Jim Shannon MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Jan 2025 · Agricultural and Business Property Relief · Hansard source

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  I commend the right hon. Gentleman for bringing this forward. All my neighbours in Northern Ireland are small farmers. Everyone will be impacted, because the threshold of £1 million is too low. The threshold should be between £4 million and £5 million, which would give a chance to retain the family farm. Has the right hon. Gentleman had the opportunity to talk to the National Farmers Union or the Ulster Farmers Union to ascertain their legal opinion, which is against what the Government are introducing?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Drones: High-security Prisons · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his answers today, and for his clear commitment to making changes that will make a difference. In Northern Ireland prisons, contraband has been a difficult issue to get on top of. Given the news today that drones are being so successfully used in the UK, there is obvious cause for concern that their use may become more prevalent. How will the Minister ensure that the steps taken apply equally across this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and that any additional funding that is required will be allocated?

• 14 Jan 2025 · Parking: Town Centres · Hansard source

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  I commend the hon. Lady for raising this incredibly important issue for my constituency and those of all Members here. Footfall is the lifeblood of the local high street, and there is a need to balance car parking and accessibility. My council has implemented discounts for five-hour parking and is considering discounts for two to three-hour parking to allow people to spend more money in a reasonable timeframe. Does she agree that if what Ards and North Down borough council has done is implemented across the United Kingdom, it would increase footfall and help town centres and high streets?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Knife Crime · Hansard source

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  I thank the Home Secretary for her response. Over the past five years, there have been 900 convictions for knife-related crimes in Northern Ireland. There is an epidemic in Northern Ireland, with almost 200 convictions in the last year alone. What discussions has the Home Secretary had with the relevant authorities, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland, to help us address this issue?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Hospice and Palliative Care · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to speak in the debate and to follow the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr Brash). I thank him for his personal story. Personal stories tell the story of the debate we have in front of us. During the last debate on assisted dying, the dire straits of our palliative care system were rightly put under the spotlight, so I am pleased to see this debate to address the system and the lack of funding. I will refer to two charities in Northern Ireland that I have had contact with. One of them is Northern Ireland Hospice. It has highlighted that the Government fund approximately 30% of service costs, so the majority of its income relies on the good will and generosity of voluntary donations and other fundraising activities. That means 70% of the funding to provide its specialist palliative care for over 4,000 infants, children and adults with life-limiting conditions in Northern Ireland comes from the funding raised by volunteers. We owe a lot to Northern Ireland Hospice and its volunteers. The people of Northern Ireland are incredibly generous when it comes to charitable giving, but when we take into account the cost of living crisis and the fact that it naturally reduces what people can give—it is a fact of life—we can see the concerns of the hospice sector. Indeed, when Northern Ireland Hospice believed that its funding would be cut by health trusts last year, it announced that it would have to cut the number of beds available in children’s hospices from seven beds all week round to six beds Monday to Friday and only three at the weekend, which represents a massive change in what it is able to do. That is not the news that we want to hear. It does not mean that fewer children need hospice facilities, but that costs have risen, the ability of fundraisers has decreased, and the Government have not enabled health trusts to make up the difference. Although I have underlined the situation in children’s hospices, the issue is replicated in adult care in every corner of the UK. The hon. Member for South Antrim (Robin Swann) is here. He is a former Health Minister of Northern Ireland, and whenever Northern Ireland Hospice needed help, he was able to allocate funding to get it over that hard patch. I thank him on the record for all that he did to make that happen. Funding for palliative care is simply not sufficient. I referred to burnout when the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler) very kindly let me intervene earlier. Medical staff whose loyalty and passion for the job keeps them in post, doing overtime or working unpaid to provide cover, are exhausted and unable to carry on. Marie Curie says that one in four people will die without the right care and support. Far too many people are dying in avoidable pain, in poverty, and alone. By 2048, the need for end of life care will have risen by up to 25%, so the challenge for tomorrow is even greater than the challenge for today—over 730,000 people will need care every year. We know that that crisis is looming, and now is the time to make changes for our loved ones and our constituents. Like other Members, that is what I am asking the Minister to do.

