Josh Babarinde MP: speeches

Speeches

• 5 Feb 2026 · Human Trafficking · Hansard source

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  We know that the disgusting paedophile Jeffrey Epstein had thousands of victims across the world who he trafficked. Many of them are British victims and survivors, who would have been thoroughly retraumatised by the events of just the last few days. What steps will the Government take to ensure that all those who aided and abetted the trafficking that Jeffrey Epstein perpetrated are also prosecuted by the British state?

• 3 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The new judicial finding of domestic abuse in the Sentencing Act 2026 will help us better identify domestic abusers in the criminal justice system. Will the Minister explain when that element of the Act will commence? What additional training will be given to judges and magistrates to make sure that they can implement it effectively?

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

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  Eastbourne’s leaseholders are being ripped off. The current leaseholder landscape has bred an industry of property management companies, such as FirstPort and Eagerstates, that prey on powerless leaseholders by charging eye-watering service charges, making opaque calculations of those charges and bullying residents into submission. In failing to cap service charges, and without the 2024 transparency rules in place, today’s reforms still leave thousands of local leaseholders unprotected. When will the Minister finally crack down on exploitative property management companies?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Armed Forces Bill · Hansard source

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  I will use my time in this debate to highlight an injustice that strikes at the very heart of the armed forces covenant: the injustice suffered by a legendary Eastbournian, Staff Sergeant Pauline Cole. Pauline served our country during the Aden emergency in 1967, and she wrote about her experiences in her book “Army Girl: The Untold Story”. She developed skin damage and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her military service. After tribunals rightfully awarded her compensation for those lifelong conditions, she should have been able to live with greater financial security in her retirement. Instead, the opposite happened. Military compensation is treated as income when calculating pension credit, so most of what Pauline won at tribunal was effectively taken away by the Department for Work and Pensions. Her pension credit fell from £77 a week to just £11 a week. Pauline was financially punished for being injured in the service of her country. This is not just Pauline’s story; the Royal British Legion estimates that over 50,000 war disablement pensioners of retirement age face the same perverse outcome. What makes it worse and even more outrageous is that civil compensation is not treated as income for pension credit; only military compensation is penalised in this way. It is also outrageous in the light of the fact that LGBT+ veterans who received compensation following the Etherton review were explicitly, and rightly, told that their payments would not affect their benefits. We have to ask: why are injured veterans under the war pension scheme treated differently, and why does our system force our poorest veterans to use compensation awarded for pain, injury and lost quality of life to cover basic living costs? I was proud to use my first ever question to the Prime Minister in this place to raise this injustice at the highest level, and I was proud to leverage a meeting with the Pensions Minister to discuss it further. There were many, many warm words but no action. I promised Pauline that I would do my very best to fight this injustice on her behalf. With huge sadness, Pauline died on 30 November last year, without seeing the justice that she was so determined to secure. At her funeral earlier this month, I restated to her sons Les and Simon Haffenden and to all her loved ones gathered there my promise to continue to fight tooth and nail for Pauline and veterans like her. To that end, this week marks my tabling of my armed forces compensation scheme and war pension scheme report Bill—Pauline’s law—as a step toward correcting the injustice permanently. As this Government’s Armed Forces Bill progresses through Parliament, the Minister has an incredible opportunity—a duty, in my view—to act through his own legislation to correct this gross injustice. I urge the Government to amend the Bill to ensure that no veteran’s pension credit, or indeed any benefit, is reduced because they received compensation for serving their country. I would love to work in a cross-party way on this issue. I know that the hon. Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) is passionate about this issue, as are the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi), my hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (John Milne) and many others. Indeed, it was mentioned by our spokesperson, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (James MacCleary). We owe our veterans nothing less than the dignity, security and fairness that they were promised when they signed up to serve. Pauline deserved better, our veterans deserve better, and this House must do better.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Local Authorities: Business Investment · Hansard source

