Satvir Kaur MP: speeches

Speeches

• 5 Mar 2026 · Civil Service Pension Scheme · Hansard source

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  I am sorry to hear about the stress caused to Richard, Peter and Chris—that is completely unacceptable. There is a timetable in our recovery plan. I encourage my hon. Friend to write to me so that the team can look into that case.

• 5 Mar 2026 · Civil Service Pension Scheme · Hansard source

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  Hardship loans are available, and a statutory complaints procedure is in place to determine whether compensation is appropriate. I urge hon. Members to direct their constituents towards it.

• 5 Mar 2026 · Civil Service Reform · Hansard source

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  The Government are committed to delivering a strong, stable and growing economy for every region in our country. That includes bringing high-quality civil service roles to towns and cities across the country, which will not only bring over £880 million in local economic benefits but ensure that the civil service better reflects the communities we serve.

• 5 Mar 2026 · Civil Service Reform · Hansard source

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  As a fellow Hampshire MP, I am pleased that my hon. Friend continues to champion our wonderful region’s cause. The Government are already working to improve living standards for individuals and families in his constituency and across the UK. The civil service plays a crucial role in ensuring that we continue to deliver on this issue. The national school of government will ensure that we nurture talent, give opportunities to more communities outside London, and have the people with the best skills to deliver on our priorities.

• 5 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, and to the important work being done by the new Long Eaton Business Partnership. This is exactly the kind of project to which the Office for the Impact Economy adds value. I am very happy to meet him to discuss how that can be maximised in his constituency, to improve the neighbourhood for his constituents.

• 5 Mar 2026 · Co-operative Sector · Hansard source

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  This Government are committed to delivering pride in places where we live. High street rental auctions are a really effective new tool for local authorities to do that, by bringing vacant high street units back into use, while unlocking opportunities for community organisations to access tenancies at reduced rates. Early adopter councils are making great strides in implementing these new powers and sharing best practice. The Office for the Impact Economy and I are working closely with MHCLG and other Departments to maximise the impact of place-based social and economic delivery.

• 5 Mar 2026 · Co-operative Sector · Hansard source

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  This Government recognise the enormous value of our co-operative sector. That is why the Office for the Impact Economy is already working closely with other Departments, including the Department for Business and Trade and the Treasury, to grow the co-operative sector and maximise its social and economic impact, helping to deliver the promise of national renewal the country voted for at the last election. I personally look forward to working with my hon. Friend, in his role as chair of the social, co-operative, and community economy all-party parliamentary group, and with the wider sector to build on this.

• 5 Mar 2026 · Civil Service Visa Sponsorship · Hansard source

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  This Government are committed to preserving the civil service’s proud and long-standing committed to merit-based appointments, ensuring we have the skills and talent in place to deliver on our priorities. Those seeking to work in our civil service must abide by existing nationality rules, and each Department must ensure compliance with UK visa sponsorship rules, which are issued through the Home Office.

• 5 Mar 2026 · Civil Service Visa Sponsorship · Hansard source

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  We want to champion world-class talent, and we want to have and retain the best talent. That is why we have announced the national school of government to ensure that we can do that. I politely remind the hon. Member that numbers actually increased after the points-based system was introduced. That is what made the biggest difference.

• 5 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  As it is World Environment Day, does the Leader of the House agree that while the UK has beautiful national parks, local parks and green spaces in urban cities such as Southampton are just as treasured and as valuable in bringing communities together and improving health and wellbeing, making such cities the great places that they are? Communities in my constituency enjoyed a week-long Urban Wild festival during the half-term holiday, as part of Southampton’s journey in becoming the UK’s first national park city outside London. Will she join me in congratulating Christelle Blunden in particular, but also the army of volunteers, friends of groups, charities and many more who champion our local nature every day and who are behind Southampton’s national park city campaign? Finally—

• 22 Apr 2025 · Female Offenders · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his response. In my constituency, Hope Street is doing incredible work to offer residential alternatives to custody for women. We know that this model reduces the number of women being sent to prison, preventing separation from their children, who are likely to be taken into care, which we all know has a hugely detrimental impact. Can the Minister share any plans to replicate and scale up the Hope Street model?

