Gibraltar Treaty
Order. That is not good form. Ms Martin, you are not meant to give way when you are asking a question, but I assume you have finished your question.
Showing every spoken contribution, including 5,731 under 12 words. Hide short remarks
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Gibraltar Treaty
Order. I think the question is done. I call the Minister.
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Gibraltar Treaty
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
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Gibraltar Treaty
Even though he has been a very naughty boy, I call Charlie Dewhirst.
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Maccabi Tel Aviv Fan Ban
We now come to the Select Committee statement on behalf of the Home Affairs Committee. Dame Karen Bradley will speak for up to 10 minutes, during which no interventions may be taken. At the conclusion of her statement, I will call Members to ask questions on the subject of the statement. These should be brief questions, not full speeches. Can I emphasise that questions should be directed to the Select Committee Chair, and not the relevant Minister? Front Benchers may take part in questioning.
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Point of Order: Rectification Procedure
I call Louie French on a point of order in connection with the code of conduct to rectify a failure to declare.
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Point of Order: Rectification Procedure
I thank the hon. Member for his point of order. There will be no further points of order on this issue.
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St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs
I am surprised that the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare did not suggest an awayday in the tin baths for his party—maybe next time.
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St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs
I do not want to disappoint you, Ms Davies, but I cannot sign your petition, because I have my own petition for a banking hub in the town of Crowborough, which colleagues are more than welcome to sign.
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Grassroots Sport
I refer hon. Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. On behalf of those on this side of the House, I congratulate everyone at Team GB for an incredible winter Olympics performance. Like many across the House, I was glued to the excellent coverage during recess, and was pleased to see online that the Sport Minister was in Milan supporting the team. We all know that the true value of Team GB’s success is their ability to inspire the next generation of athletes, so what steps is the Secretary of State taking to secure the legacy of these games in both the elite and grassroots facilities required for sports to succeed?
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Grassroots Sport
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer, and I am sure we all echo her comments. She will be aware of the widespread concerns regarding the Government’s plans to water down the powers of Sport England and the much-needed protection for grassroots pitches. Before Christmas, leading sports figures led by former Lioness Jill Scott and Fields in Trust wrote an open letter highlighting their concerns for people’s health and wellbeing and for sport more generally if the Government allow pitches across the country to be concreted over. What action is the Secretary of State’s Department taking to try to force the Government to U-turn on this bad policy decision?
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Point of Order: Rectification Procedure
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I would like to apologise to the House for failing to declare an interest when tabling three written parliamentary questions to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, two written parliamentary questions to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and one written parliamentary question to the Treasury. When I tabled the questions, I inadvertently failed to declare relevant interests: the receipt of hospitality from the Jockey Club and from Ascot Racecourse, and a charity donation from the Betting & Gaming Council. This was in breach of the rules, and I apologise to the House for this inadvertent error.
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Traditions
There is no finer UK tradition still lived out than drinking a cold beer and watching the local cricket team that has been there for decades. I recently visited St Annes cricket club. I should declare an interest as my dad was the professional there in 1973—he will probably not thank me for saying that, as that declaration is probably time-expired. Those clubs have relied on the revenue from their bars to support that wonderful tradition for many years, but the changes in national insurance costs and other cost pressures have completely eliminated the profits that many make and they are struggling to reinvest in facilities. What more support will the Government announce for our traditional British cricket clubs?
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Business of the House
As winter takes its toll, many Members of this House will, like me, be finding their best angry faces and awkwardly pointing at potholes in their constituencies, but this year many residents are getting in touch with me to say that this is the worst they can ever remember them being. In fact, one of the potholes that is sparking quite a few emails to me is a giant one right outside Reform UK’s office in the Fylde constituency, which is becoming a little metaphor for the rocky road that Reform has had since winning control of Lancashire county council. Reform promised to magically save hundreds of millions of pounds, to improve services and to cut council tax, but what have we seen so far? Council tax has gone up, and Reform went millions of pounds over budget within months of taking office and then it tried to settle some of that overspend by consulting on closing care homes, such as Milbanke in Fylde and Grove House in the Chorley constituency. Will the Leader of the House agree to have a Government statement on what support they will provide to these Reform-controlled councils, given that it clearly won control of them with no idea of what it was getting into or a plan of what to do once it did?
