Amanda Hack MP: speeches

Speeches

• 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.

• 13 Nov 2025 · Rogue Builders · Hansard source

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  A constituent of mine recently shared that she hired a builder who took payment for professional services—but everything about the work was fraudulent. She told me that she felt abandoned by a black hole of referrals, despite multiple agencies confirming that it was actually a criminal matter. The work is being investigated by a neighbouring trading standards, but that is taking far too long. Does my hon. Friend agree that the process of reporting and getting resolution has to be speeded up?

• 13 Nov 2025 · Police Reform · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her statement. My constituents want a focus on neighbourhood policing, improving standards and a major police station in the local area. However, after an excellent PCC in Lord Willy Bach, and Sir Clive Loader before that, our current PCC has created an office mired with controversy. Will the Minister confirm that in the council-led model, the focus will get back to policing and public service, as well as improving accountability and partnership?

• 5 Nov 2025 · Fresh and Nutritious Food: Inequality of Access · Hansard source

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  Earlier this year, in my capacity as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for food and drink, I hosted a roundtable on increasing access to healthy fruit and vegetables. Innocent Drinks has led a sector response on that inequality and has proposed a focus on access around schools. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government must work alongside schools, particularly in disadvantaged areas, to reduce inequality in food access?

• 5 Nov 2025 · Curriculum and Assessment Review · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, and for her commitment to our young people. Parents and teachers will know just how gruelling the GCSE exams are for our students, many of whom are undertaking mocks as we speak. I welcome the commitment to working with Ofqual to reduce time volume by 10%. Will the Secretary of State outline any other steps that have been discussed, following the report about managing the sheer volume of exams that our young people are taking?

• 30 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  In recent years, imported bricks have made up nearly 20% of the UK brick market, yet I know that organisations such as Ibstock Brick in North West Leicestershire can supply the bricks for the homes that we need. How do we make sure that UK brick manufacturers can maximise investment, employ local people and deliver the bricks that we need for the future?

• 20 Oct 2025 · A50/A500 Corridor · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important Adjournment debate. I was recently contacted by a constituent who regularly travels between Castle Donington and Littleover. They say that every evening last year, the A50 was either closed or restricted, or the access slip roads were closed. Does my hon. Friend agree that everything possible needs to be done to improve this part of the vital network for the east midlands as well as his constituency?

• 20 Oct 2025 · Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy · Hansard source

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  I welcome the statement, including the key commitment to breaking down barriers to opportunities to enable young people to gain the education that they deserve. This new focus will also support the employers who have been consistently talking to me about the skills challenges they face, particularly those relating to vocational skills. However, kids in my constituency are often locked out of vital opportunities simply because of the lack of transport. What work is the Secretary of State doing with transport colleagues to challenge that barrier and ensure that those young people in my rural constituency have access to those technical qualifications?

• 13 Oct 2025 · Baby Loss · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) and for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) and the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt) for securing this important debate during Baby Loss Awareness Week to give those who have experienced pregnancy and baby loss that voice and the feeling that they are not alone. When I had my son 18 years ago, I was lucky to have the support of five other mums during those first tricky years with our babies. However, sadly for three of those mums, they had also suffered the heartbreak of a miscarriage. For them, they had support from each of us. It was not a silent subject; they could talk and share about their loss. However, at the time, I remember thinking about how their partners were coping with that loss without having that same support network. It is so important that both parents have the support they need after such devastating bereavement, such as from organisations like Ashby Sands United in my constituency. Ashby Sands is a football team for men who have suffered the devastating loss of a child or a miscarriage. One of their members told me at a recent event, “Sometimes I don’t need to say anything, the lads know how I feel. The football isn’t always good, but the friendship and the support I get from them is what I cherish.” In this debate, it is experience that matters, and my constituent Sarah has asked me to share these words: “Losing a baby is an incredibly difficult and isolating time, to then learn that our baby’s death was preventable is just soul destroying. Feelings of guilt and regret—and whether it could have been prevented. Mistakes were made in my pregnancy, incorrect measurements were recorded, follow up scans were not arranged, our care was mismanaged. The hospital admitted if these scans had happened and measurements were recorded accurately; we would have had a different outcome. At one of our most exciting and vulnerable times of our lives, we put our trust and care into the hands of strangers. Trusting that we will be treated with the dignity and respect that we each deserve.” Sarah stressed the need to drive changes in teaching and learning to make maternity and childbirth safer for all. She welcomes the rapid review and its potential to bring about much-needed changes to maternity care across the UK, but she stresses the need for a trauma-informed approach to the consultation. Those who have experienced that trauma will need support to engage. Will the Secretary of State say more about how trauma will be considered in the review? I also welcome the rapid review. My constituents can have their babies in Nottingham, Leicester or Derby. As a former Leicestershire county councillor, I sat on the health overview and scrutiny committee. The saddest report that I requested was about maternity healthcare and baby loss. As Nottinghamshire was a neighbouring trust, I wanted to understand the situation in Leicestershire. We received a report on babies who died in childbirth. In a six-year period, seven babies had died and seven families had dealt with that devastating loss. In line with the statistics on late-term loss, six of the mothers were black or Asian. Data indicates that neonatal mortality rates for black and Asian babies are over 50% higher than for white babies. Will the Secretary of State set out how he will work towards eliminating those stark inequalities in maternity and neonatal outcomes based on ethnicity and deprivation? I have considered a number of reports on maternity and have a few reflections. Maternity healthcare needs to be considered as healthcare. I have heard phrases such as “pregnancy isn’t an illness” and “giving birth is natural”, but I have also heard from mothers who felt that they were not listened to and felt powerless. Every stillbirth, neonatal death or infant death is a tragedy. We must make efforts to prevent them from happening. I know that, together, we will fight for justice for those who deserved just a little bit more time.

