Joe Morris MP: speeches

Speeches

• 5 Mar 2025 · Department for Business and Trade · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way—he has given way a few times already. When I speak to businesses in my constituency, I pick up that young people who want to remain in the most rural communities simply cannot get to the jobs that they want to get to, and that businesses in rural settings have real trouble accessing a lot of the help that he refers to. Does he believe that one of the particular sins of the past 14 years is that the business climate has been unfriendly to business, and particularly unfriendly to small rural businesses?

• 4 Mar 2025 · Bathing Water Regulations · Hansard source

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  The Government have moved quickly on this issue. Does the Minister recognise that it is important that we maintain an engaged and concerned public? I have met with the Wylam clean river group and with other concerned groups throughout my constituency along the length of the Tyne. One thing that continues to resonate with me is that these groups understand that this is a consistent piece of work, and that we need to be constantly iterating on making sure that our rivers do not just get clean, but remain clean into the future. The Government and the public need to consistently work in partnership.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Bathing Water Regulations · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

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

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. I will briefly touch on the market towns in my constituency, including Hexham itself, which has Hexham abbey, England’s first purpose-built jail, the Victorian Queen’s Hall—which, to declare an interest, now has my office in it—as well as a local arts centre and dancehall. Market towns define Northumberland. Hon. Members have touched eloquently on many of the challenges facing them, but one of the main challenges is a lack of transport, especially accessible transport, sometimes caused by potholes in some of our more rural roads. That isolates people who are trying to get from places such as Allendale or Otterburn into Hexham, which is a central point for much of Northumberland’s rural economy, as it has a large farmers mart. Hexham is also ill-served by frequently delayed and cancelled rail and bus services that, to be honest, are not entirely fit for purpose. The Conservative-run Northumberland county council sometimes forgets that the west of Northumberland exists. It is fair to say that my constituents are frequently angered when investment is shifted away from them in the west of the county, because that simply fails to address the problems. I am frequently confronted by potholes on my roads that we are told have been fixed but then open up again a week later. Those bread and butter concerns hold back market towns from their true potential. I will briefly touch on the creative industry and its contribution to market towns. That is one of the few industries in the local economy that does not always rely on getting a delayed bus or a delayed train, or not hitting a pothole. It includes the poets, writers and artists who contribute so much to the character of each of our towns. They frequently contact me with concerns about AI and the potential damage that it could do to the rural economy, so I would like the Minister to acknowledge that in her response.

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

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  The recent announcement that Prudhoe community high school will be closed for a lengthy period due to cracks in the building’s infrastructure is deeply concerning, particularly given that the building was only recently opened, in 2016. Students have already experienced vast disruption due to the covid pandemic and they deserve stability in their education experience; I am deeply concerned for their welfare. Can the Leader of the House help me secure a meeting with an Education Minister to discuss how the students can receive the best support to ensure their education and upcoming exams receive minimal disruption and they can continue their education in peace?

