Sarah Olney MP: speeches

Speeches

• 29 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T4. One in 50 Londoners, including one in 21 children, are homeless and living in temporary accommodation. London boroughs are spending £5 million a day on temporary accommodation. Although housing costs have skyrocketed in the past 15 years, the temporary accommodation subsidy gap has remained frozen since 2011. Some councils are now struggling to fund other important areas, such as social care. Will the Minister commit to urgently reviewing the temporary accommodation subsidy gap, to ensure that councils are fairly reimbursed?

• 28 Apr 2026 · National Accident Prevention Strategy · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir Andrew Mitchell) on securing this extremely important debate. Four weeks ago today, I was at the funeral of a young man who was killed in a road traffic collision in Sussex, just after Christmas. His mother is one of my constituents. Seeing how broken-hearted she was, and seeing the young man’s friends who were there at his funeral, really brought home to me how important it is that we take all the steps we can to mitigate these kinds of accidents wherever we can to avoid the future suffering of the families and friends of those who die in accidents. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) for highlighting the importance of water safety. My constituency has one of the country’s major rivers—the River Thames—as a boundary, so water safety is a constant issue for the young people whom I represent. I will take the opportunity to highlight the particular risks around locks in the summer months. In my constituency, Teddington lock attracts a great deal of young people who find it appealing to jump off the lock and into the river, which is incredibly dangerous. A couple of years ago, there was a fatality in the river in Sunbury, which is not far from my constituency, so I highlight to young people, particularly those in my constituency, the enormous danger of playing around the locks. I also pay tribute to the British Standards Institution and all its work, in what is its 125th year. It is also the 75th year of the consumer and public interest network and the BSI consumer forum, which ensure that consumer voices are heard in the development of standards so that they reflect real-world experience and mitigate accident risk. The Liberal Democrats believe that investing in prevention through public health initiatives is the most effective way to enhance wellbeing and reduce the burden on NHS services, so we support the introduction of a national accident prevention strategy, as advocated by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. Accidents are a leading cause of preventable death and injury in the UK. The Health and Safety Executive, the NHS and local authorities all have a role to play in accident prevention, but there is no single, overarching national strategy co-ordinating activity across settings such as roads, workplaces, homes and public spaces. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has also long advocated for a joined-up, national approach to home safety, particularly for children and older people. Despite that, no Government have been forthcoming with legislation that would bring together all those strategies in an effective framework. The Liberal Democrats understand the benefit of a national strategy. Road safety strategies have previously driven significant reductions in deaths and serious injuries, with the UK historically being among the safer countries in terms of road casualties, but the Government are yet to introduce a successor strategy of equivalent ambition, so progress has stalled. We have consistently pressed the Government to adopt a road safety strategy, so we welcome their action, but we are disappointed that much of the strategy is simply made up of commitments to undertake consultation, kicking meaningful activity down the road. The Liberal Democrats are calling for action to be taken much more quickly, as well as for investment in road safety infrastructure, better enforcement on speeding and law breaking, educational programmes and improved safety technology across the motor industry. We are also campaigning for the roll-out of active ageing programmes and falls assessments for anyone over the age of 75, to prevent falls, avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and promote healthy ageing. Ill health, which can be caused by accidents, is a key cause of workforce shortages. To tackle that problem, the Government should invest in our NHS and in social care so that people can get the healthcare they need and rejoin the workforce more quickly. We have called on the Government to fix NHS backlogs, cut ambulance waiting times and raise the minimum wage for care workers by £2 an hour to help boost our social care system and get people out of hospital quicker. Social care is essential to enabling people to live safely and independently at home, but the Government are kicking the issue into the long grass, as their commission is not set to complete for another two years. We would complete it within a year and deliver the answers and investment needed to tackle the social care crisis. Beyond the obvious physical and mental impact of accidents, they have a broader economic impact. Each year, accidents cost UK businesses £6 billion in lost working days and output. We want the national prevention strategy to set out clearer expectations for enforcement and employer compliance. The Health and Safety Executive oversees workplace safety regulation, but budget cuts have reduced its inspection capacity. While the NHS continues to be under huge stress, the need to introduce a strategy to reduce preventable accidents is even more pressing. Accidents cost the NHS 5.2 million bed days, which amounts to almost £6 billion. Therefore, will the Minister tell us whether the Government will accelerate plans to conclude the social care commission before 2028? What action are they taking now, in advance of the conclusion, to support people through recovery and back into work? What steps are they taking to ensure that their road safety strategy works effectively and cohesively, alongside other Government strategies, to reduce the number of preventable accidents and injuries across the country?

