Damien Egan MP: speeches

Speeches

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

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  A painful lesson of Israeli and, indeed, Jewish history is that when someone says that they want to destroy them, we must believe them. The Iranian regime has made its intentions to destroy Israel clear for decades now. We will all be familiar with the term “never again”, which came out of the concentration camps of Europe. Does the Secretary of State agree that this is one of those moments where we can say that never again is now?

• 19 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. With the defence review coming, alongside the welcome extra investment in defence, how will things change so that more school leavers in Bristol can learn about the opportunities in the military and across Bristol’s wider defence sector?

• 12 May 2025 · Winter Fuel Payment: Means-testing · Hansard source

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  This morning, the Work and Pensions Committee was at the Welsh Assembly, where we heard from Wales’s Older People’s Commissioner as part of our pensioner poverty review. I was impressed that Wales has a role with real legal clout. From what we heard, it is making a difference for older people in Wales. Do Ministers agree that we should at least look at extending that to England and Scotland?

• 2 Apr 2025 · School-based Nursery Capital Grants · Hansard source

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  I would like to express my gratitude and welcome this news today. Two new nurseries will be opening in Bristol North East, the Tynings school in Staple Hill and Avanti Gardens in Fishponds, both areas that have lots of young families but not enough nursery provision. Can the Secretary of State reassure other families in Bristol North East and across the country that this announcement is just the start, and that under a Labour Government, we will see lots more nursery places opening?

• 2 Apr 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q4. Yesterday, the Work and Pensions Committee visited Manchester, where we saw the power of devolution in action, in this case helping people to find work. With just 5 percentage points separating Labour and Conservative candidates at the last mayoral election, does the Prime Minister agree that to get the maximum advantage from Labour’s devolution offer, the west of England needs an ambitious Labour mayor in Helen Godwin, for more jobs, to fix our buses and to get the homes we need built?

• 10 Mar 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill · Hansard source

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  I am very happy to be able to speak and to add my support to this Bill, and I appreciate the depth and ambition of the measures that have been brought forward. When I meet my local police officers in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, I see a committed group of men and women completely dedicated to public service, but I also see that morale is low. Police numbers in Avon and Somerset have fallen, with the number of PCSOs dropping from 424 in 2010 to 255 today. After 14 years of cuts, officers question if they are appreciated. For our police, I hope that this Bill is seen as a demonstration of the confidence that we have in them and the respect we have for the difficult job they do. I welcome the steps taken to let police get on with their jobs, including searching premises where phones are geolocated, confiscating illegal road bikes and introducing respect orders, as well as lifting the £200 cap on when officers will investigate shoplifting. There are also the new protections for shop workers such as the women I have met working in Boots in Kingswood and the PDSA—People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals—charity shop in Kingswood, which are just two of the shops blighted day in and day out by shoplifters. On a different aspect of the Bill, we have seen the struggles and confusion in relation to policing public order at protests. Protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, but we have seen examples of protests that have become hateful, have incited violence and have become violent. Fines for climbing on war memorials and banning face coverings will help maintain public order, and I hope the police know that they have our support to act when they see wrongdoing. As the Bill progresses, I would ask Ministers to consider how robust the exemptions are for face coverings, as they may be open to misuse. For example, the health exemptions could have very broad interpretations. On knife crime, officers in my patch certainly welcome the changes, but they are concerned about how unscrupulous knife manufacturers could adapt to selling knives that, while technically legal, still glamorise violence. In the past year, I have got to know a woman called Hayley Ryall, the mother of Mikey Roynon from Kingswood, who was tragically killed at a birthday party when he was stabbed by three young men in June 2023. Mikey was a beautiful young man, and he was just 16 when he was killed. With the ongoing trials of serious violence reduction orders in Thames Valley, the West Midlands, Merseyside and Sussex coming to their conclusion this year, Hayley has asked me when a decision will be made on the wider roll-out of serious violence reduction orders and when that will take place. All these measures will only have the full effect if we have the officers on our streets to police them. Avon and Somerset recently received a £27 million uplift in funding, and I look forward to seeing this money used for more recruitment and to support our existing officers. There is much to fix—we all know that—and these measures go a good way to putting the balance of power back towards law and order.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I really appreciate the point, but I think if hon. Members were to spend time and speak to work coaches—as they may have done—they would find that work coaches want, and are asking for, more of that information to be shared. It is also about trying to prevent people from committing fraud.

