Rachael Maskell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. The broadcasting, entertainment and arts unions all-party parliamentary group heard deeply concerning evidence from writers, journalists, musicians and performers that their work is being scraped, ripped off and stolen by sophisticated AI models for training purposes. When will the Secretary of State introduce laws to protect the creative industries? Will she meet with the APPG and unions to discuss this matter further?

• 29 Jun 2026 · Child Poverty · Hansard source

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  Lifting children out of poverty will be this Government’s greatest legacy. However, we know that around 4 million children will remain in poverty, so it is really important to go further. Last year, the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested a levy on the gambling and betting industry to raise £3 billion and lift another 500,000 children out of poverty. Will the Minister ensure we do even more so that we have a greater legacy and ensure that the lives of those young people are changed forever because of the decisions of this Government?

• 13 May 2026 · Debate on the Address · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member has put that well and truly on the record. We need to reform the system. It is really prejudiced against so many people who are working hard in our society. We should not increase the time taken to get indefinite leave to remain, because our word should be our bond, and we should honour the agreements we make. That brings me to Labour Members’ ambitions for reforming the special educational needs and disabilities system. We need an inclusive approach, so that every child finds their place and reaches their level. More inclusion means rewiring the culture to be therapeutic and trauma-informed, with new pedagogies; mapping out learning styles for children; and ending harsh discipline and the single channel of exam-based assessments. Instead, we must include children and bring out their best. I urge the Treasury to invest the funding needed to help raise this generation and future generations, by supporting parents and babies with the right foundations during the first 1,001 critical days, and by providing the wraparound support that teachers, health professionals and support staff need, so that our SEND system is fixed once and for all. The benefit of that investment will show in the years to come. As we support our young people into work, we must recognise that state neglect under the last Government caused so much harm. We must be compassionate and work with, not against, our young people, as they struggle to navigate their way and transition into independence and work. Society and our communities should be brought together. Our centralised system is failing; decisions are made far from the realities of the regions and nations. That is building a sense of remote dystopia, and of not being in touch with the daily challenges that are being experienced as the cost of living weighs heavy, while others live profligate lives. Today, we need a radical devolution of power, finance and opportunity to help people see themselves as having agency and purpose. We should recognise the diversity of all our communities, and our common bond. It will not be found in the idealisms of some, or the toxic divisions of the right, which, believe me, will set community against community, while its crypto-backed leaders sow chaos and division, ripping up our NHS and our welfare state—our incredible inheritance that has glued our society together through generations. In the King’s Speech, we have so much to celebrate, and I will sew in the voices of my community in York as we progress. I want to ensure that the Railways Bill protects the wellbeing of all who work in the sector. Having championed the Removal of Titles Bill in the last two parliamentary Sessions, I hope that we can move fast on cleaning up our politics. I welcome the move to tackle antisemitism, as antisemitic graffiti has been found in my community this week. It brings such shame, and we must move fast on that. Improved relations with the EU will help to build the bridges we need. York is a visitor and tourism hotspot, so I will work carefully with the Government on the overnight visitor levy. I trust that businesses will not pay a penalty, and that our city will get the reward. The draft taxi licensing Bill will really help to bring licensing back under control. I trust that we will do more on the climate crisis. As the national emergency briefing highlighted, we do not have the luxury of time. The UK is in the bottom 10% of countries in the biodiversity intactness index, and one in six species is at risk of extinction. While our planet burns and our icecaps melt, we need to invest fast. Finance should be invested to hasten decarbonisation, and projects such as BioYorkshire should be funded to ensure that we hasten agricultural resilience, preventing the low yields and crop failure that are escalating the cost of food. That is why I am really glad that we are moving to independence in our energy market, too. We need a second employment rights Bill to capture the single status of worker, extend collective bargaining, and improve the wellbeing of workers. My final point is this: if we are to bring a diversity of voices to Parliament and ensure that they are heard, this place must change. Governments have been destabilised in recent years due to too much power being held by the Executive, and too little power being invested in Parliament. If that does not change, the discourse of distrust between Parliament and the people will continue. Our voices, representing the diversity of the country, must be heard, and must impact the programme of government. I want all Bills to go through in-depth consultations with MPs, who would input the experiences of their communities. Just running artificial intelligence across consultation responses is not good enough. I want full pre-legislative scrutiny, so that we can ensure that Bills are robust, unifying, and do everything possible to improve the lives of those we represent. Without that, I fear that we will let down the people we were sent here to represent. It is time to include all; the mission is too great to be for just a few. This parliamentary Session must be like no other, connecting communities, unifying society and transforming our future.