• 22 Apr 2025 · Female Offenders · Hansard source

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  8. What steps her Department is taking to support female offenders.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  The Prime Minister has rightly made growth his key mission, but can he outline for my constituents in Southampton Test how our Employment Rights Bill will not only deliver improvements for them, but put more money in their pockets as part of our plan for change?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 5 March.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

• 3 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The last Government’s disastrous changes to permitted development rights saw over 100,000 office and retail units converted into unsafe and unsuitable homes. In Southampton, they have left people living with office wires still hanging from the ceiling. Some have no windows, and others’ homes are no bigger than a car parking space. I welcome the Government’s excellent progress on renters’ and leaseholders’ rights, but will my right hon. Friend go further and confirm when permitted development rights will be reviewed, tighter regulations imposed and, where necessary, unsafe conversions banned?

• 28 Nov 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Local newspapers such as the Southern Daily Echo play a crucial role in informing and championing our local communities. They also play an important role in holding to account businesses, public bodies and, of course, politicians. In places such as Southampton, however, journalists are increasingly being subject to legal threats and intimidation, particularly through strategic lawsuits against public participation, which are often used by big business. Does the Leader of the House agree that a free press is a fundamental pillar of our democracy, and does she support my calls for more to be done to support our local media against intimidation and techniques such as SLAPPs?

• 18 Nov 2024 · Indefinite Leave to Remain: Healthcare Workers · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) for securing this important debate, following a petition on this issue to which my constituents in Southampton Test contributed the most signatures. The fact that more than 500 signatures came from Southampton does not surprise me. We are home to the largest hospital in the region and have a number of care homes, pharmacies, and GP practices, which local individuals and families rely on every day and which would not exist were it not for the incredible hard work of healthcare workers from around the world who keep our NHS going. For me, supporting healthcare workers from overseas is not only the right thing to do, but the most practical way to ensure that we have an NHS that is fit for purpose once more. Southampton has welcomed people from around the world for centuries. It has made us the great place we are—we are talented, skilled, resourceful, diverse and so much more. Healthcare workers play an invaluable role not only in ensuring that we get the care we need, but within our local communities, with many spending their spare time volunteering in our neighbourhoods. It is heartbreaking to see the statistic from the RCN that two thirds of overseas workers are considering leaving because they are struggling and cannot access support. Too many, especially those working at Southampton General Hospital, are sadly victims of hate crimes, too—something I have personally witnessed with horror. They are the ones in the most pressurised circumstances, playing their part to save thousands every single day, nursing our most vulnerable and caring for our loved ones when there is no one else to do it. Those who choose to come to us and keep our NHS—our most treasured asset—alive, and who give all they have to care for and help others in our local communities, should be valued. They should be able to put down roots and find a sense of belonging. At the very least, they should be able to call this great country, to which they give so much—including their taxes—their home. On a more practical level, we all know that our NHS is on its knees. I am proud of the clear, much-needed investment that this Labour Government have made in the NHS through the Budget, but more must be done. Recruitment and retention is the biggest problem facing our local hospital and other health providers, and that means reform. The plan, rightly, to improve opportunities and access for home-grown talent through the Government’s new NHS workforce plan is welcome, but it would be a mistake to take for granted the huge contribution that overseas health workers make to our NHS right now and will make in future. We are losing health workers at an unprecedented rate, with those in the sector warning of a mass exodus that will cripple our NHS. We are failing to keep that talent, and we are losing out to other countries that make much more attractive offers. If we want to keep our NHS alive and ensure it can thrive once more, staff—whoever they are and wherever they are from—must be valued and supported. I am grateful to every NHS worker. You do incredible work, sometimes in the most challenging circumstances. You are already playing your part for our country, and you deserve to be able to call this place your home sooner. Although I understand the Government’s position, I hope more can be done to support my residents on whom this issue has an impact, and to support healthcare workers more widely.

• 14 Nov 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Residents of Compass Point in my constituency are living in squalor. Water from the roof is being directed to the basement, causing regular flooding; loose pipework and wires are making the site unsafe; and raw sewage is seeping into the children’s play area. Does the Leader of the House agree that that is wholly unacceptable and that more needs to be done to hold to account freeholders such as BMR, their subcontractors, and lettings agents such as Leaders? Will she join me in requesting that they act swiftly and without delay to resolve the many, many issues that have been raised but not responded to?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Is the Leader of the House, like me, very concerned about the trend of bank closures on our local high streets, including in my constituency? Recently, residents and local businesses received the disappointing news that Lloyds bank is leaving Shirley High Street; I am campaigning to save the branch. Does the Leader of the House agree that face-to-face banking is a vital part of our thriving high streets? It is essential for those with specific disabilities, for those who are digitally excluded, and particularly for the elderly. Does she welcome the Government’s plans for banking hubs? Will she allow time to debate banking on our high streets?

