Amanda Hack
MP for North West Leicestershire · Labour · United Kingdom
“I thank the Secretary of State for his statement confirming the outcome for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. With three very different options on the table, it is inevitable, as we have heard, that there will be opposing views on the outcome.”
“One of the things that has always struck me about this law is how we can change accountability. Just a couple of weeks ago, Donna Ockenden’s report about the Nottingham maternity scandal set out the fact that public officials did not come forward to tell the truth about those tragic incidents. Does my hon.”
“The hon. Member is giving an impassioned speech. I share his sadness about the loss of Jay, whom he mentioned in his opening remarks. In my constituency we did a defib dash, where I encouraged constituents to understand where their nearest community defibrillator was. The average return journey was 12 minutes by foot.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) for opening the debate, which has been a useful opportunity for us to talk about ceramics. I am also a member of the GMB.”
“When we talk about concern about ceramics, we need to ensure that we also put that in the context of industries that ceramics directly supports, one of them being construction.”
“North West Leicestershire has a proud industrial heritage. Manufacturing remains the largest sector of employment locally and we are home to major ceramics employers such as Ibstock Brick. Brick is a key part of the sector. I have three Ibstock Brick sites and have been greatly pleased to meet with people from them on several occasions.”
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“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this incredibly important debate. My constituency neighbours Derbyshire, and I recently held a roundtable on SEND provision with parents and teachers from schools and colleges. The issue that repeatedly came up was funding, and the disparity in funding not just between schools but across local authority areas. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need consistency of SEND provision across county lines in order to provide good-quality SEND provision for all our children?”
“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this really important debate. I pay tribute to our local jobcentres, particularly in North West Leicestershire, which are working tirelessly alongside local employers and the voluntary and community sector to ensure that my constituents are equipped to enter the workforce. Does she agree that such support delivered in partnership for our young people will help them to prepare for the world of work?”
“In my constituency alone, that has delivered justice for more than 1,500 families, giving them an extra £29 a week. Our attention must now be on delivering the same justice for members of the BCSSS. That would make a huge difference to my community; almost 800 people would benefit from it. No miner, widow or coalfield family should feel excluded from the pension money that was earmarked for them. I know how strong the coalmining community is in my constituency, and protecting our coalmining communities will be key to future prosperity.”
“The mine was granted permission on the condition that contributions went to the Ashby canal and a community fund. Tapping into that money created by the mine will help to develop my coalfield town across my constituency and boost economic support. The national forest has also been a key driver for transitioning the industrial landscape to beautiful countryside. It is a fact, however, that our community is poorly served by public transport, and seemingly the best way to support my coalfield community is to preserve and restore the Stephenson-built railway line locally known as Ivanhoe. Opening up the railway line will be key to ensuring greater access to jobs and education for our future. I was incredibly pleased that, as has been mentioned, the autumn Budget overturned the injustice on the mineworkers pension scheme.”
“The Whitwick historical group has been unwavering in its dedication to ensure that the disaster is not forgotten. I pay tribute to the following members of the group for their tireless work: John Ivor West Colledge, Alan Michael Wileman and the late Lesley Hale. To support our coalmining communities, we need to preserve the history of those who powered our country. While we must support our communities to protect our industrial heritage, we have to provide a great path to the future. Most of North West Leicestershire bears the hallmarks of coalmining, with pit wheels dotted far and wide throughout the constituency. Snibston has one of the last remaining examples of above-ground operational workings of a pit. Just outside my constituency is the open-cast mine on the edge of Measham, which closed in 2016.”
“The ceremony unveiled a memorial to the 35 miners—men and boys—who lost their lives in that disaster. I pay tribute to them in this House today: William Bradshaw, Josiah Brookes, John Davies, William Greasley, William Moon, William Percival, Lewis Smith, John Tugby, Joseph Wilson, James Wright, Henry Wyatt, James Wyatt, William Belcher, Charles Clamp, William Davies, John Elliott, Thomas Greasley, Joseph King, William Limb, John Platts, Joseph Shaw, John Skellington, James Evans, John Richards, William Bostock, John Moore, Patrick O’Mara, Thomas Timson, Thomas Beniston, Edward Edwards, Benjamin Wileman, Henry Springthorpe, Samuel Stacey, William Stacey and John Albert Gee, who was just 13 years old, and lost his life after running back into the pit to warn others of the danger.”
