Melanie Onn
MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes · Labour · United Kingdom
“That space has been an eyesore since 2016, and another housing association, the council or the charitable sector could easily access it and build much-needed new homes in the town centre, to prevent the doughnut effect of town centres being hollowed out.”
“Of course we need more council homes and social homes, and it is welcome that the Bill makes provision for just that. But for the lack of social housing, we would not see the growth in houses in multiple occupation, which are blighting communities up and down the country.”
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman very much for supporting me on that point; this is an issue that affects many constituencies across the country. Housing associations are purveyors of social homes, so there needs to be a review of their accountability and the expectations of how well they work with local authorities.”
“Social homes will be the places that provide them with security and comfort in their older years. The Minister will not be surprised to hear me move on to the issue of empty homes—this is not the first time that I have mentioned it to him. There are nearly 2,000 in my constituency.”
“A development of 1,500 properties is proposed for near Weelsby Woods, which is a designated nature corridor in my constituency. Within that, there are no designations of social housing, no suggestion of doctor’s surgeries and no consideration of the potential road congestion.”
“I thank the Secretary of State for very timely and welcome statement. Let me point to a good development in Grimsby—a really good example of town centre housebuilding that is working with local housing associations.”
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“If we want to see an increase in clean energy generation, we need more announcements such as the one we saw last week on the development of carbon capture, usage and storage. Although that is incredibly welcome and a sign of determined action from the new Government, there is still more to be done. Perhaps the Minister can give an indication of when he anticipates he will be able to announce progress on track 1 extension, and share some information on track 2, because that would secure thousands of jobs in the Humber region.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and for securing this important and timely debate—this is an issue of concern across all our constituencies. On the economics, is she aware of the savings credit available to over-75s who are not in receipt of pension credit but who do have a small amount of savings? This is a Government payment and gives people access to other benefits as well, operating as a gateway in the same way as pension credit. Does my hon. Friend think the Government should do more to publicise that payment?”
“The Secretary of State will be aware of Air Products, which intends to invest £2 billion in northern Lincolnshire and green hydrogen projects. Does he agree that that investment would not only transform the south bank of the Humber, including my constituency of Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, bringing 1,400 new jobs, but be an ideal project to include in the global investment summit? Perhaps he would be interested in meeting representatives of Air Products and me at some point.”
“T5. Are there any plans to crack down on the dodgy vape shops that are damaging the appearance of our high streets? Is consideration being given to improving trading standards to protect our young people and children who are exploited by these premises?”
“Companies from all over the world are basing themselves in Grimsby, Cleethorpes and the surrounding northern Lincolnshire area. Bringing senior executives to our richly experienced and active corner of the country is essential, but it is really embarrassing to send them on delayed trains or a two-coach, 50-year-old chugger with no modern amenities on it.”
“Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) will know, heading outside to join a lengthy queue and eventually clamber into a shared taxi with other fed up and rather confused passengers. For those who do not use the trains often, the lack of information, the lack of updates and the paucity of any assistance with luggage or perhaps mobility struggles really puts them off using the railways, especially when they pay a premium for the privilege. With most international business travellers flying into London airports, the route between Grimsby and Cleethorpes and London is an absolutely essential one. One of our refineries is owned by the Americans, the fabric company Lenzing is Austrian, Ørsted is Danish, RWE is German, Knauf is also German, and Sofina is Canadian.”
“But, whatever the history, the fact of the matter is that, today, despite some patchy resurfacing in short stretches, the noise for drivers is so loud that speaking at a normal volume to a passenger sat right next to them is impossible and hearing travel alerts on the radio is also impossible. I am convinced that it must be damaging to the hearing of people who regularly drive on that road for work, education or leisure purposes. As for the trains, I absolutely defy anybody who says they have not experienced a delay at Doncaster. Usually they come later on, in the evening. For more regular travellers, perhaps that results in just a roll of the eyes and settling down in the waiting room for an hour or more to wait for the next connection, or, as the hon.”
“Add in some roadworks or rail replacement services, and somewhere with better, faster transport links tips the balance and ends up getting the investment. The current situation for an away fan driving to support their team at Blundell Park—let us say Bradford; there was a recent match that we were triumphant in—down the A180 on to Cleethorpe Road and then Grimsby Road is an inexplicably loud, juddering journey along a 50-year-old concrete road. The urban myth of the road is that an American firm were contracted to lay experimental surfacing and rolled it the wrong way, so the friction is higher and more pronounced as the cars drive the opposite way to how they do in the States, so it generates much more noise.”
