Alison Hume MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Cayton, a village in my constituency, could now become home to 2,500 new homes through the Government’s new homes accelerator. To ensure the success of that project, it is essential that we deliver the appropriate infrastructure, such as GP services, proper drainage and roads, all of which have not accompanied previous developments. What steps is the Minister taking to develop a coastal strategy to ensure that new developments for coastal villages like Cayton are delivered alongside infrastructure?

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak in support of new clause 11 and amendment 38. I am incredibly relieved that the Government have listened—most importantly, they have listened to the people who will be affected by changes to PIP—and taken clause 5 out of the Bill. The terms of reference for the Timms review have already been set without involving disabled people, but there is a chance with new clause 11 to ensure that it moves forward in a truly co-produced way. What worries me is that without the proposals in the new clause, the Bill highlights the need for co-production but provides no assurances that it will be comprehensively done. Disabled people must feel that any changes to the welfare system are made properly with them rather than done to them. I have walked in the shoes of families in my constituency bringing up children with special educational needs and disabilities. For decades, my son and I have been caught up in the endless cycle of assessments, mandatory reconsiderations and tribunals. That is a situation familiar to many who have turned to the DWP for help to manage life with a disability or disabilities. This is the reason that so many disabled people are terrified of the Government’s proposed changes: the DWP is too frequently at war with the people it is supposed to protect. Too frequently, it lets down the most vulnerable in our community, and it mostly gets away with it. Recently, the incredible Joy Dove won an eight-year legal fight to link her daughter Jodey Whiting’s suicide to the stopping of her benefits, which the DWP admitted was a mistake. Jodey’s avoidable death is not the only one. DWP decisions often seem to be completely arbitrary. Once, when I was waiting to go into a tribunal, I received a call from the DWP offering to reinstate my son’s benefits if I dropped the tribunal. That experience cemented in my mind something that I believe to this day: the culture of the DWP is hostile to disabled people. That culture must change if we are to have any chance of building a sustainable, fair and compassionate welfare system for the future. A constituent of mine in Scarborough and Whitby suffers from a variety of complex physical and mental health conditions, including PTSD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorder, polycystic kidney disease and liver disease. In May, after reporting a deterioration in his health, he submitted new evidence to support reassessment for a higher rate of PIP, which led to the DWP removing his award entirely. He was left with no income or support despite his ongoing need for care. This is the reality: many disabled people who are turned down for PIP rely on the health element of universal credit. Many of my constituents have fluctuating conditions, such as MS, ME and mental health conditions. The reality of their conditions means that during periods of remission they return to employment. However, once their condition deteriorates, they return to universal credit. If that happens, with this Bill they would return on a lower level than before, down to just £50 a week. That completely ignores the realities faced by disabled people and their experience of their conditions. Without the protections provided for in amendment 38, we would create a two-tier system where people with unpredictable conditions would be valued less than those with more predictable ones. I urge hon. Members to support new clause 11 and amendment 38. I also ask the Government to please pull the Bill. Even at this late stage, let us get it right for the people who really matter; let us get it right for disabled people.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Domestic Abuse: Joint Tenancies · Hansard source

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  My constituent Molly is trapped in the house where she was violently attacked in front of her children. She is confined to living upstairs, because going into the room downstairs triggers her post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite the perpetrator of this abuse rightfully being in prison and having a restraining order of five years, Molly’s landlord has told her that they cannot take him off the lease, so she cannot move. Can the Minister confirm that the Government are taking steps to ensure that victims of domestic abuse, like Molly, can move on with their lives?

• 7 Jul 2025 · Domestic Abuse: Joint Tenancies · Hansard source

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  5. What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on protecting domestic abuse victims from the perpetrators of that abuse with whom they share a joint tenancy.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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

• 3 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Scarborough Athletic football club is proudly 100% fan owned. Recently, the home ground that it rents from North Yorkshire council was declared unfit to play on due to botched astroturf installation. The club faces significant financial losses now that they need to play matches at another ground. Will the Minister meet me to discuss what support is available to secure the future of this beloved club, which is at the heart of our community?

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

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  Residents in Burniston are waiting anxiously to see whether North Yorkshire council will approve Europa Oil and Gas’s application to undertake small-scale fracking on the edge of the North York Moors national park. The technique, known as a proppant squeeze, is not currently included in the moratorium on fracking, but my constituents are understandably impatient to see it included in a future ban. Will the Leader of the House find Government time for a debate on fracking?

• 1 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  May I ask the Minister to confirm at the Dispatch Box that clause 5, which specifically references the need for claimants to score four points in order to receive the daily living allowance, will be removed from the Bill?

