Chris Vince MP: speeches 2024

Speeches

• 27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend not think it ironic that Conservative Members are talking about the mental health of students? They did not consider that when they made changes to the state system. As a former teacher, I know the massive impact on young people’s mental health of the Conservative party’s decision to move from lettered grades to numbered grades at short notice, to completely change the syllabus and not to provide the resources or textbooks that teachers needed to teach those courses.

• 26 Nov 2024 · Tobacco and Vapes Bill · Hansard source

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  I will not comment on how young I look, but I still get asked for ID when buying non-alcoholic wine. It is 10 years since the smoking ban came into operation and there are 1.9 million fewer smokers in the UK. Does that show the Secretary of State the difference that a Government that take the matter seriously can make?

• 25 Nov 2024 · Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill · Hansard source

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  Over the weekend, I watched my second favourite film. At the end, the main character, or at least the main character in my opinion, utters the immortal line that “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” When I consider the ending of tax exemption and charitable status for private schools, I often consider that line. We want all children to have the best chance in life to succeed, and 94% of children in the UK attend state school. Like every child, they deserve the highest quality of support and teaching. I also believe that ending the tax break on private schools will help to raise the revenue needed to fund our education priorities for the next year. But then I realised that the phrase “the needs of the many” does not quite cover it. The Conservative party talks about choice, but there are really only two reasons why parents would choose to pay tens of thousands of pounds each year to send their children to private school rather than state school—maybe three if they go to Eton. Those reasons are longer opening times and boarding facilities, and a lack of faith in local state provision. We want to take away the choice to go to private school, but not in the way that the Conservative party keeps parroting; we want to make state schools so good that no one feels the need to send their children to private school. There should be no necessity for private schools. I think all Members in the Chamber, even on the Opposition Benches, will acknowledge the issues with SEND funding in schools. It has been underfunded. I was lucky enough to visit Newhall primary school in my constituency on Friday. I saw the work it is doing to support its SEND students, even though it is not a specialist SEND school. However, it could only do that with a small number of students. Imagine what it could do with additional funding opportunities: it could help so many more. What many people fail to recognise is that these private schools have the choice to absorb some of the tax. We are not here to punish students or parents. Schools can choose to absorb some of the tax, in the same way that the state sector has been asked to do for the past 14 years.

• 25 Nov 2024 · Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill · Hansard source

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  It is very exciting to take my first intervention from an Opposition Member, but I think the right hon. Gentleman fails to recognise the point that I am trying to make. I am saying that we need to support the state sector to be as good as it possibly can so that parents do not feel the need to send their children to private school. The Conservatives groan when we mention the £22 billion black hole, but I do not even need to mention the £22 billion black hole—in fact, I will not mention the £22 billion black hole. What I will say, however, is that we have high streets that are already boarded up and school buildings left crumbling. I visit state schools in my constituency all the time and I see children of all ages and abilities full of compassion, intelligence and potential. I had the fantastic opportunity to visit St Mark’s Catholic school in my constituency again last Friday. The students asked fantastic questions. If they are listening now, I emphasise that they can aspire to achieve everything they want in life. However, classrooms are overfilled and underfunded. Paint is peeling off the walls, and some schools—not that particular school—have faulty heating. Despite all those things, the pupils could not be filled with more excitement or more desire to learn and understand. I can see that you are looking at me, Madam Deputy Speaker, so I had better get on. Labour is making the fair choice to support small business, to give every child the chance to succeed and to protect the public finances. I will finish with a line from my favourite film of all time, “A Matter of Life and Death”. At the beginning, David Niven says: “Politics: Conservative by nature, Labour by experience.” I am delighted that on 4 July, plenty of people went to the polls with that view.

• 25 Nov 2024 · Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the shadow Minister tell us how many state schools there are in his constituency, and whether he will talk so passionately about them when he talks about the decisions that this Government are making to support state schools?

• 25 Nov 2024 · Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that the Budget’s prioritisation of state schools should be welcomed? I have talked to teachers in Harlow and, under this Labour Government, they feel hope for the first time in 14 years. Is it not shocking that the Conservative party is still bemoaning the removal of tax exemptions from private schools, rather than focusing on the mainstream education attended by 96% of children?

