David Williams MP: speeches

Speeches

• 24 Mar 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome the steps being taken to streamline the system and get more homes built. That, of course, includes social and affordable housing. Does the Secretary of State agree that that would go some way to helping the 160,000 children who are stuck in temporary accommodation?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Let me start by extending my deepest condolences to the shadow Leader of the House. Clearly, his father was a remarkable man. Stoke-on-Trent has a rich history reflected in the architecture found across our six proud towns. As part of English Tourism Week, I was delighted to welcome colleagues from the national lottery heritage fund to our mother town of Burslem, where we discussed to how unleash the potential of our beautiful buildings with the right support. We must safeguard our heritage buildings, so will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on the regeneration of our towns and how the Government can support them?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Fly-tipping · Hansard source

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  Fly-tipping is a blight on our communities, but in Stoke-on-Trent, our Labour-led council has worked tirelessly to turn things around. Under the Conservatives, residents were waiting for over a month for waste to be removed, but under the leadership of Jane Ashworth and Amjid Wazir, that response time is now under one week. However, councils cannot tackle the issue alone, so will the Minister outline what more the Government can do to support local councils to clamp down on fly-tipping, get tough on those who blight our streets, and create cleaner, greener communities for all?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Fly-tipping · Hansard source

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  14. What steps he is taking to tackle fly-tipping.

• 19 Mar 2025 · Supported Internship Provision · Hansard source

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  There is a lot of talk about Asda, and I pay tribute to the Asda in Tunstall in my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove, which has an excellent supported internship programme that helps young people to step up into employment. Does my hon. Friend agree that, as outlined in the Green Paper published yesterday, we must ensure that Access to Work is strengthened for adults by raising awareness of the scheme and clearing the backlog?

• 17 Mar 2025 · Supporting Disabled People into Work · Hansard source

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  16. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the welfare system in supporting disabled people into work.

• 17 Mar 2025 · Supporting Disabled People into Work · Hansard source

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  Christopher, a resident of Talke in my constituency, was badly let down by a flawed PIP assessment—one that lacked basic humanity and empathy. With reports of welfare reforms in the media, he is now deeply worried about what the future holds. What steps will be taken to ensure that people like Christopher are treated with fairness and dignity, and given the support that they need?

• 6 Mar 2025 · English Football: Financial Sustainability and Governance · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Earley and Woodley (Yuan Yang) for securing this important debate. I am so lucky to have Port Vale Football Club, based in the mother town of Burslem in my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove. A day out watching footy brings communities together, whether it is a home game at Vale Park with our team mascot, Boomer, or a community-run lads and dads club. I pay tribute to Carol and Kevin Shanahan for all the work they do at Port Vale both on and off the pitch. Last season, the Port Vale Foundation supported more than 5,000 people in my constituency. The Shanahans have surrounded themselves with people who truly care for our community. From Matt Hancock to Darren Moore, and from the staff to the players, they make a real contribution to the lives of people in Burslem and beyond. As Darren Moore said only two weeks ago, “The club is right at the heart of the community”. I could not agree more. In 2021, Port Vale was named the EFL community club of the year, and for good reason: it has upskilled our young people, it provides community meals at Vale Park, it delivered over 2,000 presents last Christmas, its Golden Valiants group tackles social isolation among our older community and its community cupboard at Tommy Cheadle’s keeps our local families fed. Communities such as ours need additional support. Our EFL clubs, positioned in the heart of our communities, are perfectly located to offer that. Securing a sustainable football pyramid is key to cementing the future of our valued clubs and the communities they empower.

• 5 Mar 2025 · Antisocial Behaviour and Illegal Bikes · Hansard source

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  I will build on what my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) said about the action that the council is taking. One of the things that residents have brought up with us is their difficulty in phoning 101 and getting a response. The council in Stoke worked collaboratively with the police to set up a hotline number and overlayed the data with the police. This means that they get a good picture of where the activity is taking place so that they can get the drones up, follow the bikes back and seize them. Stoke-on-Trent city council has a really good model that could be rolled out elsewhere. Does my hon. Friend agree?

• 5 Mar 2025 · Jammu and Kashmir: Human Rights · Hansard source

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  I echo the comments of my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour about Majid Khan and Amjid Wazir. Many of my constituents in Stoke-on-Trent North have deep ties with Kashmir. Does my hon. Friend agree that the work that Majid Khan, Amjid Wazir and others do locally to raise awareness of the terrible ongoing human rights violations is incredibly important? Too often, there is not enough understanding among our wider constituents of the ongoing human rights violations.

