Helena Dollimore
MP for Hastings and Rye · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“Our roads in Hastings, Rye and the surrounding villages are riddled with potholes, and it is one of the biggest issues we face. One of the most frustrating things is that on the rare occasion that a pothole gets filled, all the other potholes around it are left untouched.”
“Reorganisation makes sense. The situation that we have now, with services split across a borough or district council and a county council, causes many issues. If a drain is blocked by leaves that are on top of the drain, it is one council; if the leaves are below the drain, it is another.”
“Of vital importance to our maritime sector is our coastguard and our volunteer coastguard officers. I know that the MCA’s planned changes to the operating model have been causing serious concern in coastal communities such as mine in Hastings, Rye and the villages.”
“I join Members across the House in giving my deepest condolences to the friends and family of Ann Widdecombe. I never had the privilege of meeting her, but I certainly remember growing up and seeing her on the TV and thinking what an outspoken, strong woman she was and how she would not take no for an answer. I pay tribute to her.”
“The former Member for Surrey Heath mentioned in a podcast fairly recently that the man who killed Sir David Amess had visited his home, using details that he had identified from the media. That is how serious this issue is. I know that the Speaker’s Conference has looked at this issue.”
“I, too, refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests in respect of the GMB, and also declare that I am a supporter of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. I thank the right hon.”
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“I join the Minister in paying tribute to the millions of carers in the country, including those in my constituency. Does she agree that when someone is juggling the daily stresses of life, it can be difficult to remember to notify the DWP of a change in circumstances, which is required under the current arrangement?”
“I thank all the charities that are working on this issue in all our constituencies, and I thank all the mental health workers who work so hard to provide the support that is needed. In my Hastings and Rye constituency, Eggtooth is a local mental health charity that provides vital support and early intervention for around 250 children in Hastings and Rother a year. I have been contacted by many parents and healthcare professionals who are extremely concerned to hear that the funding for Eggtooth is now under threat from the local NHS integrated care board.”
“That is why I am really pleased to see this Labour Government’s focus on children’s mental health and cutting NHS waiting lists, putting more mental health specialists into schools in particular, and hiring 8,500 mental health specialists into our NHS to cut waiting lists. I recently attended a memorial for Phoebe, who sadly took her own life in Hastings this July. Phoebe was aged just 14. She had been on a child and adolescent mental health services waiting list since January, and she never got the support she needed. She never got that appointment with CAMHS. Her mum Tamzin and her whole family are now showing amazing courage and amazing strength in channelling this tragedy and their grief into campaigning to make sure that this never happens to any child again, and that we get more focus on children and young people’s mental health.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Sojan Joseph) for securing this important debate on such an important issue. I speak for many when I say that we are lucky to have his experience in the House; he has such expertise in mental health. We are all here because for too long mental health has not been given the same focus as physical health. It has not been given the same funding or the right focus, and there has been far too much stigma in talking about it. In my Hastings and Rye constituency, too many children and young people are waiting far too long for mental health support.”
“We know that to intervene early is better for the young person, and we know it will cost the taxpayer less. To give an example, the support that Eggtooth provides costs around £520 per child. By contrast, a CAMHS referral costs almost £2,500, and an A&E intervention, should that be needed, costs even more. I urge the integrated care board to reconsider the decision. I strongly welcome the Labour Government’s commitment to cut NHS waiting lists, cut mental health waiting lists and focus on early intervention, particularly in schools, where we need it the most. It is on all of us in this House to keep alive the memory of Phoebe and that of all those who have lost their lives to suicide.”
“Absolutely. I thank my hon. Friend for that important point recognising the important contribution that so many charities and staff make. I am extremely concerned to hear that Eggtooth’s funding is now at risk and I wish to share with Members some of the views of local healthcare professionals about the importance of the service. A local doctor says: “The withdrawal of Eggtooth from children’s mental health services in Sussex would leave a profound gap in support for vulnerable young people.” A local paediatric nurse says: “I have stories to tell which I cannot share where children and young people have been helped…I worked in acute emergency settings and safeguarding previously and often saw the outcomes of no intervention.” That nurse makes a vital point about the importance of early intervention, as have many Members.”
