Dr Lauren Sullivan
MP for Gravesham · Labour · United Kingdom
“I thank the Minister for his statement. In Gravesham, we mostly advocated for option 5A and against options 1A and 4D. I welcome the decision to pursue 4B, as it is clear that the Government have listened to the calls for smaller communities that are local to councillors, and that keep local identity while having room for growth and jobs.…”
“We are grateful to have been able to receive a youth hub, working with the Department for Work and Pensions in Gravesham and with the Gravesham Youth Council.”
“When I spoke to school councillors during a consultation on growing up in the online world, I heard many of the same themes: social media disrupts sleep patterns, but also young people are struggling inside and need somebody to talk to. They want somewhere to go, but where can they go?”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Harpreet Uppal) on securing this really cool debate, and I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.”
“Kent County Council used to have 36 youth centres; the number went down to 12, and now the youth centres are family hubs. There is limited open-access provision, as family hubs are not available exclusively to young people.”
“That can be done. Indeed, it has been done in Scotland with the Community Learning and Development Standards Council, and I urge the Minister to look into that. I will end with a quote: “Young people are not a problem to be solved. They are potential to be unlocked.””
The complete record
Every one of 231 lines we hold for Dr Lauren Sullivan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 5.
“To clarify on UKRI, will the Government therefore allow it to distribute funds to the science centres? Will the Minister clarify the point that he made?”
“Happy new year, Mr Speaker. This Government have delivered the largest funding settlement to Northern Ireland since devolution. In addition to that record support to Northern Ireland, and across the United Kingdom, what discussions is the Minister having on sharing best practice with Northern Ireland and across the wider United Kingdom?”
“I thank the Minister for her statement. She is right to talk about play parks, homelessness and libraries. As a councillor, one of my proudest achievements was replacing five play parks, but I have seen how Tory-run Kent county council cut everything to the bone. I am grateful for the multi-year funding settlement; will the Minister share what this will mean and look like for Gravesham residents?”
“This is really about ensuring that we can balance national standards and local decision making. As a former chair of a planning committee, I seek reassurance on how we and local decision makers can hold developers to account on stalled sites. We absolutely need to get building on brownfield sites. We have over 5,000 permitted homes in Gravesham, but we need reassurance that the small pockets of beautiful green space in our urban areas are protected, so that we see development where it needs to be.”
“The loss of the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry has had a detrimental impact on our high street, with businesses reporting a fall in footfall. Will the Minister meet me to advise on any potential capital revenue grants that could unlock growth in this area and the wider Thames estuary?”
“Will the Leader of the House join me in paying tribute to Dave Taylor and his volunteers at the Royal British Legion for their exceptional work during this year’s poppy appeal, which, in Gravesham, raised over £85,000 for veterans? I thank all those who donated. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on the contribution of the Royal British Legion and its volunteers to supporting our veterans?”
“I welcome the Minister’s statement and the focus on ending homelessness. I have met many constituents who have harrowing stories of homelessness, so this is a welcome step. There are not enough council homes, and where councils need to use private temporary accommodation, so much of that is of poor quality, yet those landlords are taking that public money. The additional funds are therefore welcome so we can expand the number of council homes. Will the Minister consider visiting Gravesham so she can see for herself the ambitious plans to help end homelessness?”
“In Gravesham, we have some fantastic small businesses led by women across a diverse sector of businesses, such as House of Leyla, Nell’s Café, Maucare Services, Embridge Consulting, Ms Earlyn’s and For Girlys. Will the Minister recognise the importance of women-led businesses to the local economy and economic empowerment and set out how this Government will support women leaders to thrive?”
“There is pressure to ensure that the seafarer job is well protected so that as the ambitions of those apprentices grow, our country matches that ambition with the job that they look to flow into. Our country desperately needs that. My plea to the Minister is to hear the concerns that have been raised. I hope that we can help protect and support seafarers in the future.”
“At this point I wish to pause and pay tribute to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. My local branch in Gravesham, despite some recent criticisms, is essential and has helped so many who have fallen into the water. The RNLI’s mission is simple: to save lives at sea. My heartfelt thanks go to it. This debate is for all those who work, sail and live on the sea and the river. I am hopeful for the future of the Thames and for the agenda to modernise it, invest in it and prepare it. We must ensure that the people working to deliver the growth that our country desperately needs are supported. I recently met a group of young apprentices who have started their working-age life with the sea and the river.”
