Tom Rutland MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I welcome my right hon. Friend to her place. Will she update the House on the package of cost-saving measures announced by this Labour Government to give families in my constituency of East Worthing and Shoreham more breathing space this September as they return to school?

• 14 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

• 10 Sept 2026 · Ukraine and Russia · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. We know that Putin will be preparing to use winter as a weapon by continuing barbaric attacks against civilian and energy targets in Ukraine. Will the Secretary of State outline the steps that this Government are taking to mobilise allies and provide more support wherever we can?

• 7 Sept 2026 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I know that the pause will be frustrating for people in Adur and Worthing who want to see the back of West Sussex county council and have power and money brought closer to them, but I do accept that it is important to take the time to get this right. Will the Secretary of State assure me that the review will not diminish the Government’s plans to devolve power closer to my constituents?

• 9 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T3. I welcome the waste carrier, broker and dealer reforms, which will replace the outdated registration system with a more robust permit-based regime, introduce stronger background checks, and give regulators greater powers to tackle waste crime. Given that waste crime costs the economy £1 billion a year, will the Minister set out how the reforms will help to crack down on rouge operators, while ensuring that legitimate businesses can continue to operate and grow with confidence?

• 6 Jul 2026 · Civil Service Pensions · Hansard source

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  Too many of my constituents are seeing delays to receiving their civil service pensions because of Capita’s failures. In some cases, it is causing serious hardship, and I am doing all I can to assist people to access their hard-earned pensions. Will the Minister outline what steps he is taking to ensure that correspondence from Members in this place, advocating for their constituents, is dealt with quickly by Capita?

• 6 Jul 2026 · Police Leadership Commission Report · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her statement and my local police officers for their work. Trust in policing is essential, but that trust and confidence has been tested too many times in recent years. Does the Minister agree that strong ethical leadership is fundamental to rebuilding public confidence in policing? Does she also agree that the police leadership commission report provides an important opportunity to ensure that officers at every level are better supported to deliver the high standards that the public rightly expect?

• 6 Jul 2026 · Rochdale Grooming Gang: Offender Deportation · Hansard source

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  My thoughts are with the victims and survivors of Shabir Ahmed and the Rochdale grooming gang. The Minister has always been clear that removing foreign national offenders is a priority for him, the Home Secretary and this Government. Will he update the House on what more the Home Office is doing to speed up these removals?

• 6 Jul 2026 · Foreign Interference in UK Politics · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her statement and Philip Rycroft for his work. This issue is something that my constituents care about, because they want to know that their vote is their own and is not for sale to the highest bidder from overseas, whether it is for £5, £500 or even £5 million. Will the Minister tell the House when we will see the changes in law?

• 29 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T9. The number of young people not in employment, education or training should concern us all, so I was delighted to see the announcement earlier this month of a new youth hub for Adur. Can the Secretary of State set out how it will set young people up for success in my constituency?

• 18 Jun 2026 · Education and Engagement Outreach Team · Hansard source

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  6. Whether the Commission has made an assessment of the potential impact of closure of the Education and Engagement Outreach Team on schools.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Education and Engagement Outreach Team · Hansard source

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  The parliamentary education outreach service plays a vital role in delivering in-person democratic engagement workshops in schools across the country, especially those that are disadvantaged and harder to reach, by engaging them in the work of our political system. Does my hon. Friend agree that the closure of the in-person service risks making Parliament more removed from young people across the country?

• 15 Jun 2026 · Brain Cancer · Hansard source

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  This is an issue close to my heart, because I lost both a friend and a mentor in the late, great Tessa Jowell to this dreadful disease. Brain cancer has also impacted many of my constituents and their families, including Lorna, who is currently supporting a family member through her diagnosis. So, given that there are 13,000 new cases recorded each year and research spending lags behind need, does the hon. Gentleman agree that much more must be done to deliver better and more effective treatments?

