Beccy Cooper MP: speeches

Speeches

• 18 Nov 2024 · Improving Service Life: Personnel and Families · Hansard source

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  The package announced this weekend of 20 hours of funded wraparound childcare for families deployed overseas is very welcome. Can the Minister please assure us that this type of practical assistance will be a fundamental pillar of the Government’s support for forces families?

• 18 Nov 2024 · Improving Service Life: Personnel and Families · Hansard source

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  1. What steps he is taking to improve service life for serving personnel and their families.

• 14 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

• 14 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Research estimates that as many as 170 dolphins and other mammals are caught and killed every year off the Sussex coast, yet no bycatch data is recorded. Will the Secretary of State please outline how he is ensuring that supertrawlers operating in UK waters are fulfilling their legal duty to report marine mammal bycatch to the Marine Management Organisation?

• 13 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. According to the Darzi report, there has been a substantial decline in the social determinants of health, such as poor-quality housing, access to clean air and good nutrition. How is the Minister working with Cabinet colleagues to include health in policies that address those social determinants of health and tackle the health inequalities that are the legacy the Conservative Government left the country to deal with?

• 5 Nov 2024 · Income Tax (Charge) · Hansard source

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  A healthy economy means healthy people, but let us not forget that, conversely, healthy people are the backbone of a healthy economy. This Budget is working its way through some very difficult circumstances and dealing with problems that have been ignored for far too long. Problems in our economy have had an adverse effect on the health of the people we are here to serve, so I am heartened to see that this Budget is aware of the need not only to get the financial engine room running again, but to rebuild the foundations of good health for this country. This Budget rightly prioritises the NHS, with vital capital investment and increased spending. I know that many of my constituents and those across the country will welcome the announcement of funding for mental health crisis centres, providing services that are so desperately needed. That will go some way towards taking the pressure off our A&E departments. I would like to highlight a couple of the investments made beyond our NHS that are so vital for our health. I am delighted to see investment in giving all children the best start in life, with spending on early years and family services rising to £8 billion. The £30 million expansion of breakfast clubs will ensure that children start their days with a meal and positive social time. I have seen how much value is added when the catering is integrated into a school’s wider vision for health, wellbeing and pastoral care. I am also encouraged to see that the debilitating cuts to local government funding in recent years have finally stopped, and that a plan has been put in place to support essential providers of frontline services in continuing their vital work. As well as the 3.2% real-terms increase in local authority core spending power, the additional £500 million going into the affordable homes programme will kick-start an increase in decent, affordable social housing and finally begin to address some of the unacceptable emergency accommodation that our constituents find themselves in while waiting far too long on our housing waiting lists. As we move forward and build on the healthy economic foundations outlined in this Budget, I look forward to considering the reforms that will be needed for social care. The £600 million grant funding for it is a good starting point for the necessary work to come. Similarly, the public health grants in local government must be protected and funded properly in order for us to move sustainably from treatment to prevention. We know that our public services and NHS cannot be fixed overnight, but I congratulate the Chancellor on delivering a Budget that has given us a firm marker of intention and direction. The measure of our collective health and wellbeing is not GDP per capita alone. We can rebuild the services that we need to lead healthy and productive lives, and with this Labour Government, we will all thrive.

• 28 Oct 2024 · NPPF: Fast Food Outlets · Hansard source

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  11. If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of section 8 of the national planning policy framework on the number of fast food outlets.

• 28 Oct 2024 · NPPF: Fast Food Outlets · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for the update. Will he consider working with Cabinet and Health colleagues to empower local authorities to regulate physical junk food adverts around schools and on public transport?

• 24 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T9. The United Nations calculates the human development index, which ranks countries based on GDP per capita, but also includes health and education measures such as life expectancy and school enrolment. As an integral part of our mission-led Government, will the Minister please outline the steps they are taking across Departments to ensure health indicators can be considered alongside economic indicators, as a measure of sustainable growth for our country?

• 22 Oct 2024 · Sentencing Review and Prison Capacity · Hansard source

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  In 2021, the Justice Committee highlighted the fact that too many offenders were imprisoned because community orders with mental health requirements were unavailable in many areas across the country. Does the Lord Chancellor agree that we must now work across the health and justice systems to ensure that adequate provision is available in this essential area?

