Rachael Maskell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Jul 2025 · Poverty Reduction · Hansard source

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  3. What fiscal steps she plans to take to help reduce the number of disabled and sick people in poverty.

• 30 Jun 2025 · Welfare Reform · Hansard source

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  I welcome progress, but I cannot countenance sick and disabled people being denied support to enable them to be independent in the future, and 150,000 people being pushed into deeper poverty. Nor can disabled people across our country support these measures. It is a matter of conscience. Will the Secretary of State set out why we are voting on these matters tomorrow, when the Timms review means that there could be real changes to the criteria used in assessments for people to score four points? It feels like signing a blank cheque.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Science and Innovation Funding · Hansard source

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  6. What steps he is taking to distribute funding for science and innovation.

• 16 Jun 2025 · Child Sexual Exploitation: Casey Report · Hansard source

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  I welcome the pace and focus that the Home Secretary has brought to Baroness Casey’s report. She is right to highlight the risk of the online space and the rapidity with which it has become a focus. Can she give assurances that protocols will change accordingly, so that we look for the information that we do not know about, and that the cases of survivors and victims who have been criminalised will be quashed, so that those people do not carry convictions for the exploitation that they experienced?

• 16 Jun 2025 · SEND Strategy · Hansard source

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  12. What steps she is taking to develop a SEND strategy.

• 2 Jun 2025 · UK Nuclear Deterrent · Hansard source

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  The UK is one of five nuclear countries that are members of the non-proliferation treaty. Will my hon. Friend tell the House what steps his Government are taking to reduce the number of nuclear deterrents that our country carries, which is one of our obligations under the treaty?

• 22 May 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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• 15 May 2025 · Safeguarding Vulnerable Claimants · Hansard source

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  First, I pay tribute to the work of my hon. Friend. She has been a persistent champion of safeguarding vulnerable people in the system, and this report really emphasises that. I was surprised that the Committee did not recommend the removal of conditionality, because that is a serious lead into harm for so many people. In anticipation of the pathways to work legislation coming before this House, I think the report makes very sobering reading and raises serious concerns about safeguarding and the accountability of that safeguarding. I would pick out the recommendation about the chief medical adviser’s assessments. Currently, that is private advice to Ministers. What steps does my hon. Friend believe can be taken so the House can be supplied with the full evidence base it needs to make informed choices, not least because policies such as pathways to work will place many people at serious risk, including serious risk to their lives?

• 7 May 2025 · Personal Independence Payment: Disabled People · Hansard source

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  Everything is hard in body or in mind. People face the barriers, pain, dejection and not being believed—even when they are, assumptions are made on which only lived experience can speak. They face the effort to live, to just get up and face the day and to prove that their experiences are real, and they face the costs. After 14 years of battling, here we are, with “Pathways to Work”, taking away money, agency, dignity, independence and the essence of life itself. I fear, like many do, that people will take their lives, once again crushed by a system that fails to believe and points the finger rather than offering the hand, turning hope to despair. Poverty, dependency and harm—if not physical, most definitely psychological—await. Colleagues, we are better than this. Let us vow to stop such pernicious cuts and rewrite the story with the voices, experiences and hope of disabled people. Even if tech, task, time and place can be accommodated, work is not always the answer. We do not even have the diagnosis, understanding of the evidence, or answers from Charlie Mayfield’s report. I will vote against these cuts because I am Labour and because disabled people matter.

• 29 Apr 2025 · Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Visit · Hansard source

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  It was sobering yesterday listening to Dr Mustafa, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, not least as he stressed the UK Government’s leadership role and the importance of the recognition of the state of Palestine. Bearing in mind that leadership role and the fact that 147 jurisdictions already recognise that state, will the Minister explain to the House today the reasons for the impediment to that recognition? It is really important that we hear that, because we are here to hold the Government to account.

• 8 Apr 2025 · Hospice Funding · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is making a powerful speech. I have steered the palliative care commission for the past six months, and the one thing that has become crystal clear in our minds is that the fundamental funding model is completely broken; it is not fit for purpose. Furthermore, we need more integration in the system. Hospices are involved in part of people’s care; they do not provide the entirety of their care. Does she believe that the findings of the commission need to steer the future funding of the hospice sector?

