John Whitby MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 17 Mar 2026 · Productivity and Economic Growth: East Midlands · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing the debate. In Derbyshire Dales, we quarry the stone used to build new homes, produce the cement that keeps our buildings standing and have the outstanding natural landscapes that support a vibrant visitor economy. Derbyshire produces 85% of the UK’s limestone, and that raw material is essential for construction, infrastructure and manufacturing industries across the UK. However, as my hon. Friends have said, the east midlands’ economic growth has been held back by decades of under-investment. I therefore strongly welcome the £2 billion of transport funding for the East Midlands combined county authority, which should, in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire at least, start to redress the balance. Two transport-related projects in particular highlight the need for additional investment. Today, there is no direct train line from Derby, Nottingham or Leicester to Manchester. The map of the rail network has a Matlock-to-Buxton-sized hole in it, meaning that people from the cities of the east midlands have to travel via Stoke or Sheffield to get to Manchester. Reinstating that line would act as a catalyst for economic growth and increase productivity across our region. It would deliver major economic gains, connect tourism hotspots such as Bakewell to the rail network, and connect places such as Matlock and Matlock Bath to Manchester. It would bring major benefits for young people looking for work or education, for the transportation of freight from our quarries, for the millions of tourists coming to the area for its hospitality offer, for regional connectivity, and for small businesses that would warmly welcome commuting employees. We wait in anticipation of the Manchester and East Midlands Rail Action Partnership’s feasibility study, which we expect by the end of this month. Aside from transport, there are other projects that would deliver major economic benefits. Peak Cluster based in the Hope valley is the world’s largest cement decarbonisation project and has the potential to decarbonise 40% of the UK’s cement and lime production. The project would safeguard our cement industry for generations to come, support over 13,000 jobs and attract £5 billion of private investment. I urge the Government to provide a clear route to market for carbon capture and storage projects beyond track 1 and track 2 clusters. If we do secure the future of our cement and lime industry through carbon capture, which in turn will help to build the 1.5 million homes, there will be even more freight, much of it coming through the town of Ashbourne. The lack of a relief road has been a problem for decades. Already, around 700 heavy goods vehicles a day pass through the town, which causes major road safety issues and results in levels of air pollution above the legal limit. The Government have set ambitious housing targets. To deliver them, we need to support our industries and provide them with the infrastructure they need to thrive, but we also need to protect our residents. All we ask is for the playing field to be levelled.

• 16 Mar 2026 · Heating Oil Support · Hansard source

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  I very much welcome the Government listening and acting so quickly on this subject. On 5 March, one of my constituents had an order of 500 litres of heating oil cancelled and was invited to remake the order, but he was then told that it would cost around twice as much as the previous order. Rob, who is on the state pension and is a wheelchair-user, could not afford to remake the order and therefore has had no central heating from 5 March. Does the Minister agree that all providers should be honouring contracts previously made?

• 2 Mar 2026 · Phone Use in Schools · Hansard source

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  What assessment has been made of the magnetic lockable pouches that are being used in some schools as a way of preventing any smartphone access during the entire school day, including lunch time and breaks? Could a national roll-out of those be considered?

• 2 Mar 2026 · Phone Use in Schools · Hansard source

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  4. What steps she is taking to help prevent the use of phones by children in schools.

• 26 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T4. A growing number of ex-footballers are suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a form of dementia caused by repeated heading of the ball. These ex-players feel let down by the Professional Footballers’ Association, which has only provided support for those suffering from CTE once funding from the NHS, social services and family assets has been exhausted, leaving taxpayers rather than football bodies footing the bill for care. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that our heroes of the game are given appropriate support in their hour of need and that competition organisers provide adequate funding for ex-players with CTE?

• 10 Feb 2026 · Local Power Plan · Hansard source

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  I have spoken to groups across my constituency such as Transition Crich and Derbyshire Dales Community Energy, which are working to create new community-owned energy projects in order to cut bills and drive down emissions. The £1 billion announced today will significantly help with their aims. However, these groups will grow faster if they are able to sell their energy directly to households in their communities. Could the Secretary of State therefore update us on what plans he has to implement local supply rights for community energy schemes?

• 5 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T4. Tideswell brook was deemed to be the second most pharmaceutically polluted river in the UK, despite being a site of special scientific interest and in a national park. Concentrations of some chemicals are currently more than 2.8 times higher than annual average environmental standards. Will the Government therefore follow the example recently set by the European Union, and require sewage treatment works to treat pharmaceutical micro- pollutants?

• 2 Feb 2026 · Support for Veterans · Hansard source

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  What assessment has the Minister made of the adequacy of housing provision for military veterans, particularly those with service-related injuries or disabilities, in rural areas such as Derbyshire Dales, where there is severe pressure on our affordable and supported housing stock?

• 2 Feb 2026 · Support for Veterans · Hansard source

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  16. What steps he is taking to improve support for veterans.

