Steve Yemm MP: speeches

Speeches

• 13 Nov 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Ahead of the Budget, will the Leader of the House allow a debate during Government time to discuss the potential economic benefits of releasing the British Coal staff superannuation scheme investment reserve in order to increase the pensions of members of the BCSSS?

• 5 Nov 2025 · Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Cat Eccles). Let me begin by reaffirming my strong support for the United Kingdom’s continued commitment to the European convention on human rights. For more than 70 years, the ECHR has been a cornerstone of liberty and justice across Europe, defending free speech, safeguarding human rights and upholding the dignity of every individual. Those principles are as vital today as they have ever been, but supporting the ECHR does not mean turning a blind eye to where its application may have become unbalanced or detached from public understanding or support. I believe that the time has come for taking a serious and constructive view on its reform, not to weaken human rights, but to strengthen credibility and public confidence in the convention. In particular, I believe that the interpretation of articles 3 and 8 has in a very small number of cases prevented the removal of foreign nationals with serious criminal convictions, even where their presence poses a clear risk to public safety. I hear that frustration again and again from my constituents in Mansfield. People who play by the rules expect those who break them to face the consequences, and when that does not happen, faith in the law and our institutions is undermined. The status quo cannot remain, and my constituents in Mansfield are demanding action. That is why reform is needed—not to abandon our commitments, but to ensure that they reflect common sense, justice and the values of the British people in 2025. I welcome the recent comments by the president of the European Court of Human Rights suggesting that the Court is open to discussion and reform. That openness offers the UK a chance to engage and lead constructively, to modernise the convention, to clarify its boundaries, and to ensure that human rights protections continue to serve individual dignity, public safety, and what is more, public confidence. Let the UK remain a proud and leading member of the Council of Europe and the convention. That is the right and responsible way forward.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Houses in Multiple Occupation: Planning Consent · Hansard source

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  As my hon. Friend would expect, I am sympathetic to that suggestion. However, that is not an experience I share, because I have a local authority that makes virtually no use of article 4. Certainly, if people are circumventing it, there is clearly a case for reform there as well. To conclude, my overall message is that we need to think about how we reform article 4 to make it easier to justify, quicker to implement and fairer to landlords and residents. It should also be anchored in local decision making, rather than just about top-down approval. And we must ensure that our councils are funded properly to undertake compliance. All we are really asking for are the tools to protect our towns and make sure that every street remains a place where people can live, grow and thrive together. Let us act now, trust councils and residents and make sure that planning policy works for our people, not against them.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Houses in Multiple Occupation: Planning Consent · Hansard source

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  I agree, and I will turn to that later in my remarks. Mansfield is built on community, and people look out for one another, but when planning makes it easier to convert family homes than to build them, the fabric of community life starts to fall apart a little. This is not an anti-HMO message; it is a pro-community message. Good landlords—I meet many of them—should be recognised and supported, but those who ignore rules should face real consequences, which speaks to the point the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) made. Mansfield district council is doing all it can. It is using selective licensing powers to help address antisocial behaviour and poor housing in the private rented sector in certain designated areas, and I fully support it in doing so. It has also looked at using an article 4 direction to bring HMO conversions back under local planning control. I would also support that, but the process is relatively complex and costly, and feels a little stacked against local authorities. Mansfield council would first have to gather extensive evidence to prove that uncontrolled HMO growth is genuinely harming the local area, whether that is parking pressures, waste issues or the erosion of family housing and so forth. That process alone involves months of costly data collection and consultation, and it puts more pressure on planning teams at a time when councils are recovering from years of cuts under the previous Government. We cannot expect them to do more with less while trying to respond to these real concerns from the community. Even with clear evidence—and Mansfield has plenty—councils have to jump through many hoops to justify what should be a straightforward decision giving local people a voice in what happens on their own streets. So today I am asking the Minister to consider three things. First, we should simplify and strengthen the process for councils to use article 4 directions when there is a clear local need. Councils such as Mansfield should be trusted more and given the ability to protect their neighbourhoods. We should reinstate the principle that local authorities know their communities best. Secondly, we should think about introducing a national framework that prevents over-concentration of HMOs in defined areas. Part of that could include the creation of a national register for HMOs, linking planning, licensing and council tax data so that local teams can more easily identify areas and locate unregistered properties. Thirdly and finally, we should properly resource local authorities to enforce the rules they already have. Powers on paper mean nothing if councils do not have the people or funding to use them. We might consider, for example, the provision of ringfenced funding or allowing councils to use planning fees or licensing income to support enforcement.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Houses in Multiple Occupation: Planning Consent · Hansard source

