Caroline Voaden MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Sept 2026 · Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  I will get to banking hubs in just a minute. Why do we allow closures to happen? Why do the Government not act with urgency to turn around the decimation in rural banking, which has the biggest impact on the most vulnerable people—the elderly, the disabled—those who cannot use online services and areas where digital connectivity is so bad that using online services can literally be impossible? It is simply outrageous that banks have been able to get away with this to such an extent and at such speed. I call on the Labour Government to address the issue with urgency. People still want to use in-person banking services, even young people and those who already bank online: 81% of UK adults say that they have accessed in-person banking services at least once in the past two years, while 48% say they have accessed in-person banking services every month. It is simply not true that everyone is happy to bank online all the time.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree. On my tour this summer, I met someone who was frozen out of her bank. She could not get the confirmation code on her phone because she has no mobile phone signal, so her bank account is now closed to her. She will have to travel more than an hour to get to a bank to get back into her bank account. It is an absolute mess. Face-to-face banking is simply essential for millions of people and thousands of small businesses across the UK. When a loved one has died and finances have to be sorted out, it is normal to want to speak to another human being, not to a chatbot. People might need emergency access to funds, to make a complicated transaction or to send money abroad—out-of-the-ordinary banking matters that chatbots simply do not understand and cannot help with. Businesses might want to take out a loan, or extend or increase borrowing. Yes, people could do that over the phone, but for many a face-to-face conversation is more manageable. The rapid and ruthless shift towards online banking may suit those of us who work odd hours, travel around a lot and would frankly find it hard to pop into our high street branch, but at the same time, it is potentially disenfranchising millions of people from banking services.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  I could not agree more. We are facing a perfect storm of decimated public transport; appalling digital connectivity that must be addressed, as we repeatedly say in this place; and closure of banking services. Those three make a toxic combination. Consumers and small businesses are frustrated with the service they are left with, as is the case in Totnes in my constituency. In September last year, Lloyds announced it was closing the final bank in town, leaving residents without access to banking services beyond a couple of free ATMs and the post office. It seemed obvious to me that, when Lloyds closed its doors, the remaining banking services in the town would be insufficient and that it would get a banking hub. We have a thriving market once a week, where many people use cash. We have 120 independent high street businesses, an older than average population, very poor digital connectivity and poor public transport to other towns. Not only does the town have 13,500 residents, but thousands more people in surrounding villages use it for banking. The cash access request that I submitted to Link was turned down. I appealed but, to my huge disappointment, Link upheld its original decision, despite my meeting officials from the Treasury and raising the matter with the Prime Minister.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is absolutely right. We have two banking hubs in my constituency, opened before the rules were tightened. People have said to me that even those banking hubs do not provide all the services they need. In a 21st-century banking offer for rural Britain, banking hubs are the obvious solution—rather than a branch of every bank—but they must be competent and capable of offering all the services that people need. Five years ago, the rules for receiving a banking hub were much broader, and Dartmouth got one just in time. The current criteria for banking hubs are far too narrow. In September 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority substantially tightened the rules, placing the focus solely on access to cash. The current criteria completely discount all other reasons why someone might need to use a bank. They also do not take account of poor public transport