Caroline Voaden MP: speeches 2024

Speeches

• 19 Dec 2024 · Hospice Funding · Hansard source

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  I wish you, Mr Speaker, and all the House staff, a very merry Christmas. Following on from the hon. Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn), next year I will be taking part in a strictly dancing competition for my local Rowcroft Hospice. However, I am pretty sure that, even if all the Members in this House sponsored me, I would not be able to raise the £225,000 needed by Rowcroft to cover the additional national insurance contribution payments that it will have to make. Will this extra funding, which is very welcome, be additional funding, or will it be just enough to cover the extra costs that have been imposed on the hospice sector through the increase in national insurance contributions in the recent Budget?

• 19 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Large areas of rural South Hams in my constituency of South Devon are still struggling with almost prehistoric broadband speeds. The company that was tasked with rolling out full-fibre broadband was astonishingly allowed to walk away from its contract after building the easy urban bits, leaving all the hard-to-reach areas behind. Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate in Government time on how the Government can underwrite the roll-out of high-speed broadband in areas where it is not commercially viable, because broadband is as important to the rural economy as electricity?

• 18 Dec 2024 · Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Government’s statement and their attention to local government finances. Delivering services in large, dispersed rural areas such as mine in South Devon is challenging and costly. What plans does the Minister have to ensure that rural local authorities will be allocated additional funding to manage the extra cost of delivering services across areas such as mine?

• 17 Dec 2024 · Community Pharmacies: Devon and the South-west · Hansard source

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  Pharmacies in two of the major GP surgeries in my constituency, Leatside in Totnes and Compass House in Brixham, have closed in the past year because the private operators could not make a profit. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is urgent that we revise the funding model for prescriptions so that pharmacies, particularly in GP surgeries, can survive?

• 16 Dec 2024 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member give way?

• 16 Dec 2024 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member mentioned the cryptosporidium incident in May in Brixham in my constituency, where 17,000 houses were affected by contaminated water. A boil water notice was enforced for eight weeks, and many of my constituents are still suffering from that. I say to the Minister that, when the Drinking Water Inspectorate reports next year, I hope the water company will be forced to pay proper compensation, because it would appear that its negligence and not maintaining its facilities over the past decades was possibly one of the causes of the contamination.

• 16 Dec 2024 · English Devolution · Hansard source

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  Top-down reorganisation of a failing council such as Conservative-run Devon county council is a bit like shuffling the deck chairs on a sinking ship. We know that years of chronic underfunding have made it impossible for councils to fulfil their obligations, so I welcome the multi-year funding settlement. However, creating larger regional authorities does not devolve power; it shifts power and responsibility away from local communities to a distant, higher-tier authority that will feel remote to towns and parishes in places such as Devon. We must have the opportunity in May to pass our verdict on Conservative-run Devon county council, which has been failing our most vulnerable children for over a decade. Will the Minister assure me that those elections will go ahead as planned in 2025?

• 9 Dec 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs: Impact · Hansard source

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  While the children’s wellbeing Bill proposes statutory breakfast programmes, research from the Food Foundation shows that such clubs are more likely to benefit wealthier families because of the convenience that they offer working parents. By contrast, offering children free school lunches is known to help iron out inequalities. Some 800,000 children in poverty are ineligible for free school meals, and more than 200,000 eligible children are not registered. Does the Secretary of State agree that expanding school lunches, and implementing auto-enrolment for free school meals for all children, would be an effective and equitable approach to tackling food insecurity and supporting our children’s health and academic performance?

