Steve Race MP: speeches

Speeches

• 25 Nov 2025 · Immigration Reforms: Humanitarian Visa Routes · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) on securing this debate and on making such a powerful case. First, I welcome many of the Home Secretary’s announcements from last week about reforms to the asylum and immigration system, particularly the proposal to develop safe and legal routes, and a move to a community sponsorship model that is very much based on the Ukrainian and Hong Kong schemes. I hope that it will break the pull factors that force migrants into the hands of people smugglers and into using the treacherous cross-channel route. Moving on to the substance of the debate, Hongkongers in Devon is a community interest group based in my constituency. It was founded by Dennis Mak, and it estimates that there are about 1,000 Hongkongers in Devon, most of whom are based in Exeter. Many are teachers, university lecturers, nurses, IT professionals and so on, and they are enriching our community and contributing to the local economy. Our Hongkonger community is exceptionally active, holding Chinese new year breakthrough events, a mid-autumn festival lunch, and dragon boat racing on the River Exe. Both culturally and economically, Hongkongers in Exeter are a valued and vital part of our community. Having worked with Hongkongers to make the case to Government on a range of issues—including the conditions of their visas, their ability to access funds still held in the Chinese system, and of course Chinese state monitoring of Hongkongers in the UK—I greatly welcome the Government’s Command Paper, published last week, which confirms that British national overseas visa holders would be fully exempted from the proposed earned settlement criteria and maintain a five-year route to indefinite leave to remain, in recognition of their unique circumstances and, indeed, the UK’s historic responsibilities to the people of Hong Kong. I know that the community welcomes that. Will the Minister comment on how else we might support the Hong Kong community in the UK, in particular the request for a special British identity for their newborns who are born in the UK, in order to guarantee their rights and recognition as integral members of the community in the future? Hongkongers are also asking for a simplified route for BNO passport holders seeking British citizenship. I know that the Government have worked hard to clarify many areas of the visa settlement regime for Hongkongers, and I welcome that. However, my question for the Minister is: how can we ensure that we provide total clarity for those communities?

• 17 Nov 2025 · Asylum Policy · Hansard source

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  Exeter is a proud city of sanctuary and has welcomed communities of Hongkongers, Ukrainians and Afghans over recent years. Many of my residents will be pleased with and welcome this re-establishment of safe and legal routes for refugees, which were long forgotten by the Conservatives. Does the Home Secretary agree that safe and legal routes are an element of a system that has control and order, and can she set out how the system will be flexible when geopolitical factors change?

• 17 Nov 2025 · Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Power Station: Wylfa · Hansard source

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  I welcome the announcement of the new SMRs at Wylfa. This is British innovation we can be proud of, leading to decarbonisation of our electricity grid, and helping to combat climate change. It is exactly the sort of policy that my Exeter constituents want from this Government. Does the Minister agree that supply chains at Wylfa and Sizewell C will benefit businesses and workers across the entire United Kingdom, alongside the local areas where they are based?

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

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  Residents in Exeter have raised with me the appalling fly-tipping in the glorious countryside around our city, particularly in Stoke Woods. As we have heard, it is rarely individuals; this is about dodgy cowboy operators who are ruining our countryside. I am pleased that the Government are cracking down on them, but we have to break the business model. How is the Department working cross-Government to tackle the financial incentives of waste crime, which would also support the many legitimate, responsible waste companies that do exist?

• 5 Nov 2025 · Conflict in Sudan · Hansard source

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  I thank the Government for the leadership they are showing on Sudan, including last week’s statement at the United Nations. The Minister is right to stress both the urgency and the horror of the current situation in El Fasher and beyond, but can he set out what is required next at the UN, in terms of both process and outcomes, to try to stop the violence and to tackle the ongoing humanitarian crisis?

• 5 Nov 2025 · Bronze-age Heritage: Cambridgeshire · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing the debate. Devon also has one of the highest concentrations of bronze-age settlements in the country. The Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter plays host to the Pinhoe and the Dawlish hoards, two fantastic bronze-age treasures for residents and visitors to see. Does my hon. Friend agree that such local museums are a good resource for local people?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria · Hansard source

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  I am delighted that the Prime Minister has chosen to co-host the eighth replenishment of the Global Fund, alongside the Republic of South Africa. I put on record my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Michael Payne) for working hard over the last year to corral myself and other colleagues to work with the Government to make the case for the Global Fund. Does the hon. Member agree with me that by co-hosting the summit, which is a good thing in itself, we are showing that the UK remains at the forefront of global development, and that doing so in partnership with South Africa exemplifies our commitment to working with other nations to achieve our shared ambitions?