• 23 Apr 2026 · Allied Health Professionals · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Members for Thurrock (Jen Craft) and for Dudley (Sonia Kumar) for bringing this important debate to the House. I echo the sentiments of other Members who have underlined the important work that allied health professionals undertake and recognised the role that these clinicians play in saving lives, providing care and keeping our NHS running. At a time when some patients experience corridor care, the service of allied health professionals is even more pivotal as their work helps to keep people out of A&E. These clinicians lend their expertise to help treat and care for people or to diagnose illnesses before they require urgent attention. These practitioners have also volunteered to take even more strain off of emergency services, writing to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care last month to request additional responsibilities. In the letter, the allied health professionals asked for the Department of Health and Social Care to consider extending additional independent prescribing powers to their sectors. Currently, they are provided with negligible independent prescribing responsibilities despite many of these clinicians having undertaken the exact same training as other medical professionals. For example, podiatrists can prescribe medicine for their patients, but dietitians have only supplementary prescribing rights and have to be overseen by a doctor. This issue was raised with me by one of my constituents who is a dietitian and who supported the allied health professionals’ request for additional prescribing responsibilities. She states that this change would not only reduce GP waiting list times, but recognise the studies that allied health professionals have undertaken and the expertise they possess. My constituent highlights the bureaucracy and farce of an allied health professional who runs their own clinic having to go and find a consultant to sign off their prescribing, even though they will have had all their prescribing permissions checked and signed off by the chief pharmacist in the hospital. That creates duplication of work at a time when we desperately need to make the NHS more efficient. The Government’s Pharmacy First initiative has had success in encouraging patients away from GPs and towards pharmacists, who can prescribe medicine for common ailments. My constituent merely asks that the Government build on their own good work in this area and extend prescription powers to all allied health professionals equally. I would be grateful if the Minister considered my constituent’s request and responded to the letter sent to the Department for Health and Social Care last month.

