Lauren Sullivan MP: speeches

Speeches

• 19 Jun 2025 · Water Safety Education · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) for leading this debate on an incredibly important issue—one that is felt by myself and many constituents. It was only a few weeks ago, at the end of May, that two children entered the River Thames in Gravesend. One child was thankfully rescued, but one young girl tragically lost her life. It was an incredibly heartbreaking accident, and I pass on my deepest condolences to her family, her friends and the community. I cannot imagine the pain of their loss—similarly to so many Members who have shared their stories today. I place on record my gratitude to those who worked so hard in the efforts to save that young girl’s life and have supported our community through this difficult time, including the coastguard, the RNLI, the Port of London Authority, Kent police, the emergency services and the passerby who, on seeing that the young girl was in trouble, jumped in to try to save her; they did indeed save the little boy at that time. The work that these organisations do is commendable and invaluable to the residents of Gravesham, who are on the River Thames. The River Thames often looks calm and tranquil on its surface, but underneath the rips and currents are incredibly dangerous. We are lucky to have the RNLI station and the Port of London Authority in Gravesend, which chaperone the hugely busy motorway of boats up and down our city. The RNLI is an excellent charity, and I thank it for its hugely important educational work; its volunteers are incredible. I cannot fail to mention, as other Members have mentioned, those choosing to use bridges to take their lives; we must do all that we can to stop those who feel that that is the only option. I thank the RNLI, the Port of London Authority and even the Thames Clipper for saving some of those people and hopefully giving them another chance at life. Learning to swim from a young age is incredibly important, and it is great that it is on the national curriculum, but I hear and stand with my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen when he says that we can do more in this space. For those swimming in the Thames—certainly near Gravesend—that will not be enough, so those public awareness campaigns, especially through social media, will be crucial. We must avoid future tragedies and deaths, so I urge the Government to work closely with local authorities, emergency services and other organisations to identify these black spots along our rivers and coastlines and see where further safety measures are needed. Our community in Gravesham has been shaken by this recent tragedy, and we owe it to all those who have lost their lives in similar circumstances to take every possible step to prevent such accidents in the future. Once again, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen for bringing this incredibly important issue to the House today. I am proud to stand in support of greater awareness, investment and collaboration to improve water safety across the country.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chancellor for the spending review. Local austerity is over—after being a local councillor for nearly a decade, I thank her for that. Labour-led Gravesham council has given thousands of permissions for stalled brownfield sites, many of which are needed for the homes that we need in Gravesham. I seek reassurance from the Chancellor that this can be supported by Homes England to deliver and retain council, social and truly affordable homes for our community.

• 5 Jun 2025 · Free School Meals · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that, with today’s announcement, alongside the proactive Gravesham borough council’s low-income family tracker programme, which has reached out and helped hundreds, if not thousands, of people who need it most in Gravesham, the Labour Government will lift a further 5,800 children who are eligible in Gravesham. Is this not the great, nutritious start in life that we need?

• 4 Jun 2025 · Town Centre Regeneration · Hansard source

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  7. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to regenerate town centres in Scotland.

• 4 Jun 2025 · Town Centre Regeneration · Hansard source

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  Does the Secretary of State agree that it was astonishing that the SNP voted against the £8 million to regenerate Hamilton town centre and that only Labour’s Davy Russell will stand up for local people, jobs and services?

• 21 May 2025 · UK Health Security Agency: Porton Down · Hansard source

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  I had the great fortune to visit Porton Down with the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee and the Defence Committee. As a research scientist who has worked in category 3 suites, seeing category 4 suites at first hand was quite an eye-opener. I saw the incredible dedication of our scientists, who have served this country incredibly well despite the many attacks that have happened. We definitely need to renovate the labs and have a facility that is secure and that helps to support the jobs of scientists across the country.

• 21 May 2025 · UK Health Security Agency: Porton Down · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend also take into account the multidisciplinary roles and spaces involved in the jobs that she has outlined, and the fact that the existence of a hub, with most of those elements together in one place, will stimulate innovation and great healthcare outcomes?

• 21 May 2025 · Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  The strategy for tackling violence against women and girls must challenge the attitudes that enable it. What recent discussions has the Minister had with stakeholders across Northern Ireland to support these campaign efforts?

• 21 May 2025 · Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  6. What steps he is taking to support the Northern Ireland Executive in tackling violence against women and girls.

• 20 May 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

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  The senseless and deliberate suffering in Gaza must end, and humanitarian aid is crucial to achieve that aim and to help thousands of children. If the Israeli Government continue to politicise humanitarian aid and withhold it with their blockades, what sanctions will this Government consider and then impose?

