Oral Answers to Questions

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Tuesday 8th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that we are focused on driving public sector productivity to reach the efficiency targets I talked about. We are holding each Department to account on that. As I said earlier, we are seeing great progress in the NHS, which is making a huge contribution to our productivity gains as a Government.

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (John Healey)]

Since day one in the job, the Prime Minister and I have been in lockstep in our determination to meet Britain’s fiscal rules. This is the bedrock on which we build good growth and help give a bit of breathing space to families and businesses. We acted in the first week to cap bus fares, cut business rates for pubs, social clubs and live venues, and cut VAT on electricity bills. We have also announced further sanctions on Russia. We have changed procurement rules to back British jobs. We launched a new plan for growth from places right across the UK and £100 million to back British sovereign AI firms. This is a Labour Government who are determined to deliver good growth in every postcode and sound fiscal discipline.

[Steff Aquarone]

If the Treasury wants a quick trick to increase tax receipts from new employment, may I suggest that the Chancellor takes steps to boost rural bus connectivity? North Norfolk has independent operators such as Central Connect which, in spite of challenges facing the sector, has managed to double its bus frequency in Stalham and Hoveton. It wants to go further. Can he tell us how he will work with the Department for Transport to ensure barriers are lifted and support is provided to bring more buses to my constituents?

[John Healey]

I am disappointed that the hon. Gentleman did not recognise that capping bus fares must be a benefit to his constituency in Norfolk and a benefit to passengers. Beyond that, let me take his contribution as an early Budget representation.

Economic Growth

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Monday 7th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

As I outlined to the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke), it is right that we focus on rural communities as well as urban areas and city regions. I will convey that message to the Chancellor, but I will not be writing the Budget right now.

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

The Government talk a lot about how they will create economic growth. There is no way for them just to legislate their way to growth; there are, however, plenty of ways to legislate against it, as small rural businesses in North Norfolk know only too well. Will the Minister tell those rural businesses what she is doing to help them grow? More importantly, what things that get in their way will she stop doing?

[Emma Reynolds]

As I said to the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke), we take the economic success of rural communities really seriously. We are improving connectivity, whether digital connectivity or local transport connectivity, to ensure that the areas are more successful, but there is obviously more to be done.

Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Tuesday 1st September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Wishart. Making sure that people can still access cash and speak to someone from their bank has been one of my longest-running campaigns in my time working for the residents of North Norfolk. I remember well the trip that the council leader Tim Adams and I took to Acton in London to see one of the first banking hubs in action back in 2023. There were only seven in the whole country then, and I am glad to report that there are now three in my constituency alone.

However, in the coming months I will still be campaigning to secure services in both Stalham and Hoveton, which are without any high street banks. There are clusters of thousands of people in the villages in my constituency who are left underserved because the current criteria do not guarantee them access to services, as we have heard from many hon. Members today.

People in constituencies such as North Norfolk still rely on physical banking and the benefits of handling financial matters with a friendly face in person. A constituent from one of those broads villages told me that she considers herself to be fairly digitally able, but that she finds herself anxious about online banking when large sums or important transactions are at stake. Banks need to accept that is a perfectly reasonable position and deliver reassurance for their customers.

Access to non-digital alternatives should be a right, not a privilege. It is about providing security and comfort for those who are not native to the digital world. It is not just about age; it is also important for those in rural areas for whom digital access is a challenge.

I know that the answer to many of the questions raised today will be, “Wait for the access to banking services review.” I want to be able to look my constituents in the face and tell them that the review will make a meaningful difference to them. If the Minister will not give us an early hint today, all I ask is that she gives us the reassurance that rural communities such as North Norfolk will be well served by the findings of the review and that the concerns raised today on their behalf are being heard and acted upon.

Middle East: Economic Update

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising the concerns of people in Huddersfield. From this month, we are helping 10,000 manufacturing businesses in the industrial strategy sectors with the cost of electricity, reducing it by up to 25%. Today, we have announced that we are increasing the electricity generator levy, which will bring in more money to the Exchequer. We can use that money to help people with the costs of this war which we did not start, but of which people in Huddersfield, Leeds and around the country are feeling the consequences.

