Steve Yemm
MP for Mansfield · Labour · United Kingdom
“This week marks a year since the death of Abigail Eggleston, the girlfriend of one of my constituents, in similar circumstances. She was killed by Liam Bowes in a hit-and-run incident. I am sure that the thoughts of all of us will be with her family and her partner, William Payne.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Fourthly, will the Government work with the trustees to look at the long-term future of both schemes to ensure that they keep serving their members as well as possible as the schemes get older? For mining communities, this has never been purely about money.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is certainly important to raise those meetings and to have that conversation with members and trustees as frequently as possible. One of the first big decisions that this Government took was to hand the £1.5 billion investment reserve of the mineworkers’ pension scheme back to its members. That meant a 32% increase in their pensions.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Madam Deputy Speaker, before I start I want to say something about today’s date. Sixty years ago, a colliery spoil tip gave way above the village of Aberfan and slid down on to Pantglas junior school. One hundred and sixteen children and 28 adults were killed. Anyone who grew up in a coalfield community knows the name Aberfan.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend raises such an important point about the urgency of this question. The third point that I raised really matters to people in my constituency. Members of the British Coal staff scheme have bonus pensions that are protected; members of the mineworkers’ scheme do not.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I join my hon. Friend in thanking those he mentioned. In Mansfield and across the rest of my constituency, whole communities were built around the pits. My constituents’ fathers and grandfathers went underground—and plenty of them went underground themselves. They kept the lights on and the factories running for this country.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“This week marks a year since the death of Abigail Eggleston, the girlfriend of one of my constituents, in similar circumstances. She was killed by Liam Bowes in a hit-and-run incident. I am sure that the thoughts of all of us will be with her family and her partner, William Payne. Bowes was sentenced to 12 years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving. Does my hon. Friend agree that justice has to be delivered for victims of crimes like this, and does she welcome the Government’s commitment that those convicted of this crime, this offence, will not be eligible for early release, which would otherwise have effectively halved the time that Bowes would serve in prison?”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Madam Deputy Speaker, before I start I want to say something about today’s date. Sixty years ago, a colliery spoil tip gave way above the village of Aberfan and slid down on to Pantglas junior school. One hundred and sixteen children and 28 adults were killed. Anyone who grew up in a coalfield community knows the name Aberfan. It is part of our shared history, and the people of that village have carried it every day since. I know that the whole House will have this in their thoughts today. I am grateful for the chance to raise an issue that matters a great deal to people in Mansfield, across Nottinghamshire and in former coalfields right across the country: the pensions of the men and women who worked in our pits, and whether we are finally going to give them everything that they are owed.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I certainly agree with my hon. Friend. It is long overdue. For years, a group of campaigners from Nottinghamshire and right across the country refused to let this issue go.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I absolutely agree. There are too many people to thank and mention individually, but one of the campaigners—Mick Newton—a friend of mine for over 40 years, is here in the Gallery watching the debate tonight. Some of the campaigners are, sadly, no longer with us. I hope that their families know that their work is being recognised in the House tonight.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for that recognition. It is important that we recognise those campaigners who are still fighting. I have to say this to every one of them: you have made a difference and a lot of what I am about to describe would not have happened without you.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Over the years that followed, billions of pounds went into the Treasury while a lot of former miners and their widows got by on fairly modest pensions. People in our communities never thought that was fair, and they were right. I am proud that this Labour Government have started to put it right.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I join my hon. Friend in thanking those he mentioned. In Mansfield and across the rest of my constituency, whole communities were built around the pits. My constituents’ fathers and grandfathers went underground—and plenty of them went underground themselves. They kept the lights on and the factories running for this country. It was hard, dangerous work, and many of them are still living with what it did to their health. The least we owe them is a decent pension. For a long time, they did not get that. When British Coal was privatised in 1994, the Government of the day agreed to guarantee the mineworkers’ pension scheme and the British Coal staff superannuation scheme. In return, the Treasury took a share of the surpluses.