Closure of High Street Services: Rural Areas

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) for securing this debate.

In North Norfolk, half of my constituents live in settlements of just a few hundred houses, or even fewer; the other half live in market towns, all but one of which have populations well under 10,000. The health of our rural high street is probably the most significant barometer of prosperity, economic health and the state of the nation, so it is imaginably disastrous whenever any business shuts up shop.

We have been extremely lucky, not least in the success of Lib Dem-led North Norfolk district council in securing funding for things like the heritage action zone project in our largest town, North Walsham, which has created a new sense of vibrancy and optimism by refurbishing the town centre and giving many of the historic shopfronts a much-needed facelift. But street furniture and material renovation alone cannot mask the fact that our rural high streets are suffering. That is in no small part down to a gradual managed decline of rural services. Yesterday morning, I had the pleasure of cutting a ribbon on the brand-new banking hub in Holt. Holt lost its final bank branch in 2021, and ever since I have been working alongside the community to protect access to banking services and cash. We continue to lose bank branches across the constituency. I am campaigning hard for better access to banking in those towns where the last ones are starting to look flaky.

In Wells-next-the-Sea, we are at risk of losing our visitor information centre, which faces a funding shortfall. I am pledged to work alongside them to find new funding streams. It is a vital shop window for our local businesses and attractions. I cannot help but reflect that the crisis in local government funding is also putting high street services at risk.

Those high street services are so vital to our community. In North Norfolk we have the oldest population in the country, so easily accessible services are a lifeline for many of my constituents. Preserving and protecting services is a top priority for local people, so a top priority for me. I welcome this debate as a chance to shout about the challenges they face and will continue to ensure that the Government are giving my community the support it needs.

Future of the Post Office

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Wednesday 13th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Thomas]

I am absolutely open to any idea that will help to speed up the roll-out of banking hubs; I recognise that they are crucial for communities up and down the UK. If he has particular ideas, I am very happy to talk to him about them separately.

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

I am very pleased that Horning post office in my constituency will reopen later this month, following months of hard work by the local community. That shows that there is an important future for our local post offices in rural North Norfolk, and that future includes supporting bank hubs in our market towns. The people of Holt are looking forward eagerly to the opening of their hub soon. Can the Minister tell me his personal vision for the future of the Post Office, and does that include supporting vital local services in our rural areas?

[Gareth Thomas]

I am delighted to hear the news about a post office branch opening in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency; that will be of great comfort to his constituents. As I set out, one way in which we can improve the services available to all communities through the post office is better provision of banking services. We are actively working with the Post Office on that. The roll-out of banking hubs will also help to improve the quality of the service that post offices can provide for all our communities.

Budget Resolutions

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Wednesday 6th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

I commend those who have made their maiden speeches, and I commend Members for their collegiate and warm response.

People in North Norfolk will welcome aspects of this Budget, such as the promise of greater spending on our national health service, but for all that welcome stability, they have several significant concerns. The potential for increased costs for North Norfolk’s GP surgeries and all sorts of other care providers through the national insurance rise is a huge worry.

The huge challenge facing rural constituencies from this Budget is the Government’s family farm tax. I want to share the story of Judith with the House. She is a constituent of mine who lives on her farm in Antingham. She and her husband are fifth-generation farmers, and they have reared prize-winning cattle on their small farm. Their son has been working on the farm with them for the past 40 years. He is also a carer for his father—Judith’s husband—who is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Judith is losing sleep over whether her son will be forced to sell the farm and its machinery to pay the death duties, which will mean an end to generations of family farming on their land. These are hard-working, honest Norfolk farmers, not multimillionaires or land barons. Indeed, many Norfolk farmers have contacted me before and since the Budget to share their concerns, and I am proud to be standing up for them today.

North Norfolk will also feel the brunt of the increase in the bus fare cap. Rural public transport is a lifeline for many residents living in our villages. It gets them to the shops, to the doctors and to see friends and family. Asking them to swallow an increase in cost while Londoners continue to enjoy a £1.75 cap is ludicrous. They, along with pensioners in North Norfolk who have already lost the winter fuel allowance, are starting to question the change that this Government are offering.

I honestly believe that this was a Budget of extremely good intentions from Labour, but sadly a handful of missteps have led many in North Norfolk to question the direction in which we are going. I hope to work with the Government to see how we can ensure that the positive parts of this Budget deliver for North Norfolk and remedy the issues causing the most angst. As ever, I will be putting North Norfolk residents first, standing up for constituents, raising their concerns and ensuring that their voices are heard loudly and clearly.

