Business of the House

Tessa Munt Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I join my hon. Friend in congratulating Ellis on raising so much money for OCD awareness; she is right to do so. It is right to celebrate young people making positive contributions to our society. We are improving access to NHS mental health support for children and young people, including those with OCD; over 40,000 more received support in this year to June than did in the previous year. To make clear to Ministers the need to continue making progress, I encourage my hon. Friend to apply for a Westminster Hall debate.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

My constituent who is approaching retirement has been quoted £2,710 for root canal treatment. With just 23% of adults in Somerset having seen an NHS dentist in the last two years, will the Leader of the House highlight the problems with access to NHS dentists, and ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to reform dental services and end the south-west’s status as a dental desert?

Business of the House

Tessa Munt Excerpts

Thursday 22nd October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I join my hon. Friend in congratulating all those behind the Southport Music Board and the Southport Creatives collective on their work, as well as everyone involved in making local arts events a success. The Government are very much committed to supporting local communities in this regard. I encourage him to apply for a Westminster Hall debate so that he can make his point in more detail for his constituents to hear, which would be a cause for greater pride in their fantastic community.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

My constituent is owed more than £29,000 in child maintenance arrears, which the Child Maintenance Service has decided to write off even though the ombudsman ruled that the money was owed. The service says that recovery is too difficult and that historical failures by its predecessor, the Child Support Agency, cannot be retrospectively reviewed. This affects children, directly and cumulatively, and indicates a lamentable lack of care and compassion for young people. Will the Leader of the House urge the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to undertake a full review and reform of the performance of the Child Maintenance Service so that this does not keep happening?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The Government recognise that parents’ experiences of the Child Maintenance Service do not meet the standards that should be expected. There are sometimes difficult issues to address, but the expected standards are simply not being met, and that is why we have committed to reforming the system. I will ensure that the relevant Minister has heard what the hon. Lady has said today.

Business of the House

Tessa Munt Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am very tempted, but I am rather frightened that they will retain me as a fossil if I go! I pay tribute the people my hon. Friend mentioned for everything that is happening; I wish them well and thank them. She allows me to say what I have said before on these occasions, which is that volunteers are so important. They are the golden thread that runs through our communities. This is a remarkable achievement.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

Metachromatic leukodystrophy, known as MLD, is a devastating genetic disease that progressively destroys the nervous system. Children born apparently healthy lose their ability to walk, talk, see, hear, swallow and then, eventually, breathe. Most do not live to enjoy their fifth birthday. Existing MLD treatment on the NHS is highly effective at halting the disease and is delivered at the Royal Manchester Children’s hospital, but early diagnosis is essential. We already test newborn babies for 10 conditions. Without the need to take any additional blood, MLD screening could be added to each newborn baby’s heel prick test at a cost of 17p per test. Will the Leader of the House ask the Department of Health and Social Care to meet me to discuss this simple and inexpensive solution, which would save the life of a child per month in this country?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I agree with the hon. Lady that for those affected by MLD, it can be a devastating and life-changing disease. She is absolutely right to say that early diagnosis is essential and highly effective at halting the disease. It is important that every Government Department, but especially the Department of Health and Social Care, looks at ways of investing early on to make sure that there is not even greater cost and tragedy further down the line. I am happy to try to facilitate a meeting with the relevant Minister so that she can discuss the matter further.

Business of the House

Tessa Munt Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am sorry that my right hon. Friend has had to give the House such a distressing update. As he asks, I will take this away and raise it with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. I am sure that the Department will not wait for a statement before making its representations to the Chinese authorities.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

As the Leader of the House knows, it is World Suicide Prevention Day. Suicide is the leading cause of death among under-35s. After nearly 30 years, Papyrus, the national youth suicide prevention charity, went into administration two days ago. Its HopeLine, a 24/7 crisis service, ceased with immediate effect. One of my constituents is absolutely terrified about their young adult child returning to university without Papyrus’s support, on which they were entirely reliant. Does the Leader of the House agree with me that this charity’s collapse is catastrophic for younger people? Will he speak to his colleagues about crisis support for young people and young adults immediately?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am obviously concerned about the collapse of Papyrus, and I will raise the hon. Lady’s concerns with colleagues. In previous responses, I have outlined our strategy and what we intend to do going forward, but I understand the urgency of what she is saying, so I will take it up with colleagues.

Business of the House

Tessa Munt Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I will try to reassure my hon. Friend: even though ministerial responsibility might change, there will still be departmental and ministerial responsibility for such really important matters in this place. We will continue to have an opportunity to question, and to request statements from, Ministers who are accountable to this House.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

Like others, one of my constituents inherited responsibility for a retirement property on the death of the resident. It has been on the market since 2022, incurring annual costs of about £14,000. It has a falling sale value, and there is ground rent, service charges, council tax and an exit fee. The landlord forbids subletting, even though it is renting out its own properties on the same site, and there is an over-55 residency restriction, so neither the beneficiaries nor their adult children, who are struggling to get on to the property ladder, can live in the property. Would the Leader of the House ask his ministerial colleagues to look at the protections for families trapped by retirement housing leases, including the cost elements I referred to—the huge service charges on empty properties and empty-home council tax—and age restrictions on occupancy?

