John Glen MP: speeches

Speeches

• 13 Apr 2026 · SEND Provision and Reform · Hansard source

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  I will not have any more time, so I will not. Let us not peddle a dishonesty by saying that we are going to deliver a perfect system. Frankly, we have got to the point where we need to look at the definitional parameters and get to a more honest conversation about how we are going to actually deal with this problem.

• 13 Apr 2026 · SEND Provision and Reform · Hansard source

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  I do, but I want to address the key point that I think we all have to acknowledge. Between 2014 and 2023, there was a 140% expansion in the number of EHCPs to well over half a million. In generating that volume of demand, Members in all parts of the House—no matter who is in government—have to be honest about whether, given the budgets we have, we can actually provide solutions that meet the needs of every individual child. We are all trying to make the case to achieve that, whether through EHCPs giving us the legal backstop, or moving to an individual support plan in a school-based solution. I want us to recognise that, in defining needs so much more broadly, we have created such a demand and expectation of the state. We have to be real about what we can and cannot provide. This is very delicate territory, because we are always concerned that we will be accused of denying that the needs exist, but what concerns me is that we will set expectations that the school will set up an individual definition of provision and it will not be met in exactly the same way that we have seen with the challenges over the past decade. There is a central tension in the White Paper that, as we move from a rights-based system of statutory entitlements to a resource-led system, the situation will automatically improve. It seems to me that the representatives of those with unmet SEND provision and the charities are concerned that having set expectations in our country that EHCPs are legally enforceable, there will be an enforceability gap. With the proposed ISPs, although parents might have the right to a plan, they will not have the legal right to the provision it contains. If we standardise things over individual needs and move to a situation where we have nationally determined fixed packages of support, we will risk getting into exactly the situation that we have reached in recent years.

• 13 Apr 2026 · SEND Provision and Reform · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is making a very moving and powerful speech, but is not the reality that if every single EHCP was properly diagnosed and the need expressed, it would impose an honest but unachievable burden on the state? Will he acknowledge that and address how we come to terms with it?

• 26 Mar 2026 · National Savings & Investments · Hansard source

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  I welcome the actions that the Government are taking to restore trust in NS&I, and to take the appropriate compensation measures. I was in the Treasury for a while, and I had conversations with the previous chief executive—the one prior to 2023. Like the Minister, I took advice from my officials on what assurances I could have from NS&I on the delivery of programmes to transform the IT infrastructure, and I was given those assurances. I welcome the appointment of Jim Harra, who I think is an excellent public servant and is very well placed to understand the nuances of this issue. Will the Minister review the mechanisms by which his officials keep on top of what is happening at NS&I, so that he can be absolutely sure that when things go awry, they are brought to his attention and he can make the necessary interventions? I do not think that that happens currently.

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

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  I represent Salisbury hospital, which has one of the eight specialist spinal units in the country. I am a member of the all-party parliamentary group on spinal cord injury, which is chaired by the hon. Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald). We are very concerned about the Government’s plans to commission spinal services through integrated care boards, which directly contradicts a recent report advocating a national strategy as the best way to maintain specialist nursing numbers and avoid a postcode lottery for treatment and outcomes. Will the Leader of the House ask a Minister to give a statement to the House on the rationale behind this decision, which has massive implications for a very vulnerable community of patients?

• 24 Mar 2026 · Middle East: Economic Update · Hansard source

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  I welcome the targeted nature of these measures, but three weeks ago it looked like inflation was going to return to the level that the right hon. Lady inherited when she took office in July 2024. That is no longer going to happen, but we are now seeing it the cost of borrowing. Given that we are spending well over £100 billion a year on debt interest, what assessment has the Chancellor made of the implications for the public finances of higher inflation and higher borrowing costs?

• 19 Mar 2026 · Flooding · Hansard source

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  Salisbury has benefited enormously from investment in the river park scheme, which has alleviated flood risk to the centre of the city. My attention now turns to the villages, the role that farmers and agricultural land can play in effective flood defence, and the consequential impact on food supply. How does the Minister view the role of farmers in a collaborative approach to flood defences?

• 17 Mar 2026 · Youth Unemployment · Hansard source

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  I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I share the concern of many on the Opposition Benches about the national insurance increase, but I am particularly concerned by what is happening with graduate unemployment, which we have seen increase by 46% over the past six years. I draw the Secretary of State’s attention to the work of upReach, a charity that I have been involved in over the past few years. It is a social mobility charity that offers workshops, work experience and career coaching to young people. Will he engage with organisations such as upReach and Nick Bent, the excellent CEO who runs it, to see what lessons can be learned? In a world where AI is already taking many graduate jobs, it is concerning that the trend will only accelerate further.

