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Showing every spoken contribution, including 12,832 under 12 words. Hide short remarks

1. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jonathan Reynolds

   Speciality Steel UK

   The quality of the downstream products we create in the UK, particularly in Wales, is well known, but there are gaps in the market. I often compare the level of domestic consumption in most European countries to where we are with domestic production in the UK, and there are clearly gaps in that market. That has always been about the need to improve the business environment, so that the sector can work constructively with the Government to provide the public-private capex solutions that we have seen a lot of across Europe but have not seen many of in the UK. I am grateful to my hon. Friend and to all colleagues who make the case for what is, I believe, a business and a sector fundamentally important to the UK.

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2. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jonathan Reynolds

   Speciality Steel UK

   I acknowledge the issues that the hon. Lady raises. She knows that our trade defence measures are a necessary response to global over-production. It is a problem that every Trade, Commerce and Business Minister around the world must grapple with. The role of our trade defence measures is to provide a level playing field for domestic production. If the hon. Lady believes that there is inconsistency with the products that are needed in her constituency, we are happy to meet her to take the matter forward. There is sometimes misalignment between certain product codes and trade defence measures. However, I genuinely believe that there is a consensus across the House that we have to be a country that is willing to intervene sometimes to ensure that there is a level playing field, both for the sectors directly affected and because, frankly, no one would base their business here if they thought it could be wiped out by the unfair competition that, I am afraid, is sometimes a feature of the global economy.

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3. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jonathan Reynolds

   Speciality Steel UK

   I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her advocacy on behalf of her constituents. She and I have discussed the matter several times. For colleagues who are less aware of the issue, Dalzell is a separate legal entity and company from Speciality Steel and thus separate from the full plans that we are talking about. Dalzell is still owned by the Gupta Family Group, but many of the same issues are found there. My hon. Friend knows that because that part of the business is not being run by the official receiver—it is a different set of circumstances—with any interest that we had, we would have to establish the level of liability, and the flow of public money that would be required, given the former associations that it has. We do not have current plans to do that, but we will remain closely engaged with my hon. Friend. I know that her constituents want to be back at work, and I share their frustration, but the House should be aware that Dalzell is in a different position from the rest of SSUK.

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4. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jonathan Reynolds

   Speciality Steel UK

   Yes. On both a per capita basis and on a straightforward cash basis, Wales had until fairly recently had the lion’s share—the biggest allocations —from Government because of the significance of the transformation programme at Port Talbot, which remains a fundamental part of the steel sector across the UK. Being frank, it is also one of the sector’s success stories: the transformation of Port Talbot is a major project supported by significant public money and significant private capital, and it is exactly the kind of transformation we are seeking in other parts of the UK. It is to the credit of the workforce at Port Talbot that they are at the forefront of this; notwithstanding the difficult issues involved in such a transformation, it is something to be proud of.

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5. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jonathan Reynolds

   Speciality Steel UK

   My hon. Friend tempts me to comment on certain issues, which I might swerve a little. He is right to say that the priority for politicians should be trying to resolve these issues and get steelworkers back to work, and anything that detracts from that or that goes in a different direction is deeply regrettable.

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6. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jonathan Reynolds

   Speciality Steel UK

   The hon. Gentleman is right to say that historically these plants have served a number of first-class manufacturers and engineering works in Northern Ireland, although they have not been doing so to date, as the workforce has been furloughed and the plants have not been operating. I would love to rekindle that relationship and see these issues resolved—that is the focus of the statement and the decisive action that the Government have taken. On the wider complexities of steel imports and the movement of steel products between Northern Ireland and the island of Great Britain, that is a complex situation that reflects the Windsor agreement. There are things, particularly in the reset of the Government’s relationship with the EU, that Northern Ireland stands to gain from, and this is one of those areas. Again, that is a priority for the Government to resolve.

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7. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jonathan Davies

   Topical Questions

   T8. This summer we found that the number of GCSE and A-level music entrants was down, in line with the general trend that we have seen over the past 16 years. I know that the Government want to address that, which is why they commissioned the National Centre for Arts and Music Education, which was due to start its work at the beginning of this academic year. Can Ministers tell me whether the centre is up and running, and who has won the contract to run it?