• 3 Dec 2024 · Family Farming in Devon · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Mark. I thank the right hon. and learned Member for Torridge and Tavistock (Sir Geoffrey Cox) for securing this important debate, and for his lyrical introduction to the subject. It is clear from all hon. Members who have contributed that much is at stake for our rural economy. In Devon, family farms are an essential part of our community and the economy, as they are elsewhere—I refer to the contributions from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Dr Chambers), who talked of their areas. In Devon, farms cover 1.2 million acres of land and employ more than 20,000 people. Agriculture is the backbone of our local economy. From grazing livestock to growing crops, Devon’s farmers produce not just food but the character of our rural landscape. The right hon. and learned Member for Torridge and Tavistock spoke of the preciousness of our farms and the decades of heritage, of which we are rightly proud. However, the Government’s changes to inheritance tax and agricultural property relief are concerning. The Government claim that 73% of farms will be unaffected by the changes, but as the NFU has pointed out, those figures are based on historical claims and fail to account for the current state of the agricultural sector. For example, 66% of farms in England have a net value of more than £1 million, and 42% of farms are larger than 50 acres, so many will now be above the £1 million threshold. The burden that that will place on farmers cannot be overstated, especially given the other financial pressures that they have faced over the past few years. They are struggling with skyrocketing costs, since energy and feed prices have risen due to the invasion of Ukraine. Many are still reeling from the Conservatives’ botched trade deals, which have placed further stress on the farming community. The recent increase in national insurance contributions and the impending carbon tax on fertiliser further compounds the challenges. I will read some quotations from local farmers who we surveyed, 86% of whom say they will be hit by the tax, while 50% of those farms are not owned by a couple, so they already lose out on a chunk of the potential tax relief: “We are now in process of winding down all investment and food production on this farm in response to the budget. Producing food is difficult and carries lots of financial risk—we will keep farming but at a much lower level and look to pass the farm on early as lifetime transfer. Doesn’t sound like ‘growth’ to me…Our farming income for the last 2 financial years has been a loss (mainly due to weather). It feels so hard. This policy just knocks the confidence out…The policy as it currently stands will halve food production in a generation…If this rule stays what is the point of investing in your farm to improve efficiency. All our input costs are going to increase through labour costs and taxes…Through previous governments, we’ve been encouraged to diversify in order to augment our farm income and stay afloat. Now we feel we’ll be penalised for this as we have added value to our farm which will now be liable for Inheritance tax…I feel completely let down and saddened. This will completely destroy the rural community.” Farmers will be forced to sell land—the very tool by which they produce food and earn a living—that has been in their families for generations— [ Interruption. ] The Minister is shaking his head, but every single farmer I have spoken to says that that is the case. The idea that neighbouring or tenant farmers will just buy up the land is a fantasy. Most will not be able to afford it, and land may well end up being bought by non-farming companies with no interest in food production and used instead for carbon offsetting or potential development. One family now face the prospect of having to sell at least a quarter of their assets, including tractors, sheep and land, just to pay the tax. They tell me that, rather than investing and growing their business, they are now having to wind down their farm with a view to reducing their future tax liabilities. That is a deeply worrying trend, as it could lead to a broad contraction