Sonia Kumar MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 2 Sept 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Save the Children reports that 61% of pregnant women and new mothers in Gaza were malnourished in early August: a sharp rise linked to the blockade and health system collapse. Will the Government consider enabling the medical transfer of pregnant women needing specialist care to the UK and outline their strategy for supporting Gaza’s long-term recovery, stability and maternity health? These children are the future of the two-state solution.

• 1 Sept 2025 · Borders and Asylum · Hansard source

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  At the start of the summer, I welcomed the Government’s decisive action in sanctioning Chinese companies involved in manufacturing and supplying boats used by criminal gangs to facilitate dangerous channel crossings. Disrupting those supply chains is a vital part of smashing the gangs. Will my right hon. Friend update the House on what discussions she has had with international counterparts to co-ordinate efforts to target those companies and ensure that the sanctions are enforced globally?

• 17 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Residents of the new Goodrich Mews estate in Gornal, which was completed in 2013, have been dealing with a collapsed retaining wall for years now. The management agency originally confessed that it was poorly constructed, and it was repaired. It should have had a 60-year lifespan after that, but it has once again collapsed, and the management agency is demanding £6,000 from local residents to repair the wall. This is simply disgraceful and completely unjust. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate on holding builders, housing developers and management agencies to account to protect residents and deliver value for money for residents?

• 7 Jul 2025 · Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement. In Dudley, our family hub is in St Thomas’s, one of the most deprived wards in the borough. Currently, it provides parent groups, baby clinics, prenatal support and much more, but its funding is uncertain. Will my right hon. Friend outline how the new announcement will enhance the hub, so that families can continue to receive vital services, including SEND support?

• 7 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Over the past 14 years, police forces have faced significant cuts to personnel and resources. While many areas are returning to 2010 staffing levels, the west midlands still has 540 fewer officers. I support the efforts of the police and crime commissioner, Simon Foster. How can we address the funding gap caused by an outdated national formula that has disadvantaged my Dudley constituents?

• 3 Jul 2025 · NHS 10-Year Plan · Hansard source

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  As an NHS physiotherapist, I warmly welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and the ambition set out in the 10-year plan. In Dudley, we are already seeing the positive changes of a Labour Government in bringing down waiting lists. With renewed focus on community care, will my right hon. Friend commit to empowering allied health professionals to lead the neighbourhood health centres, building on the successful model that we have seen in Suffolk and North East Essex? Does he agree that we need more healthcare on the high streets?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate on the growing number of empty shops in town centres? In Dudley, the Conservative-hiked parking charges, current poor transport links and antisocial behaviour as well as the rise of online shopping are driving businesses away, damaging our local economy and community life. Town centres are vital spaces where people can meet each other; they foster a sense of belonging and pride, and they need to be revitalised.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Some 58% of investors think it is important that stocks and shares ISAs are invested in UK companies. Currently, it is estimated that £100 billion is held in the cash ISAs of people who do not have stocks and shares ISAs. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to encourage further investment in UK stocks and shares, and investment in UK companies?

• 26 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the Black Country Living Museum in my constituency, which was recently named the best large visitor attraction in the country by VisitEngland? The museum brings to life the Black Country’s rich heritage through the reconstruction of shops, houses and industrial areas, telling the story of this revolutionary period in our history. Will she also make time for a debate in Government time on supporting world-class visitor attractions, which contribute so much to our local and national economies?

• 24 Jun 2025 · War Memorials · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. In my constituency, I am proud to have a number of war memorials, such as Upper Gornal on Kent street and Woodsetton on Sedgley road. Does my hon. Friend agree that memorials are not just places for quiet reflection and paying our respects, but a physical site for learning and sharing knowledge with residents, so that we never forget the sacrifices that they made?

• 23 Jun 2025 · UK Modern Industrial Strategy · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome the statement. Will the Secretary of State outline what measures are being taken to ensure that towns like Dudley—which is actually the birthplace of the industrial revolution—receive their fair share of economic regeneration and job creation, and that the current infrastructure in cities is further invested in to generate growth?

• 23 Jun 2025 · Middle East · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Secretary of State’s calls for a durable diplomatic solution: no one benefits from the continuation of this conflict. Will the Foreign Secretary outline what steps the Government are taking to ensure peace and prevent war in the region, particularly guaranteeing that the strait of Hormuz remains safe for our liquefied natural gas and oil tankers? Securing that trade route is essential for global stability and economic security, including Iran’s.

