Derek Twigg
MP for Widnes and Halewood · Labour · United Kingdom
“Further education colleges play a crucial role in apprenticeships and in supporting education. Will the Minister tell me what extra measures the Government are bringing in to ensure that further education colleges naturally provide a wide range of education and technical skills to apprentices?”
House of Commons14 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will call Ben Obese-Jecty to move the motion and then call the Minister to respond. I remind other Members that they may make a speech only with prior permission from the Member in charge of the debate and the Minister. As is the convention for 30-minute debates, there will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up.”
House of Commons1 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As I say, we have listened to the campaigners and the ISC has accepted a way forward that addresses the concerns raised in respect of the security services. However, I believe that could have been achieved much earlier, and I would like to make a few comments about that.”
House of Commons14 July 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Our intelligence officers and agents do difficult and sometimes dangerous work so that we can live safely. They deserve our sincere thanks and praise for the job that they do and it is right that we hold them to the highest standards.”
House of Commons14 July 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I speak from a unique position, in that I was at the Hillsborough disaster, I have worked closely with the Hillsborough families to obtain justice and there are families in my constituency who lost loved ones or were injured at the Hillsborough disaster and in the Manchester Arena bombing.”
House of Commons14 July 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There has been a lack of direction and grip, with no one taking control. It seemed all too difficult for some, and that has caused the lengthy delays that we have endured. We should not ignore the fact that that has added to the anxiety and concerns of the families and campaigners.”
House of Commons14 July 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) on securing this debate and on his excellent speech. I do not intend to go over the points he made, but I want to bring some details to the attention of the Minister and describe how the issue affects my constituents, because not only cities are affected; towns such as Runcorn in my constituency are also affected. I want to talk about the Decks development, which consists of six individual blocks of flats. The Decks was built in 2007. Three blocks are seven-storey and three are six-storey, so they do not meet the definition of high-rise premises. They are clad in high pressure laminate—HPL. I want the Minister to understand how that has affected my constituents.”
House of Commons12 February 2020Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“What evidence does the Minister have that the Government’s diplomacy is having an impact on the biggest polluters, such as China and United States, in that those countries are prepared to do something more than they are doing now?”
House of Commons4 February 2020Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Many of our northern towns have great tourist attractions, such as Norton priory in Runcorn and the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes. What is the Minister doing to ensure there is more focus on getting tourism into our northern towns, not just concentrating on cities?”
House of Commons16 January 2020Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the steps that the Secretary of State has outlined to de-escalate tensions, but if those were to fail and Iran were to retaliate with an attack that resulted in the deaths of British service personnel and civilians, what would be our response?”
House of Commons7 January 2020Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Sankey canal, first opened in 1757, is an important green corridor and is used by a boat club in my constituency. It is in danger of drying out because the Fiddler’s Ferry power station, which supplies its water, is due to close next year. May we have an urgent statement or a debate involving the Environment Secretary to discuss what the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs can do to help this situation?”
House of Commons18 July 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am fortunate to have a good college, Riverside College, in my constituency. However, one thing that concerns me about the cuts and the impact of the funding problems with colleges is that adult education, which my hon. Friend just touched on, is a second chance for many people who may not have done well at school. They have another opportunity through further education to do better. We need more support for that.”
House of Commons2 April 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Christians are among the most persecuted believers in the world, and clearly we have to do more to help. I welcome what the Foreign Secretary has said about the work that he has commissioned. Are Christian women not often doubly persecuted, for both their religion and their gender? That needs looking at very closely as well; there needs to be more work around the world with Governments to tackle that problem.”
House of Commons2 April 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The report says that people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities fare worse than the rest. A number of parents in my constituency who have young people with learning difficulties in adult education find it very difficult and are in despair that their children are not going to find work. What more can the Government do to ensure that efforts are particularly focused on young people with disabilities getting into work?”
House of Commons28 March 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“But what is the Secretary of State doing about retaining GPs? This is a real problem, and we have seen more and more GPs taking early retirement in recent years. What is he doing specifically to support retention?”
House of Commons26 March 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“May we have an urgent debate in Government time on the continuing problem of the awarding of personal independence payments to people who are disabled or who have long-term health conditions? I have experienced some appalling decisions in recent weeks in my constituency. The Government have promised to try to get a grip on this, but they still have not. May I have an urgent debate on the matter?”
House of Commons21 March 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I congratulate my hon. Friend and the Select Committee on an excellent report. Like many other colleagues here today, I have many constituents who are affected by this terrible scandal. The Committee rightly addresses how people can get redress and compensation. Clearly, there is still a lot of uncertainty. For those who have already been hit, how they get redress and compensation is a big issue. During his presentation, my hon. Friend said that he does not think retrospective legislation should in any way conflict with human rights legislation. Can he say a bit more about that?”
