Tom Hayes MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

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  As the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East, I am passionate about renewing British military aircraft. After all, my constituency hosted the Bournemouth air festival until it was scrapped by the Liberal Democrat-led council, with no plans to return it—something that I am trying to reverse. I welcome the award of 1,000 major contracts since July, and the defence spending bumps of £5 billion this year and £270 billion over the lifetime of the Parliament. Like me, the Defence Minister is a south-west MP. Will he set out how the Government are investing in defence across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and the broader south-west?

• 8 Jan 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Evri are the worst. My constituents faced misery over Christmas, with no customer service. In fact, customer service was provided only in the form of chatbots. I recently received a woeful reply after writing to Evri’s CEO. There are many excellent couriers, including Rodrigo, Martin and Tony in Bournemouth, and I thank them, but they are being let down by Evri. Does my right hon. Friend agree that when private parcel operators deliver appalling customer service without minimum standards, it is workers and customers who suffer, left shouting into the void? Can he advise me on how I can secure meaningful redress for my Bournemouth East constituents?

• 8 Jan 2026 · E-scooters · Hansard source

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  4. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the illegal use of e-scooters on public roads and pavements.

• 8 Jan 2026 · E-scooters · Hansard source

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  In Dorset, we have just seen record numbers of e-scooter seizures. The police and crime commissioner, David Sidwick, and I are prioritising tackling this issue, because not only is it a form of antisocial behaviour, but it is an ideal way for drug dealers to get around. Residents in Littledown and Iford are particularly concerned. I am pleased to hear the Minister say that if parliamentary time allows, he will bring forward a Bill. Can he say whether that Bill might include mandatory registration and identification plates for e-scooters, among other things?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Rural Communities · Hansard source

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  I thank the shadow Secretary of State for giving way from her humorous speech. She has just listed a series of changes that she would like this Labour Government to make. Can she tell the House whether, in a 15th year of Conservative Government, those changes would have been made?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Rural Communities · Hansard source

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  Bournemouth is a town of animal lovers, and it has received with great happiness the news that the Government are bringing forward animal welfare reforms. Could the Minister outline some of those reforms and how they will particularly benefit our rural communities?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Jury Trials · Hansard source

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  I was not going to intervene, but I think it is important to because I have just visited Bournemouth Crown court and magistrates court, and the people there talked about that question of sickness. They talked about the fact that their staff have been carrying the load for so many members of a team who were not in place because they had seen austerity. Many staff in the Crown court system may be going on to sickness leave because they are burned out. They are burned out from years of cuts. Does the hon. Member not recognise that we need to invest in our Crown court system so that they can get back on their feet and our criminal justice can also get back on its feet?

• 6 Jan 2026 · Therapeutic Play and Children’s Healthcare · Hansard source

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  I am pleased that the Government committed £18 million to playground investment in the Budget. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should include health play professionals in the NHS workforce plan? Would she advocate for that as part of the plan?

• 6 Jan 2026 · Therapeutic Play and Children’s Healthcare · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is describing some of the approaches that I have recently been honoured to see in action at Poole hospital. Does he agree that play professionals in our healthcare settings need proper support? Does he also agree that the Government should include health play professionals in the NHS workforce plan and make health play a registered allied health profession? I also note that the all-party parliamentary group on play, which I chair, is set to look at health and play.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Once the political situation is stabilised in Venezuela and foreign companies can be enticed to invest somewhere between £100 billion and £200 billion there, it will take emergency repairs, workforce modernisation and retraining and many more things to get the infrastructure and industry in Venezuela up to historical peak capacity. That could take up until 2040. Is it not easier and speedier for the UK to invest in home-grown renewables and nuclear, so that we can guarantee energy independence, and get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster—

• 5 Jan 2026 · Free Bus Travel: Over-60s · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way, and I thank the 207 people from my constituency who signed the e-petition. Liberal Democrats run Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council. Next year it will receive £3.7 million, then £4 million the following year, £5.3 million the year following that and £6.3 million in the year following that—2030. It also gets the benefit of long-term funding certainty. Does he welcome the fact that the Labour Government are working together with the council to enable it to get on with making the funding allocations to give people the routes and fares that they are entitled to, particularly given that the Liberal Democrats tend to enjoy their time in Bournemouth whenever they hold a conference?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Free Bus Travel: Over-60s · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a powerful case, as per usual. Just before Christmas I held an inclusive bus roundtable, to which I invited Bournemouth Gateway Club and the Cambian Wing college. The Cambian Wing college calculates that it costs around £300 a year for its students to reach the college, because it opens at a time outside the operating period of the concession pass. That is clearly bizarre, but it is particularly bizarre because the Cambian Wing supports people who have special educational needs, and we as a Government are trying to provide more workplace opportunities for people with special educational needs, and also with wider needs. Would my hon. Friend agree that, as a major part of our work and welfare programme, having not only reliable bus routes, but affordable buses is absolutely critical?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Free Bus Travel: Over-60s · Hansard source

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  Before I was elected, I ran mental health services, including for older adults, so I understand the importance of older people being able to access services in a way that means they do not lose their appointment. We have 47,226 over-60s in Bournemouth, and many decisions about bus routes have not been taken with their views in mind, particularly in Throop, where I am trying to reinstate a bus service, but also across Southbourne and Tuckton. It sounds like my hon. and learned Friend might agree, but does he also agree that we should be using our new bus legislation to make sure that those communities that have been disenfranchised, left behind and left out are considered by local councils when they are deciding on routes?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Venezuela · Hansard source

