Kevin Bonavia MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Jul 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  My constituent Ed, a leaseholder in Monument Court, Stevenage, has been trapped for years in an unsellable flat after the building failed its EWS1 assessment because Higgins Homes had not followed its own architectural plans. He has faced uncapped and unregulated service charges and utility billing, and the threat of disconnection, while seeing the saleable value of his property decrease by more than £70,000. Will the Secretary of State consider introducing a statutory route through which people like Ed can pursue legal action against a developer without bearing the full cost burden?

• 3 Jul 2025 · NHS 10-Year Plan · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State and everyone involved in creating this well-designed and excellent 10-year plan. There is so much good stuff in it, but I particularly like the approach of shifting treatment from hospitals to neighbourhoods and homes. Many of my constituents in Stevenage have been taken to Lister hospital when they do not want or need to be there, but we have an alternative. The Minister for Social Care and my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) recently joined me on a visit to the Hertfordshire community NHS trust’s “hospital at home” service. Is that something that the Secretary of State and the health team are determined to roll out?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  I would like to take this opportunity to commend the contribution of the churches in my constituency, from All Saints in Datchworth, which is currently celebrating 850 years of service, to St Mary’s in Aston, where the Rev. Canon Jenny Gray has recently retired. However, another church, St Andrew & St George in the centre of Stevenage, is facing the ongoing problem of theft of copper from its roof—an expensive loss to the church. What can be done to safeguard our churches from such antisocial and criminal behaviour?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  4. What steps the Church of England is taking to support community cohesion in its parishes.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Business Energy Supply Billing: Regulation · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship today, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards) on securing today’s debate and on leading such an important campaign that matters not just to her constituents, but to so many of our constituents and the businesses that they run or use around the country. I also want to recognise the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), as ever a champion for his residents, for outlining the experiences they are going through. I am sure that there is a consensus on this pertinent issue not just in this room, but across the House. I would like the Minister to focus on the issue of uncapped energy billing for businesses. As we all know, household energy in the UK is capped by Ofgem. However, this protection is not afforded to businesses suffering under the rising gas and electricity prices that we have heard about. The issue has most impact on small to medium-sized businesses, as they often need to use large amounts of electricity, and the strain of rising cost is subsequently felt by the consumers as businesses are forced to find ways to counteract their costly energy bills. The escalating price of energy for businesses discourages those with an entrepreneurial mindset, as their goals appear unattainable because of the cost of running a business. I have seen that at first hand in my constituency of Stevenage. Brand-new lunch spots receive high praise from residents, both online and through word of mouth, yet they end up closing after a few short months because of struggles with money. Those struggles are substantially attributable to the rapidly growing cost of running vital café equipment: temperature-controlled food display cases, display refrigerators, fridges and much more. I have spoken to restaurant owners in Stevenage, and the detrimental effects of rising costs are clear. For example, the owners of Pitta Hub, a relatively new lunch spot in the centre of our town, have shared information with me on its other overheads, in addition to its rising energy bills. According to Utility Bidder, a well-regarded comparison and switching service, the average small restaurant uses between 15,000 kWh and 25,000 kWh of electricity per year. The lowered profit margins for our beloved small businesses affect the growth and prosperity of towns like Stevenage across the country. I ask the Minister the following questions. Will the Government consider capping energy prices for businesses, as they do for household energy? What are the Government planning to do to support small and medium-sized businesses, such as those in Stevenage that I have mentioned, in the face of rising energy prices? Businesses are crying out because of these rising prices, and we in this House must heed that call. Today’s debate has shown the importance of protecting independently run enterprises. They are the heart of our towns. Ensuring a semblance of stability for their entrepreneurial owners is vital, both to residents and to the economy of towns like Stevenage across our country.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Nuclear-certified Aircraft Procurement · Hansard source

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  I also welcome this announcement of increased capability—the F-35As that will be brought to the defence of this country. This announcement, which is in line with the strategic defence review, shows that this country is once again serious about defence. What response have we had from our NATO allies to our joining NATO’s nuclear mission?

• 19 Jun 2025 · Fly-tipping · Hansard source

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  6. What steps he is taking to tackle fly-tipping.

