Perran Moon MP: speeches

Speeches

• 15 Sept 2025 · Neighbourhood Policing · Hansard source

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  4. What recent progress her Department has made on improving neighbourhood policing.

• 11 Sept 2025 · UK Ambassador to the US: Appointment Process · Hansard source

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  The Prime Minister has acted swiftly and decisively. What a contrast with the Conservative party. I note that the shadow Foreign Secretary is not in her place today. What happened when she broke the ministerial code? The Conservatives promoted her. Does the Minister agree that we will not take lectures on ethics from them?

• 11 Sept 2025 · UK Ambassador to the US: Appointment Process · Hansard source

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  No, Mr Speaker.

• 11 Sept 2025 · Electric Vehicles · Hansard source

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  14. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support people to use electric vehicles.

• 11 Sept 2025 · Electric Vehicles · Hansard source

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  Meur ras ha myttin da, Mr Speaker. I declare an interest as chair of the electric vehicle all-party parliamentary group. In the year to date, one in five new car registrations has been an electric vehicle, with the sale of new EVs up 27%. Demand is rising thanks in part to the Government’s proactive commitments to reducing transport emissions. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how we can make even more progress by providing that vital certainty to industry transitioning away from a fossil fuel-based transport system and ultimately saving drivers across the UK thousands of pounds?

• 11 Sept 2025 · Regional Transport Inequality · Hansard source

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  Meur ras, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) on securing this important debate to highlight the disparity in the effectiveness and adequacy of transport between different regions. I would like to speak about my constituency of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle and to consider how specific issues affect travel in remote coastal areas such as Cornwall, as my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham) has mentioned, particularly in relation to home-to-school transport. Because of Cornwall’s geography, being at the end of a long peninsula, it is characterised by remote communities, limited transport infrastructure and a high proportion of small settlements, which means that delivering services is inherently more expensive. The recently closed fair funding review consulted on updating the system of distribution, including assessing local authorities’ experiences of delivering multiple services, such as home-to-school transport. As my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth again highlighted, the south-west ranks in the bottom half of regional transport expenditure rankings in 2023-24, yet Cornwall faces distinct geographical challenges. It covers a very large area with a dispersed population, which results in longer school journeys, as many pupils live far from their nearest school. There are also limited public transport options in rural areas, necessitating dedicated school transport. These place-based characteristics are compounded by pressures on the special educational needs and disabilities system, with a rising number of pupils requiring specialist transport. Yet the funding formula does not fully reflect the complexity and cost of providing the service. Roads in remote coastal and rural areas are more vulnerable to weather-related disruption, meaning transport services require extra contingency planning and resilience funding. Seasonal pressures exacerbate these challenges too, with visitors and seasonal workers increasing congestion and wear on infrastructure, adding to maintenance costs and planning complexity. When he gets to his feet, I hope the Minister will be able to address some of the particular issues affecting remote coastal areas such as Cornwall, and I would appreciate a further discussion with him on this matter, particularly given Cornwall’s distinct devolution complications.

• 10 Sept 2025 · Russian Drones: Violation of Polish Airspace · Hansard source

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  Meur ras, Madam Deputy Speaker. Not only is the shocking escalation of hostilities by Russia a deliberately provocative act, but it threatens all NATO states, and an iron-clad response is now required. Will the Ministry, with our NATO partners, be unequivocal in reminding Russian and Belarusian counterparts of NATO article 5, and that an attack on Poland is an attack on all NATO partners, including the United Kingdom?

