Sarah Hall MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Sept 2026 · Water Sector: Public Ownership · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Sir Jeremy; it happens. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I support public ownership of our water industry. Water is an essential public service, and it should be run in the public interest. People in my constituency cannot suddenly decide that they have had enough of United Utilities and switch to another water company. They pay their bills because they need the service, and they should be able to expect it to work for them. In reality, however, across the country, that is not what is happening. After years of neglect, failure to upgrade infrastructure, sewage dumping in our waterways and skyrocketing bills, people have frankly had enough. We have spent decades trying to regulate these monopolies, so that they behave somewhat like a public service, but it is clear that that simply has not worked. Across the wider water system, responsibility is divided between organisations, Departments, agencies and authorities, leaving people struggling to find out who will put a problem right. On new year’s day last year, families in Warrington had water coming into their homes, and when water is coming through the front door, they do not want an organisational chart; they just want to know what happened and what someone is going to do about it. The system that we have, which has been bolted together over the years, does not reflect how closely all those things connect. That is where we need to change the way we think. I want to see a publicly owned water company that works holistically across the whole system. A long-term public programme would give businesses certainty about the work coming in. A steady programme of work would give British firms the confidence to invest, take on apprentices, and develop skills and technology. We must use any change in the ownership model to change the way that the whole water system works, so that it is transparent, puts profits back into the crumbling system and ends the dumping of sewage in our waterways. The Prime Minister has spoken about stronger public control of essential services, and I welcome that, but in water, public control has to mean more than regulating private companies more closely. We have been doing that since privatisation. Regulation alone cannot decide what the company is ultimately there to do or whose interests should come first. Every one of us depends on water. I believe it should belong to the public and be run for the public good.

• 10 Sept 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  As we have already heard, today is World Suicide Prevention Day and this week Papyrus, which is based in my Warrington South constituency, went into administration after almost 30 years. Its 24/7 HopeLine allowed young people experiencing suicidal thoughts, and anyone worried about them, to speak to trained advisers, day and night. I have written to all MPs and peers, asking them to sign a cross-party letter to the Health Secretary calling for emergency funding to protect Papyrus’s services. Will the Leader of the House make time for an oral statement from a health Minister on the closure of Papyrus, and the steps the Government are taking to restore HopeLine’s 24/7 service to support the young people who relied on it?

• 10 Sept 2026 · Economic Capabilities: Cross-Government Work · Hansard source

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  Britain’s future growth depends on having the infrastructure, energy, skills and industrial capacity to support it, but too often, investment is held back because the problems—whether grid capacity, water, transport or skills—sit across different Departments. How will the Department make sure this Government deal with those problems together, so that we can reindustrialise Britain and bring growth to every postcode?

• 10 Sept 2026 · Economic Capabilities: Cross-Government Work · Hansard source

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  4. What steps her Department is taking to co-ordinate cross-Government work to strengthen the UK’s long-term economic capabilities.

• 16 Jul 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Year 6 McKellen pupils at St Philip Westbrook primary school in my constituency are campaigning against hostile architecture, such as spikes and divided benches, which makes life harder for people experiencing homelessness. Will the Leader of the House join me in praising their courageous advocacy and make time for a debate on ensuring that our public spaces are designed with dignity and compassion in mind?