• 3 Apr 2025 · Adoption Breakdown · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the Minister for her commitment and for all that she is doing in this area. When young people are placed in adoption, can we look at ensuring that there is more open adoption? We certainly need to look at the data on that. We know that a teenager finding their birth parents can often lead to an adoption breakdown. That teenager might never be able to restore a relationship either with their birth parents or with their adoptive parents.

• 3 Apr 2025 · Adoption Breakdown · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Member for securing today’s debate. We know from Adoption UK’s adoption barometer that 42% of families experience challenges or crisis. It also notes that it can take them an average of five months to get the support they need, and we need to shrink that timeframe. Does he agree that we need to have money reserved for the urgent support that these families need?

• 3 Apr 2025 · Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme · Hansard source

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  The Belfry in York has been left literally in ruins as a result of now having a £1.5 million shortfall. Contracts have been signed and the project needs support. Will my hon. Friend arrange a meeting for churches that are midway through their project, with her and the Secretary of State, so that we can clear up this mess?

• 1 Apr 2025 · Trail Hunting · Hansard source

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  The law must also be followed. The fact that 46% of registered trail hunts end up chasing a fox proves that the law needs tightening up and that we need tougher sentencing. Ultimately, this Labour Government will deliver that. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is a priority?

• 24 Mar 2025 · European Union: UK Membership · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for all that my hon. Friend has done on this issue. Does she agree that it would be really helpful now, nine years on, to have a comprehensive impact assessment? In 2016, we talked about the projected harm that Brexit would cause. Now that we have the evidence, should Government prepare an assessment, so that we can make sound judgments on the basis of that?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Welfare Reform · Hansard source

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  As a physio, I know that optimising somebody’s function and independence, whether they are in work or not, saves the system so much money, because it prevents dependency. However, I find that incongruous with the cuts of £5 billion and the changes to the eligibility criteria. Will the Secretary of State ensure that before the measures are brought to the House, disabled people are consulted and involved in the decision making? We must ensure that people maintain their independence, psychological safety and dignity, and that they are not pushed further into poverty.

• 17 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  As a human rights city, York believes that disabled people should be at the heart of all decision making. How have disabled people formed the Minister’s views in making these changes? Have they been at the heart of the decision making?

• 3 Mar 2025 · Church of England: Safeguarding · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing forward this debate and for the way in which he is doing so. Does he agree that the technical nuances that caused the Church of England to go for option 3 rather than option 4 could be overcome by formulating a process of accountability around the safeguarding structures within the Church of England, to ensure that any provider of such services had a strong line of communication in order to hear what is needed in places such as York, where we have a cathedral, which I understand is where some of the challenges are coming from?

• 3 Mar 2025 · Church of England: Safeguarding · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the Minister for what she is saying. Given that it has been cited that there could be a technical reason with the Charity Commission as to the roles of trustees within the structures of cathedrals, will she meet representatives of the Charity Commission to ensure that any impediment is worked through and that, if necessary, this place legislates to remove that impediment?

• 27 Feb 2025 · Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme · Hansard source

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  The capping of the listed places of worship grant scheme has left many churches in physical ruin, such as the Belfrey in York, which will lose £1.5 million, even though it has done everything that was expected of it. Clearly, we need to find a solution, and the suggestions from Government have been insufficient. Will my hon. Friend ensure that the Church Commissioners co-ordinate a meeting of all churches that are mid-project, to ensure that they can complete the works that they have undertaken?

• 27 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Ensuring sensory and motor integration is crucial for a child’s development and learning, yet many services that do so are available only in the private sector. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can ensure that parents can access those crucial services?

• 20 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  It was freezing over the weekend in York. Despite working with North Yorkshire emergency accommodation services, I was unable to find accommodation for a very vulnerable constituent of mine. Will the Minister ensure that in the homelessness review we hold local authorities to account and that no resident’s case is put in the “too difficult to manage” box?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Drug and Alcohol Addiction: Treatment · Hansard source

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  In 2022, there were more than 10,000 deaths from alcohol use. We know that more than 600,000 people have an alcohol dependency. We need to focus not just on treatment services and their funding, but on prevention. The last Government failed to bring forward a timely alcohol strategy. Will the Minister update the House on what he is doing to ensure that we are tackling this massive situation in our communities?

• 9 Dec 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Academisation has created fragmentation in lines of accountability, leaving local authorities carrying much risk, not least when it comes to SEND provision. Will my hon. Friend look at academy governance structures to ensure that local authorities can carry that responsibility and be able to deliver for children with SEN?