Contributions
484 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Transport Infrastructure: Cramlington and KillingworthI enjoyed the company of my hon. Friend the Minister in Cowpen Road in Blyth not too many months ago. Does she share my frustration, amazement and disbelief in Northumberland…17 Jun 2025HANSARDBritish Coal Staff Superannuation SchemeI want to place on record my sincere thanks on behalf of my constituents and the people who work in the mining industry across the country for the fantastic work the Minister is…11 Jun 2025HANSARD Business of the HouseHarry, a constituent of mine, is suffering from cancer. He has just finished gruelling chemotherapy and he now needs radiotherapy. He has been offered radiotherapy 170 miles away…05 Jun 2025HANSARDRelocating Civil Service Roles6. What steps he is taking to relocate civil service roles to locations outside London.05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsThat is a very valid point. My hon. Friend is right: when we look at who suffers as a consequence of these decisions, charities are way up there. The regulatory framework in place…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsWith the leave of the House, I will simply say a very brief thank you to the Backbench Business Committee for allowing the debate, and to everybody who has participated in it.…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsI thank the hon. Lady for her intervention; I will cover some of those points. I mentioned Blyth, the biggest town in my constituency. The third largest town in Northumberland,…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsI beg to move, That this House recognises the importance of banking facilities to local communities and expresses concern over the precipitous decline over the past 40 years;…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsI agree that that will help to revitalise high streets, but the debate this afternoon is about how we assist the people in our communities, mainly the least well off, the disabled…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsThat sounds like the same sort of situation as the one we had in Blyth. There were cash machines outside and inside, but the cash machines outside ran out of cash. There were…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsI fully agree with the hon. Lady’s intervention. It is up to us, in this place, to speak up for those vulnerable people. We know that the banks profit and make savings from branch…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsOf course it is a cynical approach. The banks do not want to be on the high street. They do not want to be supporting local communities—the very same communities that have…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsIt feels really strange to agree with so many Conservative Members—it does not make me terribly comfortable, but it shows the power of the argument and, importantly, the support…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsThat is massively important. People are told that they can rely on post offices to replace the banks. The vast majority of post offices in our communities are now run by a single…05 Jun 2025HANSARDRelocating Civil Service RolesI welcome that reply, and it is really progressive that the Government are now relocating jobs away from London, but can I urge the Minister to look closely at how people in…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsI totally agree with the right hon. Gentleman’s point. I like bringing school kids into Parliament. Down in one of the corridors there is an ATM that says “Free cash”, and I tell…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsI of course agree: the criteria laid down by the Government, the banks, the FCA and Link need to be utterly overhauled to represent people in our communities. I will come on to…05 Jun 2025HANSARD Free School MealsI warmly welcome this fantastic news this morning. I think the Minister mentioned that child poverty is a scourge of society, and of course it is. It is a blight on the UK that we…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsMy ask will be a bit stronger than that. I might get my backside kicked, but hey, it will not be the first time. I will ask the Government to insist on legislation that changes…05 Jun 2025HANSARDBank Closures and Banking HubsThere is definitely room for discussion in that respect. We have got to make sure that people have financial services on the high street. It is pretty simple. Link assesses the…05 Jun 2025