Tom Collins MP: speeches

Speeches

• 27 Feb 2025 · Cost Drivers · Hansard source

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  The three options for delivery works seem to represent various degrees of compromise between shortened timescales, the associated reduced overall costs, and the continued presence and functioning of Parliament within the Palace of Westminster. It is wise to seek ways to negate the need for such a compromise. What possibilities for decantation into Westminster Hall might yet be explored? Would the Minister meet me and members of the project team to discuss those possibilities?

• 27 Feb 2025 · Cost Drivers · Hansard source

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  9. What the key cost drivers are for the programme.

• 25 Feb 2025 · Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I am pleased to see that we have some young people observing us today. Before coming to this place, I worked in research and development, leading a team of talented young engineers who were creating and realising new technologies to tackle the climate crisis. Some of those team members were apprentices, and some had been apprentices earlier in their careers. We faced many challenges, not least from a regulatory environment that struggled to move quickly in innovation and in finding relevant qualifications for new and emerging fields. Some of those challenges are inherent in doing something for the first time, but they were also the result of a UK engineering and industrial sector that had been neglected and, in some places, allowed to stagnate by political leaders who simply did not get it. I am pleased that this new Government have embraced the values of purposeful, mission-led goal setting alongside agility, partnership and a willingness to act and learn fast. Just like our regulatory environment, our education ecosystem, which delivers skills and qualifications, needs to become more agile and responsive, and this Bill is an early step in that transformation and in reviving the symbiosis of academia and industry in our nations. Anyone who works in engineering knows that there is no employee quite like an apprentice. Apprentices embody some of the most valuable skills needed in the workplace, such as social competencies that fuel teamwork, empathy, excellent communication, shared purpose, critical thinking and problem-solving skills built on perseverance, experimentation and pragmatism and a can-do attitude backed by hard skills honed in the real world. I have had numerous meetings with our local colleges in Worcester, and they are champing at the bit to deliver the technical and vocational skills needed for the big transformations that our country faces in digital, clean energy and public services. They welcome our changes to reduce bureaucracy and lift demotivating and burdensome requirements for English and maths GCSEs, as well as the changes that we are beginning to make regarding shorter placements and funding bands. They want us to keep going; I have been asked whether we could look at industry-specific flexibility around English and maths for 16 to 18-year-olds, with requirements integrated into standards. I have also been asked about further reviews of apprenticeship standards and funding bands in a wider range of areas, such as hospitality and customer service, and they would like us to keep building on our partnership with the sector, providing clarity about future levy changes and level 7 so that they can plan more effectively. I am pleased that this Government are making changes that provide the agility and freedom to act quickly and responsively. Innovations in our economy will be founded on innovations in our ecosystem of education and skills. We can see a creative, industrial and innovative renaissance in the UK, and I believe that apprentices will be in the thick of it, delivering the true power of a thriving economy: skills and passionate people. As such, I urge the Secretary of State and our Ministers in the Department for Education to continue this work at pace, and I would like to express the appetite and ambition that is present in Worcester to play our part in delivering the technical and vocational skills of tomorrow through apprenticeships. The people of Worcester are ready to back the Secretary of State’s mission and work in partnership with the Government to break down the barriers to opportunity and see our country—and every single person who makes it—thrive.

• 25 Feb 2025 · Warm Home Discount · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister’s statement, which has practical steps to support people with their bills, and a long-term plan, delivered at speed, to transition to a resilient, sustainable, clean energy system that takes advantage of the incredible advances in renewables in recent years. Offshore wind is providing really low-cost power, underpinned by UK-led innovation in technologies such as hydrogen. The Minister has laid out ambitious plans for supporting households in upgrading their homes, and has made excellent early progress on those upgrades. Will she continue working in partnership with UK innovators and manufacturers to make it not just possible but easy for homeowners to keep their homes warm with dependable, clean and affordable energy?

