Alison Bennett
MP for Mid Sussex · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“Q6. I put on record my appreciation for the hard work of the Prime Minister’s ministerial team in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in tackling the absolute failings of South East Water. However, last Friday, 1,200 pupils at Downlands community school in Hassocks were sent home because they had no water.”
“She told me the staff were amazing, but she also made it clear that amazing staff should never have to work in those conditions Perhaps the most difficult responses I have received were from the healthcare professionals themselves. One doctor told me that they regularly examine patients in corridors.”
“I am sorry, but I will not, in the interests of time. This is happening not because our NHS staff are failing, but because they are being asked to deliver excellent care in circumstances that make excellence almost impossible.”
“Many of those people wanted the House to be told one thing before anything else: the staff who cared for them were extraordinary. They spoke of nurses who never stopped smiling despite being exhausted, doctors who apologised because they knew patients deserved better, and paramedics who stayed compassionate under impossible pressure.”
“I agree with my hon. Friend. What we see time and again is that one problem becomes another until eventually the patient pays the price. My constituent, Catherine Jeater, has seen corridor care as a patient and as a relative of a patient.”
“I begin by thanking the hon. Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan) for setting out so brilliantly, with her professional expertise and human touch, what it means for corridor care to be a normal habit across the NHS in all parts of the country—not just in the winter, with winter pressures, but throughout the year.”
The complete record
Every one of 584 lines we hold for Alison Bennett, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 12 of 12.
“In the past two weeks, I have met two families whose children are suicidal, one of whom is nine years old. The other one was committed to a secure unit for most of 2023. The cause of their suicidal thoughts was their educational needs not being met by the education system. Neither of those children have EHCPs. Conservative-controlled West Sussex county council is completing only 9.4% of EHCPs within 20 weeks. One block is the lack of educational psychologists. Does the Minister agree that increasing the supply of educational psychologists is essential?”
“He says that there has been a profound loss of trust among the infected blood community, and that nothing—nothing—will restore that trust until the payments are forthcoming. Victims need certainty, because they cannot plan for the future.”
“In 2003, Graham lost his business; the next year, as a consequence, all the family savings were gone. There has been an enormous impact on Graham’s marriage to Sue. Graham and Sue are fearless, determined, strong people. He told me that before he became poorly they had two to three good years of happy, healthy marriage; I am pleased to say that they are still happily married, but Graham’s hepatitis C has had a profound impact on them in the years since. Graham said that Sue did not deserve that in her marriage, but she has been steadfast and loyal throughout. Graham also has high praise for the team who have cared for him at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals: the care he has received has been incredible. Graham’s asks are about urgency.”
“Hon. Members on both sides of the House have made many fine contributions, some of which have been very detailed. You will be pleased to know, Madam Deputy Speaker, that mine will hopefully be quite simple. There are two words that I would like everybody to consider: urgency and trust. Those were the words that summarised the feelings of my Burgess Hill constituent Graham Knight when I spoke to him recently. Graham is not sure precisely when he was infected, but he thinks it was probably in 1987 while he was having his appendix removed. It was not until 2002 that he was finally diagnosed with hepatitis C. He told me that every day he has woken up since then has been a bonus. Needless to say, there has been a vast impact not only on his health, but on his professional life, his personal life and relationships and his social life.”
“I do agree. My hon. Friend is right that ensuring that compensation comes forward is of the utmost importance. I am sure it will be coming forward, but the urgency with which it does so is the key point here. I end by emphasising the anguish that Graham and countless other victims still hold and carry with them every day. It is deep-seated, and it will not go away until the matter is settled and the payments are concluded. Urgency is now required to right this 40-year wrong.”
“I thank the right hon. Lady for raising the issue of care workers and the great contribution that they make by looking after those who need care. Does she agree that the minimum wage for a carer should be increased by £2 an hour, in line with Liberal Democrat policy?”
“As Archie was approaching adulthood, they realised that West Sussex county council would not be able to provide enough care for him, so the best thing that she could do was take her teacher’s pension early and claim the carer’s allowance. Because of the £151 a week limit on earnings for those on the carer’s allowance, Amanda is now excluded from the workforce. She cannot take up offers of supply teaching or exam invigilating that would boost the family income and be good for her mental health. We need to ensure that people can give care while being in the workforce, because this situation is not good for the nation’s productivity, or for the Government’s ambition to deliver growth.”
“As I mentioned when I intervened on the Deputy Prime Minister, we would like the minimum wage for care workers to be £2 higher than the normal minimum wage. We would also like to build the esteem and career path of people who work in paid care—for example, by establishing a royal college of carers. Without that, we have a blocker to our workforce productivity. Caring and working must go hand in hand, but because regulations do not enable unpaid carers to look after their loved ones adequately, 600 people a day give up work to care for a loved one. One of those people is Amanda, who used to live in Mid Sussex. She and her husband Nick look after their 21-year-old son Archie, who is autistic and learning disabled. Amanda is a modern foreign languages teacher, and there is a shortage of such teachers.”