• 15 May 2025 · Gavi and the Global Fund · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. Does she agree that it was work on malaria vaccines and others that enabled us to move quickly when covid and other infections occurred, and that investigations into neglected diseases have been the springboard to create vaccines for many other diseases that threaten the entire world?

• 15 May 2025 · Gavi and the Global Fund · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) for securing such an important debate, and I am proud to sit with her on the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee. I also pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell) for his tireless work in this space. Before I became a Member of Parliament, I was a scientist. I worked on neglected diseases—in particular, human African trypanosomiasis, which is also known as sleeping sickness. I made a diagnostic test field-ready, and it is out there diagnosing people as we speak. More recently, I moved on to work on understanding the immune responses to malaria at the Francis Crick Institute with Dr Jean Langhorne. On a recent visit to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, we saw amazing science and innovation in relation to lymphatic filariasis, and to potentially using a device like this watch to detect it. That is now being looked at for diabetes. That builds on the amazing scientific work we have in this country. A recent report from Impact Global Health in collaboration with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine showed that a global societal return of £1.4 trillion could be generated, and that there could be an extra £7.7 billion for the UK economy. So this is not just about protection and saving lives across the globe; it is about our industry here in the UK. Malaria has been eliminated in nine countries since 2015. That is incredible. We must go further and we can get the job done, so please let us replenish that fund.

• 15 May 2025 · Youth Services · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon East (Natasha Irons) for securing this fantastic debate. I experienced the youth work profession as a young person through my local youth club, and as a member of the UK Youth Parliament in its early days, so I know first hand how important youth work is, and how much of it has been cut due to austerity. Only last week, I went to see Gravesham Youth Council, which has been running for 25 years—an incredible achievement, given what has been going on. I ran a session on the national youth strategy called “Deliver You”, a consultation in the form of a delivery service for young people. In the spirit of food delivery, I present some ingredients. First, young people should be truly listened to, engaged on matters that affect them, and empowered through youth voice mechanisms at each level of government. In that, they should be supported by youth work. There should be a legal duty on Government and local government to support youth work. Secondly, we need long term, fully funded, preventive, universal, open-access youth work in all areas, not an early help or social work-lite model, although those can be used for targeted help. Thirdly, we need a trained, qualified and invested-in youth work profession, in which qualifications are recognised. The term “youth worker” should be protected in the same way as the term “doctor” is, or “lawyer”. Fourthly and finally, we need in primary legislation a duty on local authorities to provide youth work, so that it is never seen as an easy cut again. Now that is a delivery order that will truly nourish our young people across the land. Through a statutory youth service Act and a long-term workforce strategy, we can address shortages and upskill youth workers, so that they can deliver for young people. I hope the Minister will agree that that would be a step in the right direction. We have listened as a Government to the votes at 16 campaign. Twenty years ago, I was at the forefront of the campaign, and at a recent Liaison Committee hearing, the Prime Minister and Government committed to delivering votes at 16 as part of our manifesto commitments. There have been so many years of campaigning on the issue, and I pay tribute to all the young people who have joined in that effort. We should welcome those who are joining the campaign now, and jumping on the bandwagon at the last minute. We need to reverse the trends and see good, open-access youth work return to Gravesham and the country. Youth work works, and I hope that the national youth strategy will deliver the hopes of so many young people.

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

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  I thank my hon. Friend for giving way on this important matter. Fans are the heart and soul of our football clubs. At Ebbsfleet United football ground, the Fleet Supporters’ Trust is absolutely cracking in that space. Does he agree with me that fans will respect transparency, civility and a voice in the game they love?

• 28 Apr 2025 · Child Rape Gangs · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for all her work and commitment over many, many years. Will she confirm that the Government are committed to building trust with victims and survivors of child exploitation and abuse? My heart goes out to them. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government’s focus on tackling violence against women and girls will turn the tide and shed a light, as sunlight is the best disinfectant?

