Lee Pitcher MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 29 Apr 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Third sitting) · Hansard source

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  I am intervening on a different but still very much related point. What is also really important for me is that we remain attractive as a country to foreign investors and others who are looking to invest here, including in the infrastructure that enables our country to grow and creates jobs. It is important that investors want to come and invest here. The longer the process or the greater the burden, the less likely they are to invest here, and we will lose out to other places across the globe. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to tackle that issue?

• 24 Apr 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q It sounds as though you are saying that you are ready to work across the private, public and voluntary sectors to deliver that. Marian Spain: We are already having those conversations as part of the preparatory work.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q Thank you, Marian, for coming along today; that is massively appreciated. I have heard a few things today about genuine community benefits being essential—they must be delivered—and partnerships and relationships being hugely important in order to be able to facilitate those. Everybody we have talked to, including you, has welcomed the Bill and said that it will take us forward. But if the community benefits are key, you now have a huge duty, as part of the Bill, to deliver and support those. I just wonder about the cultural change that needs to go on in relation to working with others and working in partnership. How prepared for that are you as an organisation? Marian Spain: Nearly all our work is done in partnership anyway. Perhaps I will just expand on what I think the crucial partnerships are for the Bill to succeed. Actually, before I do, I will say one other thing. The Bill will require us to not produce the EDPs in isolation. They will require us to do public consultation. They will require us to work with others. We will need to work with the local planners. We are also highly likely to need to work with those who already have the data. That might be the voluntary sector; it might be the professional ecology sector that we rely on heavily to provide us with the data to have the confidence to recommend a robust plan to the Secretary of State. The other part very much on my mind at the moment is that one of our jobs will be to give confidence to everybody who needs to be involved in making this work that the plans are robust and adequate and will have the impact intended. One thing that developers say to me is that they want confidence that if they are going to pay money, it will be well spent. A developer said to me the other day that the thing he finds most frustrating is that he puts money into the community infrastructure levy and he never sees what it is spent on, so I think there is something about giving developers confidence that if they participate, they can see they have done some good. Planners will need a fair degree of confidence that they are giving planning permission that is within the overall planning laws still. We need our wildlife groups to work with us on this. We need to give them confidence, because they will own a lot of the land on which we will make the improvement. But as important—a group that we have not often talked about in these conversations—are the private landowners, who we will also need to have confidence that they are participating in a fair market where they will be adequately rewarded, should they choose to put their land in, and that they will also see that they are doing something for the public benefit. The final group, if I dare say it, will be parliamentarians, who need to have confidence that these measures will contribute to the statutory climate and nature targets. It is all about how we work with all those groups to show that this is better.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q Are you saying that it will make it worse? Richard Benwell: Yes, but it could make it better if you do it well. At the moment, it is worse because it allows developers to short-circuit the mitigation hierarchy and go straight to damage. It is worse because the level of certainty of environmental benefits is lower than currently required by the law. It is worse because it allows damage up front in return for promises of remediation up to 10 years down the line. And it is worse in terms of the scientific evidence that will be needed to apply to new sites or species. But the kind of approach that the Government are talking about could work if some of those problems were fixed. It is worth saying that if you really wanted a planning Bill to turn around the problems you have described, this might help, but it is far more important to make sure that you meet the global commitment to allocating 30% of the land and sea for nature, that you turn to thinking about how to manage our land and sea better for farmers and fishers and you pay them properly for nature benefits, and that you turn to thinking about how we build nature into development. Far more things could be in this Bill if the objective were to save nature. At the moment, the trade-off that we are being asked to make—weakening tried-and-tested, strong, effective environmental laws in return for a sliver of hope that the benefits might outweigh the harm—does not warrant the changes that are being made. But—I keep returning to this—it could, if part 3 of the Bill is improved during its parliamentary passage, and that is what we would really like to work with you to do.

• 24 Apr 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q From your experience and the best practice out there, where in the system is the best place to engage with local voices and have those voices heard? Jack Airey: Do you mean geographically?