of the sector, harming not just farmers but the entire agricultural industry. The Liberal Democrat position is clear: the tax will disproportionately harm the farming community, and we call for the Government to rethink it. But it is not just farmers. The impact on rural businesses that rely on the farming economy, such as vets, agricultural merchants and machinery suppliers, will be severe. Local suppliers of agricultural machinery and heavy equipment already face a significant increase in costs due to national insurance changes. Those businesses are vital to the farming economy. Again, a contraction of the sector will have a ripple effect throughout the entire rural economy. It is crucial to note that the DEFRA budget for day-to-day spending is set to drop by 1.9% over the next two years, and the pause on capital grants is yet another worry, particularly for farmers who are doing their best to comply with environmental measures such as safe slurry storage. If the grants are not available to do that work, that makes sustainable farming even harder to achieve. The sustainable farming incentive, which should provide support to farmers, has proven unworkable for many, and the transition from basic payments to ELMs has been complicated and unnecessarily slow—an indication of the lack of foresight and planning by the previous Government to prepare for a potential withdrawal from the EU. Even though I am no fan of Brexit, what could have given a real boost to both British agriculture and the environment has instead been a bureaucratic mess and a clear sign of how rural communities are so often the lowest priority for Government. Talking of environmental payments, I want to take a quick moment to underline how important it is for the Government to make the schemes work. Unless we restore the health of our soils and the biodiversity that has been decimated across the UK, our farmers will find it harder and harder to produce quality food. If we are to mitigate flooding, increase water quality and combat carbon emissions, we simply must do this work. As the right hon. and learned Member for Torridge and Tavistock, the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) and my hon. Friend the Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord) have mentioned, that is really important on Dartmoor, a small part of which also falls in my constituency. This will mean a complex conversation about farming, stocking levels and sites of special scientific interest. I look forward to working with my colleagues to try to find solutions. Environmental payments are fundamental to the future of good food production. Lower inputs are good for everyone—for nature and the farmer’s back pocket. It is not an either/or—farming or the environment. We simply have to make this work. Finally, I share something deeply troubling, which I heard from farmers in my constituency when they came to Westminster last week. Some talked about the need to hide shotguns in order to prevent older owners of the family farm from taking their own lives before the inheritance tax changes come into force. They now feel that they are worth more dead than alive because of the burden those taxes would place on their families. My hon. Friend the Member for Honiton and Sidmouth also touched on that topic. We know that poor mental health is already rife in the farming community, and the sudden tax change has placed an added pressure, which could prove fatal. No farmer should ever feel that their legacy and livelihood are so threatened that it would drive them to such despair. In response to those challenges, the Liberal Democrats are calling for a £1 billion increase in the farming budget, and for the Government to reverse their decision on agricultural property relief. We understand the importance of ensuring that family farms can continue to operate and thrive. Family farms are not only vital for our food security and the preservation of our rural environment, but central to the history and heritage of our country. The Liberal Democrats will continue to fight for the future of family farming, to ensure that our rural communities thrive, and to ensure that farmers’ voices are heard loud and clear in Westminster.