• 24 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Ninth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. I rise in full support of the Government’s action to tackle internet image abuse through clause 56 and schedule 8. As the Member of Parliament for Gravesham, I have heard how digital abuse and coercion are becoming increasingly common in our schools, in our relationships and even in our homes. This measure is not just a policy update; it is a legal correction, a turning point in how the law confronts modern abuse. It stands in defence of dignity, particularly for women and girls who have borne the brunt of silence, shame and victim-blaming for far too long. The abuse we are addressing through this Bill is often hidden, carried out online without witnesses but with devastating consequences. Victims are often blamed, disbelieved or told that they brought it on themselves. Clause 56 and schedule 8 will take a powerful step in changing that narrative, and I place on record my strong support for the Government’s proposals. I also want to highlight why these offences are so necessary, how the cultural context has changed, what impact this Bill will have on real people, and why this is a turning point in our fight to end violence against women and girls. As the Minister described, clause 56 and schedule 8 add the base offence of taking and recording intimate images without consent, regardless of motive, to the offences of doing so with intent to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, and of doing so for the purpose of sexual gratification. These offences are key to reflect the reality of modern abuse. The base offence rightly does not require intent, because the harm is real whether or not it was intended. Unfortunately, we live in a world in which private moments can be turned into weapons, where trust can be shattered with a click and where a single image taken without consent or shared perniciously can spiral into shame, harassment and lifelong trauma. The Law Commission describes our current legal framework as a “patchwork,” unable to keep up with the evolution of technology or the disturbing ways in which people are exploiting it, and the Law Commission is right. Until now, there has been no clear, single criminal offence of taking or recording intimate images without consent. Offences exist for sharing such images, but even then the law requires intent to cause distress or humiliation to be proven. The result is that many perpetrators escape justice while victims suffer in silence. This Bill changes that. For the first time, we have a clear set of offences that target the taking of intimate images without consent whatever the intent behind the action, whether it is humiliation, distress or sexual gratification, and the installation of the hidden recording devices that enable abuse. It addresses that breakdown in trust. The Kaspersky report “The Naked Truth” sets out the scale of the challenge. In a global survey of 9,000 people, 22% of respondents had saved explicit images of themselves on their devices and 25% had shared images with people they were dating—among 16 to 24-year-olds that figure rose to 34%. It is this younger generation who we must protect. Some 46% of people globally are either survivors or know somebody who has been a victim of intimate image abuse. That number rises to 69% for 16 to 25-year-olds. We really must act now to prevent this from continuing. The need for reform has been recognised for some time, but the legislative space did not allow it to move forward. This Labour Government are now picking up the mantle and delivering on that commitment. Clause 56 and schedule 8 build on the groundwork of the Online Safety Act 2003, which acknowledges image sharing. The Bill addresses the act of recording, closing another legal gap. This Government will not stop there: deepfakes and AI-generated sexually explicit images will also be addressed in clause 135 of the Data (Use and Access) Bill. That shows a serious, layered, long-term response to a serious, layered, long-term problem. We owe it to the survivors, to the next generation, and to every woman and girl who has ever been told that she should have known better. This Government will not look away; we will act, protect, and make it clear that everyone has the right to their own body, their privacy and their peace of mind.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree. We must also work with the voluntary sector, including Stamp Out Spiking, and in education and youth services we must shout from the rooftops that this behaviour is not acceptable and is seriously damaging. Let us be honest: in December 2022 the Conservative Government said that there was “no gap in the existing law” and refused to act. It was only after public pressure, and the publication of a damning report under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, that they changed course. It has now fallen to this Government to finish the job, and I am proud that we are doing so. The new offence will be triable either way, with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, which applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For the first time, it sends a clear message: if an individual spikes someone and violates their autonomy, safety and night out, the law will hold them to account. The Bill represents a broader cultural shift—one we have already seen in its response to stalking, intimate image abuse and violence against women and girls. With clause 73 we are putting our foot down and saying, “No more blurred lines, no more excuses and no more evasion. Spiking is illegal, full stop.”

