Julie Minns MP: speeches

Speeches

• 15 Jun 2026 · Social Media Ban for Under-16s · Hansard source

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  Last Friday, I joined pupils at St Bede’s Roman Catholic primary school for their internet safety assembly. Thanks to their headteacher’s regular internet safety assemblies, St Bede’s children are now well versed in the subject. Does the Secretary of State agree that today’s announcement will support the work of many schools and teachers, and send a clear message to big tech that it must now match that commitment?

• 25 Mar 2026 · Public Baths and Lidos · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend has, and I appreciate it. Steve Yeates was the secretary of Friends of Carlisle Turkish Baths, and he sadly passed away last year. I also thank the Architectural Heritage Fund for the advice and financial support that have enabled the group to evidence the viability of its vision, which will include a community laundry because, as Kitty Wilkinson knew, baths are a community facility that supports public health, and they are open to all. I conclude by inviting the Minister to visit Carlisle, to endorse the work of the friends group and to back its vision of reopening the north-west’s last Victorian Turkish baths.

• 5 Mar 2026 · Local Museums · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for introducing this excellent debate. I am proud to represent a constituency shaped by 2,000 years of history—a history of conflict, dispute, industrial growth, people and, above all, resilience. Nowhere is that story told more vividly than in its museums. At the heart of England’s most northerly city stands Tullie House, Carlisle’s museum, art gallery and community hub. It is a place proudly described as “a home for the eternally curious.” Tullie is run as an independent trust. It has nationally important collections of art, archaeology and natural sciences and, since 2017, it has been undergoing a transformation. The 2017 future plan has enabled the museum to attract more than £14 million of investment to make the museum the heartbeat of the city’s cultural life. The development is being done in phases, and is supported by a broad range of investors including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Collections and community are at the centre of the transformation strategy. The capital programme that Tullie is undertaking is part of a city-wide investment in Carlisle, with the Tullie initiative being fundamental to supporting communities and driving the visitor economy. Tullie is maximising its heritage to drive more tourists to explore our historic city, which also includes an outstanding Norman castle, a cathedral and the nearby Hadrian’s wall. However, pressure on local government funding is having a direct and immediate impact on Tullie. Tullie’s Carlisle gallery explores the people and organisations that have shaped our city, its industrial heritage, social change and resilience, and our deep connection to the natural world. Beyond its galleries, Tullie has strengthened its role in the community, offering a new space for family activities, school workshops and exhibitions that ensure that heritage is accessible to everyone. It was my pleasure to open the “Colour” exhibition at Tullie last September, which brought together Andy Warhol, bronze-age gold and the Rudd women, who once sold red stone for colouring the doorsteps of house-proud Carlisle residents. Our small local museums’ ability to bring together internationally famous exhibits alongside locally significant artefacts is one of their strengths. As befits a city seeking to be the UK’s city of culture 2029, Tullie is not Carlisle’s only museum. We also have a vintage motorcycle museum and the nearby Solway Aviation Museum—a Duxford for the north. It is volunteer-run, under the inspired leadership of museum chairman Dougie Kerr. There, visitors can see the Blackburn Beverly, a Fairey Gannet anti-submarine aircraft and a recently acquired Sea Harrier. While we are on the subject of military service, no visit to Carlisle would be complete without stopping off at Carlisle castle, where Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life can be found, offering exhibits on more than 300 years of our military heritage. It is all under the expert direction of museum director Jules Wooding, who not only secured a grant of almost a quarter of a million pounds from the National Lottery Heritage Fund last year, but plays an active role in supporting Carlisle’s large veteran population every single month. These museums exemplify the unique contribution that local museums make, not just to keeping the past alive, but to supporting our communities today and into the future.

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

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  The Leader of the House knows how proud I am to represent England’s most northerly city. It is a city that had not one, but two Roman forts. It has a wonderful Norman castle and a 900-year-old cathedral with the nation’s favourite stained glass window and retains its city walls and citadels. Nationalised beer was served there for over 50 years. It is the city that gave birth to the railway ticket and where the world’s oldest biscuit factory keeps our country fed on custard creams. Does the Leader of the House therefore agree that there could be no finer place than Carlisle to be the UK’s city of culture 2029?