“We know that being easily able to access places is key to securing additional inward investment, growing economic prosperity for and on behalf of the people who live there. It dispels some of the sense of being separate or isolated from the rest of the country. Currently, despite the fact that we have a busy dual carriageway linking us to the central spine of the country; regular-ish direct rail services across to Liverpool in 3 hours 26 minutes via Doncaster, Sheffield and Manchester and to Leicester in 2 hours 36 minutes via Lincoln and Nottingham—the Minister will be pleased to know that—and a brilliant little airport in Kirmington that has flights direct to Schiphol and Aberdeen, we are still considered hard to access.”
“We produce omega-3 rich food for the country’s dinner plates and eco-fibres for our clothes. We host the world’s largest port by tonnage. We are the hub for new vehicle distribution around the UK. We are the star coastal beachy getaway—someone in the Chamber may want to challenge me on that at some point—for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, delivering excellent hospitality. We deliver national training in offshore wind and high-skill engineering. As a thriving and proud footballing town, we draw crowds weekly from all over the country, keen to support their team down at Blundell Park. My point, in highlighting all these activities, is to demonstrate the economic importance of the Humber, and the south bank in particular, not only to those locals who benefit from the work and the products, but to the whole country.”
“I am delighted to welcome the Minister to her place, and I am pleased to be able to raise these important issues on behalf of my constituents in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes and also the wider region. The Minister will be aware that road and rail connectivity to Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes has been a long-standing issue, which many before us have tried and failed to resolve, but I am hopeful that we will be able to move things on substantially for the greater wellbeing and economic benefit of northern Lincolnshire and the Humber generally. The Minister knows that despite being out on the coast, northern Lincolnshire plays a critical part in the nation’s energy and fuel generation, being the country’s centre of offshore wind operational management and repairs.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. He makes an important point. We cannot grow one area of—I will not say “corner” again—our patch, our kingdom of Lincolnshire without growing the other. The ability to travel across the county is incredibly important.”
“I have been unable to find much more than a hope from the previous Transport Minister. I am concerned that, perhaps, false hope has been provided to residents in my constituency. I am conscious of time, and I want to let the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) speak for a few minutes because I know that he is keen to contribute, but I will finish by saying that back in 2003, the then MP for Cleethorpes, Shona McIsaac, had a debate on exactly the same issue relating to the A180. At that time, a 10-year resurfacing programme was in place, promising action between 2002 and 2005. Here we are again. Please, will the Minister assist me in making some progress for my constituents?”
“I admire the hon. Gentleman’s ability to get South Antrim into a debate about northern Lincolnshire, and I support his opportunity to do that. It is totally unsuitable to have such antiquated amenities. It is no surprise that instead of coming to Grimsby, Cleethorpes or Immingham, businesspeople will instead go direct from London to Hull from King’s Cross. As Humber-based businesses, they stay in accommodation there, perhaps with a trip over the Humber bridge for half a day. That is not enough for us to be able showcase our whole northern Lincolnshire offering. In June, my predecessor—and my successor, actually—announced on social media that a direct train would be up and running by Christmas. I wonder if the Minister could enlighten us on the background of that assertion?”
“The Secretary of State is right to point out that the previous Government presided over the failed fifth auction round for the offshore wind sector. It was devastating. I congratulate him on achieving success for this important industry, but part of the measure of that success will be the wider industrial benefits, including good jobs. What action will he take to make sure that coastal communities such as mine see those jobs, as well as training and manufacturing?”
“Could the Minister expand on his earlier answer relating to devolution, and perhaps provide a timeframe for some of the discussions that are taking place with local authorities about devolution plans that did not go ahead before the last general election? My constituents are very keen to move ahead with improvements to transport, education and inward investment.”
“The future of young people in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes is a concern not just for me but for the local authority and the wider community. There is a strong desire across the constituency not just for available and plentiful opportunities for children and students, but for the provision to get them into those opportunities easily. The young people of Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes have all the same ambition and talent as young people anywhere else in the country, and I want that ambition and talent to be nurtured, with the right structures in place to enable and lift every single one of them.”
“The principle behind the move towards academisation is to build on the college’s strong track record of support for local schools and academies, and engagement with employers and other organisations on initiatives to materially change young people’s lives. The change in status would allow the college to support the area’s schools and employers to meet future need for highly educated, highly skilled young people. For growing local industries, such as clean energy, that is absolutely necessary. Perhaps the Secretary of State or her team could write to advise me on how that process can be moved along to the next stage. That would give confidence and clarity to the college and potential future partners, and would be of benefit to the whole of northern Lincolnshire and beyond.”
