Susan Murray MP: speeches

Speeches

• 6 May 2025 · Poverty: Glasgow North East · Hansard source

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  That is not my experience in my constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire. We did a survey recently that showed that there was quite a lot of difficulty in finding an NHS dentist, and that many people who were with NHS dentists found that they were moving to private practice. In fact, I know of many constituents in east Dunbartonshire who are travelling to Springburn to reach an NHS dentist, so they have to travel quite a long distance. Tackling poverty means addressing the full range of barriers that hold children back. Hunger, cold homes and preventable health issues are among them. Those are devolved levers that Holyrood can and should pull. The Scottish child payment is a start, but Westminster must also play its part. The Liberal Democrats are calling on the UK Government to tackle child poverty by removing the two-child limit and the benefits cap, and to reduce the wait for the first payment of universal credit from five weeks to five days. Instead, a UK-wide poverty premium continues to strip cash from low-income households through their higher tariffs and costlier services. Scotland cannot build fairness on funding shortfalls. Hungry children cannot learn. Cold, unwell children cannot thrive. Nourished pupils, warm homes and healthy children are the engines for future growth. By investing in all our children, school meals, energy efficiency and basic healthcare access, we will not only spare a generation the misery of deprivation, but unlock the skills, health and enterprise that can power north-east Glasgow and the whole of the United Kingdom to a more prosperous future. This is not just a moral choice; it is the smart one, both socially and economically.

• 6 May 2025 · Poverty: Glasgow North East · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I thank the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Maureen Burke) for securing this important debate and for her very moving speech. It is clear that she is committed to her constituents. We need to break the cycle of inequality. As we heard, on the streets of north-east Glasgow and in parts of my constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire—including Auchinairn, which neighbours Glasgow North East—too many young people begin life weighed down by poverty rather than uplifted by potential. Across Glasgow, 33% of children are growing up poor, but that figure rises to over 37% in the Glasgow East constituency, the highest rate in Scotland. Behind every percentage point are hundreds of pupils whose concentration is broken by hunger, and whose homework, if it is done at all, is done under blankets because the heating is off. New figures from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reveal that 6 million people in the UK today are living in “very deep poverty”, and nearly half a million of them are in Scotland. Poverty on that scale is not just a social failure. It is an economic own goal and a drag on growth. The OECD has long shown that inequality depresses GDP by stunting skills and productivity. A cold, hungry child suffering from illness and missing school is unlikely to become the skilled, creative adult our economy needs. We need investment, not in handouts but in the human capital that will pay Scotland dividends for decades. Three interventions stand out. First, we must extend free school meals to every child in poverty throughout primary and secondary school. Scotland rightly offers universal provision in primary 1 to 5, yet pupils in primary 6 and 7 and early secondary school still fall through the net. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies finds that a reliable, nutritious lunch raises attainment by the equivalent of two months’ learning each year and boosts lifetime earnings. That is growth economics in a dinner hall: healthier children today, higher productivity tomorrow, and lower long-term welfare and NHS costs. Secondly, we must make every home in north-east Glasgow and beyond warm and efficient. The Warmer Homes Scotland programme helped over 7,000 households last year, cutting bills and carbon alike, and demand has soared as energy prices climb. Accelerating retrofits in social housing across the region would create skilled jobs and boost economic activity through local supply chains. For families, it means that money saved on energy bills can be spent on essentials such as food, school shoes or a local after-school club. Thirdly, we must ensure universal access to NHS dental care for all children. Despite school dentists, all too frequently families simply cannot get an NHS dentist. Routine care is being missed and tooth decay remains one of the leading causes of hospital admissions for children. That is not just a public health failure; it is a productivity issue. Dental pain keeps children off school, affects their speech and self-esteem and entrenches disadvantage. Good oral health must be seen as a core part of a child’s educational and developmental success.