• 11 Sept 2025 · Suicide Prevention · Hansard source

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  I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting this debate and my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) for securing it and for making his opening remarks in such an amazing way. We heard the devastating numbers and the personal experience of the impact that suicide has had on our communities and on ourselves. These people were important to us and, I hope, by discussing this difficult subject not only can we offer comfort and support, but provide the hope that we can put in place improvements to prevent someone else from taking their own life. I want to speak about two friends: my childhood friend who lost her dad to suicide when we were just in our teens; and one who made the decision to take his own life just a couple of months ago. It was not until my friend’s funeral in July that I reflected that while those suicides were more than three decades apart, the similarities between the two men who made that decision were stark. They were both men in their early 50s, successful and running their own businesses. They were amazing family men who were well respected in their work and in their social circles. Yet they still both made that ultimate decision to take their own lives, leaving those left behind to unpack their grief and sorrow with the overriding question: “Why?” In the face of such loss, we often search for answers—something to help us make sense of the silence and the unanswered questions. While no single explanation can ever truly account for an individual’s decision, patterns begin to emerge when we look more closely at the broader picture. We can look at age and gender, and the risk of suicide is highest among men aged between 45 and 54. It is three times more common among men than women—a gap that only continues to grow. We can look regionally too. Between 2021 and 2023, the east midlands had a suicide rate of 11.3 deaths per 100,000 people, placing us above the national average and making us the fifth highest of the English regions. We also need to look nationally, and we have to create some hope. Local authorities develop strategies to prevent suicide, but the funding for voluntary services has, sadly, gone awry in recent years. We need the much more important national debate. We can look at the limits of existing mental health support and the reality that nearly a third of people who die by suicide are in contact with mental health services in the 12 months leading up to their death. Those are of course important insights, but they are just insights, just statistics. We have to search for answers to this difficult question. Although we might never know why someone decides to take their own life, what matters is what we do with the information that we do know. We know that we have to build resilience for young people in schools, teaching our young people how to promote good mental health and wellbeing in themselves. We need to equip people with the language to talk about how they feel, the confidence to ask for help, and the tools to support themselves and each other through the inevitable challenges in their life. We can also look to our local organisations, such as the Leg Up Project in my constituency. Its core philosophy is about building resilience, and tackling loneliness and isolation. The Government’s commitment to transform mental health service with 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres is a fantastic start, but it will mean nothing if we are not giving people the tools that they need to communicate to get themselves there in the first place. Prevention of deaths by suicide will come from continued conversations, a growing understanding of the mental health landscape and hearing the voices of those whom we have lost and those of us struggling now—those voices are the ones that truly matter.

• 11 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Leader of the House to his place. Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the 100-year anniversary of the Midland Red Coalville bus garage, which showcased some fantastic buses through history for people to enjoy. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking Leicester Transport Heritage Trust, the vehicle owners, Coalville Heritage Society, Snibston Heritage Trust and the district and local councils for their hard work in showcasing their buses and putting on this amazing event? Will he also recognise the work of local volunteers and their contribution to our local communities?

• 11 Sept 2025 · Non-surgical Aesthetic and Cosmetic Treatments · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Desmond. I thank the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) for securing this important debate. With every cosmetic or surgical procedure, there are always risks, so we need our practitioners to be fully trained and experienced in the work that they do. When we think of cosmetics, we think of products that we might find on the high street, which are well tested, and sold or marketed by well-known and trusted brands. When somebody takes the next step of getting a cosmetic procedure, they need to be able to trust their practitioners in the same way that they trust those brands. The risk of complications increases significantly, however, when the individual carrying out the procedure is not sufficiently knowledgeable or trained, and is not using regulated products or carrying out the procedure in suitable premises. That appears straightforward, but we have been waiting for some time for regulation. We also need to consider how we provide appropriate information to people who wish to receive the procedures. Normally, a licensed practitioner gives effective and clear advice. The desire and pursuit for a perfect result is also growing, so it is perhaps no surprise that complications are increasing. Over six weeks in the summer, 38 cases of botulism were recorded in the east, east midlands and north-east. According to the UK Health Security Agency, the evidence so far suggests that all the clinics involved in those cases had used unlicensed, botox-like products. It is incredibly important to remember that such situations are not just about “botched” botox, where the results are not as expected due to an error in placement; they can cause serious medical complications. People are essentially being poisoned.

