Catherine Fookes MP: speeches

Speeches

• 20 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I was extremely relieved to see my constituent, Rebecca Burke, safely returned to her family in Monmouthshire on Tuesday after her ordeal in America. I am sure that all of us across the House would like to wish her well after her detention at the border for 21 days due to a mix-up with her visa. Although I am delighted that she is home, I was really disappointed and actually quite shocked to hear that she was transported to the airport in the USA in chains despite doing absolutely nothing wrong and posing no risk. The family want me to convey my thanks to all those at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and at the consulate who helped to bring this awful ordeal to a close. I ask the Leader of the House to support me in securing a meeting between the Burke family and the Foreign Secretary so that they can feed back their difficult experience with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the FCDO and lessons can be learned.

• 7 Mar 2025 · Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) Bill · Hansard source

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  Thank you so much for giving way. Do you agree that, although this point has not come across in the debate, we all meet the most incredible young people every day in our constituencies, and we must congratulate them on the amazing things they do—

• 7 Mar 2025 · Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) Bill · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Gentleman agree with me on the importance of moving towards smartphone-free schools? I welcome the work being done at Monmouth comprehensive in my constituency, where the headteacher is pushing forward a smartphone ban, because grades increase by almost two levels where schools have banned mobile phones.

• 6 Mar 2025 · International Women’s Day · Hansard source

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  Diolch, Madam Deputy Speaker. As the previous chief executive officer of the Women’s Equality Network Wales, I have a long history of campaigning for women’s equality. I was really proud of the work we did on the Diverse5050 campaign to get more women into public and political life, and to make care fair, recognising the huge army of unpaid women carers out there. The theme of IWD this year is “Accelerate Action”, and my goodness me, don’t we still need more action? Yes, a whopping 47% of all Welsh MPs are now women, which is brilliant, but there are only two women leaders of Welsh local authorities, one of whom, I am proud to say, is Mary Ann Brocklesby, our very own leader in Monmouthshire. One of the most difficult issues that women face today is healthcare inequality, and my inbox is full of cases. For many years, women’s health has been underfunded and people have not wanted to talk about periods or the menopause. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), who has done a huge amount in that area. Thanks to her, this place has signed up to the menopause mandate, and it is thanks to her that I feel able to share today my own story, as she has given me the courage to do so. My journey with the menopause was difficult. For me, it happened overnight. I had increasingly heavy and painful periods that stopped me going to work some days because of the heavy flow; I could not be more than one minute away from the loo. Eventually, the bleeding was so bad and unstoppable that I ended up in A&E, thinking I had a haemorrhage. It was fibroids, with one as big as an orange. Later, I finally got the hysterectomy I needed and the story ends happily—here I am—but with the hysterectomy came an immediate, overnight menopause. I stupidly thought I could get through it without the help of drugs, and I refused the patches offered to me in the hospital. Despite being the CEO of a Women’s Equality Network charity, I had not done my research. I am grateful to my incredible friends and the NHS for helping me to understand what was going on. I am proud of our Government’s bold and important commitment to halve violence against women in a decade, but connected to that is an issue that fills my inbox: the inefficiency of the Child Maintenance Service, which creates an impossible situation. To my mind, it is unforgiveable that after a woman has made the difficult decision to leave her partner, she can continue to be abused by her husband financially as the CMS fails to prevent that. I would like to take a moment to thank the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), who has inspired me over the years and done so much on violence against women. Finally, I highlight the talented, inspiring and wonderful women of Monmouthshire who came to my International Women’s Day event in Chepstow on Saturday. It was a pleasure to be joined by so many inspiring women, and we raised £500 for Cyfannol Women’s Aid.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Market Towns: Cultural Heritage · Hansard source