• 24 Apr 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q I am just trying to understand, Richard. I have watched programmes, I have worked in the world of climate and I spoke at COP26, so I have a bit of background. You have talked to us about the number of species that are dying out now and, globally, I know they are dying out 100 times faster than normal evolutionary rates of extinction. We are in a bad place, and there is a lot to be done, but that is with the existing stuff that precedes this measure. That is the position we are in, so I cannot understand why a change will not better facilitate an improvement in nature as well as planning. That leads to growth, which can then put money back into the system to improve it further. Richard Benwell: It is because the proposed change will weaken that level of protection and make unsustainable—

• 24 Apr 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  No—where within the planning process? Jack Airey: The Bill puts much greater emphasis on local plan making. In my view, that is a really good thing. We need plans that really stand up to scrutiny, and we need promised homes to be actually delivered. The Planning Inspectorate has a big role there, and I think that is where most engagement should happen. At the moment various people have many bites of the cherry to give their view on development. Often it is a negative thing; sometimes it is a positive thing. That could be concentrated a bit more on the plan-making process. Once a site is allocated in a local plan, it should be much harder for that thing not to happen. Sam Richards: I agree with Jack.

• 23 Apr 2025 · Pension Funds · Hansard source

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  I have a constituent who has worked for 44 years at Midland bank and HSBC. They were promised a pension of two thirds of their final salary, but they now face a 16% cut—that is over £1,700 per annum—because of the so-called state deduction. They were never told that the scheme was integrated, and even private pension reviews failed to explain it. Does the hon. Member agree that that lack of transparency is unacceptable and that workers like my constituent deserve answers?

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  Let me bring us back to the Bill that we are here to debate. We have heard some of the data, statistics and information, and about the finances and the associated commercial considerations. We have heard about the importance of British Steel to our defence industry and our national security, about the importance of energy and resilience, and about the infrastructure we need to build to give us the growth in this country that we can feed back and inject into the public services that so need it. Of course, the big thing here is the 3,700 jobs, and today I represent the voice of my residents in the Isle of Axholme and those living in neighbouring towns, including Scunthorpe, who are feeling it today and who are listening to every single word we say. I have to say that the risk to them and the impact—the personal impact—on them are unquantifiable. That is what I want to talk about. Yesterday, I spoke to Richard, a fifth-generation worker at Scunthorpe who has recently finished there. He said that this is about the individual, about the families, about their colleagues and friends, and about the town. This is about their identity, and he described it in this way. He said that British Steel in Scunthorpe is the “beating heart” of the area, and over the last few years that beating heart has started to slow. As it has slowed, every time it skips a beat, as it has in the last couple of weeks, people hold their breath. They are anxious, they are scared and they are frightened. With every skip of that beating heart, people lose hope, and we cannot let people lose hope. He says to us that we need to come together and we need to pick up a community defibrillator, take it there, give it the injection of pace that it needs, and make sure that we stimulate that heart for all the generations in the future. We have the opportunity with this Bill today to take control and to start to make that happen. We can turn British Steel—making primary or virgin steel, which is vital for all the things we have talked about—into a treasure, and not just a treasure, but a national treasure, which is exactly why we need to move this on today.