• 16 Mar 2026 · Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address · Hansard source

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  Of course, nobody would expect the Government to contravene the indications of the Metropolitan police by publishing documents, but most people would expect that the first step for somebody applying for such an important job—the most senior diplomatic post—is to submit a declaration of interests. It is unclear whether that declaration of interests was submitted, or whether it actually exists, because we have not seen it yet. It is difficult to understand how such a basic first-principles requirement would not be disclosed in the first tranche of documents. Why is that?

• 16 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State is a former distinguished Treasury Minister. Government is about taking decisions when things change. It is welcome that the Chancellor has addressed the heating oil crisis, but what will the Secretary of State do to make the Chancellor come to terms with the changes over the last few weeks, and to provide some additional support so that the defence investment plan will do justice to his ambitions?

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

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  My constituent Kate Szymankiewicz’s daughter, Ruth, tragically died in a mental health in-patient unit. She has been told by the Government that the law as it stands already provides adequate protections to ensure that family contact and visits can happen, but that plainly did not happen in this case, with tragic consequences. Will the Leader of the House facilitate a debate, statement or meeting with the relevant Minister on this matter? When such a tragedy happens, it is not enough to say that the law is satisfactory as it is. My constituents will not rest until the tragic death of their daughter is properly met by Government action.

• 10 Mar 2026 · OBR Growth Projections: Departmental Spending · Hansard source

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  5. Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Office for Budget Responsibility's growth projections for 2026 on future departmental spending levels.

• 10 Mar 2026 · OBR Growth Projections: Departmental Spending · Hansard source

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  Given that the Chancellor has pencilled in 0.3% real-terms growth in public spending in 2029-30, and assuming that health spending is at its historical average, the special educational needs and disabilities spend is as per the proposals, and defence is at 3%, that will leave a 2.5% real-terms cut in unprotected Departments. What plans do the Chancellor and Chief Secretary to the Treasury have to fill that £13 billion gap in the 2029-30 envelope?

• 9 Mar 2026 · Middle East: Economic Update · Hansard source

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  Given that it was promised at the start of June last year, when will the Chancellor sign off on the defence investment plan?

• 5 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Given the progress made by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority, will the Paymaster General update the House? Over £140 million has been spent by the inquiry. Has he had any conversations with Sir Brian Langstaff on when will be the right time to close down that inquiry, and whether he has wider lessons about the way that public inquiries function?

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

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  Recently I have been meeting firefighters in Wilton, and last night I met Andy Cole, the chief fire officer for Wiltshire and Dorset. Eight of our 50 fire stations in those two counties face closure, despite them making £15 million of annual savings since 2016. At the core of the issue, it seems, are the assumptions about growth in the council tax base, which is much higher in the Treasury’s mind than it is in reality. Will the Leader of the House fix up a meeting for me with the Minister for Building Safety, Fire and Democracy, so that I can support her to push back on the Treasury to ensure that we get the right assumptions and avoid the closure of these fire stations, particularly in Wilton?

• 3 Mar 2026 · Spring Forecast · Hansard source

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  Undoubtedly, every Government deals with different challenges, and I note that the Chancellor did not mention the challenge of covid in the last period of government. When I was in the Treasury, I did everything I could to support businesses with bounce back loans, and to support our public services, but clearly, covid significantly scarred the economy. When the Chancellor last stood at the Dispatch Box, the “Economic and fiscal outlook” said that growth this year would be 1.4%. It is now 1.1% and flat over the period. The big strategic choice that this Chancellor faces, as the world is different in her tenure in office, is whether she will grip welfare spending at a time of grave insecurity in the world, because an open promise to raise defence spending some time over a five-year period will not cut it for this country’s best interests.