and an older than average population. They ignore the fact that banks do so much more than just give out cash. I urge the Government to expand the rules for granting a banking hub. I have met with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, who shares my view that the current criteria are far too narrow. I heard the former Prime Minister tell the Chamber that a banking hub can be rolled out wherever a community needs one, but the policy that Link adheres to does not reflect that, so it must be changed. If necessary, we need legislation to make the banks listen. There simply must be a better minimum service coverage of banking hubs across the UK. So many MPs are campaigning for them that it is clearly a country-wide problem. We know that the banks can afford it, so for once, this is not a question of finding the money or funding. They can afford it. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, passed by the Conservative Government, gave the Financial Conduct Authority powers to protect cash access but, astonishingly, did not extend those powers to protecting wider banking services but limited them to cash. Back then, Labour tabled amendments to the Bill to extend the power to protect banking services, but they were not taken up by the Conservative Government. Now in government, Labour has been very slow to do what it pushed for in opposition. I urge the Government to rediscover their passion for protecting banking services by amending the Financial Services and Markets Bill that is currently making its way through the other place. We must ensure that face-to-face banking services receive the same protections as access to cash, whether that be via banking hubs, as should be the case in Totnes, or via other means, such as increasing the provision in post offices. As the Post Office is in trouble these days, with many branches closing, surely there must be an all-encompassing solution to make these places viable. Liberal Democrat peers in the House of Lords have tabled an amendment to the Financial Services and Markets Bill, and I wholeheartedly support it. It would require the Treasury to consider whether assessments following bank closures should extend beyond access to cash to evaluate local community needs for essential in-person banking services when making regulations. The answer is, “Yes. Absolutely, it should,” because banking is about more than just getting cash out of a hole in the wall. I hope that the Government will adopt the amendment. I look forward to hearing the outcome of the Government’s access to banking services review, which is due to be published shortly. I am sure that it will lay bare the evidence of the real-world impact of bank branch closures and demonstrate that the Government must go further in ensuring that people can access banking services. Having a bank account and being able to access a range of banking services are a necessity in modern society, not a luxury. The Government must rebalance things in favour of our high streets and communities and put an end to the favourable treatment for big banks, which repeatedly cut their services with no regard for the impact on the lives of their customers. Enough now—it is time that the Government took action to protect and restore face-to-face banking services across rural areas.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  I absolutely want to see that. When Link assesses rural locations, it considers whether alternative access to cash facilities are available within three miles or 30 minutes on public transport. For Totnes, it noted that alternative facilities were available within a 19-minute bus journey—that is on a really good day. But that is only relevant to those who live in the centre of Totnes. If someone starts from one of the many satellite villages that use the bank in Totnes, it is a completely different story. There may not even be a bus to get into Totnes to pick up the other bus to get to Paignton and the bank. The impact on local residents and businesses will be familiar: queues at the post office, which become impossible in the run-up to Christmas; hundreds of extra customers for the post office, which has no extra space or staff to cope; and businesses less keen to accept cash, because the only place they can pay it in is the post office. If someone is running a shop on their own, as I did for six years, it is impossible to shut up shop and go down the road to queue at the post office, because they have to keep the shop open to make money.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Social Prescribing · Hansard source

