Julie Minns MP: speeches

Speeches

• 15 Sept 2026 · Student Loans · Hansard source

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  One of the themes that comes through quite clearly in the report is the complexity of the student finance system and the difficulty that students have in understanding what they will actually pay—that is mis-selling, as I think my hon. Friend described it. Given that the Government appear to accept that the terms are confusing, is it fair that they continue to penalise borrowers who were potentially misled?

• 15 Sept 2026 · Sepsis Awareness Month · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises an important point, and I agree that the more best practice available elsewhere that we can bring to our country, the better. Awareness cannot stop at the point of diagnosis. Surviving sepsis can be a major event in someone’s life, and the effects can continue well beyond the immediate illness. Patients and their families may need information, support and help as they recover. That is why I welcome the Government’s sepsis modern service framework. It represents an important step forward in how we approach this condition, setting out a long-term plan to improve sepsis care across prevention, recognition, diagnosis, treatment and recovery, with the ambition of reducing deaths, life-threatening complications and the long-term effects of sepsis by at least 25% by 2035. That ambition is significant. The success of the framework will be measured in earlier recognition, prompt treatment and ongoing support for survivors who need it. The framework’s focus on better data, research and innovation is particularly welcome. Improving how we identify sepsis, developing faster and more accurate diagnosis and learning from patients’ experiences can all help clinicians to intervene earlier and improve outcomes. I hope that through the sepsis modern service framework we can ensure that when people do seek help, they are heard, sepsis is recognised as early as possible, and they receive the care and support that they need.

• 15 Sept 2026 · Sepsis Awareness Month · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this very important debate during Sepsis Awareness Month; I pay tribute to the hon. Members for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood) and for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) and my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Jim Dickson) for securing it. The danger posed by sepsis cannot be overestimated. As we have heard, five people lose their lives to sepsis every single hour, and my mother was one of those it claimed last year. Deaths from sepsis rise sharply in the over-65s. Older people are more vulnerable to sepsis because ageing weakens the immune system, increases the likelihood of chronic illness and infection, and reduces the body’s ability to recover from severe infection, making sepsis more likely to become life-threatening. I am acutely aware at my age that one of my significant organs is visually fading and failing, and that is my skin. The serious point is that, as our skin fails, the increased risk of cuts, tears and the formation of ulcers becomes ever more prevalent, all bringing with them the attendant risk of infection. That, sadly, was the case for my mother. That sepsis is the second biggest killer after cardiovascular disease is evidence of why awareness is so important. The earlier sepsis is recognised and appropriate help sought, the better the chance of preventing a devastating outcome. I want to use this debate to share the experience of one of my Carlisle constituents, Kelly Pattison. Kelly developed biliary sepsis in December last year. She describes how she did not know she had it until she woke up on a ward, having spent three days in intensive care. Kelly’s story is an important reminder of just how unpredictable and unexpected sepsis can be. What she particularly wanted me to emphasise today is that there is no one single experience of sepsis; it can affect people in very different ways, and the seriousness of what is happening may not always be immediately obvious.

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I will not. Despite knowing this, we stand once more on the edge. We stand on the edge, knowing all the Bill’s flaws. I ask colleagues to pause, to not step over the edge. Instead, we must ask ourselves the following questions. Are we certain that this Bill definitively safeguards against coercion, including self-coercion? Are we certain about mental capacity assessments? Are we certain about terminal prognosis? Are we certain that the safeguards and review mechanisms will be in place? Are we certain that we have ensured that our constituents have access to every possible form of support to live their remaining days well? If the answer to just one of those questions is no, then we should not—we must not—step over the edge. Let me conclude with the words of the friend I spoke of, whose child was failed by our mental health service: “My daughter had a history of serious mental health problems from the age of 13. Aged 22 she went to university and quickly realised she needed more support to manage the change. Despite her history, referrals from her GP and multiple self harm instances that required A&E; community services kept saying she did not meet their thresholds. It led ultimately to total deterioration and 2 years as an inpatient on a secure ward. During this time she repeatedly said her life was not worth living and that she was in so much pain she wanted to die. After much fighting with inadequate and unsafe services, she is now living in the community, back at University and has plans for the future.” In countries such as the Netherlands, her wish to die would have been granted under the assisted dying rules. My constituent says: “I have my daughter today because we do not have Assisted Dying. Please don’t change that.”

