Jayne Kirkham MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Mar 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  Local government funding will, of course, be increasing to take that into account, and funding for adult social care is rising and will rise further in the next three-year settlement under this Government. To return to my speech, in Cornwall we have seen the rise of care workers coming from other countries to work on sponsorship visa schemes. These workers are often in a financially precarious situation, which increases their dependency. Some have been charged by their employers for induction, travel or training; in some cases, workers receive a salary below the minimum wage to make up the cost of their flights to the UK.

• 12 Mar 2025 · Sustainable Farming Incentive · Hansard source

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  Can the Minister confirm that environmental land management scheme agreements will remain in place under this Labour Government, including SFI, and that there will be a new and better targeted SFI on offer as soon as possible, with details to follow in the spending review?

• 6 Mar 2025 · Geothermal Energy · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Member agree that geothermal, as a baseload energy source that can be developed quickly, should be included in the Government’s clean power plan and have the priority that that affords for grid connections?

• 6 Mar 2025 · International Women’s Day · Hansard source

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  Much like my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Cat Eccles), I am the fifth woman in a row to represent Falmouth, which is part of my constituency. The first woman to represent Falmouth, in 1997, was selected through an all-woman shortlist. It is more than 50 years since Barbara Castle introduced the Equal Pay Act 1970 to the House of Commons. She was obviously a pioneering woman—the first female Secretary of State for Employment. She supported the Ford factory workers’ strike in Dagenham, which paved the way for equal pay legislation. However, it was not until 1984 that female workers at the Ford factory received full skills recognition in line with the men. Just last year, the Fawcett Society reported that the mean gender pay gap for full-time workers is still 11.3%. Decades after the first equal pay legislation, we still have a long way to go. It is hard to get equally paid work before having children, and it is even harder afterwards, so I am pleased that this Labour Government are bringing in measures that will help us get there, such as flexible working and better childcare provision. Our expansion of free childcare and universal breakfast clubs for primary school children will relieve some of the pressure on working parents—let us be honest, we mean mothers, who still often carry far more of the mental load. When my son was small and I became a single mum, my income dropped exponentially. I had left a job in a city to move to Cornwall and start a family. I found a job that fit in with school hours, but despite such jobs being vital, they are often low paid and less secure, so improving childcare in this country and making it more important is crucial to eliminating the gender pay gap. The Employment Rights Bill, which was introduced in the House in October, has many provisions that will help. Flexible working will become the default where practical, and it will be harder for employers to refuse flexible working requests. This will allow women with caring responsibilities to balance them more easily with work. It will also benefit women suffering from health conditions such as endometriosis, who will be able to manage their symptoms and appointments. I have met a number of constituents with endometriosis who have shared stories of their chronic pain and multiple surgeries making it difficult for them to work. They also struggle to feel heard and supported by the medical profession, feeling that they have to fight for treatment and sometimes having to wait years for diagnosis, as has been pointed out. Companies with more than 250 employees will be required to create action plans addressing gender inequality, including menopause. I know from bitter experience that migraines, sleeplessness and hot flushes can be debilitating, as can basic words dropping out of my head. Having arrangements and an understanding in place will enable more women to keep working. Skilled social care workers are chronically underpaid for what they do. The job I found as a single mum and retrained for was as a teaching assistant, and working in a school in a supporting role is another sector where the pay is very low. I am very pleased that the Bill gives respect and recognition to social care workers and support staff in the school support staff negotiating body and—

• 5 Mar 2025 · Courts and Tribunals: Sitting Days · Hansard source

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  Criminal justice was an easy target for Tory austerity cuts, which always impact the people with the smallest voice. Rape victims in Truro and Falmouth have told me that they have waited years for their cases to be heard and had hearings cancelled at the last minute, so I very much welcome this investment. Could I have more detail about the case for a new court that would sit between magistrates court and Crown court, and how that might work?

