Jen Craft
MP for Thurrock · Labour · United Kingdom
“My constituents and I have some probably fairly justifiable concerns about a private enterprise levying tolls, particularly via the use of automatic number plate recognition at tollbooths. Many have had experiences with the current Dartford crossing toll operator in which, when things go wrong, it is hard to get redress.”
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“I imagine that it would cover the lower Thames crossing as well given its proximity to many crucial parts of our industry. It is only right that my constituents, who will be most impacted by the lower Thames crossing, must be those who benefit most from it.”
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“It is complete and utter misery. I am concerned about whether the lower Thames crossing will mitigate that congestion. My other concern relates to the tolls levied. If there is a disparity between the charge for using the lower Thames crossing and that for using the Dartford crossing, it is fairly obvious which one most people will use.”
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“People are desperate to see it return. The main issue with the return of the ferry is the cost of the subsidy for running it. There is public will to get it back, and there is will from businesses in the area—the Port of Tilbury, Forth Ports, DP World and a whole host of others really want to see it, because they know it provides that lin…”
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“I am grateful to have the opportunity to speak to this Bill and to talk in particular about its primary focus on the financing of the lower Thames crossing. My constituency will be one of the two areas most impacted by both the operation and the construction of the lower Thames crossing.”
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“I would therefore be grateful for the Minister’s assurances around the transparency and accountability of any toll operator for a future Thames crossing, particularly as to how we get redress if things go wrong. My hon.”
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“People continue to be subject to the use of force or restraint, and we have no means of knowing how often it has occurred, to whom it has occurred or whether it has taken place inappropriately. I encourage the Minister and other members of the Committee to consider how we can ensure that the use of restraint and force is appropriately recorded in all medical settings, not just in mental health units.”
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“My apologies; they are both lovely places. My hon. Friend spoke earlier about the impact that mental health treatment can have on people in regard to race and ethnicity, and the importance of including demographic data. We know that black people are disproportionately subject to use of force and restraint, which is why recording this data in a mental health unit is acknowledged as important. However, if a patient is subject to restraint outside a mental health unit, there is currently no mechanism to record that. The new clause would also require the Secretary of State to publish annual statistics on how restraint has been used outside a mental health unit. I believe that the Minister’s predecessor agreed to look at closing this loophole. To date, however, action has not necessarily been forthcoming.”
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“I thank the Minister for his comments. I am reassured, as I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Hallam will be, to hear that he accepts the need to do more about the use of restraint, regardless of the setting in which it occurs. I am also pleased to hear about the measures by which he is seeking to do so in parallel with the passage of the Bill. I am content with what the Minister said, and I imagine my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Hallam will be, too. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Clause, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 55 Power of Secretary of State to make consequential provision Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.”
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“I found it quite shocking to learn that women from both world wars who died in service are not actively recorded on war memorials as a matter of routine. One woman, Grace Mary Potter, was born in Thurrock and served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. While serving in Kent, she died as a result of a bomb blast, yet her name does not appear on any war memorial to this day. I hope the Minister will reflect on that in her closing remarks. Will she meet either me or representatives who are working to get women’s names on war memorials? I would be very grateful.”
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“In Aveley village, in the corner of the war memorial gardens, sits a unique memorial to Lance Corporal Nicky Mason, who died in Afghanistan in an act of service in 2008, illustrating the ongoing nature of conflict and our gratitude for those who serve. In Ockendon, I met a woman approaching her centenary whose brother is on the war memorial. She said with great pride, “I’m going to be buried quite close to him any day now.” That is some of the spirit of the people in my patch. In Chafford Hundred, the war memorial is just on the corner of a road. On Remembrance Sunday, residents give up a portion of their front gardens so that the local brass band can unite us all in song. I conclude by briefly touching on something that the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam) mentioned: those who are not recorded on our war memorials.”
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“I was recently very honoured to attend the Gurkha Regiment home in Kent and to see the real proud history and bond between the Gurkha Regiment, our armed forces and our country. I felt a real sense of honour and pride to have that memorial so close to my home. I would encourage people, if they are ever around my area, to visit it; it is a beautiful remembrance of people who have given their lives in the service of our country. In Tilbury, in the civic square, there is a war memorial that stands proud, maintained by members of the Royal British Legion. Little Thurrock, with a smaller memorial, is visited every 11 November by a jogging group who pay their respects as they pass by.”