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  East Sussex county council has launched a scheme to fine East Sussex Highways when its roadworks overrun and cause disruption to local businesses. A clear case is that of Victoria Place, where businesses such as Gianni’s, Qualisea, Gr/eat Greek Cuisine and many more were disrupted by overrunning works to pedestrianise the street. Does the Minister agree that the fund should be used to help compensate those businesses for the disruption, and can the Cabinet Office support East Sussex county council to do just that?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Water White Paper · Hansard source

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  Not only are the likes of South East Water and Southern Water failing Eastbourne, with yet another outage last week, but shipping companies are also damaging our water quality. Thousands of bags of oven chips have washed up on Eastbourne beach, and their decomposition will have a serious impact on marine wildlife and the local ecosystem. I know that Sussex MPs along the shore have experienced a similar thing, whether with onions, bananas or body lotion from the White Company. However, shipping companies are not mentioned at all in the White Paper. Will the Minister meet me and Sussex MPs with constituencies on the coastline to address this issue, to ensure that the shipping companies pay their fair share towards cleaning up our seas?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Holocaust Memorial Bill · Hansard source

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  I welcome the spirit of the amendment; I welcome the Bill, of course; I welcome the assurances that the Minister gave; and notwithstanding some differences of opinion, I welcome the civility of the debate, which is exactly what is needed when discussing such a sensitive issue. I speak today not only to the House, but to those who will be gathering back home in Eastbourne on Holocaust Memorial Day 2026, 27 January. On behalf of our town —and those far beyond it—I pay huge tribute to a remarkable Eastbourne resident and Holocaust survivor, Dorit Oliver-Wolff, whose tireless Holocaust education work ensures that future generations never forget. She is a leading light, whether she is facilitating events such as Holocaust Memorial Day in Eastbourne, making school visits, or sharing her experiences through her book, “Yellow Star to Pop Star”—she is a published author. She also shared her story with masses of Channel 4 viewers when she appeared on “First Dates” in 2021, and told us more about her experiences. We thank Dorit so much for her advocacy, her service and her fabulousness. Dorit’s example serves as a testament to the need for the Holocaust memorial and learning centre that is the subject of this Bill. Education is our most powerful defence against hatred’s return, and the theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day—“For a Better Future”—carries such profound weight. In that spirit, we remember the 6 million Jewish lives stolen and all victims of Nazi persecution. We honour their memory by confronting hatred wherever it emerges, including in the face of genocide in our world today, but sadly that confrontation requires vigilance.

• 20 Jan 2026 · Temporary Accommodation: Out of Area Placements · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the opportunity to spotlight the challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness who are placed by their local authorities into temporary accommodation outside their local authority areas. In many cases, out of area placements are both necessary and an appropriate means to safeguard vulnerable individuals. A clear example is survivors of domestic abuse, who may be forced to relocate to ensure their own safety. But too often, for placing authorities, “out of area” becomes shorthand for “out of sight and out of mind”. A scandal has unfolded across our country, in which homeless people are dumped from one place to another without the proper assistance that they need to address the causes of their homelessness, or other support that could help to get them back on their feet.