Business of the House

Tessa Munt Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

My hon. Friend is a great champion for her fantastic constituency, and she highlights a theme of many of our sessions, which is that Reform offers a great deal in order to get elected and then delivers very little when elected. Perhaps because I am an optimist, I hope that South Tyneside council has heard what she has said and changes its mind. I also hope that the affected residents reflect on that and do everything they can for the campaign because, knowing my hon. Friend very well, I can guarantee that she is not going to give up on this.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

I herald the passage into law of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, but many will be disappointed that the judge in Tuesday’s High Court hearing had to rule, under current legislation, that the Chinook families were out of time to challenge the Ministry of Defence, which has kept secrets and hidden the truth from them for decades. Will the Leader of the House ask the new Prime Minister and his colleagues to consider how victims of cover-ups might know or discover that they were or are victims of a cover-up, so that they can challenge in good time any Department that is doing the covering up, and to ensure that legislation associated with the Hillsborough Bill guarantees transparency for victims, not just time limits that protect Government Departments?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

As the hon. Lady suggests, the next Prime Minister was absolutely central to helping to deliver the Public Office (Accountability) Bill. It is crucial that we got that Bill through this place, and I hope it will see the statute book, but, as the hon. Lady has alluded to, that is just the first step. It is often about changing the culture in institutions. I know the next Prime Minister well, and he is not going to give up on this matter either.

Business of the House

Tessa Munt Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The Government’s position remains clear. Settlements are illegal under international law. They undermine international efforts to secure a just and lasting peace in the Middle East and risk doing permanent damage to the prospects of a secure and viable Palestinian state being able to live in peace alongside a secure Israel. We have a debate on this matter this afternoon, and I hope that my hon. Friend will be able to attend it to make his case.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

Last month, the High Court issued its judgment permitting the development of 119 homes in a flood risk area in the village of Yatton in Somerset. The site had failed the flood risk sequential test. The judgment prioritises building and development over protection against flooding and imperils existing homes and businesses in the area, and flies in the face of everything that insurers, lenders, Flood Re, the Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are trying to do. Will the Leader of the House ask his colleagues in DEFRA and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to assess jointly the likely impact of the judgment, which may set a national precedent whereby flood risk assessments shall be ignored?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

Yes, I will, and I will seek an update for the hon. Lady.

Business of the House

Tessa Munt Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The work and dedication to their community of individuals like Wendy, Val and the residents of Bradeley village are an inspiration to us all, and I am pleased that my hon. Friend brought that story to us. I join him in thanking them for everything they do; indeed, I thank community volunteers right across our country because, as I have described them before, they are the golden thread that tie our communities together.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

My constituent Dean Collier chairs Priddy folk festival, a local volunteer-run community event that for 34 years has brought really good music to the village and raised money for the village facilities. For 20 years, campers and festival-goers used metered water in a tap on the village green. Bristol Water remove that meter last year so the organisers can no longer use the tap. The mains pipe to the village has a standpipe point in a perfect location, but Bristol Water has outsourced its supply standpipes to a company called Aquam, which refuses to fit a standpipe if people are going to drink the water.

We have a mains pipe full of potable water, a water company happy for it to be used, a subcontractor that will not allow a metered standpipe, and 5,000 thirsty folk music fans coming in a fortnight’s time. Can the Leader of the House ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs urgently to knock some heads together so that we can get a supply of drinking water at community events, and ask her what steps she can take to ensure that where there is a potable mains supply and an approved standpipe connection—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. I call the Leader of the House.

Business of the House

Tessa Munt Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

My hon. Friend is a doughty fighter for her constituency, and I share her support for and appreciation of the work of the coastguard service. She will have heard my response to the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) and the offer I extended to him. A Transport Minister has said that they will meet concerned MPs, and I extend that offer to my hon. Friend. Should she seek a Westminster Hall debate or an Adjournment debate, I am sure it would be well attended, because this matter will affect a number of constituencies.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

May I raise the matter of repayments of overpaid corporation tax identified by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs after a company has been dissolved? Businesses in my part of Somerset have had repayments, but they are not able to cash them; it is their money, but the business no longer exists, so effectively the cheque cannot be paid in, and the account has quite rightly been closed. Will the Leader of the House encourage the Chancellor to assess the current processes, including the transfer of such funds to the bona vacantia division, so that former shareholders of solvent but dissolved companies can recover funds in a way that is successful? That is particularly the case for small businesses.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I draw to the attention of the hon. Lady the fact that it is Treasury questions next week. She might want to raise this issue then, but I will also draw her remarks to the attention of Treasury Ministers and see if one of them can provide an update.

Business of the House

Tessa Munt Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this matter—she is a champion for sports and inclusion—and I am sorry to hear of the experience of some girls in her constituency. The Government are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality grassroots sports facilities, which are such an important part of our local communities, and we are investing £85 million in those facilities to increase participation, particularly among women and girls. That includes providing funding for clubhouses and changing rooms, and I hope that clubs will pay attention to that and make it a success. I encourage my hon. Friend to raise this matter at Culture, Media and Sport questions next week.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

A constituent of mine who runs a small specialist defence and security business in my patch carried out £250,000 of work on a nationally significant submarine disposal programme for the Submarine Delivery Agency during a contract renewal period. The work was accepted and used, as has happened at contract boundary times on seven occasions in the past four years, but this time payment has not been made on the grounds that no purchase order was issued. Would the Leader of the House ask the Defence Secretary to look into the agency’s failure to pay for this work, which was delivered and accepted, even though it is the agency lead and all operational stakeholders have said that the work was of value and should be compensated? Could he also arrange for my constituent and me to have a meeting with the relevant Minister to resolve the matter of this outstanding bill?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

This Government are absolutely committed to ensuring that, wherever possible, we use British businesses for our contracts. I am sorry to hear of the experiences of the hon. Lady’s constituent, and I will raise the matter with the Secretary of State, if she gives me the details later. Following that, should a meeting be necessary, I am sure I can help to arrange one.