Perran Moon MP: speeches

Speeches

• 2 Jul 2026 · Access to Further Education · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point. In Cornwall, we have had significant issues with bus services to our colleges. We really need the Government to help with that. Cornwall is on its way to an industrial renaissance as a strategically significant economic frontier. We are seeing exciting developments in critical minerals, including tin, lithium and tungsten, as well as in geothermal energy and offshore wind. Those sectors are creating good jobs that are vital to the national interest, and will help us to transition away from a fossil-fuel-based economy. With that in mind, I warmly welcome the launch this September of the new Engineering Mining Academy. This is a partnership between Cornwall college and Cornish Metals. It brings together two of Cornwall’s crown jewels to train the next generation of engineers and mining professionals, and will ensure that young people can benefit directly from the return of the mining industry to Cornwall. This is exactly the kind of collaboration we need if we are to seize the opportunity to deliver growth in every corner of the country. However, we cannot let staffing challenges, or cuts to dedicated student bus services, which my hon. Friend just mentioned, threaten those opportunities. Recruitment and retention are especially difficult in remote coastal areas, where there are profound housing and transport pressures. Unless we address workforce shortages, we risk undermining the FE institutions that are providing the skills on which our future economy depends. Cornwall’s FE colleges are playing their part, but we need the Government to step up and provide the funding settlement that our FE colleges deserve.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Access to Further Education · Hansard source

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  I want to raise awareness of the transformative role of further education in remote coastal communities, like mine in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle in Cornwall. Despite the talent, ambition and resilience of our young people, parts of my constituency continue to experience persistent deprivation. Nine neighbourhoods rank among the most deprived in the entire country. But amidst that deprivation, our local further education sector is helping to change lives and create opportunity. Cornwall college, which is rated outstanding by Ofsted, is a shining example. It is a vital cog driving our economic engine, equipping young people with the skills that they need to succeed, and providing employers with the workforce required to unleash the Cornish Celtic tiger.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Historical Forced Adoption · Hansard source

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  Rosemundy mother and baby home, a Church of England-affiliated institution in St Agnes in my Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency, was a key institution in this scandal. The shame and pain has lived with these families for decades, and many have since taken this pain to their graves. As the Member of Parliament for St Agnes, I warmly welcome and echo the Prime Minister’s national apology and what he said about lessons being learned, so that we can at least try to relieve a tiny fraction of that pain. Does he agree that we simply would not be here today without the tireless and extraordinary efforts of the campaigners?

• 2 Jul 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Rick Rescorla, a son of Hayle in my constituency, was a security guard in the Twin Towers on 9/11, and is widely credited with saving 2,700 lives while sacrificing his own. Decorated in his career in both the British and US armies, Rick was truly a national hero. Ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on the heroes of 9/11, and also help me secure British and US army representation at a ceremony in Hayle on 9/11?

• 1 Jul 2026 · Packaging Manufacturers: Extended Producer Responsibility · Hansard source

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  In my constituency we have three breweries—Verdant, Keltek, and St Ives Brewery based in Hayle. Does my hon. Friend agree that those breweries are about not just producing excellent product—which they all do—but the communities that grow up around them? Does she agree that there is a risk of social damage if we are unable to support those small breweries, and that this proposal risks that happening?

• 30 Jun 2026 · High Streets · Hansard source

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  I completely appreciate the point that the hon. Gentleman makes about the decade of decline for our high streets, but does he agree that initiatives such as high street rental auctions and Pride in Place are putting money back into them? Does he recognise that those are positive schemes for his high streets and that they need to be made more widely available across the United Kingdom?

• 30 Jun 2026 · Court Transcripts · Hansard source

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  I listened carefully to what the Minister has just said. Court transcripts are important to a victim’s sense of justice served, but does she agree that access to this very important information should never be dependent on the victim’s ability to pay?

• 29 Jun 2026 · Animal Abusers · Hansard source

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  Across Cornwall, there are dozens of cases of animal abuse every year and animal abuse is a blight on our duchy, so I welcome the principle of an abuser register. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should not just add perpetrators to the register, but ensure that the threat of custodial sentences is strong enough that they know they will be punished for their crimes?