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  I agree that whoever falls foul of planning regulations should be held to account. Although HMOs have a place, in Mansfield, as in so many proud towns across the country, we have seen what happens when the balance tips too far—when too many family homes are converted too quickly without proper local control or consideration. My constituents know the streets I am talking about in Mansfield Woodhouse, Forest Town, Warsop and parts of my town centre, where once-stable family homes are being turned into short-term lets or high-density HMOs almost overnight. The result is more noise, parking pressures, more rubbish and fly-tipping, higher turnover of residents, less community cohesion, and a growing feeling among residents that they have lost their say on what happens on their own street. I have spoken to lifelong residents—people like myself who have raised their children and grandchildren in Mansfield—who remember when every family on their street knew every other family by name. In some areas, they now see bins overflowing, cars blocking their pavements and transient visitors who stay for a short while and are not invested in the area.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Houses in Multiple Occupation: Planning Consent · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered planning consent for houses in multiple occupation. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I speak today about an issue that is deeply personal for people across my constituency: the rapid spread of houses in multiple occupation, or HMOs, and the growing frustration local communities feel at being powerless to manage their impact. Let me be clear at the outset that HMOs have a place. They can provide flexible, affordable housing for students, young workers and those getting started in the housing market. For example, a constituent recently told me that, after moving out of her parents’ home, she found an affordable room in a well-kept, clean and safe HMO, which enabled her to save a deposit to buy her own property. It is important to recognise that HMOs have a place.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Houses in Multiple Occupation: Planning Consent · Hansard source

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  I thank everyone who has participated in today’s debate. I think it comes down to something quite simple about fairness and local control. No one is saying that HMOs do not have a place—they do—but in many parts of my community people think that they deserve the right to shape their own street and protect their own community. I want to fix this issue, whether that means giving councils the right tools or getting them to utilise the tools they have, together with giving them the funding and the trust to act. Our planning should be about people and communities. Mansfield, like all our communities, deserves nothing less than that. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered planning consent for houses in multiple occupation.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Houses in Multiple Occupation: Planning Consent · Hansard source

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  I agree with the hon. Member, but we need to get the balance right between the failing landlords and the very many good landlords we see.

• 28 Oct 2025 · Obesity and Fatty Liver Disease · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising this debate. We are calling obesity the enemy, but the liver does not count in pounds or kilograms. The real culprit is not body weight; it is metabolic dysfunction, as she points out—insulin resistance, poor diet, genetic risk and so forth. Lean people also get fatty liver disease, not always people who are overweight. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should talk less about obesity and more about screening early, taxing junk food and treating metabolic disorders and disease rather than strictly BMI? If we chase the scales, we might miss the science.

• 27 Oct 2025 · Holidays During School Term Time · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. In Mansfield, 850 people signed this petition because they believe that families deserve some fairness, freedom and a bit of common sense. I believe they also know that a rounded education is about a bit more than attendance and penalty notices. It is also about giving our children experiences, memories and time with their families—the sort of time that helps them to grow, to feel loved and to see the world beyond the classroom. Let us be honest, for working families in towns such as mine, the idea of a week away in August has become a luxury that very few can afford. When prices triple the moment that schools break up, parents are faced with an impossible choice: break the rules or break the bank. These parents are decent, hard-working people, such as nurses, shop workers, delivery drivers and care assistants. They do everything right. They work all year and pay their taxes, and then they are told that they cannot take their kids away for a few days because it is term time. Working people deserve a break and families deserve a choice, and the state should not be micro-managing family life to this extent. Last week, I put out a social media post asking people for their comments on this issue ahead of our debate. I have had literally thousands of comments, replies and emails from constituents. The response has been completely overwhelming, and here are just a few of the comments. Katie says: “There’s a cost of living crisis making it difficult to go on holiday during term time as it is more expensive, we are trying our hardest to ensure our children live a happy and fulfilling life and make sure they have many happy memories.” Lauren says: “For many of us, especially those of us who are working in the NHS and other key sectors, aligning leave with school holidays is often impossible. Families are left with that heartbreaking choice—miss out on precious time together or face financial penalties.” Lisa, whose name I have changed, is a foster parent with disabled children who has also been fined. She said: “Due to the age and disability of our children, we were very limited by when suitable accommodation was available. Our children’s attendance was otherwise excellent - their only absences were for hospital appointments, over which we have absolutely no control, and there are no concerns with their academic attainment.” Holly, a constituent of mine who is awaiting a fine, wrote to me: “School and education is a priority for my family, but to make parents feel like criminals is not acceptable. Let’s remember children get one childhood, and life is not always simple, with family illness, death and other issues that occur, not just holidays.” That is what life looks like for real families in my constituency and across the UK. They are not asking for weeks and weeks off; they are asking for just a few days every year to make family memories without fear of being fined for it. Of course children need the best possible education—every one of us wants that—but education is not just about exams and attainment. It is also about experience, balance and wellbeing. Right now, I believe that we have got the balance wrong. Let us trust parents a little more. Let us treat them like adults. Let us show a bit of compassion and common sense, because families in Mansfield and right across our country have made it clear to me—and to all of us, I believe—that they want the freedom to decide what is best for their own children.

