Daniel Francis MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 11 Sept 2025 · Micromobility Vehicles · Hansard source

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  16. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to update regulations on the use of micromobility vehicles.

• 10 Sept 2025 · Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her campaigning on this issue. She knows that, as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for wheelchair users, I share similar concerns for them. We often see that bus ramps are designed to fit in with the bus boarder, but it is then very difficult for the wheelchair user to pivot from the exit of the bus ramp back on to the pavement. Will she join me in continuing to impress upon the Government that we have got to get the design right in order to assist all disabled people, and that disabled people—whether blind or partially sighted, or wheelchair users—must continue to be engaged in this dialogue?

• 9 Sept 2025 · Accessibility of Railway Stations: Dulwich and West Norwood · Hansard source

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  I welcome and support my hon. Friend’s campaign. As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for wheelchair users, I campaign a lot on these issues. Transport for London has an excellent app that shows which stations are wheelchair accessible and which have lift access, and I believe we should introduce that nationally. We should also introduce a campaign for accessible toilets, as well as for lifts and wheelchair access. Would my hon. Friend welcome expanding the app nationally, as it is currently available only in London?

• 3 Sept 2025 · Pavement Parking · Hansard source

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  As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for wheelchair users, and in my conversations with Bexley Mencap, I have had many discussions about the impact of pavement parking on disabled people. Crayford is in the London borough of Bexley, but some of its roads are partly in London and partly in the area of Kent county council. Will the Minister look at how the policy will be implemented for roads that are partly in London and partly in a different area?

• 2 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. My constituents Lee and Joanna Woodcock’s daughter Holly was found deceased in France in August last year. They have raised significant concerns regarding the investigation by the French authorities, and some lesser concerns regarding the support they have received from the FCDO. Will the Minister meet Mr and Mrs Woodcock to hear directly about their experience?

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  Very quickly—you have had your go already. [ Laughter. ]