• 13 Jan 2025 · Hospice and Palliative Care · Hansard source

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  In my contribution, I made the House aware that the Northern Ireland hospice has to cut its beds from seven to six for five days of the week, and at the weekend, there are only three. The Minister knows that I respect him greatly. It is all very well to have capital money available, but there has to be money to run the system and provide beds. Otherwise, we can buy beds, but might not be able to keep them and run a service. There must be something seriously wrong with what he is putting forward.

• 13 Jan 2025 · Hospice and Palliative Care · Hansard source

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  I commend the hon. Gentleman on setting the scene so well. One of the concerns that I and others in the Chamber have is the impact on the workers in hospices. It is not just about the financial implications, which are all part of the overall issue, but burnout. Staff are working long hours. They are volunteers in many cases, and they do that because it is what they are committed to. Does he share my concern that burnout in hospice care will have an impact on the NHS in the long term?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Artificial Intelligence Opportunities Action Plan · Hansard source

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  Given that AI capability will seemingly be used positively, can the Secretary of State explain how the plan will advance areas such as healthcare? Does he see it as a way of reducing backlogs in the NHS, including in waiting lists and booking systems, and can he confirm that all regions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will play their part and benefit from AI?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Sixth-form College Strikes: Sussex · Hansard source

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  I commend the hon. Lady for securing the debate. I spoke to her beforehand to mention an example and support her position. There have been similar strikes in Northern Ireland, and teachers’ strikes are approaching. The main thing my constituents tell me is that students, who are already under enormous pressure during exam periods, must not be left struggling under undue duress and pressure. When it comes to sorting out these problems, does she agree that, although wage increases for teachers are important, the issues facing students must not be ignored?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Gas Storage Levels · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his answers and for what he has said so far. Approximately 330,000 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland are connected to gas, and there is also a scheme to enable social housing to use gas. That means that some of our elderly and most vulnerable people have no access to heating other than gas. How can the Government ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are guaranteed their gas supply over the next weeks, and how can the Government keep those in priority need at the top of the supply chain?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Live Events Ticketing: Resale and Pricing Practices · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his very positive statement, and I believe everybody in the Chamber will be encouraged by what he has announced. He is surely familiar with the Oasis lyrics, which I promise not to sing: “And so Sally can wait, she knows it’s too late as we’re walking on by.” Unfortunately for many fans, waiting was not an option, and they were left with the painful reality that dynamic pricing made their wallets melt away. Given reports that fans were subjected to inflated prices through in-demand dynamic pricing, with tickets jumping from less than £150 to over £350 in moments, how will the Minister ensure that ticket sellers—and event organisers in particular—comply with the proposed consumer protection laws, especially those requiring transparency in pricing?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Sudan: US Determination of Genocide · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister very much for her answers. She is an honourable and passionate lady, and her grasp of the grave realities facing Sudan is very evident from her answers. I thank her for that. The RSF and its sponsors, emboldened by international inaction, act with impunity, laughing at the lack of decisive intervention. Women and girls are being subjected to systematic sexual violence, villages are being razed and entire communities are being uprooted on the basis of their ethnic identity. The suffering is staggering, and the silence from global powers is deafening. Can the Minister confirm that strong measures and international leadership are needed, otherwise Sudan will collapse further into chaos, spreading instability and suffering, and pushing the conflict far beyond the Sudanese borders?