• 30 Jun 2025 · Road Safety Powers: Parish and Town Councils · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is being most generous with his time, and I thank him for securing this really important debate. There is a busy bridge on the A171 in my constituency, which is used by pupils in years 7 and 8 based at the Airy Hill site of Whitby School, as well as the parents and pupils who attend Airy Hill primary school and tourists photographing the steam trains that can be seen below. It is a very noisy and windy bridge with heavy road and foot traffic, and it is high above the estuary. Despite that, there are no zebra crossings or raised kerbs, and the speed limit is 40 mph. Understandably, local residents are really worried. They have tried to lower the speed limit to 30 mph, but North Yorkshire council is not interested, so they have raised a petition themselves. Does my hon. Friend agree that this is exactly why parish and town councils should be given road safety powers, including the ability to introduce speed limits?

• 18 Jun 2025 · Businesses in Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is making an impassioned speech, as is his norm. While tourism is vital for our rural economies, he touched on accommodation, and many businesses in my constituency of Scarborough and Whitby are finding it harder and harder to employ enough staff because of the increase in short-term holiday lets, which is forcing local people to move out. Does he agree that the Government must urgently bring forward registration of short-term holiday lets to avoid our rural areas being overwhelmed, so that employees have somewhere to live and businesses enough people to employ?

• 13 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  New clause 15 particularly addresses the role of coroners. Coroners investigate deaths in which there is a reasonable suspicion that the deceased has died a violent or unnatural death, where the cause of death is unknown, or if the deceased died while in custody or state detention. This is not the case with an assisted death, and there would already be strong safeguards in place, including multiple layers of oversight and assessment. The process is cautious, thorough, and heavily safeguarded. There is no need to investigate an assisted death, as it is not unnatural. In this country, it is still a crime to help someone die peacefully and with dignity, even when they are suffering unbearably from a terminal illness.

• 13 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I am coming to my conclusion. New clause 15 will protect bereaved families such as that of my constituent Anthony, and therefore I urge hon. Members to support it.

• 13 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a powerful case on behalf of her constituent. New clause 15 is a compassionate and practical clause, ensuring that the Bill works not only for the individual making the choice, but for the families they leave behind. Let us not turn our backs on people like Anthony and Louise; let us not make criminals out of the compassionate. The death of a loved one is always difficult. When someone has gone through the legal and safeguarded process of assisted dying, it is not right that their family should face an unnecessary, potentially lengthy and distressing coroner’s investigation.

• 13 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I will make some progress, thank you. It is still a crime, even when the person is of sound mind and even when it is their deeply considered wish. Anthony wanted a good death—he wanted to die peacefully and with grace, without pain and without profound suffering. He got that in a foreign country, far from home and far from family, because our laws force people like him to make that desperate journey abroad. That is why I support this Bill and, in particular, new clause 15, as there is no need for coroners to investigate an assisted death.

• 13 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak in favour of new clause 15, which clarifies that an assisted death would not be classified as an unnatural death and that a full coroner’s inquest would not normally be required. My constituent Anthony Shackleton lived with motor neurone disease for six long years. As his condition worsened, his options narrowed until there was only one choice that preserved his dignity, autonomy and peace: to travel to Dignitas in Switzerland and end his suffering on his own terms. Louise, as his wife of 25 years, and someone who had known him since the age of 18, did what any loving partner would do: she stood by him. She helped him on to that plane and held his hand through the most difficult decision of their lives, and now, for that act of love, she is under police investigation. That is precisely why we need new clause 15. If the Bill is passed, assisted dying would be a legal, strictly regulated and monitored choice made by the individual concerned.

• 12 Jun 2025 · Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  8. What progress his Department has made on developing an industrial strategy.

• 12 Jun 2025 · Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis announced yesterday that it is consolidating its operations in the UK to its Scarborough facility, placing 400 jobs in Falkirk at risk. The company is warning about competitive imbalance, the increasing market share of Chinese bus manufacturers and an absence of incentives for British-built vehicles. How are the Government planning to support British bus manufacturers as part of our industrial strategy?