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  I agree that social prescribers do a fantastic job. I recently met members of Veterans Outdoors near Totnes, and visited the Vounder Therapy Garden at the Eden Project through the parliamentary knowledge schemes. Those organisations are doing incredible work, turning lives around, particularly for those with mental health challenges, but their projects receive absolutely no funding, although the National Academy for Social Prescribing has identified a return of up to £8.56 for every £1 invested. How does the Department expect them to survive and broaden their reach without funding? Given their cost-effectiveness, will the Government commit themselves not just to funding the link worker and the social prescriber, but to encouraging integrated care boards to fund those amazing projects?

• 14 Jul 2026 · Social Prescribing · Hansard source

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  3. What steps his Department is taking to support social prescribing.

• 9 Jul 2026 · Farm Business Sustainability · Hansard source

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  The NFU is concerned that the £240 million allocated for new sustainable farming incentive agreements in 2026 does not match the scale of farmers’ environmental ambitions and will not allow all farmers with expiring agreements a reasonable opportunity to access ongoing environmental land management schemes funding. How will the Government support farmers like mine in South Devon, who are keen to protect the environment while producing food but are unable to secure a new SFI agreement under this limited budget, to continue their valuable environmental work?

• 8 Jul 2026 · Maritime and Coastguard Agency · Hansard source

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  I have four coastguard stations in South Devon—Kingsbridge, Dartmouth, Brixham and Bigbury—and hundreds of volunteers, many of whom have written to me with their concerns about these changes. The Kingsbridge team have been out 34 times this year. Last Friday night, they were called out at 1 am and spent all night rescuing three people from a vessel that had got stuck in the mud. These people wake up in the middle of the night to go out to rescue strangers they have never met. The Minister says he has considered several options, but have the Government done a full risk assessment of the resilience—the long-term resilience—of the service if these changes go ahead? If so, will they publish it? Has he considered changing the law so that the call-out charge is classified differently with HMRC? CROs could then continue as volunteers while continuing to be remunerated for their dedicated service.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Outdoor Education · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require that all children in primary and secondary education spend a minimum of thirty minutes a day outdoors during school hours; to require primary and secondary schools to provide a minimum of one lesson of teaching each week outdoors; to require that every child be offered at least one outdoor education experience during primary school years and at least one such experience during secondary school years; and for connected purposes. Modern medicine is always looking for the next big discovery to change lives, yet we are missing out on the cheapest, easiest and quickest way to turn around the vicious mental health crisis we see in our children and young people—a crisis that affects their ability to learn, to achieve, to work and to live a healthy and happy life. The answer is outdoor learning. It is staggering to read that the amount of time children spend outside has fallen by 50% in a single generation, that children roam just 300 metres from home and that a fifth of children in the most deprived parts of the country never spend meaningful time outdoors. Research shows that being out in nature makes children happy, that children who spend time outside care more about nature and that unstructured, risky, nature-based play outdoors improves confidence and cognitive development. Research funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs through Natural England found that 95% of children found outdoor learning made lessons more enjoyable, and that 90% reported an improvement in students’ engagement with learning and an increase in student health and wellbeing. These figures are staggering, and they deserve to be taken seriously. This Bill is about improving the lives of our children and young people and, by using outdoor learning, raising a generation of people who will care more about nature, which is the one thing we know will protect us from the most devastating effects of climate change. Andy Jasper, the chief executive officer of the Eden Project, told us last week on a brilliant parliamentary visit that there simply will be no future without nature. Shockingly, a third of children never have school lessons outdoors, yet in many schools in South Devon outdoor learning is a regular weekly part of the curriculum, in playgrounds, school veg gardens, parks and little bits of woodland. Children who live the furthest distance from green or open outdoor spaces spend more time on screens and have poorer mental health than children living in close proximity. A lack of time spent outdoors is linked to childhood health disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obesity and depression. However, it is not just kids from the inner city who are missing out on the benefits of the great outdoors. In my beautiful constituency of South Devon there is a stark disparity that might surprise many in this House. I often hear of children who live just a couple of miles from our stunning beaches but have never been to them. There are few buses to the beach and the parking costs are a serious barrier for some. This mirrors research showing that young people in communities all around the UK coast view the beach as “not for them”, but for visitors and tourists. This is why taking kids outdoors to do lessons at school is so vital to introducing them to the idea of being in nature and developing a familiarity with the great outdoors. There is not a subject on the curriculum that cannot be enhanced by outdoor learning. The Fibonacci sequence is seen in the petals of a flower, the scales of a pine cone and the seeds of a sunflower. English, science, music, poetry, drama and geography can all be enhanced by teaching outside. As one child said: “When we were on the field trip, we did maths, English and science, but it was like we didn’t realise we were doing it”. For teachers, that is pure magic. Totnes St John’s Church of England primary school is located in a large housing estate and has a 44% special educational needs and disabilities cohort. Its brilliant example could be replicated by schools up and down the country. The headteacher told me that her pupils regularly use the school’s outdoor spaces to support emotional regulation, and that this is incredibly effective. She said: “They thrive outdoors, so we take as much learning as possible into our grounds. Delivering learning in this experiential, immersive and hands-on way makes it more purposeful, as well as easier for children to understand and retain.” The school has adapted its uniform to enable children to be outside as much as possible, regardless of the weather—all the children have wellies in school. At Blackawton and East Allington, children have a dedicated afternoon of forest school and an hour of outdoor PE every week. Headteacher Liam Fielding said: “The opportunities to explore, problem solve, take risks, work collaboratively and simply spend time outdoors have a significant impact on children’s confidence, resilience and wellbeing. For some children, particularly those who may struggle within a traditional classroom environment, outdoor learning provides a different opportunity to succeed, develop relationships and build self-esteem. We regularly see children return to the classroom calmer, more focused and more ready to learn after spending time outdoors—phonics in the mud, maths with sticks”. I was thrilled to be able to connect Harbertonford Church of England primary school with volunteers from Force 4 Nature, who turned up and built raised veg beds in the playground so the pupils can learn how to grow healthy food, which they can eat in school. This kind of learning is straightforward and can engage those who struggle in a traditional classroom environment; the child who can be disruptive in the classroom is hard to spot once outside with the whole class. However, this takes confidence from school leaders and teachers, so it is crucial that outdoor learning features in continuing professional development and training. I want a curriculum and assessment review that includes outdoor learning, which Ofsted should include as a plus when assessing how schools are performing. Any school in the country can open its doors and take learning outside. To take it one step further is the holy grail: the outdoor residential. I still remember the school trips I enjoyed at the Lagganlia centre, near Aviemore—the experiences have stayed with me for many decades. However, we are still waiting to see Labour’s access to nature Green Paper, which the Government promised in this Parliament. That creates uncertainty for those who deliver programmes that provide such invaluable opportunities. The Government have also decided not to renew the generation green programme, which provided access to nature, through structured outdoor learning, residentials, farm visits and more, to over 125,000 children, including 26,000 from the most disadvantaged communities. The recent Milburn review is clear that mental health has become a primary driver of youth disengagement, not a secondary consideration. Rising anxiety, neurodiversity and long-term health conditions are reshaping who participates in post-16 education. If we want to help our young people achieve more, getting them outside is a good place to start. Yes, residentials cost money, but let us talk about the return on investment. DEFRA-funded research from the University of Cumbria demonstrates a social return on investment of £4.32 for every £1 spent on outdoor education as part of the curriculum. The Scottish Government have already acted on this, and we should too. Outdoor residentials can literally change lives. They pull kids out of their comfort zone and teach them that they can do things they thought were impossible. Activities teach teamwork and problem solving, improve self-belief and build friendships. Those are the skills that will give children the resilience to help them cope with all the stuff that life throws at them as they grow up. They also offer space to connect with peers and teachers in a new way, offering valuable side-by-side moments. “It’s like being in Minecraft” is a phrase often heard as the kids walk through the woods near Beesands in South Devon. For many children who come here to experience the great outdoors on a school residential, this will be the first time they have set foot in a wood. They might be nervous of sitting on the grass, or find it hard to walk down a steep grassy field towards the sea, but all these little moments are teaching them resilience. Pete and Andrea Moore both gave up traditional teaching jobs to open the brilliant Forest and Beach outdoors centre, such was their passion for teaching children the value of experiencing the outdoors, not just seeing it on a screen. Kurt Mockridge, who runs Grenville House outdoor education centre in Brixham, told me of kids who come to his centre from a primary school just the top of the hill but who have never been down to the beach or in the water that is right on their doorstep. Parents who do not have the familiarity, confidence or time may struggle to take their kids out. That is why such trips are so crucial, especially for those from more deprived areas. For many young people living in urban areas, their only realistic opportunity to experience nature comes through residential outdoor learning, where they are taken out of their local environment altogether. By building their confidence in the outdoors, we instil in them a respect for, and understanding of, nature, which will be crucial as we face the challenges of a changing climate. We simply cannot expect future generations to nurture our planet if they do not understand the wonder of nature. For the mental health and wellbeing of our children and young people, for the enhanced learning outcomes that they will gain, for the joy of learning and for the future of this planet that we call home, I commend this Bill to the House. Question put and agreed to . Ordered, That Caroline Voaden, Tim Farron, Dr Roz Savage, Dr Danny Chambers, Maya Ellis, Sir Julian Lewis and Chris Law present the Bill. Caroline Voaden accordingly presented the Bill. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 16 October, and to be printed (Bill 111).