• 8 Apr 2025 · Easter Adjournment · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker; I hope that in future when it gets to Easter recess you will be able to fly away with me to Doncaster Sheffield airport once it is reopened. For now, let me shine a light on some of the amazing work being done within my community, starting with sports. I am really lucky to have some amazing football clubs that inspire young children in my local area. We have Rossington football club, Epworth Colts, Bawtry juniors, Dunscroft Warriors, Hayfield football club, Club Thorne Colliery and Finningley Harriers junior club. They all provide opportunities for children to develop their skills and build lifelong friendships. It is not just football clubs that we have. In Thorne, we have the Thornensians Rugby Union football club, which has long been a pillar for the local sporting community. It was founded in 1939, but the club did not play its first game until 1945 due to the war. Reg Clayton, its founding member, was there for the very first match. At 100 years old, he is still a supporter today. It is a club built on heritage and heart, and every Sunday it proudly hosts over 100 boys and girls playing rugby, nurturing the next generation and keeping the community spirit alive. I am sure that Reg is very proud. On the Isle of Axholme, we are home to a cricket league that dates back to 1936, when West Butterwick took home the trophy. That heritage still lives on in the clubs that take to the field every summer, week in, week out, supported by the volunteers, to whom I pay homage. Across our communities, we are fortunate to have remarkable individuals and organisations working tirelessly to support those in need. Local hero Vera Owen—she was also our midwife, as I tell my young children—is one of them. Week in, week out, she collects surplus food from supermarkets for the food bank and leads on fundraising efforts, all without asking for recognition. Today, we are giving her that recognition. Similarly, Mary Macmillan at Doncaster food bank runs a campaign to provide basic facilities such as showers, affordable laundry services and cooking amenities, not just for those facing homelessness—that is really important to me because, as you are aware, Madam Deputy Speaker, I was homeless for a period as a child—but for families in temporary accommodation and the wider vulnerable community. I will take a moment to recognise the tireless work of our local councillors. In Thorne and Moorends, Mark Houlbrook, Susan Durant and Joe Blackham have delivered real results for the community. They fought to keep Thorne South station open after the pandemic, and they offer lots of wonderful local services for our residents; they have also been doing work on the Thorne leisure centre. In Rossington, Bawtry and Austerfield, Ken Guest, Bob Anderson and Rachael Blake have shown what committed, community-focused representation looks like. Over the last four years, they have secured vital road safety measures, including a zebra crossing at Bawtry and a pelican crossing at Rossington, and have made sure that it is affordable for everybody to swim with a £1 swim scheme. Finally, our Hatfield councillors Glynis Smith and Linda Curran have worked with real dedication to support our local people and strengthen community life. They have backed a range of grassroots initiatives and are making a real difference, including through their support for the Hatfield library, which has been run by brilliant volunteers like Sue Lowndes for over a decade. Children’s events are held there every school holiday, free of charge. They have also helped to fund Dunscroft Together, which runs a youth club, a safe and welcoming place for young people. They have also hosted celebrations for Dunsville community centre’s 50th anniversary. Lots goes on there, including the Mark Guest Taekwondo school. Overall, I want to thank those incredible community champions for everything they do, day in, day out. Their dedication, compassion and tireless efforts remind us just how special our constituency is, and how strong we are when we come together to support one another. Have a very happy Easter.

• 8 Apr 2025 · Blair Mayne: Posthumous Victoria Cross · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing today’s debate. The award of the Victoria Cross has an extraordinary impact on individuals and their families, friends and communities. I will give an example of my own from the town of Hatfield Woodhouse, where we are proud to have produced Corporal John William Harper VC. Corporal Harper served in the 4th Battalion of the British Army’s York and Lancaster Regiment during the second world war, and on 29 September 1944 he led his section in an assault over open ground against a fortified position. He led from the front, and repeatedly moved forward alone to establish the way forward before exposing his own comrades to danger. Unfortunately, Corporal Harper was fatally wounded in the assault, but his actions secured the success of the attack. Hatfield remembers Corporal Harper by maintaining a twinning arrangement with the town of Merksplas in Belgium, where his gallantry took place. Memorials to him can be seen at the local St Lawrence church and at the site of the war graves, and local children still learn about “Harper VC” at schools in Merksplas and Donny today. Even in the last few years, a new extension to the Hatfield area was named Harpers Heath in his honour, showing that the memory is still important to the people of the town. This is important as part of today’s debate because, as time moves on and new generations are born, the story of the Victoria Cross and the legends who receive it means we never forget their gallantry, and we never forget the gallantry of all the people who have served us. That is why this award of a Victoria Cross could make all the difference in recognising a hero such as Blair Mayne, who sacrificed so much for others, but also for the pride it brings to the community. Regardless of what the Minister says, I am so pleased that the hon. Member for Strangford, whom I call my friend, has been able to raise this today, and Blair Mayne’s efforts will be recognised in the Chamber and remembered forever.

• 8 Apr 2025 · Armed Forces Covenant · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. and gallant Friend for bringing this important report to us today and for the Committee’s work. North Lincolnshire council has established a physical armed forces hub dedicated to providing comprehensive support to all members of the armed forces community, offering assistance on health and housing. Doncaster city council has the veteran’s innovation fund, which provides funds of up to £300 to help with barriers that impact individuals’ wellbeing. That is all amazing, but if our veterans do not know about it in the first place, it cannot help them. They deserve our respect and they deserve our support, particularly when they come out fighting for each and every one of us. Does my hon. Friend agree that, as we go into the Easter recess, there is a need for us to make a priority of promoting the armed forces covenant in every one of our constituencies?