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I agree entirely with my hon. Friend, although I think the Government should go further in relation to visitor numbers, because the current proposals look only at day trippers. I will come on to that issue a little later in my speech. We know that place matters. A recent report from the Resolution Foundation found that one third of pay differences between labour markets stem from the places themselves, not the people who live there. That should be a wake-up call for all of us. There are several interrelated pressures driving this deprivation that are not adequately currently reflected in Government assessments of need.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  Meur ras, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am pleased to have secured this debate on Government support for remote coastal communities. My constituency of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle is one such area, and there is growing evidence that such constituencies face distinct and underestimated challenges. I welcome the Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Peckham (Miatta Fahnbulleh), to her new position. According to the Office for National Statistics, around 8.7 million people—15% of the population—lived in coastal settlements in England and Wales in 2021. These communities deserve strong representation in Parliament because, just as the human body often shuts down extremities at times of extreme shock, our remote coastal communities tend to feel the chill of economic neglect first, experiencing public service withdrawal, under-investment and eroded socioeconomic opportunities. To illustrate, a report by Onward found that coastal neighbourhoods are 42% more likely to be in the lowest decile for income deprivation than inland areas, and half as likely to be in the best.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his pertinent points about remote coastal areas and the challenges we face. Obviously, he faces a particular challenge that we do not face in Cornwall, as he also has to put up with an SNP Government. Since many residents live outside built-up areas, the true figure on age might be even higher. Cornwall has seen sustained population growth, largely driven by the migration of older people drawn to its geographical appeal as a place to retire. This older migration population means increased health and care needs. Data from the Institute of Cornish Studies shows that 43% of households moving to Cornwall from elsewhere are economically inactive, placing huge further strains on public services. Funding formulas rarely account for that reality. We have more demand for carers, more long-term health conditions, and more demand on health and social care systems. In remote areas like Cornwall, care is harder to reach and far more expensive to deliver. With our ageing population come the health inequalities that deeply affect remote coastal communities. The chief medical officer’s 2021 report on health and wellbeing in coastal communities identifies a coastal excess of disease driven by deprivation, age profile and behaviours such as obesity, smoking and alcohol use. Life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy were all lower in coastal areas. The report made it clear that in coastal communities, these factors converge to the detriment of local people, who face income insecurity, low-paid seasonal work and limited educational capital. The 10-year health plan does acknowledge the challenges faced by coastal communities, particularly in its shift from hospital to community care, but more needs to be done.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. I am sure that in the fullness of time, we will receive more details on that funding, which will be very important for the fishing industry—we are certainly very keen to ensure we see the benefit of it within Cornwall. It has to be practical, and it has to be applied where it is most appropriate. The issue of homes is an important one. When homes become investments rather than homes for local people, communities lose their heart and young people lose their future. As such, the next pressure I want to highlight is educational isolation and the lack of opportunity facing young people in remote coastal locations, which has been mentioned. Research from Plymouth Marjon University shows that schools in such locations struggle in vital areas, including school staff recruitment and retention, support and external investment. Poor transport links, rural roads and seasonal traffic make travel difficult, limiting opportunities for both pupils and teachers and deterring potential recruits. Our young people are presented with Hobson’s choice: move inland to find work opportunities, or face an uncertain future with limited prospects of a home of their own. That migration reinforces geographic inequality. In a recent report on the issue, the Institute for Fiscal Studies noted: “Reducing economic disparities…requires bringing opportunity to people—not just raising skills, but building places where skills are rewarded.” Its report specifically highlights that coastal areas tend to lose out, with migration reducing average earnings by over 5% in parts of Cornwall. Young people face the “half-compass effect”, with the sea on one side, poor transport on the other, and limited access to employers. A direct consequence of that lack of youth opportunity can be seen in the age profile of remote coastal communities. According to the Office for National Statistics, the median age in coastal built-up areas is 42—three years older than in non-coastal areas—and 25% of residents over 16 are retired, compared with 20.6% inland.