Lee Pitcher
MP for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme · Labour · United Kingdom
“T2. No matter where they are from or where they started out, every child should at least have the chance of fulfilling their dream career, but research by the British Airline Pilots’ Association has found that right now, one in seven students are paying for their training by remortgaging property—often their parents’ home.”
“Residents know where investment is most urgently needed, so regeneration must be shaped by them, not imposed on them. Pride in Place funding gives councils and communities the resources to tackle long-standing problems and deliver improvements that people can see in their everyday lives.”
“Residents have told me at local positive action groups—resident-led groups that action local improvement that they believe will make a change—that living in a place where they see reminders of neglect has a real impact on their mental health, their sense of pride, their local identity and the day-to-day lived experience of everyone who ca…”
“It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. Estate regeneration must be about more than replacing bricks and mortar. It must restore confidence, strengthen communities and give residents pride in place in what they call their home.”
“For me, that is what pride in place is all about. I urge the Government and ask the Minister to consider providing a bit more Pride in Place funding in future, to work directly with the residents and to ensure that Dunscroft receives the investment it deserves.”
“I am sure I’ll be using a slightly different accent this evening when watching the football—a few expletives might come out as I shout at the TV. Does my hon. Friend agree that a part of public life is being authentic? One way to build trust and authenticity is to just be ourselves.”
The complete record
Every one of 394 lines we hold for Lee Pitcher, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 8.
“T9. Women across the country, including my constituent Lisa from Haxey, are struggling to access vital hormone replacement therapy medications, such as Estradot patches. Owing to a 30-year-long medical condition, Lisa had her ovaries removed and now faces severe health consequences because of these ongoing medication shortages, and there is no resolution expected soon. Given the repeated supply issues with HRT in recent years, what actions is the Minister taking to ensure a consistent and reliable supply of those essential medicines?”
“Question put and agreed to . Ordered , That Lee Pitcher, Calum Miller, Sorcha Eastwood, Sally Jameson, Sarah Champion, Dr Roz Savage, Jim Shannon, Ben Coleman and Andy Slaughter present the Bill. Lee Pitcher accordingly presented the Bill. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 20 June, and to be printed (Bill 178).”
“There are 146 deaths a year, but how many lives are devastated by those deaths? How many lives are changed forever? And how many more will there be before we do something different? Simon Haycock, Sam’s father, has channelled his grief into doing something positive, but his words still ring in my ears: “It’s the absence that gets you. One minute your son is there, looking forward to the summer holidays and the next chapter of his life at college, and the next he is gone.” From the moment the first tear fell down my face as he started to retell that story, I knew I had committed to helping him achieve his goal. I ask all Members to support this Bill today and, more than that, I ask them to take up its proposals and principles by being alive to the need for change and by being aware that there is more that we can and must do.”
“I take my hat off to every school that has led the way, but now it is our job to lead the way by making sure that this life skill and safety education is not left to chance. There will be a cost to landowners in adding and maintaining safety measures, but reservoirs are fundamentally different from most other bodies of water. They are not naturally occurring; they are created. They are managed and operated as part of an intentional and usually profit-making enterprise. I therefore do not think it is unreasonable that those who own or operate the asset should play their part in installing and maintaining lifesaving equipment. Ultimately, we are talking about people’s lives—not just the lives that are lost, but the lives of those who lose sons like Sam or who lose daughters, brothers, sisters, friends or partners.”
“I do not suggest for a moment that having those skills is not important, but there is nothing in the curriculum that requires children to be taught about the dangers and risks of swimming in open water, from cold water shock to invisible currents and hidden objects. If we want to stop children, especially teenagers, putting their lives at risk, saying, “Don’t do it,” or, “It’s dangerous,” is not the way forward. The best thing we can do is to empower them by giving them the skills and knowledge to recognise the risks and understand the dangers for themselves. Many schools already do this. They go above and beyond the baseline teaching required, working with groups such as the RLSS, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Canal & River Trust.”