“My late father-in-law worked for long periods of time on the sea laying underwater cables, which put a strain on his family. Aside from the River Thames’s history, and all the people who have sailed and worked on it, it provides job opportunities for local businesses, employment, leisure and tourism. The Port of London Authority in Gravesham works safely around the clock so that one of the UK’s busiest ports flows without becoming gridlocked. It has a vision of the future where a trading Thames is the key commercial hub for the UK; of a destination that people can enjoy and where they can play and live; and of a natural Thames. All those things require the support of seafarers—those highly skilled professional men and women. I have also seen the immense work that goes on, day in, day out, to keep the river moving and keep it safe.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) on securing this incredibly important debate and raising awareness of the plight of seafarers. She spoke with heart about the unseen strain and pressure on seafarers. I hope that, in some small way, this debate can help to shine a light on those issues. The UK’s history can be viewed through the lens of the river and the sea. A main artery of the lifeblood of this island nation flows through my constituency of Gravesham: the Thames. Trade, travel, tourism and troops have flowed up and down the Thames since pre-Roman times and the river still shapes Gravesham today. Many of us have personal connections with the sea, and my household is no different.”
“Freezing rail fares, reducing energy bills, freezing fuel duty and freezing prescription charges will help in the months ahead, as will keeping the triple lock on state pensions. In the Budget, the Chancellor mentioned the lower Thames crossing. The Treasury and Transport teams will know of my long-running campaign on that. My hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) and I will be holding the Government to account on the promises made to our communities. We have been calling in particular for the permanent restoration of the Gravesend-Tilbury ferry passenger service, which was cut by Kent county council and Thurrock council. We think that a small amount of the lower Thames crossing toll money should be ringfenced to provide that service.”
“I am delighted to see many of the measures in the Budget, including the removal of the two-child limit, which will help over 3,000 children in Gravesham, as well as money for breakfast clubs and childcare, so that families can balance the competing pressures of work and raising a family. In addition, the youth guarantee scheme will help young people who are starting out. There is help for Gravesham’s businesses, too. The Chancellor spoke to local businesses in Gravesham about reforming business rates to ensure that high streets have the same opportunities despite the competition with large supermarkets and online retailers. The Budget starts the journey of reforming rates, helping 1,000 businesses and ensuring that warehouses and online retailers pay more, including during the transition. The Budget will help with the cost of living.”
“May I beg your indulgence briefly, Madam Deputy Speaker? This morning, I had the honour of attending the funeral of Makhan Singh, a kind and dedicated public servant in Gravesham. He served as a councillor for 36 years and was the first Sikh mayor in Kent and a freeman. He spent his life living the essence of Sikhism: service to others before oneself. He loved politics, but he loved helping people more, so I would like to send much love to his family as he will be missed. This Budget delivers on much of the manifesto to help residents of Gravesham. I would like to touch on a few things that will help Gravesham. First, the Budget will help children out of poverty. Children and young people are not just our future; they are here, and the mark of any decent society is how we look after and support our children and young people.”
“I could not agree more. After 14 years of cuts and austerity for local councils, communities like mine in Gravesham have been impacted by so many reduced services. In welcoming the Budget, I call for Gravesham’s fair share of the fair funding formula. The £1.5 million pride of place funding is a fantastic start as a downpayment for investment in Gravesham, but the Budget will be meaningful only if it reaches places like my constituency, which has carried the weight of neglect for years. Gravesham has the potential, talent and ambition to thrive, but it needs sustained investment to unlock that promise. I support the Budget and will continue pressing for the funded services and local infrastructure that my constituents have been denied for so long.”
“I welcome the Minister’s clarification on organised crime and fly-tipping. From the fields to the streets, Gravesham borough council works tirelessly to investigate, fine and take to court these criminals, but as well as councils being given the powers and resources to investigate and keep our streets clean, they need a better legislative framework to make prosecution more efficient. Fundamentally, the taxpayer should not be paying for this organised crime; the criminals should be punished. Does the Minister agree?”
“I thank the Home Secretary for her statement, which I support. This reform of the system is long overdue. It is about reforming safe and legal routes, and cracking down on illegal working and those abusing the asylum and immigration system, yet it maintains support for those that need our support, such as those fleeing war in Ukraine and others who come here legally. It is about fairness. When will these reforms be in place so that residents can see the outcomes of these actions?”