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  Thank you for calling me, Sir Jeremy. In Monmouthshire, we are really lucky: we have not one, two or three but five market towns. I thought that would be a record, but it is not, because there is a constituency with 10. Our largest town is Abergavenny, which Members might be familiar with, and it is beautiful. It has an iconic town and market hall built in 1869, which is home to the market, the Borough theatre, the library and our world-famous Abergavenny food festival, which has been described as the Glastonbury of food festivals. The Beatles played there in 1963, which I think trumps all the other bands we have heard mention of today. The Welsh Government have done really well in supporting our market towns and our culture. They have just announced an extra £4.4 million to support our arts and culture sectors. They have used the transforming towns grant to support our market towns, and the upcoming Budget commits to a £335 million package of non-domestic rates support for businesses, which will be hugely important for our businesses. I will close by asking the Minister to share how she will work with our Welsh Government colleagues to ensure that our market towns continue to flourish.

• 27 Feb 2025 · St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs · Hansard source

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  Llongyfarchiadau to my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones) on securing this debate, and dydd gŵyl Dewi hapus pawb—happy St David’s Day to everyone. Twenty-five years ago, I was lucky enough to make Wales my home, and I am so proud to represent Monmouthshire; from Llantony to Llanishen, it is the most beautiful constituency in Wales. We have the most incredible sights, with the commanding Bannau Brycheiniog in the north and the picturesque Wye valley national landscape in the east, as well as the brilliant market towns of Abergavenny, Chepstow, Monmouth and Usk and the Magor marsh in the south. Last week, I visited Usk and Prescoed prisons and our fantastic probation services. I would like to take a moment to pay tribute to all our public servants working across Wales and Monmouthshire as teachers, doctors, nurses, prison and probation officers and so much more. They are at the heart of our communities. Each community across Monmouthshire is vibrant and adds to the welcoming culture that we in Wales are so proud of. After all, Monmouthshire community organisations, such as the Abergavenny community centre, are some of the best in the UK. The community always rallies round and people support each other in a crisis, such as the floods in Skenfrith. Wales also has a strong and long history with the Labour party; it elected great leaders and political thinkers like Kier Hardie in Merthyr Tydfil, Aneurin Bevan in Ebbw Vale and James Callaghan in Cardiff. It is a history that we value and should never take for granted. The bond between Wales and Labour is built on our understanding of the priorities of our communities, and our Welsh Labour Government colleagues have been delivering for Wales for 25 years. They have shaped a country where we are proud to work differently, in partnership with the public sector, charities and unions. We are a country that leads the world on the environment, with a world-first future generations Act, an active travel Act, and a plastic bags tax, and we are leading on recycling. We have prioritised families, delivering universal free school meals in all primary schools and the biggest building investment in Welsh schools since the 1960s. We have three new secondary schools in Monmouthshire, built under the Welsh Government’s 21st-century schools programme—unlike the Conservatives, we never stopped investing in our schools and our young people in Wales—and the very latest to open its doors will be in Abergavenny in April. Wales is a country where we stand up for and fight for what we believe in. It is an honour to be a Monmouthshire MP. Having two Labour Governments working together has made a great difference to all our services. I am proud that ever more Monmouthshire residents are starting to learn Welsh, me included, although I am at the very start of my journey and must apologise to all fluent Welsh speakers for my pronunciation. We now have three Welsh-medium primary schools in the county: Ysgol y Ffin, Ysgol Gymraeg y Fenni, and our very recently added Ysgol Gymraeg Trefynwy. I am very grateful to all the campaigners over the years who have got these schools open, particularly Councillor Tudor Thomas. I recognise that, much like our rugby team, the Welsh language in Monmouthshire is on the rise, but there is still some way to go. Wales has a lot to offer and, for a small nation, has given the world so much. I am so proud to consider myself Welsh, having moved there 25 years ago, and to represent the great constituency of Monmouthshire. I am incredibly humbled and proud that the people of Monmouthshire chose me in July 2024. Felly eto dydd gŵyl Dewi hapus i’m hetholwyr yn Sir Fynwy ac i bawb sydd yma heddiw.

