Tom Rutland MP: speeches

Speeches

• 21 Jul 2025 · Independent Water Commission · Hansard source

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  Last week, it was revealed that the chief executive of Southern Water was awarded an egregious, enormous pay rise worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, despite the company continuing to oversee sewage spills and infrastructure failures that affect my constituents. Does the Secretary of State agree that water bosses should not profit from overseeing catastrophic failure?

• 30 Jun 2025 · Welfare Reform · Hansard source

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  I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and the Government’s work to ensure that help is there for those who need it now and in future. Many in this House will be worried that progress on closing the disability employment gap stalled under the Conservative party, at 28 percentage points. Will the Secretary of State confirm that that is one of the metrics that the Government are focusing on in the strategy, and that the gap must and will close under this Government?

• 30 Jun 2025 · Glastonbury Festival: BBC Coverage · Hansard source

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  I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for the BBC and a former employee of the Prospect and Bectu unions, which represent BBC staff. I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and the BBC’s own statement today, which makes it clear that the performer’s antisemitic sentiments were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves, and that the BBC will examine its guidance on live events to ensure that teams are clear on when it is acceptable to keep output on air. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is possible to express concern about the appalling suffering in Gaza without using language that risks fuelling hatred and division or inciting violence?

• 26 Jun 2025 · BBC World Service Funding · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley) for securing this important debate. I declare an interest, as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the BBC, a recipient of BBC hospitality, and a former employee of the Prospect and Bectu unions, which represent some BBC staff. The BBC World Service is the ultimate example of British soft power, having driven influence, stability and security across the world for almost a century. In our increasingly unstable world, with media polarisation and disinformation on the rise, the role of the World Service in countering hostile state narratives has never been more critical. Russia and China are spending an estimated £6 billion to £8 billion to use technology and communications as a tool for influence and disinformation in Africa, Asia and the middle east, and winning audience trust as a result. However, as the world’s most trusted international news provider, the BBC is uniquely placed to counter these forces, reaching an audience of 414 million people worldwide in 42 languages, across TV, radio and digital platforms every week. This includes 64 million people in the 20 most fragile states. It is the only international news media organisation still broadcasting inside Afghanistan, where it reaches 23% of the adult population, as the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis) rightly pointed out. Independent research shows that 62% of influential global users say consuming BBC content makes them perceive the UK more positively. However, its ability to reach global audiences has been hampered by previous moves to end the full grant-in-aid funding for the World Service. As the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) noted, today, two thirds of the World Service’s budget is met by licence fee payers, with the remainder coming from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. With the licence fee generating 30% less income in real terms than it did in 2010, the BBC cannot ask UK licence fee payers to continue to invest in the World Service at a time when it is forced to cut UK content. That means that the BBC’s capacity to sustain coverage, influence and reach has been stretched to the limit, while that of malign state actors is increasing. Budget limitations have forced the BBC to retreat in some key parts of the world, with others taking their place, such as Russian-backed media now transmitting on the very radio frequency previously occupied by BBC Arabic in Lebanon—a point that we have heard but is worth reiterating, as it is shocking. It is welcome that one of the first acts of this new Government was to resolve the funding crisis for 2025/26, increasing funding from the FCDO by 31%, to £137 million, enabling the BBC to maintain all of its existing language services and to provide emergency information services to those in crisis in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine for the coming year. However, enormous pressures remain, with £6 million of savings being announced for 2025/26, focused on a reduction of 130 roles. The recent spending review and BBC charter review process offer the opportunity to put the BBC World Service on a stronger footing. The Government should grab this opportunity with both hands, to meet this dangerous era with the stable and long-term funding mechanism needed to secure the World Service’s future from central Government budgets —as was the case for the first 80 years of the life of this beacon of British values around the world. Previous cuts to the licence fee, rising costs and the need to keep pace with technology means that the World Service needs investment. A flat funding settlement in 2026 and the years covered by the spending review would leave the BBC unable to retain the breadth of its language services, diminishing its impact and influence. As the FCDO considers how it will spend its allocation from the recent spending review in the years ahead, I urge it to restore full funding for the World Service, recognising it as a beacon of truth and trusted British influence in an increasingly unstable and fragmented world.

