International Men’s Day
Judith Cummins Excerpts(1 day, 13 hours ago)
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Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) for securing this really important debate. I was touched to hear his powerful speech. I want to touch on two points that he so eloquently made. First, he rightly reminded us that there are many ways to be a man and many forms of masculinity. As a young gay man growing up in Berkshire in the ’90s, I struggled with that as I grew up. It took me many years to learn and feel comfortable in my own form of masculinity. I thank him for reflecting on that. I also thank him for so powerfully emphasising that gender inequality affects everyone. I do not think there can be any disagreement across the House on that important point.
International Men’s Day is an opportunity to remember the dreadful health outcomes affecting too many men in society, particularly when it comes to mental and emotional health. I emphasise emotional health and will come back to that.
Other Members have raised the alarming suicide statistics for men. In England and Wales, male suicide is three times more common than among women. Last year among men aged 20 to 34, suicide was the leading cause of death, and was responsible for over a quarter of deaths of men in that age range. I mention those statistics for England and Wales largely because I could not find regional or local authority data. I am grateful to the House of Common Library for highlighting those figures, but the lack of granular data struck me as something that should be addressed.
As well as International Men’s Day, on Monday we will recognise White Ribbon Day. I proudly wear my white ribbon today. The theme for this year’s White Ribbon Day is “It starts with men”. That is a poignant reminder that domestic violence and violence against women and girls is not just a women’s issue; it is also a men’s issue, and it is too often rooted in harmful masculine norms. Let me place on record the important point, which cannot be emphasised enough, that domestic abuse affects men as victims, too. It is really important that we acknowledge that.
Bracknell Forest has the highest rate of domestic abuse incidents in Berkshire. For that reason, I am grateful that this Government have set out their mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. What is the connection between domestic abuse and violence against women and girls, and men’s suicide? Both are proof that, too often, men do not get the support that they need. In the most extreme cases, this lack of support leads to violence against themselves and against those around them. The two issues are intrinsically linked.
Last week I was privileged to visit a fantastic local charity in my constituency, Youthline, which does amazing work offering free counselling services for children and counselling at a reduced cost for their families. I was fascinated to hear about the support that it offers young people dealing with complex emotional difficulties. I am sure that everyone in this House would agree that even the most loved and nourished child can face emotional difficulties growing up. It is a difficult time for the best of us—I should rephrase that; for those in the best circumstances—but for those facing challenges, it is often a hopelessly difficult time of life. Three quarters of the users of that service are girls. I was told that, too often, boys are referred to that fantastic service not to support their mental or emotional health but because of behaviour issues—because of a perception that they are misbehaving—when the root cause of that is a failure to support them through difficult emotional and mental health.
I was also privileged to visit a fantastic youth club in my constituency, The Wayz. The staff talked to me about the work that they do to support girls and boys to engage with the difficulties of growing up. They poignantly reminded me that, sometimes, boys find it harder to talk, so giving them the space to do so—often through activities rather than direct conversation—can have a real, positive impact on outcomes for young boys.
Prevention is always more effective than intervention—that is such an important point. With that in mind, it is welcome to see the Government’s work to bring more mental health services into the community and focus on prevention, with an additional 8,500 mental health workers promised by this Government. I would welcome an update from the Minister on the delivery of those additional mental health workers. Fundamentally, what we must do to support boys and men with their mental and emotional health is provide the spaces for them to talk through their issues in a way that supports them.
Others have mentioned the fantastic work of Andy’s Man Club. Very early in my time as a Member of Parliament, I was privileged to be invited to attend one of its meetings, as was my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth). Like him, I was deeply touched and moved by the marvellous work that it did in my community to reach men who have for too long been failed by a system that is not well geared to listening to them and encouraging them to talk about their difficulties. What I found most affecting was seeing that the service was being delivered not by trained mental health professionals, but by other men who had experienced similar difficulties in talking and sharing their emotional problems. They were supporting each other through their mental health struggles. It was a powerful reminder of the need for us all to provide and support the spaces that are needed to allow such important conversations to take place.
Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
The hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) was extremely eloquent, especially at the beginning of his speech when he described the work that he had done in other countries and in the UK to address inequality, acknowledged the gender pay gap and the violence perpetrated against women and girls by men, and explained how that did not undermine the need to discuss male-specific issues on International Men’s Day.
There are a great many issues that we could touch on and a number of them have been touched on by various Members, but, as the Liberal Democrat mental health spokesperson, I will focus primarily on that subject. Men are three times more likely than women to die by suicide. Since 1981, the suicide rate among women has approximately halved, but it has fallen by only 9% among men. A related fact is that at any given time, 12.5% of men have a mental health disorder. Men are twice as likely to die of alcohol-specific causes and about twice as likely to have substance abuse problems, they are less likely to have equal access to children, and 82% of rough sleepers are men—partly owing to mental as well as physical health issues.
I want to pay tribute to some amazing charities in Winchester. Emmaus Hampshire, the Winchester Beacon and Trinity Winchester are homelessness charities that work hard to ensure that homeless people have a safe place and support, can get back on their feet rather than being stuck out on the street, and can engage with social services. The staff, volunteers and other supporters—including the council—do an incredible job. Tomorrow I will be visiting Trinity Winchester with another charity called StreetVet, whose vets treat the dogs belonging to homeless people. This is not primarily an animal welfare issue. Homeless people with dogs are much less likely to take part in risk-taking behaviour, much more likely to engage with social services, and much more likely to get off the streets more quickly. These are multifactorial and complex issues, which almost always include a mental health factor, but there are many different ways in which we can come together to address them. One thing that has struck me is the fact that we are all much closer to becoming homeless than we are to becoming millionaires, regardless of our status in life.
Another organisation that I want to talk about is the Farming Community Network. I grew up on a small family farm in a rural area, and I now work as a vet with rural communities. We know that farmers have a very high suicide rate. Although an increasing number of women are becoming involved in farming, which is a very good thing, it is still very male-dominated. The mental health of farmers has been of specific concern for a long time.
About five years ago, I went to a Farming Community Network meeting and met a farmer from Australia who had had a mental health breakdown. He gave a talk about his journey, his mental health breakdown, how he got help and how he got through it. What really surprised me was that several hundred other farmers had turned up to hear the talk, and they all discussed mental health afterwards. A huge majority of the farmers were middle-aged or older, and I remember thinking that this showed how much progress we have made on men discussing mental health. I do not think that my father, who died a few years ago at the age of 83, would have ever discussed mental health. He certainly would not have talked to his friends about mental health issues or any struggles that he had. Farming is an industry where people have to be problem solvers, and they work in difficult conditions. It shapes people to be unwilling to show what they see as signs of weakness, but we know that those working in isolation and in tough situations need to rely on each other for help.
The hon. Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) spoke about the 12,000 men who die each year from prostate cancer. We know that mental health and prostate cancer are the two biggest issues that get discussed when we think about men and men’s health. There are so many other issues as well, but those two are at the very top. I thank all the women who support men with health issues and mental health issues, because we know that women often ask men to go and get checked out when they have a health issue, and that women urge their partners or sons to go and get counselling. We know that men—I include myself—are really bad at proactively seeking help, and the nudges and support that we get from women must save so many lives.
We have talked a lot about the fact that, compared with women, men and boys currently underperform throughout their educational careers. We have also discussed the huge issues that we have with increasing radicalisation and misogyny, especially online. We have touched on people such as Andrew Tate and the effect that they have on impressionable young men who sometimes feel that they do not have the opportunities that they think they deserve. We know that throughout history, men have had more power, more access to finances and more influence than women.
On International Men’s Day, and as a man who is privileged enough to be in this Chamber, I want to take this opportunity to call for more research into endometriosis. It is an underdiagnosed disease of women, and there is often a delayed diagnosis. There has not been a huge amount of research into it, and many women struggle with endometriosis in the same way that men struggle with mental health issues. As the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland pointed out, men’s health issues affect women and women’s affect men. We should not separate them; we should work together and make sure that we support each other, because that is what we have to do going forward.