• 14 Apr 2026 · National Suicide Prevention Standard · Hansard source

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  I really appreciate all the work that my hon. Friend does in this area. I was very moved when a constituent, a police officer, came to me to share the experiences from his force when somebody took their life. The force did not have the tools available to support him, leading to his own mental health challenges, and to those of his colleagues. Therefore, it is really important, as part of this standard, that employers are equipped to identify those pressures—often overwork and stress, or bullying at work and the culture set in the workplace—and to then address the challenges that people face with trauma. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need that holistic approach to people’s wellbeing at work?

• 13 Apr 2026 · SEND Provision and Reform · Hansard source

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  We know the stories, the concerns, the trauma, and the battles and fights. Of course, we know the embedded inequality in the system, in which parents with little agency have little voice. But what is so important is that we recognise that the Children and Families Act 2014 ultimately never came with the funding, staffing, resourcing or culture change that were needed. I will focus on three things today: culture, resourcing and funding, and governance. On culture, although we have heard about rising attainment for so many children, we know that other children just never get that opportunity. Their right to an education is denied. We must change the pedagogy in the education system to make it an inclusive environment, and to ensure that the high-stakes behaviours approach is ended, because it denies neuroatypical children an education. We must address that clash, which is still being driven by a results-based system, and consider children and their long-term future more holistically. I certainly encourage the Minister to look at the work of Sir Ken Robinson, who understood that the system needs to be built around the child, as opposed to the child fitting into the system, and the importance of developing a nurturing environment. In York, we talk about belonging going beyond nurturing. We need to consider how we address the security that a child needs to thrive in any environment, putting that framing around the child and integrating it with a trauma-informed approach. We have heard about adoption today and the trauma that those children experience, but we know that so many children have adverse childhood experiences such as violence and neglect in the home and have challenging pasts that have intersected with their SEND needs, so we must ensure that that approach is put in place. On funding, if we can move resources in this place to fund our national security, we can move funding to secure children’s security as well. We need to resource the system, and not only financially—although without that, it will never succeed—but also, as many have said, with a workforce plan that is integrated with the NHS workforce plan, so that we know when resources will come on stream. That brings me to governance. Risk and responsibility sit in the wrong place in the system, which is why we must look at the impact of the academisation programme on where the lines of accountability are. It is almost impossible to hold those schools to account in the system we have now. I will certainly want to extend these discussions with the Minister when I get the opportunity.

• 25 Mar 2026 · Proposed Visitor Levy · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Efford. I thank the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) for bringing forward this debate. I have long campaigned for a visitor levy. York itself sees 1.7 million overnight stays—6.2 million visitors to our city—and as a result we recognise the cost of tourism to our local authority. Whether it is about tidying our streets, putting infrastructure in place, cleaning our city or making additional provisions, the pressure of tourism on our public services is being paid for by local residents. There is an equation where local residents feel that they pay into the system and tourism gains, but that tourists are not making their contribution. I listened carefully to the right hon. Member; he talked about the money, the taxation and the benefit that goes into the national funding pot from the taxation system but is not being invested in local communities.