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

On heating oil, members of the Chancellor’s Treasury team have been keen to point out that the small amount of funding—the equivalent of about £35 a household—was just the first step. Can she outline when the next step will come to support houses that are dependent on heating oil?

[Rachel Reeves]

We were pleased to be able to announce tens of millions of pounds to help people with the cost of heating oil, in the same way that we brought down gas and electricity bills for families and pensioners across the UK because of my Budget decisions last year. It is important that local authorities now make sure that that money is available to people. We heard from my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough), for example, that 60% of applications in Norfolk have not been processed. We need to make sure that that money gets to the people who need it. As I have said, we will keep additional support under review. The best way to bring down bills for families, businesses and pensioners—the hon. Gentleman’s party agrees with this—is to de-escalate this conflict and reopen the strait of Hormuz. That is why our diplomatic policy is so important.

Hidden Credit Liabilities: Role of the FCA

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Tuesday 14th April 2026 Westminster Hall

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

I would like to start with a story about greed from a previous life. When I was a young, stony-broke filmmaker, unable to afford the hotel costs of the Cannes film festival, I was staying many miles away in cheap digs and was therefore stone-cold sober for the entire undertaking. I watched as, under the gaze of Harvey Weinstein’s hotel suite, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio spent $1 million extending a jetty into the sea, on which they hosted the most lavish launch party ever for a film company. It was a manifestation of greed and profligacy.

The movie they were launching was “The Wolf of Wall Street”, and I do not think it is superlative to suggest that the scale of the scandal we are discussing today is of that same epic Hollywood standard. If this place will not take the action to secure the transparency and accountability that is needed, then hopefully the world of moviemaking will.

I am pleased to be representing the Liberal Democrats here today and picking up the mantle of a campaign that my predecessor, Sir Norman Lamb, started more than a decade ago. He was one of the first people in Parliament to speak up about this scandal and how it continued to affect constituents in North Norfolk. It is greatly frustrating that we are still having to push for action so many years on, but I know he will be pleased to see that Members are still keeping the Government’s feet to the fire on this issue.

Hon. Members from all parties often come to this place to champion small businesses. We know that the economies of our constituencies are built on them, and they provide us with vital services on a daily basis. I know that both as a consumer and from my professional background in the business environment. People who run businesses carry on regardless. They are not greedy people; they simply want to make a living, and yet they have been exploited by others who want to make a killing. People’s entire livelihoods and careers were put at risk because wealthy banks and bankers saw them as an easy cash cow to mis-sell products to.

BankConfidential believes that tens of thousands of small businesses have been affected, and tens of billions of pounds extracted from SMEs into the pockets of giant multinational banks that were using the profits to prop themselves up after the disastrous 2008 financial crisis, which, as we know, was made so catastrophic by profit-chasing in an under-regulated sector. Not content with being bailed out by the taxpayer, the banks chose to rinse SMEs in our communities, too. It is worth mentioning that BankConfidential has seen cases of NHS-linked organisations being subject to these practices as well, with capital used to finance and purchase GP surgeries or medical centres being lent with hidden credit lines, which also suffered when interest rates plummeted. It is unconscionable that banks may have gone as far as to rip off GPs and our NHS in their pursuit of profit.

It is deeply concerning that this appeared to be a well-rehearsed routine in which SMEs were taken down, in effect to fund the recapitalisation of banks after the financial crash. It is not just the businesses that suffered, but those in the sector who tried to speak up and speak out. My constituent Mark Wright’s story is detailed in the APPG report, and his experience shows that the sector simply is not fit to handle whistleblowing effectively and fairly. He raised serious concerns about market abuse by his employer, affecting not just him but thousands of employees with savings and investments tied to the profitability and capitalisation of RBS. He tried to challenge senior management and speak out. He has seen his banking career tarnished and his health suffer, and he has spent more than a decade trying to secure justice. His complaint and case were severely mishandled by the FCA, and he has faced barrier after barrier in trying to get answers about his treatment and about the action that it will take on what he revealed.

The ordeals of Mark and others who have worked to expose scandals show that we need to greatly strengthen protection for whistleblowers in this country. So far, in my view, the Government have missed two opportunities to take action: as they stand, the Employment Rights Act 2025 and the Public Office (Accountability) Bill have left whistleblowers behind. Whistleblowing is not about someone having the unreserved right to denigrate their employer; it is not a defamation charter or the power to complain in public. It is about calling out things that are wrong and should not happen, but will continue to happen unless someone decides to be an upstander and not a bystander.

