Amanda Hack MP: speeches

Speeches

• 22 Jan 2026 · Transport Connectivity: Midlands and North Wales · Hansard source

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  I want to reflect on those numbers. The east midlands mayoralty is not the east midlands. It covers only Derbyshire, Derby, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. How does the rest of the east midlands fare in terms of funding?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Transport Connectivity: Midlands and North Wales · Hansard source

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  The economic benefit of effective and connected transport is there for us to see. Having never worked in London before, it always surprises me how easy it is to get to places—if a bus or train gets cancelled, it is fine, because there is one five minutes away. If a bus gets cancelled in my constituency, people need to get a taxi or they will not get home. That is the inequality that we see. What does this issue mean in my constituency? Around 87.4% of households in North West Leicestershire have access to one car or van, compared with 61% in Manchester and 22% here in London. With the lack of available and reliable public transport, more people are forced to rely on personal transport, thereby increasing the volume of cars and vans on our roads. That also has a devastating impact. Some 80% of east midlands commuters drive, and the average number of rail journeys per resident is just seven per year, which is half the rate of the west midlands and a third of the east of England. In fact, East Midlands airport has the highest proportion of travellers getting there by car, at 91%, which is mainly down to it having the lowest connectivity of all airports across the UK. We have to think about transport connectivity—railways, buses—and how we get to our airports. North West Leicestershire has not had a passenger rail service since the Ivanhoe line closed there in the ’60s. My constituency relies heavily on buses, but I will say much more about the Ivanhoe line next week in a dedicated debate on the subject. I have done a little research on how my constituents get to their nearest train station. From Coalville, the station is about 12 miles away, and it would take an hour on public transport to get to Loughborough or Leicester—far too long; it would be about 30 minutes by car. It would also take about an hour to get from Ashby-de-la-Zouch to Burton train station, but that would include more than one bus, which could be problematic for travellers, who are really reluctant to take multi-bus journeys because one of the buses might fail to come. Residents in Kegworth have the most convenient public transport journey to a train station—to Loughborough, which takes just 36 minutes. However, East Midlands Parkway train station is only a few minutes by car. We are massively underserved as a result of this connection problem between rail and buses. The fact is that my constituents have to make ridiculous, non-efficient journeys just to get where they need to be. I would welcome the Minister’s view on how the difficulties of connecting communities are a real barrier to growth, as my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) mentioned in her intervention. My constituents tell me that they are driving to get to the train station anyway, often in the wrong direction, so they might as well continue by car to their destination and avoid getting on the train altogether. That means more cars on our roads and more pressure on our road network. Obviously, I have given simple examples, but I want to think about what the situation means for my constituents when they are trying to get to work, school or hospital. Accessible, efficient, reliable public transport should not be a luxury; it should not be a postcode lottery, but that is what it seems to be. When I meet young people across my constituency, they tell me that the public transport situation is a huge barrier to getting the training opportunities—the apprenticeships and classes—that they want and deserve. Recently, a resident of Ashby-de-la-Zouch got in touch about their daughter’s problems in getting to college in Loughborough. I thought it would be useful to share their words: “The number of buses are extremely limited and this results in her leaving the house at 06.30 am and not returning until 7 pm with several hours waiting in and around bus stops” —for a girl of 16, that is not ideal. “Secondly, the service has on multiple occasions failed to turn up and left her in Loughborough without a way of getting home other than hoping my wife or myself are able to pick her up.” When a young person is trying their best to get their life on track, the very last thing we should be doing is putting additional hurdles in front of them. Yet for too many, transport—or the lack of it—becomes a deciding factor in whether they can engage in their chosen education at all. If we get transport connectivity right, the impact on individuals, families and the long-term prosperity of our regions can be transformational. I cannot continue to accept a situation in which my constituency has an international airport yet has no passenger rail and such poor bus services.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Transport Connectivity: Midlands and North Wales · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I thank the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton) for bringing forward this important debate on transport in the midlands—which is one of my favourite subjects, so I had to be here for it. I represent North West Leicestershire, so my focus will inevitably be on the east midlands. My constituency is at the heart of the national forest, and East Midlands airport rests at the very top of it. However, in tune with other semi-rural constituencies, we have no passenger rail at all, and a pretty poor level of bus connectivity. As North West Leicestershire is also not in the East Midlands combined county authority, it will not directly benefit from the financial settlement allocated to the city regions, so I would welcome the Minister’s view on how the areas within the midlands that are not covered by devolution can get their fair share of transport connectivity. Before I came to this place I sat on the highways and transport committee at Leicestershire county council. I know at first hand how poor transport funding has been under the last Conservative Government, including in Leicestershire, with 62% of services being cut in my constituency alone. As a county councillor, I lost count of the number of notifications of bus service changes I received, which included cuts. Bit by bit, those changes cut off public transport access to healthcare, college, work and leisure. Through new funding, thanks to our Government and our clear commitment to public services, we can restore some of that, although it can be frustratingly difficult to liaise with our county colleagues to get the changes in services that our communities desperately need. It still feels disjointed and patchy, and I know the issue will not be solved overnight. In 2023-24, the east midlands had the lowest transport spending per head of the population at just £368 per person, compared with the UK average spend of £687 and the London spend of £1,313. Between 2019 and 2024, research shows that the east midlands received £10.8 billion less in funding than it would if it had been allocated just at the average, not at the London level.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Agricultural Sector: Import Standards · Hansard source

