Jonathan Brash MP: speeches

Speeches

• 18 Jun 2025 · Educational Outcomes for Boys · Hansard source

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  As a former A-level teacher, one of my concerns—in addition to the disparities between boys and girls in educational outcomes—was the disparity in educational choice. Physics and maths classes were dominated by boys, and English literature and psychology classes were dominated by girls. Those are different subjects that develop different skills. Does the Secretary of State share my concern about that disparity, and does she have any plans to address it?

• 17 Jun 2025 · Victims and Courts Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q Thank you, Mark, for coming here today. I want to draw your attention to the provisions on compelling offenders to attend their sentencing. First, I am genuinely quite interested in your specific perspective on that. Secondly, we have heard evidence today that the use of force, if it were to become disproportionate, risks making a spectacle of the offender, drawing attention away from the victim. Do you have any thoughts on that? Mark Brooks: We believe it is right that a perpetrator, or somebody who has been sentenced, should be forced to be present at court, including at sentencing. It is important that victims not only see that justice is being done in terms of sentencing and the court experience, but feel that it is being done. Seeing the person being convicted in front of them, with their family and the wider community, is absolutely essential, so we support the measures on that in the Bill. In terms of it being a spectacle, the bottom line is that we must act in the interest of the victim, the person who has had the crime committed against them. They must be the priority, so we are in favour of the measures put forward by the Government.

• 17 Jun 2025 · Victims and Courts Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q In my experience, housing is often at the heart of antisocial behaviour and the related problems and, of course, at the heart of that is usually the tenant. What are your views about how the provisions in the Bill can be effectively communicated to tenants so that they have knowledge of what their rights are and how to access them, in relation to local authorities and social landlords? Rebecca Bryant: We have long called for a campaign on antisocial behaviour to explain rights. That is one of the reasons why we have Antisocial Behaviour Awareness Week, when we talk about how to report and what people should expect when they report antisocial behaviour. I liked the idea from Victim Support that perhaps we should have a charter that explains people’s rights: you can ask for an ASB case review, you can make a complaint to the ombudsman if you are dissatisfied, and you can—if this element of the Bill passes—make a complaint to or request support from the Victims’ Commissioner. Equally, we must remember that this is about stopping antisocial behaviour. Often when members of the public report antisocial behaviour, they are looking for a specific outcome. That outcome might be to evict the person who is the perpetrator, when actually, that is not our role. Our role is to stop the antisocial behaviour from happening. So there is always something, on behalf of housing providers and local authorities, about managing the expectations of the individual who is making the complaint and being really clear on what antisocial behaviour is, what you can resolve as an individual, and what we can do to support you as an organisation. We need to be much clearer about what people can expect from us as the agencies and our response. Charlotte Hamilton-Kay: Absolutely. I will make a couple of points. Rebecca has mentioned the ASB case review. The disparity in its administration across England and Wales is a real issue for victims. We released a report last year that showed there are some areas in England and Wales that, in four years, have still not held one ASB case review, and this legislation has been around for over 11 years. That is purely because victims are not aware of the case review’s existence. They are not able to make an application because it is not publicised. We have to ask why it is not publicised. Practitioners feel that it is a complaint process and will involve them being questioned on why they have made the decisions they have made in case management, and victims are really missing out on the opportunity to explain the impact of what they are experiencing. As Baroness Newlove mentioned, we really need to standardise the threshold for an ASB case review application, so there are no additional caveats—it is three instances in six months and that is it. We also need to standardise how it is publicised and how victims are made aware of it, because a lot of people are still unaware. A report that you at Resolve issued in the last couple of years said that 87% of people were still unaware of this tool’s existence, so in 11 years we have not done a very good job of making people aware of it. Finally, on the concept of a victim being able to express what they are experiencing, when we are talking about tenants, everybody experiences things differently. What might be really impactful to me could just go straight over your head. It is all about your personal circumstances and what your experience is, what your triggers are and what you happen to have been experiencing that day. We need to be very clear about what is antisocial behaviour, what is unreasonable behaviour and what is inconsiderate behaviour, and manage the expectations of what people can and cannot demand change to. Managing the expectations of victims is part of the support network. When they know what to expect and what can and cannot happen, and when they are not dealing with that unknown, it makes it a lot easier for them to cope.

