Commons Chamber
Wednesday 24 June 2026
The House met at half past Eleven o’clock
Prayers
[Mr Speaker in the Chair]
Independent Review of Maternity Services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Resolved,
That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, That he will be graciously pleased to give directions that there be laid before this House a Return of the Report, dated 24 June 2026, entitled Findings, conclusions and essential actions from the Independent Review of Maternity Services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.—(Emma Foody.)
The Minister for Women and Equalities was asked—
Trans people deserve to live their life with dignity and respect, and without shame. This Government are committed to protecting and advancing the rights of trans people, including by equalising hate crime legislation, delivering a trans inclusive ban on conversion practices, and improving gender healthcare services.
I recently spoke to a trans woman at my coffee morning. She was in tears, as she feels that life for trans people in Britain has gone backwards. She was always able to live and work in peace and dignity, but feels that her right to do that has been severely impacted, and she is worried about her chances of getting new jobs because of the Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance on, for example, toilets. Can the Minister reassure me and my constituent that this Government will fight to protect the rights of trans people in Britain?
I am so sorry to hear from my hon. Friend about the experience of her constituent, and I recognise how much anxiety there is in the trans community at the moment. Let me be clear that trans people’s rights against discrimination and harassment are protected in law—a fact that was underlined in the Supreme Court judgment. This Government are committed to defending and extending the rights of trans people in this country, including by equalising hate crime law and improving healthcare, and through our trans inclusive ban on conversion practices.
Since the Supreme Court judgment—and even more so since the code of practice was published—my constituents who identify as trans are contacting me daily. One has told me that he feels entirely pushed out of public life, and has had to leave his job due to customer harassment. He says that finding a new job is nigh on impossible. Does the Minister perceive that to be an intended or unintended consequence of the draft guidance, and will the Government please give Parliament the opportunity to vote on it?
I have said how greatly I recognise the significant anxiety that is felt by some in the trans community at the moment. The Supreme Court was extremely clear that trans people’s rights and protections against discrimination and harassment are protected in law, and the Government will defend and extend trans people’s rights. The draft code of practice is before the House for scrutiny, and Members can apply for additional debates on the subject if they wish.
The rise in antisemitism is unacceptable; antisemitism has no place in Britain. It requires a whole of society response. That is why we are strengthening policing, and investing in record protective security funding to keep Jewish communities safe. We are also clamping down on antisemitic extremism, tackling antisemitism in schools and universities, ensuring that Arts Council England withdraws funding from those who promote antisemitism, and accepting all the recommendations in Lord Mann’s review on antisemitism and racism in the health service.
The inaugural Jewish Culture Month has just concluded. More than 100 events took place across the country to celebrate Jewish culture, community and creativity. For example, the Plymouth Jewish community partnered with the Klezmer Village Band to bring traditional Jewish music to local schools and Plymouth Theatre Royal, helping to share Jewish culture with a wider audience. Given that the Prime Minister believes that rooting out antisemitism is a highlight of his tenure, what support was the Minister able to show for Jewish Culture Month, and did she attend any events?
The hon. Lady speaks for the whole House in recognising the importance of celebrating and sharing Jewish culture, and that is why this month has been so valuable. She may be aware that an event was held in the Department for Education. We will leave no stone unturned to tackle antisemitism. Members on both sides of this House are committed to ensuring that no person from the Jewish community feels that they have to change their way of life, or what they wear, in order to be safe.
I welcome the Minister’s comment that no Jewish person should have to change what they wear or how they go about their life, but she will know that this is exactly what is happening in this country, not least because antisemitism is perpetrated online by vile hate mongers who seem to think that attacking Jewish people is fair game. What action is the Minister taking to ensure that those people online who pump out antisemitism and anti Jewish hatred are brought to book very quickly?
My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point. He is absolutely right that this hate and abuse must also be tackled online; that is why the Online Safety Act 2023 has robust provisions to protect people from online abuse. We have ended the era of self regulation, and are enforcing strict legal duties that compel platforms to design out racial hatred and protect users. It is vital that this work continues, and that we step up active enforcement programmes that have been under way since March last year.
We have made the landmark commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, and we have begun delivering already; providing domestic abuse specialists in 999 call centres, specialist rape and sexual offence investigation units in our police forces, and £16 million for programmes in schools on healthy relationships and tackling harmful behaviour. Our ambition is clear, but there is much more work to do.
The most dangerous place for a woman is often her own home. That is in part why I have introduced a private Member’s Bill to extend domestic abuse protections to children and young people who may be in abusive relationships. What more are this Government doing to tackle the scourge of domestic violence?
My hon. Friend is right: far too often, the least safe place for a woman is her own home. Children who witness or experience abuse in their home are victims in their own right. This Government are determined to tackle domestic abuse; we are putting domestic abuse specialists in 999 call centres, prosecutions are rising, and domestic abuse protection orders can provide unlimited duration protection, and are already protecting more than 1,000 victims. I welcome my hon. Friend’s commitment to legislating to protect children and young people who are caught in abusive relationships, and I look forward to working with her on her private Member’s Bill.
Suicides caused by domestic violence are growing at such a rate that a woman in an abusive relationship is now more likely to take her own life than to be killed by her partner, yet we know that there is a significant under reporting of cases, and criminal accountability for the men responsible is all too rare. Could the Minister update the House on what the Government are doing to tackle this crisis, and to bring to justice the men who drive women to end their lives?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this important matter. Where domestic abuse drives a woman to take her own life, it is a profound tragedy and an injustice, and perpetrators must be held to account. Those who drive their partners to take their own life can face prosecution for the offences of manslaughter and encouraging suicide. The Government have asked the Law Commission to conduct a wholesale review of the law of homicide and the sentencing framework for murder, which will include a review of the use, and any obstacles to the use, of manslaughter charges where abuse may have driven someone to suicide. We recognise that there is more to do, particularly on better understanding and preventing suicides linked to domestic abuse, and we will continue to work with experts, frontline services and campaigners to strengthen our response.
The hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby (Sarah Pochin) embarrassed herself and this House when she said that the England football team needed to keep winning to keep women safe from domestic abuse. Does the Minister agree with me and with Refuge that linking domestic violence to football allows perpetrators to avoid accountability for their horrific actions?
I completely agree. Domestic abuse is not caused by football results; it is caused by perpetrators who make the choice to abuse women. Refuge, Women’s Aid and other specialist organisations are clear that suggesting otherwise allows abusers to deflect responsibility and avoid accountability. This Government are clear that there is no excuse, no context and no mitigating circumstances that make domestic abuse acceptable. I hope that the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby (Sarah Pochin) will reflect on the harm that that kind of framing causes to victims.
Does the Minister agree that it is iniquitous that at least one of the doctors responsible for the intrusive examination of young women prior to their rape and sexual abuse by Mohammed Fayed is still practising in London? If she does, would she approach the General Medical Council to ask why that is?
The scourge of abuse, whoever commits it, must be rooted out, across all professions. We are committed, through our violence against women and girls strategy, to halving violence against women and girls. We need to look at healthcare settings as well as everywhere else, and I would certainly be happy to meet the right hon. Gentleman to discuss that issue further.
I recently hosted a roundtable with leading organisations in the VAWG sector to discuss the vile trend of men filming degrading videos of women enjoying a night out, and accompanying the videos with absolutely awful captions. Before she resigned, the former Minister, the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies Jones), committed to meeting me to discuss solutions. I know that the political situation is a little fluid, but can the Minister ensure that her Department takes this very seriously, and will she meet me to discuss solutions?
We are committed to tackling violence against women and girls, whether it happens on the street, in people’s homes or online. In order to tackle abuse and harms online, we have criminalised the creation of non consensual deepfakes and are banning nudification tools. We are also putting a legal duty on platforms to remove non consensual intimate images within 48 hours. There is more that we can do, and I would be happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss solutions.
My constituent Paris Shears was subjected to domestic abuse, including coercive control, by her former partner. During his trial, he changed his plea to receive a shorter sentence. Paris’s parliamentary petition to change the law has received over 100,000 signatures. Does the Minister agree that victims of domestic abuse, including coercive control, deserve better?
Our police receive calls relating to domestic violence every 30 seconds. Victims of domestic violence need to be treated well, and to see much more action taken, whether we are talking about our police, our courts, or the services that victims need. This Government are taking that action, not only by putting domestic abuse specialists in 999 call centres, but through domestic abuse protection orders, but we know that there is so much more that is needed by victims of domestic abuse.
I call the shadow Minister for Women.
As a 16-year old, Kate worked a summer at Harrods. In 2024, she told her story of being raped at work. Intimate medical examinations were carried out on women by senior Harrods staff and security. Hundreds of women’s attacks were silenced. How will the Justice for Fayed and Harrods Survivors be heard? I met some of those brave women this week. How will they get the whole truth, justice, and systemic change, if the Met police inquiry remains stalled, and if enablers—some of them women—are left at large? Incredibly, over 500 victims still need answers.
I have met victims and campaigners from the al Fayed campaign, as has the Prime Minister. We must ensure that no matter who you are or where you are, there is always justice. I look forward to continuing to work with campaigners to ensure that they get justice.
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
The Government’s recently announced social media ban for under-16s will play an important role in tackling violence against women and girls and the online spread of misogyny, but social media bans by themselves are not enough. While we welcome steps to address online harm, the Government’s proscriptive approach simply will not be enough. New platforms and apps will continue to spring up, and the Government are in danger of being a dangerously outpaced competitor in an online game of whack a-mole.
Alongside legislation, we urgently need to give our parents, teachers and schools the tools that they need to ensure that when children come across harmful or inappropriate content, they are equipped to recognise and challenge it, and are ultimately kept safe from it. Will the Minister work with her colleagues in the Department for Education to ensure that teachers have the resources and support in the curriculum to cover that?
The hon. Member is right that we need to not just pursue perpetrators and provide support to victims, but prevent violence against women and girls. That is why this is a cross Government strategy. No one Department can tackle this alone. The Department for Education is piloting programmes with young people in schools. We need to ensure that all Departments are doing their bit—and they are.
Conversion practices are an abhorrent and insidious form of abuse, perpetrated by people who believe that being LGBT is not only wrong but can be forcibly changed. This Government will ban that abuse.
The work of Cumbria Pride and Pride in North Cumbria in supporting people to feel accepted and confident in their sexuality stands in stark contrast to those who peddle cruel and abusive conversion practices. The last Conservative Government failed multiple times to introduce a ban on these practices. Will the Minister please confirm that this Government will legislate, and will she set out the steps that the Government are taking to do this?
I thank Pride in North Cumbria and Cumbria Pride for their brilliant work. My hon. Friend is right to say that Pride events are a wonderful asset to the community. Given recent decisions to defund Pride events, this is a lesson that Reform councils clearly need to learn. I can confirm that this Labour Government will ban abusive conversion practices, and we will be publishing our draft Bill very soon.
I am mindful of the question asked by the hon. Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) and the Minister’s response. What protection has the Minister put in place for those who actively and honestly seek help and prayerful support, and who are seeking guidance in churches and through Christian and faith based groups? It is always important that people have an opportunity to seek that guidance. I know the Minister will be committed to that, and I would be very pleased to hear her answer.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question, and I look forward to discussing this matter further with him when we have published our draft Bill. Let me be very clear that what we are talking about is criminalising abuse that should happen to nobody, anywhere, in any situation or setting.
Tackling child poverty is a moral mission for this Labour Government. Background should not determine what people go on to achieve in life, but we know that inequality and poverty hold back too many of our children. We are improving the life chances of every child by scrapping the two child limit, rolling out free childcare, Best Start family hubs, and free breakfast clubs, and expanding free school meals. Our child poverty strategy will deliver the largest reduction in child poverty in a single Parliament. This is the difference a Labour Government are making.
In Stoke on Trent and Kidsgrove, literacy levels among our children and young people fall behind the England average. That can severely impact a young person’s future earnings. Our libraries play a key role in addressing that, yet Reform led Staffordshire county council has ordered them to remove Pride displays. Does the Secretary of State agree that libraries should be inclusive and welcoming to all, and that children and young people should never be placed at the centre of such divisive culture wars?
I completely agree with my hon. Friend. The joy of reading should be open to every child, and that is really important in this National Year of Reading. Local libraries are special places, and Reform should be investing in our libraries, so that children can access them, not shutting down displays that make all families feel welcome. Sadly, this is characteristic of a party that, in my area, let back in a councillor who said that Nigerians should be “melted down” to fill potholes. Not fit for power at any level.
We know that the attainment gap holds back children who grow up in poverty. The gap reached its highest levels under the Tories, and in Scotland the SNP has failed to close it. Does the Minister agree that it is shameful that the Tories’ only policies for children are bringing back the two child limit, plunging hundreds of thousands into poverty, and bringing back tax breaks for private schools?
I am proud of the last Labour Government’s record on tackling child poverty, but this Labour Government are going even further. We will lift the largest ever number of children out of poverty in a single Parliament, in sharp contrast with the Conservative party, which would plunge half a million children back into poverty.
The Equality Act 2010 is a monumental achievement, passed by the last Labour Government, that protects everyone from discrimination and harassment. The public sector equality duty makes our services fairer for everyone, and we are bolstering that by commencing the socioeconomic duty. The Equality Act is our quiet guardian—the law that stops bosses overlooking pregnant qualified workers for promotion and that requires shops and transport to adapt for wheelchair users, making their services accessible. To those who want to dismantle those protections, I say that we will not let them turn back the clock. We stand by those rights; we will strengthen them.
I have given Ministers advance notice of this question. Will they do more to better co ordinate support across Government for women and child victims? The abuser of my constituent Caroline Eshghi was granted a lenient sentence because the abuse occurred before 2005, and my constituent Tina Nash, who was beaten, assaulted and blinded, feels insufficiently protected and supported by either the Parole Board or the victim contact scheme. Will Ministers please do more to support them?
The hon. Gentleman raises two incredibly powerful and distressing cases. I share with him my sympathy for those affected, given all that they have been through and the harm that they have suffered. I am more than happy to discuss the matter further with him, or to make sure that a Minister meets him to hear his constituents’ views.
I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. The code is clear that nobody should be left without the services they need. The EHRC is clear that it will monitor the impact of the code.
I call the shadow Minister.
The Government’s Islamophobia definition is already being weaponised to shut down free speech, just as I warned it would. South Wales police tried to use it to effectively criminalise people for criticising Islam, which Ministers promised us time and again would not happen. Does the Minister understand how divisive that is? If so, will she finally withdraw that dangerous definition?
South Wales police has paused its plans. It is right that it has done so. There are no blasphemy laws in this country, but it is right that we take action against hatred, prejudice and racism wherever we find it. We have seen shocking examples of Muslims in our country being targeted on the basis of their faith and because of who they are. We need look no further than the shadow Justice Secretary, the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Nick Timothy), who engaged in appalling racism towards Muslims in our country and, rather shamefully, was not sacked by the Leader of the Opposition for those comments.
Asking officers to record examples of an illegitimate criticism of Islam is nothing short of an assault on free speech. Let me try another issue: last night, Labour MPs voted to give children as young as 11 powerful puberty blocking drugs that could leave them infertile for the rest of their lives. The right hon. Lady is the Cabinet Minister for children and she knows that children in the care system are over represented in that group. This cannot sit right with her. Will she do the right thing and tell the Health Secretary to stop the puberty blocking trial?
When Dr Hilary Cass published her review, we endorsed all those recommendations, as did the Conservatives. An important part of what Dr Cass set out was that it is essential that healthcare is available to children and young people who are experiencing gender dysphoria or incongruence, but that it must be safe, evidence based and clinically appropriate. We have always been clear about the red lines regarding the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s trial and the prescription of puberty blockers, and the safety and wellbeing of children must be at the forefront of everything that we do, but the review by Dr Cass concluded that while not enough was known about the safety of puberty suppressing hormones, it was necessary to take forward a trial.
The Prime Minister was asked—
I start by saying that my thoughts are with all those injured in the rail collision last Friday. I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of the driver of the Corby to St Pancras train. His family have requested privacy, and we should all respect that. I send my deepest sympathies to them at this awful time. My thoughts are also with those injured in the appalling attack in Edinburgh, which appears to have been motivated by anti Muslim hatred. Let us be clear: in this country, an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. We will not stand for it, and the perpetrator will face the full force of the law. Let me commend our emergency services, who responded to both incidents with outstanding bravery and professionalism in very difficult circumstances.
One of the greatest privileges of leading this country is meeting our armed forces, celebrating their work and marking Armed Forces Week, and I want to thank them all for their dedication, their courage and their sacrifice to protect our way of life. This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. I shall have further such meetings later today.
Did you meet Andy?
Not today. [Laughter.]
I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s remarks. His Government can be really proud of the national cancer plan. Cancer patients in Wokingham and across the country cannot afford for it not to be implemented or regularly updated. Will the Prime Minister leave a lasting legacy and support my private Member’s Bill—the National Cancer Strategy Bill—to ensure that future Governments remain accountable for delivering the plan’s targets and ambitions?
I acknowledge the hon. Gentleman’s personal experience and pay tribute to his campaign. I am incredibly proud of the national cancer plan, which sets out how we are ending the postcode lottery through more cancer specialists, through paying the travel costs of children travelling for cancer care, and through investing in technology to drive research into rare cancers. Thanks to our record investment in the NHS, we have the shortest waits for cancer diagnosis on record. He will be pleased to know that, in his constituency, waiting lists in his local care board are down by 40,000. That is thanks to a Labour Government and Labour decisions.
My thoughts—and, I am sure, the thoughts of the whole House—are with Max and his family in what must be the most awful of circumstances. Through our cancer trials accelerator programme, we will make it easier to launch innovative new clinical trials and find new treatment. For people like Max, that will make young people’s cancer a research priority, make clinical trials more accessible and pay for his travel costs for care. I hope that comes as some comfort, but as a parent, I cannot imagine what his family are going through, given the circumstances that he faces. I know that a Minister would be happy to meet Max and his family.
I call the Leader of the Opposition.
I associate the Opposition with the Prime Minister’s remarks on the horrific train crash, the attacks in Edinburgh and, of course, Armed Forces Week.
I want to start by congratulating the Prime Minister: he is the other party leader who won a by election last week, although I think I am much happier with my new MP than he is with his. Two weeks ago, the Prime Minister told the House that the Government were funding defence and that everything was under control. The very next day, the Defence Secretary resigned, saying the Prime Minister was “unable” and the Treasury “unwilling” to fund the defence of our country. What changed?
The right hon. Lady references the by election—I am very pleased with our new Member of Parliament. In Gorton and Denton, the Tories got 1.9% of the vote. I congratulate her because they got 2.2% of the vote in Makerfield, just edging past Count Binface. She says they are winning everywhere. At that rate, it will take them 500 years to get back into power. Meanwhile, back on the Government Benches, we have delivered the biggest sustained boost to defence spending since the 1980s—£270 billion over this Parliament. That is a record. The defence investment plan will take that even higher. That is about facing the future. We will finalise the plan with the Defence Secretary, and we will have it published before the NATO summit.
I think the Prime Minister forgot to mention that we got 50% of the vote in Aberdeen South. He says that he is funding defence; the truth is he would not be in this mess if his Chancellor had found money for the defence investment plan. The Prime Minister gave her the second most important job in Britain. She was the first female Chancellor. She lives next door to him, but would not even come out to stand by him during his resignation speech; she was too busy getting ready for a selfie with the new leader. Does the Prime Minister feel let down by his Chancellor?
This is the Chancellor who ended the austerity inflicted on our country for 14 long years. This is the Chancellor who got the economy growing. The Leader of the Opposition does not normally want to talk about the economy. That is because in the first quarter of this year, the UK had the fastest growing economy in the G7. Our growth was upgraded by the International Monetary Fund and the OECD. Last week, unemployment was down and inflation better. That is because with this Chancellor, we have the right economic plan and can weather the global storms of the war that the right hon. Lady wanted to jump into. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”]
Labour Members are cheering so loudly, but if it is all going so fine, why is the Prime Minister resigning? The fact is the Chancellor did let him down. She is the one who snatched the winter fuel payment and who announced a disastrous Budget that killed economic growth. Because of her, a Labour Prime Minister is once again leaving office with unemployment higher than when he came in.
But the Chancellor is not the only person who let him down: the Energy Secretary is putting up bills and killing jobs. [Hon. Members: “Where is he?”] He is not here, is he? He was a failed Labour leader rejected by the electorate, brought back from the wilderness by this man, and when the going got tough, he jumped into bed with the Mayor of Manchester—it is not the first time he has betrayed someone close to him, is it? Does the Prime Minister think that this treachery should be rewarded by being appointed Chancellor?
The Chancellor and I picked up our party six years ago from the worst defeat since 1935. We turned the party around and made it face the country, and we won a landslide general election, giving the Conservatives the biggest drubbing in their history. Thanks to this Chancellor, we have delivered the fastest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years, with new rights for renters and money for working people, and we are lifting half a million children out of poverty. The test for every Prime Minister is handing over the country in a better shape than they found it. I know I can do that, which is more than can be said for the right hon. Lady’s predecessor, her predecessor’s predecessor and her predecessor’s predecessor’s predecessor!
Once again I have to ask: if it is all so fantastic, why is the Prime Minister resigning? It is very generous of him to stick by his Ministers, because they did not stick by him. He can say what he likes, but the people of Aberdeen gave their verdict—they gave their verdict on his Energy Secretary by voting Conservative.
To be fair, the Cabinet are not all traitors and deserters; some of them have been loyal—loyal and incompetent. Hands up if you think that the Education Secretary is doing a good job—[Interruption.] Even she doesn’t think she’s doing a good job, Mr Speaker—[Interruption.] Oh, someone did. For those who raised their hands—the two people who raised their hands—yesterday, a poll found that 0% of teachers think that the Education Secretary is doing a good job. She taxed private schools to pay for more teachers, but the number of teachers has gone down. It turns out that appointing a spiteful class warrior as Education Secretary was a disaster. Does the Prime Minister agree that he has been let down by her incompetence?
The Education Secretary grew up in poverty. She knows exactly what it means to grow up in poverty. She was once reluctant to tell her story, but I know her story and it is an incredible story of social mobility and success. I am so proud that she is sitting there, as should be everybody in this country who cares about social mobility. She knows that education is absolutely vital for poor children, and that is why it drives every single priority and value that she has. I would have thought that Conservatives would recognise and understand some of that, but they have fallen so low that they don’t.
The fact is that if the Education Secretary knew so much about poor children, she would not have given them fewer teachers. Teacher numbers have gone down—[Interruption.] It is amazing; I have never seen this much excitement on the Labour Benches. They are cheering so loudly, while there are 400 knives stuck in the Prime Minister’s back. Shame on them. They don’t like it up them, but they know that what I am saying is true.
There were times when the Prime Minister tried to do the right thing. He tried—he did try to cut welfare, and who stopped him? Those MPs behind him. In the words of the Welfare Secretary, his MPs only want to know who they can tax to fund more benefits. They are not Labour MPs, they are welfare MPs. Does the Prime Minister feel betrayed by the people he got into Parliament?
Order. We should think about the language we are using. When we leave this Chamber, do not be surprised if constituents feel that they can use the same language against each other. Let us show a little bit more decorum and respect to each other.
Thank you Mr Speaker. I was trying to do all this with as much good grace as I could, but I shall certainly miss these exchanges. I am very proud of every one of our MPs who, with a landslide Labour victory, come from all different backgrounds and different places across the country. We inflicted the biggest loss on the Tories in the history of their party. We have picked up our party and we turned it around. We had to address what went wrong, we turned it around, and we won a landslide victory. The right hon. Lady will not address or even talk about their failure after 14 long years.
The right hon. and learned Gentleman is the one who is resigning because of his MPs. There is no point trying to distract from that. Let’s be honest: the Prime Minister has made many mistakes, otherwise he would not be going, but he has also been let down—I am only saying what his staff have been briefing. He has been let down by an Energy Secretary who is killing industry, let down by a Chancellor who is killing jobs, and let down by Back Benchers who do not understand that government is about tough choices. He U turned again and again and again to appease them, and now they have abandoned him. And for what? A pair of eyelashes and a black T shirt. Is it not the truth that, whoever is in charge, the real problem is the Labour party?
Two years ago, I walked into No. 10 and found a broken economy, broken public services and broken trust in politics. Because of our decisions—my decisions—the country is moving in the right direction: a stronger and fairer Britain, ending austerity, investing in our public services, the fastest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years, more rights for workers, more rights for renters, standing with Ukraine, Britain’s reputation restored, and half a million children being lifted out of poverty. Change promised by a Labour Government, change fought for by a Labour Government, change delivered by a Labour Government.
Antisemitism is a poison and that is why I drove it out of the Labour party. In government, we are acting to drive it out of society: new powers to ban repeated protests, new plans to root antisemitism out of our schools, universities and the health service, and new proscription like powers to clamp down on malign state activity that incites hatred and violence, and we will take further steps. I am proud to lead this tolerant, decent country, and I will always fight for the security, safety and freedom of British Jews.
I call the leader of the Liberal Democrats.
I associate myself and my party with the Prime Minister’s remarks about the horrifying train crash in Bedford and the appalling attacks near a mosque in Edinburgh. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.
May I mention today’s review of Nottingham’s maternity services, which is truly shocking? I hope that the Government will rise to the moment and implement Donna Ockenden’s recommendations in full, without delay.
I recognise how difficult it was for the Prime Minister to make the statement that he made on Monday. As we debate issues robustly in this House, it is an important reminder that we are all human—that is something that everyone should remember. [Interruption.] We all know how hard it is when relationships break down with close friends and allies, and when even our next door neighbour barely speaks to us some of the time, so have the Prime Minister’s experiences opened his eyes to the need to rebuild Britain’s relationship with our European friends and allies? Will he advise the right hon. Member for Makerfield (Andy Burnham) to put his EU red lines in the past and to adopt our plan for a new growth and defence partnership?
I am very proud of the fact that we have reset our relationship with the EU and we are bringing it closer. That is in the best interests of our country and I know that the right hon. Gentleman understands that. I know that, like me, he has been reflecting on his own career. Given the revelation that he turned down a job with MI6, I think the whole House will be wondering what might have been—“Double O” Davey!
It is very tempting to respond to that, but I have signed the Official Secrets Act. [Laughter.] On Europe, when history looks back at the Prime Minister’s time in office, I fear that clinging to those old red lines will be judged to have been a mistake.
As we swelter through this dangerous heatwave, we see the damage caused by extreme weather and climate change—schools closed, travel chaos, lives at risk, and massive costs to our economy and society. With the Met Office already warning that future summers will regularly break 40°C and bring even greater human and financial costs, is the Prime Minister alarmed that some parties in this House still follow Donald Trump with policies to send temperatures soaring even higher? Will the Prime Minister warn his successor not to listen to Conservative and Reform voices and instead to back our plans to cut bills and tackle climate change?
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising climate change, because it is one of the most significant challenges of our time, and the weather today reminds us just how important it is. It used to be common ground across this House that climate change was the generational challenge and that the UK should be a leader on it globally. I remember not so long ago the Conservatives leading in the COP summit—something that we were able to support. It is a shame that in order to chase Reform votes, they have changed their mind, and that we do not have that consensus across the House, but I will always maintain that we must be global leaders on climate change, and we always will be.
It is clear that severe heatwaves are evidence that climate change is impacting our country. We have been working to co ordinate the response, and I urge people to follow the guidance from the UK Health Security Agency. We are making our country more resilient for the future by modernising building regulations so that homes are cooler and better ventilated. We are building nine new reservoirs to protect water supplies and investing record amounts in flood defences and sustainable farming. While Labour is doing that, the Tories and Reform want to rip up the Climate Change Act 2008. That is the wrong approach for our country.
Diolch yn fawr iawn, Lefarydd. The end of the Prime Minister’s premiership comes close on the heels of the end of Labour’s 100-year dominance in Wales. People simply did not feel that his party stood up for them, and it is irrefutable that that too is part of the Prime Minister’s legacy.
I believe there is a tradition of leaving notes on desks for successors. Will the Prime Minister leave a useful note to the incoming Prime Minister, saying that respect and understanding go a very long way and that democratic choices, including those of devolution, cannot be dismissed?
I shall leave a note saying that what we delivered for Wales in these two years was the largest ever devolution settlement; the UK’s first small nuclear reactor, in Anglesey; investing £14 billion in Welsh rail; and a pay rise for 170,000 workers across Wales. I will end the note by saying, “We are lifting 70,000 Welsh children out of poverty—Keir Starmer”.
May I start by sending my best wishes to Jake and his family? The change we have made to the way that NICE evaluates medicines is already increasing access to innovative new medicines. I will make sure that my hon. Friend gets the chance to meet a Health Minister to discuss Jake’s case and the related issues.
I thank the right hon. Gentleman—he is always most generous. I will never forget when, just a few years ago, I went on holiday in his constituency with my family. I was in the kitchen of the place we were renting when somebody leant through the open door—it was the right hon. Gentleman with a bottle of champagne saying, “Welcome to the New Forest.” He then took time to speak to my family, including my wife’s elderly father and my children. I thank him for his generosity.
Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. The Housing Secretary has the power to introduce locally led licensing, and will consult on those regulations in the summer. Under our proposals, national standards for supported housing will be enforced by local authorities. I am proud of the action we have taken to back renters—abolishing section 21 evictions, expanding the decent homes standard, and extending Awaab’s law to cover the private rental market.
That is a first duty that the last Government spectacularly failed at, because they hollowed out our armed forces. We have already delivered the biggest sustained boost in defence spending since the ’80s—that is £270 billion over this Parliament—and we will increase that with the defence investment plan, which will be published before the NATO summit.
The thoughts of the whole House are with the family of the driver who lost his life and those who were injured, some of them extremely seriously. On Saturday, I spoke to the CEO of the East of England ambulance service to thank his team for their professionalism in responding. We talked through the nature and the scale of the challenge that they faced in relation to that crash. They were outstanding in the most difficult of circumstances. When I called him on Saturday morning, he assured me that they were all back at work and back on duty dealing with whatever else might happen that weekend, having delivered those who needed to be delivered to the hospitals. I found that humbling. It is a real tribute to those who responded, as they always do, including, I must say, the local community in this case. I also want to thank the brilliant NHS staff, who are still caring for those who were seriously injured.
I want the hon. Member’s children to feel safe in this country, and I will do everything to make sure that they are. We will all fight anti Muslim hatred with everything that we have got. An attack on one is an attack on all of us. That is what I said at the top of PMQs, and I hope he heard it.
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. I know that Members across the House have raised issues with the organisation directly. It is imperative that these communities are listened to. I understand that the Charity Commission has opened a compliance case, but I will get that confirmed for him. I am proud that this Government have stood up for mining communities, including ending the injustice of coal pension schemes, increasing the pensions of more than 150,000 former British Coal employees. I thank him for raising this case.
The hon. Member will have seen the action we are taking in relation to social media—it includes the social media ban for under-16s, which has been welcomed by families across the country; strengthening the Online Safety Act 2023 to tackle intimate image abuse and cyber flashing, and closing loopholes in chatbots; and taking on Grok—but there is more to do.
In Aldershot and Farnborough, thanks to this Labour Government, this week we are bringing the National Armed Forces Day celebrations back to the home of the British Army. However, in a week when we salute those who have served and are serving our country, elderly Gurkha veterans were assaulted in the park by our war memorial and told to go home. Will the Prime Minister and the House join me in standing against that despicable attack, and commend the heroism of our Gurkhas, and does the Prime Minister agree that now is the time to resolve the long standing issues relating to Gurkha pensions that we have been working towards, because the Gurkhas have given so much for our country?
My hon. Friend is a great champion of our armed forces, and the fact that the national celebrations are returning to Aldershot this week is a testament to her campaigning. The racist attack that she described is utterly disgraceful. I condemn it, as I hope the whole House will. We stand with our Gurkhas, who have made an incredible contribution to our armed forces and continue to do so. Ministers have met my hon. Friend, veterans and the Government of Nepal for constructive discussions on Gurkha pensions, and those discussions will continue. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for her dedicated work on this.
I, too, wish Scotland well in the upcoming match, and of course I wish England well in the third match—a little better than last night, hopefully.
The SNP and the Scottish Government need to answer a serious set of questions, and they simply refuse to do so. They call for transparency and accountability from everyone else when they have giant questions of their own to answer. “Nothing to see here, don’t want to know, don’t want to have an inquiry”—totally the wrong approach.
This Government’s commitment, under the leadership and influence of the Prime Minister, to tackling violence against women and girls is shared by many of my constituents. On Saturday, I was out in Llangollen for a Welsh Women’s Aid fundraiser organised by the community champion Moira Gleed. Llangollen’s “Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever” saw me join more than 230 Cathys, learn a dance routine, while dressed all in red, and take part in a performance that was streamed across the world. We have even been contacted by some fans from Japan. Will the Prime Minister join me in recognising the hard work of Moira, her daughter Rowena and all the organisers, volunteers and, importantly, performers in enabling that important event to happen?
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend and all those who took part. I am really glad that it was noticed around the world, because this is what raises awareness. I thought my hon. Friend was going to ask me to join her in the next dance, but if it is simply to pay tribute, I am very happy to do so.
I think the first would be, “Don’t ever inflict austerity on the country.” But since the hon. Gentleman is a Lib Dem, I would probably add, “Don’t wear a wetsuit.”
As you will be aware, Mr Speaker, Monday was Windrush Day, founded by Patrick Vernon to celebrate the contribution of migrants to our community. Will the Prime Minister outline exactly what this Government are doing to recognise and serve the Windrush generation, who did so much to play a vital role in our country’s history?
I join my hon. Friend in marking Windrush Day and thank her for raising it, because it gives me the opportunity to thank a community who made an extraordinary contribution to our country, and to remember the injustice that they faced. I am proud that we have overhauled the compensation scheme to deliver faster access to compensation and justice, providing £1.5 million for organisations supporting claimants, and we have appointed the first ever Windrush commissioner to rebuild trust and deliver justice. I am incredibly proud to lead a country that is built on dignity and respect, where everyone is seen and everyone is valued.
I do like the right hon. Lady. When she talks about destroying legacies, I remember that she was the Chief Whip to Liz Truss. I am very proud that we are building the houses that we need so that everyone has a base camp for their opportunity and aspiration—something the last Government failed on and we are succeeding on.
Gareth Southgate’s documentary last month spotlighted some of the heartbreaking ways that we are failing too many young men growing up in Britain today, but it was heartening to see the inspiring work that Hitchin youth worker Dan Gaze was able to carry out with young men in my community who had found themselves in hard times. Both Dan and the boys at Hitchin boys’ school who were interviewed as part of the documentary were an absolute credit to my town, but how can we make sure that we are encouraging more men into teaching and youth work roles, so that every young man growing up in Britain today can benefit from positive role models across their community?
I join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to inspiring community members like Dan, who truly represent the best of Britain. Having an inspiring role model is vital for young men. That is why we are investing £500 million in our national youth strategy, which includes launching 50 new Young Futures hubs, creating more mentoring and youth worker opportunities.
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the publication of the media Green Paper.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for bringing this urgent question to the House and giving us an opportunity to discuss this important advancement. Yesterday the Government published a Green Paper, “Watch this Space”, to set a new strategic direction for media policy in the UK. The way we consume broadcast media is changing, and television is undergoing a profound transformation, having moved away from a system of traditional channels to a far more fragmented system in which people access TV on demand and on video sharing platforms. Young people, in particular, are far more likely to access media on their phones and tablets through streaming services and platforms, and the Government believe that we are not adequately equipping that generation with access to high quality media.
There are three key areas where we intend to act. The first is digital prominence, where we are exploring legislative options to require social media platforms and connected TV interfaces to make public service media content, particularly trusted news, highly visible and easy to discover. This is not about promoting Government narratives or only the BBC; it is about ensuring that brilliant journalism from many of our news publishers—both local and national—and broadcasters can get in front of the public. For that reason, we are also opening a conversation about how we define “public service broadcasting” in the modern age.
Secondly, the transition to internet TV is where we are outlining plans for a managed shift away from terrestrial broadcasting to internet delivered IPTV. We know this is an essential switchover in terms of both access and cost, but we want to ensure that the transition is managed responsibly and that nobody is left behind. We are therefore consulting on two dates for the switchover: 2034, when current licences expire, or 2044, with any date contingent on a full and watertight transition plan.
Finally, we are protecting major sporting events. We will add on demand and streaming rights for major sporting events such as the world cup and the Olympics to the listed events regime, protecting free universal fan access as viewing habits shift online.
Taken together, these proposals set out a vision for a future TV and media policy in which everyone can access world leading public service broadcasting content, including children’s and news programming, away from the misinformation and disinformation that has defined too many of our online lives. This Government will ensure that no matter where people access their TV, they are given access to high quality programming that informs, educates and entertains, and this Green Paper is the next stage of our ambition.
Thank you for granting this urgent question, Mr Speaker. I agree with much of what the Secretary of State has said, and there is much to be applauded in the media strategy. The overall intent, which is to ensure that everyone has access to trustworthy news and to counter misinformation, is noble. The challenge and its potential danger is how we do that.
Of the positive elements that the Secretary of State mentioned in the strategy, I welcome the Government’s intention to add on demand rights to the free to air listed sports regime, but there are many controversial aspects. As she said, the plan to close down digital terrestrial transmission by 2034 or 2044 is a major concern, especially for those living in remote or rural areas. The strategy also covers interventions to support media literacy and promoting the questioning of the accuracy of news, but pushing such an onus of responsibility on to the media companies themselves may reduce the responsibility on schools or, indeed, parents. What are her thoughts on that?
We then come to the thorny issue of prominence. The Government are proposing interventions to make trustworthy news providers easily discoverable to counter misinformation, and that includes national and local news publishers and broadcasters, but who decides who is a trustworthy news provider and what trusted content is? Will there be an approved list, or will it be an algorithm or a human being? We need to be careful about descending into some kind of Orwellian society. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are vital to our free society, and the concern of some of the press is that, to qualify for prominence, a newspaper may need to sign up to a state backed regulator. Can the Secretary of State rule that out?
The proposals in the Green Paper to support our public service broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are well intended, especially in an age when there is undeniably so much misinformation online, but a requirement for third party platforms and social media entities to make such broadcasters’ content prominent is problematic for the obvious reason that their content is not always to be trusted and is not always unbiased either, so who decides whether it is? Many people question the BBC’s coverage of politics in general, of trans rights, of Israel and so on. The BBC doctored a video of President Trump, it fails to call Hamas a terrorist organisation, it has pushed highly questionable content through BBC Arabic and it reprimanded a newsreader for saying “pregnant women” rather than “pregnant people”. There may be plenty of people who like the idea of legislation to push woke or leftie content online, but I am not one of them, and many people agree with me. Can the Secretary of State provide more details about how trusted content will be defined and who will ultimately be the arbiter?
Finally, can the Secretary of State confirm how extensively she has engaged with the industry to come up with these proposals?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that series of questions, and I will do my best to answer them all as swiftly as I can. First, he rightly talks about the importance of getting the transition right and choosing the date of 2034 or 2044 well. He talks about the particular challenges in remote and rural areas, which this Government recognise. As he knows and as we have discussed before, there are also particular issues for older people, people with disabilities and others. We are working with the industry to put together a watertight plan to help people make that transition and ensure that nobody is left behind. We are asking these questions now precisely to make sure that we are ready and do not leave people behind.
On media literacy, the hon. Gentleman is right to say that the onus cannot just be on media companies alone. There is a responsibility on all of us, including schools and those of us in public life, to make sure we are equipping our young people with the skills they need to be able to navigate a completely transformed media landscape from the one we had in this country when he and I were growing up. I want to reassure him that this is not about pushing all the responsibility on to media companies and letting everybody else off the hook. We all have to work together to achieve this. It is not just about young people, either. There are serious challenges with people from every generation seeing information online that is just simply false.
Who defines trustworthy news—who decides what is trustworthy news and how we decide what is trustworthy—is one of the most challenging aspects of the consultation. The hon. Gentleman will know that the definition of public service broadcasting is set out in law, but trustworthy news is a separate matter and that is precisely why we have asked the question.
I would gently push back on some of the narrative that the hon. Gentleman advanced about the BBC. It is still the most trustworthy source of news not just in this country but across the world. On Monday, I was on “Newsround” explaining the consultation and the social media ban that we are introducing to the generation of children who will be most affected by it. It strikes me that there is no other country in the world that has quality programming like that through their public service broadcaster, so I think we should be careful about not trashing the BBC. He and I have shared serious frustrations about some of the specific issues that he mentioned, and we should always demand the highest quality content, but I still firmly believe that the BBC is one of the best broadcasters in the world.
