Sam Rushworth MP: speeches

Speeches

• 24 Oct 2024 · Special Educational Needs and Disabilities · Hansard source

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  A mother in my constituency came to see me. Her son has been off-rolled from mainstream primary school, which she would like him to attend, and offered only a distant special school that is entirely inappropriate for his needs. She would like to know why Durham county council is prepared to spend £30,000 a year on transport for her son to attend a school that she does not feel is appropriate for him, but will not spend the same amount on a classroom assistant who could help him to be in mainstream school. That is happening under rules introduced by the previous Government. Will the Minister meet me to discuss this?

• 16 Oct 2024 · Carer’s Allowance · Hansard source

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  This sits among the many injustices that the new Government have to deal with, and I think an apology is in order. In conclusion, I welcome this Government’s review. I think there have been some excellent contributions from all parts of the House, with some really serious issues raised such as students losing their eligibility to claim, my constituents’ point about universal credit and the points about respite care and young carers, and I do not think anyone has even mentioned kinship carers. I hope that this review will take account of all these things so that we can deliver a fairer deal for Britain’s army of unpaid carers.

• 16 Oct 2024 · Carer’s Allowance · Hansard source

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  May I begin by expressing my appreciation of the family carers in the Bishop Auckland constituency? According to helpful researchers in the Commons Library, one in seven of my constituents provides at least an hour of unpaid care each week, and over half of them are eligible for carer’s allowance. Nationwide, as we have heard, our army of family carers is the equivalent of a second NHS. I agree with the criticism made by the shadow Secretary of State that we must not risk opening the door to fraud, and it is precisely because I believe in the welfare state that I think it must always be watertight and widely perceived as fair. However, I am concerned that in a huge number of cases—I am inclined to believe that it is the majority of cases—overpaid carer’s allowance is the result of inadvertent error. As others have said, this is a complicated benefit and when so many stressed family carers find themselves having to pay back large sums of money, there must be some onus on the Government to take responsibility. This issue is so widespread that I think every MP in this place will have been contacted by constituents facing hardship. These are decent, honest people who work hard, who serve their families and communities and who ask for little, and they feel as though they are being treated like criminals while the Government have become the nation’s biggest debt collector. If I may, I will briefly raise a specific issue that two of my constituents have raised with me. They are being required to pay back thousands of pounds because of inadvertently earning just above the earnings threshold. However, as they have pointed out to me, carer’s allowance is counted as income in universal credit claims, so had they not claimed it, they would have received more in universal credit. I gently urge the Minister to consider this point as part of the review, as people are not only being pushed into hardship due to being made to pay back overpayments, but may actually be worse off on aggregate than if they had never claimed.

• 15 Oct 2024 · House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman seems to be operating on the premise that all hereditary peers are Conservatives. Why does he think that people with entrenched privilege are naturally Conservative?

