Jen Craft MP: speeches

Speeches

• 19 May 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue in more detail with him, although we will probably continue to disagree. People with learning disabilities and autism can suffer from mental health conditions as much as the rest of the population, but they have a unique set of challenges. I point out as a note to policymakers in general that they should not conflate learning disability and autism as one and the same thing. That is vital. At the end of January 2025, 2,065 in-patients in locked mental health facilities were autistic or living with a learning disability. As one of my hon. Friends said earlier, the average length of stay for these patients is nearly five years. For those with a learning disability or autism, a locked mental health ward can be a living hell. For someone with sensory issues, a reliance on routine, a need for a specialist diet or equipment or myriad other needs, being in a busy, over-stimulating environment—often with strip lighting and minimal privacy—often means they are set up to fail from the very beginning.

• 19 May 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who has brought his wealth of experience to this place. Would he concede that the focus on learning disability and autism is perhaps because those disorders have very specific features? Being in an unfamiliar, over-sensory stimulating or noisy environment, with a break from routine, has an adverse effect on some people precisely because of the nature of their disability, and perhaps more so than for some of the other conditions he has mentioned. Indeed, it seemed something of a weird anomaly that learning disability and autism were classed as mental illness for the sake of the Mental Health Act. I am sure the hon. Gentleman will agree they very much are not.

• 19 May 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Is my hon. Friend able to name an intervention for a diagnosis of mild autism that could be considered a medical intervention, not something to address one of the social issues he has identified, that could harm the individual?

• 19 May 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I very much support what my hon. Friend is saying about making sure that there is an active plan. One of my concerns is that implementation of this Bill will be delayed until community support is ready. Does he agree that it would be welcome if the Minister offered a reflection on what good looks like in this space, and what ready looks like, so that we know what we are aiming for?

• 12 May 2025 · Points of Order · Hansard source

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  On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. In last Wednesday’s Adjournment debate on Essex devolution, the hon. Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock (James McMurdock) stated that it was his understanding that “there have been conversations between local councils about Thurrock joining London.” —[ Official Report , 7 May 2025; Vol. 766, c. 813.] I believe he is aware that Thurrock council has made it abundantly clear, in response to a freedom of information request, that no such discussions have taken place. These rumours have caused considerable concern locally. As a lifelong Thurrock resident who agrees that our borough is Essex through and through, I would be grateful for your advice, Madam Deputy Speaker, on how the hon. Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock can correct the record.

• 12 May 2025 · Points of Order · Hansard source

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  I did.

• 7 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend highlights a very strong issue. I agree that our current copyright laws are basically being infringed on and people who are rightsholders are unable to seek the recourse that they fully deserve under the law. There should be a carve-out, so that if there is illegal content in this country, people should have recourse to the law and be able to protect their own copyrighted material. I am pleased to see the Government commit to action on this complex issue. I hope that time will be allowed in the House for us to scrutinise this issue and to investigate properly the impact of policy options, which will be considered as part of the consultation. I understand the complexities of legislating in this area, but those in the creative industries want to see action now, which is understandable. We must create a system that can feasibly and effectively enforce existing copyright law, bring transparency in the use of materials by AI systems, and remunerate rights holders. I support the Government’s plans to do this through primary legislation with proper scrutiny of the measures, rather than through an addendum to a broader piece of legislation. However, I appreciate that there is a balance to be struck—where growth is supported in both the creative and tech industries—but creatives must never be expected to forfeit their rights to serve that purpose. As my constituent is at pains to point out, real people and real livelihoods are already being impacted by unregulated AI. It is crucial that we get this right, and provide much needed legal certainty to protect intellectual property in the creative industries. This must happen soon, because, while infringements of copyright law go unaddressed, it is those in our vital creative industries who are losing out.