• 9 Oct 2024 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  Let me start by congratulating my hon. Friends on their incredible maiden speeches, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea West (Torsten Bell), a good friend of mine with whom I have the privilege of sharing my Parliamentary Private Secretary position. It is clear that he will be a great asset to the people of Swansea West, as well to this Chamber. I am a firm believer that a safe, secure, affordable home should be a basic human right, that it is intrinsically linked to better life outcomes, and that this should be the case whether a person owns or rents their home. For too long, renters in my constituency of Southampton Test have suffered from no-fault evictions, rot, mould, and damp or draughty homes. Parents stay awake at night, anxious as they put their children to sleep in hazardous environments. Some are ignored by their landlords, stuck where they are, with soaring rents and fixed-term tenancies. Others are too worried to raise concerns out of fear that they will be evicted and their children will not have a place to call home. In Southampton, homelessness soared by more than 70% in the past five years under the previous Government. Two thirds of those who declare themselves homeless in my city do so as a direct result of no-fault evictions and insecure tenancies. Nationally, the charity Shelter warned that 172 families are threatened with homelessness every day for the same reason. That equates to one family every eight minutes—a shameful inheritance from the previous Government. Renters have long deserved far better. They were failed by the previous Government, who clearly sided with vested interests, rather than keeping their promises. I am proud to be part of this new Labour Government, who will deliver for renters and who are finally consigning no-fault evictions to the dustbin of history, and, in doing so, improving the lives of thousands in Southampton and millions across our country. I welcome plans to stop needless rental bidding wars and to ensure an end to fixed-term tenancies; so many renters in my constituency find themselves trapped into paying rent for substandard properties. I welcome the extension of the decent homes standard to the private rented sector so that families in Southampton can live without being exposed to issues such as damp and mould, and can sleep at night without worrying about their and their children’s health. As a former leader of a council, I of course welcome greater enforcement powers for local authorities to ensure that rogue landlords are identified and that improvements can be made without delay. New measures will also save the public purse vital funds—from local councils, which currently spend millions desperately trying to house those made homeless through no-fault evictions, to the NHS, which increasingly helps patients with conditions linked to issues such as damp or mental ill health, as people of all ages struggle with the everyday anxiety of living in an unsafe, insecure home. In conclusion, for too long renters of all ages and backgrounds across Britain and particularly in Southampton have been at the mercy of rogue landlords. Today, Labour is saying, “No more!” Homes are where we raise our families, put down roots and find a sense of belonging in our communities. That is possible only if we know we are in a safe, secure and affordable home. With this new Labour Government and the Bill, that will finally be possible for renters, who have waited too long already.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Sir David Amess Adjournment Debate · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I want to start by congratulating hon. Friends and other hon. Members on some fantastic maiden speeches today, but also on the many I have heard since the election in July. They have made me proud to be British. However, notwithstanding those incredible speeches and hearing about the amazing and beautiful places across the UK, I would still argue that Southampton, the place where I was born and bred, where I have always lived and which I have the honour to represent as the Member of Parliament for Southampton Test, is the best city on earth. Listen, I know it is a bold claim and many will have heard me make it before, but Southampton is where the world meets Britain. We have helped shape the world and we continue to do so, from the pilgrims who set sail from Southampton on the Mayflower over 400 years ago in search of a new life in America, to being the home of the Spitfire, which helped to defeat fascism in Europe during world war two. It was the University of Southampton that invented the internet as we know it today. And were those achievements not enough, Southampton also gave the world the fish-finger sandwich —you’re welcome. We are a city rich with culture, from our medieval walls that protected our nation in times of conflict to our award-winning parks, most notably Southampton common, which are the green lungs of our city, and our renowned art galleries and our theatre, the Mayflower. Southampton is where Jane Austen was schooled and lived, and it inspired some of her masterpieces. Even today, Southampton continues to produce great talent, from the singer Craig David to “MasterChef” winner Shelina Permalloo. Southampton is also a world-leading maritime city that is integral to the UK economy. The port of Southampton handles over £71 billion-worth of trade every year, while also serving as the busiest cruise port in Europe. We are a city of political firsts. Many will know that our country’s first Prime Minister of colour is from Southampton. I was the first female Sikh council leader in the UK. And the former MP for Southampton Test, my good friend Dr Alan Whitehead, was the first, and I believe the only politician, to have a song dedicated to them by none other than