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“When we passed the memorial in the town centre, my oldest daughter asked, “What is that?” and I explained, “It’s a place to remember and say thank you.” [In British Sign Language: T o remember and say thank you]. She signed that back to me, and really brought home that this is what they are: places to remember with deep gratitude the sacrifice that was made. I will touch on a few of my war memorials as others have, because I want to highlight the proud history they brings to my area. In Purfleet-on-Thames the existing war memorial, which lists the names of the men who gave their lives in the two world wars, has been joined by a memorial to the Gurkhas, of whom we have a sizeable population in my constituency.”
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“We should bear in mind that war memorials were built as places where people could go to remember the fallen from their town—their brothers, fathers, uncles, nephews or sons—because the possibility of travelling to the final resting places in France or beyond would have been outside the realms of reality for most working-class people at the time. I prepared for today’s debate by listing some of the war memorials that I knew around my constituency; I realised that if I were to list them all, we would be here for quite a while. It is extraordinarily poignant to see these memorials in the place where I now live and am very proud to call home, and to imagine people more than 100 years ago having no way to go to their loves ones’ resting places; these memorials were the only places that they could go to remember.”
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“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) on securing this important debate. Knowing their history, I always find war memorials particularly poignant places to visit. Our local memorials all tend to stem from the example set by the Cenotaph as a place of remembrance. I understand that more than 1 million people passed by the Cenotaph in its first week, when it was just a temporary structure. What always strikes me is that these places were usually erected by public subscription and because of the will of local people.”
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“I firmly believe that early exposure to children who are different from yourself can only be better for society, by and large. However, I would like to press the Minister for a timescale on when the SEND White Paper will come out. I would welcome her assurances that parents, carers and young people themselves will be meaningfully involved in it. I would also welcome her thoughts on how we ensure all schools share an equal load when it comes to SEND provision.”
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“I take umbrage with Members, unfortunately on both sides of the House, who have spoken about over-diagnosis of conditions such as ADHD and autism. We need quick and accurate diagnosis and a treatment pathway to conditions that are on the rise primarily because of historical under-diagnosis. Finding out who the children are who struggle with those conditions and putting in early interventions as quickly as possible, such as speech and language therapy, will save us money in the long run. If we are able to identify children who are in need of additional support in early years, that will save an awful lot of money overall. It will save money in education, health and local authorities. I very much support the Government’s direction of travel in trying to get as many children in mainstream as possible.”
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“We need institutional root and branch reform of how the SEND system works. I have said it before and I will say it again: if we fix the SEND system, we fix the education system for every single child. What we need is investment in early years provision. Every time I visit a primary school, I am confronted by headteachers who say that the level of high-needs SEND provision in key stage 1 has skyrocketed in recent years. We can discuss the reasons behind that. The covid pandemic proved the value of early years intervention in that, by and large, it did not take place for four to five years and we have seen the impact that that has had on young people coming through. So, we need early and quick intervention and investment in early years services.”
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“I very much welcome the Government’s investment in education, as demonstrated through the estimates that have come out today. In particular, I want to touch briefly on the increased investment in SEND and high-needs provision to the tune of £1 billion—something I am sure Members are aware is very close to my heart. However, I would like to sound a note of caution and echo some of the comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes), and I thank her for her work on the Select Committee on this matter. Investment alone will not solve the SEND crisis. It is the biggest issue facing schools. It is one of the biggest issues facing councils. Dare I say it, it is one of the biggest issues facing local healthcare authorities—not to get ahead of the next estimates debate. Money alone will not solve it.”
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“I would like the Minister to clarify that the additional support and ambition that she is talking about is to improve the SEN side. For Members who are not aware, the statutory bit is the SEND side, and there will obviously be improvements in that; but if we improve the SEN side, which is the bit that children do not need an EHCP for, parents will not need to go through that adversarial legal battle, and there will be fewer reasons for people to have to go through what can at times be a truly horrific system.”
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“What we can do is legislate for safeguards and for safety. We can legislate over those treating the people we love and over those offering assisted dying. We can legislate to make sure that the most vulnerable in society, such as my daughter—people who I know the medical establishment and institutions and society already view as second-class in so many ways—do not have to face a decision after being coerced or given bad advice. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis) has been at pains to point out to me and others, we do not have the adequate safeguards in place.”
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“When I was given the diagnosis of my daughter’s Down’s syndrome, the first thing the midwife said to me after, “I’m so sorry,” was, “I can book you a termination within 48 hours.” That is a choice that so many women make because they are ignorant of the value of disabled lives. I have had to fight for so many things for my daughter, because the establishment does not see her life as valuable. In this country, someone can terminate a pregnancy up to 39 weeks and six days if they have a condition that is so horrific, such as Down’s syndrome, cleft palate or limb difference, because of the value we place on different lives. I support the principle of assisted dying, yes, but I cannot support this Bill because we cannot legislate against discrimination and we cannot legislate out inherent bias.”
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“I rise to speak in opposition to the Bill. Today, we are voting not on the principle of assisted dying, but on a piece of legislation. We do not exist in a vacuum; what happens in this House has real-world consequences. I am all too aware of how unequal our society, our medical system and our institutions are in their treatment of disabled people. My hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham North (Vicky Foxcroft) spoke at length, very movingly, of her journey towards finding that she could not vote for the Bill due to her experience and prolonged engagement with disabled people and disabled people’s organisations. I know from my own experience that the value our medical establishment places on certain lives is less than on others.”
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“My plea to Members across this House, if you have not yet decided or if you think, “I support this in principle, but I am concerned about this, have worries about this or think that might be okay,” is that it is not our role to send a Bill to the other place and out into the world, hoping that others will do our job for us and that it will all just come out in the wash. That is a dereliction of our duty as Members of Parliament. If you have any concerns about this Bill, now is the time to vote against it. You must do that. You must not think that someone else will do your job for you. It is our decision. That is what we are voting on today. I urge all Members of this House to vote against this Bill.”
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“I am afraid I will make progress, but I thank her for her interruption. [ Laughter. ] Her intervention, my apologies. We have been told that there are panels that will provide a safeguard and take into account all of someone’s circumstances, and whether they have capacity. However, those panels may in exceptional circumstances—the Bill does not set out what those are—opt not to even meet the person whom they are discussing. We know that the panels do not allow for family members and carers and those who know that person—if they have limited capacity, a learning disability or are unable to make certain decisions themselves—to play a role in that process or have any right of appeal.”
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“I note that Government amendment 32 will put a duty on an integrated care board to bring information to such people as it deems appropriate. I welcome the duty being on an integrated care board or commissioner locally, particularly because there are such nuances in localised care and localised populations. There are areas of the country in which the prevalence of things like learning disability and autism is higher than in others. The amendment will allow an ICB or local commissioner to consider what may be appropriate for the population in their area.”
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“Members have spoken about how an advance choice document can help prevent detention in a mental health unit, as it can stop issues escalating to the point where there is no option but detention, to ensure patient safety or the safety of others. I am broadly supportive of clause 45, and I urge the Committee to be. I turn briefly to Opposition amendment 46. I have heard the thoughts of the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth. My understanding is that clause 45, along with Government amendments 32 and 33, will effectively create the rights for those who should have an advance choice document to be able to take advantage of them. Government amendments 32 and 33 will go further in ensuring that people who may benefit most from an advance choice document are informed of their ability to do so.”
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“I rise to speak briefly to clause 45, Government amendments 32 and 33, Lib Dem amendment 18 and Opposition amendment 46. I am very supportive of clause 45. The ability to make an advance choice document is incredibly important to people who may come under the scope of the 1983 Act and be subject to detention under mental health legislation. We have spoken at length about the importance of patients’ input into their care and the improvements in outcomes when they feel that they have been involved and their wishes and feelings are taken into account. An advance choice document allows someone at risk of being detained under the Act to set out their choices, thoughts and opinions before becoming so unwell that they may need to be admitted to hospital. Other hon.”
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“I understand that financial circumstances have an impact on people’s mental health—we have talked about that in debates on other clauses—but they do not necessarily have a place in this specific part of the Bill. I encourage the Committee to support clause 45 and to adopt Government amendments 32 and 33. This is, once again, a big step forward in ensuring that those with serious mental illnesses are able to input into their care and treatment in a real and meaningful way.”
