Chris Bloore MP: speeches

Speeches

• 22 Jan 2025 · Public Services: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  Quite often, I do not know how to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) and his thorough remarks. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland (David Smith) on securing the debate. I have known him for only a short time, but I know how dedicated he is to his rural constituency and how passionately he feels about these issues. I listened to his four points and the interventions. I am very fortunate. The Boundary Commission has changed my constituency many times, but it has not changed the names of the many villages that it encompasses: Astwood Bank, Inkberrow, Harvington and Norton. Most people think of Redditch as a very urban area with some significant deprivation and economic challenges, but the challenges and the deprivation in the rural parts are often forgotten. We hear the old adage, “Don’t go knocking on those doors. They are wealthy in those areas; they have no problems.” However, some of the biggest problems in my casework folder come from rural areas where there are no transport links and no access to dental treatment or healthcare. My constituency also faces some of the most significant challenges in relation to truancy and, I have said, transport links. This debate has provided an excellent opportunity for us to focus on issues affecting rural communities, but I ask the Minister, as the Government move forward, to ensure that we take on the challenges in areas that are deemed to be affluent but actually face some of the biggest social and economic challenges in our constituencies.

• 22 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q4. Parents should feel confident that when their child is sick, they can take them to their local hospital to be treated as soon as possible. But last year, when my son was having difficulty breathing, like many parents I could not take him to the Alexandra hospital in Redditch, as paediatric services were temporarily closed in 2016 and have never been reinstated. As part of this Government’s record investment in our NHS, will the Prime Minister meet me to explore ways to enable local integrated care boards to reinstate critical services for growing towns like Redditch?

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

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  Residents living in the Brockhill development in my constituency have been fighting developers for nearly two decades to have roads and land parcels adopted and for fit-for-purpose estate management. Will the Leader of the House provide Government time to discuss how we can hold developers to account on their promises during the planning process, so that residents do not have to spend 20 years fighting for what they have paid for?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children and Young People with Cancer · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for allowing me to speak and for securing this important debate. That issue of up-front costs and the costs to some of these children and their families has been underpinned by research by the organisations that he has mentioned. Just 12% of families say that their costs are covered by the current scheme. As children’s cancer therapy gets more specialised, with those families often being forced to travel further and further, there is a big concern about that. It is happening in my constituency, where some families are forced to miss appointments or delay the start of treatment because they cannot afford the costs. Those delayed and missed appointments are actually costing the NHS a lot of money at the moment. While we try to establish new arrangements for travel funding, there are opportunities for savings, by stopping those missed appointments, that could be put back into the pockets of those young children.

• 18 Dec 2024 · BBC: Funding · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) for securing the debate. I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as someone who was supported by the Musicians’ Union, and I am the son of a videotape editor for the BBC, so I spent much of my childhood on the cutting room floor of Pebble Mill in the west midlands. We hear about bias from all political parties and all sides. I heard from my Liberal Democrat colleagues earlier today about their frustration that the leader of the Reform party has appeared on the BBC far more times than any Liberal Democrats have. I heard the concern about trust expressed by the hon. Member for Hornchurch and Upminster (Julia Lopez), a former Minister, but several high-profile leaders of the BBC are former Conservative members or advisers. Many people who worked for the BBC are now prominent Conservatives on my local council. We are talking about the funding of the BBC. We will all be unhappy with its output at some stage, yet the public still put it higher than most news outlets and other broadcasters. On the issue of funding the organisation, which is still one of the best in the world, does the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) agree that if we put a subscription process in place, not everybody would take it up, which would drive up the subscription fee, and then the BBC would have an even bigger funding problem?

• 11 Dec 2024 · Responsibilities of Housing Developers · Hansard source

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  I would like to make two quick points. Constituents of mine who live in the Brockhill area have been waiting 20 years for roads and areas of grass to be adopted, for upkeep discussions to happen and agreements to be made. That has happened under both blue and red local administrations, so I do not think this is a party issue. This is about a system that has been failing residents for a very long time. Secondly, at the last election the Labour party proposed 1.5 million houses, but the hon. Member will remember that his party’s manifesto proposed 1.6 million houses. When we are talking about building houses that people need, we should also have honest discussions about the fact that homes will need to be built.

• 11 Dec 2024 · Financial Inclusion: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this important debate. I also represent a rural constituency, and one of the big problems is that many older-generation residents have lost their buses over the past 10 years—thousands of bus routes have been lost. Right now, some of my oldest residents in a rural area are facing the prospect of losing the 145 bus, which is their only connection to the banks that remain in the constituency. I hope the hon. Lady agrees that the Government’s recent extra funding will help us to protect those routes. I urge local councils not to risk older residents being cut off from key banking institutions.