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

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  I again thank the Leader of the House for all her answers. In Bangladesh in 2024, over 400 attacks were carried out in places belonging to Hindus and other religious minorities, including some 25 temples. These attacks have had an impact on some 20,000 people across 47 districts, and resulted in the death of at least 60 Hindus. There were reports of rape and mob lynchings, including the very brutal killing of an 18-year-old in the presence of police and military personnel. Furthermore, Chinmoy Krishna Das, a Hindu clergyman, was arbitrarily arrested for raising issues about the treatment of religious minorities and their leaders in Bangladesh. Will the Leader of the House urge the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to raise these alarming violations of freedom of religion or belief with the Bangladeshi Government?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Public Finances: Borrowing Costs · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for all his answers this morning. The UK’s public debt has risen sharply over the decades. At the moment, it is reaching levels not seen in the post-world war two era, meaning that a large proportion of our expenditure is focused on paying back, as opposed to public spending. I always try to be constructive, as the Minister knows. Nowhere will the impact—on health and education, for example—be greater than in Northern Ireland. I have a very specific question for the Minister: what discussions has he had with Departments, and particularly the Finance Department, at the Northern Ireland Assembly?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Impact of Conflict on Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure, Sir Jeremy, to serve under your chairship. I thank the hon. Member for Norwich North (Alice Macdonald) for leading the debate with passion and interest, and setting the scene so very well. These are always hard subjects to talk about. I find it incredibly difficult to comprehend the violence that is shown towards women and children. I find it unfathomable, but it happens across the world with a violence and brutality that shocks me—and, I know, everyone else here—to the core. Thank you for giving us a chance to participate in this debate. This issue is not only a matter of human dignity. It also demands urgent action from Parliament and the international community, so it is good to be here to discuss it. It is a pleasure to see the Minister in her place; I look forward to her contribution. I know that the right hon. Lady has the same qualities of compassion and understands things with an honesty that we all try to express, in broken words, here and in the Chamber. It is also a pleasure to see the shadow Minister, the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), and I look forward to her contributions. She and I have been friends for many years and have participated in debates alongside each other, so I am confident that she will deliver as well today. The Library has sent some very helpful stats. Some people say, “Stats are stats,” but they can illustrate where the problems may be; some stats were shocking for me to read today and yesterday. Four out of every 10 people killed in conflict are women, which puts things in perspective; of the 117.5 million people displaced, half are women, and last year there was a 50% increase in sexual violence. I find it particularly difficult to read the papers whenever these stories are apparent, because I cannot fathom the horrors those women experience—I have had difficulty understanding it. I remember when the Yazidi ladies came here a long time ago—it must have been over 10 years ago, or thereabouts—and I met some of them. To tell the truth, I almost felt like I was intruding by listening to their stories, because what I probably did—unknowingly—was to make them relive all the horrors that they had been subjected to. But that is the world we live in. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on freedom of religion or belief, I particularly look at how conflict impacts women of different faiths. In the rest of my short speech today I will focus on that issue, and most importantly on how it impacts their lives daily, because it does—with a vengeance. Such conflict, which includes the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, spans regions and affects women in particular. Some of the horrors of 7 October come to mind. Last year at Easter, I visited Israel, including some camps where the people were brutalised and the women sexually abused. Some women were burned; their bodies were burnt to a cinder. I find such things incompatible with life; the life that I lead is certainly very different from the lives of the people who carry out such crimes. Women almost always bear a disproportionate burden of the suffering in conflicts, as they often traverse the dangerous terrains of conflict zones to support their families. A critical perspective must not be overlooked when addressing the issue of unexploded ordnance, which has been left, for example, in the aftermath of war. The alarming reports of increased sexual exploitation and trafficking of Ukrainian refugee women, particularly young and vulnerable women, highlight the critical need for immediate targeted action. When I was in Israel, I met some people involved in groups that addressed or tried to address the issue of sexual violence and attacks on women and children. I was made aware by some people in the delegation—they were similar to me, but from a different country—that children as young as eight and women as old as 80 had been sexually abused by some Russian soldiers. Not every Russian is a bad Russian, but the ones who carried out those actions need to be held accountable for their brutality, their violence and their depravity against young girls of eight years old—my goodness me—and 80-year-old pensioners. Of course, as a Christian I know that a day of judgment will come, and that those who carried out such actions will all be held accountable, but I would like to see their day of judgment come quicker, and in this world; that is what would happen if I had my way. I remember visiting a refugee camp in Poland a couple of years ago. Along with some other members of the delegation, I noticed these guys—I would probably call them predatory males. Remember that the people who were in that camp were there just a matter of months after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. These guys were pushing trolleys around, supposedly collecting laundry and so on, but we noticed—not that we are smarter than anybody else; I am not smarter than anybody else, but I do take note of things that happen around me—that some of those men were not actually doing anything. They were