“I ask the House to give me a little leeway to talk specifically about academisation. I would not ordinarily rise to speak in favour of academies as a broad-brush educational principle, but that is the landscape that we currently find ourselves in—one that Franklin college would like to explore as an empty multi-academy trust. It would be a local, substantial system-led MAT for northern and coastal Lincolnshire. That status has been applied for via a very exceptional route, as I understand it, but the application is currently sitting with regional directors of the DFE, despite the proposal being widely supported by local stakeholders.”
“I was going to ask how long the review process would take, but the Secretary of State took the wind right out of my sails by saying that it will be complete by the end of the year, That is excellent and welcome news, and I congratulate the team on taking that process seriously and putting a set of measures in place swiftly. As part of that review, the Government could consider allowing students to enrol on all 134 existing applied general qualifications—the AGQs that have been mentioned—up to and including the 2026-27 academic year. If it helps the Government make a decision, that would cost nothing because funding was not due to be withdrawn until 1 August 2025, and it would avoid the concern about young people disengaging entirely from education without options such as BTecs being available.”
“They have done amazing work and provided an outstanding education establishment for a growing number of young people. I wish him well in his retirement. I welcome the incoming principal, Wendy Ellis, who I am confident will continue that excellent work and—like Peter—will never lose her enthusiasm for young people. It is imperative for the young people of Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes that a plan for BTecs is put in place swiftly to ensure that there is sufficient time for colleges to advertise courses and for students to know what is available in time for the 2025 terms.”
“For those for whom the strictures of the current school system have not captured their skills or energies, BTecs allow for broad exploration of a working area and provide another route into university or employment. Franklin sixth form college in my constituency—which was my college—has had great success. Its BTec students have gone on to work as paramedics, in nursing and in engineering. I take this opportunity to commend the outgoing principal, Peter Kennedy, on his excellent work during his time at the college, when it has gone from “requires improvement” to “outstanding” in its Ofsted inspections. I know that he would want me to recognise the excellent support that he has had from his governors and staff, who have supported his vision for the growth and improvement of the college.”
“Applied general qualifications lend themselves well to young people who are not sure about their career path but have an interest in a particular sector or industry. I talked about young people with SEND whom the cycle of repeating maths and English does not suit; BTecs may be the right route for them. They are flexible, they sit well alongside other academic qualifications such as A-levels and apprenticeships, and they can be studied as stand-alone courses. When we in Labour talk about opportunity, surely flexibility and a range of options to support young people through their learning and education must feature. The Secretary of State speaks of breaking the class ceiling, and BTecs enable that very thing.”
“Both face an increasingly challenging environment. During my previous time in Parliament, I championed those nursery schools and secured additional funding for them, but that was only temporary; again, our local Conservative council is seeking to reduce the number of state-maintained nurseries, due to a funding shortage. I ask that that be looked at as a matter of urgency. As has just been mentioned, the Conservative Government had started the process of scrapping BTecs—a decision that the Protect Student Choice campaign has described as “reckless”. It will be welcomed across the sector that this new Labour Government have decided to pause and review that decision. BTec qualification are well understood by employers.”
“They can become trapped in a never-ending cycle of trying to achieve level 1 or level 2 qualifications in maths and English—qualifications that sometimes they are just not going to achieve. That just sets them up repeatedly for failure. I urge the new Secretary of State and her team to take a look at that and perhaps consider being more flexible. We should view education in the light of supporting young people to achieve their maximum potential, and not focus on that very narrow academic path. I associate myself with the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) on state-maintained nurseries. We have the state-maintained Great Coates village nursery in my constituency, and Scartho nursery school sits just outside my constituency, but services children within it.”
“The parents of children there with special educational needs are very concerned about their education, because the schools lack capacity and the places to meet the needs of the area. The parents also have concerns that if their children cannot go to local schools, they will have to go out of area. That adds pressure to children, who will perhaps have to move away from friendship groups, and to families, because there would be additional travel time, and they would be further away if issues arose with the child in that out-of-area placement. That is incredibly difficult for families. We should also mention the problems when children with special educational needs or disabilities reach the 16-plus point in education.”
“Congratulations on your election, Madam Deputy Speaker, and on taking your place. It is wonderful to see you here. I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) on his maiden speech. It was very moving, informative and funny, exactly as maiden speeches as ought to be, and I hope that he has a successful time in this place. I welcome the Secretary of State’s comments on children with special educational needs, but I want to raise an issue that has already been mentioned a number of times: the lack of available school spaces for children with special educational needs. I want to talk about two schools in my Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituency, Cambridge Park academy and Humberston Park school.”