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St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs
Diolch yn fawr, Madam Deputy Speaker, and dydd gŵyl Dewi hapus—a happy St David’s day—for Sunday. It is a delight to be in the Chamber, a year on, for another discussion about wonderful Wales. All of the Members who have spoken have shown a deep affection for this truly special place, and in that spirit I am absolutely delighted to contribute to this vital debate and pay a heartfelt tribute on behalf of His Majesty’s loyal Opposition. I thank the Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee, the hon. Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones), for opening the debate so strongly and for the great work that she and her Committee are doing. She was absolutely right to say in her conclusion that the future of Wales and big choices will come up in May, and every single vote matters. I have told this House on many occasions, and I am pleased to affirm it once again today, that my love and passion for Wales endure and are long-lasting. It has shaped my life in every way. It gave me life chances and a determination to succeed. Some of my happiest memories are from my nearly 10 years of living and working around Swansea. It was lovely to hear the hon. Member for Wrexham (Andrew Ranger) talking about future sporting aspirations and the impact of US football. My time in Swansea was long before Snoop Dogg, but I hear there was one heck of an atmosphere this week— I had family there, and they had a great time. On the sporting front, which was raised by the hon. Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), the clouds on the horizon for rugby in Wales are not necessarily what we would have expected this time last year. The hon. Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes) rightly raised the impact of Storm Claudia on her constituency, particularly those parts that were flooded. My heart goes out to those who are still living with the effects, and I was pleased recently to meet many of her constituents and those affected. They are living with this and are terribly worried about it, and I am sure they will have been pleased not to have been forgotten in this debate. When the Leader of the Opposition asked me to look after Wales for her, I was ecstatic, because my opportunity to champion Wales continues. Much of my experience was pre-devolution, and I was reflecting during this debate on the opportunity I had at the Government Dispatch Box, working with my Welsh colleagues, of whom I hope to have many more in the future. When I was a Minister in the Wales Office, with my friend Alan Cairns, we abolished the tolls on the Prince of Wales bridge, and that is one of our legacies. There is this feeling that nothing happened for 14 years, but guess what happened on the bridge? We made life easier for everybody crossing the border, so there is some positivity. Members have mentioned the challenges facing the NHS in Wales. Everybody knows somebody waiting in pain and in vain in Wales, including perhaps in the families of those of us in the Chamber. Yes, waiting lists are improving, but they are still outrageously high. Nearly one in four people remain stuck on a waiting list. We hear the cross-border stories, and we recognise the challenges when the NHS in England is involved. People are often told to hold back because the additional treatment cannot be followed up, and that is absolutely wrong. There is the ongoing Betsi Cadwaladr scandal, and with the NHS still limping from one scandal to another, it is absolutely right that these scandals are tackled. Something needs to happen between Westminster and Cardiff Bay, because it is heartbreaking that hundreds of thousands of mothers, fathers, grandparents, children and loved ones living with ongoing pain feel that they are voiceless. It is unacceptable that, despite two fabled Labour Governments at either end of the M4, responsibility is still not being taken for those public services. It is vital that, 27 years on, we look at what has happened with the powers devolved to Cardiff Bay. As we have heard, it is Welsh Labour, ably assisted by Plaid and the sole Liberal Democrat in the Senedd, that is responsible for the challenges we have seen in health, education, transport, schools, economic development—you name it—although we would not have recognised that from some of the speeches this afternoon. I have mentioned the tremendous work of the last Conservative Government, and it was the record sums in investment that saved Welsh steel in Port Talbot and plotted its future. As the hon. Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith) rightly said, the electric arc furnace is going in, but that needs to happen on time, as promised to the community. We also saved 100,000 jobs with our furlough scheme and launched two freeports and investment zones. In fact, Members have pointed out many of those policies this afternoon. The problems holding back Wales have been caused not by the excellent people of Wales, including our excellent doctors, nurses and teachers—I have family members who are superb and passionate members of the teaching community— but, frankly, by the arrogance sometimes coming from Cardiff Bay. The sanctity of our schools and the opportunities for young people have not escaped Labour’s clutches. I note that the shadow Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Laura Trott), is now in her place, which is perfect timing. In mathematics, science and reading, schools in Wales continue to sit at the bottom of the PISA scores for the whole United Kingdom, as has been the case for a decade. It is absolutely wrong that we are not doing something about that. Labour has now turned its attention to private schools. The ideological decision to hammer private schools with 20% VAT on fees is destroying jobs and livelihoods in Wales, and putting more pressure on state schools. I have been warned by anxious headteachers in the independent sector that nobody in the Wales Office or in Cardiff Bay is listening to their pleas. These schools may collapse soon, but they are key employers, often in rural areas, and they are vital for people’s pay packets and for communities.
