Tom Hayes MP: speeches

Speeches

• 21 Jan 2025 · Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q I think this question is for Mark. Before I was elected, for five years, I ran a service in support of survivors of child sexual abuse. Hearing the Children’s Commissioner say, just before you, that every report makes the same set of recommendations and at the heart of that is better multi-agency working, would you talk about the ways in which the Bill helps to drive that integration at a local level, and helps facilitate that multi-agency working to keep children safe? Mark Russell: Thank you, Tom; we have corresponded before about your previous work. I welcome a huge swathe of what is in the Bill on this. We have been campaigning on this for many years, including the identifier for young people to ensure data is shared. Home schooling is a really significant area. As the commissioner and Ofsted said earlier, a significant number of young people are home-schooled, which is really good and beneficial for them. It is also important to say that some are home-schooled because the school is unable to meet the special educational needs that those young people have, or they are struggling with their mental health. The measures in the Bill to provide for a register are really important. The local authority consent for young people is really important. I also want to mention that we had an independent inquiry into child sexual abuse, which was seven years long. We heard from more than 7,000 survivors of abuse, and there were a swathe of recommendations that have not been acted on. I know we have heard from the Home Secretary that there is a plan coming on that, which is really welcome, but time and time again we read the same recommendations, in report after report. We know that so many young people experience sexual abuse in family settings or in settings where there is an adult that they should be able to trust. There are clear things we can do to tighten safeguarding and minimise those risks. The Bill takes a step in the right direction. It is also really important because it has been quite a while since we had a piece of legislation entirely focused on children. That, in itself, is welcome.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q I want to ask somebody who clearly has long professional experience about the nutrition of food in the free breakfast clubs. Children are experiencing significant difficulty, whether it be from the cost of living crisis, the pandemic, reduced opportunity for play outdoors or their increased screentime. Children are struggling, so we need to make sure that the food that they get from this Government is as nutritious as possible. There is clearly a correlation between poor health outcomes and people’s financial hardship. How do you expect health outcomes will improve for children, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, by their having access to free breakfast clubs?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  There can be few places in our country that need this Bill more than Bournemouth East. A total of 33% of households in my constituency are in private rented accommodation, which is considerably more than the national average of 19%. In Boscombe West, a ward, 60% are private renting, and in East Cliff, where I live, it is 56%. Rents went up in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole by 9% in the year to October 2024, which is higher than the national average. Some 81% of respondents to Shelter’s Dorset survey in BCP said that they were struggling to pay their rent. As somebody who used to lead a mental health charity, I know the link between health outcomes, poor mental health and poor rented accommodation. For everybody living in poor rented accommodation in Bournemouth East, I know there will be a significant effect on health outcomes. I want to talk briefly about the abolition of no-fault evictions and bring my constituents into the debate. My constituent Carolaine from Boscombe had lived in overcrowded private rented housing with her two children with special educational needs and disabilities for 11 years before being given a section 21. Being forced to move at short notice has significantly negatively affected her mental health. The Labour Government’s abolition of so-called no-fault evictions in the Bill will go a long way to giving tenants like Carolaine greater security. I also welcome a decent homes standard now being applied to the private rented sector. My constituent Naomi, from Boscombe, recently contacted me about the repeated incidence of mould in her one-bedroom rented flat, which she shares with her partner and their 10-week-old baby. The flat also has dangerous loose floorboards, a leaking shower and fire doors that do not close. Her landlord continues to ignore her emails. The provisions in the Bill that apply the decent homes standard to the private rented sector will give renters like Naomi safer, better-value homes and remove the blight of poor-quality homes from our communities.