• 25 Feb 2025 · Warm Home Discount · Hansard source

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  I welcome the support in this statement, and the fact that 300,000 houses will be insulated in the next year. Does the Minister agree that the only long-term solution that will lead to energy security is our clean power plan? It will be good for areas like mine. The Confederation of British Industry pointed out yesterday that the green economy is growing three times quicker than the wider economy in this country. People want us to speed up, not slow down.

• 24 Feb 2025 · Crown Estate Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I was on the Bill Committee and I have followed the Bill throughout, mainly because I represent Truro and Falmouth, which has huge potential to benefit from floating offshore wind, with Falmouth docks and our position in the Celtic sea. If the build-out in the Celtic sea is done quickly and done well, our young people will benefit from good, well-paid jobs in a strong local supply chain. I also want to mention the CBI report published today, which shows how the green economy has grown three times faster and has higher wages than the national average across the board. We in Falmouth could really do with some of that, so I welcome this Bill.

• 24 Feb 2025 · Bank Closures: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  Falmouth is to have a banking hub. We are losing our last bank; Lloyds is going at the end of the year. The interesting thing about that is that the banking hub will be open 9 to 5, five days a week—and potentially even more—whereas the banks were very slowly cutting their opening hours after covid, and it was hard to find a bank outside school hours. That of course did not help rural businesses, which could not get there in time.

• 12 Feb 2025 · Energy Infrastructure: Chinese Companies · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that, after the real neglect of our energy infrastructure for the past 14 years, setting up GB Energy to help UK ownership of energy production can only be a good thing, and that our investment in critical minerals, particularly in Cornwall, and in the supply chain for floating offshore wind will be crucial for our national security?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As the Minister pointed out earlier, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service has taken a prominent role in protecting our subsea infrastructure. I welcome the settlement of the RFA pay dispute. Will that help the Minister to tackle the recruitment and retention crisis that saw numbers of RFA seafarers fall by 30% under the previous Government?

• 6 Feb 2025 · Crown Estate Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  The Crown Estate, until now, has made decisions on the leasing of the seabed based mainly on price and cost and nothing else. This Bill will change that by asking commissioners to “keep under review the impact of their activities on…sustainable development”. Amendment 1 simply clarifies “sustainable development” and slightly expands on what that means for, for example, net zero targets and economic growth. I ask the Minister to consider that and to assure us that that is what the Bill is intended to do, and that it will be the progress and direction of the Crown Estate.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Crown Estate Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  The Crown Estate has started to consult, and is publishing plans before it takes decisions about where to put floating offshore wind stations, for example. Can the Minister assure us that that will be the case in the future, and that when the Crown Estate is planning to build out in the ocean, there will be consultation with fishermen and environmentalists? I think that is the intention, as discussed on Second Reading.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Crown Estate Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  As my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay partially explained, there is an issue relating to, for example, the Celtic sea, where the Crown Estate has great interest in floating offshore wind. That lies between Wales, Cornwall and the south-west, so where would the line be drawn? It would open up a huge number of complexities that would be very difficult to solve.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Support for Female Offenders · Hansard source

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  4. What steps her Department is taking to support female offenders.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Support for Female Offenders · Hansard source

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  Gaie Delap, the mother of a constituent of mine, was recalled to prison just before Christmas, despite complying with her curfew conditions, because the Government’s electronic monitoring services contractor could not fulfil its contract and find a tag to fit a frail 78-year-old woman. Can the Minister and the Secretary of State help to find a solution so that Gaie Delap can be released on her curfew, and so that women are not disadvantaged by the failings of the contractor’s electronic monitoring system?