just watching to see what the women and girls were doing. It was obvious to me that they were predatory. When we left the camp, we made sure that we told the police people in charge. Whatever those men were doing there, it certainly did not look like they were there to help anybody. With reports from Germany indicating that only 14% of female refugees are employed, the risk of female refugees’ falling prey to human traffickers has grown, and that situation has been exacerbated by a lack of adequate accommodation and economic support. A busy mind and a busy person cannot always be distracted by things that happen around them, so it is important to focus on that as well. In conflict zones worldwide, the experiences of women and girls are shaped by a convergence of vulnerabilities, gender, faith and socioeconomic status. Tragically, these intersecting identities often make women and girls the first and most enduring victims of violence, coercion and systematic discrimination. One of the most harrowing manifestations of freedom of religion or belief violations in conflict settings is the targeted abduction, forced marriage and conversion of women and girls from religious minority communities. In her introduction to this debate, the hon. Member for Norwich North mentioned Pakistan. I have been to Pakistan twice, primarily regarding the issue of freedom of religion or belief. I would love to say that the second time I went, two years after the first time, things had changed; but I did not see any change. If anything, I saw that the situation had got worse. I am reminded of the case of a 13-year-old girl, which is two years younger than my eldest grandchild. Her name was Kavita Oad, a Hindu girl who was abducted and forcibly married. Her family, who were already financially marginalised, faced threats of violence and theft when they sought justice for their 13-year-old, in a country that seems to think it is okay to marry off a young Hindu, Christian or Sikh girl of 12, 13 or 14 to a predatory male who should never have any say on the issue. Unfortunately that is not an isolated case, but part of a systematic campaign to erase the religious identity of minority communities. Courts often fail to protect those girls, framing their exploitation as consensual marriages—no, they are not. Their mums and dads do not want them to be married, but when they go to the police, the police either fail or are unwilling to act, and the courts of the land do not protect them. I know that the Minister knows those things—I am not saying anything she does not know—but they disturb me greatly, and we need some idea of what those countries are doing to stop them happening. In conflict zones, sexual violence is wielded as a weapon to intimidate and destabilise entire communities. Women and girls are targeted not only because of their gender but because of their faith. For example, in Nigeria and Sudan, Christian girls and girls from ethnic religious minorities find themselves suppressed physically, in terms of their human rights, and through their faith—something that is incredibly difficult to comprehend. Such acts of violence aim to extinguish the cultural and religious identity of persecuted groups. I visited Nigeria about two years ago and had the chance to speak to some of the displaced people. They were not just Christians; they were also Muslims, who also find themselves suppressed because of their religious beliefs. Again, that disturbs me greatly. I know the Minister knows these things, and I would be pleased if she were to give us some feedback on this issue. Women and girls often find themselves doubly marginalised in refugee camps or in settlements of internally displaced people, such as those we visited in Nigeria. The hon. Member for Norwich North referred to Sudan, and the stories from there are impossible to finish. The other day I read about a mum who was asleep in the house, and three soldiers from a Sudanese terrorist group, or whoever they were, broke in and abused a young girl. The family all slept in another part of the house and did not even know about it until the next morning, when they found that their wee young girl of 13 or 14 had been abused by soldiers that night. If Members have not read the stories from Sudan, they need to—they are unbelievable. What has happened in that country is one of the worst genocides that I have heard tell of across the world. Not only are people uprooted from their homes, but they face discrimination based on their faith, compounding their vulnerability. The trauma of forced conversions, violence and displacement inflicts profound psychosocial harm on people, coupled with restricted access to education—the hon. Lady also referred to that—and economic opportunities. People need to have something to do. They need opportunity, because those experiences perpetuate cycles of poverty and disenfranchisement among minority groups. There are pluses in this depressing and negative story, however, so I will highlight three things and perhaps the Minister could give me some feedback. The UK Government have initiated a preventing sexual violence in combat initiative, as they have done in many parts of the world, including Ethiopia, Iraq, Ukraine and Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. They need to be commended for that. We sit here and ask the Government to do things, so we should give them credit when things are done right and thank them for that. We also need to ask how we can increase that and help more as the violence and sexual violence increase. May I say very gently that, as a Government, we need to match that with funding? Again, these are constructive comments for the Minister—they are not meant to be critical; that is not how I do things—but can the Government increase the aid available to specifically target women and children? That last thing that I, and I think all of us, would love to see is for those who have carried out the horrible, depraved physical and sexual abuse of women and children to be held accountable. There are stories to tell—those women and those girls will tell their stories—and those who did it need to be accountable, so let us have that day of reckoning. As a Christian, I know that there will be a day of reckoning in the last days of this world, but in this case I would like to see a day of reckoning coming sooner. To conclude, achieving gender equality and safeguarding FORB are not merely aspirational goals; they are moral imperatives. Let us commit to amplifying the voices of women and girls who have suffered in silence for far too long. I urge the Minister to work in conjunction with her counterparts to ensure that these issues are addressed and that more is done to protect women facing hardship. My job, and the job of us all here, is to be a voice for those who have no voice, and today, that is what we are doing.

