David Burton-Sampson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 27 Mar 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q This is obviously a meaty Bill. There is a lot of really good stuff in here, and much of it will give new powers to existing police officers, to people across the force and to local authorities. As PFCCs or PCCs, you will have a key role in helping to ensure that the Bill is implemented, assuming it passes through Parliament. How confident do you feel about making sure that happens? It is pointless passing laws if they are not implemented on the ground. Roger Hirst : This goes back to the point that was raised earlier about whether we have the resources. I welcome the Government’s commitment to the 13,000 additional people in neighbourhood policing, but the vital thing is that we have the funding to both sustain the current workforce and build the workforce in the way you would like us to. There is a real challenge there, because the police force has expanded by 20,000 over the last six years. Those police officers will all be going through the police contractual incremental pay scales. The big jump is when they hit five and six years, so there will be a big boost to police pay at that point without us recruiting any more people. To be able to do what we need to do with the Bill, we will need the resources that we have and the resources that are heading down the track towards us, we believe, which we are very grateful for. But funding the existing workforce is the real challenge, and that in itself is probably going to cost some £300 million a year. Matthew Barber: I completely agree: a lot of it comes down to the money. The only additional point that I would make is about the reliance on other partners in this area. As we awaited our session, there was a conversation about fly-tipping, which is certainly an issue that exercises the police, but at the moment the responsibility for it lies with local authorities. The Bill proposes only some guidance, rather than any duties on local authorities to clear up the waste or to investigate; currently, they have powers but they are not obliged to use them. On some of the wider antisocial behaviour provisions, as I said in response to the Minister, there is a huge reliance on local authorities to play their part, both in sharing information around reporting and in the exercise of powers. Many of the solutions to antisocial behaviour issues in our communities do not lie within the police remit. They are to do with the provision of housing from social landlords, and to do with the powers that local authorities have, so we need to work collectively. I am confident that policing, given the right resources, can deliver the things that are in this Bill, but what is key is making sure that all those other partners are able to assist in that. Many of these provisions cannot be delivered by the police on their own. Emily Spurrell: To add to that, it is not just about policing and the partners that Matthew has outlined, but about criminal justice. We know that having more officers and more PCSOs going through the system will create even more pressure on an already struggling courts and prison system. We need to be very mindful of the whole criminal justice approach.

• 27 Mar 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q My questions have been answered, but I will ask another while I have the floor. The Bill provides the ability to extend community safety accreditation schemes, basically allowing councils to take on more powers that would normally be available only to the police. Do you think that is a good thing for your local authorities? Councillor Conway: The general point about all that is that additional funding is needed to increase community safety partnerships’ capacity to deliver things on the ground. Reforming the duty and partnership landscape to ensure that the partnerships are equipped with the powers and partners to deliver would be very important. Councillor Garratt: On the ground, in practical terms, dealing with crime and connected behaviour very often does involve partnership between the local council and the police—and other bodies, such as the Probation Service and so on. It is therefore quite normal—in fact, it is good practice—for there to be collaborative working. If you have a process of collaborative working that is working well, as I think we have in Croydon and in Sutton, it seems to make little sense not to be able to extend it. Councillor Conway: It is important to focus on the preventive aspect as well. Just before this meeting, I was in a meeting of London’s violence reduction unit with the safer partnership chairs, and I am aware that the Government’s new provision around preventive partnerships is evolving. I think that runs alongside this and is an important step forward.

• 27 Mar 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q My question is for Minister Davies-Jones. I declare my interest as a member of the Women and Equalities Committee, as this relates to our work on that. I have a big interest in the Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls. Can you outline to us what measures in the Bill will help to meet that goal? Alex Davies-Jones: We see the Bill as a key tool in our arsenal for achieving our ambition of halving violence against women and girls over a decade. The Bill has a number of measures and new offences that we think will go some way towards achieving that mission, be it strengthening stalking protection orders, clarifying the law around spiking, tackling the taking of intimate images without consent, or the new laws on child sexual abuse material, which we have heard about. There are a number of new offences in the Bill that will go towards achieving our mission. It will sit nicely alongside the tackling violence against women and girls strategy, which the Government will publish later this year.