“It is time to recognise that to destroy, damage or remove lifesaving equipment, and therefore endanger lives, is not simple vandalism. Finally, the Bill seeks to expand the national curriculum’s water safety learning outcomes to include a requirement to understand the dangers of swimming in open water. Water safety outcomes are already mandated in the national curriculum, and I acknowledge the work of Lord Storey in pushing for the teaching of those outcomes to be mandatory in all schools. When it becomes law, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will ensure that all children receive that education, which is a major step forward. However, the current learning objectives do not go far enough, as they are about being able to swim and self-rescue.”
“I absolutely understand why these protocols are in place. They were introduced to safeguard lifesaving equipment, which is why we need to turn to the second point of the Bill. I propose to create a specific criminal offence of the vandalism of safety equipment around bodies of water. It has been recognised that some specific instances of crimes, while covered by a broader category, are so abhorrent that they should exist as a crime in themselves. We have recognised, for example, that assaults on emergency workers who are risking their lives to save others are particularly heinous. We have recognised that domestic abuse cannot just be prosecuted as if it were a simple assault, and we have recognised that slavery is more than just kidnapping and forced labour.”
“That is shocking. It is too many near misses, and too many people just one step away from leaving this world unnecessarily early. That is why I am proposing these measures today. The first is to create a legal responsibility to provide, maintain and ensure easy and rapid access to safety equipment around reservoirs. Too many reservoirs do not have safety equipment, and where there is equipment, it cannot always be accessed in a timely manner. It is frequently vandalised—an issue I will come to in a moment—and not replaced or repaired. The equipment is often locked away, with a laborious protocol for access. Simon Haycock, Sam’s father, has a simple and creative but game-changing plan for this, using state-of-the-art technology. I hope to help him to progress this concept into reality, to save precious seconds and precious lives.”
“In the wake of Sam’s death, his father Simon has become a champion of water safety, going into schools and communities to talk about the dangers of entering open water and to campaign for Sam’s law. There were 141 deaths in inland open water bodies in 2023, and 1,455 over the last 10 years. That is about 146 people dying every year, most of them children or young adults. Search, rescue and emergency services respond to over 100,000 calls related to water rescues annually. As we continue to have longer, hotter summers, with more people looking for ways to cool off, there is a risk that those numbers will only increase further. Those are worrying figures, but the one that struck home the most for me was the estimate from the Royal Life Saving Society that for every person who dies by drowning, there are more than 10 near misses.”
“Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion), who is a sponsor of this Bill, and by Sam’s father, Simon Haycock, who I know is watching today. In May 2021, Sam had just finished his GCSEs. It was summer, it was hot, and he and his friends did what countless teenagers have done before them: they found a body of water and decided to go swimming. When Sam got into difficulty, his friends tried to help. They found that the safety equipment was locked. They had to ring 999 and, once the operator had verified that it was a genuine emergency, they were given a code to unlock the equipment before they could use it. In an emergency such as that, every second counts.”
“Sam was a similar age to my son, and he should also have had his whole life ahead of him. Sam, a 16-year-old, went out with his friends one day and never returned after tragically drowning in a South Yorkshire reservoir. I met Sam’s father, Simon, for the first time at Thorne fire station last summer. He handed me the sweetest picture of his gorgeous boy and bravely retold the story of what had happened. I knew there and then that, should I be so honoured as to reach this place, I would do something for Sam, for his parents and for every family who has lost a loved one in a similar way. I begin by acknowledging the work that has already been done on this matter, both here and outside Parliament, to campaign for what has become known as Sam’s law. In particular, I want to highlight the work done by my hon.”
“He has the whole world ahead of him. My children are my world. Seeing their remarkable achievements, and watching them grow into the most amazing, special human beings, is the most wondrous thing that any parent could ever hope and pray for. I am sure that, when the time comes, every parent awaits that call when their child passes their driving test, gets their exam results or goes off to work or study for the first time on their own. No parent should await a call to say that they will never see their beautiful baby again. No parent should outlive their child and have to say goodbye to them, so, in what I bring before the House today, I hope to start the process of preventing that from happening in the awful circumstances I will talk about. Today, I shall talk about Sam.”
