Julie Minns MP: speeches

Speeches

• 2 Jul 2026 · Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) for securing this very important debate, which I know will be of interest to constituents of mine who find themselves victims of fleecehold. Across the country, too many people are now buying homes on freehold estates and then finding themselves let down by developers and estate management companies that fail to deliver the services they promised. Developers build these estates, sell the homes and then, despite levying management charges, often fail to maintain the essential infrastructure that residents rely on every day, whether that is roads, drainage systems, which we have just heard about, or shared green spaces. I have seen this at first hand in the experience of residents of Moorside Drive, a development by Gleeson Homes. My constituent Daniel first contacted me in July last year after purchasing his home in October 2024, when he had been assured that the outstanding works would be completed by March 2025. That deadline slipped to the spring, and then the summer; as things stand, residents have yet to receive any meaningful communication about when the work will finally be completed. The problems they are facing are significant: the road serving the estate has deteriorated and remains unfinished; the shared green spaces that were promised as part of the development have still not been delivered; and commitments to enhance and protect biodiversity have yet to be fulfilled. Communication with residents has also fallen well below an acceptable standard. Daniel tells me that he was given no notice before work began directly outside his family home, and I have heard that traffic management measures were not properly put in place during other works, creating unnecessary disruption and safety concerns. Landscaping, meanwhile, cannot be completed until the roads are finished, and unresolved drainage issues continue to affect a number of residents on the estate. This is not like being sold a faulty item that can simply be returned to the shop. These are people’s homes—the places where they expect to build their lives, raise their families and feel secure. When developers and management companies fail to honour their commitments, it is residents who are left living with the consequences. That is why reform and regulation is so important. Homeowners deserve transparency, accountability and effective regulation of the companies responsible for managing their estates. As we have heard already this afternoon, homeowners should not have to fight for basic standards of maintenance or chase endlessly for information about works that should have been completed months earlier. I very much welcome the work of this Labour Government to strengthen the rights of people living on managed estates. These reforms have the potential to deliver greater fairness, improve accountability and ensure that homeowners receive the standards of service they have paid for. People who invest in a home deserve confidence that those responsible for maintaining their communities will fulfil their obligations. It is only right that we continue to strengthen protections for homeowners, and ensure that managing agents and developers are held to account.

• 16 Jun 2026 · Road Safety in Wetheral · Hansard source

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  I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of residents of the village of Wetheral calling for traffic-calming measures, including a 20 mph zone, to improve the safety of pedestrians and other road users. The issue of traffic calming was raised with me by local residents at a coffee morning I held in Wetheral a few months ago. The introduction of a 20 mph zone and other measures would build on the excellent work of Wetheral parish council, which has recently funded the installation of a speed camera in the village. However, Wetheral residents remain concerned by the speed of traffic through the village, and the lack of pavements on stretches of road. A total of 298 residents signed the petition that local people, members of the parish council and I took door to door around the village. The petitioners “therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to work with the relevant local authorities to introduce traffic calming measures”, including the establishment of a 20 mph zone in Wetheral. Following is the full text of the petition: [ The petition of residents of Wetheral and the wider Carlisle constituency, Declares that traffic calming measures, including the establishment of a 20mph zone, should be introduced to the village of Wetheral. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to work with the relevant local authorities to introduce traffic calming measures in Wetheral, specifically the implementation of a 20mph speed limit through the village to improve road safety. And the petitioners remain, etc. ] [P003207]

• 3 Jun 2026 · Small Towns: Transport Links · Hansard source

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  The Minister mentions the new pilots, and I place on the record my thanks for the fact that Cumberland is one of those areas. Is he aware that Cumberland council is already using the money that the Government have given it? It has introduced a series of bus links, including the HW1 bus route, which offers visitors the opportunity to visit our historic, wonderful Hadrian’s Wall. May I invite the Minister to join me on that bus? Roman togas are optional.

