Ian Roome
MP for North Devon · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“I thank the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing this important debate. I want to speak up for Ilfracombe in particular, and the challenges that will be familiar to coastal communities everywhere. Devon county council has identified Ilfracombe as one of the most vulnerable towns in Devon.”
“I have spoken with local business owners who pour their hearts and souls out into Ilfracombe trying to make things better, and the very last thing that they need is a hatchet job in the national press. Just yesterday, it was reported that a local teenager, Bradley Blackmore, bravely rescued another boy from drowning. Well done, Bradley.”
“This August, a daring soapbox derby will again raise thousands for charity, and I am proud to say that Ilfracombe has just been shortlisted for the first ever UK town of culture awards, one of only 15 towns in the country on the list.”
“The review rightly placed at the heart of Britain’s future military capability the digital targeting web—the system that links sensors, commanders and weapons into one integrated force that can identify a threat and destroy it.”
“I certainly do, and I will come that later in my speech. There are areas where the Government seem to have cut corners: munitions reserves, medical support, industrial resilience—all essential for enduring a longer crisis. Professionals talk logistics.”
“I agree with the hon. and gallant Gentleman, and I thank him for his distinguished service too. We are seeing that in how we are learning lessons from Ukraine. I have been out there and seen the systems, so I totally agree.”
The complete record
Every one of 210 lines we hold for Ian Roome, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 5.
“When I was a council leader, we signed up to the armed forces covenant scheme, which set some principles for councils. Can the Minister give any indication of how many councils up and down the country have actually signed up to the armed forces covenant scheme?”
“We are still waiting for the defence investment plan, and according to the strategic defence review, items should be deleted from that plan only on the advice of the national armaments director; service chiefs must advise the Secretary of State if anything is to be removed from the defence to-do list. Has the Secretary of State received any such advice? I understand that it is a draft plan at the moment, but it must be finished.”
“T8. Last week, HMS Dragon left Portsmouth bound for Cyprus, having been prepared for deployment inside six days. The Royal Navy says that preparation would normally have taken six weeks. What can the Government do to ensure that more of our surface fleet is available when urgently needed?”
“Does the Minister agree that by being asked to focus on parcels over letters, and having overtime hours for deliveries restricted, many hard-working postal workers will feel that public trust in Royal Mail is being undermined?”
“T5. Many small businesses in my constituency are gearing up for the busy tourist season that is just around the corner. What steps are the Government taking to support small businesses in the south-west, to help them make the most of their biggest window of opportunity over the summer?”
“First, will the Department explain these cost estimates, because £1.5 billion is a vastly inflated figure, which is far beyond the 50% adjustment stated in the review? That should not delay work on NHS hospitals such as mine in North Devon. The trust is ready to build the next phase now, so if there is any capital available, please bear North Devon in mind. In addition, what else can the Government do in the coming years to avoid entrenching real health inequalities in communities such as mine in North Devon?”
“If an NHS trust is lucky enough to receive the capital spending for new facilities sooner rather than later, patients in that community will benefit twice; if not, tough luck. Furthermore, the estimated cost of the scheme in my area given in the new hospital programme review seems to bear no relation to the bid originally submitted by the trust. The Government will not answer questions on the multi-criteria decision support analysis tool that is being used to score the bids for capital funding under the new hospital programme, nor even answer freedom of information requests to state the name of the provider of the tool. Consequently, we as parliamentarians are unable to scrutinise that detail. I have some questions for the Minister.”
“It is not only that patients in northern Devon are being asked to wait another 10 years for new critical care facilities, but the ever-increasing maintenance costs of keeping their ageing hospital going will demand a bigger and bigger share of NHS funding from the area. Worse still, the Department of Health and Social Care says that hospitals built to the new hospital 2.0 standard are expected to deliver operational savings. Whose hospitals will really benefit from that approach? When I queried it in a written question, the Minister said on 13 February that trusts and integrated care boards manage budgets, and that the centralised new hospital programme does not redistribute savings.”
“The cost of keeping these facilities running for another 10 years will be immense. Our hospital has a maintenance backlog of “high” and “critical” grade work of over £40 million, the most per square metre of any hospital in the south-west, higher even than many of the hospitals afflicted by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, or RAAC. Our NHS trust worries, as I expect many people in this Chamber worry, that that is simply throwing good money after bad. In January, the National Audit Office released its update on the new hospital programme, which makes it clear that the current Labour Government have tried to financially rescue a programme that the last Conservative Government had doomed to disaster. However, many of my constituents feel that they have lost out yet again.”