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  I was at Noble Foods last week, as part of the National Farmers Union’s food and farming fellowship programme. The issue, it was explained, is not just lower welfare standards. We need to ensure that eggs are safe. My hon. Friend is too young to remember it, but I remember the salmonella outbreak when I was a teenager. We have to be clear that food safety is as important for imported goods as it is for home-grown produce.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  North West Leicestershire is home to East Midlands airport, which carries the highest volume of small parcel air freight in the UK. In the light of the new trading agreements with the EU, can the Minister update me on how we will ensure that small businesses can make the most of these additional trading benefits, for current and future agreements?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Warm Homes Plan · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and his commitment to improve energy efficiency in people’s homes and reduce bills for constituents like mine. As the chair of the future homes, skills and innovations all-party parliamentary group, I would welcome more details on the taskforce identified in the plan, to ensure that we have the skills and innovation to meet the ambition, so that my constituents can benefit from warmer homes as well as the good jobs that the sector can provide.

• 20 Jan 2026 · Temporary Accommodation: Out of Area Placements · Hansard source

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  This is a really important debate. One element that is often not told is the number of out of area placements for 16-year-olds. Last year, 1,000 care-experienced children were moved away from home during the three months around their exams. Does the hon. Member agree that we should do everything in our power to ensure that people are able to keep their local connections as far as possible, and particularly those in that vulnerable group?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Temporary Accommodation: Out of Area Placements · Hansard source

