Lauren Edwards MP: speeches

43 published records · newest first.

Speeches

15 Jun 2026 · Acoustic Design Planning Requirements: Workplaces · Hansard source
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7. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of acoustic design requirements for workplaces in the planning system.
15 Jun 2026 · Acoustic Design Planning Requirements: Workplaces · Hansard source
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Sownd Certification is the UK’s first accreditation for spaces that are audio-inclusive and comfortable for neurodivergent people, spaces such as Oscar Acoustics innovation centre in my constituency. Will the Minister meet me to discuss the benefits of incorporating measurable acoustic performance and audio-inclusivity standards into building regulations or guidance to support more inclusive spaces?
15 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
15 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I thank the Minister for his comments about Grenfell. I welcome the legislation that the Government have introduced to lower the voting age to 16, and to make it easier for people to register to vote, but has he considered the benefits for increased participation in elections of adding a “none of the above” option on all ballot papers? This change could be made without primary legislation.
10 Jun 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source
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Q3. Flexible and co-working spaces play an important role in regenerating town centres such as mine in Rochester and Strood. They bring more people to our high streets to spend money in our local shops and support our local economies. But recent case law has put that under threat, with Valuation Office Agency assessments now treating many as single, larger businesses. Because of that, many small businesses face not only losing their small business rate relief but potentially receiving backdated bills of up to three years, in some cases costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. Will the Prime Minister please ensure that an urgent political solution is found to this problem?
27 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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Can the Minister provide an update on the action plan to ensure that lessons are learned from the way that changes to the state pension age were communicated to women born in the 1950s?
15 Apr 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source
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Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 15 April.
15 Apr 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source
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The Prime Minister was right to resist us being drawn into an ill-conceived war in the middle east with apparently no clear plan for how it may end. Despite the welcome cost of living support that he referenced in his statement on Monday, we are all rightly angry that our constituents will feel the impact of this war in their pockets and in their daily lives. Will he outline what steps he is taking both to support our armed forces and plan for all future contingencies? We all hope for a swift resolution and progress at the summit later this week, but we must be prepared for all potential scenarios.
14 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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The James Williams healthy living centre recently opened in Chatham town centre in my constituency. It means that more of my constituents can receive care closer to home, rather than travelling to the other end of Medway to visit the hospital. May I invite the Secretary of State to attend its official opening in the summer, so he can see at first hand the fantastic new facilities?
13 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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T3. I welcome the action that the Government are taking to improve the reporting and transparency of political donations from unincorporated associations in the Representation of the People Bill. Since 2010, 97% of donations from such bodies have come from unknown sources under the existing rules. Will Ministers consider going further and require information to be published on who runs unincorporated associations that make political donations and what their purpose is, to ensure that we have maximum transparency?
26 Mar 2026 · Gurkha Veterans · Hansard source
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I thank the hon. and gallant Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) and the Backbench Business Committee for facilitating this really important debate. My constituency of Rochester and Strood has a long and proud history and association with the Gurkha community and Nepal. There are over 100 Gurkhas living in the Medway towns, representing a sizeable community of former military personnel who have served this country, along with a significant wider community of Nepalese heritage. Along with many Members here today, I have written to the Minister for Veterans and People, particularly on behalf of the Gurkha Nepalese community in Medway and Kent, and I thank her for her responses and engagement. Given the time constraints, I will not repeat the points about the case that Gurkha veterans who retired before 1997 have for justice in their pension arrangements, which I think are generally well known in this House. I understand the Government’s position, shared by previous Governments, that they are unable to make retrospective changes to such pension arrangements for this cohort of veterans. While the legal position is clear, the reality is that it was not anticipated that so many who are in receipt of pre-1997 pension arrangements would be living in this country. It is widely understood that the pensions of those whose service ended before 1 July 1997 are not adequate to sustain a decent standard of living in the UK. Many veterans living in this country receive about one third of the pension paid to a British soldier of equivalent rank. As my constituent Sumendra Rai has told me: “This division is profoundly unjust. It institutionalises inequality among soldiers who wore the same uniform, followed the same orders, and risked their lives in the same conflicts”. If it is not possible to provide an uplift for their pensions, I strongly urge the Minister to work with Treasury Ministers to consider the introduction of a fund from which this relatively small cohort of veterans experiencing hardship can access additional financial support. The cost to the Government would likely not be significant, given the numbers, but the impact of such a fund on the quality of life of these veterans would be huge. This would also be very beneficial to bilateral relations between the UK and Nepal. Although I appreciate the steps being taken to work with the Government of Nepal to increase support for the veterans living there, it is right for the Government to look to alleviate the poverty and hardship of those who have served this country and now live here in the UK. I would of course appreciate an opportunity to meet the Minister to discuss this further, as I am sure other Members would. To conclude, supporting our Gurkha veterans who are currently experiencing hardship is about preserving a partnership that has been built over centuries. It is a relationship founded on trust, mutual respect and shared sacrifice, and it is important that we acknowledge the loyalty that the Gurkhas have shown to this country, and do our best to ensure that they do not experience poverty and hardship in their well-earned retirement.