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean) for introducing this important debate. I thank the Minister for visiting North Devon district hospital to see the estate for herself and for listening to the passionate pleas from NHS clinicians serving on the frontline. The hospital is now the third of nine hospitals in wave 3 of the new hospital programme and faces a further 10-year wait for the capital funding it needs. That investment is desperately needed to replace an ancient intensive care unit and operating theatres that are nearly 50 years old. I thank the Government for approving phase 1, building new residences for staff and medical students, which will also recover land for the all-important clinical rebuild. On paper, however, phase 2 is unlikely to begin before 2035.”
“It is projected to rise to an astonishing 5.4% by the end of the decade. The Estonians recognise the threat to their way of life and consider this their duty. Our defence spending might be the price we pay to avoid something far worse. A pound invested today could be more important than 10 times that sum spent too late.”
“Our freedom, democratic values and an open society must be defended—by force of arms if necessary. Our allies also face similar budget choices, so we should co-ordinate getting more bang for our buck. We must maximise our resources and defence capabilities by working as a team. Even as eastern European nations plan against a scenario of a land war, we should lean into Britain’s position in the Atlantic and our historic strength in naval operations, in shipbuilding and in aviation. We must be honest with the public: the peace dividend that we have all enjoyed since the end of the cold war must now be retained and reinvested in these more difficult times in order to keep us all safe. Last year, the Defence Committee and I visited Estonia, where defence spending is already over 5% of GDP.”
“The UK provides an immensely powerful nuclear deterrent to the NATO nuclear mission—a highly specialised capability, even among our allies—and many of Europe’s leading defence companies are based here in the UK. The great south-west has a particularly strong defence sector, and the Government are recognising the massive economic value of investing in a world-leading defence industry. Defence spending supports over 430,000 jobs across the UK, with a giant supply chain that stretches across every region. We are one of only four European allies with aircraft carrier capability. The radar array at RAF Fylingdales and signals intelligence at GCHQ provide indispensable data gathering to our Five Eyes partners. There is also firm political agreement about national defence across the House.”
“The numbers must be weighed against what we expect from our armed forces, but we must guard against Russian aggression despite the cost. We can still do more. The Prime Minister’s assertion that the Government would spend an additional £13.4 billion on defence every year from 2027 is an increase in cash terms, but not in real terms. As a percentage of GDP, we are simply returning to the early 1990s levels of defence spending, not the far higher levels we saw during the cold war. However, we must not be too hard on ourselves: in real terms, defence spending will soon approach the heights of the 1980s—but protecting a much bigger economy.”
“I thank the Chair of the Defence Committee for securing this estimates debate on defence. Of all the demands on public finances, none are more serious than paying for this country’s defence. Recent years—even the last few days—have brought that into sharp relief. This time last year, at the spring statement, the Government said they would go further and faster on defence, announcing a £2.2 billion uplift to the Ministry of Defence budget, helping the UK to reach a defence spending target of 2.5% of GDP under the NATO definition. It remains the Government’s stated ambition for the UK to reach 3% during the next Parliament. The Liberal Democrats want to see that delivered this side of 2030, but the sooner it can be achieved, the better.”
“I am getting frustrated about the defence investment plan. Could the Minister, when he sums up, confirm whether it is stuck in the Treasury, and the two Departments are arguing about what it can and cannot include? What is the hold-up between the MOD and the Treasury?”
“The Chancellor refers to opportunities that young people deserve. However, hundreds of college students in my North Devon constituency have spent weeks unable to travel to college due to flooding and rail closures. Will the Government confirm that they will invest in their life chances by doing more to upgrade our transport infrastructure, especially our rural railway lines, such as the Tarka line in North Devon, because that infrastructure is not working?”
“I thank the Minister for the Government’s decision to effectively write off about 90% of Devon county council’s SEND debts. I know that will reassure many parents in my constituency. Will the Minister tell us how the new school curriculum will give schools the flexibility they need to support children with special educational needs across very different parts of the country, including rural areas such as North Devon?”
“As a veteran, I agree with the Prime Minister that the safety of our armed forces and of British citizens should come first in any decision made in the future. Given the rapidly evolving situation, will the Ministry of Defence now expedite the promised defence investment plan, so that our industry can get on and make the capabilities that this country needs?”