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) for securing this incredibly important debate. He is a true champion for miners across our country. My constituency of North West Leicestershire has a rich mining heritage, with most of the Leicestershire pits falling in my constituency. It fills me with great pride to stand in the Chamber, giving a voice to our coalfield communities. When I look to the colleagues who are present, I am reminded of not just how significant an impact the coalmining industry had, but how much that history unites us. For my constituency, the legacy of the coalmining industry is literally written on the map, in the name of our main urban centre, Coalville. One of the first events that I attended as a candidate was the 125-year anniversary of the 1898 Whitwick colliery mining disaster.”
“My son is currently studying core maths at AS-level, and we have had many conversations about financial management, from insurance to rent, and mortgages to savings, just because of that course. This is an issue that can unite us across party lines. Our young people deserve that. At the very least, they deserve a basic understanding of how to manage their future finances. It is not just current and future generations that could benefit; the Investing and Saving Alliance projected that, were the Government to prioritise financial education, we could inject an extra £7 billion into the economy each year. That would make a real, measurable and tangible difference to so many young people. I look forward to the Minister’s response.”
“As a member of the Work and Pensions Committee, it has already become apparent to me that a lack of conversation and knowledge, and probably confidence, about long-term financial planning, is having a detrimental impact on our relationship with our finances. By providing financial education to young people, we have an opportunity to reset our relationship with money and skills. A study by Compare the Market and the financial education charity MyBnk found that almost two thirds of adults surveyed said that they did not recall receiving financial education at school. The same study found that only two in five respondents considered themselves financially literate. There is hope, though.”
“I am really proud of some of the work that I did before coming to this place—particularly leading a team to set up the financial and digital inclusion project Moneywise for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, targeting individuals, including in my constituency of North West Leicestershire, who were digitally and financially excluded. From running that project, the lack of basic skills around financial education, and how much it was holding people back, became clear to me. Through the project, we were able to empower people to have a much more positive relationship with their finances.”
“I thank the hon. Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew) for bringing this crucial conversation to the Chamber. We are not born with the ability to open an ISA, choose a private pension or invest our savings. We do not have a natural intuition about how to save or manage debt, or how the tax system works, so why are we sending young people from school with little or no formal financial education? Having worked for Leicestershire Training and Enterprise Council 25 years ago, where we supported young people and adults into education, and having held a number of roles in the social housing sector supporting tenant welfare, it is clear to me that there is a gap in people’s financial knowledge.”
“I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a Leicestershire county councillor. I thank the Secretary of State for her statement on local government reorganisation. As Leicestershire has applied to go forward in the fast-track scheme, but was unsuccessful, can the Deputy Prime Minister confirm the timetable for those other local authorities, so that they can also be included in the devolution revolution and secure long-term benefits for our communities?”
“I understand that the Minister and the Department use a complex funding formula to decide the police grants, and Leicestershire has historically had a low base. As a Leicestershire MP, I will always advocate for more resources for my communities and my key services, including our police. I will work with colleagues to ensure that the settlement for Leicestershire works for North West Leicestershire and beyond.”
“Our local beat teams are working hard, and it is a pleasure to meet them regularly to discuss the local policing issues facing residents in North West Leicestershire. However, like so many of my colleagues here today, my communities have been suffering from an increase in antisocial behaviour. I welcome this announcement, which is a huge step forward and will lead the way out of the Tories’ mismanagement. We need to ensure that our communities have visible neighbourhood policing, which is so important, particularly because our rural towns and villages experience the same levels of crime as our cities. Visible policing not only makes people feel safer but acts as a deterrent. I am sure every Member will raise their local funding challenges. The last 14 years have devastated our public services, and Leicestershire is no different.”
“The Conservatives have a proven track record of making mistakes, promising to fix those mistakes, then failing miserably and looking for somebody else to blame. It is easy to talk about statistics, but this has real-life impacts on our communities. In my recent conversations with officers in North West Leicestershire, I was shocked to discover that Leicestershire police have only three teams of three road traffic investigators—those who investigate serious traffic collisions—for the whole county of about 1 million people. This means that justice for victims of dangerous driving takes much time to resolve, causing more trauma along the way. This makes my constituents’ ears prick up, as there are limited public transport options and currently no passenger rail. Roads are the only way to get around.”
“I thank the Minister for her update on the settlement. I start by thanking Leicestershire police’s chief constable, Rob Nixon, and all his officers and staff for their dedicated service locally. Despite the Conservative party’s protests, we all know that the significant cuts to the policing budget resulted in a significant loss of officers. In Leicestershire between 2010 and 2016, we saw 550 officers lose their jobs—about 20% of the force. Police forces across the country, including Leicestershire, saw experienced officers, PCSOs and police staff leave their posts. The Conservatives recognised their mistake, promising to recruit 20,000 more officers, as though we had not lost that many already. Under the Conservative plan, we barely got back to where we were in 2010.”