• 22 Oct 2025 · Financial Inclusion · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that it is totally unfair that many people, including many constituents of mine, find themselves excluded from some of the best utility deals because they do not have a bank account, so they are unable to pay by direct debit? Effectively, that cuts them off from some of the best deals that are available across a range of products and services.

• 16 Oct 2025 · Ada Lovelace Day · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Collinge) for securing this important debate. Ada Lovelace Day is an occasion for us all to pay tribute to a trailblazer in the fields of science and technology, and recognise the importance of women who work in those sectors today. Ada was an incredible figure—the first computer programmer—and she remains a role model to many women in STEM careers and girls who aspire to follow them. She leaves behind such an impressive legacy. I hope that we can continue to honour her by empowering more women to get involved in these fields. This issue is deeply personal to me. Working in the life sciences and technology field prior to entering Parliament, I saw at first hand the tremendous skills and knowledge that women provide in this field, but I also saw the difficulties women face in pursuing a career in what remains a male-dominated sector. As chief executive of a company in the science and technology field, I boosted the number of female staff working in the company to more than 50%, and all my senior leadership team were women. I am also a father of three girls, two of whom are chemists, so I recognise the importance of women working in science. Currently, women make up less than 30% of the STEM workforce. That is why I welcome the Government’s industrial strategy, which aims to increase women’s representation in the sector to 35% by 2035. I also welcome the equality charter set out by the Government, which ensures that firms’ diversity data is publicly available. It is disappointing that previous Governments failed to capitalise on this issue. I am reassured by the Government’s approach and intention to unleash the skills, abilities and passions that many women have in this field. As we remember Ada, let us appreciate her efforts as an inspirational figure for women in STEM, let us recognise the dedication, passion and the resilience of many women in STEM today, and let us commit to educating, training and employing many more women in STEM.

• 16 Oct 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Eleven-year-old Jake from my constituency, who has special educational needs and disabilities including Down’s syndrome, has been left without appropriate schooling provision for this year because of the failings of Nottinghamshire county council. Does the Leader of the House agree that children such as Jake should not be left behind? Will the Government find time to hold a debate on how we can deliver the provision that is needed for young people with SEND like my constituent?

• 16 Sept 2025 · Employment Rights: Impact on Businesses · Hansard source

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  My constituents tell me how important it is to strengthen statutory sick pay, particularly for lower-paid workers who cannot afford to take time off work without it. Does the hon. Member agree that, contrary to the views of Opposition Members, that is a particularly important employment right?

• 15 Sept 2025 · Children with SEND: Assessments and Support · Hansard source

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  In line with my hon. Friend’s experience, I have heard from numerous families in Mansfield who have engaged in long battles to obtain EHCPs for their children. Many of them are utterly exhausted by the process, and often they are not offered the support that they are legally entitled to within the statutory timelines. Does he agree that such delays are completely unacceptable, and that they must change?