• 1 Apr 2025 · Eating Disorder Awareness · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) for securing this debate and for all her work. It is important that we keep bringing attention to this important issue, because eating disorders continue to claim far too many lives and undermine the wellbeing of countless people. As we have heard, recent statistics show the severity of the challenge. The proportion of 11 to 16-year-olds with an eating disorder rose from one in 200 in 2017 to five in 200 in 2023. Hospital admissions have doubled in the past decade, and as we know, hospital is not always the most appropriate destination. More alarmingly still, rates among 17 to 19-year-olds surged from one in 100 in 2017 to more than 12 in 100 last year. Despite those worrying statistics, eating disorders are often viewed through a narrow lens. Conditions such as muscle dysmorphia are increasingly affecting teenagers and are challenging the stereotype of what an eating disorder is. Muscle dysmorphia is a dangerous condition that can lead not only to disordered eating, but in some cases to the use of anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing substances, as we are increasingly seeing. Social media platforms play an influential role in shaping perceptions of body image and can sometimes fuel these destructive conditions. We are continually exposed to curated images of supposedly perfect physiques, with posts and videos that can glamorise unhealthy behaviours. Although social media has the potential to serve as a space for positivity and connection, we must recognise that it can also intensify body-related anxieties and push vulnerable individuals towards extreme measures. Rather than letting this content spread unchecked, it is vital to ensure that any material glorifying unhealthy lifestyles, whether that means severe calorie restriction or steroid use, is firmly curtailed, while healthy evidence-based advice is made readily available. We must address eating disorders by looking not just at the initial health impact, but at the wider environment, and taking a holistic, preventive approach. We should support educators and parents as well as healthcare professionals in understanding how to identify early warning signs. At the same time, those responsible for digital platforms must be held to account for the environment that they create and for the potentially harmful messages that they allow to be shared. Designing algorithms to highlight balanced, medically sound advice, rather than misleading or extreme content, would be a significant step in minimising the harm and in guiding young people towards healthy lifestyle choices. In the light of the growing impact of eating disorders and related conditions such as body dysmorphia, I urge the Government to recognise the growing threat. By combining robust health education with online protections, we can take the first step towards safeguarding the next generation from an epidemic that has already caused so much damage. We owe it to our children and young people to ensure that they can learn, socialise, grow and celebrate difference. I absolutely support my hon. Friend’s call for an eating disorder strategy as the first step.

• 26 Mar 2025 · Smaller Platforms: Regulation · Hansard source

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  Many schools in my constituency of Mid Dunbartonshire use mobile phones as an educational tool, yet along with this learning opportunity comes easy access to sites posting horrendous content. I would like to know how the Government plan to tackle small, foreign-based websites exposing people to graphic content. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that smaller platforms are adequately regulated to protect children from online harms?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Women’s Changed State Pension Age: Compensation · Hansard source

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  I am sorry, Dr Murrison. I was able to use my skills and abilities to become a councillor in 2022, and I am now looking forward to a much better retirement. However, does the right hon. Gentleman agree that the Government should do a U-turn and implement the ombudsman’s recommendation?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Women’s Changed State Pension Age: Compensation · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak as a WASPI woman myself, and I am very proud to associate myself with this campaign. I know that many people feel that perhaps we should perhaps not be entitled to compensation, because we were able to get mortgages and buy our own homes, we were able to generate more capital wealth, and many of us have private pensions. However, I personally had to stop work because my husband became ill, and I was looking forward to a retirement where my only income would have been the state pension. I am very thankful for my health; I knew that the retirement age had gone up, and when the right hon. Gentleman talks about skills and abilities—

• 24 Jul 2024 · Education and Opportunity · Hansard source

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  Will my right hon. Friend allow an intervention?

• 24 Jul 2024 · Education and Opportunity · Hansard source

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  Apologies. Given what my hon. Friend is talking about, it is important to note that applying VAT to independent schools will have a significant effect on their affordability for parents who make that choice. In my Mid Dunbartonshire constituency, not all parents will be able to afford the extra 20% per child. We hear about the pressure that the state is already under. Does she agree that there will be significant additional costs to the state in Scotland, as well as in England and Wales—