• 27 Mar 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q When we look at how we are moving forward, it is good to look at where we have come from. I think it was the coalition Government who included section 176 in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which basically provided that low-value shop theft—that is, shop theft with a value of under £200—would be a summary-only offence. We know where that has taken us: we have little, if any, police attendance for those sorts of offences. What impact has that had on you and your members, and does the repealing of that £200 threshold give you better confidence that police will prioritise attendance at those types of theft? Paul Gerrard: That provision was undoubtedly gamed by individuals engaged in retail crime. They knew what the limit was. I also think it sent a strong message to the police that it was not something they should be focused on. In truth, if you go into a Co-op store and steal £200-worth or £199-worth of product, you have still got a lot of product, and there will be flashpoints around that, be they threats, abuse or violence. It undoubtedly has had an impact, and repealing it will have an impact, combined with the fact that the police now recognise the importance of tackling retail crime—and they do. One of the data points that we have used consistently is how often the police turn up when we have detained an offender. If someone had 10 or 12 bottles of wine that they were trying to steal, which is less than £200, and we detained that offender, the police were not turning up eight times out of 10. Now the police are turning up six or seven times out of 10. If you combine the police response with a genuine ability for them to understand when they need to engage, that makes a massive difference. Wherever you draw a line, or whatever becomes the norm, individuals involved in this criminality will game it. I will give you another example. The police are now turning up much more consistently on violence, and therefore we have seen a little dip in violence levels, because some people are understanding that if they engage in violence, they might have a problem. This Bill will make that a real issue. People will game whatever the line is, and taking away that line makes it more effective for the police to do their job. Christopher Morris: I completely agree with Paul. Our members have seen that the system has been gamed at the £200 threshold. Our members are working in stores, some of which are not necessarily hugely profitable, and they get to the point where they are no longer financially viable as a result of theft that goes out of the door. Another thing that we see is staff being reduced in stores because there is not enough money, so the whole store becomes more vulnerable to attack. As Paul said, taking that route away will help to ensure that stores are safer and that the system is not gamed as much as it currently is. Graham Wynn: Yes, it has certainly been gamed; last year, in our survey, there were 20 million incidents of shoplifting, or 55,000 a day—the highest ever—and I think that shows that there are people who understand this. We know from what people tell us that there are people who go back to the same store time after time and walk off with £190-worth of goods, because they know that nothing will be picked up. We do realise, of course, that it is important that retailers report the crime or the incident, and it is important too that they have the evidence that the police can use to prosecute. We had a meeting with the police for members just the other day, and they emphasised that they cannot put resources into turning up to incidents where there is no evidence—no CCTV, perhaps, or where the perpetrator has already left the scene and that sort of thing. So we recognise that it is incumbent, too, on retailers to do their part and on the police to do their part.

• 26 Mar 2025 · Spring Statement · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chancellor and her team for the prudent work that they are doing to restore stability to our economy. Figures show that wages are already increasing in my constituency under this Labour Government, and inflation is falling. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that, alongside the new living wage, worth £1,400 a year, will make work pay and start to lift more people out of poverty?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  Today I want to talk about the wonderful, world-renowned cockling industry in Southend West and Leigh. Forgive me if this sounds a bit niche, but I am sure the House will agree that industries such as cockling are important to all of us in coastal communities—to preserve our heritage and cultural identity, boost tourism, and increase prosperity and employment. Leigh-on-Sea has been synonymous with cockling for—wait for it—1,000 years. The industry is a vital part of Leigh-on-Sea’s heritage, with the old town’s cockle sheds serving as a reminder of its maritime past and a huge boost to our tourism sector. The North Thames cockle fishery, which is one of the oldest in Europe, has implemented measures such as seasonal operations and total allowable catch levels to ensure the sustainability of cockle stocks, and it was given a Maritime Stewardship Council’s sustainability award in 2019. It is a perfect example of sustainable fishing. However, there are issues that need to be addressed, as I heard from our fifth-generation firm of cocklers, Osborne’s fishmongers. I was told that people in this country do not eat much shellfish, especially the younger generation. This is not a trade that we want to die out, and I support initiatives such as Seafood in Schools and Fish Heroes. The cockling industry in Leigh-on-Sea brings significant economic benefits to the local community, but it faces several challenges. Its representatives have told me that increased pressure to operate more efficiently and sustainably requires long-term investment. After the new cockling licences were finally passed by Parliament following delays in the previous Parliament, Osborne’s and others would like to see their individual licences granted. Preserving local industries, such as cockling in Leigh-on-Sea, is vital for coastal communities. We must continue to support them.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and the outstanding global leadership that he is showing on this issue. I, too, returned from Ukraine last week after five days, and the one consistent message the Ukrainian people I met gave me—from residents to soldiers, and from businesses to politicians—was their immense gratitude for the leadership and support that the UK has shown since day one of this illegal war. Does the Prime Minister agree that now is the time for us to remain resolute as a House for the sake of the Ukrainian people, and that the 100-year partnership between our two countries is now more important than ever?

