Tim Farron MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Jul 2025 · Housing Associations: Repairs · Hansard source

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  On the importance of enforcing Awaab’s law, there are homes in my constituency that are damp, mouldy and publicly owned, but not by housing associations; they are owned by the hospitals trust, and include accommodation for nurses and their families. Can the Minister clarify the remit of this law, and the extent of his power and control in this area? Will he urge all public sector landlords to make sure that they comply with Awaab’s law, so that our nurses can bring up their families in places that are safe, clean and decent?

• 8 Jul 2025 · Football Governance Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  The Minister might be just about to say the thing I was going to ask her about, as she has addressed a number of the amendments that my colleagues have tabled, which is the issue of footballers suffering from neurodegenerative conditions after their time. I am sure she was about to say something about that, in which case I apologise. As she will know, the proportion of footballers suffering from these conditions is significantly greater than the proportion of the general population. Many former footballers—many without the vast incomes that people assume footballers will have had in their careers—are left in a terrible situation, not supported by their clubs or the Premier League. What can the regulator do to get groups like Football Families for Justice the resources they need to support those who suffer having given their lives to the game?

• 8 Jul 2025 · Football Governance Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  This is my third intervention and I have not yet mentioned Blackburn Rovers—I will now break that duck. Would the golden share allow fans to veto something like Blackburn Rovers’ outrageous decision to cease funding for their women’s football team? It meant that the team dropped from the championship down to a league several layers below, simply because the owners—Venky’s—disgracefully decided that they no longer wanted to pay for a women’s team.

• 8 Jul 2025 · Football Governance Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  In response to the shadow Minister’s point, having free-to-air coverage of premier league games puts the sport in the shop window, which is actually more likely to bring money in for non-free-to-air providers. We should also remember what football is all about. It is about community. A live televised football match is a communal event that everybody watches at the same time, and it brings the country together. Having games accessible on television every week would be good for the sport going forward, and it would mean that everyone can have access to football, not only those with money.

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

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  A few weeks ago I was in Eamont Bridge and met a retired police officer, who shared with me his experiences of visiting road traffic accidents and, indeed, of having to break the news of the death of loved ones to countless people over his career. He begged me to carry on campaigning for the upgrade to the A66. On his behalf, and on behalf of the thousands of people who are part of the campaign to see that upgrade happen, I thank the Secretary of State for committing the money to do that today. However, we have wasted a year while this has been under deliberation. Will she now give an updated timescale, so that we can get on with the work as soon as possible in order to keep my constituents safe and to boost the economy of the north of England?

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

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  I really welcome the Secretary of State’s statement on Best Start family hubs. I draw attention to the words she said in her statement: she wants those hubs to be “open to all” and “rooted in disadvantaged communities”. Will she bear in mind the evidence from the Rural Services Network showing that if rural England was a distinct region of England, it would be England’s poorest region? By definition, communities such as mine in the Grange peninsula, the lakes, the dales and the Eden valley are a long way from service and population centres. What will the Secretary of State do to guarantee that young people in rural communities such as mine will be able to gain benefit from what she is proposing today?

• 7 Jul 2025 · Qualifying Period for Settlement: Impact on NHS Staffing · Hansard source

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  The Minister talks about concerns raised by the constituents of the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham). They are concerns created by this Government not valuing people from different parts of the world who serve in our national health service and social care system in Cumbria and elsewhere. Will the Minister be much clearer that this proposal will not be retrospective for people who underpin our health service in Cumbria and across the country? Will she be mindful of the impact on our health service if she goes ahead with a decision—which, at the moment, it looks like the Government are going to—that will hugely undermine the flow of workers who come here to support us and keep us all well?