• 29 Jun 2026 · Animal Abusers · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that we surely need to close the loophole whereby banned owners can give their pets or farm animals to their wife or husband to own, and still live with them?

• 29 Jun 2026 · Identifying Local Vulnerability · Hansard source

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  In January, Storm Goretti slammed into Cornwall, bringing down trees and phonelines, and cutting off individual communities. I was shocked to hear about the story of an elderly couple who were trapped in their bedroom because their stairlift had broken, so villagers had to winch food to them for the weekend. What lessons have been learned from Storm Goretti in relation to the vulnerability project?

• 15 Jun 2026 · High Streets · Hansard source

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  Cornish towns such as St Austell and Redruth desperately need support for their high streets, but Pride in Place criteria such as those on community cohesion and green spaces count against such towns. It is virtually impossible to be in Cornwall and not be close to green spaces. As those criteria are starting to be used across Departments, will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how they are currently counting against areas such as Cornwall?

• 9 Jun 2026 · Sir David Attenborough: Permanent National Monument · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that with such division and discord across many of our communities, this initiative crosses the political spectrum? Does she agree that Sir David Attenborough’s life’s work should be celebrated by all?

• 9 Jun 2026 · Health Inequalities · Hansard source

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  3. What steps his Department is taking to help tackle health inequalities.

• 9 Jun 2026 · Health Inequalities · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome the Secretary of State to his place. Oversimplified indices of multiple deprivation scores do not reflect the difficulties in caring for people in rural and remote coastal areas such as Cornwall. The Government are committed to neighbourhood health, but funding is getting caught up in integrated care board management structures and not flowing to GP practices, which should be delivering the care. How can the Government ensure that neighbourhood funding does not get held up by ICBs and flows to where it has the highest impact?

• 8 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The horticultural sector in Cornwall is worth about £100 million a year, but it is reliant on the seasonal worker scheme. The scheme numbers are announced annually at the end of the year, but the daffodil season in Cornwall begins in January. Will Ministers meet me to discuss an earlier announcement and a two-year rolling scheme?

• 8 Jun 2026 · Migration: Safe and Legal Routes · Hansard source

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  14. What steps her Department is taking to introduce new safe and legal routes for migrants.

• 8 Jun 2026 · Migration: Safe and Legal Routes · Hansard source

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  In recent years, families across Cornwall have been offering safe and welcoming homes to Syrian and Afghan refugees through the community sponsorship scheme. Without using the words “dreckly”, “mañana” or “in due course”, can the Minister specify when the community sponsorship scheme will be extended, as promised?

• 4 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Some 80% of the world’s cut daffodils come from Cornwall. The horticultural industry is totally reliant on the seasonal worker scheme, but the numbers for that are only announced annually at the end of the year, whereas the daffodil harvest begins in Cornwall in January. Can Ministers help me to lobby the Home Office for a rolling two-year scheme announced no later than October each year?

• 4 Jun 2026 · Support for Farming: Wales · Hansard source

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  Meur ras, Mr Speaker. Horticulture plays a significant part in the farming economy of Wales, as it does for Wales’s Celtic cousins in Cornwall. The seasonal worker scheme is only announced at the end of the year, when the horticultural industry begins picking—