• 27 Feb 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  This week, I was contacted by a constituent who had received the phone call that every parent dreads. Her son had been hit by a car as he got off the bus on his way home from Caldicot school. Fortunately, he was not seriously hurt; thank goodness it is still a 20 mph road. The council had been asked to review the limit, but decided to keep it at 20 mph for that road, which is commendable, because otherwise things could have been so much worse. The Undy and Caldicot school community are determined to push for a crossing to be installed on that stretch of road, which I will, of course, support. Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate on road safety for young people, particularly at entrances to villages, for example, where speed limits can suddenly change?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman put forward a veritable smorgasbord of amendments in the Bill Committee, and all those issues were discussed. It is so important that Ofwat retains its independence. It is extremely relevant to point out, however, that during the coalition years and the 14 years the Conservatives were in government, no Bills were passed to ban water company bonuses, and this Bill will do just that.

• 10 Feb 2025 · Inheritance Tax Relief: Farms · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for introducing the petition, which some Monmouthshire farmers have signed. Does he agree with the policy of our Labour Government to protect farmers through trade deals, unlike the Conservative party, which unfortunately signed trade deals that flooded our high streets and towns with foreign imports? That protection would really help the profitability of farms.

• 10 Feb 2025 · Inheritance Tax Relief: Farms · Hansard source

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  Yesterday I visited Emma, a dairy farmer in my constituency. She still has a mortgage on her farm, which means that she cannot pass it on now. How might the inheritance tax work for her?

• 6 Feb 2025 · Biodiversity Recovery · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the Minister on announcing our plan to ban bee-killing pesticides. That is welcomed across Monmouthshire, particularly by our fantastic charity based in Monmouth, Bees for Development. Does she agree that where the Conservatives failed, this Government will restore nature and biodiversity for future generations?

• 6 Feb 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Inglis Bridge in Monmouth has been closed since September, causing a one-mile detour for children going to school at the Osbaston Church in Wales school. As the Leader of the House will know, it is difficult enough getting ready for school, and getting kids, prams and bikes out of the door, without having to go a mile along narrow pavements around Monmouth. It is also difficult for wheelchairs users to access the green space at Vauxhall Fields from Osbaston while the bridge is closed. Will the Leader of the House support my request to the Ministry of Defence, which owns the bridge, to provide funding to refurbish and reopen it as soon as possible?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Closure of High Street Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member give way?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Closure of High Street Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. Like many places, the high streets in my constituency of Monmouthshire have taken a real battering since covid, but a recent Monmouthshire county council report found a 5% increase in people visiting Monmouth, my town, and an 8% increase in people returning to the high street in Abergavenny. Sadly, we have had 10 bank closures in the last two years and some of our towns, particularly Caldicot, are really suffering from that. A new post office has just opened, which is wonderful, and I commend the community and the local council for supporting it, but does the hon. Gentleman agree that the Government deserve great praise for supporting banking hubs? There will be 300 banking hubs, and I am delighted that one will be opened in Monmouth.

• 5 Feb 2025 · Closure of High Street Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for allowing the intervention. His mention of that store brought to mind a wonderful store in my constituency called Handyman House, which still serves people with all the different things that he mentioned. Is the hon. Member concerned also about libraries—the fact that we must keep our libraries open, not reduce their hours? They are incredibly important for our high streets as community gathering spaces and also a space where, obviously, people can read books.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Crime Prevention · Hansard source

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  3. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support crime prevention in Wales.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Crime Prevention · Hansard source

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  In Monmouthshire, domestic abuse victims and survivors tell me that their voices still are not heard by the police. They stress the need for those on the ground to be better trained in early intervention, which can prevent escalation and reduce violent behaviour and domestic abuse overall. What steps can be taken with colleagues across Government, and Welsh Government colleagues, to better embed domestic abuse prevention?

• 28 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for all her work on this Bill. Does she agree that we have made much more progress on banning bosses’ bonuses in the six months that we have been in office than the Conservatives did in 14 years?

