Melanie Onn MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Mar 2026 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the Government on making kinship care central to their policies. Many children in care experience significant disruption in their lives, through multiple home moves and school changes, and relationships with their brothers and sisters are so central to a child’s sense of identity, belonging and emotional security. Will the Minister look again at how regulations and guidance could better ensure that those relationships are protected?

• 9 Mar 2026 · Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is laying out, in a very careful and considered way, the importance of the screening process and the ease with which it can be implemented to avoid more tragic stories like Lyla’s. Does she agree that mandatory screening is essential, because most children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes have no family history of the condition, and it would be the quickest and easiest way to ensure that we do not have any more unnecessary tragedies?

• 3 Mar 2026 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill · Hansard source

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  I am pleased to support the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill and the Lords amendments. The Bill is about backing a world-class aviation sector and supporting its growth in a way that meets our decarbonisation responsibilities. The fact that SAF could contribute to the 65% reduction in emissions needed by aviation to meet net zero by 2050 is a useful reminder that technological development can ensure a future for higher carbon emitters while improving our environment. That is policy in action, and it will reduce disruption to consumers—something that we also have to bear in mind. SAF matters not just for its decarbonisation credentials, but for its clear potential to support job creation and economic growth. As my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) said, it will bring into existence a circular economy, including flooding alleviation and the development of feedstocks. That would perhaps alleviate some of the concerns raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins) about the source of feedstocks. Increasing home-grown SAF production can position the UK as a leading destination in this new market. Low-carbon fuels can support up to 15,000 jobs and contribute up to £5 billion to the economy by 2050. That is not an abstract prospect for those of us who represent communities built on industry and energy. In northern Lincolnshire, we already see what that can mean. Phillips 66’s Humber refinery in Immingham—in my neighbouring constituency—is the UK’s first and largest commercial scale producer of SAF. I was pleased to discuss the potential for the expansion of SAF operations with P66, especially given its recent acquisition of the Lindsey oil refinery site, which has a uniquely placed direct pipeline to London Heathrow. It is of the utmost importance that UK refineries such as P66’s Humber refinery play a crucial role in the transition to and upscaling of cleaner fuel sources. That would retain the domestic skills base and supply chains that communities such as mine depend on. That is why I particularly welcome Lords amendments 1 to 3, which will ensure that the Secretary of State can enter revenue certainty contracts only where the supported SAF is produced in the UK. That is a crucial step in protecting domestic industrial growth. Given recent global events that other colleagues have referred to, the amendments present straightforward, sensible safeguards that help the UK to build fuel capability and resilience in an ever volatile global fuel supply chain. For SAF to be a success, and as we build the market, we must get the wider policy framework right, including carbon pricing and the UK emissions trading scheme. The ETS can support sustainable aviation fuel investment, but it needs to be negotiated with care so that British industry has the clarity and confidence it needs to invest for the long term. It must not face uncertainty or any unintended disadvantages. I support the Bill and welcome the Lords amendments. I look forward to working with the Government to strengthen the link between ambition and real industrial opportunity here at home, creating jobs and career opportunities in communities such as Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

• 23 Feb 2026 · Kinship Carer Identification · Hansard source

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  The examples that my hon. Friend cites are incredibly traumatic. These situations are even more complicated for those who do not have legal parental rights and who have an informal kinship arrangement. Has he had any thoughts about what could be done to support those families?

• 23 Feb 2026 · Kinship Carer Identification · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for the serious consideration that has been given to this pilot. It is exceptional. We heard from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) what a difference financial support makes. I congratulate the Minister on making sure that this happens for these families, who are not asking for the earth—they’re really not. They just need a little bit of help, and they want that money to go towards the children they are looking after.

• 10 Feb 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  What progress is being made on carbon capture, usage and storage and hydrogen projects in the Humber?

• 9 Feb 2026 · Police Services: In-person Access · Hansard source

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  Humberside police, and the trade unions representing them, have raised concerns about the potential closure of counters under Operation Balance. Further to the Minister’s remarks, can she offer any reassurance to my local community that they will be able to contact local police as and when they need to?

• 5 Feb 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Will the Leader of the House please advise me on the best way to get the concerns of Grimsby businesses on Cleethorpe Road considered in detail and perhaps reflected in the Government’s planned high streets strategy? They are facing a severe economic impact from the council’s plans to remove parking for a bus lane that will save only 15 seconds on a journey. Is there an opportunity for a debate on council responsibilities to local businesses?

