Perran Moon MP: speeches

Speeches

• 10 Sept 2026 · Social Housing Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Cornwall’s social housing shortage is not only a major contributor to our severe housing crisis, but one of the greatest blockers of economic regeneration. In the Conservative years, the construction of new social housing in Cornwall plummeted—for example, in 2015-16, just six new homes were built for social rent across the entire duchy. Combine that with 14,000 second homes and nearly 24,000 Airbnb listings, which further reduce the overall housing stock, and it comes as no shock that our social housing waiting list stands at a staggering 25,000. That incurs vast costs for emergency and temporary accommodation. The size of that register will only grow in coming years unless urgent action is taken. In the light of our acute housing crisis, I warmly welcome measures in the Bill to protect our existing social housing stock, particularly the right to buy exemptions for new social homes and for those in designated rural areas. However, the scope of the Bill addresses just one element of Cornwall’s housing crisis. I welcomed the former Chancellor’s stamp duty increase for second homes from 3% to 5%, and I also welcomed the confirmation last week by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport that a new registration scheme for short-term lets will be live by March, but we must go further. To that end, I have three quick asks of the Government. First, I urge the Government to review Cornwall council’s £90 million housing revenue account debt associated with the 2012 self-financing settlement. Servicing that inherited debt settlement diverts key resources away from repairs to existing homes and delivering additional affordable housing. Secondly, the Government have already recognised the value of low-cost development finance through 0.1% loans to housing associations. Extending those opportunities to councils would unlock significant additional housing delivery. Thirdly, Cornwall must not be locked out of further powers and funding for social housing simply because we will not be joining a mayoral strategic authority. A strategic place partnership with Homes England would give us not only the framework to deliver social housing for Cornwall, but the funding, which so far has gone only to mayoral strategic authorities. Cornwall cannot build a stronger economy on a foundation of housing insecurity. The only sustainable answer is to increase our stock of genuinely affordable social homes and to do that at scale. To that end, I strongly welcome this Bill.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Building Homes and Renewing Communities · Hansard source

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  I really welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment this week to work on Cornish devolution, but the Housing Minister—and he did not make up the rules—has told me that the population of Cornwall is too small to be granted a strategic place partnership, despite the fact that our population is greater than that of Iceland, Malta and Barbados. Our lack of social housing is one of the greatest blockers to regeneration in Cornwall, so we are very keen to take up a strategic place partnership. Is there a chance that I could get a meeting with the Housing Minister or somebody from MHCLG to discuss our desire to have a strategic place partnership?

• 1 Sept 2026 · Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Wishart. While I welcome the many improvements to the digital banking experience over the past decade, I am concerned that those changes are moving services further away from the most vulnerable and from remote constituencies where digital connectivity is very poor. I thank the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) for securing this debate. In my remote coastal constituency of Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, the most southerly Labour constituency in the country, 85% of bank and building society branches have closed. We have just four branches left, two of which are due to close in a month’s time, and one of the remaining two is open only on Mondays. We must appreciate that online banking is far less accessible for older people, the vulnerable and the disabled, and that it is not a silver bullet for charities and small businesses that receive and need to deposit cash. I welcome the roll-out of the banking hubs in my constituency, and I look forward to the first permanent hub in Camborne opening in the coming weeks. We also have temporary hubs in Redruth and Hayle and a deposit machine in Perranporth. Planning permission has gone in for a permanent hub in Redruth, which I hope progresses smoothly. I welcome the Government’s review, and I urge the Minister to ensure that rural and remote coastal communities are, for once, at the heart of Government thinking as we consider what further action might be necessary to prioritise digital connectivity and secure permanent banking provision in places such as Redruth and Hayle.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation · Hansard source

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  Meur ras. It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for introducing this very important debate. It speaks directly to the reality facing my constituents in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, the furthest southerly Labour seat in the United Kingdom. When it comes to remote coastal isolation and hidden deprivation, the machinery of Government is simply broken by stereotypes and urban-centric thinking. Purely as a matter of scale, most people have no idea that Bristol, supposedly in the south-west, is closer to Manchester than to Camborne, Redruth and Hayle. When most people think of Cornwall, they have a picture postcard image, yet beneath that image lies deep hidden deprivation: wages are far below the national average, employment is seasonal and insecure and housing is ridiculously unaffordable to most. While the EU recognised that with objective 1 funding, Westminster simply has not. In fact, Treasury models compound the Cornish misery: in-migration by wealthier English retirees inflates affluence figures, masking the scale of poverty. In my constituency alone, nine neighbourhoods rank among the most deprived in the country, yet wealthier coastal areas create an overall impression of poverty lessening in the region. The indices of multiple deprivation fail those nine communities, because Treasury models consider the overall picture and do not identify the hidden poverty within. As my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham) alluded to, Cornish residents are systemically disadvantaged in housing, healthcare and public transport. On SEND, Cornwall is the 11th least funded of 151 local authorities, receiving less than half the per pupil funding of councils in Kensington and Chelsea, and about £500 less than places in Manchester. Much of Cornwall’s population lives in pretty poverty. It is isolated, deprived and hidden from Westminster. If the Government are serious about tackling inequality, they must ensure that funding reflects need, not averages on a Whitehall spreadsheet. It is time for a radical review of funding models for remote coastal areas.

• 8 Jul 2026 · NHS Corridor Care · Hansard source

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  On my hon. Friend’s point about burnout, we are entering what for many Cornish men and women is the dreaded tourist season, when our population doubles or trebles. My constituents in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle are concerned about the chronic capacity issues and the impact of the tourist season on patient safety at Treliske, our one general hospital that covers the whole of Cornwall. Does my hon. Friend agree that NHS workforce planning and funding for places like Cornwall need to reflect the additional pressures placed on healthcare services during periods of peak tourist activity?