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend. I am happy to work with her and her local authority to bring sites forward. I will now talk about my own family’s experience and, in particular, about education. I fully accept that not every disability is visible. Many people who may appear not to have a disability do require a Changing Places toilet, for instance if they have a colostomy bag and require extra space for toileting. For those who need a Changing Places toilet, the current system can be very frustrating. The main way of finding where one is located is through the excellent search location tool and map—this was just referred to—on the Changing Places website. There is a separate app, but it is not run by Changing Places—it is run by a third party—and so is not as up to date. The information on the Changing Places website can only be up to date if the provider of the toilet advises of any changes in availability. I could give a litany of experiences, as could my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft), of where things have sadly not worked. One of our daughters has quadriplegic cerebral palsy. She is a wheelchair user. She is unable to tell you when she needs the toilet and is still in nappies at almost 12 years of age. Given her height and weight, a changing bed is essential to change her with dignity. Before we were aware of the Changing Places website, we sadly had the indignity of changing her in a variety of places, such as on a bench or behind a bush to try to give her some dignity. Our fallback today remains the floor of our wheelchair-accessible van, which I can assure you is a backbreaker. Since we have been aware of the Changing Places map facility, we plan our days out, trips and travel arrangements around it and where we believe there will be a toilet. It has been a life changer for our family and, as we have heard, for other families. There are occasions where, because the information has not been updated or because of a lack of training on what Changing Places toilets are, we have had some experiences that have been not so great: finding that the only Changing Places toilet in the place you are visiting has been closed because it is vandalised; finding that the Changing Places toilet in a building is not available, as it is being used as a storage cupboard; having a council staff member refuse someone, who clearly cannot walk and is clearly in nappies, access to the Changing Places toilet on the grounds that they are a child and should therefore use a baby changing table, even when it is clear that their height, and particularly their weight, would break the table; finding, because it is winter, that the council has closed the toilet entirely or, when visiting a busy coastal city, that it closes at 4 pm—because clearly disabled people do not need to use the toilet after 4 pm! I have seen some terrible training of staff in train stations and in public buildings, where they do not understand what a Changing Places toilet is. On numerous occasions, I have been told that because my daughter is a wheelchair user she should use the standard disabled toilet, with no understanding that she cannot stand and there is no hoist in a standard disabled toilet, and that if someone uses nappies, you might need a bed to change them. There was one occasion in a central London train station when a toilet attendant made everyone, regardless of which toilet they required, join one queue because their objective was reducing the queue length, rather than ensuring that the people who were able to use the only toilet available to them, did so. As we stood patiently at about number 50 in the queue, 49 people in front of us who did not need the Changing Places toilet were, in turn, directed to it. There are, however, some fantastic instances of staff ensuring that those trying to use these toilets as a baby changing room—which happens a lot—do not do so, and examples of fantastic signage explaining what a Changing Places toilet is intended for. Along with the people who believe a Changing Places toilet is, in fact, a large baby changing facility, one other issue that can cause problems is the easy availability of RADAR keys, which are often purchased on the internet or in high street shops. I am afraid that some people do buy them as a way of skipping toilet queues. In a number of places, including in Bexleyheath town centre in my constituency, the use of a RADAR key has led to people sleeping on the changing bed, and someone moving themselves and all their belongings into the toilet. My council took the decision to close the toilet because of the repeated damage caused by the person who kept moving into it, although I would argue that the council was clearly not maintaining it adequately, given that someone had been living in it for several weeks before my own wife discovered that they were living there. Those issues persist, and we therefore need to have a conversation about training, about spreading best practice on signage and about different entry systems, which a number of Changing Places toilets now have. Those things would greatly reduce the stress for those who genuinely need a Changing Places toilet.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the opportunity to open this debate on a subject that I care deeply about. Last Saturday, 19 July, was Changing Places Awareness Day. It is therefore an honour to have secured this debate and to be able to pay tribute to the campaign organisation Changing Places in its 20th year, and in a week when it has worked to remind the nation of the importance of its campaign. During this time, it has worked relentlessly to seek provision for the quarter of a million people in the UK who have for so long had no public access to accessible toilet facilities, and for their families and carers. Changing Places toilets enable anyone, regardless of their disability, to go to the shops, attend hospital appointments, enjoy community life, socialise and travel. Many of us in this place and, indeed, across the UK take this basic necessity and right for granted every day.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. As I will turn to, I know that at first hand as the parent of a child with cerebral palsy. The growth of Changing Places means that it is making an impact, but the fact is that we need more of these toilets across the country.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  Absolutely, and I thank the hon. Member. As I will come on to say, we have seen such growth, particularly in central London, but that needs to be replicated across the United Kingdom. Access to a Changing Places toilet allows anyone, regardless of their access needs or disability, to use a toilet with dignity, privacy and hygienically.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  I agree absolutely with my hon. Friend. We work very closely together on these issues, as parents of disabled children. I will turn to such training in relation to some of my own horror stories in due course. In May, PAMIS announced that it is updating its Changing Places practical guidance, a resource that helps support the design and management of Changing Places toilets. I think I missed out that there were 799 toilets 10 years ago, so there has been significant growth since that time. I should also note the changes made by the previous Government when they amended the Building Regulations 2010, under which it is now compulsory for some new large buildings to have Changing Places toilets installed in them. In addition, a Changing Places toilets fund of £30.5 million was made available in 2023, which has provided 600 Changing Places across England. I have seen the real impact that that growth has had in London and the home counties as a south-east London MP. I see that now in central London, as compared with 10 years ago, in train stations, at cultural venues, along the South Bank and, very recently, in Oxford Street. The Need2Change campaign, spearheaded by Bromley resident Katrina O’Leary who I worked with before I was elected to this place, has allowed an increase in toilets in parks, hospitals and coastal towns to ensure her family, my family and other families can have the days out that others take for granted.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend. I absolutely agree. We have seen that growth, but we need to see more.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, who has one more than me in her constituency. We do need to expand the number that we have. I recently met members of my local Bexley Mencap, who raised with me the need for a Changing Places toilet in one of my borough’s swimming pools. We have three swimming pools in my local authority area, and it can be very difficult for members to change themselves. However, campaigning can work. For many years, I have questioned the rationale of Eurotunnel LeShuttle having a Changing Places toilet in Folkestone but not having one for the very same customers in Calais. I accept that Changing Places toilets are very uncommon in France—in fact, I could count them on one hand. However, after many years of being told that one could not be provided in Calais, I have been advised in the past month that one will be supplied, although Eurotunnel is being vague about the installation date. Those customers will now finally be able to use a Changing Places toilet on both legs of their journey. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Sarah Smith) wanted to be here to pay tribute to her constituent Zack Kerr, from Oswaldtwistle, who has been campaigning for additional Changing Places facilities since 2017. Zack has cerebral palsy and, because of his first-hand experience, has been instrumental in the building of 54 new toilets across motorway service stations in England. My hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) relayed to me that the changing places toilet in Bingley town centre has been a life-changer. It is really well maintained and is cleaned twice a day, which can be important for children with complex conditions who are susceptible to infections. With twice-daily cleaning it is also much less likely that somebody will move in there for several weeks. I continue to aspire to see a national disability travel app that shows accessible train stations and interchanges, and flags up when lifts are out of order and where there is a Changing Places toilet. We must ensure that we do what we can to expand the provision of accessible toilets, particularly Changing Places toilets, to public buildings, parks and community facilities. I am very grateful to hon. Members for their contributions this afternoon. I encourage them to engage with their local authorities and stakeholder groups, and impress on them the importance of Changing Places toilets so that all our constituents can have access to a clean, safe and accessible facility. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I wish you a very happy summer recess.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  Absolutely, and I thank my hon. Friend for those comments. Again, I will come on to talk about a toilet that was closed in my own constituency and the impact that has. I will try to make some progress for a moment. Changing Places toilets are specifically designed for people with profound and multiple disabilities and their carers, who need more space and equipment than a standard accessible toilet provides. The features include height-adjustable adult-sized changing benches, ceiling track hoists and space for multiple carers, ensuring a safe and dignified experience. The Changing Places consortium was established 20 years ago, as I have said, and at the heart of its campaign, which was initiated by the late Loretto Lambe, the founder and chief executive of PAMIS—Promoting a More Inclusive Society—was the aim to ensure the growth of Changing Places across the country. I wish to pay tribute to the work of Changing Places staff and volunteers, led by Jenny Miller and Karen Hoe, and their vital support in ensuring this debate could be brought to the House. Currently, the total number of active and registered Changing Places toilets is 2,609 spanning the UK and servicing leisure centres, city and town centres, shopping centres, venues, hospitals, transport hubs, stadiums and attractions. Last year, 414 new Changing Places were installed across the UK, the highest number of annual registrations ever.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  That is absolutely the case. We will visit the same places for days out and we know our routine in central London, because we know where we will be welcomed and where we have had those bad experiences, which I have mentioned. We do, of course, also need to consider this place. We have a Changing Places toilet in the Lower Waiting Hall, which is of the very old, original standard. It is therefore difficult to hoist somebody on to the bed, given how low the ceiling is. There is, however, no facility for visitors to Portcullis House, which is something we need to consider going forward. In my constituency, there is one Changing Places toilet, located in the Broadway shopping centre, but we need more. Hall Place would be a fantastic place to have one, given that it is the premier cultural attraction and open space in my constituency.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree. As my hon. Friend says, I am pretty sure that there are some in her constituency, but we do need to expand that. Having those facilities on the south bank has made such an impact culturally, I can tell you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The report, “Barriers for adults with Cerebral Palsy on achieving full life participation”, published by the former all-party parliamentary group on cerebral palsy, highlighted the cliff-edge in support for those with cerebral palsy when they transition at the age of 18 and the need to end the separation of neuro and musculoskeletal knowledge within the NHS, given that cerebral palsy is a neuromusculoskeletal condition, and that those living with it need easy and ready access to both areas. I would therefore be grateful if I could understand—

