Ian Lavery MP: speeches

Speeches

• 26 Feb 2025 · High Street Bank Closures · Hansard source

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  Absolutely. It is essential and that is the whole reason behind this debate. I will get back to that. I was more or less guaranteed, unofficially, that we had qualified in Bedlington. I was dumbfounded to see, when Link’s assessment was published some months later, that it suggested no additional services—no action to support the elderly woman from Bedlington station who banked in person on a weekly basis on Front Street, used the opportunity to speak with trusted members of staff without worrying about falling prey to scammers, met her friend for a coffee on Bedlington Front Street and took the opportunity to visit some local shops and spend a few pounds in the process. There was no assessment of the impact on that woman, on other residents or on local businesses of allowing high street banking to be lost with no banking hub provided; no assessment of the impact on people like her who are now travelling to a neighbouring town and spending their money there instead. On inspection, it appeared that we had been turned down because there was a bank in Cramlington located 0.1 km closer to Bedlington Front Street, as the crow flies, than the regulations suggested were appropriate. That is why we were declined—because of 0.1 km—and it is time that that sort of thing was addressed. We need to look at issues in the community such as deprivation, elderly people and those who, as the hon. Member for Strangford mentioned, are in desperate need of facilities on the high street. I immediately applied to Link and, as advised by its parliamentary liaison officer, I submitted an appeal, which was summarily dismissed without much discussion. I emphasised that Bedlington, as the fourth-largest town in Northumberland, should not need to use facilities in other towns.

• 26 Feb 2025 · High Street Bank Closures · Hansard source

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  I agree. I have already mentioned the number of closures; I am not sure whether a post office can act as a back-up, because we have seen closure after closure of post offices, until eventually a number of the constituencies up and down the country have no facilities whatever.

• 26 Feb 2025 · High Street Bank Closures · Hansard source

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  I fully agree with my hon. Friend from the neighbouring constituency to mine. Urban and rural areas face the same issues; we are being abandoned on the high street by these large banks. That is why we need to get the criteria changed to make sure that we allow Link—

• 26 Feb 2025 · High Street Bank Closures · Hansard source

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  Unfortunately, my understanding is that high street banks want to centralise in much bigger places and make much higher profits, and do not consider the communities that the two of us serve. Does the Minister agree that the demographics of an area should be of paramount importance when assessing the need for a banking hub, and will he take steps to include that in the criteria? Does he agree that banks should commit to a local service before putting profits before communities? Does he agree that the Government should have the means to intervene in decisions such as the one I described in Bedlington and other Members described in their constituencies? If Northumberland’s fourth-largest town is being failed, something is sadly wrong. The current criteria are simply not fit for purpose. They abandon many of our most vulnerable constituents. A wholesale, root-and-branch review is required, to make life easier, not more difficult, for those we proudly represent.

• 26 Feb 2025 · High Street Bank Closures · Hansard source

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  That is absolutely reasonable, is it not? The decision by Link or the Financial Conduct Authority is basically transactional. It does not really look at the community factors—it looks at a lot of different factors, but those do not count as points toward the overall result or announcement that there will be the go-ahead for additional services. That must change. It must embrace everything that is happening; it cannot be because the banks are leaving, which they have been on pace because of the profit margins. We have to start looking after communities and vulnerable people—the frail, the elderly and the disabled—in places like that and we need to change the regulations.

