Mr Gagan Mohindra
MP for South West Hertfordshire · Conservative · United Kingdom
“I also spoke to the manager at Waitrose in Rickmansworth. Weekend shifts there have traditionally been filled by students, giving hundreds of young people meaningful employment and helping them to build confidence, responsibility and valuable workplace skills.”
“We would abolish business rates for thousands of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, cut the red tape that stops employers recruiting young people, and introduce our cheap power plan, which would cut electricity bills by 20% for businesses. I will go back to what I said at the start: this debate is ultimately about opportunity.”
“Businesses still want to employ young people—they recognise the value that young people bring, and the value that the businesses offer them—yet increasing costs are making those opportunities more difficult to provide. The consequences stretch far beyond individual businesses.”
“In Sarratt, I visited Micklefield Hall, a wonderful local events venue. It explained that the biggest barrier to employing young people today is cost. It used to happily recruit students straight from local schools, investing time in training those people with little or no experience. It even offered apprenticeships.”
“I refer the House to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Every summer, thousands of students, school leavers and young people across our country begin searching for seasonal work.”
“As a result, such opportunities are becoming harder and harder to find and youth unemployment is rising. Businesses across the country are facing rising costs from every direction.”
The complete record
Every one of 600 lines we hold for Mr Gagan Mohindra, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 12.
“A constituent in Chorleywood recently contacted me after needing an emergency locksmith due to a broken key. Initially quoted £40 over the phone, she was later charged £1,460, and was only given the new key after making that payment. While I applaud this Government’s ambition to reduce regulation, can we ensure that there is appropriate regulation so that consumers are not unfairly overcharged, as in this instance?”
“I start by wishing you, Mr Speaker, and the House a happy Commonwealth Day. Conservative-led Hertfordshire county council has done excellent work in supporting children with SEND, in my constituency and across the county, while seeing a 27% increase in requests for EHCPs in 2024. How is the Education Secretary directing her Department to provide further assistance to councils such as Hertfordshire, which is having to find more and more money from its budget to support students with SEND?”
“Friend the Member for East Hampshire for the great work he did over many years. For us to remain a global leader, both in the economy and in education, we need to give pupils the best opportunities possible, but we also need to attract the best educators in the world. Historically, we have done that with pay scales. My party has suggested that, given some of this Government’s policies, teachers may end up taking a pay cut. I will be interested to hear what the Minister says on those points.”
“I am not their representative any more—others in the House have that honour—but I am sure they will be having meetings with their MPs to say that their ability to attract world-class pupils, who will go on to become world-class artists and be successful in the years ahead, will be greatly diminished by the Government’s decision. I am glad that a Treasury Minister will respond to this debate rather than a Department for Education one, because we have all been in education debates before. If he were being brave, at what point would the Minister look to reverse this decision? There was talk of a review in two years. I ask him to go further and put a sunset clause on the policy, because one of the greatest attractions of our great country has been its educational standards. I applaud my right hon.”
“My concern is about not just finances, but the educational outcomes and life chances of those children if we force disruption on them during an academic year based on financials that may not stack up to the ambition of the Treasury. The Government’s own impact assessment admits that disruption will be caused to the education of SEND pupils, hurting progress in their education and the opportunities and resources available to pupils in the state sector. That will put more pressure on local authorities, which are already stretched to their capacity—I referred to Hertfordshire county council earlier. My right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) mentioned faith schools and art schools. In my old constituency of South West Hertfordshire, we had world-leading schools of both types.”
“In the modern world, especially with the Government’s drive for increased airport capacity, moving back and forth between here and the middle east or other parts of Europe will be less burdensome than the increase in the cost of private schools associated with the tax that this Government have suggested. If children are forced to move to a new school within the school year, or at a key stage of their education, it will greatly disrupt their education and could cause long-term damage to their prospects. These are the same children who, not many years ago, were directly impacted by the pandemic. I do not think we have seen a lot of the harms associated with that come through yet.”
“With over 100 independent schools allegedly expected to close over the next three years as a direct result of the tax, many who work in the sector face unemployment, and there is a risk of highly skilled teachers leaving the profession or the country. We live in a global world. One of the main drivers for communities and successful families to stay in this country is family links, but another is educational standards. Middle-class parents—who are typically those generating economic growth and employing people—are now considering leaving the country and home-schooling or privately educating their children in schools in other parts of the world.”