“A poignant moment for me personally was when our delegation paid our respects at the Wall of Remembrance of the Fallen for Ukraine. Just seeing the multitude of photos on that wall brings home how many families have lost a loved one.”
“The full list of military capabilities that the UK has given the Ukrainian defence effort is eye-opening. We must commend our world-class armed forces, who have trained more than 62,000 Ukrainian personnel— a number fast approaching the size of the entire British Army. We have given thousands of anti-tank missiles, artillery units and armoured vehicles, specialist air defence systems, radar systems, long-range cruise missiles, more than 10,000 drones, search and rescue helicopters, electronic warfare equipment, night vision, body armour and medical essentials—a lifeline worth more than £21 billion. Thanks to the hard work of the Pickwell Foundation, my constituency has sheltered more than 230 Ukrainian evacuees, as have countless communities across the country, as we have heard today. I visited Kyiv last year with the Defence Committee.”
“It gives me great pleasure to be one of the last speakers in such a unifying debate, in which Members on all sides of the House can agree on the same thing. I associate myself with the remarks of all those who have already spoken. This country should be immensely proud of the support that we have given to Ukraine in its hour of need. The Kremlin has thrown international law on to the bonfire, but the Ukrainian people are defending their land bravely against a brutal invasion. We have seen scenes of trench warfare and civilians being evacuated on trains or sheltering from air raids in underground stations—things we thought we had left in the last century. However, far from collapsing in days, as Putin believed, the Ukrainians have shamed the Russian army at every turn. Without British support, things might have been very different.”
“I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman that those people should be held accountable for the crimes they have committed. I am sure the Minister will take note of that. On that same trip to Kyiv, we met many Ukrainian parliamentarians, including the Ukrainian Veterans Minister. That role is new to the Ukrainians. It was a great pleasure that they wanted to learn from how the UK supports the welfare and rehabilitation of veterans returning from combat. That Ukrainian Minister has met organisations such as the Royal British Legion to see how we support our veterans, to take that learning back to Ukraine.”
“I certainly do. I thank the right hon. Gentleman for telling us about his visit. It is great that we can share learning as well as military capabilities. The past four years must serve as a lesson for us in the UK. The frontlines have seen the invention of fibre-optic drones and cyber-sabotage, and the emergence of artillery targeting apps and rapid procurement portals. We in the UK and Europe must contend with Russian activities in the grey zone. Ukrainians have suffered a terrible winter, as the Russians have bombarded critical energy infrastructure. Last year, President Zelensky told us: “Russia’s tactics are to murder people and terrorise them with the cold.” We must pay attention.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for making that poignant point, with which I totally agree. We in the UK are relearning the strategic importance of warfighting, of deterrence, readiness and resilience at home, and of sticking with European allies that we could have taken for granted. It is important that UK civil society understands the hardship faced by the Ukrainian people. If Russia succeeds in using force to redraw borders, it threatens the collective security of the entire European continent and of NATO, and threatens the safety of the UK. Facing down tyrants is in this country’s DNA. Ukraine will fight on, and we must back it. There is no stronger defence than showing that we are as good as our word.”
“The new Chief of the Defence Staff told me, as a member of the Defence Committee, that the medium helicopter programme was still very much on the armed forces’ priorities list. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government need to ensure that it is in the defence investment plan, because the service chiefs are asking for it? It is not all about uncrewed capability; we will always need crewed capability. This programme needs to be prioritised now, even before the defence investment plan comes out, because the Minister will tell us that they are still working it through. The Treasury and the Ministry of Defence need to get their act together and reinforce the programme to save the 3,000 jobs, plus those in the supply chain of SMEs that enable Yeovil to deliver it.”
“This is a really important programme, and I see that the official Opposition have not even bothered to turn up to the debate. I asked the Defence Secretary about the DIP, and he told me it would be out by the end of December. Now it is going to be March. Can the Minister guarantee that it will be March? What is the hold-up? Is it that the Treasury and the MOD cannot agree the finances? Could he be honest and let us know what the delay is in getting the DIP out?”
“Does the Minister agree that the new medium helicopter programme is a chance not just to upgrade an important capability but to move the service branches on to a common helicopter platform?”
“The Home Office has said that a new licence to practice will be required by all police officers. Can the Minister explain how that will differ from what is required under police conduct regulations, the police code of ethics and current police training programmes?”
