Perran Moon MP: speeches

Speeches

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

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  Defibrillators are a vital community resource; they save lives and provide reassurance to local residents and visitors. In my constituency of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, Paul Kimberley has been leading the St Agnes parish-wide defibrillator network, which now includes 50 different defibrillators across the area. Thanks to that initiative, St Agnes now ranks in the top 2% nationally for defibrillator coverage. Will the Leader of the House congratulate Paul for his work? Does she also agree that we need a more informed and strategic approach to defibrillator provision, and will she allocate time to support and debate that initiative?

• 14 May 2025 · Great British Energy Bill · Hansard source

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  Bring it down to Cornwall!

• 14 May 2025 · Rebalancing Regional Economies · Hansard source

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  I wholeheartedly agree with the principle of devolving powers out of this place and into regions, but does the Minister agree that in certain parts of the country, namely Cornwall, it will be very difficult for the model that is designed within the English devolution Bill to apply? Does he agree that we need flexibility and a nuanced approach to those areas that are desperate for devolution but will not and cannot sign up to the model that is currently Government strategy?

• 14 May 2025 · Rebalancing Regional Economies · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 14 May 2025 · Rebalancing Regional Economies · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. My point is similar to that of the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour). We often discuss the rebalancing of regional economies in terms of urban versus rural or north versus south, but does my hon. Friend agree that we must consider more nuanced geographical and socioeconomic factors, including those of communities in remote coastal areas such as Cornwall, whose characteristics differ substantially from inland rural communities on issues such as non-resident population, the cost of beach safety, the ability to attract construction workers and, of course, a massive challenge with housing costs?

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

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  Does the Minister agree that at the heart of this debate is that this Government are taking proactive engagement with our nearest and largest trading and security partner, which is a quantum leap from the failed position of sneering resentment from the Conservative party?

• 12 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Meur ras, Mr Speaker. Some of the most vulnerable people in my Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency have profound anxieties about what the changes to personal independence payment eligibility criteria will mean for them. What steps is the Minister taking to communicate to people who will never be able to work again that the new process will not subject them to unnecessary and degrading assessments?

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

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  I am delighted that the United Kingdom stands on the brink of a trade agreement with the United States. Does the Leader of the House agree that this is vindication of the firm, but fair, calm and measured approach of the Prime Minister, in stark contrast to the shrill voices from those on the Conservative Benches that would have landed us in a trade war weeks ago?

• 29 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The United Kingdom was particularly susceptible to changes in international gas prices during the energy crisis, and bills and prices soared as a result. Under this Government, GB Energy is installing solar panels in hospitals in my Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency, but will the Minister remind us which party presided over the worst cost of living crisis in memory—

• 24 Apr 2025 · EU Trading Relationship · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) on securing the debate at such a timely moment for our relationship with the European Union, given this time of global insecurity. As a Cornishman, I would like to highlight concerns raised to me by our fishing industry. Its daily reality is far from the post-Brexit panacea that promised so much and delivered so little to the fishermen in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle.

• 24 Apr 2025 · EU Trading Relationship · Hansard source

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  That was a typically perceptive Cornish intervention from my hon. Friend. This issue affects fishermen not just in my constituency, but elsewhere in Cornwall and across the UK. The Business and Trade Committee’s report on EU relations points out: “The fruits of the sea around our borders are a part of our shared ecology, and…must be managed carefully to protect the livelihoods of future generations.” Businesses and livelihoods in fishing communities must not be bargaining chips, as some media outlets are suggesting; they are invaluable elements of local economies that must be protected and strengthened. At the same time, we must make progress toward reducing trade barriers with our trading partners in the EU. The former is crucial to the latter, because the Government’s current and future negotiations have to bring the British people, including our fishing industry, with them. I hope that the Minister will confirm that the Government are working towards a fair deal for our fisheries that will secure their long-term stability. This is a moment for our Government to provide leadership, which was so severely lacking in the last Government’s half-baked negotiations. Although, as we have heard, larger and higher profile sectors will form the basis of these delicate negotiations, we must not abandon the need to reassure our vital fishing communities and protect fishing stocks.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Sewage · Hansard source