• 10 Oct 2024 · Sport: Team GB and ParalympicsGB · Hansard source

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  I echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) about repetition when speaking this late in a debate; I am aware that I am probably the only thing standing between hon. Members and trains back to constituencies, so I will try not to be long-winded. I am grateful for this debate and to those who spoke; if oracy were an Olympic sport, many of our maiden speakers today would be medallists and, as with most sports, I would be grateful just to take part. Across this House, people are rightly proud of the achievements of our great British Olympians. I am proud particularly of the consistency of our performance in the Paralympics, because it says something about who we are as a nation. I refer not to Governments of either colour, but to the spirit of the British people. However, it is important that we do not allow our celebrations of British sporting success at an elite level to conceal the wide inequalities of access to sport and physical activity. One third of Team GB’s medallists went to private schools. I do not mean to disparage them—only sheer hard work and perseverance could lead them to achieve what they did—but when privately educated young people are four times more likely than children in the state sector to get an Olympic medal, we have to ask: what are we doing to ensure that all young people have the opportunities and support to participate and achieve in sports? Almost half the 1,400 member schools of the Independent Schools Council have their own swimming pools, 759 have astroturf pitches, and nearly 100 offer rowing on their own lakes and rivers. Meanwhile, in the state sector, 223 school playing fields were sold off between 2010 and 2020. As others have already noted, the Department for Education reports that there were 41,000 fewer hours of PE taught in the 2023-24 academic year compared with 2011-12. That has led to a situation in which fewer than half of children from less affluent backgrounds are meeting the chief medical officer’s guideline of 60 minutes of physical activity a day. I understand that there are pressures on public finances, but mark my words: any savings that we make now by failing to deliver improvements in school and community sports will cost us in the future through increases in childhood obesity and diabetes, which will add to future NHS bills. We are heading in the wrong direction. The Conservative and Lib Dem-controlled Durham county council—it was under Labour control until 2021—has cancelled and delayed upgrades to leisure facilities. The town of Crook, which has a population of 10,000 people, lost its swimming baths over a decade ago, and several attempts since to bring them back have ended only in disappointment. It is not just young people who are affected. I remember vividly a conversation I had while canvassing; an older woman in her 80s told me of her sorrow at the closure of the swimming baths, and of having to take two buses—an hour and a half’s round trip—to where I live, in Bishop Auckland, for the nearest swimming pool. That has meant that she no longer goes. She is missing out not only on physical activity but on interaction with her friends; she said it was the thing in the week that she had most looked forward to. Sport is therefore not just about physical health, but about loneliness and isolation. In schools, it is also about the intrinsic curriculum. I was not blessed with great physical co-ordination, but I will always be grateful to my PE teacher, Mr Brown, who did not allow me to use that or my asthma as an excuse. He got me on the running track, told me to push myself, and put me in the school athletics team. As many do, I learned through sports how to push myself, how to strive for a personal best, how to play fair, how to work as a team, and how to be magnanimous in the very occasional victory and frequently humble in defeat. I learned that sport brings people together and is great fun. Finally, I will focus on the mental health benefits of sport. Today is World Mental Health Day. I recently met ManHealth, a group of men in my constituency who get together on a Thursday night. Perhaps in order to break down the stigma of mental health, I shared my own experience of struggling with depression and anxiety—including in the time since I joined this place—which can often be hidden with a suit and a smile. One of the young men asked to see me afterwards. He had grown up in the care system, and talked to me about his struggles with anger, temper management and in feeling loved and accepted. He felt acceptance and self-esteem through playing rugby, and he is going to try out for a team—I will not reveal which team for the sake of protecting his identity. I was incredibly impressed by him and his candour. Several of my colleagues have made excellent recommendations today that do not need repeating, but I appeal to colleagues across the House not just to pay lip service on this. My local authority has faced cuts of 60% to its central Government funding, and the chief executive told me recently that we are in the territory of closing libraries and leisure centres, so we cannot just pay lip service. There is no development without human development. We should be striving to make Britain the most active nation on earth over the next decade, and end that decline.

• 8 Oct 2024 · VAT: Independent Schools · Hansard source

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  I have come here today to speak on behalf of the children and young people in my Bishop Auckland constituency. I recently spent half a day at an independent school in my constituency, where I spoke with the students, and I have also hosted them here in Parliament. I found them thoughtful and polite, and a credit to their parents and the school. I recognise the role that the school plays in my community. I think it is right that the school retains charitable status, which allows it to claim gift aid on donations and to reinvest surplus revenue without paying tax. I am fully committed to the school and to its fundraising efforts. That is because I want all children in my constituency, whether they attend state schools or fee-paying schools, to have the best opportunities to develop their talents and intellect, no matter their background. I wish I could say the same of Conservative Members, but their actions in government tell a different story. At a recent roundtable with primary school headteachers in my constituency, I heard stories of school dinner debts of £1,000 per school because they are having to feed hungry children. I heard of children coming into school with wet uniforms because there is no glass in their windows. One teacher talked about having to support children who had experienced horrific abuse but were not getting support through CAMHS. I also heard about children who arrive at school behind where they should be because of the closure of Sure Start. On social mobility, is it not the truth that the Conservatives scrapped child trust funds? Under them, Sure Start centres were closed down, school playing fields were sold off and the education maintenance allowance was abolished. Apprenticeships are down, youth services have been cut by 73% since 2010 and there is a five-year waiting list for CAMHS. A decade has been lost because every school budget has less funding per pupil today than it had in 2010. Is that not the truth? Here is another truth— [ Interruption. ] Opposition Members do not like hearing it, but in the past 20 years, private school fees have increased by 55%. I checked Hansard to see whether we had a debate with them all expressing their concern for the state education sector and about the impact of that increase, but it turns out that when the increase is to make elite education even more elite, they are silent. I see no reason why private schools cannot absorb the cost.

