Bill Esterson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 20 Jan 2026 · ADHD Diagnosis · Hansard source

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  Let us hope that someone from the Scottish Government is listening to the debate and acting on my hon. Friend’s request. We were talking before about the importance of supporting children to avoid stigma in education and ensure that support is in place, that staff understand and that they can improve their chances at school and beyond.

• 20 Jan 2026 · ADHD Diagnosis · Hansard source

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  I will give way to both my hon. Friends in a moment. A key element of the discussion is that we have to be really careful what we are calling for. That situation partly explains some of the delays: at the moment, a specialist is the only person who can give a diagnosis because of the complexities that the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) just referred to.

• 20 Jan 2026 · ADHD Diagnosis · Hansard source

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  It is a good point, and we have to get away from that very inappropriate approach that I am sure all of us have come across from time to time. I want to say a few words about alternatives to diagnosis. I mentioned briefly that, at the moment, typically a specialist psychiatrist carries out the diagnosis process, yet there are many GPs and other health professionals who would very willingly step in and be in a position to carry out that diagnosis. I wonder whether—and this comes out of the independent taskforce report—there is a big opportunity to speed up waiting times through the use of GP diagnosis and expanding the role of GPs and other professionals who want to specialise in ADHD. That might also be a way of overcoming the problem we heard before about the shared pathway challenge between private clinics and GPs in prescribing. There are undoubtedly a number of challenges in moving this forward and addressing the very lengthy waiting lists, and their consequences for people. I hope that the Government will pick up these challenges and address the recommendations of the taskforce in a timely fashion. It makes sense to improve the ability of GPs and other professionals to assess and support the management of ADHD. It also makes sense to improve screening in schools. Another recommendation is to extend training for GPs on to an extended role pathway, and shared care between specialists and GPs. All these changes can enable cuts in waiting times and improve life chances and prospects for many people. I decided to put in for this debate in Matty Lock’s memory, but looking around the room at how many hon. Members are present, I can see that this has touched so many lives across the entire United Kingdom. Whether it is for Matty, for anybody who has been profoundly affected, for the loved ones—for Christine and Richard—or for so many other people, we have a duty to act. We know what is needed and how we can address these concerns. If the Government are minded to respond, we can build a system that supports people living with ADHD, and the people who want to care for them and improve their lives.

• 20 Jan 2026 · ADHD Diagnosis · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered ADHD diagnosis. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. This debate is about how pathways to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis might be improved, including by offering screening in schools, so that people can access the right support in good time. We all have a pretty good idea of what ADHD means, but I am here because a 19-year-old constituent of mine, Matty Lock, took his own life in September 2023. He was diagnosed with autism at the age of 14, but he and his parents, Christine and Richard, who are here this afternoon, did not know about his ADHD until much later. In Matty’s memory, Christine and Richard have set up the Matthew Lock ADHD Charity, and they have been part of the independent taskforce. One of the things that the taskforce has done—this has been accepted by the NHS—is to highlight the proven link between suicide and ADHD. The prevalence of ADHD is 10 times higher among men attempting to take their own lives. Let me say a few words about Matty. I knew him because he was very interested in politics. He had become a town and parish councillor, and he had campaigned hard with me for some time. Those of us who knew him through politics believed that he would be in this place before much longer. It is very, very sad that that was not to be. Matty was known on television as “The Vac Mat” for his repairs of vacuum cleaners and his advocacy of domestic appliances on “This Morning”. He was everywhere in the community of Maghull—clearing up and playing his part. He was a real, strong advocate of the community that he grew up and lived in. Matty’s ADHD was linked to how hyperactive he was. We know that people with ADHD are restless, lack concentration, are impulsive, act without thinking and always talk over others—actually, as I go through the list, I can think of nearly 650 people in this place who have a lot in common with that description. What is the impact of having ADHD? We know that it leads to a significant number of school exclusions and very high drop-out rates. We know about the link with addiction, and that the prevalence of ADHD among people in prison is five to 10 times higher than among people outside. Sadly, we also know about the link with suicide. NHS figures suggest that about 700,000 people are waiting for a diagnosis, and that many of them have waited for several years. Nearly two thirds of those people have been waiting for more than a year. The economic cost is estimated to be about £17 billion a year.

• 20 Jan 2026 · ADHD Diagnosis · Hansard source

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  It is good news that we are seeing some progress in my hon. Friend’s ICB. I profoundly hope that NHS staff in other ICBs around the country are watching this debate and will follow the lead of her ICB in improving the access that is needed.