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8. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jon Pearce

   Israel and Palestine

   My hon. Friend is making a hugely powerful and, I think, intelligent speech. He may well come on to this, but will he join me in asking the Government to redouble their efforts to secure the international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace, which would give those communities a chance to build peace up from the bottom when the political leadership is failing from the top?

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9. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·John Slinger

   Israel and Palestine

   I agree with my hon. Friend that it is very good that we heard from the Government last week that they recognise that Israel’s occupation is unlawful. Does he agree that, given that it is unlawful, it is absolutely vital that it is the Palestinian people, but also the international community in the widest sense, who get to set what happens in the future in the territories of Palestine, rather than it being solely Israel’s responsibility, which is the view of Israel?

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10. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·John Slinger

    Battle of Cable Street: 90th anniversary

    Does my hon. Friend agree that peace walks, such as the one I attended yesterday in Rugby, where members of the community, members of different faith groups and people of no faith, walked between different religious establishments, are an important part of that inter-faith work, showing that ordinary people want to come together, irrespective of their background, faith or ethnic background, and unite as one community against those who would divide us?

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11. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·John Grady

    Young People not in Education, Employment or Training

    6. What steps she is taking to help reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training.

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12. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·John Grady

    Young People not in Education, Employment or Training

    Over the summer, I met many brilliant businesses in Glasgow East that are desperate and determined to give young people apprenticeships, opening the door to a lifetime of opportunities. However, many of them told me that they have to give young people basic training in maths to help them thrive in jobs such as plumbing, joinery and welding. They rightly think that schools in Glasgow and across Scotland should be teaching this. Does my right hon. Friend agree that much more needs to be done in Scotland to improve the teaching of maths in schools?

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13. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jim Dickson

    Water Sector: Public Ownership

    Will my hon. Friend give way?

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14. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jim Dickson

    Water Sector: Public Ownership

    Will my hon. Friend give way on the subject of Thames Water?

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15. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jim Dickson

    Water Sector: Public Ownership

    For my constituents, the performance of Thames Water is a continual source of huge frustration, not least its failure to fix a long-running leak at Swanscombe station. However, a particularly egregious example of poor customer service is its failure to fit a water meter to the house of my constituent, Mr Richard Jones, despite it only requiring a small adjustment to the outside of his house to do so. As a result, he is paying an assessed household charge and therefore paying far more for his water than he should be. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is an example of incredibly poor service by Thames Water?

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16. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jessica Toale

    Water Sector: Public Ownership

    Will my hon. Friend give way?

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17. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jessica Toale

    Water Sector: Public Ownership

    I am glad that my hon. Friend raised the public health and environmental issues related to the water system. I have received representations not only about sewage at Bournemouth beach but, most recently, about exceptionally high levels of E. coli in Christchurch harbour, which flowed out of the Stour river in my constituency. Does my hon. Friend agree that the public interest of clear accountability in such contexts should always come before shareholder interest?

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18. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jessica Toale

    Topical Questions

    T4. Changes to higher education funding affecting high-cost creative subjects will cost Arts University Bournemouth in my constituency more than £300,000 this financial year. This will affect jobs and course availability, and it undermines the creative industries as a pillar of our industrial strategy. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss the funding crisis affecting our creative arts university and work with us to protect these vital institutions?

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19. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jessica Morden

    Speciality Steel UK

    I acknowledge and thank the Secretary of State for the substantial support given to the steel industry, which, as my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) said, is in direct contrast to the Conservatives, who did very little when they were in government. However, he will know of the particular concerns at Llanwern steelworks about the new quota levels for galvanised steel. Can I ask him to acknowledge that, to listen to the concerns of the workers at Llanwern and to tell us what more he is doing?

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20. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jen Craft

    SEND: Cross-Government Work

    3. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure a cross-Government approach to improve outcomes for children with SEND.

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21. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jen Craft

    SEND: Cross-Government Work

    I welcome the Secretary of State’s kind words. Let me also associate myself with her remarks, and with yours, Mr Speaker, about the Prime Minister’s very sad loss. The Secretary of State mentioned last week’s health debate, when I received a commitment to much greater accountability, via the education Bill, for the health sector in delivering the health element of the SEND system. What work has been done with her colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care in that regard?

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22. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jayne Kirkham

    SEND Specialists: Schools

    12. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools have access to specialist expertise in SEND.