• 19 Jun 2025 · Fly-tipping · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her very strong answer. Recently, I have been made aware of a recurring incident of fly-tipping in Bedwell, in the heart of my constituency. The council is working very hard to clear up the mess and find those responsible, but the situation is being made worse by people picking up that rubbish and taking it to the nearby woods. Will the Minister offer extra support to councils like mine, so that together we can clean up our communities and crack down on criminals who think that they can dump their waste with impunity, wrecking the lives of constituent like mine, and making their lives a living hell?

• 11 Jun 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source

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  Today’s spending review is a great big boost for the defence and life science sectors in this country. My constituency of Stevenage is a national hub for both those sectors. This morning, I visited the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult with the Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation, Lord Patrick Vallance. Last week, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence visited MBDA to see the Storm Shadow missiles being fitted out for Ukraine. Today’s extra investment will be hugely welcomed in my town of Stevenage. Young people want those new jobs. When can they expect to see the benefits of that new investment?

• 10 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Will the shadow Minister give way?

• 10 Jun 2025 · Football Governance Bill [ Lords ] (Fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank the shadow Minister for giving way, and it is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. The shadow Minister is talking about cost, yet here is another proposal that would add more cost and is effectively unworkable. This Bill is in Committee at the moment. If a club saw the changes here and wanted to lobby us to say, “We are not happy with this,” how on earth would it do that if it had to consult its fans? How do we define a political move by a club? It just does not work, does it?

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

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  Members of the Committee may have heard of the case Pepper v. Hart, which showed that courts do look at what is said in Parliament. What we say here does matter.

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

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  I am a member of Tottenham Hotspur football club.

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

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. I see what the shadow Minister is trying to do with the amendment, but if we want proper transparency, what is special about football compared with other appointments? If the shadow Minister is really concerned, should we not look at the public appointments system, rather than setting precedents in Bills? We could end up with a hotchpotch of different legislation, which would make football need to have this, but not the BBC, for example. It does not make sense. This is surely not the right forum for the change.

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

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  The shadow Minister talked previously about guidance, but that is not the proposal in this amendment. The amendment would put in primary legislation a figure that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East said, is set in law until Parliament decides to change it—is that not bonkers?

• 2 Jun 2025 · Strategic Defence Review · Hansard source

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  It was really good to see the Secretary of State come to MBDA in Stevenage recently, where its workers were refitting Storm Shadow missiles for Ukraine. I very much welcome what the SDR has to say about a partnership with industry to create an engine for growth for our defence sector and our wider economy, but those tools require effective personnel. Last week, I was in Poland with the armed forces parliamentary scheme visiting our RAF personnel, and we were told, “Look, we cannot speak for ourselves. We need you to champion us.” What can the Secretary of State say today to champion our armed forces?

• 16 May 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  On Second Reading, I voted in favour of the Bill, partly because I believed in the principle of it—I believe the right to choice, and in the right not to choose—and partly because I believed that we needed to have a way of checking somebody’s clear intention. At the moment, horrible deaths are happening and there are no such checks in place, so I was keen to see how this House could come up with a system that, although it would not be perfect, would be better than the terrible status quo we have now. At that stage, we had two checks by medical practitioners, and then a third layer: the involvement of a High Court judge. Although I was pleased with a third layer, I was not convinced that it was the right way to deal with the matter. I am therefore pleased that that the Bill Committee proposed a panel of experts to make those checks, and the right hon. and learned Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright) has rightly addressed some of those points. For me, having that panel in place is very important, and it is our job to see how we can strengthen it, so I want to speak to amendments 78 and 79. Amendment 78 would improve this provision by ensuring that there is a unanimous decision in favour of a certificate of eligibility—abstentions would not apply. That is better than what was previously drafted and is certainly better than a High Court judge. Amendment 79 would require those reasons to be set out in writing. There will be scrutiny of those decisions and we do need to have the reasons properly set out. I appreciate that all hon. Members in the Chamber, and all those who have taken part in this process, have approached it with the best of intentions. It is not easy—it is difficult—and we have constituents giving us examples from both sides. We are doing the best we can to alleviate people’s suffering—that, I hope, is our common intention across the House.

• 16 May 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to think about the impact of restrictions. Today we are all trying, in our different ways, to improve the Bill, whether we believe in it in principle or not. I believe that the amendments to which I am speaking would improve the Bill. As we all think carefully about the different parts of the Bill, we should ask ourselves this question: would it make things better than the status quo? I believe that it would. I believe that there would be fewer horrible, painful deaths. The amendments help in that direction. I remain a supporter of the Bill, and ask other hon. Members to think carefully too.

