Ben Obese-Jecty MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Oct 2024 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  Where I previously lived, there was a huge number of illegal houses in multiple occupation. Those residents are potentially not protected by this legislation. In giving local authorities more enforcement powers against rogue landlords, how exactly will we define a rogue landlord, and protect people who will potentially be off the radar?

• 8 Oct 2024 · SEND Provision: East of England · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Sir Mark. As one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, the funding allocation formulae for Cambridgeshire desperately need to be reviewed. With thousands—potentially tens of thousands—of homes planned to be built in the constituency over the next decade, it is imperative to look at the underlying calculation that currently fails to recognise the demographic challenge that we face in the region.

• 8 Oct 2024 · SEND Provision: East of England · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Mark. I thank the hon. Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) for securing this debate, as the issue has a significant impact in the region that we represent. The issue of SEND provision has grown in recent years, and it shows no sign of abating. In the past decade, the number of pupils with SEND requirements in the UK has more than doubled; 1.2 million children in school require SEND support below the level of an education, health and care plan or EHCP. In my constituency of Huntingdon, there is a growing sense that SEND provision is reaching a critical juncture. I was recently invited to visit one of the outstanding-rated primary schools in my constituency. Somersham Primary School has been transformed under its new leadership within the Meridian Trust. It could also be considered a victim of its own success. Such has been the progress made, and the success in facilitating growth in the number of young children with special needs, those who are non-verbal or need dedicated specialist one-to-one support to meet their needs, the school now has circa 20 children on an EHCP, a significant population within one small school. Speaking with staff there, it is evident that to meet the increased demand these schools must be resourced properly. Although the Government have committed £315 million to universal primary school breakfast clubs, it would surely be more effective to retain free meals for those children who genuinely need them, and make further significant investment in increasing dedicated individual support for children with complex educational needs. At secondary level, Kimbolton School has a number of children who receive support for either special educational or social, emotional and mental health needs. These are pupils whose parents choose to educate them in the independent sector precisely because of the dearth of places and support in the state sector. These are pupils who may struggle to thrive and fulfil their potential without the benefit of a smaller class size and the more personal support that they require. Of the 12,400 pupils who receive SEND support in independent schools across the east of England, 80% will not be protected from the application of VAT to fees, as they do not have an EHCP. The only protection announced thus far is for pupils who are funded by local authorities. Councils will be able to reclaim VAT paid, simultaneously increasing demand for EHCPs and costs for councils. The SEND-specific schools in the constituency, within Huntingdon itself, are Spring Common Academy and the newly opened Prestley Wood Academy in Alconbury Weald. Prestley Wood Academy opened this academic year to its first 70 students, being delivered as part of a wider housing development, and will ultimately cater for 150 pupils aged between four and 19. It is SEND-specific, and it has been designed with specialised facilities, including two sensory rooms, a hydrotherapy pool, trampoline room and soft play. Those are crucial facilities for those who would benefit from them, but it can only cater for a limited number of pupils. It is not only younger children who are impacted by the lack of provision. I recently visited the Huntingdon campus of Cambridge Regional College in order better to understand the challenges faced by further education providers. Across its two campuses, there are in the region of 4,000 students but, owing to the nature of the college and the courses it provides, there are a staggering 600 students with an EHCP, of whom around 400 require additional assistance. That places significant additional strain on staff and staffing. With the added complexities posed by the needs of young adults, a huge effort is required to ensure that those needs are met. The college has a team of 12 dedicated solely to providing mental health support. SEND funding in England is part of the dedicated schools grant, not allocated per individual SEND pupil. Local authorities determine the individual school allocations. The safety valve intervention programme was introduced by the Department for Education in 2020, to provide additional funding to local authorities with significant financial challenges. Cambridgeshire County Council entered the dedicated schools grant safety- valve programme in 2022. Despite receiving supplementary funding, as of March 2024, Cambridgeshire County Council failed to meet the conditions of the safety-valve agreement. The council completed only 5% of EHCPs within the 20-week timeframe, while the average in England is 49%. Across Cambridgeshire County Council, 73% of complaints relating to children and young people were over delays in publishing the EHCPs, issues with the plans themselves and poor communication.