• 3 Mar 2026 · Small Charity Sector · Hansard source

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  Thank you for chairing this debate, Sir Roger. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), who for 34 years has made such an enormous contribution in this place. When he set up the Centre for Social Justice, he was determined to look at the deeper causes of social problems in our country. It has been instrumental in doing so. I agree with him that the annual attempt to champion and reward all those charities doing so much throughout the country is really important. I also draw attention to the previously mentioned “Supercharging Philanthropy” report. It looked across six hubs around the country, undertook serious engagement and came forward with 39 recommendations across 90-odd pages. It is a serious attempt to look at how we can underpin more support for small local charities that exist across our constituencies, and how we can bring back some of the things that have happened before around community-matched funding challenges. There is an enormous pool of surplus wealth that many are seeking to invest in activities and actions in communities that make a real difference. The Government could do well to look at the options that exist and those 39 recommendations and see what can be brought forward. I want to make a specific point about several charities in my constituency, many of whom I have engaged with—and one or two of which I am a patron of. In particular Rise:61—of which I am not a patron—is embedded in a distinct community of Bemerton: Bemerton Heath. It is run by Robin Imeson, who has basically devoted his life so far to youth work in that community. He lives there and runs bike clubs, drop-ins and creative clubs with his team. He also runs football and drama workshops. They have been absolutely foundational to the lives of hundreds of young people on that estate. I ask the Minister to reflect that, in the context of the Pride in Place work that is going to happen in Bemerton, she could ensure that the role of small charities is put front and centre of the options that neighbourhood plans and boards have. It is important that those people who really understand what is going on in a community are allowed to be meaningful beneficiaries, over 10 years, of the investment the Government are making, and that everything is done to hear their voices. Often they are taken out of the main conversation, so I welcome the opportunity today to talk of Rise:61 and of the enormous contribution they make to my constituency in many ways and forms.

• 10 Feb 2026 · Ministry of Defence: Palantir Contracts · Hansard source

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  I am not qualified to make observations about the enduring value for money or effectiveness of Palantir, but I am concerned that Mandelson’s dynamics with every aspect of this Government have toxified the integrity of their processes. Unless the Minister can make absolutely clear what quiet, unspoken influences Mandelson had on this follow-on order with Palantir, people are bound to question the integrity of the process. To respond to the Minister’s earlier point, if we are to have a viable alternative and meaningful competition in future, he will need to do a little more to advance the case for alternatives, beyond just saying that he has an SME strategy.

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

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  Several of my constituents in Salisbury have recently retired from the civil service. When they have contacted Capita, they have not been able to obtain their lump sums, so are getting into debt and have lost out on interest. Others have been cut off and ignored. Could we have a statement or a debate on this matter? It is only right, if people have worked so hard for so many years, that they should be able to access their pension as they anticipated.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Government’s apology for the maladministration and the Minister’s clarity today, but many Salisbury WASPI women will be very disappointed by the decision. Could the Secretary of State say a little more about what options he looked at to compensate the poorest, most vulnerable of the WASPI women? I recognise that the enormous cost would be too much overall, but what options did he pursue? When I was in government, the option to withdraw the winter fuel payment was one that I resisted, because of the impracticalities of doing it fairly. What options were put to him, and could he not have compensated the poorest? I think many would have been sympathetic to that.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Rail Infrastructure · Hansard source

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  Last week I met Lawrence Bowman, the chief executive of South Western Railway. I am keen to make sure that all the Government’s changes take positive effect in Salisbury and south Wiltshire, so that tracks, signal and stock can be improved. Will the Minister make sure that there is a suitable reference board along the commuting line into Waterloo, so that when Lawrence Bowman’s business plan is delivered, there will not be any delays when he has to interact with local authorities—a concern that he raised with me last week?

• 27 Jan 2026 · Business Rates · Hansard source

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  Can I respectfully remind the Minister that when Jonathan Russell from the Valuation Office Agency came before the Select Committee, he was very clear that the impact of the rate rises was made known to the Treasury before the Budget? The VOA provided data drops over 12 months, which did not detail the rates for individual properties, but provided a clear overview at a central level and revealed that 5,000 pubs would see their rates double. It is just not credible for the Minister to say that the Treasury did not know what was going to happen, is it? It had a very clear view of the impact of the changes that it was imposing.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  I welcome the news of the capping of ground rents for existing contracts, and I thank the Minister for the time he gave me last year, but he will recognise that many city centre developments require ongoing investment from pension funds, so could he say a little more about how his announcement will not spook the City and how he will ensure that there continues to be a flow of investment into our high streets?

• 15 Jan 2026 · Food Inflation · Hansard source

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  I hear what the Minister says, but does she not recognise that if the prevailing increase in the national living wage is 6.7% and inflation is about half that, and given the other costs mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore), many employers will not be able to take on any casual extra staff? They may even need to release some members of staff, which surely does not help anyone.