• 27 Feb 2025 · War in Ukraine: Third Anniversary · Hansard source

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  I, too, like many hon. Friends and Members across the House, returned from Ukraine only last night, after the monstrous 24-hour journey. I am mentally and physically exhausted after the experiences, and I cannot sum up in five minutes what I experienced—I could talk about it for days, really. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel) and the UK Friends of Ukraine and B4NZ—Bankers for Net Zero—for the visit they organised. It was truly fantastic to be there, but also deeply emotional. I have nothing but respect and admiration for the Ukrainian people; for their stoicism and resolve in getting through this illegal war. They just keep functioning as though it is normal life. The buildings get bombed but they do not just leave them crumbled on the ground; they rebuild them. The soldiers injured on the frontline are in hospital, but telling us they want to get back there as soon as possible. Those are the ingredients for a country that is set to take on Putin and set to win this war. I experienced two nights in an air raid shelter. The first night was with my hon. Friends. It was a little bit scary, but there was a sense of camaraderie between everyone there. I stayed on an extra night because I was heading up to Chernihiv the following day to meet the people up there. That night I was in the shelter alone, during which there was a lot of time to reflect, including on what was going on outside. The more the night went on, the more fearful I became, especially when I heard that there were not just drones but missiles potentially flying around above my head. The Ukrainians go through that every night and have been for three years. A massive mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder issue is developing among Ukrainian citizens, and we need to be there and ready to support them when they come through the conflict. It will be a really big issue for the country. Up in Chernihiv, I had a chance to meet people who were on the frontline with Belarus and Russia. Every single day, they are impacted by the war in ways that we cannot imagine. I met the governor, who had some statistics prepared in a presentation of how many buildings have been destroyed this year, how many people have been injured and how many have been killed. He said to me, “Oh, I am sorry, that statistic is wrong, because another building was destroyed this morning and another three people were killed.” It is constantly changing. The greatest message I got from Ukraine and its people is that they are incredibly grateful for the support that the United Kingdom has given them since day one and continues to give them today. They see us as the leader in the support to get them through this conflict, and that came from so many Ukrainians. This war is real. I witnessed that for myself, as did my hon. Friends, with bombed out buildings everywhere and air raids taking place. That was really brought home to me on the day in Lviv, which is not massively impacted as it is close to the western border with Europe, but where there is a cemetery full of soldiers just from the city. We walked to the back of that cemetery, where there were three graves that had been filled, with three people from Lviv buried that morning. There were three further open graves that three more men from Lviv were about to go into that afternoon. That is the reality of this war, and that is why we have to continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people. They are relying on us. We have to be stoic. Slava Ukraini.

• 13 Feb 2025 · LGBT+ History Month · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert) must have been thinking the same way as me when she wrote her speech, because, for me, LGBT History Month is always a time to reflect on the past and, at 47, I have a fair bit of past on which I can reflect. Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, I was all too aware of the challenges of HIV and AIDS. Many will remember that terrifying TV advert, the public health campaign, that was regularly played out on television. The reality was that it was a terrifying time, as there was no cure and no real treatment. AIDS was a death sentence. This in itself led to a stigmatised perception of the gay community in particular, because, as we all know, they were disproportionately affected by the disease. Dr Nick Phillips, my lecturer at performing arts school, was the first person I met who had AIDS, and this was in 1996. Nick had been well known in the ’70s and ’80s for his performances with the famous Bloolips cabaret troupe, and he had performed extensively both here in the UK and in the US. It was his stint in the US that tragically saw him become one of the first people to catch HIV, as, unfortunately, did many of his friends. About eight years ago, I saw Nick do a touching solo performance, in which he portrayed the heartbreak of this period for him, losing so many friends while dealing with his own potential mortality. Despite there being no treatment, Nick miraculously survived when many did not, and he is still around today to tell the tale. When I first met Nick and became a close friend of his, I had to overcome my own prejudice—touching him, hugging him, or giving him a peck on the cheek. I was one of many in the 1990s who were still absolutely petrified of this uncurable illness. But Nick helped me see that it did not have to be a death sentence. It also meant that I could not catch it by just giving him a hug. I remember Nick getting really ill in 1997 and ending up in hospital. He was one of the first to receive the experimental treatment of combination therapy, and it worked. Nick went on to compose the touching “Red Ribbon Requiem”, which was performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Today, he has demonstrated just how far treatment has come, living a normal, healthy life and having naturally fathered two lovely twin boys. Fast forward to 2020 and a really close friend of mine sat me down to tell me that he had HIV. My immediate reaction was despair. I thought that I was going to lose him, that he had that death sentence. But he laughed at me and said, “Don’t worry, my levels are already now undetectable.” This was because of the wonderful medication that he was taking. As long as he keeps taking it, he will go on to live a normal life. Today, more than 30 HIV medications are available. Many people are able to control their HIV with just a single pill a day. Early treatment can prevent HIV-positive people from getting AIDS, and the diseases that it causes, such as cancer. HIV drugs also stop people who have the virus passing it on during sex. We still do not have a cure for AIDS, but with the right treatment, people who are HIV-positive can have a normal lifespan, but we must remember that HIV and AIDS does not just affect the LGBTQ+ community. It does not discriminate, like those who have been victims of the virus have been discriminated against in the past. While most people have caught the disease from unprotected sex, regardless of their sexuality, others have contracted it from infected blood, from their parents during pregnancy, from sharing needles or from being horribly raped. I fully support the Labour Government’s new HIV action plan to end all new HIV cases in England by 2030. I am pleased that there is a cross-party consensus on that. The powerful image just this week of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom publicly taking an HIV test on camera was wonderful. I took my test too, and I encourage everybody to do the same. As we look to the future, with this Labour Government introducing greater protections for the LGBTQ+ community, such as the trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices and righting the wrongs done to LGBT veterans, we would think that we would have reason to celebrate, but as others have said, we must be aware that, among some, the narrative is shifting. We have seen our trans community under attack, being made to feel non-existent. Around the world, we have seen those in power in countries that we normally consider progressive rowing back on LGBTQ+ rights. We sadly even hear such rhetoric coming out of this place. This week, the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe)—I have given him notice—stated that he would sack every DEI officer in the NHS. Just this weekend, he told them on social media how much he detests their work. Let us look at this. D stands for diversity: diverse people, and people from a diverse background. E stands for equality: helping those diverse people to gain equality and feel equal. I stands for inclusion: making them feel they are included in society. How dare somebody say that they want to ban that. We need to call these people out—those who are looking to push us back and take away our rights, making diversity irrelevant as opposed to embracing it. We are a diverse country and should embrace everybody, whoever they are. We have made huge strides forward, so please, let us not go back. I pay tribute to all the pride organisations across the country, many of which are run by volunteers, for their wonderful work in raising awareness, and creating visibility and safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community. I particularly call attention to Basildon Pride, where I am still the chair of trustees, and the wonderful Southend Pride, which offers so much to the community. Long may it continue to do so.

