Jessica Toale MP: speeches

Speeches

• 18 Jun 2025 · Banning Conversion Practices · Hansard source

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  14. What steps she is taking to ban conversion practices.

• 18 Jun 2025 · Banning Conversion Practices · Hansard source

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  I recently met representatives of Trans Liberation Bournemouth, who shared with me their anxiety about the Supreme Court ruling—a ruling that has caused not only confusion in their otherwise supportive workplaces, but distressing incidents for biological women who do not conform to traditional gender norms. What assurances can the Minister give my constituents that this Government are committed to ensuring that Bournemouth remains an open and welcoming place for our LGBT+ community?

• 12 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T6. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. A local manufacturer and a number of residents in my constituency have raised concerns that products, such as cosmetics or first aid kits, sold on e-commerce sites like Temu not only undercut local producers but may fail to meet high UK quality and safety standards. What is the Department doing to ensure that products sold by online retailers continue to meet high-quality UK trading standards?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  I welcome the enhanced environmental protections in the nature restoration fund. My constituency of Bournemouth West has some unique heathland habitats, many of which are protected as sites of special scientific interest. They hold deep value for the local community, so can the Minister reassure me that these unique habitats will be protected as well under this Bill?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I have worked hard with Citizens Advice Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in my constituency to get pensioners on to pension credit. However, on the doorstep, I have met far too many people, especially single women, who are £10—or even £1—over the threshold for pension credit. I welcome the statement, and thank the Minister for listening to my constituents’ concerns about the threshold. Does he agree that this policy shows the difference between this Government and the previous one? This Government are doing what is necessary to get stability in our economy, what is fair to get money back into our public services, and what is right to protect the vulnerable in our society.

• 5 Jun 2025 · Free School Meals · Hansard source

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  Almost one in three children in my constituency live in poverty, and I know that going to school hungry is one of the biggest barriers to thriving not only in childhood but into adulthood, so I welcome the statement. Will the Minister confirm that this measure, along with free breakfast clubs and cutting the cost of school uniforms, will not only benefit family finances but improve school attainment, behaviour and learning outcomes?

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

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  This week, my office has had to respond to several concerning incidents of misinformation regarding police investigations in my constituency. In one case, a national newspaper sought to sensationalise a very serious incident in which an officer was investigated for gross misconduct. In another, a false claim that a mugging was carried out by an asylum seeker, when in fact it was a British national known to police, was spread on social media. Does the Leader of the House agree that it is irresponsible to cast judgment on such serious issues without full knowledge of the facts, and will she consider granting parliamentary time for a debate on how we can tackle misinformation in our communities and ensure police can carry out their duties without such interference?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Police Presence on High Streets · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton) on securing this important debate. We know that visible local policing is key to building trust between communities and the police service. It acts as a deterrent to crime, reassures the public, and enables officers to gather intelligence and respond quickly to incidents before they escalate. Just this weekend, I knocked on the door of Rob in Kinson, who said he was delighted to see two police officers walking down his high street and could not remember the last time he had seen that. I must admit to feeling the same sort of flutter of delight when I saw two officers walking down my high street in Winton, which is a big change. Significant cuts to police numbers over the past decade have hampered the forces’ ability to maintain that visible presence. Residents in Bournemouth West have told me repeatedly that they want to see more officers walking the beat and engaging with local businesses, young people and vulnerable groups, rather than arriving only after emergencies occur. Improving Bournemouth town centre has been a key campaign pledge of mine, and tackling crime and antisocial behaviour is absolutely a part of that. At recent residents’ meetings that we hosted, it was the No. 1 issue that residents told me they wanted us to tackle. It is important to recognise the positives—the successes and the progress. Violent crime is down 21% on last year in Bournemouth. That is because of hotspot policing, for which Dorset police has just received more funding, and innovative collaboration between businesses, the police and our council. My office is in the town centre, so I see this every day. However, perception remains a major challenge, and the successes in the town centre often come at the expense of some of our other district centres. Police presence is essential to changing that, but so is a joined-up strategy that includes investment in social services, youth provision and community support. Can the Minister therefore assure me that any new recruits will be properly trained and deployed in ways that maximise visibility in our high streets and community hubs, and that the Government will support forces in building stronger community relationships, especially in areas that have historically had mistrust as a result of under-policing? The Minister knows that I have raised this issue before, but I want to highlight the challenge of seasonality. Many of my colleagues in coastal constituencies will recognise that Bournemouth, like other places, experiences a huge surge in population over the summer months, with millions of people visiting our beaches and town centres, yet Dorset police receives no extra funding to cope with the seasonal increase in demand. What work is being done to adjust the police funding formula to reflect those seasonal pressures, which place significant strain on policing in my constituency? Only by working together—Government, police and communities—will we restore confidence in our high streets as safe and welcoming places for all.