• 3 Dec 2024 · Family Farming in Devon · Hansard source

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  I would like to ask the Minister whether the Treasury consulted DEFRA on the tax change before deciding to go ahead with it in the Budget.

• 2 Dec 2024 · Children and Bereavement · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to speak under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I thank the hon. Member for Stevenage (Kevin Bonavia) for opening the debate. I would like to acknowledge all the people who have signed the petition, and Mark and John for all their work—it is good to see them in the Public Gallery. I speak as someone who has, unfortunately, very personal experience of the issue we are debating today. My husband, 22 years ago, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, when my daughter was two and our baby was just five months old. He died a year later, a week before Ellie’s fourth birthday, when Laura was just 17 months old. They are now brilliant young women, and I am extremely proud of them. But it has been a long journey, and I can say from the bottom of my heart that grief lasts a lifetime. Bereavement issues come and go and change as the children grow up. The grief is quite strange when you are three; you don’t know where daddy has gone. When you are 17 months old, you cannot even speak. I think she could just about say “Daddy”; she was babbling a bit. It is very difficult to explain to a child of that age, so the other parent has to explain again and again, at different stages of life, as the children grow up. One thing we read about in books, which is true, is that for bereaved children it is an issue that keeps coming back. They will be okay for a few years and then they will move school and suddenly it starts all over again. I remember that when both my girls started secondary school there was a conversation: “What do I say? Do I go in and say on day one, ‘Oh, my dad’s dead,’ or do I keep it quiet?” I remarried many years later, and then there was another question: “Do I call him Stuart or do I just say to my friends that he’s dad?” The girls just used to refer to us as “Our parents”, because that was easier. They did not want to have to keep explaining. Retelling the story at school, over and over again, was very difficult. Ellie started school six months after her dad died. I had some brilliant friends who came to the house on day one of school, and we all went together because I knew she would be one of the only kids there who did not have mum and dad at the school gate on day one. It was like that every time: at every school carol concert, every play, every parents’ evening, every sports day, for years, there was a feeling that there should have been someone else there. One thing that was really hard was that I felt every year that I had to tell the class teacher; it was not a whole-school experience, so I had to keep retelling and re-explaining. When children go to secondary school and have lots of different classes with lots of different teachers, it is really quite something that, if things are difficult, we have to keep explaining it again and again. The petition is so important. Perhaps things have changed a bit in the last 21 years, but the fact that no national data is collected is a sign that we still have not got to grips with this issue. The Childhood Bereavement Network estimates that more than 46,000 children in the UK experience the death of a parent every year. That is 127 children who are going through this every single day. We collect data on so many aspects of children’s lives, from school performance to health statistics, and even the number of children affected by divorce, but when it comes to bereavement children are invisible in terms of policy, planning and support, and that absolutely has to change. Bereavement is one of the most difficult experiences that any child can face, yet we have no clear plan or pathway to support children. We know that the impact of bereavement is lifelong and can present emotional and psychological challenges. I remember phoning Winston’s Wish more than once as a parent to ask for some advice when things were kicking off and not going very well, and that organisation was absolutely brilliant. Shortly after—about a year after—Nick died, we joined Widowed and Young, and I eventually went on to chair Widowed and Young for a couple of years. It is an absolutely brilliant organisation and I could not have survived without it. We used to go away for weekends with WAY. I had lots of friends who all had small kids, and I remember the kids were chattering away in the back of the car one day and one of them said to the other, “What’s a brain haemorrhage?”, and the other one explained. For them, it was so normal that all their dads had died. They just talked about it. It was so important for them to be able to connect with other children who had experienced the same thing and they felt able to talk to. Yet at school, it was not part of the conversation. Their friends did not know how to talk about it; they did not really understand. My daughters have often said, “Oh, my friends never mention it; they never talk about it.” It is just brushed under the carpet because they feel awkward. Education about this issue should be on the curriculum. We do not talk about death enough in this country. We have talked about it a lot in this House over the last couple of weeks, but Friday’s debate was also an indication that we really do not have these conversations in Britain. We feel awkward about it, and it is really important that death becomes a much more normal thing to discuss. I am going all over the place, but I will go back to the issue of data, which I have written down. If registrars were required to ask about the number of dependent children at the point when a death is registered, we could at least begin to understand the true scale of the issue. Local authorities could then use that data to make informed decisions about the resources required to support grieving families in their area. Nationally, it would help to make the case for a co-ordinated response to childhood bereavement and ensure that bereaved children get the support they need. Registrars could also signpost people to useful organisations if they knew there were children involved. Believe me, a bereaved parent needs all the help they can get, and knowing there are people out there who understand is really important. The collection of data would also identify children who are not receiving support and would allow local services to monitor whether the services available are meeting the needs of bereaved children, and whether enough children are receiving the help they need. It would also allow us to ask the important question: are our systems reaching these children, and are they getting the right kind of help? Without that data, we cannot ensure that our services meet the scale of the need. On educating children, we cannot expect them to process such a significant loss on their own. We also cannot expect teachers to navigate these issues without proper training and support. There are organisations out there. As the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy) said, a lot of this stuff has already been done, and the resources are there to support teachers. By giving children a space to understand death—what it is, what it means and what it is all about—we provide an opportunity for a bereaved child not to feel quite so alone and different. Children need to be able to express their grief and to be supported in doing so, and teachers need to feel empowered to address this difficult subject, to ensure that grieving children do not feel isolated or misunderstood. If such education were part of the curriculum, we could ensure that teachers and support staff have the tools and knowledge they need to support children at the most difficult time in their lives. Grieving children need to feel safe, understood and supported. The impact of losing a parent can be devastating; it affects every aspect of a child’s life for a lifetime. Without understanding the scale of the issue, and without having the right data and systems in place, we are leaving bereaved children to navigate this experience with little support, and leaving their parents to do a really difficult job on their own, without the wider support network they need. It is time that we recognised the needs of bereaved children. I urge the Minister to see what we can do, as fast as we can do it, so that more children get the support they need.