• 26 Feb 2025 · High Street Bank Closures · Hansard source

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  That was the whole idea of bringing the debate to this Chamber. The issue is the inflexibility of Link and of the Financial Conduct Authority regulations, which means that even the smallest, most minute detail can mean that people are not going to have a banking hub. That really needs changing, for the sake of our communities. It impacts local businesses, which are also at risk of adverse effects as a result of bank closures, with reduced ability to manage their cash flows and, of course, reduced productivity due to time spent away while accessing banking services. In my constituency, the coastal village of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea was left without a bank in 1999, meaning that for more than 25 years, local people have been forced to travel in order to access banking facilities. That is the point I make to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). I want to use Bedlington as an example in my contribution, too. It is Northumberland’s fourth-largest town, and in May this year, it will be left without a bank, following TSB’s decision to close its branch on Front Street West. In recent years, bank branches in Blyth and Ashington, the two largest towns in my constituency, have also closed. While they are both currently served by banking providers, I can only wonder how long that will last. The case of Bedlington is particularly worrying. It is a proud community with a rich and in many ways unique history. During the flight northwards from William the Conqueror’s army, the body of St Cuthbert is said to have been rested at what is now St Cuthbert’s church. The town and its surrounding areas were once an exclave of County Durham, then it developed into an industrial centre, with its ironworks and multiple coal mines. The loss of heavy industry has left a huge legacy, similar to that in many other post-industrial communities. When passing through that lovely place, Bedlington, people might not understand that unique history, with its traditions and cultures, because it has got a picturesque high street. The town contains pockets of significant deprivation, and the erosion of services in Bedlington makes the lives of those who are struggling ever more difficult. Following the announcement that the final high street bank would close, my office triggered a review with Link into access to cash. Immediately after that, Link contacted my office to apologise about the fact that a review had not been automatically triggered, as would be the normal process. We were told that the review had been fast-tracked through the initial stages and a visit was arranged by one of the Link community assessment managers. I met with the community assessment manager in Bedlington prior to the general election, following his assessment, and I could not have felt more positive about his reflections. He was an excellent ambassador for Link and, indeed, a good, intelligent man. He had been up Bedlington’s main street and spoken to the people there long before I arrived. He was gushing in his praise for Bedlington high street, describing it as a handsome high street that was well frequented, with a mixture of local businesses. He was unable, at that stage, to confirm that a banking hub would 100% be recommended, but it was heavily suggested that that would be the preferred solution. I was absolutely delighted at that because, as I think everybody will agree, there is a great place for banking hubs. They are a good, progressive move forward. It is inflexibility that is the huge problem.

• 13 Feb 2025 · Infected Blood Compensation Scheme · Hansard source

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  May I first thank my right hon. Friend for the update? Despite his sterling efforts—I really mean that—the process has taken far too long. Victims are dying at the rate of two per week, never having seen the compensation they deserve. Victims are very much unaware of, and desperate to understand, what and how much compensation they might even be due under the process. Can the Minister say how many of the 5,000 infected victims will be invited to apply to the scheme during 2025? Has he considered, or is there potential to consider, allowing victims to take support scheme payments as a lump sum without any reductions?

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

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  At the stroke of a pen, Tory-led Northumberland county council is about to wipe 9,000 people off the county’s housing waiting list. My office is beset by constituents in desperate need of secure and affordable accommodation, but even those in the highest priority bandings are often unable to get the housing they need. This is a simple, callous attempt to massage the huge housing list rather than deal with the issue. Can we have a debate in Government time on how to ensure that those in need of decent, affordable housing are not easily cast aside and thrown on to the scrap heap, as in the case of Northumberland county council?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Fuel Poverty: England · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Normanton and Hemsworth (Jon Trickett) for bringing this timely debate to the Chamber. Fuel poverty did not start on 4 July 2024, for heaven’s sake. I am not going to take any lectures from anybody who suggests that it did, because let me tell hon. Members that under the last 14 years of Tory Government, tens of thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—of ordinary people died as a result of fuel poverty. That is the real issue. The Labour Government are now gladly and positively elected, and we look forward to seeing some changes very soon. What actually is fuel poverty? There are two definitions: the new one from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the pre-2015 definition. They are greatly different. The preferred definition of fuel poverty used by the Government until 2015 and still by some parts of the UK, is a household that is “required to spend more than 10% of its income” to keep sufficiently warm. That definition has advantages; it links directly to the cost of energy prices and can still give credit to energy-efficient homes. If a low-income household in a very modern energy efficient dwelling still finds that it spends 10% of its income on energy, it is a clear reflection of the impact of energy price inflation. That is very important. We cannot get rid of poverty in this country by rewriting a policy. It cannot be done—whether it is fuel, food, child or pensioner poverty. We cannot get rid of poverty just by rewriting policies; work has to be done on the ground. It is always the less well-off who suffer from fuel poverty and all other types of poverty. In my Blyth and Ashington constituency, according to the House of Commons Library there are 5,211 households in fuel poverty, but that increases to 14,500 using the pre-2015 definition. There is more fuel poverty in the east of my constituency in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Blyth itself. That is something the Government should be looking at as a matter of urgency. Who suffers because of fuel and energy prices? The less well-off, and people in fuel poverty using prepayment electric meters. Of those in fuel poverty, 63% are on some kind of benefit, and there are around 2.5 million pensioners suffering as a consequence of fuel poverty. We have got to keep people warm. There are lots of things the Government can do. Fuel poverty simply means that people are not warm, but we live in the UK, one of the richest nations in the world. Why on earth are we not ensuring that everyone has a safe and warm home to live in? It is called decency. It is called respect. It is necessary and extremely important that the Government address this. I urge the Minister to consider the points that have been raised this morning about what the Government can actually do.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Coalfield Communities · Hansard source

