Josh Babarinde MP: speeches

Speeches

• 31 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  Some 29% of jobs in Eastbourne, the sunniest town in the UK, are connected to the hospitality sector, but many businesses in that sector have expressed concerns about yesterday’s Budget, which UK Hospitality has described as the “latest blow for hospitality”. Will the Minister meet me and local hospitality businesses to discuss those concerns? I declare an interest as the patron of the Eastbourne Hospitality Association.

• 29 Oct 2024 · Sustainable Public Finances · Hansard source

  More

  The last Government left Eastbourne borough council in a position in which it spends 49p in every pound it collects in council tax on temporary accommodation. We need a solution, because that is not sustainable for councils or families. Will the Chancellor commit to supporting councils with the cost of temporary accommodation, and to investing in preventing homelessness in the first place?

• 28 Oct 2024 · Remembrance and Veterans · Hansard source

  More

  It is an honour to pay tribute to our armed forces community this evening, and it is particularly special to be able to pay tribute to my late great-grandfather, Flight Lieutenant Thomas Gittins. He was a tool salesman who joined the RAF Reserves in the hopes of becoming a pilot. He was pretty small in stature, so he was never allowed to get near the cockpit. He fell at the first hurdle, despite being almost small enough to walk under it. He did, however, join 196 Squadron as a rear gunner in Wellington and Lancaster bombers, and between 1940 and 1945 he completed 51 missions, including towing gliders to transport soldiers to Normandy on D-Day. For his service he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was pretty rare for folk serving in his position. Like so many war heroes, my great-grandfather was intensely humble about his grand achievements. He was too humble to say that his bravery contributed to the preservation of our democracy, and to accept that his service meant that Members of Parliament, including his great-grandson down the line, could stand up here for our country. As with many war heroes, the atrocity of war took its toll on his mental health as he transitioned back to civilian life. Today, we recognise those challenges as combat stress. Thanks to so many volunteers across my wonderful constituency of Eastbourne—the sunniest in the UK—local veterans have access to more support than ever, including through our Royal British Legion branch, chaired by Alan Leith, who I recruited as my driving instructor. He is supported in chairing the RBL in Eastbourne by his fab secretary, Daphne Geninazza. I have also had the chance to meet inspirational veterans such as Eric Deach and Brian Perry, who is known as the formidable poppy salesman at the Tesco in the Admiral Way retail park in St Anthony’s. There is also local support in the form of the brilliant Eastbourne and District Veterans Association; I was proud to lead on its incorporation as a community interest company. I pay tribute to the wonderful Barry and Petra Coase and their dog Bella, who are involved with the charity Combat Stress, which supports veterans locally, and to the Blue Van drop-in group. We all need to go even further to support our armed forces, and I am delighted to speak up for them today.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

  More

  I absolutely would encourage that. There needs to be more co-ordination between local authorities, educational settings and health and care settings. Many have advocated for a notification system in order to aid the knowledge of those situations, so that they can be addressed. The circumstances are devastating, and we hear from hon. Members who have made interventions that that is the case in their patches too. Shelter estimates that more than two thirds of people in temporary accommodation have inadequate access to basic facilities—to cook, for example. Many food banks, including mine in Eastbourne, supply kettle packs, because many families in temporary accommodation are unable to cook or heat the food that they get from a food bank in any other way. Isolation is also a consequence, especially for those who are placed in temporary accommodation miles away from their support networks, or where the rules of their accommodation ban visitors. Most shockingly, according to the Shared Health Foundation analysis of the national childhood mortality database, temporary accommodation has been a contributing factor in the deaths of 42 infants since 2019. We cannot go on like this. Not only is that unacceptable on a human level, but as I said earlier, the National Audit Office has been clear that the situation is unsustainable for local authorities—especially mine in Eastbourne. In my hometown, the number of families in temporary accommodation has doubled since 2019. That, combined with our food bank becoming the busiest Trussell Trust food bank in the country—it distributed more food parcels per head than any other in the UK—led to my campaign to declare a cost of living emergency in Eastbourne. It was the first place in the UK to do so, and that unlocked emergency support for those struggling most. The surge in temporary accommodation led to the financial cost to the council jumping from £2.2 million in 2019 to the £5 million projected for this year.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

