James Naish MP: speeches

Speeches

• 5 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [Lords] (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Gentleman accept that regulation evolves anyway? My brother runs a property business, and I can tell the hon. Gentleman that what he was first required to deliver to his regulator in 2012, when he set that business up, versus what he is required to deliver today has changed beyond imagination. Things move all the time, so it is appropriate for the regulator to be able to determine what it needs to perform the relevant functions.

• 5 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [Lords] (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I am conscious that we will have several more days of discussion, so I would be grateful if the hon. Gentleman could clarify exactly how this body would have been funded under the legislation of the previous Government. He keeps talking about the costs of the regulator under this Government, but how did he think it would have been funded under the previous Government?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [Lords] (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

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  My concern when I read the legislation was that five years is one Parliament. One report per Parliament feels like the regulator is being quite lackadaisical when it comes to producing reports. I hope that there can be a more regular publication on the state of the game, given its centrality to life in our country.

• 5 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am regularly contacted by park home residents in my constituency, of which there are more than 500, about the unique challenges they face. Residents of Radcliffe Park and Tollerton Park, in particular, raise issues such as energy costs, their relationship with site owners and, most importantly, the 10% sales commission that traps residents in their homes. Does the Leader of the House agree that park homes should be an area of focus for this Government, and will she find time for Members to discuss this formally?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Battery Energy Storage Sites: Safety Regulations · Hansard source

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  The Minister knows that I am as passionate about clean, green energy as she is and that flexibility will be key to ensuring cheaper bills for customers, but that is why it is vital that we give the public confidence in systems like BESS. Will she reassure me that the Government recognise that we must give the public confidence, so that we can ramp up the energy infrastructure needed to achieve the targets she has outlined?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Battery Energy Storage Sites: Safety Regulations · Hansard source

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  As someone who worked in the energy industry for five years before coming to this place, I would appreciate some honesty in recognising that the applications the hon. Gentleman has just referenced have been in the pipeline for a lot longer than the Labour Government have been in power.

• 4 Jun 2025 · Regional Growth · Hansard source

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  As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for the east midlands, I put on the record my thanks to the Chancellor and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury for their recent engagement on the potential of our region, which has resulted in the significant £2 billion investment announcement today. The east midlands region has been massively underfunded and under-invested in, as the data consistently shows, so I welcome the Treasury’s commitment to changing how the Government approach and evaluate the case for investing in regions. Will there be further positive announcements for the wider east midlands region at the comprehensive spending review, and in industrial strategy announcements later this month?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  When looking at the operating model and how pay should be done, one would benchmark against equivalent organisations. What benchmarking has the hon. Gentleman done against the pay of other chief executives? The Prime Minister’s pay is not a good example for that particular type of role.

• 3 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  What figure is the shadow Minister using for how much a single full-time employee would cost that leads to the total of 50 in this proposal? What figure is he using to say that this will be economically prohibitive for clubs?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman has made the point clearly: he has named a number of organisations that are significantly bigger than the random figure in the amendment. I am not disputing what he says, but the bottom line is that it makes no sense to include an arbitrary figure in formal legislation.

• 3 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  I used to advise businesses on their target operating models, so I understand how to build teams and structures. On what basis does the hon. Member think that the figure of 50 is correct? What work has he done to understand the different structures that will be required? How does he think the aims of the Bill can be achieved with a staff of 50?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  I make the point again: it is the hon. Member’s amendment that would insert a figure. He is lecturing the Government and saying that benchmarking should have been done, but his amendment includes a figure, yet he is saying that he has not done the benchmarking and that it is just a random figure.

• 3 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  What the hon. Member says is absolutely correct, but the reality is that we do not start with the outcome; we start with the process and the functions. What does the regulator need to do? How is it going to achieve that? How many people are required to deliver those services? Then we get to an outcome. I understand the principle of saying that there should be a cap, but that is just not the way it is done. I have done a lot of advisory work, but I do not know any business that would start with that principle.

• 3 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman has just said that he does not think that that is the responsibility of MPs. All of this is really about scaremongering and about creating the idea that there will be a huge cost. The truth is that none of us knows exactly what the size of the regulator will be when it ultimately delivers its functions. It is the responsibility of the regulator to manage itself appropriately. Putting an arbitrary figure from a random conversation into legislation such as this is not good practice.

• 3 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  This amendment is yet another example of plucking a random figure—although it is an actual figure, as has been referenced—and putting it in legislation, which is not best practice. That is why it should not be supported.

• 3 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  The shadow Minister says that one individual suggested that several people would be sufficient, yet he claims that the figure of 50 is not plucked out of thin air. I ask him again: what modelling has been done, how many departments would be involved, and how many people would be in each of those departments, so that he can credibly stand there and say that 50 is an adequate number?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Dementia Care · Hansard source

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  When I led a district council, one thing we tried to do was take initiatives to make us more dementia-friendly. There is some excellent training run by the Alzheimer’s Society. Does the hon. Member agree that all MPs’ offices should be seeking to take such initiatives so that we can be compassionate in the way that he describes?

