Jayne Kirkham
MP for Truro and Falmouth · Labour (Co-op) · United Kingdom
“Poor infrastructure, high housing costs, precarious seasonal employment and lack of access to healthcare, transport and education are major issues for Cornish residents, and they are all drivers of poverty in rural and coastal places.”
“Although there is a great system of education and apprenticeships, the EMA’s abolition left a real problem, with students across Cornwall having to travel long distances to those FE colleges without the money to help them do that.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I am so pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) secured this debate. Isolation and hidden deprivation in coastal communities is such an important issue.”
“Patients treated in temporary escalation spaces face a lack of privacy and dignity and limited access to necessities such as food, water and toileting. They experience worse outcomes as well.”
“Our local ambulance trust, the South Western Ambulance Service NHS foundation trust, has got much faster at moving patients from ambulances, so that the ambulances do not waste so much time sitting outside the emergency department, but of course, moving patients faster can increase the queue in ED and the need for corridor care there.”
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan) for organising this debate. It is really important and very timely. Corridor care is a visible symptom of the pressure our NHS is under. According to Age UK, the number of people experiencing corridor care has grown 563-fold since 2015.”
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“9. What assessment the Commission has made of the potential merits of prioritising schools that are furthest from Westminster for education visits to Parliament.”
“I am so pleased that schools furthest from Westminster are going to be prioritised and given time to apply for parliamentary trips. It takes at least six hours to get here from Cornish schools, which means they have to take a number of days in London. That is why their visits are rare and often in the summer term, when they interfere less with formal exams. Could my hon. Friend confirm that children from remote and deprived areas will be helped to surmount the barriers they face in getting here?”
“A number of my constituents have been struggling with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, including several type 1 diabetic HGV drivers who have to renew their class 1 licences on a yearly basis. Every year the DVLA takes three to four months to process those applications. Licences expire, and they are relying on section 88 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to continue driving, but many employers will not take drivers on section 88, so they are losing income. The DVLA needs to look at either removing the requirement for annual renewal or speeding up that process, maybe by getting reports from GPs rather than private consultants. Will the Leader of the House facilitate a meeting between me and the relevant Transport Minister, so that we can discuss this further?”
“The SPS is a really positive development and an opportunity for us. If the suggested timescales do come off, it will be impressively quick, but with such fast timescales come the risks mentioned in the report. Does the Chair agree that it is important to not only maintain our higher welfare standards but ensure that our UK farmers are not undercut by imports with lower welfare standards?”
“This Government have already invested millions in the future of Cornish industries but they are held back by poor transport links. Our rail link is struggling, and our airport is fragile. Will the Secretary of State confirm that she is committed to transport improvement in Cornwall through Devon?”
“I have several constituents, including victims of violence against women and girls, who have been waiting a year or more for Devon and Cornwall police to respond to their complaints. Will the Leader of the House facilitate a meeting for me and the Policing Minister to discuss the capacity of Devon and Cornwall police to respond to complaints, and will he allow a debate in Government time on the handling of police complaints?”
“Unlike the national grid, Openreach relied on people contacting their service provider to say they were offline, which was not sufficient in a context where many residents had no internet or phone signal. This was not helped by the fact that the providers generally displayed minimal customer service, and it was impossible to get through to human beings in many cases. There was then another layer of delay while the providers reported to Openreach, which had no map of the areas that were offline.”
“The storm caused widespread power outages and brought down over 1,000 trees, leaving many people completely cut off, with no internet and poor mobile phone signal. The new digital landlines that replaced the old copper networks did not work without power, and Ofcom’s rules require only one hour of battery back-up for vulnerable customers, which is completely inadequate. This meant that for days, and in some cases weeks, large parts of Cornwall were disconnected from the outside world, with no means of accessing information or getting assistance. For many, that was very frightening and showed how in some circumstances, mobile connectivity really could mean life or death. The loss of telecommunications and poor signal made it harder for responders to identify and support vulnerable residents.”
“Sadly, that is not at all surprising. As a rural part of the world, we have often struggled with connectivity. That has a particular impact on rural businesses, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) pointed out, including farms, which still experience poor mobile and broadband service. Data from the NFU shows that just 33% of farming businesses have access to fibre, while only 22% report reliable mobile signal across their farm. Despite that, support schemes like the sustainable farming incentive and communication with the Rural Payments Agency are increasingly done online, so digital connectivity is more important to farmers than ever before. Mobile coverage in my constituency failed spectacularly last month when Storm Goretti struck Cornwall, triggering a rare Met Office red warning, with gusts of about 100 mph.”