• 23 Feb 2026 · Firearms Licensing · Hansard source

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  It is absolutely incumbent upon any Government to carefully consider any issue. In this regard, I urge the Minister to approach the consultation with an open mind and not to have a predetermined outcome for the conclusion. For many, this proposal represents a far-reaching regulatory shift, with consequences that might not have yet been fully understood. The anxiety that has been expressed to me and other Members is not rooted in resistance to safety. My constituents want safe gun use. They want dangerous individuals to be prevented from accessing firearms. What they question is whether creating a larger, potentially more congested system will achieve those outcomes, or whether it risks the opposite by overwhelming the departments responsible for ensuring public safety and taking away these incredibly useful and effective pest control tools from farmers, landowners and pest control agents. There are other, more targeted and effective, steps that might be taken. Properly resourcing our police licensing teams, ensuring consistent national standards and rigorous application of the Home Office’s statutory guidance should be the priority, so that those who should never have access to a shotgun do not get one under any licence and those who use them responsibly in their work and on their land are not penalised for doing so. I therefore urge Ministers to ensure that any reform focuses on what will genuinely improve safety—properly resourced licensing teams, consistent national standards and measures that address illegal firearms—rather than imposing burdens on those who use shotguns responsibly for work, sport and conservation. Evidence, not symbolism, must guide our decisions. I encourage Members across the House to examine the proposal closely during the consultation to ensure that public safety is strengthened without causing disproportionate harm to rural communities.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Encouraging Exports · Hansard source

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  Last week I visited the brilliant family-run Clark Door company in my Carlisle constituency. Clark Door designs, manufactures and exports right across the globe, and supplies venues such as the Tate Modern, the Qatar national centre and, topically as we approach next weekend’s super bowl, the National Football League media centre in New York. What support can the Government give to exporters such as Clark Door so that their pioneering research and development ensures their continued export success, and will the Minister visit Carlisle to take a look behind the—Clark—door?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children · Hansard source

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  It is 20 years since I co-authored the first code of practice on new forms of content on mobile. In the intervening 20 years, we have seen the proliferation of over-the-top services that bypass the network-level filters that we introduced as part of that code of practice. However, social media does not neatly fall into a categorisation of either age-inappropriate or harmful, so will the Secretary of State please commit to working with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which is working already to gather evidence on the harm to ensure that our conclusions from this consultation are evidence led?

• 11 Dec 2025 · St Andrew’s Day and Scottish Affairs · Hansard source

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  Indeed, and my hon. Friend makes an excellent point. I was just about to mention Bonnie Prince Charlie and the 300 Jacobite soldiers he left in Carlisle castle after riding into Carlisle, standing on the steps of our historic market cross and claiming the city again for the Stuart Crown, and then riding south to do battle with the Duke of Cumberland. He then turned tail and rode back north, bypassing Carlisle entirely and leaving those 300 soldiers to their fate. As my hon. Friend says, the lyrics of that song are the lament of one of those ill-fated Jacobite soldiers. Of course, Carlisle castle also had the honour of playing host, shall we say, to Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1568. Members may be interested to know that, thanks to the diligence of her guard, who recorded her every single movement, the Queen’s observance of a football match on an adjacent field resulted in the first written account of a football match played to rules. Just as St Andrew’s day celebrates Scotland’s heritage, it is also a moment for all of us in the Border communities to honour our shared history and the deep connections between Scotland and its neighbouring communities—connections that my constituency of Carlisle and north Cumbria understands better than most. Our shared Christian traditions are a strong bond. St Andrew symbolises humility, and the service values that should guide all Members of this House, regardless of our geography. Carlisle cathedral, which owes its existence to the English Crown’s desire to create a diocese to ward off the diocese of Glasgow, still marks St Andrew’s day with prayers for Scotland. The St Ninian’s way pilgrimage links Carlisle to St Andrew’s, and echoes the spiritual roots that unite our nations. Such connections remind us that faith and fellowship have long bridged division. On that point, I pay tribute to the Border Kirk in my Carlisle constituency, which works tirelessly with a number of organisations to offer support and assistance to the refugee community in Carlisle. Today, the ties are practical as well as historical. Our economy depends on cross-border trade, shared infrastructure and cultural exchange. The A74 and the west coast main line are lifelines for businesses and our communities, and I thank the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell) for his work on the Borderlands growth deal, a deal that we both wish to see rejuvenated because it offers great potential to the Borders region. Tourism flows both ways. Visitors come to Carlisle for our castle, our cathedral and for the western gateway of Hadrian’s wall. My residents travel north for Scotland’s shopping at Gretna gateway and the fantastic Devil’s Porridge Museum, while Scots come south of the border to discover Hadrian’s wall and Carlisle’s heritage, and to shop in Carlisle’s big Asda, where minimum unit pricing does not apply. Today, let us remember and celebrate the links, not the rivalry, between our two countries. St Andrew’s day is not just Scotland’s celebration. It is a reminder that when Carlisle and Scotland thrive together, the whole of the United Kingdom is stronger. I call on colleagues to reaffirm that spirit of unity. I call on the Scottish and Westminster Governments to work together to minimise the friction that too often arises because of divergent policy on devolved matters, such as health and agriculture—friction that causes unnecessary and costly problems for residents of our Border community. Let us invest instead in cross-border co-operation, culture and business, bringing our communities closer and ensuring that the decisions made in Westminster and Holyrood reflect the shared interests of the people who live and work along our historic border. St Andrew’s day is a day of pride for Scotland, but it is also a day of friendship for all of us.