• 2 Dec 2024 · Children and Bereavement · Hansard source

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  I add my voice to the calls to extend bereavement support payments. I was very lucky—well, not lucky—because I was bereaved before those changes were made, and I had bereavement support payments for quite a long time. I want to say a couple of things on that. The reason why someone gets bereavement support payments is that their partner who has died has paid national insurance contributions. My husband spent 20 years paying national insurance contributions, and he would never get a pension. To get some kind of payment as a bereaved parent is only just, because the state will never pay out that pension later on. As I have previously said, grief does not just stop after 18 months. A bereaved parent of young children is left to pick up the pieces, look after their children and go back to work, because they have lost an income—quite often the main income of the family. It is important for the state of the NHS, our economy and everything else that a bereaved parent is as balanced and stable as possible so that their children can remain balanced and stable. It is good for the family and society as a whole. The more help we can give a parent—perhaps to work part time, so that they can be more available to their bereaved children—the better. Sorry, that was too long; excuse me, Mrs Harris.

• 28 Nov 2024 · Fishing Industry · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member talked about the importance of encouraging young people into the industry. That is important for us all, wherever we are. It is clear for us all to see that our fishing communities were deeply let down by the previous Conservative Government, and that the promises made to them in the run-up to Brexit have been badly broken. Instead of the “sea of opportunity”—which the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) optimistically said he thought was possible—the industry has been cast adrift, struggling with increased bureaucracy, reduced market access and rising costs. We believe fishing communities deserve better. As we enter this annual negotiation period and approach the end of the transition period in 2026, we must learn from the failures of the past and ensure that the mistakes of the terrible, botched Brexit deal are not repeated. As many Members have said, we need multi-annual decision making to give the industry more long-term stability. Negotiations on fishing quotas must be conducted transparently and be based on the best science available, with fishing communities at the table helping to shape the decisions that will profoundly affect their livelihoods. The Liberal Democrats want a fair deal for fishers—one that sets realistic catch limits, cuts unnecessary bureaucracy, invests in infrastructure and creates opportunities for coastal communities to thrive both on and off the water. First, we need to tackle the avalanche of red tape that has engulfed the industry for the last few years. The increased paperwork for customs declarations, export processes and landing requirements has created delays, raised costs and caused untold frustration, as my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Andrew George) described. Driving from Cornwall to Dover with a piece of paper to comply with an export requirement is utter madness in 2024. Having to get a qualified vet to personally sign 17 different pieces of paper for one export consignment is also ludicrous, yet that is the reality for Offshore Shellfish, a high-quality mussel farm off the Devon coast—I have written here, “which I had the pleasure of visiting on a very windy day in September”, but I am not sure that it was all pleasure, because it was quite choppy. Mussels cannot afford to be held up by red tape; speed is key when exporting shellfish. We have to cut down on the endless forms that companies are being forced to fill in.

• 28 Nov 2024 · Fishing Industry · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing today’s debate on the UK fishing industry. He has been a steadfast supporter of the UK’s fishing communities for many years. I echo his words and those of many others in the debate who have paid tribute to all those who have died at sea, and to the valuable work of the RNLI. Fishing is a subject of huge importance to us Liberal Democrats, not only because of the industry’s economic significance but because of its cultural heritage, its role in sustaining coastal communities and its relationship with the health of our seas. We have heard today from communities from all around the UK’s coastline, and about many different sectors of this age-old industry. The hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) talked about resolving the visa issue for fishers, both within and outside the 12-mile zone, which many others referred to as well. The hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) spoke about the importance of fish as a low-carbon, high-protein food source of which we should be consuming more, and the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) spoke passionately about how we can promote fish and seafood throughout the food chain, and about her brilliant local food-processing industry up in Grimsby. The hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham) referred beautifully to Cornwall’s proud fishing heritage, and particularly the Fal oysters. On that point, while I have him in the room, I ask the Minister again to reconsider his decision to classify Pacific oysters as an invasive species. They are heading our way anyway—they are going to be here whether we like it or not—so I do not believe that decision makes sense any longer. After all, sheep were once not a native species in the UK; things do change. The hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton)—did I get that right?

