Alison Hume MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Jun 2026 · Small Towns: Transport Links · 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 Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) for securing this important debate. When it comes to transport links for small towns, few can boast the train to Hogsmeade station, where the Hogwarts Express ended its journey north from platform nine and three quarters. The real-life Goathland station, which starred in the Harry Potter films, is just one of the beautiful stations on the Esk Valley railway line from Whitby to Middlesbrough, which follows the route of the River Esk for much of its 24 miles, passing through verdant farmland, rolling moors and picturesque villages. Sadly, the scenery is far more beautiful than the train service. The villain of the piece is not Lord Voldemort, but Dr Beeching, the Minister who cut the Whitby to Scarborough line back in 1965, condemning Whitby to reliance on cars and buses. That Whitby lost its train link to its coastal neighbour is bad enough, but to add insult to injury, the current service that connects Whitby to the nearest big town, Middlesbrough, is one of the worst in the country. That is not the fault of the not-for-profit Esk Valley Railway Development Company, a dedicated community rail partnership that runs the line with passion and flair. Indeed, the company fought hard to get a station opened at James Cook hospital in 2014. The whole point of that stop was to provide access to the hospital; instead, Whitby residents find themselves isolated from essential healthcare. There are only six trains a day, with four-hour gaps in the morning and afternoon. That makes it impossible to plan for a hospital appointment. Constituents have told me they have to stay over at Middlesbrough because they cannot get to and from the hospital in a day. It is not only hospital patients who are frustrated by the poor service, but constituents who want to work in Middlesbrough, where there are many more employment opportunities than in Whitby. The lack of ambition and investment in this essential transport link for Whitby is laid bare when it is compared with another seaside town, in the south. Newquay in Cornwall is not unlike Whitby in size, and it is also at the end of a branch line. Office of Rail and Road figures show that in 2023-24 the Newquay line carried 146,000 passengers, which was down 2%, while the Whitby line carried 257,000, which was up 6.3%. Until recently, both lines suffered from poor train services, but Newquay now has 15 trains on weekdays, 14 on Saturdays and eight on Sundays, thanks to a £57 million investment. According to a press release, there is also a through-train to London, while on the same day Whitby has just six trains. I would love to hear from the Minister how Great British Railways can improve transport links to small towns like Whitby, and open up a world of possibilities for its residents.

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  The news that bus travel will be free for children this summer is extremely welcome. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is a golden opportunity for East Yorkshire Buses and Transdev to boost summer capacity, ensuring that children from deprived communities in Scarborough are not squeezed off the buses by tourists travelling to the coast for a great British summer?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. In Scarborough, British electric bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis employs more than 700 people and is vital to our local economy. Tax-funded bus procurement should support UK industry, rather than fund international competitors. However, with the social value requirement in public procurement set at only 10% and price still weighted at 70%, social value has little to no real impact. Will the Minister look at increasing the social value requirement in public procurement to support our great British—

• 10 Dec 2025 · Small-scale Fracking Ban · Hansard source

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  I completely agree with the hon. Member. We must listen to our local communities, who are telling us loud and clear that they do not want fracking on their back door, in their beautiful fields or in the countryside. Since 2019, there has been a moratorium on fracking across the UK—a decision taken after Lancashire was rocked by an earthquake caused by fracking operations at Preston New Road. However, not all forms of fracking are currently covered by the moratorium. The Petroleum Act 1998 uses a fluid-based definition for fracking. Section 4B(1)(b) describes it as “the injection of…more than 1,000 cubic metres of fluid at each stage, or expected stage, of the hydraulic fracturing, or…more than 10,000 cubic metres of fluid in total.” The volume of liquid proposed for the Burniston site is under that threshold, so despite the intent of the plans being exactly the same—to explore for and to extract gas by injecting a substance into the rock at pressure to cause it to fracture—the current legislation actually allows Europa to do exactly what the moratorium should be there to block. It is clear that the volume-based definition has created a legal loophole for oil and gas companies to evade the Government’s ban on fracking and proceed to do so under a different name—in this case, “proppant squeeze”. The Burniston application is not the first time that planning permission has been sought in England for proppant squeeze. Between 2016 and 2019, Egdon Resources applied several times and was eventually granted planning permission for a proppant squeeze in north Lincolnshire, with a hydraulic fracture plan approved in May 2021. In November 2024 another company, Rathlin Energy, also applied to the Environment Agency for permission to carry out similar work at West Newton, an oil and gas site in East Yorkshire. There is no evidence that the volume of fluid used can accurately determine the risk of seismic events. However, the volume of fluid proposed for use at the Burniston site in my constituency surpasses the highest daily fluid amount in the week leading up to the 2019 earthquake that triggered the existing moratorium. Seismologists have warned that our country’s geology responds unpredictably to even small injections, under- scoring that any fracking has risk, regardless of fluid volume.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Alexander Dennis is a British electric bus manufacturer employing more than 700 people in Scarborough. Major bus contracts are due to go live in early 2026. Will the Minister confirm that this Government are backing British-built buses over Chinese imports, and can he confirm that the changes to public procurement processes will be implemented in time for taxpayers’ money to be spent on buying British buses?

• 19 Nov 2025 · Specialist Manufacturing Sector: Regional Economies · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn) on securing the debate, and echo his calls to buy British. As the first seaside resort in Britain, Scarborough pioneered bathing machines for women—horse-drawn sheds on wheels—who entered the ocean clad in vast garments, helped by servants. In those days, it was all about protecting modesty, but today the innovators in Scarborough are, thankfully, all about protecting the environment, as we move to net zero and tackle the climate crisis. Local business SeaGrown has created the Kelpedo, which is an innovative and robust offshore seaweed cultivation system. The small cylinder is literally fired from boats into the sea like a mini-torpedo. More than just a structure for growing seaweed, each Kelpedo unit actively contributes to ocean health by sequestering carbon, improving water quality and creating vital habitats that enhance marine biodiversity. It can be scaled up to be used in offshore wind farms, and shows how new employment opportunities and local identities can be created beyond conventional maritime activities. The move to net zero also inspires Alexander Dennis Ltd, formerly Plaxton—manufacturers of fine electric buses and a major employer in Scarborough—and in September, Schneider Electric opened up a brand-new, £42 million, state-of-the-art smart plant that produces the critical electrical equipment needed as the UK moves to cleaner energy. I have visited that incredible new facility in Eastfield, which makes the low-voltage switchgear needed to manage and distribute incoming power supplies into separate circuits, such as the feeder pillars for electric vehicle charging. The plain green box behind the whizzy plug-in will probably have been made in Scarborough. The facility is net zero in scope 1 and 2 emissions, and it uses modern technologies to reduce energy waste and maximise the use of renewable energy, 30% of which will come from its own solar energy system. By manufacturing in the UK for UK organisations, our investment builds resilience into the nation’s critical infrastructure, reducing exposure to global supply chain shocks and slashing both cost and carbon emissions through shorter, optimised transport and logistic routes. UK production means faster and more flexible delivery of bespoke engineering solutions, tailored to the unique needs of UK projects. Customers can visit the Scarborough site and collaborate directly with product designers and engineers to ensure that products fully meet their needs before they move into production. Companies like Schneider and Alexander Dennis are looking to us for joined-up policy and a stable regulatory environment, as well as a Government commitment to electrification, transport decarbonisation and buying British through procurement incentives. Advanced manufacturing employs nearly 50,000 people across Yorkshire and the Humber, contributing £6.2 billion to the country’s economic output. I am proud to represent a coastal constituency where innovation and excellence in specialist manufacturing proudly plays such a major part in addressing the climate emergency and in our regional success story.

• 4 Nov 2025 · Specialist treatment of stroke patients at Scarborough Hospital · Hansard source

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  I rise to present a petition on specialist treatment for stroke patients at Scarborough hospital. It declares that “Scarborough Hospital should once again provide specialist emergency assessment, investigation, treatment and care for patients who are potentially suffering from, or have suffered from, an acute stroke”. Currently, my constituents have to travel more than 40 miles on the traffic-choked A64 to be assessed and treated in York. Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the constituency of Scarborough and Whitby, Declares that Scarborough Hospital should once again provide specialist emergency assessment, investigation, treatment and care for patients who are potentially suffering from, or have suffered from, an acute stroke; and further declares that this is to avoid the need for patients to be transported, over 40 miles and often many more, to York Hospital from the East Coast region, and so that they do not undergo a lengthy and slow journey causing unnecessarily excessive clinical delays to their management out with current national guidelines, and so that their friends and relatives are able to readily visit them at a time of distress and need. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take steps to ensure that Scarborough Hospital can again offer timely and accessible emergency care to acute stroke patients in Scarborough, Whitby, and the East Coast catchment area. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003127]

• 11 Sept 2025 · Regional Transport Inequality · Hansard source

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  No, I am afraid I have to carry on. Unless we equip our first Labour rural metro mayor in York and North Yorkshire with the economic firepower to deliver better buses and trains, we not only limit the opportunity for towns like Scarborough to contribute to economic growth, but risk failing to break down barriers to opportunity in coastal communities.

• 11 Sept 2025 · Regional Transport Inequality · Hansard source

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  To grow our economy, we need good connectivity. In coastal communities such as Scarborough and Whitby, we are struck in the slow lane. Scarborough, with its heritage, culture and captivating coastline, is a popular tourist destination, attracting 3.9 million visitors last year. The train from Scarborough to York is an essential transport link for visitors as well as commuters, but with only one service an hour, opportunity and growth are being choked off. We need a twice-hourly service. This proposal is backed by York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith, local businesses, my constituents and Lord Blunkett, who listed the service increase as one of his rail priorities in his report, “Yorkshire’s Plan for Rail”, published this year. Scarborough’s wonderful Stephen Joseph theatre has supported calls for a twice-hourly service, stating that audience members leave performances early to catch their train. Rather like its latest production, “Noises Off”, this is a farce. We have businesses in Scarborough and nearby Seamer that are looking to attract more employees, but with such an irregular service, these opportunities are simply out of reach for many people. We have enough platforms and enough demand for a more regular rail service. The operator, TransPennine Express, says that one of the barriers to providing a twice-hourly service is a shortage of drivers. It insists that it must train its own drivers on its own routes. I would be grateful if the Minister could address the issue of train drivers in his closing remarks, and say whether he is exploring new ways to ensure that the local need for drivers is met. I welcome the news that York and North Yorkshire combined authority will receive £94 million in local transport grant capital funding over the next four years. However, the combined authority, which covers a huge geographical area, is not part of the transport for city regions, so its settlement is not nearly as large as that of most combined authorities.

• 11 Sept 2025 · Transport: Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  This week, I visited Schneider Electric’s brand-new manufacturing facility in Scarborough, which will create 200 new jobs. However, those opportunities are out of reach for so many of my constituents who rely on public transport. What is my right hon. Friend doing to ensure that poor transport in coastal communities like Scarborough and Whitby, which are untouched by city transport region funding, does not strangle economic growth?

• 11 Sept 2025 · Transport: Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  18. What steps she is taking to ensure that the transport system supports economic growth.