Daniel Francis MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 17 Dec 2025 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

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  Five years ago, the Conservative-controlled council in the London borough of Bexley found itself in such a dire situation that it sought a capitalisation order, made 15% of staff redundant and had to sell a building because it could not even fund the redundancy notices. [ Interruption. ] For the Conservative Members chuntering, that is a real example of there being “no money left”. Will the Minister contrast the announcement she has made today with the approach taken by the previous Government?

• 16 Dec 2025 · Electoral Resilience · Hansard source

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  I echo colleagues’ comments regarding social media sites. In Bexleyheath and Crayford, we have seen more and more examples of anonymous users, particularly on Facebook, spreading disinformation not just at election time, but also to undermine trust and faith in public bodies outside election time. As well as the review, will the Secretary of State give us assurances about how we can continue to work with colleagues across Government to look at these issues, and at how foreign interference is playing its part in them?

• 9 Dec 2025 · Railways Bill · Hansard source

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  Southeastern was nationalised under the previous Government, and it remains nationalised under this Government, but this year, it has been brought into one organisation with Network Rail, and there has been the best customer satisfaction for my constituents in Bexleyheath and Crayford, and the best journey times you could see. Southeastern is at the forefront of this programme, so does the hon. Member agree that the proof is in Southeastern’s statistics?

• 9 Dec 2025 · Railways Bill · Hansard source

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  I draw attention to my role as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for wheelchair users. I rise to support the measures in the Railways Bill. I know that the measures will be supported by my constituents, who predominantly travel from the four train stations of Barnehurst, Bexleyheath, Slade Green and Crayford, which are all located in my constituency. Three of those stations are solely served by Southeastern, with the benefits of nationalisation beginning to be seen on the service. For instance, in a new timetable that will take effect next week, the Bexleyheath line will see both additional evening services and increased capacity to Victoria at weekends. I appreciate that more remains to be done, and I will continue to campaign for improvements. I have a long-standing interest in these matters, having served for four years as a member of the board of London TravelWatch—or, as it is technically known as and referred to in the Bill, the London Transport Users Committee. That experience lives with me, and it is the reason why I support the Bill. On far too many occasions at board meetings, I heard excuses from train operating companies and Network Rail blaming each other for issues relating to punctuality. That led to the lunacy of hundreds of staff being employed to establish who should cover the cost of delays. Earlier this year, we saw the Southeastern and Network Rail Kent route unite under a single leadership team to form South Eastern Railway. The partnership is delivering improvements, with increased customer satisfaction and reduced cancellations. Initiatives include shared planning, daytime track access without service disruption, and trials of drone and AI technology. I welcome the measures included in the Bill to help ensure that the railway is made more accessible for all. Hon. Members will have heard my tales of my experience using public transport as the parent of a wheelchair user and my requests for the introduction of a National Rail accessibility app. I am therefore delighted that the Secretary of State has named accessibility as one of the six key objectives for the railway. Having one national operator, rather than competing operators, will improve the assistance offered and the simplification of ticketing for disabled passengers. Importantly, paragraph 49 in schedule 3 to the Bill will amend the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that the public sector equality duty applies to GBR. I welcome the Government’s road map to an accessible railway based around seven priority themes. Finally, I welcome the establishment of an expanded passenger watchdog, having served on the board of London TravelWatch and having worked alongside Transport Focus on some aspects of joint working during that time. Those changes in London to the London Transport Users Committee include the expansion of the current role for my constituents, which will see a “particular regard to the interests and needs” of disabled people. For the reasons I have outlined, I look forward to voting against the amendment this evening and voting in favour of the Bill on Second Reading.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Grove Park Railway Station · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. Like Hither Green, Grove Park is a station that my constituents in Crayford need to change at to reach Bromley North, so they would welcome improvements. Will she join me in calling for a national rail accessibility app that people could use when planning their journey? It would show which stations were accessible, where lifts were working, and where there were accessible toilets.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Grove Park Railway Station · Hansard source

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  Southeastern serves the stations in my constituency, like those in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East, and those enhancements include a number of Changing Places toilets for people with disabilities who require them. I therefore reaffirm the point I made to my hon. Friend. The Changing Places consortium has a map that shows its toilets around the country, and Transport for London has an accessibility app that shows where lifts are working and which stations are accessible. Can the Minister look at how we can bring those two together in the Railways Bill so that stations can be truly accessible, with real-time information for passengers?

