Matt Rodda MP: speeches

Speeches

• 19 Mar 2026 · Online Harms · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward). I have been very impressed and moved by the quality of the speeches from across the House. I really do appreciate the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire (Ian Sollom) securing today’s important debate. I want to touch on two specific aspects of this issue: to try to explain the awful impacts of some these cases, based on a case I have been involved in of a constituent who sadly was killed through online bullying; and to address some of the issues—my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy made very good points about the enormous difficulties that parents face—and ask the Minister to hopefully give us some indication of the Government’s direction of travel. First, I will explain the case in Reading, which some Members may know about but others may not. My constituent Olly Stephens had just turned 13 years old when he was stabbed and brutally murdered by two other boys in a local park just yards from his house on the outskirts of the town. It happened through online bullying. The attack was heavily linked to the sharing of images of knives online, which led to his death. None of us can imagine the impact on his parents, Stuart and Amanda Stephens, and what they have been through. They are now incredibly powerful and determined campaigners against online harms. They have worked with Ian Russell and many other families. They have been able to explain some of the horror of what happens in these dreadful incidents. It is worth explaining a little bit about their views on regulating social media. I want to highlight the point at which the attack on Olly happened: it was before the Online Safety Act became law. However, some of the same issues still appear to be taking place. The two boys who carried out the attack were 13 and 14 years old at the time—it happened in 2021—had both seen videos and other images of knives on 11 different social media platforms. They had seen them repeatedly and none of the companies responsible for those platforms had taken any of that content down. These young people had been bombarded with these images and were sharing them. They were sharing pictures of knives and teenagers playing with knives in bedrooms. That may have influenced their behaviour. It is the most awful thing. Stuart and Amanda have tried very hard to raise awareness of the different aspects of this issue: the huge dangers of knife crime, the dangers of online bullying, the dangers of social media, and the effect of social media on young people. I know them very well as constituents. They have talked to me very powerfully about the way in which their son was addicted to his phone—they tried to take it off him and he threatened to run away. They believe he was being groomed through all sorts of other things that were happening online. It is absolutely shocking to see it from their perspective. Their experience is different to some of the other cases we have heard about today. We have heard some very powerful stories told by other colleagues about issues in their own constituencies, or other ones they have come across, in particular my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham (Dr Sullivan) in her work in relation to suicide. I have also come across that issue, which is absolutely appalling. I had the privilege—although it was a very difficult thing to do—of attending an event run by the Molly Rose Foundation. People were shown videos of some of the content she had been exposed to, which was quite shocking, and the deluge of the content and its repetitive nature through the algorithms targeting vulnerable young people—as my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham rightly said—and the way that young people are particularly vulnerable to these terrible images. However, we need to think very carefully—and this is the other point I ask the Minister to address—about the difficulty of trying to then respond to that. I have a lot of interest, and I totally understand that in Stuart and Amanda’s case they would like to see a complete ban on social media for under-16s. There is a powerful case for that. I am not completely convinced, however, because I know that the Russell family take a different view and that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham said, there are practical issues around the risk of companies being able to circumvent some of those. I hope that when the Minister responds, he can give an early indication of some of the issues that are being discussed in the consultation. That is important work being led by the Government and it is extremely difficult. It is great that Australia and other countries have already taken some action. Hopefully we can learn from their experience, build on what they have done and take things even further in our country to do even more to protect vulnerable young people and, indeed, vulnerable adults—the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) spoke about some of the appalling things involving adults as well. A specific aspect that is particularly challenging for many of us, as parents, is that this area is evolving so rapidly and it is very difficult for many to keep up. In fact, the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy about the need for parents to be reassured that they were doing the right thing and about the difficulty of finding the right way forward was very powerful. We need to think about how we can help parents, schools and other places where young people are.