• 17 Jun 2025 · Victims and Courts Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q We have talked a great deal about the changes in definitions around victims. We have also talked about the role of social landlords. Is not one of the challenges in implementing this Bill making the many stakeholders that come into contact with victims clear that they are dealing with a victim, and them knowing what a victim is and what their responsibilities are once they realise that? Katie Kempen: Yes. Particularly when looking at antisocial behaviour, we absolutely welcome the additional powers for the Victims’ Commissioner. Brutally, the Victims’ Commissioner knew what the issues were surrounding antisocial behaviour—the last time she was in office, she wrote a fantastic report that has still not been fully implemented and enacted. At Victim Support we would like to see an ASB charter so that victims of antisocial behaviour have clarity on their expectations and rights, and on the responsibilities of each organisation. Victims are far too often ping-ponged between different organisations. They do not hear their rights in terms of the reviews. As Baroness Newlove has said, there is a cohort of victims who slip through the net in accessing victim support services. Their case may not reach the criminal threshold that gets them to victims code rights, but they are still finding that their lives are essentially ruined by antisocial behaviour. Those cases are complex, difficult to resolve and take significant advocacy. We need some clarity on rights and responsibilities in that arena. Baroness Newlove: I add a request to get rid of the term “low level.” The police start by thinking that antisocial behaviour is low level, and if you train your police officers with that narrative, they will not give respect to victims. Antisocial behaviour is horrendously violent to the individual. For my last report I met victims whose houses were nearly burned down, but the local authorities never came. I have met a victim of arson against their car, which nearly murdered the family because she was sleeping on the sofa—the police never came out, but the fire officers sat there for two hours. We have to get away from looking at antisocial behaviour as low level, because it is the route for violence upon violence. I do not want to talk just about me, but my husband was murdered. Before that, it would have been treated as antisocial behaviour. If he had lived, it would have just gone through the system. If you leave antisocial behaviour, it is like a cancer; it will spread and spread. That is where it helps communities, if you really want to get to the nub of all this. As Victims’ Commissioner, I am delighted about being able to go to a housing provider, but you are quite right about the implementation and accountability. This is going to take many attempts, but it has to start with the police to stop the ping-ponging. There is a human there who is feeling suicidal. You will act if they take their life, like Fiona Pilkington or David Askew did, and that is too little too late.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Child Sexual Exploitation: Casey Report · Hansard source

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  I welcome Baroness Casey’s audit and the Government’s instigation of the national inquiry, which must leave no stone unturned, lead to convictions and lead to perpetrators and anybody complicit being put behind bars where, as far as I am concerned, they can rot. It is also important that this most serious of issues demands serious and considered conduct from people in this place, including not misrepresenting what happens here. Will the Home Secretary confirm that if the reasoned amendment referred to by the Leader of the Opposition had passed, it would not have led to a national inquiry; it would have blocked child protection measures, and it weaponised child rape to go after clicks— [ Interruption. ]

• 10 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Wasco Coatings in my constituency has invested significantly in its Hartlepool operation in anticipation of the ambitious net zero plans on Teesside. We now learn that there is a possibility that the contract may go abroad, which threatens Hartlepool jobs. Does the Minister agree that British investment must back British jobs, and does she have a message for those deciding on the contract?

• 9 Jun 2025 · New Homes: Minimum EPC Rating · Hansard source

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  In Hartlepool, 24,000 existing homes have an energy performance certificate rating of D or below. That means too many homes are too cold and have bills that are too high. What can the Minister do to accelerate the improvement of those homes to ensure warm homes for Hartlepool constituents?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  When the policy was originally announced, I, hon. Members across the House and constituents of mine all shared the same basic view that means-testing is fair but the threshold was far too low. I therefore welcome the Government’s decision today and the fact that they are listening. Over the last winter, working with the citizens advice bureau in Hartlepool, we secured nearly £1 million of additional annual income for Hartlepool pensioners. Does that not show the work that needs to be done on all those unclaimed benefits not going to the pensioners who need them?

• 4 Jun 2025 · Regional Growth · Hansard source

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  After 14 years of talk about delivering for the north, it is refreshing that this Labour Government are delivering for the north. I am a passionate believer in devolution, but devolution must come with accountability. What steps can we take to ensure that the £1 billion we have just agreed for Tees Valley gets to every part of that region—and, most importantly, to Hartlepool?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Prisons: Rehabilitation · Hansard source