• 20 Jan 2026 · Temporary Accommodation: Out of Area Placements · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is absolutely right to highlight the plight faced particularly by care-experienced young people. All the evidence tells us that such placements can have a scarring effect on individuals, pervading way into later life, which can set them up for disadvantage before they have even had a proper chance to begin. Another issue is that local authorities do not routinely notify the receiving authority when a placement has ended. That, again, gets in the way of achieving a proper picture of the temporary accommodation landscape. The impact of that dysfunction is profound. Some people placed in Eastbourne from Brighton, who have gone on to live in Eastbourne, have had to make a 50-mile round trip to access support from their local authority, taking sometimes more than three hours by bus. Those people are often ripped away from their GP, mental health support, addiction services and schools, as has been mentioned already by hon. Members. Tragically, we have seen the fatal consequences of the broken system. In January 2023, a 25-year-old man placed in Eastbourne by Brighton and Hove city council was found dead in the accommodation in which he was placed. In the month before his death, no welfare checks had been carried out by Brighton and Hove city council—a scandal. Last year, two more people died in Wilmington Square in Eastbourne within days of each other. In Newhaven in the neighbouring constituency represented by my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (James MacCleary), 10 people have died in similar circumstances. That is obscene. It is immoral and it is not fair on anyone. There is also a wider out of area homelessness issue in Eastbourne that is important to acknowledge. Alongside formal placements, Eastbourne has seen individuals arriving from outside the area voluntarily, including cases of people travelling from as far as the Isle of Wight to reside on the streets in Eastbourne. Those people often move in search of safety, support and services that they believe will be available to them. The reality, though, is that unmanaged and unsupported movement across local authority boundaries places additional strain on receiving councils and charities, particularly when there has been no co-ordination, information sharing or support from the originating authority. I am very proud that Eastbourne borough council has been at the forefront of responding to the challenge. There are amazing officers like Jaime Wainwright-Jones who has pioneered person-centred, preventive and proactive models of support that are delivering extraordinary results. I am also proud of charities and initiatives such as Eastbourne Salvation Army, Matthew 25 Mission, Kingdom Way Trust, Eastbourne food bank, Warming up the Homeless, Feedbourners, Eastbourne Street Pastors, Change Grow Live in Eastbourne, Southdown, Citizens Advice Eastbourne, YMCA Eastbourne Foyer, BHT Sussex, Absolute Angels and Food4Thought. Those are just some of the organisations that have stepped into the breach. I saw the work at first hand as recently as yesterday when I went to Matthew 25 and spoke with Andrea, Maria and Andrew from the team and volunteers about the impact of out of area placements on the town, on their services and, most importantly, on people. I spoke there with one gentleman who had been placed in Eastbourne by Brighton and Hove city council without the support that he needed. As we were having the discussion he piped up: “They ended up dumping me here”. It is inhumane. And I am concerned that that the issue at national level still lacks the urgency that it demands. I raised the issue in a letter to the previous Minister who committed “to further define where out of area placements are acceptable and expectations on placing and receiving local authorities.” I am profoundly concerned that, despite the amazing work that the Minister has done to bring forward the national strategy to end homelessness, the commitment that the last Minister made has not been not met. I therefore call on the Minister to do four things: first, will she set out a clear timetable for clarifying and strengthening the guidance on out of area placements so that local authorities know what is expected of them, and so that people experiencing homelessness have the dignity and support that they deserve, as hon. Members have mentioned in their remarks? Secondly, I appeal to the Minister to directly consult local government, especially Eastbourne borough council, so that the real experience of receiving councils when it comes to this scandal informs the guidance to come. Thirdly, I call on the Minister to clarify what sanctions exist to course-correct councils who fail in their duty of care and in their duty to co-operate with receiving local authorities. Fourthly, in the meantime, I ask the Government to make it clear to placing local authorities who, I believe, are failing people experiencing homelessness—such as Brighton and Hove city council—that their responsibilities do not end at the point of placement. The duty of care must follow the person. It cannot stop at an arbitrary local authority boundary. Ultimately, this is about fairness to councils, empowering our support services and, most importantly, protecting the dignity of individuals experiencing homelessness. It is on those principles that I urge the Government to act further without delay.

• 20 Jan 2026 · Temporary Accommodation: Out of Area Placements · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her response. I am heartened that a review of the out of area placements guidance is still on the cards, but I am disheartened not to hear a timetable for that. It feels as though not much has progressed since my letter and the response that I received in the summer. I wonder if she can share a timetable for when that review will take place and be concluded.