“I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision about the installation and maintenance of, and access to, safety equipment at reservoirs; to create an offence of damaging or destroying safety equipment near bodies of water; to make provision about the teaching of water safety in schools; and for connected purposes. My son phoned me last week to share the news that he had passed his driving test at the first time of asking. Personally, I think the best drivers are those who pass it on the second attempt, but there we are. This week, he dropped my talented and beautiful daughter—his sister—at school, and then took me to the station for the first time so that I could return to this place. He carried on to his sixth-form college, and the offers have started to come in from universities.”
“I recently visited two jobcentres in my area, Thorne and Scunthorpe, and saw the great work being done by the staff there. Our jobcentres should be places where everyone can go for help to get them back into work. However, many blind and visually impaired people need technology such as screen readers to use computers, while others might need specialist screen magnification software. Research by Sense has found that no jobcentres have this specialist assistive technology, meaning that some disabled jobseekers cannot use the computers on site to look for work. How will the Government ensure that jobcentres are equipped with essential pieces of assistive technology in the future, enabling more disabled people to look for work?”
“T9. What assessment has the Minister made of recent trends in the level of fraud in the welfare system, because every £1 lost to fraud is £1 that should have gone to our schools, to our hospitals or on the future of our residents?”
“As my hon. Friend will know, in April 2021 a leak occurred at the women’s hospital at Doncaster Royal Infirmary. The water then flooded the area and went into the electrical systems, and a fire broke out. Some 60 patients were impacted and had to be evacuated, including premature babies. Thanks to the efforts of the amazing hospital staff, as my hon. Friend has mentioned, no one was hurt, but the damage was substantial, and it impacted larger parts of the hospital. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to learn from such incidents, and that it makes absolute sense, both financially and for people’s safety, to proactively manage repairs and do the maintenance that is required?”
“I commend the hon. Member for what she is doing with the Bill. When talking about the future of housing and properties, we often focus on energy and water. Does she agree that it is important to focus on rainwater harvesting and what can be done in that sense, too?”
“My wife lives with retinitis pigmentosa. We have been together for 30 years, and over that time, I have seen how that degenerative eye disease can change the way that we live, adapt and care for each other as a family. Although there is a massive place, as we have talked about, for innovation and research and for access to investigation for treatment, once she got the white cane that she has now, that became a symbol for everybody else. People notice that she has a condition and they are much more attentive to her for that reason. It is in the period before that where we could make an intervention around inclusion and education. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that we could do something at that point to identify to others that somebody has a condition, which they might not be able to see, in order to help them?”
“Last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting the Friends of Doncaster Sheffield Airport at Little Bawtry’s restaurant. That incredible group of volunteers has supported the airport since its original opening back in 2005, and they cannot wait to be volunteering again once those doors reopen. Will the Leader of the House join me in recognising the vital role that volunteers like Friends of Doncaster Sheffield Airport play in ensuring the success of local projects right across the country? Will she join me in wishing them and the campaigners success in their continued efforts to get that airport reopened?”
“Last Friday, I had the privilege of meeting those at the Foyer and Doncaster Housing for Young People to discuss how we can best support 16 to 25-year-olds who are homeless or vulnerably housed. Having experienced homelessness as a child, I know how challenging that can be, so I really welcome the measures in the Renters’ Rights Bill. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating organisations such as Doncaster Housing for Young People on their vital work and in praising the measures in the Bill?”
“A few years ago, my cousin John took his own life. It is something that, as a family, I can say here and now, we will never ever get over. There are Johns out there today—many Johns—contemplating their future; January is a particularly tough month for many people. Will the Leader of the House join me in raising awareness about mental health so that people know it is actually a strength of character to speak up and speak out and talk about their feelings? Will she also recognise the amazing organisations out there that welcome people through their doors every day to a safe space and environment, such as the Jackson Hope Foundation in my constituency of Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme?”
“T6. Merry Christmas. I recently attended a Royal National Institute of Blind People event highlighting the challenges faced by blind and visually impaired people navigating past parked cars, forcing them to walk into the road. My inspirational wife is one of those people, who takes her life into her own hands every time she walks into the road. What will the Government do to help make our streets safer and more navigable in future?”
“Grey infrastructure, new pipes, pumps, sewers and additional treatment capacity will always be part of the equation, but as we look to become more sustainable, I am encouraged to see reference to nature-based solutions and their future role in the Bill.”
“I am equally pleased that an independent commission led by Sir Jon Cunliffe has been announced to commence a full end-to-end review of the water sector regulation system. This Bill delivers on the Government’s promise to ensure that water companies are held to account in delivering service and environmental obligations, and in doing so begin to rebuild much-needed trust. While there has been much discussion today on combined sewer overflows and other sewage discharges, I am keen to highlight the types of intervention that will be needed to clean up our rivers and seas, and the focus on nature-based solutions in the Bill as part of the drainage water management plans.”
“Recent years have seen: the renewed emergence of open-water swimming in a time where people explored their local environment much more during covid; the growth of citizen science increasing the available data on offer; campaign groups making a huge breakthrough in highlighting the challenges we face; and, increased data transparency showing there to be real problems. The public have lost faith in the industry and in the Government’s ability to regulate it, with widespread concerns about under-investment in infrastructure and unacceptable levels of pollution. The measures in the Water (Special Measures) Bill are the start of fulfilling the Government’s ambition for the water sector as a whole. I am proud that within days of taking up Government, the Labour party started to work on this Bill.”
“According to the most recent Rivers Trust report, “The State of Our Rivers”, no single stretch of river in England or Northern Ireland is in good overall health, and toxic chemicals persist in every single stretch of English river. Pollution in rivers comes from a variety of sources, including trade, agriculture, highways, riparian assets and sewage assets, among others. Whether we are tackling floods, drought or pollution, there is a need to bring all agencies with a responsibility for managing our water together to plan for and deliver a sustainable water future. There has never been so much public focus on the water industry.”
“I refer to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am co-chair of the all-party parliamentary water group and chair of the all-party parliamentary group for sustainable flood and drought management. If our forests are the lungs of the environment, then our rivers, streams and other watercourses are its veins and arteries. They carry vital nutrients and elements around their catchments, ensuring that our flora and fauna flourish and thrive. Globally, we know that all species are currently dying out at rates more than 100 times the normal evolutionary rates of extinction. Locally, the picture is just as bleak.”
“They bring opportunities for new skills and new jobs, they facilitate nature recovery, and they provide a means of education for young adults. The Government needed to respond fast with immediate action. They have done just that with the Bill. They needed to ensure that, in parallel, a sustainable view of the whole water sector regulatory regime was taken. They have done that with the announcement of the commission. That is the difference that a Labour Government make. On behalf of my constituents, I fully support the Bill.”
“I definitely agree that we require a whole range of different types of solution, including blue-green and the more traditional. Blue-green infrastructure comes from working with the landscape and environment to create a new type of asset that can not only reduce flood risk or store water to be used later in times of drought, but attenuate pollutants before they go into watercourses and improve water quality at source. Such infrastructure includes the creation of ponds and rain gardens, rewilding, woodlands, mini-forests and wetlands, building in buffer strips, hedgerows and green roofs as part of new development, and engaging in smart soil management. Importantly, those have wider-reaching opportunities, too.”
“Last week, I had the honour of witnessing the first flight to Doncaster Sheffield airport since its closure in 2022. This was made possible not just by the hard work of Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones and the whole team, but by 2Excel, an aviation company that has maintained its base at the airport. Will my right hon. Friend join me in celebrating this incredible achievement for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme?”
“In Doncaster, Thorne and the Isle of Axholme, we are proud to be the home of a few branches of the Lions charity. Each year, in the run-up to Christmas, I feed myself up and swap my usual suit and red tie for a very different festive outfit. The Lions sleigh and volunteers bring Father Christmas to the doorsteps of thousands of smiling children. Will the Leader of the House join me in praising the hard work of the volunteers and their dedication, and wish the Thorne, Doncaster and Isle of Axholme Lions every success in smashing their fundraising goals this Christmas?”
