Ian Roome MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T4. Forces families sometimes find that a child’s education, health and care plan is not automatically recognised when they are reposted to a new area, leaving children without provision. With the children’s services White Paper due next year, will the Minister ensure that military children specifically are included and raise the issue of adopting the Ministry of Defence local authority partnership system with local authorities that currently do not use it?

• 1 Dec 2025 · Sexual Consent and Relationships Education · Hansard source

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  Many parents are concerned about how schools address the sensitive issues of consent and sexual violence. What action is the Department taking to ensure that those subjects are being taught in schools by appropriately trained professionals, to safeguard both pupils and teachers?

• 1 Dec 2025 · Sexual Consent and Relationships Education · Hansard source

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  2. What steps she is taking to improve education on sexual consent and relationships.

• 24 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  In rural areas like my constituency, private renting is very expensive and is unaffordable to many. What is the Minister doing to ensure that more housing is available at social rent rather than market rent, which people can simply not afford?

• 17 Nov 2025 · Parkinson’s Disease · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Ms Lewell. Earlier today, I was at the Parkinson’s event in the Palace, and I spoke to a surgeon who treats Parkinson’s patients every week. He told me that if more people were seen earlier, he could ensure better outcomes. Does the hon. Member agree that this battle is partly about funding that is needed now, rather than later down the line?

• 11 Nov 2025 · Remembrance Day: Armed Forces · Hansard source

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  It is a privilege to be able to say even a few words about the vital contribution our armed forces continue to make to the act of remembrance. Every veteran deserves to have their service recognised, and it is a great credit to communities across the country that people from all walks of life still give generously and gather, as they did on this rainy Remembrance Sunday in North Devon, to recognise that dedication to duty. On Saturday, I was in South Molton where I met some young Army cadets loyally collecting for the Royal British Legion’s poppy appeal outside the pannier market. Indeed, battalions of the wider armed forces community are visibly deployed every year to support the good work of the Royal British Legion, and many other worthy armed forces charities up and down the length of Britain. Thanks to the exceptional dedication of cadet officers, like Major Joe Martin in my constituency of North Devon, many of those outstanding young cadets will go on to have bright careers in our armed forces themselves. Those of us who have served, or represent forces towns, can easily forget that November is one of the few opportunities many people get to engage with serving personnel from our armed forces directly, face to face. As we know, Britain traditionally does not maintain large standing armies, so seeing uniforms on our high streets for remembrance is a rare chance to connect communities with the people who volunteer to defend them. It is important to remind people that we are all in this together, given some of the current conflicts around the world. This is not a country where people fear seeing soldiers in the street. Instead, the admiration for what our armed forces do on our behalf is profound. Our armed forces must be an extension of the society they serve, the democracy they defend, and the people they protect. Although every poppy sold will help the welfare of a veteran who deserves our gratitude, there is also a battle for hearts and minds that is being fought and won. Our armed forces are ambassadors for the values of the uniform. As my good friends in the Royal Marines at the Barnstaple social club always toast on Remembrance Sunday: we will champion those values, remember absent friends and honour their sacrifice.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Sudan: Government Support · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. Does he agree that part of the great tragedy of Sudan has been the way it is unfairly overshadowed by conflicts happening elsewhere in the world, and we should be less squeamish about pointing that out to the public here in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

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  As a frequent visitor to Weymouth, I have seen the dog-friendly sticker scheme in the businesses on the high street. Does the hon. Member agree that making high street businesses dog-friendly helps to increase their profits? It has certainly cost me a bob or two when I have gone into shops that allow me to take my dog in with me.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