“My hon. Friend and I both represent beautiful coastal constituencies. Does she agree that we must get the balance right between the contribution that short-term holiday lets make to the tourism and hospitality economies in our constituencies and the need for affordable homes for locals, to address the acute housing crisis that both our constituencies face?”
“T4. My constituents in Hastings and Rye got their water bills this month. Many of them were shocked to see their bills going up despite the failures of Southern Water, which include sewage dumped along our coastline, flooding in our town centre and leaving us without water. It has even charged us for the five days when the taps ran dry. What are the Government doing to clean up the mess left by Southern Water and by the Conservative party?”
“Over the summer, many parents in my constituency were in touch with concerns about our local schools. Of particular concern to parents of children at Ark Alexandra secondary is a new rule that children must leave their mobile phones at home. Many parents support measures to reduce mobile phone use and social media use in school—they know how damaging it is—but they are really concerned about children having phones on the journey to and from school and the safety issues involved, and they want schools to look at options, such as lock boxes, which have been used successfully elsewhere. Can the Leader of the House advise me how in this House I can take forward that issue and the wider issue of improving our local schools?”
“In my constituency, we are at the sharp end of the housing crisis, and we desperately need more affordable homes and more council homes, so I really welcome today’s statement. The Conservative party may behave like this is a zero-sum game between building more desperately needed homes and protecting the environment, but Labour Members know that that is not the case. What approach will the new Government take to ensure that we have sustainable development, so that we protect our environment, ensure that we have the necessary infrastructure, including sewage pipes, and prevent flooding, while building the homes that my constituents so desperately need?”
“Just as I have been so inspired by the women I have met living in some of the toughest places on Earth, I also wanted to acknowledge some of the women whose shoulders I stand on closer to home. Madam Deputy Speaker, I know I speak for many Labour Members when I say how much we miss your sister, the late, great Baroness Margaret McDonagh. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] She always had such wise counsel to offer us, and that is the reason why many of us sit on these Benches today. I also thank my family and friends for all the support they have given me in getting me to this place. This King’s Speech will begin to deliver the change and renewal that Hastings and Rye voted for. I look forward to working hard for all my constituents across Hastings and Rye and delivering that much-needed change.”
“I always promised those women that I would share their stories with the world, and my time in this place will be no different. We are at a time in history when more children are growing up in conflict than ever before. Rightly, much focus has been devoted recently to the appalling events in Israel and Palestine—there, too, it is children bearing the brunt of war. We must redouble our efforts to bring about peaceful solutions to all these conflicts, and must remember that all the global issues we face, from climate change to migration, can only be solved by working across borders with our international allies and through strong, multilateral institutions such as the United Nations.”
“This Government have a mission to break down the barriers to opportunity. That is sorely needed in my constituency, where almost 40% of children are growing up in poverty and over half our young people are leaving school without the essential qualification of a grade 4 in English and maths. How we treat our children says a lot about us as a society; before joining this House, I had the privilege of seeing that up close in many different countries as an aid worker with Save the Children. It is always children who suffer the most in war and conflict. I have sat with young mums in Yemen holding their starving babies, so hungry that they do not have the energy to cry, and have heard harrowing stories from Rohingya women who have fled ethnic cleansing and sexual violence at the hands of the Myanmar military.”
“People wait longer for an ambulance in my constituency than anywhere else in the south-east of England, and the situation is particularly bad in our villages and rural areas such as Winchelsea, where people wait 45 minutes on average when having a stroke or heart attack. That is why this Government’s plans to cut NHS waiting times cannot come soon enough. As a seaside destination, our area has benefited hugely from tourism, but we are also at the sharp end of the housing crisis, with spiralling rents and simply not enough homes being built. Too many of my constituents are left in poor-quality rental accommodation, whether by Southern Housing or private landlords. That is why I so welcome the measures in this King’s Speech to get Britain building again, building more homes and giving all renters more protections.”