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I thank my constituency neighbour for giving way. Page 104 of the Budget document confirms capital investment to fix potholes and capital investment for the lower Thames crossing to the east of my constituency and the DLR extension to Thamesmead to the west of my constituency. Will she join me in thanking the Chancellor for that capital investment for our constituencies?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Unpaid Carers: Inequalities · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) for securing the debate and support the asks that she has made of the Minister. It was a pleasure to join her, carers, Ministers and colleagues last night at the “State of Caring” report launch and it is a pleasure to support Carers Rights Day today. No one expects to become a carer. It is not something we set out in our plans for the future or our lifetime goals. It usually happens because a loved one falls ill, or, as in my family, because a child has a complex disability, identified early on in life. The burden of care usually falls on women. It is absolutely right that we acknowledge that and discuss today the huge inequalities they face. One of my children has quadriplegic cerebral palsy. My wife and I decided to give up full-time work in 2016, the year my daughter had 110 medical and physiotherapy appointments, to job share the care components at home while we both worked part time. I accept that the majority of the burden has fallen on my wife over the years. Although we have not been in poverty, it did at that point leave a subsequent hole in our finances, with difficult decisions about the things we could no longer do. Those are the decisions that so many carers make, and they have a wider impact on the economy. My day started, as it does the majority of days, at 6.15 this morning. I was changing a 12-year-old’s nappy before getting her dressed, fed and putting her in a wheelchair ready for the school bus to come and collect her. There is complexity at the other end of the day, too. This afternoon and tomorrow night, my wife and I will be doing rotas, as we normally do, to work out who is doing the care at the other end of the day. Real pressures are caused by the shortage and affordability of paid carers to support the many families across the country that experience what we do daily. I strongly welcome the announcement yesterday from the Department for Business and Trade on the terms of reference for the review of employment rights for unpaid carers, and the comments made by the Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade, my hon. Friend the Member for Halifax (Kate Dearden), at last night’s reception. The review will allow engagement from carers, employers and trade unions to understand how the existing unpaid carer’s leave entitlement is working; to examine options for different models of paid carer’s leave; to consider the options and principles for additional interventions; and to identify options with low or no cost to business and the Exchequer, and the appropriate routes for implementation. I thank my right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability for visiting my constituency back in May, when he met representatives of local charities —Carers Support Bexley, Bexley Mencap, Age UK Bexley, Citizens Advice Bexley, Irish Community Services, Bexley Voice, Bexley Deaf Centre, Inspire Community Trust and Bexley Voluntary Service Council —to discuss the support they give to carers through respite, equipment provision and, notably, access to financial guidance. I have worked with those groups for many years, both as a councillor and a carer, and I thank them for all they do to support my constituents across Barnehurst, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Northumberland Heath and Slade Green. At that roundtable, they set out how they are trying to provide financial support and introduce new innovative ways of working, which I know the Minister will have taken away and be looking at in detail. I also thank two other local charities, Crossroads Care South East London and Evergreen Care, for their work supporting my constituents, and I pay tribute to carers across my constituency. As a parent collecting my child outside the gates of respite care, I know those parents. I am not just their MP; I have worked with them for many years. They may bring their cases to me, but they are my friends and fellow carers, and I pay tribute to them for all they do in very challenging circumstances. Lastly, I have a few asks for the Minister. I hear what my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley said about the cycle of issues facing carers. We were lucky because we were working part-time in occupations that paid enough of an hourly rate to keep us going, but carers can face a cycle of poverty. They can also face health conditions as a result of being a carer. I am still lifting a 12-year-old around my house, which is still not fully accessible; she will never walk. We need to face those issues burdening carers, and the support in the 10-year-health plan will help with that. In Parliament, we are employers too. We have a good ParliCare network for parliamentary staff, but we must always be setting an example. In Parliament, and through the ParliCare network, we as Members and employers must do all we can to demonstrate that we will support carers and that we expect others in the country to do the same.