“Given the pressure that this tax would place on single-sex schools like the Masonic School for Girls in my constituency, I am concerned about its impact on the excellent work that has been done by the private sector to lead the way in ensuring a high quality of education for girls, particularly in science, technology, engineering and maths and other fields where they are under-represented. Not only will the tax impact children who are educated in the private sector and children who will feel the impact of increased pressure on the state sector, but it will greatly impact the industry and those employed in it.”
“If those parents were reliant on the state and not able to afford an independent school, they would not necessarily get that provision; the timeframe to get an EHCP can be years. The Government are fundamentally destroying the life chances of children in the position I was in 35 years ago, and that worries me. The Government’s impact assessment admits that the education tax will impact girls more than boys because there are more single-sex private schools for girls than for boys, and those schools have less of a financial background and have not been around for as long.”
“I have spoken to parents who benefit from being able to send their children to independent schools, and they feel aggrieved because, in their view, they are paying twice. They are subsidising the state sector because their child is not using their place, and the parents are instead paying for a place at an independent school. My biggest concern is about SEND provision in the state sector. Hertfordshire has had failings over many years that I know the county council is working hard to resolve. Part of that work has been subsidised and supported by the excellent private schools in my constituency, Merchant Taylors’ and the Royal Masonic School for Girls being two of them. Where parents are able, they can send their children to independent schools to make sure that their children get the support they need in, typically, a smaller class.”
“We have spoken about VAT, but there is also the reform of the charity status of independent schools and the knock-on consequences for business rates. It is a pleasure to see the Treasury Minister in his place, because this is more a financial question than an education policy one. The issue is about the potential revenue generation of the policy, but for me, it is also about the wider conversation on supporting wealth creators and driving economic growth. As with any business plan, assumptions are made, and the proposed £1.8 billion in revenue is probably a bit ambitious. I say that based on two things. First, the policy was introduced mid-term, at the beginning of this calendar year, and that did not allow families to adjust—there was no element of transition.”
“My concern is that the new Labour Government have come in with a strong mandate from the electorate, but I think that they are rewriting the terms of how they got that mandate. Comments have been made about previous manifestos talking about reform of the independent school sector, but I would argue that given the turnout figures, the Labour party having 411 MPs is probably the fault of my own party, rather than to the credit of the Labour party. I look forward to the next general election for those roles to be reversed. My concern specifically with the proposal on independent schools is one that others have mentioned: the policy of taxing education. For me, that is a dangerous policy; others have described it as a policy of envy.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) for presenting the petition. Out of the nearly 115,000 petitioners, 500 were from my constituency. Education has always been an important part of my purpose in coming to this place and in all my 21 years of elected office, because I know that education can change people’s potential. I am lucky enough to have been brought up in this country, and educated well at school and university. As others in the House will be aware, I am dyslexic. My dyslexia was not diagnosed until my mid to late 20s, and I take that as a reflection of the excellent education that I was able to benefit from.”
“On 8 February, the Court—a grade II listed landmark in Chorleywood in my constituency—burned down in mysterious circumstances. I met the three local councillors—Councillors Cooper, Hearn and Reed—on Friday to discuss the matter. I am not asking the Secretary of State to comment on this specific case, but will she confirm that where listed buildings are destroyed without permission, there should be a presumption that they are rebuilt brick by brick to how they were before the destruction?”
“Notwithstanding the Secretary of State’s response, may I ask why this Labour Government are continuing to undermine the tough action taken by the Conservative Government on individuals who have acted against our democracy and society, such as Gerry Adams, by considering repealing the Act, giving Adams and others the possibility of a six-figure payout?”
“As anyone with any semblance of business experience will know, you enter negotiations but you do not always achieve an end result. The Labour Government won on 4 July. Within three months, they decided to do things differently from what my Government did 11 times, when Lord Cameron closed the negotiations. Can the Minister explain the rationale and what materially changed—we have heard about the advisory judgment by the ICJ; I am not a lawyer and have never claimed to be—to help us to understand, and to better educate me and my constituents, why they are giving our sovereign islands away when the world is becoming increasingly dangerous? Various media reports suggest that there will be increased lobbying from the Mauritius Government, and those they listen to, to revisit the terms of whatever deal we do to their benefit.”