I welcome this bold Green Paper, which refers to: “access to, accurate news, and informative and entertaining content that reflects the diversity of the UK and brings audiences together.”
Will my right hon. Friend do all she can to uphold the practice of independent, rigorously researched journalism in this world of algorithmically driven clickbait content that monetises hate? Given the record fines it has had from Ofcom, is there any way of reining in GB News—and maybe even looking at the effectiveness of Ofcom?
My hon. Friend asks a number of questions and I will try to address them. First, in the Green Paper we have deliberately broadened out access to good quality trusted news and content to potentially include print media as well. It is not lost on me that during the Southport riots people were seeking out the Liverpool Echo and other local news outlets to try to find real information, as opposed to the misinformation and disinformation they were seeing online. She will know that alongside that, one of the things the Government have done is publish the first ever local media strategy to try to support that industry to be able to continue to provide high quality news.
My hon. Friend mentions algorithms. One reason we are particularly keen to ensure the prominence of quality, trusted and high quality content online and on platforms such as YouTube is that at the moment the algorithms decide what children, in particular, see. I commend YouTube for its work on YouTube Kids, but we need to see more of that. At the moment, we are putting up with a situation where the older generation tends to watch traditional television on television sets and can easily find good quality content and trusted news, but the younger generation tend to be on devices online and cannot do so. That is not acceptable.
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
The Green Paper rightly recognises the severe financial challenges facing our public service broadcasters, which have been vividly exposed by recent devastating cuts at the BBC. The Liberal Democrats have long proposed that the BBC World Service should be fully funded directly from Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office budgets, protecting its vital global footprint while freeing up £221 million a year to be reinvested at home. Will the Secretary of State take on board our proposals? What urgent conversations has she had with her Foreign Office colleagues to make that a reality?
Turning to online spaces, the proposal to highlight trusted news sources on social media is welcome, but unfortunately this is just a sticking plaster over the fundamental issue that big social media platforms are already rigged against truth, fairness and impartiality. The real threat to our democracy are the harmful platforms themselves, which use algorithms deliberately engineered to amplify foreign disinformation while systematically choking out trusted journalistic sources. Should the Secretary of State not be focusing the full weight of her Department, and that of her colleagues in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, on cleaning up social media platforms once and for all, rather than fighting a losing battle against bad actors on systems that are built to work against us?
The hon. Lady rightly talks about online regulation. She will know that that is primarily the responsibility of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, but my colleague the Secretary of State and I work very closely together on that. We must ensure that we both take action to deal with the scourge of misinformation and disinformation online, which she rightly talks about, but that we give people access to news they can genuinely trust and that that news is much more readily available. The two things should be seen together.
I apologise, my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Huq) also asked me about Ofcom. She will know that we recently appointed a new chair of Ofcom. We believe that Ofcom must do more to act decisively and quickly in this space.
On the BBC World Service, the hon. Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine) will know that the Government have already stepped in, with the support of the FCDO, to ensure it continues to be funded, but colleagues across the House will have seen recently the funding cuts that were announced at the BBC.
The hon. Lady rightly says that one of the pressures on such broadcasters is the fact that they are currently trying to broadcast through two distinct channels, so it is important that the Government grip that issue. She will know that the charter review is running in parallel to this process. We wanted to look at it all in the round. It is our intention, through the charter review, to ensure that the BBC is adequately funded and that it goes on not just to survive, but to thrive until well into the latter part of this century. She will also know that we recently announced that through that process we will put the BBC on a permanent charter, so that it exists for all of us forever.
I declare an interest: I worked for a public service broadcaster and my husband still does. I say as somebody who understands the sector a bit that it is not just about public service but about recognising Britishness on our screens and in the media and, essentially, protecting what it is to be us, as well as providing opportunities for people to get into the sector. I really welcome the thinking on this issue, but can the Secretary of State give us a bit more detail on how the changes will ensure that our public service media are protected for the future, so that people can continue to access high quality news and content in general, and are given opportunities?
I strongly endorse what my hon. Friend says. We have lost many parts of our civic realm: thriving town centres where people come together, the social clubs that used to exist all over our country, and the youth clubs that we are busy rebuilding. I thank her for all her help and support. I believe that the media, and in particular public service media, are an essential part of that civic realm. Whether it is VE Day, Remembrance Sunday or the world cup which we are all currently enjoying, public service broadcasters provide the shared moments where we come together as a nation and celebrate what it means to be us. We are determined to grip these issues and not allow us to drift into a transition, so that our public service media are adequately funded and are able to continue to do that.
I call the Chair of the Select Committee.
The Secretary of State knows as well as I do that the media landscape is changing so quickly that no sooner was the ink dry on the Media Act 2024 than it was almost obsolete. We know that for the first time YouTube has overtaken the BBC in audience reach, which is why the Green Paper is really welcome, but I wonder whether it is a first step towards a new and more extensive media Bill that reflects the nation’s viewing habits and reaches a definitive definition of television. The Green Paper talks about new television when talking about video sharing platforms, YouTube and so on. We need a new definition of television to reflect technological change. Finally, the consultation refers to media literacy, but surely if we are really planning to future proof that, we should be talking about AI literacy too—and not just for children.
On legislation, we will of course keep that option open and will not hesitate to legislate should we need to do so. We deliberately drew the parameters and contours of the Green Paper very broadly so that we could have that very open discussion and work together to ensure that we then take the action we need to take.
On a slightly more reflective note, the point that the hon. Lady makes about the ink not being dry before the landscape had changed is particularly true in the online space. Rather than thinking about a piece of legislation, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and I have been reflecting on the probable need to legislate quite frequently to keep pace with change.
When it comes to media literacy, I agree with the hon. Lady about AI. I think there are two parts to the issue: first, ensuring that we have the right regulation so that people can trust what they see and that we do nothing in the AI space that prevents good quality journalism from being able to thrive; and secondly, equipping and empowering the people of this country with the skills and ability to navigate AI.
Right now, Britain’s adversaries around the world are investing heavily in disinformation designed to disrupt democracies across the west; we are seeing the impact in this country as well. I welcome the regime set out to promote truthful content on social media, but promoting the good content is not the same as tackling the bad. I worry that there is quite a disparate approach across Government—across Ofcom, DCMS and the defending democracy taskforce. What will the Secretary of State do to pull together across Government to address disinformation and misinformation from hostile states around the world?
I reassure my hon. Friend that I am working closely with the Secretary and State for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Home Secretary, as well as with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who leads the social cohesion taskforce that is specifically looking at misinformation and disinformation, and at how we join up across Government to tackle the issue. We have recently had a huge debate in this House about the defence of our nation, and, given the global climate, we are rightly stepping up to invest more in defence, but there is a war being waged in our communities—on our streets, online, on social media—that we have got to take as seriously as we take equipping our armed forces with what they need.
This House ended the licensing of the press on 3 May 1695, when it declined to renew the relevant legislation. That makes the definition of news sources difficult. Perhaps that is why the Green Paper talks about prominence for public service media and “potentially” for local and national news sources. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is unthinkable to have a situation where we would be promoting BBC and Channel 4 news, but not our major national newspapers and trusted local news sources?
That is precisely why we have asked the question. The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that there are different ways of approaching the issue. One is, quite simply, to promote public service broadcasters. We think we may be missing a trick there, which is why we have asked the question in the consultation.
The Secretary of State’s dedication to trusted news and promoting public service media is really welcome, but I am sure she shares my concerns that this will be dramatically undermined by the recent announcements of brutal cuts at STV and the BBC, as thousands of jobs and programmes are at risk of being lost. Will she urgently intervene to project jobs and the future of public service media?
The Government have been talking to the journalism trade unions to ensure that people are protected when those cuts are made, and that we do everything we can to protect that really good quality—not just the journalists, but the technical staff and others, particularly those across our nations and regions, who feel vulnerable to those cuts. The cuts at STV and the BBC are precisely why we need to manage the transition and get it right. We cannot duck the question of when we make the transition, because doing so places incredibly onerous costs on public service broadcasters in an already very tight funding landscape. As my hon. Friend will have heard me say to the hon. Member for Droitwich and Evesham (Nigel Huddleston), we are determined to manage the transition well and ensure that nobody is left behind.
During a recent bombing of Tehran, a power outage hit that city and 20,000 bots promoting the cause of Scottish nationalism turned off instantaneously. I say that not to question in any way the legitimacy of a political position—admittedly one that I disagree with—but because it reveals the extent to which our country is under daily assault from those who would seek to tear us apart. What plans does the Secretary of State have to build out from this media Green Paper and take a whole of Government approach in order to enhance media literacy, to bear down on the conduits that are driving disinformation in our society, and to ensure that our armed forces and security services have precisely the resources they need to secure our integrity as a nation?
The hon. Gentleman asked a number of questions, and I strongly agree with the essence of what he is saying. There is a war being waged in our communities and on our streets, and on local online forums as much as on national ones. When the recent by election in Makerfield was triggered, overnight the targeting of people in my town of Wigan with misinformation and disinformation went through the roof. That is often deliberate, it is often triggered by foreign state actors, it can have an extremely disruptive influence on communities, and it is something that we need to deal with. The Green Paper deals with questions of media literacy and prominence, and other measures that we think will help, but nobody in this House should take this as the beginning and end of the conversation. I am working closely with colleagues across the House—including in Defence—to make sure we are equipped on every front for the war that we find ourselves in.
The Secretary of State will be aware that terrestrial television is not just an entertainment platform but a resilient form of communication that reaches into communities where digital, broadband or mobile signal quite simply do not have the reach or the reliability. Does she share my concern that the switch off of terrestrial TV in either 2034 or 2044 could cut off communities in my constituency from that resilient communication platform, and will she meet me to discuss my concerns?
I am confident, having heard my hon. Friend championing his constituents in this House, that he would never allow that to happen, and neither will we. I am happy to offer him a meeting with the relevant Minister.
On a similar theme, undoubtedly near the top of the Secretary of State’s to do list today is to answer written question No. 11584, which is due for answer tomorrow. The question is about the threat posed by the BBC World Service apparently discontinuing its longwave transmitters at Droitwich, Burghead and Westerglen. What we want to know is: how will closed societies like Russia be able to receive news information when they are subject to the suppression of all the internet based routes?
I will, of course, ensure that the right hon. Member gets the answer to his written question in a timely fashion—by tomorrow. I am also more than happy to follow up and discuss it with him.
I welcome the Green Paper’s focus on media literacy, so that people in Portsmouth have the skills they need to identify misinformation and disinformation. As viewing habits change and technology develops, can the Secretary of State reassure the House and residents in Portsmouth, particularly those who may be less confident online and have limited access to digital services, that any transition towards internet based television will be carefully managed?
I am really happy to give my hon. Friend that assurance. That is why we are getting on the front foot now and working with industry to manage the transition. Access is obviously extremely important, but so too is affordability, and we are looking at that closely.
Let me get this straight: the Government—either a Minister or, worse, unaccountable civil servants—are planning to decide which news providers are deemed trustworthy and which are deemed untrustworthy; and then the Government, or unaccountable civil servants and quangos, are going to give priority to the services that they deem to be trustworthy, and reduce the prominence of those that they do not like and consider to be untrustworthy. That sounds quite dystopian to me. How can it be seen as anything other than a serious attack on freedom of the press and freedom of speech?
I am not going to take any lessons from him and his disgusting party, given the way that they spread misinformation and disinformation. This House has already come together to define what “public service media” is in law. The definition was passed by Parliament, and I do not recall there being a lot of concern about that; it has been enormously beneficial. One way that we could define “trusted news” would be to follow that definition, but we could also, for example, align with the editors’ code of practice. There are lots of different options, but to somehow claim that this is about the Government controlling what people see is absolute nonsense.
I warmly welcome the publication of the Green Paper. None of us has all the answers when it comes to the fast moving media landscape, but setting out the challenges and some principled ways forward is a good start. I especially welcome the focus on a duty for media literacy. My personal view is that a public purpose for the BBC on media literacy might be better than one on growth, but that is a debate for another day. Is the Secretary of State slightly disappointed, as I was, in the tone of some of the contributions from the Opposition about the prominence of trusted news? We already have a prominence regime in place; we just need to update it for the modern age. In an era when misinformation and disinformation are rife, is it not more important than ever that people get access to trustworthy news, and is that not what a prominence regime allows?
I agree. In particular, we are letting down a generation of young people, who, as I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Huq), are often consuming media very differently from my generation and the generations before us. It cannot be right that my generation, who often watch and consume broadcasts on television sets, are able to easily and quickly find high quality content and trusted news, but the younger generation are not.
Hostile state actors routinely broadcast misinformation to our young people and radicalise them in their own homes. I agree completely with the Secretary of State that we have to take action; the problem is that primary legislation will never keep up with technology. I urge her to therefore consider a media Bill with wide ranging powers that makes use of secondary legislation that can keep up with those changes to technology.
The hon. Gentleman makes a similar point to the Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. He is right to push us to think about how we can very rapidly adapt to this very rapidly changing landscape. There is a question for the whole House as to how much oversight the House will want to have and how much scrutiny will be given to any measures that we bring forward. The House will have to decide together whether the use of secondary legislation in this space is something that we collectively believe is acceptable. However, there is merit in what he proposes.
As a former employee of the BBC for 15 years, I know the importance of those Reithian principles to educate, inform and entertain, which are at the core everything the organisation does. Dissemination of fake news and misinformation online is a genuine risk to our democracy. Does the Secretary of State agree that even if people are going to trusted sites and sources online, such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, there is a real risk of the mix of slop around it polluting people’s ability to see accurate information, and that this demonstrates the absolute need for trusted news sources online?
As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton earlier, during the Southport riots, there was an increase in people going to the BBC and the Liverpool Echo to get information; we saw something similar after the Manchester Arena bombing, when people sought out the Manchester Evening News as a trusted source of news. My hon. Friend will be aware that many of those trusted sources are under serious financial pressure, which is one of the reasons that we acted—particularly through the local media strategy—to ensure that they remain available. We want to ensure that those sources are more prominent and easier to find online, but in order to do that, we have to ensure that they are actually there in the first place.
The proliferation of misinformation, invidious algorithms and harmful content are the defining features of the current media landscape, and they are causing real harms and divisions within our communities. We need bold action to tackle this, and that surely includes taking on those who direct and abuse these situations. How will the Secretary of State promote trusted sources when there are people, even in this House, who are prepared to undermine them, and we are losing jobs and services at public service broadcasters?
That is partly what this TV Green Paper is designed to address, although, as I said earlier, it is one part of the whole. Getting regulation online right, getting the enforcement of that regulation right, and being far more proactive through Ofcom in enforcing the existing law, are essential parts of this, as well as the measures that we have proposed around prominence and other areas.
I welcome this Green Paper, which is both timely and forward looking. The Government are right to respond to the fact that people get much of their news from social media nowadays. As more and more people turn to artificial intelligence chatbots for news and information, what work are the Government doing to ensure that trusted sources of information are given prominence?
We have done a number of things in this space. AI summaries online put real pressure on existing publishers, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and I have met the publishing industry to discuss how we can better protect original sources, which are often far more accurate than the AI summaries that draw on their work. As I said to the Chair of the Select Committee, when it comes to media literacy, we need to equip not just the younger generation, but all of us with the skills necessary to navigate AI.
I urge the Secretary of State to keep a genuinely open mind on this consultation, and to be prepared to drop measures if the evidence does not stack up. The concept of prominence in particular will be very difficult to translate from a linear age to this age without imposing excessive costs and bureaucracy on broadcasters. As we have seen, the concept of trustworthy news is problematic, because one person’s “trustworthy news” is someone else’s propaganda. Just look at the debate between the BBC and GB News—frankly, right now, plenty of my constituents would trust GB News over the BBC. We cannot allow debate on this issue to become an echo chamber for liberal/left groupthink; otherwise, it will further undermine trust and confidence in this place.
The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that any responsible Government will be careful about how we navigate this landscape, because the definition of “high quality” and “trustworthy” is contested, and we need to protect the plurality and diversity of our news and the broader media industry. I do believe, however, that we have for a long time failed to empower our citizens and equip them with the ability to navigate the new landscape that we are in. The Government are particularly concerned about the blurring of news and fact with polemic and opinion, and that is a space in which we intend to act.
Given that we are in a world of fake news, and the impact of that on public trust, I really welcome the Secretary of State’s work to modernise the prominence regime. The BBC is the jewel in our national crown. People have mentioned the cuts; it is a real shame that we are seeing cuts to really important consumer shows, like “Money Box Live”. Scams are everywhere, so these shows are vital to our nation. Can the Secretary of State say a bit more about the BBC and its importance to our nation?
I will say, very candidly, that I am concerned about the cuts that have been announced, too, and I raised those concerns directly with the incoming director general. The charter review process is obviously ongoing, and I would not want to see the BBC dismantling good structures, dismissing good journalists and closing down good programmes at a time when we are seeking to work together constructively to ensure that it is properly and adequately funded going forwards. There are significant pressures on all our public service broadcasters at the moment, and that is one reason why we have to grip this issue of transition, and work together to ensure nobody is left behind.
My question is in a similar vein to that asked by the hon. Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes). I was really concerned to hear of the cuts at the BBC; “The World Tonight” is going, and “Today” is being cut back. This follows on the heels of cuts at “Newsnight”. It seems that the justification for these cuts is that programmes are being reoriented towards young people, which is obviously a good thing in and of itself. However, when I was 18, I did not listen to any of those programmes; now that I am in my 40s, I listen to them all. Do these cuts not undermine the BBC’s mission to educate and inform, and in this age of disinformation, is it not vital that we keep those programmes?
As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes), the elephant in the room is funding, because the BBC has not been adequately funded for quite some time. The hon. Gentleman will know that fewer and fewer people are paying the licence fee, which is becoming a major challenge for the BBC. We will set out a range of options, through the charter process, that are designed to tackle that, so that we can protect the high quality programming that he rightly commends.
We know that misinformation and disinformation is on the rise right across our country, and that was shown in the recent Makerfield by election; the Social Market Foundation reported that ahead of that by election, there was a quadrupling of fake news, and that one in six posts on all the local Facebook groups were fake news. We have seen the same thing in my constituency; after a news article was published, the news went rampant across our town that a woman and child had been attacked at a train station. It never happened, but it caused fear and anxiety.
I warmly welcome the Green Paper, but how can we get more support for our trusted local news services, including local papers and broadcasters? They are what residents turn to in times of crisis when they need information. The Secretary of State rightly pointed to the example of the Liverpool Echo.
I was really struck by that report by the SMF, and I certainly recognise that there is misinformation very close to home. My hon. Friend rightly says that that is not new. In fact, my local police force says that the biggest challenge it faces is misinformation and disinformation online, which leads people to believe that more violent crime is happening than there actually is, and that streets are not safe. It causes serious challenges to social cohesion. Earlier this year, we published the local media strategy, which is the start of our ambition for local media—it is the floor, not the ceiling. There is more we need to do, particularly in the online space, to ensure that publications such as the Liverpool Echo are able to thrive.
As a former journalist, I salute the Secretary of State’s ambition to leave no one behind, but as the hon. Member for Hexham (Joe Morris) pointed out, the death of terrestrial television risks leaving a lot of people in remote and rural Scotland behind. My constituency has a lot of notspots, and terrestrial television is a key source of news and entertainment. Can I ask the Secretary of State to use her influence in the forthcoming northern powerhouse Cabinet to get broadband rolled out properly across this country?
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to talk about the centrality of broadband access. We are looking really carefully at digital exclusion, and we will make sure that this transition does not leave his constituents behind. I am looking to work with him to make sure that we get this right.
Last week we had a powerful reminder of how important trusted news broadcasting is when the BBC reported that arson attacks targeting the Prime Minister and his family were orchestrated by Russia. Not stopping there, Russian backed bots then spread homophobic misinformation about those attacks. We know how the Conservative party responded to that: its deputy chair, the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers), went on national TV and laughed. Now we can see how this Labour Government are responding to the issue. Can I urge the Secretary of State to go even further on supporting trusted news sources, as a powerful response to misinformation and disinformation online, a lot of it fuelled by our foreign adversaries?
My hon. Friend is right to say that we should demand the highest standards from Members across this House and people in public life. I share his absolute horror at the way that the deputy chairman of the Conservative party responded.
I absolutely welcome this Green Paper. I think it is a really good step forward that we are having this national debate, but in it, I hope that the Leveson inquiry and its proposals will not be forgotten.
The Secretary will be aware that younger people—the majority of the population, in fact—do not watch mainstream television, or read newspapers, either in print or online; instead, they rely entirely on social media for their news, information, opinions and so on. Much of that content comes from behind a cloak of anonymity, and often it is dangerous, racist or abusive. We have a whole generation growing up whose only source of information is anonymous stuff on social media. I realise that we face a very difficult balancing act, in controlling access to wonderful technology and ensuring some degree of accuracy and accountability. I am sure that the Secretary of State is aware of this huge problem. Does she feel that there is a way forward on this conundrum through debate on the Green Paper?
The right hon. Gentleman mentioned the Leveson inquiry. I can tell the House that I met the families of the victims of press intrusion very recently. We have always acted with care in this space to ensure that we protect a free and fair press, but he is right to say that action is needed to better protect people in this space, and this Government are determined to take that action. I share his serious concern about the way that young people consume news. That is partly what this Green Paper is intended to address, but it is also one of the key driving forces behind the social media ban that my colleague the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology announced recently. We have not done enough to protect young people online, and we need to do more.
We come to the birthday boy himself, Chris Vince.
Thank you, Mr Speaker—21 again. I thank the Secretary of State for her response to this urgent question, and particularly for her emphasis on the importance online literacy, which, as a former teacher—Chris Vince bingo in full force today—I know to be really important. I pay tribute to Michael Casey, editor of Your Harlow, an online newspaper that prints tens of thousands of articles every year, and that filled the hole left by Harlow Star when it closed down.
I would like to build on the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South (Gordon McKee), who said that more and more people are using AI summaries to get their news, and are not relying on trusted sources. Is there not a danger that if we, and the AI companies, do not provide support to trusted sources, they will not be able to continue?
I have been working with the publishing industry to make sure that we protect our trusted sources and do not allow higher quality content to be undermined by AI summaries. It is a concern that we recognise and share, and we will bring forward proposals around that to the House. We have seen lots of very good quality independent news providers spring up around the country, and it is great to hear about my hon. Friend’s local newspaper in Harlow, but there are too many local news deserts across our country. That is precisely what the local media strategy intends to address.
I have been relying on the BBC to deliver news since the days when Jack de Manio was presenting the “Today” programme and John Snagge was reading the news, and I still rely on the BBC to a considerable extend, but it does annoy me intensely at times, particularly recently, when cuts were announced. The programmes that it seems to be cutting are public service programmes, not ones delivered by the commercial sector. On top of that, we see the demise of news coverage on local radio. Will the Secretary of State assure me that she will convey those views to the BBC? Hopefully, it will have a rethink.
I am very happy to do so, and the hon. Gentleman is right to mention the importance of local radio.
I thank the Secretary of State for her informed answers. The new media Green Paper highlights the importance of continued universal access to good quality, trusted television. Part of maintaining that access is making the content in the first place. With the news that the BBC Cymru Wales will face £9 million in spending cuts by the end of 2027-28, it is inevitable that Welsh commissions, already on the decrease, will decline even further. How will the Secretary of State protect Welsh language content from such sweeping cuts, especially considering that access is already limited for us?
I was recently at the BBC in Cardiff. The importance of Welsh language content is not lost on this Government, and I have discussed the matter with both the interim director general and the new director general. We have been very keen to impress on the BBC the importance of protecting a regional footprint across all our nations and regions—something pioneered by former director general Tim Davie. Through the charter review process, we are ambitious for more power and funding to be dispersed out of London, so that the BBC becomes the engine of the nations and regions, producing content that reflects all our nations and regions, not just some parts of the country.
I add my voice to those concerned about the transfer to TV over IP. Technology moves very fast, and I accept at face value the Secretary of State’s commitment that no one will be left behind. However, we have had 20 years of change, from fibre to cabinet and now fibre to premises, yet some of my constituents are still on copper to premises, surviving on download speeds of 2 or 3 megabits per second, which is not capable of getting television into their homes, whether the switchover is in 2034 or later.
Can I urge the Secretary of State, before any decision is made, to work very closely with DSIT? No matter what the core statistics say about how many homes have fibre to premises, people will still be left behind, particularly in rural communities. Added to that, in many villages where there is only one fibre provider and no competition, there is fibre and there is fibre, and not all of it is as reliable as it looks.
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and I am happy to give him that assurance. He will know that the Minister for Media is also a Minister in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and I am sure he will be working closely with his colleagues to make sure that we address those concerns.
Over recent weeks, one of the most frequent adverts served to me and many others on X is an AI generated fake image of a Member of this House fighting with the Governor of the Bank of England. When half of adults cite social media as one of the sources from which they get their news, can the Secretary of State confirm what conversations she has had with colleagues in DSIT to make sure that these fake news social media adverts do not become our news?
The hon. Gentleman is right to raise that issue, which I have discussed with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. She and I are determined to make sure that we properly regulate the online space so that we protect people from those sorts of fake, generated images.
Many of my constituents in Epping Forest are very worried about proposals to stop terrestrial TV broadcasts from 2034. Like local radio, for many people in both urban and rural areas, and for older and more vulnerable people, terrestrial TV is a lifeline in their daily lives. Will the Government have a strong rethink about this?
As I said in previous answers, we have to manage this transition. We cannot just drift into an unmanaged transition, which is precisely why we have brought these proposals forward early, with genuinely open questions about the date of the transition. I reiterate what I have said to many hon. Members: we are absolutely determined to get on the front foot and make sure that nobody is left behind.
I am confident that everybody in this House wants freedom of speech and freedom of expression. However, we are all against freely available misinformation and disinformation, whether it is about the lack of integration in certain neighbourhoods or international affairs. There is clearly distrust, so something needs to be done. I welcome the Secretary of State bringing forward a Green Paper, but how will the Government ensure that those with the deepest pockets do not get prevalence when we look at mainstream media?
One of the things we are trying to do is protect the plurality and diversity of our media, and also make sure that people have better access to high quality sources not just of news but of content as well. That includes things such as children’s programming, which are really important. However, the hon. Gentleman is right to recognise that we have lived through a revolution in media and media consumption, and we just have not been quick enough to respond. That is partly what this TV Green Paper is designed to address.
I welcome the Green Paper. Many of my constituents in Stockland Bristol and Fiddington continue to endure very poor or non existent broadband coverage and mobile signals, so they are concerned about the Secretary of State’s proposal to stop terrestrial broadcasts by 2034. Will she ensure that the proposal does not cut off my constituents in rural areas?
I also represent a largely rural constituency, and I absolutely recognise the challenges that the hon. Gentleman talks about in relation not just to broadband but mobile signals. I cannot get reception in my own house, to be honest. There is a real challenge, which is precisely why we have brought forward these proposals now, with a genuinely open question about 2034 or 2044, so that we can work with industry to ensure that his constituents are not left behind.
I thank the Secretary of State very much for her answers and her positivity in responding to all the questions that have been asked. Mine is a very specific question relating to Northern Ireland, and I think she will be quite perturbed when I give her some figures. With the new media Green Paper pushing for a total IPTV transition by 2034, what specific guarantees can she give to nearly half of all households in Northern Ireland—some 370,000 people—that still rely entirely on digital terrestrial TV via an aerial, so that our rural and vulnerable communities are not left in a digital blackout as a result of the Green Paper’s proposals?
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that there are particular challenges in certain parts of the country, and Northern Ireland is very firmly at the forefront of not just my mind but the mind of the Minister for Media as well. I would be more than happy to discuss it further with him, but we will work together to make sure that nobody is left behind.
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on the independent review of maternity services at Nottingham University hospitals NHS trust.
Donna Ockenden’s review is the largest into a maternity service in the history of the NHS. The nature and sheer scale of the failings it exposes are horrific. It uncovers dangerously and tragically deficient care at almost every turn. Its findings and conclusions are chilling.
The report covers 13 years, including accounts from 838 members of staff and, crucially, the experiences of 2,536 affected families. I met a small number of those affected families last week, and I felt numb after hearing the depth of their pain. I felt even more numb when I considered how many families not in the room went through such trauma too, and the forgotten children who survived but live every day with the consequences of maternity care failings.
I felt devastated that so many women and babies, as well as their fathers and other family members, had suffered injury, death and lasting trauma while under the care of the NHS. Now having met the families, and having seen the report, I feel appalled by the neglect, incompetence, racism, discrimination, contempt and harassment that so many suffered. I feel heartbroken to know that, so many times, when they tried to raise the alarm about their care, they were ignored, sneered at, disbelieved, blamed and lied to. How on earth could this have happened? There is no single answer, but Donna Ockenden shines a light on what was going on.
First and foremost, women were not listened to. Donna Ockenden says that the staff shortages and lack of training in Nottingham were among the worst she has ever come across. Bullying by doctors and senior midwives was rife, which meant that staff who tried to speak up were intimidated and ridiculed. There was a culture of cover up at the highest levels of the trust, and there were ineffective and inadequate responses from regulators.
Perhaps most damning of all, for years the trust ignored evidence of clinical and cultural flaws in both internal and external reviews that it had itself ordered. When I met Donna Ockenden last week, she told me that those inquiries were “diligent” and of “good quality” but that they were effectively swept under the carpet by the board. That refusal to act is unforgivable.
Donna Ockenden and her team deserve huge credit for their forensic and compassionate approach, as does my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh), herself a harmed mother, as well as Members for neighbouring constituencies who have walked side by side with their constituents through years of anguish and struggle.
However, the driving force behind the review has been the affected families themselves. They have demonstrated more patience, more courage and more tenacity than one might imagine is possible from those dealing with broken hearts that will never mend. Though each of their experiences is unique, one feature is common: at the very moment when they were at their most vulnerable, they placed themselves and the lives of their unborn babies in the hands of the NHS—and the NHS failed them catastrophically.
To all those who have suffered so appallingly, I say today, on behalf of the NHS: I am sorry. I am sorry not just for the failures, or the heartless and undignified treatment, but because your cries of concern went unheard for too long—and so the Government will act. We will act by taking immediate steps, including to expand Martha’s rule to all maternity and neonatal settings so that parents can demand a second opinion if they feel their concerns are being ignored.
I know that some people may want me to accept all the review’s recommendations today, but in the past too many recommendations have been accepted and then have sat on a shelf gathering dust, and we have seen more deaths and more suffering. I do not want to let down the families I met in Nottingham, or bereaved parents anywhere else in the country. I want to use the national maternity and neonatal taskforce, which I chair, to create a comprehensive action plan to be published by the end of this year that will address all the national level recommendations from this review and others. I am confident that work will be welcomed by all those midwives, obstetricians, paediatricians and other healthcare workers who strive every day to make sure that babies are born safely and that women receive outstanding levels of care.
It is clear that, in case after case, families felt that regulators, including the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Care Quality Commission, were more concerned with protecting clinicians than with providing accountability. That is damning and that is wrong. As one grieving mother told me: “They put the fox in charge of the hen house.”
Clinicians and trust leaders must know that their behaviour will be properly scrutinised and that their actions will have consequences. We must meet the test of the Nottingham victim who told me last week that “accountability drives action”.
We are making changes to the CQC, one of which is to extend the cut off period to initiate proceedings from three to five years so there is more time for families to bring cases. I will also call in the chair and chief executive of the GMC to hear directly their account of the failures at NUH. Let me be clear: if their response falls short, things will change at the GMC.
From speaking to families in Nottingham, I know that there is real and understandable anger that some leaders and clinicians at the centre of this review were able to avoid giving evidence. Today, I make a commitment that, when passed, we will use the Hillsborough law’s duty of candour to ensure that witnesses in upcoming reviews of maternity service failures, including those in Leeds and Sussex, can be forced to provide evidence. That change will make sure no one is able to refuse to co operate in the search for accountability and justice ever again.
There is so much in the stories of the families in Nottingham that is shocking and heartbreaking, but the way the bodies of their loved ones were handled by hospital mortuary services revealed a level of disrespect and a lack of humanity that—I will be honest—left me utterly aghast. The details are disturbing, but they need to be heard to understand the gravity of what families were confronted with: deceased babies referred to as a “specimen” or “sample”; a baby placed into a mortuary space already occupied by an unknown and unrelated adult; a baby disposed of as clinical waste against the express wishes of their parents; and a baby kept in a domestic fridge in a bereavement room. The emotional and psychological effect of those dehumanising failures was to layer the most profound disrespect on the most unbearable distress. There is also evidence that the trust actively decided not to report failings in mortuary care to families.
As hon. Members will know, there is an active police investigation and arrests have been made, which limits what I can say. As a start, however, I have asked NHS England to write to trusts to make sure these appalling experiences are not happening elsewhere in the NHS. I confirm today that the Human Tissue Authority will require all mortuaries to review internal records going back 10 years to ensure all incidents have been logged and reported. I have instructed them to report the findings directly to me by 16 October.
When I met the Nottingham families last week, they also raised with me the issue around what are known as secondary victims. In maternity settings, fathers, partners and others are actively encouraged to be present to support mothers through labour and delivery. However, the law does not allow them to bring their own claims for the psychiatric illness suffered as a direct result of witnessing their partner or baby suffer injury or die. I have therefore asked David Lock KC to work with my officials to consider that important issue as part of his wider work on clinical negligence.
Donna Ockenden acknowledges that NUH has not waited for her findings to be published to start making improvements. I will speak to the chief executive next week to interrogate the trust’s response and make sure there is a proper plan in place for implementing the recommendations speedily and effectively. But there is a long road ahead before NUH fully addresses all the issues and before it can possibly regain the full trust and confidence of the communities it serves.
I close where I began: with the families. Nothing can make up for what they have gone through, but this report is a tribute to their resilience and tenacity. I say to them directly: you had to drive this for so long, but you are no longer driving this alone. We are with you and we will not stop until you have the accountability and the justice you deserve. I commend this statement to the House.
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement and Donna Ockenden and her team for the care and compassion with which they conducted the review. We had a meeting with her yesterday, and I have to say that it was probably one of the most difficult meetings that I have ever had. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh). I can see how deeply personal and painful this is, and I admire her and all her colleagues from the region at what must be a very difficult moment.
Let me say from the outset that I want to be constructive in opposition when it comes to this issue. We need to work together; we have to see improvements. I begin with the women, babies, fathers, partners and families whose lives sit behind the review’s findings. To them, we owe a profound apology for failing them when a family should feel safest, most supported and most able to trust the care around them. For too many, that trust was broken; women were not listened to, families were not believed and warning signs were missed. Some suffered the deepest lost, others were left physically unsafe and others psychologically scarred. No statement can repair that pain, but it can mark the point at which testimony becomes responsibility, and responsibility becomes action.
The painful truth is not only that the failings occurred but that the themes are familiar: women not heard, families dismissed, poor communication, missed deterioration, weak governance and people unable to speak up. Maternity and neonatal safety has challenged Governments of both parties, but it would be wrong to let that history soften the urgency. Women and families are tired of telling their story, hearing promises and seeing the same themes return. The question is whether the system will move because of this review, and so I put three tests to the Secretary of State.
The first is the listening test. Women and families were not consistently listened to. Their concerns were too often dismissed or not acted upon. That is not a soft issue; it is a safety issue. How will the Government embed listening as a clinical discipline? How will trusts measure whether women feel heard? Will complaints and near misses be treated as information for improvement?
The second is the culture test. The review describes bullying, hierarchy and poor psychological safety affecting staff’s decisions and willingness to escalate. I pay tribute to those who were brave enough to do so. In maternity and neonatal care, minutes matter. If staff cannot challenge, safety is weakened. Staff cannot provide the care they want to if they are exhausted or unsupported, or if hierarchy matters more than candour. So I ask: how will boards be held accountable for that ward culture?
The third test is the delivery test. Harm rarely followed one error; it usually followed a chain of poor communication, weak risk assessment, delayed escalation, staff pressure, inadequate governance and missed learning. The response cannot be a single announcement. It must be accompanied by a delivery plan, so will the Secretary of State publish a national implementation plan with named accountability, delivery dates and regular updates to this House? That plan must address the workforce so that staff have the support and information they need to fulfil their roles to the ability they wish.
That plan must design services for today and the future, not rely on assumptions from the past. Women are having children older, pregnancies are more complex and more women are entering pregnancy with pre existing conditions, previous loss, fertility treatment, mental health needs or circumstances shaping care. That means a need for practical, personalised care, informed choice and each woman being treated as a whole. The review also requires us to confront inequalities. The safety of a patient must not depend on confidence, class, ethnicity, language or an ability to fight through the system. The issue with our mortuaries is also really shocking. The horror stories that we have heard must never happen again. Is the Secretary of State working with colleagues in the Department of Justice to see what more needs to be done to overhaul this area?
Finally, we must recognise the psychological harm caused through silence, poor communication, lack of bereavement support and the battle for honesty. We know that our mortuaries need to have the highest standards. Compassion after harm is not a courtesy; it is a duty. Trust is rebuilt when women feel the difference in the room, when words change decisions, when staff speak without fear, when risk is escalated in time and when boards are judged by results. Where the Government act to improve safety, accountability, staffing and family voice, they will have our support so that we can see this through together. Where they do not, they will face our scrutiny. This review began with families who had to fight to be heard. The task now is to ensure that no family has to fight so hard again.
I thank the shadow Secretary of State for not only the content but the tone of his response, and for the approach that he has taken. I firmly welcome this collaborative approach, because he rightly points out that this is an area that we should work across parties and across this whole House to address. His summary of the key issues that we must address through the work that we are doing—first and foremost, ensuring that women are listened to; the cultural changes we need to see; and the delivery test, recognising that this is a chain of failure—was very well made and in line with where I and the Department are coming at this issue from.
As I mentioned earlier, all the recommendations from today’s report, as well as the recommendations from the national report that Baroness Amos has been working on and from other inquiries and reviews of maternity service failures, will come to the national taskforce that I chair, precisely to deliver that delivery plan—that comprehensive plan of action. We will ensure that it is published by the end of this year, and the Government, working with the Opposition, will ensure that it is delivered across this country.
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. For openness and transparency, I note that I have been campaigning on this for six years and I am a harmed mother at Nottingham University hospitals NHS trust. I start by thanking the brave families—my friends—and Donna Ockenden and her team. What has happened is horrific: bullying, cover ups, racism, discrimination and appalling practice. The way babies have been treated at birth and then at the end of their life is a national disgrace.
One of the most uncomfortable truths in this report is that it was not a regulator, a policy, a protocol, a law or a Government Department that brought us this inquiry; it was families—bereaved families, harmed families—having to speak again and again about their most horrendous and traumatic experience for more than a decade. That does not signify a system that is working. The report identified avoidable deaths, harm and profound failings. The publication of this report is simply not enough. What is required now is action, accountability and change. Can the Secretary of State therefore assure the House that there will be a plan with robust oversight and questioning of regulators and senior staff? Will he work with Nottinghamshire families and Nottinghamshire MPs to ensure that justice is truly and fully delivered?
I thank my hon. Friend for her questions. Let me put on record again how much I have appreciated her advocacy, her support, her sharing of her own experience and her standing up for the many hundreds of families in the area she represents. Her contribution is invaluable to this most important work that we are doing as a Government. She talked about families driving this report and making sure that it happened, and she is absolutely right. I met some of those families last week in Nottingham, and as well as feeling numb at the depth and breadth of their pain, the feeling I left with was a sense of their exhaustion at having fought for so long to be listened to and to get this into the open. Our responsibility as a Government and as MPs is to say that, now it is out in the open for us all to see, we all bear a responsibility to help them carry this forward. I take that responsibility with the utmost seriousness.
My hon. Friend asked about a plan to change maternity services in Nottingham and across the country. There will be specific local recommendations in Nottingham, and I am meeting the chief executive of the trust next week to pick that up directly with him, but there are more recommendations in the report that will have national implications, along with the recommendations from the national review that is under way. It is crucial that all those recommendations are formed into a plan of action, and the taskforce that I chair will be crucial in making sure that these recommendations do not just get accepted and then sit on a shelf gathering dust, but form a plan of action that we can stand behind as a Government.