• 20 Jan 2026 · ADHD Diagnosis · Hansard source

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  Yes, I agree with the hon. Member. It is important to realise that everybody is different and that we all need different support. That is very true in school. When we call for diagnosis, we need to take great care around what we mean. Diagnosis is a means of getting support, getting the right treatment and getting the right medication, if medication is right—it is not right for everybody. ADHD is a spectrum and that individual, tailored support in school, and indeed in adult life, is an important part of what we are discussing.

• 20 Jan 2026 · ADHD Diagnosis · Hansard source

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  In that case, I will thank all who have taken part and given their own testimonies and experiences. My hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Josh Dean) described the benefits of treatment and medication in exactly the same way as a constituent of mine did—mentioning the difference that comes from recognising that they can live their life the way that others do. I thank the Minister for what he said about Richard and Christine: that they have already had an impact. I just make a plea to him for early implementation of at least some of the findings ahead of the final response.

• 20 Jan 2026 · ADHD Diagnosis · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and he has made a very good point. My son has been diagnosed with ADHD—belatedly, like so many—but we were told early on that having a diagnosis would not help him. How wrong that was, because the diagnosis was the key to getting support and understanding what we were dealing with, both for him and for us as his carers. There is a lot of misinformation around, and getting that right is key, but yes—

• 20 Jan 2026 · ADHD Diagnosis · Hansard source

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  The example of the hon. Member’s ICB is typical of ICBs around the country. The purpose of this debate is to raise the issue with the Minister and highlight how important it is to improve diagnosis and speed up how quickly people can get access to treatment and medication.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Northern Powerhouse Rail · Hansard source

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  My constituents stand to benefit enormously from the improvements in capacity and connectivity for Manchester airport and, indeed, Birmingham. The Secretary of State talked about growth in her statement. Does she agree that one of the big benefits will be a reduction in congestion on the roads and the pollution that it produces? That is massively important, in relation to NPR and to the Birmingham to Manchester—and, I would add, Liverpool—part of the link in the north-west. The big difference we are seeing with this announcement is that the Secretary of State has set out an outline plan; in the dozens of announcements that were made by the Conservative Government from 2014 onwards, we never heard of such a plan.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Offshore Wind · Hansard source

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  The Energy Secretary deserves enormous congratulations on moving from the “botched” auction round 5, to use the words of the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), to the record success of auction round 7. The strike price will see no increase in consumer bills—indeed, Aurora says that it is likely to see a reduction in bills—and it is 40% cheaper. The Secretary of State set out in great detail how this will be cheaper than gas. Does he agree that demonstrates once and for all that renewable energy is good for bills?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q11. I was very pleased to hear the Government’s latest announcement about the roll-out of the chickenpox vaccine. It comes in stark contrast to the vaccine conspiracy theories being peddled by Reform. Does my right hon. Friend agree that only with a Labour Government is healthcare in this country safe and that Reform must never, ever be in a position to be responsible for the health of this country?

• 6 Jan 2026 · Energy Transition · Hansard source

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  Happy new year, Mr Speaker. I hope that the Minister, in his new year’s resolutions, will commit to building the case for the energy transition through lower consumer bills, secure jobs, public health improvements through reduced emissions, and indeed energy security. Does he agree that those who oppose climate action are denying our children and grandchildren a future? Will he endeavour to make the case also to fight against the misinformation, disinformation and outright myths peddled by some Opposition Members?

• 17 Dec 2025 · INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth · Hansard source

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  I very much welcome the protection of 500 jobs at Grangemouth and the commitment to making the most of the energy transition through this investment in carbon capture and storage, in components for wind turbines and indeed in nuclear power plants, as the Minister mentioned in his statement. I turn to the very high electricity costs that industry faces. We have talked about this before, and I raised it with the Prime Minister on Monday at the Liaison Committee. What alternative options are available? The British industrial competitiveness scheme is a very good step in the right direction, but many businesses who will not qualify for that scheme also need help with their very high electricity prices. What is the Minister working on that will start to move the dial for those businesses as well?

• 11 Dec 2025 · Energy Costs · Hansard source

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  5. What steps his Department is taking to support businesses with energy costs.