• 25 Mar 2026 · Proposed Visitor Levy · Hansard source

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  I was coming to the point the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Sir Julian Smith) raises, because I believe that the levy should be collected by local authorities. If the mayor collects it, it should be hypothecated to local areas so that they can determine the spend of that resource. Certainly I would propose that half the money be spent directly on tourism, through work with the industry, but there is also the opportunity to invest back into our communities and in local projects. I would put in place exemptions for children; I think that would be appropriate. I would exempt certain forms of accommodation, camping and hostel accommodation, because we know that those are used for budget holidays. Of course we need to respect the cultural need of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people for overnight stays in different areas, but I certainly would include in a levy scheme short-term holiday lets. I just met the Minister to raise again the issue of short-term holiday lets, and the proper licensing system that we need in that respect. I believe that this should be a flat-rate levy. I have always said that the price of a cup of coffee could be the benchmark—people would not think twice about going and getting an extra coffee. If it were something like £4, we would bring £6.8 million into our city and that would help our local economy. We will struggle to support our tourism industry otherwise, so I would encourage that factor. We could use the money to promote the local tourism offer, from which the industry would gain, and could gain substantially. I am talking about putting on events, ensuring that we have better facilities and better infrastructure in our city, and supporting our bid to become a UNESCO world heritage site. All that would benefit not just York, but North Yorkshire and the wider region. It could include putting on projects such as Wild in Art and so on, to draw in even more tourism. I believe that a measure such as that could be seen as an investment in our future.

• 2 Mar 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Education Secretary’s commitment to inclusion, but many children in York are not in school because of the disciplinary processes run by multi-academy trusts and the culture that ensues. What will she do to ensure that leaders in such trusts are held to account for that?

• 24 Feb 2026 · Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor · Hansard source

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  Unaccountable power must not hide, privilege must not be protected, money must be accounted for and elite networks of men operating here and overseas must meet their reckoning for dehumanising, subjugating, exploiting and sexually assaulting women—women who must have justice. The web of abuse surrounding Mr Epstein and his associates must be brought to book, and Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, as a known associate, must also be held to account for his role as a special trade envoy and for his associations. We have all been revulsed by the stories that we have heard, and that is why today’s debate must also be about the victims and survivors. I first raised my concern because my constituency carries the name of York and the Duke of York’s ambassadorial associations with our city were causing much concern in my community. I therefore brought those concerns to the House on 21 February 2022, just days after the settlement of the lawsuit to Ms Giuffre, known to be in the region of £12 million. My city—a human rights city, no less—was clearly disturbed, and as a result of that I sought a separation between the title and the city. Later that year, after working closely with the Clerks, I brought forward a Bill to remove the title, but that still has not been done. I brought forward another Bill just last year on the removal of title, this time bringing in the option of removing the title from peerages as well, but I have still not had a positive response. The reasons I am speaking in this debate today are: first, that in looking into these issues, I realised that the Humble Address was narrow in its scope; and secondly, to ask what we should do with the information once it has been corroborated. Clearly the police investigation must take its course, and I am sure it will be deep and thorough because it runs so far, but ultimately, if we are just looking at the appointment, we must also ask about that period of time when Mr Mountbatten-Windsor carried out the role and the implications to wider networks. I do not want this to end up in the court of public opinion, or perhaps with the media digging deeper and deeper into more and more stories. But what does it do to this place? What does it do to change the way the systems work?

• 24 Feb 2026 · Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor · Hansard source

