Lucy Powell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue again. It is not the first time that I have heard of problems in the Environment Agency and about its not following through on the commitments that it has given. I will ensure that he gets a ministerial response, but we are determined that the Environment Agency and others should be held to account for the actions they take, and that they should take more responsibility for prevention.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend and a number of other colleagues for continuing to campaign on and raise these important issues. As parents and constituency MPs, we all see the damage that social media and unmitigated use of smartphones can cause to teenagers. He is absolutely right to highlight that schools already have the power to confiscate smartphones, and I am really pleased to hear that a couple of schools in his constituency have done so. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the guidance that we have issued, but I implore schools and parents to take a much more proactive approach in monitoring what children are up to on their smartphones.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I am happy to join my hon. Friend in telling Staffordshire county council—which I hear a lot of complaints about in business questions, I have to say—to get its act together and get this new GP surgery open so it can serve his constituents.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  It might not be quite an Oasis concert, but I am sure that the railway gathering in Derby that my hon. Friend describes was a fantastic event to champion the rail industry in his constituency. I am really pleased that Great British Railways will be based in Derby so that we can continue to provide the jobs of the future.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend rightly raises a really important issue, which she has explained better than I could, about the challenges of DNRs, particularly for vulnerable people, and I hope that those involved will have listened to her question. I will ensure that she gets a full ministerial response and that the issue is looked at.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating Paul on his extraordinary achievements. Quite honestly, I am exhausted just listening to what he is doing, let alone doing it myself.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I know what an issue parking charges can be in city centres, such as my own. My hon. Friend is right: that would make a really good topic for a debate. Let us have a look at the performance of the SNP Government in Scotland. They have had the biggest settlement ever in Scotland. What are they doing with that money, and how are they serving the people of Scotland?

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I am sorry to hear of the action of her Conservative council in her area in relation to the Sycamore adventure centre. We had the Second Reading of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill this week, and we will give more local communities like hers the power to take over such provision as she describes.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I am very happy to have an ice cream, but I am not sure that the hon. Member’s constituents are quite ready to see me in a swimming costume just yet. I am pleased to hear that Kirkham baths has been saved and will now be refurbished. That is exactly why we have put the money into grassroots sport, but it is also why we have given local government such a big settlement, because things such as Kirkham baths are so important to our communities.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I am sorry to hear of the trouble that my hon. Friend is having in her constituency and of the challenges in supporting her council and police to take action. We keep powers under constant review to ensure they are effective in tackling unauthorised encampments. I will keep her updated on that.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I know how important chalk streams are to our biodiversity and to many of our rural communities. We will bring forward further plans about how we can secure our waterways in all their forms, and I will ensure that the hon. Member gets an update from the relevant Minister.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I am not sure whether any of the couples I mentioned at the beginning of this questions session got married in Gretna Green—maybe they can declare it if they did—but we are all of course very familiar with it as the iconic place for weddings in this country. The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point about simplifying some of the bureaucracy and making sure we remember what marriage is all about. I will get in touch with the relevant Minister on his behalf and see what we can do.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I am sorry to hear about the response the hon. Gentleman has had. We are working with telecommunications companies to reduce poor mobile signal—particularly in rural areas, which is not an easy task—and we have the shared rural network deal. However, I will ensure that he gets a better ministerial response to his questions.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Lady for raising the issues around fair funding. I know this is a really important matter for a number of colleagues. She will be aware that the Deputy Prime Minister has ensured a record local government funding settlement, but the hon. Lady is absolutely right: the devil is in the detail and we need to ensure that funding follows need. I will certainly arrange for her to have a meeting with the Minister.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I think we all remember when the previous Government gave the contract for our passport production to a French company in the post-Brexit era. We all found it rather strange at the time. This Government are committed to buying British and to British procurement, and we will bring forward legislation and other means of ensuring that that can better happen.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  Members ask, “Where are they?” I think Reform Members are busy doing each other’s ironing— I do not know whether people have seen that. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. For a Member of Parliament who claims to be acting in the British interest to go to another country to suggest that tariffs on this country are increased and that steps are taken to reduce job opportunities here is not just unpatriotic, but anti-British.

• 4 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I will certainly ensure that the hon. Lady gets a discussion with the relevant Minister on the issue of conditional selling, which sounds like something that should concern us all.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  The levels of homelessness and housing need among our veterans is shocking and a wake-up call for all of us, and I will ensure that my hon. Friend has a meeting with the Minister. That is why we are taking steps to ensure that there is more housing provision for veterans and everybody else.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for his question. As a regular attendee at these sessions for a year now, he has raised issues around autism with me before, so I know it is a keen interest of his. Café Neuro sounds like a great spot, and I will certainly check it out next time I am in Leicester South. NHS England has established a cross-sector taskforce to look at how we can better support people with autism and ADHD, and I will ensure that he is kept updated on that.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I could not have put that better myself. What a great tribute my hon. Friend has paid to the Dialogue Express Café in her constituency and to its work in bringing people together, breaking down barriers, creating opportunity for those from the deaf community, celebrating deaf culture and identity and celebrating BSL. I will dig out her video—perhaps we could all have a bit of training on how to order a coffee in sign language.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for his leadership and for bringing everyone together to get the green light for the project. I am sure that his constituents will be very grateful for the role he has played in ensuring that all those various agencies pull together to get this over the line. For that he should be congratulated.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I am sorry to hear of that case. My hon. Friend will be aware that the content duties in the Online Safety Act 2023 require platforms to tackle illegal suicide and self-harm content and activity. The Act is now coming into force, with new guidance being put forward regularly. We will keep those matters under review, however, and if we need to strengthen the law, we will.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  This is an issue of great concern to the right hon. Lady, her constituents and many others across the House. The Government’s priority is, and has always been, Birmingham’s residents and dealing with the issue. We have worked closely and intensively with the council to ensure rubbish collections have continued, and to clean up the streets for residents and in the interests of public health. We remain in close contact with the council. We want an end to the dispute as soon as possible, which is why we continue to urge the unions to come to the table and engage in conversations constructively.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I join my hon. Friend in giving our heartfelt thanks to PC Dabrowski and PC Strange for their heroic efforts. I hope their nomination for the national police bravery awards is taken forward and that they are given one of those awards, because it sounds like they are deserved winners.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend; I am looking forward to a well-earned rest. He is very much on-theme today in inviting me to his favourite spots in his constituency, and he has done that very well. The Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms sitting next to me just said about my hon. Friend’s constituency, “It is very, very nice.” Maybe one day I will visit Loch Lomond and perhaps do better at golf than I did in answering the previous question.