• 11 Dec 2025 · Energy Costs · Hansard source

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  Reducing costs by £40 per megawatt-hour for 7,000 manufacturing businesses is welcome, as is the news in the Budget of changes to the British industry supercharger scheme. However, there are tens—if not hundreds—of thousands of other manufacturing businesses facing some of the highest electricity prices in Europe, which has been the case for many years. What is the plan to help the businesses facing very high bills right now while we wait for lower electricity bills in the longer term through Government plans for clean power?

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the right hon. Member for quoting me, but when backing Liz Truss to be leader of the Tory party he said: “I have no doubt that we will move with determination to make this country safer and more secure.” Does that not rather undermine any claim of credibility he makes?

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right. The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee looks forward to hearing what John Fingleton has to say, and to the Government’s response to him. Regulatory reform is key. We have to speed up planning and grid connections, which are referred to in the Budget, in order to address the very serious shortfall in grid capacity, and the delays in grid connection. We could probably say the same about generating capacity, too. This country has faced 60 years of lack of investment in our grid networks. The problem was exacerbated when the grid was privatised in 1989, despite the warnings of the then shadow Energy Secretary, Tony Blair, who predicted, entirely accurately, that although the grid was of strategic national importance, it was a natural monopoly and really would not attract the private investment that the Conservative Government claimed it would. We are left trying to catch up. That is one of the reasons—along with delays in renewing our gas fleet, let alone moving to new nuclear and renewables—why we have spent so much money on our energy system, and why bill payers are under so much pressure. It is important to say that we would have these cost pressures regardless of whether we looked to invest in fossil fuels or renewables. I very much welcome the recommitment to the £14.2 billion from the public sector for Sizewell C. That will ensure its success. The Committee wants a fleet approach to large-scale nuclear. There has been very welcome news on a small modular reactor at Wylfa, which will deliver 3,000 jobs. Sizewell C ultimately means that 6 million homes will be powered by cheap, clean electricity. The ongoing investment in the North sea, referred to in the Budget, has been confirmed by the North sea future plan, published this afternoon by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. There is strong recognition that we must support North sea oil and gas production, and a strong commitment to doing so. That will be crucial to our energy supply for decades to come, but also crucial to the energy transition, because the same companies who drill for and produce oil and gas provide the engineering expertise in the North sea for offshore wind. I was pleased to see the call for evidence on the fuel sector and refineries, too. This Budget is no return to ABT. Instead, we have trade deals with the EU, India and the US. We have rejected the Truss approach, so fondly supported by Reform and the Conservatives, and instead we want to support reductions in the cost of living, investment in infrastructure, skills and business, and rebuilding the public sector. As the Chancellor said, we want strong foundations and a secure future. She did really well today.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  Context is everything, and the context for this Budget can be summed up in three letters: ABT. It stands for “anyone but the Tories”, or “austerity, Brexit and Truss”. Both explain the composition of the House of Commons; it is a result of the damage done by those things. Their combined impact is that households in this country are £11,000 worse off every year than they would have been had we continued on the trajectory we were on in 2010, when Labour last left office. Policy mistakes by Liz Truss led to a £1,200 hike in interest payments. Interestingly, the market reaction to what the Chancellor said today was very positive; the only downward spike was when the Leader of the Opposition stood up. That speaks volumes about what the markets have made of the Budget today. The contrast between ABT and now is quite stark. The situation is completely different from what the deputy leader of Reform, the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice), has just tried to tell us it is. He of course supports all three of those Tory measures, although they had the disastrous results that I have outlined. By contrast, business investment is up over this Parliament. Public and private investment have jointly increased, under the partnership in the industrial strategy. That includes £14 billion of public money to secure the success of Sizewell C. We have had five successive interest rates cuts. We have had wage rises and the highest G7 growth forecast—upgraded by the OBR—and, of course, borrowing is down, which is not what the hon. Member claimed. My constituency stands to benefit enormously. I will put in a bid to be one of the pioneers who gains a neighbourhood health centre. I am pleased that Southport was mentioned, but I want one in my constituency. In fact, I want more than one, but I will start with one: the Maghull health centre. We already have £1.3 million pledged from developer contributions, but Maghull stands ready to be a pioneer of the NHS neighbourhood health scheme. Could the Chancellor please get the integrated care board to play ball? High Pastures, my GP surgery, has already taken advantage of the modernisation fund, which is very welcome. In the Liverpool city region, £1.6 billion has been announced for a new fleet of buses for the newly franchised network. Members will be familiar with the Manchester Bee Network, but the Liverpool A network will of course come along shortly—well, that is what Steve Rotheram says, anyway. It will link to John Lennon airport, and to Everton and Liverpool football clubs. On energy, my Energy Security and Net Zero Committee asked the Government, in one of our recommendations, to consider moving the surplus in the investment reserve fund of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme to its members, and I am very pleased that the Chancellor has listened. A friend of mine—he and his wife are both pensioners—messaged me today to pass on their thanks to the Chancellor and the Treasury team. I know those thanks will be replicated by other Government Members—and, I hope, some Opposition Members—speaking on behalf of their constituents. There is the very welcome decision to cut energy bills by £150, recognising the energy company obligation failure of the last Government, under which 97% of scheme participants were worse off as a result of the scheme. The price cap should fall significantly in April as a result of what the Government have announced today on energy bills. We also have an extra £1.5 billion for the warm homes plan, taking the total to £14.7 billion. I strongly recommend that the Treasury and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero make the most of the money, and ensure that it is used as widely as possible, so that we have proper insulation and reduced energy usage.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right. The warm homes plan will help those who are in fuel poverty the most. We are talking about up to £500 for a combination of insulation and solar and battery installation. Closing the gap between electricity and gas prices, which is what the money off bills will partly do, will make it more attractive for people to switch to electric heating, be it heat pumps or other forms of electric heating. That will all help with our climate commitments and bring down bills at the same time. The Budget books contain a section on energy security. There is recognition in the Budget that secure, clean and cheaper energy is central to sustainable economic growth, but it is also essential for our energy security. The threat from Putin is becoming increasingly clear; it will become greater than it is in Ukraine. Submarine drones will target tankers delivering oil and liquified natural gas. That is a very significant threat. We have already seen the threat to pipelines. Tankers come from all over the world, and they are very vulnerable. We see in the strait of Hormuz what the Houthis are able to do. Just imagine how much bigger the threat is from Russia. The answer to that must be to diversify as far as possible. That is why Ukraine is moving away from oil and gas as much as it can, and towards low-carbon alternatives.