  More

  The Minister has spoken about the importance of working collectively. Council leaders such as Stephen, who is in the Gallery, are very keen to do that. The Minister said that she has seen the correspondence from him and other council leaders. Would she be willing to meet a delegation of council leaders, including Stephen, to talk about the ideas and proposals in that correspondence, if she is not going to address them? But maybe she will, later in her speech. It will be really important to hear from Stephen directly about Eastbourne’s situation, and to go from there.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Lady has a crystal ball, because she has again pre-empted something I will say later. I absolutely agree, and I commend her work in her former role as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, which I know took a deep interest in this matter. Costs in Eastbourne have skyrocketed. In fact, the council has said that 49p of every £1 that the council collects in its share of council tax is currently spent on temporary accommodation. As a result, Eastbourne borough council has been forced to consult on incredibly tough saving decisions to avoid issuing a section 114 notice, and the picture is similar in other councils.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

  More

  I could not agree more, and I will come to the costs of temporary accommodation later. The hon. Lady knows as well as I do that the National Audit Office described the situation as unsustainable. It needs a resolution, which is why today’s debate is so important. On securing the debate, I called Kelly, shared the news, and she said in reply: “What needs to be said is going to be said in the place it needs to be said to the person it needs to be said to. You are the right person to say it, Josh.” It is therefore so humbling to welcome Kelly and her son Joseph to the Public Gallery. I hope that I am the right person, that I say what needs to be said, and that I do not let Kelly and families like hers down. With her blessing, I have shared some of Kelly’s story today. She is just one of the 117,450 families who are in temporary accommodation in this country right now. That is a 12% rise compared with last year. Heartbreakingly, more than 150,000 children are living in temporary accommodation, which is enough to fill 5,000 classrooms.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

  More

  It was important and powerful to hear the Minister reaffirm the legal obligation on local authorities to notify another local authority if they are placing folks in accommodation there. Brighton and Hove city council has for some years been going ahead with placements in Eastbourne, but notification has not always taken place. That has meant that Eastbourne borough council has not been in a position to understand the general support needs landscape and how best to support those people. Will the Minister share some words that might reassure Eastbourne council and remind Brighton council of its obligations?

• 24 Oct 2024 · Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is absolutely right, which is why I am proud that the Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for Britain to build 150,000 social homes a year; that was in our manifesto. Having grown up in social housing, I am especially proud of that commitment. To conclude, I say to Kelly that I hope I have said what needs to be said, in the place that it needs to be said in, and to the person it needs to be said to. On behalf of all families in temporary accommodation, and all those who would otherwise find themselves there in the future, I make a plea to the Government: honour their experiences with reform, and dignify their humanity with action. Please do not let us and our councils down. This Government are our last hope.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

  More

  There is a lot of clairvoyance and telepathy going on here, because I will also refer to that matter later. We absolutely need to consider what is going on with LHA rates, which have been frozen at the same level since 2011—a different era. The Local Government Association said that local authorities in England have spent £2.29 billion on temporary accommodation—a 29% increase on the previous year, and 300% since 2015—and one in four councils say that they are likely to need emergency Government support to avoid a section 114 notice. So what are the solutions? First and foremost, we must urgently improve conditions for families in temporary accommodation, such as Kelly’s. They should be entitled to essential facilities, and every effort must be made to prevent them from being displaced from their communities, support networks and the advice they need and deserve. Councils need emergency support to help them to avert imminent financial crisis. Eastbourne borough council leader Stephen Holt, who is also in the Public Gallery, led an emergency summit last year after which 118 other cross-party council leaders wrote to the previous Chancellor with proposals for emergency support. Those proposals fell on deaf ears, so I draw the Minister’s attention to that letter now. It includes proposals to uprate LHA rates with a view to updating them from their outdated 2011 levels. We also need to address the appalling practice of people opportunistically renting private rented sector homes for the sole purpose of immediately sub-letting them to councils, at an inflated rate, so they can be used as temporary accommodation. That is contributing to the inflation. Beyond that, the Government must urgently publish a strategy to end homelessness in all its forms as soon as possible. That must involve building more homes, especially social housing.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