“I welcome the Leader of the House to her place. Will she join me in congratulating the business-led 2025 Group, which is celebrating the many positives of working in Grimsby and Cleethorpes? Could we have time to debate the importance of our town centres and the ongoing need for high street regeneration, and to recognise the dire impact on local economies of delayed repairs to infrastructure such as Corporation bridge in my constituency?”
“I welcome the Lord Chancellor and her team to their places on the Front Bench. Further to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Southgate and Wood Green (Bambos Charalambous), is expanding this scheme to include unfair indeterminate sentences not worth further consideration? That would provide an additional 2,700 potential early releases.”
“I welcome the Secretary of State and his team to their place. He will know that my constituency has benefited hugely from offshore wind, particularly in operations and maintenance, but the critical part of the supply chain has failed to be produced. What does he suggest that Members across the House can do to ensure we get the supply chain right so that my constituents can benefit from that investment?”
“Yesterday, I and a number of my colleagues signed early-day motion 57, in the name of my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Frank Field), as a public indication of support for the withdrawal agreement Bill through which we would have been able to secure some amendments that would give peace of mind, hopefully to Labour colleagues, that workers’ rights would not be undermined after we leave the EU. Does the Business Secretary share my disappointment that rather than bringing the Bill through this House, enabling us all to talk about these things and trying to get the strongest amendments possible, the Prime Minister has instead chosen to pull his Bill?”
“Old Market Place and Rutland Street in Great Grimsby have both experienced incredibly violent knife crime, including the on-street killing of a homeless man. Will Operation Galaxy, launched by Humberside police today, look at what changes need to be made to the built environment so that my constituents can feel safe again? Can the Minister also say how much money Humberside police will be getting out of the £25 million announced?”
“This is the latest in a long line of warm words from the Conservatives on the environment while we have seen the end of solar subsidies and support for biomass, no support for onshore wind, the sale of the Green Investment Bank, and the end of funding for the Swansea tidal lagoon. My hon. Friend the Member for Wakefield, who is no longer in her place, prevented those on the Government Benches and the Liberal Democrats from selling off our precious woodlands to the highest bidder. We have also moved away from revolutionary zero carbon homes. We really do need a Government who will put the environment at the heart of everything that they do, not a Government who, sadly, see a cheap photo opportunity while they sell the prospects for prosperity of the next generation down the river.”
“Given that a report by Unchecked highlighted the slashing of the Environment Agency budget by more than 60% under Lib Dem and Conservative austerity Governments resulting in an 80% drop in prosecutions, despite weekly serious pollution incidents, may I ask the Minister whether she shares the concerns of the Institute for Government and Prospect that the current funding mechanism could leave the proposed Office for Environmental Protection similarly vulnerable to underfunding by Governments who simply want to avoid environmental scrutiny? The Prime Minister promised a world-class watchdog to improve on current standards, but what we have is a lapdog and a Prime Minister who cannot be trusted to keep his promises, even when the livelihoods of the next generation depend upon it.”
“Friend the Member for Wakefield (Mary Creagh), who is not currently in her place, highlighted how little progress had been made to deal with the concerns raised by both the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and the EAC about the lack of independence of the proposed Office for Environmental Protection and its legal enforcement powers. They are, in the words of Professor Maria Lee of University College London, “strikingly weak” for those who fall foul of protection of our environment. Will this enforcement body have the tools necessary to carry out its functions?”
“There is a need to get the targets right, but time is fleeting in the race to save our environment, and in many cases the earlier action is taken, the less work is needed overall to hit environmental goals in long-term strategies. Can the Minister confirm tonight that the Government plan to bring forward targets long before then, and certainly so that we are not left with no environmental targets when we leave the transition period? Even if the Government miss their own targets, the enforcement method mooted to replace the EC in judging the Government on their environmental record is not fit for purpose. A letter from the Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, my hon.”
“Our environment is the most important resource that we have—no amount of money or social capital can replace the rivers on which we rely for irrigation and water, the soil that we need to grow food, and the air that gives us life. We need to get the Bill right if we want to look our children and grandchildren in the eye and truly say that we have left them with a better future through our actions. Under this Bill, the Government could sit on their hands for three whole years before setting legally binding, long-term environmental targets that would be due at the very least 15 years after the target was set. Why is there a need for such a long delay?”
“I feel I cannot be alone in being completely and utterly confused, so perhaps the Leader of the House could just explain this to me. Did the Government pass the Second Reading of the withdrawal agreement Bill or not? Did the Government succeed in winning on their Queen’s Speech? I cannot understand why, after just two weeks, this Government seem to be throwing in the towel, rather than getting this really important legislation through—having the discussions, having the battle and sorting it out here in Parliament where it ought to be done.”