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  As hard as it may be to believe, on Saturday I went surfing at Gwithian beach—well known to the hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George)—in my constituency of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle. I was invited to surf with the Wave Project, which is a national programme offering children with mental health challenges the chance to use the power of the ocean to lift spirits, build their confidence and chase away some demons. It was an incredibly rewarding experience overall, even for someone whose surfing skills were last on show more than 30 years ago. It was really sad that when we arrived I was informed that the only place we could use was on the western edge of the beach; the rest of the beach was too polluted with sewage. Across the central and western area of Cornwall, 10% of all the Wave Project’s sessions have to be cancelled due to sewage pollution. All along the north coast of my constituency, in Portreath, Porthtowan, Perranporth and St Agnes, which is the location of the head office of Surfers Against Sewage, we are regularly polluted. According to the House of Commons Library, in 2024 there were 142 spills at Portreath, lasting more than 2,500 hours. In total, there were 975 spills last year in my constituency, lasting for an estimated 8,847 hours. Those numbers are shocking to me and to my constituents, who have a right to clean bathing water and a safe natural environment. However, I am delighted that this Government are taking action through new, tougher penalties for water executives, a ban on bonuses for senior leadership failing to meet standards, mandatory monitoring and reporting, and a model for cost recovery to better resource the Environment Agency, which had its funding slashed under the Tories. Although many discharges still go unpunished, we are acting to clean up the Conservatives’ foul, stinking mess while the Liberal Democrats carp from the sidelines, making cheap but transparent pre-local election political points and stating the blindingly obvious as though it was some sort of political revelation, with the indignation of a party that has never had to worry about actually making Government policy. It is under this Labour Government that the Conservatives’ sewage scandal will end.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Sewage · Hansard source

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  Including the Liberal Democrats.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Hospitals · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend share my real discomfort at the gall of the hon. Member for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo) in suggesting that somehow this Government are making the same mistakes that the Conservative Government made, when it was in the 2010s—under a coalition Government—that the rot started, with the Liberal Democrats?

• 22 Apr 2025 · Reoffending on Probation · Hansard source

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  9. What steps her Department is taking to help reduce levels of reoffending by people on probation.

• 22 Apr 2025 · Reoffending on Probation · Hansard source

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  May I take this opportunity to wish you a belated Pask lowen, Mr Speaker? Reoffenders are among the most socially excluded in society and often experience complex mental health and social issues, including drug and alcohol addiction. We know that perpetually locking them up does not work and costs a fortune. Can the Minister reassure me that he is working with both the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that wraparound detox and rehabilitation support is available, such as that offered by Bosence Farm in Cornwall?

• 3 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. Meur ras, Mr Speaker. Cultural spaces across our nation that rely on funding through Arts Council England, such as The Ladder in my constituency, have been dismayed to see a second delay to the new cycle of national portfolio investment. As that investment is fundamental to the income stream and stability of cultural activities, what assessment has the Secretary of State made of making a stable, long-term commitment to funding prospective national portfolio organisations, which have now been affected by two years of delays?

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

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  Wednesday last week was Epilepsy Awareness Day. My constituent Sara contacted me about its acknowledgment in Parliament, and today I am wearing a purple tie to mark epilepsy awareness. Will the Leader of the House reassure Sara and me that support for the hundreds of thousands of people who suffer from this challenging condition will remain at the heart of the Government’s healthcare policy?

• 2 Apr 2025 · Onshore Wind and Solar Generation · Hansard source

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  The approach set out in the order is a continuation of the Minister’s work to build the clean energy infrastructure that the country needs. I agree that the capacity threshold and the reintroduction of onshore wind generation stations into the definition of nationally significant infrastructure projects will help deliver the triple benefits of decarbonisation, energy security and job creation. However, as the Minister knows, Cornwall is a leader in the roll-out of onshore wind and solar energy. Does he agree that the order will further opportunities for renewable energy growth across Cornwall that would have been ignored by the flat Earth climate change deniers in the Conservative party?

• 2 Apr 2025 · Onshore Wind and Solar Generation · Hansard source

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  If the shadow Minister is so confident about Conservative party policy, will he come back to the House after 1 May and tell us how the Conservatives have performed in those local elections?

