Aphra Brandreth MP: speeches

Speeches

• 11 Nov 2024 · Mental Health: Farming and Agricultural Communities · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for sharing that. The impact of APR will be felt across the community. Unfortunately, in a community that is struggling with mental health, it is an extra blow. Later, I will offer some thoughts on how we might better prevent mental health problems, but I will briefly mention a few other reasons why mental health issues are disproportionately higher in rural areas. First, there is the issue of isolation, which is multifaceted. It can be attributed to literal isolation, because farmers live in sparsely populated areas far from the nearest village; digital isolation, as they are without broadband or mobile coverage; and physical isolation from a lack of transport links. That issue keenly felt in my constituency, where many rural areas have little or no public transport connections. A mixture of those forms of isolation means that people in rural areas, such as farmers, often suffer from loneliness. It is not easy for people to go to the local pub or café to talk to friends and neighbours when they live in the countryside. It is harder to get to those places, and harder to make time to socialise due to the demands of farming. There is also the issue of rural reticence. There has historically been a stigma surrounding mental health; sadly, although we have made good progress in breaking down barriers and encouraging people to talk, there remains a reticence in rural and agricultural communities to talk about problems or feelings. It is not because of hubris or arrogance. Rather, the “I’ll manage myself” culture comes from a desire not to burden neighbours and friends who are also in the community, and will no doubt be facing the same challenges. I am confident that we can do more as a society to break down this barrier and encourage farmers to talk honestly and openly with one another.

• 11 Nov 2024 · Mental Health: Farming and Agricultural Communities · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member, who is an excellent champion for farmers in her community, makes an important point on physical health.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) for securing this debate on agricultural property relief and business property relief. Like her, I represent a constituency with a large rural community of many farms and agricultural businesses, so I am acutely aware of just how important the relief is for the long-term viability of farming and the wider implications for UK food security. There is already a recruitment crisis in the sector, which is heavily reliant on families to work in farming into the future. While I would, of course, encourage young people to look into agricultural and land-based courses such as the ones offered at the excellent Reaseheath College in my constituency, it is fair to say that farming is often in the blood, with the skills and knowledge passed down from generation to generation. If the physical means to farm, the land and the property, are not passed down to the next generation, then we risk losing the people, knowledge and skills that we desperately need to keep the sector viable. I have spoken to farmers, who are clear that changes to agricultural property relief would mean that land would have to be sold to cover the cost of subsequent tax bills. I know that that is the case across the country. According to a large CLA poll, 86% of farmers said that all or part of their land would need to be sold when they passed away, if agricultural property relief was removed. Farmers have already been through a challenging time. Rising costs for energy and fertiliser, inflation, and adverse weather are just some of the issues that farmers have faced in recent years. The Government need to stand by farmers and support them, not restrict and punish them as the removal of APR would do. Across the House, we rightly say that food security is national security. Farmers need land to produce food. If the Government remove protections that are in place to exempt farm land from inheritance tax, it will be yet another step to putting our food security at greater risk. This is a very real problem that is pertinent to all of us, whether we are farmers or not, because all of us rely on food that is grown to feed our nation. Many farmers across Chester South and Eddisbury provide jobs directly and indirectly—for instance, through food production or hospitality—that rely on local produce. Farmers are also essential for land management and maintaining our environment. This policy threatens the future of the countryside. I remind the Minister that he stood on a manifesto that committed to not raising taxes on working people. I would respectfully suggest that any change in the current rules and rates of agricultural property relief would be contradictory to that promise. Farmers are working people. They work incredibly hard, often without the recognition they deserve, and they must be supported, not penalised.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Just two months ago, Paul Reeves, a well respected farmer and agricultural business owner in my constituency, took his own life. Sadly, his story is all too common, with the many challenges that the industry often faces contributing to poor mental health. Farming families like Paul’s are the bedrock of our country. Without them, we simply could not function, and when they are struggling we must support them. In Paul’s memory, may we have a debate on improving mental health in our farming and agricultural communities?

• 16 Oct 2024 · Project Gigabit: Chester South and Eddisbury · Hansard source

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  Close to half the wards in my constituency are judged by Ofcom to be in the worst 30% of all areas in the UK when it comes to having a decent broadband connection. My constituents will be deeply concerned by reports that the current review of the next stage of Project Gigabit could see funds diverted from hard-to-reach rural areas to major cities such as central London. Will the Minister offer a concrete guarantee that no rural community will be left behind by the Government’s review?