Led Zeppelin—clearly, they have a “whole lotta love” for Alan. Now, paying tribute to Alan Whitehead as my predecessor in this Chamber is an honour. He has been one of those unique politicians who was universally liked, valued, and respected on both sides of the House. His knowledge on climate change and green energy is unparalleled. He is essentially the Taylor Swift of the energy sector. [ Laughter. ] I’m pleased you got it. He leaves behind a legacy, not only of shaping Government policy on energy right now but of benefiting future generations, for which we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude. As I approach my 40th birthday in the coming days—[Hon. Members: “Surely not!”] I know! It is incredible to think that Alan has served our city for as long as I have been alive, first as leader of the council and then as a Member of Parliament. He has done so with unwavering dedication, integrity and kindness, meaning that he will be sorely missed by many. I am acutely aware that I have very big shoes to fill. Alan, and the former Member of Parliament for Southampton Itchen, John Denham, have both been instrumental in helping me to reach this place today. Indeed, John, on a visit to my school fair, awarded me first prize, when I was only eight years old, for my fancy dress costume. I do not know what it was about me dressing up as a clown that made John think that I might one day be destined for a career in politics. The truth is that I owe so much to my incredible city and the remarkable people of Southampton who gave me the opportunity to be where I am today. Southampton has made me who I am. As someone who grew up in one of Southampton’s most deprived communities, I saw at first hand the importance of community and service to others. Southampton has a unique ability to come together when it is needed most. I have been inspired time and time again by the many examples set by our faith organisations, local businesses and incredible local charities, from Love Southampton, a faith-based initiative, to businesses such as the Saints Pub on the Millbrook estate, and charities like Yellow Door, No Limits and Saints Foundation. All work tirelessly to make Southampton a better place, and remind us that when we lift our poorest and most vulnerable in society, that lifts everyone. Our city’s diversity has made me realise that we are the great place we are because of it—historic, but modern, dynamic, creative, and so much more. I may stand here as our constituency’s first female MP and MP of colour, but I know that there are many more before me who have paved the way. I feel that responsibility here as well, and feel their weight on my shoulders. As a graduate of Southampton’s two world-class universities —the University of Southampton, and then Solent University —I know that they put our city on the map, and that both are institutions that inspire, innovate and push boundaries. They have helped me, and our city, to be more forward-thinking and outward-looking. As a Saints fan, I must confess that supporting our team is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, which has taught me, above anything else, enormous resilience. We are thankfully back in the premier league, but whether we are winning or losing, together as one city we march on. I am incredibly proud of Southampton and everything it represents, but like any major city, we know that we face challenges. One in every three children lives below the poverty line, and a person’s life expectancy can drop by 10 years simply by their being the wrong side of a bridge. Public services are on their knees, and many families I represent are struggling. That is why I want to be part of the renewal that this Labour Government are promising, and want to rebuild the services on which my communities rely—from a decent home becoming a basic human right to people feeling safe in our streets and neighbourhoods again; from having access to healthcare when it is needed to protecting our environment and rivers. Another key priority of mine is to ensure that we create opportunities for all, and include the excluded. We know that children from poor areas or ethnic minority backgrounds, or those with disabilities, are not less talented; they are simply given fewer opportunities. Britain’s talent is spread evenly across our communities and our country. If we are to realise our potential, we must ensure that those opportunities are spread more evenly too. These challenges will not be easy to resolve, but the people of Southampton, like so many across Britain, are rightfully proud and ambitious for themselves, their families and their country. That is why we need a Government who are equally ambitious, and committed to unlocking the potential and opportunities of places like Southampton. I know that, as a city, we stand ready to seize this moment to thrive and grow—and the drive, passion, compassion, togetherness and determination of the people of Southampton will see it through. Let me end by saying directly to them: I will be forever grateful to you for making this daughter of a market stall trader, who grew up in our inner city on free school meals, your Member of Parliament. You are the very best of me, and I am a product of every opportunity that you have given me. I shall never take that trust for granted, and I will spend every day, in here and beyond, championing our great city, fighting for it, and helping us to reach our enormous potential.

• 23 Jul 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. After 14 years of Conservative mismanagement of our NHS, the waiting list at Southampton general hospital is close to 60,000. I welcome my hon. Friend’s commitment and plan to bring down waiting lists, but can she also outline what support will be offered to those waiting for treatment, many of whom are in pain, as we tackle the shameful backlog we inherited?