“Introducing the deposit return scheme will kick-start an economy-wide transformation in our relationship with the resources we use and on tackling waste, but it would be useful if the Minister outlined how convenience stores in rural constituencies such as mine will play their part and how they will ensure that all retailers can get involved in the scheme. I am grateful to have a Government who recognise the need to encourage people to recycle, reduce their waste and make more sustainable choices, which will go a long way towards protecting and preserving our planet for this generation and those to come.”
“That has a devastating impact on our wildlife: the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has received more than 10,000 reports of animals found injured, trapped or dead in discarded litter over the past three years. Highways and busy roads are far too dangerous for our volunteers to venture on to, and they should not have to. Keeping our environment clean is a collective responsibility. We have to start at the source, and I am pleased that we have a Government who are finally taking action and delivering on our environmental commitments.”
“A lot of that plastic never reaches the recycling plant; it is dropped on the floor, put in the wrong bin or tossed out the window on the motorway. The Conservative Government promised a deposit return scheme for recycling bottles and consistently delayed its introduction, but when this Labour Government say we are committed to cleaning up our streets, parks, rivers and oceans, we mean it. The deposit return scheme will provide an incentive for people to keep our streets clean and will make us all conscious of the plastic we use. When Germany implemented a scheme—gosh, a couple decades ago—it reported a 98% return rate, showing the potential we have here. Meanwhile, in this country, a National Highways survey last year found that 63% of people had seen somebody discarding litter out the window on the side of an A-road or motorway.”
“In her correspondence to me, she said, “Wombles have litter picked these lay-bys numerous times—and we have picked over 1000 bags from these locations since 2021, but it’s just a thankless task and is extremely disheartening to see them full of litter again within a matter of days.” Everyone in the Chamber will have a group of dedicated volunteers litter picking in their communities, and we owe a great deal of thanks to them. We need to act to help them reduce the level of litter locally, but we face a growing environmental crisis and there must be an end in sight. Keep Britain Tidy has found that small plastic bottles and non-alcoholic cans make up 43% of all litter. Single-use plastic is polluting our communities.”
“I welcome the Minister’s commitment to bringing forward the deposit return scheme. In my constituency, we have a dedicated community of volunteer litter pickers who work tirelessly to ensure that our environment is free from litter. However, their job is never-ending. A member of the Castle Donington Litter Wombles visited me recently to highlight the litter issue on the lay-bys of the A453 between Donington services and East Midlands Gateway.”
“I thank the hon. Member for giving way and I thank you, Dr Huq, for your excellent chairmanship; it is a pleasure to serve under you today. The Bill already introduces a duty on water companies to produce and publish pollution targets and a reduction plan. We can also get data fairly straightforwardly on how water companies are performing overall. However, what my residents in North West Leicestershire want to know is how their water company is performing week in, week out on the sewage outlets that they are interested in. I believe we already have plenty of ways to monitor performance, and this addition is unnecessary.”
“Community organisations are the backbone of many events in towns and villages across North West Leicestershire. For the past 10 years, the Rotary Club of Ashby de la Zouch Castle has organised our annual charity Santa fun run in Ashby, which I have had the pleasure of taking part in alongside hundreds of local people. Last week, the club presented cheques to LOROS hospice, Rainbows hospice for children and young people, and Staunton Harold Sailability Trust. It was great to hear that the fun run has now raised over £100,000 for local charities that support residents in need. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking the volunteers for their commitment to support our communities, and could the House be granted an opportunity to discuss what further support could be provided to volunteers to ensure that they continue to thrive?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. As a major incident has been declared in Leicestershire, I want to thank our emergency responders, our local government and the Environment Agency, but I also want to thank and honour the amazing work of our flood volunteers. I spoke to one this morning, who was exhausted having been up all night. I pay tribute to her. Could the Minister confirm how local communities such as mine in Measham, Packington and Long Whatton will be supported in the long term to recover from repeated flood events? At what point will we see a stop to these events in our communities?”
“Modelling suggests that one in four residents in North West Leicestershire is in fuel poverty. Does the Minister understand the frustration many constituents will feel that, despite being in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, fuel poverty has become so commonplace? Will she write to me with an outline of the elements in the warm homes plan that will focus on delivery for those in fuel poverty?”
“T10. In my constituency, there has been strong growth in the purchase of electric vehicles, but we have only half as many public charging points per person as the national average. How can we secure more charging points in public spaces in rural communities?”