• 19 Jun 2025 · Incontinence · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of incontinence. I thank the Backbench Business Committee and its Chair, the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), who helped secure this debate. I am delighted that we are debating this vital but often ignored issue during World Continence Week. The definition of a taboo is a subject so difficult, repulsive or offensive that it cannot be mentioned in polite conversation and can be articulated only in hushed, embarrassed tones. Once, menstruation was a taboo and we were not supposed to talk about it. Once, cancer was a taboo, and in some communities it still is. Once, mental health was a taboo and people covered it up. We can now discuss those things more openly without embarrassment, we can seek the right medical advice and treatment, and we can offer support to one another and fight for decent healthcare for every aspect of the human body. How did I get here, in this Chamber, talking about human bodily functions? This has been a journey for me. I spoke in the Westminster Hall debate on women’s health in February. As a physiotherapist, I talked about pelvic health and the importance of rehabilitation and pelvic floor exercises. My words seemed to have struck a chord. Colleagues, residents and professionals all emailed me to thank me for speaking out and to share their experiences. It started to snowball, and I asked myself, “Why aren’t we talking about this more?” I am advised that this is the first ever general debate on this topic in the Chamber, so I congratulate the House. What are we actually talking about? We are talking about the involuntary loss of faeces and urine, which can be caused by pregnancy, neurological conditions, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord surgery, musculoskeletal conditions, disabilities, menopause, prostrate-related conditions and many more reasons. The crippling fear for patients is that it might happen at work, in public or in social settings. Patients have told me that they feel like a prisoner in their own homes, caught by a condition that means people avoid others, do not go out, cannot go to work, do not have relationships and feel a crushing sense of shame. People’s mental health suffers to the point of serious illness. Our language reflects society’s attitudes: “wetting your knickers”, “peeing your pants”, or ruder variants that I will not say. Yet we are talking about a range of conditions that affect millions of our residents. Did you know, Madam Deputy Speaker, that bladder and bowel incontinence is more common than hay fever? The NHS estimates that 14 million people live with bladder problems—one in five of the population—and it is men as well as women. The NHS says that 2 million men experience involuntary loss of urine. A third of women live with these conditions right now—that’s right: a third. Yet this is another aspect of health that is woefully unsupported and pushed off the agenda. It affects 1.5 million children and young people. One in 12 children across the UK battle these debilitating symptoms, including bed wetting, chronic constipation and soiling. Half a million adults have bowel conditions that lead to the involuntary loss of faeces. We have a population that is getting older and surviving complex conditions, such as cancer, and that will increase the prevalence of bladder and bowel dysfunction. When it comes to bowel conditions, we are talking about the involuntary loss of faecal matter, which can be because of irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease or other conditions, such as bowel cancer. I have not even touched on what people suffer when they are doubly incontinent. Our NHS collects data on anything and everything. The number of patients with continence care needs to be routinely published, and it is not. My first ask of the Minister —and I have several—is, why not? The House will note—notwithstanding the title of the debate—that I avoid the terms “incontinence” and “continence”. I have spoken to so many people with bladder and bowel conditions, and my feeling is they are the wrong words to use and they carry too much stigma. To give justice to the debate, I have conducted roundtables with experts and patients and have shared anonymous surveys. Dawn shared her story with me. She noticed some urinary leakage 10 years ago, when she was 50. Now, at the age of 60, she spoke to me about her journey. She did not go to the GP because she felt ashamed. It got worse and she began to see the gynaecologist. She got the strength to speak to the GP, who gave her tablets. Three rounds of tablets did not work. Her symptoms got worse, and she was unable to leave the House. The gynaecologist referred her to a physiotherapist and specialist nurses. I asked what went wrong here: it was the lack of prevention. Prevention, prevention, prevention is key. Physiotherapy is recommended as an integral part of women’s health, especially with pelvic floor dysfunction. According to the 2019 NHS long-term plan, “Physiotherapy is by far the most cost-effective intervention for preventing and treating mild to moderate incontinence and prolapse”. Insufficient physiotherapist numbers mean that women who experience pelvic floor dysfunction or prolapse wait months or years, or miss out on treatment entirely. Women often end up needing surgery that could have been avoided with earlier intervention. Dawn eventually received specialist care, and her symptoms have vastly improved. She only gets the odd leakage here and there. Her advice to others is “see your GP… don’t leave it and ask for a referral to see a specialist”. I had the privilege of seeing one such specialist service in my constituency—Dudley adult bladder and bowel service, known as DABBS—where I met patients and practitioners like Ola Rawlins, team lead and clinical pelvic health physiotherapist, who shared her story, which was eye-opening. Patients told me how GPs ask about bowels but seldom bladders. A patient—Leanne—said she felt ignored, fobbed of and misdirected. One felt like a “prisoner”. Ola’s patients felt like a ball bouncing around different parts of the system. Men, especially those with prostate cancer, were reluctant to take part in self-help groups, and many men did not even know they had a pelvic floor and thought only women did. Yet symptoms can be easily treated with the right interventions, treatments and course of rehabilitation. Research shows that for every £1 spent on women’s health services, there is a return of £13, thanks to a reduction in emergency admissions, fewer missed days at work and better long-term health outcomes. I know the Department of Health and Social Care is consulting on the men’s health strategy, and I trust that the Minister will ensure that this aspect of men’s health is front and centre. The DABB service calls itself a “Cinderella service”. The testimonies of patients and professionals is humbling to hear, but it makes me so angry. We are letting too many people down. So what must change? We need to talk about the taboo, and we need action. We need a renaissance of public toilets: to maintain the ones we have, open the ones that are closed and build new ones. I want to see bins in both men’s and women’s toilets, so people can throw these products in the bin. I support the Boys Need Bins campaign by Prostate Cancer UK, and I congratulate the all-party parliamentary group for bladder and bowel continence care for its work. I ask that this place be a pioneer in this space by placing bins in all men’s toilets. We also need better food labelling, so that fibre is listed on products and people can understand how they can get better bowel health. We need to ensure that the AI and robotics revolution in healthcare does not miss bladder and bowel care. We need a joined-up service between GPs, hospitals, clinics and patient groups. Perhaps we could have more sympathetic and subtle signage in healthcare settings. Products provided outside healthcare settings could have simple labels on shelves, such as “body care” instead of “incontinence products”. That tackles the embarrassment of being seen by a friend or neighbour buying them in the shops. I urge the Minister, as the 10-year plan nears publication, to ensure that bladder and bowel care is included. Much needs to change, but today I have five concrete asks for the Minister. First, we need a public information campaign to raise awareness and smash the stigma, as recommended by Dr Sara Webb of the Royal College of Midwives. The NHS rightly spends millions on campaigns, such as cancer screenings, the use of 111 and sepsis awareness. Will the Minister commit to a campaign on bladder and bowel care?