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  So much of this debate focuses on high streets under a magnifying glass. In my constituency, one in five people work in the retail or wholesale sector. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that if our shop fronts were a factory or a shipyard, the Government would be framing the challenge very differently?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Korean War: 75th Commemoration · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I thank the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for securing this important debate on the 75th anniversary of the Korean war. The Liberal Democrats pay tribute to the tens of thousands of British veterans who served in the Korean war, and who ensured the survival of a free and democratic South Korea. Many veterans of Korea are now in their 90s, and so, just as the second world war is passing from living memory, we should remember that the Korean war is about to do the same. With just under 1,100 British casualties, many war memorials across the country include a small number of names from Korea, which adds to the idea of what is often unfairly called the forgotten war. In my constituency, the war memorial in the small coastal village of Mortehoe bears only a single name from Korea—that of Mr W. J. Yeo—added to one side of the stone, almost like an afterthought. Forgetting Mr Yeo, however, and many like him, would be a disservice to the remarkable achievement of all those veterans who served, many of whom were doing national service at the time. Earlier this year, the South Korean ambassador to the UK again praised the bravery of British troops, who not only risked their lives but defended a distant land and the freedom of a people they had never met. Today, South Korea is not only a democratic society, but a resolute British ally in the far east, and a global economic success story. In July 1950, that future hung in the balance. Communist forces controlled nearly all the Korean peninsula, and only a determined counter-offensive by the US, Britain and our allies secured a future for South Korea as an independent nation. The lesson is so clear, because north of the demilitarised zone, we can now see an alternative version of history that might have played out. North Korea remains a deeply repressive dictatorship and an economically backward rogue state. Amnesty International describes its militaristic regime as “violating every conceivable human right.” It allows torture and starvation. It does not allow “any organised political opposition, independent media, free trade unions, civil society organisations, or religious freedom.” The north continues to align with Russia and Iran, violating international sanctions and heightening nuclear tensions. It threatens democratic neighbours such as South Korea and Japan, and even provides military aid to Russia’s war against Ukraine. As we reach this anniversary, that stark contrast between north and south should strengthen the UK’s resolve. Many Members will have seen those astonishing satellite photographs of the Korean peninsula, which show the bright lights of South Korea and near-total darkness across the north. It is in no small part thanks to courageous British efforts that the lights did not go out entirely, and 75 years on, we must never forget.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I have visited many schools in North Devon, and many are facing the dilemma of whether to fund essential maintenance or to lay off teaching assistants. What is the Minister doing to ensure that adequate funding reaches rural schools so that they do not have to cut teaching staff in order to balance the books?

• 15 Sept 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I know that 48 hours seems a long time to some Ministers, but does he agree that having a shift cancelled at short notice would be bad news for many workers across the country? This Bill should be amended to specify an acceptable notice period.

• 15 Sept 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  There is no standard requirement for most companies to have a whistleblowing policy. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill would be a good opportunity to put in place real protections for whistleblowers who try to highlight crime, danger and malpractice in the workplace?

• 8 Sept 2025 · Defence Sector: Innovation · Hansard source

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  Following the recent news that Norway will purchase Type 26 frigates, the speculation in the media before the weekend was that the Danish navy might also be about to place a significant order for the Type 31. Will the Secretary of State soon be able to give the UK additional good news?

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for securing this debate. Does he agree with me about the extra pressures on people living in remote rural coastal communities, such as Ilfracombe in Devon? The life expectancy there is 10 years lower than in other parts of Devon. The integrated care board needs to be funded for the costs of supporting the local minor injuries unit at Ilfracombe hospital, especially during tourist times, when the population of my area doubles.

• 16 Jul 2025 · RAF E-7 Wedgetail Programme · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister also join the Worshipful Company of Engineers in congratulating Sir Rich Knighton on being the first engineer to become the chief of the Royal Air Force? Being ex-RAF, it is nice to have an engineer who has never been a pilot as the chief of the Royal Air Force.

• 16 Jul 2025 · RAF E-7 Wedgetail Programme · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) for bringing this important debate to Westminster Hall. I concur with the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois): the Liberal Democrats also welcome Air Marshal Harv Smyth to his new appointment as Chief of the Air Staff—congratulations to him. He will be a fine leader. The E-7A Wedgetail represents a major update to the UK’s airborne warning and control capability. Future-proofing our armed forces is something that the Liberal Democrats strongly support. Wedgetail’s predecessor, E-3D Sentry, first entered service in the Royal Air Force around the same time as I entered the Royal Air Force, but fortunately it stayed at the cutting edge for a good deal longer. Indeed, the aircraft was still flying operational sorties and keeping the UK safe right up until it was decommissioned in August 2021. Although Sentry has since made some extra flights over home soil, the UK has officially been without an airborne warning and control capability for several years. That is just one example of how the last Government allowed our armed forces to be hollowed out over time.