• 28 Nov 2024 · Fishing Industry · Hansard source

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  I am aware that my predecessor used to say it was digital-first and that the paperwork did not exist, but I can tell Members that 17 pieces of paper have to be signed every time Offshore Shellfish wants to do an export consignment. It does not matter which side of the channel that comes from. The point is that it was a bad deal that was badly negotiated, and we should never have put our fish exporters in that position. The Liberal Democrats want a veterinary agreement with the EU to be signed as soon as possible, to simplify the processes. Secondly, we must invest in the infrastructure needed to keep jobs and value in our coastal communities. By equipping coastal towns with modern processing facilities, we can retain more of the value generated by fishing within those communities, which will help to revitalise local economies, help coastal communities around the UK, and create high-quality employment opportunities, as was so well described by the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes. The future of fishing depends on the health of our seas, which is why sustainability is at the heart of the Liberal Democrat approach. We believe in a science-led system for managing fishing quotas, to ensure that decisions are based on all the available evidence about stock levels and marine biodiversity, not just the headline advice. We need to iron out the mismatches between data and the actual situation in the sea. Only when those two things match will we have the best data and be able to make the best decisions. The last-minute decision by the previous Government to cut pollack quotas at a stroke showed the Conservatives’ lack of respect for our hard-working fishing communities. Like my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives, I know one skipper who had to sell his boat straight after that decision. It was just the last straw. We must have more long-term decision making so that we do not put people in that situation at the drop of a hat. We would also establish an innovation fund to support the development of new technologies and practices that reduce environmental harm, while increasing funding for marine conservation projects and expanding the network of marine protected areas—but in consultation with the fishing industry. Protecting our oceans is not just about safeguarding the environment, vital though that is; it is about securing the long-term viability of the fishing industry itself. Nothing is more important to an industry that provides sustainable, quality food, contributes to our nation’s food security and wants to carry on doing that for the long term. In my constituency of South Devon, fishing is not just an industry but a way of life for many of my constituents. Brixham harbour, one of the busiest and most successful fishing ports in England, is a hub of activity sustaining hundreds of jobs and contributing millions to the local economy. I am grateful to the Minister for his visit in July, which was much appreciated by the fishing community. We see bluefin tuna jumping in our waters, as in the Western Isles. The challenges facing fishers in South Devon are stark. I have met many skippers in Brixham who shared the immense pressures they are under, from rising fuel costs to navigating the labyrinth of post-Brexit bureaucracy. They are deeply proud of their work and their heritage, but they feel abandoned by successive Governments that have made promises they have failed to keep. We are also facing an acute skilled labour shortage, which many have spoken about. Despite efforts to recruit home-grown talent through apprenticeships and partnerships, we simply do not have enough skilled crews to operate vessels or enough workers for our processors. As many Members have mentioned, the current visa routes for non-UK workers are wholly inadequate. The transit worker visa, which many smaller operators rely on, does not meet the needs of modern fishing, while the skilled worker visa is unaffordable and impracticable for the industry. Its language requirements alone simply do not recognise the reality of working at sea. I ask the Government to work with the Home Office to create a visa system that meets the needs of the industry and supports its sustainability. As we review the trade and co-operation agreement, we must look at what has happened. Operating costs have skyrocketed due to Brexit and the pandemic, compounding the challenges for exporters, who are so reliant on EU markets. Administrative burdens and barriers to trade remain a thorn in the industry’s side, and those burdens must be eased and smoother trade with the EU must be prioritised. Better access must be negotiated to weight it more in favour of UK fishers. It would be good to hear from the Minister how his negotiators will prioritise that. Marine spatial planning, to which many Members have referred, must also properly recognise the value of fishing alongside environmental objectives. The industry supports the goals of the Fisheries Act 2020, but the pace and scale of the