• 18 Mar 2026 · Student Loans · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare). Like him I am a father—I have two children who have graduated recently. I also worked in higher education for a time. I speak in support of the amendment in the name of the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State. I will discuss three aspects of this important issue: first and foremost, the legacy left by the last Government, which we heard a little bit about earlier; secondly, the measures that are being taken by the current Government to address that; and thirdly, what more might be done to help. Turning to the legacy of the last Government, we should be quite simple and straightforward about this: the last Government left a terrible mess in higher education. Today, the Conservative party is trying to quite simply rewrite history when it comes to student loans. It was the last Government, supported by the Liberal Democrats, who designed the plan 2 student loans, and the last Government who froze the thresholds for 10 years. They are now the ones complaining about the very system that they devised, when actually, they should be apologising for the mess they left behind. Sadly, we face the ridiculous situation where they are campaigning to resolve the very problem that they created. It is all a little bit rich. In contrast, the current Government are trying to clear up that mess and to build a better future for young people. I thank the Secretary of State and the Minister for their work to invest in children and young people, whether by investing in Best Start, with four new centres in Reading and many more across the country, or in our schools. It was a pleasure to welcome the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister to a breakfast club recently. We are also investing in school buildings and teachers’ pay, which I remind Opposition Members is an important area of policy, given the mess they left teacher recruitment and retention in when they left office. The Government are also updating the school curriculum and consulting on modernising special educational needs and disabilities provision. These are all important steps forward and examples of real investment in children and young people. As part of that, I know that the Minister and her colleagues are trying to address some of the issues around student finance, and I welcome the reintroduction of maintenance loans in particular. There have been some thoughtful comments about their power and importance to many people of lower means in encouraging them to get on with studying at university. The Government are doing wider work to tackle the cost of living, and it is important to see the support for maintenance loans in that context. The freeze on rail fares will help students and young people, as will the move to cut energy prices. We have also heard about the work to support renters. Indeed, the work to build more houses will help young people buy their own homes. The Government are helping our young people in many ways. There remains more to be done, as has been said, and I ask the Minister to continue to look into the effects of the plan 2 scheme. Given my area is in the south-east of England, I would like to highlight the challenges faced by young people living in higher-cost areas. I know that the Minister cares deeply about this issue, and it was a great pleasure to have her in Reading recently talking to families about special educational needs. She does care and she is looking into this issue, so I hope that we will hear more about it. We have had a terrible inheritance, but action has been taken, and I look forward to hearing more.

• 18 Mar 2026 · Flooding: Rural Communities · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. Does she agree that in many cases this is about removing vegetation, but it might also be about removing debris, such as old shopping trollies and other things that could block a much-loved waterway and cause flooding and further accumulation of debris? That is part of the problem. Does she also agree that landowners have a responsibility? There is great variation in the way they manage their land next to rivers.

• 18 Mar 2026 · Flooding: Rural Communities · Hansard source

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  The Minister is making an excellent speech, but perhaps she would like to say a little bit about the importance of measures further upstream to protect my residents, and indeed those of the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Dr Spencer), in the River Thames catchment. It is obviously a huge catchment, and there are significant tributaries such as the Kennet, the Loddon and many others. In the past, she has referred to her interest in rewilding to manage the flood waters as they come down through the Thames, and in particular considering vegetation near rivers and various other measures to try to slow the flow of water.

• 17 Mar 2026 · Rural Roads · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 17 Mar 2026 · Rural Roads · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for securing today’s important debate; thousands of residents around the country, maybe hundreds of thousands, will be very grateful for his work. Does he believe that part of the issue is the way that local authorities manage their resurfacing programmes? In our area, unfortunately, Oxfordshire is full of incredibly deep potholes—well below the depth at which other local authorities would intervene—and my Reading residents often cross the boundary and are shocked by the state of the roads. In contrast, our local authority has resurfaced large sections of roads, and this invest-to-save approach has resulted in a better quality of road surface and fewer potholes.

• 9 Mar 2026 · Middle East: Economic Update · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Chancellor’s statement and thank her for her work to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Will she say a little more about her long-term work to increase grid capacity and change the planning system to help invest in new nuclear and solar?

• 4 Mar 2026 · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is giving an excellent speech, and some powerful points are being made. Does he agree that many development charities have made these points for some time, including Oxfam, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development and many others? In their experience, this is a well-known approach.

• 25 Feb 2026 · Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition · Hansard source

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  I commend my hon. Friend for her speech. She has spoken so eloquently about the importance of history and the role of the Normans in Sussex history—our own local history—but also in our country’s history. It has been a poignant speech, and I thank her for mentioning the copy at Reading museum, which was woven in Victorian times using similar stitches. The original tapestry was, in fact, made in England and then exported to Normandy. Perhaps she would ask some of her residents to come to Reading museum to look at the wider impact of the Norman conquest across the country. In fact, due to William the Conqueror’s son, we had a wonderful abbey built in Reading, and it led to the growth of our town. That story is echoed across many communities in this country.

• 25 Feb 2026 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I appreciate the tone of the Secretary of State’s speech and offer him my wholehearted support. Will he say a little more about the valuable work under way in our tech industry on defence technology and how he is modernising procurement to encourage those vital companies to come forward?

• 25 Feb 2026 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  Perhaps my hon. Friend will say something about the important work of Ukrainian community centres around Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In my community, they have been stalwart in supporting their colleagues back in Ukraine, sending aid and raising funds, and also maintaining Ukrainian culture through the Ukrainian language libraries and other facilities that have kept families in touch with their own culture while they are living in Britain.