“Mobile coverage in my constituency is not good at the best of times. Although we are frequently told by the big four mobile network providers that they have 99% 4G coverage in the UK, including in my constituency, that does not ring true to anyone who, like me, is from Cornwall, and therefore knows what it is like to struggle regularly to get signal. Where there is 5G coverage, it is often from a single provider, and not one premises has 5G coverage from all four providers. Last year, Which? and Opensignal produced a mobile network quality map for the year, by using real-world data from people’s phones and assigning a score to each postcode. TR4, which covers places like Chacewater, Trispen and St Erme in my constituency, ranked the second worst for network quality, with a consistent 4G or 5G signal just 57% of the time.”
“The Minister has indicated that places like Cornwall could be pilot areas for emergency resilience measures, and I very much look forward to that work beginning as soon as possible.”
“Storm Goretti demonstrated how dependent communities and responders now are on digital and mobile networks, and it showed the weakness and lack of resilience of those networks in rural places like Cornwall. As Private Eye pointed out, an Ofcom technical report from last year noted that roughly two thirds of the population would be able to make emergency calls in a power outage of under an hour. The number who would be able to do so by the six-hour mark was redacted and described as being “far fewer”. As extreme weather becomes more frequent, it is crucial that rural areas are better connected. The deadline for nationwide 5G coverage has been pushed back to 2032, but communities like mine cannot wait, as these severe weather experiences become more and more frequent.”
“I agree. Although mobile providers are a category 2 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 framework, they do not have the duties, responsibilities and powers that, say, National Grid or water companies do. There is a strong argument for changing that. Furthermore, the storm exposed the fact that most mobile masts do not have back-up generators or meaningful battery reserves, making them highly vulnerable to power loss. That contrasts with the expectations placed on water and electricity companies, which operate under established resilience duties. Telecoms providers are arguably just as essential, and the civil contingencies framework should reflect that reality in practice, not just in statute. We need stronger requirements and powers for comms providers in emergency situations, and Ofcom needs the teeth to enforce them.”
“Is it not the case that in recent years public sector pay has fallen hugely behind private sector pay, so there is an awful lot of catching up to do?”
“In Cornwall, after our groundbreaking critical minerals strategy, there is the possibility that floating offshore wind could power critical minerals processing plants. This is a fantastic opportunity. Will the Minister look closely at the proposals and see how the Department can help something like that to happen?”
“Did MyCSP breach its contract? What penalties has it paid? When I was a councillor, I chaired Cornwall’s local government pension scheme, which managed to deal with 60,000 members and £2.3 billion. It had proper resources in place to deal with the McCloud judgment, among other things, and everybody gets their pension on time. That is done in house. Why cannot these civil servants, who have worked their whole life in public service, receive the same measure of fairness and respect?”
“Mark, who worked at HMRC, noticed that, according to the new website, his nominated beneficiary was his dad, who has been dead for many decades. Mark queried this and was told that it is actually his wife, but the website still has not been updated. David said: “I heard nothing. I called many times and was…on hold for 90 minutes to 2 hours. The line kept going dead, after getting from say number 105 to around 45 in that time. I got through three times this month and each time the call handler promised escalation, telling me I’m with the ‘finalisation team’, but still nothing.” What steps are being taken by Capita and the Cabinet Office to improve the situation, and what penalty clauses have been triggered? Is consideration being given to forfeiture of the contract? What hard targets has Capita been set to get through the backlog?”
“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers) for securing this debate. It is crucial for my constituents who have dedicated their entire careers to public service at naval air stations, the Inland Revenue and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. They all got in touch with me as a last resort due to delays and lack of information. I welcome the urgent recovery plan that has been put in place by Angela MacDonald’s team, but we need more clarity on the timeline for when the outstanding pensions matters will be resolved. My constituents have highlighted issues with accuracy. Simon found that the figures he received were incorrect. When he questioned them, the answer from MyCSP was that he should wait until January and contact the new provider, who would sort it out.”
“Perhaps the Minister can confirm that the veterans scheme is incredibly important, that we all agree with it being there, and that there are absolutely no plans to remove it.”
“I hope that if significant concerns are raised about the proposals being applied retrospectively, the Minister will look at them again.”
“Some of those people have been living and working in the UK for three to four years, and they assumed that they would soon be eligible for indefinite leave to remain. Now, however, healthcare assistants and care workers in my constituency potentially face 15 years of uncertainty. These people came to the UK on expensive work visas with an understanding that they could apply for settled status after five years. As other Members have already said, one of my constituents described his reaction to the proposed changes as feeling like the goalposts were constantly being moved. These people have invested their hearts and their families in this country, as well as their money. I have encouraged my constituents to respond to the consultation and to make their voices heard.”
