Deirdre Costigan MP: speeches

Speeches

• 15 Sept 2026 · Civil Service Pension Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  My constituent Sarabjit partially retired last year. Capita wrongly worked out her pension, and over a year later she has still not got the money she is owed. Another constituent, Inderjeet, retired after 39 years in the Met police to spend more time with her parents, who live abroad, but five months later she has still not had a penny and her mum has sadly died since then. This is affecting real people’s lives. I know the Minister is new to the job, but I congratulate her on how she has already grasped the nettle on this issue. We have had two virtual surgeries offered to us next week for both those cases, but could she confirm the new deadline we should be working to, in order to ensure that Sarabjit and Inderjeet get the money they are due?

• 15 Sept 2026 · Reoffending Reduction Programmes · Hansard source

  More

  From 26 October, Labour’s new respect orders will mean that those persistently involved in antisocial behaviour in Ealing Southall can be required to attend drug and alcohol rehab to reduce reoffending. What work is the Minister doing with the Home Office to ensure that our courts have the guidance they need in advance of 26 October, so that both the police and the courts can act immediately to make Ealing Southall safer?

• 15 Sept 2026 · Tourism: Overnight Visitor Levy · Hansard source

  More

  Southall Broadway attracts wedding shoppers from across the globe, so local businesses welcome the overnight visitor levy as a great opportunity to get investment in the town centre. However, unlike other mayoral areas, London is not a combined authority. What can the Minister do to ensure that is reflected in the design of the levy in London, so that the mayor and London boroughs can jointly shape how it operates, and places such as Southall do not lose out because they are in London?

• 14 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is making a passionate speech. I am sure that like me, he will have had many constituents lobbying him on this issue over the past few years; in my constituency, the Hanwell Friends of Sabastiya, which is a village on the west bank, have often come up to speak to me. Does he agree that community organisations and friendship groups like that have had an important role to play in influencing this Government to take the robust steps that they have now taken?

• 10 Sept 2026 · No. 10 North · Hansard source

  More

  After 14 years of austerity and “Westminster knows best” from the previous Conservative Government, my constituents in Ealing Southall feel just as left behind and ignored as those in Manchester and Makerfield. Does the Minister agree with me that, if No. 10 North finally makes this country work for constituents such as mine, it will be worth every single penny?

• 10 Sept 2026 · Social Housing Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  My constituency is in the borough of Ealing, where 3,000 families are in temporary accommodation and 7,500 are on the housing list. Some 9,000 homes were sold off under the right to buy since the 1980s. Does my hon. Friend agree that this Bill strikes the right balance between continuing social mobility for long-standing tenants while protecting homes for those most in need?

• 10 Sept 2026 · Social Housing Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  I know the St Helier estate well, but would the hon. Gentleman not agree that it was his party, the Liberal Democrats, in coalition with the Conservatives, that massively increased the discounts for right to buy that caused the very problem he is talking about?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  Many people in my constituency work at the nearby Heathrow airport, so it is extremely important for jobs, but for many other constituents the noise of the airport can be annoying and they worry about emissions. Does the Secretary of State agree that airspace modernisation offers an opportunity to stop that stacking of aircraft over west London and to have quieter and cleaner aircraft, which would reduce noise and emissions? Will she also confirm that this Bill will still allow local people to have a say on any decisions on airspace modernisation?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend and neighbour mentions the Elizabeth line—we cannot miss that out when talking about connectivity to Heathrow—which has transformed my constituents’ lives. However, in line with another neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Danny Beales)—his constituents appear to be throwing stones at the airport; mine are not—may I raise overcrowding on the Elizabeth line? I know that that is being looked at and there is the potential to run further trains, but in the rush hour in particular, and when lots of people have cases, it can be a nightmare for my constituents.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Summer Health and Resilience · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. Ealing hospital has already had £5.9 million of investment from this Labour Government to install 222 solar panels and a new heating system that stops patients and staff getting too hot or cold. Does she agree that her announcement today will not just help the NHS to beat the heat, but help us to save money that we can spend on patient care?