• 7 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I rise to support the Government’s amendments and new clauses, particularly new clause 16, which addresses the relationship between artificial intelligence and copyright and which I strongly welcome. By slightly broadening the scope of the Bill, the amendments demonstrate Ministers’ attention to this pressing detail and reflect some of the comments by colleagues and the creative sector. The existing legal framework with regard to copyright is not fit for purpose in the face of new and developing AI technologies. Colleagues who have much greater expertise and knowledge than me have contributed to this debate, but I want to offer a reflection and draw attention to the experience of an individual—one of my constituents—as I believe it highlights the real human impact that big tech companies can have in running rampant over copyright laws. My constituent, Susan, is an author. She has had 32 of her books and, she calculates, more than 1 million published words used by Meta without her consent. The pirating of material has serious human impacts on those in the creative industries. Susan’s life work and source of income was downgraded and devalued almost instantaneously. Her intellectual property was accessed without her permission and used to inform an AI system designed to mimic her work. Susan described that to me and said that she felt violated, as if someone had come into her house and stolen her things, and she is not alone. I have been contacted by other professionals in the creative industries in my constituency who have also had published material used without their consent by AI. A local author has had their works harnessed through an online library of pirated books, and a local illustrator said that her work was scraped to train an AI model with images and videos taken from websites and social media without her permission. That practice is widespread and plainly wrong, even to a lay observer who is not versed in technical expertise, yet rightsholders are often impotent against big tech companies and their sizeable financial and legal assets.

• 7 May 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  In November, a report by the child safeguarding practice review panel found that a focus on child sexual abuse in the home has been lost in the past 20 years. Its key finding were: that there were systematic failings across the board in identifying and responding to signs of child sexual abuse; that there is an over-reliance on the criminal justice system; and, crucially, that children’s voices are not being heard. How will the Minister ensure that a focus on in-home child sexual abuse is built into the Government’s violence against women and girls strategy, and that it will have children’s voices at its heart?

• 7 May 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  2. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

• 6 May 2025 · Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary · Hansard source

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  VE Day, especially this year, offers us a chance to reflect with gratitude on the sacrifices made by those in the armed forces and those on the home front to defend our way of life and freedoms from tyranny. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Thurrock museum’s exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe, and it takes its jumping-off point from a picture taken at the time of a VE Day celebration in Grays. Visitors are invited to look at the joy on people’s faces and the celebrations—children dancing spontaneously, bunting up in the streets, cakes being served—but also to reflect on what is going on behind the picture: the fact that people in those photos would be awaiting the return of loved ones for some months and may be waiting for loved ones who were never to return. Also, visitors are encouraged to reflect on the extraordinary sacrifice of those on the home front and the changes it made to their way of life. I took a moment to pause on some of the lyrics sung by Vera Lynn. We often think of them as upbeat, patriotic and bringing us all together, but looking behind the words of “There’ll be bluebirds over The white cliffs of dover” she speaks about a return to normality. When she sings, “And Jimmy will go to sleep In his own little room again” we can only think what that meant every evening when those sirens went off for parents to take their children down to an air raid shelter, wondering if they would ever emerge and what they would be emerging to. While it was a moment for celebration, it was also a moment perhaps to reflect on the great loss and sacrifice that people made. At the exhibition, there is a set-up made to look like a VE Day celebration, and they have photos of those who might have been round the table. We are allowed to explore the stories of 10 extraordinary Thurrock residents and the lives they led during the war. I would like to highlight two that stood out to me: Charles Corder from South Stifford, a RAF navigator who was awarded the medal for conspicuous gallantry; and Vera Robertson, a civilian from Little Thurrock who assisted the Norwegian resistance by sheltering them at her flat in Norway. The war definitely changed the course of people’s lives, and it also brought about social change. I would like to touch briefly on the fact that VE Day marked the return of over 300,000 disabled servicemen and women—something that led to the first ever piece of legislation considering the needs of disabled people. The war did act as a catalyst to change and learn. In that spirit, I hope that by commemorating the anniversary this year—one of our very last chances to join with those who served—we take a moment to learn lessons and the values of hope and freedom over evil and tyranny; to pledge to honour the values that those great servicemen and women fought to protect; to learn from the bravery, courage, compassion and sacrifice of those on the home front to face down hatred and division in our society; to support those in need; and to champion the values that bring us together as a nation.

• 6 May 2025 · Maternity Improvement Strategy · Hansard source

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  As colleagues will be aware, there is a consistent failure in maternity units to listen to women and put their experiences—and quite often their pain during childbirth—at the heart of driving improvements. What assurances can the Minister give us that women’s experiences and voices will be at the heart of any maternity improvement strategy that the Government focus on?

