Independent Lifeboats: Government Support

Alison Hume Excerpts

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Westminster Hall

[Paul Holmes]

The hon. Member, my friend, makes a very good point. When writing this speech, I wanted to talk about the nuts and bolts of funding, and the operational difficulties that some decisions have involved for independent lifeboats. He is right, however, that we have to talk about the fantastic volunteers, who will be called out in wet and windy December—hopefully, not too many times this year, but they will be called out. They might have to be down at the harbour within four minutes, not knowing what they are going into. They take tremendous risks for the people of this country and their communities, and they do so on a voluntary basis. I also echo the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to volunteers who do not do those kinds of things, but something equally important—shaking the tins and going out every weekend of the year to raise money for local independent lifeboats. I pay tribute to his lifeboat in Lyme Regis, which has had 27 call-outs, showing the amazing job that they do.

Our seaside towns are vibrant areas that draw high levels of tourism, but with that comes more call-outs for seaside emergencies. Changes in climate, such as rising sea levels and more unpredictable weather conditions, are making rescue operations increasingly challenging. Additionally, rising temperatures are driving more tourists to our seaside towns. That is great, but in Hamble, which boasts an affluent sailing community, it is increasing the risk of accidents at sea and in our rivers. As we work to revitalise coastal communities, as the Government have said they want to do, we must ensure that our local rescue services and resources are equipped to meet these evolving challenges.

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

In my glorious coastal constituency, we have the fantastic RNLI stations in Scarborough and Whitby, but we also have a brilliant independent lifeboat—the Runswick bay rescue boat. That is based in the scenic Runswick bay, popular for fishing, water sports and coastal walks. The volunteer crew play a critical role in saving lives and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore) mentioned, we have an increasing need for these boats. In just the last few weeks, they have rescued a mother and son blown out to sea from a paddleboard, and rescued two walkers and their dog cut off from the tide. There is no alternative lifeboat based at Runswick bay, and the rescue boat is facing serious financial challenges. Does the hon. Member agree that the Government have a role to play in securing its continued presence?

[Paul Holmes]

I have been known to have some scampi and chips in the hon. Lady’s constituency, and I agree that it is beautiful. I challenge her to say whether it is as beautiful as Hamble Valley, as my constituents would expect, but she is absolutely right. I join her in paying tribute to the Runswick bay crew.

The hon. Lady hit the nail on the head about the role for Government. This is not a party political debate. I am a Conservative, and I think the state should remove itself from our lives on that basis. We have clear differences about some of the Government’s decisions on their fiscal responsibilities, but they have a democratic mandate to undertake that. What we are discussing involves such small resource, however, and would support the “invest to save” mentality of the services they provide around the whole of the country—£5 million was the last amount of money allocated to the rescue boat fund. That is worth doing, so that the Government do not have to take a greater role in our search and rescue services, whatever form they take in the years ahead. I entirely agree with the hon. Lady, and I am sure that she would have more success than I do in securing a meeting with the Maritime Minister to make that point.

Independent lifeboats save 25% to 30% of all lives on navigable waters. Independent lifeboats are a vital part of our national rescue capabilities, yet they operate under financial constraints. The work of Hamble lifeboat and all independent lifeboats around the country is fundamental to keeping our coastal communities safe. Their dependency on community donations underscores the need for Government support. A reinstatement of the rescue boat grant fund would not only alleviate the significant financial constraints on independent lifeboats, but ensure that life-threatening emergencies can be tackled without compromise. I strongly urge the Minister to take decisive action, reinstate the grant and support our independent lifeboats as they support our constituents. The grant would serve as more than just a financial relief; it would serve as Government recognition of their invaluable work.

Finally, I encourage all Members here, when they leave the debate, to tweet and put a Facebook post up to raise awareness of the role that our independent lifeboats play. They should also raise a tin for them as well—volunteer to raise money—so that some of the issues that come up this afternoon can be alleviated without our necessarily looking just to the Government for help.

High Street Bank Closures

Alison Hume Excerpts

Wednesday 26th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Ian Lavery]

I agree totally about the transport hubs. We cannot say to an elderly, frail or disabled person, “Get that bus to the next town. It’s only three mile.” As my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) mentioned, is it reasonable to say to somebody, “If you can get there within an hour, that means you don’t need a facility.”? The criteria need to be changed.

I will ask the Minister a number of questions that I hope he will consider. I am fully aware that 100 Link hubs have been set up already, 200 are in the system, and it is hoped that there will be 350. That is really positive, but it would still leave behind and abandon lots of communities such as mine in Bedlington. The dealings I have had with Link and the FCA have been perfectly cordial, but wholly and utterly transactional. It is, basically, “Computer says no”. The legislation cannot simply focus on access to cash and ignore the loss of banking services.

I hope the Minister will agree that the current rules leave Northumberland’s fourth-largest town with no bank and no banking hub, and that they are too inflexible. It is within the power of the Government to change the regulations. Will the Minister consider asking Link to look at other community factors when assessing the suitability of a banking hub? Does he agree that all areas are unique, and should not be shoehorned into a rigid process that does not fit them? Does he agree that measuring the distance as the crow flies from the doors of the last bank to close is not reasonable, and takes no account of the distance vulnerable people already have to travel?