• 20 Nov 2024 · Police Reform · Hansard source

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  When I spend time canvassing in my constituency of Harlow, as I often do, residents tell me that they do not see community police officers any more. In 2010, we had over 30 PCSOs for the whole of Harlow, but we now have four. Will the Minister set out how the safer streets mission will make residents in Harlow feel safer?

• 19 Nov 2024 · Primary Care: Patient Access · Hansard source

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  Does the Secretary of State agree that access to primary care is hugely important to supporting accident and emergency departments at hospitals like the Princess Alexandra in Harlow? Does he also agree that access to primary care is about not just GPs but dentists? Finally, what are the Government’s plans to support dental surgeries such as the aptly named Harlow dental surgery, which I visited last week?

• 19 Nov 2024 · Primary Care: Patient Access · Hansard source

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  8. What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of patient access to primary care services.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Bus Funding · Hansard source

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  May I take this opportunity to thank the Secretary of State for visiting the best town in the country, Harlow, this morning? I want to personally welcome the £17.8 million of funding for bus services in Essex, which is hugely important. Does she agree that the hidden benefit of improving our bus service in Essex will be to tackle social isolation, which is a particular issue in more deprived areas where there is no reliable bus service?

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

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  In 2017, a fire at Newgrange care home tragically caused the deaths of two elderly residents—Ivy Spriggs and Daphne Holloway. Legislation currently going through the House states that new care homes should have sprinkler systems, but it does not recognise the need for this to be applied retrospectively, for which Daphne’s daughter, Claire, has continued to campaign. Will this issue be considered in our upcoming debate on fire safety? Additionally, although I appreciate that care homes fall below the 18-metre height restriction, could they be included on the higher-risk register?

• 14 Nov 2024 · Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for giving way. I will take the opportunity to try to be a trailblazer for my constituency of Harlow, where we have some fantastic women representatives in the Church. I particularly pay tribute to the Rev. Jokey Poyntz, who during the terrible pandemic did so much to support residents in my constituency by delivering food parcels, and who continues to champion my community.

• 13 Nov 2024 · Educational Opportunities · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Mr Pritchard, for the opportunity to speak in this debate. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) for bringing this important discussion to the House. Like many who have spoken today, I am a former teacher, and I know of the huge impact that a child’s home life can have on educational attainment. I feel it is really important that when we talk about children’s educational attainment, we consider not only exam results, but the wider school experience—sometimes we call it the hidden curriculum. In my constituency of Harlow, there are pockets of high child poverty. Some 17.3% of children in Harlow live in low-income families compared with the Essex average of 12.8%, and we saw that during the terrible pandemic, in which nearly 8,000 families had food parcels delivered to them. This will have a huge impact on children—no child will be able to learn if they are hungry—and I welcome this Government’s pledge of free breakfast clubs in every primary school. As my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds South West and Morley (Mr Sewards) mentioned, I will speak about a specific group of young people who are often forgotten: young carers. Some 38% of young carers surveyed reported that they regularly miss school because of their caring situation. No young person can learn when they are not in school, and no one can focus with the anxiety of being away from those who they care for. I welcome the statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who has pledged to make young carers an integral part of the recently announced youth strategy, and I ask that young carers be a golden thread in any future educational reform. I recently had the privilege of inviting a group of young carers to Parliament. One young girl highlighted that when she rang up her university and said that she could no longer attend because of her caring commitment, she was not asked any follow-up questions. We also know that young carers are not classified as disadvantaged in education. Another young carer said that he felt there was no description that fitted him when he went to university. When he went on the university’s website, there was no description of a young carer that fitted his young caring abilities. I will finish with an ask. We know that this lack of awareness of young carers across education and universities needs to be recognised and responded to. I want to see young carer leads as a standard, not an exception.