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  I do agree with the hon. Gentleman, because I know that journalists have been up through the night poring over the Epstein files and digging deep to hold power to account. Our media have a vital role in this, and long may it continue. Their scrutiny is also important for this place and the work that we do here. We need a process of learning from this, and I believe that there should be a judge-led inquiry to ensure that the multiple strands of this global network of power are brought to account so that we can learn and hold to account in this place with regard to concerns about how these associations are formed and the depth to which they infiltrate places like this, the Government and international networks. As we have learned over the last few weeks, sensitive financial information has been shared, and this can impact on our constituencies, markets and trade. That in turn has an impact on the very people we are here to represent. No longer can these powerful men swan around the world having these conversations, gaining more power and exploiting whoever crosses their path without being held accountable. We therefore need to understand how to create even deeper transparency across all institutions, including all areas of Government, just as we try to do in this place each and every day. As the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) says, this inquiry must be far-reaching and it must pursue all these issues. I recognise that many Departments have been missed out in the Humble Address. We need to understand, for instance, how transport has been used, and not just civil transport but military transport. We need to see the missing logs to find out who was on those planes, where they were going and where they had come from. We also need to understand the expenses system that ensued and to find out how signing off for massages became a duty of the taxpayer. Individuals questioned this, as we have heard, but the reality is that people did not feel empowered to blow the whistle and raise those concerns. We need to institute processes where people can raise concerns wherever they see them, but at the moment we do not have the confidence that that was undertaken within the systems. How are we going to institute that? There are also questions about visas—we know that 90 people came in and out of the country during the period that we are looking at today—and of course there must be rigour in appointment processes. Much has been heard about that over the last few months, and it lies at the heart of this Humble Address. We need to ensure that all these appointments are transparent. I heard what the Minister said today, but we have 32 trade envoys and I have never seen one post advertised. I am not aware of the expertise that those individuals have with regard to trade or to their relations with a particular country. What do they actually add? What value do they actually bring, and how can we assess that from this place? I therefore ask for a proper review of all these appointments to assess what they bring, because surely we should have better accountability. I also want to mention the intelligence services. I cannot believe that our intelligence services were not aware of some of the movements of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor. How do we bring that to account, to ensure that that information is also in the public domain? Where are the minutes of all those meetings? What do they say? How do we find out? There are so many questions in response to the Humble Address being put today, but we have to think about what we want to do from this point on as well. This must not be about just holding and examining the information and commenting in the tea rooms and the corridors; we must ensure that power is held to account, and that those with privilege know that they are answerable for the responsibilities that they hold. As the light is shone deeper into the darkest networks of the elite’s exploitations, and as the systems are overhauled and reviewed, may the police do their job well and extensively and may we in this place always focus on the women who were exploited, gaslit, traumatised and left broken as we seek justice and seek to hold that power to account.

• 13 Jan 2026 · Universities: Statutory Duty of Care · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) on setting out the case for a statutory duty of care so well. Students face an array of intersecting pressures throughout their student journey. One is the cost of living. York is one of the most expensive places to be a student, not least because of the lack of supply and the cost of accommodation. That bears down on students, who have to take on more responsibilities, often working full time alongside their studies. Having to dedicate more of their time to surviving compromises their studies, yet universities seem quite impervious to understanding those cost pressures by putting mitigation in place, whether by providing accommodation or by supporting students who do not succeed because they have to spend more time on their work. Transport pressures also bear down on students, as does the array of challenges that young people face today, including social media, violence and sexual violence, and we have talked about the interplay of neurodivergence and mental health. It is really important that there be a statutory duty of care on universities to provide holistic support around a student. We must also recognise the challenges facing international students, who have not yet been mentioned in this debate. They are from another jurisdiction with different mental health models, but they also face challenges with their immigration status, which I have come across in York. We need to look at the system. An Iranian student today who would not be able to return to Iran because of the situation there must be able to change their status here. There are many intersections for international students, which we must take on board. In 2015, York had a real surge in the number of students who took their lives. I congratulate the universities and the wider community on looking at how they could put mitigation in place, but 1,108 students have since taken their lives across the country. Therefore, this situation does permeate the sector.