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

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  British firms are calling for co-operation with our European allies so that there is investment in increased defence spending across Europe, including in my constituency. What would the shadow Minister say to them? The Government are calling for a security deal. Does he not agree that we need one with the EU?

• 30 Apr 2025 · UK Airstrike: Houthi Military Facility · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Defence Secretary’s statement and add my thanks to our service personnel for their action. I would like to talk about what the Houthis have been doing alongside the other terrorist proxies in the middle east, Hamas and Hezbollah, who are controlled by Iran. Therefore, what is this country’s policy on disrupting and containing that network, and attacking the heart of it—namely, Iran itself?

• 28 Apr 2025 · Football Governance Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I certainly agree with my hon. Friend. We both represent constituencies with clubs that are good examples of what can be done, but our duty here is to safeguard our clubs and all clubs in this country from future failure. They are not businesses; as I have said, they are community assets. Last season, 23.7 million people attended matches in EFL competitions, demonstrating the profound connection between these clubs and their local communities. It is not just on the pitch that clubs are contributing to their communities. In the same season, EFL clubs contributed over £1.2 billion of social value through their community programmes, with my local club’s community arm, the Stevenage FC Foundation, alone generating £10.7 million of social value in my constituency and the wider area. In that timeframe, the foundation also delivered 185 training sessions per week, engaging over 15,000 unique participants annually and delivering over 9,000 hours of activity. That is an incredible feat. However, the financial stability of all clubs across the football pyramid is in a precarious place, with EFL clubs expected to lose around £450 million this season alone. Alongside this, the financial disparity between the premier league and the EFL is stark. In the 2022-23 season, 20 premier league and five EFL clubs with parachute payments received 92% of the distributable revenues, while the remaining 67 professional clubs shared just 8%. This imbalance undermines the systemic sustainability of English football, and I am glad that this Bill proposes change so that a 75%-25% split of combined media revenues between the premier league and the EFL will become the new normal and provide much-needed financial support to EFL clubs. It is clear that the financial situation in which we find ourselves across the pyramid is untenable, and this has directly led to financial crises in clubs across England. It is beyond belief that the Conservative party, which sat on its hands for most of the past 14 years, claimed in its manifesto that it wanted an independent football regulator, so why on earth do we not have cross-party consensus on this principle?

• 28 Apr 2025 · Football Governance Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member will know that the Bill has been improved to make the independent regulator more independent, for example—and there are plenty of examples of improvements in the Bill—by giving the regulator a greater ability to actually regulate the game. Conservative Front Benchers say they support independence and say they want regulation, but many of its Members do not like regulation at all. This is not a party that believes in protecting the national game; it is a party that wants to play party political football with something that should have cross-party consensus. Alongside the financial stability that this Bill will bring to our clubs, we need to respect fans’ involvement in these community assets, so I want to pay tribute to all the clubs that already engage in good faith with their fans. I am proud of the work that Stevenage have done to involve fan representation in their yearly engagement plan, and for the initiatives of other clubs, such as Blackpool, whose directors I chatted with at the match with Stevenage last week. They explained how they had had a pint with Tangerine fans from across the country to hear their views on how the club should be run. That said, they did get a bit lucky at our place, although I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool South (Chris Webb) would agree with me that both our clubs have great foundations and trusts that support their fans. I am also pleased that the amendments the Government have made to the Bill during its passage in the other place actually do strengthen that independence, as I said to the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French). Under this Bill, poor and reckless behaviour that ignores local fan communities will not be tolerated by the regulator. This Bill provides the safety net that clubs need to be financially secure and to be able to deliver for their local communities for a long time to come. Let us all support this Bill, and therefore support our fantastic football clubs.