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“Input on patient experience into how best to contact and meaningfully engage people who would benefit from an advance choice document would be particularly beneficial. Very briefly, the aim of Liberal Democrat amendment 18 is to include consideration of financial circumstances in an advance choice document. I have looked into this—in my opinion, it is outside the scope of what an advance choice document does. An advance choice document sets out how an individual would wish to be treated if they became so unwell that they were unable to make those decisions for themselves. I am not fully sure how one’s financial circumstances fit into how one would be treated relative to detention or, potentially, in a community-based setting.”
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“Without getting ahead of the Minister, I hope that he will say what guidance on best practice for local commissioners and ICBs will be set out, particularly in relation to those with learning disabilities and autism. We have spoken about easy-read documents, for example, which should probably be made available, as should advice on how commissioners can best make sure that all those who might benefit from an advance choice document are meaningfully engaged and informed of their right and ability to do so. The Minister has agreed previously to make sure that he works with disabled people’s organisations, including those run by and for people with learning disabilities and autism, on bringing forward a code of practice on the Mental Health Bill.”
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“I agree on the notion of a right; where we vary is that I think that the Bill as written, and Government amendments 32 and 33, enshrine the notion of a right without it having to be spelled out as such. Local variation includes localised populations, such as those from marginalised communities. We might consider different translations of support that is available. That will not be the case across the board—it will vary from area to area. This does not remove people’s ability to make an advance choice document; it simply gives local commissioners the ability to determine what is most appropriate for their area, how that support should look and how it will be targeted.”
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“I would welcome the hon. Lady’s thoughts on where clause 45 or the Government’s amendments allow for selective provision. My understanding is that they place an onus on mental health commissioners to make sure that all those who are deemed appropriate to be in receipt of an ACD should be given the ability to make one. I do not think that is selective; it is very much related to the purposes of the Bill, and it spells out who may come under the provision.”
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“Having looked at new clause 21, I have a rather large concern about consent. The hon. Lady is setting out what the integrated care board would have a duty to do, including giving information about a “person’s condition and recovery” to “the family or carers of the person discharged”. I have a significant concern that the person being discharged may not have the kind of relationship with their family or carers that would make that helpful. The clause, as drafted, does not seem to make allowance for consent, except where “the person is at future risk of detention” under part II of the Mental Health Act. I would welcome the hon. Lady’s thoughts on that.”
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“Without wanting to sound abrupt, we all have the explanatory notes and are reading them, so in the interests of brevity might the hon. Member consider getting to the point about what he would add to or take away from the Bill? We all know what the clauses aim to do; the Minister has already set that out.”
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“But I implore the Minister to consider the fact that, when it comes to encouraging participation, understanding, and co-designing and co-producing services, capturing the experience of those recently detained under the Mental Health Act can be extraordinarily useful. Clause 35, which was added by an amendment from the Lords, seems a fairly useful way to do that.”
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“Like many Committee members, I was deeply confused about how we were proceeding. On the face of it, the clause broadly seems as if it should be part of any Act about mental health care, including post discharge. I have spoken about my own experience of interacting with the Mental Health Act as it stands. I might have found the clause fairly helpful post discharge and others might have found it useful as well. However, I have just heard the Minister’s description of the limitations of the clause, and the speech that I was about to make has been thrown into complete disarray by the confusion just now.”
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“I am glad that the Minister is explaining how capturing feedback and experience is being allowed for in other parts of the Bill. To clarify, in my own head I feel that the clause aims to capture the experience immediately after it has happened, just as hospitals offer women who have just given birth the opportunity to talk through their experience. It is healing for the patient to understand what happened to them, and it provides immediate feedback to the hospital. Is that kind of level captured in other parts of the Bill?”
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“(4) Proceedings on Third Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at the moment of interruption on the second day.— (Dame Diana Johnson.) Question agreed to.”
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“ProceedingsTime for conclusion of proceedings First day New clauses and new Schedules standing in the name of a Minister of the Crown; amendments to clauses 1 to 165 and Schedules 1 to 18, other than amendments relating to abortion. Three hours before the moment of interruption on the first day. New clauses and new Schedules relating to abortion; amendments relating to abortion. The moment of interruption on the first day. Second day Remaining new clauses and new Schedules; amendments to clauses 166 to 172, other than amendments relating to abortion; remaining proceedings on Consideration. One hour before the moment of interruption on the second day.”