• 6 Jan 2026 · BBC Charter Renewal · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Harris. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) on securing today’s debate. A new charter is an opportunity for a real reset for the BBC. We have heard many criticisms in the debate, but this is an opportunity for a fresh start for the BBC, and that is important. The BBC will only be as good as the accountability systems that are built around it, so it is crucial that independence is at the heart of that. Detachment from this place and from Government decisions on who should sit on the board is an important expression of that. I certainly support workers, who know their organisation so well, sitting on the board, alongside voices and experiences from across the nations. We also need to ensure that the regulator, Ofcom, is robust in its scrutiny of the BBC. I therefore ask the Minister to look at the role Ofcom can play in enhancing the role of the BBC, its accountability and its transparency. In an age when media is driving distrust and disunity, how the BBC re-establishes itself as a trusted media source and brings community cohesion is vital for our democracy and our country. I trust that the report will place huge emphasis on that. I also want to raise the issue of the supply of skills across media, broadcasting and journalism. There is a huge opportunity for the BBC to be a training space for so many of our future skills, whether behind the camera or in front of it. I ask the Minister to think about the role of the BBC within the whole creative sector and how it could become an academy for future voices and skills, drawing people from the regions and nations. Finally, I want to raise the issue of devolution. The reality is that the BBC’s removal of local radio content has seen its listenership fall by 27%. I really hope that the Minister will reverse that and ensure that there is no more playing with words—I am thinking of “neighbourhood radio”, which actually means regional or beyond. We want to see localism as so many people in our community depend on it. It strengthens the BBC when voices are about community; it gives the BBC a real purpose. I trust that that can be at the centre of the reforms. Radical devolution of a centralised BBC would be the regrowth of the BBC.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Local Media · Hansard source

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  I was certainly referring to such an example in my speech, but I am particularly concerned about the influence that disinformation is having on this place and on the policies of Governments over time, which have been brought out in response to that social, unregulated space. Is that not all the more reason for the urgency behind ensuring that a properly regulated environment is put in place, so that we do not have those influences, and we instead pull on the real stories and evidence out there?

• 3 Dec 2025 · Local Media · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to be called in this debate with you in the Chair, Dr Allin-Khan, and to the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill (Peter Fortune). With the media industry’s moves from print to broadcast to digital, and we with the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence, there are new challenges before us. We must ensure that we have inclusive, authentic media that we can depend on as a reliable source within our democracy—media that can enable close scrutiny and ensure that we hold our country to account, while reaching deep into our communities and creating the connectivity that is so desperately needed in this time. I am grateful that we have a daily paper, The Press , in print in York. Although its content has thinned over the years, it still provides a substantial record of all that is occurring within our community, with high-quality journalism and interest, as it has done for 143 years. It is so important that local news outlets continue; many journalists learn their skills and cut their teeth there, and they ensure that proper accountability within our communities. As we have heard already in this debate, it is important to ensure that the industry can continue to put planning applications and alcohol licensing information in the papers—not just because of the revenue stream, but because it enables our community to engage. We have seen that in our city, where communities have campaigned as a result of seeing such placements of information. I also recognise the breadth of media within York, including the newer forms. There is YorkMix, That’s TV, the Yorkshire Post —a campaigning paper—YO1 Radio and Jorvik Radio, a real community-based radio station. Our universities also have papers, and I when I visited Archbishop Holgate’s school last week, I found that my Q&A there was on the record. It is great to see young people engaging in the future of media. In the light of the fact that we are looking at the new royal charter, I want to turn to BBC Radio York. It has battled so well to bring its expertise and experience to our city, and to shine a light on good-quality journalism and connectivity. If we are to rebuild our national sources of media, we have to start with the local. I therefore urge the Government to look at how we can move more content to local outlets, rather than pursuing the regionalisation that we have seen. That regionalisation breaks connectivity and, in its last iteration, has not been a positive step; we must review that. What we need are more hours of local content—that hyper-local approach makes a difference. If we are to rebuild trust in the BBC, we need to go from the local to the national, not the national to the regional. The new media in this volatile and heated media space provides unfiltered, biased content, when we need critical analysis of what we are witnessing and a recognition of the profiteering of the tech giants. We need serious regulation, and fast: this new digital world is spinning out of control and the toxicity it generates is making some people incredibly vulnerable. It can be incredibly dangerous, and it is building division and hate. A media that started out to extend democracy is now rapidly shutting it down. We must look at regulation—we could have a commission that pulls the industry together to do that. I recommend the NUJ’s “A Future for News” plan, which sets out a balanced approach to how we move forward. As we navigate this new world of fact and fake, we must ensure that the route out is through our local media outlets, so we can hold on to authenticity and rebuild trust.