• 16 Oct 2024 · Project Gigabit: Chester South and Eddisbury · Hansard source

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  6. What steps he is taking to roll out Project Gigabit in the Chester South and Eddisbury constituency.

• 8 Oct 2024 · Independent Schools: VAT and Business Rates Exemptions · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. The policy will impact all children across our country, and needs to be taken seriously. I have spoken previously about the challenges of SEND provision in my constituency, where families wait months for an EHCP. They are already being let down, so I am deeply concerned about the added pressure of this policy. Finally, the policy is simply unworkable. The Government are asking staff and bursars to rethink how they operate invoicing and fee processing halfway through an academic year. At the very least, I urge the Government to move the start to the beginning of the next academic year. This is not about embossed stationery, swimming pools and astroturf; it is about children and their education. I urge the Government to think very carefully about this decision and to do as the headteachers at my roundtable on Friday suggested: put children at the centre of this policy.

• 8 Oct 2024 · Independent Schools: VAT and Business Rates Exemptions · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) for securing this important debate. Just last week, I held a roundtable with headteachers, school governors and bursars from five independent schools in and around my constituency. I am grateful to Abbey Gate college for hosting. The message from everyone at that meeting was clear: the child is not at the centre of this policy. This is not just about the more than 1,600 pupils attending independent schools in my constituency; it is about the education of every single child, because every pupil who leaves the independent sector as a result of this ill-thought-through policy will mean further pressure put on the state system. As independent schools try to absorb rising costs to minimise the impact of these taxes, they are faced with difficult choices about how to continue the important charitable work they do, including fully-funded bursary places—as many as one in 14 pupils at one senior school in my constituency. Like others here, I am particularly concerned about the impact on children with special educational needs.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  My constituency has a higher proportion of people in receipt of winter fuel payments than most other constituencies. Over 21,000 of them are set to lose that vital support. Constituents have told me that they face a choice between eating and heating. Others have told me that they are concerned for their health during the cold winter months. Their stories are a powerful reminder of the human cost of this decision. Maggie is 86 and lives in Handbridge in my constituency. She worked as a midwife in the NHS for 40 years, so has a state pension and a small NHS pension. She is not eligible for additional benefits because she was careful with what she earned and saved wisely. Maggie is just above the threshold to be eligible for continued support. She is also a dual cancer survivor, having beaten breast cancer in 2013 and bowel cancer in 2016. Maggie is understandably worried about the consequences of being unable to heat her home this winter. There is also the story of Jackie and John, who live in Audlem. Like many people living in a rural village, they live off grid and do not have access to mains gas. They must rely on heating oil to heat their home. Pensioners who have paid into the system all their working lives ought to be able to enjoy their retirement with dignity, security and respect. We all know in this House that to govern is to choose. Labour has chosen. It has chosen its union paymasters over our vulnerable pensioner communities. It has let down Maggie, John and Jackie, and many others like them. I urge the Government to listen with compassion and reconsider this political decision.

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  Despite legislation requiring a final education, health and care plan to be in place within 20 weeks of an initial assessment, Cheshire West and Chester council is putting in place just 6.5% within that time, which is fewer than one in 15 children. Too many children in my constituency are being let down by the Cheshire Labour councils, so I want to highlight the work of the CWaC SEND Accountability group in bringing families together on this issue. Does my hon. Friend agree that a more efficient EHCP system is crucial in delivering for SEND children and their parents?

• 30 Jul 2024 · Food Security · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for securing this important debate and for being such an eloquent champion on the issue of food security. My constituency, like his, has a large rural community, and when I speak to farmers it is clear that food security is national security. The previous Government did a great deal on this issue, from the farm to fork summit to the food security index. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we need to see more from this Government on food security—for instance, legally binding food security targets?