Finally, my hon. Friend mentioned the importance of action, accountability and change. I repeat what I said in my statement: one of the phrases that stuck with me powerfully from my meeting with Nottingham families last week was from the person who said that “accountability drives action”. Without that accountability, we cannot have a guarantee of action. That is why the accountability that the families seek is the change that we as a Government must seek to deliver.
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
May I start by acknowledging the hon. Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh), Donna Ockenden and the Secretary of State for the statement and for their hard work? I thank the Secretary of State for the actions that he has proposed so far, which I think are the first tangible actions we have heard in this place. I must also acknowledge the incredible courage and resilience of the Nottingham families who have been instrumental in bringing about this review. No one can imagine the pain that they have gone through.
I am distressed and angry to be stood here once again speaking about babies who should not have lost their lives, mothers who should not have lost their lives and trauma that families should not have experienced. Review after review has led to 748 recommendations since 2015, but birth injury and mortality rates have continued to rise. These reviews all reveal similar issues: unsafe staffing levels, lessons not learned, issues not escalated, insufficient training, and women’s concerns ignored.
Four years ago, after the Shrewsbury review, we found that over 200 babies had died unnecessarily in Shropshire, yet things have got worse. Donna Ockenden’s Nottingham report reveals new and extremely distressing revelations about serious failures to protect the dignity of the deceased in after death care, something that must be addressed through proper regulation.
Liberal Democrats have put forward a maternity rescue package that would guarantee one to one midwifery care and introduce a national maternity commissioner to oversee vital improvements. It would be nonsensical for the Government not to take a strategy forward. Will the Secretary of State pledge to implement every single one of the Nottingham report’s essential actions, and to work with us to deliver the essential investment we need to make Britain a safe place to have a baby, and end this shocking cycle of failure? Anger is not enough. Mothers, doctors and midwives are sick of seeing review after review and being met with stasis, with the same failures repeated over and over again. This must be the moment we say, “Enough.”
I thank the hon. Lady for her words. When she spoke about ending this cycle, she sums up a feeling that I think many of us have: the cycle of inquiries and investigations revealing what has been happening in maternity services and leading to recommendations, which are accepted, but then things do not change enough, and action is not taken to address all the issues raised. That is the cycle we need to break. The national taskforce, which is established and which I chair, will take all the recommendations from Donna Ockenden’s report, as well as those from Baroness Amos’s national review, which will be published shortly, as well as some of the other hundreds of recommendations that the hon. Lady mentioned, and ensure that it produces a comprehensive action plan by the end of the year. The challenge for us is not simply to accept recommendations, but to produce and deliver that action plan.
Today’s publication of Donna Ockenden’s report into maternity services in Nottinghamshire is a difficult and deeply emotional moment for families across our county and city. I want to place on the record my thanks to Donna Ockenden and her outstanding team for the care, compassion and thoroughness with which they have exposed the devastating cases of these families. Let me also place on the record my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh). She is a fearless and formidable campaigner for justice and has walked this journey with the families every step of the way, and I know just how proud her son Billy will be watching her from home today.
My thoughts are first and foremost with the families whose lives have been changed forever by the loss of their babies, and the mothers who should have received safe care but were harmed. Behind every page of this report are families who have endured unimaginable grief and who have spent years fighting simply to have their voices heard. I pay tribute to their courage, dignity and determination. In the face of heartbreak, they refused to be silenced. They fought not only for answers about their loved ones, but to ensure that other families would not suffer the same pain.
Can my right hon. Friend confirm that he will consider all options available to deliver justice and accountability for those families who have waited far too long for answers? Will he assure me and the whole House that the lessons identified in the report will be fully implemented and embedded throughout maternity services in Nottinghamshire and around the United Kingdom, so that no family has to endure what far too many families have already endured?
I thank my hon. Friend for his comments and questions, and I echo his words about paying tribute to the courage, dignity and determination of the families who have driven the report and driven these shocking failures out into the open, so that we can all see the scale and depth of what has happened. He asks me about embedding the lessons from the review. I assure him that my priority is to ensure that the local lessons around the situation in Nottingham are embedded, and I will meet the chief executive of the trust next week, but also that those recommendations that have implications about national maternity services are taken directly into the taskforce that I chair, along with recommendations from other reports, and that we produce that plan of action by the end of the year. Let me also reassure him that, in that search for change, justice and accountability, I will take nothing off the table.
I call the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee.
I, too, pay tribute to those families who came forward with their stories, but also to the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of families across the country who are hearing these stories today and are triggered because it reminds them of their own, including in my area in Oxfordshire.
What struck me most about the report was the section on leadership and culture, and how when midwives and members of staff raised the alarm, they did not have access to the board, and board members were not curious enough to ask the right questions. I am also struck that in the Secretary of State’s answers—he is right to point to the national recommendations that are yet to come; our understanding is they are coming next week—he failed to mention whether there will be any pot of money to ensure that any recommendations that need double running in order to happen quickly will have the necessary resources. Can he assure the House not only that will his taskforce seek to implement these recommendations, but that he will ensure that the money exists for staffing, training and buildings so that they are implemented as quickly as possible, so that we do not have to sit here crying on these Benches on behalf of our constituents any more?
I thank the hon. Lady for her comments. She speaks about funding, which is of course a very important part of the response that we need to have to the failings in maternity care. We are investing £25 million, as I am sure she is aware, in tackling the causes of maternal death, to enhance bereavement facilities and to improve triage facilities, as well as £145 million through the estates safety fund to address safety risks in the maternity and neonatal estate. For me, this is not just about funding; this is also about culture, exactly as she says. When there is a culture of mothers and midwives not being listened to, and of the board, in this case, commissioning reviews and then ignoring them, that is where the problem lies. That is what we need to change. There is no single lever we can pull, no single change we need to make; we need to ensure that, from top to bottom, maternity services are overhauled in order to be fit for the future.
First, I want to thank the families who were bereaved and harmed by Nottingham University hospitals NHS trust—some of the most courageous and selfless people I have had the privilege of knowing, including my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh). They have for years relentlessly pursued the truth, justice, accountability and real change, often at great personal cost, and not only for their own families but to prevent future families having to endure similar trauma and cruelty. I also want to express my sincere gratitude to Donna Ockenden for her service to Nottinghamshire. I am so thankful that it was her who led this review.
The scale and magnitude of the systemic failures uncovered by the review are truly harrowing. Mothers and babies were harmed and even died through the most shocking negligence and indifference. Families were lied to, disbelieved, blamed and gaslit. Mistakes were covered up and regulators failed to do their jobs. One of my constituents included in the review summed up well where we go from here when she told the Secretary of State that “we need immediate action and we need long term accountability”.
On immediate actions, will the Secretary of State set out a timeline of when he expects to be able to implement the recommendations in full? On accountability, is he open to a statutory inquiry, provided that it does not delay criminal proceedings?
I thank my hon. Friend for her comments and questions. As well as thanking the families for what they have done to drive the report forward, she also thanked Donna Ockenden for her critical work in producing this report, and to those thanks I add my own. My hon. Friend asks about the timetable for action. The national taskforce, which I chair, will draw together all the national recommendations, all the recommendations from Donna Ockenden’s report, the recommendations from Baroness Amos’s report, and any other report on failures in maternity services, and the taskforce will report by the end of the year. That will be the timetable for us ensuring that there is a comprehensive plan of action. I know from my conversations with families that some have wanted a public inquiry and others have had different views. Let me be clear that, for me, no options are off the table.
It is a matter of profound shame for all of us in the House that in a society that we call compassionate, a baby’s body could be disposed of as clinical waste. I add my thanks to the families and salute their courage, including the hon. Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh), and particularly Jack and Sarah Hawkins, and all those families who have shown such courage in coming forward with these utterly appalling stories.
I commissioned a number of maternity reviews, and I am afraid that today I feel a terrible sense of déjà-vu. I worry that a lot of the recommendations, and the things that I suspect the Government will end up doing, amount to central direction and central control, which we know usually does not work in the NHS. I was encouraged that the Secretary of State, in his thoughtful comments, used the word “accountability”, because the core problem is a lack of clinical accountability. For his solutions, will he consider a complete overhaul, so that every mother, the moment she knows she is pregnant, is given a small team, including a doctor and midwives, and is told, “This is the team, this is the person who is responsible for the safe birth of your child”, so that she always knows who to go to? That is where things are currently falling between the seams. Ensuring that people always know who is responsible and who to go to is the only way that we will stop these things happening time after time.
I sincerely thank the right hon. Gentleman for his comments. I have a great deal of respect for him, as he knows, so I very much appreciate him making his suggestions in that manner. Let me add to what he said about Jack and Sarah Hawkins, who I met last week in Nottingham. Their sheer determination to push for accountability and justice is incredibly humbling. The right hon. Gentleman mentions the importance of clinical accountability, which gets to the core of how to drive change in the NHS—as he knows, and as I now know, that is not always possible through central control, or by instructions being sent out from the Department of Health and Social Care or NHS England. We must ensure that the entire system is structured in the right way to provide that accountability and to drive change and action, and I will put under careful consideration his suggestion about how that might be achieved.
Today’s publication of Donna Ockenden’s report has laid bare absolutely appalling and systemic failures in maternity services in Nottinghamshire, with thousands of families suffering avoidable harm, and in many cases feeling ignored, dismissed or let down by the very institutions that were put in place to protect them. The report identifies profound failures of leadership, governance and accountability, and an inability to learn from mistakes. Given the scale of the failings and the repeated concerns raised in previous maternity reviews, is it now time for the Government to establish a full, judge led, statutory public inquiry, with the power to compel witnesses, and examine whether wider NHS and regulatory failures have allowed these tragedies to occur over such a prolonged period?
My hon. Friend raises the important issue of compelling witnesses to give evidence. Although many members of staff contributed towards Donna Ockenden’s review, I found the fact that so many senior leaders did not shocking, and I think it is unacceptable. We will change that by ensuring that the duty of candour, which is due to come in under the Hillsborough law once that is in place, will apply to future maternity reviews, including those taking place in Leeds and Sussex. As I said a few moments ago, there are different views among different families about whether they do or do not want a public inquiry, but I am not taking any options off the table.
May I put on record my admiration for the 2,500 families across our county of Nottinghamshire who gave evidence to Donna Ockenden and shared what were undoubtedly the most personal stories that one could ever imagine sharing as a parent? I will never forget a family coming to see me at my surgery, who said they had been told that their time was up when they were sitting together with their baby, and they were asked to leave. They went to the café, and then they sat on the floor, on the kerb in the car park, and cried together. They said that it was like being shooed out of a restaurant by a rude waiter, not literally the most heartbreaking moment in someone’s life. I was very disturbed to read for the first time revelations about the mortuary service at Nottingham, which is frankly astonishing. It seems as if the right steps are being taken, but we all hope that those responsible for that feel the full force of the law.
Nationally, I hope that every hospital trust reading the report now treats the situation as the emergency it truly is. It is astonishing that the NHS is spending almost as much on negligence claims as on maternity services themselves, although of course the money is nothing compared with the misery and pain that has been inflicted on families. For our hospitals in Nottingham, improvements seem to have been driven by ensuring that there is now regular and high quality training, which was sadly very absent for a long time. Can the Secretary of State assure me that mandatory and regular training is now ensured in all maternity hospitals across the country?
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his remarks. The story he told was of yet another horrific and harrowing experience that a family has gone through in this scandal. He asked whether we want to prioritise a focus on regular and high quality training across the country, and I think it is essential to ensure that such training is in place. Although I do not want to prejudge the action plan that the taskforce I am chairing will produce, I cannot imagine a world where training is not a key part of that. Having seen the report, and spoken to families and to Donna Ockenden, my strong feeling is that no single action will transform the system on its own, and that we need a comprehensive plan from every angle to truly transform maternity services across the country.
My mum was a midwife, and as a child I lived vicariously the life on a maternity ward. She worked to the very highest standards possible, and used to come home and talk to me about sloppy standards, falling standards and insensitivity. What happened at NUH is the lowest of the low, and I send my thoughts and condolences, and pay tribute to the families, and to the staff who tried to whistleblow. The memories of the babies must never be forgotten; it is our responsibility to ensure that those memories live forever.
I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh). She came here with the dedication, commitment and desire to ensure that this report was done. So often she spoke to me about it, and so often she has had conversations with her Nottinghamshire colleagues about what she is doing. We have tried to support her all the way through, and I am so proud to be with her today. I believe this House should congratulate her on her commitment and dedication, to what happened to her child, and to the lost babies and the support she has given to those families. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]
My ask of the Secretary of State is to follow this through, so that the recommendations are implemented, reported on and monitored. I welcome his announcement that he will use the Hillsborough law to ensure that those who have failed to give evidence or to come forward are forced to do so.
I thank my hon. Friend for her comments and I welcome her support for our decision to ensure the duty of candour introduced by the Hillsborough law will apply to future maternity reviews, such as those due to happen in relation to Leeds and Sussex. In terms of the process of what happens next and the implementation of the changes that we know need to happen, I reassure her that the national taskforce that I chair will produce, by the end of this year, a comprehensive plan of action that will be based on a consideration of all the recommendations that apply nationally in Donna Ockenden’s review, as well as the recommendations from Baroness Amos’s review and any other reviews that have issued recommendations on the subject too.
I was not that familiar with the issue of neonatal and maternity services until my constituent, Mr Thomas Hender, contacted me about the tragic loss of his son, Aubrey. He highlighted the battle that he and his family had gone through, and that so many others had been going through. Sadly, these issues have happened not just at the NHS trust in Nottingham, but at those in Morecambe Bay, East Kent, Shrewsbury and Telford, Leeds and Sussex. Some six further reviews and investigations have been carried out. I value the fact that the Secretary of State said that he had an open mind about a public inquiry; I think we need to move in that direction. It was not until the review of care at the Mid Staffordshire NHS trust became a public inquiry that we were able to address some of the issues. The issues facing neonatal and maternity services are present not only in the areas that I mentioned, but they touch on many other corners of the country, and only a public inquiry can address that.
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his comments and for telling us some of the story of Thomas and his son, Aubrey. On the need for action, I intend the taskforce that I chair, which will consider all the recommendations from Donna Ockenden’s report and other investigations into failures in maternity services, to produce a comprehensive action plan by the end of this year. That will ensure, as I said earlier, that these recommendations do not sit on shelves gathering dust and that they are put into action. I take on board his points about a public inquiry. I know that his views are shared by some of the families, but I am conscious that other families have different views on this matter. What unites them all is a desire for action, accountability and justice. We need to find the best route to deliver that for them, because that is, above all, the most important thing. However, I reassure him, as I have reassured other hon. Members, that for me no options should be off the table.
I pay tribute and give my admiration to the families who have fought so hard and who have been so strong at this time in their lives, when they have had to repeat what they have been through over and over again. Their fight for justice and accountability is truly fought. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh), who has not stopped this fight and has continued the story, and I commend her for everything that she has done.
The findings of the Donna Ockenden review are harrowing. It is indefensible that babies, mothers, fathers and families in my constituency have suffered injury, death and lasting trauma under the care of the NHS. The Ockenden review has made it clear that mothers’ voices were not listened to and that families were not treated with the dignity, respect and compassion that they not only deserve but is expected from our NHS. The indifference that people have shown to families is indefensible. The public listening to the debate at home will understandably be wondering how we are here again and asking when things will change. I say to the Secretary of State: let us not treat these recommendations as just another set of recommendations to put on the shelf, but let us look at them as a catalyst for change and improvement, making sure that inequalities are addressed. Will the Secretary of State outline what immediate steps the Government will be taking on the most urgent recommendations in the review, and set out how they will be monitored and reviewed?
I thank my hon. Friend for her comments about the role of the families in fighting for justice. She is absolutely right that the recommendations of the Ockenden report, Baroness Amos’s report, which is due shortly, and other reviews and inquiries into maternity services must not simply end up on the shelf gathering dust. That is why the process that I have spoken about today, whereby the national taskforce that I chair will produce a comprehensive action plan by the end of the year, is so important. That will give us the right forum to develop a plan across all aspects and from all angles on this horrific scandal, including the inequalities faced by different families from different backgrounds that my hon. Friend alluded to. I agree with her wholeheartedly that this moment and this process that we are now going into must be a catalyst for change.
I thank the Secretary of State for the way in which he delivered the statement and the apology that he issued, which I think will be received as sincere and heartfelt. Hearing the details in the report, I am not angry but ashamed—ashamed that women and babies have suffered so grievously in this country at their most vulnerable moment. It is a moment of shame for all of us. The report and the Secretary of State speak of failed regulation. I was shocked to learn that a “good” rating can be issued by the Care Quality Commission even when there are still ongoing safety failures at a trust. Does he agree with me that no trust should be labelled “good” if it still has the “requires improvement” rating for safety?
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about regulators and our regulatory system. The report exposes how completely unacceptable it is that regulators have protected their own and what a serious matter that is. We need to ensure that the regulators are doing their job properly, that they have the right mandate to do so and that they have the right instructions about driving up performance in trusts across the country, because otherwise we run the risk of being in a situation in the future where we are again confronted with what he accurately described as shame.
I put on record my thanks and respect for the resolute campaigning of the Nottingham survivors, especially my constituents, Jack and Sarah Hawkins, who have worked so hard to bring these issues to regional and then national attention. They have made sure that baby Harriet’s death was not in vain. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood) who was their MP for many years. As she is a Minister, she will not be speaking in this statement, but she deserves recognition for the steadfast support she gave to them as a family, as well as other families from Nottingham South.
I thank Donna Ockenden who, in addition to supporting thousands of families, invested so much time in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire MPs to ensure that we understood the systemic failings that she was working so hard to identify. This is undoubtedly a shameful day for the NHS.
Another fearless campaigner from Rushcliffe is Ashley Harper, who has been in touch with me about the maternity and neonatal taskforce and its perceived failure to recognise and support families who have been harmed. She would like to see a family expert for harmed children and a family expert for harmed mothers on the taskforce. I know that these asks have been raised by my brave and hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh), who has done so much for the Nottingham families, but will the Secretary of State say whether that is something he is actively considering?
Let me repeat what I said earlier about my humble admiration for Jack and Sarah Hawkins and their campaign for justice over baby Harriet. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to refer to the failings as systemic. This is not a handful of cases or problems; this truly is a problem that affects the entire system. The culture and the systems that are in place have let people down, and that is why our response must be so comprehensive.
My hon. Friend mentions the input of families into the taskforce and his constituent Ashley Harper, who raised that matter. I am very happy to discuss with him after this statement how we can ensure that the taskforce represents the views of all families.
When whistleblowers tried to alert society to what was happening, was any action taken against them, and if it was, does that indicate that there needs to be strengthened protection for whistleblowers? At the other end of the spectrum, are those clinicians who refused point blank to take part in the review process going to be named?
The right hon. Gentleman raises an important part of the dynamic that has been exposed through Donna Ockenden’s review: people not feeling able to challenge what is happening—feeling that they are being intimidated or forced to stay silent—even when they want to raise issues of great importance. We must ensure that the right structures and culture are in place not only so that women and their families can raise their concerns, but so that staff, midwives and others working in maternity and neonatal services have the confidence to raise their concerns through whatever mechanism is most appropriate in the circumstances. They must have confidence in the mechanism to raise their concerns.
The right hon. Gentleman spoke about clinicians who refused to take part in Donna Ockenden’s review in Nottingham. As I said earlier, although more than 800 members of staff contributed towards the review, I was appalled at the number of senior clinicians who did not agree to take part. That is why it is so important that we change the law—applying the duty of candour through the Hillsborough law to ensure that this can never happen again.
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and the confirmation that he will expand the Hillsborough law to apply to those clinicians who did not speak but should have spoken. I also want to put on record my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) for her leadership and courage, as well as my heartfelt sadness that so many families endured so much harm.
This report has been so thoroughly and expertly delivered by Donna Ockenden, and it has to be the watershed moment. A key feature of this report and every meeting with Donna and the families has been an overwhelming sense of failure at every single level: failure to listen, failure to react and failure to prevent harm. The experiences of the harmed families will stay with me forever. Will the Secretary of State outline how the immediate and essential actions, including the first one—listening to women and families—will be the catalyst for the change that we need? What steps will he take in his first day of taking forward this report to ensure that we do not have Nottingham repeated elsewhere?
My hon. Friend asks about the immediate actions that the Government are taking in response to Donna Ockenden’s review. For me, above all else—above all the shocking, harrowing detail—the review highlights the fact that women simply were not listened to. That comes up time and again. I know that it comes up in other aspects of healthcare as well, but it came up so strongly in this report and underlined so many of the shocking failures that have occurred.
As a first step, extending Martha’s rule to all maternity services across the country means that when women or their family members are concerned that they are not getting the treatment or care they need, they can get a second opinion—an urgent, independent review. That is an important first step, but this must be a watershed moment that does not rely simply on one action or a small handful of actions. There must be a comprehensive plan to tackle this issue from every angle and to ensure that we have the systemic change that so many Members today have said is crucial.
In the 25 months since Theo Clarke and I produced the first ever parliamentary report on birth trauma, and nearly four years since we discussed the East Kent Kirkup report in this place, we have seen more and more reports, more and more scandals, more and more heartbreaking stories, and several Health Secretaries. Campaigners are grateful to the brilliant Donna Ockenden but, frankly, expectations are pretty low about ending this crisis in maternity care all these years later. Does the Secretary of State agree that as well as training, we have to end this patchwork postcode lottery of care, and introduce basic, nationwide standards and accountability across all NHS trusts?
The hon. Lady makes an important point about the fatigue, weariness and exhaustion of families at so many recommendations being made and accepted but not put into action. To pick up on the point made earlier by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan), we must now break that cycle to ensure that the recommendations do not simply get accepted and sit on a shelf gathering dust, but that they feed into the plan of action, which will then produce the change that we need to see.
As the hon. Member for Canterbury (Rosie Duffield) said, the change must be nationwide. Although we are today rightly talking about what happened in Nottingham, we know that it is far from the only place where such failures in maternity and neonatal services have been seen. We know this is a national problem that needs a national solution.
May I start by saying that my thoughts are with the families and with the babies who have died?
I would also like to say to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh): I am sorry you had to go through this. It should not have happened, and I am angry. I am a member of the Health and Social Care Committee, and the reason I am angry is that last year we did a follow up review on black maternal health, and the same things kept coming up over and over again: racism, equality issues, women being silenced, a lack of governance, women not being heard, unavoidable deaths, and a lack of accountability. Where does it stop? There is a lack of training, and the system is failing our women; we have had over 70 recommendations, but that is what we found last year. Every time we say, “Enough is enough”, what happens? We have yet another review.
My daughter had a baby a few years ago. If I had not been with her, she would have lost that baby, because it was as if she was invisible. It was not until somebody else went into the room with her and said, “Enough”, that the people there were really willing to listen. These failures are systemic.
What worries me is that funding is not ringfenced for maternity services—it can go anywhere in the system. Once this review—or whatever it might be—has been done, what will be done to ensure that the funding follows the recommendations? It is no good having the funding there if it is being run by local organisations that are using it to plug holes. That has got to stop.
I thank my hon. Friend for her comments, and for talking about the shocking situation with her daughter’s baby that she managed to avert. She spoke about the inequalities, the racism and the fact of women being silenced, all of which come through very strongly in Donna Ockenden’s report. As I have explained, the taskforce I chair will now consider the full set of recommendations from that report, as well as the recommendations from Baroness Amos’s national review and other reviews and inquiries into what has happened in maternity services. That taskforce will produce a comprehensive plan of action that will cover the whole range of actions that need to be taken, because we know it will take more than one action, or even a small handful of actions, to transform maternity services and make them as they should be. This is a problem that goes very deep; it is systemic, cultural and deeply embedded, and a comprehensive plan will be required to change that.
The Secretary of State and the shadow Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Stuart Andrew), are both to be congratulated on the tone and tenor with which they have approached this most sensitive of issues—it is in the very best tradition of this place. It also indicates, I hope, a preparedness to work across the two parties to bring forward speedy solutions to the horrors we are hearing about and have read about in the report.
May I ask the Secretary of State two direct questions? First, the management of bodies post mortem seems to fall between his Department and the Ministry of Justice. We have talked far too often about how to regulate that space.
indicated assent.
The hon. Member for Leeds South West and Morley (Mark Sewards) is in agreement. Can the Secretary of State’s Department now grip that issue and drive it forward in order to give certainty to all our people that there is dignity and decency for all in death?
Secondly, this issue clearly affects Nottinghamshire most acutely, but there are expectant parents across England today who will be worried about the level of service they can expect and about the outcomes for themselves and their child. What is the Secretary of State proposing to do to communicate with those people, to say that the Government are aware of this issue and are gripping it—that a shake up is taking place and better services will be provided—as well as to give them some indication of what they can expect, and to give them comfort and confidence in what should be the most exciting period of their lives?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his remarks, and for his tone and approach in encouraging cross party working—he is absolutely right that that will be essential for making progress on this most important issue. I will consider the important point he has made about the Ministry of Justice and its remit in relation to what we have seen in mortuary services. As I said earlier, in a report full of shocking revelations, that inhumanity and lack of dignity left me truly aghast; it is almost unbelievable that it could have happened.
The hon. Gentleman also raises an important point about women and their families across the country using maternity services. While the conversation we are having today is of course about the failures in Nottingham, we know that most women will receive high quality care, and the majority of the NHS workforce do an important job supporting them. We should make sure that is acknowledged in this difficult conversation. However, one of the changes we want to make immediately is extending Martha’s rule to maternity services right across the country, because we know it is something we can do now. Martha’s rule is a mechanism that has worked well in other parts of the NHS, and it will mean that when women and their families feel they are not being listened to, they will have a way to get an urgent, independent review of the care they are receiving.
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement, and extend my thoughts to everyone who has been a part of the Ockenden review. I also hugely thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) for her unending efforts in campaigning for the families we represent in our constituencies, who have been through so much. Of course, I also thank Donna Ockenden for her work, her amazing support, and her constant engagement with us as the local affected Members of Parliament and with our constituents.
In the past two years, I have met so many families who have been harmed in ways I cannot understand or comprehend, and have heard of and seen horrors that I can barely believe. In addition to those babies and mothers who lost their lives, it is important that we highlight children like our mate Ryan, who recently turned 18 but who will never be independent because of his acquired brain injury. Can the Secretary of State please reassure the House that he will do everything in his power to support children with acquired brain injuries, such as by recognising their conditions in education, health and care plans?
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I was personally inspired by meeting Ryan’s mum Sarah when I visited Nottingham last week—she told me about Ryan, and showed such incredible strength and courage in advocating for the forgotten children in Nottingham. I can reassure my hon. Friend and the whole House that I will do everything in my power to support children with acquired brain injuries. We are working on an acquired brain injury plan at the moment, and I am also working with the Department for Education and NHS England on ambitious reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities system, including on the future direction of EHCPs.
Could I draw the Secretary of State’s attention to the Sir Jonathan Michael inquiry and report, which followed on from the David Fuller case at Pembury hospital in my constituency? It dealt with sexual impropriety with cadavers, so there is crossover here. Phase 2 of that report came out in July 2025, and it spoke to the lack of regulation of after death care of bodies in mortuaries, hospitals that look after cadavers and other organisations. I do not know whether the Secretary of State is aware of that report, but are the Government planning on implementing its ready set of recommendations? Sir Jonathan Michael’s report seems to speak to a lot of the issues that happened in this case as well.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for drawing my attention to that report. We will certainly ensure that any reports containing relevant recommendations are considered as part of the taskforce’s work, because one of the changes that I want to make sure we achieve is to not have so many different reports with hundreds of recommendations that then do not become a plan of action. That is a cycle we are seeking to break through the taskforce’s work by producing a plan of action by the end of the year.
In her remarks this morning, Donna Ockenden noted that maternal deaths are at a 20-year high, and total clinical negligence costs are greater than the money spent on maternity services. That should give us pause for thought. It is a national emergency, one that is causing unimaginable pain. The failure of the regulation is stark, so will my right hon. Friend confirm that we will tackle the culture of defensiveness across medical regulators that has caused such harm?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point to regulatory failure, which has been drawn out very strongly by Donna Ockenden’s report. For me, what is completely unacceptable is that in their response to what has happened in Nottingham, they have sought to protect their own. That is something we must change, because it is only through effective regulation that we can have true accountability, and it is only through true accountability that we can get action and change.
I thank Donna Ockenden, the hon. Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh), and the Nottingham families for all the work they have done to bring us today’s report about what went on across Nottinghamshire. It is truly shocking. At the same time, they were also supporting Sussex families to get their own justice when those families were repeatedly begging the right hon. Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) to appoint Donna Ockenden to review what happened in Sussex. I thank them for their support for other families right across the country.
When the Secretary of State was appointed to his role, I shared with him a letter I had written along with Sussex and Leeds MPs, asking for the duty of candour to be written into the terms of reference of the Leeds and Sussex reports. I am so grateful that he has announced today that the Hillsborough law will apply once it is enacted. That is very welcome, but that law has not yet been enacted, and it was delayed in the last Session. Does the Secretary of State know when the Hillsborough law will be enacted, and if he is not clear on that, will he commit to pushing at Cabinet to make sure it becomes law as soon as possible?
I thank the hon. Lady for welcoming our decision about applying the duty of candour to future maternity reviews and inquiries, including those in Sussex and Leeds. We have always been clear that the Public Office (Accountability) Bill—the Hillsborough law—is an important priority for this Government. As soon as it is in law, we will ensure that the duty of candour is applied. Our commitment today is to ensure that NHS staff, current or past, cannot refuse to take part in what the lead investigator wants in future inquiries.
The Ockenden report is shocking and its findings are repellent. As my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton) said, it is shocking how many of its findings also featured in a report on black maternal health that the Health and Social Care Committee, on which I sit, published last September. As she set out, women were not listened to. There was no accountability, weak leadership, a toxic culture, racial inequality, understaffing and poor data gathering. All those things are referenced in both reports, and my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton Glynn) pointed out that things have been getting worse over the past 20 years. It used to be the case that women who were black were 4.7 times as likely to die in childbirth or around childbirth as white women. The figure is now only 2.3 times. While we can welcome that, the sad fact is that it is not because things have got better for black women; it is because things have got worse for everybody else across the country. The Ockenden report and its findings on what happened are the culmination of problems that have been building for years.
I want to recognise my constituent, Louise Thompson. She suffered terribly giving birth, when the NHS would not listen to her about the care she needed. She is now running a powerful campaign for a maternity commissioner and improved maternal care. I hope she will meet my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) soon. The Secretary of State promises a comprehensive action plan to be formed by a national maternity and neonatal taskforce. That is welcome, but we have had action plans in the past and they have not delivered the change promised. Given that record, will the Government commit to publishing measurable targets and firm deadlines within the action plan and to report progress to Parliament at fixed intervals? We need to know, and women across the country need to know, what will really be different this time.
I commend my hon. Friend on mentioning his constituent, Louise Thompson, who is campaigning on this important issue. He mentioned the impact of racism, discrimination and inequality in maternity services and their failures—all raised powerfully by Donna Ockenden’s report today. As I said earlier, the action plan, which the taskforce will be producing, will be published by the end of this year. We are determined to break that cycle where recommendations get accepted and then get left on the shelf to gather dust. We want an action plan that can be implemented. We want to make sure that delivery is set out and is progressed by the Secretary of State and the Department. That is a key part of the accountability in making sure that the delivery plan is put into action.
I thank Donna Ockenden and her team, the hon. Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) and all the Nottingham families who are involved in the development of this report. Today, I am angry and upset for all the families concerned, because this report reinforces what we already know: the maternity crisis must end and it must end now. Babies should have lived and mothers deserved better. The same systemic issues have come up again and again: unsafe staffing, lack of training, unchanging culture and a failure to listen to women. At the same time, we have increasing maternity negligence payouts of £2.5 billion. Following the report today, and bearing in mind the £2.5 billion of negligence payments, will the Minister commit to restoring the service development funding to support complex births and bereavement, after it was cut from £95 million to £2 million?
I thank the hon. Lady for expressing how she feels angry and upset. I think that that feeling is shared by all of us in the House today. The publication of Donna Ockenden’s report today has exposed the lifelong suffering of those families. The details of the action plan will be published by the end of the year, because we want to make sure that recommendations are not simply accepted and then not implemented. The recommendations must go into the taskforce, and the taskforce must produce that clear action plan, which we can then implement, and people can see us doing so. That is the way to break the cycle of recommendations that do not get implemented and to make progress towards the justice, accountability and change that I understand from families is so important to them.
The whole House is appalled by the neglect, contempt, and sheer trauma that these families have faced. I commend their strength and the strength of my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh), but these themes are chillingly all too familiar. The Secretary of State will be aware that NHS England has taken enforcement action against the Northern Care Alliance in recent weeks over multiple safety concerns. Indeed, staff and I raised serious safety concerns relating to the gynaecology department directly with the trust as far back as last year, demanding urgent action, but little happened. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss these issues, and will he outline what action he will now take to ensure that patient safety, adequate resourcing and safe staffing levels are urgently addressed at the trust?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising the important issues that she referred to in her remarks. I am happy to make sure that either me or a member of my ministerial team will meet her to discuss them in further detail.
I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement today. It is a difficult and painful, but that is as nothing compared with what those families have been through. On the shocking details he shared with us about babies’ bodies being mistreated in mortuaries, I am sorry to say that that story will be directly relevant to two constituents I am representing. I would appreciate a meeting with him, however brief, to discuss their cases ahead of his Department’s publication of its decisions on the final recommendations from the phase 2 report of the Fuller inquiry. He will also know that Leeds families at the start of their maternity journey—Donna Ockenden is conducting an inquiry into Leeds maternity services—will welcome, as do I, his commitment to ensuring that the duty of candour will apply in that inquiry. Can he confirm for them and for me that all the lessons that Donna Ockenden and he have learned from this inquiry will be applied to the Leeds inquiry, so that those families get the answers they deserve?
My hon. Friend speaks about his constituents whose experience might be relevant to some of the findings around mortuary services and their failings. I would be happy to ensure a meeting with either me or a member of my ministerial team. As I said earlier, the details of what happened in mortuaries leave me struggling for words, because of how dehumanising, disrespectful and abhorrent that was. I would be happy to make sure that his constituents’ points are picked up as part of that.
On learning the lessons from the review in Nottingham and applying that to Leeds and Sussex, we are fortunate that Donna Ockenden will be leading those reviews, having just completed the review in Nottingham. She will be in a strong position to ensure that she goes into that with the learnings she has made from the current review. One of those learnings that I am conscious of is how unacceptable it is that senior leaders refused to take part, for which I can see no justification whatever. I am pleased that, through the duty of candour that have we spoken about today, that will no longer be possible.
Nottingham University hospitals NHS trust is one of the trusts that serves my constituents. For those who have been patients there, or who have had babies who have come to harm—I have met some of them—Donna Ockenden’s report is difficult reading indeed. In respect of the staff at that trust, many of them, often junior and low paid, are on the frontline providing kind, compassionate, person centred care, and they will be feeling raw today. We value what they do.
We have heard a great deal about the appalling practices in the mortuary. They are subject to a criminal investigation, but I want to reflect on the experience of one of the several constituents I have met who have been affected by what we are discussing today. She came to see me as part of Donna Ockenden’s inquiry, and sadly she had engaged with the trust on a number of occasions because she felt that she was experiencing complications with her pregnancy. She was told to lie down and have a fizzy drink and then have an early night, and, despite repeated calls, she was repeatedly fobbed off. Sadly, her baby died.
Behind that is a culture of a failure to engage. There was a very poor culture at the trust—so poor that “FOH” was written in patients’ medical notes and on whiteboards, standing for “F*** Off Home”. How could leaders not be more curious about the practices that were taking place on their watch, and where were the regulators? It is absolutely staggering.
We are making some very positive changes in the NHS, but I want to push the Secretary of State briefly on changes we are making to the mechanisms that allow people to feed back on their care. We are winding down the National Guardian’s Office and Healthwatch; we are also removing NHS England, which has a regulatory function—and we know that regulators have failed in the case of this trust. What steps can my right hon. Friend take to ensure that those feedback mechanisms will enable people to be heard and action to be taken, so that we can prevent this kind of scandal from happening again?
I thank my hon. Friend for his comments, and for telling us what happened to his constituent. He asked about some of the wider changes that we are making in the NHS modernisation Bill. The aim is to bring the patient experience across the NHS into the heart of the new organisation that will arise from the merging of NHS England into the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that the patient experience drives the decisions being taken about how NHS care is delivered, and is at the heart of what we do as a Department and a national health service.
However, as the report makes clear, the level of failure in maternity and neonatal services is truly devastating. It demands a specific response, which is why the work of the taskforce will begin and it will report by the end of the year. As my hon. Friend has said, this is not just a case of individual cases going wrong or individual members of staff making the wrong decision. It is endemic, and shows the incuriosity of leaders in maternity services about what is going on and what is going wrong in their services. It is a failure of regulators, it is systemic, and the response to it must step up accordingly.
I pay tribute to those families, whistleblowers and campaigners who simply kept going, and to Donna Ockenden for her report and her approach. The report is damning, and my heart goes out to all the families who are having to relive their awful experiences as they see, in black and white, that their suffering and that of their loved ones was not only horrific and harrowing, but entirely avoidable, if only the leaders had been responsible and accountable, and had just listened. As we heard from my brave hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh), this is a national disgrace that must not be repeated.
I welcome Martha’s rule, which gives patients the right to an independent second opinion. I also welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to using the Hillsborough law to ensure that those who avoid scrutiny are compelled to give evidence and are held accountable in the future, but may I ask him two questions? First, can he confirm that he is working across Government to ensure swift implementation of this law, with clear and transparent timelines, so that these families, who have already waited far too long, can finally see justice? Secondly, what will happen to those who shockingly avoided giving evidence and avoided accountability in respect of this review?
My hon. Friend is right to emphasise quite how shocking it is that people in senior leadership positions refused to take part in Donna Ockenden’s review. I cannot understand how they could make that decision and think it acceptable. That is exactly why the law needs to change. It shows why the Hillsborough law is so important and why it was important to put it on the statute book, and also why it was important for us to decide now to apply that duty of candour to future reviews of the failures of maternity services so that never again can NHS staff, current or past, decide not to take part in the search for justice and accountability that it is so crucial for us to deliver.
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) for all her work. My heart goes out to those families in Nottinghamshire, and I pay tribute to their work as well. I cannot imagine what it is like to lose a child in those circumstances, but I do know what it is like to see your own child suffer a brain injury at birth. I work very closely with other families with children who have cerebral palsy or hemiplegia, because of what they have been through and what my own family have been through.
The reasons why such things happen are often connected with negligence, but they are often a result of other circumstances. In our circumstance, our children were born at 31 weeks, as twins. In other families, it is the fact that this woman is black or that woman is disabled that has caused those issues and that negligence. Will my right hon. Friend act on the recommendations of the Ockenden review and the review that is being undertaken by Baroness Amos, and work to ensure that those disparities are overcome when mothers have a greater risk of these things happening to them?
I thank my hon. Friend for sharing with us his experience of brain injury in his own family, and for reminding us how some of the issues that we are discussing today touch the lives of many people in the House and across the country. We all have a responsibility to act on the basis of the recommendations of today’s report, and I assure my hon. Friend that those recommendations, along with those in Baroness Amos’s report, will enable the taskforce to produce a comprehensive action plan. A key element of that work—this concerns his direct point—will be ensuring that when people are at greater risk of harm, greater risk of being ignored, greater risk of being discriminated against, lied to or not being given the care that they need, that inequality will be addressed.
I was born in Nottingham City hospital, and while the Ockenden report was necessarily bounded by the last 13 years, I think it is important to record that women and children were avoidably harmed and avoidably died in those settings many years before, and the pain is not diminished by the passing of time. As I have listened to these exchanges, I have had at the forefront of my mind those friends and people I grew up with who, many years later, found themselves close to death in circumstances that could have been avoided.
As my right hon. Friend said in his compassionate and thoughtful statement, the description of what happened in Nottingham will be all too familiar to families well beyond that city. He will know that Sandwell and West Birmingham hospitals NHS trust is one of the trusts that are subject to particular attention as part of the national investigation. What assurance can he give people in cities such as Birmingham that this time, after these reports and their recommendations, things will change and NHS senior management will be held to account?