• 12 Feb 2025 · Prevent: Learning Review · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Minister, and of course the Home Secretary, for coming to this place for this statement. None of us in the House can imagine the pain, the suffering and the anger that the Amess family are going through after losing their beloved Sir David: their father and husband. I have met the family, and they are still in absolute devastation. We should hold them in our thoughts today. We should never forget Sir David. I pay tribute to him and to his family for the way in which they have conducted themselves throughout this whole sorry affair. I will continue working closely with the family as well as with the Home Secretary and her team to ensure that they get the support and the answers that they need. We will never forget Sir David in Southend. We will shortly be putting some memory boards up on the Chalkwell lifeguard station that reflect Sir David’s life and our journey to becoming a city. I thank Lady Julia and the local councillors for working closely with me on the project. I welcome the news today that the Prevent commissioner will be reviewing this case and the implementation of recommendations in relation to it. I am glad to hear that the Home Secretary has written to Essex police about the complaint that has been logged. I thank her for her support on that. It is important that that is seen through so that once again the family get the answers that they deserve. I ask the Minister, and obviously the Home Secretary, to give me an assurance that they will continue to work closely with me and, most importantly, the Amess family, so that we can get them those answers and give them the comfort to enable them to move on with their lives. They will never forget, but we can help them to move forward.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Financial Education · Hansard source

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  I, too, thank the hon. Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew) for bringing forward the debate and for the work he does on the all-party parliamentary group for financial education for young people. I would love to see a world where everybody is financially literate, where people understand their finances, manage them properly, invest, save, manage debt and protect themselves appropriately—in other words, where people are financially savvy. It is good for people and it is good for our economy. Financial education develops tools for life and creates good habits. It can help people deal with cost of living challenges and help break down barriers to opportunity too, because making the most of resources when there are fewer of them is paramount. Many people lack the basic skills of financial acumen and that disadvantages them through life. However, if someone has a strong grasp of financial concepts, they are less likely to get into debt, can make better decisions and prosper. That is why financial education is a must for adults and children alike. I have a number of ideas about how we can help educate adults too in that area. According to the Government-sponsored Money and Pensions Service, 39% of adults—more than 20 million people—do not feel confident managing their own money. Some 11.5 million people have less than £100 in savings, and 9 million of us are in serious debt. A Legal and General report, “Deadline to Breadline 2022”, suggests that “the average UK consumer is just 19 days from the breadline” if they lose their income. In my previous life in the banking sector, I knew only too well how a lack of financial management blights lives. I sadly saw several people throughout my career who did not plan and manage their finances appropriately or plan and protect their futures appropriately. When life took an unexpected turn and circumstances changed, I witnessed some incredibly sad situations where people lost everything. That story tells us of an urgent need for financial education programmes for adults and not just for children. Of course, the key to having financially literate adults is to teach financial education in our schools. Although, as we have heard, it was added to the national curriculum in 2014, its delivery is patchy at best and it needs to be improved. A few years ago, I was invited to deliver a financial education session to a group of sixth-form students. Following the session, a few teachers came over, thanked me for what I had taught them and then asked me for some advice—and they were the teachers responsible for delivering that financial education to the pupils. We have heard that financial education is included in the curriculum for secondary schools, but I too advocate for its inclusion in primary education. That could be done simply by embracing it in the maths syllabus. As a member of the all-party parliamentary group on financial education for young people, I support the recommendations that financial education be a mandatory part of the English primary curriculum. Training has to be given to teachers and the subject should be promoted by the Government in both primary and secondary education. I want to finish with a story of a person whom I admire for their brilliant financial management: a single parent who juggled finances to bring up two boys. She literally had different pots for different funds, from summer holidays to Christmas to birthdays to her contingency fund for a rainy day. Each week, she would use her perfectly crafted budget book to separate out her funds: so much for food, so much for bills and the remainder spread across her pots. She never relied on credit cards or borrowing. Her sons never wanted for anything, saw themselves as equals to their friends and would only really appreciate how stretched the family finances were when they got older. She had that skill embedded in her from a young age by her parents. That person was my mum. Being financially educated early can have a profound effect on future generations. We need that change. It is an essential life skill, and I implore the Minister to consider that as part of the curriculum review.