• 24 Feb 2025 · Breakfast Clubs: Early Adopters · Hansard source

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  There is no doubt that this Government’s introduction of free breakfast clubs will be transformative for many families. Worcester has always been a pioneering city, and as a city that trains teachers, we are a hub for education, so I am particularly pleased at today’s announcement that no fewer than three of our local schools—Oasis, Red Hill and Riversides—have been selected as early adopters of breakfast clubs. Will the Secretary of State elaborate on how this pilot contributes to ending poverty and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive, achieve and succeed?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Energy Infrastructure: Chinese Companies · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister’s engagement on this topic. To have meaningful and serious discussions with other major economies is vital for our success. Does the Minister agree that those discussions are key to not only securing our economic aims, but tackling the climate and nature crisis and achieving our wider international objectives?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Community and Third Sector Organisations: Employment · Hansard source

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  I am encouraged by the collaborative approach that the Minister is describing. Business and the third sector have demonstrated the power of an approach that involves just beginning and focusing on the person—the end user—and then iterating rapidly. That responsive, agile approach is really effective. Does she agree that the Government need to adopt that approach more and more as we try to address these big challenges?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Biomass Generation · Hansard source

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  I welcome the revision of Drax’s role in our energy system, reducing biomass and ensuring that where it is used it displaces gas, not excess wind and solar. However, we also need to find new low-carbon forms of dispatchable power, backed up by long-term energy storage at scale. Hydrogen is a strong candidate for that. By moving fast, the UK can reduce costs and regain our early-mover advantage. Will the Minister work with industry at pace to ensure the opportunities around hydrogen are known, explored and exploited?

• 21 Jan 2025 · Knife Crime: West Midlands · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I recently met the young people representing our county in the Worcestershire Youth Cabinet, and they shared with us their priorities, the highest of which, to my shock, was crime and safety. They are very concerned by the issue, and knife crime was at the top of their list of concerns. They suggested actions, and we discussed all the things my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) raised: visible policing, prioritising the restriction of access to knives, and early intervention and education, including restoring youth centres and youth services. However, their key ask was that we do the work to understand the root causes and motivations behind knife crime among young people. My first takeaway from that conversation was how keen young people are to collaborate on this issue as we start to tackle it. My second takeaway was how important it is that we do not work from assumptions, but really try to understand, from the perspective of young people, what is driving this problem—that we listen to, involve and empower young people. That is all the more important when we realise just how fuelled this issue is by fear, apathy and disenfranchisement. Young people care deeply about this issue. They are ready to engage, and they deserve a voice. On behalf of the young people in Worcester, I want to echo their call and their offer: let us act urgently at all levels of policing, disrupting and preventing knife crime, but let us, as we do that, put young people at the very heart of that response. We will tackle this issue most effectively when we put our influence, power and resources in their hands, so let us put young people at the centre of what we do as we tackle and end the problem of knife crime.

• 17 Jan 2025 · New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill · Hansard source

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  I agree. As we face a transition in a range of technologies—my professional background is in heat—it is important that we put consumers at the heart of that and ensure that it works for them, and that we find ways to make it accessible, easy, affordable and beneficial to embrace new technologies. There are new business models available that can help us do that—heat as a service, for example—and we need to embrace those. But whatever we do as we navigate the transition, it is vital that we put people at the heart of what we build. Having worked in the energy sector for 20 years, there is one comment that I have heard, and uttered myself, very many times—more than I can possibly count: “We should be putting solar on every new home.” There are very few no-brainers in politics, but if any exist, surely that is one of them. We have the opportunity to make a crucial change, to stop growing the problem and start solving it. Putting solar power on every new home will save people money. It will boost our national renewable capacity. It will be a crucial step in our mission for clean energy. And it will mean that for our children, who hope for a better future for people and our planet, we can begin to deliver the homes that they have always dreamed of.

• 17 Jan 2025 · New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill · Hansard source

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  One of my previous employers used to run a competition for schoolchildren. They asked them to draw a picture of a better future where we tackled our climate and ecological crises. The entries were displayed on a wall close to my office, and many times a day I passed them and looked at them. Many young people had chosen to show a contrast. On one side of the page was often a burning world—now painfully familiar from our news feeds, as our dear friends in California find their world set alight, and I am also reminded to remember our neighbours here in the UK still reeling from our recent floods. The children’s pictures were sadly a good predictor of the threat, but on the other side of the page, where they showed their hope for tomorrow, children often drew homes surrounded by trees with happy people playing outside in the sunshine. Without fail, on the rooftops of the houses in those pictures were solar panels. Our children understood that a bright and sustainable future depends on clean and sustainable energy. Our Government’s mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower is a direct response to the climate crisis and a clear mission to make energy secure and affordable. Photovoltaics fit the bill perfectly—simple, reliable and effective, they are the purest form of renewable energy, converting photons directly into electrical power, and we can place that power directly in the hands of homeowners. The need for us to embrace solar power as part of a suite of energy technologies for a sustainable future is clear. Alongside offshore wind and underpinned by storage using green hydrogen, solar photovoltaic is a key technology for the UK to decarbonise its electricity and all the sectors and use cases that we electrify. While the use of land for solar generation is rightly contended, we have a vast and perfectly designed, yet barely tapped, resource on our rooftops.