• 2 Jun 2026 · Children: Development of Essential Skills · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship for the first time, Dr Allin-Khan. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) on this really important debate. I hear an awful lot of guff and bluster in this place, and I just wish that we had more of these sorts of debates. I am only sorry that there is not a single Member of His Majesty’s Opposition on the Back Benches. I will take us back to the skills required by preschool children, as has been mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton North East (Kirith Entwistle), because an essential skill for children is the ability to read, and 2026 is the National Year of Reading. In collaboration with the National Literacy Trust, the Department for Education is seeking to address the steep decline in reading among children and young people. A child’s earliest years are crucial to their development and life chances. When children start school, early communication and language skills make a huge difference. Being able to talk, listen, understand words and share stories helps children make friendships, ask for help from teachers and participate in learning and play. Literacy and communication skills lay the foundation for children to enjoy and take part in all aspects of school life, from imaginary games in the playground to activities in the classroom. These skills impact children’s success later too, which is why their start at school really matters. As the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) pointed out, children who have good language skills at the age of five are far more likely to achieve the expected levels at the age of 11. Yet at a time when parents face enormous pressures, more than one quarter of five-year-olds in Cornwall start school without the communication, language and literacy skills that they need to thrive. For too long, our society has been failing Cornish children—not just them, clearly, but children all over the country. Research consistently shows that the home learning environment—the activities that children engage in at home, such as chatting, singing, sharing stories and playing outside—has a powerful impact. The National Literacy Trust’s Early Words Matter campaign supports parents and carers to build their children’s early language, communication and literacy skills. In my Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency, the Everyone Ready for School project run by the National Literacy Trust in Cornwall provides early literacy support for families with children starting school soon. It offers free books—more than 4,000 have been distributed already—as well as resources, events and activities in the local community, empowering parents and children as they prepare together for the adventure of starting school. But the National Literacy Trust needs to secure funding for its remarkable ongoing work across one of the most deprived regions of northern Europe. I respectfully ask my hon. Friend the Minister to address that funding point when she responds to the debate. I am proud to say that I am a literacy champion for the National Literacy Trust in Cornwall. By working together with parents, teachers, early years professionals, volunteers and the wider community, the National Literacy Trust in Cornwall hopes to inspire parents to feel confident, knowing the amazing role that they play in their child’s school journey. The way that parents and children spend time together now is preparing children to succeed and be happy at school.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Preparedness for National Emergencies · Hansard source

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  Meur ras, Mrs Barker. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship. On 8 January Cornwall was smashed by one of the most powerful storms in decades. Storm Goretti delivered 100 mph winds, thousands of trees were torn from their roots, roofs were ripped off and communications infrastructure was flattened. Despite warnings that storms of this nature will become increasingly frequent, resilience systems proved wholly inadequate. The local resilience forum is not even based in Cornwall but 110 miles away in Exeter, which led to a woeful response at critical moments. Five months on, where is the review of Cornwall’s digital connectivity? What is the assessment of Cornwall’s critical infrastructure? When will the Government commit to an overhaul of the 40-year-old Bellwin formula? What assessment has been made of the use of satellite technology in remote areas? I cannot help thinking that if the storm had hit Surrey, London or Manchester, those questions would have been answered and solutions put in place, but for us in Cornwall—the home of the critical minerals industry—it feels once again like we are second-class citizens. I have to say that if the Minister thinks Cornish MPs can be ignored or placated, he is wrong.

• 1 Jun 2026 · Coastal Communities: Government Support · Hansard source

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  The issues in Poole sound very similar to those in Cornwall, where we have a chronic housing crisis. For several months now we have been asking the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for a strategic place partnership with Homes England to give us the money to build the social and truly affordable housing we desperately need. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to expand the availability of strategic place partnerships with Homes England well beyond mayoral combined authorities?

• 1 Jun 2026 · Coastal Communities: Government Support · Hansard source

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  Coastal communities, because of our geographical location, work very closely together, so within the Pride in Place definition of “community cohesion” we are marked down in our ability to access Pride in Place funding. Therefore, across six constituencies in Cornwall—even though Cornwall is one of the most deprived regions in northern Europe—we have had zero pounds from Pride in Place because of our community cohesion. Does the Minister agree that needs to be looked at?

• 21 May 2026 · Middle East: Economic Response · Hansard source

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  Inflation is down, wages are up, interest rates are down, and growth is up. These are the reasons why the Chancellor can make today’s announcements. Those on the Opposition Benches will not say it, but I will: thank you, Chancellor. As the Chancellor said in her statement, the British industrial competitiveness scheme offers important support for economic growth, but at the moment it excludes the vital critical minerals sector, which, as she knows, is directly relevant to my Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency. Will she meet me to discuss energy support measures for the critical minerals sector?

• 21 May 2026 · Small Businesses: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  Meur ras ha myttin da, Mr Speaker. Over 95% of Cornish businesses are small or microbusinesses. We are a hotbed of innovation and agility, but these Cornish businesses have been supported over the last 10 years with European Union objective 1 funding and shared prosperity funding, both of which have ended, and there is zero chance of Cornwall joining an English mayoral combined authority, so can the Minister outline how we can protect our innovative and agile micro and small businesses?