Polly Billington MP: speeches

Speeches

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way. I am interested in her acknowledgment that we have made specific progress in dealing with the botched Brexit deal left as part of the legacy of the previous Tory Government, which she may indeed welcome. For example, our sanitary and phytosanitary deal includes being able to boost exports by slashing red tape and bureaucracy specifically for our farmers and food producers, lower food prices at the checkout and co-operation on energy. [ Interruption. ] Opposition Members may chunter from a sedentary position, but it is actually really important when you look at how—

• 29 Oct 2025 · International Baccalaureate: Funding in State Schools · Hansard source

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  I gently remind the Minister that, simply because people live in the south-east, it does not mean they are dripping in gold. My constituency in particular experiences distinct levels of deprivation; only 10% of our children manage to pass the Kent test in East Thanet. The opportunity to access the international baccalaureate is vital for those deprived communities. We all know that there are extreme levels of deprivation in this country both across geographical areas and in pockets. I remind the Minister that, in these circumstances, we need to ensure that we have an education policy that reaches the most deprived in places like mine, as much as in places like his.

• 29 Oct 2025 · International Baccalaureate: Funding in State Schools · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) on securing this debate. Dartford grammar sounds much like Dane Court school in my constituency, which offers the opportunity of the international baccalaureate to children from across the academy chain—I know that some of your constituents benefit from that provision, Sir Roger. The headteacher told me that the wider implication of the cut is that the IB diploma will probably disappear entirely from the state sector. Does my hon. Friend seek reassurance from the Minister, as I do, that the IB does have a future role in breaking down barriers to opportunity, not only in his constituency and mine, but across the country?

• 27 Oct 2025 · North Sea Oil and Gas Industry · Hansard source

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  What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the UK arm of the company, which is an in-demand business with a highly skilled workforce and many successful contracts, has a long-term future in the UK, particularly in the context of our clean energy jobs plan announced last week and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) pointed out, some of the risks around the development of offshore wind in Holland?

• 20 Oct 2025 · International Baccalaureate · Hansard source

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  I, too, have a school in my constituency that offers the international baccalaureate. Dane Court school in Broadstairs has an extremely successful programme in breaking down barriers to opportunity for a large number of pupils in an area of significant deprivation. Only 10% of the children in East Thanet succeed in passing the Kent test; we need to be able to ensure that those children and others get the maximum opportunities available. Will the Minister reassure me, the senior leadership team, and parents and children at Dane Court that the international baccalaureate will still be possible for those children and for future generations?

• 14 Oct 2025 · International Rail Services: Ashford · Hansard source

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  On competition and the former Conservative Government, I remind Members that they were the ones who brought Southeastern, which serves my constituency, into public ownership, because of the failures of the commercial process.

• 14 Oct 2025 · International Rail Services: Ashford · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I can see France from my constituency on a clear day, and yet my constituents cannot get there easily or affordably for work or pleasure. Last week, I was speaking with one of my friends about her plans to go to Paris for the Christmas markets. A quick overnight stay for shopping and fun with a couple of friends was the kind of thing that less than a decade ago people from across Kent and Sussex did easily and affordably. Now it is practically impossible. That might sound like what is known as a high-quality problem. After all, across the country people are struggling with the cost of living, and holidays, even short ones, are out of reach. But what is particularly galling about the situation in east Kent is that we are close to Europe and yet more cut off than ever. Although we have infrastructure specifically designed to connect us to France, Belgium and beyond, it lies unused and empty—paid for by the taxpayer and left abandoned. A single ticket from Margate to St Pancras International station early enough in the morning to change to the Eurostar to Paris is £60, and the journey takes almost two hours. That is too expensive and inconvenient, so it stops people being able to do what they would like to. Because Ashford International station remains closed to European services, my constituents are forced to travel into central London, with the high costs that come with that. They do not have the unfortunate experience of the constituents of the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Dr Mullan), who must literally pass through Ashford—back and forth. However, that drive, which my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore) mentioned, is counterproductive for the environment and bad for the capital, as well as for my constituents. In its expansion plans, Eurostar still refuses to consider reopening international services at Ashford, and £80 million of public infrastructure remains unused and wasted, despite its potential. That means people in Kent and Sussex will continue to miss out on fast, convenient and cheaper connections to Europe, and on the tourism boost they would bring to our coastal towns. Reopening international services at Ashford is about more than just making it easier to go on holiday; it is about driving economic and social revival in deprived parts of the south-east. Members across Parliament, although not in this Chamber, perhaps think of the south-east as leafy, wealthy places such as Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells. However, there are pockets of acute deprivation across the south-east and, for the most part, they are on the coast. We have so much to offer and so much potential. Margate, for example, is home to a globally recognised art gallery, the Turner Contemporary; Broadstairs has the history of being home to a world-famous author, Charles Dickens; and Ramsgate has the heritage to tell the story of our links to the rest of the world—from the arrival of the Vikings to the Romans and St Augustine, some of the most important and exciting changes to our country have started in Thanet. That has left a rich and vibrant history and a legacy of creativity and ideas that the rest of the world could benefit from, if only they could get there.