• 26 Feb 2025 · Family Businesses · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to follow some measured and passionate speeches from across the House on this important subject. As Members will know, I am very proud to represent England’s largest constituency by geographic area, and an area that was found to be one of the happiest in the country, with one of the best senses of community and belonging. Over the recent recess, I was able to host a roundtable with the conductors of the “Belonging Barometer”, which was attended by many local businesses and community organisations. As has just been said, family businesses are the glue that binds together many of the strands of our community, particularly across the Tyne valley. In the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, we have seen heartening examples of family-run businesses in particular coming out, helping their community, providing those places to stay and to recuperate for communities that have taken a battering from extreme weather events that are sadly becoming all too common. I was disappointed to read the Opposition motion. Once again, we are here discussing a kind of hodgepodge of various gripes and groans that the Conservatives have with Government policy. That is absolutely fine, and it is their right so to do—there are Members sitting on the Tory Benches now who I genuinely respect and, in some cases, admire—but they are better than that, and they should be better than that. [ Laughter. ] They can laugh if they want, although I know that some of them have considerable experience in writing manifestos that perhaps did not play out so well. Ultimately, we need to achieve an environment in which family businesses and small businesses across the country and across our constituencies are genuinely supported by Government. One of the things that has come to my attention since being elected as the first non-Conservative MP for Hexham in a century is that a lot of businesses have said to me, “It is nice to have an MP who is really connected to the constituency—one who is not complacent.” That compares with some of the treatment that rural communities have received from the Conservative party in years past. We have MPs who are genuinely rooted in their communities, who went to school in those communities and who got their first jobs in local businesses. They can speak to businesses in their constituencies and deliver messages down here. I have had conversations with businesses such as Brocksbushes farm shop, which did involve some patient disagreement over the Budget, but mainly involved real concerns over local infrastructure, such as the lack of bus stops on the A69 and the difficulties that the young people it employs have in getting to the business to work. The farm shop does a fantastic job. My now fiancée and I went pumpkin-picking there just after the election. It was a wonderful event, although I think Hana probably enjoyed it more than I did. Ultimately, from having those positive conversations and looking at what business needs, we can see that it is infrastructure and investment. They need a Government who listen, not one who embark on some kind of haywire, high-minded ideological crusade, as the Opposition did when in government. [ Laughter. ] They can laugh.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Family Businesses · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is far more well read and well researched than I could ever hope to be, but those barriers to import and export come up whenever I speak to farmers and food businesses. Getting the products made by fantastic businesses in our communities out to consumers is simply not as easy as it used to be. The main concerns that I hear in my constituency are about infrastructure, bus routes and a lack of roads that are navigable, in some cases. I went out to visit the village of Newton—it has not so much a pothole, but more of a small gorge that has been carved into the road—to hear updates on the parish council’s continued missives to the county council. That is the kind of thing that holds back small and family businesses in my constituency, because they simply do not know whether the delivery driver will be able to get to their premises or they will be able to get to work. That is what is causing real uncertainty and real harm to businesses. I urge Opposition Members to get a grip of their party and to object to some of the more terminally online things, such as this conspiracy theory over the pint. It is, as I have said, beneath them.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Family Businesses · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Gentleman agree that if the next generation of young people cannot get to work because of broken public transport, potholes or illness, it will ultimately hold them back? We are taking steps to fix those problems.

• 26 Feb 2025 · High Street Bank Closures · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech about a corner of the county that we share, and I am interested to hear his reflections on the communities that lose out on access to banking services. Does he agree that, with the shameful decision to close three branches in my constituency, there is a real risk that businesses in the Tyne valley, as well as elderly and vulnerable people, will lose access to those face-to-face services? Does he also agree that we need to consider the rural hinterland that is served by these larger towns when making these decisions so that rural businesses are not crippled by bank closures.

• 25 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. The Gaza ceasefire deal remains fragile and, as we enter the final week of its first phase, it is crucial that both the Israeli and Palestinian Governments continue to uphold the agreement and reunite families with dignity. Will the Minister assure me that this Government will continue to support the ceasefire deal into its remaining stages and work with international partners such as Jordan and Egypt to secure a lasting peace?

• 25 Feb 2025 · SEND Education Support · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. Last week, I had the privilege and opportunity to meet with the parents of some students from Hexham Priory school, which supports children with severe learning disabilities in my constituency in the county of Northumberland. One thing that comes to mind when speaking to those parents—as one of them put it to me—is that they are constantly fighting for their child, not just for their education, but for their ability to access swimming pools, leisure centres and other provision that we all take for granted when we are speaking to other children in our constituency.

• 25 Feb 2025 · SEND Education Support · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend knows, as I think we all do, the strength of feeling from SEND parents, staff and teachers, who have been burnt out over 14 years of failure on SEND. I certainly have my frustrations with Northumberland county council’s wrong-headed, misguided and deluded approach to the SEND crisis in my county. That particularly comes across with the lack of provision in the west of Northumberland, when I am constantly confronted by families travelling from Haltwhistle, which is—for those here who are not familiar with the geography of my constituency—in the extreme west of Northumberland, all the way to the coast to Ashington, which is often a journey that exceeds 90 minutes either way. Accessing that provision is incredibly hard and draining. I want to put on record my thanks to the parents and staff at Hexham Priory school, who provide that supportive and caring environment, to local charities such as Mencap, and to individuals who constantly reach out to my office—I know that there were 11 places, for which 72 applied. This is a crisis that we must work to address.

