Business of the House

Alan Strickland Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I absolutely join my hon. Friend in welcoming the Pride in Place funding, which his constituency and many others are receiving. The reality is that the previous Government let down local communities, and the Scottish Government are doing the same, despite the fact that they received the largest funding settlement since devolution. We, on the other hand, are giving constituents not only the investment but the powers that they need to make changes locally so that they can deliver on the real change they want to see in their local communities.

[Alan Strickland (Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor) (Lab)]

My constituents Mellissa and Nikita were left devastated a few months ago when their four-month-old puppy was mauled to death in the streets by XL bullies that had escaped from a nearby house. Nikita, who is just 18, needed hospital treatment for the serious wounds that she sustained in the attack. The family is campaigning to reduce the risk of further attacks like this around the country involving dangerous breeds. Will the Leader of the House help me meet the relevant Minister to discuss how the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is being implemented and whether there is more that the Government, police and other agencies can do to reduce the risk of such incidents happening in future?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am sorry to hear of the case that my hon. Friend raises. I wish the family well, Nikita in particular. We are committed to making sure that the XL bully ban is fully implemented and enforced. Owners of any breed of dog dangerously out of control are breaking the law. I will certainly ensure that my hon. Friend gets the meeting that he asked for.

Christmas Adjournment

Alan Strickland Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alan Strickland (Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor) (Lab)]

I have three minutes to celebrate three fantastic community organisations. Since Chance Drama in Ferryhill was established in 2017, it has trained hundreds of local young people from across my constituency in theatre arts, singing, dancing and performing. It was brilliant to have recently been in the audience for its production of “Bugsy Malone”, in which the cast had great fun covering themselves, and most of the audience, with what came out of their splurge guns. It was really heartening to talk to parents during the interval and after the show, and to hear how being involved in local community drama had transformed the skills, confidence and experiences of their children, and of young people in our community. The tireless volunteers, who put on several shows a year and work at weekends to train young people, deserve our thanks and support.

In Spennymoor—the heart of my constituency—the St Paul’s centre has been running excellent community facilities for some years, including an art and photography group, Dementia Friends and a really active bereavement support group, which I met recently. The centre has just opened a new extension, so that it can expand its food bank, but also so that it can do more for the local community. When it opened as a parish hall, it had an annual footfall of around 3,000 visits a year, but now the figure is 34,000. St Paul’s centre in Spennymoor is an excellent example of how a really well led community centre can be a thriving community hub.

Finally, in my home town of Newton Aycliffe, we have a new community hub, which is just fantastic. It is run by Lifeline Community Action, and its vision is to convert a disused shop in the town centre. It was formerly a Woolworths, where I happily bought many pick ’n’ mixes and lots of cassettes, like “Now 95”, back in the day. It has been empty for 15 years, but Lifeline Community Action has bought the building, with support from the national lottery community fund and funding from the UK shared prosperity fund. Its vision is to bring 20 local organisations into the building, so that residents can walk into a warm, friendly, safe and comfortable environment where they could get job advice and mental health support, or buy heavily discounted food from the community pantry, if they were in financial need. They would be able to see the local police team, meet social workers, volunteer and get involved in a range of activities. I pay particular tribute to Pauline Chambers, the director, who has worked tirelessly for years to raise the huge amount of money that this really impressive project has required, and to Andy Boyd, recently retired after 30 years as a police sergeant in my home town, who has taken it from strength to strength.

Those are three brilliant organisations, and I am really proud of all the work they do. Merry Christmas, Madam Deputy Speaker!

Business of the House

Alan Strickland Excerpts

Thursday 30th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am sorry to hear of the concern of my hon. Friend’s constituent. The Government recognise the need to offer patients the most suitable treatment, but my hon. Friend will know that radiotherapy treatment for cancer is highly individualised, and decisions are made, quite rightly, by clinicians. I am sure that Ministers will have heard his concerns. Some of the concerns that he has raised will be shared by Members across the House, and he may wish therefore to raise them in a debate.

[Alan Strickland (Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor) (Lab)]

I was proud to welcome thousands of visitors to my constituency recently to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington railway, but we want to build a permanent tourism legacy. Will the Leader of the House help me to meet the relevant Minister to discuss whether we could put forward this fantastic, historic line to be a UNESCO world heritage site?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to champion such a worthy cause. As the House will know, the Stockton and Darlington railway was the first public railway to use steam trains. I will ensure that he gets a meeting with the relevant Minister to make his case.

Business of the House

Alan Strickland Excerpts

Thursday 19th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alan Strickland (Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House join me in condemning the appalling recent epidemic of antisocial behaviour in Spennymoor, which has seen shops attacked, playgrounds vandalised and public parks damaged? Does she agree with me that the measures we have been voting on this week, to introduce respect orders and put 13,000 police officers back on our streets, are desperately needed, because we must retake control of our streets and our town centres?

[Lucy Powell]

I am sorry to hear about the antisocial behaviour in Spennymoor, which sounds really disruptive and unacceptable. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Crime and Policing Bill will do more to tackle this issue than anything that we as a country have done in a very long time, such as: introducing respect orders, getting more neighbourhood police on the streets, and giving the police the powers to seize and crush some of the off-road vehicles that are often involved in such antisocial behaviour.

Business of the House

Alan Strickland Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend is right to raise the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, which has been raised a number of times in the House. He will know that the Prime Minister has raised this with Prime Minister Modi, and I assure him that we will continue to support Mr Johal through his detention until he is released, which needs to happen urgently. I thank my hon. Friend for raising that and will ensure the House is kept updated.

[Alan Strickland (Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor) (Lab)]

Two hundred years ago this September, the modern passenger railways were born when locomotion No. 1 was put on the tracks at Heighington station in my constituency. Can the Leader of the House tell us how the Government will support the global anniversary of the Darlington-Stockton railway, and will Ministers meet me to discuss how we can bring back to its former glory the dilapidated original station, which is so key to our heritage?

Business of the House

Alan Strickland Excerpts

Thursday 28th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

Halesowen in Bloom sounds like another great community group that plays a vital role in my hon. Friend’s area by bringing together people with green fingers, giving people purpose—not just the volunteers—and creating a lovely, floral community. I am sure that if he banded together with colleagues, he could get a Backbench Business debate, in which he could put on record our thanks to all volunteers like those in Halesowen in Bloom.

[Alan Strickland (Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor) (Lab)]

I have been working tirelessly with industry leaders and transport Ministers to secure the future of the fantastic Hitachi train factory in Newton Aycliffe, which is home to hundreds of high-tech manufacturing jobs, but was left in the lurch by the dither and delay of the previous Tory Government. Can I secure a debate in Government time on how we build a sustainable future for our proud rail manufacturing industry, and rescue it from the mess it was left in by the Conservatives?

[Lucy Powell]

I could not have said that better myself. The Hitachi train factory and others were left in the lurch by the previous Government. This Government are committed to supporting rail manufacturing in the UK. We are developing a long-term strategy, and working on our industry strategy, to ensure that this manufacturing can continue.