“Ørsted recently opened an east coast hub in my constituency. It is committed to providing local employment opportunities as part of its business, but sadly the extension of the non-EEA visa waiver to the offshore wind workers means that some companies can exploit underpaid and overworked foreign labour rather than developing local opportunities. Will the Government commit themselves to ending the waiver next year?”
“I am sorry to say that there is a difficulty and a fundamental issue of trust in the Prime Minister’s word. If he tells the House that he is committing to reviews of matters such as unfair dismissal protections, including reducing the qualifying period from two years to one year, and anomalies in employee terms and conditions in relation to TUPE regulations, will the Government write into the Bill the date by which BEIS will begin the consultations on those really important rights?”
“In the light of the growth in food banks, discretionary housing payments and reliance on high-rate payday lenders, does the Leader of the House agree that this House should debate the importance of continuing council tax support payments for those with disabilities or on low incomes with children under five?”
“Is not the truth that the proof of this policy pudding is in the eating, and that comes down to the reality of what parents and children see in their schools? In many schools in my Grimsby constituency there is now a policy of non-replacement of support staff. That means there is not enough support to go around for children with special educational needs, those working in offices and those doing lunchtime supervision. That is the reality of education in the country today.”
“Indeed, we are led by a Prime Minister who said that wind farms could not “pull the skin off a rice pudding”. Action on climate change is not just necessary to protect our future; it can also provide future-proofed and sustainable jobs for many of our communities. We have seen glimpses of that prosperity already through the wonderful work of companies such as Ørsted in Great Grimsby. I was pleased to open its new £14 million east coast hub, and it also works with local schools and colleges to train the next generation of workers to be ready for a green economy. However, we seem to have a Prime Minister and Government who are genetically opposed to taking sensible decisions to protect the planet, and if we are to avoid even more catastrophic damage to our planet, we need a drastic change in governance.”
“The previous synthesis report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change came out more than five years ago, and the Government have had plenty of time to digest its findings and implement the drastic policies that we need to tackle climate change. Sadly, however, that is not what we have seen. We have seen the end of the White Rose carbon capture and storage project, and the end of solar subsidies and support for biomass. The Green Investment Bank has been sold, and we have given up on zero carbon homes. The Swansea tidal lagoon has been stopped, and the green tax target cancelled. Fracking continues despite local opinion in different areas of the country and an increase in ground tremors, and still the Government stubbornly refuse to lift their ban on cheap and green onshore wind.”
“A net zero target is right, but we must be aware in our battle to tackle the climate emergency that time is fleeting. The greenhouse element of carbon dioxide is not a tap we can turn off. Approximately a fifth of the carbon dioxide emitted in the past year will remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years. The damage we cause now will not go away if we decide to start acting responsibly in, say, 31 years’ time; it will become a feature of human life for millennia. The cumulative nature of climate change means that the more radical we are now, the less radical future generations will have to be to stop even more catastrophic change and fix the damage we have already caused. The climate emergency has climbed up the agenda over the past months, but it is far from a new issue.”
“In June, a 15-year-old and an older accomplice broke into my house to steal my car. Thankfully, Humberside police force was excellent. It found those two and made sure they were imprisoned and put on remand. However, that 15-year-old was released on tag but apparently has removed the tag and stolen two further vehicles, which have been crashed into community buildings and people’s homes. Can the Minister please explain to my community how the current system is working to protect them?”
“6. What recent discussions he has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions on ensuring more effective prosecutions of cases involving rape and other sexual offences.”
“May I press the Prime Minister on exactly how he plans to ascertain the consent of the people of Northern Ireland? And it is not just about how; when is he going to do that?”
“All that takes far more time than simply dispensing the drug and can have an impact on pharmacies’ bottom line. The Operation Yellowhammer report told us that we might face many more drug shortages in the event of a no-deal Brexit, so have the Government involved pharmacies in no-deal planning and taken into account the pressures that pharmacies might experience due to drug shortages in the event of no deal?”
“However, there are also an awful lot of empty spaces, and for a number of years the intention has been for some services to be offered in those community settings. Some things that are done in hospital could be done in the heart of the community, which would be much easier—and there is space available. If that happened, and if some of those services were to operate out of those community-based centres, that would increase footfall and aid some of those pharmacies by giving them the opportunity to reach more people who would otherwise go to hospital. Pharmacies are often on the frontline when patients encounter wider problems in the NHS. For example, when the contraceptive Microgynon 30 went out of stock earlier this year, it was the pharmacists who spent time informing patients and trying to find solutions to get around the scarcities.”