• 20 Jan 2026 · Temporary Accommodation: Out of Area Placements · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered out of area placements in temporary accommodation. Thank you so much, Sir John; it is great to serve under your chairship. I have deliberately avoided the green suit that I know is not your favourite from my wardrobe, so I hope that you will afford me good grace in this debate. [ Laughter. ]

• 20 Jan 2026 · Temporary Accommodation: Out of Area Placements · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is absolutely right to highlight the scandal that families face in his own constituency, but what is even more scandalous is that that is not the exception; it is happening in too many places. Due consideration is not given for families with children with special educational needs. That consideration does not go far enough, and too many councils are not just failing when it comes to making those kinds of assessments but failing to uphold their wider duties of care, communications standards and accountability in following those people and their families wherever they are placed. In Eastbourne, this issue particularly grew during the pandemic following the introduction of the last Government’s “Everyone In” directive, under which people who were experiencing homelessness were rapidly—and rightly—placed into temporary accommodation, including hotels and bed and breakfasts, in order to protect their health and public health more widely. Although that approach was formally stepped down by the Government after the first lockdown, many local authorities have continued to use that model. While “Everyone In” was extremely well intentioned, it has since become an embedded, informal and unregulated practice that contributes to the sustained use of out of area temporary accommodation without the necessary support in place. Over the last couple of years, out of area placements in Eastbourne have increased fourfold, to the 209 that Eastbourne hosts today. As I have said in this very room before, out of area placements now account for 46% of all temporary accommodation placements in Eastbourne, with the majority being from Brighton and Hove city council. There are currently 178 placements by Brighton and Hove city council in Eastbourne, and 31 from other neighbouring districts, such as Hastings, Worthing and Rother, and a small number from London. To the point made by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), this is not just a local issue but a national one. At the end of June 2025, 42,080 households were living in temporary accommodation outside their home local authority. That represents an increase of more than 10% since 2021. London accounts for a significant proportion of such placements, reflecting the acute pressures in the capital. I recognise the scale of the challenge there, but that pattern has clear consequences for other towns and cities across the country, which are increasingly expected to meet these needs without the resources, co-ordination or accountability that should accompany that expectation. After years of sustained pressure and negotiation by Eastbourne borough council, our town has finally secured somewhat more consistent notifications from placing authorities when individuals are moved into the borough. Although that progress is welcome, serious information gaps remain. Too often, notifications are incomplete, with receiving authorities not provided with information on key risk factors such as histories of domestic abuse or other serious vulnerabilities. That leaves frontline services without the information that they need to keep those individuals, staff and the wider community safe. If a duty of care is to mean anything, it must include the timely sharing of appropriate and proportionate case details across local authority boundaries to ensure that safeguarding responsibilities can be properly discharged.

• 19 Jan 2026 · Local Elections: Cancellation · Hansard source

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  In Eastbourne, Conservative-run East Sussex county council is one of the worst in the country for potholes, with the second highest number of compensation payouts in total. It has resurfaced zero roads in the past year, making it the worst. Yet the people of East Sussex do not currently have a say. When can they expect to hear from the Minister or the Secretary of State about when they can kick out the Conservative council that is squatting in County Hall?

• 19 Jan 2026 · Ukrainian GCSE · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree with me that any Ukrainian GCSE should also include teaching on the importance of national sovereignty and the international rules-based order? If so, does she agree that Donald Trump should be the first to sit that GCSE, so that in relation to Greenland, he can learn to keep his hands off a country that is not his?

• 12 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The severe weather emergency protocol has ended in East Sussex. Today, five individuals who were provided with accommodation under it came into my constituency office, not knowing where to turn. We have amazing local charities doing great work, but will the Minister offer advice to those folks who have come into the office in desperate need of support to get out of the situation they are in?