• 20 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  As the proud owner of two English bulldogs, I welcome the reintroduction of pet passports. Not only will this make it easier for us to travel to Europe with Clive and Bertie, but it will bring down the cost massively. That is not the only part of the deal that will bring bills down for British consumers. Can the Prime Minister tell us how my constituents will benefit from this deal?

• 20 May 2025 · Night-time Economy · Hansard source

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  Last month, I met representatives of Bournemouth town centre’s night-time economy at one of the newest additions to our high street, Barbara’s Bier Haus. The sector is incredibly resilient but is grappling with a number of challenges, such as changing consumer behaviour and rising costs. One issue that is common across our hospitality and retail sectors is prohibitively high business rates. Can the Minister update us on the progress that we are making towards business rates reform, and tell us how this will give the night-time economy the security it needs to be prosperous?

• 20 May 2025 · Night-time Economy · Hansard source

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  5. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support growth in the night-time economy.

• 15 May 2025 · World Asthma Day · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for bringing forward this debate to mark World Asthma Day. There are two reasons why I wanted to speak in this debate. The first is personal: I developed asthma as a child, almost certainly as a result of the pollution of the Milan of the early 1990s, and living down the road from the Alfa Romeo factory. While the condition improved for me, unfortunately my younger sister suffered severely with it and continues to suffer today. The second reason reflects the changes that my constituency has faced. Bournemouth was founded as a wellness resort, and back in the day visitors would come to take the air. In fact, one of our most famous residents, Sir Merton Russell-Cotes, who went on to become mayor and own the Royal Bath hotel, was sent to the south coast of England because he had chronic respiratory conditions, and ended up living in Bournemouth. It is still a place where people move to improve their quality of life and to live a healthier life—but Bournemouth was recently ranked as the 14th worst location in the UK for air quality. A staggering 83% of residents with lung conditions in my constituency say that poor air quality has made their conditions worse. The hon. Member for Strangford has already pointed out that respiratory deaths are strongly linked to deprivation, more so than any other condition, and people living in the poorest areas of the UK are three times more likely to die from asthma than those in the wealthiest. That national injustice is reflected starkly in my constituency, where areas in the less affluent north, such as Alderney, West Howe, Kinson and Branksome, have asthma rates significantly higher than the national and regional averages. If we are serious about improving outcomes for people with asthma, we must take a cross-departmental and holistic approach—one that addresses not just healthcare, but pollution, housing, transport and lifestyle. That is why I welcome the Environment Secretary’s commitment to improve air quality across the country, including in Bournemouth West; cleaner air saves lives and it must remain a top priority. I welcome the Government’s broader efforts to tackle the root causes of respiratory illness: cutting emissions and improving public access to air quality information; the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and the Government’s ambition to create a smoke-free generation; and key legislation such as the Renters Rights’ Bill—specifically the inclusion of Awaab’s law, which is vital for my constituents. I am regularly contacted by residents, who are living in substandard conditions, plagued by mould and damp. These environmental hazards are not just unsightly, but dangerous. Mould is a known trigger for asthma and other respiratory conditions. With a clear link between asthma and deprivation, improving housing standards is a matter of not just fairness, but health. Our national health service is in need of fundamental reform. We must move away from a system that reacts to ill health towards one that prevents it. I support the Government’s vision to shift more care into the community and tackle the backlog in treatment. In Bournemouth West, the challenges are particularly acute: 32% of respiratory patients are not seen within the 18-week NHS target and, worryingly, 60% of people diagnosed with asthma are not receiving even the most basic asthma care. Those outcomes place us among the worst-performing areas in the south-west. Meanwhile, over 90% of COPD patients in Dorset are not receiving the standard of care—the worst figure in the south of England. We must end the postcode lottery in NHS services. Access to care should not depend on where someone lives. Is the Department aware of the issues facing my constituents in Bournemouth and people across Dorset? What can be done to improve access to healthcare for people with respiratory conditions in my area? As the Health Secretary develops the NHS 10-year plan, I also urge the Minister to seriously consider the proposals set out by Asthma and Lung UK, which include: establishing national targets to reduce preventable asthma deaths, improving access to biologic medicines, supporting the use of digital monitoring tools and reviewing funding for asthma research. In the spirit of World Asthma Day, let us recommit to ensuring that no one dies from preventable asthma attacks and ensure that every person, regardless of postcode or background, can access the care, medicine and environment they need to breathe freely.

