Immigration and Home Affairs

Sarah Green Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Green (Chesham and Amersham) (LD)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Chelsea and Fulham (Ben Coleman) on his maiden speech. It is a great privilege to serve in this place, and I welcome him. I also congratulate the Government Front Benchers as they take on their ministerial responsibilities.

I will focus on three bits of legislation mentioned in the King’s Speech that have generated interest among my constituents in Chesham and Amersham. The first is the water special measures Bill, because the Liberal Democrats have led the charge on calling for tougher penalties for water companies that dump sewage in our rivers and fail their customers. I am therefore keen to learn more about the Bill and the powers it will give to ban bonuses and introduce new fines.

Residents and businesses in Chalfont St Peter spent the first half of this year struggling to cope with sewage-filled floodwaters. Some had the horrible experience of their bathroom and kitchen plug holes burping sewage into their home. Thames Water later admitted to me that the cause of at least some of this sewage being brought into homes was that the company’s tankers had released floodwater, which they had pumped out of another area, into the wrong location, overloading the drains. Thames Water’s response to this year’s various problems in different parts of my constituency has been disgraceful, so I look forward to hearing how the Government will ensure that Ofwat finally uses its teeth and starts holding the likes of Thames Water to account.

The second Bill in the King’s Speech that I would like to touch on is the planning and infrastructure Bill. I represent a constituency where a significant amount of land is classified as green belt. My constituents are keen to get a definition of what “grey belt” means. Other than poor quality and ugly, there has been little detail about exactly what land would fall into that category. I also look forward to hearing what steps the Government will take to ensure that any new developments include the GP practices, other vital services and infrastructure to support them.

The third announcement in the King’s Speech that I would like to talk about is the Government plan to end VAT exemption for independent schools. The issue has been raised with me by several parents who send their children to independent schools in order to receive additional support for special educational needs and disabilities. I welcome the confirmation I have received that pupils with an education, health and care plan will remain exempt from VAT. There are, however, children receiving support for SEND in the independent sector who do not have EHCPs. I hope that the Government can offer assurances that such children will be taken into account as they pursue this policy.

I will end by mentioning healthcare. While I welcome the Government’s focus on reducing waiting times, I was disappointed not to see specific mention of improving access to GP appointments, because that is raised with me week in, week out. Just this weekend it was raised by residents in Gerrards Cross, where there is no GP practice. I hope that, with their significant mandate, the Government will give access to GP appointments the attention it desperately needs.