• 19 Jun 2025 · Incontinence · Hansard source

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  I agree that products need to be readily available, and that is one of my recommendations. Secondly, beyond awareness is prevention. We need real understanding, and I want bladder and bowel health to form part of the school syllabus, enmeshed into the curriculum. That is a recommendation from surgeon Dr Robinson from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Let us give teachers the tools to teach it. I want this to form part of the training of all healthcare professionals, so that medical professions understand bladder and bowel care from their earliest time in the job. We need a specialist workforce that includes physiotherapists, nurses, surgeons and many others. Can the Minister commit to placing this issue high on the agenda for schools, and to building a specialist multidisciplinary workforce who have the relevant skills and knowledge? Thirdly, we need enhanced research and development on bladder and bowel conditions and their treatment. That does not necessarily mean vastly increasing spending; it could mean looking at how resources could be better prioritised. We cannot diagnose, treat and rehabilitate, or look into future medical interventions, if there is limited research. Fourthly—this recommendation is from Dr Ashish Pradhan, chair of the British Society of Urogynaecology —can the Minister commit to banning misleading advertisements that send the wrong message? Products subject to no regulation are advertised, and patients are told to live with their symptoms. Fifthly, I have a recommendation from a patient I met, Leanne. Could we have a one-stop shop in which all services are under one roof, care that is closer to home, and cheaper incontinence products? They are exempt from VAT if they are purchased for personal use, or use by a registered charity, but what if they are purchased by care homes? Those are my five demands, backed by experts—five things that will ensure real progress. I look forward to the Minister’s response. Lastly, let me say this to men, women, young people and children listening to this debate: you are not alone, and there is no shame. This subject is often surrounded by silence. It is a subject that people do not want to talk about, or do not know about, and that the NHS does not do enough about. That ends now, and it ends here.