• 8 Jun 2026 · Progression of Bills through Parliament · Hansard source

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  I thank my constituency neighbour for giving way. Many of my constituents have been deeply upset by the way a small number of peers blocked the passage of the assisted dying Bill, despite the broad support from the public and from a majority of MPs every time it was voted on. Does she agree that debate on the Bill, about which there are strongly held, principled views on both sides, is very welcome, but that intentionally filibustering to prevent its passage is unworthy of this Parliament?

• 4 Jun 2026 · Access to Nature · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her answer and her kind words. The recently inaugurated King Charles III England coast path winds its way through my constituency, passing Lancing’s wonderful Widewater lagoon nature reserve, which I worked with the community—including the World of Widewater committee—to save when it was drying up last summer. Can the Minister set out what health and tourism benefits the newly inaugurated path will bring to coastal communities such as mine?

• 4 Jun 2026 · Access to Nature · Hansard source

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  8. What steps she is taking to improve access to nature.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Murder of Henry Nowak · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for her statement. I offer my condolences to Henry Nowak’s family, who have been through an appalling ordeal. What assurances can my right hon. Friend provide that Henry’s family’s concerns about the initial police response are being fully considered by the relevant authorities and that lessons will be learned from this terrible incident, so that no other family has to see their loved one doubted in their final moments by those who should be helping them?

• 28 Apr 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T8. The Chancellor will have seen the news this morning that BP’s profits have more than doubled, undoubtedly driven by the conflict in the middle east. Does she agree that this shows the value of having a windfall tax at this point in time?

• 27 Apr 2026 · Disabled People: Benefits Reassessments · Hansard source

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  21. What steps his Department is taking to ensure that disabled people are able to try work without automatically triggering a benefits reassessment.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Disabled People: Benefits Reassessments · Hansard source

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  Thanks to grant funding from DWP, my local Labour councils in Adur and Worthing are joining the Connect to Work programme, helping local people get into good local jobs. But for young people, including those with disabilities, being not in employment, education or training remains an issue. What more is being done to work with businesses and get more young people into the opportunities that they can thrive in?

• 14 Apr 2026 · NHS Waiting Lists · Hansard source

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  Waiting lists at my local acute trust are down by more than 20,000 since the general election, which I welcome, but musculoskeletal waits remain a challenge in Sussex, with the Sussex MSK service holding about 10% of NHS England’s overall MSK waiting list. What more can be done to improve the performance of the service and get my constituents off the waiting list, back to health and back to work?

• 14 Apr 2026 · NHS Waiting Lists · Hansard source

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  10. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people waiting for NHS treatment.

• 25 Mar 2026 · Public Baths and Lidos · Hansard source

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  Worthing lido recently celebrated its centenary. It is a symbol of our wonderful seaside town’s history, but it has been unloved for some time. I am delighted to be working with my hon. Friend the Member for Worthing West (Dr Cooper), Worthing’s Labour council and the local community to restore our lido to its former glory as a community space, and hopefully, in the long term, to build a tidal pool nearby. Does my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) agree that lidos should not just be a part of our past, but should offer an opportunity for a glorious future for our towns?

• 12 Mar 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The Labour Government have given Conservative-run West Sussex county council £27 million to get our roads in shape, but across my constituency there are dangerous potholes that the council refuses to fill, and roads in desperate need of resurfacing, including Mansfield Road and Thesiger Road in East Worthing, which I saw at the weekend. Will the Leader of the House join me in calling on the county council to properly fix roads across Adur and Worthing, and will he make time for a debate on renewing our roads?

• 12 Mar 2026 · Trade with Europe · Hansard source

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  After years of the Conservatives and Reform trying their best to ruin our relationship with our nearest neighbours, and damaging business exports, this Labour Government have been working hard to ensure that my constituents feel the benefit of our renewed relationship with the European Union. Will my right hon. Friend update the House on the work he is doing to ensure that businesses like Worthing’s very own musical instrument business Hobgoblin Music can benefit from the reset in relations we have had with our European neighbours?