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I am not sure that such a Minister is what we need. What we need is absolute focus and a cross-departmental Government strategy for remote coastal areas. In these areas, we feel acutely the focus on urban areas and, in particular, mayoral combined authorities. Without sustained investment in remote coastal areas, in housing, transport, skills and economic development, our collective economic potential will remain untapped.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I agree. The Dawlish line is very important in relation to Cornwall, and it needs to be a consideration for relevant Ministers. Members may not realise that, sitting here, we are closer to Middlesbrough than to Camborne in my constituency, but remoteness is not just about distance; it is a barrier to access, opportunity and resilience.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. Again, I will come on to that a little later in my speech. On higher costs, the pressure that is felt most acutely by residents of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, as I hear on the doorstep or in constituency surgeries, is housing. Coastal housing markets, shaped by seasonal appeal, have a high proportion of second homes and short-term holiday lets, which significantly reduces supply and drives prices beyond the means of local people, while many of those homes sit empty for months. I appreciate the decisions that this Government have made on stamp duty to dampen demand for second homes, but I was horrified to hear last week that the Reform party suggests that the excessive purchase of second homes in Cornwall is not a problem. I am disappointed that Reform Members are not here now.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I am just glad that we have a Labour Government who are taking the national health service far more seriously than the previous Government did. My deepest concern is that deprivation is not adequately reflected in standardised measurements, particularly the indices of multiple deprivation, as the Government’s primary tool for assessing need. Research from Plymouth Marjon University due to be published on 26 September introduces the concept of “pretty poverty”—deprivation masked by Cornwall’s postcard beauty. The six key findings of the report show that the indices of multiple deprivation do not give enough weight to transport dependency, housing displacement, employment precarity, healthcare withdrawal, educational isolation and community resilience. Although the measurement has strengths, without reforming it we risk missing the deep structural issues facing remote coastal communities. In June, as was mentioned earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham), the Government launched the fair funding review, acknowledging that outdated models have short-changed places like Cornwall. It includes a long overdue remoteness adjustment, previously dropped in 2018, and recognition of some of the costs associated with tourism. However, in Cornwall, the ending of the shared prosperity fund, which had been used to develop economic prosperity— announced on the same day that millions of pounds were made available for mayoral combined authorities in the north and midlands—was a bitter pill to swallow. The indices of multiple deprivation do not see the full picture, and when measurement fails, funding fails. I am pleased to see that a new iteration of the indices will be released later this year, and that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been brought into the process to consider rural affairs, but the specific needs of remote coastal communities must be considered as well. Time and again, evidence shows that remote coastal communities are often conflated with rural areas, overlooked in key metrics and treated as peripheral. Decisions about these communities must be based on accurate, meaningful assessments of deprivation. I urge Ministers to commit themselves to reviewing the forthcoming research from Plymouth Marjon University, because although it focuses on Cornwall, the issues that it raises are likely to apply across most other remote coastal areas. I also ask this Minister to commit herself to a dedicated remote coastal strategy to deal with these issues holistically. Our remote coastal areas have so much economic potential, but up until now Government policy has seemed to favour investment in urban mayoral authority areas in London, Birmingham and Manchester.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I agree. That is why, on the back of this debate, I am calling on the Government to develop a specific remote coastal strategy. First, there are the pressures of geographical remoteness itself. Physical isolation and sparse populations drive up the cost and complexity of delivering public services. In Cornwall, our landscape of small, scattered settlements and constrained transport links means that service provision is inherently far more expensive; those costs are not captured by labour and property indices alone.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that is something I will talk about in a moment. There is a particular pressure in Cornwall, but there is also pressure in other remote coastal areas relating to second home ownership and Airbnbs—sorry, I should say short-term lets. According to 2024 data from Lighthouse, Cornwall had the largest supply of short-term lets in the country. The figure was around 24,000 properties, which is up by 30% since 2019. I have long supported a compulsory registration scheme for short-term lets—one that includes fire safety regulations—and I look forward to the Government’s forthcoming housing strategy. Cornwall suffers from a chronic lack of affordable homes—I appreciate that it shares that problem with other remote coastal locations. With the second highest housing target in the country and over 23,000 people on the housing waiting list, the scale of need is clear, but our remote geography, infrastructure limitations and construction skills shortages make conventional housing delivery extremely challenging.