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

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  Illegal e-scooters and illegal e-bikes are a menace to many of our communities, including mine in Southend West and Leigh. Just this week, Essex police has moved from education to enforcement, and nearby Basildon council has decided to end its e-scooter trial. E-scooters are a good, environmentally friendly way to get around, if implemented properly. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time to discuss this important issue?

• 5 Feb 2025 · English Devolution and Local Government · Hansard source

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  I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for her statement. I am excited that Essex, including Southend, will be part of the priority programme. I am keen that local areas should keep their local identity, so will she give us some assurances on that? With regard to opposition to local reorganisation, devolution and postponing the elections, the Tories on Essex county council are fully supportive of our programme. Will she provide assurances that delaying the elections is right for democracy and for the taxpayer, because it will save funds in areas where local authorities will not exist in several months’ time?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  London Southend airport has taken time to bounce back from the pandemic, but I am delighted to see that, over recent months, a number of new routes have been established. EasyJet has announced its new base at the airport and, just in the past week, Eastern Airways has announced its new route to Newquay. Does the Leader of the House agree that this is positive news for the local economy and a sign of growing business confidence on the back of the Government’s mission to kick-start economic growth? Will she join me on a visit to the airport to hear more about its future plans?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Home Secretary’s statement, which was full of action. I am pleased that last week I supported the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill so that we can start implementing much-needed safeguarding measures—unlike some Conservative Members, who attempted to wreck the Bill and spread misinformation, which led to online abuse towards many Members. Does the Home Secretary share my concern about the most rapidly evolving forms of child sexual abuse taking place online, including through artificial intelligence-facilitated child sexual abuse material? Can she outline what plans the Government have to strengthen the law in this area?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  Tackling violence against women and girls is a job for everyone. We all know that tackling violence involves far more than just the police and the criminal justice system. Preventing abuse in the first place is crucial, and everyone needs to play their part. I join my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Paul Waugh) and others in expressing my disappointment that some seem to pick and choose which type of abuse they wish to champion. Abuse is not a political football. All should come together to tackle abuse. Across Government, and with mayors, local councils and police and crime commissioners, we need to support strong preventive action. According to the crime survey for England and Wales for the year ending March 2024, 2.2 million women that year had experienced domestic abuse, 1.1 million had suffered sexual assault and 1.5 million had been stalked. Of course, it is not just physical abuse that women experience; they also experience online abuse. My fellow members of the Women and Equalities Committee and I recently heard evidence from young women about the abuse they experienced through non-consensual intimate images and deepfakes. It was harrowing to hear about the long-term impact this abuse has had on those young girls’ lives. As we have heard, this Government have pledged to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and I am pleased by the action they are already taking. I must mention the tireless and dedicated work of my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips). She has stood up and fought against violence against women and girls for many years, supported many victims and is now doing great work to influence the tackling of this issue in her role as Minster for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls. However, the issue is not just what the Government should do. Preventing abuse in the first place is crucial, and everyone needs to play their part. Men need to play their part—men need to do more. The charity White Ribbon wants to prevent men’s violence against women and girls by addressing its root causes. It works with men and boys to change long-established and harmful attitudes, systems and behaviours that perpetuate inequality and violence. It is clear that many young men are being warped by toxic influencers online. Police chiefs have warned that young men are being radicalised online. The police have demanded that technology companies act more quickly to take down extreme material. Schools have a role to play in providing high-quality, inclusive and effective relationships and sex education that is relevant to the realities of children’s lives and empowers young people to understand the true relationship boys should have with girls: respect, respect and respect. That really matters. Men need to be champions of that cause and of women’s safety.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I agree, and I call upon all men to do everything they can to champion the cause. Men need to be positive champions: there is so much we can do. We need to be allies, calling out poor language or behaviour in our own friendship groups when we witness it. We need to be conscious of our behaviour around women, such as keeping a distance if we are walking near a woman who is alone at night. If we see a woman being harassed on public transport, for example, we can be an active bystander by ignoring the aggressor and engaging the victim with a benign question, such as asking the time or offering a seat. That is non-confrontational intervention that can help diffuse a situation. There is so much more that we, as men, can do. We can all help. We need to educate, act and do more to support, and we need to drive down such behaviour once and for all.