  More

  I am so grateful to have the opportunity to bring the subject of the crisis of temporary accommodation to the House of Commons today. I thank the Minister for her time and attention this afternoon. Having first met at the ballot box in Bethnal Green and Bow in 2019, it is great to meet here again, at the Dispatch Box. It means a lot to me to raise this issue today on behalf of my constituent Kelly and her family. Kelly is a proud mum of three, wife to Devon, and a fighter. After being served with a section 21 notice by her landlord, Kelly and her family were forced to leave their home. She was determined to find a new home in the private rented sector but faced so many barriers. One was that many landlords required her to find a guarantor whose salary bracket was not one shared by folks in her network. Another was that many landlords demanded six months’ rent in advance. For someone like Kelly who receives universal credit, having six months’ worth of Eastbourne private sector rent in the bank—to pay so much up-front rent—would disqualify her from universal credit in a heartbeat. Despite pulling out all the stops to find a new home, having been displaced from their previous one, Kelly, her three children and their stepdad Devon have been backed into the corner of homelessness—into temporary accommodation until a longer-term home can be found via the council or the private rented sector. This accommodation is too small to cater to their aspirations and their needs, especially those of Kelly’s awesome teenage son, Joseph. This is a combination that, by its very nature, is temporary and not secure; accommodation that forces families to exist, not live, and that could not feel further from a home. That is not fair. I have taken up Kelly’s case, and my team and I are working hard to support her, but what I find so extraordinary about Kelly is that in the midst of unspeakable hardship she is so often zooming out and reflecting on just how broken the whole system is, and she has been a tireless advocate for reforming it. A week or so ago, she said: “Josh, take me to Parliament, and we’ll speak about it up there!” Days later, I secured this Adjournment debate, which enables us to do exactly that.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Black History Month · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend’s point is very well made. I welcome the news that a Windrush commissioner will be appointed to help address the injustice that my hon. Friend so eloquently discussed. I hope that I have illustrated, by spotlighting black excellence, what wonder and opportunity await us as we lift our black community. I wish to reclaim the narrative that a rising tide of racial equality truly lifts all ships. It is incumbent on all of us in this House to play our part in making that happen.

• 24 Oct 2024 · Black History Month · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) for that amazing tribute and that awesome poem, and I also thank those on the Front Benches who have spoken so far to celebrate Black History Month. I join in paying birthday wishes to Baroness Doreen Lawrence, and as far as the jollof question is concerned, as a Nigerian I will come to that later. As the first black person ever elected as a Liberal Democrat MP— [Interruption.] About time indeed; better late than never. It is an honour to stand here to mark Black History Month. The theme of Black History Month this year is reclaiming narratives and I cannot think of a more pertinent time in recent history to be pursuing that endeavour. People may look at what happened after Saka missed that goal at the Euros, after the riots this year and after the spikes in hate crime, and feel that our country is not what it once was. They may feel that our country is unwelcoming or is closed, but I say to them that Britain is far more than the divisive minority found in some corners of this country and indeed in some corners of this House. At our core, we are an open, tolerant and multicultural country that is enriched, not compromised, by diversity. Eastbourne’s black community are a shining example of that diversity and contribution. I will highlight some of their contributions today, not least because I was born and bred in the wonderful town that I now represent. I will not describe my family, because that is cheating, but I will talk about someone who certainly feels like family: Jenny Williams. Jenny is the first black woman ever elected to Eastbourne borough council since it was established in 1859. Jenny’s career working to diversify the arts, whether through the Arts Council, her organisation Take the Space or many vehicles in between, has helped to change the landscape in the arts at a grassroots and national level, and our town and country are much richer for it. I am also proud to pay tribute to Solomon Berhane, a fellow Eastbournian and the inspirational headteacher at St Catherine’s college. He has been an Eastbourne lad since coming to the UK aged 4. Like me, he is a Hampden Park boy, having attended local schools, and he now leads one. He is a role model not just for black children in Eastbourne, but for all children in my town. Marie Baker runs EurAfro World, the specialist salon to which people travel from far and wide to experience the magic of Marie’s hairdressing. She runs far more than a salon, though. It has essentially become a community —a space that is oozing with heart, laughs and the juiciest of conversation. If people want to go anywhere for gossip in Eastbourne, they need to go to EurAfro World. We are also home to the amazing Dante Hutchinson, who is a pro scooter rider. He is a four-time UK scooter champion and a one-time world champion, and he has inspired a generation of young people into the sport. He does Eastbourne so proud. The last Eastbournian I will pay tribute to today is Mebrak, whose tenacious work for Eastbourne through Diversity Resource International has supported black communities in my town and beyond—including, I think, in your constituency, Madam Deputy Speaker—through research, translation and support for black carers. I thank Mebrak today, too. From my seaside home to this riverside House, there is much to celebrate. This is the most ethnically diverse Parliament ever. I will take this opportunity to pay tribute to the journeys that those folks of colour, particularly those black folks, have made in coming to this House. I recognise those who have sought to lift those black voices and bring them to this House, too. I am thinking of the likes of Operation Black Vote, the non-profit organisation that supports ethnic minorities to engage with and seek roles in civic life. OBV’s magistrates programme has seen dozens of black people contribute their experience and expertise to our criminal justice system, enhancing our court system’s capacity to dispense justice with fairness and equality. Particularly close to my heart is OBV’s MP shadowing scheme and the Pathway to Success programme, which have supported so many to get a taste of what MP life is like. Many alumni of that programme are now Members of this place: my friend the hon. Member for Croydon East (Natasha Irons) is one, and I am another. I thank the man, the myth, the legend that is Lord Simon Woolley in the other place—the godfather of black British politics—for his decades of work to help make that happen. How could I forget our very own black fairy godmother of British politics, Baroness Floella Benjamin, who sits, pride of place, on the Liberal Democrat Benches in the other place? Within my own party, it has meant a lot to have been part of the Stellar programme, which has supported me in my journey, first as a candidate and then as an MP, to break through the glass ceiling that the people of Eastbourne smashed so awesomely to the tune of 52% on 4 July. I am also proud of the Lib Dem campaign for race equality, headed up by Mohsin Khan and the amazing Roderick Lynch, to whom I send my best wishes, and the Lib Dem racial diversity campaign, led by Chris French, for the work that they have all done to support black people to stand for council and for this place. We have had inspirational councillors elected—Nancy Jirira, Tumi Hawkins, Ade Adeyemo and so many more. I know that other parties have equivalent schemes. Their work is super important in helping us to go even further in the next Parliament. Black achievement in this place does not begin or end in this Chamber or the other place. I am so proud to work in this building alongside so many black House staff, without whom we can all agree this place would grind to a halt overnight. There are too many to pay individual tribute to in just one speech, but let me name just two, who I believe are watching, because Jennifer King in the Members’ Tea Room has arranged for them to slip away from behind the counter. They are Margaret and Godfrey. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] The first time I walked into the Members’ Tea Room, I was a nervous, brand-new MP days into the job. Then came Margaret, who knew my name, knew where I was from and took me under her wing. She gave me the biggest hug—and then, swiftly, came her and Godfrey’s rightful mocking that I, as a man with Nigerian blood, cannot tolerate spicy jollof. It makes me an awful half-Nigerian. Grandma, I am so sorry!