• 9 Jan 2025 · Impact of Conflict on Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her excellent response. Some of the stories that have come out of Syria since the Assads lost power have been to do with Christians, including those on the frontline. Christian religious views have been targeted—for example, Christmas trees have been burned. Has the Government had a chance to talk to the authorities about their role in protecting those of a Christian faith and other ethnic faiths in Syria, and particularly women, who are often at the forefront of what is taking place?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuels · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his answer. I know that he has a deep interest in Northern Ireland, so may I ask a similar question? Northern Ireland wants to provide the necessary aviation fuels and has the ability to do so. What progress has he made in his discussions with the Northern Ireland Assembly to ensure that we can be part of the future of this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is always better together?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Social Housing Tenants: Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source

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  It is a real pleasure to speak in this debate and, as always, a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. Thank you so much for that opportunity. I thank the hon. Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) for leading the debate and setting the scene. There is not one of us in this Chamber today who has not been impacted by this issue through our constituents. I want to give a couple of examples, and one of them will be incredibly extreme, but it does illustrate the issue. I know that this Minister has no responsibility for housing in Northern Ireland, but I know also that he has a deep interest in Northern Ireland. He has come over to Northern Ireland on a number of occasions, and we are always very pleased to see him there, because we know that he does that out of interest and wanting to help. Issues involving antisocial behaviour impact all our constituencies, and we are no strangers to dealing with these issues in our offices. Unfortunately, probably nearly every week, I have at least one or two of these things to deal with. By the way, they are not always in social housing. Sometimes they are in private housing as well, so people should not ever think that it is just social housing where the problems are. There is more to be done to protect tenants and also give housing associations more rights to take control of their own properties, so it is great to be here to discuss that. May I first commend the intervention by my hon. Friend the Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell)? He made a very pertinent comment. Many of those in social housing aspire to own their own house, whether the one they are living in, under the system of purchase, or a house elsewhere. To give one story as an example, many years ago someone came to me and said, “Jim, I’ve been offered a house up in a certain place, and I’m not sure whether I should take it, because it’s got a reputation.” I said, “My suggestion to you is: it’s a lovely house, it’s a lovely area, and I think you should take it. The reason I say that is that you could go there and have the best neighbour you ever had in your life, or you could go to somewhere really special and you could have the neighbour from hell. That’s how it works. You have no control over who your neighbour is.” The area does not always mean that the house itself is in a bad area. That person took that house, by the way, and they still live there. That is an example of taking an opportunity, and of having neighbours who are genuine and lovely. I have a great working relationship with the Housing Executive in my constituency, and with Ards and North Down council and Newry, Mourne and Down council, because they take in a large portion of my constituency after the boundary changes. I believe it is important to have a good working relationship with the housing associations: first, with the Housing Executive, which is the biggest house owner in Northern Ireland, but also with Choice Housing, Radius Housing, Clanmil Housing, Alpha Housing and Habinteg. I name them all because they are important housing associations and providers in my constituency. Working together, we can ensure that tenants are safe and that their issues are dealt with quickly and efficiently. I do not agree with the “three strikes and you’re out” rule mentioned earlier. If someone is continuing to party, causing noise, disturbance and damage, and if someone has addiction issues, all those around them are impacted, especially in flats. If, for example, there is a six-block flat and one flat is partying all the time, the other five are all impacted by that, and maybe the neighbours next door as well, so we cannot ignore what is happening. When a tenant signs for a house, there is a list of conditions and rules to which they are supposed to adhere. If they cannot adhere to those rules, then they are out—the hon. Member for Mansfield (Steve Yemm) referred to that, and I think that is right. It is only right for those who want a decent life, who aspire to other things, who aspire to a quality of life, and who—even if they do not aspire to own a house—aspire to live peacefully with their neighbours. Those are the priorities we should be trying to achieve. The hon. Member for Ashfield has done us justice by securing this debate on an issue with which many of us have contact every day and every week. Antisocial behaviour encompasses numerous disruptive activities, such as excessive noise, vandalism, harassment and other actions that cause harm or distress to individuals or the community. Another such activity, which is prevalent specifically in my constituency, seems to be drinking and taking drugs. I am sorry to say that. I know that people have addictions—I am not here to criticise anybody— but I gently say that those with addictions, whether to alcohol, drugs or whatever, have a responsibility to look after, and not cause a problem to, their neighbours. Both the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the housing associations offer clear guidelines on what constitutes antisocial behaviour and provide mechanisms for residents to report incidents.