• 20 Nov 2025 · Unpaid Carers: Inequalities · Hansard source

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  I do not expect an answer now, but can I also ask the Minister to take away a point about the complexity of some of these disabilities? Sometimes people are under several different consultants in several different hospitals, perhaps for a neurological condition, for their sight, for epilepsy and so on. I am thinking about both the complexity of the different apps, and different parts of apps, used by different NHS trusts and hospitals, and the complexity of the distances travelled —it is the carer who manages all those aspects. How can we take that away and support the carer in managing the care of the person for whom they are caring?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Children with Serious Neurological Conditions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. Today, on Carers Rights Day, will my hon. Friend join me, as the parent of a child with a neurological condition, in paying tribute to all carers and charities for their work in supporting families like the family in his constituency?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Children with Serious Neurological Conditions · Hansard source

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  Transition is a key issue for families in this area. In the last Parliament, the all-party parliamentary group on cerebral palsy issued recommendations about health pathways for adults, because for a lot of these conditions, including cerebral palsy, there are not the same health frameworks for adults as there are for children. Will the Minister take that point away and look at how we can replicate some of the pathways that are there for children in the adult sector?

• 17 Nov 2025 · Asylum Policy · Hansard source

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  I thank the Home Secretary for her statement on controlling our borders, which I know will be welcomed by the majority of constituents across Bexleyheath and Crayford. In recent months, we have seen our police and enforcement officers, particularly in Crayford, carrying out raids and working to arrest people working here illegally. Can the Home Secretary set out how the measures announced today will continue that work to tackle people who are working here illegally?

• 12 Nov 2025 · SEND Provision: Kent · Hansard source

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  Oh, no—he is slightly older than me. [ Laughter. ] It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. My constituency borders Kent, and we also have a safety valve programme, as well as an Ofsted judgment of “systemic failings”, so children in my constituency, who cross that border, experience similar issues. Will my hon. and learned Friend join me in encouraging the Minister to look, as part of the reforms, at how these issues work on a cross-borough basis when children live in one borough but use schools in another?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Houses in Multiple Occupation: Planning Consent · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for bringing forward this debate and for the recommendations he has made. In the London borough of Bexley, we have an article 4 direction, but we are beginning to see landlords setting up charities and housing associations that do not appear to comply with the ethos of such organisations, simply to get around the rules. They do not then require planning permission, as we have recently seen in Highfield Avenue in Northumberland Heath. Does my hon. Friend agree that we also need to look at landlords setting up those organisations to get around the rules?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for securing the debate. That situation has occurred at Bexleyheath sorting office in my constituency, and Royal Mail asked whether I could help advertise its vacancies. Should Royal Mail do more to try to fill vacancies on routes that are not filled?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Welfare Spending · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Lady give way?