• 21 Apr 2026 · Hammersmith Bridge · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. Although I heartily congratulate the hon. Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson) on securing this debate and on her excellent opening speech, I know she shares with me the sincere wish that, before the end of our parliamentary careers, we may one day be able to stop talking about Hammersmith bridge. I fully acknowledge the severe consequences that the closure of the bridge has had on the hon. Lady’s constituents in Putney, but, obviously, my constituents in Richmond Park, where the bridge lands on the southern bank, have also faced extreme disruption and reduced opportunities as a result of the closure. It was seven years ago this month that Hammersmith bridge closed to traffic, and it has not reopened since. That means that for seven years buses have not been able to cross the bridge; emergency ambulance journeys from Barnes, in my constituency, to Charing Cross hospital, on the northern bank of the Thames, have taken significantly longer; and local businesses and families have suffered. Since 2019, Hammersmith and Fulham council has spent nearly £50 million just to maintain the bridge, while successive Governments have failed to act. That is disgraceful. The failure to repair Hammersmith bridge has become a matter of national embarrassment. In the lead-up to the 2019 general election, the then Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, said about the bridge: “The next Conservative Government will not allow this just to remain closed.” I imagine that that comment was made with the intention of supporting the Conservative candidate’s bid for re-election in my constituency of Richmond Park, but nothing then happened. The Conservatives had five years to take action, but the business case for fixing the bridge sat on their desks for years without being picked up, and they did not even bother to reconvene the taskforce during their last three years in office. All the while, the estimated costs of repairing the bridge doubled. In 2022, after the bridge had to be wrapped in tin foil to prevent it from collapsing, I pleaded with the Conservative Government to release the funds for the bridge’s repairs. At that point, the repairs were estimated at £140 million. Now, estimates put the cost of repairs at £250 million. If the Conservatives had kept their promise, they could have saved the taxpayer more than £100 million. The failure of the Conservatives to act has had real-life impacts: Hammersmith fire station still officially serves Barnes, despite it taking 25 minutes to attend a fire in Castelnau. Even the temporary bus routes put in place to connect Barnes and Hammersmith have been cut, and many women and students feel unsafe walking over the bridge in the dark on their return from work or school in the winter months. Barnes residents deserve better. The last Conservative Government were characterised by lies, scandals and a complete disregard for the public; their contempt for the public was evident, whether they were partying while people could not visit sick relatives in hospital or crashing our economy. It is hardly surprising that breaking their promise to fix Hammersmith bridge was merely a footnote. Labour has now had a chance to right this wrong, but I have been disappointed by the Government’s lack of engagement on this matter. Despite my cautious optimism following the reconvening of the taskforce in January 2025, there has been almost radio silence on plans to fix the bridge. That was until two months ago, when the Local Transport Minister remarked that Hammersmith bridge would be an excellent candidate for funding via the Government’s structures fund. The sceptic in me worries that that is lip service to residents prior to the local elections, but I am choosing to be hopeful. I believe that this Government are serious about fixing a problem that impacts my constituents in Barnes, East Sheen and Mortlake every day. In the past year, I have written to the Department for Transport five times to request a meeting, and each time, my request has been refused. I say to the Minister today: I do not want to play politics with Hammersmith bridge. Reopening it to emergency vehicles and buses is what my residents want, and like everyone else in the room, I was elected to serve my constituents. Local activists have joined me in protests and succeeded in keeping the repair of the bridge on the agenda. It is my duty as their MP to amplify their voices and to ensure that they remain up to date with the Government’s latest plans, but I cannot keep local residents informed about developments if the Department for Transport does not engage with me. Transparency is a key tenet of governance, and I am extremely disappointed that local residents have not been afforded it for over seven years. They need answers about the Government’s plans. When will the Hammersmith bridge taskforce reconvene? What criteria are the Government using to assess candidates for the structures fund? Have funding agreements been reached among Hammersmith and Fulham council, Transport for London and the Department for Transport? When will the Government announce whether funding will be provided for Hammersmith bridge via the structures fund? The list goes on, and so, for the sixth time, I request a meeting with the Minister to discuss the future of Hammersmith’s bridge.

• 25 Feb 2026 · Post Office Green Paper · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement, and I promise to set a good example for colleagues by keeping my response brief. As the Minister has laid out, the responses to the consultation underscored the importance of post offices as community hubs that provide vital services, not least to NHS patients through the delivery of important medical correspondence. Some 99.7% of the population live within three miles of a post office, and 4,000 of these branches are open seven days a week. That is an increasingly important statistic, given the rapid closure of high street services such as banks over the past decade. The Minister has said that at least 50% of the network must be full-time and full-service branches. Many people rely on the post office to provide vital services, so can the Minister confirm that we will not see a reduction in the number of full-time branches and that he will ensure that opening hours continue to meet the needs of working people? The Minister also referred to the important community banking service that post offices provide, but he did not provide specific assurances to the House about other services provided by the Post Office, such as Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency services and Passport Office services. He mentioned expanded digital services, but these will not help many of our constituents who live in remote areas with poor broadband access or difficult phone service access. Can he provide a commitment that the Post Office will continue to provide physical services for people who will have difficulty accessing DVLA and passport services digitally? Can he confirm that these will remain in post office branches beyond March 2026, and will he commit to multi-year contracts, in particular with the DVLA?