changes can sometimes feel overwhelming. That highlights the need for careful consideration of the socioeconomic impacts on fishers and coastal communities. Although we in the Liberal Democrats support an urgent move to renewal energy, is it right that we lease out the UK seabed to develop an industry that will export energy abroad at the cost of the UK fishing industry? Fishing and power can share the sea, but fishers must be properly consulted about the siting of new offshore wind, and there must be a discussion about turbines being located in some of our most lucrative fishing waters. Looking ahead, I hope the new Labour Government will develop a clear and coherent strategy for the industry that takes into account the interconnectedness of environmental and economic objectives. The 2025 renegotiation of the TCA is an opportunity to address the challenges, and I hope the Government will consider socioeconomic factors when shaping future policy. Fishing communities deserve far better that the neglect they have endured over the past decade. The Liberal Democrats remain unwavering in our commitment to advocating for practical and meaningful solutions that address the immediate challenges faced by fishing communities. We will continue to push for reforms that not only secure the long-term future of the industry as a whole, both at sea and on land, but protect the environment on which it depends.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Online Safety: Children and Young People · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate the hon. Member for Darlington (Lola McEvoy) on bringing forward this important debate. The internet has undeniably introduced a valuable resource for learning that has transformed society, but technology has also brought with it significant risks that I believe we in this House have an urgent duty to address. Nobody knows that more acutely than all those parents who have tragically lost their children after online abuse, who are bravely represented today here in the Public Gallery by Ellen. The statistics are sobering. Recent figures from Ofcom reveal that one in five children in the UK has experienced some form of online harm, including cyber-bullying, exposure to inappropriate content and exploitation. The NSPCC reports that more than 60% of young people have encountered online bullying, but I think the risk goes much further than that. We know that the average age at which a child first views pornography is estimated to be 12, with some evidence now suggesting it is as young as eight years old. Free and widely available pornography is often violent, degrading and extreme, and it has become the de facto sex education for young people. The pornography crisis is radically undermining the healthy development of children and young people, and contributing to increasing levels of sexual inequality, dysfunction and violence. That reality represents how children’s lives are affected by those dangers, and as parliamentarians we have a duty to keep our children safe and free from harm—online as well as offline. Nine in 10 children are now on a mobile phone by the age of 11, and around a quarter of three-year-olds now have their own smartphone. I do not know about you, Mr Dowd, but I find that statistic particularly troubling. I believe it is crucial to differentiate smartphone use from the broader digital environment. Smartphones, as we know, are engineered to be addictive, with notifications that stimulate the release of dopamine, the same chemical that is linked to pleasure. It is too easy for children to become trapped in a cycle of dependency and peer pressure, addicted to feeds and competing for likes on social media. Addiction is exactly what the tech companies want. Research from the Royal Society for Public Health shows that social media harms mental health—we all know that—particularly among young users. Around 70% of young people now report that social media increases their feelings of anxiety and depression. The Children’s Commissioner, Rachel de Souza, believes that Ofcom’s children’s codes, which the hon. Member for Darlington talked about, are not strong enough and are written for the tech companies rather than for the children. She says that we need a code that protects our children from the “wild west” of social media. In South Devon I often hear from parents overwhelmed by the digital environment their children are navigating. They want to protect their children, but they feel ill equipped to manage those complexities. Hundreds of them have signed up to the smartphone-free pledge, and are pressuring schools to take part as well. We need to give them support, by backing what they want to do with legislation. I believe we need a legislative framework that will restrict the addictive nature of smartphones, tighten age restrictions and restrict access to social media platforms for all children under 16. We have to protect them. Those measures are crucial for online child safety, and I believe there is a broad consensus in the House that big tech must be held accountable for the harm it perpetuates. We must abide—