“I spoke in a previous petition debate on this topic last year. At that point, the plans had not been published, and I asked for details of how the changes might affect my constituents, many of whom were very worried and had written to me about their concerns. In that debate, I talked primarily about doctors and medical staff, because my constituency is home to Cornwall’s only acute hospital. However, I have also been contacted by accountants, chefs, an electrical engineer working in tidal energy and academics—people who make valuable contributions to their communities and who call Cornwall home. We now know that under the consultation proposals, the changes will be applied retrospectively.”
“I have a couple of small points to make. Cornwall has a very well-developed local integrated transport plan and devolution of bus franchising as well. Will the Minister reassure Members representing non-mayoral areas that GBR will have some regard to the solid local plans we already have in place? The shadow Minister commented on running businesses. In a previous life, I was an equity partner in a law firm. Some of us have done a lot of other things. It might be worth considering how many shadow Ministers now in opposition worked in the public services they ran as well.”
“I am grateful to the Minister for last week meeting me and a representative of Watson-Marlow, a business in my constituency, to discuss barriers to export. Many businesses I have spoken to have been frustrated about the difficulty of moving people, goods and equipment to Europe post Brexit, and they face significant additional costs and admin. Fugro and Pendennis yachts have raised with me issues they have experienced with securing visas for their staff on short-term offshore projects. What steps can the Minister take with colleagues at the Home Office to ensure that some of those barriers are reduced?”
“The Minister mentioned the music venue levy earlier. He knows that my constituency has amazing music venues, so when will the first payment from that levy be made to those smaller venues?”
“As an ex-employment lawyer—in fact, I was an equity partner in a law firm that employed 50 people, so I do have some experience—I remember that when the minimum wage came in in 1998, the figure for over-21s was the same, but the Conservative party changed that, so that those under 25 were paid less, although people’s rent does not cost less when they are 24. There is still a differential for under-21s of £2 an hour, so how can the right hon. Member say that that differential is no longer there when it still exists?”
“The hon. Gentleman must be really pleased, then, about the Prime Minister’s new target of two thirds of young people being in either higher education or apprenticeships and training.”
“As a vice-chair of the f40 group and as an MP in Cornwall, which has the 13th lowest SEND funding, I understand exactly what the hon. Member is talking about. Does she agree, however, that we now have a welcome focus on SEND, that we have increased funding, and that the schools White Paper and the SEND White Paper, which will be published soon, will provide a good opportunity to look closely at the SEND system and perhaps—although it will be very difficult to address those massive discrepancies in one go—start to look at how SEND funding is used across the country?”
“RFA personnel are not armed combatants, but they are deployed in warzones and they face danger, and there is no doubt that they are absolutely vital to the UK’s defence, security and maritime power. They have been deployed all over the world on anti-narcotics missions, following earthquakes, providing support during the Ebola crisis, and recently in operations apprehending shadow vessels and protecting our subsea cables. Crews face challenging conditions, including an ageing fleet and staff shortages. Personnel regularly have long sea tours, with less time off per day worked than any other sector. This Government have been working with the RFA and its unions closely on improving terms and conditions, and I hope that will be concluded speedily.”
“As a Back-Bench Member of Parliament, I understand that it is rare to see a ten-minute rule Bill progress all the way into law. That is why I was so pleased when I learned that the Armed Forces Bill has incorporated the proposal from my Bill to bring Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel within the remit of the new Armed Forces Commissioner. When the Armed Forces Commissioner Act 2025 received Royal Assent at the end of last year, it created for the first time an independent statutory voice for service personnel, reporting directly to Parliament. However, the RFA did not get that protection, despite the vital role that its crews play in supporting our armed forces. Falmouth is home to the Bay-class RFA ships, and I have spent time with their crews in Falmouth docks.”
“They make extraordinary sacrifices to keep this country safe, and they deserve safe homes, fair treatment and a system that understands the unique demands of military life. I am pleased that the RFA is included in the Bill and that I have played a tiny part in shaping it. I am also pleased that those who keep our armed forces moving around will now be properly recognised and protected. As a Government, we promised to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve, and we are delivering on that.”