House of Commons21 March 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The excellent speech mentioned the Government’s strategy. A perennial problem—it crops up all the time in my constituency—is the speed of diagnosis. The fact is that so many children with autism simply do not get an education. Surely the strategy must try to address that in a much better way than it has in the past.”
House of Commons21 March 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“What discussions have the Secretary of State or his officials had with local authorities, for instance, about how they can help with this strategy?”
House of Commons21 February 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on antisocial behaviour, so that we can discuss the need for more support and help for police and local authorities to deal with and prevent such behaviour? That problem has recently caused difficulties in my constituency, including some serious incidents.”
House of Commons21 February 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My constituent, Helen Hill, whose husband was murdered in 2002, has started a petition that has more than 8,000 names. The petition is about having supervision for life for murderers. I am sure the Minister understands the suffering that she has endured and is enduring to this day. Is not she the sort of person to whom he should be talking as a result of this, and will he please agree to meet me and Mrs Hill in the near future?”
House of Commons5 February 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I would like to present a petition on behalf of Ditton Nursery School and Warrington Road Nursery School, which has been signed by parents, carers and staff at those schools. I do so on the same basis as my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester Central (Lucy Powell). The petition of the pa rents, carers and staff of Ditton/Warr ington Road mai ntained nursery schools in Halto n. [P002313]”
House of Commons5 February 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Given what the Chancellor has said, why do large numbers of families in my constituency have to go to food banks? Many of them are on universal credit. Working families are having to use food banks in my constituency. What is he doing for them?”
House of Commons29 January 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That means talking more to people, and getting across the issues and difficulties that we envisage, but we must have that co-operation in order that we can move this forward. There may be a number of ways of doing that, and having indicative votes is one thing that has been talked about during this debate. The fact is that we have to listen, co-operate and find a better way of moving this forward, because it cannot continue the way it is.”
House of Commons15 January 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There are too many unresolved issues of great importance to our national interest here; the Prime Minster is asking us to take a big leap into the dark. Some 90% of constituents who have written to me or whom I have spoken to in recent weeks believe this is a bad deal—that is coming from both leavers and remainers. If this deal is rejected, it will send a strong message back to Brussels that we must find a better way forward and a better agreement, and that this Parliament will not be deterred from demanding a better deal. I will be voting against this deal, because it is bad for my constituents in Halton and bad for the UK as a whole. We have got to find a way forward. We have got to co-operate and work together in the national interest to find a solution that the people want.”
House of Commons15 January 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The idea that we should just accept the first deal she puts to this House and not challenge it just smacks of the arrogance I referred to earlier. She expects that Parliament should just roll over and accept it, and then to try to use the threat of a no-deal Brexit just insults our intelligence, as we know there is not a majority for that in this House. I might add that the leave campaign said it wanted to see a negotiated settlement, so I do not believe there is a majority in this country for leaving the EU without an agreement. With this deal we are neither fully in, nor fully out. We would have to abide by rules but with no say in what others will be making decisions on; while we look on, we would be rule takers. We would be a in weaker position than we are now.”
House of Commons15 January 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It should surprise nobody to learn that this has proved difficult. The Prime Minister could have reached out to Parliament and the Opposition from an early stage but chose not to. She could also have reached out more to the country as a whole—to the public. She cannot command a majority, but acts as if she has one. She wanted to keep MPs at arm’s length. The Prime Minister must take a great deal of responsibility for the mess we are now in. I should add that I have had constituents, including those who voted to remain, complain to me about the arrogance and behaviour of the EU in the negotiations, so it is not just the Prime Minister who has a share of the blame. However, it is only now that the deal is in trouble that the Prime Minister has wanted to have discussions with a wider set of MPs, including Opposition MPs.”
House of Commons15 January 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Over 57% of voters in Halton voted to leave the EU, and it is condescending and disrespectful to say that they did not know what they were doing. It was very clear: the overriding message I had from my constituents who voted to come out of the EU was that they wanted to end free movement of labour and take back control and have more control over our laws. Whether rightly or wrongly, people genuinely feel that is the right thing to do, and that to leave would lead to a better future for us out there. I also recognise that a large number of my constituents wanted to stay in, and like me, believe passionately that Brexit is not in the UK’s best interests, and we must also listen to their concerns. However, I made it clear at the 2017 general election that we must get on with Brexit and come up with the best possible deal.”
House of Commons15 January 2019Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My right hon. Friend is making an important point about resources, and it is clear that there are not enough. As she rightly says, it is about not just big cities but towns, too, and it is also about having the resources to detect and prevent crime and to get the intelligence. That is one of the biggest problems. It is about not only having police officers on the streets but being able to prevent crime in the first place.”