• 13 May 2026 · New Developments: Unadopted Roads and Public Amenities · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend touches on a key point that a group of residents of Moorside Drive in my constituency have recently spoken to me about. For well over a year, they have been trying to get the developer Gleeson to take responsibility for completing the resurfacing of a road on their new housing estate, and for maintaining the green spaces. Does he agree that we have to get this right, and bring developers like Gleeson to heel, so that they make investments and do the works to improve the quality of life of residents on these estates?

• 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?

• 27 Jan 2026 · Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to prohibit the marketing, sale, and supply of electrically assisted pedal cycles that fall outside the class of electrically assisted pedal cycles prescribed under the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983 and of equipment capable of converting a pedal cycle into a such a vehicle; and for connected purposes. The Bill is without doubt a mouthful, and it may seem technical and dry, but at its core it is about safety, clarity and responsibility. It is about protecting pedestrians, other road users, lawful cyclists, constituents and our communities from vehicles that look like bikes but behave like motorbikes. It is about stopping the sale of illegal e-bikes and the kits that turn ordinary, everyday pedal bikes into illegal monster bikes. E-bikes, when they conform to the law, are a force for good. They mean cleaner journeys, better public health and less congestion. By law, e-bike motors should have a maximum continuous power output of 250 W and should cut out when the bike reaches 15.5 mph. Going faster than that is perfectly permissible without a motor. Indeed, I am told that for some people it is entirely possible—a fact that I am sure I will see at first hand when the Tour de France travels through my constituency next summer. But those speeds, as those athletes will demonstrate, will be reached without motorised assistance. The sad reality, as Members know, is that right now, as I speak, there are illegal e-bikes on the streets of our constituencies that are reaching dangerously high speeds. Those e-bikes and the conversion kits used to create them are being sold with batteries capable of reaching speeds far beyond 15.5 mph. A bike seized and tested earlier this month in my constituency of Carlisle found that the bike was capable of 37 mph. Another e-bike seized in my constituency was found to have a battery capable of achieving 56 mph. Nationally, police have seized e-bikes capable of 70 mph. These are not minor issues. These are illegal vehicles that can, and do, kill. Last year, in Australia, a pedestrian was killed after he was struck by an illegally modified e-bike. Last October, a 60-year-old woman was killed in New York by an e-bike capable of travelling at 30 mph. Last summer, in Greater Manchester, a 70-year-old woman was left in a coma and with life-changing injuries after being hit by an e-bike advertised with a top speed of 47 mph, and in 2024 an 86-year-old man from Lancashire was hit and killed by an illegal e-bike. We cannot continue to let this happen. These, frankly, are illegal, unregistered, untaxed monster bikes without MOTs. These bikes have become a menace not just on the streets of Carlisle, but in communities across the UK. Their speed and lack of traceability makes them the perfect accomplice in robbery, phone theft and drug dealing. Our local neighbourhood police teams have done a good job of seizing and crushing these illegal machines, but they are fighting a losing battle. Cumbria’s police, fire and crime commissioner, David Allen, who is in the Public Gallery today, believes that the time has come to stop the problem at the source by banning the sale of these illegal e-bikes and the conversion kits that create them. I agree, which is why I am introducing the Bill. Online marketplaces and overseas suppliers sell high-powered e-bikes and conversion kits with minimal checks, scant safety information and no clear liability. Too often, buyers assume that a product is legal because the website does not say otherwise. We already accept that some dangerous items simply must not be sold to the public. We ban the retail sale of flick knives because they are capable of killing and causing serious injury; we restrict the sale of F4 fireworks to those who are trained to use them safely; and we ban the use, import and supply of asbestos-containing materials, because they can kill. Those bans are about removing from the market products that are known to harm and kill. Monster e-bikes harm and kill. The Bill is targeted and proportionate. It would continue to allow the sale and enjoyment of legal e-bikes, but it would shut down the sale and marketing of illegal monster bikes and the kits used to create them. It would give regulators and the police powers to seize and destroy non-compliant bikes and conversion kits at the point of sale, and it would create clear offences and penalties for retailers of illegal products. Cutting off the sale and marketing of illegal e-bikes would remove dangerous products before they reach our streets. The Bill recognises that enforcement must be paired with support. It would give trading standards bodies, the police and other regulators targeted powers to act against sellers and online marketplaces. It would require clear consumer information so that buyers are not misled into thinking that high-powered machines are road legal. It would also help riders who rely on e-bikes for work to continue to access safe, legal e-bikes. The Bill is a practical, evidence-led measure that is intended to reduce the harm we see in our communities, protect the vulnerable and make our streets safer. As I have set out, it draws on the same logic that led Parliament to ban the sale of other dangerous items. It must be the case that when a product is capable of killing or causing injury, and its sale cannot be reasonably regulated, it simply should not be sold. Let us be clear: lawful, safe e-bikes are part of our future. What the Bill would do it introduce measured, necessary steps to make our streets safer, to protect our constituents, and to stop the sale of monster e-bikes. I commend it to the House. Question put and agreed to. Ordered, That Ms Julie Minns, Luke Akehurst, Liam Byrne, Anna Dixon, Tim Farron, Fabian Hamilton, Tom Hayes, Alex McIntyre, Jim Shannon and Bradley Thomas present the Bill. Ms Julie Minns accordingly presented the Bill. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 27 February, and to be printed (Bill 372).