• 11 Sept 2025 · Non-surgical Aesthetic and Cosmetic Treatments · Hansard source

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  The case that my hon. Friend mentions is the reason that we are all here. The pursuit of beauty enhancement should not risk somebody’s life, so regulation is very important. The most recent cases recorded in the east midlands involve reports of patients experiencing difficulty in swallowing, slurred speech and breathing difficulties requiring respiratory support. Given there have been 38 incidents in just a few weeks, we can imagine the countless cases across the country over the last few years. That is why regulation is crucial. I am pleased that our Government are beginning to act and have confirmed the introduction of a licensing scheme, and that, according to Ministers, that is just the beginning. I am sure that the Minister will talk more about the regulation. I wonder whether we need to break away from the term “cosmetic”. Having a cosmetic procedure is so much more than using a favourite moisturiser or serum; it is a serious procedure that should be carried out by a qualified individual. When I speak to salons in my constituency that provide these procedures, they want to see regulation in place because they are proud of the work that they do for people and of their clients’ results. They want to make sure that people have good experiences rather than the negative ones that my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) mentioned. Licensing will be important to ensure the consistency of standards and to protect individuals from the potentially harmful physical, emotional and psychological impacts of poorly performed non-surgical cosmetic procedures. I would like to hear from the Minister how the regulation and enforcement will happen. Will support be given to the local authorities asked to undertake that work? I also look forward to the report by the Women and Equalities Committee on its current inquiry into the health impacts of breast implants and other cosmetic procedures. After the regulations are passed, I will write to each salon in my constituency to update them of the changes and hopefully reassure them that their skills and professional qualifications are not being pushed aside by unlicensed practitioners who take advantage of vulnerable people.

• 2 Sept 2025 · Defibrillators · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) for bringing forward this important debate. I declare my membership of the all-party parliamentary group for defibrillators. As has already been said, every minute that someone is in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and defibrillation, their chance of survival decreases by 10%. I recently hosted CPR and defib training in my constituency, with an outstanding East Midlands Ambulance volunteer trainer, supported by Resuscitation Council UK. It was made clear that every single moment counts when starting CPR. If it needs to be performed, get help. Every minute can feel like a long time when carrying out chest compressions, but it is vital to continue until professional help and a defib become available. I also encourage everyone to complete free training online, and, if possible, attend an in-person course. In my constituency, almost 50% of postcodes are not within easy reach of a defibrillator. On average, my constituents have a five-minute run, not including the time it takes to locate and unlock the defib. The stark reality of how far a new local business, CoalWorks, was from the nearest defib inspired it to take action. It successfully fundraised to install one at its gym on the business park. With its efforts, it was able to purchase an additional unit, and thanks to the partnership with Hinckley and Rugby building society, a second defib will soon be available in the centre of Coalville, benefiting the wider community. The cabinet outside the building has already been installed. Having publicly accessible defibs is so vital. Let us imagine it is a Sunday and the only defib nearby is locked inside a closed shop: with so many sports clubs active on Sundays, and with exercise known to exacerbate underlying cardiac conditions, it is vital that these defibs are 24/7, yet too many remain tucked away. It is no surprise that Resuscitation Council UK estimates that the survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in North West Leicestershire is just 1.6%. But small changes can make a huge impact.

• 2 Sept 2025 · Defibrillators · Hansard source

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  Of course, I agree; heart health is really important, but access is key, too. We can all do our own bit. We can check if the defib nearest to us is registered and encourage a community audit. If it is not registered, someone in an emergency might not know it is there. Every school in North West Leicestershire has received a defib from the Department for Education, but it appears that only 28% have registered theirs—not even half. I will be writing to every school in my constituency to urge them to get their devices out of the box and on to the register. We can also petition our local stores, supermarkets, schools and GP practices to mount their defibs on the outside of their buildings, where they are always accessible, and we can fundraise to secure new defibs in the most impactful locations. One resident contacted me after a fundraiser at the Kings Arms in Coleorton, expressing frustration that VAT is charged on lifesaving equipment purchased with charitable donations. I ask the Minister to consider that in her response. There is so much more to say: I feel deeply passionate about the urgent need for more defibs, greater knowledge about CPR and defib use, better awareness of heart health and a wider screening programme to detect risk—in young people in particular. That was it: around three minutes. Had resuscitation not been started while I was speaking, the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest would have dropped by 30%.