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The mineworkers’ pension scheme trustees have asked for three things: first, that around £1 billion of surplus that is locked up in the scheme is used to give members a new bonus pension now; secondly, that 100% of future surpluses will go to improving members’ pensions; and thirdly, that the bonus pensions awarded in 2024 are protected so they cannot be taken away”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is certainly important to raise those meetings and to have that conversation with members and trustees as frequently as possible. One of the first big decisions that this Government took was to hand the £1.5 billion investment reserve of the mineworkers’ pension scheme back to its members. That meant a 32% increase in their pensions. Last year, the Government did the same for the British Coal staff scheme, transferring the £2.3 billion reserve. That is the best part of £4 billion back where it belongs, and thousands of families in my constituency have felt that difference. What is left is the question of surpluses: what happens to the money that builds up in these schemes in the future and the money that is sitting in them right now? The trustees of both schemes have put forward proposals and I think they are sensible.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Nobody wants to put pensioners’ security at risk and nobody is suggesting the schemes pay out money they might need to meet their commitments. We cannot, however, as my hon. Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Amanda Hack) pointed out, keep telling people in their 80s that fairness is coming at some point in future.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend raises such an important point about the urgency of this question. The third point that I raised really matters to people in my constituency. Members of the British Coal staff scheme have bonus pensions that are protected; members of the mineworkers’ scheme do not. I do not think that anybody could explain to a retired miner in Mansfield why his bonus should be less secure than the one paid to someone he worked alongside at the same colliery. We should fix that. The British Coal staff scheme’s trustees have made similar proposals, such as clear valuations showing whether the scheme is in surplus or deficit. I want to be clear about one thing: neither set of trustees is asking for the Government guarantee to be removed.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome my hon. Friend’s comments and I share that disappointment. I have also to recollect that at the general election in 2019, Boris Johnson stood on the town hall steps in my constituency and committed to putting this right. Those on the Conservative Benches spent five years doing nothing for mineworkers. There is an economic point too. When we increase the pensions, that money gets spent in our constituencies, in communities that have had decades of decline since collieries closed, and that matters. I have had very good discussions with Ministers and with the trustees of both schemes and I know that a lot of work is ongoing. The Budget is next Wednesday, so I want to put four questions to the Minister.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“After more than 30 years, they have waited long enough, and I hope that the Minister can give them some hope tonight.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Fourthly, will the Government work with the trustees to look at the long-term future of both schemes to ensure that they keep serving their members as well as possible as the schemes get older? For mining communities, this has never been purely about money. It is about whether this country respects the people who did the hardest jobs and empowered everything else in the economy. People in Mansfield and in all our communities have heard a lot of promises over the years. This Government have kept more promises on mineworkers’ pensions than any that went before them, and all of us on the Labour Benches should be genuinely proud of that, but we should not stop short at this moment. We have given back the reserves. Now let us sort out the surpluses, while the men and women who earned these pensions are still here to enjoy them.”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for his comments and for his magnificent leadership on this issue over many years. I shall return to my questions for the Minister. First, I am curious to know whether the Government will commit to resolving the surplus sharing for both schemes. Secondly, will he confirm that both sets of trustees’ proposals, including protecting the mineworkers’ 2024 bonus pensions and using the undistributed surpluses, are being considered by the Treasury? Thirdly, will the Government work with the trustees to ensure that genuinely available surpluses can be paid out as they arise, rather than have elderly pensioners waiting years for the next valuation?”
House of Commons21 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“If we get that right, as a Government and as a country, we can make sure that the industries of the future bring investment, opportunity and prosperity to places like Mansfield and that local people are properly equipped to play their full part in sharing our economic future.”
House of Commons20 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Three in five small or medium-sized manufacturing enterprises identify a lack of the right type of technical skill as a key barrier to recruitment. That apparent weakness can also be seen as an opportunity. For areas like mine, reindustrialisation and the ideas around it represent a real chance to build on our proud industrial heritage and create a new generation of skilled and well-paid jobs, but we have to make sure that local people have the skills to take on those opportunities, whether they are young people starting their careers or adults looking to retrain and learn something new, and skills for a new economy.”