• 14 Oct 2025 · International Rail Services: Ashford · Hansard source

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  The case the hon. Member is making may have some valid points, but is he prepared to take responsibility for the fact that the British Government do not have a say in what Eurostar does because a previous Administration—run by the Conservatives with their then allies, the Liberal Democrats—ended up without the British Government having a say in how Eurostar runs itself? That was a failed opportunity to be an enabling state.

• 14 Oct 2025 · International Rail Services: Ashford · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Despite significant investment under a Labour Government in High Speed 1, which benefits my community, it often feels as though many people are still cut off from those opportunities. We need to break down barriers to opportunity, and the restoration of international services at Ashford would do precisely that. The recent report from the Good Growth Foundation, which hon. Members from both sides of the House have referred to, highlighted the potential economic benefits of reopening those services. It found that doing so would lead to a £2.5 billion boost to the visitor economy over five years. Making it easier for constituents in East Thanet to visit Europe works both ways; it would also make it much easier for Europeans to visit our wonderful cultural sites, such as the Turner Contemporary gallery or our beautiful beaches. I recently met VisitBritain, which told me that one of its target markets is France because of the potential tourism we can bring in via Eurostar. The Good Growth Foundation report found that reopening international services at Ashford would cut two hours from the trip from Paris to Thanet. That might not sound like a huge amount of time, but two hours is a big difference when it comes to making sure that people enjoy their holiday. Anything that makes it easier for tourists to visit will help to drive our local economies and revitalise our towns. This debate is not just about exhorting Eurostar to restore those services; it has clearly made a business decision not to. Instead, it is about using the levers of Government, particularly the Office of Rail and Road, to ensure that future operators must make some commitment. Making sure that regulation drives growth, and particularly that it benefits people who have been left out of economic prosperity by previous decisions, is the role of the active state. Reopening international services is about showing people who feel ignored or let down by politics that Government can improve things—that a Labour Government can improve things—and that the Government recognise the importance of coastal towns and are committed to tackling the issues that blight us. It is time to make Ashford international again.

• 16 Sept 2025 · Probation Service · Hansard source

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  2. What steps his Department is taking to support probation officers.

• 16 Sept 2025 · Probation Service · Hansard source

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  The probation officers I have spoken to are supportive of the early release scheme inasmuch as it was necessary to deal with the chronic overcrowding in our prisons—a legacy of the previous Government’s dereliction of duty. Many offenders on the fixed recall scheme with a determinate sentence, however, are not being risk-assessed before rerelease, which concerns probation officers. In that context, can the Secretary of State indicate what measures he is putting in place to ensure that probation officers are able to do their job with offenders being released early?

• 11 Sept 2025 · Regional Transport Inequality · Hansard source

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  I would like to talk about the importance of the impact of both austerity and covid on entrenching the regional transport inequalities we have heard so much about today. I will also talk about the importance of our making the most of our existing infrastructure, which has ended up crumbling and neglected after the previous 14 years, and emphasise the importance of improving services and restoring those battered by austerity and covid. This issue is particularly important in coastal communities. I am proud to sit next to my co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on coastal communities, my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume). Despite the geographical differences between our two constituencies, we share a concern about the connectivity challenges in our coastal communities, and we know that many other places are experiencing the same problems because, as much as coastal communities have many assets, they are fundamentally at the end of the line. They are therefore—I say this advisedly to those currently in the Chamber—most exposed and vulnerable to the populism and dark forces we have seen around us recently. When we think about all that, we understand the need to connect people to opportunities for growth and to break down the barriers to opportunity—two of our key missions as a country. On that great strategic point, I urge anyone from Stagecoach and Kent county council who is listening to restore the No. 9 bus between Ramsgate and Canterbury for precisely that reason. One of our hospitals is there, as are two of our universities and the further education colleges. I know children, young people and adults whose opportunities have been limited and cut back because that No. 9 bus service no longer exists. Let me talk about the impact of covid, particularly in respect of the crumbling and neglected infrastructure we have as a consequence. Ashford International train station has been international in name only since the covid pandemic, and Eurostar’s expansion plans do not include the restoration of international rail services to Kent. Cutting the length of train journeys from Kent to Paris and Brussels by two hours would greatly improve the opportunities for us as a community and, indeed, for growth. The Good Growth Foundation has pointed out that this would improve growth by £2.4 billion across five years. Unlike other so-called affluent parts of the south- east, places like mine really need that economic growth. On existing infrastructure, I have one last message for the Minister about Ramsgate port: it is important to restore passenger ferries, at least, to a place that is desperately in need of that kind of connectivity.