17 Mar 2026 · Youth Unemployment · Hansard source
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I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. As someone who represents an area where more than 90% of businesses are SMEs, I particularly welcome the financial incentives for SMEs to take on young apprentices in the key industries of hospitality and retail. Demand for apprenticeships has been high for some time, so I welcome the Government’s recognition that supply-side incentives were needed to provide opportunities for young people in areas like mine. However, SMEs lack HR departments, and when I speak to business owners, they talk a lot about the complexity of engaging with the system. How will the Secretary of State make the system simpler for SMEs to engage with, so that we can give young people the opportunities that they desperately need?
12 Mar 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source
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May we have a debate on the recent Valuation Office Agency changes to business rate classifications for flexible and co-working spaces? The agency says that it is just following case law, but the changes could have significant implications for businesses, some of which will face big backdated bills. Flexible working spaces are an important part of regenerating town centres, such as in Chatham in my constituency, because they drive footfall and mean people spend money in local shops. We desperately need a political solution to this problem.
12 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I add my voice to that of my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis) in calling on the Government to publish the review of market access for small breweries as soon as possible. I was delighted that Moot Brew brewery from Halling in my constituency produced the guest ale for the Strangers’ Bar in the House of Commons before Christmas. Will the Secretary of State support a national guest beer agreement policy, so that more fantastic local brewers such as Moot are represented in my local pubs?
11 Mar 2026 · Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation · Hansard source
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Before I became a Member of Parliament, I worked for the CWU at the time of Royal Mail’s privatisation, and I am sad to say that much of what we feared would happen has come true. Residents in Grain in my constituency reported receiving no first-class or second-class mail for weeks, similar to the reports of other Members. I will highlight an incident in which Network Rail had to hand-deliver letters to residents to ensure that they were aware of the impending closure of a critical rail crossing, because Royal Mail service could not be relied on. Does my hon. Friend agree that the service to my constituents is completely unacceptable? Royal Mail needs to focus on addressing its significant recruitment and retention challenges, which have been made worse by the introduction of a two-tier workforce in 2022-23.
10 Mar 2026 · High Street Businesses: Tax Changes · Hansard source
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The Government’s business rate relief package for pubs has been hugely welcome, but other high street businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors are struggling. Will the Minister consider increasing the small business rate relief threshold to encourage growth and hiring? Over half the high street small businesses surveyed by the Federation of Small Businesses said that they would be in position to invest in or grow their businesses if the threshold were increased.
9 Mar 2026 · Unemployment · Hansard source
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Net migration has fallen to the lowest level since 2021, which will have a significant impact on our labour market and economy if we do not train and support unemployed people in the UK into jobs in key sectors. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to target back-to-work programmes, especially those for young people who are not in work, education or training, to fill skills shortages in crucial areas such as health and social care?
5 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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Earlier this week, those of us on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee took evidence from the Cabinet Office on the significant issues with the administration of the civil service pension scheme—issues that are plaguing many of our constituents. It was quite clear that poor contract management played a role, particularly in building up a significant backlog of cases ahead of the problematic transfer to Capita. What steps are being taken in the Cabinet Office to improve the management of contracts with private suppliers, so that this does not happen again?
4 Mar 2026 · Ministry of Defence · Hansard source
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I thank the Chair of the Defence Committee for securing this debate. There was a lot of focus in the House on the percentage of GDP that we spend on defence, and it is important to meet our NATO obligations. I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement that the Government will reach at least 4.1% of GDP being spent on defence in 2027, on the way to 5% by 2035. That is an indicator of our commitment to defence, but it is not the whole story. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need a more nuanced debate that considers whether we are spending the defence budget on the right things, with the appropriate lead times, for those short, medium and long-term strategic defence challenges that we face? The events of the last week make it even more important that we see the defence investment plan that the Government have promised as soon as possible.