• 17 Jan 2025 · New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill · Hansard source

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  I fully agree. Many people have told me that, intuitively, they would like solar to be put on roofs first. I think there is strong consensus that that should be our direction. My hon. Friend the Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Kevin McKenna) talked about some of the challenges of retrofitting. We need to listen to the social science, harness new initiatives such as GB Energy and activate local authorities to empower ordinary people to retrofit solar. We must develop ways for people to easily access trusted partners to help them decarbonise their homes and save money as a result.

• 13 Jan 2025 · Children’s Social Media Accounts · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I thank all those who signed the petition for raising this issue. My heart goes out to Jools’ family, and I thank them for their work to bring about change so that this does not happen to other people in the future. I was recently joined by local leaders at an event in Worcester’s fantastic local library to hear the views of young people in the Worcestershire Youth Cabinet. They presented their manifesto for young people, and I was struck by their insights and passion, and in particular by their deep concerns about the impact of the online world on their mental health. I share their concern that online harms have run away from us. We live in a world where people young and old are exposed to harmful content and interfaces. I would like to see us move at pace to regulate not only extreme harms online, but persistent low-level harms that are eroding young people’s mental health. Having recently met Ofcom, I am concerned that there is much more to do to regulate harmful online media. Although I welcome us taking some first steps in this area, we are far behind where we need to be. If I were to liken our regulation of online harms to the regulation of drugs, we would be in a situation where a local newsagent would be required to assess the risk of supplying class A drugs, while alcohol, cigarettes and over-the-counter medicines remained an unregulated free-for-all. These are historical shortcomings due to previous Governments, but none the less we have much work to do to address the risks of online bullying, harassment and addiction. In my constituency, I have heard at first hand the stories of men struggling with addiction to pornography and the damaging effects that has had on their relationships and personal wellbeing. We need to be open eyed about the impact of the new online world on adults and young people alike, and it is the duty of Government to empower people to stay safe. Young people in Worcester told me that although they want online sources to be regulated, and to be equipped themselves for that world, what they want most is for their parents to be empowered to advise, guide and journey with them through the digital world. I agree that most parents are currently very poorly supported, and I welcome the enthusiasm I sense from Labour leaders for family hubs, which offer a community-led and empowering vehicle for that work. Does the Minister agree that we should equip parents and carers to navigate these hazards with their children, so that instead of feeling isolated, anxious and alone, young people feel supported, understood and empowered?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Draft Clean Heat Market Mechanism Regulations 2024 · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Vickers. I am quite frankly staggered by the criticism from the Opposition. I remind Conservative Members that they had a policy of exactly the same architecture in recent years, with targets set at a level that produced a textbook example of unintended consequences. I will not accept any attempt from them to rewrite history on the matter. I welcome the ambition in the draft regulations and in our mission for dependable, affordable and clean energy. In particular, I welcome the fresh approach from this Government of partnership with industry, understanding markets and putting people first. As the representative of a constituency that is home to one of our large domestic heating technology manufacturers, which produces boilers, heat pumps and other technologies for heating, I welcome the renewed targets that come with these regulations alongside and as a result of the Government’s fresh, constructive approach. I welcome that approach, because there is much more to be done in the transition for heating. This is just one point in that journey. I would like to see us exploring an approach to air source heat pumps, alongside other technologies, and I am confident that we are now in the best possible place to navigate the way forward. I therefore thank the Minister for the approach that she has demonstrated with industry and with the market, and I ask whether she is prepared to continue in the same spirit of partnership, openness and innovation that she has begun.

