Calum Miller MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 17 Jan 2025 · New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill · Hansard source

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  Residents in my constituency are aghast that a mega 840 MW solar farm is being proposed by the Blenheim estate, which, people believe, has not allowed solar panels to be placed on the houses it has developed in the area. Does the hon. Member agree that placing solar panels on the roofs of houses is a much better way to diversify solar panels and build the community consent for the renewable transition that is part of the Government’s mission?

• 17 Jan 2025 · New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady speaks of the Government’s ambition, and there is one simple thing they could do. In December 2023, after lobbying from developers, the previous Conservative Government shamefully issued a written ministerial statement to prohibit a councillor in West Oxfordshire district council in my constituency from insisting on higher environmental standards for a net zero development. Does the hon. Lady agree that if the Government simply revoked that written ministerial statement, local councils across the country would have more freedom to set higher environmental standards? Will she encourage the Minister to respond to that point?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I thank the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of his statement. This ceasefire is welcomed by all who have watched with horror as the suffering that began on 7 October 2023 has worsened for so many, and I add my thanks to all those who have worked so hard to deliver it. I am thinking today of the Palestinians and Israelis I have met whose lives have been torn apart by this conflict, and to whom this news brings a moment of hope; of the British families of Israeli hostages who continue to live with uncertainty and fear about the fate of their loved ones; and of the Palestinians whose daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers have lost their lives and homes. The priority must now be ensuring that humanitarian assistance floods into Gaza, and that all possible efforts are made to secure the release of the remaining hostages. I urge the Foreign Secretary to do everything in his power—as he has just said—to persuade Israel not to implement the Knesset’s resolution on UNRWA, which would do so much harm and would undermine the progress that is being made. I am grateful today for the fact that a deal has been reached, but I am also angry that it has taken so long. In the months of delay, there has been no relief for the hostage families. So many more lives have been lost, and so much more destruction has been visited on people in Gaza, including further deaths even since the ceasefire deal was announced. The blocks to progress have been extremists on both sides, the terrorists in Hamas and the supporters of annexation in the Israeli Cabinet: people who do not want peace, but want to erase another population from the land. So I ask the Foreign Secretary these questions. Will the UK Government isolate the extremists and empower the majority of Israelis and Palestinians who want peace? Will he commit the UK to working tirelessly for a lasting peace through a two-state solution with a recognised Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders? Will he redouble efforts in diplomacy and through financial measures against the backers and enablers of Hamas to cut off their funds? Will he now proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps? Will he spell out to the Governments of Israel and the United States that settler violence and illegal annexation in the west bank must stop, and will the UK Government now recognise the Palestinian state?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I broadly welcome the Bill and the strength and protections that it will provide private tenants. I associate myself with the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) and the amendments that he and my hon. Friend the Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper) have tabled. I wish to focus on one aspect of the Bill to see if I can encourage some last-minute reconsideration by the Minister. The Government recently repurchased more than 36,000 Ministry of Defence properties from the private sector. This move is a step in the right direction, yet many properties, including those in my constituency of Bicester and Woodstock, have fallen into disrepair, having failed to be managed properly, and are now substandard or unsafe. Service personnel and their families living in Ministry of Defence accommodation in Ambrosden and in Caversfield in my constituency have expressed frustration with the current management and maintenance companies. Liberal Democrats are clear that our service personnel and their families deserve the same decent standards that the Government are proposing for the rest of the private rented sector. I am proud to support amendment 3 tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton and Wellington. Will the Government now commit to using the Bill to ensure that the recently reacquired Ministry of Defence accommodation will be covered by the decent homes standard, so that those living in service family accommodation in my constituency can access safe, weathertight and warm accommodation? In response to my hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) the Minister argued that it would not be appropriate to extend the decent homes standard to service family accommodation. Will he therefore clarify, so that I can inform my constituents, whether they should expect to live in service family accommodation that meets that standard and, if they should, how and to whom they can appeal if the accommodation continues to fall below that standard?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I wholeheartedly agree. The Ministry of Defence’s service family accommodation estate is in disrepair because of a significant lack of investment by the last Government, which failed to maintain the standards that should be enjoyed by our hard-working and dedicated service personnel and their families. However, the fact that this Government have made the welcome step to purchase that estate means that it is now their obligation to uphold standards. As we are talking about legislation that is intended to set the standard that all renters should expect, including those who are paying rent now to the Ministry of Defence for their accommodation, why are the Government resisting the opportunity to set that high standard for service personnel? Finally, in the notes to the Bill, the Government emphasise that the concerns that led to Awaab’s law will now be extended to the private rented sector. Given how serious those concerns were, and given that the death occurred as a result of a failure to maintain property in the social rented sector, will the Minister tell me how I can go back to my constituents, who are tenants of the Ministry of Defence, and tell them they will enjoy the same protection as other private renters under Awaab’s law?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  I am very grateful to the Minister; I appreciate the time constraints that he faces. The critical question is when those in our communities who live in service accommodation can expect it to reach the standards that he and his colleagues intend to set out. I appreciate the co-operation with Defence Ministers, but can the Minister give us a date by which that standard will be in place?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Strengthening NATO · Hansard source