• 20 Jan 2026 · Domestic Abuse-related Deaths: NHS Prevention · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I congratulate the hon. Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) on securing this important debate. He is a real champion for the NHS, and it is a benefit to all of us that he brings his former experience as a GP to bear in this debate. The NHS has more contact with people experiencing domestic abuse than any other service and, therefore, it is vitally important that staff feel adequately equipped to comfort and reassure victims who take that brave step of reaching out for support, often for the first time. In turn, it is essential that victims can feel confident that when they confide in the NHS, the staff that they speak to have the knowledge to properly support them. While NHS staff do receive the statutory general safeguarding training, it can be easy, as the hon. Member for Stroud has detailed, to miss the signs of abuse and the cries for help, especially when staff are tired from working extensive and difficult hours. As a country, we have so much to thank our NHS for—whether it be for the sacrifices that staff made during the pandemic, or for working additional hours to take care of our loved ones—so my speech is intended to ensure that staff have the tools they need at their disposal to help the most vulnerable, rather than critique their best intentions. Victims are often hesitant to ask for support; they feel trapped by their abuser and fear the repercussions. The extent to which domestic abuse and sexual assault is known to the authorities is somewhat unknown. It is estimated that only 16% of people report their experiences to the police. One reason is mistrust of the authorities, which emphasises the importance of ensuring that those who treat victims’ injuries are prepared to provide them with the help and support they need. Of the 16% of people who do report an assault, only 2.6% of alleged offenders are charged or receive a summons. Even in cases where the offence takes place in public, the percentage of reported sexual assault offences that receive a charge is disproportionately low; fewer than 5% of reports on public transport resulted in a charge in 2025. While death is tragically the end result of too many domestic abuse cases, there will have been a point in almost every single case where a step could have been taken to better support the victim. A report commissioned by Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse underscored that fact; of the 47 reviews of deaths related to domestic abuse published in 2024, 89% contained reports of an instance in which our health service had the opportunity to step in and do more to help. While domestic abuse training is mandatory in the social care system, the same training is not always made available to other NHS frontline services. That is clearly something that could be rectified, so I will be interested to hear what the Minister has to say about how the Government might ensure that domestic abuse training is stepped up. Will they release the funds to ensure that every NHS frontline member of staff has access to mandatory domestic abuse training?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  Q2. The period after Christmas can be a challenging time for many people, and consequently the month of January consistently sees higher rates of suicide than other times of the year, but suicide is preventable and lives can be saved. Education, raising awareness and targeting vulnerable groups are all effective suicide prevention strategies, and I was pleased to see them in the recent men’s health strategy, but I call on the Government to go a step further and launch a public health campaign to encourage discussions about suicidal thoughts and ideation. Will the Prime Minister agree to continue this conversation with me, and will he state his support for a public health campaign to tackle the worryingly high number of deaths from suicide in this country?

• 6 Jan 2026 · Therapeutic Play and Children’s Healthcare · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for securing this important debate. Last year, two important reports were produced: “Mental health inpatient settings: overarching report of investigations directed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care” and “Improving support for people with complex mental health difficulties”. They found that therapeutic input improves patient outcomes and results for adults with mental health difficulties. My constituency is home to the Cassel hospital, a tier 4 therapeutic community for adults with complex multiple-diagnosis presentations. Patients there tell me that the treatment is lifesaving and life-changing, but it is currently under a tier 4 review. Does the hon. Member agree that that review should consider the reports I mentioned? I would be grateful if the Minister could make reference to the tier 4 review in her summing up.

