Ms Julie Minns

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1. “I thank the right hon. and learned Gentleman for his answer. Responses to a survey by the Royal National Institute of Blind People at the time of the last general election showed that 73% of people who are blind and visually impaired did not know that those adjustments were available at polling stations. I have tabled an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill that would require those adjustments to be made available. In the meantime, could he set out what more the commission can do ahead of the next elections to ensure that blind and visually impaired people can vote independently and in secret?”

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2. “My hon. Friend mentioned mini-marts. We had none in Carlisle 12 months ago, and now we have at least 12 or 15. They are all distinguished by having wrappered windows that cannot be seen through. There is a presumption in planning guidance that windows should be active, whereas these are obviously inactive. Does my hon. Friend think that more needs to be done to enforce existing planning laws to ensure that these shops do not open or, if they do, that they are closed down for contravening planning guidelines?”

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3. “The hon. Gentleman makes an extremely important point about the wonderful charitable work that many of our rural pubs do. I would like to place on record my gratitude to the Black Lion in my constituency and also the Crossings Inn. The Black Lion does wonderful charity work, and the Crossings is the hub whenever there is a power cut in that particular area of Cumbria, which is sadly quite prone to them. On that point, I congratulate the Countryside Alliance on its “Rural Oscars”—both the Crossings and the Black Lion were northern finalists, and I am delighted to say that the Black Lion, as the winning pub for the north, is through to the finals. Will the hon. Gentleman share my congratulations to the Black Lion and all the other finalists on the excellent work that they do, and wish them the best of luck in the “Rural Oscars”?”

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4. “The petitioners “therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to work with the relevant local authorities to introduce traffic calming measures”, including the establishment of a 20 mph zone in Wetheral. Following is the full text of the petition: [ The petition of residents of Wetheral and the wider Carlisle constituency, Declares that traffic calming measures, including the establishment of a 20mph zone, should be introduced to the village of Wetheral. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to work with the relevant local authorities to introduce traffic calming measures in Wetheral, specifically the implementation of a 20mph speed limit through the village to improve road safety. And the petitioners remain, etc. ] [P003207]”

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5. “I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of residents of the village of Wetheral calling for traffic-calming measures, including a 20 mph zone, to improve the safety of pedestrians and other road users. The issue of traffic calming was raised with me by local residents at a coffee morning I held in Wetheral a few months ago. The introduction of a 20 mph zone and other measures would build on the excellent work of Wetheral parish council, which has recently funded the installation of a speed camera in the village. However, Wetheral residents remain concerned by the speed of traffic through the village, and the lack of pavements on stretches of road. A total of 298 residents signed the petition that local people, members of the parish council and I took door to door around the village.”

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6. “Last Friday, I joined pupils at St Bede’s Roman Catholic primary school for their internet safety assembly. Thanks to their headteacher’s regular internet safety assemblies, St Bede’s children are now well versed in the subject. Does the Secretary of State agree that today’s announcement will support the work of many schools and teachers, and send a clear message to big tech that it must now match that commitment?”

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7. “My hon. Friend and I know that our constituencies are somewhat similar. My Carlisle constituents currently have to travel 12 miles to find a dental practice that is taking patients. That is an improvement: last year they had to go to Yorkshire to find an NHS practice that was taking on new patients. Does she agree that the steps this Government are taking to rebuild NHS dentistry need to be focused on our rural and coastal communities, such as our two constituencies?”

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8. “I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way on the point about inspiration and aspiration. I hope that some of that comes a little south of the border and inspires residents in Carlisle. In areas such as mine, which are a long way from large infrastructure facilities to support sports, grassroots inspiration is key. Does my hon. Friend agree that these games offer an opportunity to inspire the hopes and dreams of people not just in Glasgow and Scotland, but in communities like mine in Carlisle?”

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9. “May I wish you a very happy birthday, Mr Speaker? Members on both sides of the border and both sides of the Chamber believe that the deal has the potential to be transformative for our region. What steps are being taken to ensure that progress on the deal is maintained, and will the Secretary of State meet me, and my colleagues on both sides of the border, to discuss the reset?”

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10. “Nevertheless, given the relatively limited pool time available for key stage 2, I ask the Minister whether we should now be giving greater emphasis to water safety education rather than the technicalities of learning to swim, and whether a minimum statutory standard for water safety instruction could be established. As our summers become hotter, more and more people will choose to swim in rivers and lakes and on our coastline. The RNLI estimates that almost 49 million people will visit the coast this summer. With that in mind, and given the dangers we have heard about today, I believe it would be timely and right to review the current approach to swimming and water safety education.”