“Many aspects of the curriculum review can be welcomed. I would reduce the exams, for instance—there is an awful lot of pressure on youngsters at the moment, so that would be a good thing—but I encourage the Minister to look at other ways to demonstrate the sheer talent we have in this country, such as coursework and practical tasks. I am sure she knows never to underestimate the scale of the challenge; it is vast, but we are ready to help and support.”
“A target of reducing the number of children with EHCPs on the council’s books, set under the last Government, is incredibly perverse. How does that put the needs of young people first? How can the parents of Kent have faith in the system? The council is under an improvement plan to reduce the number of children with EHCPs, yet parents and schools believe that having an EHCP will entitle them to further support. It is a complete perversion. I say to our wonderful Minister that the message I have heard from parents and schools is that we must not water down the legal protections. They are long fought for and hard won, and when they work, they work really well. The problem is with their implementation. If there are any announcements or communications, the Government must be really clear about how they will preserve the legal protections.”
“If there are to be changes to the system, we need to position caseworkers so that people can trust that they have their back and that they have their children’s best interests at heart. The other paramount thing that I saw was the changes to the free school and academy system, which meant that local authorities could no longer build schools based on needs. It meant there was a delay in schools—including specialist schools—coming forward. Thankfully, we have a few green lights in Kent, but they should have been here years ago. Because the ability of local authorities to plan, prepare for and build schools was taken away, Kent was reliant on private specialist schools. However, I fear that the council’s improvement notice may have been lifted in error when the Government came in last summer.”
“There are parents, young people and schools, but the other part of the picture is the council. When I sat on the SEND scrutiny committee, it was striking even back then—maybe four or five years ago—that the caseworkers for SEND had double the number of recommended cases from the Government that they should have had. One SEND caseworker should in theory, by the Government’s then standards, have had 125 children to monitor and update plans for. In Kent at that time, it was double that. Although those caseworkers are inundated with parents and needs, they have been positioned as the gatekeepers rather than the supporters. A large part of what I hear from parents is that they do not feel that anybody is on their side.”
“I have visited mainstream schools and seen how they are catering for children with special educational needs, but they lack the specialist TAs and the resources to help. I have had parents tell me about schools that are off-rolling students because they cannot meet their needs. There is nothing in writing; they are merely saying, “Please do not enrol your child here” at parents’ evenings. That cannot be fair and right. The challenge that some heads pose to me is league tables and percentages of students passing their exams. They can either keep their exam grades up and high, or they can be inclusive—I am not defending that argument; I am just saying it has been presented to me. I do not think it is fair, and I think we should all be there to help young people succeed no matter where they come from or what their needs are.”
“I had two teaching assistants who were brilliant at helping me navigate the wonders of science education—but by the end of that year, those teaching assistants were taken out because the funding was not there, and the Education Endowment Fund said that TAs were high cost but low value. It could not have been more wrong. Years later, we can see that specialist teaching assistants are often the bedrock supporting our teachers. The hon. Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones) said some fantastic things about teachers and their workloads; it is a team effort. I have visited a number of schools. Ifield is of course a fantastic special educational needs school, but there are so many young people there that they need more space.”
“We know that early intervention at a young age can help to get young people and children on track to thrive. It is well established now that we are not all neurotypical; some of us are neuroatypical or have additional needs. An education system should support, encourage and bring out those wonderful talents, but sadly I fear that that is not happening. I was a teacher under the last Government, and saw some of the changes that the then Education Secretary Michael Gove brought in. I remember starting a year with five statemented children in my year 8 mixed-ability class.”
“I have brought them together with We Are Beams, a fantastic charity supporting our constituents in north Kent, and they have unburdened themselves and shared their frustration about the lack of communication and incorrect information being provided. My hon. and learned Friend spoke about EHCPs not being updated, which means that they are not implemented rightly in the classroom, so the young person does not get the right support. Parents feel gaslit; they feel that they have no one on their side. It is absolutely heartbreaking. Children and young people I have met feel that they are not getting the right information and that they are not being included. They are missing out on key aspects of socialisation—the key skills that will enable them to work in the future.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I thank my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) for securing this incredibly important debate. We have had a number of debates in this Chamber about the SEND crisis, particularly in Kent. I speak as the former leader of the opposition at Kent county council and I served on the SEND scrutiny committee, which looked at the SEND measures. I have also been a teacher and have worked in schools with young people with special educational needs. I want to go through the various aspects of the problem, because the system is incredibly complicated. Like everybody here, I have met parents in utter desperation, in tears—in a place of hopelessness—because there is nowhere else to go. When they pick up the phone or send an email, there is no answer.”