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23. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jayne Kirkham

    SEND Specialists: Schools

    In Cornwall and my constituency, children needing specialist SEND places have missed out this September. Some have been offered partial education otherwise than at school arrangements instead or are even at home. We inherited a system that has let down a generation. Will the Minister confirm that the new Bill is on its way and that it will close the gap for children in my constituency? When will it take effect?

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24. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jayne Kirkham

    Israel and Palestine

    The Government’s decision last week to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements, strengthen sanctions and state clearly that Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful was very welcome. The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains appalling. There have been more than 1,303 fatalities and 4,336 injuries in Gaza since the ceasefire began in October 2025, with children being the most affected. Two thirds of the population still face critical, emergency levels of hunger, according to the World Food Programme, and the water situation is catastrophic, with Gazans dependent on water trucks normally reserved for the immediate aftermath of a crisis. Although more aid is now getting in, for a long time that was not the case, with Israel restricting lifesaving supplies, leading to a man-made famine being declared in August 2025 by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification famine review committee. Additionally, for the past three years Gaza has been the deadliest place on earth to be a humanitarian, making up more than half of the humanitarian deaths around the world. It is in that context that my constituent James Henderson—Jim—was providing vital security support for World Central Kitchen in Gaza in 2024. A former Royal Marine, his family say that he was passionate about doing good and showing up for people in dire need thousands of miles from home. On 1 April 2024, Jim, along with six colleagues, was travelling in a clearly marked World Central Kitchen convoy on a road identified as accessible for humanitarian aid, transporting food to the north of the Gaza strip, close to the famine. The convoy was subject to an IDF drone attack and all seven humanitarian workers were killed. I welcome the steps that the Government have taken to secure accountability since the attack, including pressing the Israeli ambassador for an investigation, and I know that the former Prime Minister, Middle East Minister and Foreign Secretary met with the Henderson family. I was very disappointed to hear on 19 August that Israel will not be launching a criminal investigation into the attack. The joint statement by the Governments of the UK, Australia and Canada condemning the situation as shameful was exactly the right thing to do, and I strongly believe that further action must be taken. Rather than demonstrating remorse, the commanding officer, Colonel Mendel, has reportedly sought to justify the strikes and said that he does not regret the order that he made. The IDF has maintained that it believed that Hamas had taken control of the WCK convoy after it allegedly deviated from an approved route. However, World Central Kitchen has strongly disputed that account, stating that the IDF was fully aware of the convoy’s movements, activities and purpose. An independent investigation into the WCK killings remains essential to establish the full facts of what occurred and deliver justice for the victims and their families. Confidence in the integrity of any investigation depends on it being independent and transparent. The family and I would like the Minister’s confirmation on one point. There have been persistent rumours that there were RAF planes flying that day and that they passed intelligence on the convoy to the IDF. Will the Minister reconfirm that that was not the case? What happened to Jim and the other brave humanitarian workers should never have happened. Aid workers play a critical role in saving lives in conflict zones and must be able to carry out their work safely and without fear of being targeted. I was pleased to hear the Minister for the Middle East agree earlier that those responsible for the deaths must be held to account. The international community must send a clear message that attacks on humanitarian personnel by the IDF cannot go without justice.

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25. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Janet Daby

    Topical Questions

    A constituent’s 11-year-old autistic daughter attempted suicide last year, and she continues to experience severe anxiety and autistic burnout. The family still have no clarity about her education provision for this new term. Will the Government ensure that schools are able to offer placements to children like my constituent’s daughter only when they have the staffing expertise, resource and specialist support necessary to meet that child’s identified needs?

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26. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·James Naish

    Water Sector: Public Ownership

    I want to reiterate my hon. Friend’s point because I have been contacted by users of Holme Pierrepont—the home of the National Water Sports Centre—which is in my constituency. It is meant to be a national standard venue, but because of pollution and sewage spills in the River Trent, there are cases of nausea, fever and vomiting. Does he agree that we need to do more about the public ownership of water companies so that we can deal with the environmental health impacts on users?