“T5. I understand that the Chancellor will attend the Great Northern conference today in Yorkshire and the Humber. In the light of that, will she tell us how she will make the most of growth opportunities for our region?”
“The campaign for justice for the WASPI—Women Against State Pension Inequality—women has been truly commendable. I want to pay tribute to the tireless efforts of campaigners, including Angela Madden, as well as around 6,000 women in my constituency who have been affected. Following the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s findings of maladministration earlier this year, those women are still waiting for clarity on the Government’s response, particularly regarding timely and fair compensation. Will the Leader of the House join me in praising the WASPI campaigners for their dedicated work, which has been amazing, and support my request to the Department for Work and Pension for an update on the progress being made to address the ombudsman’s findings?”
“It is great to have all those technologies and the ability to work from anywhere in any part of the world. It is also great to hear that the world is changing.”
“Julie takes no notice because it has become her norm. There is a broader need in society for people to better understand disabilities, and that starts with education and awareness in school. Will the Minister speak to the relevant Education Minister about how that can be raised as part of the curriculum review? Future transport technology is also exciting. It may be that when we travel in future, we will jump into our own driverless vehicles and travel to our destinations. When Julie and I visited San Francisco, we saw a driverless taxi for the first time. At the moment, that can be a scary thought, culturally, but it offers a different kind of hope for travel independence in the future, and we should start to embrace what is out there across the globe.”
“Maximising the use of existing functionality is also important and remarkably useful. Adobe will read out pages of text, and people can ask ChatGPT to find those texts with a simple verbal instruction. My one ask is that when people use hashtags, they should use a capital letter for each new word because that ensures that the hashtag makes sense when read out. The ability to work from home has opened up a world of opportunity, as meetings and conferences can be accessed from an environment that does not require travel. Although I often witness the kindness of the majority of people when Julie travels on buses or the underground to visit me or work in London, I also witness people who just barge into her as she gets on to an escalator slowly, or who tut because they cannot get past her. I get upset by that.”
“What we have learned together over 30 years, as our careers have progressed, is how those abilities can allow her to thrive, and I have to say that her workplaces have been enormously supportive of her. I will focus on the use of technology and the importance of awareness, because the use of artificial intelligence is a game changer. Apps such as Seeing AI can narrate the world around the user. It harnesses the power of AI to open up the visual world, and describes nearby people, texts and objects. In the world of work, it supports people to identify colleagues and helps to facilitate a team culture. As long as those colleagues do not take offence at being taken for a 55-year-old man, as happened to me when the camera was held up to my face—I am in my mid-40s—it is an absolute gem of a research project.”
“It is great to see you in the Chair, Dr Huq, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova) on securing this hugely important debate. I speak today from personal experience. My lovely wife has retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye condition that has no cure or treatment. Julie has reached the stage where she uses a white cane and eventually, like her mum and uncle, she will probably need a guide dog to assist her. Those who watch “Strictly” may know that retinitis pigmentosa is the condition that comedian Chris McCausland has. Like Chris, Julie is an inspiration, not a gimmick, having recently learned to ski blind. Julie has never let her disability define her; instead, she excels with the abilities that she does have.”
“Anything is achievable with determination and the right support and resources. Let us make sure that everyone gets the opportunity to apply those abilities at home, when travelling to and from work, and at work. I want to see a world where that “Wow!” is visible every day in the workplace.”
“The challenge for us, and for the 2 million Julies out there in the UK, is how to amplify the work of those organisations to improve employment support for blind and partially sighted people even more, to help employers to understand the technologies and processes that give opportunities for all and allow everyone to thrive. I ask the Minister how he might raise awareness of AI use in the workplace to support adjustments to maximise those opportunities. I finish with this: I ask you, Dr Huq, to imagine Julie on that slope for the first time, carefully traversing the snow, the ice and the undulations with her white cane, then ditching that cane for ski poles, and hurtling down the mountainside with skill, talent and ability. The “Wow!” that you see on our children’s faces says it all. She is a role model and an inspiration.”