• 16 Oct 2024 · Access to Primary Healthcare · Hansard source

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  The Darzi review has effectively shone a spotlight on the key issues that GPs and all in the healthcare profession have experienced over the past 14 years. It rightly highlights the detrimental impact of austerity and the increased pressure that the pandemic put on an already stressed service. It also draws attention to the ongoing excellent work that is being done by NHS staff across the country in spite of, rather than because of, the facilities, systems and processes that are not fit for purpose and must now undergo intelligent reform. Primary care is an essential part of our health system. It is where prevention meets treatment, and GPs can effectively undertake secondary prevention to keep people well for longer—for example, people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. As a public health consultant, I want to fight for our GPs and make sure that they have the resources they need, and I want to highlight three things today. I often speak to the Royal College of General Practitioners, and we are in sync on these three things. The first is the long-term workforce plan. It is due for review next year. It has been underfunded in previous times, and we have to look at the modelling that is in the workforce plan now. If we are moving from a hospital model to a community model, we have to look at the rate of increase that we expect in our GP service. It currently stands at 4% for GPs and 49% for hospital consultants. This is in no way to denigrate my colleagues who are hospital consultants—they are incredibly important—but we need to review this workforce plan. I know that the Public Accounts Committee was looking at this issue prior to the election. As a new member of the Health and Social Care Committee, I will encourage the continuation of that work. Secondly, we spoke earlier about a mixed model of GP provision and how that will work. In my constituency, the Worthing integrated care centre is due to open very soon. It is part of a neighbourhood model, where GPs will work with other healthcare professionals to provide a holistic wraparound service. As has been demonstrated in this Chamber today, there are already partner practices that are working effectively. This is about the interaction between neighbourhood hubs and those partner practices. It is pragmatic politics to get those to work, and work well, for our GP colleagues. Finally, we have talked about the national retention strategy. GPs are currently leaving in their droves, and even though many people are coming forward as GP trainees, it has been said in this Chamber that we must ensure that we retain our GP colleagues. This issue is particularly acute in deprived areas. As a public health consultant, I know that health inequalities are one of the major issues in this country. In order to address that, and to ensure that prevention is writ large for those areas of health inequality, we must make sure that we are retaining our GP colleagues in those areas.

• 16 Oct 2024 · Access to Primary Healthcare · Hansard source

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  Public health interventions cost only a quarter of the amount that clinical interventions do to add an extra year to life expectancy, so does my hon. Friend agree that the reduction of the public health grant was an appalling false economy and should be restored, as soon as finances allow, to at least 2015-16 levels of funding?

• 15 Oct 2024 · Spice-spiked Vapes · Hansard source

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  On what you said about what more we can do in relation to young children, you are right—

• 15 Oct 2024 · Spice-spiked Vapes · Hansard source

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  I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. I just wanted to make the point that we need to be mindful that young people are in a time of cognitive development—a formative time, when it comes to what they understand. Banning the advertising of vapes to young children, and making sure that the packaging is not attractive to them, is incredibly important.

• 9 Oct 2024 · Impact of Socio-economic Disadvantage on Future Earnings · Hansard source

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  13. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage on future earnings.

• 9 Oct 2024 · Impact of Socio-economic Disadvantage on Future Earnings · Hansard source

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  Coastal areas, including my constituency of Worthing West, experience lower life expectancy and higher preventable ill health than many non-coastal areas. That is directly related to the fact that they often have higher levels of socioeconomic deprivation. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to address the specific inequalities in coastal communities?

• 12 Sept 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. Raw sewage was discharged into our rivers and seas for a shocking 4 million hours last year. Will the Minister reassure our coastal communities, including my own in Worthing West, that water companies will be held accountable for the necessary investment to address the systemic and chronic pollution of our waters?

• 12 Sept 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The Darzi report published earlier today clearly outlines the importance of prevention. One aspect of that is the provision of good-quality school meals and increasing the uptake of free school meals. May I request consideration of a debate on an opt-out free school meals scheme, perhaps on the basis of universal credit?

• 2 Sept 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T9. Worthing West is 90% developed, and I am often contacted by residents who support new developments—particularly social rents and for first-time buyers—but are concerned that we must also value our increasingly urban green spaces. What steps are being taken to balance urban green space provision with our need for housing, to ensure all our communities are able to thrive and stay healthy?

• 25 Jul 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  May I ask the Leader of the House to find time for a debate on the long-overdue need to update gambling regulations? The most recent legislation is from 2005, which was long before the growth of online and mobile opportunities. I recently met representatives of Gambling with Lives in my constituency and heard some heartbreaking stories about people who have lost their loved ones to the terrible illness of addiction. The law should protect children and vulnerable adults, with more effective regulation. Will she please allow a debate in Government time on this issue?