• 10 Dec 2025 · Seasonal Work · Hansard source

  More

  Our allies in America are becoming increasingly unreliable, and it is absolutely right that we should look elsewhere for our alliances, not just on trade but on defence. Recent moves just this week show us the shaky ground on which our agreements with the US are built. For the long-term future of the car industry in the west midlands and of our whole economy, we need to look to Europe and build up those relationships with our European neighbours, because our partnerships with our allies in the US are becoming increasingly unreliable. If I were one of the hon. Lady’s constituents, I would be looking to the Government to fully investigate other opportunities for trade as well as with the US. More broadly, as we look at issues affecting the workforce, Liberal Democrats welcome the industrial strategy that this Government have put in place, alongside a funding boost for skills and training. However, this progress stops well short of the fundamental reform we need to see if we are to address the workforce shortages that many industries are facing. British businesses must be able to hire the people they need with the skills they need. A key cause of workforce shortages is ill health. To tackle this deeply entrenched problem, the Government must do more to invest not only in our NHS but in social care, so that people can get the healthcare they need and rejoin the workforce more quickly. Any business will tell you that the apprenticeship levy does not work, despite the Government’s attempts at reform. Firms cannot get the funding they need to train staff, and hundreds of millions of pounds of funding is going unspent. The Liberal Democrats have long called for proper reform of the levy, replacing it with a wider skills and training levy that will give businesses real flexibility over how they spend money to train their staff. We were pleased to hear in the Budget that more details on the wider youth guarantee and the growth and skills levy package would be announced shortly, but can the Minister provide a timeline for when we can expect to see that detail? Will the Minister also set out a timeline for the introduction of a youth mobility scheme, which would be beneficial to our economy, easing some of the burdens that the hospitality sector is facing? Businesses across the country, especially our small businesses, are struggling with unprecedentedly high costs, such as the Government’s unfair national insurance rise, sky-high commercial energy bills and a broken business rates system. Struggling businesses mean fewer jobs and lower pay, so it is absolutely clear that we must look for ways to support local businesses and all those who rely on them.

• 3 Dec 2025 · Pension Schemes Bill · Hansard source

  More

  Does my hon. Friend agree that, although it is certainly advantageous to encourage pension funds to invest in the UK, mandation creates the risk of reducing returns on investments? Would it not be better to incentivise pension funds to invest more productively—in housing and social care—through the creation of appropriate investment vehicles, and to encourage investment in British start-ups to allow them to scale up and create an attractive environment for investment?

• 25 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  I congratulate the Secretary of State and the Department of Health and Social Care on the launch last week of the men’s health strategy. My constituent Philip Pirie, who sadly lost his son to suicide, has been calling on the Government to launch a public health campaign to reduce the stigma of suicide. Nearly 75% of those who lose their lives to suicide have not been in contact with mental health services, and that is why we need to reach out. Will the Secretary of State meet me and my constituent to discuss such a campaign?

• 19 Nov 2025 · Suicide: Reducing the Stigma · Hansard source

  More

  I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of reducing the stigma associated with suicide. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell, in this very important debate; I am grateful that time has been found for it. Suicide can be an extremely difficult topic for people to discuss, whether that means talking about suicidal thoughts, opening up about an intent to commit suicide, or for the families and friends of loved ones who have taken their own lives and who need someone to talk to. That is why I would like to dedicate my speech to my constituent Philip Pirie, who is sitting in the Gallery, and to his son Tom, who tragically lost his life to suicide just over five years ago. I cannot imagine the pain that Philip has been through, which makes his work on suicide prevention in the following years even more commendable. Just this year, Philip co-chaired work on the NHS guidance “Staying safe from suicide”, which developed best practice for medical professionals to help identify and support those who may be considered at risk of suicide, and I am pleased that the Premier League will be promoting this work. The guidance sought to support those who are in contact with mental health services; however, nearly three quarters of people who take their life are not receiving professional help. Philip has since been engaging with Members of Parliament, mental health workers and charities to discuss his proposal for a national public health campaign to encourage people to talk about the topic. Tackling the stigma of talking about suicide is critical to ensuring that people do not suffer in silence, and it is vital that those who are struggling feel comfortable in reaching out for support. Today marks International Men’s Day, and perhaps the greatest issue impacting men in today’s society is their mental wellbeing. Suicide is the leading cause of death for men under the age of 50. Each death—of a son, a father, a brother or a friend to someone—is a tragedy. Members in this room will have experienced this close to home. We all know the shocking statistics associated with male suicide, but it is important to think about the individuals who lose their life, and the severe emotional impact that that will have on their loved ones, which cannot be quantified or understood by quoting statistics alone. Talking openly about suicide is the first step to reducing the stigma towards it, and I am so pleased to see MPs from all parties in attendance at, and wanting to speak in, this debate. According to the charity Campaign Against Living Miserably, one in four people living in the UK will experience suicidal thoughts in their lives, while 200,000 people attempt to commit suicide each year. Suicide will impact almost everyone in this room, and across the country, in one way or another. We will all have been confronted with moments in our life when we know that a person close to us is struggling. But when we reached out to check on them, were we doing so just at surface level, or did we really try to tackle the thoughts that we suspected they might have been experiencing? With suicide such a prevalent issue in our society, why is it so difficult for us to talk about it frankly? Why do we try to dance around the issue, even when we know we should not?

