Ben Maguire MP: speeches

Speeches

• 10 Feb 2025 · Inheritance Tax Relief: Farms · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I stand to speak on behalf of the 800 signatories of this petition from my constituency, and I also speak in this debate as chair of the all-party group on dairy. Almost all of the financial advice that farmers had sought until the Budget had included APR relief in their financial planning and how they would pass on their family farms to the next generation without this ill-thought-through tax. These changes will hit hundreds of family-run farms, many of which have been proudly looked after generation after generation by the same family. I must add that the mental health of my North Cornwall farmers has plummeted since this was introduced.

• 10 Feb 2025 · Inheritance Tax Relief: Farms · Hansard source

  More

  As always, my right hon. Friend makes a very good point. I urge the Minister to look for alternatives. We have heard about the Liberal Democrats’ proposal for a working farm test. Other hon. Members have suggested some kind of clawback scheme in cases in which the farm is sold within, say, 10 years of inheriting it. I will draw my remarks to a close, because I know that other hon. Members want to come in. This family farm tax will raise around £500 million a year—not an insignificant sum—but is it a price worth paying to kill farming in this country and, crucially, risk our food security? The Liberal Democrats have proposed restoring the cut that the Conservative party made to the big bank levy in 2016. That would have raised around £4 billion a year, which certainly puts this family farm tax into perspective.

• 10 Feb 2025 · Inheritance Tax Relief: Farms · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend will not be surprised to hear that I completely agree and wholeheartedly support those suggestions. The changes have not even taken effect yet, but their harsh effects are already on show. If no full U-turn is on the horizon, surely we can urge the Minister, with one voice, to look for an alternative to this ill-thought-through tax. The change will not hit the wealthy investors that the Government have taken aim at.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Rural Crime: Prosecution Rates · Hansard source

  More

  The tragic hit-and-run case of Ryan Saltern in my rural North Cornwall constituency, as well as many other cases across the country, highlights a concerning problem in our legal system. The driver failed to stop, render aid at the scene, or even call 999, leaving Ryan for dead. The case was heard in a magistrates court, where the driver received a four-month suspended sentence. Ryan’s parents, Helen and Mark, and sister Leanne have campaigned tirelessly on the issue. Will the Solicitor General please look into the issue in conjunction with the CPS and the Department for Transport, and meet me to discuss her findings?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

  More

  Cornwall council is now £1.3 billion in debt. What is the Minister’s plan to address future settlements, which will obviously be affected by very high interest rates on that enormous debt? The human cost is that the adult education centre in Camelford is now closing.

• 5 Feb 2025 · Closure of High Street Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

  More

  I am delighted that Bodmin in my constituency recently got a banking hub, but other towns like Wadebridge that are an 8 mile, £20 taxi ride away do not have one. Does the hon. Member agree that we could think about mobile banking hubs that would go out to rural areas such as those in his constituency and mine?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Closure of High Street Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

  More

  Bodmin, in my rural constituency of North Cornwall, has lost almost all its pharmacies; it has one on the high street. The Cornwall health and wellbeing board has stipulated that no two pharmacies can be within 1 mile of each other, meaning that any future pharmacies will have to be at least 1 mile out of town. Does the hon. Member agree that that rule is not helpful to our high streets, and certainly not helpful to our residents in rural areas, who struggle to get to pharmacies?

• 3 Feb 2025 · Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  Will the Minister give way?

• 3 Feb 2025 · Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  Will the Secretary of State give way?

• 3 Feb 2025 · Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  On that point, will the Secretary of State give way?

• 3 Feb 2025 · Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I am interested to hear about the measures in the Bill relating to local authorities and public authorities. Has the Secretary of State considered expanding remit of the Public Sector Fraud Authority to investigate cases of serious mismanagement of funds by local authorities, such as the recent botched sale of Newquay airport by Conservative-controlled Cornwall council, which reportedly cost Cornish taxpayers over £1 million in consultancy fees and the like?

• 23 Jan 2025 · Attorney General’s Office: Conflicts of Interest · Hansard source

  More

  I did.

