Alison Hume MP: speeches

Speeches

• 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?

• 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?

• 19 May 2025 · Armed Forces Housing · Hansard source

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  11. What steps he is taking to improve armed forces housing for military families.

• 11 Mar 2025 · Proposed 24-hour adult gaming centre in Whitby · Hansard source

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  I rise to present a petition about the proposals for a 24-hour casino in Whitby. I hope very much that planning officers take note of the petition, which has been signed on paper by seven of my constituents and online by a further 412. It expresses the concern of Whitby residents about a planning application submitted by Luxury Leisure to open a 24-hour adult gaming centre at Baxtergate in Whitby. They are particularly disappointed that the site of the proposed gaming centre is that of the Halifax bank branch, which is due to close shortly, leaving the town without any bank branches. The petition further declares that what residents of Whitby want is access to banks, shops and services, and not a 24-hour gaming centre. It states: “The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage North Yorkshire Council to reject the application for a 24-hour adult gaming centre at the site on Baxtergate, Whitby.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of the residents of the constituency of Scarborough and Whitby, Declares that residents of Whitby are very strong ly concerned that a planning application has been made by the slots and gambling company, Luxury Leisure, to open a 24-hour adult gaming centre at 67-68 Baxtergate in Whitby; further declares that the gaming centre may cause issues with noise and anti-social behaviour; notes that, as at 6 March 2025, North Yorkshire Council has received 522 objections to the application, whereas only 6 people have supported it; further notes that residents are particularly disappointed that the site of the proposed gaming centre is that of the Halifax bank branch, which is due to close in May 2025, leaving the town without any bank branches; and further declares that what residents of Whitby want is access to banks, shops and services, and not the proposed 24-hour gaming centre. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage North Yorkshire Council to reject the application for a 24-hour adult gaming centre at the site on Baxtergate, Whitby. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003052]

• 6 Mar 2025 · International Women’s Day · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to make a contribution to this debate on International Women’s Day. I am proud to be the first woman to represent my constituency of Scarborough and Whitby. In my acceptance speech, I pledged to play my part in ending the epidemic of violence against women and girls, and to see the very first women’s refuge built in North Yorkshire. Today, I rise to pay tribute to a constituent who has spent a lifetime overcoming what happened to her as a young girl to become an outspoken survivor and an advocate for victims of child sexual abuse. When I say “a lifetime”, I mean a lifetime. Abused at 10, Suzzanne buried what had happened to her to build a successful career and raise a family. She told me that it was only once her children had grown up and left home that she felt able to deal with what had happened to her. At 48, she went to the police. When she was 50, and after a very traumatic and drawn-out investigation and trial, the perpetrator was sentenced to 13 years. Such perpetrators serve only half of their sentences in prison, and he is due to be released in the summer. As a childminder and early years inspector, Suzzanne loves where she lives. Of course she does—it is her home. But as she waits for the decision of the Parole Board, she is planning to sell her home, because when her abuser is released, he will move back to his family home, which is a few streets away from her—a house that she has to walk past to reach her parents’ home. The man who abused my constituent as a child will live literally two streets away from her, in a house that is a three-minute walk from her home, a mere 322 metres away, and visible from her upstairs rooms. Understandably, she cannot face the thought of coming face to face with her abuser. Suzzanne told me that she was very fortunate to have been signposted to IDAS, a specialist charity supporting victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. She says that without its support, she would have taken her own life. Why should a man who has abused a child in their close neighbourhood be allowed to return to live just a few streets away? It goes beyond whether perpetrators are seen as a risk, and it continues the suffering of women and girls who have suffered abuse. I am sure there are no easy answers, but I pay tribute to Suzzanne for allowing me to share her story. I thank her for her courage. We want women to feel safe on the streets and in their homes, including survivors like Suzzanne.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Employment Rights Bill (Eighth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. We in this place enjoy the employment rights that come with our job, which is to serve our constituents to the best of our ability. When we are unwell, we can take time off but we are still paid. Before I arrived here, I spent a considerable number of years working as a freelancer while bringing up my family; I believe that is now called being a worker in the gig economy. I understand all too well the pressure for people to work when they are unwell, as they juggle work around caring responsibilities, as I had to for my disabled son, and worry about money, as our family worried about how we would pay the rent and the other bills if I did not work. At present, large numbers of workers either rely on statutory sick pay or receive nothing at all if they are absent from work due to illness. Those workers are more likely to be low paid than others. We also heard in the evidence sessions last week that women are currently more likely to miss out on statutory sick pay than men, because they do not earn enough to meet the threshold or have not been in their jobs for long enough. It is estimated that 1.1 million workers earn less than £123 a week and most of them are women who are not eligible for statutory sick pay at all. In practice, as we heard in the evidence sessions last week and as Minister just referred to, that means that people drag themselves into work despite the fact that they are ill. As it stands, our sick pay system pushes far too many people to go to work when they are ill. Working while in poor health is more common among those from marginalised ethnic groups, people in lower-quality jobs and workers lacking formal qualifications. Under the Bill, hundreds of thousands of people will qualify for sick pay from the first day that they are ill. That change and other changes will help to increase productivity, reduce prolonged illness due to exacerbating existing conditions, and lead to better public health outcomes. Lower-paid workers will no longer have to face the unpalatable choice between coming to work and risking spreading infection, or struggling to put food on the table and to pay bills. Those are very real concerns that, as I mentioned, I have faced. In conclusion, I believe that the Bill will transform the world of work for millions of people across the country. If I may say so, it is a privilege to have played a small part in scrutinising it.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Short-term Lets: Regulation · Hansard source

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  Scarborough and Whitby are understandably popular destinations for holidays and short breaks, but the impact of short-term holiday lets is forcing people out of the towns. Today there are only seven homes available to rent on Rightmove in the Whitby area, while there are 300 properties on short-term let platforms. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government need to move at pace to introduce licensing and new planning powers for councils?

• 29 Jul 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I welcome the steps that my right hon. Friend is taking to reduce violence against women and girls. Women’s refuges and other dispersed accommodation play a vital part in helping women and their children to escape domestic abuse. Scarborough has the highest domestic abuse rate in North Yorkshire, but we do not have a single refuge in the constituency of Scarborough and Whitby. Planning permission for a women’s refuge at Danes Dyke was granted in 2022, but progress has stalled due to rising business costs. Will the Home Secretary please advise on how the shortfall in funds referenced by North Yorkshire council, Beyond Housing and Homes England can be dealt with, so that this vital service can be built?