Although the report that we are discussing today deals with what has happened in Nottingham over the past 13 years, my hon. Friend is right to point out that it has not just happened in Nottingham and it has not just happened over the past 13 years. When I have spoken to people about this report, even today, so many have shared their own stories from many years ago in all different parts of the country. That reminds us that although the focus of the report is what has happened to the families in Nottingham, this issue affects families throughout the country, which is why, as my hon. Friend says, it is “all too familiar” to so many people when they hear what has happened. That is why it is so important that we develop our plan, which will have a nationwide impact, in order to finally tackle this challenge head on and ensure that we deliver the maternity and neonatal services that women across the country need and deserve.
With permission, I will make a statement on the Government’s farming road map, which the Farming Minister—my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan)—and I have published today. This 25-year farming road map is the first ever long term plan for farming in this country, giving farmers the clarity and confidence that they need to make investment decisions. The plan backs farming, strengthens profitability and food security, and sets out a clear direction of travel for a thriving future for farming. The Government are also laying our detailed response to Baroness Batters’ independent farming profitability review.
Farmers feed our nation. They produce over 65% of our food, manage 70% of our land, and support an agrifood sector worth £153 billion every year. I know that many hon. Members on both sides of the House will have seen at first hand farmers’ dedication to feeding our nation and protecting our natural environment, and the farming sector has a long tradition of adapting to change over generations. It has survived war, disease, trade shocks and extreme weather—
And Labour!
And Conservative Governments.
For too long, farmers have been asked to navigate profound change without a clear sense of the Government’s plan for the future. The pressures of fast moving technological change, geopolitical instability, volatile global markets and climate change are real. I have met farmers across England, and they are not asking for protection from change; they are asking for the tools, the stability and the genuine partnership with Government that will allow them to adapt, grow and thrive. The Government have heard that message. The farming road map sets out our plan for farming up to 2050 and reflects immediate Government action to support our farmers to feed the nation.
I offer my huge thanks to Baroness Batters for her farming profitability review, which was published in December. We have benefited hugely from her incredible experience and expertise as a farmer, but also as a former president of the National Farmers’ Union. Her analysis was extremely clear, and her recommendations have shaped our road map.
The farming road map answers the farming industry’s calls for clarity over the long term. It brings together the most important policies and commitments under one coherent plan, because we understand that farmers have long planning timescales. For example, a farmer planting an orchard today will not see its full yield for a decade. That is why the road map is so crucial: it will allow farmers and land managers to invest in their businesses with confidence.
The road map is organised around three outcomes that we need to deliver together with the farming sector. The first is profitable and productive farm businesses. Food production is the primary purpose of farming and a matter of national security. The road map backs our farmers to grow, invest and compete, delivering year on year productivity growth; Government support to invest in innovative approaches; fairer supply chains that do not leave farmers carrying disproportionate risk; better market access, so that British food can reach more customers at home and abroad; smarter regulation that reduces the burden on farmers; more collaborative models, such as co operatives, to help lower costs, spread risk and support stronger returns; and, most of all, the stability and certainty that investors and farm businesses need to invest with confidence. To that end, I can confirm today that we will launch a dedicated task and finish group to unlock private finance in sustainable farming. The new Farming and Food Partnership Board has started work on the first sector growth plans for horticulture and poultry, with more sectors to follow.
The second outcome is a sustainable farming sector. Healthy soils, clean water and thriving ecosystems are the foundations of strong food production. We will support the shift to lower input, lower emission farming, not by directing every decision on farms but by ensuring that the right incentives, advice and regulation are in place. Our environmental land management schemes, backed by £11.8 billion over this Parliament, are already delivering sustainable and profitable farming, now and for the future. This is the biggest budget for nature friendly farming in our history. I can confirm that next week we will reopen the sustainable farming incentive for small farms and those without existing agreements. The total budget for this year will be £240 million, with £60 million ringfenced for those eligible in window 1. We will continue to refine our schemes in partnership with the sector. The road map gives equal importance to food security, profitable farming and a healthy natural environment, because they are all critical to protecting our national security.
Thirdly, and finally, we need a resilient farming sector that is ready for whatever comes next. We live in a volatile world. The pressure on fertiliser and fuel prices underlines why we need farming systems that are less exposed to global shocks. At the same time, climate change is reshaping growing conditions and technology is moving fast. The road map sets out how we will strengthen our climate resilience, ensuring that farmers are able to adapt and to tackle the impacts of droughts and flooding.
Today I can confirm that we are investing an additional £53 million in the farming innovation programme to help farmers harness new technology that can improve productivity, reduce reliance on inputs and increase long term resilience. That brings the total investment in innovation funding to £123 million, which, along with £50 million in equipment funding, puts British farmers at the forefront of agricultural advancements.
To further secure the future of farming, we will invest in the skills and people the sector needs by supporting training and new entrants, so that farmers’ hard earned knowledge is passed down to the next generation. Tenant farmers manage around a third of England’s farmland, and tenancies play a key role in supporting new entrants. We want a vibrant tenanted sector, and the road map commits to making schemes, policies and tenancy agreements work for tenants.
Upland farmers are also vital to our food production, land management and rural communities. They often operate in challenging physical and economic conditions. The road map sets out how we intend to improve access to schemes and support for upland farmers, and we have asked Dr Hilary Cottam to identify opportunities for upland communities to flourish.
The road map was not written in Whitehall and handed down; my team in the Department and I have visited many farms across the country, and many more farmers have travelled to speak to us at regional events, and we have listened. The road map reflects our extensive engagement with farmers, growers, land managers and the wider food sector. As I mentioned at the start of my speech, farmers have asked for a Government who create the conditions for farmers to succeed, rather than directing every decision. The road map sets out clear roles for the Government, farmers, supply chain actors and the wider sector to make that vision a reality. Where new approaches are untested or deliver a wider public good, we will put Government investment behind them—in skills, data, innovation, technology and infrastructure.
The road map has been developed in partnership with the industry, and we want to continue to work in partnership as we implement it. This Government are proud to work with British farmers as we grow the future of farming. Together, we are building a more profitable, productive, sustainable and resilient farming sector, and I am confident that there is a bright future ahead. I commend this statement to the House.
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement, and I repeat my sincere thanks to Baroness Batters for her thorough report.
The Secretary of State presents a document for farming for the next 25 years, but this Government will not last even 25 days. Instead of using their 14 years in opposition to create this document, they have dithered and delayed for the past two years, but they did not dither and delay in making life harder for rural businesses. One of the first acts of this Government, of which Labour Members are all so proud, was to target family farms and family businesses with their death tax. As Labour MPs and Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs voted repeatedly for the family farm and family business taxes, DEFRA Ministers shut down farming payments without notice, including the SFI.
Sadly, the record of this Government is rising food prices and a record number of farms closing. They broke the trust of farmers, and they have only themselves to blame. Yet the Secretary of State stands here today wanting to be thanked by rural communities for producing a document that could be shelved quietly by whoever comes next, just as the Government seem to have shelved the 10-year plan for the NHS. For all the talk—[Interruption.] Mark my words! For all the talk of the new SFI scheme and budgets, the fact is that they have cut the farming budget by £100 million.
In another leap from reality, the Government’s negotiations with the EU get barely a mention in this document, despite the enormous consequences they will have for farming businesses. CropLife UK has estimated that this EU reset could drain £810 million from UK farms and sacrifice almost 9,000 jobs from our rural constituencies. The Food and Drink Federation states that the wholesale handover of our food laws to the EU will lead to at least 400 regulations needing to be changed. So how will the Government ensure that UK farmers, including our tenant and upland farmers, can compete against heavily subsidised EU farmers? This matters because food security is critical in this increasingly volatile world. What reassurance can the Secretary of State provide that the next Cabinet will prioritise farming and food production?
We Conservatives view DEFRA as a vital economic Department, so we agree with its efforts to recalculate farming and food producers’ contributions to the economy. By the way, I note that Reform calls itself the farmer’s friend, yet there is not a single Reform MP in the Chamber.
Had the Secretary of State attended Cereals 2026 at Diddly Squat, she would have seen for herself that the sector is already driving innovation. The Government are therefore playing catch up, but we hope that the intention to work with the Department for Business and Trade to deliver reductions in compliance costs and to focus on innovation and technology will actually happen. The plan to bring DEFRA farming services into one integrated service is much needed, and this reflects Conservative calls for quangos and the Department to be overhauled.
There are many questions still left unanswered in this report, and I hope that the Secretary of State will try to answer them rather than deflect, because that has been noticed. The plan looks to double the funding for Environment Agency inspections. Why are this Government focusing on bureaucracy rather than helping farmers survive? What does she say to the tenant farmer of a well run dairy herd who has been told by the Environment Agency that they must invest up to £750,000 to guard against a “risk” that there “may” be a pollution event in 50 years’ time. As that tenant farmer said to me, there will not be a farm there in 50 years’ time, as they simply cannot afford that payment.
There is also no mention of closing the flag loophole on food packaging to help our constituents to buy genuinely British food and to back British farmers. Why not? The report says there will be no cut to food production, but it also says there will be a reduction of 9% in the land available to produce food. How can the Secretary of State guarantee that our food production will be protected when key tools, such as gene editing to develop drought resistant crops, are at risk in the negotiations with the EU.
In her final act in this Department, will the Secretary of State please advise the right hon. Member for Makerfield (Andy Burnham) that the first thing he must do is axe the family farm and family business taxes completely? Otherwise, sadly, this will be a road map to nowhere for struggling farmers and food producers.
Oh, gosh, how do I follow that? Well, the first thing to say is that that the shadow Secretary of State is not in charge of reshuffles on the Government side of the House.
Let me outline where I do agree with the shadow Secretary of State. I agree that DEFRA is a really important economic Department of Government, and I have been focused on that since I was appointed to this role on 5 September. I also agree that Reform Members do not seem to care about agricultural farming, because they do not even bother turning up to such an important statement. So there are some things that she and I agree on, but that is probably where they end.
The shadow Secretary of State accuses us of dithering and delaying for two years, but her Government dithered and delayed for 14 years. We did not see any action such as this road map during the whole time that the Conservatives were in office. They sold farmers down the river with their Australia and New Zealand trade deals, and they could not be bothered to spend their own farming budget on the farmers who needed it, so I will take no lectures from the right hon. Lady.
The SFI scheme will reopen next week. I am proud that we have taken forward the recommendations in Baroness Batters’ review on reforms to SFI, including making it simpler and more cost effective, and introducing a minimum hectarage requirement. We on this side of the House are serious about engaging with the farming sector, and we commissioned Baroness Batters, who has such great expertise—that was never done under the previous Government—to advise us on how to make the sector more profitable.
The shadow Secretary of State asks about the sanitary and phytosanitary deal, and I say to her that we are working very closely with the National Farmers’ Union and other farming stakeholders, because that deal is all about bringing down the barriers put up by the previous Government at the border that make it so much harder both to export raw ingredients and food, and to import.
I thank the shadow Secretary of State for what she said—this is one thing we do agree on—about both Baroness Batters and my saying that we must make sure the farming sector is more accurately measured. I think we need to reassess that, so that we do not just assess what is done on farm, but look at this from farm to fork, and therefore see the vital role of the farming sector in our economy.
The shadow Secretary of State asks about the Environment Agency. I will make no apologies for increasing the funding of the Environment Agency, which was so harshly cut under her Government. I will also make no apologies about having a plan, in this document and more broadly, for how we work with farmers to ensure that agricultural pollution is a problem we tackle together.
The shadow Secretary of State asks about gene editing and the SPS deal, and those negotiations are ongoing. However, we want to ensure that our farmers are able to use the best technology. We lead in agricultural technology in our country, and we want to make sure that it is harnessed by our sector. That is why there is such a big emphasis in the road map on the importance of innovation, and why we are dedicating Government funding to innovation, and on farmers sharing best practice so that they can become more profitable over time.
First, I echo the Secretary of State’s thanks to Baroness Batters for this excellent report. She is also right to observe that Reform MPs have not bothered to turn up for this statement. She might also note that no Green MPs have bothered to turn up. They used to be interested in the environment, but sadly those days are long behind us.
On the sustainable farming incentive, can the Secretary of State tell us any more about how she will make sure that its new iteration not only is spent and gets to where it is needed, but is available for a wide range of farmers, including the family farms we speak so much about, and is not all snaffled by the major farm companies?
That is precisely why window 1 will be open next week to small farms and those farms without an existing agreement. It is also why we have capped the agreement level per year to £100,000. We want smaller farms to benefit from the SFI.
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
I thank the Secretary of State for early sight of her statement and I echo her thanks to Baroness Batters for her fantastic work on this issue. I also welcome the relatively new Farming Minister, the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan), to his place.
The Liberal Democrats welcome the production of a long term vision for farming and look forward to engaging with Ministers on the details. The road map rightly states that “food production will remain the primary purpose of funding”, but it continues to leave England as the outlier. It is now the only country in Europe with a farm payment system that does not actively support farmers to produce food. The consequences are as inevitable as they are inexcusable: the loss of farm businesses and the loss of food security at this dangerous time. I ask the Secretary of State to think again.
The road map also rightly observes the unfairness in the system, and that unfairness to farmers is a block to increasing output. Dairy farmers, especially, are right now being forced into ruin and despair because of unfair and sudden changes to farmgate prices, but there is no plan to strengthen or unify the Groceries Code Adjudicator and the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator, two frankly weak and under resourced referees with too few powers to protect our farmers from the abuse of market power from supermarkets and processors. Will the Secretary of State act, and if so when, to give us a strong referee to protect our farmers?
The reopening of the SFI is welcome, as is the update on the upland review, but still the Government insist on a first come first served application process which always disadvantages our poorest farmers. On the uplands, the continued failure to provide support for common land is leaving our most precious landscapes, which make up 25% of the land mass of my constituency in the Lakes and the Dales at the risk of wildfires and biodiversity collapse, while our upland farmers sink into greater poverty. Is the road map not warm words but cold comfort for the uplands?
The review fails to put into practice the recommendations, in any serious way, of the Rock review on farm tenancies. [Interruption.] I will come to a conclusion. Does the Secretary of State not see that if tenants do not have protected long term tenancies of at least eight years, they will have no chance of meeting the long term environmental goals? Will she protect tenants from being evicted from their land in order to meet those goals?
Very finally, this is a report—
Order. That was far too long.
I hope to give the hon. Gentleman some brief answers, but I would be very happy to have a discussion with him after the debate, because he has put forward a lot of different questions. Food production is the primary role of farmers, but in the road map we also talk about the transition to more sustainable farming and regenerative farming, so I do not agree with his analysis. Actually, the focus of the road map and some of our SFI actions on healthier soils will help to ensure that farms are more productive and less reliant on expensive inputs such as chemical fertilisers.
The hon. Gentleman talks about unfair charges. We are bringing the Groceries Code Adjudicator under DEFRA and we are looking at what more we can do to make things fairer for farmers, including in the road map, bringing down barriers and helping more co operatives to be established, because that redresses the power imbalance he talked about.
I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman on the importance of uplands to the farming sector and to our countryside—I know he has a very beautiful constituency. We have increased the payment rates for upland farmers for some SFI actions and the road map talks about our plans to make it easier for upland farmers to access schemes. I am happy to have a longer conversation with him about that, including about commoners. As he knows, we have commissioned a review by Hilary Cottam. I think he has been working with her too, which is welcome.
A third of land is tenanted; it is a really important sector. We want a vibrant sector. I appointed the country’s first ever Commissioner for the Tenant Farming Sector, Alan Laidlaw. We know that a lot of tenants are very anxious about the shift away from long term tenancies to shorter term tenancies, so he is right to raise that. We have also commissioned the Law Commission to look at agriculture tenancy law. We are working with the sector to see what more we can do to ensure longer and more secure tenancies.
I commend all the hard work that has gone into both the road map and the profitability review by the civil servants, the ministerial team and so many people across the sector, including Baroness Batters. Does the Secretary of State agree with me that in the interests of food security we really need to think hard about how we boost food production in this country? That, I think, will need an embracing of new technologies. It will also need the ability to build new facilities. In the poultry sector, the investment is there, but we need to explain to the public that new investment would not only boost food production but improve animal welfare, biosecurity and environmental outcomes.
May I take this opportunity to thank my hon. Friend for all the work he did as Farming Minister? Indeed, some of his fingerprints are on the road map, so I want to thank him for that. He is right in what he says about food security and about innovation being central to it. That is why I announced extra funding of £53 million for the farming innovation programme today. At the second meeting of the Farming and Food Partnership Board, we talked about the two sector growth plans we are working on, horticulture and poultry. He mentioned poultry. We had a really good discussion on the barriers to further investment in poultry. Planning is one of them, but there are others too. That is a sector where we can make really good progress to ensure that we boost the production of poultry in our country.
I call the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
I remind the House of my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
I welcome the publication of the farming road map. It may not have been rushed, but it is welcome none the less; all we need now is a revised food strategy, and the Secretary of State’s homework will be up to date. Is the implementation of the Batters review still being pursued as a discrete piece of work, or is it being subsumed into the farming road map? In as far as that relates to the operation of the market, why is she not involving farmers’ unions from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland? The Secretary of State refers to DEFRA as a growth Department. Agriculture accounts for 0.6% of UK GDP at the moment, so if we follow the road map and she gives leadership to the industry, what would she want that figure to be in the future?
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for marking my homework, and I look forward to having it marked in even more detail when I appear before his Committee. There is a separate document in which we have published our response thematically to the 57 recommendations of Baroness Batters’ profitability review. We are already working closely with the sector to take forward those recommendations. In December, we accepted a number of her recommendations: first, the Farming and Food Partnership Board; secondly, the sector growth plans; and thirdly, the trade missions. I suspect that I will be able to answer the right hon. Gentleman’s questions in more detail when I come before the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
For many years we have expected farmers to steward our environment and at the same time deliver food at rock bottom prices to make up for the failure of politics to secure an affordable cost of living across the rest of society. That has made agricultural profitability increasingly difficult. Now, with the crisis posed by climate change to our national food security, we must pull every available lever to reverse that trend. At the general election, the Labour manifesto committed to a target of half of all food purchased across the public sector being locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards. Will the Secretary of State provide an update on progress towards that target?
Farmers face lots of different challenges, one of which is volatile global commodity prices, along with some of things my hon. Friend mentioned. On public procurement, we are working to establish an accurate baseline of what percentage of the public sector gives contracts to our farmers. We are also looking at what more we can do to enable farming co operatives to access those public contracts.
The UK EU SPS agreement is going to be vital, and we need to understand its terms, particularly about the implementation period, as it will have an impact on our trading deals with other nations. Given that it is due to be implemented next year, and time is ticking, can we have more detail on the agreement, or can the relevant Minister come in front of the EFRA Committee to explain further details?
As the hon. Lady knows, I am always happy to appear before her Committee. There is an ongoing discussion with the EU about implementation timelines. I cannot give her a running commentary, but I can say that we are working closely with the National Farmers’ Union about the implementation timelines. We want a smooth transition to what comes next. As I said in my statement, we know that farmers plan along longer timescales, and they are using products now that they have in the ground. We are looking at transition timelines, being careful about them, and engaging closely with the sector.
I welcome the publication of the road map, and note from the section on environmental land management schemes that in 2027 there will be a need to support farms with legacy countryside stewardship and higher level stewardship agreements in the transition to new schemes. However, many in this House, the EFRA Committee, the National Audit Office and farmers have questioned whether Natural England is sufficiently resourced to support that. Will the Minister reassure me that behind the words in this important report there will be the trained staff to support my farmers with the challenging transition?
I think my hon. Friend is asking about the expiring agreements, because there are obviously many thousands coming to an end this year. As I have said in DEFRA questions previously, it is the Department’s intention that those whose agreements expire this year will be able to apply in window 2 of the SFI, which will start in September. It is just a technological change that we need to ensure we have pinned down so that farmers can do that through the Rural Payments Agency.
I think I am right in saying that the document, which is 70 pages long, mentions profitability just twice. Without profitability, which involves a hard hearted look at agricultural economics—outputs less inputs—it will be much more difficult to achieve a number of the aspirations in this large document. Will the Secretary of State assure me that when she considers any changes to farming, she will at least consider profitability? By the way, I hope that she survives the reshuffle when it comes.
That is very kind of the hon. Gentleman. I thank him for his best wishes, which were a little different in tone from the comments from the Opposition Front Bench. I reassure the hon. Gentleman that we have a separate document that responds to Baroness Batters’ review. Profitability is absolutely at the heart of the road map. There is a lovely diagram on page 18 of the road map—perhaps the words in it were not picked up in his search—showing what we are trying to do, which is to work towards a profitable, productive, sustainable and resilient farming sector. I absolutely agree with him that we need a more profitable sector, and that is the focus of this document.
The road map is a very welcome step forward that will give our farmers certainty for the future. I particularly welcome what the Secretary of State had to say on co operatives, which could go a long way to redressing the current power imbalance in our food system. I hope we can begin that work at pace. We hear consistently from farmers that they feel that the planning system—made so much worse by the Conservatives—is stacked against them. Broiler chicken farmers, for instance, are expected to lower stocking densities but cannot get permission to expand their sheds to compensate, while farms in water stressed areas are having to go through years of bureaucracy to build reservoirs. Does the Secretary of State agree that reforming the planning system will be key to freeing up trapped investment and getting us to the sustainable, prosperous future for British farming that this road map sets out?
The short answer is yes—I could not agree with my hon. Friend more. That is why I am working closely with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on planning reform to ensure that those planning barriers are not holding back investment into the farming sector.
The Secretary of State seemed to ignore the question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins) about the use of land and increasing food production, so I will ask specifically again: how are our farmers expected to increase food production if we are taking 9% of agricultural land out of productive use?
As we set out in our land use framework, our intention in working with the sector is to ensure that we have more productive and profitable farms and multifunctional land use so that we maintain, if not increase, food production levels, alongside the land use changes that we need to secure a sustainable farming transition.
Over the next 20 years we are set to see a 30% reduction in water availability for farms and producers across the country, much of which will affect Suffolk Coastal. I was glad to see that the road map talks about applying lessons from water management pilot schemes to help farmers to manage those water challenges. I want to flag the managed aquifer recharge trial in Suffolk Coastal, which has recharged for irrigation 20,000 cubic metres while complying with stringent Environment Agency conditions. I know that the Minister responsible for water and flooding is keen to visit my constituency to learn more about the scheme. I hope that the Department will look at these examples as an opportunity that could help to deliver water ambitions as set out in this very welcome farming road map.
The extreme weather conditions we are facing at the moment bring into sharp relief the need for the sector to have access to better sources of water. I thank my hon. Friend for working closely with my hon. Friend the Under Secretary on these issues and look forward to hearing more about the initiatives in my hon. Friend’s area.
Instability in the middle east is a stark reminder that food security cannot be taken for granted. British farmers are the best in the world and they get up every single day to put food on our tables. While I welcome the farming road map, it lacks real ambition for farmers and food security. Will the Secretary of State commit to a good food Bill that backs British farmers and puts long term food security at the heart of Government policy?
I agree with the intent of the hon. Lady’s question, which is that we need a focus on food production and to ensure that our farming sector is more resilient to global shocks, such as the kind she spoke about. That is why we are doing serious work on how we can help farmers to use fertiliser more efficiently and move away from chemical fertilisers towards more organic fertilisers. We have introduced a nutrient management tool, and many farms have now taken that on, which is helping them make more efficient use of fertiliser. I agree with some of the things that she said, but perhaps not the recommendation.
Order. Questions are far too long. Show us how it’s done, Lee Pitcher.
I wonder if the Secretary of State agrees that for far too long farming has been undervalued because we have focused only on what goes out of the farm gate. We should focus more on the holistic contribution of farming—that is when we get good policy and can take our success forward for farmers.
I could not agree more. We have to look at the agrifood sector overall. It is a huge part of our economy, employing 4.1 million people, and its gross value added is equivalent to the automotive sector. My hon. Friend is right that there has been a tendency to underestimate the value of farming. We have to look at it in the wider agrifood ecosystem and in the context of the GVA that the sector brings to the economy.
Once upon a time, it would not have been necessary for a Secretary of State for farming to come to the House to say that the primary purpose of farming was food production. The central recommendation of Minette Batters’ report was to make food security a national strategic priority. Does the Secretary of State not realise that unless her road map contains a commitment to make food security a national strategic priority, everything she says in that report will simply be like trying to fill up the bath with plug out? At a time when the generals are telling us that we could be at war in 10 years, surely it is time for the Government to commit to real, precise targets.
Can I gently remind the right hon. and learned Gentleman of the previous Administration’s Brexit deal and the move away from basic payments to environmental land management schemes? The shift that he is talking about, which has led us to have to stress that food production is the primary focus of farming, was precisely because of the move that happened under his Government.
I thank the Secretary of State for coming to the House and showing her commitment to domestic food production. Supporting farmers should not just matter to those of us in this House who represent rural or semi rural constituencies; it should matter to everyone, because it is so crucial for our national security. With that in mind, what support can we give to our farmers to ensure that they can buy equipment such as tractors from UK manufacturers and not have to rely on production elsewhere?
I thank my hon. Friend for her comments. We do have capital grants to help farmers procure the kind of equipment she mentioned.
The Minister said that the road map was not written in Whitehall and handed down, but it is an England only document, despite Baroness Batters receiving submissions from Northern Ireland. All family farm structures in Northern Ireland are impacted by Treasury decisions, from the family farm tax to the cost of fuel. What engagement have the Government had with the devolved Governments to ensure that all UK farmers benefit and are supported?
I recently visited the Balmoral agricultural show with members of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, and the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee was there too. We had a good old chinwag. I also met Minister Muir and the Ulster Farmers’ Union. We are engaging closely with stakeholders in Northern Ireland. We have close relationships with all the devolved Administrations and are already engaging with them about our road map, but as the hon. Gentleman says, the road map is for England.
Food security is national security, and the effort that the Government have put into this report is very clear. As chair of the Co operative party, I am pleased that page 27 has a commitment to co operatives and mutuals as part of the answer to this country’s food security.
Does the Secretary of State agree that one of the most significant things in this report will be allowing farmers to farm? Farmers say that so much of their time is spent trying to navigate a complex system of Government agencies, so the single system that is talked about could be a game changer.
I agree with my hon. Friend. The focus of the road map is on reducing the burden of regulation and making sure that we have a simpler system, which is something Baroness Batters asked us to do.
As a Co operative party member, I am delighted that we have references in the road map to the increased role of co operatives. In other countries—I know the EFRA Committee was recently in New Zealand, which sounds like a nice trip—co operatives play an even stronger role than they do here. I want to see what more we can do as a Government to boost the role of mutuals and co operatives in agriculture.
I, too, hope that the right hon. Lady remains in place, and I thank her for bringing forward the road map. On behalf of the livestock and arable farmers in North Dorset, Blackmore Vale and Cranborne Chase, what should they be looking for in this road map to support and enhance livestock farming and to lead to further investment in agritech, which will boost production while leaving a far lighter environmental footprint on their farming?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind words.
There is a focus in the road map on innovation and on reducing the use of inputs and therefore the costs in farming, so that we can maximise profits for the farming sector. The farming sector faces huge challenges, as I have set out, whether from extreme weather or volatile markets. We all know the challenges, but the Government are here to smooth the path to a more innovative and productive sector.
We welcome the focus in the road map on fertiliser resilience and getting away from volatile global fertiliser markets. North Yorkshire is home to the world’s only supply of polyhalite, a highly effective low carbon fertiliser. Will Ministers look seriously at this in order to scale up our sovereign supply and back British fertiliser?
We will, and I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this issue to the House. We need to be less reliant on imported fertiliser, and sustainable low carbon fertiliser is to be welcomed. I look forward to working with him on that.
What steps is the Secretary of State taking now to help farmers manage the impact of this extreme heatwave on food production and prices for consumers in Yeovil? What steps are we taking in the long term to be more ready for such weather?
The hon. Gentleman is right to raise that question. This week’s weather brings into sharp relief the Climate Change Committee’s report from a couple of weeks ago on the risks of extreme weather—not just higher temperatures but more flooding.
As Secretary of State, I am in charge of not only farming but climate adaptation. I reassure the hon. Gentleman that the Government are looking at what more we need to do in response to that report and ahead of the national programme that we need to bring forward in 2028, including at how every Government Department can make sure that we are adapting the public estate to the levels of extreme heat that we are seeing this week and the increased levels of flooding that we have seen in recent years.
Will the Secretary of State provide more detail on the innovation fund, particularly on how it will support increased profitability while, at the same time, driving reductions in the emission of carbon dioxide, methane and other dangerous, climate damaging gases?
We have announced additional funding for the farming innovation programme, bringing total innovation funding to £123 million. This is to back practical technology, including robotics, soil health and water management. It is about the shift to sustainable farming practices.
Wiltshire farmers listened to Ministers at the Oxford farming conference and heard the Government’s pledge to support farmers during difficult harvests and supply shocks. They now find that they are in the middle of a supply shock, with many considering whether to plant their fields right now because of the price of fertiliser, about a third of which comes through the strait of Hormuz. If the pledge was more than rhetorical, is the Secretary of State able to say what practical measures the Government will be executing right now to assist the people I have just described?
I will come to fertiliser, but let me first say to the right hon. Gentleman that we are cutting red diesel duty by a third, bringing it to the lowest level in more than 20 years. We are taking measures to help farmers with the increased costs of energy and fuel—[Interruption.] Gosh, there is a wall of sound here, such is the excitement on the Opposition Benches.
We have asked the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board to look at more frequent official fertiliser price reporting. We are also doing all that we can to help farmers move away from such high use of fertilisers to more efficient use, along with a longer term plan to change fertilisers so that British farming can make use of more innovative practices.
I thank the Secretary of State for the excellent farming road map that she has laid out. I am really glad to see that supply chain fairness is at front and centre of the new road map, and I welcome the moving of the Groceries Code Adjudicator from the Department for Business and Trade to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as this will make things more joined up.
Farmers in Monmouthshire have raised with me so many times the issue of unfair practices; in fact, five dairy farms there—yes, five—have recently had their milk contracts cancelled. Does the Secretary of State agree that processors and supermarkets have far too much power, and that that power imbalance must be remedied?
I do agree that we have to get much fairer contracts, which is why we are extending the fair dealing regulations that already cover dairy and pig farmers to other sectors. As she said, we are also transferring the Groceries Code Adjudicator from DBT to DEFRA to make sure that there is a more joined up grip on food chain fairness.
On farm reservoirs can really help to reduce flooding and the need for water extraction, yet the Minister for Housing and Planning was rather dismissive of this during the passage of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Will the Secretary of State commit to taking steps to review permitted development rights, and can she give us some timescales?
We consulted on that issue—obviously, this falls under the MHCLG—in December. The Ministry is considering the responses, but I am working with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that we make it easier for farmers to establish on farm reservoirs in order to give them more resilience.
I really welcome the ambition of the road map, particularly the focus on buying British and the nod to honest food labelling. We must now make that ambition real and focus steadfastly on the drivers of farm profitability, so that farmers are making more money from their core business of farming by the end of this Parliament than they were when it started. In that spirit, the Labour rural research group continues our calls for honest origin labelling for food. I hope the Secretary of State will back those calls and commit, as did her predecessor, to meeting the LRRG to discuss this issue further.
I am always happy to meet my hon. Friend and the Labour rural research group, and I thank him for what he said about the road map.
I have an update for the House. The hon. Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton Brown) is no longer in his place, but somebody has done some work for me related to question: “profitability” is mentioned in the road map 17 times, the word “profitable” is mentioned 27 times and “profit” is mentioned 52 times.
South Shropshire farmers wanted to see an action plan that prioritised food production. The road map does not do that, and it will not happen unless the Government decide to do all food procurement through supply chains that prioritise South Shropshire farmers and other farmers around the country. Will the Secretary of State commit to prioritising British farmers in the Government procurement process?
We do want to see more British food in our institutions. As I said in response to a previous question, we are establishing a baseline—which was not established under the hon. Gentleman’s Government or ever before—to see what percentage of public sector contracts are going to British producers. That is the first step. May I also say that I am a big fan of the hon. Gentleman’s constituency? I spend some time there because my parents live in his patch.
I call Callum Anderson; he has gone. I call Jack Robertson—[Interruption.] You know when you stare at something and you can see it, but you are incapable of reading it? I call Dave Robertson.
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a long name; there are lots of letters in the second bit.
The farming road map that we have seen today sets out a long term plan for fertiliser. That will be really welcome for farmers across Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages because, due to actions way beyond this Government’s control in the strait of Hormuz, we are seeing real cost pressures. Can the Secretary of State give us an idea of when that long term plan might be ready, and whether it will consider strategic reserves and diversifying the sources of fertiliser? Can she tell us what that will do to ensure that we have the fertiliser we need?
I think my hon. Friend’s name is very striking, Madam Deputy Speaker.
We are consulting on longer term plans to change fertiliser rules so that we can diversify the sorts of fertilisers that farmers can use. We are also looking to see how we can ensure that fertiliser markets function more fairly, in the way that I have suggested in previous answers.
When can we expect a resolution to the problems that are preventing payments in respect of commoning?
I did not catch that last word.
Common land.
It is in the road map, but I want to say, first, that I look forward to going on holiday in the right hon. Gentleman’s constituency at some stage—sounds like we get a great service! I will let him know when I am on my way. He is right to mention this issue. It is something that we are looking at, and it is mentioned in the road map. I know that there are real problems for commoners getting access to some Government schemes, so that is something he will see in the road map. Upland farmers and others really need to ensure that they can access the schemes that we have.
I fear that that is more about the bottles of champagne than the right hon. Gentleman’s constituency.
I very much welcome the fact that this farming road map recognises the importance of upland farmers like mine in High Peak. Will the Secretary of State set out what support will be put in place to support my farmers, and will she meet me to discuss access to the SFI for those farming on common land?
That is very similar question to that of the right hon. Member for New Forest West (Sir Desmond Swayne). I am always happy to meet my hon. Friend and other hon. Members. Upland farmers play a vital role. We have increased payment rates for upland farmers, and in the road map we talk about how we can make it easier for upland farmers and commoners to access schemes. As I said to the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron), we have also commissioned Hilary Cottam to do some work on how we ensure that the communities in upland areas thrive.
Every farmer I speak to is angry and, at times, desperate. None of them thinks that anything has got any better over the last two years. Everyone thinks things are worse—whether it is the taxes, the grants or the allocation of non farming lands. Members do not need to take my word for it: a recent poll showed that 0% of farmers would now vote for the Labour party. Has the Secretary of State genuinely reflected on why that may be the case?
I have spent every minute of every day since I have been appointed rebuilding the relationship with farmers. I acknowledge that there have been problems, but I think we are in a much better place.
The Secretary of State says we need “better market access, so that British food can reach more customers at home and abroad”, but we know that they continue to face unnecessary trade barriers. It is a shame that the UK EU summit is now being reorganised due to the Prime Minister’s resignation. Farmers and food producers are relying on this SPS agreement to reduce costs and bureaucracy, so can the Secretary of State commit that the summit will take place this year and give us a timeframe for when that will happen?
It is kind of the hon. Lady to think that I am so powerful that I could have a hand in that. One person in the House wants me sacked, but I am glad that she thinks I have that power. I do not have that power, but I do want to see the summit take place. I agree that it is really important to reduce the costs and the bureaucracy that we were left by the last Government.
Farmers have been innovating since the dawn of time, and they really do not need a word salad document to tell them that it might be a good idea. I have listened carefully to the Secretary of State’s answers on fertiliser, both in terms of the current price shock and the impending additional shock, made by this Government, of carbon taxes on fertiliser. Surely, while there is lofty ambition for long term innovation, there needs to be a direct answer and relief now on the shock that is going to come in January.
If the hon. Gentleman looks at fertiliser prices, he will see that they have levelled off.
If the Government really believe that food security is national security, that must mean shortening supply chains and increasing local food production. The Secretary of State referred earlier to field to fork, but what new concrete steps will be taken under this plan to increase the proportion of food eaten in the UK that was grown here?
In response to Baroness Batters’ independent farming profitability review, we have already established the Farming and Food Partnership Board, and are already working on sector growth plans for horticulture and poultry. In horticulture in particular, we have seen a reduction in the amount of domestic grown fruit and veg that we consume in England. We are working out what more we can do to boost the production of horticulture and, indeed, poultry.
I was at the Royal Highland Show last week and farmers from across the UK were in their usual high spirits, but there is a real concern about the profitability and the future of farming. The SPS agreement, the price of fuel, red tape, the family farm tax and fertiliser are all big concerns. What specifically are the Government doing to address those concerns?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for what he said about the show. I was not able to attend, but it is good that he and other Members were there. We are addressing all those different issues. On the SPS deal, as I said to the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden), we are very aware of the concerns of the NFU and, indeed, the farmers’ union in Scotland. I engaged with them only last month. We cannot give a running commentary, but I do want to see a smooth transition so that farmers are ready for that change.
The Great South West pan regional partnership produced an agrifood growth plan which I commend to the Secretary of State. It was launched by Baroness Batters back in February. The south west region accounts for one third of England’s dairy farms and makes an outsized contribution to the UK food system. How will the Government’s farming road map affect farmers in the south west in particular?
The farming road map is a plan for the whole of England. Obviously, each different sector of farming faces different challenges. I was glad to visit a dairy farm in my own constituency on Open Farm day—Lacey’s farm. I thank Will Lacey for showing me and my two young boys around. The road map is about helping farmers across England, including in the south west.
While I welcome the farming road map, farmers in Somerset will be sceptical that this Government will deliver for them given their imposition of the family farm and family business taxes, which have undermined confidence and reduced investment in the rural economy. The Government closed the last SFI without notice, causing chaos for farmers. Will the Secretary of State undertake now not to do that again?
I thank the hon. Member for welcoming the road map. We have certainly learned a lot of lessons from what happened last summer, and I would absolutely like to see no sudden stops to the system. We are learning the lessons, but also with the capital grants programme, we ensured that there were not the same issues. I cannot always predict the future, but I would like that to be the case.
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. During Prime Minister’s questions today, the Leader of the Opposition called the Secretary of State for Education a “spiteful class warrior”, and previously she has compared her to a Gestapo officer. I started working in Parliament when I was a teenager, and in 25 years of being involved in politics, I have never seen the atmosphere here in Parliament and outside to be quite so hostile and intimidatory, especially towards female elected representatives.
Words matter, and inflammatory language contributes to this hostility towards politicians, especially women. Could I ask your advice, Madam Deputy Speaker, on whether the language used by the Leader of the Opposition today towards the Secretary of State for Education—a woman who grew up in poverty on a council estate, was raised by a single mother and was on free school meals, and worked her way up to the Cabinet—is appropriate to be used in the Chamber? I ask because not only does this language contribute to hostility, it puts off women from coming into this important profession.
I thank the hon. Lady for her point of order. Hon. Members are responsible for what they say in the Chamber, and we do not write the scripts for colleagues. “Erskine May” states: “Good temper and moderation are the characteristics of parliamentary language.”
I remind all Members that that is the way they should be conducting themselves inside the Chamber.
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your advice on how to ensure that named day written parliamentary questions are answered by the Department on time. My written questions 10935 to 10940 to the Foreign Office about a company called Siren Associates Ltd had not been answered by 22 June. They are of great personal and national importance, and we want to know when they will be answered.
I thank the hon. Member for giving notice of his point of order. It is important that Members who are sent here by their constituents receive timely answers to their questions. This is not a matter for the Chair, but I am sure that those on the Treasury Bench will have noted the hon. Member’s remarks and contacted the right Department so that he gets a response as soon as he can.
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The House may be interested in this following the earlier point of order. Earlier today, the Minister for Women and Equalities accused me of “racism” in reference to comments I made about the mass Muslim prayer in Trafalgar Square.
Although the Minister did not inform me that she would mention me in the Chamber, I gave her advance notice of this point of order, but she has chosen not to come to the House to withdraw her remarks. Given past precedent, I would like your advice, Madam Deputy Speaker, on whether that is acceptable language for one Member to use about another. I also seek your guidance about the free speech of Members and those we represent. The Government’s Islamophobia definition is already being used to shut down legitimate debate over questions of religion, belief and public policy, as we warned it would be, and it falsely equates racial identity with religious belief. It is an Orwellian outrage. How do I ensure that the Minister for Women and Equalities withdraws her remarks, explains how she confused racial identity and religious belief, and apologises?
The hon. Member has got his point on the record. As I have already said, Members must take responsibility for what they say in the Chamber—
On both sides.
Of course, Mr Snowden, on both sides: “Good temper and moderation are the characteristics of parliamentary language.”
The hon. Member has got his point on the record; let us see what happens next.
I will now announce the result of today’s deferred Division on the Customs (Tariff and Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Regulations 2026. The Ayes were 323 and the Noes were 160, so the Ayes have it.