• 18 Nov 2025 · UNESCO: 80th Anniversary · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend and I share not only Gilsland but Hadrian’s wall. Members may not be aware that it is only in the last eight years that Hadrian’s wall has yielded its long-kept secret that the largest structure is to be found at Carlisle cricket club, thanks to a fantastic dig that is going on there. Does my hon. Friend agree that, as we mark 80 years of UNESCO, we definitely need a further 80 years to understand what we can learn from our shared heritage?

• 12 Nov 2025 · Independent Football Regulator · Hansard source

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  Does the Secretary of State agree that rather than obstructing and delaying the work of the Independent Football Regulator, the Opposition need to do right by the fans and let David Kogan get on with the job? May I also request—slightly selfishly, as a Carlisle United fan—that one of the first things he does is press the English Football League to lift the limit on the number of places for promotion from the national league?

• 15 Sept 2025 · Children with SEND: Assessments and Support · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member touches on an important point about culture, which is borne out by my own experience as the parent of a neurodivergent child whose secondary school education was made all the more traumatic by a profound lack of understanding and training among the teachers in the school. It was also borne out on Saturday when I held an event in my constituency: sadly, too many comments from parents were about the responses that they had received from staff in schools. Does the hon. Member agree that we absolutely must take the opportunity to get the culture right in our mainstream schools?

• 10 Sept 2025 · Stockton and Darlington Railway: 200th Anniversary Festival · Hansard source

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  I cannot claim that the Stockton and Darlington railway went anywhere near my Carlisle constituency, but I cannot let this moment pass without celebrating Carlisle and north Cumbria’s role in the heritage of that line. Indeed, the engine that was first used on that marvellous line was Locomotion No. 1, created—as my hon. Friend says—by the Stephenson company. The company went on to create the iconic Stephenson’s Rocket, which, hon. Members might wish to know, finished its days in service on Lord Carlisle’s line in my constituency. I invite my hon. Friend to celebrate not only the glorious Stockton and Darlington line, but the inventiveness of our heritage in our railway industry.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Free-to-air Broadcasting: Cricket Participation · Hansard source

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  I certainly agree with the hon. Member. It cannot be denied that participation shrank in that period. We also have to look at how accessible our schools are in making cricket available to our young people. Lastly, I invite all hon. Members to join me in placing on record our very best wishes to the England women for next month’s ODI World Cup.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Free-to-air Broadcasting: Cricket Participation · Hansard source

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  It is a privilege to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I start by placing on record my membership of the all-party parliamentary group for cricket. I congratulate the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson) on bringing this important debate. Although I share his love of the long-form game as by far superior, I disagree slightly on the Hundred, which I recognise has introduced an impossibly packed schedule. When I can find time to attend a Hundred match, I am struck by how accessible to families—girls as well as boys—that format has made cricket. That is a big difference I have noticed in the crowds that turn up to watch the Hundred. I add my support to the remarks by my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Navendu Mishra) about the importance of widening access to young people and lower-income families. Sadly, we are long past the days of finding our most talented fast bowlers by sending the coach down the pit. As much as we would celebrate the achievements of Harold Larwood, those days have sadly gone. We need to find a way to bring more young people from diverse backgrounds into this wonderful game. I have a confession: I do not play, nor have I ever played, cricket. I did not benefit from growing up in a first-class county or a family of cricket enthusiasts. My love of the game came entirely from being able to watch it on free-to-air broadcasting. From Richie Benaud’s dulcet tones, gently breaking over the fading chords of “Soul Limbo”, to lazy Sunday afternoons spent watching the John Player league on BBC2, televised cricket lit a lifelong love of a game with silly fielding positions and glorious cover drives. When cricket is accessible, without the barrier of subscription fees, it becomes more than a sport; it becomes a shared experience. In the 2019 cricket world cup final, free-to-air broadcasting drew millions of viewers and, I believe, inspired the next generation of Nat Sciver-Brunts and Harry Brooks and, to echo the point, those from more diverse and lower-income backgrounds, I hope. Free-to-air coverage also helps grassroots clubs, such as Lanercost, Carlisle, Rockcliffe, Scotby and Wetheral in my constituency of Carlisle and north Cumbria, not necessarily a county associated with heady summer days spent watching cricket. That club cricket creates the important pipeline of talent and passion that sustains cricket at every single level. In short, free-to-air broadcasting grows the game of cricket, widens access, sparks dreams and strengthens participation.