• 25 Nov 2025 · Immigration Reforms: Humanitarian Visa Routes · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Edward. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing today’s debate. In a dangerous and dystopian world, our word must be our word. It must be honoured. Many have fled to our land for sanctuary, safety and security, and we cannot change the terms retrospectively; nor should we change them for those to come. We rightly have made commitments to people who have embarked on their settlement journeys, from the horrors of Taliban Afghanistan, to our BNO friends from Hong Kong who have fled the human rights abuses of the Chinese regime, young people who have arrived under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees schemes, and our good friends from Ukraine who have come to the UK because of the sanctuary and human rights we have extolled and spent 80 years leading. I will say it plainly today. I believe the Government have got this wrong. Their analysis is political, not factual, and their propositions are unacceptable. I agree with all the hon. Members today who have made such pertinent points in this debate. I appreciate how the Tories absolutely destroyed the system. They built the backlogs, did not put the staffing into the Home Office and lost focus and urgency, weaponising our systems. They did not have functional pathways. But all of these things speak of the pace that is needed, not slowing the pathways down. It has been wrong not to have the humanitarian routes available to so many, and I welcome the Government now putting those in place. But it is right that we honour the schemes already in existence and create the right culture for our country to be safe and secure for others fleeing dangers, so that they have security here as well. On the issue of language proficiency, what we need is functionality around language. I therefore ask the Government to think this through carefully again. Also, we know that many will not make the earnings threshold. They will be predominantly women who are carers of children and adults. I therefore call for an impact assessment to understand how gendered already our pay is in this country, and how the policy will press into that space and discriminate. As somebody who represents a human rights city—the only human rights city in England—articles 3 and 8 are not to be questioned. We need to ensure we have secured the right human rights framework and use it to protect people at home and abroad. If we lessen rights for others, it lessens the rights of us all.

• 18 Nov 2025 · UNESCO: 80th Anniversary · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies) on securing the debate. The power of culture to maintain peace and promote diversity over the last 80 years demonstrates the opportunity to use soft power to transform the world. In the midst of a debate about borders and identity, UNESCO is the antithesis, showing the opportunity for education, science and culture to reach beyond, to stir interest and to provide us with a framework that enables us to be proud of our heritage and embrace our own culture and that of others. It may come as a surprise that York is yet to be granted world heritage site status. We are on the tentative list—a significant achievement in itself—but our ambition is recognition. I have worked with the York world heritage steering group since I was elected in 2015, and at this point I pay tribute to Janet Hopton and John Oxley for their fantastic and committed work. Their big question is how we ensure we get proper financial backing for UNESCO world heritage sites, beyond local sources. To submit a bid can cost up to half a million pounds, with staffing and associated project costs. The nomination dossier itself could cost £180,000, with drafting, formatting and Government liaison needed. Once a site receives its status, there are, of course, ongoing conservation, management and monitoring obligations to be met, and a member of staff to oversee that. The big question is: will the Government work with the National Heritage Lottery Fund to introduce a dedicated funding strand that will support UK world heritage sites developing their bids and assist in the ongoing work? That could be a game changer and address the inequity that exists. The proposed world heritage site in York has 993 listed historical buildings, six scheduled monuments, one of the UK’s earliest designated conservation areas and one of only five areas of archaeological importance in England. York’s bid is an outstanding example of urbanisation through the ages. In the next few years I want to see York on that permanent list, but we need financial support. I briefly draw attention to York itself as a UNESCO city of media arts. It has the festival of early music, the BAFTA-accredited Aesthetica short film festival, the Jorvik Viking festival and the festival of ideas. We have embedded the Guild of Media Arts in our city over the last decade, which is now an important centre of leading media arts in our country. As a result, we are seeing global film productions in the city, the gaming industry, phone and TV apps, new technology bringing cutting-edge immersive experiences into the digital creative space and artists finding their form. It is therefore fitting to mark the 80th anniversary of UNESCO, and I trust we will also celebrate the power of all its listed locations and cultures in maintaining peace and security.