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  Could the Minister clarify whether that duty to inform also includes the 16 to 18-year-olds, who may well be placed by social services, rather than by homelessness teams?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Sale of Fireworks · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) for leading this petition debate. As the MP proudly representing semi-rural North West Leicestershire—a beautiful constituency at the heart of the national forest, surrounded by countryside and farmland, with an abundance of wildlife and livestock, as well as the main home base for Canine Partners—it is unsurprising that I have been emailed by hundreds of constituents about the need to further regulate fireworks, and that more than 650 constituents have put their signatures to both petitions. Neither petition calls for the banning of fireworks, which is a common misconception around this debate. We are here to discuss minimising the impact they have on people, livestock, neighbours and pets, and it is important that we focus on that. Most people use fireworks in a responsible, safe and appropriate manner, and laws are already in place to address the misuse of fireworks, limiting their sale to licensed traders and making it an offence to use them after 11 pm and before 7 am without express permission. However, as a dog owner, I know that that does not go quite far enough. Just yesterday, some loud fireworks went off at 5 pm next to my home, which meant no walk for the dog. Unusually, the cats were also frightened. The issue is not just that animals are scared by the noise, but that horses and livestock are caused distress and harm when fireworks go off. Animals are at risk of injuring themselves on fencing or farm equipment or on fixtures and fittings in housing if startled. Of course, this issue impacts not just animals, but veterans and vulnerable people. For those suffering from PTSD, the loud bangs are huge triggers. Last year, PTSD UK did a study on the effects of fireworks on those with PTSD; 85% of respondents said that fireworks made them feel unsafe in their homes, and 27.2% had sought medical or therapeutic support due to firework-related stress. Surely this cannot continue. It is not difficult to be a little more thoughtful and kind to our neighbours—to collectively take a step back to think about those loud noises and the impact they have on so many people. Firework displays can be enjoyed without fear, but we must recognise the volume of fireworks, particularly in Leicestershire, where fireworks seem to go on for weeks. After the last fireworks night, when I was back in London in early November, I realised just how quiet it is here compared with my constituency. That is why I supported the Fireworks Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen). I thank her for all her hard work, and share her hope for action going forward. Reducing the maximum noise level for consumer fireworks from 120 dB to 90 dB, as called for in the Bill and as suggested in one of the petitions, seems such a sensible step forward, and could have real, positive impacts on our communities, veterans, vulnerable people, pets, livestock and wildlife. It would also limit the impact of home firework displays, although I agree that we need to look again at the regulations on the sale of fireworks. Ultimately, we must make sure that people are safe. Firework displays can still be beautiful and fun if they are a little quieter. It is about being that bit more respectful to those around us. Imagine if people who are frightened of fireworks could go and enjoy them because they are that bit quieter. That would mean that more people could enjoy what fireworks displays can offer.

• 13 Jan 2026 · Airport Drop-off Charges · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South and Walkden (Yasmin Qureshi) for securing this debate, which holds such importance for my constituents. My constituency is proud to be the home of East Midlands airport—part of the Manchester Airport Group —from where about 4 million people fly each year. Before I focus on the drop-off charges at the airport, it is important to understand them in the context of a wider local problem. The closest train station to East Midlands airport is East Midlands Parkway, which is a 10-minute drive away. The only bus service from East Midlands Parkway is dial-a-ride only—that is, it is an on-demand service, not even a regular bus service. For those who might not have experienced an on-demand service, a passenger basically rocks up at the train station and rings a number, and there might be a bus available. That is how it operates. It is very good, but the reality is that when someone is going through the stressful scenario of going on holiday with a couple of kids in tow, they are going to get a taxi. The taxi will have to use the rapid drop-off option, so despite travelling via public transport, the passenger will still have to pay the drop-off charge to get to the airport. Some 91% of travellers to East Midlands airport travel by car, leaving just 9% travelling by public transport—a proportion so much lower than for every other passenger airport in the country. The drop-off charges seem so unfair because our choices to get to airports are pretty limited. People are also parking in villages near the airport, including in Leicestershire. I was chatting to my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) yesterday, and he said it was a problem in his constituency too. Essentially, to avoid parking at the airport for any length of time, people will get a taxi from a village outside the airport and make their way there, thereby avoiding the weekly charges. Given that there are hardly any alternatives to travelling by car to the airport, we need to look at the infrastructure around our airports, as people feel they have no choice but to drive or get a family member to drop them off. Raising drop-off prices, as we have seen many airports doing, does not mean that my constituents or others who travel to East Midlands airport are suddenly able to magic up a bus or train to get them there. People want the convenience of being dropped off close to the departure gate, and airports know that. Let’s face it: it is a cash cow. It is an easy way to make money. As has been stated, East Midlands airport has recently been made barrierless, which means that someone can only pay online or by using an automated phoneline by midnight the following day. When dropping someone off early in the morning or late at night, it can be really easy to forget. I am sure we all have examples of that. As the airport is in my constituency, I get a lot of casework on this matter that I then field to other MPs, because it generally does not come from my constituents. I was contacted by someone who returned home just after midnight, having dropped off a loved one at East Midlands airport, and they had just 24 hours to pay. Thankfully, they remembered, but they felt it was so unfair that they had such a short time to pay. It is possible to set up an account to take automatic payment, but that simply will not be accessible to all, and setting up an auto-payment for a single or twice-yearly event is not worth while. What other service operates a system in which it is impossible to pay at the point of sale? It feels like the system is set up in the hope that people will forget, with fines of £100 if it slips their mind—although, of course, there are no reminders. The fine is reduced only if it is paid within 14 days. Coincidentally, 14 days is the length of many family holidays, which is ironic. I have raised the issue directly with the airport and requested that a pay terminal or a simple QR code be put in the terminal building. That request was refused, based on fraud issues. Yet such options are common practice. Just yesterday I used the QR code at my local train station—which happens to be operated by the very same parking company. If the company can do that at Leicester train station, it could do it at East Midlands airport with no trouble. That is where regulation could bring merit, with clearer payment methods, reminders and limits on parking charges—not radical ideas, just basic consumer protections. I wrote to APCOA parking to request data on the number of parking charge notices issued prior to and after the introduction of the new system at East Midlands airport. I was refused that data, which is not a good sign. Companies that are privately fining individuals should be subject to data-access rights relating to the schemes they operate. Ultimately, the current system of airport drop-off charges is unfair. When we factor in inadequate transport infrastructure, the case for regulation becomes even stronger.

