Lucy Powell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am really sorry to hear about this troubling case. My hon. Friend has used her voice and her platform as a Member of Parliament to raise some very serious issues, and I commend her for that. Phoenixing, whereby directors dissolve a company to avoid debts, only to set up a new one, is wrong. We are committed to stamping the practice out, and Companies House now has greater powers to do that. My hon. Friend is right that people like her constituents need greater recourse when services and products go wrong or are not delivered and they cannot get the accountability that they need.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  As my hon. Friend will know, this Government are committed to providing more affordable homes, so that we can tackle the issues of overcrowding and poor housing that she describes in her constituency. I think this would make a good topic for a debate.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Housing waiting lists are far too high in this country. That is why we need more social housing. It is why we need more housing, full stop. That is what the Government are committed to delivering.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am sorry to hear of the appalling homophobic remarks being made by a councillor, and a Conservative councillor at that. The hon. Member has raised them here this morning, and I hope that those on the Conservative Front Bench have heard his question, because action needs to be taken. The Conservative party needs to show, like the rest of us, that such remarks are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our democracy or any of our parties.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. I am delighted that the Football Governance Bill will receive its Second Reading in this House next week; it is an incredibly popular piece of legislation among the many Members from across the House who, like my hon. Friend, have a club in their constituency. The Bill seeks to ensure that fans and communities are put at the heart of our football governance, and that protections are in place against rogue owners and those who do not have the financial means to support their clubs properly.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises a really important matter. Local people want to know that their council tax is going towards the services that they want to see in their communities. Nothing frustrates our constituents more than seeing things in their area and their community that they perceive to be, frankly, a waste of money. This Government are committed to bringing more accountability and audit into local government, and we will bring forward legislation on that soon.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I will certainly ensure that the Minister has heard the hon. Member’s question. This Government speak with one voice—we certainly try to—and I am sorry if that has not been the case in what she describes. This Government are committed to the Good Friday agreement in all its parts, and she will know that these issues are a matter for those who live in Northern Ireland.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am sorry to hear that Leicestershire county council is cutting vital bus services in my hon. Friend’s constituency. We have confirmed over £1 billion extra for local bus services such as those she describes, and we are bringing forward—in fact, it is passing through Parliament at the moment—the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill, which will give local communities much more say on bus services in their area.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I will certainly join my hon. Friend in congratulating the McNeeney family on putting on the chocolate festival, which sounds like a really great event. It ensured that those who perhaps could not afford to indulge over the Easter weekend had the opportunity to do so at The Oxford pub. I gently say to him that next time he should bring us back a few chocolates, so that we can make sure that they are up to the standard that the whole House would want.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. After more than a decade of Conservative chaos, our roads were left in a shocking state. If people want this country’s potholes fixed, they need to vote Labour at next week’s local elections.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. Tackling Alzheimer’s and dementia is at the heart of our early diagnosis strategy. We are determined to expand research and innovation into Alzheimer’s across all areas.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to highlight the importance of care homes such as the Hawthorns in his constituency. I am sorry to hear that his local county council—the Conservative-run county council—is closing care homes at this time. We have seen a record settlement for local government, so the county council should really reconsider its decisions.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I join the hon. Lady in supporting Lesbian Visibility Week, and she raises a really important matter. We should be supporting all couples of whatever kind who want to start a family, with all the joy that that brings and all the support that those families can bring to the babies and so on. I will ensure that the hon. Lady gets a full ministerial reply, but I am sorry to hear about the postcode lottery she has described.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right that fly-tipping is a blight on many of our communities, and we are determined to take further steps. We are currently seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to issue statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance, but I know she will want to raise these issues as the Bill passes through Parliament.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising the issue of the stolen children of Ukraine and the event to launch that campaign in the House yesterday. There has just been an urgent question about this matter. The Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), was very clear about our unwavering support for Ukraine and our condemnation of the continued actions of Russia and Putin, especially overnight but also over a long period of time. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. We are establishing the coalition of the willing to support what Ukraine wants going forward. The only country that is stopping peace is Russia, under Vladimir Putin, who could stop this war tomorrow if he chose to do so. I am sure that we will continue to discuss these issues.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I will absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating Balerno farmers market. It sounds like the bakers produce great cakes, which are so popular that none was left for him, so next time they definitely need to make a bit more.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating Aldershot Town on reaching the FA trophy final against Spennymoor Town. What a great achievement for her local club. A lot of football clubs are being mentioned today, and I am sure she might want to raise this next week on Second Reading of the Football Governance Bill. I also join her in congratulating Aldershot Town on being the first football club to get the armed forces gold standard achievement.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in thanking all the magistrates—as he says, they are volunteers, and they are the backbone of our justice system in this country. I think the issue he has highlighted is one that would gather a great deal of momentum and support, and I implore him to continue campaigning for it.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I am sorry to hear of the case that the hon. Member raises. The question of whether DBS checks are wide enough, suitable and so on does get raised in the House regularly. I will ensure that she gets a ministerial reply, but she might want to apply for an Adjournment debate; I am sure that many people would attend.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The Bill’s Report stage is on Wednesday 7 May, so my hon. Friend may want to raise some of these issues then. Tackling safeguarding and ensuring that we have the right safeguarding is a cross-Government issue, as she will know. It covers many Departments, but we have a number of measures coming forward in various pieces of legislation, which I hope will improve the safeguarding environment. I encourage her to raise these matters during the passage of some of those Bills.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thought the hon. Gentleman was going to ask me to perform a somersault—we will save that for later, maybe. [Hon. Members: “Oh!”] I was thinking more of the political variety—if you don’t mind! I absolutely join the hon. Member in congratulating Spelthorne Gymnastics on their fantastic achievement of five golds and three silvers in GB acrobatic gymnastics.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I join my hon. Friend in congratulating Cumberland building society on its 175 years—what a remarkable achievement—and on all the work it is doing in supporting house building and homeowners in her constituency and beyond.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thought there was an invite to Antigua coming there, Madam Deputy Speaker, but alas no. I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating and wishing well those four blokes—Rob, Kevin, Matthew and Tom—on their amazing charitable endeavours.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  We have really had a football theme today. I put on the record my congratulations to Burnley FC on getting promoted to the premier league. I look forward to Man City putting a few goals past them next season.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for thanking me for all the letters that my brilliant civil service team support me with, getting the answers to the questions that people ask me during business questions. Making sure that Members get answers to the questions they raise is something that I take incredibly seriously. The right hon. Gentleman is right to say that dentistry has been broken in this country, that access to NHS dentists is not what we would want it to be, and that more fundamental change is needed to ensure that we get more dentist appointments and look at the dental contract—I am lobbied about this issue by my own dentist every time I go. I will ensure that the House is kept updated on progress.