• 14 Jan 2025 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I never disagree with my hon. Friend, and his point shows why we need the Bill. I welcome the Bill’s protections against unreasonable rent rises and rental bidding. My disabled constituent Tracey, also from Boscombe, got in contact with me about how a substantial hike in her rent acted as an effective eviction as she was unable to pay. Despite looking to use her personal independence payment towards her rent, she was forced to look for alternative accommodation, and we all know how difficult that is in the private rented sector for people with disabilities. I welcome the protections in the Bill against unreasonable rent rises because they will provide much-needed security for renters like Tracey who struggle to find appropriate accommodation in the rented sector to meet their needs. I also welcome the introduction of a new ombudsman service, which will provide quick, fair, impartial and binding resolutions for tenants’ complaints about their landlord, bringing tenant-landlord complaint resolution on a par with established redress practices for tenants in social housing or consumers of property agent services. I welcome the move to make it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants in receipt of housing benefit or other benefits or with children when choosing to let their property. That particularly affects James in my constituency, who is homeless and cannot secure private rented housing because he is in receipt of benefits. All of us who hold constituency surgeries week in, week out will know these stories. All of us have campaigned for better renters’ rights because we have heard those stories on the doorstep, and I commend the Government for bringing forward the Bill at such an early stage in this Parliament. We must of course make the point that not all landlords are bad, but the Bill is important because it weeds out those bad landlords so that the good landlords—those who care about their tenants and who provide an important duty to the housing market—can continue to have a good reputation, and so the overall market continues to have that good reputation. I commend the Bill and the ministerial team for bringing it forward. I am thrilled that renters in Bournemouth and across Britain will finally, after many years of delay, get the renters’ rights they deserve—no, that they are entitled to.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Pokesdown Station · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for that very helpful answer. The people of Pokesdown are certainly very keen for their lift, which they have been waiting a long time for. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, train services between Bournemouth and London Waterloo took the historically fastest time of 90 minutes. Will the Minister meet me and South Western Railway to discuss whether we can restore that fast time, as well as to discuss Pokesdown?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Pokesdown Station · Hansard source

