Social Media: Non-consensual Sexual Deepfakes
Rachel Gilmour Excerpts(2 weeks, 4 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Liz Kendall
That sounds like a very interesting and practical solution to many of the challenges we are discussing. I hope that my hon. Friend will send me more details.
Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)
I cannot pretend to understand the complexities of AI bots or the stuff that we have talked about this afternoon, but I do understand the impact that sexual abuse has on children and girls in my constituency. On Saturday, I was talking to a grandmother, who told me that her granddaughter had been groomed; as a consequence, she had become suicidal, was locked in her room and was unrecognisable from the young woman that she had been just three months ago. I live in a very rural part of the country. May I seek reassurance from the Secretary of State that she will put as much money and as many facilities into rural parts of the country to prevent this disgusting habit as she will put into other parts?
Liz Kendall
I will do whatever it takes, and I know that is what the whole Government think. In particular, this is a personal priority for the Prime Minister. The people who abuse children find a way to do it, in every century and any different form. Our job is to find that and stop it, and that is what we will do.
Future of Public Libraries
Rachel Gilmour Excerpts(8 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Jonathan Davies
I do agree. We need more money for libraries, but we also need to find ways of collaborating and innovating, so that we can do more with less. The hon. Member makes a good point about rural communities; I thank her for that.
Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)
I thank the hon. Member for securing the debate. Clearly, there is much agreement on the importance of public libraries, but in rural communities such as those in my constituency, access is often limited by insufficient transport and the rural premium associated with running services. Does he agree that the Government should urgently review steps to support access to rural libraries, so that constituencies such as mine are not left without these treasured community assets?
Jonathan Davies
I know the hon. Lady is a champion for rural communities and her constituents. The Government are looking carefully at public transport, but a national strategy for public libraries, which I will come to, could draw upon the issue she raises.
Many of our libraries have quietly evolved into digital learning centres, enterprise hubs and pillars of community wellbeing. Across the country brilliant initiatives have emerged, such as the Glass Box in Taunton, where people of all ages develop skills in 3D printing and programming in library spaces. There are initiatives such as Gloucestershire’s library-led programme tackling loneliness among older people. Those are models that should be shared.
As many as 13.7 million adults used a library last year, not just for books but to study, get online and sometimes as a place to feel safe. I believe the Minister referred to libraries as “cultural diamonds” and I could not agree more. Baroness Twycross has noted that they are
“one of the last non-transactional spaces in our communities.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 12 September 2024; Vol. 839, c. GC140.]
It is hugely encouraging to see such clear appreciation and understanding of public libraries at the heart of Government.
Listed Places of Worship Scheme
Rachel Gilmour Excerpts(1 year ago)
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Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I congratulate the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) on calling this debate and I also congratulate my hon. Friends the Members for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller), Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings), Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) and Ely and East Cambridgeshire (Charlotte Cane) on the points they have made.
Rachel Gilmour (Tiverton and Minehead) (LD)
In my beautiful constituency of Tiverton and Minehead, I have 25 grade I listed churches. There is hardly a village that does not have a grade I listed church and churches with other statuses. I hope the hon. Member agrees that, without this grant, there are dark days ahead for these communities.