Martin Wrigley MP: speeches

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Speeches

21 Oct 2025 · Mandatory Digital ID · Hansard source
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The Government say that digital ID will eradicate illegal workers in the UK. It will not. Mandatory digital ID will not stop any more unscrupulous employers than does the check for the right to work in the UK, which is already in place. It is a vanity project that will cost the taxpayer billions of pounds and will not achieve the desired outcomes.
21 Oct 2025 · Mandatory Digital ID · Hansard source
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I agree. Many of my local residents are still digitally excluded. Lack of mobile signal and in many places no fast internet access means that digital-only solutions leave too many people out in the cold.
21 Oct 2025 · Mandatory Digital ID · Hansard source
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Will the Minister give way?
21 Oct 2025 · Mandatory Digital ID · Hansard source
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It is not much of a consultation if the Government have already said, very vocally, that they are going to do it. It is really a question of how hard they want to beat people.
21 Oct 2025 · Mandatory Digital ID · Hansard source
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I agree with my hon. Friend’s point. The elderly, the disabled and those on low incomes are most likely to be adversely affected by this policy. The Government published a digital inclusion action plan in February 2025, but I hear from constituents that, seven months on, they have seen little or no improvement. It appears that digital ID will be required not just for accessing employment but as a proof of right to rent, which risks placing additional burdens on people already marginalised in society. Mandatory digital ID also brings a deep unease about the growing relationship between the Government and large tech companies such as Palantir, Apple and Google. As a member of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, I have raised concerns about those relationships and have yet to receive satisfactory answers. Knowing that the Government are willing for those companies to hold and have access to such sensitive data is worrying. I will continue to push for answers and will oppose mandatory ID cards.
21 Oct 2025 · Social Housing: South Cotswolds · Hansard source
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I thank the Minister for giving way; she is being very generous with her time. The numbers have doubled in my district of Teignbridge; 40% of Teignbridge is within Dartmoor national park, the rest of the area is constrained by the coast, and houses become more and more expensive to deliver as the numbers go up. Because of that expense, fewer and fewer affordable homes will be delivered. The standard method is not working to reduce house prices. Will the Minister reconsider how these numbers are determined, so that the standard method is no longer used to enforce a central number of homes, rather than the number of homes that the district actually needs?
21 Oct 2025 · Social Housing: South Cotswolds · Hansard source
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On housing stock, I am proud to have been the leader of Teignbridge district council—I draw the House’s attention to the fact that I am still a member—which has built council houses for the first time in 30 years. There are a number of adjustments that can be made, including increasing the number of homes from 200 to 500 before needing a housing revenue account, and I had a meeting with the Housing Minister on making that easier. The Minister told me that he was going to announce that and make that happen, but I am not convinced that that has yet happened. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is one of several adjustments the Minister could easily make so that it is easier for councils to build more council houses?
15 Oct 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source
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May I thank the Foreign Secretary for extending the Homes for Ukraine scheme by two years in her previous role? I welcome her to her new role. This morning, the Chair of the Rada spoke to the parliamentary group and talked of how Russian manufacturers are using advanced electronics from white goods to build their drones. What will the Foreign Secretary do to prevent such vital equipment going to them through the export of seemingly harmless white goods?
13 Oct 2025 · Digital ID · Hansard source
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I fully agree with many of the points made so far, and I too have had many comments from constituents. This scheme will not help in areas of digital exclusion, especially where there is poor phone coverage, as there is in many parts of Devon, and neither will it stop rogue employers who currently employ cash in hand and do not look at the books. Why would they look at ID on a phone? They will not. Digital ID must be optional. Could the Secretary of State please assure us that it will be built along the lines of sovereign AI and that we will not hand over control of a system like this, with information about people’s lives, to companies such as Palantir?