“The Government announced an armed forces gap year plan over Christmas to give Britain’s young people under the age of 21 a taste of the extraordinary skills and training on offer across the Army, the Royal Navy and the RAF. It is a really important scheme. I had very little experience of the military before I met my ex-husband. Everybody knows about the potential risks, but there are huge positives and opportunities that many are not aware of. People can do all sorts of things in the forces—they can learn to be a pilot, a medic, an engineer or even a champion snowboarder—and they gain connections that last a lifetime. My Navy friends are like family to my son, and I consider myself very lucky to have been part of a forces family. Cornwall has a proud military heritage. Many families have someone who served or is still serving.”
“The Bill extends the covenant across all levels of Government so that no one falls through the gaps, and it strengthens the service justice system to ensure fair treatment and proper accountability. It also provides for the publicly owned Defence Housing Service, which will benefit 12,334 homes in the south-west, many of which are in my constituency. The provisions in the Bill are accompanied by initiatives such as the fantastic Operation Valour, and there is a bid for my constituency to become a hub. Cornwall has the second highest number of veterans of any local authority area, so we believe that it would make a lot of sense to have that provision there. The right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat) made a point about young people.”
“It also gives the Commissioner the authority to enter RFA premises, request evidence and issue recommendations that the Secretary of State has to consider. It is worthy of the contribution that the RFA makes, and I am glad to have helped in a tiny way to secure it. The contract with those who serve should not end at the gates of a naval base or the stern of an auxiliary ship. RFA personnel serve this country with dedication and often without recognition, and it is right that our policy reflects their contribution. I welcome the wider reforms in the Armed Forces Bill, which will benefit thousands of service personnel and more than 30,000 veterans across Cornwall, many of them in Truro and Falmouth.”
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman. I remember the ship sailing from Falmouth and coming back. Clause 30 of the Armed Forces Bill now delivers what I argued for and formally brings RFA personnel within the scope of the Armed Forces Commissioner. The reform does not change the RFA’s legal status or distinct identity, which is very important, but it finally gives the men and women who sustain our Royal Navy and Royal Marines an independent route to raise concerns about bullying, unsafe conditions, discrimination or misconduct. Schedule 4 sets out in detail the new powers and responsibilities of the Commissioner in relation to the RFA. These include promoting welfare, improving public understanding of the RFA’s challenges and investigating systemic issues, such as staffing, crew fatigue and safety.”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Storm Goretti was a wake-up call for Cornwall and nationally. It tested the resilience of rural and coastal Britain to these extreme weather events. In Cornwall alone, we lost over 1,000 trees and thousands of people were left without power and water. It exposed vulnerabilities, particularly in our communications in rural areas, where mobile and internet connectivity is fragile, hard to restore and not backed up. Would the Minister lead discussions with Science, Innovation and Technology Ministers on how to shore up communications in such circumstances, and consider in his own Department how to advise and make individuals and communities more resilient generally to the increasing number of storms?”
“To the previous point, devolution means that every region is different, so you do not always have to have one size fits all; you can have whatever works for you and your community. There are definitely ways to do it. Certainly, if it is done in London, that should give you comfort that it can be done elsewhere.”
“Q You have sort of answered one of my questions: I was going to ask about combined and integrated local transport offers and ticketing, and how that would work. I think you answered that you could consult. Will you say something about safeguards in terms of how that ticketing would work and how you would share the tickets with GBR? Can you foresee any issues with that? Tracy Brabin: As Andy says, we are already doing it. We are sharing with the bus operators in our integrated Weaver network, where we have, for example, brought in the “mayor’s fare”. I think it is the only one in the country, and it is a day saver. It is capped and can be used on any bus, anywhere, for any number of journeys and on any operator. We work with the operators to divvy up the checks and balances of the passengers. I think you can see that it is possible.”
“Q I was going to move on to devolution. It is fantastic that you are investing in your local infrastructure and you are able to do that. I am from Cornwall, where we have basically one line in and one line out to serve 640,000 people; we do not really have that infrastructure. Can you see any benefit, apart from the railway service hopefully getting better overall, for those areas that do not have the advantage of having a very active mayor with a regional funding pot for these things? Tracy Brabin: I will say timetabling, because I have witnessed a bus arriving as the train is pulling away. Having that localised regional mind that considers what the public and businesses need, and where the buses need to go to deliver the passengers to the trains, is challenging, but are you not going to get a mayor soon?”
“Oh, there is a fraught question. I think anyone in the rest of the country who you ask will be having issues about devolution. Tracy Brabin: Fair enough. But it is about that oversight of the buses feeding the train timetable.”
“I do not think GBR will necessarily have to try to find freight flows; the freight operators are extremely able at doing that. GBR has to make sure there are no blockages to being able to get those flows on. The discounting process for track access is a very good thing in the Bill, and I think that will really help. The most important thing is that the freight team inside GBR is able to have its appropriate share of voice inside GBR when it comes to the passenger business as well. If GBR genuinely takes account of all its duties, I think it will work, because the freight companies will go and find the business. GBR just has to enable it to happen.”