• 7 Jul 2025 · Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life · Hansard source

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  As a fellow SEND parent, I fully concur with the comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) about the system we inherited and the lack of humility from those on the Opposition Benches. I thank the Secretary of State for visiting my constituency 10 days ago to see the incredible work carried out by staff at Peareswood primary school in Slade Green. Slade Green and the northern part of Crayford have real deprivation, and the Conservative council in the London borough of Bexley closed the Sure Start in both those wards. Does the Secretary of State agree that it was ridiculous not only that the council did that, but that it received no money from the previous Conservative Government for family hubs? Will she commit today to turning that situation around and finally giving my council money for family hubs?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Children with Allergies: School Safeguarding · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, as ever, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Chris Bloore) for securing this debate and for his advocacy and hard work to ensure that children with allergies are kept safe at school. He has outlined the work required to assist them in their education. I have close friends in my constituency who have experienced with their children what my hon. Friends the Members for Redditch and for Clwyd East (Becky Gittins) described, so I thank them for their advocacy. I pay tribute to Allergy UK for its dedication in this area. In February, I visited its headquarters in Crayford in my constituency, in the deepest eastern part of south-east London. During my visit, I heard from an Allergy UK supporter who had benefited from its dietitian service for her young baby. I welcome Allergy UK’s campaign to introduce access to allergy dietitians through GP surgeries in each health region. I am pleased to be an Allergy UK champion, and I support it in its work to keep every person with an allergy across the UK safe. Keeping children safe at school is vital. Allergy UK estimates that 40% of children have been diagnosed with an allergy, and that one in 12 young children suffer from a food allergy. As we are all aware, food allergies can be devastating and, in the worst cases, deadly. It is therefore crucial that we ensure that teachers and training staff have the correct training and allergen awareness. For the worst-case scenarios, it is crucial that every staff member knows how to provide life-saving care and administer life-saving medication. We have all heard about and read heartbreaking stories of entirely avoidable deaths. I am sure that, with the correct training and equipment, many such situations could have ended entirely differently. I therefore welcome the ten-minute rule Bill that my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch will introduce next week, on 9 July, which would ensure that schools are required to maintain an allergy management policy, and would require allergy training for staff in schools. I believe those are vital measures to ensure that children are safeguarded and protected at school. If we implement those measures, parents will be able to send their children to school in the knowledge that their allergies will not hold them back from accessing a well-rounded and fulfilling education. Parents should not have to worry about their child receiving proper care and safeguarding when they send them off to school every morning, but too many parents of children with allergies worry every day that there may be traces of allergens in food and the school environment. As we know, children share food or could use someone else’s water bottle by mistake. It is therefore vital that the safety and medical risks are decreased by allergy awareness management and emergency response training provided to all education staff. I pay tribute to Allergy UK’s partnership with the Allergy Team, which has created essential allergy training for schools to help them confidently manage allergies and anaphylaxis to ensure a safer environment for all students and staff. Teachers need to be given the tools and skills they need to deal with medical emergencies quickly and calmly. Through that partnership, I hope schools will be safer for children with allergies. I once again thank my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch for securing this important debate. We have heard some truly tragic stories about too many children falling ill due to a lack of training or proper equipment on allergen control. I hope that, through this debate and my hon. Friend’s ten-minute rule Bill, we can ensure that the additional safeguarding that children with allergies require in schools is introduced.