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“Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 11 July , and to be printed (Bill 263). Crime and Policing Bill (Programme) (No. 2) Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 83A( 9 )), That the Order of 10 March 2025 (Crime and Policing Bill: Programme) be varied as follows: (1) Paragraphs (4) and (5) of the Order shall be omitted. (2) Proceedings on Consideration and Third Reading shall be taken in two days in accordance with the following provisions of this Order. (3) Proceedings on Consideration— (a) shall be taken on each of those days in the order shown in the first column of the following Table, and (b) shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at the times specified in the second column of the Table.”
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“This Bill would take direct action to address that injustice, providing a clear process for bereaved mothers to follow, and allowing the registrar to include a deceased partner on their child’s birth certificate. That small change in the law would make a huge difference. It would spare grieving women a needlessly painful legal process, and ensure that no mother or child has a blank space on their birth certificate where their parent’s name should rightly be. Question put and agreed to. Ordered, That Ms Stella Creasy, Caroline Voaden, Alice Macdonald, John Grady, Chris Vince, Abtisam Mohamed, Kirith Entwistle, Dr Marie Tidball, David Burton-Sampson, Daniel Francis, Charlotte Nichols and Jen Craft present the Bill. Jen Craft accordingly presented the Bill.”
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“A similar system could be created here, and a declaration of intended parentage could be made during pregnancy. I do not contest the importance of having a rigorous process for proving intended parenthood, but that importance is an argument in support of a change in the law, not against it, because that process is currently non-existent. Officials are often unable to advise women on how to register their deceased partner as a parent, because there is no guidance. While there remains no clear route to proving intended parenthood, bereaved unmarried mothers are being denied a basic right. The anachronistic legal framework is causing immense trauma for mothers and children.”
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“That figure has reduced steadily ever since, and only half of children are now born within marriage. Times have changed and society has moved on, yet the law has not kept pace. This Bill would drag the legislation into the 21st century, and provide a clear and simple process for registering a deceased partner’s name on a birth certificate. We can achieve that by placing greater reliance on a registrar’s professional judgement. With the right evidence, registrars are allowed to amend a birth certificate, so we can similarly empower them to correct the absence of a deceased parent, provided that they receive sufficient evidence of intended parenthood. Across Europe—in Switzerland, France and Germany—unmarried parents are encouraged to register their parentage at antenatal appointments.”
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“While the women who join us today have persevered through the family courts, many mothers will give up out of frustration, leaving that blank space on their child’s birth certificate. The system for registering births is governed by section 10 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 and section 55A of the Family Law Act 1986, which make provision for those requiring a declaration of parentage. Neither of those Acts provide for the specific circumstances in which one parent is deceased and a child is born outside of marriage. A declaration of parentage is not intended to prove the paternity of a deceased partner, but rather to resolve disputed parenthood. This legal framework is unfit for purpose. When the Births and Deaths Registration Act became law in 1953, 95% of births registered in the UK were within a marriage.”
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“Sophie entered the uphill battle of amending the birth certificate, and was bounced between Departments and advisers until someone at the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service intervened on her behalf. Her hearing is at the magistrates court on 3 July and will hopefully bring her some closure on this issue. Sophie said the experience has been “exhausting, confusing and emotionally draining.” I add my personal thanks to the women who join us today for sharing their brave stories, and for allowing me to share them with the House. Kelly, Orlanda and Sophie’s stories show how traumatic and unnecessarily complex the process is. Widowed and Young estimates that this issue affects as many as 200 women each year.”
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“As an ambassador for Widowed and Young, Orlanda says she is determined to make things easier for women who follow in her path. Let me turn to Sophie, who is still in the midst of this torturous process. The sudden death of her partner Lawrence while she was pregnant with their daughter Kinley turned her world upside down. Despite their having two children together, and Lawrence being legally registered as the father of both, Sophie was told that Lawrence would not be registered as Kinley’s father. She was devastated. Registering their son together in 2016 was one of Lawrence’s proudest moments. As Sophie said, “he will always be her dad”, and he should be recognised as such.”