• 24 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak in support of clauses 69 to 72, which would enhance legal protections for victims of stalking. As the Member of Parliament for Gravesham, I know deeply how stalking affects victims. I have met several women at my surgeries whose lives have been turned upside down. They plan their movements to avoid being tracked, fear being spotted by their stalker or that the stalker will do something more, and have to deal with the impact on their wider lives, families, neighbours and community. These women are alone and exposed, and feel very vulnerable in their own homes and out in their community. The Government are right to act, and clauses 69 and 70 mark a significant shift by allowing courts, not just the police, to impose stalking protection orders. Upon conviction or even acquittal, courts will now have the power to step in when it is clear that there is a risk of stalking. I pay tribute to the extraordinary work of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, which is the UK’s leading stalking charity, having helped more than 70,000 victims to find a path of safety. This week is National Stalking Awareness Week, so this discussion could not be more timely. In its 2023 report “I just want this to be over”, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust laid bare the lived experience of stalking victims in our criminal justice system. What it found is sobering. The report depicts widespread mischarging by the Crown Prosecution Service, with stalking cases being downgraded to harassment or missed altogether. One victim that it cites was told that her stalker’s behaviour was just “unpleasant”, not criminal. Her case was closed, only to be reopened after months of persistence and trauma. Victims who are strong enough to come forward are being told that they have to prove that they are in danger to a system that doubts, delays or deflects. Clauses 69 and 70 will change that. Another reminder of the incredible danger of stalking is the fact that 94% of women killed by their male partners were stalked beforehand. That is not a warning sign; it is a flashing red light. Victims cannot wait for an eviction; they need protection now, and that is what the Bill delivers. That is how we will rebuild our faith in the justice system and tell every woman and girl in this country that they do not have to prove their fear before they are protected. I commend the clauses and the Government’s commitment to a justice system that sees, hears and stands up for victims.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Today, with clause 73, we are saying clearly and finally that spiking is a crime. Spiking is a violation, and it will not be tolerated. For too long, this country has failed to name it for what we know it is. Until now, victims have had to navigate a patchwork of old laws dating back to the 19th century—sections 23 and 24 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. What is going on there? Those provisions criminalised the behaviour, but they never used the word. They never gave victims the clarity or the recognition they deserved. This clause changes that. It repeals those outdated offences and replaces them with the single, modern offence of administering a harmful substance, including by spiking. I cannot overstate how important naming the offence is; it draws a clear legal and cultural line in the sand. Spiking is not just some nuisance behaviour. It is not a prank. It is an act of control, violation and harm, and it comes in many forms. Whether it be drink spiking, needle spiking, vape spiking or even food spiking, it is a predatory act and it can happen to anyone. Some of us may know someone who has been spiked—a friend, a colleague or someone we care about—and yet, how often is there justice? How often do we know who did it? The Home Office tells us that, between May 2022 and April 2023, the police received 6,732 reports of spiking, with nearly 1,000 involving needles. That is over 500 reports a month. However, Stamp Out Spiking, the UK’s leading anti-spiking charity, from which we heard in the evidence session, says that over 97% of victims do not even report it to the police. Why? They are not sure that the law will help, and for years there was no offence with the word “spiking” in it—that ends today. I pay tribute to my local Gravesham street pastors who walk the streets of Gravesend town centre on Friday and Saturday nights, giving out anti-spiking devices, educating partygoers, looking after people and providing comfort and support.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. Does my hon. Friend the Minister agree with me that, given the lifelong trauma from such offences, and the ongoing mental health struggles that could be triggered by such a notification, we need to put victims at the heart of everything that we do? How can we ensure that measures like this enable that to happen?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Seventh sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. It is a privilege to support the Government’s action to tackle cuckooing through the Bill. As the Member of Parliament for Gravesham, this issue strikes close to home, because people in my constituency who are struggling with addiction, mental health issues or past trauma are being preyed on. Criminals take over their homes, exploit their vulnerabilities and use their properties to conduct criminal activities, in particular drug dealing. These are not abstract concerns. People living real lives in real streets in Gravesham are trapped by fear in what should be the safest place they know—their own homes. The introduction of the new offence is not only welcome, but essential. For the first time, the Bill offers a clear and focused legal mechanism to tackle an abhorrent practice that existing legislation cannot fully capture. I place on record my strong support for the Government’s action. I will also highlight why the offence is necessary, the real-world impact of the practice on victims, and how the Government’s work helps to close a dangerous and damaging gap in the law that has persisted for far too long. Why does this offence matter? Cuckooing is one of the most insidious and devastating forms of criminal exploitation in our communities today. It targets those who are already vulnerable, whether due to substance misuse, disability and mental health, poverty, homelessness or previous victimisation. The offender may initially appear as a friend or helper, and may offer company, drugs, money or protection. Very quickly, however, the true nature of that relationship emerges through control, coercion, fear and potentially violence. Victims find themselves trapped, as they are often too frightened, ashamed or traumatised to seek help. We have heard from frontline services such as Kent police and Gravesham borough council’s community safety unit that victims do not even recognise that they are victims at all. They may blame themselves. They may have rationalised the situation and believe that they have no other choice. At present, the law does not make it easy to intervene early or decisively. Police often find themselves attending reports of suspicious activity, but have no obvious offence to charge without the victim’s co-operation or an underlying crime, such as drug possession, being proven. The new offence addresses that critical gap. It criminalises the very act of exerting control over someone else’s home for the purpose of criminal activity, without them having to verbalise their non-consent and without demanding that underlying offences must first be proven. The offence acknowledges that controlling a person’s home is itself serious and harmful abuse. It also empowers police, local authorities and safeguarding teams to take earlier, firmer action to protect victims before exploitation escalates further. The Bill listens to communities and acts on their behalf. The Bill defines such control clearly. Clauses 32 to 34 are framed to show real understanding of the complexities involved. The Bill clearly defines “control” to include subtle and partial takeovers, such as deciding who enters the property, what it is used for and whether the resident can use their own home. The Bill also covers a wide range of structures, including houses, flats, caravans, tents and vehicles, reflecting the reality of vulnerable people. It ensures that supposed consent must be freely given and informed by someone over the age of 18 with full capacity, protecting those most at risk of coercion. The Bill is future-proofed by clause 34, which allows the Home Secretary and the devolved Ministers to add new crimes to the relevant offence list as patterns of exploitation evolve over time—we know that they evolve over time. To understand why the offence is so urgently is needed, we must listen to survivors. Take the story of James, which was shared by the Salvation Army. James was a young man struggling with addiction. He thought he had made friends, but soon those friends took over his flat. They brought drugs and violence into his home. Strangers came and went at all hours. James was trapped—afraid to leave, but no longer safe inside. When help finally reached him, James was a shell of himself. He had lost control of his life, his space and his dignity. He said later: “It’s scary. Your house is taken over. You don’t know who’s knocking on your door. People coming to your door every two minutes. Threatening people in your home. Threatening me in my home. It totally takes over your life.” James’s story is heartbreaking, but far from unique. Housing teams and police officers in Gravesham have listed multiple cases where individuals were forced into drug addiction by their own exploiters to increase their dependency. Homes have been used to store class A drugs without the tenant’s knowledge, which is a clear breach of tenancy guidelines and puts them at risk of eviction. Sheds and garages become secondary sites of exploitation. That is the story of James and many others in Gravesham, but the national statistics show the sheer scale of the problem. One in eight people across the UK has seen signs of cuckooing in their community. During just two weeks of national police action, nearly 1,700 cuckooed addresses were visited and hundreds of victims exposed. In 2021 alone, 33% of all modern slavery referrals include criminal exploitation, much of it linked to cuckooing. County lines exploitation, where cuckooing is rampant, now accounts for a staggering 16% of national referral mechanism cases. This change to the law is not only needed; it is desperately needed. I could go on, but I know other hon. Members wish to speak. I am proud to stand here to support the new measures on cuckooing. Hopefully, we may now put those criminals behind bars, where they belong.

