Tom Gordon MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Dec 2024 · Home-to-School Transport: Children with SEND · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for bringing forward this debate. I want to make a point—I will try to keep it brief—about the inconsistency in the implementation of the framework. That inconsistency is exacerbated in rural areas such as North Yorkshire, where my constituency is. We have had horror stories of children in taxis for up to two hours a day. That has a massive impact on their ability to learn when they make their way to school. Another problem comes from changes to the council’s policy on home-to-school transport and its inability to finance it. It is projecting a spend of £27 million on SEND transport next year. Despite the rural complexities of the North Yorkshire council area, it is only 148th out of 151 local authorities for high needs funding per head of population. Although the framework is important, there needs to be an understanding of rurality, and the funding to go with it.

• 19 Nov 2024 · NHS Dentists: Access · Hansard source

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  Earlier this year, I was at an orthodontist’s practice that carries out work on behalf of the NHS. It said the issue is that when people are referred to it by their general dentist, it cannot go on to do the orthodontic work because their teeth are in too bad a state, so they are referred back to the dentist, but they cannot get in because of waiting lists and issues. When we look at reforming dental contracts, will we look at orthodontic ones too?

• 13 Nov 2024 · School Transport in North Yorkshire · Hansard source

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  I rise to present a petition on school transport in North Yorkshire. The petition states: The petition of residents of the United Kingdom, Declares that North Yorkshire Council’s recent decision to limit free school transport to the nearest school only is detrimental to rural families; further that it will divide communities, harm local schools and risk children’s safety by requiring travel on remote, often impassable routes; notes that there is no guarantee of significant financial savings; and further declares that councillors should rethink and reverse this damaging policy in the light of the negative impact it will have on the safety and education of children across rural North Yorkshire. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to work with North Yorkshire Council to reallocate funds to reverse the Council’s decision to limit free school transport for pupils to the nearest school to their home address. And the petitioners remain, etc. [P003019]

• 12 Nov 2024 · Warm Homes Plan · Hansard source

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  In the light of the warm homes plan, is the Minister aware of challenges faced by homeowners who used the green homes grant for spray foam insulation? Many now find their homes unmortgageable, and face significant costs for removal and repair. Will the Minister consider measures to support such homeowners as part of the warm homes plan?

• 6 Nov 2024 · Road Fuel Market · Hansard source

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  One of the interesting things brought to my attention by residents in Harrogate and Knaresborough is that while we are quite rural, being on the periphery of North Yorkshire, there is an aspect about being an area with tourists, along with higher housing and other costs more generally. When we are talking about trying to reduce fuel prices, can the Minister give any further information on what consideration will be given to regional and inter-regional inequalities in pricing?

• 5 Nov 2024 · Income Tax (Charge) · Hansard source

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  There are two key points that stick out in the Budget. The first has been referenced by colleagues from across the House, and it is the elephant in the room to which Liberal Democrats keep referring: social care. Members have eloquently made the point that if we do not fix social care, we will not fix the NHS. A personal experience of mine is a great example. A couple of years ago, my grandfather sadly passed away. He spent the last six months of his life bed blocking in hospital, repeatedly getting covid and pneumonia because he could not leave hospital and go home. I do not blame the NHS for his passing, but if he had been better cared for with an adult social care package at home, there might have been a different outcome. The problem with the Budget is that while there is a token gesture for local government, what is provided is nowhere near enough to fix the gap in adult social care. The House is full of Members who have worked in local government and served as councillors, and who understand that often more than half a budget goes on adult social care. The problem will not be fixed by our tinkering around the edges; we need a lot more to support social care and the NHS. I am worried about unintended consequences. A couple of weeks ago, I met a constituent who is working in the NHS. She is a single parent, and her daughter has SEND issues. Because local authority schools in the area could not meet her needs, she paid for her daughter to go to an independent, fee-paying school where she could get the support that she needed, but because of the introduction of VAT on school fees, my constituent will have to consider leaving the NHS and working in the private sector, so that she can afford to keep her daughter in that school and meet her needs. I am worried about the wider ramifications of some of the Government’s decisions. In this case, healthcare staff would be taken out of the NHS because of Budget measures. I hope the Government will reflect on that, and consider what more can be done to ensure that we support NHS staff in their current roles, whether that is giving them more pay rises or more support in the workplace, or by ensuring that someone does not have to leave their NHS role in order to afford to keep the provision of their daughter’s SEND needs and capabilities. Earlier the Secretary of State made a point about prevention. Local authorities often provide that first line of public health prevention, but the money that underpins that is just not enough. We know that every pound spent saves countless more for the NHS, so I urge the Secretary of State to take a strong approach to prevention and invest in community pharmacies.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Vocational Training · Hansard source