• 3 Dec 2024 · Draft Movement of Goods (Northern Ireland to Great Britain) (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Transitory Provision and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024 · Hansard source

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  I note that the long-term approach to NI-GB movements is still being developed. Should that programme of work extend beyond the end of the current transitional staging period on 1 July, will we then perform an impact assessment for the draft regulations, given that an impact assessment has not been prepared for them because of the short period for which they are to have effect?

• 31 Oct 2024 · Income tax (charge) · Hansard source

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  As a boy, I remember walking to the shops with my mum and passing our nearest pub. Its name, the Lord Protector, confused me at the time, and I later learned that I share a home town with one Oliver Cromwell, so perhaps I should feel at home in this place. Having said that, I confess that the nearest pub to my first family home was The Cavalier. That is because I represent, and am proud to call my home, the faithful city of Worcester. Famous among historians as the site of both the first and final armed conflicts of the English civil war, Worcester is seen by many as the birthplace of modern parliamentary democracy, and that is fitting for our city. Nestled on the great River Severn and in the shelter of the ancient Malvern hills, Worcester is one of England’s best kept secrets. Rooted in the beauty of nature, and richly decorated by a long and varied history, Worcester is a city deeply informed by the past, and with a record of deeply informing the future. Throughout its history, it has continuously expressed creativity, enterprise and innovation, and through the stirring music of Elgar, the creation of the world’s first combined hydroelectric power station, and even the establishment of the British Medical Association, the people of Worcester have been shaping the future of the world for millennia. We are home to Berrow’s Worcester Journal , the oldest newspaper still in print, and of course we manufacture Lea & Perrins’s famous Worcestershire sauce. Having given a flavour of our city, I pay tribute to my immediate predecessor in this place, Robin Walker. Wherever I go, be it in this place or in my constituency, people consistently speak well of Robin, who won the affection of many with whom he worked. He worked with passion and dedication to improve education, and for that I offer my sincere thanks, and that of many others. Worcester is home to many small and independent businesses that contribute hugely to our distinctive culture —during the election, I visited Spin the Black Circle and Script Haven, to give just two examples—as well as to some larger companies that, in the same spirit, are expressing our nation’s creativity and shaping its future. I have been privileged to work with teams of talented people at Worcester Bosch, inventing the technologies of the future to grow and decarbonise our economy. If any Member would appreciate an in-depth discussion on heat pumps or hydrogen, I am always happy to indulge, being an enthusiastic engineer by background. It is my belief that releasing innovation by investing in the talent, passion and skills of our emerging leaders, creators and problem solvers is key—key to our mission for growth, which is the guiding light of this Budget, and key to decarbonising our economy through industrial renewal, rebuilding our NHS, and putting people at the heart of all we do. Today, we are doing the vital work of fixing the foundations, because this kind of history-writing ambition is exactly what this place is for. Worcester, and its incredible community of dedicated and talented people, is ready to deliver an exciting vision for the future, with our schools, colleges, and the Hive—one of the largest children’s libraries in the UK—ready to grow the next generation. The Budget’s commitment to taking the first steps towards the renewal of our schools, and especially its provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities, will be very welcome in Worcestershire. With the University of Worcester continuing our heritage through teacher training, Worcester Business School and Three Counties Medical School, where prospective Prime Ministers can reliably capture a good selfie, as well as a wealth of innovative businesses and creatives in the digital space, including the Kiln, now hosting BetaDen, our community has the vision for people and nature to flourish. It is led by local people such as Worcester Environmental Group, our cathedral’s eco-group, and projects such as Bramblewood. It is a hub of culture, with arts at the Swan theatre, the Scala project and the Arches, and has a growing track record in disability sports, historic world-class cricket at New Road, our fantastic city football clubs, and hopefully soon the return of professional rugby with the Warriors. We are also very good in a tug of war! Informed by the past and informing the future, Worcester has taught me that the key is to put people first, dream big, and unleash the creativity of diverse teams to shape the future. I came to politics with a passion to tackle climate change, see an end to modern slavery, and put leadership and vision back at the heart of politics. Let us remember that throughout the long history of this place, we, like Worcester, have never lingered on the past. As the Budget empowers us to do, let us continue always to fix our gaze with ambition, clarity, and focus on the creation of a bright and prosperous future.