• 22 Jan 2026 · Emergencies: Rural and Coastal Areas · Hansard source

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  I recently met representatives of Cumbria Council for Voluntary Service and ACTion with Communities in Cumbria to discuss community resilience in Carlisle and north Cumbria. One of the challenges we face in geographically remote areas such as mine is the speed with which local authorities and other agencies are able to deploy staff to close floodgates and shut roads when we have an area affected by flooding. Will the Minister set out what steps the Government are taking to encourage statutory bodies to train and equip community emergency volunteers to carry out those vital tasks?

• 15 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Next year, the Tour de France will return to the UK for the first time since 2014, starting in Edinburgh. The route through northern England has yet to be determined, but does the Minister agree that there could be no finer starting point than my constituency of Carlisle and Cumbria, and will she ensure that the excitement that the tour engenders translates into support for cycling right across our country?

• 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.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q I should have said this morning that I previously met with Alfanar prior to the publication of the Bill. Mr McKiernan, it is quite clear that you are very proud of your company, and very ambitious for its future. Do you think the SAF mandate is challenging enough, or could it go further? Doug McKiernan: That is a good question. I am not a particularly good judge of financial investment—I am a technical person—but I looked at the quotas for the e-fuels, and if they went further, I believe they would drive the development of the technology harder, because it would bring more investment into that particular area. To me, 3.5% by 2040 seems quite low—I think that we could probably scale up and do blends where that would be significantly higher.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Any international comparator. Josh Garton: In green finance, we will all have observed that the geopolitical narrative is changing. In the UK and the EU there is a more favourable environment for green finance than over the other side of the Atlantic. There is still a great appetite here, albeit within those risk tolerances that the different types of investors require.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q Building on that, we heard from a couple of witnesses earlier today about the waste hierarchy, but in your view, is there a point at which local authorities should be looking at their local plans for waste and minerals? My local authority is already receiving applications for gasification plants, and it is not alone in this. If they come on stream, they could deprive the SAF producers of the materials that they would want to acquire. At what point do local authorities need to be thinking ahead when looking at their waste and mineral plans? Philip New: This is quite a challenging conundrum. Right now, the safe place to put your waste is into an incinerator to make electrons. Is that the best place for the journey to net zero or for the local authority’s long-term economics? That is less obvious. It is difficult to put all the obligation on the local authorities to make the right, wise, long-term choice, when they are dealing with some very short-term pressures. This is where I think some extra signals—whether through some kind of mechanism that gives them comfort that they will be kept whole if things do not work out as planned, or some adjustment to the waste hierarchy—could play a helpful role.

• 15 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q This is a similar question to Mr Reed’s. Would you say that UK SAF developers find it harder, easier or the same as their international counterparts to access finance? Josh Garton: The UK compared with Europe?