• 23 Jun 2025 · Severely Disabled People: East Worthing and Shoreham · Hansard source

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  16. What steps she is taking to support severely disabled people who will never be able to work in East Worthing and Shoreham constituency.

• 23 Jun 2025 · Severely Disabled People: East Worthing and Shoreham · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. I have been working with disabled constituents, our local jobcentre and employers to ensure that everyone is working together to maximise opportunities for disabled people, and that they are not just recruited but retained and thriving in jobs locally. However, some people will never be able to work or return to work, including many people with advanced progressive multiple sclerosis, and it is right that they are properly supported. Will my right hon. Friend confirm what support will be in place for people like my constituents living with this disease?

• 20 May 2025 · Government Travel Advice: Laos · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. The case he raises touches the hearts of those across the world who have also lost loved ones in the tragic circumstances of methanol poisoning. Would he agree that it is imperative that we must build awareness of how to stay safe abroad among all those preparing to travel, regardless of their age, to ensure that these tragedies are not repeated?

• 16 May 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak in support of new clause 10, which is about choice. In fact, the Bill is about choice: choice at the end of life and choice to have a dignified death. It is about a choice that is currently being denied to many in untreatable, excruciating pain at the end of their lives—a choice that the majority in this country would want for themselves. New clause 10 is in that same spirit. It would offer practitioners a choice, by ensuring that there was no obligation on any person to provide assistance to a terminally ill adult seeking an assisted death. That includes those such as my constituent Aimee’s grandmother, who repeatedly asked her, “When will it end?” from the bed in her hospice, where, despite the best efforts of staff, they were medically unable to treat her constant pain and legally unable to make good on her wish to, in her own words, be helped to go. The Bill allows doctors to choose not to participate in the assisted dying process if they so wish. The new clause would improve it by extending that provision to all registered medical practitioners, health professionals, social care professionals, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. It would also make it clear that no person is under any duty to act as a witness or a proxy in the process. It would further amend the Employment Rights Act 1996 to ensure that no one could be subjected to detriment by their employer for providing assistance to those seeking an assisted death or for choosing not to do so. That is a good thing: it respects people’s choices. Some will not want to aid someone seeking an assisted death because of religious or other principled objections, but some, like my constituent Karen, will want to. Karen wrote to me setting out her father-in-law’s terminal diagnosis of a brain tumour, his fear of losing control of mental and bodily functions as his condition progressed and his hope that the Bill would pass in time for him to benefit from it. Karen is not simply a relative of a terminally ill person; she spent years working in palliative care, watching people lose their independence and dignity as a result of their terminal illness, with patients asking her how they could end the suffering for both themselves and their families. She was heartbroken to witness their distress and pain over days, weeks or even months, knowing that nothing could be done for them. In their painful final stretches, some felt suicidal and some felt a burden. For that reason, I must oppose new clause 16, which would rule ineligible for assisted dying anyone who is substantially motivated by a number of factors, including feeling a burden, or suicidal ideation.

• 16 May 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for that intervention, because it allows me to continue making an argument that will address those points. First, substantial motivation is vague, undefined and legally imprecise. This new clause is a blunt instrument and an attempt to shut the door on entire groups of people accessing an assisted death. How would one establish what a substantially motivating factor in any individual case is? No motivation exists in a vacuum, and feeling a burden can co-exist with physical deterioration and untreatable pain. Secondly, if suicidal ideation is to think about dying by taking one’s own life, would that not encompass everyone considering assisted dying?