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27. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Jacob Collier

    Water Sector: Public Ownership

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. The question of the water industry strikes at the heart of why so many of our constituents are angry—they are angry because they are paying more and getting less. In the case of water, it is even worse than that, because my constituents’ hard-earned money is going directly as dividends and bonuses to shareholders and chief executives. Money from my poorest constituents stuffs the pockets of the wealthy, lots of whom do not even live in the UK. It is perhaps the most backwards redistribution of wealth that we have in this country. For them, it is win-win: they continue to profit while we pay higher bills to fix the failure of their reinvestment. Our money flows into these companies, but it is less clear how that money flows out. [Sir Jeremy Wright in the Chair] That fundamental unfairness is why so many are calling on this place to act and why the Prime Minister was right in referring to the control that we have lost over the last 40 years under Governments of all colours. That loss of control has consequences, which are no more evident than in the pollution of our rivers and streams. The waters of Burton upon Trent made our town the brewery powerhouse of the world—those magical waters were home to a global ale empire. Fast-forward to today, and research has shown that the River Trent contains more E. coli than the average pub toilet. We see the failure to invest in blocked drains and clogged sewerage systems. My constituents in Stapenhill felt that last year when a water main burst on Stanton Road, leaving around 4,000 residents without a water service and causing significant traffic disruption. This is the fault of a system that was poorly designed decades ago and has not been reformed since. Greater public control is not ideological; it is common sense. I am under no illusion as to the scale of the investment that is required, and I know that cancelling one set of bonuses will not deliver the scale of upgrades that we need. We should welcome the Prime Minister’s efforts to raise the idea of public control. I am happy to consider all options on the table, but I will not accept that the current system is fit for purpose. This failing system is making my constituents poorer but the rich even richer, and that is why we must act.

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28. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Irene Campbell

    Water Sector: Public Ownership

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) for introducing this important debate. I also congratulate Ash Paul Smith, the petitioner, for all his hard work in creating the petition and gathering over 208,000 signatures. The recent sewage spillages in Saltcoats in my constituency have greatly affected the bathing water quality in the coastal towns of Saltcoats, Ardrossan and Stevenston and have affected many constituents. On 29 June this year, a rising main pipeline near Saltcoats pumping station burst and a high amount of sewage was piped into our waters. That led to temporary repairs, which continued until 10 August, as there was apparently no easy or robust solution. The advisory signage at the beach was not as clear as it could have been. That not only led to complaints, but confused many swimmers about the bathing quality of the water. Dog owners, too, were querying whether it was safe for dogs to go into the water, which of course it was not. Only two weeks after the public were told that they could swim again, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency confirmed on 25 August that the pollution was actually ongoing and further work on the pipe was required. That continued for a few days before the advice against bathing was withdrawn and safe swimming could be resumed. That is just not good enough. For nearly the whole summer, constituents and visitors have been unable to swim at Saltcoats, Stevenston and Ardrossan. That is the height of the holiday season, and coastal communities rely on visits from day trippers, many of whom want to go outdoor swimming and enjoy our beautiful sandy beaches. It is important to highlight that the pipe is owned by Scottish Water, a public Scottish Government organisation. In 2021, Scottish Water oversaw untreated sewage being discharged 12,000 times in a single year. Water bosses are getting paid huge salaries everywhere, it seems—for delivering what, exactly? I think it would be a good thing to take the water industry in England and Wales back into public ownership, but it is important to consider how we will successfully manage it. The sewage situation in Saltcoats serves as a reminder that public ownership does not necessarily mean good service. We need to get any future public ownership structures right, with robust accountability and governance to ensure a better service.

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29. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Imran Hussain

    Israel and Palestine

    I begin by acknowledging and welcoming the hugely important step announced by the Foreign Secretary and reaffirmed by the Minister today. The ban on imports of settlement goods and the powers to target those who support, facilitate or profit from settlement activity, and the conclusion in line with the ICJ’s substantial ruling that Israel’s continued occupation of Palestine is unlawful, is a hugely welcome step taken by this Government. Equally important is the fact that the Government have made clear the complete reset in our relationship. That is very important, but we must be clear that any reset must mean more than just a change in language; it must mean serious consequences for those who flagrantly breach international law.