• 2 Sept 2025 · Eating Disorders: Prevention of Deaths · Hansard source

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  One of the issues in geographically remote areas like Carlisle and Cumbria is that, sadly, the in-patient treatment for young people with eating disorders is delivered by an out-of-area NHS trust. Tragically, the inquest into the death of a young woman from my constituency earlier this year found that there had been a failure in collaboration between the two trusts, resulting, sadly, in her death. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is not just a question of resource, and that we also need a culture of collaboration and patient-centred care across all our trusts if we are going to prevent deaths?

• 22 Jul 2025 · Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to speak in my second Sir David Amess Adjournment debate, and to speak of my constituency of Carlisle and the incredible Roman dig there that is rewriting our understanding of Britain’s ancient history. Carlisle—or, as the Romans called it, Luguvalium—was no ordinary outpost. It was a strategic stronghold on the northern frontier of the Roman empire, and served as a key military and logistical hub, guarding the western end of Hadrian’s wall and controlling movement between Roman Britain and the unconquered lands of Caledonia. The city bore witness to the march of legions, the clash of cultures and the daily lives of soldiers, merchants and their families who lived on the edge of the empire. Now, thanks to this dig, nearly 2,000 years later, we are uncovering their stories, one layer at a time. The Roman dig at Carlisle cricket club has revealed not just one of the most significant Roman bathhouses ever discovered in Britain, but the largest building on Hadrian’s wall, as well as evidence to suggest that the site may have hosted the Roman Emperor Severus in his final years. Since 2021, this volunteer-led community excavation has unearthed more than 4,000 artefacts, from coins and pottery to tiny, delicate gemstones and huge carved stone heads. These finds tell us not just about Roman engineering or military might, but about people—their habits, beliefs, luxuries and losses. Carlisle’s Roman past is not a distant memory; it is alive beneath our feet. It reminds us that history is about more than kings and battles—it is about communities, resilience and the enduring human spirit, which is exactly what we have heard about in all our communities this afternoon. I invite Members to join me in thanking all the volunteers involved in the dig, led by the wonderful Frank Giecco from Wardell Armstrong, and all made possible thanks to funding from the Government, Cumberland council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Together, they are not just uncovering Roman Carlisle, but reminding us that we are but fleeting custodians of our communities, and that we should always treat that responsibility with the same pride and respect that Sir David did.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Changing Places Toilets · Hansard source

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  There are four Changing Places toilets in my constituency, which, given that it is one of England’s largest constituencies, still feels very inadequate. Does my hon. Friend agree that one sector where we would definitely benefit from more Changing Places toilets is in our visitor attractions? Does he support my call for English Heritage to increase the number of Changing Places facilities on its estate?

