Becky Gittins MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Jul 2026 · Online Safety: Children · Hansard source

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  2. What steps she is taking to keep children safe online.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Online Safety: Children · Hansard source

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  During the Government’s consultation on online safety, I met students from Ysgol Maes Garmon in my constituency to hear about their lived experience online. They raised concerns about harmful online content, addictive algorithms and the impact of a lack of scrolling limits. Will the Secretary of State assure me that the voices of our young people are heard in any decisions about how to keep them safe online?

• 24 Jun 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  This Government’s commitment, under the leadership and influence of the Prime Minister, to tackling violence against women and girls is shared by many of my constituents. On Saturday, I was out in Llangollen for a Welsh Women’s Aid fundraiser organised by the community champion Moira Gleed. Llangollen’s “Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever” saw me join more than 230 Cathys, learn a dance routine, while dressed all in red, and take part in a performance that was streamed across the world. We have even been contacted by some fans from Japan. Will the Prime Minister join me in recognising the hard work of Moira, her daughter Rowena and all the organisers, volunteers and, importantly, performers in enabling that important event to happen?

• 9 Jun 2026 · Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill · Hansard source

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  I welcome the contributions from both sides of the House, in particular from the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers). Like him, I represent an industrial constituency. My constituency in north Wales sadly holds the record, in any western country, for the largest number of industrial redundancies in one day. I think it speaks to all the constituencies affected that that goes through not just generations, but families—different generations of the same family. Many of my constituents have been affected, as have I personally. The most exciting thing about how the Government have been very decisive on working to support and encourage British-made steel is not only what it does for just the steel sector, but what it says about our ambition to have proud, decent, good-quality jobs back in the UK. I thank everyone who has contributed. It is an absolute privilege for my communities to vote the Bill through today.

• 8 Jun 2026 · Digital Safety: Children · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) mentioned delay on this issue; perhaps she did not enjoy the same level of consultation that I and many of my Labour colleagues enjoyed with our constituents, which would be a shame. When I was in Ysgol Maes Garmon recently consulting with groups of parents, young people and students, I was surprised by how much commonality there was in what they asked for from this consultation, and it was my privilege to present what they said to the Minister last week. Does he agree with me, and indeed them, that it is the Government’s responsibility to call the tech companies to the table, so that there is an opportunity for parents, young people, Government and tech companies to all work together to protect our young people?

• 2 Jun 2026 · Armed Forces Bill · Hansard source

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  The measures on the armed forces covenant are one of the most impressive things about this Bill, not just UK-wide, but for the 115,000 veterans in Wales and their families who will now benefit from the legal duty on public services to take into consideration their specific circumstances. Will my hon. Friend join me in wishing a very happy Armed Forces Day to Prestatyn Royal British Legion branch, as I will when I celebrate and commemorate this special day with them later this month?

• 1 Jun 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

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  Does the Secretary of State agree that the introduction of the single patient record will be a huge step forward in the safe treatment of people with allergies? Will he join me in calling on the new Minister in the Plaid Cymru Government in Wales to follow our lead for the betterment of allergy care for people in Wales?

• 16 Sept 2025 · Court Estate: Restoration and Renewal · Hansard source

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  Prestatyn justice centre and its hard-working staff provide a vital service to my constituents, but on a recent visit it was clear that the building needs investment. Can the Minister update the House on what the Government are doing to repair and modernise our court estate, and will she look at what can be done to support our facility in Prestatyn?

• 16 Sept 2025 · Court Estate: Restoration and Renewal · Hansard source

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  3. What steps his Department is taking to maintain courtrooms.

• 16 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

• 16 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I associate myself with the Secretary of State’s passionate remarks. Some 71% of people in the youth justice system have a speech and language need that may impact on their ability to access justice, but only a tiny fraction of those young people have received any speech and language support. How is he working across Government—particularly with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education—to prevent those vulnerable young people from being disproportionately drawn into the youth justice system?