“I associate myself with the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain), and commend her for all her work on the Carer’s Leave Act 2023, which came into play in the previous Parliament. I want to build on that, and to emphasise the importance of the interplay of paid and unpaid care in ensuring that we look after the people in society who need our care. The comments of a constituent of mine in Mid Sussex come to mind. She was an unpaid carer for her mother, and told me that having paid carers come in helped her to sustain a normal mother-daughter relationship for that little bit longer. The care workforce, and looking after the care workforce, are extremely important, and the Liberal Democrats welcome the fair pay proposals in this Bill, but we would like the Bill to go further.”
“We see what carers do, we hear what carers are saying, and I and my Liberal Democrat colleagues will continue to speak up for them in this place.”
“Carers are not just caregivers; they are a lifeline giving support that our healthcare system would struggle to replace. There is, however, a danger in viewing care as merely transactional. Care is far more than just fulfilling a basic physical need; it is about enabling individuals to achieve their potential and live fulfilling lives—lives that they deserve to enjoy. Family carers support loved ones in ways that help them thrive, not just survive. I close by thanking the Government for their response today and for engaging so constructively in this debate. I thank the charities that advocate for carers for the vital work they do. Most importantly, I thank the 5.7 million unpaid carers across the country for all that they do, day in, day out, with love and compassion. They are the very best of us.”
“It is disappointing that the Government are seeking to amend our motion to delete what carers are crying out for. After years of Conservative neglect, we cannot afford yet more dither and delay. As my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) said, unpaid carers save the taxpayer an astonishing £162 billion a year. The Government’s financial worries would stretch far beyond the current £22 billion black hole were it not for those unsung heroes. That is not just a statistic; it represents a profound debt of gratitude that we owe to those who provide care. The social, emotional and financial value that unpaid carers bring to our communities cannot be overstated. This afternoon, Members from all parts of the House have made that point loud and clear.”
“Just because care often happens in homes—in private and behind closed doors—that does not mean that it is not important or that we can ignore it. I welcome the Government’s announcement on commissioning an open and transparent report to review the carer’s allowance overpayments, but questions remain. Will the Minister stop the shameful attempt to recoup overpayments? Will there be an amnesty on pursuing past overpayments? Will they consider tapering carer’s allowance? Will they consult on whether 35 hours of care a week is the right threshold for claiming carer’s allowance? How will they set about changing the culture of the DWP, so that people never feel like criminals simply for caring for their loved ones while trying to work to pay the bills?”
“The Conservatives failed to tackle the cultural problems at the DWP. The Conservatives failed to care about carers. Today, Members from across the House have given voice to unpaid family carers, whom we should be thanking, rather than punishing. We have heard about how the DWP’s actions left people feeling insulted, bullied, harassed and crushed. That is not right. We should be lifting up these people. We should be thanking them, not hounding them, for the love and care they give to their loved ones. The population of my Mid Sussex constituency is older than the average. Across the country, the population is ageing. We cannot shy away from the fact that we will as a society increasingly rely on carers.”
“We are truly proud of her achievement in bringing that into law as the Carer’s Leave Act 2023. I also thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) for all his work on care and carers, and for bringing this debate to the House today. The carer’s allowance scandal has been overlooked for years. It is astonishing that it has taken a Liberal Democrat Opposition day for this critical topic to finally receive the attention it deserves. The fact that we have had to bring this debate today—late in 2024, after a change of Government and five years after MPs looked into the carer’s allowance scandal and concluded that there was no evidence of mass fraud—is shameful and a stain on the legacy of the previous Conservative Government. The Conservatives failed to take the action needed.”
“I start by congratulating those hon. Members who made their maiden speeches this afternoon. The hon. Member for Clwyd North (Gill German) gave a brilliant description of her time teaching and the inspiration she provided to her pupils. As someone who grew up in Gloucestershire, I say to the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (Dan Aldridge) that his town was our destination of choice for seaside days out. My hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Steve Darling) represents another seaside town, and he and the honourable Jennie are both dear to the Liberal Democrat group. I pay tribute to the work of my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) in bringing forward her private Member’s Bill in the last Parliament on unpaid carer’s leave.”
“I recently met representatives of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, who told me that the inadequate state of social care was resulting in the deterioration of people’s physical health, leading to more presentations at emergency departments. Does the Minister agree that if social care were properly funded, pressure on our hospitals would be reduced?”
“We need to increase the number of staffed hospital beds and improve social care to cut delays in ambulance handovers, and it is imperative that the Government publish localised reports on ambulance response times. We must create an emergency fund to reverse the closure of community ambulance stations. In conclusion, while we have made significant progress in raising awareness of sepsis, the fight is far from over. We must continue to push for better diagnostics, increased funding and improved care standards, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background, has access to the best possible treatment.”
“All maternity units must meet high standards of care. That includes having adequate facilities and equipment and access to best practice care around the clock, especially for those experiencing miscarriage. Moving on to emergencies, we know that demand for ambulances is intense, not just because of the winter pressures that come around every year but because of longer-term pressures. In my seat of Mid Sussex, the South East Coast Ambulance Service is predicting a 15% increase in demand for ambulances over the next five years. Response times for urgent conditions such as sepsis need to be improved. Across England last year, the NHS failed to meet response targets in every region for category 2 emergencies, which includes sepsis.”