• 3 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Building on what my hon. Friend was just saying about the town centre, I had an incident in a village convenience store in my area. The member of staff often works on their own and they were assaulted fairly recently when over £1,000 was taken. Those workers are cornerstones in our communities and drive people to hospital if necessary. Violence is seen too often in our communities, and we need to send a strong message to those who seek to cause harm and those who need protecting.

• 1 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

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  A recent meeting of the all-party parliamentary group on youth affairs heard from young St John’s Ambulance volunteers. They told us that many of the young people they work with want first-aid training and help with the kits so that they know how to stop bleeding. Is that not an awful indictment of the society we are in, but also a positive thing, in that young people want to be part of the solution?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

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  These vehicles are also having a huge impact in Riverview and Coldharbour, in my community. The police have been doing some good work with drones to follow these people to their home addresses. With the change in the law to allow police to seize the vehicles straight away, does my hon. Friend think that such interventions could support the police and communities in cracking down on the problem?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Fly-tipping is a blight on our communities—I think we all share that view. The misconception is that fly-tipping is small scale, but it is committed by criminals and unscrupulous small waste-removal businesses that can have links to organised crime. It is a huge money-making machine. It is an issue that local authorities have had to grapple with for many decades. In many cases, it has been worsened by environmental measures and stronger recycling and waste collection rules. I pay tribute and give credit to my local authority, Gravesham borough council. In 2019, it set out a bold antisocial behaviour strategy, which looked at fly-tipping at its source and at its heart. In 2020, the council set up the environment enforcement team, which has used a variety of different techniques to prevent, to tackle, to educate and to prosecute. Since then, 386 community protection warnings, 50 fly-tipping fines and 12 duty-of-care fines for waste carriage breaches have been issued, as well as 39 cases resulting in successful prosecutions in court. The council and its media team work closely with Kent police to raise awareness and deter potential offenders. I would like to put on record my thanks to its team. The council was able to take that action because of past legislation, including the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. I could go on, but there are now many legislative options for local authorities to tackle the issue and take people to court. Where fines are handed out, there is an issue with the backlog in the courts, but I know that the Minister is looking at streamlining some of those court issues, which arose from the neglect of the last 14 years.