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  The last time this matter was debated in this House, I was sitting at the hospital bedside of my dying mother. Consequently, I was unable to speak in that debate and unable to cast a vote. I am therefore grateful for the opportunity to speak and vote today, and I urge colleagues and the promoter of this Bill, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochester and Strood (Lauren Edwards), to ensure that this House has the opportunity to scrutinise the Bill, to amend it and to make it safe. Accompanying someone you love through the final days of their life is one of the most profound experiences any of us can have. It confronts us with suffering, vulnerability and fear, and also with the importance of care, compassion and human dignity. That experience did not make me indifferent to the arguments for this Bill—quite the opposite. It made me determined that before we offer people assistance to end their lives, we as individuals and, especially, as legislators have a responsibility—a duty—to ensure that they have access to every possible form of support to live their remaining days well. As the friend to a mother whose child was failed time and again by the inadequacy of our mental health service, whose child by some miracle survived the swallowing of razor blades, anorexia, overdoses and self-harm, I know that access to every form of support was not there for them. As a relative who saw the inadequacy of social care eat away at the self-respect of a once fiercely independent woman, leaving her to conclude that she was a burden and would be better off dead, I know that access to every possible form of support was not there for her. As the daughter who sat at a hospital bedside, having agreed to the withdrawal of invasive treatment, only to watch my semi-conscious mother scream for water that was wrongly withheld and writhe in agony because specialist palliative care was only available nine to five on Monday to Friday, I know that access to every form of support was not there for her. I ask colleagues: how, when we know that every possible form of support is not there for our constituents, when we know that mental healthcare is inadequate, when we know that social care is threadbare and palliative care is an unfunded lottery, and when we know that there is no going back when we vote for this, how can we prioritise and fund the resources, care and support for those choosing an assisted death but deny it to the mentally ill, the elderly and those who wish a pain-free natural death? We hear much of choice in the context of this debate, but choice is only meaningful when people have genuine alternatives. In too many parts of our country, those alternatives simply do not exist. Therefore, before—not after, not over the next four years but before—we vote to facilitate death, we have a duty as legislators to ensure that the resource, funding and support is there for people. We need to know today, before we take this vote, that every possible effort has been made to treat suffering. This Bill does not do that. Once we are over the edge, there is no going back. We know that in every country that has introduced assisted dying, its scope has subsequently expanded, sometimes without further legislative approval.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. Child trust funds were designed to give every child the same financial start, regardless of who they are. However, trust fund savings are currently taken into account when assessing an 18-year-old disabled person’s financial contribution to their social care, meaning that they do not get the same financial start as their non-disabled peers. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that all young people benefit in full from their child trust fund?

• 7 Sept 2026 · Democratic Participation: Young People · Hansard source

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  5. What steps her Department is taking to encourage greater participation by young people in democratic processes.

• 7 Sept 2026 · Democratic Participation: Young People · Hansard source

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  I very much welcome the Government’s plans to extend the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds, but blind and visually impaired young voters will still be disenfranchised as long as there is not legislation that requires them to be able to vote, in secret and independently, like their peers. Will the Minister please reiterate the commitment she gave last week that the Government will table an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill to provide fully accessible voting to all voters of all ages?

• 3 Sept 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Inspired by the experience of club member Liam Burns, Carlisle golf club members have raised a whopping £54,000 for Prostate Cancer UK in their Big Golf Race. Liam himself is atop of the individual leaderboard, and the club has raised £20,000 more than the second-placed club. Will the Leader of the House please join me in congratulating Liam Burns and all the members of Carlisle golf club on a truly amazing round?

• 3 Sept 2026 · Bluetongue Virus in Livestock · Hansard source

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  Can I add to what my neighbour across the border, the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper), has said about the friction we already experience with cross-border trade? Over the summer, I visited the country’s largest sheep auction, which is in my constituency, and that trades right across the border. With the introduction of the zone in the south-west of Scotland, the restrictions on trade that still exist and what the auction house has to go through to be able to trade cattle and sheep from Scotland are now frankly somewhat meaningless. Can I please urge the Government to work at pace with the Scottish Government to get frictionless trade across the Scottish border?

• 2 Sept 2026 · Representation of the People Bill · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree. From my work in the 1997 election I know that Mencap has looked extensively at the issue of accessible information for people with learning disabilities. In conclusion, I ask the Minister to place on record the Government’s commitment to dealing with this issue once and for all when the Bill moves to the other place, and to ensuring that blind and partially sighted voters are able to make their own choice, mark their own ballot and know that their vote is their own.