“I thank Nick Coombes from my office for helping me draft a long speech, most of which I will not be using, given the time constraints. May I try to lower the temperature in what has been a very passionate debate? I have immense respect for the Minister. She has had a very difficult outing today and she has held her head up high. Her former career as a lecturer will hopefully hold the House in good stead and perhaps she can educate us on some basic questions, because this is the second time this week I have asked questions about the Chagos islands and I am still confused. The Conservative Government entered into negotiations 11 times. [ Interruption. ] I know the junior Parliamentary Private Secretary is very eager, but please do let me say a few more words. My Government entered into negotiations 11 times.”
“I think Mr Speaker and the Speaker’s Panel continue to allow debates on this issue because not only us on the Conservative Benches but the great people in the Chair are not satisfied. There will continue to be urgent questions and statements. I would prefer Foreign Office Ministers to be out in the world flying the British flag on our behalf, but I will continue to lobby for UQs on this topic, because I think that having basic details of what the Government are trying to achieve is perfectly reasonable.”
“If she could do that, we on this side would have a better rationale of what the Government are trying to achieve. The frustration we have heard from my right hon. Friend the shadow Foreign Secretary about information coming from the Mauritian Hansard reflects a discourtesy to this House. I know that if Mr Speaker were in the Chair, he would want the House to be informed of any details that were in the public domain, and he is rightly going to investigate why certain details were in the public domain yesterday before they were put forward to this House. I urge those on the Government Front Bench to share information that is in the public domain with us so that we can properly analyse and scrutinise it. The role of any parliamentarian is to be a critical friend of legislation and the future of our country.”
“I know that the Prime Minister’s redacted statement that was shared with those on my Front Bench yesterday was quickly amended. It did not allow those on our side enough time to scrutinise it properly. I would say to the hon. Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey), whom I thank for his gallant service, that we are in a democracy and the ability to debate and disagree is what makes us stronger. I hope the Minister for Development, or whoever is winding up on behalf of the Government, will be able to clarify some of the reasonable questions we have consistently asked. Given her former academic background, I hope she understands that if a student says that they do not understand something, she should find a different way of explaining it.”
“I have not been to that part of the world but, as the new Member will learn the longer he is in this place, certain positions do not give us the ability to speak in the Chamber, and one of those is that of a Government Whip. I was also the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, and again, we do not speak about our own Department. Going back to the substance of the debate, I have tried to approach this issue with a modicum of decency in order to get the reasonable answers that we all want to hear. One of the concerns we have on the Opposition Benches is the “bull in a china shop” way in which this Government are choosing to force through a deal that we will not have sight of until after it is signed. There are also continuing questions about money.”
“Schools are gaining reputations for being good at educating children with special needs. That is something that all schools should strive for, but it has led to a higher concentration of children with EHCPs in some schools and very low numbers in others, placing a financial burden and additional pressure on the schools that provide such valuable support for children who need it. That should not be the case. All schools should be able to support children with special educational needs; it should not be left to a select few. Every parent wants the best education for their children, and that would allow all schools to continue to provide a top-quality education for all. I urge the Minister to consider changes to the statutory framework.”
“In my constituency, 17% of children have special educational needs, and I regularly receive correspondence and surgery requests from parents and constituents who are going through the process of trying to get an education, health and care plan for their child, or are dealing with the implementation of one. I am glad that Hertfordshire county council has made progress in this area and is continuing to do so. It is important that progress continues to be made. As someone who is dyslexic, I understand at first hand the frustrations posed by special educational needs and learning disabilities, and how important it is that those with SEND have the support they need to succeed in school. From conversations with schools in my area and officers at Hertfordshire county council, it is clear that the parent choice framework needs to change.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I congratulate the hon. Member for Suffolk Coastal (Jenny Riddell-Carpenter) on securing this really important debate. Education is, and always will be, one of my top priorities. I am lucky enough to have visited many of my schools in South West Hertfordshire to see the excellent work that teachers are doing to ensure that every one of the children in my constituency has a good or excellent education. However, the statutory framework around parent choice should be working for schools, not against them.”
“6. What assessment he has made of the potential security implications of the proposed UK-Mauritius treaty on the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory.”
“The Labour party’s determination to give away vital strategic territory in the Chagos islands, seemingly to satisfy one of the Prime Minister’s lawyer friends over our American allies, is baffling to my colleagues on the Conservative Benches. Does the Minister agree that it is far more important to maintain our special relationship with the US and the new Trump Administration than to pay billions of pounds in the face of the self-inflicted, worsening domestic economic situation, in order to give the Chinese Government access to that vital region?”