• 19 Dec 2024 · Christmas Adjournment · Hansard source

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  I have fully enjoyed and embraced my first five months as Member of Parliament for Southend West and Leigh, despite, like many Members, experiencing the whirlwind effect of settling into this place, setting up my new offices, and recruiting my team. I have met many people and hundreds of organisations over the last five months. If you will indulge me, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to bring to the House’s attention four amazing projects in my constituency. The Music Man Project is a UK charity founded in Southend-on-Sea in 2000. It provides a music education and performance service for people with learning disabilities, and teaches children and adults to sing, sign and play original music and new arrangements. David Stanley, who founded the project, has taken it from strength to strength. There are now 14 regional Music Man Projects around the country, but the central hub remains in Southend. When I visit the project during rehearsals or see one of its performances, my mood is immediately lifted and brightened. I attended its Christmas concert just last weekend, and it was simply amazing to see the participants all living their best lives. I am delighted that His Majesty the King has awarded the project the King’s award for voluntary services. I am sure that you will join me, Madam Deputy Speaker, in congratulating it. The late Sir David Amess, former MP for Southend West, was a trustee and big supporter of the project. He had the vision that one day its participants would perform on Broadway, and that is exactly what they are now aiming to do in memory of Sir David. Through fundraising efforts, I hope that they will manage to make that dream a reality, because they really deserve it. If any Members would like to contribute to getting them there, that would be greatly appreciated. I am equally proud of the work of Southend food bank, under the umbrella of the Trussell Trust. It has eight outlets in Southend in total, five being in my constituency. More than 20,491 emergency food parcels were provided by Southend food bank in the past 12 months, with more than 8,000 going to children. Southend food bank has sadly seen a 36% increase in the number of parcels it is distributing. I thank the entire team of volunteers for their outstanding work in delivering that vital service week in, week out. I am delighted that the Government have hit the ground running to tackle child poverty with the child poverty taskforce. I look forward to seeing their work progress. St Vincent’s was established in 2000 in Southend, inspired by the work of the St Vincent de Paul Society in the area. It provided 20,500 hot meals in the last year to homeless people through its kindness kitchen, as well as a range of other services. I want to talk briefly about Matt Fright, whom I met at a St Vincent’s fundraising dinner. Matt previously suffered from drug and alcohol addiction, and was even caught up in drug dealing and ended up homeless. Through St Vincent’s, he has totally turned his life around, and now works as the lead facilitator of its smart addiction programme and its hungry cupboards programme, which is part of its 3D printing work. It is a truly wonderful story of transformation. I was delighted to hear the Government announce a near-£1 billion investment for councils to break the cycle of homelessness. Finally, I want to briefly recognise Andy’s Man Club, which opened at Southend United football club in May 2021. Andy’s Man Club, which has groups all around the country, is a space where men can go and speak openly about their mental health in a non-judgmental, non-clinical environment. Men in particular can find it difficult to discuss their mental health, and to open up about how they are feeling. Just this past month, I have personally seen the devastating effect of poor mental health going wrong. It has a heartbreaking effect on those who are left behind. We need to do much more to get men talking and opening up about how they feel, so I am pleased that the Mental Health Bill is making its way through the other place, and will reach this place next year. As we enter the festive season, I thank all our blue-light workers, hospital staff and others who will keep us safe and well this Christmas season—and all year round. Finally, Madam Deputy Speaker, I wish you, the other Deputy Speakers, Mr Speaker, the House staff, all Members, their teams and my wonderful team, as well as the constituents of Southend West and Leigh, a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

• 16 Dec 2024 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  According to the latest Government figures, the number of sewage dumps along my constituency’s small coastline rose from 100 in 2022 to 206 last year—a more than 100% increase. Across the country, this is the legacy of the last Conservative Government. They failed to get to grips with holding our water companies to account, and we and our constituents have suffered, with polluted waterways causing swimmers and those taking part in water sports to become ill—never mind the impact it has had on the natural environment. I am told by Anglian Water that the sewage dumping figures will be significantly lower in 2024, but we will wait to see them published. An immediate positive move by this Labour Government has been to require real-time monitoring, so that the public and the regulators have full transparency on where water spills are happening within an hour of them happening. There will be nowhere to hide. In Southend, both I and my hon. Friend the Member for Southend East and Rochford (Mr Alaba) have recommenced holding water quality summits. They are a means of bringing together stakeholders and interested members of the public to discuss current issues and challenges, from pollution and sewage dumps to regular flooding. I hope our water quality summits will serve as a good exemplar of how the proposed new customer panels could work across the country. My Conservative predecessor, the former MP for Southend West, had the right intentions when she started the local water summits during her term. However, she was restricted by the failure of her own Government to put in place sufficient regulation and consequences for the water companies to really fix this issue. In October 2021, the Conservatives voted against a Lords amendment to the Environment Bill that would have placed a legal duty on water companies to reduce sewage discharges into our rivers. In January last year, 292 Conservatives—ironically including my predecessor—voted to give water companies 15 years to clean up their act as part of the environment targets regulations. Yes, 15 years! Having run my own business and worked in senior roles in other businesses, I know the standards required to consider awarding bonuses. Underperforming on a key metric would not, and should not, be overlooked when considering the payment of bonuses. The same will now properly apply to the water industry, and so it should. I am proud of this Bill and I am proud to support it. The Labour Government have done more in our first few months to tackle this scourge than the Conservatives did in the last 14 years. This Government are serious about bringing the change that is so urgently needed to end the scandal of water pollution once and for all.