House of Commons22 May 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Although I agree that President Assad should be held accountable, a lot of opposition groups have committed human rights violations and some terrible atrocities. There has to be a very careful and balanced approach. We need to ensure that we focus on those groups, too.”
House of Commons15 May 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That was a bit of a poor answer. The number of children’s centres has halved since 2010, 350 Sure Start centres have closed, children’s services departments in local authorities are struggling with budgets and getting enough staff, and more children are being taken into care, so that answer is quite frankly not good enough. What are the Government going to do to ensure that we have more early intervention to prevent those problems from happening in the first place?”
House of Commons14 May 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I declare an interest as a season ticket holder at Liverpool. Does the Minister agree that it is appalling that Liverpool football club has been allocated only 16,626 tickets for the Champions League final, some of them costing up to £400? Liverpool is one of the best-supported clubs in the world. This is not really paying due respect to the fans who support the game.”
House of Commons10 May 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am disappointed with today’s statement, because it was not a big surprise when this happened, yet the Foreign Secretary has said that he will come back with some details later on. I do not know why that should be the case, because this was even signposted during the American election. The statement is also light on what we are going to do about the Iranians’ behaviour in the middle east. The Foreign Secretary needs to tell us now when he intends to come back to the House.”
House of Commons9 May 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When did the Secretary of State or the Minister with direct responsibility for screening last ask their officials about the accuracy of the screening programme and the robustness of the checks and assurances in place to ensure it was working properly and efficiently? When, before January this year, did he last ask his officials that?”
House of Commons2 May 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“May I ask the Minister how many local authorities his Department believes are close to not being able to carry out their statutory responsibilities for adult social care?”
House of Commons30 April 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is making a very good speech and important points. He is right that some people seem to accept the situation, so as well as this being a matter for legislation, do we not also need to change the whole culture?”
House of Commons27 April 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Q3. A National Audit Office report today says that our armed forces are 8,200 people below the current requirement, the numbers leaving the armed forces have increased and there are significant “shortfalls in critical skills”. In their 2017 manifesto, the Tory party and Prime Minister said: “We will attract and retain the best men and women for our armed forces”. Is this not just another broken promise? What has gone wrong?”
House of Commons18 April 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I hear that the problem for small businesses is that they are often denied the chance to bid for work, because they are told by various people that it is down to Government procurement rules, so local businesses, in particular, are kept out. What more is the Minister doing to ensure that local businesses get local contracts?”
House of Commons28 March 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When the Secretary of State talked about Labour spending, he seemed to forget the £8 billion invested in the west coast main line. When Labour took over back in 1997, the line was in a dreadful state, and it is so good today because of that Labour investment. The Secretary of State said several times during his statement that public satisfaction is high, that it is doing well and that it is well run, so what are his reasons for wanting to change it?”
House of Commons27 March 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. He knows that Halton Borough Council, which serves our constituencies, is under extreme pressure. It is one of the smallest councils, and its budget will have been cut by nearly 60% by the end of the Parliament. Does he agree that that puts the council’s sustainability and its ability to deliver its statutory duties, particularly for social care, at great risk?”
House of Commons20 March 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have received a document from my local authority sent out by Cheshire and Merseyside NHS which tells it that it should be looking at there being a minimum of one choice of place for people coming out of hospital into a care home, and if that cannot be met it should be looking at transitional placements. So it will have to ask people who are frail and elderly to go into transitional placements, and that will cost more money. How are people going to be able to cope with this? At the end of the day, the problem is simply this: there is not enough money; there is not enough money to pay for good quality staff; and there are not enough places. The Government should be ashamed of themselves.”
House of Commons20 March 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I fully support what the Prime Minister said in her statement and the actions that she outlined today. I have some concerns about whether we have a proper strategy in place to combat chemical weapons attacks against this country and in particular, these small-scale attacks—it is joined up with the security services, the Government and the armed forces. Will she give me some reassurance or tell me whether work is continuing to improve that?”
House of Commons14 March 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Minister’s earlier answers to questions about violence in prisons focused on prisoner violence. Our hard-working prison officers face daily violence in their jobs. I have just written to the Minister about a constituent who had urine and excrement poured over him, but let me now ask him a wider question. What is the Department doing to ensure that prison officers are given full support when they are assaulted, and also to ensure that mental health services become better than they are at present?”
House of Commons6 March 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The problem is that the national productivity investment fund is not doing anything to stop the disrepair on our roads and motorways. The Government are simply not putting in enough money for local councils and the national agency to make sure that repairs on motorways and local roads are brought up to standard. We now have a greater crisis than we have seen for some time.”
House of Commons27 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When can we have an urgent debate in Government time to discuss the state of our roads and particularly the number of potholes not just on our local roads but on motorways? Anyone who drives on the motorways will see many potholes, which are very dangerous.”