• 8 Sept 2025 · Remote Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  I entirely agree, and I will address that later in my speech. The second pressure is seasonal demand from tourism. While the visitor economy has long held strategic value for coastal communities, the seasonal influx of tourists places immense strain on already creaking public services, such as waste collection, highways, beach safety and emergency response, which face significant seasonal surges. Those fluctuations are not captured in standard funding models, yet they have real budgetary impact. Tourism can bring prosperity, but also pressure. In Cornwall, summer means more traffic, more waste and more emergency calls, and significantly higher costs than those associated with the resident population alone.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Property Taxes · Hansard source

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  The hypocrisy!

• 2 Sept 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill · Hansard source

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  Meur ras, Madam Deputy Speaker. On 5 March this year, the Prime Minister stood at the Dispatch Box and said these words: “We do recognise Cornish national minority status—not just the proud language, history and culture of Cornwall, but its bright future.” —[ Official Report , 5 March 2025; Vol. 763, c. 278.] Since arriving in this place on the back of a pledge to ensure Cornwall is given the devolved powers and funding that we have been craving for centuries, and in line with our manifesto commitment to deliver on the greatest ever devolution powers out of Westminster, today is a significant milestone. With the Prime Minister’s commitment to Cornish national minority status clearly reaffirmed, I support a Bill that delivers tangible devolution to Cornwall. However, I would like to explore clarifications on the implications of the Bill for the people of Cornwall. Madam Deputy Speaker, the land that you call Cornwall we know as Kernow, a term believed to have been in use for over 2,000 years that means “people of the promontory”. However, the English word Cornwall has a different meaning: it means “peninsula of foreigners”. For centuries, the English have recognised the people of the land at the end of the peninsula as different from them. Right up to modern times, the UK Government have continued to honour the distinct territorial integrity of Cornwall, treating us in unique and exceptional ways. Our constitutional status was perhaps most clearly outlined in a newspaper article in 2013 by the House of Lords researcher Kevin Cahill, who stated that “the whole territorial interest and dominion of the Crown in and over the entire county of Cornwall is vested in the Duke of Cornwall…So Cornwall is a separate kingdom.” He continued: “I know the Cornish have been shouting about this for a long time, but they turn out to be right.” The creation of the Duchy of Cornwall in 1337 recognised the distinct history, identity and territory of Cornwall, a unique and exceptional constitutional settlement that we enjoy to the present day. In recent times, Cornwall has been the first rural area outside Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to gain a devolution settlement over aspects of transport, education and renewable energy. More recently it has done so over adult education, Cornish distinctiveness and the Cornish language. Indeed, Cornwall already enjoys some of the benefits offered by the Bill for mayoral combined authorities. I am often asked—even by colleagues in this place—whether as a Cornishman I consider myself English. Along with hundreds of thousands of Cornishmen and women, I am often sadly mocked for my reply. Let me be absolutely clear today: I am Cornish, not English, although I freely admit that some of my very best friends are English. To those at home, particularly young people, who have been equally ridiculed, I say, “Be loud and proud. It is okay to consider yourself Cornish and British.” Let me deal with the issue of identity versus status. Cornish national minority status and Cornish identity are sometimes conflated, but when discussing the former, references to identity can sometimes be considered belittling. It is not about identity; it is about a legally binding national minority status. Our status, formally agreed by the Council of Europe 10 years ago, must be respected, upheld and celebrated.