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

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. On the subject of vulnerable people, I want to say that the last two branches in Whitby have announced that they will close, and an adult gaming centre is already looking at the Halifax site. We are getting a temporary banking hub, but does my hon. Friend agree that vulnerable residents rely on having a branch, and that, somewhere along the line, the words “providing a service”, seems to have been lost to banks?

[Ian Lavery]

Unfortunately, my understanding is that high street banks want to centralise in much bigger places and make much higher profits, and do not consider the communities that the two of us serve. Does the Minister agree that the demographics of an area should be of paramount importance when assessing the need for a banking hub, and will he take steps to include that in the criteria? Does he agree that banks should commit to a local service before putting profits before communities? Does he agree that the Government should have the means to intervene in decisions such as the one I described in Bedlington and other Members described in their constituencies? If Northumberland’s fourth-largest town is being failed, something is sadly wrong. The current criteria are simply not fit for purpose. They abandon many of our most vulnerable constituents. A wholesale, root-and-branch review is required, to make life easier, not more difficult, for those we proudly represent.

Growing the UK Economy

Alison Hume Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent case for the positive impacts that this will have on the Scottish economy and the important role that it plays in our United Kingdom economy in respect of growth across every nation and region. It is a nice contrast, might I say, with voices opposite that were talking down the potential for Scotland—unlike this Government, who are delivering the potential for Scotland.

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

The manufacturer Alexander Dennis proudly builds innovative British electric buses in Scarborough—I think this might be a case of a “build, baby, build British buses.” Does the Chief Secretary agree that British manufacturing and buying British goods are key to our economic growth?

[Darren Jones]

My hon. Friend is right, and she is a great advocate for businesses in her constituency. She will know that Mayors in the UK, for example, have committed themselves to buying electric buses from British manufacturers, and we will be working with mayoral authorities in the years ahead to ensure that we can do more of that, not less.

Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Hume Excerpts

Tuesday 21st January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

21. What steps she has taken to help increase economic growth in the north-east.

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

23. What steps she has taken to help increase economic growth in North Yorkshire.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)]

The Government are better targeting these reliefs to make them fairer. The latest figures for 2021-22 show that the top 7% of claims are counted for 40% of the total value of agricultural property relief.

--- Later in debate ---

[Rachel Reeves]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I remember a very nice dinner of fish and chips with her in her constituency just a few years ago, and she is a strong advocate for local businesses in South Shields. In the Budget, we were able to extend business rates relief to the retail, hospitality and leisure sector of 40% for the next financial year and then to move it on to a fairer footing, so that high street businesses and smaller businesses pay fairer rates of business tax compared with, for example, the online giants.

[Alison Hume]

The bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis builds innovative electric buses, employing 800 people in Scarborough. The Chancellor has spoken about the need for public procurement to take better account of employment and environmental standards. As bus services are brought back into the control of mayors and local authorities, will the Government use public procurement to back British companies such as Alexander Dennis to boost economic growth?

[Rachel Reeves]

My hon. Friend is a good advocate for businesses, including Alexander Dennis in Scarborough. The Government will soon publish a new national procurement policy statement, which will set out our priorities for public procurement in support of our mission to grow the economy. In addition to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams), we recognise the importance of buses in growing our economy by getting people to work, but also the opportunities to use public procurement to buy more buses made in this country, supporting good jobs here in Britain.

Farming and Inheritance Tax

Alison Hume Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

In a moment.

Since the Budget, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers has analysed the family farm tax and applied tax law and the realities of modern-day farming to it. Its analysis has revealed that up to 75,000 individual owners of farming businesses could be affected over the coming generation, even before inflation, which is the equivalent of five times the Government’s figure of 500 farms affected in 2026-27. How could they have got this so wrong? It is because this city-dwelling Chancellor, Secretary of State and Exchequer Secretary do not understand modern farming or the countryside that they have overlooked a major area of tax policy and forgotten to consider thousands of farmers.

As the Exchequer Secretary has confirmed, the Government forgot to include one of the three routes to the relief in their calculations. They have not included business property relief-only claims in their figures, which means that as many as 14,000 tenant farmers who cannot claim agricultural property relief because they do not own the land on which they farm are absent from their calculations. What is worse is that Ministers do not know how many farmers are affected by that.

The city-dwelling Chancellor and Secretary of State have also forgotten about the farmers who in years gone by followed professional advice and transferred their farms into companies or partnerships. Those farmers will claim only BPR, so they have been left out of the calculations. Again, Ministers do not know how many farmers are in that position.

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

Will the right hon. Member give way?

[Victoria Atkins]

I will in a minute.

I am told by advisers that some farmers choose to use BPR only because it is easier in probate. Guess what? Yet again, Ministers do not know how many farms are in that position, and they have not been included.

I will give way first to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and then to the hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume). I have so much more to say.

--- Later in debate ---

[Alison Hume]

The right hon. Member left a trail of destruction across the Government. She was the Health Secretary who broke the NHS, the Prisons Minister who ran out of prison places and the Treasury Minister who crashed the economy—no wonder her constituency majority crashed from 28,000 to 5,000. [Interruption.] Does she not think it is time to apologise and for once to support the Government, who are bringing back stability to the British economy and farmers’ profitability?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I know that Members are jeering about reading. I know that when I came to the House it was a rule that you should not read, but both sides are doing it. Remember that.