The Liberal Democrats would introduce an office of the whistleblower with stronger legal protections to enable people to challenge corporate behaviour without risk to themselves or their careers. We also need to replace the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 with a stronger and far more effective piece of legislation. It is simply not fit for purpose and does not give those seeking whistleblower protection enough confidence. In recent years we have seen too many scandals that could have been avoided or reduced if people had had more ability and protection to call out bad practices and illegal behaviours. I am sure the Minister will not treat us to a sneak peek at the King’s Speech and tell us that it will contain more whistleblower protections, but will she make the case to the Government for such protections to be enacted in the new Session?

The complexity of the financial machinations at play in this scandal should not make any less clear to people the wrongdoing that has happened and the damage that it has caused. People have lost livelihoods, those who have tried to speak out have lost careers and, as the report sadly identifies, lives have been lost.

I will end where I started. A wealthy man who I have known for some time for his integrity and generosity—the opposite attributes to greed—built a billion-pound business from nothing that was taken down entirely by the bank. I asked him what the key ingredient to success in business was, and he said luck—he is possibly the only entrepreneur ever to answer that question honestly. He was lucky enough to build his business back up, but we owe it to those who have not been so lucky to ensure that the hidden credit line scandal is shown the light of justice that it deserves.

Horse and Rider Road Safety

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) on securing this debate and his long-running championship of the issue. He is a true champion of rider safety; the riding community could hope for no better advocate in this place.

Our transition to cars has hugely changed the role that horses play in human society, but they are still a treasured species. The pursuit of riding is beloved by many of my constituents. North Norfolk has a proud community of horse riders who enjoy riding through our beautiful countryside and rural landscapes. I have heard from a number of riders who have great concerns for their safety when riding on roads in rural North Norfolk. It is clear that the status quo does not do enough to protect those riders. The contributions by my hon. Friends the Members for Stratford-on-Avon (Manuela Perteghella), for Horsham (John Milne) and for West Dorset (Edward Morello), and others, are testimony to that.

Riders are vulnerable road users, just like cyclists and pedestrians. Many of them will have been understandably disappointed not to have received greater attention in the Government’s recent road safety strategy. That strategy, however, is not the only thing that lets down riders. In Norfolk, our road safety policies are painfully unfit for purpose. We have seen this play out in all-too-serious reality with injuries and deaths along the A148 in my constituency. That road has a number of stables along it, meaning there is a high chance that riders find themselves on a stretch of road proven to be dangerous. We have to make sure that they are better protected, along with other vulnerable road users, to prevent future tragedies in our rural community. That is why the Bill that my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury is proposing is so important. It makes very modest changes to the current wording around horse riders in the highway code, but would kickstart a change in behaviours around riders and encourage far more responsible driving when sharing the roads. It would also ensure that education around equestrian safety is improved in driving tests, meaning that people will begin their lives as drivers with a stronger awareness of how to drive in a way that best supports riders and keeps drivers themselves safe.

Many riders would find it far preferable to be able to ride off the roads away from the level of risk that many have described in this debate today. Unfortunately for them, the lack of available bridleways and safe paths forces them on to the highway. This is an area on which we Liberal Democrats are pleased to propose solutions: we want communities to be better supported to turn abandoned rail links without the prospect of reopening into safe, active travel footpaths and bridleways, giving vulnerable road users more options to travel away from roads.

Furthermore, in rural Norfolk, aspects of our network are seriously outdated, and narrow and almost unsafe routes into villages have seen most of their traffic replaced by newer, larger roads. We can transform some of those into bridleways and active travel routes, reducing the burden on local authorities to keep almost abandoned roads to a drivable standard and widening opportunities and access.

We can do so much better for horse riders and for drivers, too. There are big opportunities to deliver brighter outcomes for the horse riding community and allow them to feel safe and seen while enjoying their pursuits. What helps them helps so many others: we can improve paths, bridleways and access to nature at the same time. In that spirit, I hope the Minister can reflect on the proposals we are making and fully engage with the riding community about their concerns. I hope that we can move forward with safer roads, happier riders and an end once and for all to the accidents, injuries and tragedies we have heard about today.

Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Wednesday 10th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[James Murray]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that although improving the NHS is a clear priority, because of all of our experiences and because of our reliance on it to keep ourselves and our families healthy. Investing in the NHS is also an economic investment, because people being out of the workforce due to ill health is a serious drag on our economy—that is the situation we inherited from the previous Government. Our investment in the health service and our desire to get the NHS back on its feet is the right thing to do, not just for families across the country but for economic growth.

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

Will the Minister give way?

[James Murray]

I will give way one more time, and then make some progress.

[Steff Aquarone]

On the same topic, the way this Budget was handled has undermined public confidence in North Norfolk in many ways, few more so than the fact it produced radio silence on our long-pledged dental school at the University of East Anglia. Does the Minister agree that if the Treasury had spent a little less time on its fiscal fandango and more time on delivering dentistry improvements in North Norfolk, this Budget might have gone down better with many of my local residents?

[James Murray]

I would take the hon. Gentleman more seriously if he spent a little less time opposing the decisions we take on tax to fund public services, because we are taking fair and necessary decisions on tax precisely to fund the NHS and the other public services on which we all rely.

I have set out at length what we are doing to protect the NHS, but the Chancellor’s second priority going into the Budget was to tackle the cost of living, and that is exactly what we are doing. At this Budget, the Chancellor chose to freeze rail fares for the first time in 30 years, to extend bus fare caps, to freeze prescription charges, to increase the basic and new state pension, to raise the minimum and living wages, to extend the fuel duty cut, to help more than half a million children who would otherwise live in poverty, and to save the average household £150 off their energy bills. As the Bank of England deputy governor told Members yesterday, this Budget will reduce inflation by between 0.4% and 0.5%.

The Chancellor’s final priority going into the Budget was to cut our national debt and Government borrowing, and that is exactly what we are doing.

Independent Lifeboats: Government Support

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Westminster Hall

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I am delighted to respond to this debate on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, and congratulate the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes) on securing it.

In coastal communities such as North Norfolk, independent lifeboats are not just a valued community asset but a vital part of our network of emergency response on the coast. North Norfolk is proudly home to two excellent independent lifeboat services in Mundesley and Sea Palling. Both have a long history of offshore rescues dating back to the early 1800s, but the current voluntary lifeboats date from the early 1970s. In both cases, villagers reached into their own pockets to support the establishment of an independent rescue service to protect locals and visitors along our coastline. Since then, they have served our communities loyally and saved countless lives.

It is not just coastal communities that benefit from the lifeboats: Mundesley lifeboat also supports floodwater rescues. It is a valuable service but, as with so much of the support for flooding, no additional funding is forthcoming to support that vital work. I hope the Minister will take that back to colleagues at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to think about further.

Independent lifeboats in Norfolk also keep us safe inshore. Just over the border, in the constituency of the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe), is the Hemsby independent lifeboat, which hosts the lifeboat Broads Marley, which serves inland rescues for those in distress on the Norfolk broads in my constituency and, no doubt, in that of the hon. Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew). It is a valued service that ensures that everyone who comes to our precious national park and enjoys its waterways can do so safely. I put on the record my gracious thanks to the crew at Hemsby for all that they do in my area and across Norfolk.

Lifeboat services are valued by my Lib Dem colleagues across the country, from the Hope Cove lifeboat in Devon to the Anstruther RNLI base in North East Fife. The issues that affect lifeboat services matter to a huge range of communities. Challenges at sea do not discriminate, and all coastal communities rely on their support. However, independent lifeboats face a range of challenges in carrying out their vital role. Their independent nature means that they can suffer from a range of funding struggles and do not have the same sure footing as many RNLI bases. In tandem with the rising cost of fuel, maintenance, training and equipment, this creates a difficult environment for these groups to survive in.

That is why we in the Liberal Democrats are encouraging the Government to increase their support for independent lifeboat organisations through targeted, practical assistance that strengthens the work of these volunteer teams. The Government could take many different steps to provide such support. They could introduce a specific grant scheme for independent lifeboat stations, similar to those available for mountain rescue of community fire services. That could help to cover essential operational costs, such as fuel, insurance, crew training and vessel maintenance. Furthermore, they could expand VAT relief for essential rescue equipment—which the RNLI receives for fuel and safety gear—to other independent lifeboat organisations.