“Some sewage has even come into people’s homes and gardens in my constituency, and when the water pipes have failed, we have faced major flooding in homes and the town centre and been left without a water supply for days on end. I am pleased to see that the water special measures Bill, which will start to clean up our water industry, is part of this King’s Speech. The cratered state of our roads and crumbling water infrastructure is symbolic of how we have too often been forgotten by Westminster. Life expectancy is lower than the national average, a trend that has got worse over the past 14 years.”
“Although we have often found ourselves at the centre of historical events, we have not always felt all of the benefits. Our road and rail infrastructure is stuck in the past: we may be a similar distance from London as Brighton is, but our train takes twice as long. We lie at the end of the A21, a road that has been described as the least developed in the south-east of England. As any driver will tell you, we have the worst potholes in the country, and our water infrastructure is also failing us: Southern Water has a lot to answer for in my constituency, dumping record levels of sewage along our coastline from St Leonards through Hastings to Fairlight, Pett, Camber Sands and Winchelsea beach.”
“Our calendar is full of carnivals and festivals, from Jack in the Green to bonfire nights. Those events are made possible only by volunteers who give up their time to give back to the community and raise money for our local charities. Volunteers also maintain and protect so many of our amazing public spaces, from Hastings country park to Rye harbour nature reserve and Camber Sands. There are also some points of our history that we would rather forget, such as the unveiling of a certain stone tablet in Hastings during the 2015 general election campaign by my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Ed Miliband). That stone may have been consigned to history, but I know that my right hon. Friend will be back very soon to unveil some new green energy infrastructure, and that it will be longer-lasting than the stone.”
“They are a constant and tragic reminder of where that can end. I also pay tribute to my Labour predecessor, Michael Foster. He is well known in our area for helping so many residents and for having been a passionate champion for Hastings and Rye during his time in this House. Many Members will know our area for a very famous battle that took place in 1066. Historians may still be arguing about where exactly it took place, but it is safe to say that it has cemented our place in the history books. Since then, we have continued to play our part in British history—from being immortalised in the novel “The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists” to being the birthplace of television. Perhaps what defines us most, though, is our community spirit, underpinned by our volunteers and charities, who do so much.”
“Hastings and Rye hosts the world crazy golf championship every year, and we also hold the world record for the biggest gathering of pirates in any one place—a record that we try to beat every year on pirate day. Although one of my predecessors in representing Rye was himself a real pirate, I am relieved to say that that cannot be said for many of them. Sally-Ann Hart worked extremely hard for our constituency, and I thank her in particular for her work in support of women and children fleeing domestic abuse—a legacy that I hope to build on. Another thing that we wholeheartedly agree on is speaking out about the unacceptable levels of abuse and intimidation that too many Members of this House have faced, particularly women. The plaque of the late Jo Cox is facing us, and that of Sir David Amess is behind me.”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to make my maiden speech during this important debate on the King’s Speech, which set out the agenda of change that the country voted for and which this Labour Government will deliver. I congratulate all new Members who have made maiden speeches today. It is the honour of my life to represent my home of Hastings and Rye. I know that you are very familiar, Madam Deputy Speaker, with all that we in Hastings and Rye have to offer visitors—especially our famous fish and chips. In recent years, our fisherman have worked hard to keep our local fishing industry going in the most difficult of circumstances, and they will always have my full support.”
“May I congratulate you on your re-election, Mr Speaker, and welcome the new Leader of the House to the Dispatch Box? My Hastings and Rye constituents have suffered hugely because of the crumbling infrastructure of Southern Water. People have been left without water for over five days on not just one but two occasions. Residents and businesses have yet to be properly compensated. The town centre of Hastings has been flooded twice, and we have seen record levels of sewage dumped in our sea and even appearing in people’s homes. Will the Leader of the House look into when I can raise the matter in upcoming debates in the House?”