“T4. My constituent James, from Abbots Langley, wrote to me on the subject of the Chancellor’s recent talk about pushing infrastructure projects, such as the Heathrow airport expansion. Why is the Health Secretary not pushing for this infrastructure funding to be spent on the new Watford General hospital, a project that has cross-party support, is shovel-ready and will save lives?”
“Q4. I know that, like everyone in the House, the Prime Minister is an honourable Member. On that basis, can he repeat his assurances that all rules were followed while the country was in tier 4 lockdown in December 2020, not just by him but by his team, and also by his voice coach, Leonie Mellinger?”
“May I wish a belated happy Chinese new year to all those who were celebrating yesterday? One beauty of our great country is its diversity, but with that comes causes for celebration throughout the year. My own community in South West Hertfordshire celebrates Diwali, Eid, Christmas, Chinese new year and other events, which often entails the use of fireworks. There is an expectation of fireworks and the noise associated with them at the main events of Christmas and new year, so pet owners inevitably take safeguarding measures then, but given the likelihood of fireworks throughout the year, may I urge the Minister to get on to this Bill quickly, ensuring that we do not stifle the celebrations, but that we do protect our animals and those vulnerable children who may be affected by noise?”
“What is the hon. Member’s view on his Government’s proposal to reduce the voting age to 16, given that we were all elected by voters aged 18 and above?”
“The hon. Gentleman is being generous with his time and has made some valid points, although I may not agree with all of them. Does he believe that to ensure the electorate is fully represented, we need to go to the Australian model of forcing all constituents to go to the ballot box?”
“Like the hon. Gentleman, I come from a local government background. Does he agree that when voting for a councillor, as he was, constituents are more likely to vote for individuals than parties and to do so based on the effectiveness of that individual rather than just the party branding?”
“Will the hon. Member explain how constituency casework would be done? As constituency MPs, we all represent a defined area of the population. Is the hon. Member suggesting a two-tier system, where she will instead just sweep up from the constituency MP? Is she effectively asking for two tiers of MPs?”
“It is not all easy for the Post Office: I do not want to get party political, but post offices will now have a £45 million additional bill because of the national insurance jobs tax, and there has been a significant increase in business rates within the estate. While the drive for technology is important, the Government, in my view, need to look at how they can support places like our post offices to ensure that they remain commercially viable. I can assure the Minister that he will have my support if he is able to do so.”
“I know from colleagues that their inboxes are filling up with concerns from constituents about what they value. It is the silent majority who will be adversely affected if we do not speak up and support our post offices. I fully support the move towards banking hubs. It makes sense to ensure that communities are drawn to critical assets such as our post offices. It is my understanding that the agreement for the Post Office to provide banking hubs ends at the end of this year. I urge the Minister to reassure the House that if that is the case, he will look into it, and ensure that the Post Office quickly gets into negotiations with retail banks to ensure they are viable. With more and more people having less access to cash, the Post Office remains one of the few community hubs in areas where our constituents can always go and get cash out.”
“I am a former furniture retailer, and it still makes me sad that our high streets are not what they once were. Post offices are one of the few beacons left on high streets up and down our country; while there is an absolute draw to online retail, and I am a free marketeer, I know that if we do not continue to support our post offices, we will live to regret it. We must protect the assets that we really care about, and I include the post office in that. I know that my community cares about this as well. When Croxley Green post office was under threat, I got a lot of correspondence asking me to be proactive. Fortunately, the Post Office decided to stop its plans to review that particular post office, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.”
“I thank the retailer Lord’s for incorporating the post office into its retail area to ensure that my community could continue to access the excellent services offered by the Post Office. During the global pandemic, we saw how critical community assets and community spirit were to the health and wellbeing of our residents. They are the unsung heroes of our communities. Most post office staff will see their regulars on a frequent basis, and will quickly identify it if they have not been seen or do not look well; while not professionals like pharmacists, opticians or GPs, they are a set of eyes and ears on how their customers are doing. Through various announcements, recently and over the past few years, we have seen the demise of high street banks.”
“I congratulate the hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) on securing this Backbench Business debate. I also thank Nik Frost and Emily Pidgeon from my office for doing the research for this and other speeches that I have made in recent days. We all know that post offices are critically important assets to our communities. I know that your own post office in Romsey is under threat as a main hub, Madam Deputy Speaker; I know you do not have the ability to voice that, so I shall do so on your behalf. I am lucky enough to represent seven post offices in South West Hertfordshire. In my first term as a Member of Parliament, Chorleywood port office was closed, having shut in 2019—not for reasons decided by headquarters; there was a local issue—and it took several years before that post office was brought back online.”