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  As my hon. Friend the Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord) pointed out, President-elect Trump has threatened to use force to seize the Panama canal and Greenland, and he has promised tariffs of 25% on Canada and Mexico. Whatever else we can predict about the presidency that begins next Monday, we know that it will be unpredictable. May I therefore ask the Minister what steps his Government has taken to Trump-proof UK foreign policy so that we cannot be held hostage in the security, economic or climate realm by a President who puts short-term deals ahead of long-term relationships, and what specific steps the Government have taken to accelerate an improvement in the UK’s relationship with European partners since 5 November?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  There is strong evidence that Russia has sought to influence the outcome of elections in Georgia, Moldova and Romania, and it may now be doing so in Germany. Is the Foreign Secretary confident that the current measures to track Russian money and misinformation in the UK is sufficient to protect the UK from similar interference, and does he think that the role of Russian money in funding UK political parties should be investigated to ensure that our elections remain free and fair?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Sudan: US Determination of Genocide · Hansard source

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  In three months, we will reach the second anniversary of the terrible conflict in Sudan. Can the Minister update us on the Government’s work to deliver a political process to secure a ceasefire before then, so that a civilian Administration can begin the work of reconstruction? In the light of the judgment of the US Administration, can the Minister give the House a date by which the Government will have determined whether genocide is being committed? Last October, the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) declared on behalf of the then Government that ethnic cleansing was taking place in Sudan. What have been the consequences of that designation, and what more can the UK do to gather evidence of those crimes? As the Minister mentioned, Russia’s veto of the Security Council resolution is yet one more example of its shameful role in world affairs, but the needs of children, women and ethnic groups for protection is greater, not less, as a result. Can she outline what actions the UK is taking to secure safe zones for schools and hospitals?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Northern Gaza · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) for her powerful and sustained advocacy for Palestinians. Clearly, the situation in northern Gaza is utterly dire. We need to see action from the Government in the face of a dreadful and worsening situation. At the end of December, Israeli forces closed Kamal Adwan, the last functional hospital in northern Gaza, forcibly removed patients and detained its director Dr Abu Safiya. The Minister said that he has raised this matter with the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister and the ambassador, but what consequences did he spell out to them if Israel fails to meet its obligations to protect civilians and sustain access to healthcare in northern Gaza? The Minister also referred to Israeli airstrikes in the allegedly safe zone. I have on previous occasions asked the Foreign Secretary to look again at a full ban on arms sales. Will the Minister now do so? We will only see an end to violence with a ceasefire, so can the Minister update the House on progress towards the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and a lasting ceasefire? Finally, in the light of deep concerns about the direction that this conflict might take under the second Trump presidency and following remarks made by Israeli Government Ministers about annexation and actions on the ground in the west bank to extend illegal settlements, does the Minister agree that now is the moment to recognise Palestine on the 1967 borders?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Pro-democracy Campaigners: Arrests · Hansard source

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  The extraterritorial arrest warrants issued against Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are disgraceful. We must be clear: Hong Kong democracy campaigners such as Carmen Lau, a former district councillor in Hong Kong, are welcome and free to express their views here in the UK. This attempt by Beijing to interfere in our democracy is unacceptable. The previous Government did not do enough to counter this interference, and we urge this Government to go further than words with actions. Will the Minister meet me, my hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mr Reynolds) and his constituent Carmen Lau to assure her of the Government’s support? Will the Government clarify that it is illegal to bounty hunt in the UK, and that anyone who does so can expect to be prosecuted? Will she use our Magnitsky sanctions regime against those in Hong Kong and Beijing responsible for the unacceptable targeting of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists? Finally, in the light of the continued detention of Jimmy Lai and these warrants, will the Government reconsider the Chancellor’s planned trip to Beijing?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Access to Primary Care · Hansard source

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  10. What recent steps he has taken to increase access to GP appointments.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Access to Primary Care · Hansard source

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  Woodstock surgery in my constituency is not fit for purpose. In September, heavy rain fell and caused the roof to collapse, causing the surgery to close. The nurse literally sees patients in a broom cupboard. The GPs want to increase their capacity to see more patients, but have been unable to access sufficient capital from the integrated care board. Will the Secretary of State meet me and the Woodstock GPs to discuss how the reforms announced yesterday will help them build a new surgery, so that they can see patients faster?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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

• 7 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am sure the Secretary of State will share my shock and anger about the number of young people in my constituency who are waiting more than four years for a first assessment by child and adult mental health services. Can he confirm that yesterday’s commitment by the Prime Minister that patients would not wait more than 18 weeks for a first appointment will apply to CAMHS in Oxfordshire?