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St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs
We left office with the best readers in the western world, apart from in Wales. I think this trope about those 14 years is deeply unhelpful. Eighteen months on from entering government, it is now Labour that is in control. It wanted the levers—get on with it. While my constituency is obviously not in Wales, it is the home of the Caravan and Motorhome Club. We talked about tourism and the importance of the economic situation, and we heard from some Members concerns about the economy. The club has 1 million members, and 15 of its campsites and motorhome sites are in Wales, supporting the three beautiful national parks and five areas of outstanding natural beauty. The hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) talked about grey seals and flying rings. I had no idea what they were, but they are posh frisbees. Asda has been called out twice in the Chamber this afternoon to get a grip of them. I congratulate her on her important campaign. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who is no longer in his place, highlighted the power of our Union. All our nations make up the great United Kingdom. The danger is that, in May, we could be sleepwalking into separatism. I hope that that has been drawn out strongly enough in this afternoon’s debate. That leads me to the hon. Member for Ceredigion Preseli (Ben Lake). He talked about Welsh wonders, which I think we can all agree on, and the power of small business and tourism. He told the tale of businesses struggling to trade, the insecurity of higher energy prices and business rates, and the challenges to the high streets in his constituency. I am very much looking forward to pictures of him parading for St David’s day and making it so joyous. Did he mention a cawl-eating competition? I think I have been in many of them myself. The hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare (Gerald Jones) rightly called out the cost of fuel and asked for the CMA to get involved, and Asda was called out. I am not sure that tin baths and tourism are a happy marriage, but Zip World certainly sounds great. The hon. Member for Caerfyrddin (Ann Davies) spoke about the importance of new electricity and the reality of green energy for the people of Wales. People are being overlooked when it comes to vast projects, and absolutely—I agree with her—they need to be heard. Two banking hubs are coming to my patch—yes, I am showing off—but keep pushing, because they are well worth it and they mean so much. She also rightly highlighted talent, which is everywhere. The hon. Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden) talked about Newportonians. May I please pass on my condolences on the passing of Martyn Butler? He was a fantastic advocate for the Terrence Higgins Trust, and he did so much around HIV testing and PrEP. I am very sorry to hear of his passing. On transport in Wales, a lot of figures have been bandied around. I have the same view as the hon. Member for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe (David Chadwick). Let us see the reality, because that is extremely important. Before I conclude, I want to highlight the Labour UK Government’s decision to allow their colleagues in the Welsh Government to include glass in their deposit return scheme from 2027. That will have serious ramifications for the whole of the United Kingdom and jeopardise the integrity of our internal market. With all other areas of the UK not including glass in their DRS, there could soon be a significant new trade barrier for Wales and, as a result, a significantly less competitive market. This decision will not do. We need to keep Wales in the United Kingdom. We need to stop attempts to divide us. That means voting for the Welsh Conservatives in May and, in doing so, backing our family firms and farms, and stopping wasteful and unnecessary spending—plenty of money has gone to Wales, but spent wastefully. Wales needs more doctors, dentists, nurses and teachers. We have a health emergency; we need to put the NHS first and focus on the long waits. We also need to scrap the default 20 mph limit and look at a proper road building programme. I hope my speech has not sounded defeatist or pessimistic; it is just that I and the whole Conservative and Unionist party know that after 27 years of Labour, Wales deserves better.
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St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs
Will the Secretary of State give way?
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St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Could you please advise me on how I can seek clarity, given that we have the Secretary of State for Wales here in the Chamber? I have been seeking clarity on which financial year each tranche of rail funding is expected to be spent in. That has been challenged by the media and indeed by hon. Members in the Chamber this afternoon. I seek clarity on where the £14 billion figure comes from and whether it is governmental. Could you please advise me?
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Grassroots Sport
2. What steps her Department is taking to support grassroots sport.
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Grassroots Sport
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. In Spelthorne, we love our sport. I was playing walking cricket last week with the cricket club. I have been in the ring at the boxing academy and I have been to the dance academy. We also have Spelthorne FC, Staines & Lammas FC and Ashford Town (Middlesex) FC. I am inviting my hon. Friend the Member for Windsor (Jack Rankin) to come and watch Windsor and Eton play against my Ashford Town (Middlesex) team, and we look forward to a fantastic game. However, the jewel in our crown is the year 11 girls football team at Thamesmead school, which is in the last 32 of the country. Will the Minister wish them the huge amount of success that we all hope they will achieve when they play the Beacon academy from Kent—
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Deprived Communities
St Nicholas church in Shepperton in my constituency made an application under the listed places of worship scheme to get £16,000 of VAT back on essential repairs that it has made. It got an auto-reply saying that the scheme has been used up and that there is no money left. On behalf of the Church Commissioners, will the hon. Member entreat the Government to look again at that application and see whether the VAT can be reclaimed?
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Business of the House
At 3 o’clock on Saturday, Windsor & Eton football club will play the Ashford Town (Middlesex) team in the north of my constituency. My hon. Friend the Member for Windsor (Jack Rankin) is coming over with 100 of his closest friends. Will the Leader of the House join me in encouraging as many members of my Spelthorne constituency to get themselves to Ashford Town at 3 pm to cheer on the team?
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Gibraltar Treaty
I thank the Minister for his statement. Will he reassure the House that the team who have negotiated the draft treaty that he has brought before us today have had nothing to do with the team that negotiated the disastrous Chagos deal? That deal is, I believe, as of yesterday, on pause, although No. 10 appears to be gainsaying that slightly now.
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Bereaved Children: Government Support
The hon. Member is making a powerful speech, and we are all honoured to hear it.