• 19 Jun 2025 · Incontinence · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her response, and I hope she takes forward my five recommendations. I also thank all the Members who have contributed to this debate; I hope they continue this conversation in their constituencies. The hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) spoke about men’s health and smashing the stigma. My hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Jodie Gosling) talked about her work on the all-party parliamentary group for bladder and bowel continence care, and she shared information about paediatric care and the lack of provision. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) raised the issue of the costs to the NHS of neglecting bladder and bowel conditions. My hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton West (Warinder Juss) talked passionately about the high quality of care needed for patients and about the pelvic mesh scandal; my hon. Friend the Member for Gravesham (Dr Sullivan) spoke powerfully about dealing with bladder and bowel conditions at an early stage, and about prevention; my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) mentioned health inequalities and shared his personal experience; and my hon. Friends the Members for Colchester (Pam Cox) and for Penrith and Solway (Markus Campbell-Savours) discussed the availability of public toilets. Lastly, I thank everybody again, and I say this once more to those men, women, children and young people who are listening to the debate: you are not alone, and there is absolutely no shame. Question put and agreed to. Resolved , That this House has considered the matter of incontinence.

• 12 Jun 2025 · Spending Review: Health and Social Care · Hansard source

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  As an NHS physiotherapist, I welcome the statement. The Government will soon launch their 10-year plan for our NHS, in which a focus will be a move from sickness to prevention. Will the Minister set out how the spending review will support Dudley integrated care board and other ICBs in bringing healthcare on to our high streets, so that patient care is at the heart of our communities?

• 12 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Since the global financial crisis, listing on the London Stock Exchange has fallen by 40%, posing a significant barrier to growth, as liquidity and investor activity decline. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure that more British businesses are listed on the London Stock Exchange and that the UK remains a leading global financial sector?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Relocating Civil Service Roles · Hansard source

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  I welcome the relocation of civil service jobs across the country. With a recent study showing that Dudley has high levels of economic inactivity, what reassurances can my right hon. Friend give me that young people in Dudley will have every opportunity to build their career in the civil service, whether through training, apprenticeships or mentorships?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Free School Meals · Hansard source

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  I warmly welcome this statement. In my constituency, more than a quarter of all children are living in poverty, so I know that more than 6,000 children in Dudley will now be eligible for free school meals. The extra support will go a long way towards ensuring that our children are eating healthy and nutritious meals to aid their education. Will my hon. Friend assure me that these free school meals will be low in fat, sugar and salt, in order also to help tackle rising childhood obesity?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Kirstie Bavington is a two-time European female welterweight boxing champion from my constituency, yet even with those achievements she is still working as a PE teacher while pursuing her dream of making boxing a full-time career. Will my right hon. Friend agree to a debate in Government time on increasing funding for female athletes, so that champions like Kirstie can pursue sport as a full-time career and achieve true parity in opportunity and support?

• 4 Jun 2025 · Prosecutions for Violence against Women and Girls: West Midlands · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend and Black Country colleague on securing this important debate. The Office for National Statistics reports that it takes 158 days from the police referring a rape case to the Crown Prosecution Service to the CPS authorising the charge. That compares to 46 days for other crime. Does my hon. Friend agree that urgent reform is essential for victims to get the justice that they truly deserve?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Last week I visited Meadow Road youth centre to see the fantastic work that Lloyd and other youth workers are doing to provide an outlet for young people. However, it could be closed down due to funding uncertainty. Does the Minister agree that sporting centres such as that reduce youth offending and are hubs for rehabilitation? Will my hon. Friend commit to Dudley getting its fair share of funding and to keeping the centre open?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Dementia Care · Hansard source

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  A constituent has written to me to tell me the story of her mother, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2020. Her father was 86 and the primary carer. They spent over £7,000 on five weeks of respite. Does the hon. Member agree that we need to expand respite centres, day centres and home care to ensure that families are not left by themselves?

• 22 May 2025 · Lower League Football Clubs: Funding · Hansard source

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  I wholeheartedly support the Football Governance Bill, which is about to begin its Committee stage in this place. It is crucial that we support football at all levels of the football pyramid. What work is the Minister doing to ensure that an adequate number of 3G and 4G pitches are available in areas like my constituency?

• 22 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities · Hansard source

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  Does my right hon. Friend agree that consistency and clarity are exactly what businesses require to grow and thrive? That is why the Government should consider the report’s recommendation to consult with industry on rejoining the pan-Euro-Mediterranean convention. PEM membership could support tariff-free trade, simplify rules of origin and reduce trade barriers for key sectors such as automotive, manufacturing, chemicals and food production. By joining PEM, British business would expand its preferential market access to 25 countries, thereby strengthening supply chains and boosting the competitiveness of British exports.