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  The north-east charity Nepacs runs departure lounges across prisons in the north-east, including at HMP Holme House, which serves Teesside. Its work is critical in giving prison leavers a central point of support to prevent reoffending and help them reintegrate into society, but the Probation Service has cut its funding and it faces closure. Will the Minister meet me to talk about how the increased funding that we are providing to the Probation Service can be used to protect this vital service?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Dementia Care · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. In a completely unplanned way, the next sentence in my speech is, “It is essential that the voices of those affected by dementia are at the forefront of these NHS reforms”, so his intervention was very timely and deadly accurate. We must ensure that the clinical support and person-centred care that reduces the risk of crises and unnecessary hospital admissions comes to the fore. To that end, I urge Government Ministers to commit to providing ringfenced funding for a dementia specialist nurse in each NHS acute trust, and to integrate specialist nurses such as Admiral nurses—I was so proud to meet them here in Parliament recently—into multidisciplinary neighbourhood health centres. With 1 million people currently living with dementia, and with that number projected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040, as we have heard today, we literally cannot afford delay. The economic impact of dementia is estimated to reach £90 billion by 2040, with 40% of care costs borne by families and unpaid carers. It is time for action. One of the consequences of my father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis is that that evil disease has done to him what it does to so many: it robs people of their strengths, but it exacerbates their weaknesses too. My father now struggles with travel, and despite my election in July last year, it is very unlikely that he will ever get here to see me stand in Parliament. In his name—Dr Charles Brash—I ask the Minister to act.

• 3 Jun 2025 · Dementia Care · Hansard source

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  My dad was a GP in Hartlepool for 33 years. When I was young, I was never more impressed than when he would talk to me about his medical knowledge. The depth of his knowledge was extraordinary, and one of the tricks he used to be able to do at any given moment was take any two numbers I gave him and divide them or multiply them and get the answer right when I checked on the calculator. It was a rare skill, and his impact over those 33 years meant that when I went into politics the most common thing I heard on the doorstep was, “Are you the doctor’s son?” He did tell me recently that someone had asked him whether he was the MP’s dad, and I take that as a small victory. In Hartlepool, there are 1,299 people living with dementia, and my dad is one of them. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years after he retired. Speaking to my mum, who obviously is his carer, too, we both agree that it feels like we have already gone through a form of bereavement, because the person who brought me up is not quite there any more. He is happy, and he enjoys his grandchildren, but it is different. I want to see that changed for other people, because early diagnosis is critical. My dad did not get the early diagnosis that he should have received, and we have paid the consequences as we have gone forward. In Hartlepool, we are pioneering a new dementia strategy. I am so proud of Hartlepool borough council, because as part of that strategy, the council has committed to ensuring that 100% of its social care staff have dementia training, so that this evil disease—I do mean evil—can be caught and better treated at an earlier stage. As we have already heard from the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden), only 29% of social care staff in this country have any form of dementia training. I impress on the Minister that that must change. Dementia is the defining health and social care challenge of our time. It impacts one in two of us—50% of the population—either through being diagnosed ourselves, or having someone in our life diagnosed with it. Despite this reality, too many people living with dementia and their families struggle to access necessary support. The lack of an integrated care pathway often leads to families being led into fragmented and complex systems, where they can easily fall through the cracks and reach crisis point. Shockingly, one in four hospital beds is occupied by a person living with dementia, and those people face hospital readmissions at rates 50% higher than the general population. We must improve specialist dementia support, both in hospitals and in our communities. That is not just a moral imperative; it is vital for building the health service that we want, one that is fit for the future. The forthcoming 10-year health plan presents a crucial opportunity to rectify those shortcomings.

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

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  Hartlepool’s seaside community of Seaton Carew has earned a “top quality” award from environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy. The seaside accolade is only given to English beaches that are safe, clean and meet the highest environmental standards. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating council staff and volunteer litter pickers, including the brilliant people of Hartlepool Big Town Tidy Up, for their exceptional work in making our community a better place for us all to live?

• 22 May 2025 · Independent Sentencing Review · Hansard source

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  Location and curfew restrictions using electronic tagging to stop hyper-prolific offenders going anywhere near a place where they could reoffend; a requirement to engage in mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, including the use of sobriety tags to address the cause of criminality; putting offenders back to work cleaning up the communities they have harmed; chemical castration for sex offenders; the speeding up of foreign deportations; and the largest prison expansion ever—does the Lord Chancellor agree that this is about putting victims and the public first?

• 22 May 2025 · Covered Tennis Courts: Hartlepool · Hansard source

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  5. What steps she is taking to help increase the number of covered tennis courts in Hartlepool constituency.

• 22 May 2025 · Covered Tennis Courts: Hartlepool · Hansard source

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  Hartlepool is home to a number of thriving tennis clubs, including Hartlepool lawn tennis club. Founded in 1884, it is one of the oldest active tennis clubs in the world. Despite that history, we do not have access to covered tennis courts, which means that poor weather—common in Hartlepool—often disrupts participation, particularly for those with a disability or a long-term health condition. Earlier this week, top British tennis players called on the UK Government to invest in a new national network of covered tennis courts, and I want one for Hartlepool. Will the Minister consider their request, so that every community can take part in tennis, come rain or shine?