• 15 May 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My constituent PC Demar Rowe has been nominated for a national police bravery award. In the summer of 2023, while off duty and without protective equipment or handcuffs, he was able to disarm a man wielding an electric saw and restrain him for 20 minutes while he waited for the police. I want to put on record my thanks to PC Rowe. Will the Leader of the House join me in recognising his bravery, pass this on to the Home Secretary and make time to mark the contribution that our police officers make in all our communities?

• 6 May 2025 · Shifting Care into the Community · Hansard source

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  I am deeply concerned about the quality of healthcare for people experiencing homelessness in my constituency of Bournemouth West. HealthBus, a local charity, is doing great work in getting out into the community to treat people where they are and to prevent them from having to go into hospital, but it is not getting the funding that it needs and has discovered serious discrepancies in the way that the local integrated care board commissions services, particularly in relation to health inequalities. Can the Secretary of State tell me how this Government are prioritising health outcomes for people experiencing homelessness, and will he meet me and HealthBus to discuss how we can support its important work?

• 6 May 2025 · Shifting Care into the Community · Hansard source

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  2. What steps he is taking to shift care from hospitals into the community.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Social Rented Housing · Hansard source

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  5. What plans she has to improve security and standards in the social rented sector.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Social Rented Housing · Hansard source

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  I have been working with three groups of residents who live in buildings run by the same social housing provider in my constituency. Many residents have come to me having been left living in horrendous conditions, with leaking roofs, damp and mould, and unfinished and unremediated works. Following my intervention, the housing provider has agreed to a multimillion-pound upgrade in one of the buildings, to hire extra staff, and to communicate better with residents. That is great news, but it should not have had to get to this point. What more can be done to ensure that residents such as my constituents are not left waiting years for repairs, and that social housing providers are meeting their obligations?

• 2 Apr 2025 · Universities: Funding and Employment · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Vickers. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Mohammad Yasin) for bringing us this important debate. In my constituency of Bournemouth West, we are fortunate to have two world-class universities producing the next generation of entrepreneurs, leaders in the creative industries and journalists. Universities are a cornerstone of our communities and play a hugely important role in our local economy, but as we have heard from many hon. Members from a range of parties, higher education is in crisis. Our education system is struggling to cope with the many years of chronic mismanagement under the Conservatives, and student numbers have suffered from a combination of visa changes, Brexit and the rising cost of living. Those factors have affected student decisions on whether and where to study in the UK, and universities across the country have been left facing difficult decisions about what they continue to offer. My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) has rather stolen my thunder by talking about the two universities in my constituency, Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth, so colleagues already know that the challenges are great, and not simply limited to Bournemouth University. The whole higher education system faces these issues. I too have heard from numerous staff members and students who are worried about what cuts will mean for them. Many have moved to Bournemouth to make their lives because of the opportunities offered to them by Bournemouth University. I met local university leaders to discuss these issues with them, and I hope to do so again during the consultation period, which I encourage all staff to engage with. I am pleased that the Government have demonstrated commitment to supporting the higher education system. I know Ministers are acutely aware of its challenges, and I appreciate the steps that have been taken. Our higher education system creates vital soft power links with nations and individuals around the world, and it is important to our standing in the world. Given that, what assessment has the Minister made of the impact that visa changes will have on international students and university finances? I welcome the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunities and to provide young people with the right pathways that are suitable for them after secondary school. Given that the funding crisis is clear, what assessment has the Minister made of the stability and sustainability of the current fees-based model? What steps is she taking to ensure that young people across the country can access good-quality, affordable higher education should they wish to? I now turn back to Bournemouth. Can the Minister reassure students and staff at Bournemouth University that the Government are aware of the proposals that have been made, and that they will work with local partners to address the issue? Would the Minister be willing to meet me and the other Dorset MPs, who represent many amazing universities, to discuss this situation in greater detail? I want to reassure the students and staff at Bournemouth University that I will continue to press for the support you need during this difficult time, and I will work closely with the university, the local community, the UCU and my colleagues in Parliament to ensure that your concerns are heard and that we begin to tackle the gravity of this situation.

