Satvir Kaur MP: speeches

Speeches

• 18 Nov 2024 · Indefinite Leave to Remain: Healthcare Workers · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) for securing this important debate, following a petition on this issue to which my constituents in Southampton Test contributed the most signatures. The fact that more than 500 signatures came from Southampton does not surprise me. We are home to the largest hospital in the region and have a number of care homes, pharmacies, and GP practices, which local individuals and families rely on every day and which would not exist were it not for the incredible hard work of healthcare workers from around the world who keep our NHS going. For me, supporting healthcare workers from overseas is not only the right thing to do, but the most practical way to ensure that we have an NHS that is fit for purpose once more. Southampton has welcomed people from around the world for centuries. It has made us the great place we are—we are talented, skilled, resourceful, diverse and so much more. Healthcare workers play an invaluable role not only in ensuring that we get the care we need, but within our local communities, with many spending their spare time volunteering in our neighbourhoods. It is heartbreaking to see the statistic from the RCN that two thirds of overseas workers are considering leaving because they are struggling and cannot access support. Too many, especially those working at Southampton General Hospital, are sadly victims of hate crimes, too—something I have personally witnessed with horror. They are the ones in the most pressurised circumstances, playing their part to save thousands every single day, nursing our most vulnerable and caring for our loved ones when there is no one else to do it. Those who choose to come to us and keep our NHS—our most treasured asset—alive, and who give all they have to care for and help others in our local communities, should be valued. They should be able to put down roots and find a sense of belonging. At the very least, they should be able to call this great country, to which they give so much—including their taxes—their home. On a more practical level, we all know that our NHS is on its knees. I am proud of the clear, much-needed investment that this Labour Government have made in the NHS through the Budget, but more must be done. Recruitment and retention is the biggest problem facing our local hospital and other health providers, and that means reform. The plan, rightly, to improve opportunities and access for home-grown talent through the Government’s new NHS workforce plan is welcome, but it would be a mistake to take for granted the huge contribution that overseas health workers make to our NHS right now and will make in future. We are losing health workers at an unprecedented rate, with those in the sector warning of a mass exodus that will cripple our NHS. We are failing to keep that talent, and we are losing out to other countries that make much more attractive offers. If we want to keep our NHS alive and ensure it can thrive once more, staff—whoever they are and wherever they are from—must be valued and supported. I am grateful to every NHS worker. You do incredible work, sometimes in the most challenging circumstances. You are already playing your part for our country, and you deserve to be able to call this place your home sooner. Although I understand the Government’s position, I hope more can be done to support my residents on whom this issue has an impact, and to support healthcare workers more widely.

• 9 Oct 2024 · Renters’ Rights Bill · Hansard source

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  Let me start by congratulating my hon. Friends on their incredible maiden speeches, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea West (Torsten Bell), a good friend of mine with whom I have the privilege of sharing my Parliamentary Private Secretary position. It is clear that he will be a great asset to the people of Swansea West, as well to this Chamber. I am a firm believer that a safe, secure, affordable home should be a basic human right, that it is intrinsically linked to better life outcomes, and that this should be the case whether a person owns or rents their home. For too long, renters in my constituency of Southampton Test have suffered from no-fault evictions, rot, mould, and damp or draughty homes. Parents stay awake at night, anxious as they put their children to sleep in hazardous environments. Some are ignored by their landlords, stuck where they are, with soaring rents and fixed-term tenancies. Others are too worried to raise concerns out of fear that they will be evicted and their children will not have a place to call home. In Southampton, homelessness soared by more than 70% in the past five years under the previous Government. Two thirds of those who declare themselves homeless in my city do so as a direct result of no-fault evictions and insecure tenancies. Nationally, the charity Shelter warned that 172 families are threatened with homelessness every day for the same reason. That equates to one family every eight minutes—a shameful inheritance from the previous Government. Renters have long deserved far better. They were failed by the previous Government, who clearly sided with vested interests, rather than keeping their promises. I am proud to be part of this new Labour Government, who will deliver for renters and who are finally consigning no-fault evictions to the dustbin of history, and, in doing so, improving the lives of thousands in Southampton and millions across our country. I welcome plans to stop needless rental bidding wars and to ensure an end to fixed-term tenancies; so many renters in my constituency find themselves trapped into paying rent for substandard properties. I welcome the extension of the decent homes standard to the private rented sector so that families in Southampton can live without being exposed to issues such as damp and mould, and can sleep at night without worrying about their and their children’s health. As a former leader of a council, I of course welcome greater enforcement powers for local authorities to ensure that rogue landlords are identified and that improvements can be made without delay. New measures will also save the public purse vital funds—from local councils, which currently spend millions desperately trying to house those made homeless through no-fault evictions, to the NHS, which increasingly helps patients with conditions linked to issues such as damp or mental ill health, as people of all ages struggle with the everyday anxiety of living in an unsafe, insecure home. In conclusion, for too long renters of all ages and backgrounds across Britain and particularly in Southampton have been at the mercy of rogue landlords. Today, Labour is saying, “No more!” Homes are where we raise our families, put down roots and find a sense of belonging in our communities. That is possible only if we know we are in a safe, secure and affordable home. With this new Labour Government and the Bill, that will finally be possible for renters, who have waited too long already.

• 23 Jul 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T2. After 14 years of Conservative mismanagement of our NHS, the waiting list at Southampton general hospital is close to 60,000. I welcome my hon. Friend’s commitment and plan to bring down waiting lists, but can she also outline what support will be offered to those waiting for treatment, many of whom are in pain, as we tackle the shameful backlog we inherited?