• 27 Jan 2025 · Creative Industries · Hansard source

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  From murals on beachside walks to a thriving Cornish film industry, and from a town-council-owned art gallery, theatre and library, to live music, including the biggest international shanty festival in the world, during which the population of Falmouth triples, we are blessed with the creative arts in Truro and Falmouth. They are all around us, all the time, but none of that would exist and impact our lives in such a positive or poignant way were it not for education in the creative arts. The world-class Falmouth University grew out of a 100-year-old art school with a strategic focus on creativity and technology. The campus on Woodlane is historic. Alumni include visual artist Tacita Dean and British sculptor Hew Locke. It leads the world in digital games design—I thought it did, although it seems that so do Guildford and Hartlepool —as well as fashion design, film, costumes and many other things. Art is all around us in Falmouth, and we should celebrate the role it plays in our lives and our economy. I welcome the inclusion of the creative industries among the UK’s eight growth sectors in the Government’s recent industrial strategy. It is brilliant that the creative industries are recognised for the economic driver that they are. In 2022, as many have said—it bears repeating—Britain’s creative industries generated £125 billion, which accounts for almost 6% of the UK economy and represents nearly 2.5 million jobs. They contribute more than £8 billion to the UK economy every year. Our globally loved art scene has a huge impact on the tourism economy. One in 10 tourists to the UK visited a theatre, for example, and theatres sell 34 million tickets a year across the UK. As well as the recently beautifully renovated Hall for Cornwall and the Princess Pavilion, which is also owned by Falmouth town council, in Cornwall we have the Minack, a famous open-air theatre carved into the granite cliffs overlooking Porthcurno bay. In the summer months, it is not uncommon for the dolphins to interrupt Shakespeare. None of those things would be possible were it not for creative arts education at school, and in higher education institutions such as Falmouth University. A creative education has many positives for students. Not only does it allow them to create, but the long-term skills gained from an arts education, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, impact on other industries, such as tech and digital media. That drives economic growth. Falmouth leads the way in AI; Engineered Arts is building increasingly complex robots by the sea, and it is trying to grow, despite the lack of industrial space in the area. As we see in Cornwall, creative arts are a regional growth driver. Cornwall is teeming with small and medium-sized enterprises and one-man bands that stimulate the independent sector and the growth of the whole area. That can be a vital lifeline for areas that struggle with deprivation, as Cornwall does. As we see in Truro and Falmouth, creativity hubs revitalise regions, bringing in the visitors that we need so much. Take the example of the growth of the Hall for Cornwall: our theatre has spread tentacles across the rest of the Duchy, attracting would-be actors and writers who want to get involved in the creative arts, but do not often have the opportunity. In my constituency, we have the Poly, the Princess Pavilion and brilliant grassroots venues such as the Cornish Bank, the Old Bakery Studios and the Chintz, where musicians who are learning go to practice their art. The Minister has mentioned the venue levy; that will be vital for them. We are also building premises for a community radio station in the park with shared prosperity funding. That shows just how important the arts are to Falmouth. People come to us for the arts. However, that funding is not guaranteed and is no longer directed at plugging the gaps in local authority and national funding for arts and culture in our area. I would love creativity to become a bigger part of the national curriculum, so that the arts have the prominent place that they should for students of all ages. STEAM—science, technology, engineering, arts and maths—puts the creativity of the arts alongside science and tech, where it belongs. Art is everywhere, but it does not come from thin air. Like all other endeavours, creative endeavours require financial support, and that funding should not be piecemeal and only urban, but must be integrated into the wider industrial strategy, and form part of a long-term regional art strategy that reaches all the way to places like Cornwall. The arts also require universal enthusiasm and long-term education. As we see in Falmouth, it is well worth the investment.

• 23 Jan 2025 · Public Procurement: Reform · Hansard source

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  15. What steps he is taking to reform public procurement.

• 23 Jan 2025 · Public Procurement: Reform · Hansard source

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  I am so pleased to hear about the national procurement policy statement next month. As well as encouraging buying British, there are huge opportunities to use procurement to encourage growth and local supply chains, such as in floating offshore wind in Cornwall, as well as in other industries. Will the Minister confirm that there will be a bold procurement policy that will ensure economic growth in every corner of our country, even as far down as Cornwall?