• 2 Sept 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill · Hansard source

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  As a result of our geographical location, for centuries we have been a safe harbour—a port in the storm—for peoples from all over the world. We are an inclusive society. Let me get straight to the nub of the issue. The Council of Europe framework convention for the protection of national minorities makes it very clear. Article 16 says: “The Parties shall refrain from measures which alter the proportions of the population in areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities and are aimed at restricting the rights and freedoms flowing from the principles enshrined in the present framework Convention.” In 2016, when passing comment on the then Government’s plans for redrawing boundaries, the Council of Europe advisory committee on the framework convention highlighted “that Article 16 prohibits restricting the enjoyment of the rights of the Framework Convention in connection with the redrawing of borders.” In the Bill as drafted, Cornwall is prevented from accessing the highest level of devolution, because to do so would require us to compromise our national minority status. During the passage of the Bill, I will work with the Government to ensure that the Bill as passed respects Cornish national minority status and delivers an historic devolution arrangement that fulfils our manifesto commitment; provides for the economic development support that we need to unleash the Cornish Celtic tiger; gives us the funding and resources to deal with our crippling housing crisis; and celebrates Cornish national minority status. This responsibility weighs not just on the mind. For us, this is not just about functional local government; it goes way deeper into our souls, to a centuries-old desire for increased autonomy and self-governance in our place on this multinational island. I urge Ministers: together, let us grasp this once-in-a-generation opportunity.

• 2 Sept 2025 · English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that the historic Cornish constitutional status must be considered as part of the devolution discussion?

• 1 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. Meur ras, Mr Speaker. The number of young NEET people is often a reflection of a range of different factors: poverty, poor mental health services, lack of access to support services, and inadequate transport, SEND and care services, especially in remote coastal areas such as Camborne, Redruth and Hayle. Can the Minister reassure the House and these young people that joined-up, cross-departmental working groups have been set up to tackle this issue head-on?

• 22 Jul 2025 · Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment · Hansard source

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  Meur ras, Madam Deputy Speaker. I start by paying tribute to Sir David Amess. I did not know him personally, but I am moved by the references to his life from across the House and particularly from the Father of the House, the right hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh). This debate, in Sir David’s name, presents me with a fantastic opportunity to do something that I so rarely have the chance to do: talk about Cornwall. First, I will speak of the immense opportunity that Cornwall has in its future, recognised by the Labour Government. It is hard to overstate the economic and strategic value of Cornwall’s vast assets in renewable energy and critical minerals, which are both so clearly fundamental to our economic growth and net zero ambitions. In the UK, we import tin from as far afield as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China and Australia, with all the damaging environmental impacts that come with such imports. Yet in Camborne and Redruth, we sit on the third highest-grade tin deposits in the world, and there is plenty of it. That is not just a statistic; it is a strategic national asset. We have tin, lithium, geothermal and ground source heat, but we are also blessed with the opportunities of offshore wind in the Celtic sea, onshore wind, solar and tidal energy. From critical minerals extraction under the ground to wind energy off the coast, Cornwall is ready to play its part in the new economy. The task is vast, but the prize is priceless: energy security, which reduces our dependence on volatile international markets; climate action, which secures the materials we need for clean technologies; and jobs and regeneration in our Cornish, Celtic communities, which will bring back high-quality employment to communities desperate to grasp those opportunities. Reducing economic disparities between places comes hand in hand with bringing opportunity to people, not just raising skills but building communities where skills are rewarded. The renewable energy and critical minerals opportunities are not the only factors that make our land so distinct. Our language, culture and heritage, as well as our economic potential, mark us out on this island. I want to ensure that our language, culture and distinctiveness are recognised, respected and reflected in decisions made at the heart of Government. That includes getting a devolution deal that works for Cornwall and that celebrates our national minority status. Our language, culture and industrial mining heritage are not just things we do; they are who we are, they are part of our landscape and identity, and they have helped define who we were, who we are and, I am certain, who we will be. I have defined what I strongly believe Cornwall can be, but I want to briefly highlight the barriers that we face. In terms of health equality, we struggle with poor health outcomes and our remote coastal geography, and those health outcomes are connected to poor educational attainment. To that end, I encourage Members to join my Adjournment debate in September on Government support for remote coastal communities.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Health Inequalities · Hansard source

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  11. What steps his Department is taking to tackle health inequalities across the country.