• 12 Jan 2026 · Water Supplies: East Grinstead · Hansard source

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  South East Water is failing Eastbourne. It is unacceptable that it left thousands of residents in Sovereign Harbour, Hampden Park, St Anthony’s and Langney without water supply this weekend; it is unacceptable that it refused my ask to set up a water collection station in Eastbourne, forcing residents to travel 35 miles to East Grinstead if they wanted bottled water; and it is unacceptable that many residents who are on the priority services register received absolutely nothing, including no information. Does the Minister agree that South East Water is a busted flush? Does she agree that it is a scandal that water bosses such as Dave Hinton dine out on enormous bonuses, salaries and the rest while failing the residents across our area? Does she agree that Dave Hinton needs to go?

• 6 Jan 2026 · Net Zero: Local Authorities · Hansard source

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  Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to the Minister. Eastbournians without driveways—such as Laurain on Winchcombe Road—are committed to acquiring an electric vehicle in order to reduce their emissions, but they are being let down by Conservative-run East Sussex county council, which has failed to invest in pavement gulleys to allow safe cross-street electric vehicle charging. Will the Minister and her colleagues at MHCLG urge the council to follow the lead of Lib Dem-run Oxfordshire county council and pilot a cross-pavement electric vehicle charging scheme?

• 6 Jan 2026 · Net Zero: Local Authorities · Hansard source

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  10. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the steps councils are taking to help local people achieve net zero.

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  Throughout this statement the Foreign Secretary appears to have taken comfort from the UK not having been involved in the US’s illegal attack in Venezuela, but she cannot escape the reality that for as long as this Government fail to call out Trump for his actions, they are complicit in his demolition of the international rules-based order. When will the Government put their head above the parapet, in the spirit of the likes of Charles Kennedy back in 2003, and condemn the US President’s attempt to turn our world into his wild west?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Merry Christmas to you, the House staff and the Doorkeepers, Madam Deputy Speaker. I want to say a massive thank you to Andy, Helen and other staff, as well as Mr Speaker, for facilitating my asking a very big question in Parliament a matter of weeks ago to my now fiancé. My question today is on behalf of the people of Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne, where thousands of homeowners are forced to pay hundreds of pounds a year for the maintenance of sea defences. This situation is an anomaly; in no other harbour in the UK—or, we think, in Europe—does such a charge exist. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on the fairness and transparency of this arrangement, so that the people of Sovereign Harbour can get the answers and the justice that they deserve?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Christmas Adjournment · Hansard source

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  Merry Christmas to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, your team and all the House staff who, in their own way, help MPs give a voice to our constituents. I want to give enormous thanks to all MPs’ staff, who are the unsung heroes of our work. On behalf of my constituency, I want to say a massive thank you to my staff team, including incredible Inga Frame, excellent Euan Morrison, jolly smart Jack Morrell, conscientious Kathryn Sutter, cracking Kara Bishop, sensational Sam McManus, knock-it-out-the-park Nadia Wyllie, just brilliant Josh Moreton and heroic Hannah Wain. I thank my parliamentary support team volunteers, too: Cherine, Jackie, Arianne and Sue, who I will shower with alliterative adjectives in person. All of them, and many more volunteers, have helped to power my missions and more for the people of Eastbourne. A key mission will be to drive down homelessness in Eastbourne next year and beyond. The issue of street homelessness is more stark than I have ever known. Rough sleeping has soared outside Eastbourne train station. I have urged Eastbourne borough council to do its bit to get on top of this tragedy, and a taskforce has been created, bringing together homelessness agencies, station management, the council and others, including me, to help drive this out. But we need the Government to play their part, including by providing the funding for the support services that street homeless folks need to get back on their feet. In particular, we need Government to help fund more transitional housing, like that run by Kingdom Way Trust in Eastbourne, which provides a roof over folks’ heads as well as holistic support to help them to move from street homelessness into a tenancy that they are able to manage and sustain. Locally, we have the model, the expertise, the will, and an award-winning homelessness hub, but we need the cash to scale it. I hope that the Government can provide support for that. Another issue that I would like to draw attention to, as I have done on many occasions in this House, is water quality and the conduct of Southern Water and South East Water in Eastbourne and the surrounding area. Not only is our sea polluted by raw sewage and our air polluted by all the stuff that comes out of Eastbourne water treatment works, but bio-beads have been released from those works, and have polluted beaches in the surrounding area. Southern Water needs to get its act together, and in 2026 and beyond, I will continue to hold it to account. Merry Christmas, one and all!

