Janet Daby MP: speeches

Speeches

• 2 Jul 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The Government have shown a clear commitment to addressing many of the issues facing leaseholders, but may I ask them to go further? I say that because many of my constituents who are leaseholders in a particular building that is under 11 metres tall are facing a bill of £70,000—in fact, the managing agent is asking for £3,000 a month. This is not due to any fault on the part of the leaseholders. Will the Leader of the House ask the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to make an oral or written statement on the support available to leaseholders in buildings that are under 11 metres tall?

• 25 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I know the Minister is committed to supporting civil servants during relocation. I also know she is aware that there are employment inequalities in the civil service, in particular around promotion and pay. Will she say what more she is doing about this issue, and will she agree to meet me?

• 24 Jun 2026 · Climate Change · Hansard source

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  Since the last election, great strides have been made by this Government in confronting the ongoing climate crisis. There should be no doubt at all about us being in a climate crisis—we only need to step outside to feel it. We have heard from many Members already that this is one of the hottest days on record. I welcome the Government’s clear acceptance of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recommended reduction of carbon emissions. That is an issue that my constituents care deeply about. After all, it is about their children’s future, and when I say this, I mean that all children deserve the right to breathe clean air. This Labour Government have made historic investments in clean energy and rewilding projects across the country. Those achievements have not only worked to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and build our national energy independence, but brought with them further private investment, training opportunities and high-skilled sustainable employment, reinvigorating our communities and building the foundations for a greener and more sustainable economy. The Government’s focus on environmental policy is demonstrated by the carbon budget, which will improve people’s lives now and for years to come. It will rebuild our natural environment, and it will save lives. In previous years, 4,000 premature deaths were linked to poor air quality in London alone. That is not acceptable. It has affected my constituency directly with the tragic death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah in 2013, following which, for the first time in the UK, air pollution was listed as a cause of death. I applaud her mother, Rosamund, who campaigns relentlessly for clean air. For far too long, Governments in Westminster have failed to take the dangers of air pollution seriously, and I am glad that that is no longer the case. Thanks to vital work on the part of the Mayor of London, enormous progress has been made to clean up our air. The implementation of ultra low emission zones—which are popular with some and unpopular with others—has removed high-emission vehicles from our streets, which, again, is to be applauded. This progress shows a Labour movement working together at local and national level to change lives. I congratulate the Government on their acceptance of the carbon budget and the emissions reduction target, and I look forward to continuing to support the work that is taking place in the UK and globally to tackle the climate crisis. However, I ask the Government to look further at the stripping of minerals from the seabed. As the Minister will know, deep sea mining puts at risk genuinely irreplaceable biomes, and may lead to the remobilisation of carbon emissions that have long been dormant on the seabed.

• 18 May 2026 · Backing Business to Create Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  Bellingham and Downham in my constituency are some of the most deprived areas in London and, indeed, the country. These areas need the radical change that Labour promised in 2024, and I believe that the action to achieve this must be rooted in a foundation of economic stability. That is why I welcome the Government’s approach to the economy. It may have been missed, but just last week, it was reported that the UK had the fastest growth in the G7, despite the backdrop of conflict in the strait of Hormuz and eastern Europe. There are over 3,000 thriving businesses based in Lewisham East, and many of them are small and medium-sized enterprises. A missed or delayed payment can have a deep effect on those businesses’ sustainability, which is why the Government’s small business protections Bill, on late payments, is relevant. It will protect businesses from being mistreated in any way. Construction firms are the largest sector in the constituency, accounting for 16% of registered businesses. The Government’s plans to ban the deduction and withholding of retention payments under construction contracts will protect supporting industries, safeguard construction workers and help get Britain building again. Turning to Europe, which so many in this Chamber have mentioned, I welcome the closer ties with the European Union that will be delivered through the Government’s European partnership Bill. It will benefit many businesses across my constituency. Indeed, when I was first elected in 2018, it was on a promise to repair the relationship between the UK and the EU, and I am pleased to note that the Government are progressing that commitment. The Bill will stabilise our trading relationship and set the stage for agreements on emissions trading and electricity trading, benefiting the environment, advancing our net zero goals, and securing our long-term energy future. I very much welcome the youth experience scheme and our rejoining Erasmus. I wish to speak about cladding remediation. In my constituency, many freeholders in buildings such as Park View in Lee Green have felt trapped in their home because of the delay in correcting dangerous cladding, which is causing them such distress. I ask the Government to please look again at those in buildings of under 11 metres who have been caught up in the cladding crisis from no fault of their own. Finally, I turn my attention to high streets. Of course, we all want to have pride in our towns and cities. We want them to thrive, businesses to develop and be stronger, and people to be really happy and secure in their area. Like my constituents, I want to be prouder of, and to feel safer in, Catford town centre, which is in great need of regeneration. There are opportunities for new homes, more businesses and social spaces, building on the amazing initiatives and benefits already there, such as Catford House. Goldsmiths, University of London, will use some of the premises for its teaching, and there is a plan for a cinema to return to Catford. Will Ministers look again at Catford town centre, and will they meet me to discuss this further, so that progress happens in this area of my constituency?