• 5 Feb 2026 · Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 · Hansard source

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  My constituent had a dreadful experience following her daughter’s kidnapping and assault. The CPS has admitted that the handling of the case was flawed, including through the failure to offer a victim personal statement and by too readily accepting a plea from the perpetrator, which meant that he got just a 12-month referral order. This Government are firmly on the side of victims, so how will they ensure that CPS practice reflects that?

• 3 Feb 2026 · Town and City Centre Safety · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend mentioned dodgy shops. I have been running a campaign against dodgy vape shops and others on the high street. Safety is so important, and these shops, which sell goods to young people, erode confidence in the high street. Does he agree that commercial landlords must be given more powers so that they can understand exactly who they are renting to and shut such shops down?

• 3 Feb 2026 · Fish and Chip Sector · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is setting out really well the challenges that fish and chip shops are facing in this difficult international climate, but there are domestic issues too. North East Lincolnshire council, in my constituency, plans to pedestrianise Cleethorpes marketplace, which the famous Steels Cornerhouse fish and chip restaurant says could amount to a £150,000 loss in click-and-collect orders alone. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that local authorities should be doing all that they can to support our favourite fish and chip shops?

• 3 Feb 2026 · Fish and Chip Sector · Hansard source

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  The supply of fish is an international business, and it is really complicated. One issue that has been problematic is that, post Brexit, some of our supertrawlers, such as the Kirkella, are no longer able to supply to the UK, which has elevated the cost of this food.

• 2 Feb 2026 · Indefinite Leave to Remain · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. The proposed changes to ILR and the consultation on earned settlement have far-reaching consequences, so it is essential that they are delivered with fairness and compassion. I support the Government’s mission to restore control of and confidence in the immigration system, including the clear objective of reducing net migration and ensuring that the rules are properly enforced. Public trust depends on a system that is coherent, that is consistent, and that works, but it is worth remembering that the people who have come to the UK have come through legitimate means, and they have come to fill the Brexit work gap, to support our public services, and to contribute well to our society. I must reflect the real anxiety that I am hearing in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes from people who are already here, already working and already paying tax, and who entered the system in good faith under the existing framework. They have built their lives around these rules—our rules—and it would be wrong if the goalposts were moved halfway through the match. I want to add to this debate the voice of one of my constituents, Victor Olubumoye, a care worker who has described living under what he called “visa fear”. He told me that every day he went to work fearful that a single mistake could cost him not just his job but his immigration status, and that managers repeatedly reminded him that his visa depended upon them; we have already heard about that situation from other Members. In Victor’s own words: “You cannot give what you do not have. People who are treated without dignity struggle to give dignity.” That testimony matters, because it goes to the heart of what fairness looks like in practice. If we want a system that commands confidence, we must not create incentives for silence, exploitation and instability in our essential services. Making changes for future arrivals can probably just about be explained, but making retrospective changes for those who are already here, and who often work in our essential public services, risks undermining workforce stability and basic fairness. In my constituency, the issue of immigration is a topic of interest, to say the least, and there is no point in pretending it is not, but that interest is not about those who came on a proper visa, through a proper scheme from the Government. Concerns about the over-reliance of employers on overseas labour are not the fault of those individuals; they are here because we asked them to come and help. As the consultation progresses, I ask for the careful consideration of transitional protections or differentiated arrangements for existing workers, so that their contribution is properly recognised, their integration is supported and their concerns are reflected in the final policy.

• 29 Jan 2026 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source

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  This Government have rightly taken action for Hillsborough victims and sub-postmasters affected by the Post Office scandal, and on the mineworkers’ pension scheme, yet this situation seems to have been put in the “too hard to deal with” box. Why does my right hon. Friend think that these women should accept this outcome, and why is it always women who seem to get the rough end of the deal?

• 28 Jan 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q12. Sergeant Matthew Telford, Trooper Robert Pearson and Guardsman James “Jimmy” Major, who was aged just 18, were three heroic servicemen from Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes who made the ultimate sacrifice on their tours of Afghanistan. I want to put on the record my condemnation of President Trump’s plain wrong comments that so undermine the commitment of our brave British servicemen and women at home and abroad, which the Deputy Prime Minister has rightly recognised. This Government have launched the Valour system to ensure that our veterans’ support offer on housing, health, welfare and work is fit for purpose—fully backing our forces. That is in stark contrast to the leader of Reform, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), who happily takes cash to champion the IRA. My local armed forces charities want to know if the Deputy Prime Minister can set out what urgent action is being taken by this Government to house homeless veterans under Valour.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Energy Costs · Hansard source

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  It is welcome that the Government agreed with the Select Committee that we should be more ambitious about smart meter roll-out, so that household customers can get the best tariffs for them. We also heard evidence that there was a lack of consumer confidence in smart meters. Does the Chair of the Select Committee think that there is more that the Government could do to rekindle that confidence for the benefit of consumers?