• 16 Sept 2025 · Employment Rights: Impact on Businesses · Hansard source

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  In the first of five years, we have had to repair the economy. That has been our focus, but as we move forward, businesses will see the vision that Labour has for rebuilding the economy. In my constituency, I see the vibrant boom of entrepreneurs and their business concepts coming to fruition. People want to start a business and see its success. We will certainly build the wider infrastructure needed for that. There is much more that we need to do to advance the rights of workers. Sector bargaining is a must, with standards and terms to boost economic sectors across the economy, address labour shortages and provide sector security. I would like to see workers on company boards, co-producing with businesses and seeing the success of workers. A single status for workers is really important as we move forward. That is an issue that I have worked on for many years. On changing the culture in workplaces, I want to ensure that workers no longer have to fear negative behaviours at work. An issue close to my heart, and one that I have worked on for many years, if not decades, is bullying at work. In two different parliamentary Sessions, I have introduced a Bullying and Respect at Work Bill, addressing negative cultures in the workplace. Bullying costs business £18 billion, and 17 million working days are lost. We need a legal definition of bullying, a route to an employment tribunal and a positive duty to prevent, as in Australian legislation. I hope the new Minister, who I welcome to her place, will be willing to meet me and campaigners to discuss such legislation to ensure that we can introduce such a measure on one of the biggest issues blighting business today. If workers are not subjugated and their wages are not extracted, we will build a more equitable society, a strong economy and flourishing businesses. A cohesive society is certainly something that I know working people long to see under this Labour Government.

• 15 Sept 2025 · Children with SEND: Assessments and Support · Hansard source

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  I will make a little progress, if I may. In my constituency this month, we are establishing a SEND hub. It is very much like the concept of Sure Start but for children with SEND, so that throughout their journey—up to the age of 25, but with no fixed barrier at that age limit either—parents and young people can get the support that they need from multi-agency provision, whether that is around stay and play, expert health advice, support for parents, peer support or the advice that teachers and others in our communities can get to make sure that the provision for their children is absolutely the best. When we look at culture, we have to look at the physical environments in which our children can learn to make sure that they are therapeutic, from colours and lights right through to the ways people can navigate school uniforms. Why do we dress our children in the way we do in this modern age? I urge the Government to look at the whole area of exams and assessments, which cause so many children, particularly those with SEND, so much stress and anxiety. I also want to raise the issue of transition. We need to do transition far, far better, because it is often at the point of transition between primary and secondary that children face the greatest anxiety. Finally, I want to talk about the issue of governance. Risk, responsibility and accountability sit in the wrong place within our system. There needs to be a controlling mind. I urge the Minister to look at local authorities holding that controlling mind, because often the ask on local authorities is not under their control: ultimately, multi-academy trusts are making decisions that are pushing these children out of the education system, and local authorities are having to pick up the pieces. I believe that we can get this right, but we need local authorities to be really in control. Will the Minister consider giving special educational needs co-ordinators roles similar to directors of public health in the way they relate to their local authorities, so that they have more power and authority to determine what happens within their educational environment?

• 15 Sept 2025 · Children with SEND: Assessments and Support · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dr Huq. I congratulate the petitioners on bringing forward this very important issue. I also want to thank the families in York I have consulted throughout the summer and over the 10 years I have been in this place; I have written a report to give to the Minister on the back of that. The first key thing that I want the Minister to focus on is culture in our schools, which must change to a therapeutic and nurturing culture that is inclusive, with a focus on belonging. I urge the Minister and all hon. Members to take time to listen to Sir Ken Robinson, particularly his YouTube video, “How to escape education’s death valley”. In 20 minutes, we can learn so much about why culture has to change across our education system, because all our children are unique and need an environment in which every child can thrive. If we got the culture right, so many children would not need EHCPs, because they would have the supportive learning environment and health support that they need in order to thrive.