[The Division list is published at the end of today’s debates.]
Rural Public Transport Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
John Lamont presented a Bill to make provision for a minimum level of bus and rail services in rural areas; to require the Secretary of State to consult users and prospective users of local rail and bus transportation about the provision of those services; to require the Secretary of State to review the provision of rail services to rural areas; and for connected purposes.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 27 November, and to be printed (Bill 98).
Reciprocal Cross Border Public Services Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
John Lamont presented a Bill to require the Secretary of State to publish proposals for the reciprocal provision of health, social and education services between persons in local authorities in England and Scotland, and England and Wales; to require the Secretary of State to publish guidance about the storage, sharing and use of individual data by and between public service providers in England and Scotland, and England and Wales; to require certain public service providers to comply with such guidance; and for connected purposes.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 15 January 2027, and to be printed (Bill 99).
Fur (Import and Sale) Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
Ruth Jones, supported by Sir Roger Gale, Terry Jermy, Alex Davies Jones and Josh Newbury, presented a Bill to prohibit the import and sale of fur; and for connected purposes.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 4 September, and to be printed (Bill 100).
Domestic Abuse (Pets etc) Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
Ruth Jones presented a Bill to make provision about protection for pets and other domestic animals within domestic abuse proceedings, including through non molestation orders and occupation orders; to amend the definitions of controlling or coercive behaviour and economic abuse to include abuse involving pets and domestic animals; to extend the application of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders to cover pets and domestic animals; and for connected purposes.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 16 October, and to be printed (Bill 101).
Occupied Palestinian Territory (Trade with Israeli Settlements) Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)
Layla Moran, supported by Calum Miller, Alex Sobel, Kit Malthouse and Dr Ellie Chowns, presented a Bill to make provision about the prohibition of trade in goods and services with persons in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 19 March 2027, and to be printed (Bill 102).
Business of the House (Today)
Ordered,
That at this day’s sitting,
(1) the Speaker shall put the Questions necessary to dispose of proceedings on the Motions in the name of the Chancellor of the Exchequer relating to
(a) Ways and Means (Rate of electricity generator levy),
(b) Ways and Means (Income tax (mileage amounts)) and
(c) Ways and Means (Vehicle excise duty (temporary rates for goods vehicles))
not later than three hours after the start of proceedings on the Motion for this Order; such Questions shall include the Questions on any Amendments to the motion relating to Ways and Means (Rate of electricity generator levy) selected by the Speaker which may then be moved; and proceedings may continue, though opposed, until any hour, and may be entered upon after the moment of interruption; and
(2) notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order No. 16 (Proceedings under an Act or on European Union documents), the Speaker shall put the Questions necessary to dispose of proceedings on the Motions in the name of Katie White relating to
(a) the draft Carbon Budget Order 2026,
(b) the draft Climate Change Act 2008 (International Aviation and International Shipping) Regulations 2026 and
(c) the draft Climate Change Act 2008 (Credit Limit) Order 2026
not later than three hours after the commencement of proceedings on the first such Motion or not later than 7.00pm, whichever is the later; proceedings may continue, though opposed, until any hour, and may be entered upon after the moment of interruption; and Standing Order No. 41A (Deferred divisions) shall not apply.—(Mark Ferguson.)
I beg to move, That provision may be made increasing the rate of the electricity generator levy to 55%.
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Motion on income tax (mileage amounts)— That— (1) In the table in each of— (a) section 230(2) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (approved amount for mileage allowance payments), and (b) section 94F(2) of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 (appropriate mileage amount), for “45p” substitute “55p”.
(2) In consequence of paragraph (1), in section 94F(3) of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, for “45p” substitute “55p”.
(3) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect for the tax year 2026-27 and subsequent tax years.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
Motion on vehicle excise duty (temporary rates for good vehicles)— That— (1) The Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 has effect in relation to vehicle licences, other than trade licences, taken out in the period beginning with 1 July 2026 and ending with 30 June 2027 as follows.
(2) Paragraph 9 of Schedule 1 to that Act (rates for rigid goods vehicles exceeding 3,500 kgs revenue weight) has effect in relation to goods vehicles to which sub paragraph (1), (2)(b) or (3) of that paragraph applies and which are used in the course of a trade as if— (a) in sub paragraph (1), for “shall be determined in accordance with” to the end there were substituted “and not exceeding 44,000 kgs is £1.”; (b) where sub paragraph (2) applies in relation to rigid goods vehicles mentioned in paragraph (b) of that sub paragraph, in that sub paragraph for “basic goods vehicle rate” there were substituted “£1”; (c) in sub paragraph (3), for “£1,703” there were substituted “£1”.
(3) Paragraph 10 of that Schedule (rates for certain rigid goods vehicles exceeding 11,999 kgs) has effect in relation to goods vehicles to which sub paragraph (1) of that paragraph applies and which are used in the course of a trade as if— (a) in sub paragraph (3), for “to be determined in accordance with” to the end there were substituted “£1.”; (b) in sub paragraph (7), for “£654” there were substituted “£1”.
(4) Paragraph 11 of that Schedule (rates for tractive units exceeding 3,500 kgs) has effect in relation to goods vehicles to which sub paragraph (1), (2)(b) or (3) of that paragraph applies and which are used in the course of a trade as if— (a) in sub paragraph (1), for “shall be determined in accordance with” to the end there were substituted “and not exceeding 44,000 kgs is £1.”; (b) where sub paragraph (2) applies in relation to tractive units mentioned in paragraph (b) of that sub paragraph, in that sub paragraph for “basic goods vehicle rate” there were substituted “£1”; (c) in sub paragraph (3), for “£1,703” there were substituted “£1”.
(5) Paragraph 11C of that Schedule (rate for certain tractive units exceeding 41,000 kgs but not exceeding 44,000 kgs) has effect in relation to goods vehicles to which that paragraph applies and which are used in the course of a trade as if for “£10” there were substituted “£1”.
(6) Where subsection (2) of section 3 of that Act (6 month licences) applies in relation to a vehicle for which any of paragraphs (2) to (4) has effect, that subsection has effect as if, in paragraph (a), for “£50” there were substituted “£0”.
(7) Article 3(1)(b) of the Vehicle Licences (Duration of First Licences and Rate of Duty) Order 1986 (S.I. 1986/1428) has effect in relation to vehicle licences, other than trade licences, taken out in the period beginning with 1 July 2026 and ending with 30 June 2027 for vehicles for which any of paragraphs (2) to (5) has effect as if for “£50” there were substituted “£0”
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
The Chancellor has committed to doing what she can to support families and businesses to be responsive in a changing world and responsible in the national interest. The measures before the House assist the Government in that objective.
The way that the current energy system works means that households and businesses pay more for their electricity when the gas price is high. The electricity generator levy already recoups some of the excess returns made by renewable generators when high gas prices push electricity prices over the current threshold of £82.61 per megawatt hour. The Government have decided to increase the rate of the levy from 45% to 55% from 1 July. That will do two things: first, it will ensure that a large proportion of any exceptional revenues from high gas prices are passed back to the Government, providing a revenue stream so that money is available to support businesses and families with the impacts of the conflict in the middle east; and secondly, in the longer term it will support the new voluntary contracts for difference scheme, which was announced in April, by encouraging participation in the scheme.
In March, the Government announced a review of mileage rates for employees using their own vehicle for work and the self employed who use the simplified expenses rates. In recognition of the pressures facing drivers as a result of the effects of the Iran war, the Chancellor announced in May the first uprating of mileage rates in 15 years, backdated to April, to provide immediate support to both groups. Mileage rates will increase for 2026-27 from 45p to 55p for the first 10,000 miles, and then 25p thereafter, with effect from 6 April. That represents the largest ever increase to these mileage rates, benefiting around 2 million employees and 1 million self employed individuals, and saving over £120 a year for a worker doing 6,000 business miles.
It was a privilege recently to meet care workers and the Unison general secretary to hear directly about the difference that this uprating will make to those on the frontline. The general secretary said to me and the Chancellor that this measure is good news for people providing essential public services. It was an honour to meet those who work day in, day out looking after people across the country. I am glad that this measure will have a positive impact on those who do such vital work. Looking ahead, beyond 2026-27, the Government have already committed to a review of those rates and will set out further steps at the Budget.
The third measure recognises the key role that the road haulage sector plays in transporting goods across the UK and its disproportionate exposure to fuel costs. The Government are introducing a 12-month holiday from vehicle excise duty for the majority of heavy goods vehicles, which will save a typical HGV £600 on top of the savings from fuel duty. Fuel costs make up a substantial proportion of HGV operating costs, and this action will help to prevent cost pressures from the Iran conflict spreading across the economy.
The announcements on mileage rates and HGV VED were part of a wider package of measures announced in May, including on fuel duty. In total, the decisions taken since the 2024 general election to freeze fuel duty will save motorists 11p per litre, or £120 for the average car, £250 for the average van and over £2,000 for the average HGV, compared with the plans we inherited from the previous Government.
This Government are taking action to support the economy at a time of global economic uncertainty following the Iran conflict. Our approach of targeting support at those groups who are hardest hit by the conflict will ensure that the measures we take are effective, while protecting the economy from the effects of reckless borrowing that took place under the previous Government.
The hon. Gentleman says it was for covid, but he forgot to mention Liz Truss.
This Government’s record shows that despite that instability, our plan is working. UK GDP growth in the past two years was the second fastest in the G7. Real household disposable income per person has grown by more than 2% so far in this Parliament, compared with a fall of more than 2% in the last Parliament. Real wages have increased in every single month since this Government took office, with wages rising faster than inflation. These measures will continue that track record and demonstrate that this Government are committed to supporting working people.
I call the shadow Minister.
I thank the Minister for his very clear laying out of the measures before us. May I say that sometimes there is no place for partisanship? Perhaps we have had a taste of that today.
I have a series of questions for the Minister. As I did not have a chance to brief him about them beforehand, as I wanted to, it is perfectly okay if he wants to get his ministerial team to reply in due course. I do not expect him to have all the answers straightaway.
The first of the three measures is on the electricity generator levy. I will probe three points in the written statement about it. It states that “the 45% EGL rate will increase to 55% and will be extended past its scheduled conclusion in 2028. This will support the Government’s objective of reducing the impact of gas prices on businesses and households.”—[Official Report, 21 April 2026; Vol. 784, c. 10WS.] What is the Treasury’s estimate of the amount it anticipates to raise from this measure? Is it a straight line assessment—essentially going from 45% to 55%—which will mean roughly £600 million? Is it the intention of the Government that the revenues that come from the EGL will be treated in the future as an established line item in the Budget, or will they be seen as a levy that will potentially go away in a short period of time?
Secondly, one of the concerns about the levy is the uncertainty and the effect that it may have on investments in electricity generation in general. What feedback has the Minister had? What feedback has the industry provided to the Government about this change? Does the Minister have a view about what the impact on industry investment will be? Surely, at this time, we are looking to extend the energy capacity of the UK at all levels that we can, so I am interested to know if the Government feel that there is a chilling effect on investment from these taxes.
Thirdly, why has the Minister not announced an end date for this increase? It was originally supposed to be a temporary levy. Indeed, not announcing an end date adds to the uncertainty in the sector. It would be helpful if the Minister could say something about that. This measure is temporary, but how long is temporary? I am interested to know whether the Government would consider a sunset clause, with a review or some other aspect that might provide additional certainty for the sector.
Let me move on to the mileage allowance increase from 45p to 55p per mile. We have no opposition to the change being made, but it would be worth while if the Minister could say a few words about the mileage allowance after 10,000 miles. The Government have decided not to change that at this time, so I am very interested to know what their thinking was. There are some people, particularly in rural areas and in certain types of jobs, who may well hit that 10,000 mile limit. What is the Government’s view on that?
As the Minister outlined, the allowance has not changed for a considerable period of time. Will he consider annual indexation? There are issues with that, because it is not just tied to the price of petrol or fuel; it includes issues to do with depreciation. Identifying some form of indexation therefore may not be straightforward, but I am interested to hear the Government’s view.
Finally, I think the Minister will recognise that the HGV vehicle excise duty holiday will probably have a limited impact, because it is just a one year change. What sort of behavioural impact analysis did the Government undertake prior to introducing this measure? The industry is a little bit sceptical about whether it will actually change behaviour in the near term. However, I am very grateful to the Minister for laying the issues out so clearly and, as I said, I am happy to receive written answers to my questions in due course if necessary.
I do not intend to detain the House for long. I welcome the motion to increase the electricity generator levy, which—alongside the Government’s plans to encourage participation at a competitive price in long term fixed contracts for low carbon generators—will weaken the link between electricity and gas prices, with the overall effect of bringing down energy bills for my constituents and consumers across the UK, as well as for British businesses.
I also welcome the long overdue increase in the approved mileage allowance for workers from 45p per mile to 55p. It is very noticeable that over the 14 years I was in Parliament under a Conservative Government, that rate stayed exactly the same, while the cost of petrol rose by around 33% and the cost of diesel by around 44%. Every single year, those workers were worse off than they had been the year before.
The motion to temporarily reduce vehicle excise duty is also welcome. Right now, HGVs pay about £1,700 on average per vehicle; the motion would change that to £1 this year. Last month, I visited Spectrum Freight in Chesterfield, where we discussed the challenges the industry is facing. It and other businesses in the industry will very much welcome the Government’s sensible approach to supporting the sector at this difficult time.
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
The electricity generator levy is a windfall tax on UK electricity generation from nuclear, renewable and biomass sources, and it raised £0.7 billion in the last financial year. The EGL is a revenue based tax that currently applies at a rate of 45% on exceptional generation receipts above a benchmark price of £77.94 per megawatt hour, with an allowance of £10 million per company. In contrast, the energy profits levy applies to oil and gas production in the UK and the UK continental shelf, and raised £2.9 billion in the last financial year. We support the goal of seeking to fund cost of living support through emergency revenue measures during the gas price shock, but we also note that power wholesale prices are now around £90 per megawatt hour, compared with a spike of £135 per megawatt hour and a pre Iran conflict price of £80 per megawatt hour. How much is this measure likely to raise, given the move in prices? It feels like the horse may have already bolted, so I would be interested to hear the Minister’s thoughts on that.
We recognise that this measure is a nudge to accelerate the shift of legacy renewable generators away from volatile wholesale prices and towards fixed contracts for difference, using a higher tax rate as leverage. If legacy renewable generators—those on the renewables obligation, not those already under CfDs—sign up to a wholesale contract for difference, they exchange their volatile wholesale revenues for a fixed strike price. That is obviously good news for consumers, who are insulated from future gas price spikes on that portion of generation because the generator is no longer passing through the wholesale prices, and the Government capture any upside via the Low Carbon Contracts Company when wholesale prices rise.
The second motion will increase the mileage allowance. Again, this seems a logical step, and one that we are happy to support. I note that the 45p rate has been frozen since 2011, so it has been 15 years without an adjustment. Over that period, the costs of fuel, insurance, tyres and servicing have all risen materially, so while 55p is a meaningful correction, it is questionable whether it fully catches up with accumulated inflation. This change will have a positive impact overall, not least for people in professions such as care work, who do a lot of driving between appointments. I refer again to the Lib Dem proposal to cut fuel duty by 10%—if the Chancellor took that proposal on board, it would combine with the increase in mileage allowance to make a significant difference in the pockets of people who often have to drive for work. I also note that the cost of this change has not been set out, only that it is “subject to scrutiny by the Office for Budget Responsibility and will be set out at a future fiscal event.”
Personally, I do not think that is good enough. The Treasury team should set out the cost of any change in the tax take, whether positive or negative, when it is proposed.
Finally, the 12-month vehicle excise duty holiday for HGVs is a sensible and welcome measure, and we will not oppose it. Our hauliers, such as Chris Hayter in Witney, are critical. They are the backbone of our economy, and I understand that the Minister knows them well. We need to be honest about what this change is and what it is not. Our haulage sector was already in crisis before the conflict in Iran. Insolvency rates in road freight have been running at record levels. Margins were being squeezed by rising insurance costs, driver shortages and the lingering disruption of years of post Brexit paperwork. The Iran conflict has simply poured fuel—at £1.85 a litre—on to a fire that was already burning.
The VED holiday saves a typical operator about £600 a vehicle. We welcome every penny of that, but against a fuel cost shock that is adding £1 billion a year to the industry’s cost base, it is by the Government’s own figures a quarter of the problem. Many operators will burn through that saving in a matter of weeks at the pump. What the sector needs alongside this is a serious long term plan on fuel duty RPI indexation, which threatens to push costs higher again next April, on driver recruitment and retention, where the shortage remains acute, and on the transition to cleaner vehicles, where smaller operators have been left without a credible path to decarbonisation. We will support this measure through Parliament because the people driving these lorries deserve the relief now, not after another round of consultations.
I call the Minister to wind up.
I thank all those who have spoken, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins) for his warm remarks. I will respond to the points made by the shadow spokespeople. I assume that this change will appear as a line item, although I would not want to prejudge any future decisions by the OBR on how it scores all these things and presents them in Budgets, as it is a specific tax head.
The Conservative and Liberal Democrat spokespeople asked how much this change will raise. It is difficult to know. As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard), highlighted, prices are coming down. They are at the moment slightly above the threshold in the system, but prices, as the shadow Energy Secretary will know, are volatile. In the usual way, the independent OBR will set out its estimate at the Budget for how much this change will raise and how much will be raised overall by the electricity generator levy. He is right to note that the levy does not raise billions and billions. It is a relatively targeted policy. We have increased the rate from 45% to 55%, but we have not changed the threshold and the routine uprating that takes place within it.
The Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for North Bedfordshire (Richard Fuller), asked whether there will be a review and whether this new higher rate is now the rate out into the future. That is something the Government are considering. He is right to highlight that we have not made a definitive announcement on whether that rate will last a short period or will go on into the future, but we will update in due course—it is not something that we want to leave hanging. I would expect that update will be at the Budget, if not before. However, that issue will be reviewed by the Chancellor and the Energy Secretary in the coming weeks.
I am grateful to the Minister for clarification that there is active consideration of an end date for that higher rate of 55%, but he will know that the 45% rate had an end date too. Will the review also consider announcing the end date for the levy overall, or has that not yet been considered?
As the shadow Minister will know, all tax rates, thresholds and the design of tax policy are considered in the round in the run up to Budgets. With the key policy intention of the increase in the rate, and by extension the decision to continue the policy in any form, one of the things that the Government have been considering is the fact that having the rate in the system should change the incentives and encourage electricity generators to partake in the wholesale contracts for difference, which are being developed and which the Energy Secretary will bring forward in the coming months.
The shadow Minister asked about investment. It is always difficult to make changes in taxation, particularly outside of the Budget cycle. The Chancellor have been cautious about making changes in response to the conflict in Iran. We wanted to take a measured approach to ensure that we manage the public finances well, but also to ensure that we support businesses and households that have been particularly affected by the impact of the conflict washing up on our shores. It is worth highlighting that new investment is excluded from the electricity generator levy, so a business owner thinking of investing in renewables or nuclear in the UK should note that their new investments will not be affected by the increase in the rate.
Turning to the second measure, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson and my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield were right to point out that the mileage rates have not been changed since 2011. It is very disappointing that, although we saw plenty of inflation spikes, the previous Government did not take the chance to uprate them.
Could the Minister just remind us to which party the Chief Secretary to the Treasury between 2010 and 2015 belonged?
I am not sure. I have been in the Chief Secretary’s office in the Treasury, and there are many pictures on the wall of the countless Chief Secretaries who served under the last Government—especially towards the end, what with all the chopping and changing. However, both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives had ample time to make more than the one change that was made in 2011.
The hon. Member for North Bedfordshire asked why no change was made in the “above 10,000 miles” rate. We did of course consider that when developing the policy. A very significant proportion of those who drive for work drive less than 10,000 miles. As the hon. Gentleman pointed out, some will drive more, especially if they have long distances to drive or live in rural communities, but we thought that this approach—providing a significant 10p increase in the rate up to 10,000 miles while leaving the 25p rate unchanged—got the balance right between supporting people who need help right now and being fiscally responsible. The hon. Gentleman will know, and drivers will know, that the marginal cost of each extra mile driven will decline over time, because the up front costs can be spread over more mileage. As for annual indexation, it is not the Government’s policy. I welcome the representation, but, again, that is not a policy that was pursued before. As he rightly observed, it would be a complicated process, given the volatility in petrol prices.
I should, of course, mention to the Liberal Democrat spokesperson that I am from Witney, and Chris Hayter Transport, the haulage company, is based just behind the housing estate on which I grew up. It is a very good local business, and I am glad to know that it will benefit from this measure. I take the points raised about the challenges facing the haulage sector, but I hope that our temporary and targeted change will benefit that business and businesses across the country.
Question put and agreed to. Income Tax (Mileage Amounts)
Resolved, That— (1) In the table in each of— (a) section 230(2) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (approved amount for mileage allowance payments), and (b) section 94F(2) of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 (appropriate mileage amount), for “45p” substitute “55p”.
(2) In consequence of paragraph (1), in section 94F(3) of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, for “45p” substitute “55p”.
(3) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect for the tax year 2026-27 and subsequent tax years.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.—(Dan Tomlinson.) Vehicle Excise Duty (Temporary Rates for Goods Vehicles)
Resolved, That— (1) The Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 has effect in relation to vehicle licences, other than trade licences, taken out in the period beginning with 1 July 2026 and ending with 30 June 2027 as follows.
(2) Paragraph 9 of Schedule 1 to that Act (rates for rigid goods vehicles exceeding 3,500 kgs revenue weight) has effect in relation to goods vehicles to which sub paragraph (1), (2)(b) or (3) of that paragraph applies and which are used in the course of a trade as if— (a) in sub paragraph (1), for “shall be determined in accordance with” to the end there were substituted “and not exceeding 44,000 kgs is £1.”; (b) where sub paragraph (2) applies in relation to rigid goods vehicles mentioned in paragraph (b) of that sub paragraph, in that sub paragraph for “basic goods vehicle rate” there were substituted “£1”; (c) in sub paragraph (3), for “£1,703” there were substituted “£1”.
(3) Paragraph 10 of that Schedule (rates for certain rigid goods vehicles exceeding 11,999 kgs) has effect in relation to goods vehicles to which sub paragraph (1) of that paragraph applies and which are used in the course of a trade as if— (a) in sub paragraph (3), for “to be determined in accordance with” to the end there were substituted “£1.”; (b) in sub paragraph (7), for “£654” there were substituted “£1”.
(4) Paragraph 11 of that Schedule (rates for tractive units exceeding 3,500 kgs) has effect in relation to goods vehicles to which sub paragraph (1), (2)(b) or (3) of that paragraph applies and which are used in the course of a trade as if— (a) in sub paragraph (1), for “shall be determined in accordance with” to the end there were substituted “and not exceeding 44,000 kgs is £1.”; (b) where sub paragraph (2) applies in relation to tractive units mentioned in paragraph (b) of that sub paragraph, in that sub paragraph for “basic goods vehicle rate” there were substituted “£1”; (c) in sub paragraph (3), for “£1,703” there were substituted “£1”.
(5) Paragraph 11C of that Schedule (rate for certain tractive units exceeding 41,000 kgs but not exceeding 44,000 kgs) has effect in relation to goods vehicles to which that paragraph applies and which are used in the course of a trade as if for “£10” there were substituted “£1”.
(6) Where subsection (2) of section 3 of that Act (6 month licences) applies in relation to a vehicle for which any of paragraphs (2) to (4) has effect, that subsection has effect as if, in paragraph (a), for “£50” there were substituted “£0”.
(7) Article 3(1)(b) of the Vehicle Licences (Duration of First Licences and Rate of Duty) Order 1986 (S.I. 1986/1428) has effect in relation to vehicle licences, other than trade licences, taken out in the period beginning with 1 July 2026 and ending with 30 June 2027 for vehicles for which any of paragraphs (2) to (5) has effect as if for “£50” there were substituted “£0”
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.—(Dan Tomlinson.) Ordered, That a Bill be brought in upon the foregoing resolutions; That the Chairman of Ways and Means, the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lucy Rigby, Rachel Blake, Dan Tomlinson and Torsten Bell do prepare and bring in the Bill.
Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill Presentation and First Reading Dan Tomlinson accordingly presented a Bill to increase the rate of electricity generator levy and mileage amounts relating to income tax and to provide for temporary rates of vehicle excise duty for goods vehicles.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time tomorrow, and to be printed (Bill 103) with explanatory notes (Bill 103-EN).
[Relevant documents: Eighth Report of the Environmental Audit Committee of Session 2024-26, The Seventh Carbon Budget, HC 1327, and the Government response, Session 2026-27, HC 25; Oral evidence taken before the Environmental Audit Committee on 15 June, on Carbon Budget Seven follow up, HC 361; Correspondence from the Minister for Climate to the Environmental Audit Committee, on The Seventh Carbon Budget, reported to the House on 23 June 2025, Session 2024-26.]
I beg to move, That the draft Carbon Budget Order 2026, which was laid before this House on 2 June, be approved.
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: That the draft Climate Change Act 2008 (International Aviation and International Shipping) Regulations 2026, which were laid before this House on 14 April, in the last Session of Parliament, be approved.
That the draft Climate Change Act 2008 (Credit Limit) Order 2026, which was laid before this House on 14 April, in the last Session of Parliament, be approved.
This week has been like no other. At this very moment, people across our country are experiencing another reminder of the world we now live in. If anyone in this Chamber still thinks that climate change is a problem for tomorrow, they should step outside today. Parents will struggle to get their children to sleep through sweltering nights. Farmers will look anxiously at weather forecasts and cloudless skies. Hospitals, schools and care homes will prepare for temperatures that would have seemed extraordinary in Britain just a few decades ago.
Parts of our country are facing temperatures of up to 38° this week, while experts warn that 40° days may arrive far sooner than anyone expected. Today’s debate is not taking place against the backdrop of climate change; it is taking place in the middle of it, and I cannot make it clearer to the House that this is not normal. A Met Office extreme heat warning is in place for parts of the UK today and tomorrow. In fact, it has just confirmed that today is the hottest June day ever.
In recent months the crisis in the middle east has felt like a ghost from the recent past. Once again, the world has found itself staring at a major fossil fuel producing region and wondering what happens next. Once again, energy markets have been holding their breath. Once again, families, businesses and Governments have been reminded just how fragile the system can be. This is, of course, the second fossil fuel shock in barely half a decade. It is only four years since Putin’s tanks rolled into Ukraine and sent shockwaves through the global economy, four years since family budgets were shredded by soaring energy bills, and four years since Britain was reminded that when our energy system depends on volatile fossil fuel markets, a crisis on the other side of the world can land on our doorstep in a matter of days.
When faced with challenges of this scale, there is always a temptation to focus on the immediate crisis, to become consumed by the pressures of the day, and to postpone difficult decisions for another Parliament, another Government or another generation.
Will the Minister give way?
I will make some progress.
Postponing difficult decisions has never been how our country has met its greatest challenges. We have always been strongest when we have looked beyond the immediate horizon, recognised the risks ahead and taken practical steps to prepare for them. That is what the carbon budget framework represents: a science led budget to reduce emissions by around 87% between 2038 and 2042 compared with 1990 levels, including in international aviation and shipping. The framework is in line with the advice from the independent Climate Change Committee and is endorsed by the Environmental Audit Committee, which I thank for its rigorous scrutiny, including in the evidence session that it held with me last week.
Alongside the carbon budget framework, the regulations before the House today will formally include the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions in carbon budgets from carbon budget 6 onwards, while the Climate Change Act 2008 (Credit Limit) Order 2026 will ensure that carbon budget 5 is met through domestic action, allowing the UK economy to capture the full benefits of the transition.
Will the Minister give way?
I will keep going.
In determining the level of the seventh carbon budget, we assessed different pathways for Britain’s future. What the analysis showed was remarkably clear: whether viewed through the lens of economic growth, national security, public health or long term prosperity, the benefits of continuing on Britain’s path to net zero significantly outweigh the benefits of abandoning it. Let me explain why.
The first reason is business uncertainty. This framework provides something every successful economy depends on and every serious business asks for: certainty. Investment flows not to the country with the lowest costs or the biggest market, but to the country with a plan. It flows to the country where business investors and entrepreneurs can look 10, 15 or 20 years into the future and have confidence about the direction of travel.
Yesterday, in a career highlight, I was proud to open the London stock exchange to mark London Climate Action Week. It also celebrates a remarkable finding in new analysis by the London stock exchange, which is that the global green economy is now worth more than $10 trillion. Its analysis has found that green revenues grew by 5.3% in 2025, despite energy shocks, market volatility and geopolitical tensions. Here in the UK, I am proud to announce that this Government have officially secured £100 billion of private investment in clean energy since taking office.
The message from investors could not be clearer: the race is on. Capital is flowing towards the countries that are building, planning and backing the industries of the future, and that is one of the great strengths of the Climate Change Act and the carbon budget framework. For almost two decades, that has provided a stable and predictable signal about where Britain is heading, giving businesses the confidence to invest, innovate and grow.
Will the Minister give way?
I will keep going for a bit if that is okay.
This is a market solution to a generational challenge, providing certainty about the destination while allowing competition, innovation and enterprise to determine the journey, and the results can be seen across the country. On the day we laid this order before Parliament, new analysis showed that Britain’s net zero economy now supports more than 1 million jobs and generated £105 billion for the UK economy alone. We see that opportunity in carbon capture projects in Teesside, in new nuclear at Sizewell C in Suffolk, and in companies across the country building the technologies, supply chains and industries that will power the next chapter of British economic growth.
Indeed, as more than 75,000 people have descended on London for London Climate Action Week this week—taking part in over 1,300 events and helping to broker deals, partnerships and investments that will shape the global economy for years to come—they are doing so in a city that has established itself as the sustainable finance capital of the world. That is why support for this framework extends far beyond Government. The British Chambers of Commerce says these plans provide “greater certainty for…firms”. The CBI describes the green economy as “a powerhouse of job creation and economic expansion”.
E.ON says that “the prize is bigger than emissions alone.”
Business leaders, manufacturers and investors are all making the same argument. In a world competing for capital, talent and innovation, long term certainty is not a burden on growth; it is one of the foundations of it.
Secondly, if the economic case for action is increasingly clear, so is the security case. Climate change has become a central concern not just for scientists and policy makers, but for our country’s military leaders, intelligence chiefs and security experts. On the agenda for the Munich security conference, climate change sits alongside geopolitical conflict and nuclear proliferation as one of the defining risks of our age. That assessment is increasingly shared across Britain’s own security establishment. Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston has said it “threatens global resilience and our shared security and prosperity.”
Baroness Manningham Buller, the former director general of MI5, has said it is clear that climate change is the “greatest threat” we face. Lieutenant General Nugee has said: “Climate change is not an abstract environmental issue. It is now a core national security risk.”
These are not campaigners or commentators; they have served their country and are people who have spent their careers identifying risks before they become crises and preparing our country for threats before they arrive.
Climate change is often discussed as an environmental challenge, yet it is increasingly showing up elsewhere in conversations about food security, energy security, national resilience and the basic responsibility of Government to protect their citizens from foreseeable risks. The framework before the House is not just about reducing emissions; it is part of the long term work of making Britain safer, stronger and less vulnerable in a more uncertain world.
Thirdly and finally, we should see this transition for what it really is: one of the greatest upgrade projects in our country’s history. Too often, debates about climate change become trapped in the language of targets, regulations and emissions, but when future generations look back on this period, they are unlikely to remember the technical details of carbon budgets or policy frameworks. What they will remember is that this was the moment Britain began upgrading the system that underpins modern life.
Every generation has had its national upgrade. Previous generations built the railways that connected our country, electrified our towns and cities, brought clean water into people’s homes, connected millions of households to the gas grid and transformed the way people travelled, worked and lived. Our generation’s task is no different. We are upgrading an energy system that leaves us exposed to volatile fossil fuel markets and replacing it with one powered increasingly by clean electricity generated here at home. We are upgrading homes and technology that allow families to generate, store and manage their own energy. We are upgrading transport, upgrading industry and upgrading infrastructure that in many cases was designed for a different century and a different economy.
That is not a marginal adjustment to the economy we have today; it is a fundamental upgrade to how Britain powers itself, and the prize is enormous. Our analysis shows that clean power and electrification could save families and businesses £445 billion in fossil fuel spending over the next 25 years. Cleaner air could mean up to 8,000 fewer hospital admissions every year by 2050 and around £80 billion in health benefits, while action to restore nature could deliver a further £50 billion worth of benefits.
Will the Minister give way?
No, I will make some progress.
Those benefits include greater protection from flooding, cleaner rivers and greater biodiversity.
But this is not simply about what we avoid; it is about what we build. Across the world, more than $2 trillion is now invested in clean energy every year—roughly twice the amount invested in fossil fuels. It is where global capital is flowing, where industries are being built and where future economic advantage will increasingly be won. I make no apology for Britain competing for that opportunity. I do not want our country watching from the sidelines while others capture the jobs, industries and investment of the future. I want Britain helping to shape that future and benefiting from it.
Let me finish by saying this. Long before I entered this House and long before I became a Minister, I was one of the many people involved in the wider effort that helped to build support for the Climate Change Act, which is one of the most significant and widely supported pieces of cross party legislation this country has ever passed.
Will the Minister give way?
Let me just finish.
Back then, it often felt like a cause that sat at the margins of politics, rather than at its centre. Progress felt slow; success felt uncertain. If someone had told me that one day I would stand at this Dispatch Box I might have struggled to believe it, but what that journey reminds me of is that real change is rarely the work of one person, one Government or one political party. It happens because people keep building year after year, Government after Government, Parliament after Parliament. Eighteen years ago, this House came together to pass the world’s first climate change Act. Seven years ago, it came together again to make Britain the first major economy to legislate on net zero emissions. Different Prime Ministers, different Governments and different political traditions have all helped to write that story.
Will the Minister give way?
I will just finish.
History has many authors. As a result of that shared effort, Britain was the first major economy to cut emissions by more than half, while growing its economy by more than 85% between 1990 and 2025. We have helped to inspire around 60 countries to adopt similar legislation and we have shown it is possible to combine climate action with economic growth, energy security and national prosperity.
At its best, this House has always been capable of looking beyond the pressures of the moment and acting in the interests of future generations. I believe this is one of those moments, so whatever our differences on the detail I hope we can recognise what this debate is really about: the kind of country we leave behind and whether we upgrade it while we have the chance. That is a legacy worth building together. I commend these orders and regulations to the House.
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
Today, we are voting on something hugely consequential: a new net zero target that will allow Ministers and civil servants to control almost every part of the economy and the cost of goods in every aspect of people’s lives. It will affect the cost of energy, food, housing, heating, transport, holidays and shipping, and which industries will find it competitive to do business in Britain and which industries will not. Yet in this Chamber can anybody put a figure on how much more expensive this will make food or energy bills or family holidays?
Will the right hon. Lady give way?
I will happily give way for the hon. Gentleman to cite the figure.
Does the right hon. Lady not accept that the investment her Government made in offshore wind power has insulated British consumers against the fossil fuel price hikes we have seen as a consequence of the Iran war? That is evidence that investment in renewable energy is good for consumers and businesses.
I note that the hon. Gentleman did not answer my question, because he does not have an answer. Let me answer his question: on an electricity bill, 25% of the cost is a wholesale cost, and 75% is a non commodity cost. Bills have gone up so much partly because of the taxes, levies and policies that his Government have chosen.
Will the right hon. Member give way on that point?
No, I will pursue my argument. The vast majority of the costs on an electricity bill are not to do with wholesale prices. The question that I asked the hon. Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies) was whether he could tell us—[Interruption.] He should listen to this; he is not even listening to my point. I asked whether he could tell us what the legislation he is voting on today will do to the price of food, energy, and holidays for his constituents.
Let me try this question: how many Members present can say, hand on heart, that they have read the impact assessment for this legislation?
I have read it.
The hon. Gentleman says that he has. Could he cite the number of jobs the legislation will create or lose in the overall economy?
The right hon. Lady’s argument would have a lot more credibility if she had not said, in 2023: “Nothing will distract us from achieving net zero or driving forward renewables…I want people to feel nothing but unadulterated optimism…We are absolutely committed to our targets.”
The facts about climate change have not changed, yet the right hon. Member has changed her mind. Could that be because of those Members sitting on the Reform Bench?
The hon. Gentleman also did not answer my question on jobs. I inherited my party’s position on net zero. I made it clear from the outset that my priority was affordability for Brits in this country, and that net zero should not impoverish consumers. In fact, I made some changes that meant that Labour called me a climate denier and a flat earther. The hon. Gentleman now comes to this Chamber, not to scrutinise the legislation that will have a massive effect on his constituents, but to criticise me for scrutinising it, asking questions and changing my party’s position.
I am proud to have changed my party’s position, because I care about the consumer, about jobs, and about the price of food and energy. None of the Members on the Government Benches seems to care about those things, because if they did—[Interruption.] I will make some progress, because nobody is answering these questions. If they cared about those things, they would have read the Government’s impact assessment.
I have read it.
Well, the hon. Gentleman could not answer the question on jobs. If he had read it, he would know that the Government’s own impact assessment admits that the modelling does not consider any upside, or downside risks, to the economy arising from the energy transition. It specifically says that it does not consider the impact on jobs. That means that Government Members are voting on legislation without any idea of what it is going to mean for the British worker.
The impact assessment is clear and explicit: the modelling does not analyse energy security. The Government do not know what the legislation will mean for the energy security of our nation. The head of Unite was spot on when she said at the weekend that the Secretary of State “only seems to be interested in one side of the equation, rushing Britain to net zero with almost no thought for jobs, skills and national security.”
The transition has literally not been properly assessed. What is worse is that Government MPs want to make their political points, but none of them seems to care. Considering how much people are struggling and how much growth is flatlining, are Labour Members really happy to wave through those legal targets without the foggiest idea of what it will do to the economy, the cost of living or energy security?
Will the right hon. Member give way?
If the hon. Gentleman would like to tell us about the impact on jobs, he is more than welcome to do so.
I am happy to do so. Is the right hon. Member aware of the evidence from the Climate Change Committee that says that the cost of doing nothing is more expensive than the cost of everything that is needed for net zero? When she attempts to stand in the way of the transition, what she is actually doing is attempting to pile up the costs on British business and consumers, and on the sustainability of our country. She should understand the impact of her policies, rather than attempting to row back on one of the few things the previous Government should have been proud of.
I will come to the evidence of the Climate Change Committee in a second, but first I note that once again, a Member from the Labour Benches cannot cite an overall figure on jobs—I would have thought that the Labour party would be able to cite a figure on jobs.
Look, I have given way to a number of hon. Members, and nobody has had an answer. Let me put this to them—
If it is going to be about jobs, then please—go ahead.
It absolutely will be about jobs—I thank the right hon. Lady for giving way. The CBI—not the Government, but the CBI—has found that the net zero economy is worth £100 billion of investment in this country every year and supports 1.1 million jobs.
Oh dear. So the hon. Gentleman has not read that report either, because it includes among those jobs waste, recycling and nuclear power—does he think we did not have those jobs before the net zero target? It also includes soil restoration and land management. It specifically says—[Interruption.] I am sorry; Labour Members do not seem to like this, but I have actually read these reports. They do not seem to realise that that report includes a huge range of things that have nothing to do with the net zero target.
I will press on. When the Climate Change Committee provides advice to the Government about what carbon budget target they should set, it uses its own costings and assumptions. Its analysis determines how billions upon billions—that is thousands and thousands of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money—is spent. I am afraid that is deeply problematic.
Why do I say that? Because the cost of offshore wind used to prepare carbon budget 7 was out by a factor of three. The Climate Change Committee said that offshore wind would cost £38 per megawatt hour, but contracts were being signed by their Secretary of State for £82 per megawatt hour, suggesting that something was clearly going very wrong on a key input for the exact target that we are voting on today.
When I wrote to the Climate Change Committee—
I will make this point. When I wrote to the Climate Change Committee asking it to look at this matter, it sent me a dismissive reply. So I wrote about it in a newspaper. What did the committee do? It reported me—a democratically elected politician—under the Independent Press Standards Organisation editors’ code and tried to get me to remove my opinion. I did not. Just a few months later, the Government updated their own costings, not to £80 per megawatt hour or even to £90 per megawatt hour, but to over £100 per megawatt hour. That is the Minister’s own figure. That means that not only was I right, but offshore wind was now predicted to cost three times what the Climate Change Committee had said.