• 24 Feb 2026 · Banking Hubs: Rural and Post-Industrial Communities · Hansard source

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  In my constituency, we have faced exactly the issues that the Minister highlights, and I am grateful for the work on this, in particular, on the needs of elderly people, which is being investigated by the Government, and those who are elderly and possibly frail, who find it difficult to travel on public transport. One of the issues we have faced is a lack of access to immediate parking and support for elderly people to get in and out of branches.

• 24 Feb 2026 · Online Harm: Child Protection · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. I commend her work in reaching out to young people; it sounds superb. The lesson may be that we should all do exactly that. I am running a survey myself. She mentioned the Molly Rose Foundation, and I have met some of its staff to discuss its work. A family in my constituency of Reading suffered a terrible incident—their son was murdered in an incident of online bullying—and they have a different view. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is important that we properly listen to the families and consider the different views in the consultation?

• 24 Feb 2026 · Online Harm: Child Protection · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend the Chair of the Select Committee is making an excellent speech. Her background in this area is really showing in the detail with which she is exploring these issues. Part of the challenge here is that we as parents are struggling to catch up with this revolution, which is gaining speed all the time. Perhaps my hon. Friend would highlight some of the challenges that parents face. For me, part of the importance of the consultation is to allow parents to think more deeply about this difficult issue; there are often different opinions from campaigners who have had the most painful experiences.

• 11 Feb 2026 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making an excellent point, and I am very sorry to hear about the challenges that his residents have with their council. Some local authorities are doing the exact opposite of what he describes. In my area, Reading borough council recently opened 46 new council houses, built on its own land, as part of a programme to build nearly 800. There are local authorities that are able to grip this issue, and I am very sad to hear about the situation at his council. Perhaps it could learn something from Reading and other councils around the country.

• 11 Feb 2026 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State is being very generous with his time. Like him, as a councillor I saw appalling pressures put on our local council in Reading while funding went up in neighbouring Wokingham, which is a much better-off area and was then controlled by the Conservatives. I appreciate his work on readjusting the settlement to reflect need. That should be a fundamental point in any allocation of resources to local government. Would he like to say a little more about his work on this, and how it is going to benefit residents on the lowest incomes in the most disadvantaged communities?

• 9 Feb 2026 · UK-India Free Trade Agreement · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 3 Feb 2026 · Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making an excellent point. The issues he describes in his Southampton constituency apply in a similar way to my residents in Reading. Does he agree that an important aspect of the Government’s work is not only what we are debating today, but the wider and broader package of measures, such as help on housing and the cost of transport and the warm homes initiative? Perhaps he will talk about the overall impact of these measures.

• 26 Jan 2026 · Armed Forces Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, which I commend to the wider public beyond this House. In my own area, the local council and many voluntary sector organisations have done a very impressive job of adhering to the armed forces covenant, and are willing to do more. I thank Reading borough council and organisations such as The Forgotten British Gurkha charity. Does my hon. Friend believe there is a role for the organisations that are leading on this issue to share best practice, in order to help raise the equality of adoption of the new measures?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank the Government for their work on cutting the cost of living. Can the Minister say how the Cabinet Office is supporting other Government Departments to continue this work?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Erasmus+ Programme · Hansard source

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  2. What steps he is taking to help increase the number of education and training opportunities for young people through the Erasmus+ programme.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Erasmus+ Programme · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his answer and warmly welcome the Government’s new commitment to this scheme. It is hugely important to my residents in Reading, for families and young people, for employers and for science and technology. Could the Minister say a little more about how this wonderful scheme will help employers and growth in the Thames valley and help our local Reading University and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Warm Homes Plan · Hansard source

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  I wholeheartedly welcome this announcement from the Secretary of State, and his work over many years in this important policy area. This is an enormous issue in my constituency, where there are many older houses, and many people struggling to pay their bills, so I wholeheartedly welcome the plan. Might he say a little bit about the important work that many local authorities are doing? In my area, Labour-run Reading borough council has invested heavily in new council houses, and it will shortly open 300 new council houses, built to a very high standard. Those houses will ensure that people live in warm homes and have secure family finances and lower heating bills.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his update, particularly the in-depth overview that he is giving us. Further to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley (Tahir Ali), I would appreciate an update on the work that the Minister is doing to support families in this country. I commend to him the work of the Ukrainian community centre in Reading, where there is a Ukrainian language library. It is one of the very few in the south of England, and people visit from west London and Oxford to use it. It is important that families are able to maintain their native language and that children can retain their culture at this difficult time. Will he say a few words about the importance of that form of domestic support?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Rural Communities · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Will she comment on the importance of rural bus services for the mobility of local staff in rural areas? In particular, will she commend the work done by Labour mayors on bus franchising and the work of Nottingham and Reading buses in providing excellent rural routes?