Chris Coghlan MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 7 Jul 2025 · SEND Provision: London Borough of Barking and Dagenham · Hansard source

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  I was moved by the speech just made by the hon. Member for Dagenham and Rainham (Margaret Mullane) and heartened to hear about the effectiveness of SEND provision in Barking and Dagenham. It is so important that we have effective examples of that in the country—particularly at the moment, when the Government are considering their national SEND provision. It was encouraging for me to hear that. From my experience in my constituency, a vital part of what we have to do is tackling the culture of dishonesty that certainly exists in my local authority—I do not know about elsewhere. That culture is a key barrier to effectively addressing SEND provision. The issue could not be more serious. Constituents of mine—suicidal children with autism—are repeatedly denied the support that is their right. Desperate parents come to me, their MP, trying to beg the council to do its duty. The level of dishonesty is hard to exaggerate. Surrey has the highest level of complaints to tribunals in the country. It covered that up for over 14 months from its own internal council scrutiny committees. The county council leader then denied that in a formal written response to the Liberal Democrat Members of Parliament in Surrey. The council’s next trick, as reported by ITV, was to reclassify complaints as “inquiries”, to try to manipulate its complaints volumes. It then denied that there was a problem at all and said that the problem was, in fact, that Surrey parents are “too articulate”. Most recently, the county council leader said in the annual general meeting that “the vast majority” of Surrey SEND parents have a good experience of SEND. That was despite them suppressing for six months a survey of 1,000 SEND parents in which only 16% said that they trusted the county council on SEND and only 21% said that they trusted case officers to act in the best interests of their child. It is a matter of extreme concern for me that the Government are putting so much faith in local authorities on SEND reform when, certainly in my case, they are so manifestly dishonest. I am particularly worried about Surrey, because the county council leader is chairman of the County Councils Network and so has major influence over SEND reform across the country. I am also worried about the fact that local authorities are saying that the way to solve the SEND crisis is to water down parents’ right to apply for an EHCP. There are many things wrong with the SEND system, but that is the one thing parents do have confidence in. It may take far too long to get an EHCP, but at least they have their legal rights and can go to tribunal. I desperately hope that the Government are not going to water down their commitments and that they will respond to the call of my hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) for an investigation into Surrey county council. Only then will my constituents be able to get the justice that they deserve and the opportunities that they desperately need.

• 30 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Do the Government know if the US Government are still providing technical military intelligence support, such as electronic or imagery intelligence for Ukraine? If that were cut off by President Trump, would the Americans effectively restrict our British military technical intelligence support to Ukraine?

• 23 Jun 2025 · Access to GPs · Hansard source

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  The big issue in my constituency is that I have constituents who are on the point of qualifying as GPs, but they do not have jobs as GPs to go into. What do the Government plan to do as part of their 10-year plan to fix the issue that we have people qualifying as GPs who do not have GP jobs to go into?

• 23 Jun 2025 · Access to GPs · Hansard source

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  On that point, 4,000 residents in Westvale Park, a new housing development in my constituency, were promised a GP, and they had legally binding section 106 agreements in place. The construction money is there for a GP surgery, but the NHS has not provided the operational funding required for a GP. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the NHS should be providing the operational funding for new GP services on housing developments, and that the entire Government case for new housing developments is undermined if this infrastructure is not provided?

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  While I deplore the alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza, that should not cloud our view of the Iranian regime. As a British diplomat covering Syria, I saw how the Iranian regime was directly complicit in the torture and murder of hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians. I was a British soldier in Iraq in 2020, and the British Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon was killed by the Iranians a few months before I arrived. There have been too many catastrophic British foreign policy decisions in the middle east this century, so I commend the Foreign Secretary for his commitment to a realist and hard-headed approach. Does he agree that the first question for any policy choice should be: where does it all end?

• 11 Jun 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source

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  As the Chancellor knows, our economy will only escape its difficult place if we raise economic productivity. On the Treasury Committee, I introduced the Chancellor to London Business School’s Paolo Surico’s research on how using public R&D, and especially defence spending, can help us to do that. In the spring statement, the Government used Professor Surico’s research to upgrade long-term GDP forecasts by £11 billion a year—that is how we pay for it. I strongly welcome the Government’s commitment to investing in public R&D in the spending review, but how will the Chancellor follow through to ensure that the R&D will be used to crowd in and stimulate public investment—especially from the more innovative, high-tech start-ups and venture capital firms—which is necessary to realise the potential of Professor Surico’s research?

• 2 Jun 2025 · Vehicle Nuisance · Hansard source

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  Many residents in my constituency complain about motorcycle noise from illegally modified exhausts. Can the Home Secretary inform me of her plans to help local police and local authorities address this nuisance?