• 23 Jan 2025 · Attorney General’s Office: Conflicts of Interest · Hansard source

  More

  The shambolic Conservative Government created a crisis for democracy in this country with their cronyism, rule breaking and constant sleaze scandals. They even appointed as their Attorney General the right hon. and learned Member for Torridge and Tavistock (Sir Geoffrey Cox), who before his appointment represented some of the world’s largest tax dodgers. The Liberal Democrats want to repair the damage that was done by the constant stream of Conservative sleaze and finally restore public trust in our politics. I do, however, have some questions for the Solicitor General. Has the Attorney General sought independent legal advice regarding any possible conflicts of interest relating to his previous work at Matrix Chambers? Can the Solicitor General assure the House that all and any impropriety will be thoroughly looked into, and will she please introduce annual training on conflicts of interests and ethics for all Ministers and finally enshrine the ministerial code in law?

• 23 Jan 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  From Bude to Bodmin, and across my constituency, my constituents express their anger at having to pay astronomical fees to property management companies that provide little to no service. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on the right of freeholders to challenge fees through arbitration and other dispute resolution mechanisms when services are simply not delivered?

• 22 Jan 2025 · Education, Health and Care Plans · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Marie Goldman) for securing this important debate. I welcome the drive for diversity in our mainstream schools, but we also need to make sure that we provide specialist provision for our children. I draw the Minister’s attention to a primary school in my North Cornwall constituency that has had to repurpose its staff room for two year 7 SEND students who currently do not have a school place. I do have some good news, though: we have a new SEND school coming to Bodmin, which will hold between 60 and 70 students. But with hundreds on the wait list that will barely touch the sides. Briefly, I want to mention one student on that list, James. He has endured delay after delay, with no clear answers, no certainty and very little support. His mother got in touch with me in a desperate plea for help, saying: “The system is utterly devasting for young people”, adding that her son “has been completely let down.” James’s parents are now looking to see whether they will have to sell their house to pay for private schooling provision. Funding is key to this. Cornwall ranks 142 out of 151 in per pupil funding, and Cornwall council currently has a £41 million deficit for SEND.

• 22 Jan 2025 · New Hospital Programme · Hansard source

  More

  I warmly welcome the news, on which I congratulate the Minister, that the women and children’s hospital at Treliske and the emergency care hospital at Derriford are in wave 1. However, some of my North Cornwall constituents rely on the crumbling North Devon district hospital, which is potentially 15 years from a rebuild. We are talking about mitigations, so please will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can expand care at the community hospitals in Bodmin, Launceston and Bude, which are all at least one hour from their closest district hospitals?

• 7 Jan 2025 · National Resilience and Preparedness · Hansard source

  More

  On the subject of defence, and particularly technology, does my hon. Friend agree that mandating battery back-ups for all mobile phone masts, both existing and newly installed, would provide a simple, robust solution to ensure uninterrupted communication access, particularly in rural areas such as mine in North Cornwall?

• 19 Dec 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T4. North Cornwall has world-class beaches and rivers, but Santa swims have been cancelled due to the constant dumping of raw sewage. Meanwhile, water companies receive millions from bill payers, but then the very next day, they give it away to their shareholders. Does the Secretary of State agree that the best gift he could give my constituents this Christmas would be a total ban on water bill rises until South West Water bosses finally end this scandal?

• 19 Dec 2024 · Misdemeanours · Hansard source

  More

  I wish you and your team, Mr Speaker, and everyone in the House a very merry Christmas, and I welcome the Solicitor General to her place. However, I am afraid that it will not be a merry Christmas for all my constituents. Rural crime in North Cornwall is on the rise, from rural theft to increased drug trafficking. County lines drug gangs are grooming and recruiting children as young as nine to traffic drugs, while elderly and vulnerable constituents have been cuckooed in their own homes by the gangs. What steps is the Solicitor General taking to work with the police to increase the number of prosecutions of the ringleaders of these ruthless gangs that blight our communities and expose our young people to violence and crime?

