Wera Hobhouse MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 9 Jan 2025 · Local Transport Authorities and Mayors: Financial Support · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Secretary of State to the Dispatch Box, and say happy birthday to the Aviation Minister. Buses in my constituency are not adequate and the situation has been made worse since the £2 fare cap was lifted. Local authorities in Bath want to improve the situation. They want to franchise bus services themselves, but their hands are tied by the Labour West of England combined authority Mayor, who refuses to do so. What should local authorities such as Bath do?

• 9 Jan 2025 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  Before upskirting became a specific criminal offence, people said it was “just a laugh”. Does the hon. Member think we have a massive problem in society when offences against women are dismissed as just a laugh and seen as acceptable?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the right hon. Lady give way?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Lady worry, like me, that the recent attempt in the debate to reopen an inquiry is less about supporting victims and stamping out sexual violence, and more about inciting racial tensions?

• 8 Jan 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  Having been a secondary school teacher before I became an MP, I congratulate the Government on bringing forward legislation that once again puts children at the heart of what we in this place want to achieve. The Every Child Matters initiative was introduced nearly two decades ago. My party and I welcome many things in this Bill, but we believe that it could go even further. It was clear from discussions with the National Association of Head Teachers in Bath and North East Somerset that local authorities need further responsibility for admissions. I am pleased that local authorities will have greater powers to direct admission to maintained schools and academies when children need places. However, if the local authority has responsibility for admissions, it should have the powers of an admission authority. I welcome the introduction of a register for children not in school. We Liberal Democrats support the policy that all new teachers in state-funded primary and secondary schools should have, or be working towards, qualified teacher status. That is a crucial step in upholding the quality of education, and we Liberal Democrats have been calling for it for a long time. I am a little more sceptical on the core pay and conditions framework. Teachers deserve a system that values their dedication equally, no matter where they work. The Bill promises something that we can all support: a single framework for teachers’ pay and conditions—one set of rules applied consistently across Government-maintained schools and academies. That sounds fair, and most academies already follow the framework. However, the Department for Education has stated: “Before requiring academies to comply with the framework we will ask the School Teachers’ Review Body to consider additional flexibilities within the statutory framework to make it most effective for all schools.” If academies decide to opt out, teachers working just a few streets apart could find themselves on vastly different pay scales, with different benefits and working hours, simply because their schools made different choices. There could be a postcode lottery when it comes to teachers’ pay. The impact does not stop there. National benefits, such as the teachers’ pension scheme, which rely on widespread participation to remain viable, could be put at risk. If too many academies decide that the framework is too costly and leave it, the system could unravel, jeopardising the financial security of teachers across the country. We must build an education system in which every teacher is treated fairly and equally, regardless of the type of school that they work in—that is a critical issue of fairness—and I urge the Government to ensure that that happens. Let me turn to the declining mental health of our children and young people. There is no mention in the Bill of having a dedicated qualified mental health professional in every school—a policy that we Liberal Democrats have been championing for a long time. Around 50% of mental illness begins to manifest before the age of 14, so support in primary and secondary schools is key. A dedicated mental health professional in every school would ensure that all children and parents had someone they could turn to for help. There are many aspects of the Bill that we Liberal Democrats support. However, I urge the Government to ensure that there is a single framework for teachers’ pay and conditions across Government-maintained schools and academies. I also hope that they will join the Liberal Democrats in advocating for a mental health professional in every school—and for the extension of free school meals for children, which we have mentioned before.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Northern Gaza · Hansard source

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  Many of my constituents are deeply worried about the intolerable suffering of the people in Gaza, but at this moment they are particularly worried about the ban on UNRWA, which will come into force at the end of the month. The Minister’s previous answer on UNRWA was simply not good enough. Where is the urgency to do something about this, making an assessment of what it means if no more humanitarian aid is being delivered through UNRWA?

• 6 Jan 2025 · Ukraine: Military Support · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his reply. Last year, Bath and North East Somerset council entered into a formal agreement with the city of Oleksandriia, providing medical support as well as strengthening cultural and community ties. In talks with the incoming US Government, will the Minister ensure that they are aware of the enduring and deep solidarity that the British people feel towards the people of Ukraine in their effort to defeat a brutal aggressor?

• 6 Jan 2025 · Ukraine: Military Support · Hansard source

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  9. What recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on military support for Ukraine.