• 28 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for bringing forward the Bill so fast in the first six months of the Government. It was an honour to sit on the Bill Committee and to engage in constructive discussion with hon. Members from across the House. However, I must take issue with the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) and his veritable smorgasbord of amendments and new clauses. I will not support them, because, let us remember, this is just the first step in cleaning up the appalling mess we have been left with our water companies. I am sure that the commission will bring forward ideas for more legislation. I grew up in the countryside on a farm, and one of my favourite memories was running down the garden and out into the river at the bottom, going for a walk and sploshing through the streams. I and my family took it for granted that we could just mess about in the streams. Apart from really annoying my mum when I got back by leaving a messy puddle of water on the floor, there was never any fear that I would get sick or that I had been wading through sewage. What a change there has been, with parents now worried about their children going into the water. They cannot run helter-skelter into the local chalk stream for fear that they will get an ear infection or an eye infection, or perhaps encounter a wet wipe or something much worse. Sadly, the health of the Wye and the Usk, our two majestic rivers in Monmouthshire, has really suffered over the past 14 years. I have spent many happy hours walking alongside them, seeing herons and kingfishers, and we have had some of our happiest family days out there. The dreadful state that those two rivers are in makes them two really good examples of the 14 years of Conservative failure and flimflam. We have record levels of illegal sewage dumping in our rivers, lakes and seas, and chronic ongoing diffuse pollution from agriculture. In every constituency across the UK there are amazing groups of citizen scientists who have really brought our rivers to the fore. I pay tribute to Save the River Usk and Friends of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, who are among the best in the UK. [ Interruption. ] I am afraid that I will not give way as we are under extreme time pressure. One of my key promises in the election campaign was to work to clean up our rivers. Feargal Sharkey endorsed my campaign—when someone like him endorses a campaign, we know that we will be held to account. That is why I am so pleased that in the last six months we have done more than the Conservatives and the Lib Dems when they were in coalition. I am proud that we are already standing here debating the Bill, only six months in. It will bring criminal charges against persistent lawbreakers, with penalties including imprisonment. In addition, the cost recovery powers of regulators will be expanded to ensure that water companies bear the cost of enforcement action taken in response to their failings. We have been left a very difficult legacy due to the disastrous inaction of the Tories and the Lib Dems when they were in coalition. It will take much more work and many years across borders, with both farmers and water companies, to restore our rivers, but the Bill makes an excellent start to cleaning up the horrific mess. It will mean that in future, I hope, parents will be able to allow their children to run helter-skelter into their local rivers and streams.

• 16 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I would like to give the hon. Member a practical example of where the absolute opposite has happened in Wales. In my constituency of Monmouthshire, Welsh Water was very clear that, because of the phosphate levels in the River Wye, there could be no development whatsoever in my area of the constituency—Monmouth—for several years. It absolutely stopped all development and seemed to be very honest in doing so. Now the problems have cleared up somewhat, and Monmouthshire county council has put forward a proposal in the local development plan to build houses. We also have a sustainable drainage systems regime, which means that absolutely nothing will be built without those systems. By the way, 50% of the homes will be affordable and they will be 100% net zero, so I commend Monmouthshire county council for putting that forward. I just wanted to say that there are examples where the opposite has happened to what the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale is saying.

• 16 Jan 2025 · Responsible Gambling · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her response. We all know that 2.5% of the population are considered to be problem gamblers, and 44% of that population is at high risk of suicidal behaviour, according to the excellent charity Gambling with Lives. Of course, the loss of any life to gambling addiction is deeply saddening, and I give my condolences to all the affected families. The impact of problem gambling stretches far and wide across the UK, including in my constituency of Monmouthshire, and it should be considered a public health issue. What cross-departmental work is being done to tackle the concerning issue of suicide due to gambling?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Responsible Gambling · Hansard source

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  6. What steps her Department is taking with the gambling and gaming industries to support responsible gambling.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Rivers, Lakes and Seas: Water Quality · Hansard source