• 12 Nov 2024 · National Youth Strategy · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Secretary of State’s important statement. I think we in this Chamber all agree that supporting the next generation of people in my town of Harlow and across the country is really important. May I make a plea to her? It is really important to hear young people’s voices in this process, but what steps will she take to make sure that young people who are often forgotten and left behind are heard? Having worked for a charity that supports young carers, I can say from personal experience that their voices must be heard as well.

• 12 Nov 2024 · House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the shadow Minister clarify his party’s position on House of Lords reform? We have heard two or three different views from the Conservative Benches. I remind him that, if we feel that hereditary peers are doing a good job, there is an opportunity for the leader of his party to give them life peerages.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Mr Speaker, for letting me speak. [ Interruption. ] Genuinely, thank you very much. It is your job, but I appreciate it. Two weeks ago, at my surgery, I met medically retired chief fire officer Rod Wainwright. Rod was one of the first attenders at the terrible tragedy of Grenfell seven years ago. Subsequently, he has been medically retired because of post-traumatic stress disorder. He did not get the support he asked for from the fire service and the in-house counselling was not enough, and he has subsequently had issues with his pension. Rod blames himself for not being able to save more people on that terrible evening. Does the Leader of the House agree that it is people like us, in this room, with suits on, who are to blame for the terrible tragedy of Grenfell, not heroes like Rod Wainwright? Does she agree that further debate needs to be had to support heroes like Rod?

• 31 Oct 2024 · Income tax (charge) · Hansard source

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  It is Halloween this evening, so I thought that I would come as the scariest thing that I could think of—I am wearing a blue tie. More seriously, thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak in this important debate. I also thank the Chancellor and the Treasury team, including the Exchequer Secretary, who is here today, for the incredible amount of hard work they put into the Budget. As a former councillor who served on a council that was Labour-controlled for nine of the 14 years of Conservative Government-imposed austerity, I know of the huge challenges involved in putting forward a progress budget, a forward-thinking budget and a budget that gives hope, at the same time as dealing with a gaping black hole in finances. However, as I often paid tribute to Harlow council’s finance lead, former councillor Mike Danvers, for balancing the books as well as protecting services and staff during those difficult times—something that the Conservative administration that followed were unable to do—I congratulate the Chancellor and her team on performing a miracle, frankly, with the Budget they have presented to the House. The Labour Government were elected on a manifesto that put economic growth and stability at its heart, recognising that anything else would continue the reckless legacy of the previous Government, and this Budget does just that. We were elected as a Government to make tough decisions and we have shown already that we will not shy away from those tough decisions. We were also elected on a manifesto that focused on fixing the foundations of our NHS, and I am pleased that we have a Budget that will allow my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to do just that. This Government are providing an additional £22.6 billion of resources to the NHS, delivering 40,000 elective appointments a week to make progress towards a commitment that patients should expect to wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment a reality. The capital investment in public services includes £1.5 billion to deliver capacity for more than 30,000 NHS procedures, over 1.25 million more diagnostic tests and new beds across the NHS. And there is £1 billion to reduce the backlog of crucial NHS maintenance, repairs and upgrades. The Government are investing £1.4 billion to help rebuild our schools; £1.2 billion pounds to deliver extra prison spaces; half a billion pounds to invest in local roads and deal with the dreaded potholes, which we will all be aware of; and £1 billion in new funding for extending the household support fund. However, Members will be unsurprised to know that, as the new chair of the all-party parliamentary group for young carers, although the carer’s allowance is not paid to young carers, I really welcome the fact that the carer’s allowance weekly earnings limit is being raised to improve financial security for carers and support them into work, or to allow them to work more hours if they choose: 16 hours a week, or £196 a week—a rise of £45. It was with real delight that I was messaged by a friend who suffers from cerebral palsy, to talk about the massive difference that will make to his family. He is going to buy me a pint, apparently, but he also pointed out that the pint will cost less.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Income tax (charge) · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Gentleman not think that there was quite a lot of waste under the previous Government? There were dodgy personal protective equipment contracts that did not result in money being spent on PPE. Is that the sort of waste our Government should claw back?