3 Mar 2026 · Spring Forecast · Hansard source
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I thank the Chancellor for her statement, and welcome the OBR forecast that unemployment will fall to 4.1% by the end of the current Parliament. No doubt that will have been driven by excellent policies such as the youth guarantee and the apprenticeship reforms. The NEET rate remains stubbornly high, though, so may I urge the Chancellor to target any additional headroom that may be available at helping more young people into work and training? Investing in young people is good for them, good for society and good for the UK’s finances, and it is also the best way in which to reduce our welfare bill in the long term.
3 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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We are all deeply concerned about the escalating situation in the Gulf. Following the Prime Minister’s statement yesterday, has the Secretary of State had any discussions with her counterparts in the US, Europe or Israel about measures to secure any nuclear or radiological material in Iran, in the light of the possibility of its trafficking as a result of current events?
3 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
2 Mar 2026 · Representation of the People Bill · Hansard source
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I welcome the Bill, particularly the parts that will deliver on the Government’s manifesto commitment to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote, introduce automatic voter registration, and widen the list of accepted forms of voter ID. By taking those steps, the Government are improving the way in which our democracy runs and our citizens engage with it. There are ways in which the Bill can be improved, however. I will talk about unincorporated associations. Although such associations are used legitimately by some, they can also be an opaque vehicle for funds of unknown origin, and there is potential for them to be used for foreign interference in our political system. Transparency International UK found that, of the £40 million in donations made by unincorporated associations since 2010, a huge £38.6 million came from unknown sources under the existing rules, so it is certainly time for change. That is especially true since the previous Government took the opportunity in their last few years to increase the thresholds for the reporting of political donations from unincorporated associations, which was a thoroughly retrograde step—one that I am very pleased we are addressing today. The Bill takes welcome steps to prevent unincorporated associations from being used to conceal donations from impermissible sources, and to reduce the level at which they must register with the Electoral Commission and report gifts. However, the reporting threshold for all those measures remains unnecessarily high. The criticism of our current system is not only that it allows dark money into our political system, but that it is unnecessarily complex and confusing. The Government should take the opportunity that the Bill presents to tackle both issues by reducing the reporting threshold for unincorporated associations to £500—equal with the permissibility threshold. To deliver maximum transparency, I urge Ministers to consider whether the Bill should require information to be published on the purpose and activities of unincorporated associations, as well as who controls them. Let me touch briefly on my work as vice-chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. Last year, we published a report into the 2024 general election, and made recommendations to the Government, some of which are reflected in the Bill, which I welcome. During the Committee’s inquiry, I asked the chair of the Electoral Commission why our elections are held on Thursdays. I was told that it is simply tradition. That might seem a minor point, but the 2024 general election saw the second lowest turnout since the introduction of universal suffrage. In that context, we need to pull every lever available to us to make it as easy as possible for people to exercise their right to vote. I am sure that we have all stood on a doorstep at night, unsuccessfully asking someone who is tired after a long day at work and a really long commute, and who needs to put the kids to bed, to go to the end of their street and vote. The Government should consider international evidence from places such as Australia, where elections are held on weekends, to determine whether a change in the day of the week would increase turnout—in much the same way as they have looked at international examples to conduct a pilot on flexible voting. I welcome that modernisation of the way in which we run our elections. Moving the election day to the weekend would likely have a really positive operational benefit, as it would free up more schools to act as polling stations. I close by stating my support for the consideration of compulsory participation in elections. When we consider the balance of rights and responsibilities, I do not think it too much to ask people to go along and participate in democracy every few years.
3 Feb 2026 · Prisoner Rehabilitation: Education and Training · Hansard source
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I thank the Minister for the work he is doing in prisons to improve literacy, but last week the Government confirmed to the Justice Committee that core prison education provision has been cut by a quarter nationally under retendered contracts. The independent monitoring board recently raised concerns about the impact that that will have in prisons, including Rochester prison in my constituency, on prisoner rehabilitation. We know that stable work is one of the top factors in preventing male prisoners from reoffending, so education and training are therefore key to reducing our prison population in the long term. How will the Minister ensure that this will remain a priority?
3 Feb 2026 · Prisoner Rehabilitation: Education and Training · Hansard source
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6. What steps he is taking to ensure that education and training programmes support the rehabilitation of people leaving prison.

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