• 8 Oct 2024 · Independent Schools: VAT and Business Rates Exemptions · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Caroline, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) for securing this important debate. My constituency of Huntingdon has three independent schools and the issue we are debating today will significantly affect Kimbolton school in the west of the constituency. The absence of any secondary school places at schools within a commutable distance of Kimbolton has caused concern for many of the parents who have contacted me. Cambridgeshire, and specifically Huntingdonshire, has grown significantly in recent years; with large areas of development already approved, as well as changes to planning regulations and the Government’s commitment to greater Cambridge, we will see tens of thousands of homes built in the county during this Parliament alone. As secondary schools in Huntingdonshire already have waiting lists for every year group, and local parents are troubled by the governance and educational environment at the three schools within the Astrea multi-academy trust, an exodus from the independent sector might exacerbate existing issues and create unnecessary pressures. Thus far, the Government have done nothing to address or assuage these pressures and concerns. The views of the students impacted are among the voices that we rarely hear. Harriet Dolby, the former head girl at Kimbolton school, who left the school this past summer, told me of her concerns about how the school’s culture could be irrevocably altered. She said: “Kimbolton School has made such a significant impact on my life, giving me opportunities I would not have been able to get anywhere else, growing my confidence and helping me to gain positions of leadership, which have set me up with skills for the future. However, I am concerned that Kimbolton will not be able to make that positive impact on as many people’s lives in the future. 20% VAT on school fees will be too much of a stretch for too many parents and will likely damage the family feel made possible by having pupils from a wide range of family backgrounds. I am worried that the Kimbolton School that my siblings will attend won’t be the same school that I attended because of this VAT.” I have little confidence that the Government will deviate from their present course, but mitigation of the concerns is much needed. The Government are wedded to their aspiration tax. It will level the playing field but, sadly, that level is likely to be lower and not higher.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  1. What estimate she has made of the number of pensioners in poverty who will not be entitled to the winter fuel payment in winter 2024-25.

• 7 Oct 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  Having spent the run-up to the election scaring pensioners into voting for them by claiming it was the Conservative Government who were a threat to their wellbeing, some of our poorest pensioners will now be forced to find out how difficult it is to keep warm huddled around Labour’s gaslight. Given that the Government’s own equality analysis states that only 100,000 of the 880,000 pensioners who are eligible for pension credit are expected to apply for it, if all those who are eligible do apply, how much more will that cost compared with the initial saving from removing the winter fuel payment?

• 11 Sept 2024 · Rural Bus Services · Hansard source

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  Of the 68 settlements in Huntingdon, eight currently do not receive a bus service at all, including Brington, Bythorn, Covington, Holywell, Keyston, Molesworth and Southoe. Does the hon. Member agree that the Government’s proposed introduction of bus franchising must make provision to ensure that those rural communities are included as the new routes are devised?

• 30 Jul 2024 · Building Homes · Hansard source

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  Yesterday, the Secretary of State made the decision to approve the appeal by Envar Composting in relation to a proposed medical waste incinerator on the edge of St Ives, despite the initial application being rejected by Conservative and Labour members of Cambridgeshire county council. Residents in St Ives, as well as the impacted rural villages of Somersham, Bluntisham, Colne, Pidley, Woodhurst, Old Hurst and Needingworth, are hugely concerned that their opposition and concerns have not been heard by the Secretary of State. Given that NHS England’s 2023 clinical waste strategy states that there is a need to “reduce the use of incineration”, and details a strategic priority that “requires in-house waste processing capability” to be developed, why has the Secretary of State approved a medical waste incinerator against local wishes? Will she meet local residents to hear their concerns?