Affordable access to training and skills is also vital for independent lifeboats. That is why we want the Government to offer all volunteer lifeboat crews free or subsidised access to training, accredited by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and to support volunteer crew members with access to maritime qualifications, which benefit both rescue operations and personal career growth. This upskilling would be hugely beneficial to the coastal communities where crew members live and work, and could create a wider economic boost, as well as keeping lifeboats staffed with the best possible experience and expertise. We are also keen for the Minister to see whether Government maritime agencies could share access to coastal radar data, weather tracking and communication systems, to enhance rescue co-ordination.

With the Budget coming up, I am sure the Chancellor will be pleased with any Minister who can provide her with a relatively cheap, impactful and universally popular policy, so here we go. I would like to share with her a reform that one of my local independent lifeboat services has encouraged: exempting charitable search and rescue vehicles from vehicle excise duty. Emergency vehicles are already exempt, but those that perform search and rescue for registered charities are not. Independent lifeboat groups may require large vehicles, such as Land Rovers or 4x4s, to pull their lifeboats in and out of the sea or transport them to other launch points. These vehicles attract a high tax, which adds hundreds or thousands to the groups’ expenses.

Modelling suggests that providing the charities with this tax break could cost the Exchequer as little as £500,000 a year, which would effectively be a direct cash injection back into the independent lifeboat charities, supporting their sustained existence and allowing them to carry out their important work. Will the Minister make a case for this tax break to the Treasury ahead of the Budget next month? It would be a hugely positive step and an important recognition of the work of our independent lifeboats.

There is no distinction in the urgency of emergencies that lifeboats respond to. When someone is in distress off our coast, every second counts, just as it would in responding to a heart attack or a house fire. The teams need the best vehicles for the job, and they should not be punished by a punitive tax regime that discourages them from owning them. As it stands, the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the A-Team van are exempt from vehicle tax, but independent lifeboat vehicles are not. I hope that the Government can recognise that our lifeboat crews are a real-life A-team, and support them as such.

I will finish by acknowledging the incredible work of the independent lifeboats that support us across the country, particularly in North Norfolk. If I had endless time, I would be delighted to read into the record the names of all the crew members in my area who work so hard, but as I do not, I want to note my thanks to the coxswain of Mundesley lifeboat, Dave Francis; the coxswain of Sea Palling lifeboat, Mick Clarke; all the members of their hard-working teams; and all those who support their work. I hope the Minister will not only join me in thanking them for all they do, but go further by providing them with the hope that the Government will give them the support they need to continue their vital work in decades to come.

Living Standards: East of England

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Clive Lewis]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution. I do not raise this in this speech, but I think that one of the key ways of lifting people out of poverty is by strengthening trade unions and their sectoral pay bargaining ability, which I do not think even this Government—my Government—are going to do. That is key, particularly in the areas of social care and many other low-paid sectors. It would ensure that people get decent pay and attract people into those areas. It would make a massive difference.

We face real and urgent challenges in the east of England. Now, the Government—my own party’s Government—tell us not to worry, because living standards are going to rise and we have a plan for growth. But what do we mean by that? In practice, it means looking overwhelmingly at one number: disposable income, or what is left jingling in our pockets at the end of the month. Useful, yes—but adequate? No.

Reducing the richness of life to something we can measure is like trying to paint a rainbow with a single grey crayon: we get the outline, but none of the colour, none of the joy, none of the lived reality. The Indian economist and philosopher Amartya Sen warned that dignity cannot be reduced to decimal points. Martha Nussbaum, a US philosopher and ethicist, reminds us that the question is not just what we earn, but what we are free to do and to be. Kate Raworth is also right: paper prosperity that trashes the planet leaves our children bankrupt.

When we are told that living standards are up because the averages look rosy, we should remember what Danny Dorling pointed out: an average can hide a multitude of sins. If Jeff Bezos walked into a Norwich pub, the average wealth in the room would shoot through the roof, but not a single person’s pint would get cheaper—and I doubt he would get to the bar ahead of anyone else, either.

