Business of the House

Robert Jenrick Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

It is clear that violence against women and girls is reaching a crisis point, and I am disturbed to hear my hon. Friend’s assessment of what is happening north of the border, which is in contrast to the action that we are taking in Westminster. We published our violence against women and girls strategy, detailing how we will tackle this national emergency and halve violence against women and girls in the next decade. If the SNP Government do not share that ambition, I would encourage them to get on, do more about it and align themselves with that ambition. We are about working not just cross-party but between Governments. If they wish to engage in that, I am sure it would be worth while.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Reform)]

Robert Steele was a beautiful four-year-old boy who died three weeks ago in Newark when he was thrown from an off-road bike that was being driven by a 24-year-old man. This is the culmination of a number of incidents in my town, and many others across the country, involving off-road bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters. Will the Government consider a debate on the policing of these bikes, what further action we can take to prevent terrible tragedies such as this one, and the posture of police forces across the country, including when they can appropriately intercept these bikes and protect members of the public?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am sad to hear of what happened in the right hon. Gentleman’s constituency; our thoughts are with the family. He is right to point to the scourge of off-road bikes and e-scooters, because there are simply too many incidents of the sort that he describes. If he called for a Westminster Hall debate on these matters, he could hear from the Minister about what we intend to do. We do intend to crack down on them. I absolutely agree with him that, where police forces have the powers, they need to use them. That is probably easier for me to say than it is for them to do, but they need to use the powers. Together, we need to tackle this scourge.