• 24 Jul 2024 · Education and Opportunity · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) on his maiden speech. This is my maiden speech, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I must tell you that I arrive in this place fired with enthusiasm—so much so that my Whip has warned me that I need to be careful that that is not how I end up leaving this place: fired, with enthusiasm. I am a new woman representing a new constituency: Chester South and Eddisbury. It is without doubt one of the most beautiful, extraordinary and inspiring parts of the United Kingdom, encompassing the southern wards of the great city of Chester, those below the River Dee, and many and varied villages in the heart of Cheshire. Audlem, Bunbury, Wybunbury, Wrenbury, Weaverham, Lache, Handbridge, Christleton and Huntington, Tarporley, Tattenhall, Tarvin, Kelsall, Cuddington, Farndon, Malpas—those are just some of the very special places with which you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and this House are going to become quite familiar in the coming years, I hope. Much of my constituency is rural, which is one reason why I found the King’s Speech so disappointing. This Government profess an ambition for growth; if so, it is simply extraordinary that there was no mention of the contribution of farming to our national economy. Food is fundamental: the contribution of the countryside to our country is incalculable, and a Government who are so metropolitan in their outlook that they fail to understand that and reflect it in their agenda are, to use the context of today’s debate, both missing an opportunity and in need of an education. My constituency is both urban and rural, as is our country. Understanding the importance of both, and the necessary balance between the two, is key to our country’s future economic and societal success. The joy of my constituency is that it includes a rich range of dynamic village communities and a swathe of one of the greatest historic cities in Europe, the matchless city of Chester. It is a business and tourism hub that faces challenges, of course—from basic connectivity to burdensome business rates—yet boasts many successes, among them the major employers in the Chester business park and the University of Chester, whose business school falls within my constituency and at which no fewer than 27 Commonwealth countries are represented among its staff and students. In the 2023 international barometer survey, the university was named in the top 10 nationally in 20 categories, including a top three placing and four top five category placings. Chester’s potential is unlimited, and I shall seek to ensure that this Government give it the fullest chance to bloom. There are also fantastic schools in Chester South and Eddisbury, some of which I have already had the pleasure of visiting and many more that I look forward to going to over the coming months. Alongside our excellent state schools, we have two independent schools educating over 1,600 pupils, including nearly 400 students with SEND support who do not have education, health and care plans. Those students will face VAT under the Government’s current plans—plans that will reduce choice for parents and increase pressure on the state school system, with no clear benefit to any of our young people. Chester South and Eddisbury has much to offer, from the glories of Delamere forest—which welcomes more than 750,000 visitors each year—to the excitement of Oulton Park racetrack and Peckforton castle, the home of civil weddings in England. I say that advisedly, because it was the then owner of Peckforton castle who inspired a former Member of Parliament for the City of Chester to introduce a private Member’s Bill that became the Marriage Act 1994. For the first time, that Act allowed civil weddings in this country to take place in venues other than registry offices, including castles, historic houses, hotels and Chester zoo. Some might argue that that single piece of legislation has contributed more to happiness in England than any other legislation of its type. The former Member who introduced that legislation, who I know quite well—in fact, I have known him since I was born—reminds me regularly that his 1994 Act illustrates how, in this place, an ordinary Back Bencher can make a difference. I hope to make a difference in the years to come, not only by badgering the Government about delivering local bus services and improving mobile phone and broadband connectivity, and demanding that they back our farmers and ensure the investment and infrastructure our villages and city need to thrive, but perhaps by introducing legislation of my own in the fullness of time. I draw inspiration from my constituency and from my predecessors: not only my father, who was the Member for City of Chester in the 1990s—Mr Speaker will know both how marvellous and, sometimes, how irritating it can be to have a parent who was themselves a Member—but the newly elected hon. Member for Chester North and Neston (Samantha Dixon), who sits on the Government Benches and who previously represented the City of Chester. I look forward to working with her on matters of mutual benefit to our constituents. I particularly share with my predecessor in Eddisbury, Edward Timpson, his inspiring passion for education and his concern for the care and development of young people. Another of my distinguished predecessors from whom I have learned is Stephen O’Brien. In his maiden speech a quarter of a century ago, he said something that I, as someone who served in the civil service for more than a decade and went on to run a small business, can wholeheartedly echo as I visit the many small and medium-sized businesses in my constituency: “The prosperity of those businesses is primarily dependent on less government, less tax, less interference and, above all, a release from the stranglehold of regulations, choking as they do a business’s ability to compete and an entrepreneur’s incentive to take the risk”. —[ Official Report , 28 October 1999; Vol. 336, c. 1159.] With such a constituency and such predecessors, I know that I stand on the shoulders of giants, with much to do and prove. The House of Commons Library, which I have to say I am already finding invaluable, has advised me that I am the first Member of Parliament in its entire history to have the forename Aphra. I am named after Aphra Behn, the 17th-century playwright, poet and author, who was the first British woman to earn her living as a writer. The great 20th-century novelist Virginia Woolf said of her: “All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn…for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.” What a privilege it is to be in this place, in the 21st century, able to speak my mind on behalf of my constituents across Chester South and Eddisbury.