• 3 Sept 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend use this opportunity to remind the House how many women and girls are vulnerable to people they know, as distinct from people they do not know? Will she also use this opportunity to condemn elected politicians who peddle misinformation about who is most at risk and where the targets really are?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Independent Water Commission · Hansard source

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  I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, which is detailed, practical and focused on outcomes. That is in stark contrast to the ludicrous, back-of-a-fag-packet policy of the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), who claimed yesterday that he would simultaneously nationalise half the water industry, without knowing how much it would cost, and bring in more business people to run it—the people who have been free to run up debts, force up bills, dump sewage, and leave pipes broken, reservoirs dry and our lakes, seas and rivers filthy. Such people include, of course, the chief executive of Southern Water, Lawrence Gosden, who has a £1.4 million pay package that he should hand back, as my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore) pointed out. However, how will the Government answer the people who say that these proposals do not go far enough and will still leave our precious water, lakes and seas in the hands of shysters and spivs?

• 15 Jul 2025 · SEND Provision: South-east England · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Edward. We are lucky in East Thanet to have several brilliant council-maintained SEND schools: Forelands Field, Laleham Gap, Stone Bay and St Anthony’s. They do brilliant and vital work, despite the incompetence of Kent county council. I know from my casework just how deep the crisis in special educational needs provision runs. In Kent it is particularly acute, because the previous Tory council administration let the crisis spiral out of control. I have constituents who are frustrated by delays to getting EHCPs, parents who are aggravated by poor communication from the council, and others saying they believe that Kent county council is making the appeals unnecessarily difficult. Similarly, far too many tribunals in Kent involve parents appealing the inappropriate allocation of school places. Often, as a result, either the state-maintained schools end up oversubscribed and overcrowded, or the spiralling costs of private provision contribute to the dire financial state of Kent county council. The state-maintained schools are now being put through a wildly inappropriate redesignation of the education and support they will offer, putting suitable educational provision for some of our most vulnerable children even further at risk. The previous Tory administration was forced to apologise after a damning Ofsted report found that the council had “not made sufficient progress” in tackling nine areas that were identified following an inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission. The report quoted one parent as saying: “Communication is poor, co-production is non-existent…it feels as though my son’s needs are not being prioritised, and they don’t care. They are incompetent.” I am afraid to say that I do not have any confidence that things will improve under the new Reform administration. In the few months that they have been in power, we have seen important meetings cancelled, cabinet members sacked, councillors suspended and chaos ensuing throughout the council—all while the new council leader went on holiday. Although it is only right that we champion fantastic SEND schools, it is important to acknowledge that many children would be better served by mainstream schools that have adequate SEND support available, creating inclusive environments for children to flourish. While idealistic, this can be a reality. It will require a huge overhaul in the provision of SEND support in schools. We need to make it possible for children who can be in mainstream school to stay in mainstream school with the best support package available, designed around them and their needs. I am glad that the Labour Government are looking into reforming the current system, and I was delighted to hear the Secretary of State for Education say that the Government will strengthen the support available for the children who need it. The crisis in SEND has gone on for far too long. I look forward to seeing the proposals to tackle it and empower the next generation of young people.

• 14 Jul 2025 · State of Climate and Nature · Hansard source

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  I welcome the statement, in particular the importance and emphasis that my right hon. Friend places on how climate change and nature loss are fundamentally linked and contribute to each other. I also remind the House that after the national health service, the thing that this country loves the most is its natural environment. Understanding the vital role that nature itself plays in tackling climate change will be vital in the years ahead. I refer in particular to the importance of saltmarsh. I talk quite often with my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) about the importance of peatland, but saltmarsh is also vital as a valuable habitat. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that in the light of what he has been talking about today, we will have a properly integrated spatial energy plan, national planning policy framework and land use framework, so that such climate-valuable habitats are properly protected?