• 2 Sept 2025 · Babies and Infants (Allergy Guidance) · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision for a review of allergy guidance relating to the feeding and weaning of babies and infants; and for connected purposes. Having a child, I am told, is one of the most amazing and fulfilling times of a new parent’s life. I hope to be able to report back to the House on the validity of that claim later in the year. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] However, it can also be a period of huge anxiety. Parents are reliant on our brilliant NHS through pregnancy and those important first few months of a child’s life. They will be inundated with information via medical professionals, peers, support groups or the internet and will, of course, make the best decisions they can based on the information they have. This matter is personal to me. As a long-time allergy sufferer expecting my first child, I have been actively seeking out information on how I can best militate against my child growing up with some of the food allergies that I have, and I am not alone. Rates of allergic disease such as asthma, hay fever and food allergies have been increasing. The UK has some of the highest rates of allergic conditions in the world, affecting more than one quarter of the population. Allergic conditions are one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood. Around 6% of all visits to the GP are due to allergies, and medicines to treat allergic diseases account for 10% of the total GP prescribing budget. The direct cost to the NHS of managing allergic diseases is more than £1 billion per annum, but the cost in reality is likely to be much higher. The cost to individual allergy sufferers and their families is greater still, with huge impacts on their lives, as many of us know all too well—increased anxiety, social isolation and limited opportunities for travel and other experiences, because the health risks are far too high and allergy awareness is far too low. On average, two children in every classroom are affected by food allergies, and food allergy doubled in the UK between 2008 and 2018. The scale of the problem is huge, with allergies impacting every classroom and every GP surgery in the UK. Having spoken to some of the most noted allergy specialists in the country ahead of today, it is clear to me that the current food allergy guidance for the feeding and weaning of babies and infants should be reviewed, with a particular focus on children who are showing early signs of allergic disease. Better addressing allergies at primary care level is a relatively simple but hugely effective way of moving the allergy conversation towards prevention. The Government’s new 10-year plan for the NHS rightly demands that focus on prevention. Prevention in allergy is about recognising the key principle that preventing severe conditions from developing, rather than purely focusing on the treatment of those severe conditions, is better for both patients and the financial sustainability of our NHS. Rather than long waits to see allergy specialists and the hope of medical trials once a child has already developed an allergy, which have huge waiting lists and are, sadly, not effective for everyone, improving our approach to allergy in our public health advice and primary care can be the key to preventing children from developing allergies in the first place. The guidance should be reviewed for a number of reasons: to improve the clarity and consistency of message; to increase awareness; to help to empower healthcare professionals; and to ensure that ethnic minorities are not being put at a disadvantage. However, before I go into detail as to why the evidence suggests we need this review, I want to be clear about what this Bill is not. Current NHS guidance recommends exclusive breastfeeding for about the first six months of the baby’s life, and that continuing breastfeeding into the baby’s second year or beyond, alongside other foods, is best for their development. The Bill does not contradict that advice. It is not about changing the advice given to the majority of parents; it is only for children who are beginning to show signs of allergy development, such as those with severe eczema and those already showing signs of food allergy. Additionally, any suggestion of early weaning for this cohort of children is to be done alongside breastfeeding. There are no suggestions in the studies that I cite to support the Bill that breastfeeding rates are impacted by altering public health advice to better prevent allergy. NHS guidance on introducing foods that could trigger allergies shows that delaying the introduction of peanut and eggs beyond six to 12 months may increase the risk of developing an allergy to these foods. The report that this advice is based on is almost 10 years old. Other countries around the world have taken a more aggressive approach to allergy prevention over the past decade, and we in the UK need to learn and adapt based on the outcomes of those different approaches. The medical guidance and evidence from other parts of the world, including the US and some areas of Europe, actually goes further and encourages the early introduction of those allergens, which is particularly the case for children who display allergies early on. The Learning Early About Peanut allergy study, or LEAP, looked at the introduction of peanut into the diet of infants aged between four and 11 months who were at high risk of peanut allergy, with high-risk infants defined as those with the presence of significant eczema and/or a pre-existing egg allergy. Published 10 years ago now, the study demonstrated that the consumption of snacks containing peanuts by infants who are at high risk of developing a peanut allergy prevents the subsequent development of the allergy. Of the children who avoided peanuts, 17% had developed a peanut allergy by the age of five, while only 3% of the children who were randomised to eating the peanut snack had developed the allergy by the age of five. In the US, the guidance recommends that parents of children who are believed to be most likely to develop a peanut allergy—infants with severe eczema, an egg allergy or both—introduce these children to peanut-containing food at four to six months, or get a referral to an allergist who will give the child a skin prick test or blood test to check if the child is allergic to peanuts. European guidelines make similar recommendations on the early introduction of peanut and egg between four and six months. While NHS guidance suggests that delaying the introduction of peanut and eggs may increase the risk of developing the allergy, I believe that more information should be given to parents when their child is showing early signs of allergy. The feedback I have had from speaking to young parents and parents-to-be is too often that the information for these children is too difficult to find, or that the medical professional the parents are engaging with is more likely to take a safety first approach and not encourage the early introduction of allergens. I believe that a review of the guidance will help to empower our NHS to give the best, most medically appropriate information to parents at a time when they can be at their most anxious. It must be supported by education and awareness campaigns, together with training for the different healthcare professionals who support these new parents so that the advice they give is consistent and reflects best practice. Finally, as I touched on at the start, I have concerns that the current lack of guidance is most likely to impact young children from ethnic minority families. The evidence suggests that these children are both more likely to develop an allergy and more predisposed to have multiple allergies. As a result, they are more likely to be disadvantaged without clear, unambiguous guidance on how their parents can navigate those first few months. I ask hon. Members across the House for their support with the Bill so that we can get parents the best allergy advice for their children and so that we can mitigate the effects of, and in many cases ultimately prevent, allergic disease. Question put and agreed to . Ordered, That Becky Gittins, Jim Shannon, Chris Bloore, Alex McIntyre, Sarah Coombes, Kirith Entwistle, Jodie Gosling, Maya Ellis, Pam Cox, Claire Hughes, Satvir Kaur and Catherine Fookes present the Bill. Becky Gittins accordingly presented the Bill. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 12 September, and to be printed (Bill 297).