• 30 Oct 2025 · Property Service Charges · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul) for securing today’s debate and setting out the deep concerns about property service charges that many of us hear about from our constituents. Since being elected, I have received countless emails from constituents across Bexleyheath, Crayford and Slade Green who are struggling with rising service charges, lack of transparency and poor communication from managing agents. In the words of a constituent who lives in a development where the service charge has increased from £1,800 a year to £3,200 a year: “We honestly don’t have a clue what we are paying for.” Others describe themselves as “cash cows” and speak of “financial hardship to those trapped in their clutches”. One constituent, a pensioner, had to borrow money from her adult children, and she is now considering selling her car if another unexpected bill arrives. Another, who asked to spread an additional bill over monthly payments, was told that she would be charged £60 for the trouble. I have been holding public meetings with residents across my constituency this year to discuss these issues. The meetings have seen large turnouts and residents understandably at the end of their tether. I accept that some increases in service charges can be explained by rising insurance costs, building safety costs and other economic factors, but other items on service charge bills beggar belief: £1,000 a year for CCTV, when there is no CCTV; service charges for a gym that had not been built; service charges for a 24/7 concierge service that operates from 7 am to 7 pm; and £5,000 a year to empty one dog bin that members of the public, living outside of the estate, are using on a communal open space. Despite those costs, maintenance oftens remains poor. I will focus on one example: the Eastside Quarter development in Bexleyheath, on the site of our former council or civic offices built a few years ago. The development was originally managed by DJC, which was then bought by FirstPort, which has been relieved of its duties and replaced by a new managing agent. The directors of the management company took action to remove FirstPort in 2024 due to concerns about performance levels and a lack of financial transparency, which was raised by residents. FirstPort was responsible for producing audited accounts for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024, but in the most recent correspondence I have received it failed to do so. As a result, the developer is legally pursuing those accounts at their cost. FirstPort was unable to provide any funds on account to the new managing agent. In correspondence to me, the new managing agent stated that the service charge bank account was empty and that many suppliers were owed substantial sums, with many of them having withdrawn services as a result. Continuing management on the estate was possible only because the developer provided substantial funding to the new managing agent to enable it to pay suppliers. I have seen similar issues on Talehangers Close in Bexleyheath. At Vickers Green in Crayford, where FirstPort has attended a public meeting and where I believe we are making some progress, I have seen that some of the fault lies—in my view—with the local authority, which agreed a planning development back in 2009 in which residents took on responsibility for the roads, the lighting and the public space, which is then costed back to the residents. I welcome the Government’s consultation on plans to strengthen protections over charges and services and hope that they will bring forward measures to support my constituents. I was proud to sponsor the Managing Agents (Regulation) Bill of my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales), and I support calls from across the Chamber for the need for clear managing agent standards and regulation. I welcome the Minister’s comments on these matters and the measures to be brought forward in secondary legislation. I support the Government’s work in this area, but I will continue to press for further action to empower residents and deal with service charges to protect residents across the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency.

• 28 Oct 2025 · Organised Immigration Crime · Hansard source

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  9. What diplomatic steps her Department is taking with international partners to help tackle organised immigration crime.

• 28 Oct 2025 · Organised Immigration Crime · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his answer; I know this is an issue of great concern to my constituents across Bexleyheath and Crayford. Following last week’s west Balkans summit, could he provide an update on the measures that are being taken to reduce the number of illegal migrants being brought to the UK via the western Balkans?

• 27 Oct 2025 · Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Burton and Uttoxeter (Jacob Collier) for his introduction to this debate. I know from my own mailbag the importance of statutory maternity and paternity pay across Bexleyheath and Crayford. My constituents have pointed out to me that the evidence shows that the current situation with both leave and pay for new parents is bad for everyone—mums, dads, kids and society as a whole. I will briefly say again what I said last year: I accept that we have moved forward since my twins were born 12 years ago, but my experience of my children being born nine weeks early, my wife having a C-section, one of my children being diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 12 days old, and me working through the whole six weeks of them being in special care because I was not entitled to a day of paternity pay, continues to live with me. We have seen neonatal care benefit and some benefit in paternity pay. But we must continue to battle for better rights for parents. One in three dads do not take their paternity leave because they cannot afford to. The system is complicated and we do not always give people the support that they need. We must modernise to deliver for today’s families. A survey undertaken by Maternity Action has shown that of 1,000 new mothers, the majority have had to resort to credit cards or loans to finance their maternity leave. Over half have said that they have had to return to work early, as it is impossible to support themselves and their new baby. It is therefore vital that we ensure that new mothers have access to the support they need. They should all be supported to focus on their own wellbeing and their baby’s health, both during pregnancy and after birth.