• 27 Nov 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  The Northern Ireland Executive’s strategic framework to end violence against women and girls acknowledges the rise of online influencers who have a toxic influence on men and boys. Will the Minister provide an update on discussions she has had on sharing best practice on how to challenge these influencers and promote healthier and safer attitudes towards consent and relationships across the UK?

• 27 Nov 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  12. What discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on tackling violence against women and girls.

• 27 Nov 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) on securing this debate. This week in the main Chamber I highlighted the vital work carried out in my constituency by independent sexual violence advisers, who are on the frontline tackling increased violence against women and girls. However, not everyone is able to access support when they need it the most. Black and minoritised women, including women with disabilities and from LGBT+ communities, often face further barriers when reporting crimes to the police and accessing support from statutory services, including discrimination, language barriers or immigration status. There is a real need for lived experience to inform the designing of services to ensure that they are run by and for marginalised women, to provide the vital culturally specific support that is often lacking in mainstream services. That support is desperately needed because, for example, deaf women are twice as likely to experience domestic violence as hearing women, and deaf children are three times more likely to than their hearing peers. Many of the perpetrators of that violence are also deaf, meaning that survivors are often left isolated, even within their own community. SignHealth is the only by-and-for deaf domestic abuse service, and it provides all its support in British Sign Language. However, deaf domestic abuse services are generally small-scale, often with limited staffing and geographical reach—the ultimate postcode lottery. It is vital that deaf women and children have access to support from professionals who speak BSL as a first language, and I hope to see that sort of accessibility consideration in the Government’s plans for tackling violence against women and girls. Research from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner found that by-and-for services are six times less likely to receive statutory funding, which leads to minoritised women being locked out of support. They recommended that a minimum total of £178 million from the overall funding settlement is ringfenced for specialist services, led by and for marginalised women. I know that the Minster is the biggest champion we could have in the Department. I hope she will work with organisations such as Refuge to ensure that specialised services are available for all women.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Project Gigabit · Hansard source

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  First, I congratulate the hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) on securing this debate. From the comments made today, there seems to be consensus across the board about the challenges faced by our rural communities —challenges that are obstructing the growth of rural businesses and ensuring that some of the most vulnerable members of our community cannot reach key council and health services. Most importantly, as a constituent said to me on Saturday at my advice surgery, “How on earth am I meant to complain to you every day if I can’t connect to the internet?” My hon. Friend the Minister has kindly already visited my constituency to meet my constituents. He visited the fantastic Redditch town centre, but he knows that my constituency is overwhelmingly rural. Although picturesque, many villages can sometimes be labelled hard to reach. I would be interested to know what plans the Government have to support these more remote locations. It is vital that rural businesses that are developing every day, families who want to stay connected and people fighting social isolation have the level of connectivity they deserve. The benefits can be immense for all our communities. Progress has been made by the previous Government and by my own, Conservative-controlled Worcestershire County Council, but there is much more to do, and as my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Mr Charters) said, we really should not be having this conversation in five more years.

• 25 Nov 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister join me in thanking the incredible staff at the Sandycroft centre in my constituency, who offer life-saving support for vulnerable people in times of crisis? Will she visit the centre with me to hear from CEO Lee McKenzie and the independent sexual violence advisers, who are on the frontline tackling increased violence against women and girls?

• 25 Nov 2024 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  20. What support she is providing to local organisations to help tackle violence against women and girls.

• 21 Nov 2024 · Rural Bus Services · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Mr Speaker, for recognising my half-bob. My thoughts are with Lord Prescott’s family; he was one of the first politicians I met as a young student, and he certainly made an impression. May I congratulate the Secretary of State and the Minister on the £9.3 million investment in buses in Worcestershire? I represent a rural constituency where people have not been able to get to work, access health services or stay connected with friends and family. This investment may well make a real difference to their lives.

• 21 Nov 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The Leader of the House will remember that she brought the Labour party battle bus to Redditch. Thankfully, she did not need to hit any of the voters when she met them, but she will know that tempers are now fraying in Redditch because of the proposed closure of our post office. The Redditch Standard and its editor, Tristan Harris, are leading the campaign to persuade the Post Office to change its mind. However, Post Office officials are refusing to meet us, so will the Leader of the House suggest to them that, if there are no decisions to be made on closures, they should be happy to meet local MPs and campaign groups?

• 18 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister join me in congratulating the Royal British Legion for another highly successful poppy appeal, and the Redditch and Astwood Bank Royal British Legion for another record-breaking year?

• 14 Nov 2024 · Fly-tipping · Hansard source

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  I am afraid that I have to add to the litany of terrible statistics about fly-tipping in rural areas: there were over 1,500 incidents of rural fly-tipping in my constituency of Redditch, with only one fixed penalty notice given to an offender. Can the Minister tell us more about how she hopes to work with local authorities like mine to ensure that the people committing these crimes are brought to justice?