• 2 Sept 2026 · Representation of the People Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Chester North and Neston (Samantha Dixon) for all her work on the Bill. I also welcome the Minister to her place. I will speak briefly to new clause 48, tabled in my name. I thank the many Members from across the House who have supported it and the Royal National Institute of Blind People for its assistance and support in drafting it. The Bill takes a significant step towards strengthening and protecting our democracy and extending the franchise. However, we must recognise that one group of voters remain disenfranchised and unable to vote independently and in secret because they cannot see the ballot form in front of them. I first worked on the issue of accessible voting at the 1997 general election, when I had the privilege of working for Scope on the “Polls Apart” campaign. “Polls Apart” shone a light on the physical barriers that disabled people face when exercising their right to vote. It went on to secure changes in the law to remove many of those barriers. Nearly three decades on, however, blind and partially sighted people still cannot reliably vote independently and in secret.

• 2 Sept 2026 · Representation of the People Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That right was first enshrined by this Parliament in 1872, as my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) said earlier in the debate. More than 150 years later, blind and partially sighted people are still being denied that right. It is time that was brought to an end. One of those people currently denied that right is my constituent John, who on arriving at the polling station with his guide dog at the last general election found that there was no usable tactile device. John had to fold his ballot paper to make creases as reference points and ask the staff to read out the names in order as he navigated the creases to identify his candidate of choice. Unlike me and most of the people in this Chamber, John could not be sure that his vote was private, accurate or truly his, because he was dependent on someone else verifying it for him. John’s experience is echoed by RNIB research that found that only a quarter of blind voters said they were able to vote independently and in secret, while two thirds had to rely on a companion or polling station staff. New clause 48 offers a practical way forward, and I am grateful to the Minister for engaging constructively with me and my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova) and for indicating the Government’s readiness to act, as the Bill moves to the other place, to give blind and partially sighted voters the right to vote independently and in secret.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Climate Change: International Partners · Hansard source

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  25. What steps his Department is taking with international partners to help tackle climate change.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Climate Change: International Partners · Hansard source

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  The Minister will be aware that the world’s peatlands play a critical role in tackling climate change, storing twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined. Thanks to previous EU funding, work to restore the Bolton Fell Moss peatland in my constituency began in 2015. Can the Minister outline what international peatland restoration programmes the UK Government are currently engaged with, and will she press DEFRA colleagues to ensure that the UK continues to provide long-term funding to restore Cumbria’s upland bogs?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment · Hansard source

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  One of the things that Sir David understood well is that the best causes we take up as parliamentarians begin not in Westminster but in our constituencies. Like the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers), I have had many constituents come to me worried about the growing presence of illegal e-bikes on our streets. Older residents are anxious about their safety, local businesses raise concerns about dangerous, modified e-bikes, and Carlisle’s police officers highlight a worrying trend linking illegal e-bikes to wider criminal activity. That is why, at the beginning of the year, I introduced a ten-minute rule Bill to ban the sale of illegal e-bikes and the kits that create them. Since then, with thanks to Maisie Stewart and Clark Becken in my team, I have had the privilege of meeting manufacturers, retailers, charities, the bicycle and motorcycle industries, and police and community groups, not just in Carlisle but well beyond. The more evidence I have gathered, the more convinced I have become that action is urgently needed to tackle what is a national problem. Perhaps the most striking conversation I had was with local schoolchildren when I visited Newlaithes school in May. Pupils raised concerns with me about illegal e-bikes being ridden through Chances Park. They spoke eloquently and with conviction about the dangers posed to them, their friends and their families when they simply want to use their local park. There is something powerful about the fact that primary school children have recognised a problem that we as lawmakers have yet to address. I would like to be clear: the issue is not e-bikes. It is illegal e-bikes. There is a reason why there is a tight legal definition of an e-bike: because vehicles that are capable of power and speed outside the legal parameters are simply not safe without proper checks, registration and licensing. The police understand the problem all too well. Cumbria’s police, fire and crime commissioner David Allen has been working with me and commissioners throughout the country, backing my call for a ban because, time and again, when the thread of illegal e-bikes is pulled, wider criminal networks unravel, with issues of illegal working, drug dealing and robbery exposed. On a positive note, I have been delighted to spend time visiting and speaking with some of the amazing legitimate cycle businesses and organisations in my constituency, including Rebike Cumbria, which refurbishes bikes, helping people on low incomes to enjoy the physical and mental health benefits of cycling. The company also provides jobs, training and volunteering opportunities in my community. Illegal e-bikes also raise fire risks. I heard earlier this week that there has been a nearly 150% increase in house fires of because of lithium ion batteries. A terrifying majority of those fires have been linked to illegal e-bikes. Taken together, the issues demonstrate that this is not simply a transport matter. It is about public safety, crime, antisocial behaviour, consumer protection and business, and—most importantly for all of us—it is about our communities. Next year, the Tour de France comes not just to Britain but to my constituency of Carlisle. I want to ensure that the tour is a celebration of cycling—good, legal cycling—and I want part of that celebration to be a ban on the dodgy, dangerous, illegal e-bikes that threaten our local communities.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  May I invite the Leader of the House to join me in praising the Carlisle band Hardwicke Circus—the only UK band to have toured war-torn Ukraine? Despite its talent being recognised by Sir Paul McCartney, it has previously been suggested to the band that its success will be limited unless it relocates to a large city, like Manchester. Does the Leader of the House agree that success in the music industry should depend on talent, not postcode?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. Residents have long called for the A69 through Warwick Bridge to be detrunked. Given that the A689 provides an alternative route from the M6 to the east of the village, can the Minister confirm that detrunking this section of the A69 would not be a major change to the strategic road network?