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  11. What steps she is taking to improve accessibility at Pokesdown railway station.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his important intervention. It is great to see him championing his constituency, and it goes to show why Labour won in so many seaside and coastal towns. The people of those towns and cities trusted Labour to bring forward a Bill such as this as quickly as we have done, and this is just the start of change. As we have heard, more legislation will come forward, but so that we do not delay and wait for the full package, the Minister is bringing forward this action rapidly to respond to the urgent case that is being made on doorsteps all around our country, particularly in our seaside towns. I have constituents who are livid about the fact that while infrastructure has crumbled, no investment has gone in, and money has gone out the door in bonuses and shareholder payment dividends, bills are rising. That is not just water bills—bills on a whole host of things contribute to the significant cost of living crisis that so many in our country have felt. I welcome the efforts of this Government, and I congratulate the Minister on all the hard work that she and her officials have been undertaking. I very much look forward to seeing further development of our programme of investment.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. This is an important topic and Committee, but before I talk about that, I wish gently to remind the hon. Member for Epping Forest that the Conservative party was in power for 14 years. I know the general election defeat was historic—quite enormous—but I do not think the bump to the head should have caused such an enormous loss of memory about what was achieved, or not achieved, over the past 14 years. Residents of Bournemouth East are incandescent about the state of water infrastructure and the sewage that they are enduring as a seaside town. It is no surprise that as a consequence, when I was campaigning in the general election and knocking on doors since, people raised this hot topic with me.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Heat Batteries: Decarbonising Homes · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Heat Batteries: Decarbonising Homes · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. I was lucky recently to visit Kensa’s air source heat pumps in Sutton Dwellings in Chelsea. I have also visited Tepeo’s factory; it is great to see the chief executive officer in the Public Gallery today. Does my hon. Friend agree that for heat batteries to enjoy the same penetration of the market as heat pumps, it is important that they benefit from VAT relief and the same levels of subsidy so that we can decarbonise our heating?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  Children growing up in Bournemouth deserve the best start in life—nothing less. Whoever you are, and wherever you come from, you should be able to go as far as your talents take you, and those talents should be rigorously, systematically and compassionately nourished for everyone. I would not be here but for the teachers of my childhood. I thank Alan Garner and Christine Moore—it feels really weird to name them in full. I thank Mr Garner and Mrs Moore, who did so much to enable me to get here. They stayed late in the classroom so that I could have a safe, warm place to do my homework. They inspired me to do better when circumstances told me that I could not, so thank you to them. The reality is that for many children, opportunity is too often limited, and their background can have a decisive impact on the life that they can build. I welcome the Bill because it will help every child to achieve and thrive at a school with excellent teaching and high standards. It will focus on disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and disabilities. In Bournemouth, we have a particularly significant SEND crisis. The Bill will get children ready for the school day by providing free breakfast clubs in primary schools. I want to give a shout-out to Pokesdown community primary school. Chef Russ and Ali Bayliss are two fantastic leaders providing nutritious breakfasts for young children. The Bill will ease the financial burden on parents by limiting the number of branded uniform items. I am particularly pleased about that, because only this week, I was contacted by a constituent, Richard Merghani, based in Southbourne, who raised concerns about the cost of school uniforms. I welcome the Government’s proposal; estimates show that it could save parents over £50 per child on the back-to-school shop. I want to bring the voice of constituents and local educational experts into this debate. I am thinking of David Nayler, who was the headteacher at Stourfield junior school for 11 years; Lyn Gaudreau, who has been a senior principal adviser to Dorset local authority education authority; Simon Adorian, a former headteacher; Patrick Connolly, a former educational professional; and Caroline Ellis, a nursery manager. They have informed everything that I would have said, if I had longer than four minutes, and everything that I will contribute as the Bill develops and passes through the Commons. I thank them for their expertise, and for what they contribute. We should really be listening to them, not Conservative Members, who have disgraced themselves in this debate and in recent days. I thank the Government Front Benchers for bringing forward the Bill and prioritising children so early in the life of this Labour Government. It feels like unfinished business. The last Labour Government did so much to improve the lot of children and young people; we are just picking up where they left off. I look forward to seeing the Bill progress, and to the future of all our children being so much brighter.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Playgrounds · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered the provision of playgrounds by local authorities. Thank you for the opportunity to lead this important Westminster Hall debate on the future of playgrounds under your chairship, Mrs Lewell-Buck. Fixing our public services and securing our unity as a country are serious issues to consider and serious goals to pursue. We need to be on the side of working people. We also need to be on the side of playing children: we need to be as serious about the play of children as we are about the work of adults. If anyone listening is in doubt, that is because our country has trivialised play for too long. I am astonished that there has only ever been one national play strategy, which was launched 17 years ago. I am also astonished that this is the first debate on the subject in eight years and—at an hour—the longest for 17 years. Is it any wonder that people feel pushed out by politics and disaffected by democracy, when playgrounds are so ignored that they have been left to fall to pieces, with large pieces of equipment missing, and largely exclude children with special educational needs and disabilities? Is it any wonder that our playgrounds are rotting, when our Parliament barely discusses them and when the last Government to invest in them—a Labour Government—did so 17 years ago, only for their £235 million programme to be cut three years later by the coalition Government? Why does it matter so much for this new Labour Government to help children to play? Let me tell hon. Members, in the words of my constituents. I launched a survey before Christmas, once this debate was confirmed; we had sought the debate following a roundtable with local parents. I am pleased to see a constituent who attended that roundtable, Anne-Marie Burr, here today. Anne-Marie helped to launch the Our Spaces BCP Facebook group, which brings parents together to campaign for better play equipment. My survey has received 642 responses, and I thank everyone who has shared their views. I have read every response and every comment on Facebook and Instagram. It is time to take the Minister on a tour of beautiful Bournemouth and of my constituents’ viewpoints. First, the main thing that parents tell me they want from playgrounds for their children is a place to grow, to experiment, to push themselves, to learn alongside others and to be free from a screen-obsessed childhood. Niamh from Springbourne says it well: “Creativity is built in these free spaces where kids create their games and