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“After fighting for two years, Kelly received a birth certificate for her daughter Maisie with Jordan’s name on it. She now keeps 12 copies of it around the house and one in her purse at all times. Orlanda and her partner Julian were on holiday when he unexpectedly collapsed. Just a day after discovering they were expecting a baby girl, Julian died from a heart attack. When the registrar told Orlanda that Julian would not be named on her daughter’s birth certificate, she said it felt as if he had been “ripped from our history”. Her process through the courts took two years and four hearings. Many of the judges she encountered had never even come across a situation like hers, and she was often asked at hearings if Julian would be attending.”
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“I would like to share their experiences, which illustrate the emotional impact of this issue. When Kelly’s partner, Jordan, died suddenly in 2020, she went from planning their future to planning her fiancé’s funeral. Shortly after she gave birth to their daughter, Kelly’s battle began to prove that Jordan was the father. As Kelly said, he had wanted “nothing more out of his life than to have kids”, so she was determined that his name would be on Maisie’s birth certificate. Kelly used a C63 form to apply for a declaration of parentage through the family courts, which comes with an immediate cost of £365. While having to provide DNA from Jordan’s mother and paying out hundreds of pounds in legal fees, Kelly was also asked demeaning questions, such as whether she had had any other partners.”
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“It is an organisation that provides fantastic support to those who have experienced widowhood earlier in life. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) who secured an Adjournment debate on this issue, and spoke powerfully and movingly of her own experience of bereavement, and to my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy), who first exposed the shortcomings of the legal process in Parliament in 2016. The Bill seeks to legislate for Widowed and Young’s “Blank Space” campaign to come into existence, to provide a clear and simple process for unmarried and bereaved mothers to register their partner on their child’s birth certificate. Through the charity, I have heard the stories of brave and inspiring women, some of whom are in the Gallery today to watch the proceedings.”
House of Commons17 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“While suffering the grief of losing a loved one and facing the new reality of parenthood alone, bereaved mothers leave the register office with a blank space on their child’s birth certificate, instead of their partner’s name. In order to amend the birth certificate, bereaved mothers have to seek a declaration of parentage through a lengthy, costly and traumatising legal process in the family courts. In some respects, this is a legal loophole—the effect of improper and outdated legislation that has failed to provide for a certain set of particularly tragic circumstances—but it speaks to a deeper inequality in the legal system: unmarried couples are held in lower regard. The law in this area has not kept pace with societal change. The charity Widowed and Young first brought this injustice to my attention.”
House of Commons17 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That means either parent may register the birth unaccompanied by the other, with both still recorded on the birth certificate. Therefore, in the terrible event that their husband dies before the child is born, a widowed mother can still ensure their name is on the birth certificate, which is common sense. However, if the couple are unmarried, the law does not recognise their relationship in the same way. The fact that the mother does not have a ring on her finger means there is no automatic recognition of paternity. If an unmarried woman experiences the unimaginable tragedy of losing her partner during pregnancy, there is no provision for her to register them on the child’s birth certificate. Unless both parents can be present, the registrar is deemed unable to verify the paternity of the father.”
House of Commons17 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision for the inclusion of a parent’s details on a child’s birth certificate where that parent has died before the birth of the child; and for connected purposes. For the vast majority of parents, registering the birth of their child is a straightforward process. It is a simple piece of paperwork that marks a special moment and brings important recognition of their new family, along with notable legal rights. Yet, for a number of women every year, what should be an uncontroversial step in their journey as a parent becomes a protracted and traumatic legal battle. The law dictates that it is the duty of the parents to register the birth of a child within 42 days. For married couples, there is a presumption of paternity for the husband under the law.”
House of Commons17 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Sign Language, I know that the thousands of BSL first-language speakers in this country are very supportive of the introduction of a new BSL GCSE. However, I understand that progress on that has slightly stalled, so I would be grateful if the Minister could provide an update on the roll-out.”
House of Commons16 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There seems to be some circular talk about the level of risk that clinicians and medical professionals can be expected to shoulder. I notice that clause 5(7), inserted in the other place, specifies that they would “not be put at unnecessary risk”. Is there not an inherent risk involved in detaining people who need to be detained under the Mental Health Act? Those people are not in a position to give consent and quite often do not wish to be detained. By stipulating that the police will not be involved in situations or by making medical professionals the first responders, is there not a risk of putting them in harm’s way?”
House of Commons12 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The specification in the list of words proposed in the other place can leave people at risk of harm, particularly clinicians.”
House of Commons12 June 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