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

The hon. Gentleman knows as well as I do how rural and isolated much of Norfolk can be. I represent the oldest constituency in the country, and I have been shocked by the living standards of some of my elderly residents in isolated communities, who simply feel that there is no help out there to give them the quality of life they deserve. They, too, are lost among averages. Does he agree that poverty in rural communities across the east of England is often more hidden than in metropolitan areas, and needs to receive a similar level of attention?

[Clive Lewis]

The hon. Gentleman is a champion of such issues in his constituency, and I agree: poverty is very often out of sight, out of mind. The dispersal of rural poverty makes it easier to hide, and harder for organisations to point out, but he does a very good job of doing so. His point was well made.

Crown Estate Bill [Lords]

Steff Aquarone Excerpts

Report stage & 3rd reading
Monday 24th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Brackenridge]

I do agree with my hon. Friend, and based on the make-up of our constituencies, we come from a different angle from other Members who have raised important points in the debate. For us it is about jobs, apprenticeships and our local economy, so I back this Bill and I hope that the House will join me in doing so.

[Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)]

I want to speak to amendment 3, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Pippa Heylings), which deals specifically with coastal erosion. My constituency plays host to a whole load of energy infrastructure that is vital to our security and our renewable transition. We have the Bacton energy hub, which is on track to make the exciting transformation from being a key asset in national gas to hydrogen production and carbon capture. It is one of my constituency’s largest employers, but it is also of national significance because of the role it plays in our energy ecosystem. It is therefore understandable that, a few years ago, a £20 million sandscaping scheme was welcomed. It gave protection not only to the energy terminal but to the villages of Bacton and Walcott that surround it. One local business owner spoke of how such a scheme means he no longer feels “trepidation” when he checks the weather forecast.

Just down the coast in the village of Happisburgh, the Norfolk Boreas and the Norfolk Vanguard wind farms make their landfall. Happisburgh has been at the frontline of the coastal erosion suffered in north Norfolk, with 40 homes already lost to the ever-encroaching North sea. This is a village battling the real-world impacts of climate change, and it is doing its bit to fight back by hosting renewable energy infrastructure, but it has had no additional protections. This double standard seems deeply unfair. It is in our interest to protect the renewable energy infrastructure we are building, but it is also in our interest to protect the communities that live alongside it.

People in Happisburgh have lived with the looming threat of coastal erosion and frequently feel left behind or forgotten about, and it seems as though this is just another example of this happening. I am sure that if there were an erosion risk of this scale in central London or the south-east, the Government would move heaven and earth to take action, but in North Norfolk, right at the eastern edge of our island nation, people feel despondent about the situation they are facing. Our amendment seeks to right this wrong. We believe that when these reforms to the Crown Estate allow for new renewable energy products, efforts must be made to secure the coastline where they make landfall. Renewables are our future, and we have to make sure that the communities that host key infrastructure have a future too.

I am aware that the Minister did not support this amendment in Committee. I am not expecting the recess to have led him to a Damascene conversion, but I hope that he can provide some reassurance today on how the Government will look at this double standard for energy products and what steps they will be taking to provide protection to villages such as Happisburgh that are doing all the right things but feel they do not get their fair share back. I would also be happy to welcome him and any of his Government colleagues to Happisburgh to see the situation for themselves. I honestly believe that bearing witness to the way that our coastline is being ravaged by climate change, meeting the people it affects and understanding what we are set to lose will spark anyone into supporting radical action to stop this coming to pass. I would be delighted if the Government could back our amendment today, but if they are unable to do so, I hope that the Minister’s team will be able to provide promises of progress for the residents of Happisburgh and all the other communities who live with the existential threat of coastal erosion.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

I was on the Bill Committee and I have followed the Bill throughout, mainly because I represent Truro and Falmouth, which has huge potential to benefit from floating offshore wind, with Falmouth docks and our position in the Celtic sea. If the build-out in the Celtic sea is done quickly and done well, our young people will benefit from good, well-paid jobs in a strong local supply chain. I also want to mention the CBI report published today, which shows how the green economy has grown three times faster and has higher wages than the national average across the board. We in Falmouth could really do with some of that, so I welcome this Bill.