• 22 Jan 2025 · Certificate of Common Sponsorship · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Poole (Neil Duncan-Jordan) for securing a debate on this issue. We both attended Unison’s lobby of Parliament last year, and met migrant health and social care workers on tier 2 visas. Some of the employment practices they had been subjected to were appalling. I completely understand their push for a certificate of common sponsorship. As highlighted by other Members, existing rules that tie a worker to a single employer create a relationship of dependency and a highly unequal power dynamic. Many health and social care workers on sponsorship visas are afraid to express concerns about their employment and living conditions for fear of losing their employer’s sponsorship and being returned to their home country. Often, such workers are in a financially precarious situation, which increases their dependency. Some have been charged by their employer for their job induction, travel or training costs; some have their families with them, too, and in some cases workers receive a salary below the minimum wage to make up the cost of their flights or their training. A concern repeatedly raised with me by healthcare workers on sponsorship visas in my constituency relates to shift patterns and hours. One constituent described starting work at 5 am and returning home at 10 pm, only to have worked for less than five hours due to the nature of his shifts, which he found financially and emotionally draining. Women might be sitting all day at bus stops and on benches in Cornish villages between their shifts, because their shift pattern has been so difficult to accommodate. Another constituent described employers threatening their staff about taking days off, and the expectation that migrant workers would always have to work bank holidays such as Christmas day. Unison has reported workers doing 19-hour shifts with no breaks, and the council in my area has revoked contracts with some providers for those reasons. Even in circumstances where workers are not facing poor employment or living conditions, care is still one of the most precarious sectors in the UK, including in Cornwall, where firms regularly go under or have their licences revoked. Healthcare workers who came to the UK on sponsorship visas then only have 60 days to find another job with an eligible social care employer, or they have to leave the country. That short timescale creates stress, uncertainty and financial hardship, which one of my constituents experienced when their sponsoring company’s licence was revoked. Some workers in my constituency have gone on to work for the NHS, but having the visas transferred has been incredibly difficult and stressful, even with such a big employer. A certificate of common sponsorship that is sector-wide, perhaps including health and social care and the NHS, rather than being linked to a single employer, would go a long way to addressing the issues we have all mentioned. It would prevent employers using the threat to withdraw sponsorship as a means of keeping migrant workers in poor living and working conditions, and it would improve job security and financial stability for those workers. That would help retain the desperately needed skilled professionals in the care sector.

• 20 Jan 2025 · House Building Targets · Hansard source

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  We have a number of schemes for social housing in Cornwall that rely on the affordable homes programme that ends in 2026. Can the Secretary of State confirm that there will not be a gap in the provision of funding so that the provision of those homes can continue?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Small Music Venues · Hansard source

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  5. What steps her Department is taking to support small music venues.

• 16 Jan 2025 · Small Music Venues · Hansard source

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  I have a number of crucial small venues in my constituency, including the Cornish Bank, the Chintz Bar, the Old Bakery and the Princess Pavilion, to name just a few. They are vital for the cultural ecosystem of Cornwall; they foster new talent and bring bands from outside the county down to us. I am pleased to hear that the Minister is considering a scheme in which larger venues contribute part of their takings to smaller venues. He said it would be voluntary, but if that did not work, would he consider a mandatory scheme, and what would be the timeline? Can he confirm that the business rates scheme will be formulated to support small venues from 2026?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Is it not the case that the water companies used to have more power to object? Did they have a veto which the previous Government removed? Do they now have to cope with whatever the planning authority decides?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Member agree that it is lucky that within six months we will have the Cunliffe review, which will look in great depth at ownership, regulation and everything to do with the water industry? Maybe this is something that we could take further at that stage.

• 16 Jan 2025 · Marine Renewables Industry · Hansard source

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  I have a question about the Crown Estate and the devolution of it. How would that work in the Celtic sea, where Cornwall would obviously benefit a great deal from some of the floating offshore wind in other installations there?