• 29 Jul 2024 · Road Safety on the A1 · Hansard source

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  The A1 runs through my constituency, but the same issues also apply to the new A14, with similar dangerous junctions. The 12-mile section that includes the stretch between Keyston and Ellington has both crossovers and ungraded junctions. Does my hon. Friend agree that on those stretches, Highways England should introduce a reduced speed limit of 50 mph where there are dangerous junctions, as there is on the A1, as an immediate measure prior to upgrading the junctions and improving signage?

• 29 Jul 2024 · Public Spending: Inheritance · Hansard source

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  Last week, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said: “Hospitals with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete are at the top of my list of priorities.” —[ Official Report , 23 July 2024; Vol. 752, c. 517.] If the new hospitals programme is delayed via review, so will be the rebuilding of the five RAAC hospitals that are not among the 40 referenced. Without avoiding the question with a soundbite, what reassurances can the Chancellor give that we will break ground on any of the new RAAC replacement hospitals, and specifically Hinchingbrooke hospital in my constituency of Huntington during this Parliament?

• 26 Jul 2024 · Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower · Hansard source

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  The Minister talks of solar farms. In Huntingdon, the proposed East Park Energy solar farm stretches for six miles, from Great Staughton to across the constituency boundary, and is, at 1,800 acres, larger than Gatwick airport. Local residents have grave concerns about the scale of that development. What commitment will he make to our rural communities that they will have a say over the Labour Government allowing large solar farms to be built in local areas, given the detrimental impact on them?