• 28 Apr 2025 · SEND Support · Hansard source

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  School support staff, teaching assistants and learning support assistants—the unsung heroes of our schools—often provide that crucial day-to-day support for children with SEND. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that we upskill our school support workforce so that they are best placed to support those children?

• 7 Apr 2025 · SEND Funding: Council Insolvency · Hansard source

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  As a SEND parent, my view of my child’s needs is holistic: I do not believe that they simply stop where the responsibilities of a local authority lie. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that our SEND policy reflects such needs and the responsibilities of, for instance, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Treasury and the Department for Education, as well as local authorities?

• 20 Mar 2025 · British Sign Language Week · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered British Sign Language Week. [In British Sign Language: I beg to move, That this House has considered British Sign Language Week .] It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I thank those who have supported today’s debate: the hon. Members who sponsored my application to the Backbench Business Committee; the members of the newly formed all-party parliamentary group on British Sign Language, who had ideas for how to celebrate Sign Language Week; and the British Deaf Association, which campaigns tirelessly to promote the interests of the deaf community. I am delighted that we have live British Sign Language interpretation today, and I am grateful to the House authorities for supporting it. It means that we are able to have members of the deaf-signing community join us in the Public Gallery. [In British Sign Language: Welcome to Parliament, and I hope you enjoy the debate.] As the theme of this year’s Sign Language Week captures well, BSL is more than a language. For the 87,000 first-language signers in the UK, it represents culture, community and belonging. It is symbolic of a unique way of life—one that empowers deaf people to overcome the barriers they face from birth. It provides connection, not only in the deaf-signing community, but to their loved ones. Sign language creates special moments that other families might take for granted. The first time a parent tells their deaf child, “I love you,” might be using sign. My daughter has Down’s syndrome and experiences hearing loss, so my husband and I use sign-supported English, which is a form of BSL, as part of our toolkit to communicate at home. To any BSL first-language speakers who are watching, I am going to attempt some BSL throughout this speech, so my apologies. [In British Sign Language: I am trying. ] It is with a real sense of personal pride that I open this debate. It is an opportunity to celebrate Sign Language Week and the rich culture it commemorates, while discussing how we as MPs can go further to improve access and the inclusion of the BSL community. The progress that has been made to date is testament to the determination of deaf campaigners, but British Sign Language is not a new phenomenon; it has existed for hundreds of years. There are printed accounts of a national language of the hand dating back as far as the 17th century, but it was only in 2003 that BSL was officially recognised as a language, and it was not until the British Sign Language Act 2022 that this nominal recognition was translated on to the statute book, with legal recognition of BSL. I pay tribute to the former Member for West Lancashire, Rosie Cooper, for leading that private Member’s Bill through Parliament. The Act was a watershed moment in galvanising public support, and Rosie Cooper’s exceptional campaigning has left an enduring legacy. The Act legislated for the promotion and inclusion of BSL in Government, and led to the creation of the BSL advisory board, which has done excellent work to put the experiences and voices of deaf signers at the heart of Government. It placed a duty on Departments to prepare and publish reports on the use of BSL in their communications. From May 2023 to April 2024, BSL activity in Government communications doubled, and the overall number of Government Departments that said they had not produced any BSL communications halved, from 11 to five. However, there is still much further to go. Five Government Departments is still five too many.

• 20 Mar 2025 · British Sign Language Week · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is quite right that there is a real case for children across the board learning some BSL. We never know—for one child, it might spark a lifelong love of the language. Indeed, I believe there is a young girl in the Public Gallery who has her BSL level 1 qualification and she is still at primary school, which shows what is possible and what can be achieved.

• 20 Mar 2025 · British Sign Language Week · Hansard source

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  [In British Sign Language: I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. ] As people will see, we have tried to learn some parliamentary signs ahead of this debate. My hon. Friend is absolutely right—it is a question of accessibility. If someone is a British Sign Language first-language speaker, there are barriers to taking part in this House. There absolutely should not be. This is the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. There are 87,000 BSL first-language speakers and they absolutely deserve their place here as much as hearing people do. Too frequently, Government consultations, including on the national health service 10-year plan and the welfare reform Green Paper, have BSL interpretation as an afterthought, if it exists at all. In wider society, we need to see a renewed focus on the needs and interests of the deaf community. Some 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents, but support to learn BSL is based on a postcode lottery. Across the country, there is a patchwork of sign language services, with a mix of local authority and third-sector provision. According to research by the National Deaf Children’s Society, almost half of local authorities neither provide, fund nor commission any courses in sign language for families.