• 31 Mar 2025 · Shoplifting · Hansard source

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  Many retailers in Bournemouth town centre and across my constituency have told me that the same people over and over again are responsible for shoplifting and putting their staff’s safety at risk. Good progress has been made locally with Dorset police’s Operation Shopkeeper and the town centre business improvement district’s use of the UK partners against crime system, but what more can be done to tackle repeat offenders and to learn the lessons from successful initiatives such as those in my constituency?

• 31 Mar 2025 · Shoplifting · Hansard source

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  4. What steps her Department is taking to tackle shoplifting.

• 17 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

• 17 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Last week I visited the Crumbs project in my constituency. Crumbs provides training for people with disabilities and mental health conditions to get the professional skills they need to go into the hospitality industry, and the personal skills they need to live independently, and 90% of its trainees move into employment. Given the Secretary of State’s commitment to bringing people with long-term health conditions and disabilities back into work, what more support can she give to successful programmes such as Crumbs?

• 11 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. Victims of rape have been consistently failed by our justice system. Under the Tories, 60% of victims dropped out of their cases due to long waiting times, and in my own area of Bournemouth, the charging rate is only 5.8%. Given the outrage we have heard from Conservative Members about the court backlog and the state of our system, which was left to us by their own Government, can the Lord Chancellor please tell us what we are doing to fix the problem and put victims first?

• 10 Mar 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and the whole ministerial team for bringing forward the Bill and making significant progress on our mission to make our streets safer. I want to cover three areas in which we promised change and we are delivering. The first is antisocial behaviour. We have heard much about it from across the House today, but it continues to blight my town centre. I hear time and again from constituents in Bournemouth West about how unsafe they feel, and antisocial behaviour is reportedly turning potential retailers away from the town centre. It is not just a question of low-level inconvenience; it is a matter of people’s everyday quality of life and the economic health of our towns. The rise in street crime and shoplifting, and the persistent nuisance, has made many people feel that they cannot enjoy the place they live in the way they used to. I have spoken to retail workers and bosses from the Co-op and other retailers, who have had to deal over and over again with the same people coming into their stores, sweeping stock from the shelves and putting their staff at risk. The Conservatives should be ashamed of that record. After 14 years, our communities have been left vulnerable, and an epidemic of crime and antisocial behaviour has been ignored for far too long. We are taking action where the last Government failed to by removing the £200 shoplifting threshold, introducing 13,000 neighbourhood police officers and increasing police funding—including 6.5% more for Dorset police—and introducing respect orders, which will give police and local authorities new powers to tackle the worst offenders and prevent them from entering our towns and district centres. Like many others, I also welcome the steps in the Bill to immediately seize those awful off-road bikes and dangerous scooters that cause such a nuisance, in particular up Kinson Road and Leybourne Avenue in my constituency. Students at Bishop Aldhelm’s primary school told me this morning that those nuisance bikes are destroying our woodlands and protected heathland. Secondly, the Bill addresses serious crime and violence, such as knife crime. We see knife crime far too often in Bournemouth. Less than two weeks ago, there was a brutal double stabbing, and it was one in a long line of horrific attacks, including three fatalities in the past two years. I welcome the work this Government are doing to prevent such attacks with the creation of new offences, but despite the collaborative work of the police, the council and local charities, I also want to see a violence reduction unit in my local area. The Bill is not just about punishing offenders; it also provides much-needed support for those who want to turn their lives around. Some amazing work is happening in my constituency, particularly through Changes Are Made, which provides positive outlets for young people. I encourage the Home Secretary to look for opportunities to support activities like those and to collaborate with effective charities through the Young Futures programme. Finally, it is about time that we strengthened laws to protect women and girls. Just last week, I held an event to better understand women’s perception of their own safety in the town centre and to highlight the ways in which policing, the council, businesses and design can contribute to it. I welcome the creation of new spiking and stalking offences. It is shameful that previous Governments failed to make those changes. I am proud of the Bill and the direction that the Labour Government are taking. We are not just talking about crime, but taking decisive action to reduce it. Although it may be unrealistic to expect Conservative Members to take responsibility and apologise for their failures—they would have to be in the Chamber to do that—perhaps they could join my constituents, who want to see cross-party support for these long-overdue changes, in welcoming the Bill.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q9. On Monday night, there was a brutal double stabbing in my constituency, which adds to a long line of horrific knife attacks that have included three fatalities over the past two years. I know that the Prime Minister is aware of the particular challenges we face in Bournemouth. Although crime has been going down, I know there is much more that he will want to do. Will he join me in praising the crucial work done by organisations such as Changes Are Made, which provide positive activities such as boxing to young people, and will he share what more the Government can do to tackle knife crime in communities such as mine?