• 16 Jul 2025 · RAF E-7 Wedgetail Programme · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend, and I am sure that the Minister will reply. Unfortunately, Sentry’s intended replacement, the Wedgetail programme, has already been through some major turbulence during its early years, from questions over the fairness of the MOD’s procurement decision in 2018 to a two-year production delay and an order reduction from five airframes to three under the last Government’s integrated defence review—a move that Boeing says slowed down the project, and a decision described as an “absolute folly” even by the then Defence Committee. We now read news reports that the Trump Administration are seeking to cancel Wedgetail orders for the US air force over claims that it would be too vulnerable in contested airspace, casting doubt over the programme’s future interoperability and cost. I am sure that many hon. Members will also have seen the recent letter signed by 19 retired US four-star generals criticising that decision. The United States aspires to a fully space-based replacement, but that is still many years away. With hindsight, knowing what we know about Russian aggression in eastern European airspace, the timing of all this could hardly be more perilous. Just a few weeks ago, my colleagues on the Defence Committee and I visited Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany. The UK is committed to a 24/7 NATO air policing mission, and the strategic defence review states that the UK’s defensive posture should be firmly “NATO first”. The Liberal Democrats believe that the UK should work as closely as possible with our European allies on our shared defence, and that our military should complement our allies’ capabilities. In addition to raising the UK’s defence spending to 2.5% and beyond, it is essential that we co-ordinate our allied air forces in Europe, especially those of our Nordic and Baltic partners, to give more bang for buck. In the European airspace, this airborne capability is very specialised. Various NATO forces still operate old E-3 aircraft, including Germany, Turkey, Greece, Italy and Norway. France and some Scandinavian air forces also operate similar aircraft from rival manufacturers such as Saab and Northrop Grumman. However, as has been pointed out before the US Senate Committee on Armed Services, the cost of repairs to the old E-3 fleet keeps increasing, and their availability to fly keeps decreasing. Australia, South Korea and our European allies in NATO, faced with the same choice as the UK, are choosing to replace their E-3 fleets with Wedgetail. Next month, Australian Wedgetails will be deployed to Poland as part of efforts to support Ukraine. European Wedgetails are not expected to enter service until 2031. That may be six years of expensive repairs to ageing aircraft—six years during which UK Wedgetails could play an outsized role in European air defence, but only if the current Government work to rebuild our armed forces capacity, and only if our aircraft are ready to fly. As the Public Accounts Committee keeps highlighting, large overspends are unacceptable. Long delays that leave this country’s Air Force without an essential capability are a sign of a procurement system that is badly broken. The strategic defence review recommends more Wedgetails for round-the-clock airborne surveillance, and says there may even be cost-sharing opportunities with NATO allies. I put these questions to the Minister. First, do the Government plan to meet our defence commitments this way, either by ordering additional Wedgetails, in lockstep with our allies, or even seeking an alternative? Secondly, what steps will the Government take to improve the Ministry of Defence track record on this kind of aircraft procurement, so that our defence of NATO airspace is never put in doubt again?

• 15 Jul 2025 · Afghanistan · Hansard source

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  I, too, welcome the statement given by the Secretary of State today. As a member of the Defence Committee, I look forward to giving this matter the scrutiny it deserves. I will not go into the detail of the report, but I think it is important to clarify, if the Secretary of State is able to do so, whether the data breach in question has in the past put or is now putting any serving members of the UK armed forces at risk?

• 15 Jul 2025 · Beer Duty · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that a reduction in beer duty would help hard-working publicans like Simon and Alison from a micropub in Barnstaple called Beer Matters, who have just won the CAMRA award for North Devon, to continue in business? Not only is it a fantastic micropub, but it serves as a good social hub in the community.

• 9 Jul 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q11. In the past few weeks, I have spoken to five people from my rural North Devon constituency who have been forced to remove their own teeth with pliers or with amateur surgical kits bought online because they are unable to find an NHS dentist. What would the Prime Minister say to those people, and when will the Government banish this dentistry crisis to the history books, where it belongs?