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Bereaved Children: Government Support
May I say what a privilege it has been to be part of this debate, and how much I admire all those who have spoken about their personal stories? I do not underestimate for a second how difficult it is, but suffering a catastrophic event and trying to make other people’s lives better is about the most admirable thing someone can do. I congratulate the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) on securing the debate, and I thank the Backbench Business Committee for putting it in place. She is so self-evidently right in what she says: there needs to be a general strategy, and we need data to be made available. It is worth thinking about why those things have not happened to date, and making suggestions about how we can overcome those barriers in future. Governments have historically been bad at cross-departmental data collection, as we know. That has been grappled with over time, but there has been no clear solution to date. I have seen such working function more effectively on occasion, such as in cross-departmental working committees on something specific. I offer that up to the Minister as a suggestion that might work. For example, in recent years there have been changes to implement a “no wrong door” policy on reporting a death. That took a lot of time. Previously, when reporting a death, as I am sure many in this Chamber have unfortunately had to do, people had to go to multiple Government Departments before the death could be recognised. That has been changed for the better, and I hope that something similar could be adopted in this case. The hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Maureen Burke), whose APPG does incredible work on these matters, mentioned good practice in schools. We should think about how to collate it more systematically. We are quite effective when it comes to education policy, through the Education Endowment Foundation, which picks up what works from an academic perspective and shares good practice among schools. By and large, that is missing in the special educational needs and disabilities space, but it is also missing here. We have heard about good practice, which I am sure exists up and down the country—the hon. Lady mentioned Oakwood primary school—but there is nowhere to share it effectively. Will the Department think about how to take that forward? I am sure that there will be guidance, and I am just as sure that it could be made better. On overall data collection, when a death is reported, it is linked to one individual rather than to a wider database. Change will need to be made on that, and the referral to the pathway is critical, as the hon. Member for Edinburgh West said. She also mentioned that that now happens in cases of suicide. I hope the Minister will take that up today, because we have seen that it can work. It may take time, and I think we all acknowledge that government is difficult—it is not easy to wrangle different Departments together—but that could definitely be taken forward. Before preparing for this debate, I had not realised what the figures are for the outcomes for bereaved children, and I was quite shocked. If we have not gone through this catastrophic event, it is too easy to overlook the impact it has on young people. The statistic that the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) gave about the number of offenders who have suffered a bereavement was shocking. I hope and believe that this will be even more grist to the mill for the Education Minister to try to deal with this, because it is one of many areas across Government where early intervention—helping people—is not only the right thing to do but will benefit us and wider society. What we have heard today is that many children who go through this have amazing families—we have some examples of those amazing families here today—and they have people around them who will support them, help them and do whatever they can to ameliorate this catastrophic incident. But that is not true of every family. Of course, the state will miss things, but if we can set up a system that minimises the impact of this catastrophic event on young people, that is the right thing to do. I am very grateful to be part of this House today. It is these types of debate that take place in a relatively empty Chamber on a Thursday afternoon that can really make a difference to young people across the country. We have a very good Minister here, and I am sure he is about to tell us how he is going to sort this all out after many years. I commend the many voices who have spoken up today, and I am grateful to have been here for it.
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Independent Faith Schools: VAT
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. This issue is very close to my heart, and I am grateful to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for bringing it to Westminster Hall. I see how the issue affects my constituents, and the Conservatives care very much about it because it goes to our fundamental values. Do we believe that people should have individual choice—parental choice—for where they send their child to school, or should the state control everything? This feels like a very vindictive tax, there to punish those who want choice in religion and in education, and have aspiration for where they send their child. This tax does not punish the wealthy; it punishes those who are working to barely get by. As the hon. Member for Strangford said, it punishes those who are saving up, not going on holidays, and sacrificing everything to send their child to the faith school that they choose. That may be because of their religious belief or because that school offers additional SEND provision that they cannot get in a mainstream school. I know parents who have sent their child to a school that is not of their faith because it is the only alternative to bullying or other challenges that their child is facing in school. These schools have been a lifeline for so many parents. Parents have come to me with tears in their eyes, saying that they can no longer send their child to the best school for them, because the state has said that they do not deserve to go to that school, as they do not have enough money to pay for the extra tax. It is a vindictive tax. We are the only European country that is taxing education. How can that be right? This limits choice. I believe in personal choice, competition, and letting people make their own decisions on where they send their child to school. This policy restricts that. It means that more children will flood into the state sector and compete for SEND places. Many children will be unable to find another school of the same denomination and practise their faith. I am glad that the Conservatives have pledged to reverse this policy, because I do not think we are a country that wants to limit personal religious freedom, personal choice and parental aspiration. The state does not always know best. If your child has autism, is being bullied, or is not getting the faith education that they need in the state sector, that is what independent faith schools exist for. If you wish to sacrifice your income and other comforts to send your child to that school, it should be your choice. As Conservatives, we believe that the policy should be scrapped, and we will continue to advocate for that. I know that Members have many fun and eventful things to do today, so I will conclude. I thank the hon. Member for Strangford for bringing this debate to the House, because it is important that we do not forget the impact this policy will have in the next few years. Sacrifice is no longer enough for people who desperately want to educate their children in a way that we took for granted 20 years ago. We took for granted that our child could be raised in the Jewish faith, in Islam—[Interruption.] Is there a time limit, Sir Alec?
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Independent Faith Schools: VAT
I am sorry—you are right, Sir Alec. The impacts of this policy are something that we have to continue to raise throughout our time in Parliament, until the next general election. We cannot forget that this should not stand; we need to reverse the legislation.