• 4 Mar 2025 · North Staffordshire Ceramics Industry: Energy Costs · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered energy cost support for the ceramics industry in North Staffordshire. It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John, and I am grateful that this topic has been selected for debate today. I am also delighted to be joined by my fellow Stoke MP, my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell), and I thank all other hon. Members in attendance today. This is a city-wide and a nationwide debate, and it is critical that we speak with one voice on the issues, to support the industry as much as we can. Now is the time to act. It was only last month that Royal Stafford, a ceramics firm in my constituency, went into liquidation after nearly 200 years of making fine pottery. That was a devastating blow for our local economy; more than 80 people lost their jobs, and it highlights the real urgency of today’s debate. What happened at Royal Stafford should not have happened, and it should not have happened to all other companies over the years. We must fight for our pots. I would like to place on record my thanks to Colin, Sam and the wider GMB union for stepping up to support those affected, and I look forward to our sustained engagement on this matter. I also want to pay tribute to the ceramics companies that operate in my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North—Moorcroft, Burleigh, Steelite, Moorland and Churchill, to name only a few—and I thank Rob Flello and Ceramics UK, who have campaigned tirelessly on behalf of the sector. The ceramics industry is integral to our story as a city—hence our “Potteries” name—and today, in our centenary year, it still employs more than 3,000 people, exporting our fine products all around the world. We cannot afford to lose those jobs, nor the skills of our workforce. Already, in Stoke-on-Trent, disposable household income sits some £5,000 behind the UK average, according to the latest Office for National Statistics data. Over the years we have lost our pits, and we cannot afford to lose any more of our pots. Our ceramics companies must remain a focus of economic growth and industry for our city.

• 4 Mar 2025 · North Staffordshire Ceramics Industry: Energy Costs · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for that intervention. I could not agree more; I am certain that the Minister will have heard those comments and I wholeheartedly support them. Of course, we would be eating and drinking from wooden bowls and cups without the beautiful tableware that we enjoy—including, as I have said, many of the plates, cups and saucers we see here across the Westminster estate. The world as we know it simply would not exist without ceramics. I urge the Government to recognise that the UK ceramics industry is a critical enabler of the UK economy—used, as we have said, from building homes to high technology to steel making. However, I repeatedly hear concerns from companies regarding their sustainability following dramatic increases in their energy bills. For energy-intensive industries such as ceramics, energy cost pressures are significant. In fact, I have heard from companies in my Stoke-on-Trent North constituency that their energy bills have trebled. One company told me that it has seen energy bills increase by 300% in 10 years. The sector was hit hard by the energy crisis, and inaction left us too dependent on tyrants such as Vladimir Putin. That has had a huge impact on both production and raw material costs, and support is urgently needed to protect these businesses. Sadly, some employers across our city are already making redundancies due to escalating costs, and that disturbing trend will only be exacerbated by inaction. It takes a vast amount of heat to produce the kind of ceramics products we make. According to Ceramics UK, the UK ceramics industry uses about 650,000 MWh of electricity and about 4.5 million MWh of gas every single year. With gas currently costing about £47 per megawatt-hour and electricity in the region of £297 per megawatt-hour, the costs quickly add up. When we consider that gas used to cost about £11 per megawatt-hour, the impact on those businesses is clear to see. Of course, a significant portion of those costs comes from non-commodity taxes and levies. Many ceramics companies pay high carbon taxes under the UK emissions trading scheme and ever-tighter restrictions on free allowances are pushing up costs even more. Because the industry is gas intensive, while still using a lot of electricity, very few manufacturers receive the energy-intensive industries exemption. I am really proud that this Government take the climate crisis so seriously. A move towards green energy is desirable; if we can get to that point, wonderful. However, the reality at the moment is that companies face significant bills. That is a fixed cost that the companies cannot do anything about, and moving towards low carbon is not always straightforward. It is absolutely right, as I said, to push towards a clean energy transition, but energy-intensive industries need a higher level of support in switching to low-carbon methods. The technology to switch from gas to electricity firing is not readily available for many ceramics manufacturers, and connections to the grid are poor. Some European countries are already taking action and have been for some years to support their ceramics sector. The European Commission recently unveiled its affordable energy action plan, which includes investing in liquefied natural gas projects to help companies to lower their costs. A number of other countries are also helping their energy-intensive industries. It is vital that the UK follows suit. The history of our city is one of hard-working people. The ceramics industry is in our DNA. If we fail to act now, we risk losing not only the unique skills that, as we talked about before, have been honed in the Potteries for hundreds of years, but the communities formed around them. I have questions for the Minister, but I start by thanking her for agreeing to meet me, my parliamentary colleagues, Ceramics UK and the GMB union to discuss the technical details around the support the sector needs. As a starter, however, following my discussions with Ceramics UK, the sector would like the Minister to consider the merits of offering subsidies for smaller manufacturers’ energy costs. Indeed, Ceramics UK has told me that the cost pressures can be up to six times greater than they were in 2021. For the manufacturers that can use electricity, eligibility for the Government’s energy-intensive industries exemption scheme could be opened up for all UK ceramics manufacturers, including by removing the UK business level test. The Government could also mandate priority grid connections. For ceramics manufacturers unable to switch from gas, could the Minister consider exempting the sector from new taxes and levies on gas, in recognition of the limited alternatives currently available? Ceramics really is the hardest of all energy-intensive industries to decarbonise. Although Great British Energy will reduce energy bills in the long term, failing to reduce energy costs for the sector now could put our ceramics industry at further risk, and that is simply not acceptable. With carbon taxes hammering the sector, I also ask the Minister to consider the merits of introducing a temporary exemption from the UK emissions trading scheme for UK ceramic manufacturers until an effective carbon border adjustment mechanism is up and running and ceramics manufacturers can apply for CBAM phase 2. Something that might also be of great help to our wonderful small and medium-sized enterprises in the sector would be the provision of ultra-low interest loans to help to finance more energy-efficient kilns, dryers and related equipment. Hydrogen presents an opportunity for the sector to decarbonise: Ceramics UK recently unveiled a custom-built pilot kiln that runs on hydrogen. Will the Minister evaluate the hydrogen supply chain and market currently available to the ceramics industry, and how that can be better distributed? I also ask the Minister that, as we discuss the support the sector needs, the Department for Business and Trade work collaboratively with colleagues in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, among others, to find a solution on a cross-departmental footing. Without a desire to move away from the topic of energy costs, it would be remiss of me not to point out one further concern that the sector often raises with me and my colleagues. Counterfeit back-stamping of tableware products from the likes of China is affecting our UK businesses. Although I appreciate the Government’s efforts to regulate against those products through anti-dumping regulations and anti-dumping duty, I am concerned that many of those products slip through the net. The fake products get listed on internet sites, so I ask for a cross-departmental approach to review tabling offences and the classifications for importing counterfeit tableware products. I thank the Minister for coming to answer my questions, and I invite her to visit my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent North so that she can see just how brilliant our potbanks are and how important they are to our local economy and people. We must keep those pots open and those kilns fired. The time to act is now.