• 22 Jul 2024 · Economy, Welfare and Public Services · Hansard source

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  Mr Deputy Speaker, I am grateful to you for calling me to make my maiden speech during this King’s Speech debate on the economy, welfare and public services. I congratulate the hon. Member for Halifax (Kate Dearden) on her maiden speech. As a former officer in the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, I note that her constituency has deep links with my former regiment, and indeed its antecedent regiments, the 33rd and 76th of Foot. It is fantastic to hear new Members on both sides of the House speak so passionately and eloquently about their constituencies. I speak as the first new Member of Parliament for Huntingdon since 2001, but I am only the third Member in my lifetime, and the fourth Member since the second world war. It is therefore an enormous privilege to have been elected to represent the constituency, and I am honoured to have been voted for by my constituents to follow such a long-serving Member of Parliament. My predecessor Jonathan Djanogly served the House and his constituents for some 23 years. In Parliament he served on the Trade and Industry Committee, as shadow Solicitor General and as a shadow Business Minister. In government, he was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice. My predecessor’s proudest achievements came from the work that he delivered locally. His work on tackling flooding from the River Great Ouse saw significant flood alleviation projects delivered in St Ives and the Hemingfords, and further upstream in Godmanchester. That work has saved thousands from the crippling impact of flood damage on homes and businesses. I intend to build on that, delivering further flooding solutions across the constituency for villages such as Alconbury, Abbots Ripton, Wistow, Kimbolton, Broughton and Earith. My predecessor is also rightly proud of his work in facilitating the delivery of both the A14 and the A428—road infrastructure projects that have transformed travel across Cambridgeshire, and stand to greatly enhance the region in its position at the tip of the UK innovation corridor. The development has set the conditions for Huntingdon’s future growth, offering the opportunity for better jobs and taking advantage of the Cambridge cluster and expansion across the region, meaning that Huntingdon can be a business hub in its own right, not just a dormitory town for London and Cambridge. Despite the growth that Huntingdon has seen over the past 60 years, first via the post-war London overspill and now via expansive development, the constituency is still characterised by its thriving towns and vibrant villages. From the market towns of Huntingdon and St Ives to our rural villages, from Sawtry to Somersham, Houghton to Hamerton, Covington to Colne and Pidley to Perry—and three dozen others that will not stretch to my tortured alliteration—each has their own character and identity. Huntingdonshire is a region with a rich history, and one that it will be a privilege to steward. That history extends to some of my other predecessors. Many Members will be aware that Huntingdon is the seat of a former Prime Minister, Sir John Major, who is still held in the highest regard across the constituency. It was an honour to receive his endorsement during the recent election campaign. Famously, it is also the former seat of the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell was the Member of Parliament for Huntingdon in 1628 for just over a year until Charles I dissolved Parliament. Records show that he made just one speech in that time—so far, so equal. It is clear that Huntingdon expects a certain level of stature from its Members of Parliament. Notable as Sir John Major and Oliver Cromwell surely are, arguably they are not Huntingdon’s most famous product. It is not even the celebrated diarist Samuel Pepys, who attended Huntingdon grammar school. In fact, that accolade should be awarded to a lunch-time staple that everyone is familiar with; one that everyone has a favourite version of; and one that some Members may well have had for lunch this very day. John Montagu, three times First Lord of the Admiralty, Postmaster General and Secretary of State, is not notable for his political career or his colourful social life. John Montagu, whose family home was Hinchingbrooke House in Huntingdon, is best known today—somewhat arcanely—by his title and the moniker bestowed upon his favourite snack to consume during long sessions at the card table. Such was the popularity of said snack that other card players also wished to order it. They would cry, “I’ll have the same as Sandwich.” It is obvious where this is going. John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, was not prepared to break from the card table to eat, so would ask his servants to bring him slices of salted beef between two pieces of toasted bread. Yes, among its formidable political alumni, Huntingdon can also lay claim to a genuine global culinary revolution, described by The Wall Street Journal no less as Britain’s “biggest contribution to gastronomy”. Huntingdon is the birthplace of the modern sandwich—every day is a school day. I digress. Huntingdon’s rich history is also characterised by an inextricable link to service via its long relationship with military aviation, initially through the Royal Flying Corps and subsequently during the second world war through RAF Bomber Command’s Pathfinder force and the United States army air force’s 303rd bombardment group. On 4 July 1942, the US eighth air force flew the first American mission over Nazi-occupied Europe from RAF Molesworth. Latterly, during the cold war, RAF Alconbury saw the US air force provide covert high-altitude reconnaissance along the East German border in a new variant of its famed U-2 spy plane, in addition to providing battlefield damage assessment in the event of a nuclear strike. Most of that base is now Huntingdon’s newest housing estate, Alconbury Weald—surely the only housing development in the country with fully functional nuclear decontamination and washdown facilities. RAF Warboys, RAF Upwood and RAF Brampton have all since disappeared, but the constituency still retains those links. RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth are still operated by the United States air force, and RAF Wyton is on the cutting edge of our defence intelligence capability. Those links carry through into the constituency itself and it is striking just how many veterans have made their home within its boundaries. One in nine households within Huntingdon are home to a veteran, a staggering number when compared with other constituencies and a community that, as a British Army veteran myself, I am proud to represent as their Member of Parliament—even if to many of those RAF veterans I am just a Pongo. I know well how important it is to support our veterans’ community and to commit to improving veterans’ welfare. Having undergone the process myself, I know the transition from service to civilian life has its challenges, and there are many stories of both success and failure. I served on a veterans advisory and pensions committee and know well how important it is to ensure that veterans are able to access the services they need. Veterans’ identity cards have helped to open those pathways for many who would otherwise struggle to evidence their service, but I hope the Government will look closely at how support itself is provided. Restructuring Veterans UK and creating a more comprehensive holistic offering, easing access via an overhauled veterans gateway, could streamline access to the welfare services that our veterans need. While the cohort of veterans in this House is smaller than in the previous Parliament, it is now younger and sports Members on both sides who have more recent operational experience and, crucially, more recent experience of the often difficult post-military transition to a civilian life. Parliament is well-placed to champion veterans’ welfare and, given the debt our democracy owes to those who have served so proudly, I hope we can collectively ensure that the finest armed forces in the world are treated here as the finest veterans in the world. I know Huntingdon’s veterans will expect me to challenge the Government to meet that standard. I am hugely proud of having been given this opportunity to serve Huntingdon, to be its champion both in Parliament and in the constituency. I look forward to meeting the challenges ahead.