15 Sept 2025 · Children with SEND: Assessments and Support · Hansard source
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan, and it is delightful to hear so many voices in agreement today. In my Newton Abbot constituency, we have helped nearly 100 families navigate the SEND EHCP system—families who are desperate to help their children, but who are met with delays and a system that is constantly exhausting and failing our vulnerable children. In Devon, there is a SEND off-book debt of some £170 million, and that is growing. To combat this, the approach has been to deny help to SEND children until it is forced upon the council, making it an adversarial process. Just over 3% of EHCPs are issued within 20 weeks. Nearly a quarter take a year to set up. That is a year of missed everything. What we need is change that improves the system and saves families from falling through the cracks in the first place. We need to focus on early intervention. That means getting support in place before the children reach crisis. Early intervention is key to fixing the funding, too. If we wait years to provide help, the situation will get far worse, with children and families far more traumatised. The current system is failing children and failing financially. The numbers do not add up and local authorities are being pushed to the brink. We need a system that works more flexibly and fairly. I welcome the ten-minute rule Bill, the Neurodivergence (Screening and Teacher Training) Bill, presented by my hon. Friend the Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance). I urge the Minister to take this opportunity to commit to meaningful improvement.
11 Sept 2025 · Regional Transport Inequality · Hansard source
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I am delighted with all the investment in cities with mayors; that is fantastic. However, in Dawlish, in Devon, we are once again left behind. Is that purely because we do not have a city mayor?
11 Sept 2025 · Regional Transport Inequality · Hansard source
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I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. When we had the railway station defences rebuilt at Dawlish, we did get the benefit of a lift. Teignmouth still does not have that. Before the lift was put in, disabled passengers were put on what is called a barrow crossing—they were literally put on a trolley and wheeled across the railway lines. That is just not acceptable. I say this clearly: the south-west deserves its fair share. We need fairer transport spending, proper disabled access at every station and a full commitment to complete the resilience work that will protect our region’s lifeline rail route. I will keep pressing the House and this Government until the south-west gets the fair share it deserves.
11 Sept 2025 · Regional Transport Inequality · Hansard source
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I would like to highlight the deep inequalities in transport spending across our country and to speak specifically about the railways in the south-west. Per head of population, our region receives significantly less investment in transport than the average. In fact, the south-west region receives the second lowest funding in the country after the east midlands, as we heard from the hon. Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson)—only we do not have the prospect of electrification to look forward to on our main line, probably ever. According to the House of Commons Library, transport spending in 2023-24 was £429 per person in the south-west, compared with £1,313 per person in London, £729 in the north-west and £706 in the west midlands. That is not levelling up; it is levelling down. This matters on a daily basis for my constituents in Newton Abbot and for communities across Devon and the south-west. Our transport links are essential to our economy, tourism, trade and everyday life, but all too often they are neglected. We all remember when storms tore through our sea wall at Dawlish in 2014, cutting the south-west off from the rest of the country. The cliffs blocked the line for eight weeks, costing the south-west economy some £1.2 billion. The Dawlish rail resilience programme was split into five phases, with the last being the most critical. That vital phase has not been funded. The Government have rejected all solutions put forward by Network Rail so far, and now we do not even have the funding to develop an acceptable alternative. Every winter storm puts our connection with the rest of the UK at risk, and the Government are not taking this seriously. I urge the Government to give Network Rail the parameters they will accept and clear funding to design a solution. Lack of a solution could cost another £1.2 billion if, or when, the cliffs fail again. Accessibility is another area where we are falling short. Too many railway stations in the south-west still lack step-free access. I would particularly like to see better access at Teignmouth station. Disabled passengers are forced to choose their journeys based not on where they want to go but on which stations they are able to use. That is not acceptable in this day and age.