• 19 May 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend. As he knows, in my maiden speech eight months ago I pledged that Fiona Laskaris would succeed in changing the law that had prevented her from saving her autistic son, Christopher, from murder. Fiona is here today. Despite pleading for years, she was never able to obtain a mental capacity assessment for her son. As we heard from the Secretary of State, the Government are now seriously looking at an amendment that would both honour Christopher’s legacy and save lives. Does my hon. Friend support that amendment?

• 19 May 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Eight months ago, in my maiden speech to Parliament, I said that Fiona Laskaris would succeed in changing the law that prevented her from saving her autistic son, Christopher, from murder. I am here today to honour that commitment. We are on the cusp of changing the law. We have got this far thanks to the National Autistic Society; MPs from across the Chamber working together to overcome injustice, including the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt), the hon. Member for Rother Valley (Jake Richards), the right hon. Member for Leeds South (Hilary Benn) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey); steadfast support from my party, the Liberal Democrats, and support from the Prime Minister and the Government, in a way that represents Parliament at its best; and Elisa Menendez and Romilly Weeks from ITV, who ran the story. Above all, we got this far because of the courage and determination of Fiona Laskaris to save others from the fate that befell her son, Christopher. Fiona and Cara, Christopher’s sister, are in the Gallery. Christopher was not unlike many autistic children. He was a sensitive, intelligent, loving and compassionate boy, who once asked his mum to stop on the way to school to rescue a lamb that was stuck in a fence. I first met Fiona when I was eight. I stayed in my bedroom and ignored her, perhaps because I was angry that she was buying my home off my dad; my mum had died when I was a few months old, and I was a sensitive boy. Well, they moved in; Christopher grew up in my old bedroom, and he loved the house as much as I did, but as a young man living alone in Leeds, he struggled. Despite Fiona pleading for help for years, she was never able to attain for him the mental capacity assessment that he needed to determine his support requirements. Horrifically, he was exploited and murdered by a man who had just been released from jail. Christopher was 24. We are working with the Government on an amendment to the Bill to ensure that the views of family members are considered when determining an adult’s requirements for a mental capacity assessment. Christopher’s story is not unique. King’s College London found that in 2022 alone, there were 95 preventable deaths of people with autism and learning disabilities in cases in which the Mental Capacity Act 2005 had not been correctly followed. It can be hard to grasp the scale of the special educational needs and disabilities crisis in this country, but tens of thousands of SEND children are out of school, including 1,800 in Surrey alone. We are losing autistic children, including my constituent Jennifer Chalkley, to avoidable suicide, and, at worst, we are abandoning autistic people in their 20s to murderers; we are failing a generation. How we answer their call for justice will serve as a measure of who we are, and I believe the answer is less a matter of money than of leadership. We know from Nobel laureate James Heckman that early intervention is exponentially more effective and economical in today’s brutalised system, which has cost the lives of Christopher, Jennifer and too many others. Although this amendment is only a small part of the answer, it can save lives. If one grieving mother can change the law, perhaps we can change the other things, too. If we succeed, it will be above all because of the voices of broken but unbeaten parents, like Fiona, demanding change. Although Christopher had a difficult life, he had the most precious thing that any man can have: a loving and devoted mum. It is up to us to ensure that Fiona is a witness that in our country, it is possible for the vulnerable to be heard, for injustice to be overcome, and to find, beyond grief, hope.

• 26 Mar 2025 · Spring Statement · Hansard source

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  I declare an interest as an alumnus of London Business School. The Chancellor will recall that in November, when she came to the Treasury Committee, I asked her to look at a London Business School paper on using specific public R&D on defence spending to boost economic growth. I was delighted to hear that the Treasury did evaluate that paper by Professor Paolo Surico as part of the spring statement, and has listened to me and the Liberal Democrats. Does the Chancellor agree that using defence spending focused on public R&D is one way to not only keep us safe, but raise productivity and boost economic growth?

• 24 Mar 2025 · Male Suicide in Rotherham · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for securing this debate. I am working closely with him on the Mental Health Bill. Does he agree that one issue for families who are worried about their loved one is that when they are over the age of 18, there can be barriers in law in terms of the presumption of capacity and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 when it comes to raising the alarm with public authorities?

• 3 Mar 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  US security guarantees for any peace agreement in Ukraine are of course highly desirable, but given that the US Defence Secretary appeared to explicitly rule them out, we must of course consider other scenarios, and those guarantees should not be a show-stopper. With that in mind, European NATO GDP alone is 10 times the size of Russia’s, yet Russia spends $40 billion more annually on the war in Ukraine than Ukraine and her western allies do. Does the Prime Minister agree that if we were to close and exceed that gap today—perhaps by seizing the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets—Ukraine would have a credible path to victory and a just peace?

• 3 Mar 2025 · New Housing: Access to Health Services · Hansard source

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  Westvale Park in my constituency is a new housing development of 1,500 homes. Its residents have been waiting seven years for a GP surgery, and the existing GPs cannot expand their capacity. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how we can ensure that Westvale Park gets the GP surgery it has been promised, as well as the other associated infrastructure and primary healthcare services for new developments across my constituency?

• 3 Mar 2025 · New Housing: Access to Health Services · Hansard source

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  1. What steps she plans to take to ensure that new housing developments have adequate access to primary health services.

• 27 Feb 2025 · War in Ukraine: Third Anniversary · Hansard source

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  I thank the other hon. Members who took part in the visit to Ukraine for their powerful speeches. I share their emotions about the visit. Last Saturday was particularly emotional for me because I visited a recovery centre for wounded soldiers in Ukraine. I met a soldier called Volodymyr, who had lost both his legs in a drone strike on his vehicle. His comrades had tried to rescue him four times, but each time they were turned back by drone attacks. His tourniquets held and, after nine hours, they eventually got him out. His spirit was unbroken. Hearing his story and seeing his courage was inspiring. We in Parliament and the British armed forces have enormous respect for everything that the Ukrainian armed forces have achieved. Ukrainians continue to make an enormous sacrifice, yet every Ukrainian I met told me that they do not want Trump’s proposed ceasefire. They want to fight on, because they are fighting to win. Their choice to fight, and our choice to support their fight, is not warmongering; rather, it is the choice to save lives. Putin breaks ceasefires. He will regroup, attack again and kill even more. The only acceptable terms are those under which Ukraine is victorious. Russia is vulnerable now; in the past six months, it has failed to retake its territory in Kursk, and has suffered over 200,000 casualties to advance just 50 km in eastern Ukraine—4,000 casualties per kilometre —largely because Ukraine is out-producing it in drones. Ukraine has a clear path to victory. European NATO GDP alone is 10 times the size of Russia’s. However, we are not converting that economic strength into military power. Russia is still spending $40 billion more annually on the war than Ukraine and her western allies. If we close that gap and exceed that spend by seizing the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets, Ukraine will win. Trump’s proposed ceasefire would free up 750,000 battle-hardened Russian troops, who could crash into the Baltic states and achieve Putin’s dream of restoring the Soviet Union. It is far better to defeat Russia in Ukraine than end up directly at war. We cannot trust Trump to defend Ukraine, and we cannot trust him to defend us, so we must rearm. With article 5 in doubt, the smaller democracies, including the United Kingdom and Ukraine, must consider a new western alliance that is strong enough for us to defend ourselves together. It was particularly moving to see Volodymyr because his sacrifice is also on our behalf. In fact, many Ukrainians reminded me that they were comparing their sacrifice to our sacrifice in 1940, when it was our country’s responsibility to defend democracy during our darkest hour. We would do well to remember that legacy as we consider the fate of not just Ukraine but the free world.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  indicated assent .

• 11 Feb 2025 · Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his remarks and for supporting our amendment 3. We tabled that amendment because, when the Bill was first debated, the Minister spoke about it enhancing the resolution regime in response to the failure of small banks. We believe that that is appropriate. I guess it is an assessment of risk between mission creep—whether we allow this mechanism to apply to larger banks, with the risk of unnecessary costs falling on banks—and, as the Minister says, having an additional mechanism available in the event of a bank failure. I have a few things to say on that. First, if the MREL capital of a bank is exhausted, frankly, we are probably looking at a public bailout in any case. I am sceptical whether the additional mechanisms in the Bill would absolve the taxpayer from needing to bail out the bank, so the risk of the Bank of England going beyond the intention of the Bill by imposing additional costs on banks seems to be higher than that. The hon. Member for Wyre Forest is right about the need for speed. I should declare that I was a hedge fund manager during the Lehman collapse in 2008—I did not cause it—and I saw, first, how fast it happened, and secondly, that the consequences of not bailing out Lehman were far worse than they would have been had the US Government bailed them out. For me, that prompts the question why, 16 years later, we are looking at this mechanism being an effective device to prevent banking collapses, when a whole raft of reforms made from 2009 through to 2012—so the evidence would suggest, at least—have been effective, in that we have not had any bank failures in the UK since that date, as far as I am aware. For those reasons we tabled amendment 3, but to the point made by the hon. Gentleman, I think the Government might be better served by doing a full review of banking regulation in the UK overall and assessing whether it is indeed effective in preventing the risk of a banking collapse, rather than tacking on small mechanisms beyond the intention of an existing Bill. We will therefore press our amendment to a vote.