• 25 Nov 2025 · New Hospital Programme · Hansard source

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  Rowan View mental health hospital at Maghull health park in my constituency is benefiting from lower costs from the installation of solar panels from GB Energy. May I encourage the Minister to support Maghull health park’s bid for an innovation and research facility so that we can address the Government’s priority of giving parity of esteem to mental health and physical health?

• 25 Nov 2025 · COP30 · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend rightly reminded us of the progress that was made at COP. The recommitment to limiting global warming to no more than 1.5° is hugely important. He was honest in saying that we did not get everything we wanted, and that is sensible. However, he also reminded us of the absolute seriousness of climate breakdown, and that we must take every action possible. That goes beyond COP, and I hope he agrees that that work should continue whether or not it is in relation to a COP. The Secretary of State started to talk about energy security, and I want to link this subject to that, because there is a worrying tendency towards a loss of support for the transition. Does he agree that it is really important, especially in the light of the ongoing aggression from Russia—and we have just had a statement, including on Ukraine, demonstrating it—that we make it clear to people that energy security and climate breakdown are very strongly linked, and that the answer to both of them is the energy transition?

• 24 Nov 2025 · Critical Minerals Strategy · Hansard source

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  The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee has heard evidence that we need these critical minerals for our energy future. That is absolutely true, so the 10% from production and the 20% from recycling are key steps along that road. Can I ask the Minister about no more than 60% coming from one country? He talked about some of the allies he will work with, but what will this Government do to ensure that production is increased from countries other than those such as China?

• 12 Nov 2025 · Energy · Hansard source

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  The Conservatives also privatised the national grid. We were warned at the time, in 1989, that that would not lead to massive investment from the private sector, and we are now living with the consequences of that lack of investment over something like 40 years. Does my hon. Friend agree that that Conservative failure is another reason why we face such high energy bills?

• 12 Nov 2025 · Energy · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Lady was kind enough to go through her plan with me. I will be honest: I think there is merit in discussing some of the proposals— [ Interruption. ] No, it is not what Opposition Members think. There is merit in discussing some of the proposals on a cross-party basis, and I am sure the Government will do that. The motion talks about the highest industrial energy prices in the world and the second-highest domestic energy prices, but that was true throughout the Conservatives’ time in office. They grew and became a massive problem. It is something I came across in this place in my time here. What is it about the situation that she found when she was Secretary of State, and her predecessors found, that made it so difficult to address those very high energy costs?