Finally, I wish to echo other Members’ comments. As someone who was a trustee of a mental health charity for seven years, I know that it is so important to talk to each other if we are struggling. I was really pleased when one of my constituents, Chris North, came up to me in the pub to say hello. He is a trustee of a charity called LooseHeadz, and he came to visit me in Parliament last week with the two founders, Dave and Rob. The charity is primarily based in rugby clubs, and its aim is to have a mental health lead in every single club. A little like farming, rugby is traditionally a fairly alpha male environment, although that is changing. The charity is aware that, if it gets into communities, teams and clubhouses—places where men go anyway—it can encourage them to open up and talk through peer-to-peer support. That is where it can make a huge difference.
Last week I met Sam Burge, a farmer from Winchester who is the local volunteer for the Farming Community Network. He talked about the importance of peer-to-peer support, and a breakdown of the calls to the Farming Community Network reveals a variety of issues, but mental health support and mental wellbeing are at the top of the list. It is encouraging to see that initiatives such as LooseHeadz and the Farming Community Network are encouraging men to reach out for help with their mental health.
Welsh Rural Economy
Judith Cummins Excerpts(3 years, 5 months ago)
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Judith Cummins (in the Chair)
I remind hon. Members that there have been some changes to normal practice in order to support the new hybrid arrangements. Timings of debates have been amended to allow technical arrangements to be made for the next debate. There will also be suspensions between debates. I remind Members participating physically and virtually that they must arrive for the start of debates in Westminster Hall. Members are expected to remain for the entire debate.
I also remind Members participating virtually that they must leave their cameras on for the duration of the debate and that they will be visible at all times, both to each other and to us in the Boothroyd Room. If Members attending virtually have any technical problems, they should email westminsterhallclerks@parliament.uk. Members attending physically should clean their spaces before they use them and before they leave the room. I also remind Members that Mr Speaker has stated that masks should be worn in Westminster Hall.
Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Cummins. I thank the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) for securing the debate. I speak today as the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Wales. I am sure Members will join me in welcoming my newest colleague, my hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Sarah Green) to the House, a proud Welsh woman, as she made clear with her affirmation in Welsh yesterday.
Moving on from yesterday’s news to today’s debate and the future of the Welsh rural economy, the Welsh high street, like much of the UK, has suffered over the past 15 months. It is obviously right that shops had to close during the pandemic, but now they must be supported in the recovery. When talking about the rural economy, people often assume that it is just agriculture. Although I will turn to that, it also includes those businesses that serve rural communities, for example, local shops. It is vital that those businesses are supported during the recovery, something that my colleague, the Liberal Democrat Member of the Senedd for Mid and West Wales has been championing since her recent election.
I ask the Minister to detail what consideration has been given to rural retail generally. In the face of strong competition from online retailers, what measures will be considered to level the playing field in the recovery from the pandemic? As part of that recovery, and as businesses and communities respond to having left the EU, it is vital that communities throughout Wales, particularly those in rural areas, receive investment.
It is only two weeks since I last spoke in a debate in Westminster Hall about the importance of the community renewal and levelling-up funds. Then I asked whether the Minister responding would commit to a meaningful relationship with the Welsh Government on the formation and administration of those funds and, going forward, of the shared prosperity fund. I also asked for assurances that Wales would not lose out on the funding it used to receive. Today, I add to those questions by asking whether the first meeting of the promised inter-ministerial group with the Welsh Government has taken place and whether a statement can be made as to its outcome. If it has not, when will such a meeting take place?
In the previous debate, we were reassured that the stated figure of 5% of allocated funding coming to Wales represented a funding floor, not a ceiling, but I understand from my colleagues in Welsh local government and from my own experience in my constituency of North East Fife in Scotland that it has been arguably more challenging for local authorities under the devolved Administrations to put together bids for both funds, the deadlines for which passed last week, so again I ask the Minister what steps will be taken to ensure that the floor is met even if fewer bids from Wales are received than expected.
Finally, I turn to agriculture. As colleagues have mentioned, there are significant concerns that the Australia trade deal will put the Welsh rural economy at risk. I say “concerns”, but perhaps I should say “suspicions”, because full details are still awaited. There were recent reports in the media that there will be no tariffs on Australian beef imports until they rise above 35,000 tonnes —six times the current level of imports—or on lamb imports until they go above 25,000 tonnes, which is three times the current imports. Australian animal welfare standards are significantly below ours, which means that people there can produce cheaper products.