“And the petitioners remain, etc.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of Northern Devon, Declares that the Tarka Rail Line between Barnstaple and Exeter needs structural improvements to the line ’ s capacity and resiliency. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the government to ask Network Rail and Great Western Rail to prioritise the Tarka Line for improvements, and to work together to make rail travel in North Devon more resilient. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003161]”
“Further to our online petition, signed by more than 3,000 people, calling for the Tarka rail line to be future-proofed, I present this petition on behalf of rail passengers in northern Devon, who have suffered overcrowding and repeated service disruption due to flooding this winter, despite a record-breaking 1 million rail journeys per year between Barnstaple and Exeter. Following Storm Chandra, all trains have been cancelled. North Devon’s rail link has been shut for over a week, and service will not resume for several more days. The petitioners therefore request “that the House of Commons urge the government to ask Network Rail and Great Western Rail to prioritise the Tarka Line for improvements, and to work together to make rail travel in North Devon more resilient.”
“We could invest better in naval shipbuilding if the Government paid attention to a report published by the National Audit Office, which estimates that £1.5 billion a year of defence spending is lost to fraud and that the Ministry of Defence recovers only 48p in every £1 spent on counter-fraud work, less than other Departments. What will the Minister do to ensure that more of that funding can be recovered for our national defence?”
“The Tarka line in North Devon has seen a massive increase in footfall. However, the line is often closed because of the lack of infrastructure upkeep. Will the Minister meet me to discuss various funding opportunities? It is a rural line that is vital for students to get into Exeter and for people’s job opportunities—I know that the Government are all about job growth.”
“T4. One of my constituents is a disabled Royal Navy veteran. Their migration to universal credit has been a nightmare, involving incorrect payments, long delays to identity verification and a lack of help with accessibility. I have received no response to their case since 13 November last year. Does the Minister agree that that falls short of what people should expect from the DWP? Will he help me to get this matter resolved?”
“We must safeguard every one of our armed forces personnel more than at any point in the last 30 years. They will keep this country safe, and the House owes them our unwavering support in return.”
“The requirement in clause 17 for commanding officers to report welfare allegations that have not yet been flagged, even outside their own chain of command, is another important addition that, in my opinion, is decades overdue. The Bill also introduces measures to bring the powers of the tri-service military police up to date. It creates a stronger framework to stamp out sexual assault, stalking and other offences committed in uniform and by civilians subject to service discipline. I know that the terrible case of Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck will have been at the forefront of everyone’s minds when the Bill was drafted. I hope that she, and many like her, will be our first thought when those clauses are studied in Committee. The stakes are suddenly very high. This Bill needs to be our best work.”
“The Bill lays the groundwork for the Ministry of Defence to begin to fix that disaster. I am pleased that the Government have agreed with the Liberal Democrat position that the decent homes standard should be applied to all forces accommodation, and the Bill gives the Defence Housing Service wide-ranging powers to do more. It is the very least that we owe to those in uniform. I hope that when the Secretary of State reports on the progress of the Defence Housing Service from the Dispatch Box, as specified in schedule 1, he will never again have to say that we let our armed forces down so badly. The Bill clarifies the role of the new Armed Forces Commissioner and gives courts martial the authority to support those who may be suffering from mental health disorders.”
“Giving our forces the tools and authority that they need to protect key infrastructure against drone attacks, as specified in clause 4, to organise reserves and recall, and to support the next generation of recruits, will be critical. For me, protecting our armed forces personnel is closest to my heart, and that is why it is so important that the Bill enshrines the armed forces covenant into law across Government, and why the new Defence Housing Service needs to be a success. More than three quarters of our armed forces live in service accommodation. I have done it myself, but I was still horrified by the findings of the service accommodation report published by the Defence Select Committee in December 2024, which detailed everything from rodent infestations to damp, mould and crumbling facilities.”
“It is a privilege to speak on the Armed Forces Bill, which will shape the direction of this country’s armed forces for the next half-decade. The war in Ukraine should be a wake-up call to all of us, and the world has not looked so dangerous since the end of the cold war. The strategic defence review talks about a whole-of-society approach to making Britain more resilient. The Bill makes no firm commitments on troop numbers or combat, but it does begin to fix some glaring 21st-century gaps in our readiness to defend this country. I have spoken with senior officers who worry that we are poorly prepared to fix the recruitment crisis, stop cyber-attacks or prevent sabotage here in the UK. Some threats will not arrive over the horizon, because they are here already.”