• 24 Oct 2024 · Black History Month · Hansard source

  More

  I am sure they heard that loud and clear, and I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. Seriously, the response of folks like Margaret, Godfrey and many others has made me feel more welcome than so many other things could have in this House. I put on the record my thanks to them for their warmth, humour and generosity. This House has come far, but there is still some work to do. I reflect on an anecdote, which I have permission to tell, involving me and my friend the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty). Some Members can see where this is going. It was week one or two for us as new MPs. I was sat in Portcullis House, and the hon. Member came up to me and asked, “Are you Josh?” I said, “Yeah, I am.” He said, “I’m Ben, and I know that you’re Josh, because three people have mistaken me for you already. Has anyone mistaken you for me?” I said, “No, mate, sorry.” [ Laughter. ] I jinxed it, because later that day it happened. I bumped into the hon. Member and said it was 3-1. We exchanged numbers. The following day, I received a message: “4-1”. I was then out and about in my constituency at Airborne, which is the world’s largest free seafront airshow, held in what is officially the sunniest town in the UK. Some folks may know that the hon. Member for Huntington has a distinguished career in the armed forces. Somebody came up to me at Airborne and said, “It is so fantastic to see you. Great stuff. I’m really inspired by you—”, and I thought, “Oh wow, that is really kind.” Then they said, “And all the work you did in the Army.” I thought, “Oh my gosh, in my own constituency!” It then became 4-2, and I think it now stands at 4-3. This House has come far, and the country has come so far, and I am not prepared to let a group of unpatriotic folks in the minority take us way back. We have some serious work to do to take things forward. We need to address the disproportionate use of stop and search. We need to tackle the disproportionate levels of incarceration: 26% of the youth custody population is black, compared with just 6% elsewhere. The fact that black men are twice as likely as other men to get prostate cancer is something else that we need to address. We also need to tackle the fact that maternal mortality is almost four times higher among black women than among white women, and we need to secure justice for the Windrush generation.