• 12 Jun 2025 · Long-term Medical Conditions · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley) for securing this extremely important debate. He speaks from a position of great experience. He rightly points to a holistic approach, putting the patient at the centre of their treatment. By 2035, two thirds of the UK population aged over 65 are expected to be living with two or more long-term conditions, whether chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Parkinson’s, diabetes or epilepsy. Living with an LTC can significantly reduce a person’s quality of life. I rise to speak on behalf of those living with a condition that affects approximately 1.5 million women in the UK: endometriosis. This chronic condition, whereby tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows outside the uterus, causes debilitating pain, fatigue and often infertility, yet despite its prevalence it remains under-recognised and undertreated, like so many conditions that affect women. The average time to diagnose in the UK is more than eight years. Many women visit their GPs multiple times before receiving a referral, and some are forced to turn to private healthcare due to the lengthy NHS waiting times. That delay not only exacerbates the condition’s physical symptoms but impacts mental health and quality of life. Endometriosis is not merely a health issue for women; it is a public health issue that costs the UK economy. Over half of those affected have taken time off work due to endometriosis, and many fear job loss or reduced income. My constituent, Angela Tiernan, has thoracic endo-metriosis, a rare form of the condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows in the chest cavity, commonly affecting the diaphragm and lungs. Angela recently found out that planned surgery to confirm her diagnosis and reformulate a treatment plan would no longer be going ahead as the specialist Oxford University Hospitals has stopped commissioning the surgery, as have other specialist centres in London and Bristol. Angela has told me that patients are being advised to go private to access required treatments and surgeries that were previously available through the NHS, but have since been cancelled by the hospital. My constituent Angela and other women are now left in a position with no diagnosis and no access to investigation, care or treatment unless they can afford to go private. Endometriosis is a long-term condition that requires a long-term solution. I ask the Minister for reassurance that endometriosis is addressed in our 10-year-plan.

• 12 Jun 2025 · Long-term Medical Conditions · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend on her turn speaking from the Front Bench. DWP analysis suggests that people with long-term conditions such as arthritis are more likely than most to be affected by the changes to PIP. Does she acknowledge that taking away PIP from people with long-term conditions such as arthritis, which can fluctuate and vary, could be devastating?

• 10 Jun 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend says that the prospects for both industries have improved. I have spoken in this place about my previous role as a screenwriter—I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests—and this week, the British Film Institute reported that AI threatens the British film industry, with over 130,000 scripts having been plundered. Does my hon. Friend agree that if we fail to take this opportunity to deal with transparency and put powers to legislate on the face of the Bill, we will be leaving screenwriters and other creatives high and dry until we legislate in the future?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Construction Sector Specialist Apprentices · Hansard source

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  8. Whether her Department is taking steps with independent training colleges to train construction sector specialist apprentices to support house building targets.

• 9 Jun 2025 · Construction Sector Specialist Apprentices · Hansard source

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  The construction skills village in Scarborough is an innovative real-world training environment for the specialist trades that we desperately need to build homes. Does the Minister acknowledge the importance of independent training providers in our plans to build 1.5 million new homes, and will he meet me to discuss how we can ensure that ITPs, which deliver the specialist skills that the construction industry is asking for, are included in our plans to train 60,000 new construction workers?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. In my constituency, the Scalby school playing fields long served the community as vital green space, but that space is under threat as the council is seeking to remove protections, which could lead to its being sold. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is why this new clause is so necessary, as it would ensure that the council either kept the fields or made equivalent provision of land for children to play on?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I welcome this announcement, as will the 26,000 pensioners in my constituency, where we have particularly cold and harsh winters. Will the Minister reassure my constituents that automatic payments will be reinstated, and will there be any change to the date on which payments will be made?

• 4 Jun 2025 · Disadvantaged Communities · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton North East (Mrs Brackenridge) for securing this important debate; she is a huge champion for disadvantaged communities in her constituency. I am proud to represent the beautiful constituency of Scarborough and Whitby. However, away from the tourist lens, we have deprivation. My constituents suffer high rates of chronic illnesses like heart disease, and have lower life expectancies. In Scarborough, life expectancy for people living in Ramshill, where child poverty is prevalent, is 10 years less than it is for those living in Ayton, a mere 10-minute drive away. Despite that, my constituents struggle to access healthcare, and even emergency care, in a timely manner. Since the closure of Scarborough hospital’s stroke service in 2020, patients suffering strokes are sent directly to York, which is well over an hour away—if they have access to a car. Hon. Members will know that the first 60 minutes after a stroke occurs is known as the golden hour: the faster someone can be treated, the more likely they are to survive and recover. Despite that, one constituent told me that their partner’s emergency journey to York, in a blue-lit ambulance, took 90 minutes. That is the everyday reality for people in disadvantaged coastal communities. The chief medical officer warned in 2021 of a crisis in coastal healthcare, but we still have no national strategy to combat it. So this is my plea to the Government: we need a cross-departmental strategy to deliver better access to healthcare in our disadvantaged coastal communities, and we need it now.