• 8 Sept 2026 · Health Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Minister for giving way and wish her a happy birthday, too. The NHS trust in north-west London was recently found to be one of the most improved in London in terms of reducing waiting lists. Does she agree that all the changes that she is bringing in through the Bill, including those discussed today, will help us to bring down those waiting lists even further and address the issues with corridor care that she has outlined?

• 7 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  Yesterday I visited the Shri Guru Ravidass Sikh gurdwara in my constituency, where I was told about the weekly drop-in they run to help rough sleepers without the right to stay in this country and advise them on how to reconnect with family and go home with dignity. Would the Secretary of State congratulate the work of the gurdwara and tell us how we can further help those kinds of organisations?

• 3 Sept 2026 · Building Homes and Renewing Communities · Hansard source

  More

  The Secretary of State is right to say that the reasons people sleep rough are complex, and Ealing Southall is almost unique in that many of our rough sleepers do not have the right to stay or work in the country, so the council cannot legally help them off the streets. Will she meet me to find ways of making it easier for this group of rough sleepers to reconnect with family abroad and return home with dignity?

• 1 Sept 2026 · Criminal Justice Reform · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. His colleague the Minister for Policing and Crime wrote to me over the summer to confirm that from 26 October, police in Ealing Southall will have the power to use Labour’s new respect orders, with persistent antisocial behaviour offenders facing up to two years in prison. Does he agree that the steps this Government are taking will help to ensure that there is room in our prisons for those who are making life a misery right now for many of my constituents in Ealing Southall?

• 1 Sept 2026 · Direction of Government · Hansard source

  More

  I hugely welcome the Prime Minister’s £422 million investment to end rough sleeping, but in Ealing Southall many of those on the streets have no recourse to public funds, so it is illegal for the council to spend money helping them. Many would go home, but they face delays getting travel documents and from closed police cases being left open. Will the Prime Minister ensure that the relevant Home Office and Housing Ministers meet me to ensure that Ealing Southall is not left behind when it comes to his groundbreaking pledge to end street homelessness?

• 1 Dec 2025 · M6: Junction 38 · Hansard source

  More

  Hear, hear.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Early Education and Childcare · Hansard source

  More

  Children and parents at Allenby primary school in my constituency of Ealing Southall are already set to benefit from a newly modernised and expanded nursery as a result of funding from this Labour Government. Can I pass on directly to the Minister the thanks of Mr Hickman, the headteacher, who said that the investment is a fantastic opportunity that the local community is truly grateful for? Does the Minister agree that today’s announcement of 300 more nurseries in schools like Allenby will save thousands of families money on childcare and help them to manage the challenging job of parenting and working?

• 3 Sept 2025 · Hospitality Sector · Hansard source

  More

  It is interesting that the Conservatives’ motion acknowledges the important role that hospitality businesses play in offering a first step on the employment ladder to “young and often excluded groups”. If they care so much about young and often excluded people, I would have thought they would have backed Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, because right now in Ealing Southall, young workers and the many workers of Indian heritage in my constituency can be sacked for no reason whatsoever in their first two years in a job. These are often hard-working, qualified people but they are completely at the mercy of bad employers because the right not to be unfairly dismissed applies only after two years in a job. There are some great hospitality businesses in Ealing Southall, including the Plough in Northfields, a Fuller’s pub I visited recently, which does a lot to train and support its staff. However, over half of employees under 30 have been with their current employer for less than two years, and 42% of black, Asian and minority ethnic employees have been with their current employer for less than two years, compared with 28% of white workers. The very young, black and Asian workers that the Conservatives claim to care about are therefore exactly the people who will be helped most by Labour’s Employment Rights Bill. In fact, it is an all-too-common trick for bad employers to sack workers just before the two years are up. The Conservatives need to explain why they think it is okay that a young worker can be sacked for no reason after 23 and a half months in the job, just so they do not get their rights. The Conservatives’ motion also objects to Labour’s plan to end exploitative zero-hours contracts. Who do they think is most likely to be on those kinds of contracts? Oh yes! It is exactly the same young and often excluded workers, but they obviously do not care about them at all. Exploitative zero-hours contracts do not just mean that workers do not know from week to week if they will be able to afford the rent; they also put power into the hands of managers who can use the threat of people losing their hours to threaten and bully—you’ve guessed it—young, black and Asian workers, who are often the most vulnerable at work.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Hospitality Sector · Hansard source