• 20 Mar 2025 · British Sign Language Week · Hansard source

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  I thank all Members who have taken part, particularly those who took the time to learn some BSL. I also thank the interpreters, who have made it possible for the deaf community to join us. I have a few reflections on things that were raised. There is certainly a learning point for all Members across the House to consider how we can best communicate with our constituents with hearing loss and those who are deaf, and how we can ensure that we are fully accessible. I will certainly be asking utility companies in my constituency—thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns)—whether they have taken measures to ensure that there is BSL interpretation for those who need it. I thank the Minister; I am reassured by the Government’s continuing commitment to the BSL GCSE, but I reiterate my plea for a meeting to discuss early years support for parents and universal BSL language support for parents who have a deaf child, because that is sorely lacking right now. I look forward to next year, when hopefully we will be able to have this debate in the Chamber and have interpreters with us. I encourage all Members to show their support, to join us on the APPG and to take away from this debate that we must make sure that not just Parliament, but politics, is accessible for all. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered British Sign Language Week.

• 20 Mar 2025 · British Sign Language Week · Hansard source

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  I will.

• 20 Mar 2025 · British Sign Language Week · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right: it is a real shame that the BSL GCSE is not yet part of the curriculum. I understand there are some delays around what a qualification would look like. However, BSL already has a qualification that is agreed by the deaf community and the BSL first-language community. I ask that the Minister goes back to his colleagues in the Department for Education and requests they provide an update on progress, as it is crucial that we have new BSL signers who are confident. My hon. Friend made a good point about the number of deaf people in employment. Research shows that only 37% of BSL first-language speakers are in work. That is compared to 77% of people who are hearing and without a separate disability. In my constituency, there is no support for BSL first-language speakers to access employment, which is a real shame. That speaks to the experience that BSL first-language speakers and deaf people in general have when they try to access services. They face ongoing challenges in daily life accessing healthcare, employment and a society that often overlooks their needs. SignHealth, a fantastic organisation that advocates for the needs of deaf people in the healthcare system, says that 67% of deaf people report no accessible method of contacting their GP. The long-term impacts on health and wellbeing are very clear, with deaf people twice as likely to suffer mental health problems as their hearing peers. The deaf community is being held back by a shocking lack of societal understanding of British sign language. Part of that is a lack of awareness that BSL is completely different from spoken English, and that even in written communications there is need for an interpretation. As parliamentarians, we can be leaders in driving greater understanding of British sign language. Through Parliament and in our constituencies, we can promote the interests of the signing community. Today’s debate is an important signal of our recognition of the needs of BSL first-language speakers. It is the first time ever that live translation is being provided both in the Chamber and broadcast from the studio on parliamentlive.tv. I am now the first MP to have used sign language in a debate in this Parliament, and the first to do so since 2022, I believe. Next year, I hope to host this debate in the main Chamber, where having live interpreters on the Floor of the House would be unprecedented. I encourage all colleagues from across the House to take advantage of the House’s BSL scheme to learn some BSL, so that they are able to better communicate with the 87,000 BSL first-language speakers. I am sure there are a number in each constituency, so it can only be beneficial. It would be a really big milestone in demonstrating Parliament’s accessibility for deaf signers. I also hope that in British Sign Language Week next year we can reflect on the progress that will have been made in the intervening months. Nineteen years separated the recognition of BSL as a language and the landmark British Sign Language Act 2022. We cannot wait another 19 years for the next significant step forward. Alongside the British Deaf Association and members of the all-party parliamentary group, I am calling on the Government to go further in promoting BSL. Ministers need to support the expansion of access to sign language classes. Through national funding, the Government can deliver a universal service of BSL support to the families of deaf children—a national programme of early years intervention that could give every child the opportunity to benefit from BSL. This is about choice. For some parents, the choice to learn BSL may not be the right one, but it is about ensuring that parents have that choice to make. It is about giving deaf children the opportunity to choose their method of communication and the way that works best for them.