• 3 Jul 2025 · Gravesham: River Crossings · Hansard source

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  In the last 20 years, we have seen two new public transport options that my constituents in Bexleyheath and Crayford benefit from when crossing the river: the docklands light railway in Woolwich, and the Elizabeth line into Abbey Wood. But as my hon. Friend has said, there is no public transport option from Woolwich to the Kent coast that her and my constituents can benefit from. Will she join me in welcoming some exploration of river and other public transport options through south-east London and into Kent?

• 1 Jul 2025 · Parental Leave Review · Hansard source

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  As the father of twins, I saw the impact of that, with increased complexity from children being born early or with disability and the mental health aspects of leaving your loved one at home with multiples when you go back to work. In the wider review, could we look at the mental health aspects for mothers, particularly in cases of multiple births?

• 26 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T7. I was disappointed to see the findings of yesterday’s Civil Aviation Authority airport accessibility performance report, which outlined that three airports—Edinburgh, London Heathrow and Glasgow Prestwick—received a “needs improvement” rating for accessibility. Can my hon. Friend provide an update on when the aviation accessibility task and finish group’s recommendations will be published, and when the Government will be able to outline how they plan to introduce measures to support disabled people who wish to access air travel?

• 25 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. As the Government produce their strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods in scientific procedures, what steps will the Minister be taking to ensure that that includes specific commitments to phase out the use of dogs in scientific and regulatory procedures, replacing them with modern, human-specific technologies?

• 24 Jun 2025 · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · Hansard source

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  I start by paying tribute to officers and councillors in the London borough of Bexley for all they do. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) for securing today’s debate. For the record, my wife is employed by our local authority as a special educational needs co-ordinator in a local authority school. I will briefly touch on three things. First, I welcome the record investment in housing, but I remain deeply disappointed that my Conservative-controlled council sold off its housing stock 26 years ago, has no housing revenue account and, through its own development company, has built 126 homes on three sites and has not supplied a single affordable home on any of those sites. The council has used viability assessments to argue that it cannot build affordable homes. In the housing plans that come forward, I hope we can find ways for my local authority to begin to deliver the affordable homes that we desperately need. Hopefully, that will be through the election of a Labour council next year, but we will wait and see—it has been a long time since we have had one in my patch. My local authority is complaining about the ever-dwindling stock of private rented properties that it can purchase, but it needs to turn its attention to the moneys coming forward so that it can finally deliver affordable homes. Secondly, on local government funding, my council cut 15% of its staff in 2021. It had to sell a building in order to issue redundancy notices and, at the same time, had to come to the previous Government for a capitalisation order. We hear fantasy economics from the Opposition, but let us be clear: the cuts that were made to local authorities happened under a Conservative council and a Conservative Government in my patch. I hope that the fair funding review will lead to some investment, and I know that my council is lobbying hard. There have been demographic changes in my patch, and I hope that we begin to see some investment in local services. Lastly, as I mentioned in the education debate—and, again, we have heard it before—we need guarantees about the safety valve that will be ending next March. My council did sign a safety valve agreement, but it continues to overspend, despite the commitments my Conservative council made to the previous Conservative Government, and that is a ticking time bomb for my council. On those points of how we can invest in housing, begin to have a fair funding review and look at the safety valve hanging over my council, I would welcome the Minister’s comments.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I know that this House, alongside my constituents across Bexleyheath and Crayford, welcomes the sanctions taken against two Israeli officials earlier this month. What discussions are the UK Government holding with our international partners regarding further actions that could be taken in relation to the incitement of violence against Palestinian citizens?