• 22 May 2025 · School Teachers’ Review Body: Recommendations · Hansard source

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  As the Minister says, we inherited a recruitment and retention crisis in the teaching industry. Data from the National Association of Head Teachers shows that one in three teachers leaves within five years, and that around one in three headteachers no longer continues as a head within five years. That is the situation we have inherited, not created. What is the Minister doing to turn the tide on the recruitment and retention crisis?

• 22 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Many of my constituents have told me that they feel that their works have already been scraped, and that AI development has already trampled over their rights. What reassurances can the Secretary of State give me that we already recognise that this is a time-limited issue and that action is required?

• 22 May 2025 · Independent Sentencing Review · Hansard source

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  We heard this morning that probation services in Nottinghamshire have been rated inadequate following visits by inspectors. They have been judged as understaffed, with urgent improvements needed. I therefore welcome the £700 million increase for probation services, but can I ask the Lord Chancellor what other steps can be taken to drive up probation standards in constituencies like mine?

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for this excellent report that is rooted in pragmatism and practical steps, which I know my constituents welcome. He has highlighted a gap—as he sees it, it is a first step —and there is a lot more to do. Will his Committee undertake to monitor the gap between what the Government have committed to and where he would like the Government to be, and will he and his Committee continue to make recommendations to the Government?

• 21 May 2025 · Ukraine: Forcibly Deported Children · Hansard source

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  I wholeheartedly agree. Prior to coming to this place, I led a council, and one of the motions we passed twinned us with part of Ukraine, because we recognised that the long-term reintegration of Ukrainian people and rebuilding of Ukrainian society would take a long time. It will require a huge global effort to make that work. This is not only a question of justice for Ukraine, but a test of our commitment to international law and the protection of children in conflict. If we allow the forced deportation and indoctrination of children to go unanswered, we risk setting a devastating precedent for future conflicts. I serve on the International Development Committee. International law and international humanitarian law are being broken in many conflicts across different zones around the world, and it is important that the UK stands up for the established order, which has protected billions of people over several generations but is under huge attack on many fronts. I note that the Government have worked closely with the US on this issue—a couple of organisations have been mentioned. What further steps does the Minister think can be taken? I believe there are already three sanctions packages that target those attempting to forcibly deport and indoctrinate Ukrainian children, but what else is being considered or will be considered in the future? Will the Minister outline what the next steps of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children are likely to be? The UK is part of that organisation, so what role will the UK Government continue to play? We in this Chamber today may not be able to return these children ourselves, but we can send a clear message that their abduction will not be ignored, their identities will not be erased and their safe return will remain a priority for as long as it takes. Justice demands nothing less.

• 21 May 2025 · Ukraine: Forcibly Deported Children · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I, too, pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) for securing this debate. It is on a harrowing subject—the systematic abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children—but it is absolutely one that we should be discussing in the House, so I thank her for her work. As has been outlined, by day 1,000 of the conflict, according to UK Government figures, at least 19,500 Ukrainian children had been unlawfully deported to Russia, and independent estimates put the figure much higher. Behind each number is a name, a family, a severed childhood. Children have been taken from foster care homes, boarding schools and hospitals, and even directly from their families. Many have been placed with Russian families, sent to so-called re-education camps or absorbed into military patriotic training programmes aimed at erasing their Ukrainian identity. The individual stories already outlined by Members are heartbreaking. They involve children being renamed, issued with Russian passports, told that their homeland no longer exists, separated from their siblings and told that their parents have never tried to find them. Some children have even been issued with military draft papers. These actions are not merely incidental violations of the rules of war; they are part of a co-ordinated state policy to erase Ukrainian culture. In my view, they represent war crimes and constitute crimes against humanity. It is important that we recognise and pay tribute to the resilience and courage of the many people working to bring the children home: the Ukrainian officials, non-governmental organisations, lawyers and, of course, families, who have refused to give up even in the face of enormous obstacles. The UK must support those efforts, not only with words but with practical assistance, by funding legal support, supporting reunification logistics and ensuring that international pressure remains focused and sustained.

• 21 May 2025 · Ukraine: Forcibly Deported Children · Hansard source

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  This morning, I met the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, which does great work around good governance, electoral integrity, democratic rights and citizen engagement. It has lost 70% of its funding as a result of USAID cuts, but it recognises that it will play a fundamental role in how Ukraine is rebuilt by dealing with the disinformation that the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) talked about earlier. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that we need to look at how such organisations are protected so that, when Ukraine rebuilds, it rebuilds in the right way and deals with the challenges that its neighbour will present?

• 14 May 2025 · Infected Blood Inquiry: Government Response · Hansard source

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  One of the first pieces of correspondence that I received as a new MP on 10 July last year was from my constituent Robert Dickie, who passionately told me about his brother, who died aged 31 from AIDS and hepatitis C after being infected with contaminated blood products. I therefore welcome today’s update. The Government recently announced that they have allocated funding for charities, which is a recommendation from the inquiry. Will the Minister outline what steps he has taken with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that the funding gets to those charities?