• 22 Jan 2026 · Fishing Industry · Hansard source

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  I thank the Backbench Business Committee for making time for this debate and for restoring it to the main Chamber, as we have been asking for many years. I congratulate the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee—the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), who co-chairs with me the all-party parliamentary group on fisheries—on securing the debate. The Government have taken steps to bring greater stability and long-term thinking to the sector, but it has not been without controversy. They are continuing to allow EU vessels into UK waters for another decade-plus, with no protection for non-quota stocks. The hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George) made a good point about the speed of the negotiations, which arrived upon us with next to no engagement, either with the sector or with this House. In future negotiations it would be preferable, to say the least, if efforts were made to keep this House informed and if those who have an interest on behalf of their constituents were able to engage directly with those who are negotiating. The agreement reached with the EU last year has provided at least some parameters of operation. There is an understanding of where the industry will stand until 2038. The new SPS agreement also has the potential to significantly reduce red tape for seafood exporters. Given that more than 60% of UK seafood by value is exported to the EU, that matters enormously to processors and exporters in places like Grimsby. The UK seafood processing sector supports more than 17,000 full-time jobs, including over 5,500 in the Grimsby cluster alone. It is a modern, innovative industry that enables British-landed fish to reach domestic and international markets. We produce about 10 million fish fingers per week. We were on “Inside the Factory” on the BBC, and were very proud to see that. I will say a little more about the importance of fish fingers when I talk about the subject of British procurement, which was raised at Cabinet Office questions this morning. Continued investment in modernisation, innovation, marketing and workforce skills will be essential. I welcome the leadership shown by the UK Seafood Federation, which is headquartered in my constituency, and particularly its focus on skills and careers as a priority for the coming years. In the circumstances, given all that has happened for the sector in recent years, I welcome the £360 million fishing and coastal growth fund. It has to focus, as I think it does, on fishing communities to boost skills, support business security and business expansion, and promote fishing as a career. That is exactly what is needed to strengthen local economies, and I will of course be doing all that I can to ensure that Great Grimsby sees some benefit from that funding. I would welcome any update from the Minister on the details of that fund, such as who can apply, how they apply, what the criteria are and when we can expect to see all that detail. There is still work to do in ensuring that fishing and seafood are fully recognised in wider Government thinking. Too often the sector is treated narrowly as a regulatory challenge rather than as part of the solution on food security, which I know is an important factor for the Government, and on regional growth and resilience. This week, the Government’s assessment of global biodiversity loss and national security rightly highlighted risks to food systems, but it did not reference fish or seafood at all. As an island nation, we should be more confident in recognising the necessity of properly managed fisheries to a resilient food system. As a believer in the importance that offshore wind plays as a critical part of our energy system, and as well as being a representative of a historic fishing town, I am at the heart of the challenge when it comes to considering spatial squeeze. Steps have been taken to address conflicting industry interests. As I mentioned in my intervention earlier, the marine spatial prioritisation programme, introduced last summer, set out clear location-specific priorities for fisheries, nature and other uses of our seas, but fishers are still worried. They must be engaged with and listened to. They do not have the same power as those big wind development companies or those big communications companies that are laying cables. They often feel, and these feelings have been compounded over the years, that their needs are last on the list. The Minister has to focus her support on the needs of fishermen and on ensuring that their voices are heard against some of those other organisations, so they feel confident in the representation they have from this Government. I said I would come back to fishfingers. We are gradually becoming a much more health-conscious nation, judging by the number of Members—not those in the Chamber today—who are on various weight-loss jabs. Health is much more at the front of people’s minds. Eating fish could help with the nation’s health. It is high in omega-3 and an excellent source of protein. How can we bring this into the UK economy through our public institutions? There is a good opportunity to build a healthier nation by integrating increased amounts of fish into our schools, the NHS and the Prison Service. That would help not only boost UK industry, but improve the brainpower and concentration of our young people and those who are unwell and need to heal quickly. We need to ensure that fish and fish products from around this country are included in the national food strategy. I want to underline the importance of the work being led by the fisheries APPG on a national fisheries action plan, which the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland mentioned. Since leaving the EU, action has been taken to look at stock management, but there is no single and coherent strategy for the fishing and seafood sector as a whole. Responsibility seems to be spread across lots of Departments, making the system complex and fragmented. A clear, forward-looking plan could bring together issues of space, labour, skills and sustainability, providing the long-term direction that the industry needs, and I certainly look forward to engaging with the Minister on this as a cross-party group. Fishing has a strong and important legacy and will always have a future in the UK. The foundations are being put in place, but increased ambition and enthusiastic partnership with coastal communities will be crucial in ensuring that these future opportunities do not slip through the net.