• 27 Oct 2025 · Employment: People with Health Conditions · Hansard source

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  4. What steps he is taking to support people with health conditions into work.

• 27 Oct 2025 · Employment: People with Health Conditions · Hansard source

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  I recently visited Pluss in Exeter, which supports people living with physical disabilities and mental health conditions back into employment. I met some of the fantastically committed mentors, who provide tailored training and support, helping hundreds of people who have been long-term unemployed into meaningful jobs, boosting their confidence and helping them rebuild their lives. Does the Minister agree that under the last Tory Government, disability employment was shockingly neglected? In contrast, this Government’s recent announcement about Connect to Work funding for Devon will help many more people back into the workplace.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy · Hansard source

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  Exeter has a fantastic tertiary college—Exeter college—which, thanks to this Government, will be a technical excellence college for construction. We also have an exceptional specialist maths school that provides excellent maths, physics and computing education, which are skills we really need in the south-west. How will these reforms raise standards for every child in Exeter, to help make sure they reach their full potential?

• 16 Oct 2025 · Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Government and the Minister’s leadership on this issue in bringing the Bill to the House to enact the UN high seas treaty. I, too, am a member of the APPG for the ocean. I know that people in Exeter care very deeply about our natural environment, particularly the seas and oceans, and rightly so. The world’s oceans are vital to the health of our planet and to our people. They produce over half of the world’s oxygen and absorb a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions, helping to regulate our climate. They support an immense diversity of life, providing food for billions of people and supporting enormous ecosystems, which contain knowledge that we have only just begun to tap. After decades of industrial damage, this landmark legislation and the treaty will go some way to protecting two thirds of the world’s oceans, and it represents a massive step forward by nations across the world to protect marine life and ecosystems beyond our national borders. By providing the legal framework necessary to implement the BBNJ agreement domestically, the Bill includes provisions for marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments and the sharing of benefits from the collection and use of marine genetic resources, and will help us to meet the target to effectively conserve and manage at least 30% of the ocean by 2030. I also welcome the Bill as a core part of re-establishing the UK’s role in providing global leadership on climate and nature, both at home and around the world. Just as the UK is a leader in marine and climate science, so is Exeter. I was delighted this week to host in Parliament the Met Office, which is based in Exeter, to showcase the range and depth of its expertise. The Met Office is not just a specialist in our weather. It is also a specialist in space weather, our oceans, and the connection between climate change and forecasting. Its work on ocean biogeochemistry—studying how carbon and other gases are absorbed, transported and exchanged by the oceans, the mechanisms involved and the impact changes have—is pioneering. It researches the risks of rapid loss of sea ice, and is studying the rise of sea levels and the impacts on communities, the environment and the economy. The Met Office also provides a vital service in generating risk assessments of rapid changes to the meridional overturning circulation, which I am told—I am literature graduate, Madam Deputy Speaker, not a science graduate—plays an important role in regional climates. It is also part of the National Partnership for Ocean Prediction, bringing together world-class expertise and research, as well as developing beneficial marine products and services. In addition, the University of Exeter has a wide-ranging research community working on projects related to our oceans. These come together under the Exeter Marine research network, and their ocean research runs from pollution and conservation to governance and human health. In June this year, Exeter University’s Professor Callum Roberts was the lead author of a report in Nature supporting the UN high seas treaty. His paper highlighted that the high seas are the Earth’s largest and most secure carbon sink. Protecting them is critical to preserving the biological and nutrient cycles that draw down and keep atmospheric CO2 in check. They welcome the UN high seas treaty, saying it offers a pathway to greater protection, but they are concerned about the length of time for implementation. The report’s authors also argue that a full and permanent ban on extractive use of the oceans is both feasible and necessary, modelled on the successful precedent set for Antarctica in the 1950s. Will the Minister comment on what more can be done, beyond the treaty as we bring it in, to protect our oceans above and beyond this legislation? Finally, I want to pay tribute to my constituents Mary Attewell, Debbie Thomas, Sue Down and Lizzie Waler of Exeter’s Greenpeace group, who have been doggedly campaigning for the UK’s ratification of the treaty. I thank them for all their work and for keeping this issue at the top of the political agenda. I hope they will be celebrating this evening, if the Bill passes its Second Reading. They have asked to question how the treaty will be enforced. I would welcome comments from the Minister on that, too. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins) that we want there to be cross-party and cross-House agreement on this issue. While it is disappointing that the Conservatives are not here, it is also disappointing that Green party MPs, other than one small intervention at the beginning, are not here to participate substantially in the debate. I commend the Bill. I am extraordinarily thrilled and pleased to support it. I know that the ratification of the agreement as soon as possible supports the UK’s broader climate and nature agenda, and will mean that we can take our seat at the top table at the first COP. That will ensure we remain at the forefront of global efforts to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change through multilateral co-operation. This will strengthen the role of international law—so important in these times—and multilateral institutions as the foundation for ocean governance.