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30. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Imran Hussain

    Israel and Palestine

    My hon. Friend makes an important point, and it is the point that I am making. I will come on to the international rules-based order shortly, and that will perhaps answer his very important question. Many of us in this House have been calling for these measures for years. Let us be honest: many of us have stood here in debate after debate, speaking about these very issues, only to be told by Ministers time and again that they are reviewing what action to take or looking at the ICJ advisory opinion. While we were having those debates in this House and deliberating, the Palestinians did not have the luxury of waiting. Frankly, it has taken a change of Government to get us to this place. Let us be clear: on genocide in Gaza, war crimes across Palestine and the ethnic cleansing of whole Palestinian communities, the previous Government should have acted. They failed to stand against injustice, failed to stand for human rights, and failed to stand for the international rules-based order.

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31. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Imran Hussain

    Israel and Palestine

    My hon. Friend raises a much broader point. Let us pay tribute to not just the fantastic community groups in all our constituencies, but the millions of people who rightly marched on our streets when our Government got it so wrong. I pay tribute to each and every one of them for their peaceful protest. They were right, and those making the decisions in this place were wrong. I will concentrate my remarks not on the direction of the recent announcements, but on the pace at which this Government should now travel. As always, my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) made a powerful contribution. He is absolutely right; while I, like him, welcome the Government’s announcement of a double lock on arms licences, this House still needs clarity today. I very much hope that the Minister will clarify whether that double lock applies to existing licences. My sincere request of this Government is that we must go further. We must now end all remaining arms sales to Israel and, in particular, close the F-35 loophole. We must ensure that no equipment of UK origin directly or indirectly supports genocide in Gaza, or war crimes anywhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The scale of death and suffering caused by the right-wing Netanyahu Government’s genocide in Gaza demands urgent and further immediate action. With more than 70,000 Palestinians killed in recent years, including over 21,000 children, the scale of this horror should shame the entire international community. The blockade, the denial of aid, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the forced confinement of Palestinians while Israel illegally occupies most of their land have created the most serious humanitarian crisis. This is a product of the machinery of genocide and war crimes that Israel continues to operate. Children continue to be denied food, water and medicines, and families continue to be pushed into impossible conditions. If we are serious about international law, we must go further. We must press for the full and immediate lifting of the blockade, unimpeded humanitarian access and the protection of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s mandate, staff, premises and operations. We should also be clear that although aid funding is, of course, welcome—the spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding), was right that there is a different debate to be had about our contribution to international aid and how, disappointingly, it has dropped down the agenda—it cannot be a substitute for the political action needed to stop the war crimes and the conditions of genocide that make that aid necessary in the first place.

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32. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Imran Hussain

    Israel and Palestine

    Of course I agree with the hon. Member. The genocide is unfolding right before our eyes. I would gently say to him that the Foreign Secretary’s language in this House has to be within certain scope. However, he did list off genocides, which to me suggested that he accepts that there is a genocide. Enough scholars, legal minds and other people across the globe have confirmed that this is a genocide unfolding right before our eyes. I will be very brief, Madam Deputy Speaker. I welcome the announcement regarding the west bank; the Foreign Secretary was right to call out the settler terrorists in the west bank. That matters, because Palestinian communities know exactly what that violence is designed to do: frighten them, isolate them and drive them from their home. The powers announced recently are the right powers; now, they must be used. Sanctions on all settler terrorists, as well as the whole settlement enterprise—those who finance it, profit from it, build it, advertise it and politically sustain it—must come as soon as possible. I will make some final submissions regarding the ICJ and ICC. I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s comment that we will stand with the ICC and ICJ. Frankly, it is disgraceful that judges in those courts have come under pressure and faced sanctions. An international rules-based order counts for nothing if we abandon the institutions that uphold it the moment their rulings become inconvenient. We cannot cite the ICJ’s advisory opinion one week and say nothing when its judges are threatened the next week. We must continue to stand with the international rules-based order. In closing, the recent announcements are an important first step, but they are only the start. The war crimes, genocide and ethnic cleansing must end, and the international community must commit to ending them. Those responsible for genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing must be held to account, and we in this House have a moral, ethical and legal duty not to stop until that happens.

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33. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Hilary Benn

    Robert Hamill Inquiry Report

    I begin by congratulating my right hon. Friend on his appointment as Secretary of State. This is the first chance I have had to do so, and I wish him every success for the future. This is a shocking story of a young man, Robert Hamill, who was the victim of a sectarian murder, but also the victim of the deliberate decision of a police officer to ring up a suspect a few hours after the murder to warn him to dispose of his clothing, because it might incriminate him, rather than fulfil his duty to uphold the law, and who then lied about it. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is so important finally to tell the truth about what happened during the troubles, if reconciliation in Northern Ireland is to be progressed?

