Sarah Hall MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 25 Mar 2025 · Community Pharmacy · Hansard source

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  8. What recent progress his Department has made on implementing the hub and spoke model for community pharmacy.

• 25 Mar 2025 · Community Pharmacy · Hansard source

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  Community pharmacy funding is at a critical juncture, with many pharmacies in my constituency facing financial challenges. With running costs increasing and uncertainty around the date of the upcoming settlement, community pharmacies are concerned that there may be disruption to their business. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that input from community pharmacies is considered, and prior to any further legislative or regulatory changes relating to the hub and spoke model?

• 19 Mar 2025 · Transport Connectivity: North-west England · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt) on securing this crucial debate. Constituencies such as mine have long faced challenges of poor connectivity. Warrington South is located at the crossroads of the north-west. It is strategically placed between Manchester, to the east, and Liverpool, to the west. Our town is successful: it is a desirable place to live and has grown considerably in size over recent years but, sadly, investment in transport has just not kept up. We have congestion on the roads, limited, poor-quality crossing points over the Manchester ship canal, ageing infrastructure and unelectrified rail lines. Towns such as mine deserve better. It is critical to understand how poor connectivity is constraining growth, limiting our potential and leaving us behind. Uncertainty about infrastructure projects such as Northern Powerhouse Rail, slimmed-down projects such as HS2 and delayed projects such as the Western Link congestion relief road are part of the problem. According to data published at the end of last year, every region of the country falls behind London in public spending on transport per head. The capital receives about £1,313 per person, but the north-west receives only £729. That shocking £584 difference shows the north-south divide in practice once again. A report by Transport for the North revealed that one fifth of people living in northern England are prevented from taking up opportunities and participating in communities around them due to poor connectivity and mobility. The focus must be not only on the big cities: it must also include towns such as Warrington and Leigh. Investment in transport infrastructure can be transformational. It can act as a catalyst for growth, unlock potential and drive forward the Government’s plan for change. We need a co-ordinated effort that better links our communities and recognises the contribution that our towns and villages make to the wider economy and the potential they have to offer. We cannot allow the transport challenges of the past to restrict our potential in the future. With the right investment in the right places, we have the opportunity to grow the national economy and our local economy.

• 10 Mar 2025 · Crime and Policing Bill · Hansard source

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  I begin by declaring an interest: I am proud to be married to a serving Cheshire police officer. In the year ending September 2024, there were 1 million incidents of antisocial behaviour, 490,000 shop theft offences and more than 55,000 knife or sharp instrument offences. Those are not just numbers; they are real people, real businesses and real communities who were let down by the previous Government. In my constituency, Cheshire police officers continue to go above and beyond. Day in, day out, they put themselves on the line to protect us, despite rising demand and the failure of the previous Government to support them. I thank them for their dedication, service and unwavering commitment to keeping my constituency, towns and villages safe. Cheshire police has led the way in tackling some of the key issues that we are discussing today. In February, the force received praise following an inspection by His Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue services, which commended it “on its excellent performance in keeping people safe, reducing crime and giving victims an effective service.” I am in no doubt that that success is down to the leadership of Chief Constable Mark Roberts and the hard work of Cheshire police officers, staff and volunteers. I welcome the tough new actions against perpetrators of stalking. The Bill takes a range of new measures to strengthen enforcement and better protect victims, such as making it easier for courts to issue stalking protection orders, introducing a new offence of spiking, and improving information sharing with victims. I pay tribute to Cheshire police’s Detective Sergeant David Thomason for his many years of work in this area, including the creation of Cheshire’s anti-stalking unit, which sees police, mental health professionals, outreach workers and victim advocates working together to protect victims of stalking and give them enhanced support, as well as to tackle the behaviour of stalkers and the root causes of their offending. DS Thomason has long been a leading advocate in this area, and I am delighted to see the Government give stalking the attention it rightly deserves. The theme of this year’s National Stalking Awareness Week is “Health response: spotting stalking”. Like other forms of violence against women and girls, stalking is a public health issue and requires a whole-system approach. Through training, guidance and improved referral pathways, the goal is to support the healthcare sector and ensure that no victims of stalking fall through the gaps. Will the Minister say what action is being taken to ensure collaborative working with healthcare colleagues and the delivery of a whole-system approach? As a member of USDAW and a Labour and Co-operative MP, I also welcome the new offence of assaulting a retail worker, which will give workers in shops up and down the country the protection they need. This is an area I have long campaigned in. I have spoken to many retail workers in my constituency, including at the local Co-op store in Latchford, where I heard about the devastating impact that assault and abuse have had on their lives. For too long, retail staff have been working in fear of the next incident of abuse, threat or violence, and the Bill provides a great opportunity to make a real difference to the retail industry and to workers’ lives. This Labour Government are delivering where the Conservatives failed. This is a Bill that takes crime seriously. It is a Bill to rebuild public confidence, make our streets safer and give our police the power, support and resources they need to protect our communities.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Plan for Neighbourhoods · Hansard source

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  Like the Minister, I am proud to be a Labour and Co-operative MP. Today’s announcement is a great win for our movement, putting power where it belongs: in our communities. In areas such as mine, community can be found in our proud grassroots sports teams. Will the Minister update us on what more can be done to empower fans to own and shape their local sports teams?

• 4 Mar 2025 · Community Sport Facilities · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that community asset transfers offer a real opportunity for grassroots clubs such as mine in Warrington South, allowing for the enhancement of community facilities while also giving local people a stake in how their clubs are run, putting people over profit and retaining an identity rooted in the community?

• 20 Jan 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  Many of my constituents cannot afford to buy their freeholds under the current leasehold legislation. When does the Minister think the legislation to ensure that leaseholders can enfranchise easier, cheaper and quicker will come into force?

• 20 Jan 2025 · Leasehold Reform · Hansard source

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  3. What steps she plans to take to reform the leasehold system.