Neil Shastri-Hurst MP: speeches

Speeches

• 5 Sept 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T8. Postmasters in my constituency, like many others, have had their lives adversely affected by errors in the Horizon IT system. When does the Secretary of State anticipate that the Horizon shortfall scheme appeal process will be fully operational?

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  It is a privilege to speak under your chairmanship today, Mr Betts. I thank the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) for tabling this important debate. I wish to place on record my gratitude to all the teachers in my constituency for the work they do and—in the spirit of this debate—to the teachers and staff at Hazel Oak and Reynalds Cross, the two maintained special schools in Solihull West and Shirley. I particularly want to single out the parents of children with special educational needs, who often strive so incredibly hard to achieve the best for their children. In January 2022, there were 2,023 Solihull residents with an EHCP—a 16.1% increase on the year before.

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  I will not give way, purely because of the amount I have to get through in the time. Aside from family members, children spend most of their developing lives with their teachers. It is important that the teaching curriculum is sufficiently flexible to enable children to reach their true potential. I would also like to make special reference to those military families whose children suffer from special educational needs. Having served in the military myself, I know of several families who have encountered adverse effects as a result. With regular school moves, often between different local authorities, there is an inevitable need to reapply for an EHCP, thereby delaying access to the provision that is so desperately needed. My final request to the Minister comes as no surprise: to achieve all these improvements, it is important that local authorities receive the funding they need. In particular, I ask that my own council receive its fair share of funding, because Solihull council presently takes in SEND children from Birmingham but receives much less funding per pupil. That matter needs to be rectified. Those three things—awareness, training and funding—will have a real, tangible impact on young people, their families and their life chances.

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is entirely right; the delays in EHCP assessments are a hindrance to a child’s access to the national curriculum. We are failing them by not doing those assessments in a timely manner, and we need to improve on that. I agree with her comments entirely. A constituent has told me that the nearest school with the necessary facilities for her son is 31 miles away. That means that she and her child have had to settle for a school that is not fully equipped for his needs, simply due to geography. My constituency surgery, like those of other Members, is regularly visited by parents with similar cases. Evidently, the current system is not working. Therefore, I wish to propose three changes that I believe will lead to a significant improvement for schools and families affected by SEND provision. The first is something that everybody in this room is already leading on: raising awareness of SEND. It is heartening to see so many Members engaging with this topic, and it is only by doing that, and by educating ourselves and others, that we can hope to make a change for the better. The second is identifying children with special educational needs at an early age, which is vital to maximising their life chances. That is why I would like to see better training and resources provided to teachers to help with earlier detection.