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34. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Henry Tufnell

    Water Sector: Public Ownership

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. The Cleddau river flows through my constituency of Mid and South Pembrokeshire. It tells a proud history of Pembrokeshire, but more recently it has told a sadder story of the failures of our water sector. At Picton pumping station in Haverfordwest, the local campaigning organisation The Cleddau Project found that the equivalent of 17 tankers of sewage were being dumped into the Cleddau every day between July 2022 and February 2024. Between January and October 2025, there were nearly 4,000 hours of untreated sewage pollution at seven different sites in and around the Cleddau. Given the history of Welsh Water, I caution Members advocating for a not-for-profit model of water ownership. As a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, I have spent many hours questioning water bosses, and it is clear to me that regulatory enforcement alone will not address the crisis that the sector is facing. The problems are symptoms of a structure and a culture within these companies. There is too much focus on financialisation, rather than prioritising environmental stewardship and customers, and executives have too often been insulated from the consequences of their poor performance. As has been eloquently described by Members today, the water sector is fundamental to public health, environmental protection and, crucially, our national security. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) on introducing this debate and on giving such an eloquent and passionate speech. It is vital that we seriously consider different forms of ownership; indeed, it is somewhat sad to me that this conversation has been so stifled in recent years. Nationalisation must form part of the conversation, and it must flow as a consequence of the continued failure of water companies. Does the Minister agree that if water companies cannot deliver for customers, the state must be prepared to step in and ensure that an essential service is run in the public interest?

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35. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Helena Dollimore

    Water Sector: Public Ownership

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. I pay tribute to the campaigners and citizen scientists—some of whom are in the Public Gallery—who have exposed the scale of the sewage scandal. It is only because of them and their campaigning that we are having this debate. Our water industry is fundamentally broken. I sat with my hon. Friend the Member for Mid and South Pembrokeshire (Henry Tufnell) on the Select Committee and questioned the water bosses, and all we heard was excuse after excuse. We need a fundamental change to protect our failing water infrastructure. That is a top priority for our Labour Government and I welcome the steps that have been made so far to ramp up regulation and get tough on the water companies, but as I will outline, we need to go further. Nothing enrages the people I represent in Hastings and Rye more than bills going up every year to prop up failing companies, while executives and shareholders try to find ways to evade bonus bans as their companies edge towards bankruptcy. We have already taken important steps, but we must go further to protect vital national infrastructure. In Hastings and Rye, we already see the impacts of the regulation that we introduced: more Environment Agency staff focused full time on monitoring Southern Water, more inspections taking place, and more enforcement notices issued. We are starting to see the results of that work, but there is still more to do. Those of us in the Chamber who favour a co-operative model believe it is the solution that would put people before profit in fixing our broken water industry. I will talk briefly about the impact of our failing water industry on the people I represent. We have had two major water outages in the past couple of years, one lasting nine days and one five days; there was major flooding in Hastings town centre that ruined people’s livelihoods; and 300 million plastic beads washed up on our coastline—we found out that they came from a Southern Water treatment plant only because we got down on our hands and knees and exposed that scandal. Public health has been compromised and sewage is dumped in our sea regularly. Right now a digger sits on the beach in Hastings, an eyesore, because of Southern Water’s failings. I believe that the solution is to move to a co-operative model, which would be the radical shake-up that this industry needs.

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36. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Helena Dollimore

    Water Sector: Public Ownership

    Does the hon. Member agree that some of our water companies operate in extremely murky arrangements? Often, there is a complicated network of different companies that sub-contract from each other, meaning that the customer who pays the bill has no idea what value for money, if any, they are getting.

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37. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Helen Hayes

    Apprenticeships

    May I put on record my condolences to the Prime Minister on the sad loss of his father? The Education Committee strongly agrees with the Government’s focus on expanding opportunities for apprenticeships and high-quality technical and vocational education across the country, but too often young people who want to pursue apprenticeships are left to do their own research across multiple different platforms with varying application timescales. Last year, the Education Committee recommended that to help young people understand the full range of opportunities available to them and provide parity of esteem, there should be a single point of access for information about apprenticeships alongside vocational, technical and academic courses. Will the new Minister look again at that recommendation and seek to ensure young people wishing to do apprenticeships and vocational and technical courses are just as well supported as their peers who are applying for university?