• 31 Oct 2024 · Income tax (charge) · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 31 Oct 2024 · Income tax (charge) · Hansard source

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  Do you not think the fact that you are supporting all the spending commitments but none of the tax rises is the reason that the Lib Dems will never be in government—

• 31 Oct 2024 · Income tax (charge) · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for giving way on two occasions. I would not normally intervene on a speech twice, but he referred to a hospital in my constituency: the Princess Alexandra. Although he and I may have political differences, I welcome the opportunity to talk about the Princess Alexandra hospital as often as possible. Does he recognise that part of the delay has been caused by the funding not being there for the new Princess Alexandra hospital, and does he recognise the work that I have done in lobbying the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who has committed to a new hospital but recognises the challenges, because the funding was just not provided for by the previous Government?

• 31 Oct 2024 · Income tax (charge) · Hansard source

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  I have cut down on my drinking now, so it does not help me as much as it would have done in the past, but I am delighted that we have done that, and delighted with the many achievements that we announced yesterday. However, this is just the start. We know that rebuilding our economy, our public services and our country will take time, but I know—this Budget confirms it—that under this Labour Government we have the leadership and the will to make life better for everyone in our society, not just the privileged few.

• 31 Oct 2024 · Income tax (charge) · Hansard source

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  I welcome his welcoming—I am sorry to repeat the word—of investment in schools that have RAAC. Does he agree that the time for the Government to spend money on repairing those schools was when Essex county council recognised the issue of RAAC in our schools in 2012? Had the Conservative Government done so, we would not be in the situation that we are in now.

• 23 Oct 2024 · Rough Sleeping · Hansard source

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  Thank you for allowing me to speak in this important debate, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) for securing it, and the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for his contribution. As I have said in this place before, I spent two years working for a homeless charity in my constituency called Streets 2 Homes. My role was to locate people who had been reported as rough sleeping and help them to find long-term, secure tenancies. This issue is therefore close to my heart, and I hopefully have relevant experience in it. I will start by talking about some of the issues I have experienced, and then I will suggest a few solutions. I am pleased that the Labour Government have introduced two important Bills: the Renters’ Rights Bill, which will ban no-fault evictions, and the Employment Rights Bill, which will give greater security in work. They will address at least some of the causes of rough sleeping, but there is still much more to do. First, we need to look at the causes of homelessness. Many of the people I supported suffered from alcohol and drug addictions. All, to some extent, suffered mental health issues, which were either responsible for or caused by their homelessness. In Harlow, we had the added complication that other councils, of all political colours, housed their most vulnerable people in our borough. That meant that, if they were evicted from their accommodation, there was a limit to the amount of support that the local authority could give them. National issues such as the cost of living crisis and the covid pandemic also had an impact on homelessness. Although I recognise that the previous Government did some work on this issue, including providing Rough Sleeping Initiative funding—I have to declare an interest, because that partly funded my previous role—they put the onus on local authorities, which are already stretched to capacity. That funding is due to run out in spring 2025. I know the Labour Government will take rough sleeping seriously, and I thank the Minister for attending the debate. We need cross-departmental work to tackle this issue. The National Housing Federation has repeatedly called for more housing, but part of the issue in Harlow is that accommodation that is categorised as supported does not provide sufficient support for the most vulnerable people who need it, which leads to issues with their tenancy, and sometimes results in their eviction. It is important that the official homeless count does not miss anyone out: women are often missing from the rough sleeper count, and it must also include the hidden homeless. The hon. Member for Strangford made a really good point about them—we used to refer to them as sofa surfers, since they had a sofa to stay on and were not officially rough sleeping, but they were actually homeless and needed additional support. My hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall is right that we should be proud of the previous Labour Government’s record in tackling this issue, and it falls upon the new Labour Government to tackle the increasing number of rough sleepers in the UK. I believe that the only way to truly tackle many of the issues we face is to be proactive and tackle the root causes of homelessness and rough sleeping.

• 21 Oct 2024 · Taxi Licensing: Deregulation Act 2015 · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to say that different authorities have different standards. One issue is not being licensed in the authority where that taxi operates.