• 5 Mar 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Fly-tipping is a blight on our communities. It should not happen and it is wrong. It spoils and damages communities, and I see far too much fly-tipping up and down my constituency. Lewisham council is doing an excellent job—a fantastic job, even—in doing all it can to manage this, but would the Leader of the House agree with me that we need a wider Government strategy on how to manage and deal with fly-tipping across our country?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure · Hansard source

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  Libraries and community centres are central to communities like mine in Lewisham East, and they make an excellent contribution to the local area. Can the Minister say whether there are any planned changes to their business rates and tell us how else they can be supported in our local community?

• 8 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Happy new year to you and your staff, Mr Speaker. I have some pleasing news: knife attacks in Lewisham have reduced by 23% over the last year, which is to be celebrated. I thank the council, the police, our Mayor of London and all the local community organisations that have helped to achieve this and to bring more peace to our streets. However, you will probably remember, Mr Speaker, that last year, there were two deaths due to knife crime in my constituency. Any knife crime, and of course any fatality, is awful news that nobody wants to hear. Can we have a Government statement on progress since the announcement on the coalition to tackle knife crime in September 2024, and on the knife crime action plan promised in the Labour manifesto?

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his support for the Chancellor’s Budget and the lifting of the two-child benefit limit. I agree with what he said. I remind Members what my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier) said: 70% of children in poverty have parents who are in work. Children are not in poverty because their parents are not working. This Government are doing everything they can to lift children out of poverty. I also remind Members about the Children Act 1989, which states that the welfare of the child is paramount. If memory serves me correctly, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs refers to food. Getting children out of poverty means ensuring that no child goes hungry and that children have their basic needs met. This Government are very much committed to that, which is why I am delighted that the measure is in the Chancellor’s Budget.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. I will indeed come to breakfast clubs—how could I miss them out? The Resolution Foundation has estimated that scrapping the two-child limit would bring 330,000 children out of poverty and prevent a further 150,000 children from falling into poverty over the course of this Parliament. Children in my constituency will therefore have an improved standard of living, which is exactly what I want for them, just as Labour Members—and others, I am sure—want for their children. In fact, it is estimated that in Lewisham East, 3,530 children’s experience of relative child poverty will be reduced. That builds on the vital work already begun by this Government, including on expanding access to free school meals, opening free breakfast clubs in every primary school and investing in historic amounts of affordable and social housing. Alongside that, we have the recently announced freeze of rail fares and prescription prices. Every child deserves to be free from poverty and the effects of poverty. For far too long, successive Conservative Governments allowed child poverty to skyrocket; this Government will not. As a result of that failure, almost a fifth of children in my constituency grow up in poverty, but with the policies announced today, it is evident that the Labour Government are tackling child poverty as the moral imperative that it is.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  Parents want to provide for their children. Parents make choices, and the Government are making choices to support parents. We are doing that by lifting the two-child limit; Opposition Members should support that. We must not forget that these announcements have been made possible by making tough choices. Following the previous Government’s mismanagement, the nation was faced with an appalling fiscal situation. I turn to defence. The Government are investing in capital investment over the course of the Parliament to kick-start the rebuilding of our armed forces, which is absolutely necessary when we consider how unrest in Europe is coming closer to our shores every day. Since 2010, economic growth in my constituency of Lewisham East has lagged 30% behind the national average—that trend has been repeated in many other regions. The investment that will support councils and communities across the UK is therefore desperately needed. Finally, as a member of the International Development Committee, I turn to international development. The UK has been at the forefront of global efforts in particular to prevent violence against women and girls, to promote peace and co-operation between different ethnic and religious groups, and to support the economic development of communities across the world. I am therefore pleased to see that paragraph 4.61 of the Red Book says: “The government remains committed to restoring ODA spending to 0.7% of Gross National Income” as their fiscal forecasts continue to improve. I am pleased that we are still focused on that, so that we can promote overseas the values and rights that we enjoy here in the UK.