House of Commons20 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“On constituency visits, I have been fortunate to see the great work that is already being done by employers working in partnership with West Notts college and Nottingham Trent University. One such visit was to a local aerospace and nuclear electronics company, Glenair, which has recently taken on 60 new apprentices in Mansfield. Often, people consider apprenticeships as an option for school leavers, but what I find in my area is that those opportunities exist equally for adults who want to retrain, change careers or develop new skills. I am therefore very encouraged that Mansfield recorded 680 new apprenticeship starts in 2024-25, more than half of which were taken up by people over the age of 25. The backdrop to this discussion, as Make UK has reported, is that there are almost 50,000 live vacancies across UK manufacturing.”
House of Commons20 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing this important debate at a time when our economy is undergoing transformation. AI, robotics and automation are changing how we manufacture and the skills that our businesses need. If we are serious about reindustrialisation, we have to make sure that our workforce is ready to seize the opportunity that those changes will bring. For places like my constituency of Mansfield, that means rebuilding the connections between education, local employees and employers, and skilled employment. Further education providers, including colleges like West Notts college in my constituency, are critical to delivering that.”
House of Commons20 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Following on from the Labour Government’s £4 billion transfer of reserves to the mineworkers’ pension scheme and the British Coal staff superannuation scheme, both sets of trustees have set out proposals for how future surpluses could benefit the thousands of scheme members, both in Mansfield and across the country. Will the Leader of the House press the Government to address those trustee proposals in the October Budget, so that former mineworkers and their families can receive the fair and sustainable settlement that they fought for over many decades?”
House of Commons15 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am encouraged to hear about the experience that my hon. Friend has recounted, but does he share my concern that Jewish students often have limited confidence in universities’ complaints procedures? Quite frequently, reports of antisemitism are dealt with rather slowly or without any form of consequence.”
House of Commons30 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I occasionally meet Jewish students at the University of Nottingham for dinner on a Friday evening, hosted by Chabad. Those students talk about being proud of their faith, but they frequently question whether they can be openly Jewish on campus. Does the hon. Member agree that no student should ever feel that they have to hide their identity on a university campus?”
House of Commons30 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I urge the Government to ensure that energy security and decarbonisation go hand in hand and to demonstrate clearly how North sea workers and their communities can be protected as we make the transition to a cleaner energy future.”
House of Commons24 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That is why projects such as Rosebank and Jackdaw should be considered in the contexts of jobs, industrial capacity and energy resilience alongside our climate commitments. The choice should not be between net zero and good jobs; the challenge for Government is to deliver on both of those things. That requires a clear industrial strategy, investment in new industries, a “North sea 2” vision, strong domestic supply chains and genuine job-to-job pathways for workers affected by the transition. A just transition cannot mean managed decline; it has to be planned, funded and delivered in partnership with workers and trade unions such as Unite and GMB, which have been doing great work representing their members.”
House of Commons24 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“When I talk to those workers, they are not opposed to change; they are asking a very reasonable question: what are the equivalent jobs, with equivalent pay, conditions and security, that are supposed to replace those that are being lost? At present, I do not hear a convincing answer, while, at the same time, the UK becomes more reliant on imported oil and gas. That uncertainty does not reduce demand; it simply exports jobs, economic activity and tax revenues. In an increasingly unstable world, energy security matters. It is hugely important, and recent international events have shown just how vulnerable global energy markets can be. We should be cautious about increasing our dependence on imports from countries that may have lower environmental and labour standards.”
House of Commons24 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. I welcome this debate because it goes to the heart of two vital national priorities: tackling climate change and maintaining secure and affordable energy supplies. I support the transition to a low-carbon economy. The science is clear and the need to decarbonise and adapt is urgent, but if we are serious about delivering a just transition—as is the case with the electric vehicle mandate, which I have spoken about at length—we must be equally serious about protecting the workers and communities whose livelihoods depend on the North sea. Thousands of workers right across the UK are employed directly and indirectly in the oil and gas sector.”