• 4 Mar 2025 · North Staffordshire Ceramics Industry: Energy Costs · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Member for those comments. I know that she has spoken passionately about this matter in the past, and I will come on to the point about the need to support companies with their energy bills. I was talking about how ceramics have an impact on our everyday life. Without refractories, we would not have the ability to make steel, glass and other high-temperature products. Without ceramics, we would have no cars, no buses and no mobile phones—what a scary idea. Without advanced ceramics, we would have no aircraft, defence or medical equipment.

• 4 Mar 2025 · North Staffordshire Ceramics Industry: Energy Costs · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for attending my first Westminster Hall debate. As always, he raises some important points. I remember the old days of Stoke, when we actually had bottle kilns attached to our local schools, giving people their first opportunities to learn a skill. Sadly, those have all gone, but the point about getting people interested in the sector and learning skills is a valid one. I am delighted that last year Stoke-on-Trent was awarded world craft city status for our ceramics heritage. Many people will be familiar with our household names in tableware. I have spoken before about our “turnover club”, where people pick up the plates and look at their provenance. I have explained in the past that my mum and my grandad worked in the potbanks of Tunstall and Burslem—namely, at H&R Johnson and Dunn Bennett & Co. However, many people do not realise that ceramics shape every aspect of our lives. Ceramics companies manufacture the clay bricks, roof tiles and pipes that we need for our homes.

• 24 Feb 2025 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source

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  3. What recent progress her Department has made on tackling antisocial behaviour.

• 24 Feb 2025 · Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source

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  Mark Porter is a community leader who runs Kidsgrove Ladsanddads. Around 400 young people play football at Birchenwood fields every weekend, yet the football pitches are constantly damaged by off-road bikes. The same happens at Burslem golf club and across estates such as Mill Hill in Tunstall. What steps will be taken to tackle the impact of off-road parks on communities in Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Youth Provision: Universal and Targeted Support · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this really important debate. In Stoke-on-Trent, the amount spent per young person is £10.76, but in inner London it is £110—10 times more. Does she agree that we need to look at the regional inequalities in how these services are funded? Hopefully, the Minister will hear that point too.

• 10 Feb 2025 · Community and Third Sector Organisations: Employment · Hansard source

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  On localised services, other programmes of years gone by, such as the Work programme, had big contract package areas and moved towards nationalised models, and a lot of voluntary groups would describe themselves as “bid candy”—they were included as subcontractor partners, but they did not have any ownership of how services were delivered on the ground. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to move away from that model and towards understanding what local groups, which are rooted in their communities, can do to really play their part?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Community and Third Sector Organisations: Employment · Hansard source

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  I am pleased to support this debate on the voluntary sector and its role in supporting people into education, training and employment. We have some good examples in Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove, with Youth Employment Skills, the Chell Area Family Action Group and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust all playing a vital role. Does my hon. Friend agree that, as the Government move forward with their plans to support young people into training and on into employment, they would be wise to consider the role that the voluntary sector plays in local communities?