• 23 Jul 2024 · Immigration and Home Affairs · Hansard source

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  It is a privilege to make my maiden speech among such an outstanding group of people. I hope that people who have seen the maiden speeches over the past few days, and will watch them in the days, weeks and months to come, might see some of the warmth, kindness and decency that I have met in my fellow MPs in these first couple of weeks in Parliament. I am the newly elected Member for the beautiful constituency of Worthing West. Nestled between the south downs and the English channel, we are often described as that area just west of our big sister, Brighton. But, as with all younger sisters, we have many often unsung merits, about which it will be my absolute pleasure to tell the House a little today. Worthing West is made up of two thirds of Worthing town, the other third now being ably represented by my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tom Rutland). In this part of my constituency people can find Worthing town centre, our beautiful old lido building, and the recently returned Worthing wheel. Before being elected to Parliament, I had the great privilege of being the leader of Worthing council. Our vision for Worthing is for it to be both the fairest and the greenest coastal town in the UK, an ambition that I am sure my coastal colleagues will try to wrestle from me. Alongside an ambitious decarbonisation plan, work on Worthing’s town centre gardens will begin this autumn in a community and council-led project. We are also privileged to be part of the Sussex Bay project, a movement of radical collaboration initiated by Adur & Worthing Councils with the mission of restoring a healthy blue ecosystem to our seas and waterways in which nature, people and the local economy can thrive. Worthing West is also home to the beautiful coastal and country villages of Ferring, East Preston, Angmering, Findon, Clapham and Patching. I can tell any keen campers—I have not been in Parliament long enough to know how many MPs actually like being without wi-fi and a good latte, but I am hoping to find a few—that the Fox Wood campsite in Patching is a firm local favourite. There are two very handy pubs near the site, The Fox and The Worlds End, which serve the most excellent food when your fire will not light and even the kids are sick of beans on toast. I am only the second Member of Parliament to represent Worthing West. It was first formed in 1974, and for the past 30 years has been represented by Sir Peter Bottomley, who I know was very well respected here as the Father of the House. He was known for working cross-party on a variety of important campaigns, including leasehold reform and the infected blood scandal. Sir Peter and I share a great affection for Worthing West, and during the election campaign we often bumped into each other enjoying a quick cuppa with constituents. I should confess at this point that I am a northerner originally, adopted by the south as one of its own, and a good brew is a must-have for a day to start and end well. We have many excellent cafés in our area. To anyone who is listening to my speech and thinking that this newbie MP is not doing too bad a job of selling the merits of her home town, I can thoroughly recommend the cakes at Sea Lane café on Goring beach, the coffee at both Coast café and Finch in Worthing town centre, and the breakfast at the Bluebird café in Ferring, among many others. At this point, I should also confess that my extolling of the virtues of cake—and all credit to the House staff for the incredible muffins in the parliamentary café—is tempered by the fact that I am by profession a medical doctor, and, as my children will testify, I am reasonably obsessed with making sure that cake is part of a healthy balance that allows us to enjoy all the different types of food. To be fair, my children would not necessarily recognise that description and might just say that their mum is a bit of a nag with a carrot obsession and an aversion to playing computer games for too long, but such are the joys of parenthood. When people ask what type of doctor I am—and I definitely do not have the patience for a PhD—the response that I am a public health consultant is often met with slightly puzzled stares, a recalibration of what they have heard, and the decision that I am probably a GP by another name. However, I am delighted to join my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams) to represent public health here in the House. It is the reason I chose to go into politics. It is the art and science of keeping populations well and helping people to live healthy lives. I appreciate that today’s debate primarily concerns home affairs and immigration, so I will talk about public health on the basis of the explicit principle that health is essential in all things to ensure safety and security for all people. As part of my public health training I spent time with the Health Protection Agency, now part of Public Health England. That training stood me in particularly good stead during the pandemic, when I found myself with a daily slot on BBC Radio Sussex talking about covid, debunking myths and providing reassurance that our fantastic scientists and public health specialists were doing everything possible to develop vaccinations and to keep us safe. The results of the covid inquiry, published last week, revealed the clear conclusion that investment in preventive measures is always money well spent, and that was sadly lacking before the pandemic. Public health funding was cut by 25% between 2015 and 2024, so there are some salient lessons to be learned quickly about prevention being better than cure. My time in local government, as a public health consultant and subsequently as a councillor and council leader, taught me that politics is often the frontline where we grapple with the issues that arise from inequality and inequity—two indicators which tell us that the decisions made by those of us in a position of influence are not yet decisions that are maximising the health and wellbeing of the people we represent. The resources required to meet basic human needs should be available to everyone, regardless of where we live or which family we are born into. For people like me in public health and politics, there is a wealth of data and evidence—as well as, I would contend, basic common sense—showing that when resources are not allocated fairly to allow everyone’s basic human needs to be met, we all suffer for it. People do not thrive without clean water, clean air, access to green space and good food. Our physical bodies become far less resilient to illness when those are not available to us, and the same is true of poor housing, poor education and poor jobs. The causal link between poor housing conditions and poor health outcomes is long established, with health outcomes associated with poor housing costing the NHS an estimated £1.4 billion every year. We know that exposure to poor housing conditions, including damp, cold, mould and noise, is strongly associated with poor health, both physical and mental. Inequalities in life expectancy are increasing, especially for women. In Worthing West, a woman living in one of our poorest areas will live an average of 8.3 years less than a woman living in one of our wealthiest areas, and for the population as a whole, the time spent in poor health is increasing. As Sir Michael Marmot so saliently put it, “If health has stopped improving it is a sign that society has stopped improving.” When people become physically and mentally ill, potential is lost, and before you know it, your country does not have a national health service; it has an overwhelmed national sickness service. I am so proud and privileged to be part of the Labour intake of 2024. For too long now, our politics has been making people sick. This is the start of a journey that I very much hope will lead to a politics that helps to keep people well for many generations to come. Reducing inequality and inequity will allow everyone to do better. The politics of health is the narrative of our nation. A Government who focus on the health and wellbeing of the people we serve are a Government who enable us to rise together to face the challenges of both today and tomorrow.