• 26 Nov 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chancellor and her team for a very welcome Budget. This is our Government’s second successive Budget, and it is focused on addressing the cost of living. It will ensure that everyone pays their fair share towards public services, and it invests in communities up and down the country. I will focus mainly on the cost of living, defence and overseas development aid. As Members will be aware, many people across our country are facing great challenges to meet the cost of essentials. Food banks should be a thing of the past. Through this Budget, the Government are working towards making them a thing of the past by focusing on getting children out of poverty and getting young people into work through apprenticeships, and by bringing down energy costs. I strongly believe that prevention is far better than cure. The Government know that that is so, which is why they are investing in and focusing on early family help and early intervention, and lifting the two-child benefit cap, which is a significant measure. I would hope the whole House would agree that no child should go hungry or without basic necessities, but from what I have heard from Conservative Members, I am not so sure that is the case. To those Members I say: child poverty damages the UK economy in the long term and makes those children less likely to perform as well as their peers in education and employment. Lifting the two-child benefit cap is, therefore, better for the economy. It will break the cycle of disadvantage and deprivation, and improve the life chances of children nationwide, wherever they are experiencing child poverty.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Budget: Press Briefings · Hansard source

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  Can the Chief Secretary confirm that this will be a Budget that prioritises economic growth?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Sixth-form Colleges: Funding · Hansard source

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  I take this opportunity to thank all post-16 providers and staff for their tireless work over the last academic year and wish them a restful summer break. Following the autumn Budget, this Government made available more than £400 million extra planned spending on 16-to-19 education in the financial year 2025-26. Since then, an additional £190 million for 2025-26 has been made available to respond to 16-to-19 demographic growth and other pressures on the system, creating opportunities for young people to succeed.

• 21 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I do indeed agree with my hon. Friend, and I applaud him for the work he did on the Derby Promise before he entered this place and for all he has done for children in Derby South since. I am delighted that employers such as Rolls-Royce have signed up to the Derby Promise to bring industry closer to young people and to inspire their future careers.

• 21 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I absolute agree with my hon. Friend. This Government will indeed stop shutting good people out of good jobs. He is probably aware that the Department funds apprentices to achieve a qualification as part of their training. We do not set entry requirements; these are decisions for employers. However, we have allowed for more flexibility in English and maths requirements for adults aged 19 and over.

• 21 Jul 2025 · Post-16 Education: Skills · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his question and his thoughtfulness regarding the levy and its operation. As he is fully aware, skills are a devolved matter and funding in the devolved Administration remains the responsibility of that Government. We will continue to engage with the devolved Administrations as we develop the levy-funded growth and skills offer for England.

• 21 Jul 2025 · Post-16 Education: Skills · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his question. We are a Government who continue to invest in education. We have flexibility available, and we have foundation apprenticeships and shorter apprenticeships. We are absolutely investing in young people to get them into the right jobs.

• 21 Jul 2025 · Apprenticeships · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his questions and, indeed, for his lobbying. Labour’s technical excellence colleges will be crucial to our plans to rewire our school system to unlock opportunity for young people and drive growth for our country. My hon. Friend is right: West Suffolk College is an outstanding provider, and I am sure that its remarkable achievements will be considered during the selection of our technical excellence colleges.