realities.” Niamh’s daughter was obsessed with the monkey bars. I can relate. They have built capabilities that Niamh knows only a playground could have built. For Skye in Pokesdown, playgrounds “give children a safe place to play and explore.” For Natalie in Southbourne, “unstructured free play helps children develop in many ways, including their cognitive development”. Charlotte, also in Southbourne, agrees: “Playgrounds are essential for child development”. Playgrounds provide critical space for imaginative play, in the view of Chloe in Springbourne, Susie, Milo and Lillie-May in Southbourne, Louise and Kelly in East Southbourne, Christine, Lucy and Amy in Queen’s Park, Angela in Muscliff and Verity in Tuckton. Mark in Littledown talks about the joy that his young children feel when they play and when they develop as they play. He says that “they love to go to the park. It’s a good thing for them to do. It develops them both physically and in terms of engaging with other children”. Thomas in Southbourne sees the same joy in his children’s play: “Good playground equipment helps children to develop physical skills like bounce and grip, but most of all, they are fun!” My second point is that in a cost of living crisis, playgrounds give families places to spend time at no cost. Joanne in Muscliff is right to say that they provide free activity; that point is echoed by Nicole in Moordown, Louise in Charminster, Laura in Springbourne, Sarah in Iford, Victoria in Muscliff, Victoria in Pokesdown and Candice in Tuckton. The third point that residents have raised is that playgrounds are vital outdoor spaces for parents and families who do not have space at home. Stephanie in Littledown and Iford says it well: “For some children they do not have access to outside space at home and therefore playgrounds are vital for the health of this group of children.” Kimberly in Muscliff agrees that playgrounds provide “a place to go and meet others…lots of children don’t have access to a garden or the kind of equipment that is in a playground.” Rachel in Muscliff says it brilliantly: “We need safe outdoor spaces for our children to be able to enjoy. It also helps with reducing isolation.” When the world of children is constantly shrinking, that is even more important. My fourth point is that sadly some politicians tell children to get outside more, but it is not fair to criticise them for spending time on their screens, enjoying play in the only way they know how. It is usually the same politicians who have forced them, through policies and funding cuts, to shrink their world to their home or—even worse—to the smartphone in their hand. When playgrounds are being locked up or sold off and when parents lack safe outdoor spaces, where is left for children to go? As Alice in Boscombe says: “How can we keep our kids away from screens when playgrounds are broken, unattractive, a lot of times unkept and dirty?” What will the consequence be? Parents know that few of the social skills that children need as adults will be acquired through the scrolling of bottomless social media feeds. Anyone who has seen a two-year-old master the touch-and-swipe interface of a smartphone knows that we risk more and more children at younger and younger ages spending more and more hours scrolling through bottomless feeds. Parents are concerned. Helen in Southbourne says that “with the rise of screen time in the younger generation, we as adults must provide exciting, enjoyable and affordable alternatives.” Sian in Springbourne says that we need playgrounds “so children aren’t stuck behind screens all day.” Young brains are being rewired. We want children to be children, because that is a good thing in its own right, but we must keep it in mind that the growing number of children hooked on social media today may become a growing number of patients of mental health services and economically inactive adults, contributing less in tax to the Treasury while increasing demand on already strained publicly funded services. Just as our predecessors in Parliament passed legislation more than a century ago to protect children against work-based childhoods, we can pass a safer phones Bill to make smartphones less addictive for children. My fifth point is that playgrounds are important places for children with special educational needs and for their carers. Our lack of play spaces shrinks the world of children, but it particularly shrinks it for those with special educational needs and disabilities. Terrie from Springbourne told me: “After my autistic daughter’s school were unable to meet her needs, I ended up home educating her. The local park is a place where she can socialise, get fresh air and exercise. She genuinely looks forward to our daily park time.” Kathryn from Boscombe says: “Aside from children’s physical development, it’s also a place children (and parents) can go when mental health takes a dive. As a mum of children with SEN this is essential to our daily routine!” Terri from Muscliff says: “There is barely any accessible play equipment in our local area for children with complex needs. If a child uses a wheelchair, there is nothing that they can do in parks.” Hon. Members will be pleased to know that I am coming to my sixth and last point. Playgrounds can also help to end the isolation that parents can feel; it is not just children who benefit. Anna from Southbourne says: “On lower, more exhausted days I’ve had some really special moments of connection with parents I don’t know in playgrounds while our children play.” For Matthew from Springbourne, playgrounds offer “a place to meet friends and other parents alike.” Laura, also from Springbourne, says: “The social and psychological value of play parks as part of the fabric of a healthy community should not be underestimated. As a parent to my young daughter, the park was often the only place I might interact with other adults/parents on a given day, and it was a nexus for exchanging local information and support.” Most heartbreakingly, Mary from Queen’s Park says “Playgrounds can be a lifeline for mothers who are in distress. I have met mothers who are escaping domestic abuse, poor housing, depression, loneliness or just need a change”. In an age of isolation, polarisation and insecurity, society can be reinvigorated in the playgrounds of our country. Democracy is made in the playgrounds and given new life among the monkey bars, swings and slides and between strangers on benches. Parents may have their children as the unifying feature at first, but over time all kinds of conversations bubble up on that bench that would not otherwise have happened. This Parliament can only be as strong as our playgrounds.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Playgrounds · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham), the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), my hon. Friends the Members for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) and for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger), the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam), my hon. Friends the Members for Thurrock (Jen Craft) and for Ilford South (Jas Athwal), the hon. Member for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe (David Chadwick), who is no longer here—if I have mispronounced the name of his constituency, I apologise—and everyone else who has spoken in the debate. I thank the Conservative and Liberal Democrat spokespeople, the hon. Members for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes) and for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade), and the Minister for their comments. In bringing forward the debate, I wanted to ensure that the people of Bournemouth East were heard. As the Minister said, the fact that 642 local residents responded to the survey shows that there is an enormous appetite for something better when it comes to play. I want to communicate to the people of Bournemouth East that their priority will be my priority and, clearly, from what we have heard from the Minister, the Government’s priority. If we do not invest in our children by investing in play, we are sending entirely the wrong signals. After all, all our children, all over our country, deserve nothing less than the very best childhood. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the provision of playgrounds by local authorities.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Playgrounds · Hansard source