• 28 Apr 2025 · Football Governance Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I will start by quoting this historic football match commentary: “It’s Grimsby giving it away in a very dangerous part of the pitch, for the first time the visitors becoming the architects of their own downfall, it’s tucked in by the substitute Luther Wildin and Stevenage you sense are going up today!” With apologies to my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), that was the moment on 3 May 2023 when the Mighty Boro, Stevenage FC, scored the final goal in a match that sealed their promotion to the EFL league one, where they remain today. Our club, whose colours I am wearing, is part of the lifeblood of the town not just on the pitch, but off it, with the incredible work they do in the community. It is the exemplar of a local football club being a truly community asset. I speak in favour of the Bill because it is not just about much-needed regulation, but about safeguarding the future of our national sport, ensuring financial stability for clubs across the pyramid and making sure our fans—the people who spend their money, week in and week out, to follow their team across the country—are given a real say in how their clubs are run.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Road Maintenance · Hansard source

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  I am glad to have this opportunity to address a problem that comes up in almost every street when I am out door-knocking in Stevenage and our villages: ever more potholes and the general disrepair of our roads. When I made a point to someone recently about the importance of tackling potholes, they dismissed it as a trivial matter. I happen to think that it is very serious. It is very serious when I am told by a parent of a low-income family, just about getting by, that the pothole she had reported to her Conservative county councillor time and again had not been fixed and ended up causing hundreds of pounds of damage to her vehicle. It is simply not an option for her to pay for it, so the family has to take significant time out of their week to make a claim. Then there was the young teacher on her bike who hit a pothole, tumbled over and sustained serious injuries, which caused her to miss several weeks of school. The worst thing is that this should all be preventable. Statistics from the online retailer Blackcircles.com show that Hertfordshire had the highest average payout for pothole-related claims in the UK, with an average of £367 per claim in 2023. That amount is significantly higher than the national average of £261 per claim. I can tell you why that is. Our Conservative-run county council in Hertfordshire has totally failed on road repairs, leaving our roads in Stevenage and the villages of Knebworth, Codicote, Datchworth and Aston in a state of total disrepair. The first reason it has failed is bottom-up. Conservative councillors generally are not proactive in our community, so council officers and the highways team are not getting the quality of reporting on where the issues are and what the priorities should be from the ground up. The second issue is top-down. Fourteen years of funding cuts from successive Conservative Governments to local councils in an era of austerity was cheer-led by Conservative county councillors in Hertfordshire, while their budgets declined and outcomes got worse. Stevenage Conservatives recently claimed that Hertfordshire was the best-run county council in the country. I gently suggest that when 14 years of austerity devastate a council’s budget and local Conservatives are in charge of allocating what is left, we end up with a council ranked by The Times last year as the 172nd best performing in the country, with very little left for the road repairs. There is, believe it or not, a third issue: this is the existential one. The Conservative cabinet member for highways at Hertfordshire county council, also a Stevenage councillor, does not even understand what a pothole is. In 2023, he proudly claimed that outstanding road repairs in Hertfordshire were lower than the national average, with only 4% of B and C roads requiring outstanding repairs compared with 6% nationally, which all sounds fairly positive—until it is revealed that we are not comparing like for like. Hertfordshire classifies a pothole as being at least 300 mm wide and 50 mm deep, while just next door in Essex, they only have to be 100 mm across, and, further away in Trafford, just 40 mm deep. A road user may think they have hit a pothole in Hertfordshire, but, according to the council, it must just be their imagination. All the while, the council would rather change the definition of a pothole or wait for people to claim for damages, costing the council more than it would to fix potholes for the future in the first place. Thankfully, we are turning a corner. This new Labour Government are on the side of road users in their cars, on the buses and on their bicycles, and they take the issue of fixing potholes as seriously as residents expect them to. That is why our county has received £9.3 million for road repairs to fix as many potholes as possible—a marked change from 14 years of Tory austerity. While this extra funding is welcome, the public deserve to know how their councils will use that funding to improve their local roads, so I am pleased the Government are requiring councils to show progress or risk losing 25% of the funding boost. The question on all my residents’ lips now is: can we really trust the failing Conservative-run Hertfordshire county council and the unseen and unbothered Conservative county councillors to use this money properly? We have a new Labour Government facilitating change through these measures, but we also need effective councillors to deliver that change in every street, community, town and village across Hertfordshire and the wider country. Where councillors like those in Tory-run Hertfordshire fail to deliver that change, our residents can and should choose new ones who can.

• 31 Mar 2025 · Mobile Phone Theft · Hansard source

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  Mobile phone theft is a widespread concern in my constituency. Between 2019 and 2024, the spate of mobile phone thefts has risen by 22.3%. Can my hon. Friend reassure my constituents that this Government will take all steps to ensure their safety?