• 19 Nov 2025 · Suicide: Reducing the Stigma · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend makes an important point about how specific groups and particular sectors can be impacted. Just under an hour ago I was having a conversation with my friend Diana Chrouch, who is the adviser to the APPG for ethnic minority business owners, of which I have been a co-chair for many years. She pointed out that there is a high risk of suicide for people working in the construction sector. I think it would be valuable to identify particular risk areas, and design a strategy that could reach out to them, but I also fully support my hon. Friend’s call on the subject of the rural England prosperity fund. In the late 1980s, the UK launched a public health crisis to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic. That was hugely successful: it not only raised awareness of safe sex practices, but served to reduce the stigma and falsehoods associated with the illness. At the peak of the AIDS epidemic in the UK in 1994, just over 1,500 people died from the illness. In the UK last year, more than 7,000 people died from suicide. That figure is growing, and the suicide rate for young women under 24 saw the steepest increase since records began. As the Secretary of State identified in his men’s health strategy, underlying addictions, such as gambling and drug addiction, often cause or exacerbate mental health conditions. Those addictions can cause isolation and financial difficulties and destroy relationships. As the Government strategy identifies, 12% of participants in the gambling survey for Great Britain reported that they had thought about, or attempted, taking their own life. Many betting stores are positioned on high streets of deprived areas in the UK. We must acknowledge the link between gambling addiction, poverty and suicide. The statutory levy imposed on gambling firms is a positive step, and I am pleased that the funds raised will be directly invested into gambling harm prevention, research and treatment, but what steps are the Government taking to engage those who treat, or provide support to, people with a gambling addiction to directly address the risk of suicide among their patients? What more can be done to integrate the identification of suicide risk into our approach to treating addictions of all sorts? What more can the gambling industry in particular do to mitigate the impact that its activities have on vulnerable people, particularly in the light of the enormous profits that it makes as a result? Exercise can be a positive outlet for many people who are struggling with mental health difficulties, enabling them to set targets, grow their confidence and involve themselves in sociable activities. However, there can be a reductive narrative about the relationship between exercise and mental health, and that can be dangerous. Some influential, outspoken figures have dismissed the real and serious issues that people are struggling with by instructing people that going to the gym is the simple answer. For most people, a workout in the gym will encourage body positivity and self-confidence, but for some, the constant need to achieve a perfect body can lead to obsessions and eating disorders. I support the Government’s recently announced work with the Premier League. Conversations about mental health also need to start in gyms and sports clubs, so I encourage the Government to target local sporting hubs to widen awareness of mental health, and to encourage those struggling to speak with friends, families or mental health professionals. Can the Minister tell me whether the engagement of sports bodies and mental health initiatives includes a specific recognition of suicide risk, and the ways in which sports clubs and coaches can assist in identifying and responding to suicidal intentions among the young men, in particular, with whom they work? More also needs to be done to encourage support for employees in the workplace. Whether they are a new or experienced member of staff, reaching out to their line manager or boss to let them know about the difficulties they are facing, and to request additional consideration—whether that means an adjustment to working hours or time off to see a mental health professional, or just letting them know the stress that they are experiencing at work or in everyday life—can be daunting. I encourage the Minister to increase awareness of best practices to support employees’ mental health in the workplace, and ensure that those who are struggling receive the support that they need. What more can be done to assist employers with training on how to respond if they recognise that one of their employees is struggling with a mental health issue? How can workplaces support some of those difficult conversations that might make all the difference in saving a young life from suicide?