Pub and Hospitality Sector

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas)]

In the usual way, let me take the opportunity to congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire (Mr Bedford) on securing this debate and celebrating the contribution of pubs to life in his constituency. He rightly talked about the contribution that pubs make to social mobility and the journey all the way up to manager that those who start out as pot washers can potentially make. I noted in particular his praise for the Curzon Arms and I can assure him we will consider that as the campaign stop for when we visit his constituency at the next election to try to increase our majority in this House. He, and I hope the whole House, will understand if I briefly praise pubs in my own constituency—the great Horseshoe, where I have been privileged to watch one or two great victories by the Welsh rugby union team, and the Trinity pub where we have celebrated one or two election successes in recent times.

I will not be able to do justice in the time available to me to the richness of the contributions that we have had, for which I apologise to hon. Members across the House. Notwithstanding, let me try to make one or two points and to pick up some of the specific questions that people have outlined. My hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Riverside (Kim Johnson) celebrated her constituency’s many pubs and venues, some of which I have had the privilege to visit during what seems like Labour’s annual trip to her great city. Perhaps she might like to buy me a round when I next have to visit one of those pubs—[Hon. Members: “Freebies!”] [Laughter.] Perhaps not, then.

My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Dr Gardner) referenced the Labour in Vain pub in her constituency. I am happy to sit down with her and talk about what else might be possible for that pub. She is right to celebrate community-owned pubs; I suspect that she, like me, comes from the Co-operative tradition in our ranks. The Co-operative party has championed the ambitions of many of our communities to own their own pub.

My hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Navendu Mishra), in his inimitable way, championed the contribution of pubs to the life of his constituents. I hope I will have the opportunity at some point to come up and take advantage of the hospitality there. My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) rightly praised the contribution of business improvement districts to supporting the environment around pubs. The business improvement district in my constituency does a particularly important job working with the police to tackle antisocial behaviour, and I know that work is replicated in business improvement districts across the country. He made an ambitious claim that the best kebab in the country is found in his constituency—I wonder whether others might have a slightly different perspective.

My hon. Friend the Member for Southend East and Rochford (Mr Alaba), who is unfortunately not in his place, rightly championed the soft skills learned by those who work in the pub trade. My hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) made an interesting speech—I was not sure quite where it was going to end with the reference to nationalisation, but I look forward to having the opportunity to find out a bit more about the unique history of the pubs in her constituency.

My hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (Chris Murray) underlined the role of pubs in his constituency and the crucial contribution that Scotch whisky makes not only to the Scottish economy, but to the UK economy as a whole. He will know of the work my right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security is seeking to do to reduce some of the tariffs that Scotch whisky still faces around the world. If I heard him right, I think my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Joe Morris) promised to visit all 116 pubs in his constituency before the next election.

The hon. Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage) referenced previous work she had done with the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and I will reflect on her contribution and the Committee’s work outside this House, if I may. I hope to touch on the contributions of one or two other hon. Members as I make my way through some of the broader points, where appropriate.

This debate is important because our pubs and the wider hospitality sector are crucial to the UK economy, employing around 2.2 million people across 154,000 businesses and generating revenues of around £52 billion per annum.

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. He is making some important points about the employment generated by the sector. Does he agree that in areas such as North Norfolk, with a huge hospitality industry, greater training opportunities are vital to allow people to have full and flourishing careers in the hospitality sector? Are the Government supportive of extending that franchise?

[Gareth Thomas]

I congratulate the hon. Member on getting his constituency’s pubs into the debate. I look forward to having the opportunity to visit one or two of those in his constituency again. I will come back to the significant point about training, on which I hope we will have some good news for the pubs in his constituency and more generally.

Pubs and hospitality venues are important to local economies. They help to create vibrant towns and cities that we all want to visit, to study, work, live and invest. Pubs help us to celebrate the very essence of life and friendship, to socialise with family and friends, to enjoy music and great sport, and to celebrate the important points in life’s journey. They are crucial to supporting wider social objectives: providing accessible jobs, as other Members have already touched on, helping to support community cohesion and providing welcoming spaces for those who feel isolated and alone to enjoy the company of others.

In short, hospitality is the backbone of our high streets and the lifeblood of so many of our communities. We all know that hospitality businesses are still struggling. At the weekend, the Yorkshire Post published a survey suggesting some 500 pubs had closed in Yorkshire since 2019, which is just one indication of the challenges facing the pub and hospitality industry.