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11. “I praise the work of North Cumbria Search and Rescue, which works with groups such as the Scouts and Beavers to teach cold water and open water safety in my constituency. I also commend Cumberland council for installing throw lines at key points along our city’s three river—and, to the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Mr Charters) about affordability, I commend the council for introducing swimming for 10p during half-terms at a number of our local swimming pools. Key stage 2 swimming is, of course, a statutory part of the curriculum, and schools are expected to teach water safety.”

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12. “I have, however, been known to swim in the River Eden, which runs through our great border city, and I am not alone. Tragically, this time three years ago, three young Carlisle boys got into difficulty while swimming in the River Eden. Two of the boys lost their lives. I extend my continued sympathy to their families for their heartbreaking loss. A member of the public, Luke Marwood, risked his life to rescue the third boy and was deservedly awarded a medal for his bravery. I pay tribute to Luke for his remarkable courage. We should not need such tragedies to remind us of the dangers of water and of the importance of young people learning not only how to swim, but how to stay safe and survive in cold and dangerous water—flip, float, live.”

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13. “It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) for securing this important and timely debate. Although we have heard about the dangers of open water and the importance of water safety in the summer months, it is also important to recognise that the winter months bring their own risks. One of the ponds in my Carlisle constituency regularly freezes over during the winter months, which is important to remember. I am a cold-water swimmer, so I am very familiar with this subject. I know only too well the dangers of open water, the attendant risk of cold-water shock and the perilous after-drop that occurs when the body’s core temperature continues to fall even after exiting the water. I mostly swim in my county’s beautiful lakes.”

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14. “It has been more than 20 years since I was one of half a dozen people who co-wrote the world’s first code of practice to protect minors from age-inappropriate content. One of the biggest challenges we faced then was age verification. Will the Minister assure us that the technology and the devices are now there and in place so that under-18s can verify their age?”

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15. “It is estimated that illegal waste dumping costs the taxpayer over £1 billion. Given that this activity can and does happen at permitted sites, can the Minister assure the House that the waste crime unit has access to both the permit return data to the Environment Agency and the landfill tax returns to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, so that that fraudulent activity can be identified? Will she meet me to discuss the Hespin Wood landfill site in my constituency?”

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16. “I commend the work of the Family Rights Group in this area—I should declare that I did some work with it prior to entering this place. Can the Minister share with the House his ambition for how other councils, such as Cumberland under the leadership of Councillor Emma Williamson, can do what Cumberland has done in a few years during this Parliament?”

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17. “I thank the Minister for his statement today, and I also welcome the remarks of the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Windsor (Jack Rankin). I agree that all too often when we debate these topics, it is in the context of a tragedy, and it is refreshing that we are here today celebrating some fantastic news for young people in care. The remarks from both Front Benchers stand in contrast to the disgusting remarks from a Reform councillor last year, who described young people in care as “evil”. I think we can all be unified in condemning that view. The Minister will know, because we share the same local authority, that Cumberland has made great strides in recent years in achieving exactly what we want to achieve, by ensuring that young people have those stable relationships.”

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18. “The Minister mentions the new pilots, and I place on the record my thanks for the fact that Cumberland is one of those areas. Is he aware that Cumberland council is already using the money that the Government have given it? It has introduced a series of bus links, including the HW1 bus route, which offers visitors the opportunity to visit our historic, wonderful Hadrian’s Wall. May I invite the Minister to join me on that bus? Roman togas are optional.”

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19. “It is therefore doubly frustrating that efforts to open a new pharmacy in the same community have so far come to nothing because the premises’ landlord, the Riverside housing association, has failed to respond to representations from both the prospective pharmacist and me since last October.”

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20. “I will therefore be grateful if the Minister can briefly outline what action the Government are taking to protect pharmacy workers from abuse. Sadly, under the previous Government too many community pharmacies were lost. Between 2019 and 2024, 1,633 community pharmacies closed. In the same period, about 400 opened: just one for every four that was closed. In communities such as Carlisle, the closure of a pharmacy has a significant knock-on effect on the remaining pharmacies. Two pharmacies in the Harraby area of Carlisle have closed in recent years, placing additional pressure on the sole remaining pharmacy, on Central Avenue, and resulting in longer waits for prescription collections.”

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21. “It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) for securing this important debate. I also thank the staff at community pharmacies across my constituency, particularly the staff at the Well pharmacy in Denton Holme who have given exceptional care and support to my family for many years. Pharmacies and their staff provide a vital accessible health hub in our communities. However, this year Community Pharmacy England has reported that 55% of pharmacy staff experience abuse, often triggered by medicine shortages, prescription delays, long queues and other issues entirely outside their control. I am sure all hon. Members will agree that, whatever the prompt, abuse of that nature is completely unacceptable.”

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22. “In the meantime, ironically, the shop next door, a former pharmacy, has been refurbed and opened as yet another barber’s and mini-mart. It is simply not good enough. That is why I very much welcome this Government’s prescription for our community pharmacies: not just £3.6 billion in funding for community pharmacies, but the Government’s high street strategy, the recently announced crackdown on dodgy vape shops and mini-marts and the plans to integrate community pharmacies as key local healthcare hubs. These actions are not just vital for the health of local people; they are vital for the health of our high streets, too.”

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23. “A more proportionate response would be to require mobile network operators to maintain a fleet of mobile electricity generators that could be towed to mast sites to restore power while the electricity network is repaired. With extreme weather events becoming more frequent and intense as the climate warms, I believe that the UK’s preparedness for national weather-related emergencies requires the Government and Ofcom to look again at the adequacy of the current regulatory requirements for power back-up to mobile masts.”

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24. “However, with the full retirement of the public switched telephone network scheduled for January next year, our communications infrastructure will become increasingly dependent on digital fixed lines and mobile networks, both of which require power. That raises an important question about resilience. It is not difficult to imagine a scenario in which a prolonged power outage leads not only to the loss of electricity but to a telecommunications blackout. Mobile masts are currently required to have only one hour of back-up power, which is nowhere near sufficient when there is a real possibility of a multi-day outage. I recognise that mandating longer power back-up on every single mast would be disproportionate.”

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25. “It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) for bringing us this important debate. In remote villages and communities such as mine, severe weather can often lead to prolonged power outages. Following Storm Arwen last year, one village in my Carlisle constituency was without electricity for five days. Data analysis found that the storm triggered a rapid, severe and sustained decline in mobile performance across all operators on a scale not seen before. Historically, when electricity networks were hit by power cuts, people could still rely on the old copper wire telephone network to remain in service.”

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26. “Just before my right hon. Friend moves away from the single patient record, may I highlight the challenge remaining in cross-border communities such as mine in Cumbria? My constituents in Carlisle often register with a GP across the border in Scotland. Unfortunately, at present that means that their single patient record will not necessarily flow with them. Will he work at pace with his colleagues in Scotland —and Wales; I can see my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd East (Becky Gittins) nodding in front of me—to ensure that we get this right for anyone, regardless of where they live?”

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27. “T4. Carlisle is a great city. It is not, however, Leeds, Newcastle or Manchester. The challenges that hospitality businesses face in constituencies like mine are different. In the last couple of months, I have met two such businesses—a pub that has doubled its turnover in the last four years, but still cannot turn a profit; and a business offering fine dining that has been able to retain a full complement of kitchen staff only because its world-leading chef has taken a pay cut. Will the Minister set out how the action the Government are taking will help businesses in constituencies like mine, and will she meet me to discuss the particular challenges—”

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28. “I agree with much of what the hon. Lady is saying, but I would like to highlight a little glimmer of hope. Last week I visited RSPB Geltsdale in my constituency, which has successfully rewiggled and restored an ancient landscape—it is wonderful to see it blooming. Does she agree that while it is difficult, it is not impossible to reverse many of the changes to our rural landscapes?”

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29. “My hon. Friend touches on a key point that a group of residents of Moorside Drive in my constituency have recently spoken to me about. For well over a year, they have been trying to get the developer Gleeson to take responsibility for completing the resurfacing of a road on their new housing estate, and for maintaining the green spaces. Does he agree that we have to get this right, and bring developers like Gleeson to heel, so that they make investments and do the works to improve the quality of life of residents on these estates?”

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30. “For over two years, residents on the edge of Carlisle, in Rockcliffe, Harker and Cargo, have been waging an excellent campaign against the building of a gasification plant—a campaign for which they have my full support. Cumberland council rightly refused the application, but the applicant, who has much deeper pockets than local residents, is taking the issue to appeal. My community is not the only one fighting incinerator plans, so will the Leader of the House arrange for a ministerial statement on the Government’s current position on the building of new incinerators?”

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31. “The conflict in the middle east has again highlighted just how vulnerable our off-grid rural households are to fossil fuel-driven energy shocks. Does the Chancellor agree with me that the warm homes plan is a major opportunity to upgrade rural housing and cut bills? Will she confirm what further steps the Government are taking to encourage the take-up of low carbon technology?”

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32. “The Carlisle of my childhood was a thriving industrial hub of textiles, engineering and food manufacturing sectors, which were all sadly decimated by successive Conservative Governments. We do, however, remain home to the world’s oldest biscuit factory and the UK’s last tyre manufacturing facility in Pirelli. Can the Secretary of State set out how the scheme announced today will ensure that those businesses that remain in Carlisle and across the UK will continue to be able to export their products abroad?”

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33. “Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the advantages of extending regulation to this market would be to introduce a requirement on the companies to maintain a priority service register, as is the case with the gas market, which would ensure that those companies could more easily identify which customers are vulnerable?”

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34. “Q10. In the last week alone, two Scottish pensioners have been hospitalised following a collision with an illegal e-bike and a 10-year-old boy in Grimsby has been injured by another. The new Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 gives Government the power to define these bikes as unsafe and ban them from sale. Will the Prime Minister reassure my Carlisle constituents that the Government will use these new powers to rid our streets of the menace of illegal e-bikes?”

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35. “My hon. Friend has been a doughty champion on the issue of dodgy shops. I would go as far to call her a guru on dodgy shops, if she will accept that accolade. Carlisle, like her constituency, is blighted by minimarts, vape shops and so on. I am attracted to Lords amendment 333, but superficially so. I think it is right that we get this correct. Does she agree with me that passing Lords amendment 333 would mark a significant shift in the law? It is important we get this right and consult, and what the Government are doing is extending the power, but with a guarantee to consult.”

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36. “As the current Youth Parliament draws to the end of its term, can I put on record my thanks to you, Mr Speaker, for your continued support of our Youth Parliament? Earlier this week, I met Bobby Forbes, who is Cumbria’s Member of Youth Parliament. Yesterday, the Select Committee that he chairs published a report on reform of personal, social, health and economic education. As this Government are rightly extending the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds, could the Leader of the House please explain to us as Members of this Parliament how we could discuss the recommendations of the Youth Select Committee’s report?”

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37. “Sadly, I have administered the wills of two relatives in the past year, both of whom held NS&I accounts, so I know acutely how difficult and emotional that time can be. I have two questions for the Minister in that regard. Can he assure my Carlisle constituents that any moneys owed to them and their families will definitely be paid, and can he give an assurance that NS&I will handle these cases very sensitively, taking into account the distress that many families will be experiencing?”

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38. “Barry, a regular of more than 50 years, would often say that he could name half a dozen men who had not needed mental health treatment because the baths provided a space to unwind and talk. It has been three years since the closure of Carlisle’s Turkish baths, but the campaign and the charity that I started continue the work to secure a community asset transfer from Cumberland council and reopen them as an expanded centre for health and wellbeing. I pay tribute to Steve Yeates—”

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39. “Sadly, the relocation of the main swimming pools in 2022 forced the closure of not simply the Turkish baths, but a community facility used by a loyal group of regulars—Barry, Iain, David, Richard and Keith, to name but a few—who knew of the baths’ physical and mental health benefits. On one visit just before its closure, I spoke with a young man who explained that, as a recovering alcoholic, his weekends were lonely because he could no longer go to the pub, but a couple of hours in the baths had been filled with the conversation he missed. Another said that the baths had kept him together after he and his wife separated, and another spoke of how they alleviated his asthma.”

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40. “Indeed, the 1846 Act does not mention swimming at all. Carlisle’s public baths opened in 1884, funded by the proceeds of the municipal gasworks. However, the funds did not stretch to including Turkish baths, which had become popular—again, not as leisure facilities—thanks to the work of Richard Barter and David Urquhart, a doctor and a diplomat who extolled the therapeutic benefits of hot and cold treatments and drove the expansion of Turkish baths across the UK during the 19th century. Turkish baths catered for the working man, for it was men who were in the factories at the time. After a long shift in the mills and factories, they could be cleaned and cleansed, inside and out, by a Turkish bath. Carlisle’s Turkish baths were finally added in 1909.”

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41. “It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship this afternoon, Mr Efford. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) for securing this excellent debate. I begin by paying tribute to Kitty Wilkinson, the woman to whom we owe a debt of thanks for giving us modern public baths. In 1842, thanks to her determined advocacy, Liverpool opened the first combined public washhouse and baths in the United Kingdom since Roman times. Crucially, she inspired national interest and, just a few years later, Parliament passed the Baths and Washhouses Act 1846, which empowered local authorities across Britain to build public bathing and laundry facilities. However, as we discuss the impact of public baths, we should remember that they were never conceived as leisure facilities, but as tools to improve the health of working people.”

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42. “My hon. Friend has, and I appreciate it. Steve Yeates was the secretary of Friends of Carlisle Turkish Baths, and he sadly passed away last year. I also thank the Architectural Heritage Fund for the advice and financial support that have enabled the group to evidence the viability of its vision, which will include a community laundry because, as Kitty Wilkinson knew, baths are a community facility that supports public health, and they are open to all. I conclude by inviting the Minister to visit Carlisle, to endorse the work of the friends group and to back its vision of reopening the north-west’s last Victorian Turkish baths.”

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43. “In short, mandatory licensing is not just another layer of regulation; it is a powerful tool to crack down on illegal vapes, remove bad actors from our high streets, and support safer and more responsible retailing. More important, it will give local authorities the powers they need to shut down dodgy shops quickly, decisively and permanently. I therefore welcome both the Lords amendments and the Bill as a step forward to cleaning up our high streets and ensuring that we have a healthier, happier country.”

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44. “The introduction of on-the-spot fines of up to £2,500 and the ability to revoke retailers’ licences entirely are therefore welcome. Mandatory licensing will also make it much easier to shut down dodgy shops that knowingly stock or distribute illegal vapes and cigarettes. Under the new framework, any premises found storing, displaying or supplying unregulated products will lose their licences, because licensing applies not just to the act of selling, but to the possession of regulated products for retail purposes. This means that enforcement officers will no longer have to rely on repeated seizures or warnings; they will have a fast, lawful route to closing down problem retailers for good.”

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45. “The Bill will give the Government the power to introduce such a framework, and that can only be strengthened by a requirement for licensing authorities to consider annually the programme of enforcement. Contrary to what the hon. Member for Windsor (Jack Rankin) seemed to suggest, one of the strongest arguments for licensing is its ability to combat the sale of illegal cigarettes and vapes on our high streets. Local authorities and enforcement bodies have warned repeatedly that rogue sellers are flooding the market with untested, high-nicotine, incorrectly labelled or counterfeit products, and my constituency is no exception. Just a few weeks ago, Cumberland council trading standards seized 6,000 illegal cigarettes in raids, and that was in addition to the £20,000-worth of illegal tobacco and vapes seized last summer.”

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46. “Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank), clarify what we mean by a “relevant enforcement authority” and, in particular, clarify the duty that will be placed on that relevant enforcement authority to consider annually whether it is appropriate to carry out a programme of enforcement action. As has been said, we acknowledge, and know, that vaping can support adults who want to move away from smoking, but we nevertheless cannot ignore the rapid rise in youth vaping and the growing presence of illegal, non-compliant and counterfeit vapes and cigarettes in all our communities. That is why a robust, mandatory licensing framework is so urgently needed.”

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47. “Before I begin my brief speech, may I say how good it is to see my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) in the Chamber? We owe her a debt of gratitude for both introducing the Bill and piloting it through the House. She leaves behind—I was going to say large shoes, but that seems a bit rude—significant shoes to be filled, but I know they are shoes that the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson), is more than capable of filling, and I am very glad to see her in her place this evening. I wish to speak briefly about Lords amendments 11 and 61, which, as we heard from my hon.”

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48. “Citadel Homes has issued demands for rent increases of over £200 a month, in tandem with no-fault eviction notices, to tenants in the Denton Holme area of my Carlisle constituency. Those affected have done nothing wrong. Will the Leader of the House ensure that in the final weeks before the abolition of no-fault evictions, Ministers do all that they can to ensure that landlords like Citadel Homes are held to account?”

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49. “I would like to add one further example from my constituency. The Rebuild Site, a social enterprise, has identified that in the construction industry a large amount of waste goes to landfill and contributes hugely to our carbon dioxide emissions. It offers a service to developers whereby at the end of a job, it takes the surplus waste back to its warehouse, sells it and donates the money to community projects. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need more examples like the Rebuild Site across the country to engender genuine pride in our towns and cities?”

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50. “I thank the Minister for his answer. He will be aware that my constituency was home to Europe’s largest munitions factory during the first world war, a legacy that lives on in MOD Longtown. When the Minister confirms that my constituency of Carlisle will be one of the locations for the six new munitions factories the Government are looking to build, what support will the Government provide to ensure that it is local people who will be able to take up the jobs at that new munitions factory?”

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