• 8 Oct 2024 · VAT: Independent Schools · Hansard source

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  I was coming on to that, and if anybody in an independent school is struggling to cut their cloth accordingly as the state sector has done, I could introduce them to headteachers in my constituency who have had to do that because of cuts imposed by the previous Government. I also suggest that independent schools look at social tariffs and other ways to raise revenue. Nobody wants to be doing this; this is not about the politics of envy. Conservative Members have so far opposed every measure that we are taking to increase revenue or cut spending, and perhaps they need to realise that that is why they are on the Opposition Benches and we are on the Government Benches, as we try to fix state education, which is essential for our children.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I have not written a speech—I have written down a few points—because, like many colleagues, I have spent the past week agonising over how to vote today. In the end, I decided to vote with my conscience, which meant that I voted with the Government. [ Interruption. ] Conservative Members laugh, but I will tell them why. Today I listened sincerely to contributions from Conservative Members, and this is what I have learned. First, there were several interventions in which they criticised the Government’s efforts to improve the take-up of pension credit. [ Interruption. ] Well, they did—Members can go and read Hansard if they want to dispute that. There have been several criticisms of that, almost to the point that, when they talk about who is vulnerable, I wonder whether they have a blind spot for some of our most vulnerable constituents. Secondly, I have learned about Conservative Members’ disdain for hard-working people, because we have learned that, in their spending plans, they intended to reject the pay recommendations of their own pay body.

• 10 Sept 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I absolutely do, and Members may recall that I came to this House last week and asked the Chancellor a question about my own constituents. I represent the snowiest and coldest constituency in England, and I have had deep concerns about those pensioners. However, I have studied the detail and listened to pensioners in my constituency. In the last week alone, it has turned out that several people who have come forward to me expressing concerns about this policy are people who could be claiming pension credit but are not. I want to make a broader point about the winter fuel allowance. The winter fuel allowance was introduced under the last Labour Government in 1997, when the state pension was £3,247 a year. If that had increased at the rate of inflation, today it would be £6,200 a year. Thankfully, it is more than twice that. [Hon. Members: “Because of us.”] Conservative Members say that it is because of them, but, again, they may want to look at the record. In fact, under both the previous Labour Government and the previous Conservative Government, the state pension increased at above the rate of inflation, and I absolutely welcome that. The winter fuel allowance, however, has not increased for 20 years. So the winter fuel allowance, in real terms, has become less and less year after year. The point I am making is that we need to consider our people. If the Conservatives’ argument is that, after 14 years in government, people on the full state pension are £100 away from death and destitution, what have they been doing for 14 years? We need a new settlement for the economy, and this Government are actually answering the concerns of my constituents, who live in cold, stone-built, badly insulated homes, and who lost out when the previous Government chose to cut the funding available to insulate homes. This Government are setting up Great British Energy, which will help to cut bills over the long term. People are poor and struggling to pay their bills not because we do not give away enough taxpayers’ money in small pockets of benefits here and there. What we need are higher wages and better pensions, and I have been convinced by the Chancellor’s arguments that, under this Government, the pension will rise at or above the rate of inflation year on year, while energy bills will fall. Finally, my constituents would not thank me if I did not take steps to stabilise the economy, because we need to get NHS waiting lists down and we need—

• 9 Sept 2024 · Government Policy on Health · Hansard source

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  I think Opposition Members may be making the mistake of judging this Government by their own standards. I wish to ask the Secretary of State this: after my constituents and many others have suffered from the economic disaster that was caused in part by dodgy covid contracts and VIP fast lanes, what will this Government do differently?

• 3 Sept 2024 · Cost of Living: Support for Pensioners · Hansard source

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  The village of Copley, in my constituency, is the snowiest in England and we have many pensioners in receipt of the basic state pension who are, none the less, in fuel poverty. They are not entitled to pension credit. They live in cold, stone-built houses. What assurance can the Chancellor give to those pensioners that this Government will help to warm their homes and ensure they do not struggle to heat their homes this winter?

• 26 Jul 2024 · Infected Blood Inquiry · Hansard source

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  Like many Members, I have constituents who have been affected. Indeed, I grew up without a grandmother, due to infected blood. Not only did my constituents in Barnard Castle lose a child, but their other son experienced severe mental health challenges, which are lasting throughout his adult life, as a consequence of the strain that has been placed on the family because of their long struggle for justice. I am grateful for questions about the duty of candour, but will the Minister agree to regularly update the House on the other measures that will bring about culture change? Culture change is difficult, and it is difficult to know if and when it has been achieved. I would be interested to see a regular update on that.

• 25 Jul 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T8. In recent years, rural parts of my constituency were left without power for a week following storm Arwen, and, during covid, children in upland areas were unable to access school due to poor connectivity. Does the Minister agree that resilience requires taking into account the energy and connectivity needs of areas such as Teesdale and Weardale?