• 9 Dec 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs · Hansard source

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  5. What steps she is taking to increase the availability of breakfast clubs in primary schools.

• 9 Dec 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs · Hansard source

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  I have contacted all the primary schools in my constituency to encourage them to become early adopters. Child poverty in my constituency stands at 12.1%, and food bank use has risen by 433% over the last five years. Does my hon. Friend agree that breakfast clubs will be part of the solution by helping to lift children out of poverty, giving them food in their belly to start the school day and encouraging their parents back into part-time employment?

• 27 Nov 2024 · World AIDS Day · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is quite right: a disproportionate number of black, Asian and minority ethnic individuals are becoming infected with HIV. Does my hon. Friend think that it is right to raise awareness of things like PrEP in communities that may be disproportionately affected, so that we can put them in the same position as the majority of the country, whose infection rates are declining?

• 11 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T9. I agree with the Minister that it is vital for everyone who is eligible for support to claim for it, but what steps is she taking to ensure that claiming for pension credit is as simple as possible?

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

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  This Budget starts to deliver the change our country voted for, the change our country needs. It is a tough Budget that makes the right choices to start repairing the foundations of our economy, while investing in our public services where investment is most needed. After 14 years of the last Government, it is now clear that the adults are back in charge. Looking at the attendance, or lack thereof, on the Opposition Benches, it is very clear that the Tory party called a general election, handed back the keys and ran away from any responsibility. However, this Government will fix our NHS and invest in our hospitals—something that is badly needed in my constituency of Southend West and Leigh. Things are so bad in my local hospital that just recently, hospital staff have been banned from ordering new uniform as part of new cost-cutting measures. Excluding cancer pathways, Southend University hospital has average waiting times of 29 weeks for out-patient appointments and 26 weeks for general surgery. They are sometimes much longer. That is simply unacceptable, as people wait suffering in pain. This Budget will start to fix that. There are huge gaps in local mental health provision. I am sure Members agree that we need parity of care, with as much emphasis on mental health as physical health. For young people in need of mental health services in my constituency, the aim is for assessments within 12 weeks and treatment within 18 weeks, but the reality is that waiting lists can be as long as 18 to 24 months. Practitioners, such as The Lighthouse in my constituency, are working very hard to bring those numbers down, so it is really pleasing to see included in the Budget, on top of the money committed, the £26 million for new mental health crisis centres. Families waiting for assessments for special educational needs are being let down, so I am delighted to see the £1 billion uplift in SEN provision. New funding for the NHS, mental health services and SEN provision will provide much needed help to my constituents. Without our health, our nation will struggle to rebuild our economy, so the long-term plan for the NHS will develop as a result of the current consultation and through our 10-year plan for national renewal. The days of sticking heads in the sand are over—hope is not a plan. I thank the Chancellor and her team for putting in place a credible plan to fix our NHS.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Black History Month · Hansard source