11 Sept 2025 · No Limits Community Café and Hub closure · Hansard source
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I wish to present a petition from my constituent Anna Todd concerning the provision of inclusive community spaces in Newton Abbot, which has gained hundreds of signatures. Changes to Access to Work, retail rates relief and employer national insurance contributions have seen the closure of Newton Abbot’s No Limits Café, and Dawlish Gardens Trust has had to stop helping people with learning disabilities into work. The petitioners therefore request “that the House of Commons urge the Government to protect existing community support hubs and ensure long-term resource allocation and recognition of their role in mental health, wellbeing, and inclusion.” Following is the full text of the petition: [ The petition of the residents of the Newton Abbot constituency, Declares that the No Limits Community Café and Hub in Newton Abbot, Devon was a vital, inclusive space for disabled and neurodivergent people, providing community, support, and social connection; further declares that the No Limits Community Café and Hub was a beacon of hope, employing 18 local people and creating a warm, inclusive environment for its participants, staff, and visitors; it was a place where people who often face barriers to employment gained confidence, learnt valuable skills, and become part of a supportive community; notes the petition on Change.org on the same issue of closure of the No Limits Community Café and Hub in Newton Abbot, Devon that gathered 573 additional signatures. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to protect existing community support hubs and ensure long-term resource allocation and recognition of their role in mental health, wellbeing, and inclusion. And the petitioners remain, etc. ] [P003110]
10 Sept 2025 · Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source
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In addition to the point about socially necessary routes, companies such as Stagecoach cut the frequency of essential buses—such as the No. 2 from Exeter through to Dawlish in my constituency and on down towards Paignton. That drives people away from the buses; when the frequency goes down from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes, it makes the service unusable and takes away the social value of the route.
9 Sept 2025 · Draft Data Protection Act 2018 (Qualifying Competent Authorities) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. I also congratulate the Minister on her new appointment. I thank her for explaining what is going on in this secondary legislation, because I read it a number of times and did not really get it until I listened to her explanation. It raises a number of questions. The answers may be specified elsewhere; if so, I apologise for asking obvious questions. On the designation notice that these organisations can now ask for, is there a stipulation on the number of agencies in the list that can come together for a single designation notice with an intelligence agency? Is it just one, is it many or is it all of them? Is there a duration on the designation notice? Is this something that can be applied for for a week, for a year or forever? Clearly, if it is forever, and all of them, we have a very interesting situation here. Will the data used in this way be allowed to be analysed in the new Government data-mining AI systems, such as the Palantir systems? There is clearly a danger of leakage into the health systems, in which they are also used. That brings extra concern about crossover of data between those, especially under AI data mining. What reassurances can we give our constituents that that will not happen?
8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source
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On transport links, does the hon. Gentleman agree that the final repair in phase 5 of the Dawlish rail resilience programme is vital to remote coastal communities in both Devon and Cornwall?
8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source
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I appreciate the Minister listing the disadvantages that we have in our coastal communities, although she did not mention the fact that our health services are overwhelmed in the summer. The Dawlish minor injuries unit not being open due to lack of staffing, for example, does not help when numbers in our towns double in the few weeks of summer. It really is very disadvantageous for the local residents.
8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source
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Does the hon. Member agree that the Government need to go further, and appoint a Minister for coastal communities?
8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source
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Does the hon. Gentleman agree that if coastal communities had just a fraction of the investment in public transport that is made in places such as London and other big metropolitan areas, they would flourish beyond belief?
8 Sept 2025 · Indefinite Leave to Remain · Hansard source
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Does the hon. Member agree that the Ukrainian situation is similar to the Hong Kong situation? People on Homes for Ukraine visas have now been here for more than four years. We should be considering including them in the five-year period for leave to remain in this country.