• 20 Mar 2025 · British Sign Language Week · Hansard source

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  I completely agree: deaf children need qualified teachers of the deaf. I thank Mrs Smith, who is in the Public Gallery today—an exceptional teacher of the deaf in my constituency. I come back to the point about the patchwork of sign language provision for parents. There is an estimate that the availability of courses has fallen by 34% in certain areas since before the pandemic. Parents are often told to access support through adult community colleges. While they provide an excellent grounding in BSL, it is usually irrelevant for the kind of conversations that parents need and want to have with their child. For example, my one-year-old daughter did not really have too much interest in how many brothers and sisters I have, what job I want to do or what my favourite colour is, but the signs for “milk”, “mummy”, “daddy”, “play”, “book” and, most importantly, “biscuit” very much caught her attention. It is also hard for adults who are not naturally adept in learning languages to learn a completely new language in a way that meets their learning needs. I ask the Minister to work with me, the British Deaf Association and the National Deaf Children’s Society to build a pathway to ensure that parents of deaf children have access to relevant BSL lessons no matter where they grow up.

• 20 Mar 2025 · British Sign Language Week · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is quite right. All children should be offered the opportunity to learn BSL level 1 at school. As she says, it can only help to break down those barriers to the deaf community and open up our society for those who are BSL first-language speakers. I will conclude because I know that other Members want to speak, and I want to offer everyone the opportunity to practise their BSL if they have learned some—I very much hope they have. Broadly, the Government must embody the maxim “Nothing about us without us” as they continue to improve accessibility for the deaf community. Deaf signers should lead the design, delivery and evaluation of BSL in Government and across public services. We need to see a commitment to truly embed deaf voices in public service delivery and policymaking. Sign Language Week does not represent a small minority issue. BSL is the fourth most widely used language in the UK. It is relied on by thousands of families, including my own, and learning BSL opens up access to an enriching community for deaf people to be part of. It provides a special bond and a shared sense of identity, in a society that has historically refused to recognise deaf culture and need. We owe it to members of the deaf community and the campaigners who have come before us to continue to put BSL on the Government’s agenda. We have the legal framework in place to effect real change, and we now need to turn that into a positive reality.