• 30 Jun 2026 · Culture, Media And Sport · Hansard source

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  Teachers and parents in South Devon are worried about the future of PE following funding cuts. Many areas already have successful school sports partnerships, with schools pooling their premium and working with organisations such as Active Partnerships. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government need to clarify whether schools can build on existing relationships, with those partnerships continuing to operate under the new system, or will they all be forced to start from scratch?

• 30 Jun 2026 · Draft Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (Establishment of Schools) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  I welcome the explanation of the draft regulations, but I wonder if the Minister could provide clarification, because there seems to be a contradiction. The draft regulations remove the legal presumption that new schools should be academies, yet through the Children’s Wellbeing and School Act, the Government intend for all schools to be academies. Why are they encouraging local authorities to open maintained schools if they will then have to go through a governance change in the next couple of years to become an academy? Surely, that is disruptive, time-consuming and potentially unnecessary for the school.

• 29 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Bereavement benefits have not been uprated for 10 years, and they simply do not recognise the lifelong impact of early bereavement on children and surviving parents. Will the Minister look again at uprating bereavement support benefits in line with inflation?

• 29 Jun 2026 · Prisoner Early Release · Hansard source

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  Any victim of rape or child sexual abuse will know that securing a conviction is almost impossible. I am absolutely astonished that those incarcerated for raping children are not excluded from this early release scheme. However, given that the Government are including them, and given the absolute mess made of the Probation Service by the previous Conservative Government’s reforms, will the Minister guarantee from the Dispatch Box that the Probation Service is now adequately staffed, funded and equipped to closely monitor these awful perpetrators, who are being let out of prison way too early?

• 24 Jun 2026 · Climate Change · Hansard source

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  No, because I do not have much time. We also need massive progress on tree planting, and I commend my local district council for planning to plant one tree for every resident in the South Hams. It is making cracking progress. Secondly, I would like to talk briefly about transport. If we do not have a major shift towards public transport, we are not going to get people out of their cars. That shift means buses in the south-west. The right hon. Member for Makerfield (Andy Burnham) has promised that he is going to revolutionise buses all over the country in the way that he did in Manchester, and I really look forward to seeing how he is going to do that in Devon, where many communities do not even have buses, let alone affordable buses. We need to look at EV charging, especially for people who have to park on the road. That is a real challenge. We are certainly not seeing it where I live. I would also like to talk about active travel. Devon county council has told me that it will take five years to get a cycle path, even once it has been agreed by all the landowners. That is absolutely ludicrous. If we want to get people on bikes and walking to cut emissions and improve health, we have to cut the red tape and make this easier to achieve. Lastly, the Climate Change Committee’s target for heat pumps for 2035 is 1.5 million a year, yet we are installing only a third of that. The cost of Heathrow expansion could pay for 4 million heat pumps to be installed across the country. Expanding airports while we are trying to cut emissions makes absolutely no logical sense to me at all. The economic benefit is not proven, the social impact will be catastrophic and the emissions impact on the climate will be unbelievable. I think we should take that budget and put it instead into helping households with heat pumps—

• 24 Jun 2026 · Climate Change · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member rightly talks about our not going back to the days of climate denial, but does he agree that there are legitimate questions to be asked about offshoring, and that we need to include the carbon emissions of everything we import, as that will be a general reflection of the carbon that we as a country are consuming?

• 24 Jun 2026 · Climate Change · Hansard source

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  It is 40°C outside in some parts of the UK. We are obviously not ready for what is coming, so there could not be a better day to discuss climate change and carbon targets. The seventh carbon budget should be welcomed—it is good that the Government have accepted the Climate Change Committee’s advice—but it falls far short of what is needed. We are making good progress on renewable energy and I, for one, believe that is to be celebrated. However, I will not focus on energy because many other Members in the Chamber have done so already. Instead, I will focus on key sectors where we have seen pitiful progress, but which are absolutely central to meeting our emissions targets and making the transformational change needed to meet more ambitious, longer-term targets. This is not just about net zero; it is about making people’s lives better through lower bills, warmer homes and stronger, more sustainable communities, and it is about improving the quality of our lives as we struggle with the soaring temperatures and devastating floods—and doing so through more than just investing in renewables. First, I will talk about farming. I welcome the reopening of the sustainable farming incentive, which we heard about earlier today. But yet again, it is a first-come, first-served subsidy that will work against the smaller, poorer farmers—the ones who need it most. The bigger operations will dive in first and get that money. We need long-term sustainable incentives for long-term sustainable agricultural planning. We also need a land use framework, so that we can prioritise the most productive land for producing food and other less productive land for renewable energy. We should not be using our most productive agricultural land for solar power, but we need both and we have to have a land use framework to make that work. And yes, we also need to look at the carbon emissions from soils and peat. If we do not have healthy soils, we cannot produce food. Going back to what the shadow Minister said, perhaps she needs to think about the role of soil—