This Government say that they support Welsh farmers, but if those reports are true and Welsh farmers are undercut by such produce, how can they be doing anything other than breaking that promise? How does the Minister plan to support Welsh farmers in the light of the Australia trade deal? Sadly, parliamentarians will not be given a vote on the deal when it comes to Parliament, so what opportunities will we have to scrutinise it? I am sure that Welsh farmers, like farmers in North East Fife, have worked very hard over the last few years to diversify their economies. I would hate to see that hard work undone by that trade deal.
Oral Answers to Questions
Judith Cummins Excerpts(4 years, 5 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend has exactly the right vision for Bolsover. Indeed, it is the vision that I have for the whole country. The green recovery will be essential to this country’s success in the next few years. I am happy to meet him to discuss it.
Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)
The Communities Secretary has admitted unlawfully overruling his own planning inspector to allow the Westferry development to go ahead, potentially saving the developer, Richard Desmond, who is a Conservative party donor, £40 million in tax. The Secretary of State did so just weeks after sitting next to the developer at a Tory fundraising dinner. Given that this was the same scheme that the Prime Minister tried to push through when he was Mayor of London and which reappeared after he entered Downing Street, will he now tell the House what conversations he has had with the Secretary of State about the scheme? Will he publish all relevant correspondence between No. 10 and the Department?
Oral Answers to Questions
Judith Cummins Excerpts(8 years, 6 months ago)
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Mr Osborne
We have made a clear commitment to protecting the green belt, and the planning laws that we have introduced, and propose to introduce, meet that commitment.
My hon. Friend and I disagree on European Union membership—and I have seen no particular evidence from the leave campaigners that immigration would fall; indeed, they seem to be telling some communities that they would let more people in—but let us at least agree on this. We will have a referendum, and, in the end, it will not be up to my hon. Friend or me to decide. It will be up to the British people.
Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)
Q9. No one should underestimate public support for the BBC. In the last week, more than 200,000 people have signed a petition about the removal of the recipes website. The Government may have been forced to pull back from some of their more extreme proposals, but there is still plenty to cause concern. Will the Chancellor agree to hold a debate and a vote on the Floor of the House, so that Members of Parliament can provide the parliamentary scrutiny that the charter renewal properly deserves?
Mr Osborne
We want a great BBC—a great public broadcaster—and we have agreed a deal with the BBC that it has welcomed. The specific issue that the hon. Lady raises was an operational decision by the BBC, not a decision taken by members of the Government. I have made the observation that we have a great national public broadcaster in the BBC but we do not want a great public newspaper in the form of the BBC. As newspapers increasingly move online, the BBC—as it has itself acknowledged—wants to be careful about what information it has on its website, so that we can also have a flourishing private press. I think that the BBC has got that balance right.
Oral Answers to Questions
Judith Cummins Excerpts(9 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Osborne
Small and medium-sized businesses, of which around three quarters of a million have been created in the past five years, are the engine of growth in our economy, and they are one of the reasons why the claimant count in my hon. Friend’s constituency is down by almost two thirds. Even more encouragingly, the long-term youth claimant count is today down by 75%. We will go on doing things such as providing the employment allowance, which helps small businesses to employ more people. Of course, what would be disastrous would be to abandon the economic plan and borrow and spend more, because the worst thing for a small business is economic instability that puts them out of business.
Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)
The Chancellor will be aware of the appalling incident last Thursday at Dixons Kings Academy in my constituency, where a pupil is accused of stabbing his teacher, Mr Vincent Uzomah. I am sure that the whole House will wish to join me in expressing its shock at this horrifying incident, and in wishing Mr Uzomah a swift and full recovery. Will the Chancellor tell the House what steps he is taking to tackle knife crime in our schools?
Mr Osborne
The hon. Lady speaks for the whole House in sending our sympathies to Mr Uzomah and to the pupils and staff at the school. Our hearts go out to them. The leadership in the school dealt with the situation incredibly well, and I know my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary has spoken to the headteacher. What we have done is to give teachers powers to search pupils’ bags and the like, but if there is more that we can do as we learn the lessons of this incident, of course we will.