House of Commons24 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“On a point of order, Ms Furniss. In my contribution, I neglected to draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, in particular the donations that were made by Unite and GMB to my election campaign. I would like to put that on the record.”
House of Commons24 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Today’s publication of Donna Ockenden’s report has laid bare absolutely appalling and systemic failures in maternity services in Nottinghamshire, with thousands of families suffering avoidable harm, and in many cases feeling ignored, dismissed or let down by the very institutions that were put in place to protect them. The report identifies profound failures of leadership, governance and accountability, and an inability to learn from mistakes. Given the scale of the failings and the repeated concerns raised in previous maternity reviews, is it now time for the Government to establish a full, judge-led, statutory public inquiry, with the power to compel witnesses, and examine whether wider NHS and regulatory failures have allowed these tragedies to occur over such a prolonged period?”
House of Commons24 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It means that public data is used in the public interest. It means protecting our citizens from harmful online environments. It also means supporting British innovation so that the next generation of technological advance creates prosperity across our country, rather than a dependence on overseas monopolies. Britain should choose democracy, accountability and innovation in the service of society. That is the task before us. I thank the right hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard) for securing this debate. It is a debate that this House must not shirk.”
House of Commons23 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Their algorithms shape public debate and their infrastructure underpins our essential services. That concentration of power raises important questions about sovereignty. The Government are elected by the British people and this Parliament makes laws, yet too often we find ourselves adapting public policy to the priorities of global firms, rather than expecting those firms to adapt to the rules of our society. The rise of artificial intelligence makes those questions even more urgent. AI has extraordinary potential in healthcare, education, public administration and so forth, but it should raise concerns about issues such as transparency and accountability, which affect employment and the concentration of power. That means that there is a need for stronger competition policy when markets become overly concentrated.”
House of Commons23 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. We live in an age in which a handful of technology companies shape how we communicate, shop, work and receive news, and increasingly how the Government deliver public services. There is no question but that technology has brought enormous benefits to us. It has enabled new businesses, accelerated scientific discovery and created opportunities that previous generations could not imagine, but Parliament has a responsibility to ask a fundamental question: who is shaping whom? Is technology serving society or is society being reshaped to serve the interests of technology companies? Today, a small number of global technology corporations possess unprecedented economic power to influence markets.”
House of Commons23 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I recently joined a class of year 5 pupils from St Peter’s school in my constituency on a visit to the National Holocaust Museum in Laxton. I saw at first hand that places such as that are vital to ensuring that young people absorb lessons about the Holocaust. Will the Minister therefore commit to visiting that museum with me and a local school?”
House of Commons22 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for his understanding of these issues—which is a deep understanding—and his diligence in considering them. I also thank him for meeting me, along with the trustees of both the mineworkers’ pension scheme and the British Coal staff superannuation scheme. I hope the Minister will be around for a significant period of time to see this through at the Budget. I think it is very important that he remains in his place.”
House of Commons22 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I certainly hear the same thing in Mansfield. Residents raise concerns with me when they see businesses that seem to operate without customers but somehow remain open and trade. Does my hon. Friend agree that, where there is evidence of that type of activity, the public are right to expect rapid enforcement of the law?”