• 23 Oct 2024 · Police Accountability · Hansard source

  More

  When I first started my work supporting young people in London to get out of crime and gangs, 75% of violent crime in London was committed by people aged under 30 and people in that age group were four times more likely to be victims of crime themselves. For the police to get on top of this, there must be restored confidence between young people and the police, which has been so eroded in recent years, but we must also invest in community policing, which was cut so much by the last Government. What will the Home Secretary do to rectify those things and to give young people the trust in the police that they need and deserve?

• 22 Oct 2024 · Sentencing Review and Prison Capacity · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement. Having myself grown up in a home of domestic violence at the hands of my mum’s former partner, I share the concerns of the Victims’ Commissioner and survivors of domestic abuse that loopholes in the early release scheme’s criteria could mean that some of their abusers, who have been convicted of violent offences but not of domestic violence-specific offences, may have been released early today. I know the Secretary of State attempted to provide some reassurances, but I can say to her that I have received communications from affected people outside this Chamber who are not satisfied with those assurances yet. Domestic abuse survivors deserve to be safe. Can she address these concerns today? We welcome the Government’s determination to fix the mess that the Conservatives made of our criminal justice system through the evidence-led, independent sentencing review. The former Lord Chancellor chairing it and I have a track record of fixing things together. In my past life, I used to run a social enterprise phone repair company staffed by ex-offenders, and we ran pop-up repair shops in the MOJ, at one of which the then Lord Chancellor David Gauke eagerly presented his phone for repair. I hope this Lord Chancellor shares that collaborative fixing spirit when it comes to engaging with the Liberal Democrats and me on this review—and I will happily sort the Secretary of State out with a phone repair if she needs one. While empirical evidence will be critical to this review, some of the most valuable insights on this matter are held by victims and survivors themselves. I was therefore disappointed not to find the words “victim” or “survivor” mentioned once anywhere in the terms of reference, although I have heard the Secretary of State say them today. Will she put that right, and outline specifically how victims and survivors will be represented and formally consulted in the sentencing review? Finally, even though the Secretary of State has said there will be no constraints and no constrictions, something else missing from the review is the injustice of indeterminate imprisonment for public protection sentences, under which almost 3,000 people remain imprisoned with no release date. What is more, people are serving IPP sentences who have committed lesser offences than those being released today under the Government’s early release scheme. Reforming these sentences could help address prison overcrowding and the safety crisis, so why have the Government explicitly excluded IPP sentences from this review, and will she reconsider that decision?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Eastbourne art galleries such as the Towner and Devonshire Collective VOLT—it made the tie I am wearing—contribute so much to our town and to our country, but the sector faces serious financial pressures. Will the Minister meet me and a delegation of art galleries to discuss them?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Former Church Sites · Hansard source

  More

  I welcome the hon. Lady to her place. Eastbourne declared a housing emergency last year, and the key thing we need to do to address that emergency is build our way out of it. The commissioners preside over a perfect brownfield site for housing: the site of the former St Elisabeth’s church on Victoria Drive, just down the road from where I went to school. It has been derelict for 20 years, and since the church on the site was demolished four years ago, there has been no sign of development whatsoever. I urge the commissioners to develop that site into affordable housing, and I appeal to the hon. Lady for an urgent update on the situation.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Former Church Sites · Hansard source

  More

  2. What steps the Church is taking to support the development of housing on derelict former church sites.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Criminal Justice System: Capacity · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement. So many of my constituents are appalled by the state in which the Conservatives have left our justice system: huge court backlogs, a woefully big remand population, overcrowded prisons and so many victims and survivors without justice. I therefore welcome her determination to arrest this problem and this decline, and especially the reports of her correspondence with the Prime Minister over a fully funded Ministry of Justice. However, I want to address some of the Liberal Democrats’ key concerns about some of the proposals that she has set out. First, the Secretary of State recognised that there may be additional issues with prison capacity in the short term. With the system bursting at the seams and with us, a matter of weeks ago, just 100 men away from the prisons being completely full, how will she prevent our prisons from collapsing as a result of these measures? Secondly, on prison effectiveness, putting too many eggs in the prisons basket will ultimately fail to keep our communities safe. We know that 75% of ex-offenders go on to reoffend within nine years of being released. From the work I did before I arrived in this place on getting kids out of crime and out of gangs, I know that rehabilitation, done holistically, is a critical way of reducing reoffending and victimhood. How will the Secretary of State double down on rehabilitation and through-the-gate mentoring programmes to reduce offending? Thirdly, these measures will put more pressure on magistrates courts, at a time when many, such as my own in Eastbourne, have closed. That risks forcing victims of crimes currently heard in those courts to wait even longer for justice. How will the Secretary of State address that risk? Finally, one of the worst Justice Secretaries in recent memory, Dominic Raab, tried a similar policy in 2022, with magistrates increasing the number of people being sent to prison on short sentences. The scheme was dropped after a year, and short-sentence reoffending rates are at 57%, which is a deplorable number. How will the Secretary of State avoid these measures backfiring in a similar way?