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

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  The recent news of the loss of three bank branches in my constituency further illustrates the crisis facing communities, including in the Tyne valley, of growing banking deserts. May we have a debate in Government time about the need for access to cash, not only for older people but for those starting businesses, those purchasing houses and those who need to access face-to-face banking services, to promote growth in rural areas?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. For those in villages such as Slaggyford, Kirkhaugh and Mohope, the cottage hospital in Alston is closer than the hospital in Hexham. As my constituent Rowland outlined to me, despite that proximity, ambulance services find themselves restricted by county borders. Rural constituents’ access to healthcare and rapid response services are suffering as a result. Will the Minister meet me to discuss ambulance services in rural areas?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Biomass Generation · Hansard source

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  The news of a windfall tax on Drax was welcomed by people across my constituency. Will the Minister assure me that this will be the end of grotesque profits going to Drax at the expense of the taxpayer?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The whole House will be aware of the importance of the Tyne Valley railway line to my constituency, and it is essential that our stations are accessible to all. Local campaigners such as Active Travel Tynedale and Rosanna Lovett have expressed their frustration at the inaccessibility of stations across our constituency. Will the Minister join me in commending their work to make travel truly accessible?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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

• 4 Feb 2025 · Apprenticeships · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I am very proud to be speaking today about the value of apprenticeships and National Apprenticeships Week. I represent the largest constituency in England, so it will be unsurprising to my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) and everyone else that I want to speak about apprenticeships in Northumberland and the north-east, as well as Callerton and Throckley, where young people typically have extreme difficulty in accessing apprenticeships. I visited my old school on Friday and had the pleasure of speaking to the deputy head; we spoke about the issues that many of the students at Queen Elizabeth’s High School still have in getting access to skilled employment after they leave school and vocational education. Simply put, for many people in the north-east who want to remain there, there are not enough jobs, particularly in Northumberland. One of the major failures of the previous Government is that young people had to leave Hexham to find their futures elsewhere. I do not wish to score political points on that issue; people’s need to leave is a political reality. One of the things that I will judge myself by is whether people can make their homes and their lives in Northumberland. Apprenticeship programmes are essential to increasing social mobility, pride in communities and, frankly, to combating some of the depopulation in my part of the world. As I have said before in this Chamber and in the main Chamber, I represent the place where I grew up but unfortunately I am much more likely to bump into the parents and grandparents of my former schoolmates in the street than I am to bump into my former schoolmates themselves. That is a tragedy and a shame. We need to ensure that local businesses are able to benefit from flexibility. I spent a couple of years working in the steel sector, where I saw highly sought-after apprenticeships that were much more competitive than Oxford and Cambridge. However, we have an apprenticeship regime that is designed for multinational companies; it is not designed for industries that are far smaller, or for businesses such as Brocksbushes Farm Shop, which I visited a couple of weeks ago. I had an incredibly productive conversation there about the challenges it faces. It wants to offer more young people employment and more upskilling. It is held back not just by inflexibility in the current regime—and I urge the Government to look at that, and at how they can work with rural and small businesses to make the apprenticeship scheme work better for them—but by poor transport links. One of things that would make a major difference to the farm shop is simply having a bus stop slightly nearer to its premises. That would massively increase the ability of young people to get out there and to get the skills they need, while earning an income. As I come to the end of my speech, I urge the Minister to seriously consider how we can improve apprenticeships—not just in major urban centres and in areas with good transport links, but in areas with poor transport links. That is because transport infrastructure is a key part of how we improve the issue.

• 3 Feb 2025 · School Accountability and Intervention · Hansard source

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  Like the Minister, I am the product of a state school in the north-east, and I am tremendously proud of that fact. During the election, many teachers in Throckley, Hexham, Ponteland, Prudhoe and elsewhere told me on the doorstep that they felt the one-word judgment did not allow sufficient room for subtlety and nuance in the evaluation of schools, and parents felt the same. Will the Minister assure me that this is simply the first step in delivering the high and rising standards that we all need and expect for children across the country?