• 16 May 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I am afraid I must make progress. I therefore hope that Members across the House will join me in supporting new clause 10, strengthening the Bill and reinforcing the fact that choice, for patients and practitioners, is at the heart of this legislation, and I hope they will oppose the amendments and new clauses that would wreck the Bill and put that choice at risk.

• 16 May 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend. Similarly, I cannot support amendment 102, which would require doctors to ensure that there were no “remediable suicide risk factors” before conducting a preliminary discussion with the patient. There is no clear legal or clinical definition of the term “remediable suicide risk factor”, and the Bill already includes multiple checks on mental capacity and mental illness, including by independent doctors and a specialist panel. The vagueness of this amendment risks wrecking this much-needed Bill. I emailed Karen again yesterday to ask if I could refer to her in this speech. Her father-in-law had sadly died in the time that had passed between her initial email and our exchange yesterday. The Bill was not passed in time for him and he could not benefit from it. However, Karen hoped that his story could make some small contribution to changing the law. There do not need to be more people in Karen’s father-in-law’s position, or in Aimee’s grandmother’s position—they can have choice at the end of life, and our brilliant palliative care workforce, like Karen, can have choice on the kind of care they provide too.

• 12 Apr 2025 · Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill · Hansard source

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  Today, we are taking an extraordinary but necessary step not just to safeguard a single industry, but to defend the long-term interests of our country. On that point of interests, I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Let us be clear: today is about not nostalgia, but national resilience and securing Britain’s future. Retaining a sovereign, primary steelmaking capability is critical to our economy and our national security, because steel is the backbone of our infrastructure, defence, energy and transport systems. Without the capacity to make steel from raw materials here in Britain, we are at the mercy of global markets and geopolitical shocks, and we would be outsourcing not just production, but power. Although we are resolute in our commitment to a green industrial future, the transition to clean steel must be a managed and just transition, not a cliff edge. That means keeping the furnaces operating in Scunthorpe as we establish and scale up the electric arc furnaces, because if we lose our primary steelmaking capability, we will not get it back. The skills will be lost, the supply chains broken and we will become entirely dependent on other countries, many of which do not share our environmental or labour standards, or, indeed, our geopolitical outlook. Let us not forget the people. This is about jobs—good, unionised, skilled jobs that sustain communities, generations of families and the dignity of work. The steelworkers in Scunthorpe are not just making steel; they are making Britain. We owe it to them to ensure that this industry has a future. I pay tribute in particular to the work of Community and GMB unions, which have fought for the future of British steelmaking and British Steel workers. The Labour party was founded to give working people a voice in Parliament, and, today, as a Government, we are honouring that legacy by standing up for British industry, British workers and Britain’s future. I am proud to support this legislation and I urge all Members to do the same.

• 31 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T7. This month, we marked eight years since the Westminster bridge attack, a cowardly assault on our parliamentary democracy that killed five people, including the late PC Keith Palmer, and injured almost 50 others. As the survivors seek to rebuild their lives, what measures is the Department putting in place to support the survivors and honour the victims of terrorist attacks?

• 24 Mar 2025 · Military Aid to Ukraine · Hansard source

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  This year, the UK is providing Ukraine with more financial aid through military support than at any time since Putin’s illegal invasion. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is crucial to wider European security, and to our own security here in the UK, that we continue to support Ukraine and ramp up the pressure on Putin?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Like 1% of the population, I suffer from coeliac disease, an autoimmune disease in which the gut attacks itself if the sufferer eats gluten. There is no treatment other than a gluten-free diet. The cheapest loaf of gluten-free bread can cost six times the price of one that contains gluten. Despite that, prescriptions for gluten-free bread are being restricted across England by integrated care boards, leading to coeliacs facing economic hardship and putting themselves at risk of cancer and osteoporosis. This must be reversed. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on the availability of gluten-free prescriptions across England?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Coastal Communities · Hansard source

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  It is a privilege to represent East Worthing and Shoreham, a fabulous stretch of the stunning Sussex coast where the sea meets the shore at our beautiful collection of towns and villages, which then give way to the breathtaking south downs. Too often, coastal towns have been treated as after- thoughts. Once vibrant hubs of industry, culture and trade, too many now struggle to cope with rising inequalities, economic stagnation, climate change and a housing crisis that is forcing families out of their neighbourhoods. However, there is hope on the horizon and the tide is coming back in. The new Labour Government are committed to steadying the ship, pulling our coastal communities out of the sewage-blighted murky waters, and setting sail towards a brighter future. The housing crisis in our coastal areas cannot wait. The skyrocketing cost of housing has made it nearly impossible for many of our young people and working families to find affordable homes. House prices in my constituency have risen by 20% in the past five years, but wages have not kept pace. The median house price is £380,000—almost £100,000 higher than the national average—but our median weekly wage is lower than others across the country. The new homes that the Government will build cannot come soon enough to ensure that local families are not priced out of their communities, and people’s children and grandchildren do not have to move away to get on in life. Indeed, that was a huge factor in last year’s election campaign. I met a couple in their 80s who were voting Labour for the first time ever because their working adult children were still unable to afford a home of their own. They were not just first-time Labour voters; this lovely couple met 60 years ago at the local Conservative dance party. The Labour Government are not only making it easier for people to own a home of their own; we are also, through our Renters (Reform) Bill, supporting the 17% of households in my constituency in the private rented sector by ending no-fault evictions, banning rent bidding wars and driving up standards. I am glad to be part of the work of Labour Members to bring an end to the exploitation of residents in coastal communities like mine by poor managing agents, who take them for a ride with excessive charges and poor service. We are addressing the issue of climate change. We are committed to building a climate-resilient future by investing £2.65 billion in flood defences. I will make the case for East Worthing and Shoreham getting its fair share of that funding, given our experience of flooding, including in Shoreham, last April. We are also acting on the causes of climate change through our aim to achieve 95% clean power by 2030. I am proud to support an extension of the Rampion wind farm in the sea just beyond our shoreline, which will produce enough electricity to power the whole of Sussex if completed. We need investment in our coastal communities, not just for the residents living in them but to revive our tourist economy and give us the opportunity to show off the delights of our splendid seaside towns. Time is short and I cannot talk about too many of them, but they include Worthing pier, which suffered a closure last year, and Worthing lido, which I hope we can restore. The time for change is now. Our coastal communities have given so much to the country over the years, and it is time that we gave back. I hope that will come in the form of a coastal communities strategy, so that the Government can deliver real change for our neighbours.

• 20 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We are blessed to be nestled between the beautiful River Adur and the sea in my constituency, but that leaves us prone to flooding. Last year, my constituents in Shoreham found their homes and businesses flooded. I welcome the Government’s £2.65 billion for flood defences and must stress the importance of East Worthing and Shoreham getting its fair share of that funding. Will the Minister confirm when the Government will announce funding allocations for local flood defence projects?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Conflict in Gaza · Hansard source

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  Like many, I was horrified to see the resumption of airstrikes in Gaza and the loss of so many innocent lives this week. Civilians in Gaza and the remaining Israeli hostages, who were abducted in the appalling Hamas terror attacks of 7 October, desperately need a ceasefire back in place, and the hostages must be released. Will the Foreign Secretary join me in condemning comments from the Israeli Defence Minister, who threatened the total destruction of Gaza? Will he also be clear that the terrorists of Hamas can have no role in the future of Gaza?

• 6 Mar 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  As we have heard, today is World Book Day. Like many in this House, I have fond childhood memories of dressing up as a character from my favourite book, but research from the National Literacy Trust shows that the number of children reading in their spare time has fallen to its lowest in almost two decades. That comes at the same time as soaring smartphone usage among children, which is causing concern to parents in my constituency. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on how we can reinvigorate a love of reading in young people and tackle smartphone harms?