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  I wish to start by thanking the Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Ms Oppong-Asare), for securing this debate—the first that we have had in Government time—in the name of the Prime Minister. I thank, too, my hon. Friend the Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) for all the work that she has done in encouraging this debate into the House. I also wish to recognise my hon. Friends the Members for Beckenham and Penge (Liam Conlon) and for Burton and Uttoxeter (Jacob Collier) who made their maiden speeches today, and everybody else who has contributed to this debate. My stomach is telling me that it would be remiss of me not to also recognise Margaret and Godfrey. [ Laughter. ] Black history is my history, but, as so many have said today, it is all of our history in this country. The fact that, this year, the theme is reclaiming the narrative, celebrating the changemakers, is not lost on me. This debate is needed so much after the riots that we saw in this country over the summer. I am so pleased that that division did not get its way in this country and that this Government acted quickly to stamp it out. Communities, including my own in Southend West and Leigh, came together and said with one voice, “Division does not belong here.” Madam Deputy Speaker, if you will bear with me for a moment, I wish to share a bit of my narrative. Some often say that I am the human form of the United Nations, and I shall give the House a bit of an idea as to why that is. My mum is white. Her father—my grandad, David Sampson—was half-Scottish, half-French. Then we move to my nan, Ellen Hansen, who was half-Cornish, half-Danish; her dad was half-Dutch. Then we move on to my dad. Edmund Danns, his dad, was from Berbice, a sugar plantation town in British Guiana. As we have heard from so many, Edmund took up the call during the second world war to join the British Navy. By 1941, he was one of 42 people who had joined the British Navy from British Guiana. After the war, he continued his career on the sea and joined the Merchant Navy. It was at a stop in Liverpool that he met my grandmother in 1956. She was Irene Bedford, and her dad was a gentleman called Siar Bofferd, who became known as Edward Bedford, or Buffer to his mates. He came from Liberia. Edward arrived in Liverpool as a seaman, and it was there that he met his wife, Mary Kelly. Have a guess where she was from—yes, Ireland. Members can now start to see how I embody the United Nations. Edward remained in Liverpool, and, during the war, he served in the Royal Navy, as many did, including those in the black community. These people were giving their service to this country, and that was happening well before the second world war. In the 1960s, my nan and grandad married. My nan, Irene, was subject to terrible racism in Liverpool, which happened in so many black communities throughout these lands. Edmund had to give up sailing, because he was concerned about his wife’s safety, so he took a job in a factory. Members can only imagine the racism that Mary Kelly experienced in 1925. She was an Irish immigrant married to a Liberian gentleman—they had black children. Unfortunately, we all know that discrimination and racism have continued through the years. Yes, things have got better, but they still very much exist. I, along with many Members, have experienced this racism just simply because of the colour of my skin. The assumptions that have been made about me because of the colour of my skin are simply unacceptable. It is even worse today, as we see the effect of online racism. My hon. Friend the Member for Brent East has been very clear about the impact that that has had on her and so many others. Interestingly, because I was brought up in a one-parent family, with my white mum, in a very white community in Liverpool, I saw myself as part of the white community. I did not really explore my black culture. The kids at school showed a little bit of racism towards me, but in the main, they did not see my colour, which meant that I did not see my colour. It was only once I left school and entered the world of work that that racism really became prominent. I was very fortunate to work at the Maritime Museum in Liverpool in 1997. I was an actor at the time, believe it or not, and I took on a small part in an exhibition about emigrating to the New World. It was an absolutely brilliant exhibition in its basement site, and just next to it was a very small exhibition: just a couple of stands with some information. That was the slavery museum—it was so small that you would miss it. But by 2007, the Maritime Museum had created the International Slavery Museum, which took up the whole third floor of the building. I am delighted to hear that by 2028, that museum will have been significantly expanded. It is a permanent memorial to the struggles that can never be forgotten, and my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Riverside (Kim Johnson) is so lucky to have it in her constituency. I hope we can all go up there and see the new museum in 2028 once it is built. Many of us in this Chamber and in this country have never been subject to slavery or apartheid, but that does not mean that we have not suffered. We have heard today about the suffering that so many people have experienced. We must not forget the contribution that black people have made to our society to make it the great British society that it is today. I am talking in particular about the Windrush generation, who we have heard so much about already. They helped to rebuild this country. They took up positions in transport, in domestic services, in hospitality and most notably in the health service. I am delighted to hear about the creation of the Windrush commissioner: those victims’ voices have to be heard, and they have to get the compensation that they rightfully deserve. Representation is so important. As a young black kid, I often did not see representation above me in positions like this. We have already recognised the Mother of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott), alongside two other Members elected to this place in 1987: they were the first black Members to be elected to this place since the last one left here in 1893, almost 100 years earlier. That was Peter McLagan, a Scottish MP, and he was one of only four black Members who had sat in this place before 1987. But look at today: 14% of people in this place are from ethnic minorities, 41% are women and almost 10% are LGBTQ+ Members. We are now a Parliament that is much more representative of this country. Just as the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde) thanked his party for its work to ensure greater diversity, I thank my party for its work in getting us here today. Regrettably, that representation is not the same everywhere. In business, as of March this year, there were zero FTSE 100 companies that had a black chair, a black chief executive officer, a black chief financial officer or a black chief product officer. Black employees hold just 1.5% of leadership roles in UK private companies, despite making up about 4.2% of the population. We have to remove the barriers to opportunity. Does the glass ceiling exist? I do not know, but there is something stopping people getting through. We need to help people break through it, if it does exist. This Government’s new office for equality and opportunity and their equality, race and disability Bill are a good start. I thank those who like to create cohesive communities, including many in my constituency of Southend West and Leigh. I have a little message for those who ask, “When are we going to have white history month?”. Let me tell you: you have white history month every day: it is in your school curriculum, it is in the museums and it is everywhere around you. We need the same for Black History Month, because we belong here just as much as everybody else. We need to learn from the past to drive a better future. In this place, we need to ensure that the laws and the changes we make create opportunities for all, no matter what their background is. I urge the Minister to ensure that equality and opportunity are at the heart of our Government’s five missions. Everyone should be given the opportunity to live their best life—their most authentic life—to the max.