• 22 Jan 2026 · Fishing Industry · Hansard source

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  Does my co-chair on the all-party parliamentary group on fisheries not think that the marine spatial prioritisation programme, which was introduced last summer, will do exactly the job he is hoping to see delivered?

• 14 Jan 2026 · Oil Refining Sector · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) for securing the debate and for being so gracious with his time. For workers and their families across the Humber, the past six months have been bruising to say the least. People who have spent their working lives keeping a complex site safe, compliant and productive have faced prolonged uncertainty—and they have done so with dignity and professionalism. I put on the record my support for them and give assurances that they are always at the forefront of my mind when I am pushing for clarity in this House. It is important that accountability matters in who is ultimately at fault for the collapse of the refinery. In September last year, the High Court froze about £150 million-worth of assets belonging to the former owner of the refinery, Winston Soosaipillai—also known as Sanjeev Kumar. This action will be welcomed by the workers and communities who have paid the price for Mr Soosaipillai’s reckless financial mismanagement, but what happens to those assets? For how long will they be frozen? Can they be used to support and develop the site, or support some of the interventions that the Government have discussed? As the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham has detailed, there are concerns about the official receiver process, and there is some justification for them. The whole process has been incredibly opaque, and it has been very difficult to engage in communications under legal frameworks that barred Government and elected representatives from having any kind of input. The targets that the official receiver was working to have not been clear at all. We are in the dark, as are the workers, and that has caused even more uncertainty and distress for people. Is this really the best outcome for the site? I am encouraged by Phillips 66 taking on the site, but it cannot be ignored that ministerial correspondence has said that there were credible bids. We have heard the numbers; they are disputed—is it four, seven, one, or none? We do not know, because we cannot get any answers on that. The Government have shifted position, and now say that there were no credible bids, or certainly none that provided any immediate refining capacity, or allowed the site to be run as a going concern. We understand that there may well be commercial interests involved, but could we not open the books, and see the matrix that the official receiver used and how they reached their decision, under Chatham House rules? Then at least elected representatives would be able to make an assessment on behalf of their constituents. Surely the Government could do that.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Oil Refining Sector · Hansard source

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  We have also had trusted privilege, as a House, in the past; we were able to see secure information and secure documents. All of us were able to go to a room and sign in to read documents on exiting the European Union, for example. There are ways and means of doing these things, and of placing trust in elected representatives. Much of the information from companies was made available to local representatives anyway, because they emailed the details to us. It would be interesting to learn why the official receivers deemed bids not to be credible. I will move forward, because decisions have already been made, and it would be challenging, to say the least, if we went backwards on this. The written statement of 22 July delivered by the Minister for Energy confirmed important commitments for those directly employed at Lindsey: a package guaranteeing jobs, a redundancy scheme that will end in March—another 240 people will be made redundant then—and a training guarantee. There have been concerns about that training guarantee, and I would ask the Ministers to look more closely at that as we move forward.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Oil Refining Sector · Hansard source

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  On the point about keeping UK oil refineries competitive, what will be the Government’s position at the European Union summit in May, in discussions on the emissions trading scheme? What will they take forward?

• 14 Jan 2026 · Oil Refining Sector · Hansard source

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  I disagree with that, but I urge the Government to be prepared to open up on some of the process. I understand that there will be commercial sensitivities, but I hope that a route can be found to enable us to scrutinise the information available.

• 14 Jan 2026 · Offshore Wind · Hansard source

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  I am old enough to remember when a Conservative Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said that he wanted Grimsby to be the Riyadh of offshore wind. I also remember the shadow Energy Secretary, the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), attending offshore wind conferences and championing the sector, so where she stands now is in direct opposition to where she was just a few years ago. I, for one, am pleased to see the east coast offshore wind industry strengthened through today’s announcement. It will help to deliver energy independence for the UK and secure existing jobs in the sector—there are 12,000 jobs related to clean energy in Lincolnshire. How does the Secretary of State see today’s announcement benefiting growth in the supply chain and delivering new industrial investment in places such as Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes?

• 13 Jan 2026 · NHS Dental Services: Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes · Hansard source

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  The latest NHS statistics show that the Government really have the bit between their teeth as 7,000 more children saw a dentist in 2024-25 than in the previous year in the Humber and North Yorkshire integrated care board area. However, the rate for adults has slipped from 43% to 41% over the same period. How quickly does the Minister think that my adult constituents in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes will benefit from more appointments and more dentists?

• 13 Jan 2026 · NHS Dental Services: Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes · Hansard source

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  13. What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to NHS dental services in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituency.