Jacob Collier
MP for Burton and Uttoxeter · Labour · United Kingdom
“I thank my hon. Friend for her advocacy for the sector. She will know that I have Uttoxeter racecourse in my constituency. For over 60 years the horserace betting levy has helped courses such as ours, but some of that levy does not go to racecourses such as Uttoxeter in the same way that similar levies in European countries go to their ra…”
“I thank my hon. Friend for her tireless campaigning on this issue. We are joined in the Public Gallery by GMB glassmakers—I declare an interest as a GMB member—who are at risk of losing their jobs if the measure goes ahead in its current form. Will my hon.”
“Street Whyze was set up by Danny Mondesir after the tragic stabbing of Oliver Freckleton in 2021. It undertakes targeted work with young people to prevent knife crime, knife carrying and youth offending.”
“Dr David Martin, who has decades of experience as an expert witness in animal abuse cases, stressed to me that the collaboration between the police and the RSPCA is very effective in England, Scotland and Wales. Local teams know who to call when they have a query or come across animal abuse in their day-to-day activities.”
“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I was shocked by some of the evidence I heard while preparing for this debate about the link between domestic violence and animal abuse. As the Government consider the next steps, that must be key to their thinking.”
“The Government should look at that loophole, but the Minister did not mention it in his speech. I am always keen to hear from my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury)—particularly when he makes insightful points and people think it is me making them.”
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“I thank my hon. Friend for her advocacy for the sector. She will know that I have Uttoxeter racecourse in my constituency. For over 60 years the horserace betting levy has helped courses such as ours, but some of that levy does not go to racecourses such as Uttoxeter in the same way that similar levies in European countries go to their racecourses. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Horserace Betting Levy Board should look to give more support to courses such as ours?”
“I thank my hon. Friend for her tireless campaigning on this issue. We are joined in the Public Gallery by GMB glassmakers—I declare an interest as a GMB member—who are at risk of losing their jobs if the measure goes ahead in its current form. Will my hon. Friend recognise the human impacts that could come if we do not see a change in policy, and pay tribute to those workers in the sector and GMB for their campaigning?”
“Street Whyze was set up by Danny Mondesir after the tragic stabbing of Oliver Freckleton in 2021. It undertakes targeted work with young people to prevent knife crime, knife carrying and youth offending. In the light of the new cross-Government knife crime strategy, can the Minister say how such programmes will be used to cut youth knife crime?”
“In response, the Government have rejected the demands on the grounds that the current provisions are sufficient; I will return to those points later in my remarks.”
“I put on record my thanks to the RSPCA for its tireless work in this space right across our country. The abuse of animals offends our deepest instincts of fairness and kindness. These animals are utterly blameless, yet uniquely vulnerable. The more animals Bea found in this predicament, the stronger became her conviction that the current system for preventing animal abuse is inadequate. One of Bea’s most pressing concerns is that the system fails to prevent animal abuse from occurring in the first place. In short, Bea’s petition requests that those convicted of animal abuse be prohibited from owning animals again, and that their conviction be listed on a national register that can be accessed by breeders, charities, vets, local authorities and other appropriate organisations.”
“The abuse we are discussing today is not the professional cruelty of organised criminals running illegal dogfights or breeding operations, which are well known to the police, or abusive commercial practices in farms; it is about the hidden cruelty inflicted in domestic settings up and down the country. Bea emphasised to me that her focus is on abuse committed in the domestic, rather than the commercial setting. Unfortunately, the most recent statistics from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the main investigative body for offences under the current legislation, confirm that Bea’s experiences reflect the situation across our society. In 2022, 400 pet owners were convicted on evidence gathered by the RSPCA in its investigations.”
“Meeting Bea made clear to me her passion and sense of duty for those less fortunate than herself. While deep cleaning homes, Bea has uncovered the awful situations in which some animals find themselves vulnerable to serious neglect and abuse. It is important to note the distinction between abuse and neglect. Abuse is distinguished by intent. Some people unintentionally neglect their animals due to circumstances beyond their control, such as financial difficulty or mental distress. Those people are not the concern of this petition, which is focused on intentional abuse.”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 759783 relating to a public register of animal abusers and automatic ownership bans. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison, and a privilege to lead this debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee. The creator of the petition, Bea Elton, joins us in the Public Gallery. Bea does not work day to day in the protection of animals; she provides a cleaning service for those in need and who are struggling to keep their homes in order. She documents this on her Instagram channel, cleanwithbeax, which has more than 2.2 million followers—probably about the same number as the Minister has. Bea was kind enough to meet me online ahead of today’s debate—it is lucky she did not meet me in my office, because there was quite a lot of cleaning to do on my desk.”
“In such cases, it is harder to establish with certainty that they are responsible for the crime, so an automatic ban may be disproportionate.”
“Although disqualification orders are at the discretion of the court, the petition requests that bans be made automatic upon conviction. That might reduce instances of animal abuse, especially if coupled with a national register available to vets and rehoming charities. However, in a liberal democracy, we evaluate proposals for punishing crimes based not simply on how effectively they prevent recurrence, but on whether the punishment is proportionate, and it is not clear that automatic lifetime bans are proportionate. An automatic ban has no regard for whether the perpetrator is entirely responsible for their crime. For example, they could be in a coercive or controlling relationship, or could themselves be a victim of abuse, which might drive them to inflict harm on animals.”
“Dr David Martin, who has decades of experience as an expert witness in animal abuse cases, stressed to me that the collaboration between the police and the RSPCA is very effective in England, Scotland and Wales. Local teams know who to call when they have a query or come across animal abuse in their day-to-day activities. On the other hand, Mark Randell, a former police officer who has spent decades campaigning for improvements to the police response to animal abuse, said that identifying animal abuse is not standardised across police forces, and understanding of how animal abuse fits into broader safeguarding varies greatly between police forces across the country. We should consider standardised training so that there is not a postcode lottery. Despite the difficulties, the RSPCA successfully prosecutes hundreds of cases each year.”
“Most reports of animal abuse come from the public, which makes enforcement more reactive than preventive. One risk of a national register is that it could make people less likely to report, because they may assume that the authorities already have the matter in hand. Once the RSPCA begins to investigate a report, it can request information from the police about any previous convictions, but that process can be slow and there is no guarantee that the police will release the information. A dedicated national register would, of course, make that easier. Another route through which animal abuse can be investigated is when police forces discover abuse while investigating other reports.”
“The experts I spoke to in preparation for this debate—I thank Claire McParland, Dr David Martin and Mark Randell—agree that the current legislative framework is a significant improvement on the previous legislation, under which animal cruelty was largely prosecuted as criminal damage and sentences were often a little lenient for organised crime. The Government note in their response that all “offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 are currently stored on the Police National Computer. This information may be shared with appropriate organisations” and with members of the public in specific circumstances. However, the records of convictions under the earlier legislation are less comprehensive. Under the current system, the reporting of suspected offences is an inevitable challenge.”
“I think that is a separate issue, but legislation on XL bullies already exists and it needs to be properly enforced. Animal abuse convictions are most often made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and sexual abuse is covered by the Crime and Policing Act 2026. An individual convicted under the Animal Welfare Act can face up to five years in prison and can be subject to a court-issued disqualification order preventing them from owning animals for the rest of their life, although the court decides the specific terms of the order.”
“A more useful alternative might therefore be a disclosure scheme akin to Clare’s law, which enables police to disclose information about an individual’s history of violence or abuse where there is a credible risk to their partner. That scheme is on a statutory footing, requiring police forces to give reasons if they do not wish to make a disclosure. The family of Holly Bramley have been campaigning for an animal abuse register and police disclosure scheme since her tragic murder in 2023. Holly’s killer was a prolific abuser and killer of animals and he used the threat of animal abuse to control Holly. The link between animal abuse and domestic violence cannot be ignored, and it is key to this debate. We owe it to Holly to take action.”
“Bea wants the register to be accessible to appropriate organisations, but not the general public, which would avoid giving rise to animal abuse vigilantism, the likes of which we have seen spreading on social media in other cases. Alongside access, there is also the question of what information the register should contain. A public register may be less effective if it is simply a snapshot of past offending. As I noted earlier, convictions under the Animal Welfare Act are only part of the picture, and a register of convictions is not as detailed as the archive of RSPCA intelligence. Information must be comprehensive and up to date if it is to be truly effective for relevant agencies.”
“When the argument is considered from that perspective, the discretionary nature of disqualification orders appears to be a strength: judges have the freedom to consider the offender’s circumstances, which may have motivated the crime. None the less, it may be the case that disqualification orders need to be issued more regularly to prevent recurrence. Guidelines could be changed to make them time-limited orders when a certain level or kind of abuse has been committed. As for the national register, the RSPCA has repeatedly stated that it is unreasonably difficult for it to access the history of an alleged offender. How the register works in practice must be considered carefully.”
“I agree. The threat of prosecution was strengthened by the 2006 Act, which has aided in preventing abuse. When the Government review the animal welfare legislation, they should take that into consideration. A lifetime ban ignores the possibility that offenders may change their ways. In this country, we believe that those who break the law can be rehabilitated into law-abiding society. Imagine a case in which a child or young adult commits abuse against an animal. What if they are locking that animal in a cupboard to protect it from a violent parent? A lifetime ban would mean that they would be unable to have such a pet in their retirement, which feels disproportionate.”
“An automatic life ban for convicted abusers appears to be a disproportionate response, though questions remain about whether disqualification orders are being used as frequently as they should be. A public register of convictions is similarly unsuitable. However, a version of Clare’s law for animal abuse might strike the right balance, allowing the appropriate agencies up-to-date access and intelligence when they need it, in order to intervene before abuse is committed. I thank Bea for creating this petition and allowing this necessary debate—my office is a prime candidate if she wants to conduct another spring clean.”
“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. I was shocked by some of the evidence I heard while preparing for this debate about the link between domestic violence and animal abuse. As the Government consider the next steps, that must be key to their thinking. I understand that the RSPCA is in discussions with the Home Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding a version of Clare’s law for animal abuse, and I would welcome an update on those discussions from the Minister. In just three months, Bea’s petition has received more than 238,000 signatures, illustrating the depth of feeling across our country about abuse against animals. That feeling, together with the expert opinion of organisations such as the RSPCA, indicates that the current provisions against animal abuse are not adequate.”
“I thank her very much for starting the petition and I thank the quarter of a million people who signed it. Hopefully, we have some good action to take forward. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered e-petition 759783 relating to a public register of animal abusers and automatic ownership bans.”
“The Government should look at that loophole, but the Minister did not mention it in his speech. I am always keen to hear from my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury)—particularly when he makes insightful points and people think it is me making them. What he said about trusted organisations having access to some kind of register was very important. I pay tribute to the work that the hon. Member for Winchester (Dr Chambers) has done as a vet. He spoke with great authority about people’s motivation for this crime. He talked about deliberate suffering and the warning signs of domestic abuse. As the Minister investigates this area more closely, I encourage him to work across Government with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. I hope Bea has enjoyed the debate.”
“I thank all right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions. It is great that there has been cross-party support. I hope Bea is happy about that, because that does not always happen in this place, but I think that is because we are a nation of animal lovers, as the right hon. Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick) said. My hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) asked whether the current systems are enough to stop a convicted animal abuser from simply buying another animal, and I think the answer is no. The Minister says that the Government want a disclosure scheme, but we need to consider how that would work in practice. My hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) spoke about partners being able to buy pets.”
“I hope that we can restore that. The change in the law was, however, a clear statement that assault of retail workers will not be tolerated. We have repealed the appalling Tory law that meant that those stealing items under £200 were effectively decriminalised.”
“I heard one case of a female shop worker who was verbally assaulted and then saw the person who had committed that abuse as she was walking home in her uniform. Due to this Labour Government making assault against retail workers a specific offence, I can say to those people I met, “We have heard you. We have acted.” It must be noted that the law change did not include verbal abuse or wider customer-facing roles, so that is why I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly on securing this debate and on the points that he has made. I cannot pretend that things will change just because the law has changed—sadly, they will not. The fact that we have to put up signs in shops and hospitals and on our buses asking people to be kind shows that, as a society, the basic respect that we had for each other has broken down.”
“They were proud, hard-working people simply going out to do a job and provide for their family. Sexism and racism makes women workers and workers of colour even more vulnerable. Probably the most horrific story I heard when I spoke to those workers was about a female colleague doused in liquid and threatened with a lighter. I cannot imagine what that would have been like for her in the moment and then reflecting on it afterwards. But in true brave spirit, she was back at work within days. Often, as my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly said, the trauma of that abuse goes home with people. It does not just affect them and their mood; their wider family are impacted, too. That abuse is an assault on their pride in who they are. Often, retail workers, particularly those who work in shops, will live local to where they work.”
“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Hobhouse. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Chris Evans) on securing this debate and on the passionate way in which he laid out the case. The Crime and Policing Act was a key moment in our journey to a society in which the job that we do does not determine how we are treated at work, and retail workers across my constituency are now safer, thanks to the actions of this Government and the campaigning by the Co-operative party and USDAW in particular. Before I was elected, I went to visit Central Co-op workers in my constituency in Stretton, Horninglow and Winshill, and I was shocked by what I heard. Pretty much every worker that I spoke to had faced verbal or physical abuse of some kind simply for doing their job.”
“Travelling abroad is often a very stressful time, but there is no excuse to take it out on the hard-working men and women who get us to where we want to be. The Government and the airports should listen to the GMB’s campaign and introduce stricter penalties to protect the dignity of our airport workers. Those working in customer-facing roles in my constituency, whether in a pub or a nursery or driving a bus, deserve to have dignity at work and the right to do their job without facing abuse. It is on us to put in place the conditions to make sure that happens.”
“My hon. Friend makes a great point. I have often heard about repeat offenders and the same sort of people coming into the shop. Workers often have to protect themselves from individuals who they know are going to commit a criminal act. Unfortunately, abuse against customer-facing workers happens everywhere in society. I have heard that from workers across different sectors of our economy. I should probably declare my membership of Unison and the GMB union. I recently met GMB Swissport members at East Midlands airport about their “Airport Workers Against Abuse” campaign. I heard their shocking stories about the physical attacks and verbal abuse they suffer in terminals. There is a difference between how people can be policed landside versus airside. As there are fewer protections airside, workers are more vulnerable.”
“I thank the Minister for his personal engagement on this matter. As he knows, time is of the essence. Businesses are already telling me that they are cancelling orders, and that these quotas and tariffs create uncertainty. I cannot understand why we would put tariffs on our own British businesses when they cannot obtain the size and grade of steel that they need, and that includes non-speciality steel in categories 1 and 7. Will the Minister apply tariff exemptions when there is no ability to buy British?”
“The Government have led with a NATO-first approach in the SDR and have worked to strengthen the alliance. At the 2025 Hague summit, the alliance committed to spending 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035. Can the Minister say what conversations he has had with NATO partners on the DIP, so that we can all work towards that increased spending goal?”
“I fully support the need to buy British, but does the Minister recognise that JCB, based in my constituency, cannot source the grade and size of steel required for its machines entirely from the UK, and that a significant proportion of its steel comes from the EU? The proposed tariffs will apply to imported steel even when no UK alternative exists, so they are due to cost JCB millions. Will the Minister look into the matter urgently and meet me and JCB to discuss it?”
“The US-Israel war has pushed up prices for my constituents and is yet more evidence that we need to be energy self-sufficient with clean power, so I greatly welcome the £2.6 billion investment in Rolls-Royce for small modular reactors. That is great news for my constituents, as well as those in Derby and the wider region, and those reactors will help with Britain’s energy security. Will the Secretary of State say more about how GB Energy will invest in such projects?”
“I recently joined Cosy Direct for its second King’s Award presentation, this time for international trade. Cosy Direct is an award-winning business in early years education resources, exporting globally and continuing to grow. The Chancellor saw its success, and its goats, at first hand when she visited with me last year. Will the Minister join me in congratulating Pete, Amanda and all the team, and will she say what work she is doing to allow such businesses to expand and export globally?”
“The Bloomberg files, which caused the Prime Minister to sack Peter Mandelson, revealed that Mandelson had been leaking confidential Government information to a convicted paedophile during Gordon Brown’s Government. Mandelson will have had access to highly sensitive and top secret documents in his role as ambassador to Washington, so given his previous behaviour, has there been any investigation by the Government or the security services of potential leaks during his tenure?”
“Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent host excellent tourism hotspots and venues, and my constituency plays a key part in that. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating all the businesses in Burton and Uttoxeter that won in this year’s Visit Staffordshire tourism awards, including: Uttoxeter racecourse; Denstone Hall farm shop and café; George Lowe and Lowe’s on Carter Street; and the Duncombe Arms in Ellastone?”
“I join the Defence Secretary in paying tribute to our civilians and armed forces personnel who are defending the UK national interests. I have had the privilege of meeting many of them overseas during my time in the House. Those serving overseas have been putting themselves in harm’s way, and they will have families back at home who are understandably worried, especially given the situation with personnel from the US and France being killed. What support is the Secretary of State putting in place back at home for the families of those who are serving in the middle east?”
“There are strong and differing views across this House and the country on a social media ban for under-16s. Indeed, when I have spoken to young people, that has come out, and there was not a strong feeling in my old school, de Ferrers academy, about this. Can the Secretary of State say what engagement she will have with young people, so that decisions about their lives are directly fed into this consultation?”
“The campaign to introduce clause 17 was supported by my Conservative predecessor, Kate Kniveton, who bravely spoke about her experience of sexual violence. Will the Justice Secretary join me in congratulating Kate and all the other campaigners who have been involved in this change?”
“In a recent incident at Uttoxeter’s McDonald’s roundabout, a car lost control and ploughed into the restaurant seating area. It is a miracle that no one was injured or killed. That is a collision hotspot, and the incident presents further evidence that the A50 needs to be urgently upgraded. I hope that there will be good news in RIS3—the third road investment strategy. What steps is the Minister taking to make roundabouts and roads like the A50 safer?”