  More

  I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Labour’s Employment Rights Bill is all about levelling the playing field so that the efforts made by the great employers that we have in this country, including hospitality employers, to look after their workers can be broadened out to the whole of the industry. The Conservatives also need to stop pretending that this change that Labour is bringing in would stop seasonal working in the hospitality sector. Stop making things up! A worker can stay on a zero-hours contract if that is what they want. Many people will choose to do that if it fits with their lives, but where there is clearly a regular job and someone has been working those hours for at least three months, they will have the right to a guarantee of those minimum hours. What is wrong with that? The Tories need to explain why they think it is okay for young and often excluded workers to remain at the beck and call of bad managers, with no control over their hours and no financial security. Our hospitality businesses are indeed often the first step on the employment ladder, and McDonald’s in Southall is another great example of that. The Conservatives are busy trying to knock people off that ladder. With Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, we are helping workers climb up the ladder into decent, well-paid jobs that their families can thrive on.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Young Disabled People: Labour Market Inequalities · Hansard source

  More

  The last Conservative Government left so many young disabled people in Ealing Southall who wanted to work consigned to a lifetime on benefits, but at West Ealing jobcentre we are already seeing a difference being made, with £1.3 billion of funding for employment support from this Labour Government. Does the Minister agree that the Mayfield review offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to transform the workplace to make it more accessible for disabled people?

• 2 Sept 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill · Hansard source

  More

  We in London also face a proliferation of e-scooters and e-bikes. The last Conservative Government absolutely failed to take any action on that. Does my hon. Friend agree that it will make a huge difference to Londoners that Transport for London will now have the power to hold those companies to account and clear the pavements?

• 1 Sept 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

  More

  In recent months alone more than 1,000 of my constituents have contacted me about the brutal conflict in Gaza, making it the single biggest issue of concern to local people. I know that the Foreign Secretary and his Ministers are doing everything that they can behind the scenes and in private, but does he agree that the Palestinian people have an inalienable right to statehood and that a further group of countries, including the UK, recognising Palestine could provide a practical and, importantly, a public step towards making a two-state solution and a lasting peace possible?

• 17 Jul 2025 · Global Plastics Treaty · Hansard source

  More

  I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate. He has outlined the important global action that we need to take on plastics. Does he agree that this Government’s action to bring forward a deposit return scheme will help address some of these issues? It will ensure that we can recycle plastics, and that will take them off the streets and beaches, where they are ending up.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Global Plastics Treaty · Hansard source

  More

  Does the hon. Member agree that the Government’s banning of disposable plastic vapes is another way we can help reduce this plastic waste?

• 17 Jul 2025 · RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Unit · Hansard source

  More

  I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate, at which many of us are here to support her. Two of the names on that list of 1,747 people are from my constituency of Ealing Southall, including Warrant Officer Mervyn Harris, who was reported missing in action in June 1945, just before the end of the war. His body was never found. Sergeant Frank Bastard, from Chandos Avenue in Northfields, survived the war and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for flying after a pilot was injured. Warrant Officer Harris has a local memorial at the NatWest bank in Southhall, where he used to work. Does my hon. Friend agree that, although local monuments are a great thing, we need a national monument to properly recognise those people’s sacrifice?