• 7 Apr 2025 · Road Maintenance · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. I referred to Mayor Ros Jones, who is leader of the council in Doncaster and knows that area specifically—in her case, she is also called a mayor. Devolved mayors also know their area very well, and they work with their area and their constituencies to ensure that the money goes to the right places at the right time. Our councils have been crying out for help for 14 years. I am pleased to say that Westminster is finally listening. It is listening to the Lister family, who I mentioned, to our constituents and to all the local authorities that desperately need this money to invest. As such, I am almost ready to relinquish the title of “Pothole Pitcher”, but I will be focusing on pavements in the future.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Road Maintenance · Hansard source

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  If I could walk 500 miles, Madam Deputy Speaker, and then walk 500 more, it would be a miracle, particularly after all this bobbing. [ Laughter. ] However, I would also have walked the full length of the road network of Doncaster. Unfortunately, due to the pothole crisis facing every authority in our country, the chances are that I would have tripped up and fallen down long before I got to anyone’s door. Such is the state of the roads in Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme and the amount of potholes I have reported and had repaired over the past few years that I am also called “Pothole Pitcher” on social media. Of course, this is no joke; it is a very real issue that affects people’s lives, as the Lister family, who live in Hatfield, in my constituency, are aware. On his 18th birthday, Josh was driving down an avenue when he hit a huge pothole that ripped through the side of his tyre and shot him on to the kerb, leaving a relatively newly passed driver not only in a degree of shock but fearful of driving ever again. He had an 18th birthday he will never forget, but for all the wrong reasons. Just two months later, his mum Gemma fell over a pothole on a footpath, causing her to sustain serious injury to her arms, hands and knees, with the impact lasting many months. Potholes are not a trivial matter; they are hugely serious, and ruin lives. Like most places, Doncaster and Axholme’s roads and their networks are one of their most precious and most expensive assets. Between the more volatile weather, increased traffic and heavier vehicles, the cost of maintaining those assets has risen at the same time as the council’s budget for dealing with them was cut by half by the previous Government. We now have a repair backlog sitting in the hundreds of millions in Doncaster alone, where our council is fighting tooth and nail just to keep it at that, while trying also to resolve the pothole crisis. Thankfully, this Government have recognised the importance of tackling this crisis. They have increased funding to local authorities, with £2.3 million for North Lincolnshire and £6.7 million for South Yorkshire. We are finally giving our mayors like Ros Jones and our councils, who know their area and know where to invest, the tools they need not only to fight to stand still but to really make improvements. This is just the beginning.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Homelessness and Rough Sleeping · Hansard source

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  7. What steps her Department is taking to support people sleeping rough in colder months.

• 7 Apr 2025 · Homelessness and Rough Sleeping · Hansard source

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  I recently took part in an organised sleep-out event at Doncaster’s Eco-Power stadium. The event was set up by the Club Doncaster Foundation to raise money for projects supporting homeless people. Such fundraisers, and the work done by charities like Shelter and Doncaster’s People Focused Group, are vital, but it is ultimately up to the Government to solve the problem of homelessness. Can the Minister update us on what the Government are doing to fulfil the need for social housing?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Royal British Legion · Hansard source

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  In my constituency of Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, the RBL’s integration within the local authority is massively important because it is the voice of the people it represents, and their warmth, passion, consideration and expertise. Does the hon. Lady agree that co-operation with local authorities in providing services around housing and financial management, as well as emotional management, is massively important?

• 27 Mar 2025 · Scunthorpe Steelworks · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Sir Nicholas Dakin) is in Scunthorpe right now, supporting our fantastic steelworkers. Many of my constituents work in Scunthorpe; I know that they will be feeling extremely anxious, and my heart goes out to them. Will the Minister confirm that she remains steely in her determination to secure the future of the UK construction and steel industries, and that she will do everything she possibly can to support my constituents who are affected?

• 27 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My remarkable constituent Pat Smith has dedicated 60 years of his life to coaching basketball, football and other sports, including 37 years leading the Hatfield Fliers basketball club. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking Pat for his exceptional service and for being an absolutely brilliant role model to many generations, and wishing him a happy and fulfilling retirement?

• 24 Mar 2025 · Male Suicide in Rotherham · Hansard source

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  In Doncaster last year, 80% of those who died from suicide were men, and we of course have one of the largest numbers of veterans in the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber. Doncaster council has the armed forces covenant. Will my hon. Friend join me in promoting its work, particularly around the veteran-friendly suicide prevention training that makes a huge difference to all the people who take part in it?