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  I could not agree more. My hon. Friend is a champion for play in his area. In Bournemouth East, contact with a play area is at 35%, which is a significant problem, and I know that it is worse around the country. I ask the Minister to help. First, as we have an hour for this debate, I invite him to meet Eugene Minogue of Play England, who is here today, with visiting Bournemouth residents, such as Anne-Marie, and with me to take the matter further. Secondly, this is unfinished business for Labour. Ed Balls and Andy Burnham—whatever happened to them?—published the first national play strategy for England 17 years ago. Much of the strategy stands up today, but my view and that of important leaders in the sector is that it could be dusted off. The Minister could be the new Andy Burnham. He could be the new Ed Balls: he could help people to “Strictly Keep Playing”. The Minister and the Treasury may be reassured to know that a strategy does not necessarily require significant additional funding. All we need is changes to policy to better spend the money already in the system. Thirdly—I am eager to discuss this point at greater length—the Government could implement play sufficiency legislation for English children to achieve equality with Welsh and Scottish children. A perfect opportunity to do so exists through the planning and infrastructure Bill; that was in Play England’s general election manifesto. The Government could give playgrounds the same status as sports facilities by extending Sport England’s remit to play areas so that consideration of playgrounds becomes a statutory duty, as with sports facilities. Following this Government’s welcome change to paragraph 104 in chapter 8 of the national planning policy framework, which provides protection for formal play spaces, I would love to work with the Minister to bring that into meaningful practice. I urge the Government to mandate local authorities to map play facilities and their current state and quality. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council has done so voluntarily, not because it was mandated. I commend BCP council for agreeing to the Plan for Play strategy—and I am not doing so purely because the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade), is the last leader of the council and will respond to the debate. I commend local councillors across Bournemouth East, particularly Sharon Carr-Brown, who has been advocating for play areas in her ward of Queen’s Park and Charminster. Indeed, it reflects the advocacy of Sharon and her co-councillor for the ward to be focused on. We will see a £75,000 grant funding bid this week; if successful, that will be flexibly spent in the ward. Some good news for Cyril Gardens is that it is about to see the replacement of a long-broken toddler swing, which just goes to show that when you campaign you can get things done. In 1999, Tony Blair said: “If we are in politics for one thing it is to make sure that all children are given the best chance in life.” In 2024, the Prime Minister said that “arguably nothing says more about the state of a nation than the wellbeing of its children.” We have had such consistency over so many decades. Now is the opportunity for this Government to finish the business of the last Labour Government. I want to support this Government as they support Bournemouth children and families to improve their wellbeing. We can do no better than to start with a long-overdue, once-in-a-generation improvement of playgrounds.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Town Centres · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing a debate on this issue. Bournemouth town centre has just had a very busy Christmas period. We had fantastic Christmas lights funded by the Bournemouth town centre business improvement district. We have also had the successful opening of The Ivy, which is fantastic. Otherwise, the town feels like a ghost town. Does he agree that the roll-out of the high street rental auctions, for which Bournemouth is a pilot area, could be critical to restoring confidence in our high streets, increasing footfall and making our town centres safer? Ultimately, that will help more businesses to grow and help our local economy.