• 29 Jan 2025 · Rural Housing Targets · Hansard source

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  I am glad to hear that the right hon. Member recognises the places. The lack of affordable social housing means that those who want to remain within the same county are forced to move to radically different communities that are often not suited to their needs. I thank North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, a great friend of mine, who has prioritised the housing crisis in her agenda. I know that she is aware of the rural housing crisis—largely because I will not shut up about it—and the fact that it drives so much of the tragic and deeply concerning casework that comes through our doors. When the Government look at rural house building, we need to consider how we build communities and homes, rather than simply empty houses and empty buildings. I want sixth-formers at Queen Elizabeth high school—which I was privileged to attend and which I will visit this Friday—to be able to get the jobs that they want and remain local, with the broadband connectivity and transport connectivity that they need to make their homes and lives in the north-east, should they wish.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Rural Housing Targets · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I genuinely want to thank the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds), who, until the last election, was my aunt’s MP, so I always get a letter when I speak in debates with him. I think this debate is less about rural housing targets and more about rural homes. I grew up in the largest constituency in England, as the right hon. Gentleman indicated, and now have the privilege to serve as the MP for it. It regularly hits me, as I walk down the street or go to my surgeries, that I am far more likely to bump into my mates’ grandparents or parents than I am to bump into them because they have had to move out to Newcastle, down south or out to Manchester. It is one of the great sadnesses of the job that I do not see communities thrive as much as they could because young people are forced to leave. Communities need those young people, frankly. I am frequently contacted by parents from across west Northumberland because Northumberland county council is trying to force some of our smaller schools to become two-form entry, rather than three-form entry. Rural depopulation is a major concern that transcends party politics, so I hope we can have a genuinely grown-up conversation about how we do better policy making for rural areas to support those communities. When I go out into the north Tyne, where I live at the moment, or go into the central town of Hexham, or Prudhoe, I am often asked about my views on specific developments. I genuinely always try to approach these things by saying that we need to make sure there are places for people to grow up, and for businesses to invest in their employees. I spoke to one medium-sized employer in Hexham that spends a lot of time training its apprentices, who cannot afford to live in Hexham so move to a rival firm in Blyth, on the coast, which therefore gets all the benefit of that employee’s wisdom and experience, and the investment the company put into them, at none of the cost. We really need to look at how to generate vibrancy in our rural economies. I have a slight issue with the definition of “rurality” given in a few documents I saw while drawing up this speech. “Rurality” is often defined as applying to settlements of fewer than 10,000 people. By the latest figures, Prudhoe has 10,288 and Hexham has 10,941 but no one walking down the street in either place would think of them as urban. Today, I received news of bank branch closures in my constituency and was incredibly disappointed to see that the branches were considered urban, despite the common-sense test of walking outside them and seeing the Tyne valley in all its beauty—it is possible to see right down to the north Tyne from Hexham. Prudhoe and Hexham are not urban communities. They are bigger than Barrasford, Wark, Humshaugh and plenty of other communities but they are not urban. Any great advances in house building and housing targets must come with improved infrastructure. I hope to see much-needed investment in the Tyne valley line. My staff said to me that if I could get the Tyne valley line improved, certain villages in my constituency would build a statue of me. I do not hope for that and I am not lobbying for that—the county council probably has enough against me before I start lobbying for monuments —but we need to make sure that that infrastructure runs on time. I also want to put on record that the limit in housing is driving the social housing waiting list crisis. Some of the main drivers of the cases coming into my inbox for my case workers are the special educational needs and disabilities crisis and the crisis in social housing in rural areas. I do not expect any hon. Members in this room to have a huge working knowledge of the diversity of Northumberland, but people are being rehomed from Ashington to Allendale, which are extremely different.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Rural Housing Targets · Hansard source

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  One of my first visits as a new constituency MP was to Allendale parish council, in one of the most rural areas of my constituency. The council told me that it recognises the need for housing, so it is rather cynical to say that it would be the death of rural England to build more houses.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Road Safety: Schools · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship for the second time this afternoon, Ms Jardine. I congratulate the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth) on securing this important debate on road safety around schools, which is an issue that regularly comes up in my mailbox. I have raised the issue of safety of children travelling to and from school in a debate on school transport in this place before. Every child in Northumberland deserves safe access to the best education; no child’s safety should ever be jeopardised in the process of achieving that. From Queen Elizabeth high school in Hexham to Haydon Bridge high school, Haltwhistle primary academy, Sele first school and Darras Hall primary school, every child in my constituency and beyond travelling to, from and around school should be safe. Yet between 2019 and 2023, some 1,414 young pedestrians and cyclists in the north-east were injured. Of those, 286 were seriously injured and six were fatally injured. I will use my time to highlight one particular situation. There are three schools situated on Callerton Lane in Ponteland: Ponteland high school, Ponteland community primary school and Henry’s Hut pre-school. Insufficient signage on Callerton Lane to indicate the school zone in which there are not one but three schools continues to jeopardise the safety of students, teachers, parents and local residents. I am sure that every single Member from any party can agree that traffic calming measures, better road surfaces and clear signage should be one of the greatest priorities in local areas. In rural regions with a higher rate of car ownership, the need for better signage and road conditions is even more pressing. Conducting speed surveys is a necessary first step, but, as is the case for Callerton Lane, they must be done in the correct place and the correct manner to ensure complete accuracy. I have urged and continue to urge Northumberland county council to reconduct some of the speed surveys around Callerton Lane to achieve total accuracy in determining accurate speed limits for the local schools of Ponteland. Road safety education is just as important as improving road safety around schools and children should receive a comprehensive education to improve road awareness. I acknowledge the vital work of Road Safety GB North East and its new campaign to improve awareness on road and traffic safety for young people. I am pleased to see the pledge to fix 1 million potholes and give vital funding to improve our roads and elements of the travel journey to and from school. Through those local campaigns to raise awareness, urgent attention to the condition of my roads, which has already been pledged by this Government, and improvement to the signage around schools, our young people can receive the safety and security that they need and deserve. I will briefly highlight one of my constituents, Rory, who wrote to me. He is very concerned about road safety on his street near his first school after his garden wall was knocked over by an Asda van. I will be writing to his local council to ask that signage on his street is improved.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Growing the UK Economy · Hansard source