“Q I will be quick. You may know, Mr Bowker, that I am the MP for Falmouth. I am trying to restore a small disused freight line at the end of the passenger line, so I am pleased to hear about the new duty to encourage freight. How do you think GBR could and should encourage freight? How will it actually do that? Richard Bowker: Well, there is a target of 75% growth by 2050, and there is a duty to take it into account and to support the carriage of goods and services by rail. That is all great stuff. The rail freight businesses are in the private sector, and they are commercial and very agile. They will follow business. If business is there to be brought on to rail, I genuinely believe they are out looking for it all the time, and if they can make it happen, they will.”
“Q Thank you very much, Sir Alec. I have a couple of small questions. Mr Hynes, you talked about mayoral strategic authorities. In the south-west, of course, we do not really have any. In that situation, what is the duty to deal with local authorities in a similar way and take account of their transport plans? Is it the same? Alex Hynes: GBR must take into account local transport plans.”
“Regardless of the type of authority? Alex Hynes: Correct. Essentially, GBR will have a legal duty to take into account certain things, such as the interests of passengers, including disabled passengers, so GBR will be required by law to take into account what is in the best interests of passengers as it is running its business. Jeremy Westlake: There are other mechanisms that we use to ensure local engagement, such as the local railway initiatives that we have done in Cornwall and Devon. In terms of engagement with local stakeholders, I will be going down to meet Luke Pollard MP in Plymouth next week. We actually have different mechanisms for different types of railway so that we can ensure that we have taken the accounts of users onboard.”
“Normally, there is engagement at a very early stage on the scope of the plans and how they fit with the Secretary of State’s objectives. We would expect, and indeed plan, to be involved in the plans at a further stage back than the monitoring of their delivery, on a forward-looking basis—that is, we will ask whether the plans are likely to be delivered, rather than waiting to see whether they have been delivered or not.”
“Q I am one of the MPs for Cornwall, so that is really good to hear. Mr Larkinson, much of the ORR’s role is monitoring and enforcement after the fact—looking back and looking at appeals. Do you have sufficient powers to look at things before they happen, so at decisions as they are being made, if you can see trouble down the rail—if you see what I mean? John Larkinson: I would probably go one step further back than that. I see us playing a very crucial role in establishing the plans in the first place. If GBR is setting up its integrated plan, covering track and train, I would expect there to be a process—indeed, we are already designing it—that builds on the processes today, when we focus very much on Network Rail’s business plans.”
“I do not see it as problematic, in fact; that process is supposed to drive us to make proposals to Government for investment.”
“Q Mr Westlake, on rail freight, we talked earlier about clause 63. I am the MP for Falmouth, so I want to restore rail freight there; there is a passenger rail line there as well. Obviously, there is the duty to grow rail freight but of course there will be immense pressure on capacity in some of the railways. Do you think that will be a manageable friction, and that GBR will be able to take on that duty and the capacity duty, even considering that the capacity duty in clause 63 prioritises passengers? Jeremy Westlake: First, I would say that friction is quite useful because it drives you to look at where you might want to invest to resolve some of the issues. The whole question of capacity allocation is actually driven by the fact that it is limited. The friction will lead us to develop better investment cases to satisfy demand.”
“Coincidentally, I visited HMP Wandsworth yesterday and was impressed by the progress that it has made in staff retention over the last year or so. The prison has a new unit with support for prisoners with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and addiction issues, and it seems to be working very well. My hon. Friend mentioned the lack of staff, which means that prison officers cannot get a grip of what is happening on the wings, because there are not enough of them. On the central recruitment of staff and vetting, I understand that prison officers are not interviewed face to face by the governor or the prisons where they will work. My hon. Friend also made a point about continued vetting. Does he agree that having face-to-face interviews in the prisons where officers are going to work is very important?”
“Despite having run a viable business before covid, he now finds himself subject to extremely high interest rates—up to 32% on loans that he is trying to secure to set himself back up in business. He is concerned that he is being penalised, as if his insolvency was the result of mismanagement or poor creditworthiness rather than extraordinary and unforeseeable external circumstances. That not only hinders recovery efforts but may discourage future entrepreneurship. I would be grateful if the Minister would address the experience of both my constituents, as well as how the Government can recognise the financial hardship that many taxpayers across the UK suffered during the covid-19 lockdowns and ensure that similar experiences will never happen in the future?”