Alison Hume MP: speeches

Speeches

• 22 Jun 2026 · SEND: Improvement · Hansard source

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  I am delighted that St Martin’s primary school in Scarborough is establishing a brand new targeted mainstream provision centre, backed by funding from this Labour Government. Does my hon. Friend agree that our plans to deliver more TMP places will mean that the many children in my constituency who are currently not in school due to unmet needs will be able to return to school and resume their education?

• 19 May 2026 · Energy Security · Hansard source

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  I welcome the announcement of a new energy security Bill in the King’s Speech, which will meet our manifesto commitment not to issue licences to explore new oil and gas fields. Crucially, it will also deliver on our commitment to ban fracking. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves injecting fluid at high pressure to fracture rock and extract hydrocarbons. In 2019, a moratorium on fracking was introduced following earthquakes linked to fracking activity at Preston New Road in Lancashire. Currently, UK legislation defines fracking based on fluid volume thresholds: 1,000 cubic metres per stage, or 10,000 cubic metres in total. This leaves a legal loophole for oil and gas companies to exploit. In beautiful Burniston in my constituency of Scarborough and Whitby, Europa Oil & Gas has proposed extracting gas using a technique called proppant squeeze, which is just hydraulic fracturing at lower fluid volumes. This means the technique exists outside the fracking moratorium. In Burniston, on the edge of the North York Moors national park, villagers have been involved in a David and Goliath battle with Europa Oil & Gas. I am delighted to say that North Yorkshire councillors threw out the recommendations of its officers and formally rejected the planning application. However, to create indisputable clarity over fracking legislation in our country and close this loophole, any future ban must include all forms of fracking. Currently, 66 existing licences remain active, and planning applications can still proceed under current rules. If our definition of fracking remains volume-based, we risk companies continuing to frack—just under a different name. Make no mistake: the frackers have not given up. Following North Yorkshire council’s rejection of Europa’s proposal, Europa stated that it felt confident about winning an appeal. The evidence is there for the Government to include small-scale fracking in our ban. A recent report published by the University of Edinburgh found that earthquakes from high-volume fracking and low-volume fracking are equally large and equally unpredictable. This means that the risk of seismicity such as earthquakes induced or triggered from proppant squeeze cannot simply be ruled out. This evidence echoes findings commissioned by the then Oil and Gas Authority into Preston New Road, which also showed that seismic impacts cannot be accurately predicted regardless of fluid volume. I urge the Government to use the upcoming energy security Bill to replace the volume-based definition with one based on intent and process, and to introduce a blanket prohibition on fracturing rock for hydrocarbons. All forms of fracking contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and undermine our net zero commitments, and therefore all forms of fracking need to be banned. Last December, I held a Westminster Hall debate on this issue, and the Minister responded, confirming that the Government remain open to evidence regarding a comprehensive ban. I ask my hon. Friend the Minister to confirm what further evidence he requires to ban small-scale fracking—unless, of course, it is earthquakes in Scarborough.