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  I refer Members to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I was a miner from the age of 17 until I came to this place—a period of over 30 years—and I also have a connection with the National Union of Mineworkers. It will be crystal clear from this debate that there is an absolute need to continue with support for the coalfield communities, whether that is the Orgreave truth and justice campaign, the pardoning of the sacked miners, CISWO—a fantastic charity that needs a complete and utter overhaul—the MPS, or whether it is looking again at the BCSSS scheme, the general social deprivation and poverty in the communities, or the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. Those issues will be covered in much more detail by my hon. Friends, but I want to take the time I have to paint a picture and take people back to the proud past, because we in the coalfield communities are very proud of our past. The communities were built from the wage packets of the miners. What we have lost is something we have to describe today, as well as what we want back to fulfil that pride in our communities and the people we proudly represent. We were the people who fuelled the industrial revolution, and the communities were savagely destroyed by a Government driven by political ideology. There was little that the collieries did not touch, and when I left school there was pretty much full employment. When the schools opened their gates, the pits opened theirs. Following in the footsteps of our forebears, we felt like we were contributing to the wealth of the nation —we really were contributing to the wealth of this nation, and many paid the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. People were given the finest apprenticeships you could ever imagine—qualifications in working underground that could be transferred across the globe, and training in skills that no piece of paper could ever quantify. I learned from the very best. My education from the age of 17 was from miners with huge intellect. Most were without a single written qualification, and written off as uneducated by people who should know better, but these were absolute working-class geniuses, believe me. It did not stop at political debate. The men who we looked up to imparted to us many life skills. They taught us the value of work. I am talking about miners underground who taught the younger generation coming through about the value of work, the value of contributing to our local communities, and the perils of stepping out of line. The coalfields largely policed themselves, and if you got into trouble on a night out, you were in trouble when you went back to work. Employment at the pit gave miners and their families the security of a colliery house—good-quality terraced housing that stretched the length of the communities, and all owned by the coal board. With decent rents, those houses were kept in good order and gave the security of a home to miners. Those are basic things, and local communities, coalfield communities, are now suffering greatly because of the huge loss. The communities had a thriving social scene, and if someone wanted to wet their whistle, there were plenty of places where they could have a pint. The clubs are gone—clubland has disappeared, miners’ welfares are disappearing, and we have to get something back. The communities enjoyed a whole host of pursuits, whether that was whippet racing, pigeon fancying, leek growing, onion growing, billiards, pigeon racing, jazz bands, brass bands—it was amazing what the miners were able to contribute to this country. That is why we need specific intervention from the Government into those coalfield communities that are dying on their feet. We should never forget the contribution that coalfield communities delivered to the country, often at a great cost, and they really need that levelling-up that is constantly promised.

• 3 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T6. Many people with mental health conditions rely heavily on personal independence payments so that they can continue in work and remain active in their communities. Can the Minister provide advice to the many constituents of mine who have contacted me terrified by the rumours that the Government are about to scrap this vital support for those who already have mental health issues?

• 30 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T7. This week saw DeepSeek throw the global tech market into utter meltdown, with the Chinese AI app spooking investors, to say the least. With huge national infra- structure projects required to underpin the UK’s place in the AI revolution, what does this turmoil mean for projects such as the Blackstone AI data centre in Cambois in Bedlingtonshire, in my constituency?