• 24 Jul 2024 · Education and Opportunity · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I start by congratulating you on your election, and on taking up the Chair today? May I also congratulate those on the Government Front Bench on taking up the burden of ministerial office? I wish them the best of success with that. It is with no little pride and a great sense of honour that I rise to give my maiden speech in this House. I am indebted to my constituents for sending me to this place, and I will do my utmost to ensure that I repay the faith that they have put in me. It is a particular pleasure to follow so many excellent maiden speeches over the last few days. I would like to commend the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) for his magnificent speech. His constituency is a place that I hold dear, having trained at the Royal Military Academy, and I wish him well in his stewardship of it. I think he will make a great contribution to this House. My constituency is Solihull West and Shirley. Like many others, it was newly created following the boundary review. While it is very much based on the old Solihull seat, the wards of Silhill and Elmdon have moved into the new Meriden and Solihull East constituency. In return, Blythe ward has moved into mine, joining Olton, Lyndon, St Alphege and Shirleys West, South and East. Therefore, I have not one but, technically, two predecessors. As I have alluded to, Blythe ward was represented in the last Parliament by my hon. Friend the Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti). I am delighted to join him in this place, and I thank him for his support and help over the last few weeks. Julian Knight served as the Member of Parliament for Solihull for nine years. He gave particular service as Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. I am sure that hon. Members on all sides of the House will join me in wishing the whole Knight family the very best for the future. I also pay tribute to Julian’s predecessors in this place. Lorely Burt is still held in great affection by residents, who remember her as a proactive constituency Member of Parliament. The late John Taylor, an avuncular man, was Solihull through and through, and he is fondly remembered for his dedication to public service. His widow, Ann, is still a stalwart of the local community. Before John came a fellow member of the Bar, Percy Grieve QC. Famously, Percy once had the campaign slogan “Grieve for Solihull”. I am delighted to tell the House that there is no need to grieve for Solihull any longer. For those hon. and right hon. Members who have not had the good fortune of visiting Solihull West and Shirley, we may be compact, being a mere 40 sq km in area, but we pack a good punch. We are a diverse community, welcoming to all. We benefit from our confluence of cultures, which serve to create a greater societal bond. Together, we are greater than the sum of our parts. I am particularly proud that several thousand Hong Kong British nationals overseas have chosen to make the area their home. The land now forming Solihull West and Shirley was once covered by the ancient forest of Arden on the banks of the River Blythe. The earliest settlement in the area can be dated back to the iron age. The density of the forest of Arden was such that even the Romans found it impenetrable, for throughout the Roman occupation of these isles it was held that no Roman roads passed through it. By the time of the Anglo-Saxons, the forest of Arden was part of the kingdom of Mercia. A clearing in the woods was established, and the settlement of the manor of Ulverlei was founded. It is here that the town of Shirley now sits, the name Shirley meaning a bright clearing. The town of Solihull is thought to take its name from the site of the stunning Arden church of Saint Alphege, which can be dated back to the 13th century and was built on a mound of marl. This soily hill gave rise to the name Solihull. Of course, over the years the two towns have changed somewhat. They are a bustling centre for business and enterprise. We are the home of the Touchwood Centre, we have fantastic businesses such as Gymshark, and nearby Jaguar Land Rover remains a significant employer for many of my constituents, and a major economic driver for the local area. We are blessed with good and outstanding schools, providing our young people with the skills and opportunities to succeed in life. Through the enterprise and leadership of the local council and the former West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, there has been an ambitious brownfield-first housing policy, delivering sustainable homes for the future while protecting the green belt. However, while many will associate Solihull West and Shirley with prosperity, there are pockets of deprivation, and I will therefore work tirelessly to ensure that those parts of the constituency have the investment and opportunities to shine in the years to come. When you first enter this place, it is impossible not to be struck by the history that comes before you. It makes you reflect upon your own place in the annals of time. There have been many doctors who have entered this House before. There are several of us in this new intake alone. There have been a number of soldiers who have stood up and served again—indeed, there is almost a platoon of us entering the House for the first time. And as for lawyers—well, frankly, we could be an extension of the Inns of Court. However, it struck me the first time I entered this place that there was a chance that I might be the first Member to have done all three. And that rather flatters the ego. Well, how wrong could I have been? Like the bubbles burst in the back garden by my young son George, my illusions were quickly burst. A former Member for Wimbledon, Charles Goodson-Wickes, had done all this before, and he added being chairman of the Countryside Alliance to boot. So, alas, my place in the history books will have to wait, for the time being. I do hope, however, that my professional experiences will allow me to contribute effectively to this place on behalf of the people of Solihull West and Shirley—by being a critical friend on the issue of health and social care, so that we improve patient outcomes; by protecting the rule of law and ensuring access to justice; and by upholding the military covenant, and continuing the commendable work of the former member for Plymouth, Moor View, who is sadly no longer in this place, and others to ensure that Britain is the best place in the world to be a veteran. I am painfully aware of the good fortune and opportunities I have had in life. I have benefited from a loving family and been provided with the opportunities to fulfil my potential. Sadly, that is not the case for all, so during the course of my time in this House I will seek to champion the early years agenda, so that we give young people the best chance in life. I will also seek to work with Members from across the House to improve SEND provision in this country, so that we can move the conversation away from the level of disability and focus instead on the level of intervention, and ensure that every child can access the curriculum and achieve their potential, irrespective of the hurdles they face, because it is only by investing in our young people that we invest in our society. Those of us who choose to enter the political arena have a duty to conduct ourselves with tolerance, dignity and respect. These are the values that the public rightly expect of us, and in this, my maiden speech, I make a promise to my constituents that these are the values that I will uphold for as long as they are gracious enough to send me to this place.

• 23 Jul 2024 · Fracture Liaison Services · Hansard source

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  First, I congratulate the Minister and the rest of the Front-Bench team on their appointments. As a former orthopaedic surgeon, I am mindful of the impact of osteoporosis on many of our constituents, including my own in Solihull West and Shirley. In England, more than 67,000 people suffer a fracture every year, and a disproportionate number of those are women. What we do know, however, is that fracture liaison services, where they are delivered well, can prevent many of those fractures. Currently, half of the country has access to such services. The last Conservative Government made a commitment to roll them out to the whole country by 2030. Will the Minister honour that commitment?

• 23 Jul 2024 · Fracture Liaison Services · Hansard source

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  5. Whether he is taking steps to ensure the provision of fracture liaison services in all hospitals.