• 16 Dec 2025 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

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  As an eight-year-old girl sheltering in the little library at my primary school, I was able to escape my bullies by using my imagination. Later, I harnessed my love of reading to build a successful career as a screenwriter, so I am delighted that the Finance Bill extends the Libraries for Primaries scheme to secondary schools. The Government have already committed £10 million to create libraries in the 1,700 primaries across the country that do not have one, and now we are giving £1,400 to every secondary school to purchase new library books. This £5 million investment is targeted at getting more children reading for pleasure, and is part of the Government’s aim to make 2026 the national year of reading. Feeding a child’s imagination is wonderful, but making sure they do not go hungry is essential. The Chancellor’s choice to lift the two-child benefit cap will lift around 1,850 children in Scarborough and Whitby out of poverty, and next year, up to 4,000 children in my constituency will benefit from the expansion of free school meals. I have visited some of my local primary schools with fully funded breakfast clubs and seen for myself how incredibly popular they are with both children and parents. All these measures are expected to lead to the largest reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began. The choices that the Chancellor has made in this Finance Bill and previously will endure for generations. In my constituency, children will be helped to fulfil their potential. These are the barriers to opportunity that we promised in our manifesto to break down, and they are the barriers that this Finance Bill is breaking down—promise made, promise kept. One of the projects I loved at my primary school was “My Breakfast Table”, where we looked at where our food and drink came from. Tea from Sri Lanka was incredibly exotic; bacon from a local pig farm was decidedly less exotic, as the aromas from said pig farm often wafted as far as the school playground. Growing up surrounded by farms, I learned to value their contribution, not just through the food they produced but through the difference they made to our community. I was reminded of their practical, altruistic attitude this summer during the wildfire that centred on Langdale forest and Fylingdales moor. At its terrifying height, that wildfire covered an area 10 miles square, ripping mercilessly through shallow peat, deep peat, forest, grassland and heather moor. The farming community reacted immediately by cutting fire breaks, back-burning, bringing water in tankers, and generally assisting the firefighters from North Yorkshire fire and rescue. The farming community did not think about anything other than putting the fires out—they were all heroes, and we must value them.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Unpaid Carers: Inequalities · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) for securing this timely debate, and for all her work to raise awareness of unpaid carers. It is a privilege to follow the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who is an unstinting advocate for his constituents. Last night, I was honoured to sponsor a reception for Carers UK, which is celebrating an incredible 60 years championing unpaid carers. Like so many carers, I did not realise I was a parent carer until someone told me I was and suggested that I get a carer’s assessment. We assume that just because we are looking after a disabled child, caring comes with the package. That assumption can lead us into dark corners. Despite the statutory obligations on local authorities in respect of parent carers, councils are not required to report on how they are meeting such duties, and support for parent carers is not included in the Ofsted inspection framework for children’s services. Many marriages or partnerships break down under the strain of caring for a disabled child or children, and mine, sadly, was one of the statistics. University of Birmingham research found that more than 40% of parent carers of disabled children have thought about suicide because of their caring role, and one in 12 have a plan for how to take their life. For fathers of a disabled child or children, becoming a parent carer can be incredibly isolating. Men can be less likely to seek help and more likely to suffer in silence. Combined with a higher propensity to smoke, drink, gamble and use drugs, that means that the health of male carers really suffers, and that has a significant impact on families, workplaces and communities. A contributing factor to the inequality faced by unpaid carers is that 63% who are struggling financially have not accessed any financial guidance or resources in the past year. Improving access to financial guidance and simplifying benefit information on carers’ entitlements would really help. The inspirational founder of Dads Behaving Madly, Graham Porter, told me that he started the support group in Scarborough as a safe space for dads with disabled kids, as there was a massive gap in support for men like him. What started with just Graham and a mate has grown to 70 members across the Yorkshire coast. The dads meet to have curries or breakfast; to go surfing or cold-water swimming; to do a bit of yoga; to watch Scarborough Athletic play; and to connect, support, laugh, cry and, with all that cold water swimming, shiver together. Graham says that when they are supporting dads and male carers, including non-binary dads, they are not just helping one person but strengthening entire families and communities. One member of the group told me: “It’s not the big sweeping gestures, it’s the small simple things that keep you going and create a real friendship within the group. I think that’s what I’d been missing most as it’s very difficult to talk to other dads about SEN or children with additional needs, when either their children don’t have them or the dads have no interest in it.” The Labour Government have just unveiled England’s first ever men’s health strategy, which aims to tackle the crisis in men’s mental health. Will the Minister comment on whether the Government have an ambition to develop a new carer’s strategy that improves not only the financial wellbeing and security of unpaid carers but their mental health? Will he join me in thanking Dads Behaving Madly, as well as mums, grandparents, siblings and all the other 5.8 million unpaid carers behaving variously across the UK, for their amazing contribution to our families, communities and country?

• 23 Oct 2025 · Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome the Government’s investment in a sustainable fishing and shellfish industry, which will create jobs and drive growth in coastal communities such as mine. Will the Minister provide a timeline for when stakeholders, such as the Whitby & District Fishing Industry Training School and the Whitby lobster hatchery, will be formally engaged in the process of developing and delivering this important fund?

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

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  I recently had the pleasure of meeting the SBA Unity racing team from Scarborough University Technical College, which came third at the STEM Racing world finals in Singapore. The Scarborough team raised a whopping £30,000 to compete, while the teams from Germany and Australia that beat them had financial support from their Governments. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating students Jack, Mandy, Ryan, Billy and Joey on their outstanding achievement, flying the flag not just for Scarborough but for the UK?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Rebuilding Schools · Hansard source

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  Springhead sixth form in Scarborough has been rated outstanding for the education and care it provides for students with complex special educational needs and disabilities. The staff are amazing, but the sixth form is housed in an old and unsuitable building. When I visited Springhead, I saw one student being tutored in a modified corridor due to overcrowding. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that pupils with special educational needs are educated in school buildings that can match those needs?

• 16 Jul 2025 · Further Education Institutions · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher, and I will be brief. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) on securing this important debate and for her excellent speech. To improve living standards, we need to generate economic growth; to generate economic growth, businesses must have the skilled workforces they need to thrive. Further education institutions play a vital role in training the workforce we need for the jobs of the future. In my constituency of Scarborough and Whitby, we have some brilliant further education institutions that play a critical role in training young people with the skills they need, such as Scarborough university technical college. Just last week, Scarborough UTC hosted Jürgen Maier—the chief executive officer of publicly owned clean energy company GB Energy—on a visit to its new Mainprize suite. The suite, named after a local service vessel company, will link employers with students to support them in their studies by providing valuable real-world knowledge and expertise to prepare them for careers in the renewables sector. Offshore wind is a huge opportunity for Scarborough, and Scarborough UTC is a great example of how further education colleges can tap into opportunities to drive local economic growth, as well as provide career pathways. However, we need to ensure that young people in our most deprived communities have access to these new educational opportunities. Scarborough is the most deprived borough in North Yorkshire, and is rated in the lowest 30% of lower-tier local authorities in England, with three LSOAs—lower layer super output areas—within the most deprived 1% in the country. Further education colleges in my constituency need the support of this Government to ensure that disadvantaged students can access good careers, and I would be grateful if the Minister outlined how the Government plan to work with local authorities and further education institutions to support pathways for disadvantaged students into high-skilled work.