• 7 Jan 2026 · UK Town of Culture · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) for this opportunity for us all to talk about the UK town of culture competition and the benefits it can bring to our communities. It will be a pleasure to speak about my towns and my hope that they will consider a submission, but it has also been wonderful to hear about other towns, and the real pride in our local places. This will be a hotly contested competition—not just in this room, but in my constituency. I have four towns, but I will talk about the largest, Coalville and Ashby-de-la-Zouch. They are separated by just six miles and have an amazing opportunity to go forward as a UK town of culture. They are both located in the heart of the national forest. As I said in my maiden speech, Coalville is named appropriately, as it is at the heart of the coalmining industry in Leicestershire. The cultural heritage is centred on its industrial past and its hope for the future. The town has invested in the market square, which is called Marlborough Square. It was a central gathering place for the community, initially as a public market for farmers and producers, before evolving into a livestock hub in the 1840s. More recently, this lovely square has hosted some amazing family events, organised and supported by the local district council and our vibrant voluntary sector. Coalville’s culture was clear to see at the Midland Red bus 100th anniversary event earlier this year, which was held just a stone’s throw from Marlborough Square, at Snibston, the home of a theatre, a coalmining museum, a café and a park. In the centre of Coalville is the beautiful Mother and Child statue, and there are art installations across the town. Coalville has so much potential to be the UK town of culture. However, it will have to fight off local competition from the second largest town in my constituency, Ashby-de-la-Zouch. A great market town originally known as Ashby in 1086, it was renamed in the 18th century after the La Zouche family. Around that time, Ashby castle was built. The town’s beautiful historic buildings line Market Street, which is a thriving shopping destination. It was a pleasure to be shown around the original features in the lovely Tap at No. 76, which was built in the era of Queen Elizabeth I. Not long after I was elected, I also had the privilege of visiting the archives at the fantastic volunteer-led Ashby Museum. If anyone makes a pit stop there, I am sure they will enjoy the museum. Ashby’s rich history has been kept up throughout the generations. There is an active business improvement district and a great town council with an annual programme of events. That includes the Statutes, which is now in its 806th year, and the new soapbox derby, which is in its second year, to name just a couple of the great events that happen. I have not had the opportunity to talk about my smaller towns of Ibstock and Castle Donington, but I am sure they will forgive me. This competition will be really important for our towns, and I will encourage my district council and others to consider how we get this amazing opportunity for growth and investment into my towns in North West Leicestershire. Will the Minister consider whether there is an opportunity to expand the competition to a wider range of towns, and perhaps include a UK town of industrial heritage and a UK market town of culture? Then I would be able to pick two towns in North West Leicestershire.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  May I take this opportunity to wish you a merry Christmas, Madam Deputy Speaker? It was a pleasure to join Ingles FC, a non-league club in North West Leicestershire, as it hosted the Premier League trophy last weekend. The Premier League has supported the club with a grant of £45,000 to install LED floodlights, as well as previously supporting a defibrillator. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking the Premier League for all the work it does to support grassroots football, as well as the volunteers at Ingles FC who keep the local club running week in, week out?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Support for Dairy Farmers · Hansard source

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  I had the opportunity to meet a dairy farmer in my constituency, who explained just how financially challenging things have been. They have diversified, they have a farm shop and they do raw milk vending, but it is simply not enough for them to make a profit on other activities to subsidise their milk production. Will the Minister outline how dairy farmers, who are critical to a vibrant food and drink sector, will be supported in the long term?

• 16 Dec 2025 · Quarries: Planning Policy · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank the hon. Member for South Leicestershire (Alberto Costa) for securing this debate. It goes without saying that quarries are integral to our infrastructure. My constituency is home to many quarries, and I have been able to visit Bardon Hill, Cloud Hill and Breedon on the Hill. Quarries can be difficult for residents, whether that is navigating the planning process or dealing with issues once they are opened. Lorry queuing dominates my casework at the moment. Since becoming the MP for North West Leicestershire, I have been contacted repeatedly by constituents about huge queues of lorries, sparking safety concerns. Earlier this month, a constituent shared that lorries have been parking on the island of a main road into Coalville, as well as on local pavements. The lack of a response from authorities is frustrating. There appears to be little redress when issues arise, leaving residents worried when new proposals are put forward. On particulates and air pollution, North West Leicestershire district council’s latest air quality report covers data from 2022. It specifically mentions high levels of nitrogen dioxide and fine particulates of PM2.5 near to Bardon quarry. As a former health scrutiny member of Leicestershire county council, I know that this type of pollution is much higher near our quarries in Leicestershire. We must therefore consider the impact on local people when we go through the planning process. These pollutants can cause residents concern, for in addition to the associated dust and the smells generated from this type of heavy industry, nitrogen dioxide levels have been exceeded 216 times on the monitoring site. We need a new planning system, but we must also be able to deal with the impact of existing quarries. I would welcome the Minister’s response on how we deal with that going forward. I do, however, want to give people some faith that quarries can be good neighbours. Whitwick quarry has an understanding with local residents. When there are flood alerts, the quarry will stop pumping water into the local brook. The operators send out text alerts when there are going to be blasts and explosions, and they wash the wheels of the lorries down before they leave the site to minimise the dust dragged on to the street. We also have the opportunity brought by Bardon quarry leasing a private line that connects to the Ivanhoe line, which could potentially be reopened to passengers in the future. In the long term, we need to look at the balance between the resilience that hardcore material provides us and the impact that quarries have on local people. Being good neighbours should be the focus of managing planning going forward.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Sudden Cardiac Death in Young People · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that important intervention. Defibs talk to you; there is no need to be mystified by their use. They are clever bits of kit, and a 999 emergency responder will talk people through the process. I ask everyone please to go and be trained, because this is really important stuff.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Sudden Cardiac Death in Young People · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I think the conversation on defibs has been a really interesting one, but that is obviously just part of the solution to cardiac risk in young people. The main point I was trying to make is that, until we can roll out an effective programme of screening, we need to make sure we have the CPR and defibs tools in our toolkit to make sure we can support a person if they are going into cardiac arrest. Finally, CPR training and knowing where the nearest defib is are important parts of the solution, but when we are looking at cardiac risk in young people, it is about how we make sure that asymptomatic individuals are screened and made aware of information about how they may react if they have an undiagnosed cardiac condition. I want to put on record my thanks to CRY, the British Heart Foundation, Resuscitation Council UK, Brentford FC, Arsenal FC, the East Midlands ambulance service, Kerrie from Vitalise Health and First Aid Training, and all the bodies that have supported me in my questions on health screening, as well as fantastic campaigners such as Hilary. The truth is that we could be doing far more to tackle sudden cardiac death in young people, so why are we not doing so? I would really love to hear from the Minister.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Sudden Cardiac Death in Young People · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) for securing this important debate and for speaking so passionately about the issue at hand. As a reminder, 12 young, fit, healthy young people a week die of an unknown heart condition. That means that by the time we get to Christmas, 20 young people will have lost their lives. By this time next year, it will be 600 people. All of those deaths could have been prevented. I first became aware of the scale of this tragedy when I bumped into an old school friend for his 40th birthday. He was fundraising for the brilliant Cardiac Risk in the Young, or CRY. Unbeknown to me, he had lost his brother to a sudden cardiac arrest when we were just in our teens. The second time I came across CRY, it was much closer to home. My niece’s boyfriend sadly passed away in his sleep three years ago. He was fit and healthy, having gone on a run earlier that day. His mother Lesley and my niece Izzy have been steadfast in their campaigning for CRY ever since. What is CRY all about? It does vital work in raising awareness, supporting bereaved families and, most importantly, screening young people. CRY offers electrocardiogram screenings to all young people between the ages of 14 and 35. To date, it has screened more than 340,000 young people since its formation 30 years ago. I was lucky enough to see one of its screening days first hand at Cambridge University sports centre, organised by Hilary Nicholls, who has already been mentioned this evening, in memory of her daughter Clarissa, who passed away aged just 20 while hiking in France. CRY is calling for the National Screening Committee urgently to review and reconsider evidence supporting the roll-out of a national screening programme, and for a national screening strategy for the prevention of young sudden cardiac death. I would welcome the Minister’s comments on that. When a similar programme was introduced in Italy in the 1980s, it saw a reduction in young people dying of 85%. Over the past year, I have been speaking to national sporting bodies alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham and Penge (Liam Conlon) to identify which were already screening their players and how they do it, as well as meeting organisations that represent sports facilities. Just the other week, we heard the excellent news that cardiac screening is being introduced across the netball super league here in England as a requirement from next season, and every player will be screened before the season starts. I also understand that it will be working with CRY to provide screenings for clubs and players where there is nothing already in place. This comes after Kaitlin Lawrence collapsed while warming up for a netball match and hospital scans showed that she had an irregular heartbeat. Lawrence was asymptomatic, young, fit and an elite netball player, and her experience shows just how crucial it is to screen young people playing sport. I should, however, make it clear that many people can still play sport after receiving a diagnosis. Wonderful tools are available, along with fantastic cardiologists across the country, to facilitate that. We need only observe how successful Christian Eriksen has been since his collapse on the pitch during an international game. This need not be a deterrent; it is information. It is simply not good enough to say that screening young people will put them off sport and should therefore not be widely carried out. Crucially, however, the necessary level of screening is not being undertaken, which means that we must ensure that we have access to defibs and understand how to carry out CPR, which is just as important. My hon. Friend the Member for Beckenham and Penge (Liam Conlon) and I met Arsenal’s team doctor, Zaf Iqbal, at the club’s training ground earlier this month. Zaf is passionate about cardiac health, and has been using his position at Arsenal—and at his previous clubs—to champion greater awareness of CPR and defibs among school-age children. I also want to draw attention to the incredible work that Brentford FC is doing with its Heart of West London campaign, opening up its ground to offer cardiac screening to the surrounding community; it carries out about 1,000 screenings a year. That kind of engagement is exactly what we need to get the message embedded in our communities of how important it is to be ready in the event of an emergency. The fact is, however, that our defib network is nowhere near fit for purpose. I recently held a “defib dash” in my constituency, which effectively worked like a small-scale community audit of our defib network. The results were deeply concerning. Most of the constituents who took part had to dash for eight minutes or longer just to get to their nearest defib. Let me remind Members that every minute CPR or a defib is not used on someone suffering from a cardiac arrest, that person’s life expectancy falls by 10%.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Sudden Cardiac Death in Young People · Hansard source

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  The key thing that we have been trying to do in my constituency—and I would encourage other Members to do the same—is to demystify defibrillators. There are some very easy tools online that can show people how to use them, and they are such clever bits of kit that no one should be afraid of looking into it.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Online Safety Act 2023: Repeal · Hansard source

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  Looking at those algorithms is a really important part of the Online Safety Act. When I was a county councillor looking at public health, I did a piece of work on disordered eating, and I was bombarded with content. I am not a vulnerable young person or a vulnerable adult, but my real fear is that that information is seen by people who are not as capable of managing that content. Does my hon. Friend agree that algorithm work is a key part of the Online Safety Act?

• 15 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I welcomed the Minister’s response in relation to the LGBT redress scheme, but my constituents have reported difficulties in obtaining evidence of mistreatment from the Ministry of Defence. Are there any further actions that the MOD can take to ensure that it is easy for our veterans to access such evidence?

• 3 Dec 2025 · Advanced Ceramics Industry: North Staffordshire · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. I am interested in the energy intensity of the sector. Does she agree that any innovation in advanced ceramics could be shared much more broadly?

• 3 Dec 2025 · Terminal Illness: Mental Health Support · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for sharing the story of Sarah and Mike—he did it justice. It is really important to think about the whole care of people going through a terminal diagnosis—both the patient and their loved ones. We should make sure that the mental health of those people who are supporting the person going through a terminal illness is also considered in this conversation.

• 2 Dec 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  The Budget delivers on the main priorities of protecting and investing in the NHS, tackling the cost of living and maintaining economic stability. It also delivers a key ask from my constituents: to support them, their industrial heritage and the unique challenge that brings. Just a week before the Budget, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced additional support for ex-mining and industrial communities with the launch of the respiratory pathways transformation fund—investment to address the inequalities that our communities so often face after a life working down the pits. The Budget also releases the investment reserved for the BCSSS pensioners, righting that historic wrong. For North West Leicestershire, the decision means that more than 750 BCSSS members will now receive an average of an additional £100 a week. We owe great gratitude to the mineworkers and their families who helped power our nation for so long; this is their just deserts. North West Leicestershire is a semi-rural constituency. The changes to allow the transfer of inheritance tax allowances to a surviving partner are welcome, but I know the worries of farmers in my constituency, so I ask Ministers to keep the IHT thresholds for farmers under review and to consider them in the light of Baroness Batters’s report on farming profitability that is due to be published. This Budget, delivered by a Labour Chancellor and a Labour Government, invests in our people by supporting them. I welcome the Chancellor’s commitment towards dealing with the cost of living. With energy support worth £150 a year, the warm homes plan, frozen prescription charges and the extension of reduced bus fares, alongside the increase in the minimum wage and through the pension triple lock, we are investing in the prevention of health crises that arrive from cold homes, missed medication and social isolation. It is that kind of renewal that our systems need: targeted support that promotes wellbeing and reduces demand on our NHS. Let me turn to investment in our young people, and to inequality. The Labour Government are feeding kids through breakfast clubs, expanding free school meals and now lifting the two-child limit. That action alone will see 450,000 children lifted out of poverty, including more than 1,700 children in my constituency. With children more likely to be in poverty than people of any other age group across the UK, lifting kids out of poverty expands their opportunity and, crucially, eases the strain on our public services, which are already grappling with avoidable health and social care pressures. Young people growing up in poverty are twice as likely to be NEET—not in education, employment or training. We have to get hold of that. The support that the Government are providing for children and families on the lowest incomes is an investment in our future. I also note that the removal of the two-child cap removes the vile rape clause from our statute book. It should never have been okay to put women through more trauma in order for them to get financial support. There is so much more to do. I will continue to fight for my constituents of North West Leicestershire.