• 15 Sept 2025 · Children with SEND: Assessments and Support · Hansard source

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  I absolutely do, and I congratulate the hon. Member on all the work that she has done in this area. We certainly know, for instance, that emotionally based school avoidance often happens because the culture is wrong in the classroom. We need the right culture not only in the school, but in the community, because a child’s life continues through school vacations, into the summer and so on.

• 10 Sept 2025 · Stockton and Darlington Railway: 200th Anniversary Festival · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) for introducing the debate so well, and for bringing alive the past 200 years of the railway. Since steam filled the air on 27 September 1825, as the first passenger rail between Stockton and Darlington ran on that line, rail has transformed the world. It has transformed the economy, our society and livelihoods—lives and leisure—and all that was to follow captured the global imagination. To mark its 150th anniversary, in 1975, the National Railway Museum opened in my city of York: a national museum outside London, fought for by Jennie Lee, the Labour Minister at the time. In parallel to the museum’s 50th anniversary celebrations, we in York will also be opening the station hall on 26 September. I welcome visitors old and new to see the improvements, the new interpretation in the gallery and the new gallery roof. I thank the Labour Government for all that they have done to support the National Railway Museum. New artefacts, such as the wreath that adorned Queen Victoria’s funeral locomotive, will be on display. There will also be a beautifully restored WHSmith book stall kiosk from Waterloo station, which I am really looking forward to seeing, as my grandfather started his working life selling newspapers at the WHSmith at North Shields station. The old favourite royal trains will also return in their full glory. I am sure that visitors will want to flock to the National Railway Museum to join the celebrations on the celebratory weekend—on their way, of course, to Shildon, Darlington and Stockton. The National Railway Museum’s sister museum, Locomotion, in Shildon, the world’s first railway town, will also be part of the commemorations. Locomotion will hit its 21st birthday at the same time, and will host the Inspiration train. For those yet to make it to these parts, the Railway 200 Inspiration train will be their destination. It will be travelling throughout the country, led in partnership by the National Railway Museum, as its carriages tell our story of the history of rail, engage all in science with its mobile Wonderlab and spark a flame for people to consider a career on our great railways. I also want to thank the Labour Government for what is about to come in York. That is, of course, the new gallery. Spades will be going in the ground in January, as part of our ongoing 200, 201 or 202 years of celebration. The revamped museum will tell a far better story of the history of rail—past, present and future—enabling budding engineers to explore their heritage while learning the science behind rail, and all engaging with science, technology, engineering and maths through the Wonderlab. I would not steal the history of the Stockton to Darlington line, but the revolution that was born there was scaled and exported because of my predecessor George Hudson’s vision for the railways. Two hundred years on, York is the centre of digital and advanced rail, and because of our shared history it is the global centre for the future of rail. Stephenson’s Rocket will soon take pride of place at the National Railway Museum, alongside the Mallard and the Flying Scotsman. Given that we hold such incredible assets in our city, there will be a shared enthusiasm—from young and old, locally and globally—to come to York to the world’s leading rail museum. Of course, we will encourage them to go up the line to the north-east as well. This is not about just our past, but our future. We must see the modal shift to rail, on which I know the Transport team is working so hard. We need the decarbonisation and the economic power that rail can bring to all our communities. As that happens, we must build that incredible, aspiring industry that we saw in our country 200 years ago and that we will celebrate in York on the weekend of the 26th to the 28th. Five thousand people now work for the future of digital and advanced rail in our city. Our past tells a story of our future. That is why I really welcome the opportunity to celebrate Railway 200.