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  Like the Foreign Secretary, we want an end to this brutal regime. I hope now that Venezuela can move to a democracy with full control of its oil and other resources following this breach of the UN charter. The Leader of the Opposition says that we live in “a fundamentally different world and an increasingly dangerous world.” After all, no UK Prime Minister previously has had to stand up so fulsomely for Greenland and Denmark’s security. So when the facts change, should our stance not change too? Should we not be working more closely with the European Union and EU member states to deepen our security and our economic ties, but do we not also need the European Union to be more flexible and pragmatic about what constitutes alignment with the UK?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. Because of antisocial behaviour, including drug dealing and public injecting, Upper Charminster community action group has activated a community safety trigger, and this month we will have a case review. I thank the group and Queen’s Park councillor Sharon Carr-Brown for their focus on antisocial behaviour. Will the Minister set out what the Government are doing to tackle antisocial behaviour in Bournemouth and beyond?

• 5 Jan 2026 · Asylum Hotels · Hansard source

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  I recently visited an asylum hotel in my constituency and have spoken separately with people living there and in the community surrounding the hotel. It is clear that ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers is in the best interests of not only asylum seekers, but the neighbouring community and the taxpayer. The Minister and I have had many conversations about this. Can he confirm when the Government will begin ending the use of asylum hotels in Bournemouth?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Prosecution Rates: Bournemouth East · Hansard source

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  Mr Speaker, may I wish you and your team a happy Christmas? What the Solicitor General found on looked into this does not surprise me. Chris has said that he cannot stomach shoplifting, particularly at the Asda petrol station in Charminster, and Jackie is putting up with antisocial behaviour and shoplifting at the Co-op on Christchurch Road. Does the Solicitor General agree that businesses need easier ways to report crime, and that no shop worker or constituent should have to put up with fear of harm or abuse on their high street?

• 18 Dec 2025 · Prosecution Rates: Bournemouth East · Hansard source

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  6. Which crimes have the highest prosecution rates in Bournemouth East constituency.

• 17 Dec 2025 · Puberty Suppressants Trial · Hansard source

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  I welcome the trial. I commend the Secretary of State for following clinical advice and the Government for trying to build a consensus for one of the most minoritised communities in our country. May I ask the Secretary of State—a man who I know to have empathy and thoughtfulness—to speak directly to trans people who will be watching this debate? At this Christmas time, they may be struggling with estrangement from family and with other difficulties. Can he speak to the dignity and worth to which they are entitled, and send a message that this House has their back?

• 17 Dec 2025 · UK-EU Common Understanding Negotiations · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister’s focus on jobs, bills and borders as part of a pragmatic and balanced reset of our relationship with the European Union. I have already heard from constituents like Robert in Boscombe, who welcomes the fact that the UK will be rejoining Erasmus. When a Government invest in our children, our country starts to care about our future again. Will the Minister update the House on progress towards a youth mobility scheme, and on what role he sees English language schools playing in our future economy as we bring European students to Bournemouth?

• 16 Dec 2025 · Transgender People: Provision of Healthcare · Hansard source

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  Trans healthcare is challenging to access and afford. Waiting lists are ludicrously long and treatment options are limited. There is a massive gap between the treatment that trans people need and what they are being offered. Does the hon. Member agree that, as we just heard from my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth (Rachel Taylor), trans people are human beings who deserve to be treated as such, with equal access to healthcare?

• 16 Dec 2025 · Contracted Prisoner Escort Services: Bournemouth · Hansard source

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  We must ensure that courts like Bournemouth are not being kept idle at a cost of thousands of taxpayers’ pounds every day. After all, we have a backlog that we have got to clear thanks to the Conservative party. Bournemouth piloted the pathfinder model, and it wants to do more, but it is being held back by private contractors such as Serco. Will the Government reconsider their approach and consider alternative ways to deliver prisoners to court on time, thereby saving the taxpayer valuable money?

• 16 Dec 2025 · Contracted Prisoner Escort Services: Bournemouth · Hansard source

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  6. What steps he is taking to ensure Serco delivers prisoners on time at Bournemouth Crown and county court.

• 15 Dec 2025 · Online Safety Act 2023: Repeal · Hansard source

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  I have met constituents to understand their concerns and ambitions in relation to online safety legislation. There is a clear need to balance the protection of vulnerable users against serious online harms with the need to protect lawful speech as we pragmatically review and implement the Act. My hon. Friend talks about equipping our younger people, in particular, with the skills to scrutinise what is real or fake. Does he agree that, although we have online safety within the national curriculum, we need to support our teachers to provide consistent teaching in schools across our country so that our children have the skills to think critically about online safety, in the same way as they do about road safety, relationships or consent? [ Interruption. ]

• 15 Dec 2025 · Online Safety Act 2023: Repeal · Hansard source

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  We heard today from the MI6 chief, who talked about how Russia is seeking to “export chaos” into western democracies and said that the UK is one of the most targeted. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need online safety, because it is our national security too, and that as we face the rising threat from Putin and the Kremlin, we need as a country to be secure in the air, at sea, on land and in the digital space?