Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Katie Lam

Wednesday 4th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Hannah Deacon’s campaign for her son, Alfie, was remarkable, and I know how much she is missed. I thank my hon. Friend for continuing to campaign on this matter. We are investing £8 million in clinical trials on cannabis-based medicines for conditions such as drug-resistant epilepsy. I want to see patients accessing safe, effective medicines and new treatments as quickly as possible.

[Katie Lam (Weald of Kent) (Con)]

Q11. The Government’s proposed terms of reference for the inquiry into rape and grooming gangs are fatally flawed, as victims and survivors have pointed out. They will not address the role that race and religion played in motivating these crimes or lead to prosecutions for those involved in the cover-up. They will not even investigate all cases—only a select few. The consultation on these terms ends this Friday. Will the Prime Minister assure us that if enough people call for change, including through groominggangjustice.uk, the final terms of reference will reflect those concerns?

[The Prime Minister]

Baroness Longfield is now beginning the work of the inquiry, with victims and survivors at the heart of the process. Under this Government, convictions are at their highest level ever, and we are introducing mandatory reporting on child sexual abuse and putting a legal duty on police to collect ethnicity data. But forgive me if I do not take suggestions from the hon. Lady, who said that people legally settled here should “go home” to ensure that the UK is “culturally coherent”. That is a grotesque way to talk about our friends and neighbours. I rather suspect that when she next asks a question, she will be sitting on the Benches up there.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member for raising both the individual and the general case and reassure her that we are working on the issue.

[Katie Lam]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I believe the Prime Minister has inadvertently misled the House. I seek your guidance on how to get him to correct the record for claiming that I said something that I did not.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Katie Lam

Wednesday 21st January 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Labour is boosting funding for councils that were chronically underfunded by the Conservatives. I pay tribute to Labour councils delivering results for my hon. Friend’s community, in stark contrast to the division and chaos we have seen from Reform councils, wherever they have been elected.

[Katie Lam (Weald of Kent) (Con)]

Tens of thousands of people across Kent and Sussex were without running water last week. While the response of South East Water was shambolic, the Staplehurst emergency help team got a bottled water supplier, set up a collection station and delivered water to vulnerable people. Using only volunteers, they supported local people, businesses, farms and care homes with 20,000 bottles of water. Does the Prime Minister think, as I do, that South East Water should be ashamed to be schooled in crisis response by the volunteers of the Staplehurst emergency help team? Has he, like many of my constituents and many of our colleagues, lost confidence in South East Water’s chief executive?

[The Prime Minister]

The situation is completely unacceptable. We welcome Ofwat’s investigation into the company—that is the right thing to do. The Environment Secretary met company bosses last week to stress the need for accountability, and Ministers are continuing to chair daily meetings, but the situation is totally unacceptable and needs to be fixed.