• 12 Dec 2024 · Floating Offshore Wind: Celtic Sea · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I thank the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham) for securing this important debate and for championing our fantastic Duchy of Cornwall as a green investment hub. Offshore wind in the Celtic sea represents a huge opportunity to support the UK’s energy transition. The Liberal Democrats welcome with open arms any Government plans to invest in the sector. Not only will the turbines in the Celtic sea bring renewable energy to more than 4 million homes, but they will help to limit our dependence on fossil fuels, create jobs right across the south-west and stimulate much-needed economic growth in our coastal areas. These areas, and the offshore wind sector as a whole, were completely abandoned by the previous Conservative Government, and I am glad to see such an important industry finally getting the recognition it deserves. The hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth rightly talked about the need for the Government to reach carbon reduction goals; obviously, the project in the Celtic sea is vital to that objective. She also emphasised the five-year minimum lead time for investment, which highlights the urgency of this issue. The hon. Member for Mid and South Pembrokeshire (Henry Tufnell) talked about keeping young people in his constituency in highly skilled jobs. That has been highlighted by other Cornish Members and, as a Member representing a Cornish constituency, I think that is so crucial. This project is such an enormous opportunity to do just that. The hon. Gentleman also alluded the Crown Estate’s stifling competition, which I will come to later. The hon. Member for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle (Perran Moon) rightly pointed out that in projects of this nature the majority of turbine parts are imported from Europe. We clearly need to see a much greater volume of manufacturing here in the UK. The hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay (Noah Law) talked about Cornwall’s deep maritime heritage. Like other Cornish Members, he championed the deep-water port of Falmouth. He also alluded to the need for a devolved Government in Cornwall to fully unleash the duchy’s green energy revolution. He also talked about transport infrastructure investment, citing it as an essential precursor to this revolution. It would be remiss of me not to point out that when the Liberal Democrats ran the Department for Energy and Climate Change, we quadrupled the amount of energy generated from renewables. We recognise that the offshore wind industry can, and will, play a vital role in reducing our carbon emissions and hitting net zero targets, not to mention the benefits of increasing our energy security in this country, thus reducing our dependence on fossil fuels from Putin and other foreign despots. Offshore wind in the Celtic sea in particular has the vast potential of becoming a powerhouse in renewable energy generation and will help to propel this country to the place of a world leader in the industry. However, we believe that much greater investment is needed in skills and training to prepare local supply chains and enable these communities to play a key role in the global build-out of floating offshore wind. Some concerns have also been raised with me about the role of the Crown Estate, which have also been referred to by other hon. Members. The Crown Estate appears to have determined cheaper and lower-risk deep fixed foundation designs, and has been excluded from the licence bids. That, of course, narrows the pool of bidders quite significantly, whereas the key objective should be delivery. The priority should be to issue licences that can be brought into production as soon as possible to drive down the UK’s carbon emissions. Therefore, issuing licences that require projects 30 times the size of the UK’s largest operational project feels like a risky leap, and could struggle to attract investment, as well as competition between bidders. It is also important to consult and work alongside groups such as the Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation when considering a project at that scale, being careful not to impinge on the livelihoods of Cornish fishermen. Those groups are not inherently anti-offshore wind, but they urge, in their words, “sense and balance” when planning offshore developments. As Liberal Democrats, we always emphasise the need for public engagement to ensure that communities are involved and engaged throughout the process.

• 12 Dec 2024 · LGBT Veterans: Etherton Review · Hansard source

  More

  Veterans who suffered from this abhorrent abuse, including a constituent of mine who is up in the Gallery today, suffered the most shocking experiences of brutal rape and assault, and bravely want their story to be told. Does the hon. Member agree that funds should be allocated among the victims on the basis of the severity of their cases, as a small recompense for the vast horrors that they have had to endure and, psychologically, continue to endure?