• 19 Mar 2025 · Down’s Syndrome · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) on securing this important debate. Down’s syndrome regression disorder is an aspect of Down’s syndrome that has been, until now, largely overlooked. It affects roughly 1% to 2% of people with Down’s syndrome and usually presents between the ages of 10 and 30. It is a truly horrific condition. People with Down’s syndrome regression disorder change, almost overnight. I met a mum whose son developed Down’s syndrome regression disorder. Overnight, he became non-responsive, uncommunicative and catatonic. She said it was like everything that was him had left. Young people who previously held down jobs or voluntary positions, and had many interests, hobbies and a love of life, lose the ability to speak, lose continence and retreat into themselves. The change is not gradual; it is stark, unexpected and profound. There is a fundamental lack of awareness of the condition. It is often wrongly diagnosed as early-onset dementia or late-diagnosed autism, even though it does not fit the profile of either of those conditions. There is currently no pathway for diagnosis, and progress is often fraught. Finding a clinician who recognises the symptoms and will treat is, by and large, impossible. However, there is hope: 80% of people who receive the right treatment in a timely manner achieve some prospect of recovery. I want to be clear: if a typical child who does not have Down’s syndrome stopped eating and taking any interest in jobs overnight, and if they suddenly became catatonic and completely unresponsive, it would be treated as a medical emergency. People whose children have Down’s syndrome, and who have finally managed to speak to the right clinician, have been told, “You need to take your child to A&E.” If it was a typical child, that would be happening, but because that child has Down’s syndrome, it is overlooked. Will the Minister meet with me and individuals affected by this disorder to discuss how we can best create awareness, and what their thoughts are on how we can create a pathway to diagnose and treat it? I would also like to touch briefly on my reflections as a parent of a child with Down’s syndrome, and what I think would be generally helpful in the space. Many of us feel that some kind of pathway for parents whose child is born with Down’s syndrome would be extraordinarily useful. When their child is born, or when they receive an antenatal diagnosis, they very often think, “What lies ahead? What can I expect? What does my future look like?” Down’s syndrome is the most common chromosomal condition, and we know that 50% of children born with Down’s syndrome will have a heart condition, and there is a higher prevalence of conditions such as leukaemia. By and large, those with Down’s syndrome do not have a very strong immune system—as I know every flippin’ winter, when my child gets cold after cold. I have had lovely responses and gained a level of knowledge about what to expect from various parts of my child’s condition. We have cobbled that together from speaking to other parents, through WhatsApp groups and Facebook groups, and sometimes from speaking to professionals and support groups. It would be helpful to have that set out officially, so that parents know what lies ahead, what to expect and what to look for. This is a very small thing, but when people with Down’s syndrome have a fever, their temperature sometimes goes down rather than up. It is really unusual, but it is normal for the condition, and it is quite useful to know as a parent. It is also useful to know how to diagnose things, because people with Down’s syndrome do not present conditions typically, including conditions that can be really awful. Parents have lost children to sepsis because it does not present as it would with a typical child, so knowing how to diagnose it is really useful. As people transition into adulthood and make those steps into the adult world, it is important to have an idea of how people with learning disabilities and Down’s syndrome can expect to be treated. What kind of things help them to live full and happy lives? As their parents and caregivers, what kind of things should we be encouraging them to take part in? That is extraordinarily helpful to know. I will keep my speech brief, as I know other Members want to speak, but I will just end by reflecting that Friday is World Down Syndrome Day. In our community, we typically see it is a day of celebration, as well as an opportunity to present a challenge to policy makers. This year, we are asking them to ensure that we have the right support. People will see this debate who have just received a diagnosis of Down’s syndrome. They might be receiving it today; they might be receiving it antenatally or postnatally. When I received that diagnosis seven years ago, it was a shock. I felt like the carpet had been pulled from under my feet, and I was devastated. I look back at that moment with shame at the thought that I was so devastated at the news of this person who became the beating heart of our family. She is joyous, although she is not always happy. That is a misconception—she is not—and if people say that, I will say, “Oh, did I get a wrong one?” Of course, I did not. She is stubborn—I like calling girls stubborn—she is determined, and she is feisty. She is also a fantastic dancer. At a community event we went to, I was there as an MP, but she had me up dancing in the middle of the floor. I was not in the background; I was right there, and she dragged me into the heart of it. She is really funny, and she is so kind, especially with her sister. There is a really brilliant statistic that 95% of people who have a sibling with Down’s syndrome think that they have enhanced their life. She has made me a better person, and she has made my husband a better person. When she loves, she loves deeply, and she loves hard. People who meet her share that and feel that love with her. The brilliant thing is that, if a parent has a child with Down’s syndrome, they join this wonderful community. I have met some of my best friends through that community and we are there to support each other. There are some brilliant groups; I will give a shoutout to Faye and Claire from our local Down’s syndrome group, who welcomed us with open arms and showed us what our life is. We are taking what we call the scenic route, not the quick path. It is a lot better than the casual straight line. Who wants normal? It is boring, and they showed us that joy. Upwards with Downs in Harlow is a fantastic group that organises so many wonderful events, including a holiday we have been on with people who get it. There is also Downright Excellent in Hackney, and I say to my wonderful friends Charlotte and Kirsty: what a brilliant and fantastic community we have. Happy World Down Syndrome Day—I love all of you. If anyone is ever worried about what the future looks like, come and talk to me, or to any of us, because we can tell you that it is not just going to be okay; it is going to be brilliant.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Welfare Reform · Hansard source

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  I am one of the 6% to 8% of people living with a serious mental illness in employment, despite 80% of us wanting to work. I am here despite a mental health system that I have always found unsupportive, and because I went out of my way to forge my own pathway of support and care. Although I welcome the Secretary of State’s offer of a package of support, my plea to her is that she work with her colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care to make sure that those of us who suffer with a severe mental illness have the true support that we need to access employment.

• 13 Mar 2025 · NHS England Update · Hansard source

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  The crisis in our NHS goes deep. I am sure that the Secretary of State agrees that it is an existential crisis that poses a threat to the future of the NHS if fundamental change does not happen. While I strongly welcome today’s statement, what assurances can he give me and the House that the right people will be in the right place in leadership positions to drive the fundamental change that is necessary?