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  The largest provider of vocational education and training opportunities in my constituency is Harrogate college, which was previously promised more than £20 million in a combination of loans and grants under the FE capital transformation fund. I have written repeatedly to the Government to ask if they can secure an extension to that funding period because, due to a hold-up in the planning process, it will not be able to meet the deadlines. Will the Minister commit to guaranteeing the funding for Harrogate college for that rebuild?

• 21 Oct 2024 · Taxi Licensing: Deregulation Act 2015 · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Grassroots and Non-league Football · Hansard source

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  4. What steps she is taking to support grassroots and non-league football.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Grassroots and Non-league Football · Hansard source

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  I recently visited Knaresborough Town AFC in my constituency and met fantastic people who do more than just football. They share the club’s facilities with groups such as Rainbow Care, which provides a lifeline to other people, not just those interested in football. Due to the weather, the pitch is often waterlogged, and there is a lack of 3G pitches in the area. Will the Minister meet me to talk about how we can do more to support Knaresborough Town and, hopefully, get a pitch down the line?

• 16 Oct 2024 · Access to Primary Healthcare · Hansard source

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  Let me begin by congratulating my Liberal Democrat colleagues on some fantastic maiden speeches, which have given me a lot to live up to. While I am on the subject of thanking people, let me confess that I committed a cardinal sin at my election count: I reeled off my Oscars award-style speech recognising everyone who had played a part in the previous 30 years of my life, but importantly forgot to acknowledge my agent—the worst thing that any political candidate or Member of Parliament could do. I have not yet lived that down. Still on the topic of thank-yous and acknowledgements, I want to thank my Tory predecessor, Andrew Jones, for his hard work as a valued constituency MP, which many people mentioned throughout the election campaign, and for his work in securing bathing water status for the River Nidd. This may seem a little too obvious, but the two principal towns in my constituency are Harrogate and Knaresborough. Knaresborough does not like coming second, for a good reason: it is the older town, an ancient market town featuring a fantastic castle and the Nidd gorge, with a view over the River Nidd. It has a strong sense of community, and I encourage anyone who has not heard of the Knaresborough bed race to google it after my speech—it is a truly unique event. Harrogate is a famous old spa town. It has been renowned for its healing waters, which have drawn people from all corners of the globe, including the Russian aristocracy and—previously—its royal family. Agatha Christie turned up there after a nationwide manhunt. It is a place of intrigue, but in more recent years it has become a place of culture, a cultural gem in the north. We have the fantastic Harrogate international festivals, whose annual calendar ranges from literature to art and everything in between. We also have RHS Garden Harlow Carr—we are a flower town, and have won many awards at both regional and international bloom festivals. We also have Harrogate Convention Centre. A little while ago, before I was born, Eurovision was hosted there. One of the most frequent suggestions that comes up is that I should launch a campaign to get Eurovision back. That relies on our getting millions of pounds of investment into the convention centre, something for which I have already been campaigning. This is probably a little-known fact for those on the Government Benches, but we will have something almost rivalling Eurovision next March, namely the Liberal Democrat spring conference—and the Glee Club will be in town! As well as the towns of Harrogate and Knaresborough, my constituency contains a wide range of villages, but what interests me is the people—it is the people who make our area so fantastic. It is that Yorkshire grit, determination and resilience that really make our area shine. Let me give the House a few bits and pieces of potted history, featuring some famous and some more infamous folk from my part of the world. There is Mother Shipton, Knaresborough’s answer to Nostradamus, who was made something of a pariah and cast into a cave, and called a witch to boot. To this day, the cave is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area. On the more infamous side, we play host to the childhood home of no friend of this place, Guy Fawkes; the less said about him, probably, the better. We also have more modern and contemporary people, such as the Lionesses’ Rachel Daly, and Olly Alexander as well. One person who sticks out in the history books is Blind Jack, who is said to have been the founder of modern road building. He built kilometres on kilometres, or miles and miles, of turnpikes centuries ago, and rumour has it that North Yorkshire council might get around to repairing them some time soon. As I have said, it is the people who make my constituency great. Let me now reflect on the topic of today’s debate. I think the reason health is so important to us is that in those moments of desperation, worry and anxiety when we reach out and go to that frontline of primary healthcare—when we see our GPs—we are truly human. Looking back at some of the more formative moments of my life and experience, my life has been changed when I have gone to a GP. It is apposite that I am giving my maiden speech today, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. People have been wearing lot of fantastic bright pink outfits to highlight that cause. The reason I got involved in politics is that the day before I started my master’s degree in public health, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, she has recovered and is fine now, and I have even made her a Lib Dem councillor in Wakefield— she has not yet forgiven me for that. When we were going through that experience, I dropped down to doing my degree over two years so that I could look after her and my little sister, who was just five at the time. We know that being able to access healthcare is the most important factor in getting a good outcome. Fortunately in our case, my mum was fine, but the complications of having gone through lots of surgery and chemotherapy still live with her today. As someone who lives with a chronic condition—earlier this year I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis—I know that getting through the door to see a GP can be the biggest barrier to getting a diagnosis, treatment and support. I would not be here without my constituents. It is an honour and a privilege to have been elected to represent the people of Harrogate and Knaresborough, and I shall do my best, whether it be on health, culture and tourism, or whatever wonderful fortunes and opportunities await me.