• 19 Jul 2024 · Planning, the Green Belt and Rural Affairs · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for allowing me this opportunity to make my maiden speech during the King’s Speech debate. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Southgate and Wood Green (Bambos Charalambous) for his excellent contribution, as well as the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan). Like her, I represent a rural constituency, and I recognise many of the issues she raised in my own community. I also want to thank my predecessor, Dehenna Davison, for her service. In her maiden speech, she described Bishop Auckland as England’s “most beautiful constituency,” and on that point we agree. She is a formidable campaigner who did important work to raise awareness of migraines, lobular cancer and the danger of one-punch assaults. Although she already has the accolade of being the first ever Conservative MP for Bishop Auckland, I hope that, in decades to come, her legacy will be even more impressive as the only ever Conservative MP for Bishop Auckland. If the House will indulge me for a moment, I would like to say a little about the place I call home, the people who live there and what makes them so special. Getting my priorities in order, I will start by talking about football. I had been looking forward to singing “one general election and one European cup” this summer, but that was not to be. I am gutted that our England team did not quite make it, but football did come home in 1909, when West Auckland became the first football team to win the world cup. That is true, and you can look it up. Another important footballing moment came in 1958, when Bishop Auckland’s amateur football club famously provided players to help Manchester United fulfil their fixtures following the Munich air disaster. I was really touched when I met Barry, who volunteers at the local Bishops football museum. I listened to his passion as he shared how a gentleman with dementia came in and recognised himself in an old black and white photograph. They developed a friendship as he used football memorabilia to help that gentleman reminisce and reconnect with his past. I am similarly grateful to others in my constituency who give up their time to run sports clubs, whether it is football, rugby, cricket or boxing, providing opportunities for young people to exercise, connect and enjoy themselves. Secondly, I have to mention railways. It was in Shildon, in the south-east of my constituency, where Stephenson invented the Rocket locomotive, making Stockton to Darlington the world’s first commercial railway line 200 years ago next year. It is inspiring to see the commitment of local volunteers who work together to preserve this heritage, caring for parts of the line and organising bicentenary events. Likewise, it was inspiring to see those who worked to save the Shildon Railway Institute, which was set up by working people nearly two centuries ago, with a library and school rooms to upskill the local workforce for the new industrial age. Thirdly, we are blessed with fabulous arts and culture in Bishop Auckland, which is the home of Stanley Jefferson, of Laurel and Hardy fame. It is also believed to be where Elgar first played the anthem “Land of Hope and Glory.” And how grateful I am to the volunteers who give their time to enable participation in the arts: Daisy Arts, Jack Drum, the Teesdale operatic society, the Weardale Warblers and “Kynren,” England’s most spectacular outdoor theatre production. The work they do is not only developing talent but building the character and confidence of the rising generation. Fourthly, we have magnificent countryside. Under the new boundaries, the constituency brings together two Durham dales—Weardale and Teesdale—around the market town of Barnard Castle, which is not only a handy place to test your eyesight but is also an idyllic place to stroll along the river with your family on a sunny Easter bank holiday, surrounded as it is by hill sheep farms and moorlands that are home to rare wildflowers and endangered ground nesting birds. I am full of admiration for those who work on the land and put in the graft to keep this place so lovely and to provide us with food. Without wishing to disappoint the right hon. Member for North West Essex (Kemi Badenoch), when I recently met local farmers they were delighted to see that Labour is bringing in planning reforms and lifting the ban on onshore wind. Finally, Bishop Auckland has a long connection with the Church. Auckland castle served for centuries as home to the Prince Bishops, while the seventh-century Escomb Saxon church is one of the oldest in England and stands as a monument to the devotion of the men and women who built it more than a millennium ago. What I find equally inspiring is the work done by churches in our community today, such as Woodhouse Close church and community centre and Shildon Alive, which recently received the King’s award for voluntary service. What makes Bishop Auckland so special to me are the people I live among. People who have stood together in hard times, people who take pride in their neighbourhoods and people who serve without thought for themselves. If I might make a slightly more political point as I draw to a close, we have just accepted the decline of northern heartlands like Bishop Auckland for too long. I live in the town centre, where one in three shops is boarded up. Our local businesses are excited to see the powers that this Government will devolve to local authorities to compulsorily purchase some of those buildings. We will hand them over to businesses and we will get our town centres booming again. Finally, I am proud to be a Member of the most representative Parliament in our history, with the highest percentage of women, minorities and state-educated Members. There are also, on all Benches, some exceedingly talented people. It is already clear to me that while I will be bold in speaking up for my constituents, there will always be someone more gifted in oratory or more learned. However, I hope that if I can excel in anything, it will be in showing kindness and respect to my fellow Members, to the incredible staff who have done so much to make me feel welcome in this rather strange place, and to my constituents who I hope will always know, whatever our disagreements, that I love and care about them.