• 16 Jul 2026 · E-bikes · Hansard source

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  1. What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the sale of kits used to convert pedal cycles into e-bikes that do not meet the definition of an electrically assisted pedal cycle.

• 16 Jul 2026 · E-bikes · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her response; I know that she shares my concern about the increasing use of illegal e-bikes on our streets. When I visited Palace Cycles in Carlisle, the owner told me that he is increasingly under pressure from people who have illegally modified bikes to do repairs on them. In fact, on one occasion, while he was in discussion with the owner of such a bike, it shot across his shop without anybody being anywhere near it. The bikes are creating risks on our roads and on our high streets. Will the Minister please urge the Department for Business and Trade to use its powers under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 to ban the sale of these dodgy bike kits?

• 13 Jul 2026 · Illegal Immigrants: Offshore Detention and Deportation · Hansard source

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  I would like to understand the point about detention centres. How many places would be required, and over what period? How does the hon. Gentleman think that this is even feasible, given that the previous Government managed to build only one new prison in 14 years?

• 9 Jul 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I add my birthday wishes to the Leader of the House. I recently had the absolute pleasure of attending not one but two wonderful theatre performances. The first was a dress rehearsal by StagedRight theatre group and the second was “Aladdin” by the Rocket theatre group. These wonderful theatre groups give our young people the opportunity to build skills, grow confidence and have a fantastic time. Could the Leader of the House advise how we can best celebrate the contribution that theatre groups such as these right across our country make to our communities, particularly for our young people?

• 9 Jul 2026 · Israeli Settlements: Trade Ban · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is setting out very clearly the illegality of the settlements on the west bank, and the Geneva convention is very clear on this point. There are reports that properties on the west bank are now being advertised for sale, which is absolutely despicable. Does she share my outrage that the Advertising Standards Authority has been silent on this point until now?