House of Commons17 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“However, I also make it clear that this funding must translate into visible improvements on the ground, because residents in Mansfield do not measure success in budget lines or policy papers. They measure it by whether they can drive to work without damaging their car, whether parents can safely take their children to school and whether their roads are finally fit for purpose. That is the standard that I believe the Labour Government are now setting, and I will continue to hold the council to account for making sure it is met.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Labour investment means that Nottinghamshire county council has both the resources and the responsibility to deliver, and what matters now to my constituents in Mansfield and to people across Nottinghamshire is delivery. I accept that there is a major backlog of repairs and that not every road will be fixed overnight. However, with these record funding settlements, Nottinghamshire county council cannot claim that it is not able to get this done due to a lack of funds. The money is coming in, I am glad to say; the question now is whether it can be used effectively at local level. We are investing more than ever before, we are changing a system that has failed for too long, and we are giving councils the tools they need to succeed.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The contrast with what came before could not be clearer: investment under Labour, and decline under the Conservatives. I therefore place on record my thanks to Mayor Claire Ward and the Minister for the leadership they have shown. Partnership between central Government and regional leadership is exactly how to fix long-standing problems properly, because for years our councils were asked to do more for less. As mentioned earlier, preventive maintenance was completely squeezed, long-term planning was undermined and, as a 2019 Transport Committee report made clear, the system was “fragmented”, “reactive” and failed to deliver the certainty needed to maintain roads properly. Recommendations that were made clearly at the time were not acted on by the previous Government.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That is on top of the Government’s investment of £1.6 billion for this financial year, which is a £500 million increase compared with the last financial year. This is real year-on-year growth, rather than managed decline. Under the previous system, funding for 2024-25 in Nottinghamshire stood at just £18.6 million. I repeat that figure for emphasis—£18.6 million. However, under this Labour Government, who have worked with the East Midlands combined county authority and Mayor Claire Ward, that figure has risen to £44.7 million in 2025-26, including £15.2 million of additional mayoral investment. It will rise again to £46.9 million in 2026-27, including £17.4 million from the mayor. That is tens of millions of pounds of additional funding in Nottinghamshire to help fix our roads.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is against that backdrop that the Labour Government have had to decide what happens next: whether we continue to manage decline or we finally move to a system where repair and maintenance of roads are done properly. Therefore, I am pleased that the Government have chosen the path of investment in our roads in Nottinghamshire, instead of the path of further deterioration and decline. I welcome the fact that the Labour Government recently set out a record £7.3 billion national multi-year settlement for local road maintenance across the country over the next four years. That is not just a headline figure; it is long-term and guaranteed funding that gives councils such as mine in Nottinghamshire the ability to plan properly, move away from crisis management and invest in proper preventive maintenance.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The result, after years of Conservative under-investment, is a road network in Nottinghamshire that is increasingly worn out, more expensive to repair and reliant on temporary fixes instead of lasting solutions. That responsibility does not stop at the national level. My residents and others across Nottinghamshire will remember when our county council was led by the Conservatives under my predecessor, Ben Bradley, who was simultaneously leader of Nottinghamshire county council and Conservative MP for Mansfield. As council leader, he failed to reverse the deterioration of local roads or secure the additional funding needed, despite being in a prime position to do so.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In the final five years of Conservative Government, some additional and welcome funding was provided but, after taking inflation into account, the real-terms cumulative loss in funding in Nottinghamshire alone over those 14 years amounted to tens of millions. Furthermore, because highways maintenance is not ringfenced, rising pressures from other areas forced local authorities to divert their limited resources to meet their obligations elsewhere, further weakening any capacity for preventive maintenance. A double pressure emerged: increasing demand on council budgets and a road network requiring more investment just as preventive maintenance was squeezed.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Under the Conservative Government from 2010, central Government funding for local authorities was significantly reduced, particularly during the Cameron and Osborne years of 2010 to 2015. We all saw the impact of that on our local councils across various services. Capital expenditure on local road maintenance in Nottinghamshire fell from £16.6 million in 2011 to just £12 million by the time Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in 2019. Revenue expenditure on local highway maintenance, funded through council tax receipts and business rates, remained below 2010 levels in every subsequent year, and in some years reduced by more than 50%.