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Business of the House
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
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Business of the House
It is a pleasure to be doing business questions and responding to the right hon. Gentleman. He was a Chief Whip—a Whip, like me, but more grand—and he was much respected, revered and sometimes feared by Members of this House. I will be honest and say that even I was terrified of him, and we are not even in the same party. It is a pleasure to be here today. As we reach the fourth anniversary of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it is important that we restate our unwavering support for the people of Ukraine. We must never abandon them. I know that it has been a challenging few weeks for Labour Members—we have all been there—who have come to realise what the British people have long understood, which is that we have a Prime Minister who has U-turned on every principle he held and every promise he made. He is a Prime Minister elected on a promise not to raise taxes on working people, and then he raised them. He is a Prime Minister who promised to be pro-business, and he has become the most anti-business Prime Minister of modern times. He is a Prime Minister who promised to raise standards in public life, but he is presiding over an ever-growing mountain of Government scandals. “The grown-ups are back in charge, no more sleaze”—how is that going for them? While the Prime Minister stumbles on, his Ministers are out of control and out of their depth, and the British people are paying the price. Let me start with the Justice Secretary. This week we saw that he intends to pursue his reckless plan to cut jury trials: a principle that has existed for over 800 years; a principle that he wants to wreck without proper debate in the House. Will the Leader of the House give me a categoric assurance that we will have time in the House to debate the changes that the Justice Secretary wants to make before we get to May? Let me turn to the Education Secretary, who is also the Equalities Minister. There can be no justification for the delay in providing guidance on single-sex spaces. The Supreme Court ruled a year ago that biological sex defines a woman—a fact that most people knew without needing a judge to tell them. I do not know whether the Education Secretary deep down still does not agree, but the inaction must end. Will the Leader of the House confirm when the guidance will be laid before the House, and grant a debate in Government time on the unacceptable delays and risk it has proved to women and girls? Let me turn to the Chancellor. This week the Chancellor’s entrepreneurship adviser shamefully said that Britain does “not need more restaurants”, laying bare what we already knew: that this Government are determined to tax our hospitality businesses into extinction. Will the Chancellor apologise for her adviser and sack her, or back her and agree with her anti-hospitality stance? Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on our pubs and hospitality, so that Members—at least, those on the Conservative Benches—can show their support for the hospitality sector? We want to ensure that the crippling tax burden is removed from the hospitality sector. It is now clear that we have a Prime Minister with an out-of-control Government buried deep in scandal after scandal, failure after failure and broken promise after broken promise; a Prime Minister without principle; a Prime Minister without purpose; and a Prime Minister without a future. The British people deserve better.
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Universal Youth Services
It is all very well for the Secretary of State to talk about her version of support for youth services, but that is of little consolation to young people who cannot get a job because youth unemployment is up under this Government. Will she relay that message to the Chancellor?
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Business of the House
The England Beach Soccer association has an agreement with the Football Association, as its delivery partner into FIFA. However, beach soccer is not recognised as a stand-alone sport by Sport England, which means that it cannot benefit from funding, and it does not receive anything from the FA either. It is a growing sport, with 30 years of history behind it, and it is crucial, particularly in coastal areas where no facilities are required other than a beach. Will the Government consider setting aside time for a debate about the importance of open-air sport and about beach soccer finally getting the recognition from Sport England that I think—I am sure other Members agree—it rightfully deserves?
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Eating Disorders Awareness Week
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I congratulate the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) on securing this important debate and on her work in this area. Eating disorders are deeply complex conditions. On the surface, disordered eating can take a variety of forms, including restricting the amount or the type of food eaten; binge eating large amounts of food in a short period and then purging that food through forced vomiting; excessive exercise; and laxative misuse to avoid weight gain. Beneath that surface lay a horde of drivers, such as control, shame, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, poor body image, and mysophobia, which is also known as germophobia. The covid pandemic provoked intense scrutiny of germs and cleanliness, took away people’s control over when they could go out and when they could see their friends, and drove their activities from the personal to the online, so it comes as no surprise that it saw a spike in eating disorder referrals. By early 2021-22, 3,400 people were treated for an eating disorder, compared with 1,900 in the same period in 2019-20. The last Government introduced the mental health investment standard to increase mental health spending in local health systems, and it also included a pledge to increase mental health spending as a proportion of total health spending every year. With mental health accounting for over 20% of demand for health services, and a 2021 report finding that eating disorders cost the UK economy a £9.4 billion per year—
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Eating Disorders Awareness Week