• 11 Sept 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The women’s rugby world cup is providing a fantastic sporting showcase, including the seven matches hosted by Sandy Park in Exeter to sell-out crowds. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the organisers, including the staff at Exeter city council and the teams for an excellent tournament so far, and send the best of luck from this place to all the home nation teams as they enter the knock- out stages this weekend?

• 11 Sept 2025 · Life Sciences Investment · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister to his place. Exeter has a very strong life sciences and R&D sector and just recently the University of Exeter was awarded £10.5 million from UK Research and Innovation to set up the metamaterials hub—that is real cutting-edge science—which also leveraged extra private sector investment of another £10 million. Does the Minister agree that that sort of investment and commitment to research and development will enable cities such as Exeter to thrive and grow in future?

• 4 Sept 2025 · Early Education and Childcare · Hansard source

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  In just one year, up to 2,970 more children will receive free school meals in Exeter. We have received capital investment for Newtown and St Gabriel’s primary schools. Three primary schools in my constituency—Whipton Barton junior and infants and St Sidwell’s—are in the roll-out of breakfast clubs. This week, we have a new school-based nursery at Exwick Heights primary school. Can the Minister set out how that all helps us to achieve our aim to reduce child poverty in Exeter and across the country?

• 22 Jul 2025 · Humanitarian Situation in Sudan · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I, too, thank my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Harpreet Uppal) for securing time for this debate, and for her continued commitment to raising the humanitarian situation in Sudan through debates, questions in the House and briefing meetings for Members such as me and others in the room with people from the Sudanese diaspora community and those who have experienced at first hand the tragedy that is unfolding in Sudan. As we have heard, with the conflict in Sudan now entering its third year, the country is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises on record. The impact is wide-reaching. It includes mass displacement, shocking attacks on healthcare facilities and aid workers, a raging cholera outbreak and mass atrocities against civilians, including sexual violence and widespread gender-based violence. However, as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on nutrition for development, I will concentrate my remarks on the unprecedented severity of levels of food insecurity and malnutrition in Sudan. At the start of this month, together with the Minister for international development from the other place and the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding), I opened a photographic exhibition in Parliament on why nutrition is foundational to development aims in the UK. One of the images on display, taken by Peter Caton for Action Against Hunger, was of Nyibol; 27-years-old, six months pregnant and with a young daughter, she is one of up to 12 million people in Sudan forced from their homes. Nyibol was forced from her livelihood as a peanut farmer, and had to endure an exhausting journey over four long days in search of safety because her village was attacked and her house burnt down. She was fortunate to be reunited with her husband and eldest daughter after being separated while running for survival, and to receive malnutrition screening on arrival at the border checkpoint, but many are not. This mass displacement, together with ongoing conflict, high food prices, a collapsing economy, disruption to supply chains, challenges in agricultural production, the breakdown of essential services, and severely limited access to healthcare, nutrition and humanitarian services is fuelling Sudan’s continuing slide into famine. The most recent integrated food security phase classification report for Sudan, published in December, found widespread starvation and a significant surge in acute malnutrition, with half the population facing high levels of acute food insecurity. That includes more than 8 million people in the emergency phase, and at least 638,000 people in the catastrophe phase. The IPC’s latest alert, published 10 days ago, confirms that the situation will deteriorate over the coming months. Despite the fairly favourable harvest season in parts of Sudan, major production gaps and supply barriers persist, exacerbating food insecurity. Constrained access to treatment services, worsening road access, and the increased threat of floods as the country enters its rainy season, raises serious concerns, especially for children, during the July to September lean season between harvests, which we are now entering. Levels of malnutrition are such that people are increasingly succumbing to treatable illnesses that would not normally be a threat to life, such as diarrhoea. This is a particular concern with cholera, which is already present and likely to spread in the rainy season. We all know the importance of good nutrition to development. Without access to nutrition, the potential of each person, community, and country is held back. Entire economies are undermined, and poverty and suffering persist.