• 19 Nov 2025 · Suicide: Reducing the Stigma · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for that intervention, and I am so sad to hear Sam’s story. It is very encouraging to hear about the steps that Ben has taken to raise awareness of the issue. The hon. Member makes an important point about academia at schools and universities; that is another big risk factor for young people. They feel the real pressure of academic studies and exam results, so schools and universities also have a role to play in reducing stigma and encouraging those conversations, which could be lifesaving. We urgently need to tackle the stigma around suicide, and a public health campaign would be a significant step in the right direction. Many lives could be saved if more people understood the difference that the right conversation, at the right time, could have on the young people in their lives. We would not just save the lives of young people who are deterred from suicide, but save their friends and family from the burdensome legacy of grief, guilt and heartache that affects all of those who are affected by the suicide of a loved one. In closing, I ask the Minister if he would meet me and my constituent Philip Pirie to discuss the details of a campaign such as that I have laid out today, as well as the impact that suicide can have, its increasing prevalence in our society, the impact it has on young men, in particular, and what this Government can do to take action.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Suicide: Reducing the Stigma · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that encouraging example of how taking steps to reduce the stigma around suicide can have a positive impact, and how we need a community approach to help reach out to all those people who might be struggling. Although talking about mental health is becoming more socially acceptable, to what extent are we asking the challenging questions? To what extent do we really want to know how other people are getting on, and to what extent do people who are suffering feel comfortable in talking honestly about how serious their struggles are? For those reasons, I want to echo my constituent Philip Pirie’s calls for the Government to launch a public health campaign to truly tackle the stigma associated with suicide. As we have seen today, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has launched his men’s health strategy. He promised the Samaritans that “mental health and suicide prevention” would be at the “heart of it”. Everyone in the House will welcome these words and the recognition that the men’s mental health crisis needs serious attention. I would like the Secretary of State to go one step further and consider a public health campaign with posters and adverts on TV and radio, and to hold regular open discussions with the public on the topic of suicide.

• 19 Nov 2025 · Suicide: Reducing the Stigma · Hansard source

  More

  May I say what a privilege it has been to have this debate today, not least because it has given me an opportunity to highlight the work of my friend and constituent Philip Pirie? It has been a wonderful tribute both to his hard work and to the memory of his son, Tom. It has also been a privilege to hear the contributions from hon. Members across the Chamber. I particularly want to thank the hon. Members for Caerphilly (Chris Evans), for Harlow (Chris Vince) and for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) for sharing their personal experiences, which provided a moving context to the debate. It was great to hear about various initiatives from the Minister, not least because Mr Pirie has directly contributed to some of them, but I reiterate my call for a public health campaign. Particular groups are at risk. The farming community has been mentioned a number of times, not least by my hon. Friends the Members for Winchester (Dr Chambers), for West Dorset (Edward Morello) and for Horsham (John Milne). The hon. Member for Maidstone and Malling (Helen Grant) mentioned young people in schools and universities, and other hon. Members mentioned gambling and drug addiction. The hon. Member for Upper Bann (Carla Lockhart) mentioned social media, and we know that veterans and carers are also at risk. Many hon. Members made the point that so many people are not in touch with mental health services when they commit suicide. That is why we need a public health campaign to reach much more widely. I thank all the hon. Members who contributed today with examples of successful community initiatives, which the Minister might want to look to when he is planning a public health campaign. My hon. Friends the Members for Torbay (Steve Darling) and for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon), and the hon. Members for Maidstone and Malling, for Strangford (Jim Shannon), for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh), for Caerphilly, for Rugby (John Slinger) and for Harlow all talked about amazing things going on in their communities. Finally, I want quickly to mention the hon. Member for York Outer (Mr Charters), among other hon. Members. MPs are such great advocates for mental health in their communities, and we should all take that forward. Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10(6)).