• 16 Oct 2024 · Carer’s Allowance · Hansard source

  More

  Sophie, Clare, Oliver and Wendy are some of the most resilient people I know. They are all Eastbournians, they would all do anything for their families, and they are all carers. They are among the 9,415 carers in Eastbourne, and I promised them that I would use opportunities such as this debate to recognise their resilience and give them and their families a voice. Today, I strive to do exactly that. I strive to do it particularly with respect to the need for wider support to carers, which the motion mentions. Sophie Ticehurst and her family care for Sophie’s 24-year-old brother Jack, who has autism and is non-verbal. They rely on the Linden Court day centre—which supports people with learning disabilities—for Jack’s care, but also for their respite; but the centre faces closure after years of Conservative underfunding, and it would be devastating for them if that went ahead. As would the proposed closure of Milton Grange day centre, particularly for people with dementia—again, down to the Conservative county council. That place serves as essential respite to Clare, whose 82-year-old mum benefits from its amazing care. Where is the care for the carers? We urgently need the Government to intervene to properly fund our local authorities, so that these essential care resources can be protected. I also pay tribute to Oliver Davis, a young carer in my constituency. He is a 14-year-old Eastbournian, and since the age of eight has cared for his mum, who lives with significant cardiac issues and the long-term effects of a stroke. His mum said that “he never complains about being a young carer.” Oliver does us all proud. In fact, he also won a BBC Make a Difference award for being a young carer across Surrey and Sussex, and he also does the local charity Care for the Carers proud, which he works with to advocate for young carers like him. Lastly, I want to mention Wendy Turner, a different type of family carer—a kinship carer, whom you know, Madam Deputy Speaker. She stepped up to take her two grandchildren into her care when she was 53, but she is short-changed by our system, which unjustly offers her a lower kinship care allowance than the local fostering allowance. That needs to change. Where is the care for the carers? Our carers do so much to lift people up, but time after time, our system wears them down. Enough is enough, so I say to the Government: dignify their experiences with action; honour their stories with reform; and never take our carers for granted.

• 14 Oct 2024 · Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to the late Ian Gow, the former Member of Parliament for Eastbourne, who was brutally assassinated in a terrorist attack in 1990? His shield is here in the Chamber, honouring his memory all year round, and I would invite the Minister and all Members to share their tribute to him as well.

• 10 Oct 2024 · Walking and Cycling · Hansard source

  More

  My constituent Alex suffered a life-changing cycling accident at the hands of an untraced driver, and is now battling with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau to get the compensation he deserves. The bureau’s delays in providing compensation are intolerable, and are undermining his confidence to cycle again. Will the Secretary of State or the Minister meet me to discuss Alex’s case, and how the bureau can be reformed to restore cyclists’ confidence in the system?

• 8 Oct 2024 · VAT: Independent Schools · Hansard source

  More

  Stripping the politics out of this, it is abundantly clear that substance aside, the breakneck implementation is completely wrong and will throw families, children and communities into chaos. It will also compromise the work of schools such as Eastbourne college, which does great stuff giving back to the community as part of the coastal schools partnership. Does my hon. Friend agree that if this Government are to insist on this policy going ahead, they should at the very least delay it to ensure that our schools, our staff and our communities are not thrown unnecessarily into chaos?

• 7 Oct 2024 · Vulnerable People: Support into Work · Hansard source

  More

  Conservative-run East Sussex county council is threatening to close the Steps to Work programme, as well as Linden Court in Eastbourne, which supports people with learning disabilities to work towards employment. Will the Minister urge the county council to halt its plans and to consider alternatives such as selling off council buildings to raise the funds needed to provide these essential services for people with learning disabilities?