I am sorry. The last Government’s work to channel more resources into mental health could not have been more welcome. This year, 2025-26, will be the first since 2016-17 that mental health spending has not risen as a proportion of health spending. That contravention of the mental health investment standard has raised alarm bells at the Health and Social Care Committee. Can the Minister enlighten us as to why the Government have decided to break the mental health investment standard after nearly a decade of progress? Does he think the percentage is now about right? Does it concern him that some ICBs have cut funding for mental health services? How does he expect that to impact on patients suffering from eating disorders? I am particularly concerned about the impact on children and young people, and I declare an interest as a consultant NHS paediatrician. Some 6.4% of adults have a diagnosed eating disorder, but 12.5% of 17 to 19-year-olds have been diagnosed with an eating disorder since 2023. That amounts to one in five girls in that age group—four times the prevalence in boys. What specific action is the Minister taking to improve early intervention? The previous Government got the ball rolling on establishing mental health support teams in schools, and had reached 35% coverage by the time of the general election, with a commitment to increase that to 100% of schools and colleges in England by 2030. Does the Minister plan to build on that work? What further action is he taking to improve links between eating disorder services, schools and families to ensure a joined-up approach to accessing specialist help and early diagnosis, which, as we have heard, is critical? The hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) spoke of the challenges of transition. As a paediatrician, I see the challenges of transitioning many paediatric and adolescent conditions between children’s and adult services, but can the Minister say what he is doing specifically for those transitioning with eating disorders? In my role as chair of the APPG on emerging drugs and online behavioural trends, I know the effect of social media on children’s and young people’s behaviours. Researchers from University College London, who examined evidence from 50 studies in 17 countries, found that social media usage is linked to eating disorders in young people, as it viciously promotes the idea that it is essential to be thin and fit, triggering a potentially extreme preoccupation with body image, weight and shape. Those obsessions are compounded by AI content, which can depict simply unachievable so-called perfection. As the hon. Member for Bath said, there are harmful videos online, with algorithms driving that harm, and those who look at these things seeing them more and more. I recently held a policy debating competition among year 10 and year 12 students in my constituency, where students chose the topic of debate. Many of them spoke in favour of a social media ban for children as young as 16. It is a difficult issue, and that is not a perfect solution, but having just got a new mobile phone myself, I wonder why, when someone buys a phone, it cannot be set at a fixed age that can be changed only by the adult who pays the bill. A change in the law to restrict social media for under-16s would help to reduce that problem. I am interested in the Minister’s thoughts on that. NHS guidance on eating disorders for ICBs has been raised in the debate. The NHS has refreshed that guidance, which is welcome, but patients will feel the difference only if it is actually implemented. The Minister has confirmed that there will not be a dedicated strategy for eating disorders, and there is no mention at all of eating disorders in the 70,000-word 10-year plan. Is the Minister confident that the refreshed guidance for ICBs will be sufficient on its own to improve care for people with eating disorders and to get waiting lists down? Does he have a strategy for how it will be enforced? We have talked about the effects on families and carers. What action is the Minister taking to engage families, carers and supportive charities in plans for care? What support is available for parents, carers and siblings? Workforce is key to delivering this strategy. We know that waiting times for eating disorder treatment are getting worse; analysis from Beat found that, in some cases, people with eating disorders face a three-and-a-half-year delay between falling ill and starting treatment. For someone with an eating disorder, that is three and a half years deeper into the illness. As we have heard, that makes it all the more difficult to treat the patient effectively and quickly pull them out of that difficult, dark place. What steps is the Minister taking to increase workforce capacity to help treat these patients and restore some stability and normality to their lives? I feel as though I ask this question every time, but the NHS long-term workforce plan is still not with us, having been delayed from last year, so when will it be published, and what tangible action will it take to boost the NHS eating disorders service? It is not just about hiring more staff; it is also about where we are hiring them. That is important work, but more needs to be done to build on the progress. The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership produced a highly detailed report about in-patient eating disorder service provision in the UK. As expected, there were blackspots for those vital services in many rural and coastal areas, such as in Lincolnshire. For adults and families in constituencies such as mine, where the closest service may be an hour’s car journey away, accessing eating disorder services is remarkably difficult. The Government have been insistent that rural and coastal areas will not be left behind on healthcare, but the blackspots tell us otherwise.
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Eating Disorders Awareness Week
I completely agree. This is not just about people who have a car; for people who do not have a car and who are reliant on public transport, it can be even more difficult. People also struggle to take time off work because of the financial cost. For those who do have a car, there is also the cost of the petrol or diesel to get to the appointment. I would appreciate it if the Minister could update us on what he is doing to ensure that the neighbourhood and community slant of the three pillars of his health improvement plan are working in that regard. As the hon. Member for Bath said, in-patient services are limited in capacity. In my paediatric practice, I have seen patients waiting on acute general paediatric wards—sometimes for several weeks—but those are really not the right place for them to be cared for. Could the Minister update us on what he is doing about increasing capacity in regional services? I would like to speak a little about two other types of eating disorder: avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder and Prader-Willi syndrome. ARFID involves limiting the amount or variety of food consumed. It is not just picky eating. I have seen a teenager who lives on just plain pasta, nuggets and chips, and a younger boy who lives on a single flavour of one brand of milkshake and no solid food at all. That can be driven by fear and sensory and other issues. What is the Minister doing to make sure that services are available for these young children? NHS England’s refreshed eating disorder guidance recommends: “ICBs should develop and deliver ARFID care pathways”. What steps is the Minister taking to improve early diagnosis of ARFID, and what work will be done to train primary carers to identify it in children and adults, particularly in cases of neurodivergence? Prader-Willi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder causing excessive appetite and overeating, which can lead to dangerous weight gain and restricted growth. Around 2,000 people live with Prader-Willi syndrome in the UK, and there is no cure. It is not mentioned in the NHS guidance, so what work is the Minister doing to ensure that people suffering from PWS have access to the care they need? What steps are we taking to expand genetic testing at birth to identify PWS and improve early access to treatment for these patients? To sum up, mental health challenges are on the rise, and eating disorders are no exception. I urge the Minister to implement a clear approach to tackling eating disorders for adults, children and young people.