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Social Housing Tenants: Antisocial Behaviour · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend and colleague for that intervention. I am mindful that I am not allowed to name certain things in Hansard , so I will give the example without naming the estates. We had an occasion that was the very thing that she refers to, where individuals with problems seemed to be moved. Why were they moved out of estates in Belfast, Newtownabbey and further afield to come to Newtownards? I will tell you why: because they caused bother in those estates and they had to be moved elsewhere. An estate in my town, Newtownards, was their destination, and they brought their problems with them. We had to have meetings with the police, the Housing Executive and an intermediary body that tries to find solutions, as well as with the Tenants Association and the local representatives. It is a massive problem. The hon. Member for Ashfield referred to an example where the people who cause problems were all put together on one street. There is a responsibility on the tenants—they must adhere to the rules. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive emphasises earlier intervention and prevention strategies to address antisocial behaviours effectively. The Police Service of Northern Ireland—it is important to have police working alongside—is instrumental in providing support for keeping the peace, because there are many cases where it comes to blows and fighting, which spills out on to the street, and sometimes worse things happen. The police’s first objective is to keep the peace and ensure that there is as little disruption as possible. To give a perspective of the issue in Northern Ireland, in the 12-month period from March 2023 to February 2024, which is not that far back, there were 45,355 antisocial behaviour instances recorded by the PSNI, and the population in Northern Ireland is 1.9 million. My goodness! Those statistics give us an idea of the scale of the issue—in theory, they represent a decrease, and it is still an enormous figure. Many may be aware—again, this is an extreme example—that one of the housing associations built a housing estate in Newtownards, and at the very beginning we expressed some concern that estates could potentially become aligned with one paramilitary group. I met the housing association at the very beginning to express that concern and ensure that that would not happen, and the housing association told me that it was constrained by the points system for allocating properties. That estate was Weavers Grange in Newtownards— I will put this one on the record, because it became a fairly provincial story on a weekly basis over a period of time—where one organisation tried to ensure that the only people who could live in that estate were those who belonged to a certain group, and everyone else who wanted to go there found it impossible to stay there. Several homes were targeted, with windows smashed and graffiti sprayed—this was considered to be part of local, ongoing disputes. It has taken almost the last three years to erase that as a possibility. By the way, the houses are lovely and really gorgeous—anyone would love to have one to live in, because they are modern and sought after—but if we cannot get peace in those estates, then we have a really serious problem to address. The housing association came round at the end of the day and understood the issues, and helped, along with the local community groups, which are critical to finding solutions and making places acceptable—the hon. Member for Mansfield referred to that as well. Some of the instances of intimidation were actually death threats, so it was pretty heavy stuff. Efforts have been made by local neighbourhood policing teams, which include the community policing officers, the community groups, the housing associations and elected representatives, including myself, Members of the Legislative Assembly, councillors and community councillors. This is a clear example of the impact that antisocial behaviour can have on social housing developments, and in particular the impact it can have on other the tenants in the area. When it comes to evicting a tenant, they have to go to court, and it takes such a long time, so my question is whether there is anything legislative that the Minister—who is always very helpful in his responses—could do to make the system quicker and take the niggle or aggravation out of the whole thing at an earlier stage? I will commit to working alongside partners in my constituency to help to combat instances of antisocial behaviour. In the past, I have met members from the local policing teams to discuss strategies for combating ASB in local areas such as Newtownards, Killyleagh and Portavogie. I am sorry, Ms McVey, I am going on a wee bit; I am on the last paragraph now. To conclude, there is more work to be done to tackle instances of antisocial behaviour in social housing areas, and the key word is collaboration. It is important that we have the collaboration among all the bodies, in conjunction with local police, housing associations, Members and other community politicians. There are so many other avenues that we can utilise to put an end to instances of ASB; and it is essential that we do this to make our towns and communities safer, happier and better places to live and work. As I always do, I look to the Minister positively for his response, and for his commitment to ensure that more is done across the whole of the United Kingdom. I know that he will be in touch with the representatives and bodies back home as well; perhaps he can give us some assurance on that.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Trial of Lucy Letby · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Trial of Lucy Letby · Hansard source