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

  More

  I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker: what action are they going to take? While the last Government did so much damage to our high street businesses, the Labour Government’s national insurance jobs tax has only made things harder for them and for the workers. The Liberal Democrats have voted against the change to employer national insurance contributions at every opportunity, and I once again urge the Government to scrap these measures. The changes to employer national insurance contributions announced in the last autumn Budget are an unfair and deeply damaging tax measure that is hitting small businesses of all kinds—social care providers, GPs—and the lack of sector consultation and business foresight prior to the changes has been hugely damaging to business confidence. The Government’s handling of the Employment Rights Bill seems to have only compounded that uncertainty. So much of the detail that was expected in the Bill has been left to secondary legislation or future consultation, making it impossible for businesses to plan ahead with certainty. The lack of clarity on probation periods risks piling undue worry on to business managers who are struggling to find the right skills in the first place, for which many of my colleagues have provided evidence.

• 27 Oct 2025 · Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay · Hansard source

  More

  It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank the hon. Member for Burton and Uttoxeter (Jacob Collier) and the Petitions Committee for this debate. As a survivor of three maternity leaves—all on statutory pay—a c-section and a spell in the neonatal unit, all the topics that have been raised are very close to my heart. I thank each and every hon. Member for their contributions and for representing their constituents so well. This summer, the Government announced that they would undertake a parental leave and pay review, expecting it to conclude in 18 months’ time. The Liberal Democrats welcome the Government’s commitment to that much-needed review of parental leave. Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the opportunity to flourish, no matter their background or personal circumstances. Too often, parents struggle on inadequate parental pay and without good enough access to shared leave. Childcare costs are eyewatering, and balance between family life and work has only become harder and harder to achieve. Not only is that unfair on families, but it weighs down our economy. The Liberal Democrats have called for an overhaul of the parental leave system to give parents a genuine choice over how to manage their affairs in the first months of their child’s life. The Liberal Democrats were proud to introduce shared parental leave when in government. Years later, however, millions of parents are still being denied the choice to spend more time at home, with about a quarter of fathers ineligible for paternity pay. Meanwhile, the Government are introducing wide-ranging changes to employment law through the Employment Rights Bill. The Bill will introduce a suite of new protections and entitlements for working families, including enhanced rights on leave, protection from dismissal and bereavement support. Eligibility for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave requires employees to have a minimum length of service in order to qualify, but from April 2026 the qualifying service requirements will be removed. That means that paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will become entitlements from the first day of employment, as the Liberal Democrats called for in our 2024 general election manifesto.

• 15 Sept 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I am slightly surprised to be referred to as “hon. Friend”, not least because I am probably going to disagree with the hon. Gentleman. To undertake such massive action, including in the NHS, and on the tube—we saw the level of disruption that that caused the public last week—there needs to be a positive vote in favour of strike action, which is why I back this amendment.

• 15 Sept 2025 · Employment Rights Bill · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The current framework for whistleblowing applies only if somebody has lost their job. It does not address the duty on businesses to follow up whistleblowers’ serious concerns about crimes. That urgently needs to be addressed. Too many whistleblowers who raised serious concerns about matters ranging from fraud to patient safety are ignored by their employers, or are reticent to speak out because of fears of unfair repercussions. The new clause in Lords amendment 46 has received the support of numerous international civil society organisations, including Protect and Spotlight on Corruption. It would be a long-overdue update to our once world-leading whistleblowing legislation, and I urge colleagues from across the House to support the change. I support Lords amendment 47, which would expand the right to be accompanied to employment hearings to include certified professional companions. Currently, employees may be accompanied only by certified trade union representatives, leaving many workers to navigate proceedings alone. Although trade unions provide valuable support to their members, only 22% of workers are in a trade union, including only 12% of private sector workers, with recent figures at a record low. The current provisions made sense at a time when trade union membership was higher nationally, but those provisions have become largely outdated as trade union membership has fallen and the labour market has modernised. Without the amendment, we consign many employees facing unfair dismissal to navigating the requirements of disciplinary hearings on their own, without any kind of professional or educated support.