• 21 May 2025 · Immigration · Hansard source

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  Again, after 14 years, the Conservatives turn up demanding to know why nobody has done anything about the issue in 10 months. Frankly, it is hypocrisy of the highest level. I turn to the comments made about the Conservatives’ much-touted Rwanda scheme and illegal migration. Time and again we hear the same tired lines—“It was just about to work”, “If only we’d had a little longer, it would have solved all the problems of the small boats.” Well, they had the time. They chose to call the early general election; they could have waited. If they had truly believed in the scheme—this totemic flagship of theirs—they would have backed themselves, but they did not, because they knew it was a busted flush. They knew it was going to fail, and they rushed to the country before that failure could be fully exposed. How did we get to this point in the small boats crisis, which is central to a lot of what we are talking about? There were no small boat arrivals recorded before 2018. Why? It was because at that time the UK had a returns agreement with the EU—anyone making that dangerous crossing could be returned—but the Conservative Brexit deal did not have a returns agreement in it. The same Brexit deal championed by Reform is the reason for the numbers we are seeing. The hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), who is not in his place, championed that deal and now uses the numbers it caused as a weaponised political choice.

• 21 May 2025 · Immigration · Hansard source

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  Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

• 21 May 2025 · Immigration · Hansard source

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  I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. Why does the hon. Member think the right hon. Member for Richmond and Northallerton called the general election when he did, when he was apparently so close to the Rwanda scheme working?

• 21 May 2025 · Immigration · Hansard source

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  It is really important that the right hon. Gentleman clarifies something to aid this debate. I have read his motion carefully, and the vast majority of it is about illegal migration. It repeatedly feels like illegal migration and legal migration are being conflated as the same issue, which does not help the debate. Could he clarify whether that is his intention?

• 21 May 2025 · Immigration · Hansard source

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  I will give way in a moment. The last Conservative Government put construction workers on their points-based immigration system. They wanted to import construction workers—the people we need to rebuild this country—while my further education college that trains local Hartlepudlians in construction skills had its funding cut by 10%. That is nothing short of economic vandalism—vandalism that for far too long threw my constituents on the scrap heap. That is the Conservatives’ legacy.

• 21 May 2025 · Immigration · Hansard source

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  I think the right hon. Gentleman may have revealed something early on in his speech. He has told us that now is the time for “a serious, credible plan”. Is he therefore admitting that in the 14 years when his party was in government, there was not one serious or credible plan?

• 21 May 2025 · Immigration · Hansard source

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  I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman can address the point I made in my speech. Repeatedly, Conservative Members, including him, have said, “If we had only waited a little bit longer, Rwanda would have worked.” Why do you think the right hon. Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak) called the general election—

• 21 May 2025 · Immigration · Hansard source

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  The reality is that before 2018 we had that agreement. We have had it before. This Prime Minister has shown time and again his ability to negotiate on the world stage, and I have total confidence that he will do that. Indeed, the only surrender that has taken place this week is the hon. Member for Clacton surrendering to his sun lounger. As a direct result of the failure of the Conservative party to get a returns agreement in its Brexit deal, we have seen the numbers explode. However, progress is being made. The asylum backlog is now down 32% from its record high under the last Government. In Hartlepool—a town unfairly targeted with disproportionate dispersal accommodation—we now have a freeze on any new asylum accommodation and a clear target set to reduce numbers. But let us be clear: the numbers are still too high. That is why the passage of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is absolutely essential. It gives us the ability to use counter-terrorism powers to pursue and dismantle the criminal gangs that facilitate those crossings—powers that the Opposition parties voted against. We have to go further. We must tighten the use of article 8 of the European convention on human rights to ensure that it cannot be misused, so that it is this House, not the courts, that decides who stays and who is deported. I place on the record that any foreign criminal in this country should be deported. We must strike agreements with international partners, so that those people coming on boats can be swiftly returned, because that is the true deterrent. That will be achieved not with Tory gimmicks or by Reform slogans, but with detailed policy, focused diplomacy and the hard graft that this Labour Government have already begun. It is about time that Conservative Members stopped playing politics with this issue. That is what the people of Hartlepool expect and it is what the Government must do. As long as I am in this place, I will hold them to account to do that.

• 21 May 2025 · Immigration · Hansard source

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  It is possibly in order for me to correct the shadow Minister. I was very clear that I believe that the application of article 8 should be tightened so that courts in this country are not sovereign over this place regarding deportations. It should be this place that ensures deportations—not our courts.