• 24 Mar 2025 · Planning and Infrastructure Bill · Hansard source

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  I strongly support the Bill because at its heart is a vision for getting Britain building again—in the right way and for the right reasons. That is critical to overcoming many of the challenges we face as a country. It is central to the missions of change that the public have entrusted us with, and it is a call to action that we must answer. The Bill sets out a bold plan to modernise our planning system. As someone who worked for decades with engineers, operational workers and planners, I can tell hon. Members that it is long overdue. It seeks to make the system more efficient and responsive to the demands of a 21st-century economy that is capable of supporting the ambitions that the Government have set forth: solving the housing crisis by delivering 1.5 million new homes; tackling the cost of living by reducing bills and putting more money back in people’s pockets; building a strong, growing economy; making Britain a global leader in green energy and technology; tackling the climate crisis, and creating thousands of high-skilled, well-paid jobs. The housing crisis affects too many families across our country. For far too many, the dream of owning or renting a home in the areas where they live and work is slipping further out of reach. I was asked about that at the New College hustings by young adults who never thought they would get a foot on the housing ladder. I am proud that we are doing something about it. The Bill aims to tackle the challenge by streamlining the planning process, cutting delays and accelerating the delivery of new homes. It introduces provisions that will allow us to build where homes are most needed, while ensuring that development is sustainable and in harmony with the environment. The Bill is about building not just new homes, but affordable homes. For years, waiting lists for social housing have stretched beyond acceptable limits, with families waiting years for a safe and affordable place to live. In my constituency, there is a mum with three children under five living in temporary accommodation because of section 21. She has no kitchen to make food and nowhere to wash her children’s clothes. Worst of all, she has no hope left. The Bill tackles that reality head-on and provides hope. On Friday night, I slept out with 40 other individuals at Donny Rovers to raise awareness of homelessness, and took the time to discuss the housing crisis. That same night, 3,350 children were homeless in Yorkshire and the Humber. That is just wrong. It was wrong in the 1990s, when I became homeless with my mum and sister, and it is absolutely unacceptable in the 2020s. The Bill will make a real difference to communities across the UK. It gives local councils the tools they need to meet housing demands, while ensuring that social housing is built in the right places and to the highest standards. The Bill also recognises the need for infrastructure investment in driving growth and prosperity. From towns to cities, we must invest in transport, digital connectivity and energy systems. The Bill lays the groundwork for large-scale infrastructure projects, making it easier for local authorities and developers to bring forward critical projects, such as new roads, renewable energy solutions and expanded public transport networks. That is important for both rural and urban communities. The Bill is about ensuring that our infrastructure evolves alongside modern needs, enabling more efficient travel, supporting thriving businesses, and fostering growing communities. The legislation is a vital step forward in addressing some of the most pressing issues in our country. I urge all my colleagues, on both sides of the House, to support the Bill. Let us unite in building a more prosperous, sustainable and secure future for the people we serve. No child should go to sleep tonight not knowing whether they will have a roof over their precious head tomorrow. We can solve that together.

• 20 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I pass on my condolences to the shadow Leader of the House, whose father sounds like a modern-day Father Christmas. As a child, together with my mother and sister, I experienced a period of homelessness. It was an incredibly difficult time for all of us. Thanks to the kindness of family and friends, we had a support network to get us through it, but sadly, that is not the case for everybody. This Friday, I will be joining residents from across my constituency at Doncaster Rovers football club for the Snooze in the South Stand event—an initiative that gives participants a powerful insight into the daily reality faced by too many people who are fighting homelessness in our communities. Will the Leader of the House join me in praising those organising and taking part in this important event and recognise the steps the Government are taking to reduce and eventually get rid of homelessness altogether?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Criminal Justice System: Technology · Hansard source

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  4. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to use technology to help improve efficiency in the criminal justice system.

• 20 Mar 2025 · Criminal Justice System: Technology · Hansard source

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  My constituency is home to three prisons: Lindholme, Hatfield and Moorland. Given the challenges faced in our local criminal justice system, particularly in managing caseloads in prisons and capacity, will the Solicitor General outline what specific technological innovations are being prioritised to speed up court processes and improve access to justice for victims and defendants?

• 17 Mar 2025 · Women’s Changed State Pension Age: Compensation · Hansard source

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  My apologies, Mr Stringer.