Mental Health Bill [Lords]

Alison Hume Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 19th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Darren Paffey (Southampton Itchen) (Lab)]

I rise to support this important Bill. I have been incredibly humbled by some of the speeches, particularly from the hon. Members for Dorking and Horley (Chris Coghlan) and for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire (Ian Sollom) on the Lib Dem Benches, from the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Dr Spencer) given his experience, and of course from my hon. Friends the Members for Thurrock (Jen Craft) and for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Kevin McKenna).

This Bill is incredibly welcome. It is long overdue and deserves the urgency and seriousness it is being given. I have heard from families in my constituency who have waited months and sometimes years for help; in many cases, the waiting list for CAMHS in Southampton exceeds two years.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

Recently, I met grandparents in my constituency who are caring for their grandchild, who was recently diagnosed with autism. Their grandchild is suffering from poor mental health and is unable to attend school, and the family is struggling to access support. I welcome the Government’s work so far in this area, including the pledge to have a specialist mental health professional in every school, but does my hon. Friend agree that a three-year wait for an appointment with CAMHS, as my constituents are facing, is completely unacceptable?

[Darren Paffey]

My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point, and I fully agree that the wait facing many people is excruciating. I have had constituents come to me in tears because they do not know whether their children will make it to adulthood. The services are just not there, and they are subject to hugely long waits and often inadequate provision. These changes are crucial.

Of course, there are some truly commendable local initiatives in Southampton that are making a real difference on the ground. I pay tribute to services such as The Lighthouse, an invaluable out-of-hours mental health support centre for adults in crisis, and No Limits, a brilliant charity that has for many years provided a wide range of health and wellbeing support schemes to children and young people across the city. These organisations exemplify the compassion and commitment of professionals and volunteers to those who need their services. Let us be clear, though: however dedicated those services and the people within them may be, they are operating under immense pressure. Demand has outpaced capacity, and that is why national action is so urgently needed to match that local effort with investment, modernisation and the workforce expansion required to ensure that no one is left behind.

There are two essential pillars upon which real improvement in mental health provision has to be built: the legal framework, which the Bill rightly seeks to modernise, and, as colleagues from across the Chamber have mentioned, the funding that underpins the delivery of services. Reforming the law is a vital step, but without sustained investment in frontline mental health care we risk changing the rules without changing the reality for patients.

Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Alison Hume Excerpts

Report stage
Wednesday 26th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

I will focus my comments on the vaping elements of the Bill, and particularly the impact on children.

It is a desperately sad and damning reflection on our society that we now need a dedicated clinic at Alder Hey children’s hospital to treat children as young as 11 for vaping addiction. I was horrified to read Professor Isba’s account of children reaching for their vapes early in the morning, before they get out of bed. Their vape sits next to their mobile phone on the bedside table. The alarming rise in nicotine dependency among children is deeply troubling. Although I welcome the fact that the clinic’s success will lead to similar schemes being rolled out across the country, that is not a sign of progress; it is a glaring wake-up call.

Today, we have a chance, through the Bill, to break the cycle of addiction, protect our children and build a healthier future for country. We face the alarming rise of vaping, which has hooked a record number of young people. As a former deputy headteacher, I saw vaping spread through schools like wildfire. I caught students hiding vapes—already hooked before they even understood what addiction meant. I saw students who should have been focused on their schoolwork struggling instead with cravings that they could not control. I saw teachers battling to keep their students in the classroom, instead of sneaking puffs in the toilet. I spoke to worried parents who felt helpless and never thought that their child would be caught up in this. Vaping is not just a bad habit; it is a trap, and too many of our young people are already caught in it.

The situation that we face did not come about overnight. For far too long, the previous Government failed to act while vaping rates among children soared. It felt like the stable door was left wide open and the horse had bolted. We could sit back and do nothing, and watch another generation of young people in Wolverhampton North East and across the country get hooked, but that is not what a responsible Government do, and it is not what this Labour Government will do. Through the Bill, we will take bold action. Smokefree zones will be expanded to protect children, families and the most vulnerable in our communities. For those who want to quit, there will be real support, backed by real investment, delivering real results. For too long, we have seen a market designed to hook kids on nicotine, with bright colours, fruity flavours and shameless advertising that deliberately targets young people.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful contribution. Vaping is not a safe alternative for children. According to last year’s “Growing Up in North Yorkshire” survey, 25% of year 8 students and 49% of year 10 students have tried vapes, with 9% vaping regularly. Does she agree that the Bill will put an end to vapes deliberately being branded in ways that appeal to children?

[Mrs Brackenridge]

I am pleased to say that that will end with the Bill, which will ban vape advertising aimed at children, outlaw sales from vending machines and crack down on packaging designed to attract young eyes. Firm action to protect the health of children includes a £10 million boost for trading standards to fund more enforcement officers.

I welcome the recent announcement of the £62 million groundbreaking research to investigate the long-term health effects of vaping by tracking 100,000 young people aged eight to 18 over a decade. Unless we prevent illness, our NHS will continue to be overwhelmed, and billions of pounds will be spent addressing a problem that could have been curbed in advance. I call on the House to pass the Bill in order to protect children in Wolverhampton East and across the country.

Hospice and Palliative Care

Alison Hume Excerpts

Monday 13th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak in this important debate, and I thank the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler) for securing it. I am grateful that the Government have recognised the immense importance of our hospices’ vital work with the recent announcement of a £100 million funding package.

My constituency is served by the extraordinary work of St Catherine’s hospice. For 40 years, St Catherine’s has supported and lovingly cared for individuals with a terminal illness and their families, not only on site in Scarborough but in people’s homes in an area of North Yorkshire covering more than 1,600 square miles. St Catherine’s provides an incredible service and, like most hospices around the country, is a charitable, independent organisation largely funded through donations, fundraising and the income from its high street charity shops. I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to the wonderful staff, the army of selfless volunteers who give freely of their time, and the generosity of the local people who all ensure that hospice care is available to everyone in the constituency.

St Catherine’s welcomed our recent funding announcement, but it is clear that one-off capital injections alone will not address the underlying structural funding deficit. At the heart of the issue is the lack of clarity, equity and accountability in how integrated care boards allocate funding. Currently, there is no standard formula for funding distribution, which is creating disparity across hospices. St Catherine’s receives approximately 30% of its funding from the NHS, which is insufficient to meet the growing needs of the community. Some hospices receive much more, and others slightly less. Greater transparency and a consistent framework are needed to ensure equitable funding across all providers, whether NHS or charity based.

This inequity places immense pressure on charitable fundraising and limits what hospices can achieve. St Catherine’s alone must raise over £6 million annually. Surely the hospice sector needs funding models that align with service outcomes. A model similar to the mental health investment standard, mandating a minimum level of investment in palliative and end of life care, could perhaps provide the consistency and accountability that are so urgently needed. Long-term strategy is equally critical. It is my hope that a 10-year NHS plan will include detailed guidance for ICBs on commissioning hospice care, supported by a national funding strategy that reduces reliance on voluntary contributions for essential services.

Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modern hospice movement, said:

“You matter because you are you. You matter to the last moment of your life”.

Our hospices strive to make every moment matter for patients and their loved ones. We must recognise hospices as integral partners within the healthcare system. By doing so, we will ensure that hospices are adequately supported to deliver extraordinary care both now and in the future.