• 24 Jun 2026 · Farming Road Map and Profitability Review · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State says we need “better market access, so that British food can reach more customers at home and abroad”, but we know that they continue to face unnecessary trade barriers. It is a shame that the UK-EU summit is now being reorganised due to the Prime Minister’s resignation. Farmers and food producers are relying on this SPS agreement to reduce costs and bureaucracy, so can the Secretary of State commit that the summit will take place this year and give us a timeframe for when that will happen?

• 23 Jun 2026 · Role of Big Tech in Society · Hansard source

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  Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

• 23 Jun 2026 · Role of Big Tech in Society · Hansard source

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  Ten years ago today, the Brexit campaign became one of the first very successful disinformation campaigns. Ranging from Turkish immigrants to Spanish bullfighting, the targeted Facebook ads played on people’s fears and deceived millions. But today, disinformation is more pervasive, insidious and vindictive than ever before, so does the right hon. Member agree that we must learn the lessons of 10 years ago and introduce stricter regulations for social media companies to ensure that they challenge harmful disinformation and reduce its spread across their platforms?

• 16 Jun 2026 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  A UN report from March last year laid bare the evidence of Israel’s systematic use of rape and sexual violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Israeli settlers are committing sexual violence in sight of Israeli forces, according to a recent report by the West Bank Protection Consortium. Given the Government’s commitment to the safety of women and girls, will the Secretary of State commit to publishing a response to both of those reports?

• 15 Jun 2026 · Social Media Ban for Under-16s · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement, particularly the bit about communication with strangers and chatbots, and I am sure that the parents of South Devon will join me in doing so. However, we know from Australia that an outright ban does not give the big tech companies the incentive to redesign their platforms to make them less addictive, misogynistic or full of toxic, divisive misinformation, so how will the Government continue to pressurise and incentivise the tech companies to make these changes? As she says, there will always be children who circumvent the ban, and there will also be vulnerable adults and older adults who are victims of such misinformation.

• 15 Jun 2026 · Short-term Lets: Licensing · Hansard source

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  Last week I met representatives from 22 town and parish councils who were all deeply concerned that new Government policies are curtailing their power over planning decisions, and concerned at the lack of truly affordable homes for locals. I understand the Government have a house building target, but the housing crisis in South Devon is exacerbated by the spread of second homes and holiday lets, removing even former council homes from the market and leading to a shortage in rental properties. However, we do not know the true extent of the issue without the short-term let registration scheme. When will the Department introduce the register, so that we can control short-term holiday lets in our rural and coastal towns?

• 15 Jun 2026 · NHS Dentistry · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Member agree that the national golden hello scheme to attract and retain NHS dentists is just not working? Only four of 19 posts in Devon have been filled, and the Fresh Dental practice in Dartmouth will end the provision of NHS dental services at the end of June. It will no longer provide NHS care and is the last dentist in the town. It says that it has tried to recruit for years but cannot fill the positions. It says: “It has become increasingly difficult to maintain the NHS contract in a sustainable way.”

• 9 Jun 2026 · Suicide Prevention Strategy · Hansard source

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  In rural areas such as South Devon, agricultural workers and isolated young people often face distinct acute mental health crises, yet local mental health provision is stretched to breaking point. What specific targeted support is the Department providing to rural health boards to ensure that suicide intervention services reach isolated rural workers who cannot easily access standard workplace mental health schemes?