I do not know which is worse: that we are making huge decisions on the basis of such poor analysis, that nobody on the Government Benches thinks that this warrants any scrutiny, or that an unelected advisory body is using taxpayers’ funds to try to silence elected representatives rather than focusing on getting its costings right. Everybody in this House should think that is shameful. If the committee was wrong by a factor of three on offshore wind—something that we have better evidence for than pretty much anything else in the market—how can we trust any of the rest of its analysis?
Let us look at some of the committee’s claims. It claims that a low carbon electricity supply is “cheaper per unit” than high carbon electricity. Well, if your numbers are out by a factor of three, perhaps you might think that. It also says that “most businesses will not be…affected by Net Zero”, particularly in the services sector. How does it justify that? Let me assure the House, if net zero blocks the advance of AI in this country, that will have a catastrophic impact on our services sector. Here is another claim: “a reduction in meat…and dairy”
will mean a healthier diet. Who are they to tell us what to eat and to give us nutritional advice? The committee makes claim after claim and sweeping statement after sweeping statement with nobody holding it accountable. Yet this advice—this target—will affect almost every part of normal life.
Hon. Members may argue that we need strict climate targets to provide certainty for jobs—that is what the Minister just said—but that is nonsense. The country doing the best at creating clean tech jobs is China, which is now the world’s largest polluter. Hon. Members may also say that this is about our moral duty to fix climate change, but I will remind them that every time a British factory shuts here, where we have some of the cleanest electricity in the world, and we import those same goods back from coal powered China, we are not helping climate change; instead, we are increasing global emissions. Before Labour Members get on their high horse, I will remind them that the Conservatives are the only party to call for the measurement of the offshoring of emissions. Labour does not want to know because it does not care.
Here is the problem: Labour Members do not want to properly measure whether we are just trading emissions here for emissions abroad because they do not really care whether this target is actually good for the worker, or good for jobs, or good for the cost of living, or good for the environment. That is why none of them cared to read the impact assessment.
I have taken interventions from so many Labour Members, and none of them could give a figure—[Interruption.] I will happily give way.
Point 299 of the impact assessment says: “The transition away from fossil fuels will lead to a net increase in job creation”.
I believe the right hon. Lady said a moment ago that it does not mention at all the impact on jobs. I invite her to correct the record.
The analysis that the hon. Gentleman points to refers to TIMES modelling. That is used for the baseline. A few pages away, its says that the TIMES modelling specifically does not look at the impact of jobs on the overall energy transition. It is in there in black and white.
The hon. Gentleman might desperately google it now in the Chamber, but the truth is that no Labour Members read and scrutinised the impact assessment properly because none of them cares. Let’s be honest: they are all here to read their boilerplate speeches, which will all be exactly the same, to virtue signal how much of a good person they are. That is the truth. Most of them come from climate NGOs and green lobby groups—the Minister does too, I am afraid—and they care more about ideology than evidence. How many of them have ever had to turn a profit for a living? How many have had to work out how to pay someone else’s wages? How many have had to consider all the costs that go into manufacturing and selling something in Britain?
The thing is, we could do this so differently. We are 1% of global emissions; 99% are happening elsewhere. Those countries are not persuaded by Britain driving itself into poverty while the Secretary of State preaches at them from his pulpit. In fact, they are asking themselves why they should follow the path that Britain is taking when we are such an obvious example of what not to do. We are a country that is making its energy scarce and expensive, and deindustrialising and impoverishing its own citizens.
What is the solution? First, we must reject decarbonisation by deindustrialisation. Therefore, we must measure the offshoring of emissions and get rid of the unilateral carbon tax and the stringent targets killing off British industry by repealing the Climate Change Act.
Given that we have reduced our carbon emissions by some 54% since 1990, perhaps the shadow Secretary of State agrees with me that we have led the way and done our bit. It is now time for others to do theirs.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. The question is, can we protect the environment, the economy and living standards? Is what the Government are proposing today going to help us do those things? I would argue that it is not. [Interruption.] Well, let’s talk about it: Labour Members will vote today to increase the cost of aviation and shipping when our competitors in Asia, the middle east and the US are not doing so. That is mad.
The first part of our plan is to save British industry. The second is to make electricity cheap. Just 10% of our emissions are in the electricity system; the vast majority are in transport, industry and buildings. Our electricity is clean. Does Labour even realise that? It is some of the cleanest electricity in the world. The problem is that it is too expensive and deterring electrification. I am not someone on the right who thinks that all clean tech is stupid, but I do think that cheap electricity and consumer choice should be king.
Thirdly, we should wholeheartedly embrace innovation and exports of British clean tech, whether that is the next generation of nuclear, software or consumer products. Finally, we should pay much more heed to nature—something that we were proud to do but this Government are much less keen on. Funnily enough, they are much more attracted to net zero than nature. Perhaps that is because the former gives them unlimited powers to dictate to people what they can and cannot do, and to tax people who do things that they do not like. That is, after all, a socialist’s dream.
I would bet everything that our approach is better for the British economy and the environment, but it would mean wresting this agenda away from the incredibly well funded green lobby groups with vested interests, who provide these figures that Members on the Labour Benches all merrily cite without having actually read the reports. And, frankly, they do not have the balls to do it—they do not even have the balls to take on their out of control Secretary of State.
I will end on this. The public keep being promised cheaper energy and more jobs, yet those things are not materialising. If people want to know why Governments keep failing, they should look at this impact assessment, which I am afraid is mumbo jumbo that does not tell the reader what the target will do to the cost of food or energy, or the cost of business. They should consider the fact that parliamentarians are prepared to wave it through today. The Minister did not even take any questions. This is meant to be a debate in which we scrutinise these important decisions, but she did not want to answer any questions.
Who in the public voted for this? Who in the public voted for more expensive food, energy bills and boilers? Who voted to increase our goods imports from China? Let us be very clear: this legislation takes control away from Ministers and gives it to civil servants, unaccountable bodies and activists who will tell Ministers that they cannot prioritise the cost of living or the economy, even if they were elected to do so.
The Energy Secretary might not be in post for much longer, but the legacy of his target will be to make us poorer and weaker. Ministers will be more bound by red tape and less able to deliver on their promises, but it does not have to be that way. This is the moment to take back control for our constituents and say that Ministers should not be bound by legislation waved through with no scrutiny—by Ministers who will not take any questions. Ministers should be bound by the democratic promises they have made to the electorate. That is how we fix this. That is how we put our constituents back in the driving seat, and that is why Members should vote to reject this legislation today.
As colleagues will understand, this is a three hour debate and a remarkable number of Members wish to contribute, so Back Benchers will shortly be on a speaking limit of five minutes. First, I call the Chair of the Select Committee, Toby Perkins.
I very much welcome the draft Carbon Budget Order 2026, which sets the level of the seventh carbon budget on the way to our long term and previously cross party aim to balance the UK’s carbon emissions by 2050.
I have to say that the speech we have just heard from the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho) was quite remarkable because, at the most fundamental level, it failed to understand what we are doing today. The sixth carbon budget passed by the previous Government in 2020 only got its delivery plan in 2025. Today, we are debating our aim for 2038 to 2042. At this moment, it is not prescriptive about how we get there. That is why, at the most fundamental level, the shadow Secretary of State did not understand what she was debating, and why she failed to get answers to some of the questions that she thought should be answered. I am afraid that, at the most fundamental level, she was on the wrong path.
My hon. Friend is making an important point. I have been contacted by many constituents who have engaged with the “People’s Emergency Briefing” campaign. One of its key asks is greater public awareness of the effects of climate change. Does he agree that the Government should do more to make sure that people are aware of the effects of climate change? Perhaps we could start with the shadow Secretary of State.
That is a very good place to start, because the shadow Secretary of State suggested that the Climate Change Committee has attempted to silence her. It has not attempted to silence her. What it attempted to do, on a point of fact, was inform her of the basis on which her letter to the committee was wrong. This was not a matter of opinion; the Climate Change Committee was simply explaining to her where the cost of electricity comes from. My hon. Friend makes a good point.
The shadow Secretary of State talked about transparency, which is interesting because the fact that we are having a debate on the seventh carbon budget is completely different from what happened on the fourth, fifth and sixth carbon budgets. The sixth carbon budget, under the previous Government, was approved in 17 minutes in a Delegated Legislation Committee, far away from public scrutiny. These are crucial matters. I agree with the shadow Secretary of State that they will have wide ranging impacts on all of us, and they should be debated on the Floor of the House. I welcome that this Government, unlike the previous one, have brought this forward and reserved time to debate it.
In debating this order, it is so disappointing that the political consensus that previously existed has evaporated. It lasted from the Labour Government’s seminal introduction of the Climate Change Act 2008, which was strengthened and updated in 2019 by the Conservative Government. With the introduction of the Climate Change Act and the pathway to net zero, Britain was world leading in our ambition. The approach was so admired that, far from what the shadow Secretary of State said, it was copied by many other legislatures. How tragic that the Opposition should choose to jettison one of the greatest achievements in their 14 years in government in the face of a threat from the climate deniers in Reform.
The approach pursued by successive Governments is working. Since 1990, the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions have been cut by 54%. At the same time, the UK economy has grown.
Will the hon. Gentleman just answer a very simple question, as this is in the Labour manifesto and the Secretary of State bangs on about it week after week? When will energy bills and electricity bills come down?
There are many different things that impact energy prices. We have seen £150 taken off the price of bills. I think there is more that can be done to reduce electricity prices, and I will come to that.
The reality is that the hon. Gentleman is an advocate of a greater reliance on gas and oil. If anything is explained to us, it is that we have no control over energy prices while we are reliant on gas and oil. Everything that has happened since 2022—[Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman puts his head in his hands. I say to him that the amount that the Government spent in 2022 to cover the cost of the increase in energy prices caused by the start of the Ukraine war was greater than the cost of everything that we will do on net zero between now and 2050. That is the reality: £44 billion pounds was spent propping up people’s gas, electricity and fuel bills at the time of that crisis. That is why we need to get away from that dependence.
As I was saying, since 1990, the UK economy has grown, partly powered by the green economy, which last year was found to be growing at three times the rate of the rest of the economy, providing jobs and growth across the country. The most recent CCC assessment found that the UK remains among the leading group of countries that demonstrate sustained emissions reductions. The transition is the pro business choice. This year’s CBI and Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit report on the net zero economy found that green businesses and their supply chains generated £105 billion in gross value added for the UK economy, as well as supporting over 20,000 small businesses and a million jobs.
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, with which I very much agree. I want us to tackle climate change as fast as possible, and to accelerate the bringing online of that cheap, clean energy that will help both households and businesses. Does he, however, understand the pressures on the automotive industry? Will he join me in asking the Minister to look carefully at a rescheduling of current targets so that we do not have a knee jerk reaction, but instead have a long term plan that industry can sign up to, which would provide the certainty that is needed in that particular sphere while we battle on with the other things we are doing to bring down emissions?
My hon. Friend makes an important point, and I will come to the zero emission vehicle mandate shortly. I agree with the shadow Secretary of State that we need to be careful that we do not just offshore emissions, so I will come to some of the stuff that we need to do about energy intensive industries. None the less, I think it is important that we give business the certainty that it requires.
During the EAC’s inquiry into carbon budget 7, we heard time and again from business and investors that a long term plan and policy certainty are needed. The forthcoming delivery plan and CB7 are exactly the sort of long term planning that businesses need to have confidence about the UK’s direction of travel, in order to invest and innovate. As a world leader on clean energy, our approach puts Britain on the front foot in a globally competitive and quickly changing world.
The setting of the seventh carbon budget today is not just a technical milestone but a statement of our long term ambition to secure the UK’s economic future and our competitiveness on the global stage, alongside a greener and healthier future for our children. The EAC analysis confirms that the pathway to CB7 is both credible and achievable. It is clear that, although they accept the overall figure, the Government will not adopt all the approaches suggested by the CCC, and the delivery plan that the Government adopt is what will dictate the success or otherwise of CB7. That is why the shadow Secretary of State was unable to get answers to all the questions she was posing. This provides an overall framework but it is not the Government’s delivery plan. It is within the delivery plan that we might expect to get some of the answers to the shadow Secretary of State’s questions, which she would have known if she understood what the carbon budget order process was all about.
The Climate Change Committee has said: “The slow pace of electrification is putting the UK’s climate targets at risk and is a missed opportunity to enhance UK energy security in the face of rising threats, leaving the UK exposed to geopolitical shocks…Following the recent increase in fossil fuel prices, bills have increased almost four times more for a typical household with a gas boiler and a petrol car, compared to a household with a heat pump and an EV.”
People need to know how net zero will result in a stronger, more resilient economy, lower bills and greener and healthier places to live.
The EAC’s report is tagged to the debate today, and I would like to place on record my thanks to Committee specialist Dawn Amey for her work on that really important report. Our report identifies several areas in which further action is needed to achieve the seventh carbon budget. I would like to highlight just three. First, the Committee identified that bringing down energy bills and making electrification attractive and affordable was fundamental to making the green transition work for businesses and people. This Government are accelerating the roll out of renewables in Britain and investing in grid and network infrastructure, both of which will have the effect of bringing down bills, but more action is needed. We recommended removing further policy costs from energy bills and putting them on to general taxation. This will improve the cost differential for making cleaner choices for households and industry.
Absolutely, Madam Deputy Speaker; I will move straight on.
Secondly, we heard again and again from businesses that long term policy certainty and delivery across Government was crucial. Thirdly, we heard that fairness was key. The green transition is necessary and brings huge potential benefits, but it must be done in a way that brings people and businesses along. Decarbonisation must not mean deindustrialisation. Forcing production to relocate abroad weakens the UK’s industrial base and undermines support for decarbonisation while failing to reduce global emissions.
In summary, the path laid out by this order is credible and achievable. The goal is a vital one—indeed, this is the fight of our age—but it must be done in a way that allows our economy and our people to thrive, and ensures that it is fairly distributed so that it is accessible to all. The prize is not just a more sustainable future but quite possibly the future of our race on this planet.
All Back Benchers will now be on a five minute speaking limit, but first I come to the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
I thank the Minister and the Government for allowing a good length of time for us to debate and give due consideration to this issue of national security, just as it demands. On the day that we are debating the draft Carbon Budget Order 2026, which aims to balance our carbon emissions from 2038 to 2041, it has just been confirmed that we have surpassed the UK’s record June temperatures, which were set in 1976. The record has been surpassed in Charlwood in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Dorking and Horley (Chris Coghlan). The Met Office has also issued a red warning for extreme heat this week, with temperatures likely to hit 40°C, but once again the UK is woefully unprepared because we keep putting our head in the sand.
Climate change is no longer a future threat; it is here with us today and the consequences are already being felt. The shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), asked about costs. This week alone, hundreds of schools have closed. GCSE and A level students are taking what may be the most important exams in their lives in sweltering conditions, in schools unfit for the current temperatures. Public transport is gridlocked and trains are being cancelled today. Telecommunications are down and the economy faces hundreds of millions of pounds of lost productivity and infrastructure failures.
Turning to the public health costs, last summer’s heatwaves contributed to an estimated 16,500 avoidable excess deaths across Europe, with 1,504 heat associated deaths last year in the UK alone. We know that that is affecting our elderly and the most vulnerable.
The hon. Member is making an important speech. She highlighted the record breaking June temperatures, and I heard Members behind me talk about how it is lovely and warm, but she highlights the very real human cost and the number of deaths per year that we are already seeing. Did she hear the Climate Change Committee highlighting that on the current trajectory, if we do not take action by mid century, we will see 10,000 unavoidable deaths per year due to heat? Does that not show how serious the situation is?
Absolutely, I agree with the hon. Member.
Let us no longer hide from this, but look it clearly in the eye: there are clear costs. They are no longer in the future; they are here now. There are costs to our economy, but also to our communities.
Let us talk about food costs. Food supplies are coming under increasing pressure. Three of the UK’s worst harvests on record have occurred within the last five years, hitting our farmers and driving up costs for families at every shop. Floods and wildfires are making homes uninsurable and putting lives and livelihoods at risk. But this is much more than a story about a few hot days. If we think that this week’s heat is uncomfortable, the difficult truth is that what today feels exceptional will increasingly become normal, and without purposeful climate action, it will keep on getting worse.
The hon. Member is making an important speech. Climate change is one of those issues that my constituents contact me about all the time, particularly my young constituents. This is something that really bothers them as much as it does us. Does she agree that climate change is something we are experiencing now—we know that when we step outside? Does she also agree that a dead planet with plenty of jobs is no good for any of us, so we need to focus on this and deal with it?
Like the hon. Member, I regularly meet young people across my constituency. I find it hard to look my children and children in my constituency and beyond in the eye, because that is one of the things they talk about the most. I challenge any MP in this Chamber to say that they do not receive those emails or have those meetings in schools where this issue is brought up. I feel that responsibility deeply, and I believe that that feeling is shared across the majority of those in this Chamber.
Without action, we risk handing our children and the next generation a Britain where extreme heat regularly keeps children out of classrooms. Did we not learn from covid, during which the more disadvantaged were left behind because they were told to go home? They did not have large homes, cool gardens or broadband, and that is happening yet again this week. We will have a Britain in which thousands die prematurely each summer and in which water scarcity, with a deficit of 5 billion litres a day of public water, is a reality. In my constituency of South Cambridgeshire, which is one of the most water stressed in the country, this issue is affecting growth right now, so we know how critical it is.
We should add that water shortages are a real cause of conflict. Many communities will be displaced. Anybody who is worried about migration now should be deeply worried about migration in the future, because people will simply be displaced—
Shut the borders!
They will come, and you will shut the borders, but we will have wars over water shortages. We absolutely will. It sounds alarmist, but we can do something about it. We should not put our heads in the sand. Does my hon. Friend agree?
I thank my hon. Friend, as always, for her passionate defence and her knowledge on this issue. I worked for 20 years in east Africa, southern America and the Caribbean on UK climate policy, including under the previous Conservative Government. I saw countries already facing water shortages and what that meant: devastating crops and economies, and putting countries into recurrent economic recession. We must be committed to net zero emissions by 2050 because the science when the former Government agreed this—
The hon. Member is making an emotional speech, and I understand she cares deeply about this issue. This target is imposing costs on our businesses in Britain, which is driving them away from one of the cleanest energy systems in the world. Our refineries now pay more on their carbon tax bill than they do on their wage bill. What does that mean? It means we are importing back those same goods from countries such as India that have higher emissions—twice the emissions, in fact. Why should we set a target more onerous than that in other countries, driving production away, only to import goods with higher emissions? What does she think that will do for climate change?
Perhaps I would contest the fact that we cannot equate the emotion with a rational mind as well. These are science based targets that the hon. Member’s Government agreed to set. What is recommended in the carbon budget order is set by the independent Climate Change Committee, with robust figures, and the science has shown us that this is our best chance to limit warming to under 2°. Global collective action avoided—at least for now—a 4° warmer world, and as I understand it, the Treasury has accepted modelling to show that we have accepted a 2° warmer world. It means that every Department will have to look at what a 2° warmer world means and how we adapt to that. I agree, however, that the impact on our industry, with some of the highest energy prices, means that it is less competitive. Let us therefore work together and focus directly on how we can get energy bills down.
The Liberal Democrats welcome the seventh carbon budget, and we are glad that the Government have accepted the advice of the robust and science based Climate Change Committee, which puts us on a consistent and achievable pathway to meeting net zero while building a fairer and thriving new economy.
Does the hon. Lady agree that we will never persuade other countries to take action to reduce their carbon emissions unless we show global leadership? Will she join me in congratulating the Prime Minister, who went to COP29 in Baku, announced an ambitious nationally determined contribution of reducing emissions by 81% by 2035? That was real climate leadership. Having been at that COP, I know that there was such disappointment among other countries about the fact that the previous Government had stepped away from showing that kind of leadership.
I very much appreciated the work that the hon. Member did in her former role, and we were together at that COP meeting. Yes, I congratulate the Prime Minister, but I also congratulate former Prime Ministers. I was working internationally, and I worked on the macroeconomic budgets of developing countries, particularly the emerging economies, and we saw what they could do to follow the UK’s lead and leapfrog technologies in their economies. I absolutely agree with the hon. Member, which is why it is disappointing to hear from those on the Conservative Front Bench that they want to delay science led targets and oppose environmental action, which would lead the world in a more insecure and uncertain place, and leave businesses without the certainty they need. I urge them to help us rebuild the consensus that we need. It can only smell of a desperate attempt at political opportunism to join Reform and gamble with the lives and livelihoods of future generations.
If the evidence is so science led, will the hon. Member explain why the Climate Change Committee was out by a factor of three—300%—on the cost of offshore wind, which is one of the key inputs for the target that she will be voting for today?
I will look forward to seeing its answer when you send a letter back—
Order. When she sends a letter back.
When a response to the letter comes back. Let us talk about the economics.
It is an excellent idea to talk about the economics. The hon. Member for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins) could not answer this simple question, but perhaps the hon. Lady can instead: when will the bills come down?
The answer to that is in two ways. First, we must take gas out of the system as much as possible. Secondly, we must fix a broken electricity market. The way we charge customers and businesses right now is broken, and we need to change that. I do not believe in what happened under a previous Government, when George Osborne as Chancellor reduced taxation on oil and gas companies three times. By the end of that we had negative receipts to the Treasury, because we were also looking at decommissioning exemptions. Until some of the windfall tax profits came in, negative receipts were coming into the Treasury at that point.
If we talk about the economy, let us talk about the transition. As we have already heard, research from the CBI and the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit shows that the green economy is already contributing more than £100 billion and over 1 million new jobs. Clean power and decarbonisation are about growing our economy, creating those jobs, lowering energy bills and strengthening our energy security.
Although we welcome the carbon budget, setting targets is the easy part; delivering them is what counts. That is why we look forward to the Government’s delivery plan and seeing the steps that will be taken, because we worry that there is a risk they will fall short. The carbon budget will take much more than decarbonising our power supply and cannot be delivered in a centrist way from Whitehall alone. We Liberal Democrats want to see more action and ambition from this Government, not a focus on energy alone.
Emissions reductions will be experienced in people’s lives, and not just environmentally but economically, through changes in how homes are heated, how people travel and how energy is used. Local authorities, communities, farmers and businesses will be required to be partners in delivering change. We will have to double our efforts to restore nature, which is one of our most powerful tools for tackling climate change, by more generously supporting our farmers to accelerate tree planting and peatland restoration. But please, we should not treat nature protections as a blocker to economic growth. I ask the Government to get rid of the lazy, reckless rhetoric that divides climate and nature, rather than seeing them as indivisible necessities. We will also have to increase powers and funding for local authorities and communities to implement credible local climate and nature delivery plans.
My hon. Friend knows well about the issues of coastal erosion on the north Norfolk coast and the existential threat to communities such as Trimingham and Happisburgh. There is hard work being done by our local authorities and our Lib Dem councils through schemes such as Coastwise, and there is much more to do in the future, but does she agree with me that everything being done to protect those communities will be undermined by the worsening climate emergency, which has sped up erosion and will cause it to worsen further?
I feel deeply about what my hon. Friend says. He is a well known champion for rural and coastal communities that are facing such an insecure future, not knowing whether their homes will still be standing and whether they will be insurable. That is definitely something we need to look at.
Most importantly for this carbon budget, as we have heard from Members across the Chamber, electrification across key sectors is the key to rapidly reducing emissions and helping households to cut bills. Today, the Climate Change Committee has warned that progress in electrification has slowed, with heat pump installations up just 7% this year compared with 56% the year before. What is more, the share of electricity in industrial energy use fell last year, so we must see greater acceleration of electrification.
On seeing a new development recently, I was dismayed that the developer said they were not putting in heat pumps because the cost of electricity meant that people would rather have gas boilers. Does my hon. Friend agree that if we removed the renewables obligation levy from electricity, so that we were fairly pricing electricity—currently, electricity is unfairly disadvantaged—we would incentivise far more heat pump installations?
My hon. Friend often brings that issue up in the Chamber and in the Select Committee. We have to fix the broken system whereby households and businesses do not feel the benefits of cheaper renewable energy from solar and wind.
Finally, the Liberal Democrats believe that building public confidence in the transition to net zero requires people to see the benefits in their own communities. That means empowering those best placed to deliver change on the ground. Local authorities, community organisations and local leaders understand the needs of their areas, can bring people with them and are uniquely placed to turn national ambition into practical action. We need regulatory change so that community energy projects can sell energy locally, but those bodies can also take action on better public transport, warmer homes, nature restoration or street by street electrification.
Too often local climate action remains fragmented, underpowered and dependent on short term funding. Critically, local authorities still have no statutory responsibility for delivering net zero for climate and nature duty. Such responsibility has been voted down every single time it has been introduced in devolution legislation. Will the Minister look at placing local authorities at the centre of delivery of the seventh carbon budget by legislating for a clear climate and nature statutory duty for local authorities, and by ensuring that they have the funding and powers needed to unlock these opportunities? Many Liberal Democrat Members have been local councillors and we know that local authorities can do that, together with local people. Climate change will not wait and neither should we—the time is now.
With an immediate five minute time limit, I call Olivia Blake.
I declare an interest as chair of the climate and nature crisis caucus. I also refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
It is a pleasure to speak in support of the Carbon Budget Order 2026. As I stand here, the UK is experiencing a frightening heatwave and a rare red weather warning, which means a risk to all, not just the vulnerable. That is how hot it is outside. Another heat record has been absolutely smashed. It was 36.1°C last time I checked, but who knows if it has gone up in the minutes that we have been sitting here? Surely Opposition Members cannot now bury their heads in the red hot sand and deny that climate change is real. It is coming fast, and we are living through it right now.
This is incredibly frustrating. Scrutiny is not the same as climate change denial. Asking questions on behalf of our constituents, industries, households and businesses that will front the costs of this measure is not climate change denial. Will the hon. Member and the rest of the Labour Members here recognise that?
I wonder whether the hon. Member will vote against this measure. That would tell her constituents very clearly her view on this matter.
Back in 2008, under a Labour Government, the UK became the first country to introduce a comprehensive climate framework through the Climate Change Act, which set out the legally binding five year carbon budgets that we have been reviewing and looking at. As has been said, with carbon budget 6 we did not get the opportunity for scrutiny that we should have got. That legislation was groundbreaking and ensured that Governments can be held to account for delivering long term climate action. I thank the Minister for her efforts to bring that about.
Nearly two decades later, we can see the impact of that foresight. The UK has successfully halved its territorial greenhouse gas emissions compared with 1990 levels, as we have heard, with much of that progress driven by decarbonisation of the energy system. That is a significant national achievement that we should all be proud of, and it is evidence that ambitious climate policy can deliver real results. It is therefore fitting that it once again falls to a Labour Government to confront one of the defining challenges of our times.
The seventh carbon budget commits the UK to reducing emissions by 87% by 2040 compared with 1990 levels. If achieved, that will mark substantial progress towards our legally binding commitment to reach net zero by 2050. However, at present the UK is built for a climate that no longer exists. The economic impacts are staggering, costing the UK economy around £60 billion a year—about 2% of GDP and rising—through things such as flood damage, loss of crops and other forms of weather damage.
We should also be mindful of the growing environmental footprint of our digital infrastructure. As data centres expand across the UK to meet rising demand, their substantial energy consumption underlines why decarbonising our power system is not simply an environmental imperative, but an economic one. That would provide more opportunities in that space.
I welcome this budget. As we know, climate action is about more than meeting targets; it is about building a country where children are not exposed to toxic air, and where we have warmer, well insulated homes, lower energy bills and greater energy security. It is about ensuring that future generations inherit a safer and more sustainable world.
However, support for the Government’s ambition should not mean complacency about the scale of the challenge ahead. We face many interconnected crises, such as the climate crisis, the cost of living crisis and the nature emergency. Families continue to face high energy costs, while communities increasingly experience the impacts of flooding and extreme weather. The answer is not to slow down the transition and make things worse, but to accelerate it in a way that delivers tangible benefits for our communities.
The hon. Lady is making a very passionate speech. She seems to be an expert on this subject, so could she advise the House by how much it would reduce the Earth’s temperature if this country became net zero right this minute?
Obviously we cannot do this on our own, which is why the global leadership we show in this space is very important. We have international agreements that aim for 1.5°, but as we have heard, we are heading more towards 2°, 3° or 4°. Moving away from our own commitments will leave us further behind; globally, emissions must peak urgently and then decline rapidly. The UK’s influence has always exceeded its size—we have always punched above our weight, and I am proud of that—and our credibility depends on continuing to lead by example. That is why we must see this carbon budget not as a ceiling but as a floor.
The budget broadly reflects the direction of current Government policy, but it must be accompanied by the bold action necessary to deliver it. The Environmental Audit Committee, of which I am a member, has been clear that the UK’s climate credibility depends on not simply setting ambitious goals, but demonstrating how those goals can be achieved. The Committee has called on the Government to set out clearly how this budget will be met and how the policies that underpin it will be delivered, reducing emissions in the way it sets out to do. However, today marks an important first step, and I am proud to see something ambitious in front of us. If we are serious about meeting this budget, we must match ambition with action—accelerating clean energy, not abandoning it; upgrading our housing stock from what has historically been some of the poorest in Europe; supporting the industries of the future, which will provide jobs; and ensuring that communities across this country share in the benefits of this transition, leaving no community behind.
The prize is enormous—we should not listen to the naysayers. Lower exposure to volatile energy prices, greater energy independence, more skilled jobs, better security, cleaner communities and a stronger economy are within our grasp. Climate action is not a burden to be managed; it is a necessary opportunity to be seized. As such, I support the order that is before the House, but I also urge Ministers to see it as the beginning of the task before us, not the end. Ignore the naysayers—the science demands urgency, our constituents expect leadership, and the opportunity is before us. Demand that we are bold, and let us meet this moment with the ambition it deserves.
I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate, and I thank the Minister for the time she has given to such an important topic. In its report on this budget, the Climate Change Committee clearly stated that behavioural change is essential to achieving the carbon reductions we need. However, the seventh carbon budget prioritises emerging technologies and greenhouse gas removals, a strategy that courts failure if those technologies do not deliver. Equally as important, it runs the risk that large parts of the population will be left downstream. The public need to see direct benefits from decarbonisation, and they need to feel that it is something they can be part of—as the seas rise, there has to be space for everyone on the boat.
I would like to draw the House’s attention to one particular area that has already been mentioned by colleagues, which is the decarbonisation of our homes. In 2022, emissions from residential buildings accounted for one fifth of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, yet the Climate Change Committee has admitted that retrofitting existing dwellings is not going to be one of the easiest bits to shift. I speak on this topic as a member of the Environmental Audit Committee, as an officer on the future homes, skills and innovation all party parliamentary group, and as an architect by trade. Decarbonising our existing homes is essential to achieving our carbon budget, and the public need incentives, clear information, consumer protection and accountable technical advice. The warm homes plan is a step in the right direction, but it already risks making some of the same mistakes that past Government funded retrofit schemes encountered.
I have a doctor in my constituency who, with the best will in the world, tried to put external insulation on her home, only to find that it was damp. Before she even sent me the photographs, I knew exactly what the cause was, but what was really worrying was that she did not, and neither did her installer. Without sufficient knowledge, neither contractors nor occupiers can make the right decisions for their homes. If you were having a knee replacement, Madam Deputy Speaker, you would not expect to need to source your own surgeon, book your own operating room and then decide which implant material is the most appropriate, because that is a complex and expert led process. However, so is retrofitting a home. That is why I am asking for technical support for those applying for Government funding, from an initial analysis through to installation support and final sign off. We need people to trust in the decarbonisation process, or we risk alienating the communities necessary for its success. It takes only one horror story for the surrounding community to become nervous, and it takes only one media circus for that to spread.
The warm homes plan is a fantastic opportunity to realise significant change in one of the stickiest and most difficult areas, but if the seventh carbon budget is to succeed, retrofitting our existing housing stock must be an essential part of that. It cannot be left on the “too difficult” pile. It represents a threefold benefit: it decarbonises people’s homes; it reduces energy bills; and it improves quality of life. I would be delighted to meet the Minister to set out a plan for how we can make retrofitting viable and take it off that “too difficult” pile. For this carbon budget to succeed, we need a clear road map. We need those contingency plans, and we need to make sure that while this Government are leading internationally as an example to others, they are bringing the whole community with them.
It is fitting that we are debating carbon budget 7 on the hottest June day in our history. I am sure that there are a few contributory factors to the latest heatwave, but we all know that one of those factors is that there is simply too much carbon in the atmosphere as a result of mankind’s activities since industrialisation. I am pleased to say that there has been a great deal of activity in this space in the previous two years, in particular on renewables. Our territorial emissions, according to Carbon Brief, are now the lowest since 1872. We are now halfway to getting to net zero, but the low hanging fruit has been picked and the harder to decarbonise sectors are still emitting.
Every tonne of carbon that we do not emit is better than having to remove it later, but it is increasingly clear that emissions reductions alone will not be enough. Some sectors will remain difficult to fully decarbonise. If we are serious about reaching net zero, greenhouse gas removals will have to play a crucial role. I am pleased to say that since coming to power the Government have commissioned the independent review of greenhouse gas removals, chaired by Alan Whitehead. The Whitehead review stated that greenhouse gas removals have “a supplementary but essential role in achieving net zero”.
The Climate Change Committee has made it clear that we cannot get to net zero without greenhouse gas removals. It would be helpful if the Minister can say when the Government will respond to the Whitehead review and what their position is on two key recommendations from the report. First, the report suggests changing the sustainable aviation fuels mandate to become a net zero aviation mandate, using greenhouse gas removals to ensure that by 2045 “all flights taking off from the UK are made climate neutral.”
With the Government not focusing on demand management and clearly looking at airport expansion, and not assuming the same level of behavioural change that the Climate Change Committee is expecting, even more weight should be thrown behind removals and specifically direct air capture.
To enable more greenhouse gas removals, the report recommends that the Government accelerate planned policies to enable non pipeline transport. It states that the Government should also accelerate decisions on the future carbon capture, usage and storage clusters. We have one of those right on the edge of my constituency. The Hope valley is home to the Peak Cluster, the world’s largest cement decarbonisation project. If we are to build the 1.5 million homes that we need and all the roads, bridges and workplaces to support them, we will need cement, but it remains one of the most difficult industries to decarbonise, because much of the carbon dioxide is produced through the chemical process of making cement itself.
For that reason, carbon capture is not an optional extra; it is essential. By capturing carbon emissions from cement and lime production and transporting them for permanent storage, the project has the potential to decarbonise about 40% of UK cement and lime production, while protecting the thousands of jobs currently in the sector and adding new skilled green jobs. It will prevent 3 million tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere per year. Let me put that in context: it is about a quarter of the emissions from the counties of Derbyshire and Staffordshire. This is exactly the kind of project that shows how climate action and economic growth can go hand in hand.
I welcome the Government’s support so far, and the National Wealth Fund’s investment announced last year—that support has been important—but if we are to unlock the full potential of projects such as Peak Cluster, industry needs certainty, investors need confidence, and businesses need to know that there is a clear route to market for carbon capture projects beyond the existing track 1 and 2 programmes.
The carbon budget process makes the Government of the day think in the longer term, because addressing climate change cannot be done quickly, but we need to stick to the path for our food security, our national security, our public health and our economy. I encourage the Government to match their ambition with the urgency that this moment demands.
Before entering this place, I worked in the energy efficiency industry. I know the potential that we have when we back our home grown manufacturers across the United Kingdom, and I know how vital energy is to their success; but the Government’s policies on net zero are holding them back. As my right hon. Friend the Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch) said during Prime Minister’s questions, the current Energy Secretary is “putting up bills and killing jobs.”
I am proud that under her leadership, the Conservative Party is starting to be honest about net zero.
As the Conservative leader of Broxbourne Council, I never joined in the hysteria of council after council declaring a climate emergency, then sitting back and feeling good about themselves. In Broxbourne we focused on action, not words—planting thousands of trees, installing electric car charging points, and getting developers to put solar panels on new houses. Putting net zero into law by 2050 was exactly the same: there was no serious plan to achieve it then, but now Labour have come up with a plan, and we are starting to see what the true costs to our economy and to ordinary people’s lives will be.
Carbon budget 7 sets a target for reducing our emissions by 87%. According to the Climate Change Committee, to achieve that we must cut meat consumption by a quarter by 2040, and sheep and cattle numbers will have to fall by 38% by 2050. Some of these suggestions are completely unworkable. The Climate Change Committee has also said that people should be pushed away from driving to “alternative modes of travel”. That is simply not feasible in large parts of the United Kingdom, especially rural areas like parts of my constituency.
It is very frustrating to turn up at a local meeting about sustainable transport—about trying to increase the number of buses and trains—and then find that the person who is lecturing everyone about how we should all walk everywhere has driven there in their car. We need to come up with practical solutions that enable us to take the public with us. What do I say to my constituents who tell me, “I have to take two kids to school, and they are at different schools, then I have to go to work and do the shopping, then pick them up and go home”? Such targets are unworkable. It is not feasible to say, “Well, that’s fine—everyone can just walk everywhere.” The targets have to be sensible, and we have to take the British public with us, or we will not go anywhere towards achieving some of the stuff that the Government want us to achieve.
We are talking about an average overall cost of £11,157 per household. That is not a price that we should be willing to pay. We have made fantastic progress already, and we should always be committed to leaving a better environment for the next generation, but we also need to leave them a stronger economy and a stronger country, and that means, above all else, cheaper energy. Britain currently has some of the highest energy costs in the developed world. There is no way in which we can achieve the economic growth that people are crying out for throughout the United Kingdom if that remains the case, which is why we need to get Britain drilling and unlock the 2.9 billion barrels of North sea oil. According to this Government, it is okay to get oil from Russia if it is done through a third country, but we cannot use our own resources in the North sea. Obviously, oil coming from the North sea will produce less carbon dioxide than oil that has had to travel halfway across the world.
The Government need to set out a plan for delivery, and they really need to come up with common sense approaches to deal with the impacts of climate change. As my right hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho) said, the fact that we are scrutinising Government policy does not make us climate deniers.
Does the hon. Member not think that we would give more credence to the scrutiny that the Conservatives are providing if some of their claims could be found in the carbon budget on which we are voting? Could he tell the House where it says that everyone will need to walk and will not be able to use a vehicle?
When I was leader of my council, I went to a number of meetings in my constituency and spoke to a number of constituents. Experts on transport come to meetings and say that everyone should walk everywhere, which is completely impractical. Some of the solutions that the Government have put forward are completely unworkable. They should come up with some common sense solutions, because this is a serious problem that we need to deal with. Saying that most people should walk everywhere is not a serious solution to the problem that we face.
If the Government want us to reduce our carbon emissions even more, they should come up with serious, practical, common sense solutions that allow us to take the British people with us and protect jobs in this country. As my right hon. Friend the shadow Secretary of State has said, there is no point putting taxes on business here and cutting carbon here if factories then open in China, where they use coal to produce their electricity rather than what we do in the United Kingdom. That is completely unserious. The Government need to come up with practical solutions to this problem, and I urge the Minister to do so.
Madam Deputy Speaker, you will be delighted to hear that I am just about to throw away 22 pages of my 23-page speech in order to allow other Members to get in.
I want to quote the Climate Minister—or, rather, I want to misquote her: “Twelve years ago, in 2026, the Royal Meteorological Society held a conference to recall 50 years since the heatwave of 1976. That week was marked by record temperatures, and the Met Office delivered a forecast for 2056 that stunned the journalists and reporters who were present. Its forecast predicted 45° summer heat in England in 2056. Now, in 2038, as we stand at the beginning of the period of carbon budget 7, we know that 45° has already been reached, that the 1.5° threshold was passed nine years ago, in 2029, and that our carbon budget growth and development plan was simply not up to the job. The scientists were right. We, the politicians, were wrong.”
That is the speech that I want to ensure the Minister never has to make. It is why their lordships’ reasoned amendment in the other place last night was so ill conceived, and why today’s debate is so important. It is also the reason that the remarks of the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), were so ill judged, and I want to answer some of the questions that she posed. She will recall that, in 2023, her own figures put the number of jobs that would result from the net zero target at between 135,000 and 725,000. She said that there might be a decline of between 8,000 and 75,000, but according to the Climate Change Committee’s progress report on the net zero economy, the number of green jobs that has been reached is 650,000. That is the figure that the committee has come out with today.