• 6 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Veterans Minister and I recently visited Bournemouth War Memorial Homes, a specialist social housing provider for veterans in my constituency. Will the Minister outline what the Government are doing to support housing providers to buy or build homes for heroes across our country?

• 17 Dec 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I recently visited the zero-emission boiler manufacturer Tepeo in Wokingham. Its owners were thrilled by the Government’s decision that heat batteries can qualify for the warm homes social housing fund wave 3, but expressed concern about whether they could scale up without the same subsidy support and VAT relief as heat pumps. Will the Minister meet me, and representatives of Thermal Storage UK, to discuss how we can support heat batteries, so that households can become more resilient?

• 16 Dec 2024 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  The water is key to Bournemouth’s appeal as the most stunningly beautiful town in our country. [ Interruption. ] Contentious. Unsurprisingly, Bournemouth East residents are absolutely horrified by the untreated sewage that is forced on our town. Jacqueline from Boscombe has had to make her “Wild and Free” surf therapy sessions surf-free because of sewage in the sea, meaning children and young people whose mental health could be significantly improved are let down again. Sarah from Charminster, who is a regular sea swimmer to manage her long covid symptoms, is now worried about the impact of this pollution on her health and on the natural environment. Gareth in Muscliff is clear that: “Something really must be done about this and soon for the sake of our health and future.” Sarah in Southbourne told me that: “This is not the only environmental crisis that we face, but focusing on it, and ensuring improvements, would be regarded as major successes.” While the Conservatives may have let the water companies off the hook, the public did not let the Conservatives off the hook, and at the last election we saw change. We are seeing more of that change today with this Bill, which my constituents will warmly welcome. Last week I met the people who run Holdenhurst water recycling centre to see the significant upgrades that have received nearly £30 million of investment, which I support. I have also recently met the chief executive officer of Wessex Water to discuss the pollution that we are experiencing locally, and I am pleased to see significant investments that will improve Bournemouth’s ability to manage the automatic operation of storm overflows. However, we can do more. We can change how we see storm overflows so that we no longer see them as a sewage problem; we instead can see them as a rain management problem. If we reimagine rainwater as a resource to be captured where it lands, reused wherever possible and removed from foul water sewage heading to the water recycling centre, we can do a better job. I welcome the Bill because it will give the Environment Agency and Ofwat, which are central to protecting our waterways, the powers and the support that they need. The EA will now have new powers to bring forward criminal charges against law-breaking water executives, and water companies will now bear the costs of enforcement action taken in response to their failings. The introduction of fixed and automatic penalties will make it quicker and easier for the EA to fine water companies that commit offences. Furthermore, for the first time there will be a requirement to publish real-time data on all emergency overflows, so that the public and regulators can see what is actually going on. I close by paying tribute to the work of Surfers Against Sewage, and to Christchurch Harbour and Marine Society and Vanessa Ricketts, who have done so much locally to hold the hope while we waited for a new Government to bring forward this Bill. I am proud that this Labour Government are committed to cleaning up the mess that the Conservatives let our waterways become. The Bill is the first step towards doing that.

• 16 Dec 2024 · English Devolution · Hansard source

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  As a former councillor of 10 years who sought election to this place to give power back to communities, I am absolutely thrilled by this devolution White Paper, and I congratulate the Minister on bringing it forward. I have two points. On page 16, there is an ambition to make the mayor the chair of the integrated care partnership and also the police and crime commissioner, as in South Yorkshire. I commend that and would like to hear more about it. On page 94, there is a proposal for a right to buy community asset. Hengistbury Head outdoor centre in my constituency just found out that it will be a community benefit society with a lease for 99 years, but it has taken far too long to get to that place. I invite the Minister to come to Hengistbury Head outdoor centre—it may involve getting in a kayak—to find out more about what this right to buy could involve at the ground level. I would love to know more about the Government’s intent on the matter.

• 16 Dec 2024 · Royal Mail Takeover · Hansard source

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  Our posties are friendly, familiar faces who go above and beyond all year round, but never more so than at Christmas. It was a pleasure to visit Bournemouth Royal Mail depot recently, on a tour with Martin and Sonia. Will the Minister outline how the Government will prevent any future owner of Royal Mail from driving the company into the ground? What assurances can he give the people of Bournemouth that Royal Mail will finally deliver?

• 12 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I welcome the debate on LGBT veterans that will take place later. My constituents Martin Bell and David Kelsey have been severely wronged by the ban on LGBT people serving in the military. Will the Leader of the House join me and the Government in recognising the wrongs that they have suffered, and welcome the steps to bring forward financial reparations?

• 9 Dec 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I was delighted to spend Friday afternoon with Cats Whiskers day nursery and earlier this year, I visited Tops day nursery, which is ranked ninth in the Department’s top 100 apprenticeship employees. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to increase the number and quality of childcare apprenticeships?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source

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  I welcome the extra pay for our teachers and our doctors. Even if the hon. Lady does not think that our public sector heroes deserve that pay rise, does she accept that lost school days cost the economy £900 million and that the NHS has had to spend £9.3 billion on temporary staffing?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member give way?

• 4 Dec 2024 · Farming and Inheritance Tax · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Lady give way?