4 Sept 2025 · Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund · Hansard source
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It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) on securing this important debate and on the passion of her speech. I would like to raise the serious challenges that adoptive families in my constituency face in accessing the adoption support fund and wider post-adoption services. Too often, the system is designed for crisis rather than prevention. Overstretched social workers are forced to firefight, and families wait months, even years, for help. One family in my constituency told me that their daughter showed clear needs from the moment she was placed with them as a baby, yet only now, at the age of eight, is she undergoing an education, health and care plan assessment. That is because her behaviour has escalated to the point at which she can no longer cope in mainstream school. For years, her parents fought for therapies and support, but they received only fragmented and inconsistent help. Funding is another problem. Last year, a child received 14 sessions of therapy through the fund, but this year it has been cut to eight; the family is expected to pay privately if more is needed. They have already waited 16 weeks for a referral to a specialist paediatrician as the first step towards an EHCP for suspected foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Those are not isolated cases. Most children placed for adoption in the UK have experienced trauma, neglect or abuse, with a lifelong impact on development and behaviour. I urge the Government to rethink their approach. A care package should be the starting point for the adoption placement, not something that parents battle for—
3 Sept 2025 · Pavement Parking · Hansard source
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Does the hon. Member agree that this is almost a circular problem? The more people park on the pavements, the harder it is to walk, so the more they have to drive and the more they park on the pavements. By getting rid of it and having consistency, as my hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) is asking for, we will start to solve this problem, which is so difficult for my constituents as well as the hon. Gentleman’s.
2 Sept 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill · Hansard source
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I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as someone who is still a sitting councillor. In fact, when I came into this place, I sat on three different councils, so I speak from a good history of local council knowledge. This Bill focuses on mayors, yet we hear about putting power in the hands of local people. Having a Mayor of Greater Manchester, which has a single identity, is quite different from having mayors in Devon, which is a vast area containing different sorts of places—let alone, perhaps, a mayor of Devon and Cornwall. That is not power in local hands, and the idea that reorganising councils will save money is a fallacy. We will see a few senior executives go, but the numbers of people on the bins, doing the work in the streets that needs to be done across Devon, will not be reduced. Reorganising councils will not save money; in fact, it will cost a huge amount of money, which is not being funded.
2 Sept 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill · Hansard source
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I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. However, in my remaining minutes, I will focus on two or three other areas that were not covered by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade). In all the powers and broad strategic aims of this Bill, the key roles played by town and parish councils are forgotten; in fact, the Bill barely mentions them. It also omits the role played by our national park authorities. Parish and town councils are the first port of call for residents. They are closest to the ground and most responsive to the day-to-day needs of their communities—these are the truly local hands. As district councils disappear, their local assets of less significant value to the new unitary authority will likely suffer, or be overlooked or sold off without considering local input from the town or parish council, despite any changes to the community right to buy, whose successes—as we have heard—are few and far between. This Bill must contain a statutory obligation to work with the most local and community-rooted bodies, which are our parish and town councils. A duty to co-operate must be put into the Bill. Neighbourhood committees or areas, as vaguely set out as they are in the Bill, may play a part in keeping planning and other functions local within the wider unitary geography, but they must also consider and work with the town and parish councils that they cover. This must be a statutory requirement. The Bill allows mayors to convene partners and request collaboration, but those are discretionary powers. They may be used, or they may be ignored. There is no enforceable duty and no statutory requirement to co-operate, and that is a profound weakness. National park authorities are mentioned not once in the Bill, yet they carry the legal responsibility for some of our most precious landscapes. National park authorities, such as Dartmoor, have a majority of members from a mix of local authorities—five, in Dartmoor’s case—and a minority of Government-appointed members. Without changes, if Dartmoor ended up completely within the boundaries of a new unitary, it would effectively be managed as part of that unitary and lose its unique identity. Its planning authority will be overridden and its strategic vision may be subsumed. We must protect Dartmoor and the other parks for people to freely access and enjoy, and not let greed rip things apart for mere profit. The Bill must address how these authorities will maintain independence and protect the identities of the areas they serve. Another missed opportunity is the need to make the provision of public toilets a statutory responsibility. Too often, councils in financial difficulties cut these vital facilities, and in Devon we know that there will be no money left over once the special educational needs and disabilities overspend has been paid for by the carefully managed districts and their reserves. It will still be a case of there being no money left. Finally, I welcome the return of the alternative vote for mayors, but urge the Government to go further and introduce full proportional representation for all the new unitary councils, making every vote count.

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