• 6 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T8. I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Food wholesale and distribution company Bidfood, which has been awarded public sector contracts and has a site in my constituency, recently unilaterally tore up union recognition agreements that have been in place for more than 30 years. What steps are Ministers taking to ensure that trade union recognition and access is valued and considered as part of the process of awarding public sector contracts?

• 3 Mar 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T4. Many of my constituents face extortionate hikes in service charges while getting little in return, with repairs not being carried out, poor service and a lack of transparency and accountability from their managing agent, FirstPort. Can the Minister outline what the Government are doing to bring an end to the scandalous fleecehold system that is ripping off leaseholders across the country?

• 25 Feb 2025 · Maternity Services · Hansard source

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  It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) for securing this important debate. Maternity services are a vital part of our national health service. They are unique in that they are entrusted not only with the care of newborns at their most vulnerable and mothers at their time of greatest need, but also with ensuring that the wondrous process of bringing a new life into the world is a safe one. For many families, it is, and I thank those in our NHS who work tirelessly to deliver the best care they can, especially against the backdrop of 14 years of chronic underfunding of services and of conditions that are not acceptable in a modern healthcare system. However, for too many families in East Worthing and Shoreham, and others served by hospitals in the University Hospitals Sussex NHS foundation trust, maternity services are not performing as they should, despite the hard work of many staff. All four maternity units in the trust have been determined by the CQC to be inadequate or requiring improvement, showing just how urgently that change is needed. Behind each rating and category are the devastating experiences of real people. I have met families in my constituency who have had to endure the most tragic and unimaginable suffering as a result of having received inadequate care from the trust’s maternity services. Some families are living through the devastation of stillbirth. In one case, a baby with no underlying conditions, who in the eyes of all involved was completely healthy, tragically died. Numerous issues should have triggered additional monitoring and alternative care pathways, but they were never acted on. In that case, the trust admitted failures in care to the parents, but I am aware of failures in other cases. Another family—who were, again, due to welcome into the world a healthy baby with no underlying health conditions—suffered horrendously because of misdiagnosis, delayed treatment and a missed opportunity for a caesarean. These errors were compounded by poor communication and note keeping, which resulted in clinical staff not being aware of earlier events, and yet another unimaginable tragedy taking place. Sadly, these families are not alone. A group of bereaved families in Sussex, who no doubt wish they had no reason to know each other, have come together to call for action to ensure that no expectant parents have to endure what they have gone through. I am glad that our Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care have rightly prioritised maternity service improvements as part of their plan to change our NHS. They too feel the urgency for change that many of my constituents feel. I am grateful to the families in my constituency who have channelled their grief into the courage to share their harrowing stories with me, and to the Health Secretary for meeting families previously in the care of the University Hospitals Sussex NHS foundation trust to hear their experiences and calls for action. We need action. With a new baby born every minute, we cannot delay or defer making our maternity services safe for all, including by tackling racial inequalities in care. The need is now and the urgency is clear.

• 6 Feb 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My constituents in East Worthing and Shoreham, and all those served by Southern Water, face a 47% increase in their bills after years of mismanagement by the company and the previous Government. Will the Leader of the House assure me that the Government will ensure that the additional money that my constituents will be paying will be put into fixing our broken water system, not into the pockets of executives and shareholders?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T6. The brilliant Adur Ukraine Support Association has raised concerns with me that the 18-month limit on the extension of Ukrainians’ permission to remain in the UK is causing issues in securing tenancies, jobs and undergraduate university courses, which last for a minimum of three years. Will the Minister meet me to discuss that issue facing Ukrainians in my constituency?

• 19 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and a very merry Christmas to you. Like many MPs, this year I held my first Christmas card competition, and I was blown away by the talent of local primary school children. Will the Leader of the House indulge me, and join me in congratulating the winners, Franco, Akithra and Lauren, and extending a massive thank you to the teachers in my constituency, who work tirelessly, day in and day out, not only to educate our young people but to unlock their potential and creativity?