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  I agree entirely. The Government’s mission is growth. We need to see the cleaning-up of our waterways as an integral part of our growth mission. We know that tackling diffuse pollution from agriculture will be a hard nut to crack, with farmers already under pressure, but we have examples of good practice in the Wye. For example, Avara is already shipping out 75% of the chicken waste from its Herefordshire chicken farms along the Wye. That is to be welcomed, but it does not solve the long-term problems of too much phosphate in our rivers.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Rivers, Lakes and Seas: Water Quality · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered water quality in rivers, lakes and seas. Bore da—good morning. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I grew up in the countryside on a farm, and one of my favourite memories was having a friend round, going for a walk and sploshing through the streams at the bottom of the garden. We took it for granted that we could mess about in the Dorset chalk streams, and apart from annoying my mum when I came back inside sopping wet, making a terrible mess, there was never any fear that I would get sick or that I would be wading through sewage. What a change there has been, with parents now too scared to let their children run helter-skelter into the local stream, river or lake, for fear that they will get an ear infection, an eye infection or a stomach infection, or encounter a wet wipe or something much worse. I moved to Monmouthshire 25 years ago, and it was fantastic to raise my children there, with its fantastic rivers including the Wye, the Usk, the Monnow and lots of smaller rivers criss-crossing the constituency. I have spent so many happy hours, as I am sure other Members have in their local rivers, swimming in the Usk, walking by the Wye and kayaking down it. I have seen kingfishers and heron there and introduced my kids to the amazing wildlife we have, and I have spent some of our happiest days there as a family. Sadly, the health of our two major rivers, the Wye and the Usk, is in serious decline, and they are really good examples of what is happening elsewhere in the UK. In February 2022, Natural Resources Wales research showed that the Usk had the highest incidence of phosphate pollution of the nine Welsh special areas of conservation, or SACs, designated for rivers. In Glascoed near Usk, there was an average 85% failure rate against phosphate targets between January 2023 and June 2024. The Wye is being impacted by high levels of phosphates, which are causing a decline in water quality and algal blooms that then starve the fish, plants and invertebrates of oxygen. That leads to biodiversity loss and the collapse of the whole web of life in the river. These algal blooms are growing larger and becoming more frequent. In 2020, a thick algal bloom extended for more than 140 miles of the river. Recovery will take decades. Natural England’s condition assessment for the Wye SAC in 2023 was “unfavourable-declining”, which was based on declines in Atlantic salmon, water quality and white-clawed crayfish in the Lugg, and aquatic plants, Atlantic salmon and white-clawed crayfish in the Wye.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Rivers, Lakes and Seas: Water Quality · Hansard source

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  I salute some of the work that the right hon. Gentleman has tried to do locally on the Wye in Herefordshire, even though he is an Opposition Member, but with all due respect, the River Wye action plan was roundly discounted and felt to be not worth the paper it was written on by the non-governmental organisations in the area at the time. The Government failed to consult Wales, and the plan seemed to be rushed out before the general election. When the Minister looked at it, she found that that money was not allocated and available to push out and support the Wye. I am sure she will say later that we have had a meeting with the Wye Catchment Partnership, and that we are working in partnership with the Welsh Government to push forward a plan that has been developed by the Wye Catchment Partnership. I will give some more detail about that in a moment. Unfortunately, after 14 years of Conservative failure, we have record levels of illegal sewage dumping in our rivers, lakes and seas. I will talk much more about rivers today, because that is what I have in my constituency, but our lakes, seas and coastal towns are also deeply affected. Chronic ongoing diffuse pollution from agriculture also affects our water quality. In England, only 16% of all assessed surface waters achieved good ecological status, and less than 1% achieved high status. The decline in our water health is staggering, and we desperately need to take action to repair it. As I know hon. Members will agree, there are amazing NGOs, campaigning groups and citizen scientists in every one of our constituencies who have brought this matter to our attention and to the fore nationally. I pay tribute to all of them, especially those in Monmouthshire.