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Eating Disorders Awareness Week
The Minister’s speech is very interesting. He talks about an increase in capacity, much of which will require workforce. I noticed that when he mentioned the workforce plan, he said “spring or early summer”, which is a change from his previous wording, which was always “spring”. Is that a sign that it is being delayed further?
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Gibraltar Treaty
As a former Royal Marine, Gibraltar has a special place in my heart—we have “Gibraltar” emblazoned above our globe and laurel crest for the valiant efforts of former bootnecks in 1704. Having transferred seamlessly through Gibraltar on previous operations, I know how important it is to be able to transfer kit and equipment. The agreement seems to indicate that Gibraltar will be subject to Spanish export controls relating to defence equipment and dual-use technologies. Prior to agreeing the text, did the Minister consult the armed forces leadership in Gibraltar to ensure that service personnel can still carry on their duties, with kit not subject to Spanish export controls?
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Maccabi Tel Aviv Fan Ban
I thank my right hon. Friend for the work she and her Committee have done on this report. To my knowledge, this is the first time artificial intelligence has hallucinated and given a response that has been used by a public body to make a decision. To my right hon. Friend’s understanding, has West Midlands police learned from this mistake and removed this type of sloppy analysis from its decision-making process?
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Maccabi Tel Aviv Fan Ban
I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for granting this statement. The banning of away fans at football matches is highly unusual in this country. The imposition of such a ban on fans from another country is almost unprecedented. The fact that the ban was on fans of an Israeli club playing at a venue situated among sizeable Muslim communities added a level of political sensitivity. That is why the Committee took the unusual step of writing to the then chief constable of West Midlands police to seek an explanation. We were surprised by what this simple request eventually exposed. Our report covers conclusions about three organisations: West Midlands police, which is responsible for providing advice to the safety advisory group of Birmingham city council; the SAG itself, both in Birmingham and more generally; and the Home Office, including its liaison across Government. I will take them in turn. Our inquiry uncovered serious failings in the way that West Midlands police gathered and presented information and intelligence in advising on this fixture. While the fixture was rightly identified in advance as high risk, and the initial assumption was for away fans to attend, consultation was limited. The police relied to a disproportionate extent on a single conversation between a chief inspector from West Midlands police and the Dutch police about the behaviour of Maccabi fans at a match against Ajax in Amsterdam in November 2024. The Dutch police strongly disputed the WMP version of events, which included claims that 500 to 600 Maccabi fans were involved in disorder that targeted local communities, that they had links to the Israel Defence Forces, and that they threw local fans in the river. We cannot be sure what was said in that conversation because, unbelievably, the meeting notes were destroyed by West Midlands police. We now know, however, that some of the information relating to the conduct of the Maccabi fans was generated by artificial intelligence—Microsoft Copilot, to be precise. The use of AI by West Midlands police was under consideration at the time, but was not authorised at that stage. What we found extraordinary, though, is that the information used to support such a significant decision—whether from AI or elsewhere—was not cross-checked with other sources. Not only did WMP fail to do due diligence on the information that it presented to the SAG, which was responsible for taking the decision to ban away fans, but it failed to prepare properly to give accurate information before the Committee. The then chief constable told us explicitly that AI was not used by West Midlands police, and that the reference to a match against West Ham— a completely fictitious game that was cited as one of the reasons for banning the away fans—had resulted from a Google search. He had subsequently to apologise that that was not the case. Precisely how West Midlands police managed to generate inaccurate information using AI to inform the intelligence picture related to this match is the subject of an ongoing inquiry by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, so I am sure we will hear more on that in due course. Although we accept that the former chief constable did not deliberately misinform the Committee, he should have ensured that he came armed with the facts rather than with complacent platitudes followed by humble apologies. However, it is not the issues relating to competence that are the most damaging to the reputation of WMP; it is those around balance—balance in the information presented to the SAG, which consistently emphasised the unique risk from the Maccabi fans and downplayed the risk emanating from local communities in Birmingham. Intelligence around elements in these communities threatening to “arm themselves” against Maccabi fans was not relayed to the SAG. There was also imbalance in community engagement. WMP acknowledged that it failed to engage with the Jewish community early enough, in contrast with a full programme of engagement with other communities. It apologised for that and for managing to mislead the Committee on the extent of engagement, and acknowledged the damage done to relations with the Jewish community in the west midlands. We welcome the commitment of the new acting chief constable this week to continue WMP’s efforts to rebuild trust with the Jewish community and, more broadly, to address each of our recommendations. I cannot stress strongly enough how vital it is that the Jewish community in Birmingham and the west midlands are able to feel trust in their police. At the moment, they simply do not. As I have indicated, responsibility for the decision to exclude the Maccabi fans ultimately rested with Birmingham city council, through the provision of a safety certificate for the event. The role of the SAG was to provide specialist safety advice regarding the event. In reaching its conclusions on advice relating to public order, SAG is heavily reliant on the advice of the police. We reviewed the content of all three SAG meetings that provided advice on the fixture. Having done so, we were not surprised that the chair of the SAG