• 6 Mar 2025 · Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (Eighth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I want to make a few points, because I am worried that some Members are underestimating the level of fraud and the direction of travel, because it is only going up. The hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion is correct in a sense in saying that people voted for change and that fairness in the welfare system is one of the things they voted for, but part of that is about having confidence in the welfare system. People can see the level of fraud, and they want the Government to restore the balance so that it is less in favour of people committing fraud. I encourage those Members who are apprehensive about these elements to visit their local jobcentre. I did two visits at my local jobcentre in Kingswood; I had to go back because the work coaches had so many stories to tell. Members of the Work and Pensions Committee will have heard me say this before, but I spoke to two women: one had been there for 45 years and the other 41 years. They said the level of fraud is something that they have never seen before. I wish they were here now, because everything that they said about how we deal with it was about getting information from banks and other agencies and sharing that information on eligibility and combating fraud. I wanted to make those points and I encourage Members to speak to them.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Gaza · Hansard source

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  The issue of collaboration and infiltration between Hamas and some UNRWA officials is well documented. Clearly, people in Gaza need aid, so can the Minister update us on how we are monitoring the work being done to restore neutrality and confidence in UNRWA?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Undersea Infrastructure · Hansard source

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  23. What steps he is taking to protect critical undersea infrastructure.

• 10 Feb 2025 · Undersea Infrastructure · Hansard source

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  Our undersea cables are critical to the economy, public services and social order in this country. Given the hostile activity undertaken—the surveying of our cables—can Ministers give assurances that the full needs of our Navy will be reflected in the strategic defence review, so that we can defend our homeland security?

• 3 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  During covid, assessments for personal independence payments were moved either online or to over the phone. Today less than 5% of those assessments have returned to face-to-face, so what assessment have Ministers made of that change and are there any links with the rise in fraud?

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 29 January.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  This April the state pension will increase by £470 a year, and over the course of this Parliament it will increase by up to £1,900, benefiting millions of pensioners. Does the Prime Minister agree that means-testing the state pension would do severe harm, and will he confirm that this Government will always protect the state pension and the triple lock?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The BBC has a responsibility to share content that licence fee payers can trust, yet the Asserson report found widespread evidence of bias in the BBC’s reporting of the Israel-Hamas war, which, from what I can see, continues. What representations have been made to the BBC and Ofcom to ensure that impartiality is upheld in all areas?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I, too, thank the Foreign Secretary for his statement, particularly his words about how we break out of the cycles of violence, which many of us worry will be replicated in future, and move towards a peaceful future. This is a bitter-sweet deal, in many ways, because the reality is that overnight we have seen Hamas putting their uniforms back on, waving their rifles and celebrating. They are still there. One of their leaders said just this morning that they would do 7 October all over again; the international community must unite to ensure that they cannot, and to free the people of Gaza from Hamas. What steps can the Government take to change the reality for Hamas by stopping weapons from Iran and funding from states such as Qatar, and to promote genuine soul-searching and reflection among international agencies on the ground, to ensure that they are doing everything they can not to repeat mistakes or turn a blind eye to collaboration with Hamas?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Turkey has increasingly been threatening interventions beyond Syria. It has given shelter to Hamas and has announced a new programme to develop long-range weapons. As a fellow NATO ally, how will the Government work with Ankara to secure peace and stability in the middle east?

• 9 Dec 2024 · Syria · Hansard source

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  Members from across the House, including the Secretary of State, have talked about the religious and ethnic complexities of Syria. What does the Secretary of State make of those who are calling for a federal-type system in Syria? Should the Government be giving capacity and voice to those views and approaches?

• 2 Dec 2024 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  I recently met people living on the redeveloped Blackberry Hill hospital site in Fishponds, and they told me about the excessive and unfair leasehold charges that they face from their property management company, FirstPort. What assurances can the Minister provide that this Government will, once and for all, free people from the leaseholder system and end the rip-off fees?

• 2 Dec 2024 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  11. What steps she plans to take to reform the leasehold system.

• 19 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T6. On the doorstep in Bristol North East, people regularly talk to me about the difficulties they have getting a GP appointment. Will the Minister assure primary care services in my constituency, such as Kingswood health centre, that the Budget will help them and marks the first steps in transforming our NHS?

• 18 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  With our domestic air defences under increased scrutiny, will the Secretary of State update us on the work being done to strengthen them and give assurances that our Government understand that our forces will need the resources available to secure our skies?

• 11 Nov 2024 · Household Support Fund: Extension · Hansard source

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  19. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the extension of the household support fund in 2025-26 on low-income households.

• 11 Nov 2024 · Household Support Fund: Extension · Hansard source

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  Because the household support fund is devolved to local councils, there are lots of different examples of how the funding is spent, so how will the Minister ensure that the money from councils goes to the people who really need it?

• 4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. What does the extra funding outlined for children in the Budget mean for the growing number of foster children and children who need foster care?