“The Prime Minister may have noticed that the Japanese ambassador to the United Kingdom, Hiroshi Suzuki, was in Manchester recently, trying Boddingtons bitter. The Prime Minister will be aware of the importance of brewing to my constituency, and perhaps, in celebration of these trade deals, he would like to encourage the ambassador to come and sample some of the best beer in the brewing capital of Burton-on-Trent.”
“My hon. Friend stressed the importance of rail freight. The Railways Bill, currently in Committee, will introduce a target to increase rail freight. Does she share the concerns relayed to me about the potential for this line to be closed to freight? Does she agree that we should be getting lorries and haulage off our roads and on to rail freight, as we are doing with Great British Railways?”
“I welcome support for pubs in Britain’s beer capital of Burton and Uttoxeter. I thank the Minister for his continued engagement with me on this issue; I know that we will continue to speak about measures that could be included in the future, such as draught relief. The Minister will remember that I stressed the importance of hospitality more widely, and of breathing life into our high streets, so I welcome the high-street strategy announcement. How can businesses feed directly into it, so that we hear from those affected?”
“Parents in Burton and Uttoxeter tell me that, under Reform-run Staffordshire county council, their pleas for help are too often ignored, leaving children in unsuitable settings or out of education altogether. Communication is extremely poor, and too often meaningful action comes only at the point of crisis. What action is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that councils such as Staffordshire act earlier and are properly held to account when they fail children with SEND?”
“That means a fair approach to alcohol duty under clause 86, a recognition of the difference between pubs and supermarkets, and targeted support on business rates while deeper changes are delivered. If we get this right, the reward is clear: thriving pubs, stronger high streets, more resilient local economies, and communities that are not just better off but happier and more connected. That is why pubs and hospitality must continue to be listened to, supported and championed in this House and by this Labour Government. I shall continue to do that.”
“The Government are right to listen to Labour Members who have been raising the voices of pubs, brewers, restaurants and small business owners. I want to thank those publicans, business owners and representative bodies that have engaged positively with me; it is only through working together constructively that we can bring about change. Businesses that I speak to want to invest and grow, but they need the space and certainty to do so. I really welcome the recent hospitality investment that my constituency has seen—from Lowe’s on Carter Street to Nathan Dawe’s expansion of Isabel’s and Bespoke Inns’ redevelopment of the Hart and taking on of Tutbury Castle. Such businesses need to be supported by Government so that we can meet their ambitions. We must create more well-paid jobs and revive our high streets and town centres.”
“It is no good having transitional relief in place when the bill at the end of the three years is simply unaffordable. Industry voices are clear that further support is needed in the short term while longer-term changes and reforms are worked through. Operators such as Punch Pubs, which is headquartered in my constituency, have called for a higher business rates discount—up to the maximum permitted—to help offset the valuations and the cumulative tax burden that pubs face. UKHospitality has similarly warned that even after reduced multipliers and the transitional relief that the Government have put in place, the average pub faces a significant increase to its business rates bill, alongside other cumulative impacts that hon. Members talked about earlier.”
“I recognise that the Government have put in place the permanently lower multiplier on business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, but any wins in this space have been wiped out in many cases by the new rateable values published by the VOA. In my constituency, the rateable value of the Devonshire Arms—the Devvie, my favourite pub—is set to increase by over 60%. Down the road at the Roebuck, the rise is more than 70%. At this rate, I am not going to have much of a pub crawl. We must stay true to the manifesto commitment we made to level the playing field between online retailers and the high street. An average 76% increase for pubs compared with just 14% for online retailers means that we must think again on this policy.”
“If we are serious about encouraging people back into our town centres, into these shared protected spaces, alcohol duty must work in favour of pubs. I encourage Treasury Front Benchers to read the letter from those of us on the all-party parliamentary beer group, which calls for the multiplier to be increased from around 13% to 20%. Our proposal is supported by the Campaign for Real Ale, the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates and the British Institute of Innkeeping. This is not about encouraging more drinking; it is about encouraging better drinking in places that strengthen our local communities and our local economies.”
“Navigating the pandemic, absorbing high energy costs and managing rising prices have left many venues operating on very low margins, if any at all. That is why the decisions we make in this clause matter so much. We must look carefully at the overall effect of alcohol duty and how it interacts with consumer behaviour. There is a case for strengthening differential rates of duty between supermarkets and pubs, known as draught relief. Drinking in a pub is not the same as drinking at home. Pubs are supervised, regulated spaces. Landlords ensure responsible drinking, with pubs providing social connection and supporting mental health in our communities. Pubs give character to our high streets and town centres, yet the tax system makes it cheaper to buy alcohol in bulk from a supermarket than to go down the local pub.”