“When the previous Conservative Government introduced the safety valve scheme, which was essentially a blank cheque or a credit card, did they have a plan for how the money would be paid back?”
“I am grateful for the assurance that scrutiny is still in operation. How can constituents and parents find out about the improvement plan and the scrutiny so that they feel that the pressure is still on?”
“With regard to the attack on the hospital, it is estimated that 80% of health facilities in conflict-affected regions are no longer operating, and those that are operating face shortages of medicines and supplies. That is leading to a resurgence of cholera, measles, dengue fever and malaria, as well as neglected tropical diseases such as leishmaniasis, leprosy and onchocerciasis. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that humanitarian assistance and medicines are getting to those who need them most?”
“A local teacher went to her GP with clear symptoms of a facial tumour but was told it was simply the effects of age. It took almost two years to receive a confirmed diagnosis, including eight months lost in the system after an urgent referral. Does the Minister agree that reducing times for cancer diagnosis must start with strengthening systems to support early recognition and follow-up, so that no one is left waiting? I wish the Minister well with her own cancer battle and thank her for bravely sharing her experience of living with cancer.”
“I recently had the pleasure of visiting North Kent College in Gravesend, which is one of the 10 new construction technical excellence colleges. The announcement of the new V-levels is a welcome step, giving vocational education real parity of esteem with academic and technical routes. Can the Secretary of State assure me, however, that the assessment of V-levels will involve physically demonstrating competence, such as practical or placement examinations and building a portfolio of evidence, rather than exam-based memory tests, which do not reflect real life? Will she meet me to discuss that further?”
“I was a teacher of chemistry and science. Under the new curriculum that was instigated by the Conservative Government, young people had to learn 19 equations for physics, including mass, units and all of that. I can go to Google and ask for that, but as a scientist, what I need is scientific inquiry and the curiosity to ask, “Is this fact real?” Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the change to a knowledge-based system has cut back on the ability for young people to learn curiosity and scientific inquiry?”
“I welcome the Minister to her place. I thank her for Gravesham’s share of the pride in place impact fund; £1.5 million over two years is a really great investment, so that we can restart building communities and place—and there are new possibilities that once could only have been imagined. These priorities have been neglected over many years. Does she agree with me that the impact fund will make a real difference to Gravesham?”
“I welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to new protections for veterans. Will he update the House on the discussions that he and Ministry of Defence Ministers have had with veterans and their representative groups about the measures?”
“Kent county council has spent over £1.1 billion, including in my constituency, on legal fees to fight families. That is nearly 80% of its yearly revenue. Does the hon. Member agree that, for parents and families up against that system, the money would be better spent on provision for their children?”
“Given the scale of the disruption that Gravesham faces during the construction of the lower Thames crossing, what steps will the Secretary of State take to ensure that a new transport system there supports real jobs for local people and has wider economic benefit? For example, reinstating the Tilbury-Gravesend ferry would strengthen business connections across the Thames.”
“I welcome the Minister to his place. This is devastating news for the research scientists and the fantastic work they do on neuroscience, inflammation and immunology. Some of that is being carried out at the Francis Crick Institute, where I declare I am unpaid visiting research scientist. Does the Minister agree that the UK has so much expertise to offer and that he needs to look at the whole life science ecosystem, from bench discovery to dispensing at the bedside? Will he join us at the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on Tuesday afternoon when we can go into those issues in depth?”
“I must mention the ferry—bring back the Tilbury-Gravesend ferry—because it is not only about getting across the borough but getting to Essex, supporting our businesses as a place for growth.”
“They were promised a physical connection between Northfleet station and Ebbsfleet International—a place that has some of the highest levels of deprivation—but that has been placed on hold indefinitely, meaning that new housing developments see that investment while those who really could do with that opportunity have been left behind. That is a two-tier public transport system, and it is not fair. In Gravesham we see bus companies competing in a relatively small area for similar routes, undercutting each other and making timetable choices based on profit, not where people actually want to go. I am incredibly confident that the new bus services Bill will enable local people to make the routes better for themselves.”