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  Setting aside what the right hon. Gentleman has put forward, I have been made aware that some NHS staff question their culpability and their ability to do their job—that is how they feel. Some NHS staff have left the profession simply because of their concerns. I ask the Minister gently, what can be done to restore the confidence of NHS staff, particularly the nurses?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Heat Batteries: Decarbonising Homes · Hansard source

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  I commend the hon. Lady for her contribution; she is making a name for herself in the House on this issue. Does she agree that if we are to reach our targets, we must assist homeowners, particularly those who are older? Does she feel that the Government should provide financial assistance so that we can achieve her goals?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  First, I commend the shadow Minister for this amendment, and for the last part in particular. As everybody in this Chamber probably knows, my politics are very much left of centre, but I fully support what the Conservative party is doing with this amendment, and my party will also be supporting the Conservatives on it. The reason is quite simple: the women and children who have faced injustice over the decades deserve to see the grossly perverted perpetrators who carried out unbelievable things against children over the years face justice. We seek justice for them. The Conservative party seeks justice for them. The amendment the Conservatives have put forward today encapsulates the feeling of not just this House, but this nation.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children and Young People with Cancer · Hansard source

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  I commend the hon. Gentleman for all his efforts on cancer issues in the short time that he has been in this place. He has been assiduous, focused and very much to the fore on the issue, and we thank him for that. In relation to the welfare of children and young people with cancer, is he aware that 71% of families impacted by cancer in young people are struggling to meet travel costs? That is the case in Northern Ireland, but I understand that it is also the case on the mainland. With one in 10 people missing appointments because they have not got the finances to go to them—and the impact that has on the NHS—does the hon. Gentleman agree that now is the time for Government to step up and ensure that the finance to travel for young people with cancer is made available?

• 8 Jan 2025 · NHS Diagnostic Processes: Technological Innovation · Hansard source

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  What progress has been made on using AI algorithms to analyse medical images of things such as tumours, fractures or other medical conditions? That was a pithy question, I think, Mr Speaker.