“I could not agree more. There is a whole world of innovation out there, involving companies such as Apple and Microsoft, and we need to embrace that and find a way to channel it into everyday society and use. As I was saying, it is great to have those technologies, but having them out there is not enough. We need to find a way for people to know about them and use them. The amazing work of organisations such as the RNIB, Guide Dogs, and the Partially Sighted Society in my area of Doncaster is just incredible. They make us aware of what can be done at home and at work through the use of technology.”
“I have seen extraordinary work and inspiring volunteers at the DN7 food bank, the Isle of Axholme Foodshare Project, Hatfield’s Pre-loved Uniform Bank and the Hygiene Bank Doncaster. Does the hon. Member agree that although their work is amazing, we do not want to see those banks grow on our high streets or even exist in the first place?”
“Last week marked another significant milestone for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, as Mayor Ros Jones announced that a preferred bid to reopen and operate Doncaster Sheffield airport had been identified; the aim is to reinstate passenger flights by spring 2026. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating all those involved in reaching this crucial stage, and will she support my request to the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority to prioritise the approval of the necessary airspace as soon as it is required?”
“T4. Will the Minister have discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on how pavement design and layout can be improved to enhance navigability for blind and visually impaired people?”
“T6. In my constituency there are nearly 1,500 members of the mineworkers’ pension scheme. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Minister on the superb decision made in the Budget to return the investment of the reserve to them. I understand that this will mean a 32% rise in their weekly pension. Can the Minister confirm that this is correct?”
“Nobody knows the land better than those who manage it, so I urge the Minister to continue to work closely with our landowners. Nobody is more passionate about the environment than our younger generations, so I urge the Minister to continue to work well with our Education Department around Skills England and the new opportunities for our rural areas. Nobody has more passion locally than our communities, who want to see improvements on their doorsteps. So may I finally urge our Minister to consider how to best work and co-create with our community groups—”
“Visionary leadership involves looking at long-term planning for resilience to flooding through adaptation and mitigation. It is the kind of vision that considers innovation through sustainable urban drainage and nature-based solutions, working with the land to create flood adaptation while improving soil effectiveness, reducing carbon and finding new commercial opportunities. I have seen examples that deliver a combination of these things, like farmers in Yorkshire planting pop-up rainforests. That visionary leadership should also consider education, new skills, behaviour change towards partnering and close working across all agencies. It is because of all the above that I welcome the Government’s action regarding the independent water commission, which will be the largest review of the sector since privatisation.”
“We all have a massive part to play in cleaning up watercourses, and the fact remains that we need to manage water across the whole catchment; that requires system thinking and it requires our rural communities. A catchment approach is imperative in managing water across the whole water cycle and in leadership, both role model and visionary. Role model leadership involves acting now. We have seen how this Government have focused and taken swift action through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will start to tackle part of the challenge, setting up the flood taskforce, providing £60 million in the Budget for flood-related work with the agricultural community, and the biggest agricultural budget in history for sustainable farming.”
“To be frank, if we ask any of my residents who I visited recently in Westwoodside in Axholme, a rural area, or the River Idle Flood Action Group in Bawtry, they will tell us that they do not care who owns the water, they just want that water out of their homes, out of their gardens, and out of their business premises. In fact, they do not want it even to get to the stage where it comes in in the first place. The same water management principle applies to cleanliness, whether water is impacted from diffuse sources like the run-off from land, combined sewer overflows, trade waste, septic tanks or misconnections. The ammonia, E. coli, enterococci, nitrates and metals that impact our ditches, dykes, rivers and oceans come from many sources owned by many individuals and organisations.”
“The same water can pass along a river managed by the Environment Agency, into a culverted area managed by the local authority, through a farmer’s field with riparian ownership, back to the EA, into an internal drainage board-maintained ditch, through a water company pumping station, back to a sustainable urban drainage pond managed by the local authority, and so on. In that short stretch between here and Westminster bridge, we could have several hand-offs and handovers of that ownership of an asset by half a dozen authorities.”