• 12 Dec 2024 · LGBT Veterans: Etherton Review · Hansard source

  More

  A North Cornwall constituent of mine was attending the debate from the Public Gallery but has had to leave because of the outrage that he feels. Does the Minister agree that greater financial compensation should be given to veterans such as my constituent, who suffered such enormous harm, including gang rape and severe physical assault that resulted in lifetime disabilities?

• 10 Dec 2024 · Rural Cycling Infrastructure · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo) for securing what is an important debate for rural constituencies such as his and mine. Too often, only urban areas attract the focus for funding and infrastructure when it comes to active travel, yet the benefits to physical and mental health and wellbeing and in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and improving air quality are just as applicable, if not more so, in rural areas such as my North Cornwall constituency. Cornwall is a region with very poor transport infrastructure and high car dependence. The Cornwall local transport plan sets out an ambition for at least 50% of journeys under 5 miles to be completed via active travel by 2030, which is only five years from now. A road network sufficiently free from harm and fear of harm supports wider environmental and public health ambitions and encourages and sustains the adoption of healthier, active modes of travel. We have in my constituency one of the most popular off-road multi-use trails in the country—the Camel trail. Recent data shows that each year the existing trail attracts more than 400,000 users, of whom more than 50% are residents of Cornwall, and two thirds of these users are cyclists. Currently, only 1% of these trips are used to commute to work. However, with the growing popularity of e-bikes, this use has huge potential to grow. Early feasibility work by Sustrans shows that there are two ways that the current trail could be significantly expanded to deliver cycling networks that are sufficiently free from risk or fear of harm to make the option of active travel, and especially cycling, an attractive alternative to using the car. I discussed the first expansion option with the Minister recently, so I hope he will bear with me as I set it out once again. The trail, which utilises a redundant railway line that follows the River Camel, could be extended inland to make its final destination the old market town of Camelford—providing much-needed regeneration and giving the residents who live there greater access to the countryside and a viable non-car commuter route to the larger towns of Bodmin and Wadebridge and elsewhere. That not only would help to meet Cornwall’s active travel ambitions, but could provide the Government with an opportunity to meet one of their manifesto promises—to improve responsible access to nature and create nine new national river walks. The second option would be to introduce a network of quiet lanes across the wider rural area, which would provide connectivity between outlying villages and the Camel trail, offering local people viable options for active travel for their day-to-day living needs. A feasibility study for that has already been conducted by local councillor Dominic Fairman. The key design principles for rural quiet lanes are as follows. There is the introduction of 30-mph speed limits on roads that already have low motor vehicle flows. People walking, running, cycling and, where appropriate, horse riding should feel safe and comfortable to use the routes, and all users should be aware of those with whom they are sharing the surface of the lane or road, with signage and markings where appropriate. Quiet lanes are a key solution to connect people in rural areas. On many routes, there is insufficient space to build cycle tracks and other infrastructure next to roads. Quiet lanes can also help facilitate a rural modal shift by making people feel safer when using what are already light-traffic lanes for walking and cycling. We need greater investment to start addressing rural transport poverty. We should make schemes such as those I have outlined a reality and deliver transport infrastructure fit for the carbon-neutral world to which we are aspiring. If the Government really are serious about their claim that they will cut GP appointments by millions by delivering unprecedented investment in our cycling and walking infrastructure, they must consider schemes such as the Camel trail connect project. We do not have a single main line train station in my North Cornwall constituency, but we already have a world-class cycle trail. Now is the time to expand it and fund that shovel-ready plan.

• 9 Dec 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T10. I recently visited the excellent Haven SEND unit at Budehaven community school in North Cornwall, and I invite the Minister to visit so that it can be replicated elsewhere. Does she plan to extend the unit’s funding beyond February’s cliff edge, given that Cornwall council’s SEND deficit is currently £12 million and counting?

• 9 Dec 2024 · Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I suspect that that will be a question for the Minister when we come towards the end of the debate. It is certainly something that volunteers will seek clarity on so that they can know exactly what is required of them under the Bill. Without adequate training, we will end up with just vague asks of them, and they will not know exactly how to carry out their duties under the legislation.