• 25 Nov 2024 · Israel-Gaza Conflict: Arrest Warrants · Hansard source

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  I welcome the ICC’s decision, and I sincerely hope that we will live up to our international obligations if the Prime Minister of Israel visits the UK. You have said yourself that you regret the fact that more aid is not getting into Gaza, and that you have been calling out the Israeli Government for not letting in more aid. Is it not time to do more than just calling out the Israeli Government and telling them how angry you are? Is it not time to end all arms exports to Israel, impose sanctions, end trade with all the illegal settlements and recognise Palestine as a state?

• 20 Nov 2024 · Police Reform · Hansard source

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  The Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for proper neighbourhood policing, so we welcome this announcement. Sadly, I have heard at first hand the concern and fear of one community in Dartmouth, following a police decision to redeploy a local sergeant who had spent a couple of years building positive relationships and trust with the local community, particularly on antisocial behaviour and drug dealing. Can the Minister clarify how the neighbourhood policing guarantee will be implemented and how the Home Office plans to ensure that communities have consistent and long-term access to a known, named officer who will remain in the community?

• 19 Nov 2024 · Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Situation · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for securing this debate. I think we can all agree that the number of children involved in this conflict, particularly the 16,000 children who have been killed, is just absolutely horrific. The UK has suspended some arms licences to Israel, but in light of the violations of humanitarian principle and law that she has talked about, including the conditions in hospitals and so on, does she agree that a total suspension of arms to Israel is now called for?

• 13 Nov 2024 · Supporting Women into Work · Hansard source

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  Parents of pre-school children in South Devon are finding it all but impossible to find nursery or pre-school places due to the lack of availability and the financial pressure that such establishments are under. This is making it extremely difficult for parents, often mothers, who would like to return to work after having children. How will the Department for Education and the Office for Equality and Opportunity work together to increase the number of nurseries and provide them with adequate funding to ensure that women are provided with all the support they need to return to work?

• 13 Nov 2024 · Supporting Women into Work · Hansard source

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  4. What steps the Government are taking to support women back into work.

• 13 Nov 2024 · Infant Formula Regulations · Hansard source

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  The Government have repeatedly said that they will not consider lifting the two-child benefit cap, but as we have been hearing from Members, the cost of infant formula can be prohibitive for parents who are not particularly well off. Will the Minister again consider lifting the two-child benefit cap, which we know is the biggest driver of child poverty in the UK? That would mean that fewer parents face difficult choices when it comes to paying for good-quality food.

• 12 Nov 2024 · NHS Dentistry: South-west · Hansard source

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  Lord Darzi said in his review of the NHS that “urgent action is needed to develop a contract that balances activity and prevention, is attractive to dentists and rewards those dentists who practise in less served areas” such as mine in South Devon, where not a single dentist is taking on NHS patients any more. Would my hon. Friend agree that we urgently need a timeline for this work to be done?

• 5 Nov 2024 · Future of Fishing · Hansard source

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  I agree that we must do far more to protect the equally important shellfish industry. In my part of the world, we have a budding aquaculture industry of mussels and oysters. They are a good, healthy food, and they capture carbon and improve marine biodiversity. Again, however, the industry has been severely hampered by export red tape and cannot export easily to Europe. It could expand massively if it was given the support required. On the point raised by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), the water classification rules in England differ from those in Northern Ireland. That was a purely political decision of the previous Government that has nothing to do with the health of the water, and I implore the Minister to look at that. If he would like to have a conversation with me about that, I would be very happy to do so. Fishermen are the stewards of our marine ecosystem. They know better than anyone how important it is to preserve fish stocks, and the Government and scientists must work with them.

• 5 Nov 2024 · Future of Fishing · Hansard source

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  In our strength, yes, and in our desire to protect the UK fishing industry, but we will do it with kindness. Access to EU markets is crucial, and restrictions would risk not only livelihoods but the £60 million in revenue that supports hundreds of jobs local to me. While we negotiate with the EU, we must ensure that local small fishermen are prioritised and protected. In Brixham, approximately 80% of the boats are owned by small, family run businesses, and these small enterprises cannot afford lengthy delays or steep tariffs. They are the backbone of our community. We must prioritise their industry and ensure that small-scale fishers benefit, not just the large-scale operators, as was mentioned by the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton). We must have a discussion about visas, which several hon. Members have mentioned. The sustainable management of our marine environment is also important for the health of fish stocks and marine biodiversity.