“We all want justice to be served as quickly as possible, and many of my constituents have contacted me recently with concerns about law and order. Given the various media reports about unused capacity in courts up and down the country, what is the Secretary of State’s Department doing to ensure that every aspect of the justice system is working efficiently and at full capacity?”
“I thank the Minister for being so generous with her time. As she will be aware, the United Kingdom has most of the world’s chalk streams, and the River Chess runs through my constituency. How can she ensure that we continue to monitor our unique environment and protect it from the threat of overflows, to which she just referred?”
“The hon. Gentleman is being generous in allowing me to intervene again. Similar to parts of my constituency, Hemel has great transport links. County lines is a relatively new phenomenon, and one of the downsides of our road and train network is that crime is coming out of London. Has he worked with the London Labour Mayor to address those issues?”
“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this timely debate. As he will know, Dean Russell, the former Member of Parliament for Watford, was a keen advocate for Watford general hospital. He continued to make sure that we progressed the project for that hospital, which has a real impact on my constituency of South West Hertfordshire. Does my hon. Friend share my disappointment that Watford general is now not likely to get spades in the ground until 2032 at the earliest? Furthermore, some of the figures being bandied about are concerning. I know that the Minister has uploaded draft costs, but £1.5 billion to £2 billion seems a bit high for what was initially proposed.”
“For Watford general hospital, we have a window between 2032 and 2034. Given the certainty that the Minister is trying to give to the programme and to the rest of the country, what assurances and assumptions has she made for that two-year window? How can she assure me and my constituents that there will be no further delays?”
“It is very gracious of the Minister to allow me to intervene again. In the interests of full transparency, can she assure us that if the development of the new hospitals gets delayed, all MPs will be informed, not just those in the relevant constituency? Work on Watford general is meant to begin between 2032 and 2034. Will the Government communicate any further delays as quickly as possible? That will certainly be critical to our constituents.”
“Rickmansworth high street in my constituency is a thriving hub for the community, supported by its fantastic local businesses. Having spoken to many of those dedicated business owners, I know the challenges they face. What steps is the Minister taking to support local authorities in delivering initiatives, such as high street rental auctions, to help high streets like the one in Rickmansworth?”
“As the Secretary of State will be aware, I and MPs from surrounding constituencies wrote to him at the beginning of December to talk about Watford general hospital. I am sure that I speak on behalf of the two Labour MPs, one Lib Dem and a Conservative colleague when I say we are disappointed that he has decided to delay reconstruction of Watford general until at least 2030. Notwithstanding my public disappointment and given that all six of us campaigned actively on investment in Watford general, the statement says that further details will be provided in the hospital building programme. If there are assumptions there that we wish to challenge—such as build cost—do we go to the Secretary of State or the Minister of State with those questions?”
“Several of my constituents in South Oxhey have unfortunately been the victims of burglary or attempted burglary. Will the Home Secretary outline the measures her Department is taking to allow the police to invest in technologies such as live facial recognition, which can make crimes such as burglary easier to solve?”
“I welcome this action plan, which mentions data centres. As the Secretary of State may be aware, the Deputy Prime Minister is currently reviewing the need for a data centre in Kings Langley in my constituency. Both the report and the Secretary of State talk about ensuring that the infrastructure is in the right place. I am working alongside my constituents in Kings Langley, because the proposed site is prime green belt. If there is a need to build on and develop the site, housing would make better sense, because energy—a huge requirement for data centres—is not available nearby. How can the Secretary of State ensure that we are not encouraging the building of white elephants in the wrong places? [ Official Report , 15 January 2025; Vol. 760, c. 4WC.] (Correction)”
“T3. My constituents were promised £300 off their energy bills by the Labour Government. Instead, they are having to fork out additional money for Great British Energy and to pursue net zero, while the Government take the winter fuel payment away from millions of pensioners. How can the Secretary of State justify increasing spending on net zero projects while his Government let pensioners go cold this winter?”
“I welcome the Minister to his place; this is the first opportunity I have had to do so. As the Department will be aware, both Dacorum borough council and Three Rivers district council in my constituency do not have a local plan in place. They are both controlled by the Liberal Democrats. Will the Minister confirm what would happen in the case of his proposed plans? Separate to that, we have local county elections next May. What are his intentions for them? Do they still go ahead? There is a lot of uncertainty. In 2026, how many mayoral elections does he anticipate?”