The shadow Secretary of State also said how silly it was to talk about soil structure and waste, so perhaps she does not quite understand that soils and waste are actually emitters of carbon, and that if we want to achieve net zero and get a clean, green energy infrastructure, we have to think holistically.
Well, we are debating the carbon budget order, but I think we should rename it the job destroying, industry killing order, because that is essentially what net zero is doing. For the hon. Members who do not appreciate the economics of this, let us go on a little history lesson, shall we? Let us go back to the 20-year period between 1980 and 2000. Yes, our energy consumption increased by some 20%, and real GDP per capita—per person—increased every year by 3.2% per annum. Let me now take everyone forward to the last 20 years: our energy consumption has declined by about 15%, and guess what has happened to our GDP per person? Yes, it has collapsed to just 0.5% per annum. There is a direct link between the quantity of energy we consume—
Will the hon. Member give way?
I would be delighted to give way to the hon. Lady.
Does the hon. Member not recognise: first, that correlation is not causation; and secondly, that there was a financial crisis caused by outrageous speculation and a lack of control of the financial markets, and that is at the core of the problems we face today?
And Brexit!
And Brexit!
What a tragedy it is that the truth clearly hurts for the Green party; and, by the way, the Greens do not believe in carbon capture, which has been mentioned previously.
The simple fact is that there is a direct relationship between higher energy use per capita and higher GDP per capita—the richer a nation is. That is the fundamental point that everybody in this place seems to forget. As we have reduced our carbon emissions since 1990 by 54%, people seem to forget that carbon emissions around the world are increasing. Other nations are not admiring our net zero leadership; they are laughing at our utter stupidity, as they steal our jobs and our money. They are laughing at us.
Well, I think they might be laughing at him, but I do not think they are laughing at all of us. The hon. Member is talking about our climate leadership as though we should be ashamed of it, but the reality is that China installed more solar panels in 2024 than the entire world did in 2023. China is not ignoring the opportunity to transition; it is leading the way.
And what labour are the Chinese using? Slave labour is what they are using—that is the reality. They are laughing as they sell us Chinese cheap solar panels to cover our brilliant food productive farmland in Lincolnshire and elsewhere. It is insane.
My hon. Friend is making a passionate and very intelligent speech. Is he aware that we are also importing from China wind turbines—windmills, if you like—that are stuffed with asbestos?
There we are. Apparently Labour Members want more asbestos, when we know that is dangerous—yes, it is in the wind turbines. The reality is—
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
I will give away shortly; I am doing well.
The reality is that industries across our country are being slaughtered and jobs are being destroyed—from pottery businesses to aluminium businesses, chemical businesses, steel businesses and oil refineries. Why? Because of our high energy costs. We have seen the brilliant, highly skilled, highly qualified jobs in Aberdeen being slaughtered because this Government will not allow more exploration of the North sea. This is the reaction, and this is the consequence of net stupid zero.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I wonder whether he agrees with the Reform leader of North East Lincolnshire council, who has said that he fully supports the renewables sector. Given that he was working for the hon. Gentleman until recently, why is there such disparity between what Reform says here and what Reform says in its local patches?
The hon. Lady makes a very good point. The renewables sector keeps saying that it is going to reduce the bills, yet the bills are going up. Indeed, only recently an energy boss said that even if the price of gas went to zero—clearly, it is not going to, folks—our electricity bills at the next general election, assuming that is in 2029, will be even higher. Why? Because of all the increased policy costs, increased levies, increased constraint costs and beyond.
Does the hon. Gentleman not recognise the reality that the main factor that has driven up energy costs in the last few years has been Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine? Policy costs are a small proportion of energy prices and gas determines the electricity price, which is the—
Oh dear, oh dear. How desperately sad it is that the hon. Lady does not appreciate that the wholesale price of electricity, which some claim is driven by gas, is about a third, so it is not the majority—a third is less than 50%.
The simple reality is that there is a direct causal link between the growth of renewable generating capacity in the last 20 years and the growth of our electricity prices to the highest in the western world. That is the reason that everybody is feeling so much poorer. It is as simple as that. All the advocates of the renewables industry cannot answer the question: when are the bills going to come down? The answer is: they are not going to. The Government can try to cheat by putting it into general taxation, but the simple fact is that, actually, costs are going to go up. We have heard, for example, that the cost of more contracts for difference is going to increase by £4 billion, £5 billion or £6 billion by 2030, and that the extra cost to the grid is going to increase by some £10 billion a year by 2030. Per household—which is how people will want to understand it—that equates to about £500 per year extra on the cost of living because of the costs of net zero. Everybody needs to understand that point, as they debate and vote on this issue.
As we look to the future, having explained the history and the economics to those who do not seem to understand, we hear that the Secretary of State for Energy—he is rather absent at the moment; where is he?—wants to get rid of all our wonderful tumble dryers. No, no, we can’t have tumble dryers in the brave new world of the Secretary of State for Energy! Then we hear that, through this carbon budget, the Government want us to reduce our dairy and meat consumption by some 20%. We have had enough of this. We should vote against this ridiculous motion and scrap net stupid zero.
Order. I am going to reduce the time limit to four minutes from the next speaker. Clearly passions run very high in this debate, but may I remind Members that debates should be conducted with good temper and moderation? When Members are either taking an intervention or responding to an intervention, that carries on through the Chair. Twirling around and facing the person behind you, or wherever they may be in the Chamber, means you will not be picked up by the microphones and it is extremely discourteous. I call Justin Madders.
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will attempt to be moderate and not twirl.
The net zero transition is now a fundamental part of our economy, generating about £105 billion in value and, as we have heard, employing over 1 million people. Importantly, it is not focused in one part of the country, but spread all across the UK. Growth in the sector is expanding, with 400,000 jobs expected to be created by 2030. Given that productivity in the net zero sector is one and a half times the average for the UK, the potential is there for all to see.
As we head towards the future, we need to have in mind the protection of existing jobs. The order sets the carbon budget for 12 years’ time, but there is an area where I think the Government are letting the perfect become the enemy of the good: the zero emission vehicle mandate. This country has a long history of building cars that should rightly be regarded as some of the best in the world. We have a strong manufacturing base for electric vehicles—including at the Vauxhall Motors plant in Ellesmere Port, which has embraced the transition to net zero by becoming an all electric plant—but the market demand for electric vehicles has not developed as quickly as anticipated. As of May, the market share for electric vehicles was only 26%, which is a long way short of the 33% required this year in the ZEV mandate.
The Climate Change Committee predicted that the market share for new electric vehicles would reach 55% by next year. Market share is going to need to double within a year for that prediction to come true, which is simply not going to happen. Its prediction that the proportion of electric cars and vans will reach around 95% of new sales by 2030 is not born out by experience to date, and needs revising down in light of the evidence.
My hon. Friend is making a good point. Does he accept that the way that the previous Government changed the dates for the ZEV mandate may have had something to do with people’s confidence in being able to support an electric vehicle?
My hon. Friend makes an interesting point, because there are a whole range of factors, which I will come to, in why people are not purchasing the vehicles. The industry is still keen to have a clear signal on where we are heading, but the speed and steepness of the incline is too much for it to bear.
We cannot ignore the fact that the figure of 26% relies heavily on subsidies from Government, which are pushing sales to about twice their natural level. I am afraid that there is deep concern among manufacturers about that. To fill the gap between demand and what domestic manufacturers are producing, the industry is already having to buy credits, in the order of hundreds of millions of pounds a year, which is clearly not sustainable. Meanwhile, importing manufacturers, including from China, can exceed ZEV thresholds here and sell their unused credits on to domestic manufacturers. That means that foreign manufacturers of EVs from China are not only taking ever increasing shares of the market but profiting from exceeding ZEV thresholds.
To be clear, this is not an argument about having no ZEV mandate. It is important that we tackle the climate crisis and put an end to internal combustion engines, but what bigger fillip could there be to the climate sceptics than UK factories closing down because of a rigid approach to net zero—an approach that sees millions of pounds go to overseas competitors whose manufacturing is often far more carbon intensive than ours?
The ZEV mandate must be adapted to take account of the real world market conditions, and the escalator must be changed to reflect them. It is clear that for many consumers, even with generous discounts, the cost of a new EV is out of reach. We need to be aware of limitations caused by cost, range anxiety and charging infrastructure. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Brent West (Barry Gardiner) that we can do more in that area.
As a number of Members have said in this debate, we need to take people with us; we are clearly not bringing them to where we need them to be in order to hit the target. I welcome the Chancellor saying that the review of the mandate will be brought forward to this year, but that needs to start now, and we need to get the right answers within a few months.
On the subject of well meaning policies that could actually be counterproductive, I raise a red flag about the proposed introduction of the deposit return scheme, scheduled for later next year. Most households already recycle their materials through kerbside collections. The participation rates for kerbside recycling are high: it works and it provides a revenue stream to councils. If we are changing that, the public will undoubtedly ask what problem we are trying to fix.
The practical reality of the scheme for many people will be a minor inconvenience that they are happy to participate in, but for parents, carers, disabled people, elderly residents and those without easy access to large supermarkets, it could be a significant nuisance. People with complex lives will simply not do it at all. Once again, there is a well meaning policy here that risks alienating people and damaging our road to net zero, which, on this side of the House at least, we all want to get to.
The effectiveness of any carbon budget relies on two things: accuracy and attainability. If the numbers are wrong, the budget is meaningless, and if the plans are unrealistic, the budget is undeliverable. If the public lose confidence in either of those things, they lose confidence in the wider environmental project itself. That is why I want to focus less on any individual target and more on the credibility of the framework.
When goals are repeatedly missed or look unachievable, there is always a temptation for Governments to adjust the assumptions, alter the methodology, or redefine success. That satisfies nobody: it frustrates environmentalists who want genuine emissions reduction and emboldens sceptics who claim that the targets were never realistic, and it leaves the public wondering whether we are solving problems or simply moving numbers around on spreadsheets. What we need is a reset to ensure that we are having honest conversations about emissions, environmental challenges and climate policy, based on sound data.
That is why I question the overconfidence in the budget in carbon capture and storage. The budget makes it clear that CCS plays a significant role in the pathway towards meeting future emissions targets, and I recognise that it does have an important role to play in industries that are genuinely hard to decarbonise, such as chemicals, cement and the heavy industrial processes. The Liberal Democrats have always been willing to support emerging technologies in such cases.
However, we should be honest about what is being assumed. Much of the proposed CCS roll out is tied to large gas powered infrastructure projects, which means that we are effectively locking ourselves into gas infrastructure for decades to come. The problem is that the North sea cannot possibly supply our gas needs, no matter how much we drill and no matter what we do. The more we rely on gas backed CCS assumptions in the budget, the more we are locking ourselves into imported fracked LNG, mostly from the US. That contributes to global warming, whether it happens in Texas or Teesside. Yet UK carbon budgets are, of course, primarily territorial in nature—and that is precisely the sort of accounting contortion that can undermine public confidence. People are not interested in whether the emissions have disappeared from a spreadsheet; they want to know if they have disappeared from the atmosphere.
The same problem exists in aviation. The Climate Change Committee warned that aviation is likely to become one of the largest sources of UK emissions by 2040 because other sectors are expected to decarbonise more quickly. The committee stated that demand management remains the most effective way of limiting aviation’s impacts, but at the same time, we continue to debate expansion at Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton. Many people struggle to reconcile those two positions, and it is not hard to see why. Communities in my part of Sussex—in villages such as Warnham, Slinfold and Rusper—face the prospect of increased aircraft noise and new flightpaths. While the people bear the brunt, the industry is rewarded. We need stronger accountability within the aviation sector, including the creation of an independent aviation ombudsman.
If we want support for climate action to endure, honesty matters: honesty about imported emissions, honesty about LNG, honesty about airport expansion and honesty about the role and limitations of carbon capture and storage. The greatest threat to environmental progress is not ambition, but the loss of public faith that the targets and pathways are credible.
I welcome the draft order and regulations laid before the House. The timing for this debate obviously could not be more apt; not only is it currently London Climate Action Week, with Exeter Climate Forum taking place next week, but here in the UK and across Europe we are currently experiencing extreme temperatures. Frankly, this is not normal. The science of this is settled; what we ought to be doing, and what we must continue to do, is limiting climate change, mitigating its impact and continuing to grow the economy.
This Labour Government are delivering world leading climate action, driving jobs, growth and investment in every corner of the UK. Setting the target in this seventh climate budget is the goal, but the means by which we meet that target is what we will be judged on by future generations. If we are to meet the targets set out today, as well as our nearer term 2030 commitments, we must now turn our attention to the acceleration of delivery at pace and at scale. Central to that effort is a new and enabling approach to climate technology.
Just this morning, I spoke at the Startup Coalition and British Business Bank’s energy innovation event with climate tech founders, investors and policymakers representing more than £10 billion worth of scale ups. We are fortunate to be home to firms at the forefront of energy innovation, not just in Europe but the world over. I am proud to say that the south west is already leading the way. My home city of Exeter is home to the Met Office and the University of Exeter, both of which are pioneering in weather forecasting, ocean science, climate modelling, conservation and climate tech. Of the top 21 climate scientists in the world, five are based in the UK, and all of them are based in Exeter. The wider south west economy already contributes £1.5 billion to our net zero economy, and the firms that make up this economy are at the cutting edge, from small modular nuclear reactors and tidal energy systems to low carbon construction methods and sustainable food technologies.
While my hon. Friend is talking about energy in the south west, I wanted to point out what is going on in Cornwall, with floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea. This green economy could bring huge numbers of jobs, as well as skills, down to places like Cornwall and the south west, which have really struggled on that front in the past.
I absolutely agree; the Celtic sea has massive potential for the reindustrialisation of our peninsula as well. In Hull, my home town, wind power has provided a huge number of new jobs in lieu of others that were there in the past.
I want to talk about our innovators, who are too often held back by a system that is not keeping pace with the urgency of the challenges we face. Time and again, climate tech companies tell us that regulation is the single biggest barrier to scaling and deploying tech—not access to capital or talent, though those matter, but regulation. One founder I spoke to this morning said that he is deploying his tech in Estonia, Morocco and elsewhere, and that it was easier to do so in those countries than in the UK, despite his not speaking a word of Estonian or Arabic.
Our regulatory framework is, at times, more focused on managing legacy risks than delivering future solutions. If we are serious about delivering on this carbon budget, we must fundamentally change how the system works. Regulation should not simply be a system to police compliance; it should reward carbon reduction and enable innovation. That means embedding climate innovation outcomes into the mandates of our key regulators—Ofgem, the Environment Agency, the Office for Nuclear Regulation and others—and ensuring that they have the flexibility and tools to adapt in real time.
The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 was a welcome step, introducing statutory timelines and embedding net zero into the decision making, but on the ground progress is still too slow. Developers still face years of delay and inconsistent decisions across local authorities. If we are to meet the scale and pace required by carbon budget 7, we must go further. We should look at a national net zero test for planning decisions that provides consistency and clarity. We should also have a climate fast track for essential infrastructure such as electric vehicle charging, solar power and battery storage. That could help to unlock projects that are critical to reducing emissions and lowering costs for consumers.
We must also address bottlenecks in emerging sectors such as nuclear. Small modular reactors can play a vital role in our clean energy mix, but the current licensing timelines, stretching to over a decade, are incompatible with the urgency of the challenges we face. By embracing digital licensing, fast tracked siting, and regulatory sandboxes, we can significantly accelerate deployment while maintaining the highest of safety standards.
Encouragingly, we have already seen that that is possible. The creation of the Regulatory Innovation Office was a bold, forward thinking step. Its sandbox approach is now helping regulators and innovators work in new ways, testing, adapting and accelerating solutions in real time. Feedback suggests that not only is this model effective, but it has been transformational. If it continues to prove successful—and I believe that it will—we should expand this approach across more sectors, embedding carbon reduction at its core.
The Government have set the destination, and this carbon budget provides a credible and vital milestone along that journey, but to reach it we must ensure that our regulation keeps pace with our best and brightest. Our climate tech companies can get us there, but only if we help them to help us.
I will use my time to draw attention to parts of the impact assessment, because we are, after all, debating the carbon budget.
First, this budget allows for 37% of our energy consumption by 2040 still to come from oil and gas. The Climate Change Committee itself is allowing for oil and gas to be included in our energy mix into the years to come. On that basis, why are the Government still committed to banning new licences in the North sea? Why are they still committed to the energy profits levy? Why are they still stopping the permitting of Rosebank and Jackdaw? All that will do is increase our imports of more carbon intensive oil and gas, which is not good for the climate, economy or jobs in the UK. That point can also be found in the impact assessment.
Secondly, reaching the carbon budget will require an “electrification of industry”. That means a reduction in our industrial capacity. The electrification of steel means a move away from blast furnaces, which will mean we lose our virgin steel capacity. Virgin steel is used for other industries as well, such as defence and civil nuclear, so we are going to hinder our civil nuclear capacity by reducing our virgin steel capacity.
Thirdly, the impact assessment—I hope Members have read it, but I am not so sure—says that “a faster transition to renewables will not eliminate global supply chain risks.”
It is not true, no matter how often it is said, that reducing our reliance on oil and gas and upscaling renewables makes us less vulnerable to global pressures. It does not. This impact assessment says it does not. We must recognise that everything has a cost and a risk, including renewables.
I will bring my remarks to an end shortly, because I do not want to speak for too long. We must be realistic and pragmatic. As my hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking) pointed out, this carbon budget assumes that we will reduce our meat and dairy consumption by 25%. It assumes that we will put a cost on households of thousands of pounds, which far exceeds any £300 saving on energy bills, were this Government to achieve it.
China is not putting these costs on businesses or households, and it is not closing down its domestic industries. China is opening 50 to 70 GW of new coal every year. It has almost 1,200 coal fired power stations, which it is using to export its renewables technology to us—it does not make sense. China is responsible for over a third of global emissions, and we are responsible for 1%. We are not making a difference to global climate change by impoverishing our businesses, industries and households. We said that we wanted to lead, but there is no point in leading if nobody is following. The key players are not following.
Can the hon. Lady confirm by when China said it will meet its net zero commitment?
I am sure the hon. Lady has a gotcha for me on that one. I believe it has either not set a target or it is 20 years, but I could not tell her which.
I would be grateful to my hon. Friend if she reminded the House by what share of the vote our hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen South (Douglas Lumsden) was returned on a platform of increasing drilling.
My hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen South (Douglas Lumsden) was returned on 50% of the vote because of the people who actually feel this. The jobs of the residents of Aberdeen South and north east Scotland are being lost, daily and monthly, because of the rundown of the oil and gas sector and because of the eco zealotry of this Government, who want to hit their net zero target faster than anyone else. That is the reality, and it is costing jobs and livelihoods.
I have knocked on hundreds, probably thousands, of doors in Aberdeen South in the last month. I have met so many people in their 30s and early 40s, with young children, who lost their job because of this Government’s anti North sea oil and gas policies. I do not call them anti oil and gas policies, because the Government will happily take it from abroad. They will happily import liquefied natural gas and Russian derived oil and gas products; they just do not want oil and gas products from the UK.
Until we get over the obsession with running down our own industries, and with meeting a target that no one else is aiming for, the UK will suffer. Our industries, skilled workers and future economy will suffer. No other country will follow us if we do that. No other country is looking at the UK as an example. They are looking at the UK as an opportunity to export more of their refined goods and their manufacturing, because they know we are running down our industries here, but they will not copy our lead on reducing emissions because they can see the impact it is having on our economy and our energy bills.
We are missing so many opportunities. Who is going to invest in AI and data centres here when we have four times the electricity costs of the US? They just will not, as there is no incentive. Driving down our agriculture to hit a net zero target is madness. We need food, which I hope is not controversial, but all we will do is import more. All that driving down the amount of our agriculture will do is free up more land for the Government to put solar panels on, which might help them with their target, but it is not going to help with our food production, and nor will it help our rural communities.
I will happily vote against these measures today. I have happily read the impact assessment, and I do not believe that this is best for my constituents, best for the country or best for the economy.
I declare an interest as vice chair of the climate and nature crisis caucus.
It is time to put it plainly: if we fail to prevent man made climate change from getting worse, we face an existential threat to the British way of life. As our weather becomes more extreme, we face the threat of repeated crop failures and the heat related deaths of thousands of livestock. With our country built for a climate that no longer exists, the impact of storms and heatwaves on our roads, hospitals, schools and pylons will finish off the efforts of the previous Tory Administration to wreck most of our national infrastructure.
Iconic wildlife species, such as the curlew and the salmon, may disappear from these islands, and the British seasons will lose their traditional rhythm. Even our veteran English oaks will begin to vanish from our landscapes. It is bitterly ironic that the Conservative party, which takes our oak tree as its symbol, has abandoned in recent years its commitment to the protection of the environment in a way that puts that icon of our national identity at risk. It has given up conserving anything.
I fully support the Government’s determination to keep our country on track for net zero and to play our part in tackling the climate emergency. Failing to act would put 1,000 years of history and the prosperity of every generation to come at risk. Nevertheless, delivering the seventh carbon budget will be possible only if we face head on the problems in our society that so often stand in our way.
As the Government’s impact assessment shows, there are huge potential benefits to becoming a more environmentally sustainable society: new export industries, better insulated homes that are more affordable to keep at a comfortable temperature and, with less pollution in our air, healthier lives. We will never realise those opportunities, however, if we do not work towards meeting our carbon budgets in a way that also addresses the deep inequalities across the UK.
With millions in our country already struggling for a decent standard of living, tackling climate change will be impossible if it becomes a threat to their jobs and livelihoods, and to their ability to pay rent, heat their home and put food on the table. The fight against climate change must also be a fight for full employment, decent wages, affordable homes and an end to fuel poverty.
The Government’s impact assessment for this carbon budget is clear: there is a risk to delivery if efforts to deploy new technologies outpace the capacity of industry and households to respond. If it takes up front spending to invest in net zero technologies such as solar panels and heat pumps to play our part and to benefit from long term savings, the Government must ensure that everyone is able to do so, regardless of income.
Similarly, for Ministers to secure public backing for the measures needed to deliver carbon budget 7, we must have a geographically fair approach that puts genuine decision making power in the hands of local communities up and down the country. Once again, the impact assessment is clear that there is the potential for adverse ecological and landscape impacts from the delivery of net zero infrastructure. Rural communities such as those that I represent cannot just be told to lump it, and that is where I think the impact assessment is inadequate.
It is not enough to say that there will be net benefits overall, so it is okay that places such as Stocking Pelham in north east Hertfordshire are being inundated with speculative proposals for renewable energy schemes. Unless we address the clear disconnect between the development of new infrastructure, how it is done, who it benefits and who experiences the harms, public backlash will continue to delay and frustrate the essential progress that we urgently need. Will the Minister not only make more of the obvious win win opportunities, such as rooftop solar on commercial buildings and over car parks, but invest more resources in local area energy planning so that rural communities are empowered to decide what technologies they host in their local landscape, where, and at what scale?
It is 40°C outside in some parts of the UK. We are obviously not ready for what is coming, so there could not be a better day to discuss climate change and carbon targets. The seventh carbon budget should be welcomed—it is good that the Government have accepted the Climate Change Committee’s advice—but it falls far short of what is needed.
We are making good progress on renewable energy and I, for one, believe that is to be celebrated. However, I will not focus on energy because many other Members in the Chamber have done so already. Instead, I will focus on key sectors where we have seen pitiful progress, but which are absolutely central to meeting our emissions targets and making the transformational change needed to meet more ambitious, longer term targets. This is not just about net zero; it is about making people’s lives better through lower bills, warmer homes and stronger, more sustainable communities, and it is about improving the quality of our lives as we struggle with the soaring temperatures and devastating floods—and doing so through more than just investing in renewables.
First, I will talk about farming. I welcome the reopening of the sustainable farming incentive, which we heard about earlier today. But yet again, it is a first come, first served subsidy that will work against the smaller, poorer farmers—the ones who need it most. The bigger operations will dive in first and get that money. We need long term sustainable incentives for long term sustainable agricultural planning.
We also need a land use framework, so that we can prioritise the most productive land for producing food and other less productive land for renewable energy. We should not be using our most productive agricultural land for solar power, but we need both and we have to have a land use framework to make that work. And yes, we also need to look at the carbon emissions from soils and peat. If we do not have healthy soils, we cannot produce food. Going back to what the shadow Minister said, perhaps she needs to think about the role of soil—
Will the hon. Lady give way?
No, because I do not have much time.
We also need massive progress on tree planting, and I commend my local district council for planning to plant one tree for every resident in the South Hams. It is making cracking progress.
Secondly, I would like to talk briefly about transport. If we do not have a major shift towards public transport, we are not going to get people out of their cars. That shift means buses in the south west. The right hon. Member for Makerfield (Andy Burnham) has promised that he is going to revolutionise buses all over the country in the way that he did in Manchester, and I really look forward to seeing how he is going to do that in Devon, where many communities do not even have buses, let alone affordable buses.
We need to look at EV charging, especially for people who have to park on the road. That is a real challenge. We are certainly not seeing it where I live. I would also like to talk about active travel. Devon county council has told me that it will take five years to get a cycle path, even once it has been agreed by all the landowners. That is absolutely ludicrous. If we want to get people on bikes and walking to cut emissions and improve health, we have to cut the red tape and make this easier to achieve.
Lastly, the Climate Change Committee’s target for heat pumps for 2035 is 1.5 million a year, yet we are installing only a third of that. The cost of Heathrow expansion could pay for 4 million heat pumps to be installed across the country. Expanding airports while we are trying to cut emissions makes absolutely no logical sense to me at all. The economic benefit is not proven, the social impact will be catastrophic and the emissions impact on the climate will be unbelievable. I think we should take that budget and put it instead into helping households with heat pumps—
Order. I call Fleur Anderson.
I declare an interest as chair of the all party parliamentary group on the environment, and I would like to thank all my constituents who write to me so regularly about environment issues. I also want to give a big shout out to South Thames college and its net zero training hub, which has been built in response to so much demand for green jobs in our local area and is really helping to boost the net zero economy in south west London.
I welcome the Government’s commitment to the seventh carbon budget in this London Climate Action Week, on this the hottest June day on record ever. This week’s heatwave is a stark reminder of what is at stake. Climate change is no longer a distant threat sometime in the future; it is here now, affecting lives, livelihoods and public services across our country, and especially in London. The question is whether we respond with the urgency that this moment demands and the long term thinking that this carbon budget demonstrates. We are seeing the consequences of extreme heat in transport, in halting rail services, in pressurising our energy system and in forcing school closures, with more than 1,000 today alone.
Will my hon. Friend give way?
I am sorry, but I am afraid I will not.
This extreme heat creates unsafe working conditions, especially for those in physical roles, like my son who is on a construction site today. Food production is at risk, productivity falls, services stretch and working people pay the price too often. The human toll has not been talked about in this debate so far, but it is sobering. Last summer, the hottest on record, was linked to more than 1,500 heat related deaths in England alone. Without decisive action, these consequences will only intensify.
Carbon budget 7 provides what we need most and what businesses need most, which is clarity. With a stable long term direction, investment will follow, supporting jobs, strengthening supply chains and driving innovation. We are already seeing this in the UK’s growing net zero economy. It also delivers wider co benefits, including warmer homes, lower bills, cleaner air and better public health. This is about improving lives—for example, by improving the air quality in Putney. It is welcome news that in London, deaths linked to toxic air have reduced by 40% in five years as a result of the policies brought in by the Mayor, including clean buses and the ultra low emission zone.
Public support remains strong, but confidence in delivery is weaker. Too often, people cannot see that clear path to net zero, and that is why carbon budget 7 really matters. It does not just set the destination; it gives confidence in the journey. We need more affordable heat pumps, more car clubs, more trees and more council insulation projects. While I support the Government’s approach, I want to raise a serious concern about the expansion of Heathrow airport, which is projected to add 9 million tonnes of emissions each year. How does that square with what we are doing to reduce emissions across every sector? I draw attention to the Heathrow expansion national policy statement, or HENPS—not very snappy, but it is very important. The consultation was launched last week, and I hope that anyone listening, especially my constituents in Putney, will get involved in it. How does this align with our commitments under carbon budget 7?
Can I, through my hon. Friend, ask the Minister to look at the Heathrow statement, which seems not to align with the policies we are advocating today? Also, some of the factual evidence that has been produced as part of the impact studies that the Government have also published does not seem to be reflected in the statement accurately.
I thank my right hon. Friend for that. We are looking at the science here. Carbon budgets are related to the science, and the statement about Heathrow expansion has to be related to the science and the evidence as well.
The carbon budget 7 is very welcome. It is necessary and urgent. I welcome the Government’s leadership, not only for us in our country, but in showing the way and leading other countries, and I have seen that in many places. If we get this right, we can deliver not just on climate, but on jobs, food security, national security, growth, health and resilience for decades to come.
We will go down to a three minute time limit after the next speaker.
I declare an interest as vice chair of the all party parliamentary group for the environment and as a member of the Environmental Audit Committee. Green MPs will back these critical climate change orders and regulations. I want to recognise, as others have done, the strength of the cross party consensus that has given us the historic and world first Climate Change Act and then the net zero target. As the temperature outside soars to record highs, we must renew our commitment to working on the basis of evidence. It is therefore deeply regrettable to see attempts from the Conservatives and Reform to dismantle Parliament’s climate consensus. We must not go back to the days of denialism; neither must we tolerate any rowing back on climate ambition in response to a perceived electoral threat from the deniers and the delayers.
The Paris agreement committed the world to holding global temperature rise to well below 2°C. The science has only become more alarming since then. Global emissions did not peak when many of the international climate policy experts predicted; instead, they continued to rise. As a result, the remaining global carbon budget available to meet the Paris goals now faces an ever smaller window. I support the seventh carbon budget, but we should be honest about the challenge before us, and I would welcome the Minister’s reflections on that specifically.
I welcome the seventh carbon budget, but it is imperative that we move with the urgency that the climate reality demands. We are experiencing increasingly frequent and severe periods of extreme heat, with temperatures reaching levels that pose risks to public health and essential services. The Climate Change Committee is clear that we are not prepared in any shape or form for what is to come. Greens are today specifically repeating our call for heat proofing measures: cooling for hospitals, schools, prisons and care homes, including air conditioning where needed; a maximum temperature limit for workplaces and classrooms; and a street by street programme to insulate homes to ensure that we keep them warm in winter and cool in summer. We need a long term policy framework to support that.
Members of the Environmental Audit Committee have heard that mitigation and adaptation cannot be treated as separate challenges. Neither can climate action be separated from action on inequality and the cost of living. Nowhere is that clearer than in our continued dependence on oil and gas. Expanding oil and gas operations will not materially improve UK energy security or protect us against price shocks, and it will not lower household bills. The huge growth in renewables is hugely welcome, but the science demands that we avoid new oil and gas fields. I hope that the Government will take this opportunity to unequivocally rule out expansion at Rosebank, given that it would emit emissions equivalent to 28 low income countries.
The hon. Member rightly talks about our not going back to the days of climate denial, but does he agree that there are legitimate questions to be asked about offshoring, and that we need to include the carbon emissions of everything we import, as that will be a general reflection of the carbon that we as a country are consuming?
I strongly agree with the hon. Member on that point, and we must ensure that our emissions account for all our activities, whether that is offshoring, shipping or aviation. As she pointed out earlier, any Government plans for airport expansion could bust their own climate targets and need to be carefully reviewed.
Finally, nature is crucial to this debate. Healthy peatlands, native woodlands, salt marshes and restored ecosystems are among the most effective climate tools available to us, yet we are one of the most nature depleted countries on Earth. I encourage the Government to recognise that in their carbon budget delivery plans. Not only can we build a strong resilient economy at the same time as restoring nature, but we will do so only if we successfully put nature front and centre. The science is becoming starker, the impacts are arriving faster, and the time for cautious incrementalism has passed. This House must back the seventh carbon budget, and we must all work together to increase our ambition to the level needed to protect the public.
I thank the Minister for the leadership she has shown on this issue, not just since taking up her role, but long before she came to this House—that is a powerful lesson at the heart of some of today’s debate. We have heard a lot from some Opposition Members about how inherently global this problem is, and that the UK decarbonising alone will not tackle climate change. They are obviously right—it is an inherently and intractably global problem that we cannot tackle alone—but they seem somehow to build from that to an argument that we will get other countries to go faster by going slower ourselves. The lesson that the Minister showed in a previous job by arguing for the Climate Change Act is that by showing global leadership, we can bring other countries along with us on this difficult journey. We brought in the Climate Change Act, and now 75% of the country’s GDP is covered by binding emissions targets. We know we need to go further, which is why the debate about how we meet those targets is so important—but it must be a debate about how we meet them.
There has been a lot of loaded language about climate denialism, and I accept that Conservative Members are not denying the existence of climate change. However, by denying the real and existential consequences of not meeting the science backed targets, they are engaging in a subtler, but no less pernicious form of denialism. That is betraying our constituents and their futures by failing to recognise the existential challenge of climate change, and by failing to engage with the real and important debate that we should all be having about how we meet those targets and the policy trade offs needed.
I appreciate the hon. Member’s tone and the quality of his remarks, but does he not agree that denying that the Government are making electricity more expensive and deterring electrification—something the former Labour Prime Minister has acknowledged—and denying that we are offshoring emissions by putting extra carbon taxes on our businesses that other countries do not face, therefore increasing global emissions, is also part of the problem?
The right hon. Member is right to highlight that we need to do more to drive down the costs of energy and bring others with us on the journey of decarbonisation, but that is not the debate we are having today. We are having a debate about scientifically binding and informing climate targets that will have existential implications if we do not meet them. By not engaging with some of the deeper policy conversations about how we get there, the right hon. Member is letting us all down. There will absolutely be areas where we can go further, because we have already shown that we can. Whether that is by renewing some of the renewable energy auctions to get better value out of the outcomes for consumers, by evolving the way we are delinking gas from electricity markets to deliver better outcomes for consumers and the environment, or by reforming some of the planning costs that have been holding back the new nuclear and clean energy that we desperately need to get cracking with, we have already made progress.
There will absolutely be areas where we need to go further, and many hon. Members have made good contributions to highlight some of them. That could be thinking about how we can do more to take policy costs off electricity to speed up the electrification journey, or how we can deregulate better some of the innovate start up technologies that will make some outcomes possible in ways that we might not even be able to imagine today, or thinking carefully about how we manage the industrial costs and implications of the journey to net zero, to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect the fantastic industrial heartlands that our country has relied on for far too long, and which we should be preserving long into the future. Those are big important questions, but that is not the discussion and argument that has so often been thrown back from the Opposition Benches today. That argument has denied the implications of failing to meet the target, and it is deeply disappointing, because it lets down our constituents and all our collective futures.
The real choice before us is whether we prepare our economy for the future or watch other countries seize the opportunities that we allow to pass us by. The UK has every reason to be proud of its record on international climate leadership and diplomacy. The Climate Change Act 2008 has become a model for climate governance around the world. Some 76 countries have followed the UK’s lead in developing climate governance frameworks and we have stood at the forefront of international co operation on the issue, positioning Britain as a key player in securing the 2015 Paris agreement and COP26 in Glasgow.
We have shown that reducing emissions and building prosperity can be complementary: this is not just an environmental question but an economic one. Recent years have shown that the cost of our dependence on fossil fuels is serious. The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit suggests that the energy crisis following Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine cost the UK more than £180 billion, including a rise in food price inflation of 19%, whereas the economic opportunities are significant. Britain’s green economy now supports around 1.1 million jobs and generates more than £100 billion. It is one of the fastest growing parts of our economy, creating productive, well paid jobs across manufacturing, engineering and technology. Whether Britain embraces the energy transition or not will not change whether the transition happens. The question instead is whether the jobs, the investment and the expertise are located here or somewhere else.
History rarely rewards those who cling to yesterday’s technologies when the world is investing in tomorrow’s. Members need not trust me on this point; they should trust the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. On 23 June 1914, Winston Churchill was being travailed in this House by MPs who were pursuing an old energy source in the face of a new one. On the eve of the first world war, Churchill pursued oil for powering the ships of the Royal Navy in the face of MPs who pressed the case for coal. This was long before Britain had access to our own oil, but Churchill could see that this new technology was going to change the way that the 20th century would be powered.
A century later, we are faced with another transition, from fossil fuels to clean energy generation. That is particularly relevant where I live in south west England. Yesterday afternoon, I hosted the Great South West new nuclear futures event here in Parliament. This debate is ultimately about whether Britain chooses to lead or to follow. It is about whether we develop the industries of the future or allow others to forge ahead. The cost of inaction will ultimately be far greater than the cost of transition.
As the report makes clear, carbon budget 7 is one of the most important stages on the path to net zero. In previous carbon budgets, cuts in emissions came from more straightforward changes, such as moving electricity generation away from coal. As we continue along this path, this carbon budget will involve changes to the way we heat our homes, the way we travel and the technology we use. Delivering that will require behavioural and structural changes, and future emissions reductions will depend increasingly on the choices made by our constituents.
I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins) when he warns that if the Government are to be successful in delivering carbon budget 7, they must have the support of the public. The policies to achieve net zero must therefore be fair and must avoid placing disproportionate burdens on those households with the fewest options. The Committee was clear that the continued pathway to net zero requires greater policy certainty and co ordination, and more joined up Government action. I would take this further and expand on a point that I made when the Climate Minister gave evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee last week. As this Labour Government continue with their mission of shifting power away from Westminster and into the regions, we should ensure that mayors and local authorities have the support they need to help to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. He is absolutely right to point out the benefits of devolution and encouraging local authorities to do more. There are many local authorities, not just at mayoral level but among the smaller local authorities, that have a strong track record. I recommend my own local council, Reading borough council, but there are many others who have introduced swathes of solar and other measures.
I was coming on to talk about my own local council, where we are facing problems. Local authority involvement is all the more important given the fracturing of the long standing cross party consensus. We now hear voices, particularly from Reform UK, who would simply abandon net zero altogether. Walking away from the challenge would not protect our constituents, but leave them more exposed to higher energy bills, energy insecurity and the growing impacts of climate change itself. Where there is opposition at a national, regional or local level, it is important that the Government are proactive in setting out the explicit case for the net zero agenda as well as the tangible benefits of particular policies.
Let me draw on an example from my own local authority. Last year, the Government made £25 million of funding available through the electric vehicle pavement channels grant. That funding was for local authorities to install cross pavement channels to support residents without access to off street parking so that they could charge their vehicles at home and benefit from cheaper domestic tariffs.
I had concerns about how the grant was being used in Kent, so I wrote to Kent county council. In response, the Reform led administration said that the council had decided not to submit an application for the grant. As a result, of the £667,000 of funding that could have been available to the people of Kent, the council received only £50,000. That represents a shortfall of well over half a million pounds of funding that could have been used to help my constituents. That is deeply disappointing at a time when the Labour Government are putting forward practical support to help households with the transition to net zero.
What my hon. Friend has just revealed is absolutely shocking. Does that not show that even at a local authority level, Reform will put its ideology in the way of helping businesses and individuals to bring their bills down?
I absolutely agree. Hundreds and hundreds of constituents would like to drive an electric car but have no access to home charging, and they would have benefited from that funding. Yes, we are talking about taxpayers’ money, but by not becoming an energy secure country, we are only helping countries like Russia.
Given the urgency of meeting our national emissions targets, it is essential that no opportunity for progress is left unused. Will the Department work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as other relevant Departments, to take a more proactive and co ordinated approach? That should include identifying barriers that prevent local authorities from applying for funding, improving communication about available schemes, and providing practical support where needed.
In particular, will the Government consider measures such as offering targeted guidance or even establishing a more strategic framework to ensure that funding reaches all parts of the country effectively? By strengthening collaboration across Departments and supporting local authorities more directly, we can help to ensure that councils are fully equipped to access the funding available to them and, in doing so, maximise our collective ability to deliver on the UK’s climate commitments.
Last year was the worst on record for outdoor fires in Dorset. A part of my constituency burned for weeks on end, with many fires starting before others had been brought under control. I am really concerned that if we do not prepare better, we will be unable to manage the changes ahead.
The Government’s resilience framework, which was published last year, mentions climate change less than six times. Perhaps that explains why the Climate Change Committee has repeatedly warned that UK preparedness is inadequate. Will the Minister look again at the resilience framework?
Home grown energy is a key way to adaptation and mitigation. Earlier this month, I called for offshore wind projects to be accelerated in Dorset, but we are told that those projects are a decade away—a decade in which average temperatures are expected to have increased by another quarter of a degree and in which well paid, green jobs and associated economic growth in Dorset will be lost to our community. I must ask the Minister to look again at how we share green energy jobs around the country.