• 7 Jul 2026 · Carlisle-Settle Railway: 150th Anniversary · Hansard source

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  I completely agree with the right hon. Member, who is my constituency neighbour and friend. The spirit that we see today in the Borders rail campaign is exactly that which we saw in the Carlisle-Settle line campaign. He is absolutely right about the economic benefits, which have already been demonstrated between Edinburgh and Tweedbank and could also be realised in the Carlisle-Tweedbank extension. I am grateful that this Government, alongside the Scottish Government, have ensured that funding is now in place for the viability work on the remaining leg between Tweedbank and Carlisle. On 11 April 1989, the then Secretary of State for Transport, Paul Channon, announced that consent for closure would be refused, as repair costs were found to be lower than was originally claimed, and passenger growth had demonstrated the continuing viability of the line. That remains one of the most significant victories for community transport campaigning anywhere in the United Kingdom. Today, as we celebrate the anniversary, we should acknowledge every person who played a role in that achievement: the volunteers, campaigners, railway staff, local councillors, passengers and community leaders who fought for the railway’s future. They ensured that future generations would continue to benefit from this remarkable line. There is perhaps no more touching symbol of the campaign than Ruswarp the border collie, whose owner Graham Nuttall served as the first secretary of the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line. Ruswarp famously signed, with his paw print, the petition to save the railway. After Graham Nuttall tragically lost his life while walking in Wales in 1990, Ruswarp remained at his side for 11 weeks before they were found. Today, a bronze statue stands at Garsdale station, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Collinge), commemorating Ruswarp’s loyalty and courage. It has become one of the most beloved landmarks on the railway and a reminder of the devotion that people have shown to protecting the line. The story of the Carlisle-Settle railway did not end with its reprieve. In many ways, a new chapter had begun. Today, the line is operated by Northern Trains and supported by an outstanding partnership of organisations. The Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line continue their invaluable advocacy and volunteering work, the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust helps to preserve and promote its heritage, and the Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Company serves as an accredited community rail partnership, working to encourage tourism, education and community engagement. Their efforts have transformed the railway into one of Britain’s great rail success stories. The line continues to bring thousands of visitors into Cumbria, Westmorland and Yorkshire every year. It supports our local economies, connects our rural communities and introduces new generations to our railway heritage. This anniversary year demonstrates that spirit perfectly. Schools, volunteers, artists and community groups are all helping to tell the railway story through events and exhibitions. I was particularly pleased to see the commissioning of a new play, “Lives Along the Line”, by Yorkshire playwright Joan Barnard, which the Vagabond theatre group will perform this summer at Appleby public hall and the Victoria Hall in Settle. The play will bring to life the stories of the people whose lives have been shaped by the railway over the past century and a half. What makes the Carlisle-Settle railway so special? It is one of the most beautiful railway journeys in the world. Few railways can rival its combination of dramatic landscapes, historic stations and iconic engineering. From my home of Carlisle, through the Eden valley and to Yorkshire’s three peaks, it offers views that attract visitors from across Britain and beyond. However, its importance extends far beyond tourism. For many communities, it remains a vital transport link, providing access to employment, education, healthcare and leisure opportunities. For rural communities along the route, it remains every bit as important as those who campaigned to save it understood it would be. The railway also continues to play an important strategic role in the rail network. When the west coast main line is closed because of engineering works, weather events, which are sadly all too familiar in my part of the country, or any other disruption, the Carlisle-Settle railway provides an invaluable diversionary route. In an age in which resilience and redundancy within critical infrastructure are increasingly important, the line’s value stretches far beyond the communities it serves. The railway’s resilience was demonstrated once again following Storm Desmond and the major landslip at Eden Brows in 2015 and 2016. The subsequent repairs demonstrated the continued commitment to preserving this vital railway for future generations. As we look ahead to what I hope will be another 150 years of the Carlisle-Settle line, we should remember the lesson at the heart of its story, which is that infrastructure should never be judged purely through the lens of short-term accounting; we must also recognise the social value, strategic importance, connectivity, resilience and heritage. Had closure gone ahead in 1989, Britain would have lost one of its greatest railways. Instead, thanks to the determination of campaigners and communities, we are celebrating its 150th anniversary. I ask the Minister, my friend and fellow rail enthusiast, for reassurance that the long-term future of the Carlisle-Settle railway remains secure, that the Government recognise its ongoing strategic value to our national rail network, and that the community organisations and volunteers who do so much to support the line will continue to receive the backing that they deserve. I also ask him to join me in paying tribute to the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line, the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust, the Settle-Carlisle Railway Development Company and all those whose dedication continues to sustain this remarkable railway. Most importantly, I ask the Minister to join me in thanking the visionaries who refused to accept that this railway’s story was over. Because of them, trains still run between Carlisle and Settle; because of them, communities remain connected; because of them, future generations will continue to enjoy one of the finest railway journeys anywhere in the world. Long may that continue.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Carlisle-Settle Railway: 150th Anniversary · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered the 150th anniversary of the Carlisle-Settle Railway. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford, as we celebrate a remarkable milestone in the history of one of Britain’s great railways. This year marks 150 years since passenger services first ran along the Carlisle-Settle railway, linking Carlisle with communities across Cumbria, the Yorkshire dales and beyond. A hundred and fifty years on, it remains a railway of national significance, renowned for its engineering, celebrated for its scenery and cherished by the communities it serves. For Carlisle, this railway is far more than a transport link. It is part of our city’s history and identity. It has helped to connect our city to the wider north for generations, bringing people, ideas, commerce and opportunity. Today, it is fitting that we come together to celebrate not only its past, but the people who ensured that it would have a future. The story of the Carlisle-Settle railway began in the great age of Victorian railway building. It was one of the last great railways constructed in Britain and was undoubtedly one of the most ambitious. Building it required extraordinary determination. More than 6,000 navvies worked along the route, enduring isolation, appalling weather and dangerous working conditions to carve a railway through some of the most challenging terrain in England.