• 6 Feb 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Back in 2021, residents in Kidsgrove were promised a portfolio of projects as part of the Kidsgrove town deal. To date, residents have experienced delay and confusion. They rightly want more openness and transparency from Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on the delivery of town deals, so that local people can see real delivery, and not more delays?

• 4 Feb 2025 · Energy Suppliers: Winter Support for Consumers · Hansard source

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  3. What discussions he has had with energy suppliers on support for consumers during winter 2024-25.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Energy Suppliers: Winter Support for Consumers · Hansard source

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  As well as residents, businesses in the ceramics sector struggle with high energy bills and face many other pressures. Sadly, only yesterday more than 80 workers in my constituency lost their jobs when Royal Stafford, a historic ceramics manufacturer for nearly 200 years, went into liquidation—a devastating blow for the workers and their families. Will the Secretary of State meet GMB officials, Ceramics UK and me as a matter of urgency to explain how the Government will support the ceramics sector, protect jobs, and tackle the serious difficulties that energy-intensive industries face in decarbonising?

• 30 Jan 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  This week, the YMCA released its annual report, revealing the devastating cuts to youth services over the past 14 years. Spending in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire has been cut by more than 90% since 2010 and funding is not equitable: in Stoke-on-Trent, spending per young person is 10% less than in inner London. Families in my constituency deserve better. Will the Leader of the House make time to debate the need for adequate and equitable funding for youth services?

• 27 Jan 2025 · Speech and Language Therapy · Hansard source

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  Thank you for your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. It is a pleasure to speak in this debate, which my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) introduced on behalf of the Petitions Committee. I thank Mikey for campaigning to bring this really important matter to this place. I cannot miss the opportunity to say that I am delighted to see Chris Kamara in the Public Gallery. I am a Stoke MP, and my twin sister is a massive Stoke City fan, so she will be most envious that she is not in Westminster Hall today. I want to emphasise the importance of speech and language therapy in delivering on our Government’s ambition for childhood development and in supporting children with special educational needs. Ten per cent of all children and young people have a diagnosed long-term speech, language and communication need. We must invest in such services so that those young people are not held back in school and can communicate confidently with their peers. Early language development promotes positive outcomes later in life, but in disadvantaged areas such as my constituency, about half of children start school with delayed language skills or diagnosed speech, language and communication needs. Speech and language therapists provide vital support in clinical settings to children with diagnosed complex needs and SEND. They also deliver universal programmes in early years settings, but sadly those programmes have been decimated by funding cuts in recent years. Across Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove, our local team at the Midlands Partnership University NHS foundation trust and organisations such as Stoke Speaks Out and Thrive at Five work incredibly hard to support our children, but sadly I have heard repeated concerns from local service providers about insufficient funding, rising demand and difficulties with recruitment and retention. Investment has simply not kept pace with the increase in the number of children with increasingly complex needs and SEND. I was surprised to learn that in Stoke-on-Trent an average of 269 children are allocated to a single therapist’s caseload at any point in time. That is simply not acceptable. Our children and young people deserve to be able to access clinical services when they need them, but too often that is not the case. In 2024, 41% waited longer than 18 weeks for therapy—the longest waiting list across paediatric services. Under-investment has impacted accessibility and waiting times for clinical services and has hollowed out our local preventive services. Scarce resources are being used to meet statutory requirements and deliver specialist services, and we have seen significant cuts to universal programmes that support children in early years settings to meet their developmental milestones. We know that universal programmes have a very positive impact on children’s outcomes. Early intervention can prevent children from developing more complex needs and can reduce the need for referrals to more specialist services in the future. That is why we need more programmes such as Every Child a Talker, Thrive at Five and Stoke Speaks Out, which have delivered excellent support to our families across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. I am delighted that our Government have committed to a new target. We want 75% of our children to achieve a good level of development at five. The first three years of a child’s development are critical to their brain development. I stress the importance of investment in speech and language therapy to deliver on that mission, and our plans to reform the SEND system. I urge the Minister to listen to the calls for investment to tackle the long waiting lists faced by people in my constituency, and the calls to invest in preventive services.

• 21 Jan 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome the recent investment of an extra £20 million for our buses and an extra £11 million to fix our broken roads across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. Does the Chancellor agree that continuing to invest in our roads and public transport is an excellent way to keep our communities connected and to increase job opportunities to boost our local economy?