• 2 Apr 2025 · School-based Nursery Capital Grants · Hansard source

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  Treleigh primary school sits at the heart of my Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency. It is surrounded by an area that suffers from profound levels of poverty and deprivation. If ever there was an area that needed some good news on early years, it is mine, following the shameful neglect by the previous Government. Does the Minister agree that new childcare places in new and expanded nurseries, including at Treleigh primary school, will help children from the most deprived backgrounds have the best start in life, after the life chances of children from deprived backgrounds were ignored by the Conservative party for years?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Eating Disorder Awareness · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member. How could a system be so warped as to make a parent feel that way about their own child—the thing they love most, more than anything else in the world? Measuring the criticality of eating disorders through BMI is a medieval evaluation, hopelessly inadequate to the needs of the sufferer. Proper psychological assessments must be undertaken at the earliest identification of a problem, with a package of appropriate measures applied thereafter, dependent on the severity of the case. My daughter spent two periods of six months in hospital. She recovered her health and is today working in the NHS in mental health services as a senior assistant psychologist, using her own painful experience to offer others the care and support she never had. Under-investment has left mental health services stretched beyond capacity, and young people like my daughter become desperately unwell while sitting on waiting lists, with the cost of their recovery, both emotionally and financially, spiralling by the day. I know the Department of Health is taking the issue incredibly seriously, but we must prioritise a rapid overhaul of the system to offer hope to young people and their families. This Government must prioritise investment into mental health and eating disorder services. Today, I ask the Minister to say to all the families going through that hellish tornado of pain, to all those angry dads, tearful mums and terrified children, “Hang in there. We will come for you. We know your pain and we will act swiftly to help you to relieve it.”

• 1 Apr 2025 · Eating Disorder Awareness · Hansard source

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  Meur ras, Mr Stuart; thank you for your chairship. I thank the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) for securing this important debate. I declare an interest: I am also a member of the eating disorder APPG. As has been mentioned, recent data suggests that one in eight 17 to 19-year-olds in England have an eating disorder—a massive increase from fewer than 1% in 2017. On average, young people are now waiting for almost three and a half years to get treatment. My relationship with anorexia began nine years ago. It is a story that I am sure resonates with many thousands of other parents the length and breadth of Britain; frankly, it is a massive part of why I became an MP. My story began when I took a phone call from a teacher at my daughter’s school. She asked me to come and collect her, as she had passed out, having not eaten breakfast or dinner. Over the next few months and years, my daughter, whose relationship with food had already become terribly distorted, unbeknown to me, was clutched by anorexia. Its claws dug deeper and deeper into her as she slipped into a desperately poorly state. She became too unwell for school, and the pressure of her exams was like a ton of bricks on her as the anorexia gave her a cruel outlet for the control—something that sits behind so much of this—that she sought in her life. As parents, our most solemn undertaking is to protect and nurture our children. Against this terrible illness, I was utterly useless. As my daughter’s illness took hold, I became more and more angry: first with her, then with others, and then with the system. It was only years later that I had to have it explained to me that that anger was actually driven by fear. I was impotent to support my daughter. Worse still, I was incapable of finding anyone else who could provide her with the care that she so desperately needed. Here is the killer blow. The only way she could qualify for lifesaving support was if she became critically ill—so ill that she was staring death in the face . Imagine sitting at the kitchen table for hours, watching your emaciated child looking terrified at a small plate of food in front of her and hoping that she does not eat it, so she becomes so ill that she qualifies for the support that she needs. Those truly shameful thoughts are etched on my conscience and visit me every single day. They have left an indelible stain on my soul. For having those terrible thoughts, to my daughter, wherever she is, if she sees this speech, I want to say, “I’m sorry, my lamb.”

• 1 Apr 2025 · Trail Hunting · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. Not only that, but in his constituency I have personally cleared land on which local hunts had created an environment for foxes to thrive. It is a complete nonsense to suggest that fox hunting is of any use in terms of pest control. It is not. The 2004 Act was a response to the growing public outcry over the brutality of hunting practices. It made it illegal to hunt with hounds except in certain circumstances, in the case of registered hunts using scent trails.

• 1 Apr 2025 · Trail Hunting · Hansard source

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  I think it is absolutely right that all voices are heard, but that science is followed. Legislation should be based on evidence and science, and the evidence and the science suggest that the cruelty to the animal being pursued far outweighs the pleasure the hunt will give human beings. However, I am really happy for all voices to be heard in this debate.