“Now it is over £550 a year and rising. Families are being priced out, and although I helped to secure options to pay in monthly instalments, the cost remains out of reach for many. In urban areas of my constituency, reliability is a major concern. The cliff collapse at Galley Hill in the neighbouring constituency is having a major impact on the reliability of buses. Under the Tories’ Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, millions of pounds have gone to shiny, fast-track routes. However, they serve the new developments while existing communities have lost their services altogether. The people of Northfleet lost their bus route.”
“It is about connectivity and getting across Gravesham, because there are no buses on a Sunday that can take them to town to meet their friends, and there are no buses that can take them after school if they want to stay and do extracurricular activities. A mum recently contacted me about her 16-year-old who was excited to start at Northfleet technology college, which specialises in engineering. They chose that college because of the bus route, the 305, but that has now been scrapped. We see this up and down our country: bus routes are there one day and scrapped the next. The new bus route means nearly an hour’s journey with a 20-minute walk. On top of that, a pass costs £640 for that privilege. The Kent freedom pass, which is run by Kent county council—previously Tory but now Reform-led—used to cost £50.”
“I am incredibly grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson) for bringing forward this important debate. She spoke with passion about the subject. The south-east can be described as leafy and rich, with Kent being the garden of England, but parts of that garden have been left unnurtured, untended and left behind. Transport inequality can be framed as a north-south divide. In my constituency, there is a north-south divide where people living in the north of the constituency have a lower life expectancy of over a decade. But both the urban and rural communities have been left behind. When I spoke with young people during the campaign and more recently, they told me that transport is their No. 1 issue.”
“The hon. Member and I share a passion for ferries. My ferry no longer runs, so despite having a local government agency that could intervene and supply a ferry, it let go of that contract. I will continue to bang that drum, because ferries are an incredibly important mode of transport for so many people, especially his constituents on the Isle of Wight. The Government want to see transport as a gateway to opportunity, which I fully support, not the barrier that it is today and has been for many years. We must unleash community power and agency to bring voice to the people of Gravesham, especially the young people, who deserve the right to opportunity via buses and boats.”
“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. In addition to the cholera, there is also malaria, which kills thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of children every year. There is also mycetoma—a new, neglected disease that literally takes the skin, muscle and bone off people. A dedicated research centre in Khartoum was looted and destroyed, so the very people who need help and treatment are unable to get it. I wished to add that to the debate.”
“I have constituents who are helping to support their children through cancer treatment. They applied for a blue badge; only after the child’s treatment was, thankfully, successful did the application come back with a no or yes. The focus should be on getting well, not battling a system. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Maidstone and Malling (Helen Grant) for securing this debate.”
“What I have heard from parents in Gravesham, and what I know from my time on Kent county council, is that we have sleepwalked into this crisis. For decades, we have not been listening to the needs of young people. Parents simply want a lawful system—one applied lawfully, with support given at the right time. Will the Minister give some assurance that that is coming soon?”
“In the new training regimen, can we please ensure that parents are believed? Young women and young girls often mask very well in schools where all the professionals are, but then at home they can explode and have meltdowns. Some parents are not believed at that stage. Will that also be included in the new training guidelines?”
“I thank the Secretary of State for his statement today. I welcome the move to community delivery, greater accountability of providers and ICBs, and power to the patients. As a research scientist—I declare an interest as an unpaid visiting researcher at the Francis Crick Institute— I welcome the recognition of the need for scientists and diagnostics to get ahead of disease. What conversations has the Secretary of State had, and what actions has he taken, with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and other regulatory bodies in relation to the amazing new technologies, devices and drugs and how we can get them into the NHS faster?”
“They have told me that it has impacted on people’s ability to get to and from work, and that they have lost many people who cannot bear the thought of taking the Dartford crossing in order to get to work. On our high street, one particular business, Marie’s Tea Room, which used to cater for the passing trade from the large cruise ships that used to dock at Tilbury, has been impacted to the point that it can no longer employ a member of staff. These things have impacts, and I am sure it is the same across our high street. I have been running a petition, as has my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock, and there have been others. Our petitions have garnered thousands of signatures—”