Business of the House

Debate between Tom Gordon and Lucy Powell

Thursday 27th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

Absolutely. I am sorry to hear that the hill farming course that my hon. Friend describes is no longer available; that does not sound like a good development. As part of our programme of skills and education, I know that Ministers will be keen to discuss with her how we can ensure that agricultural education such as hill farming is at the centre of our thoughts.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

At PMQs yesterday, we were joined by my constituent Harry Brown and his family, who were in the Speaker’s Gallery. Harry battled childhood cancer and overcame it. After PMQs, I spoke to him about his experience. He told me how, throughout his treatment, he had to travel from the Royal Victoria infirmary in Newcastle to Great Ormond Street. Will the Leader of the House provide Government time for a debate on how we can better support childhood cancers and treat people closer to home?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Member for bringing Harry Brown into Parliament yesterday and for talking to him at great length about his experiences. He is absolutely right: we need a balance between ensuring that we have specialist care, which is often centred in certain places, and ensuring that there is care in the community. That is at the heart of what we are doing to make sure that there is good preventative and community NHS care for all those who need it, all the time.

Business of the House

Debate between Tom Gordon and Lucy Powell

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

This matter is also raised with me a lot, both in business questions and by my constituents. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we need to end the feudal leasehold system, which is trapping innocent homeowners in properties that they are unable to get mortgages on or to sell, which is shocking�we have called it �fleecehold� many times before. We are taking a number of steps, including implementing the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. We are moving forward on commonhold with the White Paper, and later this year we will introduce draft legislation for a fundamental root-and-branch reform of leasehold. However, I will ensure that the Minister for Housing and Planning comes to the House regularly to update us.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

I recently visited the beautiful village of Burton Leonard in my constituency for the 100th anniversary of its women�s institute branch. Will the Leader of the House join me in celebrating the fact that it has made it to 100 and hope that it has many more years to come? Will she also consider whether there is time for a Government debate on the importance of local community organisations and how we can ensure that they have funding support?

[Lucy Powell]

As we celebrate International Women�s Day, it is a good day to recognise the valuable work of women�s institutes across the country, including in Burton Leonard. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that those sorts of voluntary organisations provide a huge service to our communities and deserve a long-term future.

Business of the House

Debate between Tom Gordon and Lucy Powell

Thursday 27th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I know how unsightly and disturbing such things can be for the people who live around them, so I join my hon. Friend in those calls. Hastings borough council is run by the Green party. There are no Green Members present, but perhaps they could pull their finger out and get the bus moved.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

I recently met volunteers who run the Harrogate Competitive Festival for Music, Speech and Drama, a charity that has been going for almost 90 years. It has over 250 different classes and categories, 800 entries to its competitions, and more than 1,300 children taking part every year. I heard about how it gives confidence, and boosts people’s skills and ability to speak and perform in front of large audiences. The charity used to receive funding from the local authority, but that has been stopped since 2016. Will the Leader of the House allow for a debate in Government time on the importance of supporting the performing arts?

[Lucy Powell]

I know how important festivals such as the Harrogate festival that the hon. Gentleman describes are for young people, giving them the opportunity to try out their performing arts skills and be assessed. As he says, many of those festivals are funded by local government, which has seen its budget stripped to the core in recent years. That is why we boosted local government funding in the recent Budget, and why we are looking at three-year settlements, which will give local government the chance to fund such things. We are also considering how we can support culture and the creative curriculum for young people. I am sure that he welcomes that.

Business of the House

Debate between Tom Gordon and Lucy Powell

Thursday 6th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

Like my hon. Friend, I fully support the hospitality industry. I recognise the unease and worry of many in the industry about how difficult business is at the moment; we have seen demand fall over recent years and costs go up as inflation went through the roof under the previous Government. We had to take difficult steps in the Budget to fix the foundations of the economy and ensure much-needed investment in our public services. We have tried to mitigate the impact of those steps as much as possible for small businesses, and 50% of the smallest businesses will not pay any additional national insurance contributions; in fact, many will see cuts. I hope to work with her and others to continue to reassure the hospitality sector.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

Last week, I met the Harrogate branch of the National Autistic Society and heard first-hand stories of issues faced by people with autism, including getting a diagnosis, getting help and support into employment, and stigma. Will the Leader of the House provide Government time for a debate on the challenges that autistic people face and how we can do more to support them?

[Lucy Powell]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s meeting with the Harrogate branch of the National Autistic Society. Autism and other special educational needs and disabilities are regularly raised in these sessions. We have already had some debates. The Government and local authorities are putting more support into special educational needs, which could help to support people in his community. I will ensure there is ample time to debate these issues.

Business of the House

Debate between Tom Gordon and Lucy Powell

Thursday 23rd January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising the matter. Last month’s debate was an opportunity to hear those powerful testimonies, and I commend him and the campaigners for continuing to raise this important issue, which was a live one in the last Parliament as well. The Government are carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes report, and I will ensure that the House is updated at the earliest opportunity on the Government’s reflections. I encourage him to apply for a Backbench Business debate on the Floor of the House on those important matters, because I know they would be well attended.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

A year ago today, the former MPs Theresa May and Sir George Howarth launched their inquiry report into type 1 diabetes and disordered eating. The report made a number of recommendations to ensure the funding and continuation of the T1DE pilot services that have been started around the country. Since then, two services have shut down, in London and on the south coast in Bournemouth, and the remaining five pilot sites, including in the Humber and North Yorkshire, are set to run out of funding in March. If that happens, vulnerable patients will be put at risk. Will the Leader of the House allow a debate in Government time on this issue as a matter of urgency?

[Lucy Powell]

I join the hon. Member in paying tribute to the former Prime Minister and, I think, former Leader of the House on their campaigning on type 1 diabetes. He is absolutely right that ensuring we have community-led preventive services for type 1 diabetes and other infections or diseases is the focus of this Government, and that is absolutely as it should be. I will ensure that he gets a ministerial response about the closing of those services, what has caused that and what plans the Government have to take that forward, and I will ensure that he is updated.

Business of the House

Debate between Tom Gordon and Lucy Powell

Thursday 16th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I think we can all identify with the plight of constituents who are experiencing unnecessary and badly co-ordinated roadworks, and all the congestion and disruption they cause. The Government want to see more local authorities introduce lane rental schemes, and I will ensure that the relevant Minister supports my hon. Friend’s call for such a scheme in his constituency.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

Last week, I met representatives of the Environment Agency at Knaresborough lido, which was granted bathing water status last year thanks to the hard work of local campaigners and the former MP, Andrew Jones. The Environment Agency has said that, unlike other rivers with sewage and pollution issues, which are usually due to adverse weather events and heavy rain, the issue on the River Nidd looks to be continuous, regardless of the weather. It is particularly bad during dry spells, which leads the Environment Agency to believe that it is down to housing developments that might be inadvertently, or deliberately in some cases, tapping into existing sewerage networks. Will the Leader of the House speak with her colleagues in the relevant Department to ensure that, when we look at the issue of water quality, we also consider how it is affected by housing development?

[Lucy Powell]

The hon. Member is right to raise that issue. Core to the conversations that are happening between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is that nature, including the issues of water supply, sewage and so on, is vital when we consider housing plans. None the less, I will ensure that he gets a reply on the case that he raises.