My biggest concern is this: tomorrow is the final day of the planning appeal for another incinerator in Dorset. At a time when the Government have committed to a circular economy and expanded recycling, it is totally contradictory to continue to approve these plants. Government policy published in December 2024 stated that only plants with a clearly defined waste management need should go ahead, yet documents released this week on the Canford incinerator suggest that only 20% of the burned waste will come from the two council areas in Dorset. Furthermore, the carbon capture and storage facility pledged at the time of the development will not be built; there is just a commitment to regular updates on potential future feasibility.
We are due to meet our net zero target in just 25 years, yet this incinerator will be burning waste for 40 years. That is 40 years in which we will be reducing waste and will need to bring waste from further afield to feed the monster. How can we claim to be serious about achieving net zero while enabling business models that depend on the long term combustion of waste?
When I visited Bearwood primary school last week, children urged me to do more to protect marine life. When I attended the national emergency briefing in Wareham last month, I was touched by the concern of residents about what they were seeing, sometimes for the first time. When I write back to those children next week, I want to tell them that this House listened, and when I speak at the national emergency briefing in Wimborne next week, I want to tell the people there that we recognise the scale of the challenge and the opportunity that is before us. I ask the Government to please pause decisions on new incinerator development so that we can achieve this carbon target, and to ensure the national emergency briefing reaches a wider audience with a prime time screening by the public broadcasters.
I very much welcome the opportunity for this House to debate the seventh carbon budget, but as important as this debate is, it cannot be the only place in which this discussion is held. I welcome the Government’s recognition of this in their clean energy mission, which states that that mission “will only succeed if we take people with us.”
That means not just having this debate, welcome as it is, but making sure that we reach out to communities. If we do not, the space will too quickly be filled with misinformation and false narratives that undermine public trust in the need for carbon reduction and a better environment. We must continue to make that case so that support is broad, durable, and rooted in the everyday experiences of communities across the country.
To do this, we must combine arguments with policies that improve the lived realities of communities across the UK. This means ensuring that the costs of decarbonising our economy do not fall disproportionately on less advantaged communities. We must work with, and in, communities and industry to ensure that the benefits for UK jobs and incomes are delivered. This mission is based on scientific evidence, and it needs a technical and practical set of solutions, but we will not succeed if we limit the debate to the scientific and the technical—we need to recognise that it is rooted in the values of social justice. The interconnected causes of environmental, social and economic justice are the challenge of our time.
It is clear that bringing people with us may be becoming more difficult. Much of the progress made has been on the things that were easier to do; what is left to do is perhaps more difficult. Not only is the task ahead more difficult in itself; the consensus on progress has sadly fractured. But this is not a time to retreat. It may be a time to reflect on how we build, and I look forward to the Government’s publication of the delivery plan for this carbon budget, but it cannot be a time to retreat. The challenge is no less urgent; in fact, it is more pressing. Scrutiny is important, but it is not enough, and making the case for clean energy cannot be done through words alone—it must be done through actions that deliver for working people and for all our communities. Talking about a just transition does not in itself deliver a just transition. If we act, continuing to turn our words into deeds, the clean energy revolution will not simply be a policy programme; it will become a lasting national achievement.
In 2026, the question is no longer whether we act on the climate crisis, but how fast we do so. Most people accept the science, which shows that the Earth’s average surface temperatures have increased significantly over the past century. It is hard to deny this in a week where the UK is yet again experiencing record breaking heat, although one climate sceptic told me online recently that “it’s just weather”. Yes, there have been hot periods in recent history, but these are becoming more frequent and more prolonged, with global temperatures set to rise by 1.5°C to 2°C by 2050. While that may sound like a small number, these increases will lead to farmers’ crops failing more regularly, threatening food security. People’s health will be impacted. Sea temperatures will further increase; this will melt ice sheets and release massive amounts of carbon and methane into the permafrost, further increasing temperatures.
The net zero brand, however, has become toxic, failing to clearly communicate what must be done and why. Measures to deal with climate and the environment are not “nice to haves”—they are essential to protect the country’s ecosystem, agriculture and infrastructure. It is no longer about whether we can afford to take action; it is about whether we can afford not to do so. If we do, our economy will actually benefit. We must confront the misinformation directly and put forward credible, practical solutions. The populist right promotes the misleading claim that the UK can secure its energy by drilling more oil and gas in the North sea, but in reality, projects such as the Rosebank oilfield would deliver only a relatively small supply of oil and be subject to global price shocks, all while causing significant environmental damage and giving more profits to oil giants. True energy security and lower costs will come from sustained investment in renewable energy, not from doubling down on fossil fuels.
Some 37 years ago, Margaret Thatcher stood before the UN General Assembly and warned of the dangers of rising carbon emissions and their impact on the Earth’s climate. At the time, the Conservatives respected that evidence and engaged seriously with the science, but today the party is a pound shop version of its former self, more preoccupied with chasing Reform votes than offering serious solutions to the challenges facing our country.
We urgently need to tell a better story on climate change and to show the public how policies will benefit them where it matters—in their pocket. During the last heatwave a few weeks ago, more than 80% of the energy in the grid came from renewable sources. That is a fantastic news story, and the public are set to reap the benefits from the planned decoupling of gas and electricity prices. Across the UK, we are already seeing warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers, but this is not a task for DESNZ alone. A golden thread of safeguarding our environment for future generations must run across all Departments.
I support these measures. Contrary to what some have said in the Chamber today, the UK Energy Research Centre has found that two thirds of the increase in electricity bills since 2021 has been driven by wholesale gas prices. The leader of the Liberal Democrats, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) was right, when he was Energy Secretary, to play his part in leading the UK to becoming the world leader in offshore wind. He was right—as, to be fair, was the Prime Minister—to oppose the reckless and illegal war in the middle east, which has driven up prices. It is crucial that we break the reliance on gas to bring down our energy bills. Our Liberal Democrat plan to halve energy bills in 10 years depends on doing just that. Our essential energy guarantee would discount half of bills right now, but we need to do more.
Tidal range could have been generating more than Hinkley C, had the previous Conservative Government supported that proposal when it came up. My hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings) was absolutely right to say in her excellent speech that community energy could be playing a much bigger part. One thing that Reform and the Conservatives have not talked about today is that their alternatives do not just mean more and more burning of oil and gas, despite the global warming we are experiencing today; they also want to frack our beautiful countryside to burn even more gas. Near my constituency in Somerset, shale gas licences were obtained, including for Quantoxhead and around Brent Knoll, just 16 miles from a nuclear power station and not far at all from my town of Taunton. The Reform party said that it would be negligent not to frack. Under their current leader, the Conservatives have recently opened the door to fracking, saying that it will form part of the mix, just as Liz Truss did during her short period in office.
Fracking in Lancashire, let us remember, triggered 200 seismic events of magnitudes up to 2.9, which were felt across the whole Fylde coast. My neighbours in Taunton and Wellington want nothing to do with fracking, and certainly not just outside our town. Any proposals to restart fracking pose real dangers to Somerset, and constituents of Taunton and Wellington would bear all the risk: the earth tremors, the industrialisation of our rolling hills and the threat to the River Tone, while the financial gains would flow only to the oil and gas executives and to their backers.
The seventh carbon budget provides the continuity of trajectory that lower bills and a stable climate depend upon, but we must go further. We must reject the dangerous alternatives from the Conservatives and Reform, and say no to fracking our wonderful countryside.
Since the last election, great strides have been made by this Government in confronting the ongoing climate crisis. There should be no doubt at all about us being in a climate crisis—we only need to step outside to feel it. We have heard from many Members already that this is one of the hottest days on record.
I welcome the Government’s clear acceptance of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recommended reduction of carbon emissions. That is an issue that my constituents care deeply about. After all, it is about their children’s future, and when I say this, I mean that all children deserve the right to breathe clean air. This Labour Government have made historic investments in clean energy and rewilding projects across the country. Those achievements have not only worked to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and build our national energy independence, but brought with them further private investment, training opportunities and high skilled sustainable employment, reinvigorating our communities and building the foundations for a greener and more sustainable economy.
The Government’s focus on environmental policy is demonstrated by the carbon budget, which will improve people’s lives now and for years to come. It will rebuild our natural environment, and it will save lives. In previous years, 4,000 premature deaths were linked to poor air quality in London alone. That is not acceptable. It has affected my constituency directly with the tragic death of Ella Adoo Kissi Debrah in 2013, following which, for the first time in the UK, air pollution was listed as a cause of death. I applaud her mother, Rosamund, who campaigns relentlessly for clean air.
For far too long, Governments in Westminster have failed to take the dangers of air pollution seriously, and I am glad that that is no longer the case. Thanks to vital work on the part of the Mayor of London, enormous progress has been made to clean up our air. The implementation of ultra low emission zones—which are popular with some and unpopular with others—has removed high emission vehicles from our streets, which, again, is to be applauded.
This progress shows a Labour movement working together at local and national level to change lives. I congratulate the Government on their acceptance of the carbon budget and the emissions reduction target, and I look forward to continuing to support the work that is taking place in the UK and globally to tackle the climate crisis. However, I ask the Government to look further at the stripping of minerals from the seabed. As the Minister will know, deep sea mining puts at risk genuinely irreplaceable biomes, and may lead to the remobilisation of carbon emissions that have long been dormant on the seabed.
Owing to the three minute speaking limit, I will do my best to summarise my speech. I also apologise to the constituents whom I told that I would raise specific issues on their behalf, because I may not be able to cover all the points that I had hoped to make.
The last Labour Government made huge strides in respect of climate change, introducing the first legislation in the form of the Climate Change Act 2008 and the first carbon budget. That was taken up by other countries across the world. I also pay tribute to past Conservative Governments—David Cameron and Theresa May took that work forward—and I hope we can find a consensus across the House on the way ahead.
Climate change affects so many aspects of our lives in the United Kingdom. We have made good progress, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by about 50% since 1990, but the scale of the challenge is great, and it is having a massive impact on the economy. We are on a fossil fuel rollercoaster as we pay more to support people with health problems. We may see such problems today—and perhaps I should declare an interest, as someone who would get sunburnt under a 40-watt lightbulb. We are also seeing threats to our national security as access to natural resources is challenged, and that will be a driver of conflict.
While we have a moral obligation to adapt, we are also presented with a huge opportunity for our economy. The green industries of the future are already creating growth here, and creating some fantastic jobs. It is important to bear in mind that the suggestions made by the independent Climate Change Committee are just suggestions, and that it is up to the Government of the day to pursue them. For example, we have heard some talk of banning meat and dairy products. I happen to know that the Secretary of State for Energy is very fond of a bacon sandwich, as is the chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee, so I do not think we will find ourselves in circumstances in which meat is banned.
Let me refer to some of the opportunities that we have. The Government’s progress with the Rolls Royce small modular reactors is fantastic news. I understand that they will be able to power nearly a million homes, and this is good news for jobs in the sector as well. The warm homes plan will help to deal with the cost of living crisis, but it also means that people who heat their homes using gas, for example, will use less of that product.
I want to impress on the Minister the importance of nature based solutions, especially in relation to flooding, which imposes a huge economic burden on businesses and homes. I should also like her to bear in mind green hydrogen, which presents a huge opportunity for the economy. Some great work is being done in Sweden. However, a huge amount of electricity is required for the electrolysis that is needed to produce green hydrogen. If we can do more with the SMRs, I believe that we have a viable opportunity to deliver with green hydrogen.
It is a shame that time is so tight in such an important debate, but I shall have to leave it there for today.
The temperature right now in London is about 35°, compared with a perfect 25° in Darlington—so take me home! I want to put on the record my thanks to all the staff working to support us today, especially the armed police and the Doorkeepers in their three piece suits. The effects of this heatwave will put huge pressure on our public and essential services, and we should all spare a thought for any woman giving birth today, for the families living in overcrowded accommodation, and for anyone with medical vulnerabilities. This weather is deeply dangerous and, in proposing inaction in the face of this climate emergency, the Conservative party must be living on another planet.
I may not be a climate change expert—my brother is a geography teacher, so I am under serious pressure—but I do know my regional economy. I know that the net zero project has delivered incredible impacts and huge investment in my area, and the Minister has shown excellent leadership on this issue. Although today’s extreme weather makes her point for her, the Government have been working hand in glove with industry to ensure that we reap the economic rewards of the transition to net zero. At the G7 last week, the Government secured £1.3 billion for battery energy storage systems so that we can end the ludicrous practice of curtailment of our wind farms.
In recent weeks, we have seen a co ordinated effort by the once credible Conservative party to paint decarbonisation as anti jobs, anti growth and anti industrial communities. Although I absolutely back the calls from the trade unions to ensure a proper, equitable career transition for those working in the oil and gas industry, saying that this Government’s commitment to net zero is bad for our economy is for the birds.
In my region, we have a world leading carbon capture project, the East Coast Cluster, which includes the net zero Teesside power plant. The plant, which is powered by gas, will capture 2 million tonnes of CO2 annually and create enough power for 1.3 million homes. This technology will be globally significant, boosting our ability to support other countries that are looking for solutions to their transition, which we can sell. The technology is backed by a £22 billion investment, alongside the green hydrogen on Teesside and many other innovations. Our region is powering ahead. We have huge innovations through the Northern Endurance Partnership, and Low Carbon Materials, which is a local start up, was shortlisted for the Earthshot prize.
Net zero jobs are 40% more productive than the national average, with wages 15% higher than the UK norm. In other words, these are not just more jobs; they are better jobs. That is the assessment of the CBI, not the Labour Government. Whether it is the electric trains being built at Hitachi or what will soon to be the largest wind farm in the world at Dogger Bank, our region is home not only to the best people in England, but to the most net zero businesses per head in the country.
I say to the Minister: all clean power to your elbow. Industry is investing and innovating. The public support action and want subsidies, with two thirds wanting action on climate change. Carbon intensive industries, and workers in these industries, are calling for equitable alternatives and for the same pay and progression as other sectors.
The effects of climate change cannot be ignored in my city of Portsmouth. We are an island city, and rising sea levels will pose a growing threat if we do not get a grip on the climate crisis. The climate crisis affects my constituency every day. It is fitting that we are debating this motion during a record heatwave, in which people are struggling to cope in homes that are poorly equipped for increasingly frequent extreme weather. This is not just about reducing emissions; it is about rewiring our economy for a more sustainable future. Climate action is driving jobs, growth and investment across the UK, and we are already seeing that in Portsmouth.
Earlier this year, I visited four constituents with Aura Retrofit. They had all received heat pumps through the Government’s warm homes plan, at no cost to themselves. They told me that these improvements have transformed their lives by keeping them warm through the winter, reducing their energy bills and, indeed, giving them money back. The Conservatives say that the public do not support the transition to net zero, but I do not know who they have been talking to, because 77 people surveyed by the Government’s public attitudes tracker said that they were concerned about climate change and its impact, and seven out of 10 voters say that they want to support Government action to reduce climate change. However, they know there is an issue that we must address.
At a recent community event, it was evident that many people were afraid to discuss climate change and net zero for fear of attack and a pile on following the misinformation spread online by some politicians. Despite heat pumps being available in my city, only 4% of households in Portsmouth North have taken them up, making us 483rd out of 650 constituencies for adoption. For some residents, the offer may simply sound too good to be true. Previous scams in the clean energy sector have damaged trust. In summing up, can the Minister consider how we rebuild confidence so that more residents can benefit from what one constituent has described as “kinder energy”?
As a proud naval city, Portsmouth understands how global events can affect the cost of fuel, energy and food. That is why we must continue to invest in renewables and nuclear energy to free Britain from the rollercoaster of fuel prices. As my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) noted, we must bring the country with us, and people must see it, hear it and feel it. We should reject the false choice between restoring nature and reaching net zero, because we need both. Nature recovery and climate action are not competing objectives; they are mutually reinforcing.
One area of concern I would like to highlight is the role of the shipping industry. Portsmouth international port’s shore power infrastructure, supported by Government funding, allows ships to connect to the electricity grid while berthed rather than running on diesel, making the air cleaner around the city and meaning that the income received from the municipal port is not costing local people their health. However, this port now faces serious challenges. The cost of electricity makes using the infrastructure more expensive than marine diesel, which is threatening to undermine the investment. I urge the Minister to work with Ministers across Government to find a solution. Our port wants to contribute to net zero, but the current system is holding it back.
If we do nothing, we do not keep things as they are, but lock in more flooding, more extreme weather and greater energy insecurity. In the words of our own national treasure, David Attenborough: “If working apart we are a force powerful to destabilise our planet, surely working together we are powerful enough to save it.”
As many Members have mentioned, the temperature outside the Chamber has been climbing towards 40°C and a red heat health alert is in force. Fifty years ago, the summer of 1976 left a mark that many people still remember. We are living through that kind of summer again, except that now we know it is not a freak, but a pattern. We are seeing the impact in that schools have closed, transport has been disrupted and hospitals have cancelled appointments. Indeed, we have already seen a critical incident declared at a hospital in Portsmouth.
None of this is a forecast; it has already happened, and it is happening faster than we were told, but I do not believe that we need to trade in despair, because it is not warranted and it is not useful. We still have time to act and we know what to do. That is the whole point of the seventh carbon budget that we are debating, and it is in that spirit that I support it.
This is something Britain is good at. We were the first major economy to write a binding climate framework into law. We have cut our emissions faster than almost any comparable nation. This is not a burden we should carry grudgingly, but a race in which we are leading from the front and, indeed, bringing on other countries to act as well.
A child starting school in my constituency this September will be in their 20s when this budget period ends, and what we decide in this Chamber writes the world that they grow up in. We must leave things better than we found them, and we cannot hand the next generation a wrecked inheritance and a bill, and call it prudence. So to those who say we cannot afford this, I say that the reverse is true.
The Conservative party rightly talks about scrutiny, but scrutiny works both ways. I heard very little about the costs of inaction—flooding, wildfires and heatwaves—or the cost of not capturing the huge economic opportunities. Indeed, the impact assessment, as we have discussed, shows that transitioning away from fossil fuels will lead to a net increase. It mentions not being able to quantify exactly the impact on jobs post 2030, but it very clearly says that that is because of the context: it depends on things such as automation, AI and, crucially, policy.
I agreed with the speech of the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho), in 2023, because she rightly argued—I did not agree with everything she said, but she made this central point—that while she agreed with the target for net zero, policy would be crucial to shaping whether it worked for families and business. However, rather than doing the hard work of designing policy to ensure that, the Conservatives have abandoned the target completely.
We still have time, and we have the framework, the evidence and a national habit of leading when it counts. We should not duck this moment just because it has got difficult, and I urge the Government to keep Britain leading from the front.
The temperature has certainly gone up outside, and at times it has gone up a little in here. This has been a very passionate debate, which I really welcome. I will probably not have time to go through all of the points that were raised, but I am happy to meet anybody to discuss them. Constructive engagement is really helpful on this issue. I think most of our constituents want us to tackle climate change and bring bills down, and this is an opportunity for us to work together.
I will reply initially to the right hon. Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho). As she knows, this issue is about setting the trajectory towards 2050. It is not about 2050; it is about the budget. I listened really carefully and she makes some valid points, but I was a little confused at times. She challenged us on not having enough scrutiny, but this is the first time that we have had proper scrutiny of this budget. Under the previous Government, you never once voted on the carbon budget on the Floor of the House. You discredited, or you tried to discredit, the Committee on Climate Change—
Order. The Minister is better than that.
The right hon. Lady used the Committee on Climate Change to discredit some of the figures and questioned food bills, but she knows that bills have already gone up by £361 as a result of food inflation. She talked about planning and referred to China’s innovation, but I would say that its planning system is a little bit more forthright than ours.
The thing I was most unsure about was this: if the right hon. Lady is so clear, why did she not do that when she was in office and she was in my place? Actually, she did take this through when she was in charge. It is only in Opposition that she has changed her position entirely. I am from Yorkshire and we say things fairly directly. My advice has always been that we want to save carbon and make cash. I think that is a fairly blunt way of saying that this is about growth in the economy.
I pay tribute to and thank my hon. Friends the Members for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins), for Sheffield Hallam (Olivia Blake), for Derbyshire Dales (John Whitby), for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies), for Brent West (Barry Gardiner), for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough (Justin Madders), for Putney (Fleur Anderson), for Hitchin (Alistair Strathern), for Ashford (Sojan Joseph), for Darlington (Lola McEvoy), for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) and for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy).
I would also like to thank the hon. Members for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings), for Chippenham (Sarah Gibson) and for Horsham (John Milne), my hon. Friends the Members for Exeter (Steve Race) and for North East Hertfordshire (Chris Hinchliff), and the hon. Members for South Devon (Caroline Voaden), for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord), for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos), for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross), for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking) and for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice).
I understand that the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness drives a Tesla, but his party wants to scrap the electric car grant. I understand that he put solar panels on properties owned by his former company, but Reform councillors are cancelling solar projects on public buildings. I understand that his former company invested in EV chargers and solar power, but Reform says Britain should slow down the green energy transition. I understand that he says he backs business, but he threatens to rip up green investment deals and send investors running for the exits. Some 91% of properties in the Boston and Skegness constituency face some level of flood risk. He talks about adapting to climate change, but he will not tackle what is causing it.
I ask the hon. Members who have questioned the motions today: what is the alternative? I am very happy to have those conversations. Should we tell black cab drivers to give up their electric taxis and go back to paying more at the pump? Should we look constituents in flood risk communities in the eye and tell them, “Sorry, we’re not going to tackle the causes of this?” Should I tell the gentleman I met in Makerfield, whose solar panels have helped to reduce his energy debt by £800, that he was better off without them? Should I tell the investors at the London Stock Exchange that Britain is not interested in its share of a $10 trillion global green economy? Let us be clear: that is the choice.
In the middle of an unprecedented heatwave, perhaps we should all try to take the temperature down. This should not be a partisan issue. At its heart, carbon budget 7 is a pro business, pro investment framework. Let us choose resilience over risk, let us choose investment over stagnation, and let us choose the opportunities of the future over the comforts of the status quo. I hope that I have provided the reassurance that Members require. I urge colleagues across the House to support the orders and regulations before us today. I commend them to the House.
Question put.
41|19:33|332|94|The House divided:|Question accordingly agreed to.||0|0
Resolved,
That the draft Carbon Budget Order 2026, which was laid before this House on 2 June, be approved.
More than three hours having elapsed since the commencement of proceedings on the first motion, the Deputy Speaker put the Questions necessary for the disposal of the business to be concluded at that time (Order, this day).
Motion made, and Question put,
That the draft Climate Change Act 2008 (International Aviation and International Shipping) Regulations 2026, which were laid before this House on 14 April, in the last Session of Parliament, be approved.—(Katie White.)
42|19:47|329|94|The House divided:|Question accordingly agreed to.||0|0
Motion made, and Question put,
That the draft Climate Change Act 2008 (Credit Limit) Order 2026, which was laid before this House on 14 April, in the last Session of Parliament, be approved.—(Katie White.)
43|19:59|330|93|The House divided:|Question accordingly agreed to.||0|0
Delegated Legislation
Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)),
Climate Change Levy
That the draft Climate Change Agreements (Administration, Energy intensive Installations and Eligible Facilities) (Amendment and Revocation) Regulations 2026, which were laid before this House on 20 April, in the last Session of Parliament, be approved.—(Lilian Greenwood.)
Question put and agreed to.
Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)),
Employment Tribunals
That the draft Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026, which were laid before this House on 28 April, in the last Session of Parliament, be approved.—(Lilian Greenwood.)
Question put.
The Deputy Speaker’s opinion as to the decision of the Question being challenged, the Division was deferred until Wednesday 1 July (Standing Order No. 41A).
Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)),
Employment Tribunals
That the draft Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026, which was laid before this House on 28 April, in the last Session of Parliament, be approved.—(Lilian Greenwood.)
Question put.
The Deputy Speaker’s opinion as to the decision of the Question being challenged, the Division was deferred until Wednesday 1 July (Standing Order No. 41A).
I rise to present a petition from residents in my constituency of Arundel and South Downs in West Sussex. Hundreds of signatures have been gathered from local residents who see at first hand what feels like a constant attack on our countryside and country pursuits by this Government. For example, just in the past couple of weeks, we have seen the removal of plans for fast broadband fibre to thousands of rural homes. The petitioners therefore request “that the House of Commons urges the Government to bring forward measures to actively support rural areas, farming, traditional country sports, including trail hunting and shooting, and the equestrian sector.”
Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of Arundel and the South Downs, Declares that the UK’s rural traditions and heritage are of great importance in preserving our natural landscapes and the wider economy. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to bring forward measures to actively support rural areas, farming, traditional country sports (including trail hunting and shooting) and the equestrian sector. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003212]
On this hot day I rise to present the petition of residents of the constituency of Newcastle under Lyme. I also draw the House’s attention to the declaration of interest from the new leader of Newcastle under Lyme borough council at the cabinet meeting yesterday.
The petition states: The petition of residents of the constituency of Newcastle under Lyme, Declares that the land to the south east of Junction 16 of the M6 should not be released from its green belt status for development as this would have a significantly detrimental impact on Audley residents; further declares that the proposed employment site represents a loss of 6% of the parish’s green belt, which would devastate the rural character of the conservation area; further declares that the proposed development would likely favour commuters over local people, increasing pressure on the A500/M6 roundabout and disrupting nearby rural lanes used by local people; further declares that the development is expected to cause poor air quality, noise, litter, 24-hour illumination and loss of habitat, while severely impacting views across the Cheshire plains and North Staffordshire; and further declares that, as the local planning authority tasked with producing the Local Plan, Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council has a responsibility to listen to the overwhelming concerns of its residents and ensure the long term protection of the green belt by removing site allocation AB2.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to encourage Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council to remove site allocation AB2 from its Local Plan and not to permit the release of green belt land for this development.
And the petitioners remain, etc.
[P003213]
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—(Lilian Greenwood.)
I thank the Under Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), for attending this debate. He may recall that I wrote to the Department for Education last July and outlined that Bramhall high school is a fantastic institution that provides not only an excellent education, but a wealth of wider opportunities for young people in my Cheadle constituency. Despite the extremely poor state of its buildings, the school has continued to deliver for its pupils.
I have seen at first hand the challenges that the school faces. The site is simply not fit for purpose. One of the blocks has no access to water or toilet facilities, the corridors are extremely narrow, meaning movement between classes is a constant battle for teachers, and pupils have been using temporary cabins since November 2023. So no one will be surprised to learn that the school was extremely pleased to be invited to be part of the school rebuilding programme, which offered everyone a fresh start and an exciting opportunity to create something that matched the school’s incredible ambitions.
The school was presented with a number of options, including a full rebuild. That option would best serve the ambitions of the school and the wider community, and avoid further costly and disruptive work in the future. Rightly, the school hoped that this would be the way forward. We all believe that Bramhall high school could become a flagship project for the rebuild programme, with a legacy where long term thinking is prioritised, students and teachers are empowered, and true potential is invested in.
When I met the school’s leadership team a few months ago, the headteacher, Mr Williams, told me how proud he was that Bramhall high school provided a true, comprehensive education, where students’ skills, passions and talents would be catered for and everyone was given the chance to succeed. A new school would allow this to continue and enhance the fantastic offer that is already available, but sadly the Government have blocked Bramhall high school from receiving a full and complete rebuild, despite it being completely within the budget.
I would like to set out in detail the problems that Bramhall high school faces and the disappointing experience that the school has had with the school rebuilding programme. The school’s buildings suffer from many significant design flaws and large parts cannot be used due to the risks of RAAC—reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. John Peckham, an ex headteacher of the school who now works for School Improvers UK, says that it currently rates as the least inspiring education building in the country. He says that the design of the estate is poor and that repairing and refurbishing it simply would not help. John wrote to me to say that generations of children have been deprived of the opportunities and inspiration that can be promoted through good school design, and that the day to day lives of teachers were much more difficult as a result.
The block with RAAC is over 60 years old and was last significantly invested in by Cheshire county council in 1974. The other block is ageing rapidly: built in the early 2000s, it will soon need serious investment and, as I mentioned previously, has no running water, kitchen or toilet facilities. Money has been spent on rewiring, new heating, asbestos removal and disability access, but none of those have addressed the fundamental issues that the school faces. A rebuild is more than 30 years overdue. We should not be at this point, the teachers should not be at this point and the pupils in the building should not be at this point.
The school eagerly completed the school specific brief and associated work under the assumption that it would get a complete re build due to the state of the whole school site. The appointed contractor agreed that a complete rebuild would meet the criteria of the school specific brief and also meet the school’s vision, all within the budget that was set. The contractor also emphasised reservations about a partial rebuild. But sadly, the Government have pushed for the partial rebuild, despite the evidence, specialist advice and budget showing that a full rebuild was the most sensible option. The leadership team and governors at Bramhall high school are dismayed and disappointed, and so am I. The partial rebuild does not meet the requirements of Bramhall high school specific brief, it fails to meet the school’s vision and will not meet the school’s requirements or needs in the long term.
Throughout the process, Bramhall high school was consistently told that funding would not be the main driver of the project. It was told that the project would be based on the needs of the school, its teachers and students, but clearly that is not the case and funding is indeed the main driver behind the Government’s decision. I ask the Minister: if effective use of the public purse is a driver behind the programme, why refrain from a full rebuild when it will make the estate more sustainable, help the school evolve to meet future challenges, create an estate that can last for decades and save costs going forward? A partial rebuild will cost the public purse more in the long term as it will end up being a sticking plaster, covering up cracks that really need to be filled in.
The Government have a real opportunity to showcase how targeted, sensible capital investment can save money in the long term while achieving incredible results for our young people. They need to take this opportunity, but instead they have chosen minimal savings and a bigger cost down the line. That is short sighted and will not achieve the goals of the rebuild programme.
Another issue with the partial rebuild is that it will leave one block standing—the block without running water. Despite investment going into the school site, we will end up with one new, fresh block fit for the modern world next to a block that is falling apart and unable to function. It will leave parents wondering why only half the school can be given the best chance. When parents see the plans, they will be disappointed.
It is not just the buildings that are the issue. We now know that the Government will not provide essential equipment such as new technology, desks and chairs, despite the allocated budget allowing for that. Bramhall high school will have to make up the shortfall of £650,000, and that does not include costs such as CCTV and other infrastructure. All Members across this House know that schools are operating on extremely tight margins with no surplus, and we all know that years and years of under investment from the last Government has led to that.
Mr Williams told me that he has to think carefully about replacing staff if they leave while also making cuts to department budgets to ensure that they still function, as with so many other schools. How is the school then supposed to pay more than £500,000 for desks, chairs and teaching equipment? The school has no choice but to appeal to the community for help. We find ourselves in a position where, despite the promises of a new school and the opportunities it would bring, Bramhall high school is having to go cap in hand to businesses and residents to source money so that pupils can have a seat. That is ludicrous.
The root cause of the problem is a lack of long term thinking, planning and investment. The previous Government oversaw a 48% decline in capital spending for education, and the National Audit Office reported that, as of October 2024, there is a £13.8 billion maintenance backlog in English schools. That is a really dire picture.
The Government are showing a lack of ambition. We should be celebrating the plans that saw a full rebuild of this magnificent school, met the brief and, importantly, came within budget, but instead we find ourselves demoralised and trying to solve problems that did not exist until the Government made the wrong decision. That really leaves a bitter taste. The school and I are saddened and deeply disappointed by the Government’s position.
Bramhall high school had hoped that being part of this new approach to rebuilding schools would set it up for the next 60 years at least. The headteacher told me that this is about the message sent to teachers—those who must deal with a declining block and adjust their lessons accordingly while looking out the window at a better block, unsure of why only half the school deserved better. When I spoke to him before writing this speech, he said that he would like to ask the Minister, “Are you really, truly trying to rebuild our schools?” We need a Government who plan for the future—for 20, 30 and even 40 years down the line. As the Chancellor stated last June, this is about showing children that their education matters and their future matters.
Changes in policy and legislation also need to be accounted for. The Government’s proposed special educational needs and disabilities reforms ask mainstream schools to do more, but if they are not given the investment to create more space and resources, that simply cannot happen. For example, Bramhall high school is having to fund a SEND room for students, which will cost around £75,000, but it wants to do that to meet the educational needs of its students, now and in the future. That is a challenge it willingly accepts.
At the beginning of this speech, I talked about how proud the teachers are of the curriculum they offer. They want to provide classes and experiences for children of all passions and skills, and that includes technology, design, drama and music—the subjects that create a fully rounded education. Any new build needs to have that at its very core. On top of that, any new school design must keep pace with new policies and legislation. Phone free schools mean that there must be phone storage on site.
It feels like the Department for Education is not in lockstep with the school and that this rebuild is being done to the team at Bramhall high school, not with them. That is a real shame and a missed opportunity. The potential benefits are never ending; there is no shortage of research to confirm that investing in children’s schooling and education makes a better future for all. The Institute for Fiscal Studies reported that school spending can increase test scores and positive outcomes in the long run.
I believe it is not too late for Bramhall high school; I believe that the Department has the chance at this moment to reconsider. It is not too late to give Bramhall high school the full rebuild it needs. The case is clear, and we know that the budget is there.
If the Minister cannot agree to reconsider the decision today, I have three asks on behalf of Bramhall high school and schools across the country. Will he commit to improving the school rebuilding programme, to ensure that decisions are made hand in hand with schools and are not done to them, as seems to have happened with Bramhall high school? Will he update building regulations and design so that they keep pace with recent policy changes while ensuring that facilities match the vision and aims of the school? Finally, will he meet me and the school’s leadership team to discuss financial support for Bramhall high school in meeting the shortfall of equipment needed in the proposed new block and to hear at first hand their experiences of dealing with the programme? I look forward to the Minister’s response.
I congratulate the hon. Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison) on securing this debate and on his advocacy for Bramhall high school. As a former teacher myself, who spent years standing in front of young people in Oldham and in Stockport, I know from first hand experience that spaces around lessons really do matter—the classroom environment speaks to children before any lesson begins. That is why tackling our crumbling school estate is imperative: to show children that their education matters and their future matters.
Now, as a Minister in the Department for Education, I am proud that we are calling time on RAAC and rebuilding Bramhall high school, so that children and staff have the high quality classrooms they deserve. This Government are doing things differently to fix the failures of the past. We published a 10-year infrastructure strategy, which—coupled with long term capital budgets, the modern industrial strategy and a commitment to investing in skills and training—presents a lifetime of opportunities. Investing in infrastructure will drive growth and raise living standards in every part of the UK. Infrastructure will support our modern industrial strategy, and it will improve public services by taking a long term approach to improving the fabric of our country. That, of course, includes our schools and colleges.
We are maintaining public investment at the highest sustained level in four decades, supported by an increase in departmental capital spending of over £120 billion over this Parliament, compared with previous plans. This was only made possible by the decisions this Government have taken about the fiscal rules, which have supported a necessary step change in investment. We will increase and prioritise investment where it is most needed through maintenance, renewal and rebuilding programmes, and that is what we are doing for our schools. That is why we increased overall capital investment in education to £38 billion up to 2029-30—the highest level since 2010, when Labour was last in government.
With over 22,000 schools and colleges in England, the education estate supports 10 million children, but we inherited from the previous Government the RAAC crisis and years of decline in the school estate. After years of under investment, too many children are learning in buildings that have deteriorated and are in need of repair. For too long, schools have had to patch and mend buildings that have already deteriorated beyond repair, instead of undergoing the rebuilds they needed at an earlier point. We are turning the page on years of decline in the school estate, fixing a legacy of neglect and removing RAAC for good. At the core of our strategy is a shift to more proactive management, long term maintenance, and more renewal of the existing estate. That comes alongside rebuilding more schools and making sure there are high quality places from early years to post-16.
Our 10-year plan for the school estate, which I published a few months ago, is backed by unprecedented long term funding. By 2034-35, we will be investing almost £3 billion per year in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025-26. We are investing almost £20 billion through the school rebuilding programme. Over 500 schools are already in that programme, with well over half in delivery. Some 59 schools have already been rebuilt through the SRP, with 47 of those completed under this Government, and we will select a further 250 for the next stage of the SRP at the start of 2027.
The renewal and retrofit programme, backed by £710 million to 2029-30, will improve the condition of schools that are coming towards the end of their life, but where deeper renewal and retrofit can extend that considerably. RAAC has been permanently removed from 80 schools and colleges, and we have set out a clear plan to finish the job. By 2029, every school and college in England that is not being fully or substantially rebuilt will be RAAC free, and every school with RAAC that needs to be rebuilt through the SRP will be in delivery by that point. That includes Bramhall high school.
As the hon. Member for Cheadle has set out, Bramhall high school has faced building challenges, with parts of the estate dating back to the 1960s and the presence of RAAC. However, what stands out is the positive and determined way in which the school community has responded to those challenges. It was a major operational challenge, but the school, Stockport council and the Department worked together to keep pupils learning safely and to minimise the disruption to pupils as much as possible. I recognise that achievement. Through excellent joint working between Stockport, the headteacher and the Department, all RAAC mitigations are in place. That means that pupils can once again use the spaces safely while we get on with the job of rebuilding the school.
This is about not just resolving a building condition issue, but delivering a lasting legacy for pupils, staff, families and the wider Bramhall community. I am pleased to say that delivery is under way with real momentum behind it. Willmott Dixon is the appointed contractor, and it has worked closely with the school and the Department to design an ambitious new build. We expect to have spades in the ground later this year, but it is more than just a construction project. The rebuilding work will also provide valuable T levels and placement opportunities and support apprenticeships, creating local jobs.
A new modern three storey building will give Bramhall high school the facilities it needs for the decades ahead. Every building apart from the maths block will be replaced. That building was built post-2000 and has solar panels on the roof and other modern features. Detailed surveys have been conducted, which show it is in good condition and does not warrant demolishing or rebuilding. We are working with the school to remodel the block to integrate it with the new buildings that will be created.
In response to the hon. Member’s point, 90% of the school will be rebuilt. I understand that when there is a new school project like this—I have visited a number of them—the desire is to have the whole shebang and for the whole school to be completely rebuilt. In the context of a schools estate of 22,000 schools across the country, it is important that public funds are not used to replace buildings that are still well within their lifespan. I regularly look at lists of schools from the ’60s and ’70s that are not yet in any school rebuilding programme. They are well beyond their lifespan, and we are doing the job of clearing up that backlog. It does mean, however, that we need to prioritise investment in those buildings that absolutely do need to be replaced.
Through the school rebuilding programme, Bramhall high school will benefit from 25 general classrooms and a full range of specialist teaching spaces. That includes 10 science laboratories, computing and ICT rooms, workshops, a drama studio and an art and design classroom. The plans include a dedicated area for pupils with special educational needs. Sports and leisure provision will also be improved with a new four court sports hall, activity studio and changing facilities. That includes two multi use games areas—one for school use and one intended for community use. This is a substantial and exciting investment into a school that is modern, energy efficient and designed to support excellent teaching, learning and sport.
The hon. Member mentioned the fixtures and fittings of the school. All fixed furniture, fixtures and equipment are provided in a school rebuilding project. That means that schools receive a huge amount of money for new furniture and equipment. For example, the school will get a new kitchen, all classrooms will be integrated with ICT equipment, drama will get the lighting rigs that it needs, and so on. However, we do not normally provide new standard loose furniture, such as tables and chairs, as schools should have an ongoing programme to replace them as they reach the end of their life. That is part of a school’s normal management of capital.
I acknowledge the strong partnership that has driven progress so far. I thank the headteacher, Paul Williams, and his staff; the chair of the school’s governing body, Sarah Brown; Stockport council; and Willmott Dixon for the work they have done together alongside the Department’s programme management team.
I reassure the hon. Member that this Government remain committed to delivering a safe, modern and high quality school in Bramhall. Together we have moved from the challenge of RAAC and fear about the future of the school building to delivering one of the most exciting school rebuilding programmes in the country, which the people of Stockport and his constituents rightly deserve. More important than anything else is ensuring that pupils have the inspiring classroom facilities they need for the future. I am sure that there will be matters that he will continue to want to raise with me, and I will be glad to speak to him. This is a good example of the investment that we are making as a Government and as a country because of the choices we have made.
Question put and agreed to.
House adjourned.
40|0|323|160|That the Customs (Tariff and Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Regulations 2026 (SI, 2026, No. 572), dated 1 June 2026, a copy of which was laid before this House on 1 June, be approved.
The House divided:|Question accordingly agreed to.||0|0