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Across the country, including in Nottinghamshire, that has created a repeating cycle of deterioration followed by temporary patching, further breakdown and repeat intervention: a managed decline that never resolves the underlying issues. Nationally, that has built up a substantial backlog, with independent estimates placing the cost of restoring local roads to proper condition at many billions of pounds, and large parts of the network close to the end of their structural life. In plain terms, we are dealing with not just potholes but the accumulated consequence of years of deferred maintenance and under-investment—not the result of a single bad winter or short-term disruption.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Asphalt Industry Alliance reports that roads in England are now resurfaced on average every 39 years for principal roads, 60 years for B and C roads, and sometimes over 100 years for unclassified roads—far beyond the recommended 10 to 20 years. The gap is not just a technical detail; it is a structural failure. It means roads are being allowed to deteriorate until they break down completely, leading to expensive and reactive repairs. Once that happens, the cost spiral is immediate. Patching potholes becomes more expensive than prevention, and each intervention lasts less time. We are, therefore, spending more for worse outcomes.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Let us be clear that this is not just about inconvenience. Roads are essential infrastructure that people rely on to take their children to school, access healthcare and get to work. When they are in such a condition, there is a direct impact on daily life and our local economy. It is not acceptable that residents should be left facing repair bills, avoidable damage and safety risks because our roads have not been maintained properly. How did we get into this situation? The basic issue is quite simple: roads do not last indefinitely without planned maintenance. They require resurfacing at regular intervals, yet that cycle has been allowed to slip far beyond what is sustainable.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Another constituent wrote to me about her local estate, where a single pothole on her street is almost impossible to avoid. It has caused serious vehicle damage. She explained that she no longer reports issues to Nottinghamshire county council, the highway authority, because she has no confidence that it will lead to meaningful change. Instead, she sees the same pattern repeated: small temporary patches of tarmac that break down again after a very short period, or potholes simply marked with spray paint and left for weeks. The sense of resignation is perhaps the most frustrating part of all, and is something that I have heard many times. Roads are patched rather than properly repaired, problems are identified but not resolved, and residents feel that they are paying more and more in council tax only to receive less in return.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That may raise a smile, but behind that humour is a much more serious reality, because potholes are not just harmless inconveniences—they are hazards that damage vehicles. They also increase costs for families, sometimes by hundreds and even thousands of pounds. In some cases, they put human safety at risk—and not just of injury but sometimes death, and there are examples of that in my constituency. I have also heard from constituents about significant damage to tyres, which leaves people stranded late at night. In an email typical of the many that I have received, one resident described being left alone in Mansfield in the early hours after a punctured tyre, waiting until 5 am for recovery and assistance, and feeling vulnerable and unsafe.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I beg to move, That this House has considered funding for road maintenance in Nottinghamshire. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. The issue of the condition of roads across my constituency is raised with me more than almost any other. Since becoming an MP, I have been contacted by hundreds of residents about potholes, crumbling surfaces and roads that have been left to deteriorate for far too long. Time and again the message from my constituents is the same: our roads are simply not good enough. In Mansfield, potholes are no longer just a nuisance; they are becoming local landmarks. Some residents tell me that they no longer bother trying to avoid them. They simply recognise them, almost like old friends on the school run or the commute.”
House of Commons16 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I would welcome an update from the Minister on what can be done to improve access to clinical trials for brain tumour patients. I pay tribute to the outstanding work of the Brain Tumour Research centre of excellence at the University of Nottingham; through advanced imaging, genomics and innovative new approaches, it is helping to drive progress in the fight against this terrible disease. For families like Jason’s and Ellen’s, this is not an abstract policy issue, but a daily reality. We owe it to them and to all those affected by brain cancer to support research, improve diagnosis and give this disease the urgency it deserves.”
House of Commons15 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Barker. Brain cancer is one of the most devastating diseases facing families across our country, and it kills more people under the age of 40 than any other cancer. I want to highlight the experience of one of my constituents, Ellen. Her husband Jason, an Army veteran from Mansfield and a father of two, was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Ellen told me that when they received the diagnosis, their “world completely fell apart”. Since then Jason has relied on private treatment, including treatment overseas, at a significant cost to the family, and has struggled to access clinical trials despite wanting to take part in them. Their experience raises an important question: are we doing enough to ensure that brain tumour patients can access every possible treatment opportunity?”
House of Commons15 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