• 30 Jan 2025 · Avian Influenza · Hansard source

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  Has the Minister assessed the Conservative Government’s underspend of the agriculture budget?

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

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  Flexible Engineered Solutions International in my constituency is an excellent example of a strong and successful business. It delivers projects in oil and gas, and in renewables. Last week, it hosted clients from Rio de Janeiro, and the Brazilians travelled on the newly reopened Northumberland line. They travelled 5,600 miles, and the new line was the last leg. It was fantastic. Can we have a debate in Government time on the strategic importance of good local transport infrastructure that allows people from places like Brazil easy access to constituencies such as Blyth and Ashington?

• 30 Jan 2025 · North-east: Support for Businesses · Hansard source

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  17. What steps his Department is taking to support businesses in the north-east.

• 30 Jan 2025 · North-east: Support for Businesses · Hansard source

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  Yesterday saw full-throated Government support for projects across the UK, but not so much for the north-east. The region was decimated by 14 years of Tory Government, and that cannot be repeated. I accept what the Minister says about what has happened, but what will the Government do to ensure that businesses in my Blyth and Ashington constituency can play their part in the cutting-edge technologies of the future and, crucially, see improved investment, which will create much- needed jobs with good wages and terms and conditions?

• 29 Jan 2025 · Outsourcing: Government Departments · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Gentleman think it is right that in certain private companies, individuals are able to claim universal credit, while directors of the very same companies are trousering thousands of pounds, as are the dividend holders? It is a burden on the taxpayer—does he agree?

• 29 Jan 2025 · Outsourcing: Government Departments · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) for bringing this timely debate to the Chamber. As ever, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. I want to dispel some myths in the few minutes that I have got. I want us to wake up and smell the coffee, because this is not “outsourcing”. What is outsourcing? It is privatisation. One hon. Member said it is privatisation by the back door, but it is not; it is just privatisation. We have got to get to grips with how privatisation in this country is getting out of control. Who benefits and who does not benefit? The reality is that the companies are making fortunes and the workers are struggling to make ends meet. There are some private companies that are actually providing food banks in their places of work for the people they employ. How obscene is that? It is not about socialism or about even left-wing ideology; it is about decency and respect. It is about ambition and giving people a fair deal. That is what we should be about in a prosperous country like the one we live in. Who suffers under privatisation? I was one of the people who worked in a nationalised industry that was privatised over a period of time, so I have got experience of this. Who suffers? It is the workers. It has been mentioned: reduction in pay, sacking of the labour force, lack of trade union recognition—even trying to fight back—nae sick pay, nae holiday pay. It is absolutely absurd. It served them! We need to be saying what it really is, and the Government Departments are ridden with individuals who are working under the most horrendous of conditions. I pay tribute to the many workers who have worked tirelessly. Many of those in privatised companies are claiming universal credit. The company directors are trousering fortunes, while the workers are losing out on the rights that I have just mentioned. It is horrendous. Some of them cannot make ends meet. Many of them are going to work when they really should not be there, because of sickness, for example. It is just wholly unacceptable. We have got to get to grips with this privatisation. We have got no other option. We need to protect people in this country from the abuses and the exploitation by privateers, who are making fortunes at the cost of those in the industry. I urge my hon. Friend the Minister to listen to what my hon. Friend the Member for Normanton and Hemsworth (Jon Trickett) said about the legal presumption of in-house employment, because the reality is that we cannot control what we do not own.

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

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  Research from the Centre for Cities shows that the average wage in the north-east is £17,000 per annum less than here in London, and the gap is likely to be much higher than that in constituencies like mine. May we have a debate in Government time to discuss how the Labour Government will bridge that staggering gap and ensure that there are good, well-paid, secure jobs in the north-east of England?

• 23 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  There are still, sadly, two victims of the contaminated blood scandal dying on a weekly basis. Will my right hon. Friend say what is preventing the Government from instructing IBCA to issue core payments today to all living infected victims registered with the existing support schemes?

• 18 Dec 2024 · Employment Rights: Terminal Illness · Hansard source

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  Big congratulations to my hon. Friend on the work he has done on this issue over many years. Does he agree that the six-month rule, which determines that a person is terminally ill—that they are dying and will not be here in six months—is too stressful? People need to get clarification from their doctor, in the most difficult circumstances, that they are going to die. I think that is absolutely stressful, and I speak with a personal situation in mind.

