Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Jones and Joshua Reynolds

Monday 17th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

The hon. Lady is aware of these issues, and she is aware of the complexities of policing what are sometimes very disruptive and upsetting protests. We must get the balance right, and that is what we are trying to do, but I am happy to engage in more conversations with her about this.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

Shopkeepers in Maidenhead town centre tell me how pleased they are to see neighbourhood police officers doing their regular patrols, but those outside the town centre do not see those patrols as regularly and struggle more with shoplifting as a result. What is the Minister doing to tackle that, so that we have more neighbourhood police in communities, and not just in town centres?

[Sarah Jones]

The hon. Gentleman has referred to a challenge that the police to do with their resources. Through the White Paper and the reform programme, we are trying to ensure that our police officers can spend all their time doing the things that we want them to do—not dealing with bureaucracy, doing police staff jobs or sitting behind a counter, but fighting crime in our communities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Jones and Joshua Reynolds

Monday 15th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. It is encouraging to see the work going on in his constituency. It is our intention to ensure that the police have the resources they need to do the jobs we need them to do, whether in hotspot policing, neighbourhood policing or tackling anti-social behaviour. We will change legislation here in Parliament to ensure they have the powers as well as the resources they need to act locally in the interests of our constituents.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

Local youth provision goes hand in hand with a decrease in antisocial behaviour committed by young people, with even something as simple as a ping-pong table in a closed shop able to make a difference in a community. Will the Minister outline what work she is doing with the Department for Education and the Treasury to ensure that we solve this problem once and for all and we do not just move it on and move people around the place?

[Sarah Jones]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: if we want to ensure that people are not getting into crime, we need to ensure they have activities and things to do. We are working closely with both the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to ensure we have a programme of activities for our young people that gives them things to do and a purpose in life, including mentoring and support so that they can take the right path.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Jones and Joshua Reynolds

Tuesday 18th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for his concern for his constituents. As I said, I am very receptive to calls from BCSSS trustees. I wrote to the Chancellor, who sent back a positive response, and we are now taking the next steps in this process. I will be reconvening trustees to meet and talk about it again.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

T2. Martin, a disabled resident, lives in his park home in Maidenhead. After his boiler broke down two months ago, he has faced significant challenges. He is unable to apply for the boiler upgrade scheme, as park homes do not get energy performance certificates, and the National Energy Foundation, which visited him three weeks ago, has still not provided him with a response. Will the Secretary of State outline what support he can give Martin and other elderly residents without heat or hot water?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Sarah Jones and Joshua Reynolds

Thursday 30th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Jones]

I met Anglo American to talk about Woodsmith just a couple of weeks ago when I was in Saudi Arabia, and it is an important site. I promised to go and see it, so perhaps I can go with my hon. Friend. It is important that the critical minerals strategy we are developing marks a step change from the previous Government’s strategy, which just looked at a moment in time and said, “We need to do a bit more of this, that and the other.” We will have targets, will be driving forward, and will look at our future demand. We are going to look at the eight sectors that we want to grow, consider what critical minerals we need, and think about how to ensure that we have the supply chains to get it right.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

T2. The outgoing chair of the Competition and Markets Authority warned of the authority being vulnerable to “expediency or vested interests”. Does the Minister believe that appointing a former Amazon executive produces that risk?