• 27 Nov 2025 · Packaging: Extended Producer Responsibility · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) for securing this important debate. I am co-chair of the APPG on food and drink, and my constituency is in the heart of the logistics corridor, so it will be no surprise to Members that I have been inside a warehouse or two and that packaging is something I talk about a lot with my businesses. I recently visited Graphic Packaging International’s site at Bardon and saw at first hand the changes it is already making to food and drink packaging to reduce its environmental impact. The company has been innovating with packaging to transition products that are harder to recycle to ones made of more sustainable materials. The company recognises that extended producer responsibility is an important step forward in the way organisations and consumers respond to the environmental challenges of packaging, but also that it increases costs for consumers. As an international company, it also told me that the lack of consistency in approach across the UK and Europe has the potential to stifle innovation in packaging, and that the costs of EPR in the UK have been a barrier to transitioning to the more environmentally friendly packaging that is used in the European Union. It pointed out that plastic is lighter than fibrous materials, so there is a risk that the fee structure could inadvertently reduce the use of more sustainable materials. I would be interested to hear the Minister’s thoughts on that challenge regarding the fee structure for different materials and the costs of implementing recycling. The company gave me a small example: a pack of six cans in a supermarket can be wrapped in plastic or held together by card; the card is not only more expensive to deliver but, because of its weight, more expensive under EPR. The company wants us to look at that issue and see whether it is sustainable in the long term for the better choice to be more expensive. One of Britain’s biggest exports is waste, and British recycling has flatlined. The successful implementation of EPR has the potential to reverse that worrying trend, but we have to keep an eye on cost. There is undoubtedly room for change, and the funding opened up by the fees will allow more investment to explore recycling alternatives. I recently visited Recycleye, an organisation that is using technology and artificial intelligence to improve the recycling of Tetra Pak materials. That is a long way from the vision of the commingled materials recycling centre, and it has the potential to recycle more of the materials that are sent for sorting. Customers want to change their habits and feel like they are doing their bit to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. That brings me to the launch of a really positive project that was pulled together by industry, which wants to change and do the right thing. The Flexible Plastic Fund’s FlexCollect project ran a pilot in 10 local authorities—including mine, North West Leicestershire—that aimed to understand how to collect and recycle flexible packaging, from bread bags to crisp packets, confectionary packaging and food pouches. Flexible plastic packaging itself is generally a resource-efficient material: it is lightweight and can play a role in protecting food from becoming waste. It represents nearly a quarter of all UK consumer packaging, but the system for recycling it in the UK is fragmented. I would like to hear from the Minister how we are going to resolve some of the challenges related to all the materials we are using and recycling centres. What was really interesting about the pilot is that participating households were so surprised by the amount of recycling that they could put in their bags. These kinds of projects are really useful, and the extended producer responsibility funding should be used for them, but we must also listen to the concerns of industry. Will the Minister undertake a full assessment of industry concerns about how fees for the scheme have been calculated, and of how money collected will increase recycling at the kerbside without pushing too much cost on to the businesses that deliver the packages?

• 26 Nov 2025 · Young People not in Education, Employment or Training · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) for securing this important debate. Due to the pressure of time, I will focus on one group of young people. At the Work and Pensions Committee this morning we took evidence from two panels about what is driving the increase in NEETs. We heard that post-16 education, employment and training is often predicated on a young person being in a parental home, and that outcomes are severely hampered for care-experienced young people and those in temporary or supported accommodation. In the year ending March 2024, 14.3% of those placed in temporary accommodation in my constituency were aged 18 to 24, which is higher than the national average. Young people in supported housing do not have security, and they are penalised by the housing benefit taper rate. For those who are unaware, the universal credit of a young person living in supported housing is tapered at 55p for every £1 earned when they start working, meaning that they are restricted in how much they can earn before their universal credit is completely taken away. After that, separate and steeper taper rates for housing benefit are what really do the damage. The cost of supported housing, including service charges, becomes completely unaffordable for those young people, which means that increasing their work hours can leave young people financially worse off and simply unable to cover their housing costs—that is without the stress of going into education. The essence of the current system, although unintentional, forces thousands of young people to make an impossible choice. Removing the housing benefit taper rate barrier would create an opportunity for a more sustainable and supportive system for those young people. I would like to hear how the Minister will look at this problem, listen to those organisations and young people on the frontline, and recognise that solving the taper rates for those young people will massively improve the rate at which they are in employment, education or training to secure their future.