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  After Reform-led Staffordshire county council, Conservative-run East Sussex county council paid out the highest amount in compensation relating to potholes between 2022 and 2024. People in Eastbourne want to have their say. Can the Minister confirm whether the leader of East Sussex county council has already made representations to her about the cancellation of elections next year? Will she confirm whether she expects the people of East Sussex to have a say at the ballot box in 2026?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls Strategy · Hansard source

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  From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely congratulate the Minister and the Victims Minister on all the work with victims, survivors and the sector across the country that they have put into making this happen. I was proud to work with them both to help secure the domestic abuse identifier, which is in clause 6 of the Sentencing Bill. That will tell us how many domestic abusers there are in prison and in the country at any given time, and what their reoffending rate is. I am keen to understand when the Minister expects that information and data to go online. How does she expect to use that data to monitor the impact and progress of this VAWG strategy? What will the Government do to measure the impact of the identifier?

• 15 Dec 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls Strategy · Hansard source

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  Clare’s law gives people the right to ask about the criminal history of their partner to help keep them safe, but Clare’s law let down one of my constituents, whose abuser lied about his identity and therefore lied about his criminal past. Will the Minister confirm that the strategy to be released on Thursday will make provision to enable women and girls who request their right to ask to be better protected by Clare’s law, and patch up the loophole that allows abusers to lie about their identity to continue their abuse of women and girls?

• 9 Dec 2025 · Railways Bill · Hansard source

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  The arrival of the railway in Eastbourne in 1849 helped the seventh Duke of Devonshire to translate his plans for the town into reality. He was the architect of Eastbourne and helped build the town that became the resort that people across the country know and love—the sunniest town in the UK, with the largest marina in northern Europe. Some may know that Eastbourne hosts one of the busiest level crossings in Europe: Hampden Park level crossing, in my home patch. Although I love my home patch to bits, the level crossing, at which the gates come down every four minutes, on average, so that trains can pass, is the bane of Hampden Parkers’ lives in so many respects—a bane that we hope will be addressed in part by the Bill. The railways made Eastbourne, but the level crossing in Hampden Park literally breaks Eastbourne. People cannot cross from one part of town to another for much of the day because of the crossing. In fact, local resident James Rea, a software engineer, has created a website specifically dedicated to the Hampden Park level crossing, arethegatesup.com, to help residents. I can see lots of hon. Members googling “arethegatesup.com” —or not listening to my speech. [Laughter.] That’s the one. We very much hope that the Bill, and the investment that it could bring to Eastbourne to address the issue with the level crossing, could preclude the need for James’s website altogether. A slightly more serious issue is access. Hampden Park station has no step-free access from one platform to another. That affects folks who have mobility needs. Folks with buggies or luggage—not the wet weather luggage that my hon. Friend the Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) referred to, because it does not rain in Eastbourne, but the enormous parasols that people seek to take from platform one to platform two—could transport them much more easily if we had dedicated Access for All funding to invest in accessibility in our train station. The Bill does not go far enough. The passenger watchdog will be able to set certain regulations on accessibility, but there is no statutory requirement for accessibility, so the Bill needs to be strengthened in that respect. I very much hope that the Bill will give passengers—whether commuters, tourists or others—the opportunity to have input into shaping the future of rail services. I am delighted to have led a campaign to restore the direct train from Eastbourne to London Bridge. That service launches next Monday, thanks to great folks like Christina Ewbank and Dave Cooper, the local businesses that got on board, and the many people who signed our petition. However, getting such an obvious service reinstated should not be like pulling teeth, so I hope that the Minister will ensure that the likes of Eastbourne can get back on track by giving people the opportunity to have input into the future of rail across the country.