• 23 Oct 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for wheelchair users. The group has recently received extensive evidence that there is a clear need for independent oversight of wheelchair providers, and for verifiable data from the sector. Many service users are not provided with a wheelchair within a suitable timeframe, and many have little choice but to go private to access equipment. Will the Leader of the House allocate Government time for a debate on wheelchair provision, and the need for sector reform to ensure that wheelchair users are provided with the equipment that they need?

• 22 Oct 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q7. This summer, I visited every road across the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency, reporting potholes to ensure that the £895,000 given by this Labour Government to the Conservative-controlled council in the London Borough of Bexley is spent. However, the Conservative council cabinet member responsible for roads wrote to our local newspaper, News Shopper , asking that I stop reporting potholes because it was causing work for the council. Will the Prime Minister join me in urging my Conservative council to get on and spend that money to make roads, such as Mayplace Road East, safe to drive on?

• 13 Oct 2025 · Education Committee · Hansard source

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  For the record, my wife is employed as a local authority SENCO. In my local authority, the London borough of Bexley, we have not only a safety valve but an Ofsted judgment of systemic failings, one of which was around health services. From having rewritten my own daughter’s EHCP on three occasions to make sure it is legally compliant, and from my constituents, I know of those real issues with health provision. Paragraphs 289 and 290 of the report contain recommendations about the involvement of health services in EHCPs and in SEND provision. Could my hon. Friend elaborate on those recommendations and what we can do to make that provision fit for purpose?

• 16 Sept 2025 · London Fashion Week: Cultural Contribution · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Rosie Wrighting) for securing this debate. I would like to highlight how adaptive fashion is being promoted at this year’s London Fashion Week. Adaptive fashion enables people who have difficulties in dressing themselves, whether because of physical disabilities, limited mobility or chronic pain, to dress themselves comfortably and confidently. Clothing pieces are often equipped with additional functions such as zips, Velcro and magnetic fastenings, which can help with independent dressing while also providing discreet access for medical ports. As the parent of a child with cerebral palsy, I know how important adaptive clothing is for someone with a physical disability and limited mobility. I pay tribute to fashion labels such as Unhidden, founded by Victoria Jenkins, that aim to make fashion accessible and inclusive for those with disabilities. Victoria’s new collection, which will be unveiled at this year’s London Fashion Week, will be modelled by individuals living with disabilities, chronic conditions or visible differences. I applaud Victoria’s mission, but I am also aware of the need for adaptive clothing on the high street. I visited the Primark branch in Bexleyheath last year, where it was outlined to me how the company has launched an adaptive fashion range that was co-designed with Victoria and is available across 96 of its stores. It was refreshing to see a global brand such as Primark making clothing accessible, both physically and financially, for disabled people on the high street. Primark has joined other high street names, such as Asda and my former employer Marks & Spencer, which have adaptive clothing ranges for adults and children. I welcome the increase of adaptive fashion on the high street and in high-end fashion, but I am aware that more can still be done to ensure that it is not just a phenomenon, but easily accessible and available for every disabled person. As a London MP, I welcome the impact that London Fashion Week has on the economy of our capital. I hope that in future years it will continue to use its role to promote adaptive clothing. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Kettering once again for securing this valuable debate.

• 11 Sept 2025 · Micromobility Vehicles · Hansard source

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  I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for wheelchair users. Does the Minister accept that a wheelchair, whether manual or with power, is a medical device that enables disabled people to maximise their independence and live the life they choose? Does he therefore agree that the terminology of “invalid carriages” in the legislation is discriminatory and outdated and that the regulations on the use of micromobility vehicles require updating urgently?