“I was shocked to read those statistics, but in Devon since 2020, there have been 375 road incidents involving horses, with 19 horses injured and three killed, and 29 riders injured and one killed. Does my hon. Friend agree that there is a strong case for asking riders across the country to use body cameras to record evidence of dangerous driving, as many motorists and cyclists do today?”
“Just today it has been reported that 18 tankers from the Russian shadow fleet have passed through the channel since the Defence Secretary’s statement to the House on 7 January on curtailing Russian oil exports. Does the hon. Member agree that we must show the Russians that we mean what we say?”
“T2. Over Christmas, I was contacted by constituents in North Devon who have been without NHS dental care for nearly 20 years—one with a tooth held together with superglue. When will the Government reform the dental contract and properly tackle recruitment and retention, especially in rural areas, so that we stop the haemorrhaging of dentists from the NHS in the longer term?”
“I will offer the Government some advice. It is one word: common sense. [ Interruption. ] Well, two words. Given the interest in national security, I am quite surprised that a Planning Minister is at the Dispatch Box to talk about this case, but the two issues are intertwined. The Minister has rebutted other Members’ questions with “That is a security issue; it is not my portfolio”, but given what we know, will he review the proximity of other countries’ embassies to major underground fibre-optic cables? That is a big worry for the country’s intelligence services and for many constituents throughout the country.”
“Does the shadow Minister agree that as a result of this policy, lots of local pubs, including lots more in the hospitality industry, will go out of business?”
“I beg to move, That this House has considered the Rural Fuel Duty Relief scheme. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I am pleased to have the opportunity to introduce this debate, especially in the new year at a time when many people across the country will be watching the pennies closely. As hon. Members representing rural constituencies will be aware, the rural fuel duty relief scheme was announced more than 15 years ago and supports people living in some of the most remote rural communities in Britain. Under the scheme, a 5p per litre tax relief on unleaded petrol or diesel is granted to specific filling stations in a small number of rural postcode sectors. That relief must be passed on to rural motorists, helping many with their commute, school run or weekly shopping.”
“A car is needed for daily life and for someone who earns a modest wage that is expensive. The research estimates that for every 10% decrease in public transport speed relative to motoring in any area, the average household pays more than £400 more for transport each year.”
“If someone forgets to fill up at Barbrook filling station in my constituency, while heading out over Exmoor, it is nearly 20 miles to the next fuel stop at Wheddon Cross or Minehead. When the rural fuel duty relief scheme was introduced under the coalition, and approval under EU state aid rules was granted in 2012, the relief was set by the Government at 5p per litre. That 5p per litre remains unchanged today in 2026, despite more than 30% of its purchasing power being eroded over that time because of inflation. An update to the scheme is now long overdue. According to research by the Rural Services Network in 2023, transport difficulties in highly rural areas force households into paying high costs for motoring, which contribute significantly to rural poverty.”
“I agree with my hon. Friend that more people could benefit from the scheme. I am sure the Minister will take note of that in his response. As I said, the scheme benefits around 125,000 local residents and many visitors across the UK, including the remote parts of the Scottish islands, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, the Isles of Scilly and Exmoor. That includes residents in my constituency of North Devon, who live in areas around Lynton and Lynmouth, Parracombe and Brendon, including many living in upland areas within the boundaries of Exmoor national park. The tax relief is targeted at highly rural areas. A brief glance at a map shows that these are some of the most isolated and indispensable filling stations across the country.”
“In the published list of non-structural tax reliefs, the Treasury estimates that the rural fuel duty relief scheme costs only around £5 million per year, and its uncertainty rating is considered low, yet during the past decade the scheme has been a roaring success. Barbrook filling station in my constituency tells me that this tax relief has made a massive difference to the viability of its business, keeping open an essential local service for many rural residents, local farmers and tourists.”
“I know there are various apps that do that. There should be more awareness of them among members of the public. Fuel duty is only part of the expense of running a vehicle, but many who fill up in areas impacted by the scheme have simply no transport alternatives. In my constituency, the households that benefit are 20 miles from their nearest train station, and bus passengers receive only the most limited bus service. Every January, those passengers are also hit by annual price increases from bus companies, which put extra strain on the cost of living. The scheme is not particularly expensive.”