marine sectors, including fisheries, and protects the environment. James Robottom, RenewableUK's head of onshore wind delivery, said: 'Overturning the unpopular onshore wind ban, which deprived us of one of the quickest and cheapest technologies to build for a decade, was just the start. 'The hard work to make the most of this great opportunity to grow our economy and strengthen the UK's energy security is now in full swing.' Sue Ferns, senior deputy general secretary of trade union Prospect, said: 'The lost years resulting from the last government's inexplicable ban have resulted in significant workforce and skills-related challenges that urgently need to be addressed, which hopefully they will be in the forthcoming clean energy workforce plan.'
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Ministers face backbench calls to widen access to top tier of sickness benefits
Labour backbencher Graeme Downie has proposed a welfare reform Bill amendment, so universal credit claimants with Parkinson's or multiple sclerosis who cannot work do not face repeated medical assessments to receive a payout. If MPs back his amendment, patients with 'evolving' needs who cannot work could also qualify for a higher rate of benefits. The Government's Bill has already cleared its first Commons hurdle at second reading, after work and pensions minister Sir Stephen Timms vowed not to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip), with any changes coming in only after a review of the benefit. To meet his promise, ministers have had to table amendments to their own draft new law, to remove one of its seven clauses, which MPs will debate next Wednesday. Universal credit claimants with Parkinson's 'are already possibly struggling financially', Mr Downie told the PA news agency ahead of the debate. He added: 'The cost of living with a condition like Parkinson's can be very high. 'You may well require or need additional support.' The Dunfermline and Dollar MP said patients who struggle with their motor control might buy pre-chopped vegetables or chicken. 'Those things are expensive, so if you're already on universal credit and you're struggling, being able to do that significantly impacts your health, it significantly impacts your ability to live properly,' he continued. As part of the Government's reforms, the Department for Work and Pensions has proposed a new 'severe conditions criteria' for universal credit. Claimants in this category will be entitled to a higher rate of the benefit, and will not be routinely reassessed to receive money. To qualify, claimants must have limited capability for work or work-related activity (LCWRA) and symptoms which 'constantly' apply. Mr Downie's amendment would expand these criteria to claimants with 'a fluctuating condition'. It would cover 'conditions like Parkinson's but also multiple sclerosis, ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), long Covid and a whole range of other conditions where, you know, in the morning things could be really good and in the afternoon things could be really bad, and even hour by hour things could change', he said. 'I felt it was necessary to table an amendment to really probe what the Government's position is on this, and ensuring that people with Parkinson's and conditions like that are not excluded from even applying and being considered.' Mr Downie's proposal has backing from 23 cross-party MPs. Juliet Tizzard, external relations director at Parkinson's UK, said: 'Criteria in the Bill say that a new claimant for the universal credit health payment will have to be 'constantly' unable to perform certain activities to qualify. 'This doesn't work for people with Parkinson's, whose symptoms change throughout the day. 'People with Parkinson's and other fluctuating conditions like multiple sclerosis will be effectively excluded from getting all the financial support they need. 'The Government has responded to our call and withdrawn the damaging restrictions to Pip. 'Now, they must do the same with the universal credit health element. The health of many people with Parkinson's is in their hands.'