• 14 Nov 2024 · Fly-tipping · Hansard source

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  10. What steps his Department is taking to help tackle fly-tipping in rural areas.

• 14 Nov 2024 · Respiratory Health · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 14 Nov 2024 · Respiratory Health · Hansard source

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  Thank you for your chairmanship, Mr Rosindell. As an asthma sufferer, I know that one of the key elements of ensuring that we get the care we need is an annual survey with a clinician or GP about how our symptoms are either deteriorating or improving. I know many asthma sufferers who are not getting that annual review with their doctor. Some are going years without any sort of review of the deterioration of their symptoms. Given the really concerning number of people who die in this country from asthma attacks, is it not time that we did more to ensure that people get the yearly reviews they really need?

• 14 Nov 2024 · Respiratory Health · Hansard source

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  Yes, the west midlands posse is here. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his work to draw attention to the disgraceful scenes at Walleys Quarry. We are having a conversation about the health of the nation, in particular air quality and the impact on respiratory health, and there is no doubt in my mind that the years of lack of action on that site have had an impact on people’s health. That cannot be allowed to continue.

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

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord) on securing this important debate. I apologise for being an interloper from the west midlands, but it such an important debate that I want to add some thoughts. My hon. Friend has hit on an important point. As the father of a toddler, I struggle every day to ensure that he brushes his teeth. The gap in the number of registrations since covid is creating a generation of children who are not used to going to the dentist. We have to reverse that trend; otherwise, we will have huge problems as a society, having to treat teenagers and adults with severe dental problems who have never been to the dentist.

• 12 Nov 2024 · Tackling Image-based Abuse · Hansard source

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  I echo that point. When we see this abuse on social media, hear of it in discussions in our constituencies and, in particular, hear from young men—this horrifies me—about the number of men sharing these images, we have to challenge it. We must be strong on that and do more.

• 6 Nov 2024 · Furniture Poverty · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a valid point. At the time, I did not know that both my best friend’s parents had lost their job and had gone for months without work, which meant that their important savings were going towards keeping a roof above their head, rather than on a new washing machine. I remember suddenly not being able to visit my friend or to stay over. Later, I learned that that was because his bed was broken and he was too afraid to let me sleep over, as I would see him sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor. Only thanks to donations from family friends were the issues resolved. In those years, the economy was in a relatively good position. Now, in my constituency, almost 1,000 children will sleep without a bed. I am trying to be quick, but I will mention NewStarts, a community reuse social enterprise that was based in my county council division in Bromsgrove and has now opened a second branch with partners in my constituency in Redditch. For more than a decade, the chief executive Marion Kenyon, her staff and team of volunteers have provided free furniture, emergency food and household supplies to families and individuals in the greatest need, whether they are on low incomes or in financial crisis. Their dedication and compassion are unmatched. I look forward to visiting the branch next week. Their work, however, shows that furniture poverty is not an acute but a chronic problem, often the canary in the coal mine alerting us to many of the problems facing households. Furniture poverty is absolute. It is a heartbreaking indictment of how all of us in politics must do more to support those who need support the most. Many of the ways that we can support those people were listed by my hon. Friends the Members for North West Cambridgeshire, for Liverpool Riverside (Kim Johnson) and for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. I am happy to be a signpost. My excellent office team of Theresa Deakin and Monica Stringfellow are doing great work to link those who need support with existing organisations and funds, such as the household support fund, but that is not enough. I welcome the contents of the Renters’ Rights Bill, but it is time for a radical look at our welfare system and how we reward work and recognise when the system is not working. I am pleased that the Minister is present and that she has promised to reform our welfare system, but right now 10% of all adults live in furniture poverty. When I walk around my constituency, when I visit my schools and when I talk to careers advisers and teachers, it is the same children who are deeply affected by this issue. It is their life chances that we are talking about, and it is their dreams that have been broken by the fact that as a country we have not come to grips with this problem. I implore the Minister to act. She has been a hero of mine for many years, outside this House, but the children who will staff our NHS, who will be the next generation of teachers, and who will rebuild this country and fix our foundations, are the children that need the Government’s support now.

• 6 Nov 2024 · Furniture Poverty · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling) on securing the debate. I will share my experience and reaffirm my incredible admiration for my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales): every time he tells the story of his upbringing and the challenges that he has faced, I am grateful to consider him a colleague in the House and grateful that he has shared his message with the Chamber. I admit that I had a fortunate and comfortable childhood. I had a stable home with everything that I could ever need to do my homework, organise my things and get a good sleep—things that I shamelessly took for granted. It was not until I left primary school that I realised that many of my friends faced different challenges and experiences at home that I could not have even imagined at such a young age. It was then that I first understood the detrimental impact that furniture insecurity had on the lives of many of my friends. I remember visiting one of my closest friend’s houses for months, with the washing machine broken and their parents frantically hand-washing every evening while we played video games and ate pizza.