“When I visited earlier in the year, they had just had an effluent release, and despite 10 bags of rubbish having been cleared from the area, there was still a clear path of debris from the spill. This keeps happening, and it has to stop. Those are just two cases in which our local communities have borne the impact of poor decision making and a lack of investment in infrastructure. They should not have to manage untreated waste while the execs get their bonuses—communities should not have to continue to deal with this. This Bill puts failing water companies under special measures and sends a clear message that this Government are ready to take the action necessary to fix our foundations. It is the start we need to deliver the transformational change that our water system desperately needs.”
“That storm drain regularly releases effluent, and when I visited recently, despite having had a crew to clear up, it was clear that there was still debris. While the water in the brook had been tested immediately after the spill and found to be within a normal range, the residual smell remained—it just clung—meaning that those residents were unable to use their personal space. There is another site in Donington le Heath, which is home to the most-used sewer outflow in my constituency. I was invited to see a resident who has a smallholding close by. They have a storm drain on their land alongside the River Sence, a particularly beautiful watercourse.”
“That must continue if we are to challenge the constant impact that poor water quality is having on our communities and our environment. Water issues are a constant in my casework files, as they are for so many hon. Members, and local people have been in touch to report dry weather outflows. They are asking, quite rightly, about the legitimacy of outflows in dry weather and of large-volume releases during wet conditions. What is clear is that those releases have been seriously damaging for our communities. Let me bring home an example of the importance of this Bill. I have been working with a group of residents in Whitwick in my constituency who have a shared garden space next to the Grace Dieu brook, where they have a storm drain.”
“My impression was that there was a severe lack of transparency and accountability among those companies about the damage that they were doing to our water system, which followed the previous Conservative Government’s unwillingness to act and push them to clear up their mess. The long-term priorities for the water companies have been shareholder and executive pay. They have been taking bonuses while polluting our waterways, and increasing debt without increasing investment. There are signs of recovery, however. The Bill has not yet become law, but there has been a shift in Severn Trent Water’s willingness to clear up its mess in North West Leicestershire, and its hard-working employees have appeared to start engaging with us.”
“I welcome the Bill as a first step towards broader change across the water sector to ensure that it works for people. The number of complaints about water and the management of our waterways has been a key concern for people in North West Leicestershire for some time, but residents feel that water companies have not acted while bills have predictably continued to rise. When I was a member of Leicestershire county council’s environment and climate change scrutiny committee, I pushed for the water companies in Leicestershire to attend our committee, which they did—eventually—in November 2022. They gave a great presentation with some glossy pictures, but their suggestions, which looked nice on paper, simply have not materialised.”
“Today, the integrated care board in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland is due to consider a paper on the removal of prescription support for people who require gluten-free products because they are coeliac. That would mean people in North West Leicestershire, as well as the wider Leicestershire area, will no longer have prescription services for those products from January next year. Around 50% of trusts in England are now in that position. I personally know how expensive it is to manage a restricted diet, and while gluten-free products are becoming more widely available, they are still extraordinarily expensive. Will the Leader of the House offer Government time to discuss the prescription postcode lottery for people who are coeliac?”
“After 14 years of the Tories, our criminal justice system is on its knees, with just 4.4% of domestic assault cases recorded by the police resulting in a conviction. Last Monday was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, so will the Prime Minister tell us what he will do to ensure that the criminal justice system works for women and girls in North West Leicestershire and beyond?”
“I stress how devastating it is when families are moved so far away from home. A family from Islington have been placed in my North West Leicestershire constituency and, sadly, the older child is still in Islington. Families are being split, so I would appreciate a response.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. I want to raise the work that our teachers and school staff do to ensure that our children get a hot meal at lunch time—and now, hopefully, in the morning as well. We must ensure that we give our children the best start on a school day, and the roll-out of breakfast clubs will help us to do that.”
“The contents of a North West Leicestershire shopping bag today would be similar to the contents of everyone’s shopping bags at home, as the constituency is now home to a selection of food and drink manufacturers. In that shopping bag, there would be a selection of key produce from local farmers, KP Nuts, McVitie’s biscuits, a Mars bar, Jacob’s cream crackers, Quality Street, and some of the Mr Freeze ice pops that I enjoyed with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade a few months ago after a tour of the Refresco beverages factory. During my time in this House, I hope to be an action woman—someone who adds to our North West Leicestershire bag with cleaner waterways, better public services for all and, most importantly, an anytime day return ticket on the Ivanhoe line.”