• 11 Feb 2025 · US Global Public Health Policy · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. Does he agree that one lesson from the pandemic is that the last thing countries should do is withdraw from organisations such as the World Health Organisation and reduce international co-operation, given the risk of a future pandemic at some point?

• 27 Jan 2025 · Fiscal Policy: Defence Spending · Hansard source

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  I would like to see slightly more humility from all political parties on the subject of defence spending. [ Interruption. ] Thank you. The Minister is right that defence spending was cut under the coalition, but we are in a different world now, with a great power attacking Europe. I would also like to inform him that one of my best friends, Captain David Hicks MC, was killed in Afghanistan in 2007, in part because of the atrocious level of military kit provided to our armed forces there. So I think all political parties need to reflect on their records.

• 27 Jan 2025 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  Every headteacher in Dorking has told me that early intervention is vital for our special needs children. The London Business School told me that hiring people with special educational needs can be a source of competitive advantage for companies. Does the Minister agree that those principles could be the basis of a more financially sustainable and compassionate special educational needs system, and could avoid tragedies such as that of my constituent Jennifer Chalkley, who tragically lost her life aged 17 due to inadequate SEND provision?

• 27 Jan 2025 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  11. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that SEND provision is adequately funded.

• 20 Jan 2025 · Office for Value for Money · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member on her excellent chairing of our Committee and on this excellent report. Given that the Office for Value for Money has only 20 staff and only 12 in post, whereas the NAO has 1,000, I share her concerns about whether it will be able to deliver value for money. What additional steps would she like to see taken to reassure the Committee that this body can offer value for money?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to my hon. Friend as Sara’s MP for raising the horror that has taken place. Of course, I agree that data sharing between public authorities is vital to ensure that such a case does not happen again. But it is not enough, and, alone, it will not prevent the catastrophic and systematic negligence of Surrey county council. This is the same department that had the highest number of statutory breaches relating to children reported to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for over two years. The department covered information up from its own county council and scrutiny committee for more than 14 months, and only disclosed it when my five Liberal Democrat Surrey MP colleagues and I publicly called it out. Surrey county council objectively contributed to the deaths of Jennifer Chalkley, Oskar Nash and Sara Sharif by ignoring existing legislation.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  As a father of three little girls, I find much to welcome in the Bill. Part 1 speaks to improving children’s social care and I particularly support the provisions on accommodation for looked-after children. The whole country was saddened and shocked by the murder of Surrey child Sara Sharif. Sadly, there are other stories in Surrey that also need to be heard. Jennifer Chalkley, from Bookham in my constituency, started college in September 2021. She was 17 and had been diagnosed with autism and ADHD. One month later, she was dead from suicide. Last year, her coroner concluded that her death was avoidable. It had been a multi-agency failure, including a failure by the children, families and lifelong learning department at Surrey county council, according to the coroner’s report, “to ensure that Jennifer’s Education, Health and Care Plan contained sufficient and updated information about…her risk of suicide”. Oskar Nash, another Surrey child with autism, was 14 when he walked on to a railway line near Egham in January 2020. Last year, his coroner concluded that his death was avoidable. Again, it was a multi-agency failure, including a failure by the children, families and lifelong learning department at Surrey county council, again, according to the coroner’s report, “To ensure that Oskar’s Educational, Health and Care Plan contained sufficient…information” about his suicidal thoughts. Then there is Sara Sharif, who was murdered in 2023 by her father and stepmother. The executive director at the children, families and lifelong learning department at Surrey county council dismissed any accountability, saying in a statement that “the perpetrators went to extreme lengths to conceal the truth from everyone.” There were bruises and burn marks, and reports of a child being punched all over her body. There were 15 reports over 10 years to Sara’s school and to social services. How is that going to “extreme lengths” to conceal the truth from anyone?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  I fully agree with my hon. Friend. Surrey county council failed to abide by existing legislation, so how on earth are we meant to believe that new legislation alone will be enough? I share his concerns about Claire. I know from my constituents that there are children in Surrey who are at risk right now. That is why I am speaking today. This morning, Jennifer Chalkley’s mother, Sharon, texted me to say: “Even though you didn’t get to meet Jen, her story is a powerful one and needs sharing to save other young lives. I raised Jen to be the change you want to see in the world and she’s still doing this.” I replied, “She will be”. I ask the House to consider this: is this Bill alone enough to save our children’s lives, or does the children, families and lifelong learning department at Surrey county council also need root and branch reform immediately?