• 10 Sept 2025 · Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Access · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. The famine that we see unfolding in Gaza is not merely a humanitarian crisis, but an absolute moral catastrophe: children starving before our eyes and families digging through rubble not for shelter but for food. I welcome the fact that the Government have already taken decisive action to respond to this by restoring funding to UNRWA, through a programme to airlift critically injured children, and by supporting UK-Med and treating more than 600,000 Gazans. We have helped to shape the international community’s work to plan for what post-conflict peace will look like. We have provided more than £250 million in development assistance and have been working with our allies, including Egypt and Jordan. Those are all welcome steps, but all of us here today want to hear from the Minister about what more we will do. We must get more humanitarian aid into Gaza, without obstruction, without delay and on a scale that meets this vast and desperate need. Food, water, medicine and shelter are not political bargaining chips; they are basic human rights.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  UK business confidence has hit a 12-month high, according to the latest figures from Lloyds Banking Group. Does the Minister agrees that this is due to the work of this Labour Government, not least the five consecutive interest rate cuts and the three new trade deals?

• 9 Sept 2025 · Neurodivergent People: Employment · Hansard source

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  Specifically on that point, it is important to recognise that neurodivergent people, particularly young neurodivergent people, should be treated individually, as the hon. Member has just suggested. In my constituency, West Notts college offers a number of entirely bespoke courses that are specifically designed have that sort of impact. The outcomes from those courses are truly phenomenal and West Notts college deserves our praise for helping so many young people into further education and back into employment. Does the hon. Member agree that a one-size-fits-all approach is really not the best way to get neurodivergent people, and those with special educational needs and disabilities, back into education and employment?

• 8 Sept 2025 · Defence Industrial Base · Hansard source

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  I welcome last week’s news that Ukraine’s largest drone manufacturer has invested £200 million in a new factory in the UK, creating 500 jobs. This demonstrates the strength of our partnership with our Ukrainian friends and the confidence that international companies have in Britain’s skilled workforce. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact of foreign direct investment in the UK’s defence industrial base?

• 8 Sept 2025 · Defence Industrial Base · Hansard source

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  16. What steps he is taking to help strengthen the defence industrial base.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Palestine Action: Proscription and Protests · Hansard source

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  While Palestine Action waged its campaign of intimidation and went about damaging military bases, with very little impact in the middle east, this week the Government will host President Abbas and President Herzog for discussions on a more peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis alike. Does the Minister agree that, unlike Palestine Action, this Government are actually taking genuine and serious steps to support peace in the middle east?

• 2 Sept 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls: Pornography Prostitution · Hansard source

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  In my view, prostitution and sexual exploitation are inherently violent. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is right that we shift the criminal burden on to those responsible for sexual exploitation and violence, and that more should be done to criminalise those who buy sex, whether it is through prostitution or OnlyFans?

• 10 Jul 2025 · Children’s Health · Hansard source

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  Today I want to speak about a group of young people who are too often overlooked in our healthcare system: teenagers and young people with cancer. Every day in the UK, seven young people are told the devastating words, “You have cancer.” That is not just a statistic; it is a wake-up call for all of us. Cancer remains the biggest disease-related killer of young people in our country, yet their unique experiences and their physical, psychological and social needs are too often sidelined. If we are serious about improving outcomes for them, we need to act on three fronts. First, we need faster diagnosis. Young people must be given clear, accessible information about the symptoms of cancer, and our primary care system must be better equipped to spot those symptoms early. Secondly, we need access to clinical trials. I welcome the conversation that representatives of the Teenage Cancer Trust and I had only last week with the Minister for Public Health on this very issue. Young people currently participate in trials at lower rates than other groups, so they miss out on cutting-edge treatments that could save lives. Thirdly, we need to address mental health. More than half of young people with cancer experience poor mental health, and almost nine in 10 psychologists say that our current services cannot meet demand. Cancer does not just interrupt a young life but collides with it at a time of exams, discovering new relationships, identity growth and development, and the least that we can do is make sure that our systems do not fail young people. Let us ensure that the next national cancer plan reflects this reality, and let us give all these young people the care and support that they deserve.

• 8 Jul 2025 · Generative Artificial Intelligence: Schools · Hansard source

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  Does the right hon. Gentleman share my concern about some of the dangers of using generative AI in the classroom, particularly around harmful content and activity? I read the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s “Viewing Generative AI and children’s safety in the round”, which gave examples of children creating deepfakes of other children in the class. Does the right hon. Gentleman also share my concerns about children’s privacy and data protection, and the extent to which many of these edtech applications are created with the aim of minimising data protection? I understand he has concerns about regulation, but this seems to be almost entirely unregulated in the classroom. There is certainly a case for, at the very least, regulating data protection, data to third parties and—

• 7 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T10. To what extent does the Minister agree that reform of the European convention on human rights, which can block us from deporting some foreign criminals, including paedophiles, should be a priority for the Government?