• 22 Jul 2025 · Humanitarian Situation in Sudan · Hansard source

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  I completely agree, and of course Chad is home to many of the displaced Sudanese too. Poverty and suffering persist and provide fertile recruiting grounds for extremism. It is encouraging to see the UK continue to take a leadership role as the penholder on Sudan at the UN Security Council, and through convening the London Sudan conference, committing £120 million of UK aid to support over 650,000 people in Sudan this year. However, with ongoing famine in Zamzam, in camps in El Fasher, and in the western Nuba mountains, which the Famine Review Committee warns is extremely likely to spread to additional areas, can the Minister update us on additional UK efforts to ensure the sustained delivery of food, nutrition, water, and health assistance to prevent further loss of life—particularly nutrition-specific interventions including ready-to-use therapeutic food? Recovery rates of children with severe acute malnutrition who receive a full course of RUTF are over 90%. Can the Minister also update us on progress towards ensuring unhindered access for humanitarian and commercial actors across borders and conflict lines, including through the Adre border crossing and El-Obeid corridors, and to communities under siege in El Fasher and surrounding areas? Those access routes need to be expanded and stabilised now before the height of the rainy season. Finally, how are we ensuring that lifesaving aid, including RUTF to treat severe acute malnutrition, will reach those children who desperately need it, and that aid workers are protected?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Further Education Estate · Hansard source

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  12. What steps she is taking to improve the quality of the further education estate.

• 21 Jul 2025 · Further Education Estate · Hansard source

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  I know that the Minister will agree with me that in Exeter we have two of the country’s most outstanding FE institutions. Exeter college is rated outstanding by Ofsted and as “strong” in its approach to meeting the skills needs of our area—the first time a college has achieved both. Exeter maths school is also rated outstanding and gives students from across the south-west the opportunity to specialise in maths, physics and computing. But as my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) said, that success comes with its own challenges. Both are bursting at the seams and need capital investment to allow them to expand and continue their exceptional work. Does the Minister agree that Exeter college could also be an exceptional candidate to become a construction technical excellence college for the south-west, and will he meet me to discuss the ways in which we can support those changes?

• 9 Jul 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q4. From homelessness to child poverty, so many of the challenges I see people facing in Exeter can be traced back to early years, so I welcome the Government rebuilding on the legacy of Sure Start, which was so cruelly dismantled by the Conservative party. Will the Prime Minister set out what difference that will make to family services in Exeter?