“This trainline was originally created in the 1830s by the great industrialist and father of the railways, George Stephenson. Reopening it has the potential to create a beautiful trainline travelling through the greenery of the national forest. The national forest line—now that sounds nice! North West Leicestershire had other industries, too. It is no secret that Leicestershire has a long history with the British textile industry, hence the yarn bobbin in the bag. H Seal Elastics has been knitting in the constituency since 1898 and currently provides textiles for use in military personal protective equipment—key equipment for our service personnel today. North West Leicestershire was also the home of Palitoy, which produced the dolly in the bag and the action man figurine—a character that seized the day and got stuff done.”
“For the thrill seekers, we have Donington Park, home to MotoGP and motorbike racing, and for the heavy metal fans among us, it is also home to Download festival every June. I turn to the oil tanker in the bag. As with our coal heritage, North West Leicestershire’s fingerprints are all over the rail industry. The oil tanker represents William Stableford’s wagon works, which delivered a large contract for English and foreign railways. It is perhaps ironic that my constituency has no passenger rail service at all, even though the manufacturer Siemens completed the signalling work for the Elizabeth line from its base in the constituency. One of my major goals in this House is to get the Ivanhoe line back running for passengers.”
“As is customary in a maiden speech, I will briefly adopt the role of travel agent: I highly recommend that everyone does a tour arranged by the Snibston Heritage Trust in Coalville. Snibston has one of the last remaining examples of above-ground working of the coalmines. We also have many pit wheels dotted across the constituency, reminding us of what previously lay beneath our feet. While in Coalville, visitors can pop into the Belvoir centre to sample the famous Birds Bakery jam tarts. My constituency is home to another character who enjoys sweet things: just a few miles up the road, in the wonderful town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, we recently had installed a Paddington Bear on a bench.”
“That award-winning statue, first installed in 1963, depicts a woman proudly striding forward with her son while holding a shopping bag containing many items linked to the constituency, including a lump of coal, an oil tanker, a yarn bobbin and a dolly. It occurred to me that there is no better way of showcasing our constituency than by considering some of the items in her bag. North West Leicestershire has a rich mining heritage. The coalmining industry has been so important to the development of North West Leicestershire that it literally gives its name to the main urban centre, Coalville. The coalfields powered Britain, and Kegworth—also in my constituency—is just a stone’s throw away from the last coal-fired power station in the UK, which closed just a few weeks ago.”
“None of this is surprising, considering our transport links: we have an international airport, East Midlands airport, which includes one of the largest freight operations in the country. However, like so many other areas that have seen massive growth, we have been lagging behind in terms of infrastructure. Local people need to see delivery of our commitment to expand public services, rather than the scaling-back we saw for the past 14 years under the Conservatives. I am proud to be the first female MP in the history of North West Leicestershire. Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the unveiling of the newly refurbished mother and child statue in Coalville. Stuart Warburton, a local historian, has kindly checked for me, and we think that it is the first statue of a lone woman to be installed in the whole of Leicestershire.”
“It will be a privilege to be involved in the many remembrance events across the constituency. It is the honour of my life to have been elected to serve as the MP for North West Leicestershire. In that role, I am following Andrew Bridgen, who served the community proudly for 14 years. While we do not share much in terms of our politics, I know that he worked hard for his constituents. While I am referencing former MPs, I have to go back further to our former Labour MP, the late David Taylor, who sadly died in office in 2009. It will be no surprise to those who knew David that he is fondly remembered today in the constituency. North West Leicestershire is in the heart of the national forest. It is a fast-growing area, with the highest housing growth in Leicestershire and an equally impressive growth in employment opportunities.”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak in this debate on remembrance and veterans. I congratulate my hon. Friends the Members for Nuneaton (Jodie Gosling) and for Chipping Barnet (Dan Tomlinson), and the hon. Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul), on their excellent contributions. It was an honour to attend the festival of remembrance organised just over a week ago by the Leicestershire and Rutland Royal British Legion at De Montfort hall. That festival was an outstanding tribute to those who have served in the military and those who are currently serving. It paid thanks to our armed forces with some outstanding performances from local musicians and contemporary dancers. However, it is the harrowing accounts of those who experienced the D-day landings that will stay with me.”
“Taxi licensing enforcement is funded by licence fees. However, with the ongoing race to the bottom for licence issuing standards, local authorities are unable to enforce externally issued licences. Any measure to allow local authorities to enforce would simply stretch enforcement budgets beyond sustainability. Does my hon. Friend agree that the solution has to be guided by the principle that drivers should operate in the areas in which they are licensed?”