• 17 Jul 2025 · RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Unit · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for putting on record that touching and beautiful tribute to the servicemen from his constituency. One of those who never came home was Flight Sergeant Charles Ross from my own Carlisle constituency. His records show him as serving in the far east, but we do not know whether he lived beyond VJ Day to make it home to his family. Another airman from the Carlisle area, Flight Lieutenant Rae Armstrong, survived and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his work. However, two other local men did not return. Flying Officer Ivan Cooke would be killed aged 34 in operations from Malta, and Flying Officer William Johnston was killed returning from a reconnaissance operation in his Spitfire in December 1944. He was just 22 years old. I know that many hon. Members here today, and those who are unable to join us, wish to pay tribute to the men who came from their constituencies. My right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) has asked that heroes such as Denis Herbert Vincent Smith, who remains missing after being shot down in 1942; Norman Stuart Cooper, who was killed in action in 1944; and Norman Charles Shirley, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal for his wartime service, all of whom have a connection with Oxford East, be remembered too. I also wish to recognise the work of the photographic intelligence teams who supported the aircrews, whose names will also be included on the memorial. These men and women were crucial to the entire process. Without them, we would have had the 26 million photographs, but we would not have gleaned the intelligence that we did from them. Those men and women used a little-known branch of science called stereoscopy to turn the photographs into 3D images, from which they could decipher and interpret the intelligence contained within, giving the allies a crucial intelligence advantage over the Nazis. Among those who did that critical work were the legendary Constance Babington Smith, the actor Dirk Bogarde, and Sarah Churchill, the daughter of the then Prime Minister. Indeed, of the 630 photographic interpreters who will be included on the memorial, almost a third were women. That only serves to highlight how crucial the work of women was to the success of the entire operation. The work of the photographic reconnaissance unit was truly international, and the campaign team have worked hard to identify nationals from across the world—from Argentina to Trinidad, from Malawi to Ukraine, and from many more countries—who answered the call of the common cause against tyranny, and who bravely came forward to serve, flying unarmed operations and helping to shorten the war. How do we now look to recognise these efforts and sacrifices? Since the last Westminster Hall debate was held on this topic in 2021, the project has met and gained the formal support of former and current veterans Ministers, including my hon. Friend the Minister, who has engaged positively and wholeheartedly with this project and its supporters across Westminster. Across Parliament, the campaign has secured the support of more than 200 MPs from all parties, as well as 16 foreign embassies and high commissions. Formal Ministry of Defence support for the monument proposal was given by the then Defence Minister Baroness Goldie, and reaffirmed recently by Lord Coaker. Earlier this year, with ministerial support from within the Cabinet Office, a successful meeting was held with the Royal Parks authority and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, during which verbal confirmation of support for the monument and its location was given. Because the intelligence gained from these operations was used by the war Cabinet to such great effect, there seemed no more suitable a location to honour this work than just yards from the wartime underground Cabinet war rooms, where that intelligence was originally received. Following formal written support by the Ministry of Defence and Cabinet Office, along with confirmations of no objections received from the Treasury and the Government Property Agency, I am delighted to share that the project has now begun the formal planning stage. The monument is to be located in the grassed area outside the Treasury building, alongside the exit from the Cabinet war rooms. And what a monument it will be: traditional in appearance, yet utilising modern AI technology to bring to life the extensive resources collected by the project, this monument will engage visitors in a multi-language format to ensure that the individuals recognised are more than just a name on a wall—that their extreme sacrifice is known and that their work is never forgotten. What started as the recovery of a reconnaissance Spitfire from a Norwegian mountain in 2018 has grown into a truly global project of recognition. Among veterans, too, it has been warmly welcomed, although sadly their numbers have dwindled over the years. While some five survivors were known at the start of the campaign, it is sad to put on the record the passing of the last known RAF reconnaissance airman, Warrant Officer William Williams, of 681 and 684 photographic reconnaissance squadrons, who died in April this year, just a few weeks short of his 104th birthday. Today, there remains just one photographic interpreter, identified only recently, with whom the project will shortly meet. Because accuracy is key, the Spitfire AA810 project has gone to huge lengths to check and independently verify the identities of those who served. It is vital to the commemorative and educational aims of this campaign that all who served are recognised and nobody is left behind. Research into the service of the 635 photographic interpreters is ongoing. However, for the 399 mystery names from mostly lower ranks, publicly accessible records have been exhausted. I therefore come to my ask of the Minister, and I am sure he will be relieved to know that it is not a financial one. The project team is reaching the end of what it can do with publicly available resources. To confirm the details of the servicemen and women who were involved, the project requests an opportunity to meet the Minister to discuss a working arrangement with civil servants and military personnel. The team are fully aware of the need to protect personal data, but they would like to access limited information in order to confirm the identities of those who are eligible for inclusion on the memorial and, more importantly, to identify the partial names that have been collated. The answers lie only within the records of the Ministry of Defence, and the project hopes to propose a simple working solution that enables it expediently to complete this important task with minimal impact on Government resources. I would be incredibly grateful for the Minister’s consideration of that request. Finally, I commend the work of everyone in the campaign for bringing these stories to light and, most of all, of the brave individuals who served in the RAF unarmed reconnaissance units with such distinction. With this monument, I hope that their service and sacrifice will always be remembered.