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38. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Helen Hayes

    Israel and Palestine

    I have had the privilege of visiting the west bank on two occasions on visits organised by Caabu—the Council for Arab-British Understanding—and by Yachad. I put on the record my interests in respect of both those visits. On the second occasion, I also visited some of the kibbutz communities in the south of Israel, which suffered horrific losses in the atrocities committed by Hamas on 7 October 2023. They were extraordinary conversations with people who had lost their loved ones, who had suffered the most horrific violence in their communities, who had been and continued to be long-term peace campaigners and who were still committed to working for peace. They included Maoz Inon, who has written so movingly with his Palestinian friend, Aziz Abu Sarah, about their hopes for peace in his book, “The Future is Peace”. I commend that book to the House. That visit was extraordinarily humbling. In the west bank, we visited communities that had been the subject of settler terrorism. In Turmus Ayya, we met Palestinians whose homes had been burned and who faced constant harassment, intimidation and threats from settlers. In the village of Zanuta near Hebron, we spoke with members of a 250-strong community who had been threatened that if they did not leave, they would be killed. A month after they left, the settlers came and destroyed the whole village, including a council building funded by the EU and the UK Government. We stood in the ruins of two schools, again funded by the EU and the UK Government, that had been razed to the ground by settlers, and we saw the decades-long desolation in Hebron where Palestinians have been banned from their homes. We also saw settlement after settlement after settlement —new homes and communities—built on land from which Palestinians had been displaced. It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that this activity is, as the Foreign Secretary said last week, ethnic cleansing and strategically designed to undermine the possibility of a two-state solution. The E1 settlement takes this even further, aiming to divide the west bank north from south and sever it from East Jerusalem. As a former town planner, I can say that it is simply the use of the planning system as a tool of oppression—an attempt to make a two-state solution impossible. I welcome the Government’s decision to recognise the state of Palestine—there cannot be a two-state solution without two states—but it is a source of frustration and deep regret that it has taken so long to see action to stop funding from the UK through trade supporting and sustaining illegal settlements. Clarity on human rights and international law is in everyone’s interests and words must be backed up by meaningful action. I welcome the ban on trade in goods and services from illegal settlements, and I welcome the Government’s confirmation that they agree with the International Court of Justice that Israel’s occupation of the west bank and Gaza is unlawful. I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s moral clarity on the utter horror of the situation in Gaza, where the scale of death and destruction is unimaginable and people are living in utterly desperate circumstances. The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) has rightly described it as a “moral catastrophe”. As the Government have announced meaningful action, may I press the Minister on the urgency of the humanitarian situation in Gaza? The Israeli Government must allow essential items, such as prosthetic limbs, crutches and wheelchairs, into Gaza, as well as permitting more medical specialists to enter Gaza to meet the needs of its population. The Israeli Government must stop the killing. Will the Minister confirm which of the measures announced in recent days require legislation and confirm that the Government will take all measures possible to ensure that legislation is delivered as quickly as possible? The situation in Israel and Palestine is so far away from a peaceful two-state solution and progress towards it will require sustained effort over a long period of time. Will my hon. Friend the Minister assure this House that he will leave no stone unturned in maintaining the clarity of the Government’s position and ensuring that the position is always supported by meaningful action that furthers the cause of peace and the imperatives of justice and accountability?

    Hansard source
39. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Georgia Gould

    Pupils with SEND: Mainstream Schools

    The inclusive mainstream fund is part of a £4 billion investment over three years to support early intervention for special educational needs and disabilities. Long term, the Government aim to move more money from the high-needs block directly into school budgets ringfenced for SEND, so that schools can plan their workforces and intervene earlier, ending the long waits for support experienced by too many young people in the current system.

    Hansard source
40. 14 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Georgia Gould

    Pupils with SEND: Mainstream Schools

    The reforms do not fully come in until 2030, so the extra money through the inclusive mainstream fund sits alongside investment through the current system and education, health and care plans. Once the reforms are fully in place, there will be more money going directly into schools. The inclusive mainstream fund is to build up funding in the meantime. Schools will also benefit from the Experts at Hand service, which is putting £1.8 billion into specialists.

    Hansard source