• 28 Jan 2026 · Local Authority Children’s Services · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I thank the hon. Member for Woking (Mr Forster) for making a powerful speech. As a foster carer, a member of an adoption panel and a former lead member of a tier 1 local authority, I have seen at first hand the damage that austerity has caused to local authorities across the country, in particular to children’s services. The lack of resource and support has contributed to the number of children in care rocketing. That in turn has created a placement sufficiency crisis in children’s social care. The number of children in residential care more than doubled between 2010 and 2024. That has presented extra pressures on authorities, as children have to be routinely placed at a distance from their local area. Every day that the previous Government were in power, an average of 140 children—equivalent to nearly five full classrooms—entered poverty. We now have a Minister for Children and Families who understands the problems we face, as he delivered the independent review of children’s social care. I will focus on some of the changes Labour has made to improve children’s services thus far. First, the continued roll-out of the Mockingbird programme, which brings new foster carers together with those who are more experienced, helping to create an extended family-like community around foster families, providing advice, expertise and support. A few weeks ago, I spoke to a group of foster carers about their experiences. Many told me of the positive impact the Mockingbird scheme had had on them. Therefore, I welcome the additional £40 million that the Government are investing in children’s social care, which is helping to ensure that programmes such as Mockingbird continue to be rolled out across the country. If we cannot attract enough new foster carers—and that is always a challenge—then we need to keep hold of and support the ones we have. Secondly, the Government are bringing in important changes in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that will protect local authorities from paying exorbitant fees to large, privately run children’s home providers. As I have said previously, many more children are living in residential care due to the placement sufficiency crisis. As has been mentioned this morning, in 2022 the largest 20 providers of children’s residential placements collectively made £310 million in profits. That was all off the back of the public purse. It is therefore welcome that, as a result of the Bill, large children’s placement providers will have to give regular financial information to a newly created financial oversight scheme. I am glad that the Bill will give the Government the power, if necessary, to cap the profits of private children’s home providers. There are many other positive changes to highlight, including those ensuring greater oversight on home schooling for children subject to a child protection order. The roll-out of the Staying Close programme will give care leavers from residential care—the number of whom has grown significantly—extra support to stay in housing and to get education and work. New requirements will ensure that all local authorities offer family group decision making—a move that will keep more children out of care altogether, and which in turn will save authorities money. We are opening new Best Start family hubs in all English local authorities—something that we have really missed. Taken together, the changes will alleviate pressures on local authority children’s services and give greater protection to our children and greater support to carers. It will, of course, take time for many of these changes to be felt. However, having been on the frontlines of children’s social care for more than two decades, I know that these changes will make a real and tangible difference to our most vulnerable and at-risk children.

• 21 Jan 2026 · Animal Welfare Strategy for England · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. Puppy farming is a cruel practice, with puppies taken early from their mothers, kept in poor conditions and sold through misleading adverts. It also creates distress for the families who unknowingly buy dogs raised like that. Will my hon. Friend join me in welcoming the animal welfare strategy’s commitment to end puppy farming, and call on the Government to ensure that the practice is ended as soon as possible?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Wales-England Livestock Movements · Hansard source

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  3. What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on cross-border livestock movements.

• 21 Jan 2026 · Wales-England Livestock Movements · Hansard source

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  Given the integrated nature of livestock markets across England and Wales, farmers in my constituency still face challenges from restrictions linked to bluetongue. What discussions have occurred with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Welsh Government about minimising disruption to cross-border livestock movements arising from bluetongue testing and certification requirements?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Israel is the only country in the world that automatically and systematically prosecutes children in military courts, trying between 500 and 700 Palestinian children in that way each year. According to Save the Children, those children are at serious risk of contagious disease, hunger and abuse. Can the Minister reassure me that the Government are doing all that they can to put pressure on the Israeli Government to end this practice?

• 13 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T9. Until covid, Hulland Ward had a local NHS clinic serving the community. However, it was closed, first temporarily and then permanently, leaving many vulnerable and elderly residents without healthcare and putting immense pressure on services in Brailsford. Will the Minister consider reopening that health centre? What steps is the Department taking to ensure that more people in Hulland Ward can access healthcare close to where they live?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief · Hansard source

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  I was grateful for the opportunity to meet the Chancellor recently to highlight the impact that the changes to APR and BPR would have had on farmers in Derbyshire Dales. I therefore sincerely thank the Minister and the Chancellor for listening to me and other members of the Labour rural research group, and raising the tax-free allowance. Since the change was announced, more than 100 farmers have written to me to say how pleased they are about it. One farmer said: “This has been hanging over me all year, making me ill, and I can’t believe the relief I’m feeling right now.” Will the Minister or the Chancellor take the opportunity to visit a farm in Derbyshire Dales to see for themselves the positive difference that this change has made?