• 18 Dec 2024 · Employment Rights: Terminal Illness · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure, as ever, to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Corby and East Northamptonshire (Lee Barron) on bringing this extremely important debate to the House and on his work over the years before he became an MP, particularly in the midlands, which was exemplary, to say the least. Sir Edward, can you imagine what it is like when the consultant tells you—perhaps you are at work and you get a phone call—that you have got terminal cancer? Your life flashes before you. It is horrendous, and not only for you; your family, your workmates and everyone else is completely devastated. Yet here in the UK employers still have the ability to decide whether to dismiss somebody under those circumstances, on the basis of capability, or allow them to remain in employment. Quite frankly, it is appalling. It does not befit this wonderful country that we live in. When they get telt they have terminal cancer or a terminal illness, and are in work, different people have different views, but many have not got different options, because it is down to employers. There are good employers and bad employers. That has always been the case and it always will be. That is why it should be enshrined in law that people with a terminal condition cannot be dismissed on grounds of capability in any way, shape or form. Different people are different. Some people want to work, because they see it as a distraction from their condition. Some people have a condition that makes it impossible for them to work. Some people want to fight their grave illness; others want to lie under the duvet and sadly spend the rest of their days in the house, not in work. But people need to have options, and people need to be supported by the Government. I can give personal testimony, because I have experienced this situation only this year. A very close relative—it was my brother, actually—was in this position, and it was terrible. For pension reasons, to continue in employment and to receive other support, he had to prove to his employer that he really was terminally ill. For someone to do that, they have to get a letter from their GP to prove that they are going to die. The definition of “terminally ill” is that someone will die within six months, so he and his family had to seek a letter saying that he was not going to be around in six months. That is absolute stress of the highest level; it is a pre-death certificate. Can it be right that working people are tret in this way? You have got enough stress when you have been telt—by the consultant, the doctor, the hospital, the GP—that you have not got that much time left. Some people want to get on and put their affairs in order; others want to spend time with their family. But people should have the right to work, and the right to continue in employment, if they can. Other speakers have mentioned financial issues. Of course, lots of people who get a terminal illness while they are in work have family, including kids, as well as mortgages, cars and loans, and they cannot just have their financial position severed because of bad employers. I think it was my hon. Friend the Member for Corby and East Northamptonshire who said that dignity at work is not a privilege, but a right. I agree. Basically, I think that the Government should consider the position of terminally ill individuals in the workplace. With regard to needing absolute proof that you are dying, I am not sure. Imagine having to ask the doctor, “Can you put it in writing that I’m not going to be here?” It is dreadful. That is something we need to look at. I think it is right that the Government should enshrine in legislation that employers cannot dismiss anyone on grounds of capability if they can prove that they have a terminal illness, whether that proof is a letter saying they have six months to live—a pre-death certificate—or not. The employer should recognise that proof and it should be up to the individual worker to decide which of the options available to them to take. It is commendable that 1.5 million workers and a whole number of companies have signed up to the Dying to Work campaign, but I think we have about 44 million workers in this country, and we have good employers and bad employers. We need to take the choice away from the employers; we need to enshrine it in law and support people who face the most dreadful situation that could ever be imagined.

• 17 Dec 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Lynemouth biomass power station in my constituency has some very ambitious and exciting projects involving carbon capture and storage, but it is waiting for some major decisions by the Department. Will the Minister agree to meet me so that we can tackle these pressing outstanding issues?

• 28 Nov 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Huge congratulations are due to the volunteers and voluntary groups who received the prestigious King’s Award earlier this month, including six in Northumberland and one in my constituency: the Empire school of boxing, led by the phenomenal Les Welsh. May we have a debate in Government time to allow other Members to express their gratitude to the volunteers and voluntary groups in their areas? After all, they are the cornerstone of all our constituencies.

• 28 Nov 2024 · Historic Church Preservation: Northumberland · Hansard source

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  8. What steps the Church is taking to ensure the preservation of historic churches in Northumberland.