• 16 Oct 2024 · Research and Development · Hansard source

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  I recently visited Yorkshire Cancer Research in my constituency. It is coming up to 100 years since it was founded, and it has created amazing drugs, such as tamoxifen, to extend people’s lives and help them fight cancer. We know that less than 5% of medical research investment is spent on R&D in Yorkshire. Given that we have 8% of the population, what more can the Secretary of State do to ensure that R&D opportunity investment is spread across our country?

• 10 Oct 2024 · Trams: Leeds and West Yorkshire · Hansard source

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  Sorry, Mr Speaker. West Yorkshire borders my patch. Will the Minister ensure that a mass transit system in Leeds connects with places such as Harrogate just across the border, so that there is a combined approach for the entire region?

• 8 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Institution of Civil Engineers has called for a spatial energy plan to utilise new and emerging technologies to facilitate future net zero infrastructure planning. Will the Government look to bring forward a spatial energy plan and meet me to discuss that?

• 3 Sept 2024 · Unpaid Carers · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for bringing forward this Adjournment debate, and of course for the work she did before this parliamentary Session on what is now the Carer’s Leave Act 2023. One of the reasons why I became involved in politics is that the day before I started my master’s degree, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. I studied my degree part-time over two years to look after her and my little sister, who was just five. Looking back, it is clear that I was filling the role of a carer, but I did not identify as one. That is a key point to note if we are to have a carers strategy. A recent Carers Trust survey found that 73% of those who provide or have provided unpaid care do not identify as unpaid carers. Does my hon. Friend agree that a national carers strategy should prioritise the identification of carers across all sectors?

• 30 Jul 2024 · Iran: Alleged Human Rights Violations · Hansard source

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  The Iranian authorities have been systematically targeting BBC Persian staff and their families in an attempt to intimidate them into stopping their work as journalists. Freedom of the press is a fundamental right for people all over the world, so will the Foreign Secretary and his colleagues commit to working across Government with the Culture Secretary to revisit the previous cuts to BBC Persian, and look to increase funding for the vital work that the service does?

• 30 Jul 2024 · Iran: Alleged Human Rights Violations · Hansard source

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  9. What discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on alleged human rights violations in that country.

• 24 Jul 2024 · Education and Opportunity · Hansard source

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  Today, North Yorkshire council has moved to restrict the services that it offers for home-to-school transport, which will have a disproportionate impact on rural schools and families. The Conservatives have been swept from power in Parliament, but they are still having a damaging impact on local government in areas such as mine in North Yorkshire. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should provide rural families and schools with more support, not less, to tackle the challenges that they face?