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  For 14 years the Conservatives ignored the economic needs of communities across the Hexham constituency, including the Tyne valley. Businesses and young people in my constituency are desperate to grow, invest and remain there. Will my right hon. Friend agree to come to my constituency and meet businesses to see the growth opportunities in the Tyne valley?

• 27 Jan 2025 · Creative Industries · Hansard source

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  I should begin by declaring an interest: my constituency office is in the Queen’s Hall community arts centre, so I can not only speak about the impact of the creative economy locally, but recommend the cheese scones. Representing, as I do, a large and sprawling rural constituency, I am frequently reminded of the value of our creative economy—not just in the arts clubs in places such as Corbridge and Haltwhistle or centres such as Allendale Forge Studios, but in the community facilities that they provide and the community spirit that they foster, and in the events put on by organisations such as Throckley Community Hall. All those play a fundamental role in building up our local communities and supporting our local creative economy, but they also support the wider economies. For instance, they support our local hospitality businesses. The Queen’s Hall hosts some of the large acts at the Hexham book festival—the now Health Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), came to plug his own book during the last general election campaign, and went down very well on the doorsteps of Elvaston—and such events provide a massive boost for our local shops and cafés, as well as putting towns such as Hexham and the Tyne valley on the map. When I speak to young people in my constituency, they often say that they want to pursue a career in the creative economy. It concerns me that what holds them back is not just a lack of access to a specialised education, but a lack of access to the infrastructure that would offer them some job opportunities. As we are coming up to the watershed, I should say that the Tyne Valley line is often subject to some creative language from my constituents owing to the delays. I arrived late for this debate, and had not been sure that I would make it because of those delays. Ensuring that our constituents have access to job and education opportunities and experiences should be at the heart of the Government’s policy, and I urge the Minister, as he speaks to colleagues, to ensure that we look not just at the outputs of the creative economy but at the inputs, and at what those young people can get out of it. I am also privileged to represent some of the most stunning landscapes in England, including Hadrian’s Wall and the much-missed Sycamore Gap. At present, people will be hard pressed to visit a community arts fair in Northumberland without pictures of the Sycamore Gap being thrust at them from all corners. It is a tremendous loss, and I only hope that its frequent presence on screen, in documentaries and other films, will lead to more tourists coming to Northumberland and more investment in the creative arts in our area. Once “Vera” stops running, we shall need another series to step in and take its place. Once when I was being interviewed, someone thought that there had been a flash-forward episode in the market square, which scared me no end. As we consider what the creative economy can do for not just our urban centres but our more rural constituencies, let me urge the Minister to consider the investments in infrastructure that could be fundamental to giving young people access to the highly paid, high-skill jobs that they need. I have badgered him about broadband connectivity before, in Westminster Hall, but those jobs do not necessarily have to be based in the urban centres; they can be based in the Hexhams, the Riding Mills and the Stocksfields of the world. If there is one thing that I like to speak about in this place more than anything, it is the need for younger people to be able to live where they grew up, should they wish to do so. It is a tremendous privilege to be the MP for where I grew up, but sadly on the street I am much more likely to bump into not those I grew up with, but their parents or grandparents. As I finish, I return to the community halls, community theatres, parish halls and church halls. Those community assets are usually the places where I hold my surgeries. They define our communities, and they are the first to step up during major crises and major events that require the community to come together. In a rural environment, the creative industry is not just an industry; it is about the entirety of the community and what defines Northumberland and the north-east.