wrote to WMP seeking further clarity on the rationale for the ban on away fans. There were clearly some who were uncomfortable with that decision—not just Aston Villa, who said they were happy to host away fans, and the leader of Birmingham city council, who expressed to us both his discontent with the decision and his respect for the operational independence of the police and the integrity of their advice. In respect of the role of the SAG in this decision, we concluded that it failed to apply sufficient challenge to the clear recommendation of WMP regarding the banning of away fans, and that it lacked the capability to balance the interests of local communities and those of the police against broader national and international considerations, given the unusual sensitivities surrounding this particular fixture. We welcome the review of guidance to SAGs being undertaken by the Cabinet Office, and we recommended in our report that that should consider whether an escalation process is required to handle such rare but highly consequential circumstances. As part of its review of the governance of SAGs, the police should review the presence of elected politicians on what are essentially safety-oriented committees. As I have said, it is unusual for there to be a political context to SAG decisions, but that was the case here. Although we did not see evidence of political pressure regarding the decision to ban away fans—we simply do not know what conversations went on behind the scenes —we did note that the Muslim councillors on the SAG, who had publicly stated views on whether the match should take place at all, had “a disproportionate opportunity” to influence the decision of the SAG. We concluded that elected politicians should not sit on SAGs. Finally, we scrutinised the role of the Home Office in the decision-making process, and that of the Government. Strictly speaking, there should not have been a role for the Government in a decision taken at local authority level on the operational advice of the police, but No. 10 recognised at an early stage the political significance of the match and asked the Home Office to be kept informed of developments. There was also a Department for Culture, Media and Sport interest, as that Department has lead responsibility for the safety of sports grounds. This was a test of the ability of the Government as a whole to identify whether they should have a role in the decision and, if so, to share information internally to enable any intervention to be made in a timely and effective manner. I am afraid to say that that test was failed. The Government were informed on 6 October—a month before the match—that a ban on away fans was the likely outcome of the SAG process. It was the “working assumption”. If the Government did not find this outcome politically palatable, you might think, Madam Deputy Speaker, that they would take prompt action to avert it—for example, by providing the necessary additional resources to enable the fixture to be policed safely and go ahead. No such attempt was made. The Home Secretary and Ministers were not told definitively that there would be a ban on away fans, but we know that she was briefed that it was a possible option. Home Office officials were aware that a ban was the likely outcome. We still do not know precisely when Ministers in the Home Office, DCMS and No. 10 were informed of this. It was only on 16 October, when the decision was announced, that the Government intervened—in the form of a post on X by the Prime Minister, saying that it was the wrong decision. Only at this point did officials begin exploring options with the police to enable away fans to attend. The Home Secretary argued that respect for the operational independence of the police did not allow earlier intervention, but this principle was inconsistently applied. If the Government could intervene publicly after the decision, could they not have intervened privately before the decision? We concluded that they could have done so in a way that respected the operational independence of the police and reduced rather than inflamed tensions. In the event, Maccabi Tel Aviv did not take up their allocation of tickets and the issue went away, but not without considerable damage being done to the reputation of WMP, to trust in the police by the Jewish and other communities in Birmingham, and to the integrity of decision making around the policing of football and sporting events. We welcome the review of this decision-making process announced by the Government and have urged them to look again at a previous review of the policing of football by Baroness Casey. We look forward to examining the results.
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Maccabi Tel Aviv Fan Ban
I thank the shadow Secretary of State for his question, and I agree with what he said. I will give the Minister for Policing and Crime, who was new in her post, credit for coming in front of the Committee and giving us a full account of what happened, but having been a Minister in the Home Office, I cannot believe that somebody did not spot the possibility of this problem and that alarm bells were not ringing. An earlier intervention—privately and behind the scenes, not impacting on operational independence—could have averted this whole problem. It could have been done without anybody knowing that there was a working assumption to ban the away fans, and the match could have gone ahead in the normal way.
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Maccabi Tel Aviv Fan Ban
I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. He makes an incredibly important point, which was really the basis of many of the questions that the Committee put when we took evidence in person. The suspicion was there that the decision had been taken not because of worries about violence from the Maccabi fans, but because of their religion. It has to be said that two weeks later, another match went ahead at Aston Villa with away fans—against the Swiss team Young Boys—and there was significant violence, but nobody suggested that those away fans should not attend. We were very concerned. We could not find actual evidence of antisemitism, but the very fact that we had elected politicians who were campaigning not just for a ban on away fans, but for the whole match to be cancelled, sitting on the safety advisory group, which provided the advice to Birmingham city council on the safety certificate, has to be cause of great concern. I know that it has given great concern to the Jewish community across Birmingham who are in contact with me. I urge all safety advisory groups to make sure that there cannot be any inference of political interference—that nobody can think that there is political interference. The groups have to be fully transparent, and everyone has to appreciate and understand why decisions are taken.