House of Commons22 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My constituent Helen Hill’s husband was murdered in 2002, and his killer was released after 10 years. Helen has recently been told that his supervision may stop four years on from his release and she has started an online petition calling for the supervision of murderers to be kept in place in for life. May we have an urgent debate on the supervision of murderers?”
House of Commons8 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is of course very important that we see integration of the two services, but the fact remains that there is just not enough money. Over a year ago, one of the Minister’s predecessors praised my authority in Halton for the work it was doing in this area, but Halton is now on the brink in terms of the money it has and its ability to deliver its statutory duties. There is simply not enough money, and the Government keep trying to avoid that.”
House of Commons6 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness and their permanence.” That is what most of my constituents feel about their great green belt.”
House of Commons6 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“If the Government are serious about their commitment to protecting the green belt and delivering sustainable growth, they need to provide funding for infrastructure—which they do not; they have a fund, but I have not seen anything coming through in any significant numbers in Halton—for land assembly and for remediation. Halton has also been told that it has to consider economic growth, but how can it do that if it does not have enough brownfield land? So the Government force it to use the green belt. Should Halton be using the green belt? Is that an exceptional reason to do that? The Government talk about exceptional circumstances. Paragraph 79 of the NPPF says: “The government attaches great importance to Green Belts.”
House of Commons6 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I want to focus on my constituency and to raise the issue of how the Government keep sending mixed messages about what has priority in local plans, how many houses should be built and the amount of business that should be put in place. I live and was born and brought up in the Halton area. Halton Borough Council is putting out a local plan for public consultation. I and many of my constituents do not agree with it, but the council tells me that, given the Government’s current rulebook—the national policy planning framework—it is impossible for the local plan to meet the NPPF requirements without going into the green belt.”
House of Commons6 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend makes an important point, and that is the situation in Halton, where we are losing the green belt within the town while our boundary is being pushed closer to neighbouring authorities.”
House of Commons6 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“A number of my constituents have faced a situation where developers have left them with leaseholds that cost them an awful lot of money. The Government say they are going to bring forward some plans to deal with that, but what are they going to do for those people who have already had the problem and have the legacy of it? I hope the Government will make sure they do this retrospectively and help the people who have been conned by the developers, in that they have been charged very high rates for their leasehold. I hope the Government will see to that. In conclusion, it is very important that the Minister listens to what Halton is saying. I am happy to meet him so that he can see what the specific challenges are in Halton, which many other authorities will have faced.”
House of Commons6 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Should it be what is important to the local community and what they want, or is it the guidance that the Government have sent out for the inspectors to deal with? We do not want inspectors coming to Halton and saying that, because the council has not done what they think it should have done, it should go back and reconsider or even that it should have powers taken away from it. The Minister really needs to address that. My constituents do not want green belt land to be built on. We have suffered a massive legacy of pollution and contaminated land. Our council has worked hard to deal with that, but we are entitled to enjoy our green space and our green belt in Halton as much as anyone anywhere else is. I wish to mention one final thing, which is the leasehold issue.”
House of Commons6 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“If things continue to follow the same path, we will have little green belt left for future generations to enjoy in my constituency. As we know, such land is very important in terms of enjoyment, exercise, mental health and so on. It is therefore very important that urbanised areas such as Halton have these spaces. I know that the new guidance is being worked on and the first stage of it will be coming out in the spring, but the Minister must answer what the defining factor is for our local authority and for our local community, who has the final say and what is the strongest weight to give to a particular argument. He and his Department, in the guidance, have consistently given out mixed messages about what should be taken into consideration, but they do not make it clear what should be given the greatest weight.”
House of Commons6 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Surely there is a balance to be struck for an area such as Halton, which has urban developed land taking up the great majority of space. Halton was really where the chemicals industry was born. It was a huge area for that industry, which provided many jobs. That was important, but the industry left a huge legacy of contaminated land in Halton. Few local authorities will have to deal with the scale of pollution that Halton Borough Council has faced. It has done a good job since 1974 in dealing with that legacy and ensuring that a lot of that land has come back into some use, but the council does not have the funds to remediate the contaminated land that is left and the Government must recognise that in their future guidance.”
House of Commons6 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Halton has run out of land to allocate for housing, yet there is still this requirement to maintain a continuous five-year supply of housing land to meet the housing delivery test. In his answer to my parliamentary question this week, the Minister said there “is not a local housing target.” The fact is that no inspector in his Department would allow any council to say, “We are not going to build any housing because we have no land left other than green belt.” The Minister can tell me that is not true and that the inspector will not impose it. I understand there is not a target, but inspectors will be working to a very clear policy framework. I am interested in what he has to say about that. Many local authorities have much more green belt than Halton.”
House of Commons6 February 2018Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