• 8 Jul 2025 · Road and Rail Projects · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for the statement, and I welcome the long-overdue and funded commitment to the new Cullompton train station, which will benefit Exeter. I commend the activists across the area for their successful campaign, and I also welcome the work done by the hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos). Does the Secretary of State agree with me that continuing to invest in public transport infrastructure and accessibility at stations such as Exeter St Thomas will help cities such as Exeter to grow their economies sustainably, delivering jobs and better living standards for everyone in those cities?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ] (Sixth sitting) · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain, especially as this is my first time speaking in a Bill Committee. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] Thank you so much, everyone. Few issues are more important to people than bus services generally and the accessibility of bus services and buses, which is at the core of clauses 30 and 31. Indeed, few topics come up more often when I talk to residents on the doorstep. It is often residents with the most highest needs who rely on the bus network; that includes our neighbours who are blind, who are partially sighted or who have other sight issues. Ensuring that our buses are accessible and safe for everyone is incredibly important. I welcome those in the Public Gallery who are here to listen to the debate. I thank them for raising important issues of accessibility, especially as they relate to so-called floating bus stops. As safe cycling infrastructure is rolled out to encourage more people out of cars and on to bikes and scooters for valid environmental, health and fitness reasons, in some places we are essentially fitting a third transport network into the existing two: cycle infrastructure is being added to motor vehicle and pedestrian infrastructure. That is challenging to get right and is relatively new, so it is right that the Government are looking at how it is designed so that it works for everyone. Some people like floating bus stops; some people hate them. Some floating bus stops work well, while others are poorly designed. Some simply do not work for anyone—not pedestrians, not bus users and not cyclists. As a cyclist myself, I am acutely aware of that. We have a new floating bus stop on Rifford Road in Exeter. Although some residents in the local area have praised the design, others have raised concerns about it to me. I am pleased that the Government have listened carefully to the discussion about floating bus stops, generally and in the other place, and have heard people’s very real concerns. In accepting Lord Blunkett’s amendment on the matter, the Government committed to issuing guidance on the design of floating bus stops within three months of Royal Assent. I welcome that and hope that interested groups will be able to feed into the process. There is a particular issue with the design of one type of floating bus stop, such that passengers alight or disembark from the bus directly on to the cycle track. I welcome the fact that the Government have committed to a pause on that specific type of infrastructure, which applies to any in England that are currently in the design phase. I also welcome the fact that the Government are taking cyclists’ behaviour seriously. Although the vast majority of cyclists obey the rules and are respectful of others, the proposed new penalties and offences for dangerous cycling in the Crime and Policing Bill will ensure that a signal is sent to all cyclists about safe cycling behaviour. I believe that that will ensure that the tiny minority of cyclists who recklessly disregard others will face the full force of the law. Overall, I believe that the clauses that we are considering are a welcome compromise. I hope that they will lead to more work to ensure that cyclists and pedestrians, including people who are blind or visually impaired, can avoid designed-in conflict. I do not believe that this issue is fundamentally insoluble. We must be able to find a way to deliver protected cycle lanes where necessary for people, including children, to cycle safely, while also allowing people to embark on and alight from buses very safely and securely.

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

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  Next week, we have the second day of debate on Report for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which is important to many of my Exeter constituents. Does the Leader of the House agree with me and with Ruth Fox of the Hansard Society that consideration of the Bill should continue to be thorough and with significant time allocated to the process?

• 22 May 2025 · Same-sex couples: Church Blessing Services · Hansard source

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  1. What steps the Church is taking to roll out stand-alone services to bless same-sex couples.

• 22 May 2025 · Same-sex couples: Church Blessing Services · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that the next Archbishop of Canterbury should be someone who can show leadership on this issue, both for congregants and clergy who would want to participate in such a service, and ensure that the Church of England finally treats LGBT Anglicans in Exeter and beyond equally within the church?

• 15 May 2025 · Gavi and the Global Fund · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) on securing this debate. I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am proud to co-chair the all-party parliamentary group on nutrition for development, alongside the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell). Nutrition and immunisation are closely linked. Children with poor nutrition are often those who are most vulnerable to infectious diseases and need protection from vaccines, yet vaccines are less effective in malnourished children and often do not trigger strong immunity. The children whom specialised immunisation programmes are trying to reach are also the least likely to have access to food and nutrition services. Immunisation has the most impact when it is delivered alongside other interventions and integrated into primary health systems. By addressing under-nutrition and under-immunisation simultaneously, we can significantly improve health outcomes and vaccine efficacy, as well as provide interventions in the most cost-effective way. I saw this for myself on a recent visit to Isiolo in Kenya, hosted by UNICEF and organised by United Against Malnutrition and Hunger. We saw how in rural areas, nutrition interventions are delivered alongside vaccinations, healthcare education and maternal healthcare, to ensure that people have wraparound healthcare interventions that save lives. That was funded by UK development assistance and delivered by partners including Action Against Hunger. If a woman walks for 20 km or more with her children once a week for nutrition, they are less likely to walk the same distance, at a different time, to a different place, for vaccines. Integrating the services is paramount to good healthcare. This February, ahead of the Nutrition for Growth summit, I met the chief executive officer of Gavi, Dr Sania Nishtar, to discuss the important role that Gavi is playing in delivering these integrated services. Dr Nishtar spoke about the new $30 million programme to integrate nutrition and immunisation interventions in Ethiopia through the UK-founded Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, as well as UNICEF Ethiopia and Gavi, with support from the UK through Gavi’s matching fund mechanism. Ethiopia has one of the highest numbers—a staggering 1.1 million—of zero-dose children, who have not received a single dose of routine vaccines. That statistic is exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic, conflict and displacement. The pilot programme aims to reach around 140,000 of those zero-dose children in areas with the highest dual burden of malnutrition and infectious disease, providing cost-effective and efficient interventions to help children to survive and thrive.