“While raising awareness is a part of this, public awareness alone is not enough. We must improve things such as diagnostic testing for sepsis through investment in hospital equipment and increased laboratory capacity. We cannot expect healthcare professionals to act swiftly if they are not given the tools they need to do their job to the best of their skilled ability. I was grateful to the hon. Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock (James McMurdock) for raising the issue of maternal sepsis. In September, the Care Quality Commission reported that 48% of trusts were rated “Inadequate” or “Requires improvement” for maternity services. Sadly, that includes my own trust, the University hospitals Sussex NHS foundation trust. Sepsis is just one risk factor in having poor maternity provision.”
“She has looked after her mother, who was hospitalised and very ill for a long time, after being bitten by the family dog and developing sepsis. Eventually, over a number of years, she has been able to come home. As well as caring for her mother, my friend is a consultant geriatrician locally to me in Mid Sussex and has a great deal of experience of what it is like treating sepsis in hospital. She wanted to emphasise that awareness of sepsis has grown among healthcare professionals and is much better understood than it once was. The UK Sepsis Trust, through its action and activism, has seen a real increase in public awareness of sepsis. In 2012, only 27% of people understood the severity of the condition, but that figure had soared by 2019 to 76%. Awareness is going in the right direction, although more certainly needs to be done.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) on bringing this important debate forward today. I also want to take a moment to recognise Abbi, who is in the Public Gallery, for her bravery in all she has done and for coming here today and the work she is doing just by being here and raising the profile of sepsis. While initiatives such as sepsis six have helped to improve outcomes for people who have sepsis in recent years, urgent challenges remain, in terms of both the awareness and the treatment protocols we have, and the resources we put into treating the condition. In preparing for the debate, I was able to grab five minutes with a constituent and a dear friend.”
“I welcome the announcement of the Secretary of State about the shift from hospital to community care. My fellow Liberal Democrats and I fully believe that fixing social care is part of the solution in getting the NHS back on its feet, so I also welcome the announcement of a national care service. Part of care in the community is of course the hospice sector. I recently met the chief executive of St Catherine’s hospice, which is in the constituency of the hon. Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies). He highlighted to me that, although the hospice has 24 beds, it is currently using only 12 of them. What assurance can the Secretary of State give me, and people right across the country, that fixing the hospice sector will be part of the solution as we take the NHS forward?”
“I thank the Minister for her answer. The Children’s Society has found that British 15-year-olds are the unhappiest in Europe, and school absences are at record levels, often due to poor mental health or inadequate support for special educational needs. Early intervention is key to tackling mental health issues among our children. Does the Minister agree that, by putting a mental health professional into every primary and secondary school, we could help end the youth mental health crisis?”
“Can the Minister explain how the English devolution Bill will reduce local authority budget shortfalls, ensuring that essential council services for the public are protected?”
“The Bolney wine estate has, in conjunction with the Brighton Energy Cooperative, put a solar array on the roofs of its winery, which now generates over 50% of the energy required to produce half a million bottles of wine. However, local groups can only do so much; they need the Government to create an environment in which it is easy to make the energy transition. Speeding up grid connections, for example, can currently take up to three years. We need to make better use of space that has no other purpose—industrial rooftops or the sides of railway lines—including for solar arrays. The will is there in Mid Sussex and, I am sure, right across the country. We need to do more and we must make it easy. Our communities, our constituents, our children and as yet unborn generations demand nothing less.”
“The Bentswood Hub in Haywards Heath helps people young and old with their mental health, bills and housing. The Burgess Hill Pantry is trying to find a way to break the cycle of food bank dependency. This weekend, local charity Kangaroos is celebrating 30 years of helping children with learning disabilities and their families. There are also incredible groups working to tackle the climate crisis, which brings me to the subject of today’s debate. Fairer World Lindfield, Hurst Rethink, and Greener Hassocks and Ditchling are tireless advocates and campaigners for the idea of starting something to tackle the climate crisis rather than waiting for the Government to get on board. Greener Hassocks and Ditchling has put solar panels on the roof of Downlands community school in Hassocks.”
“It is a place where extraordinary things can and do happen because people pull together and step up. If it is not extraordinary enough that Mid Sussex, which had a Conservative majority of 27,000 back in 2012, has just elected a Liberal Democrat, just this week former England player Gareth Barry signed for Hurstpierpoint football club—a village football team—and Nathan Hales is competing in the shooting at the Paris Olympics. We are all rooting for Nathan and the whole of Team GB. However, it is about more than individual effort; it is about local collective determination. The village of Cuckfield has a proud identity, and it even made a unilateral declaration of independence in 1966 over the venue of the annual donkey grand national.”
“As a Liberal Democrat, I will always advocate closer ties with our European allies and neighbours. We believe that, in a world this unstable and dangerous, we are stronger when we turn to face our closest friends and neighbours. Co-operation, not antagonism, is the best way of tackling the challenges that our planet faces. What of Mid Sussex? I feel confident in asserting that I and all my predecessors agree that the stunning beauty of our corner of England is spectacular. With the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty in the north, and the South Downs national park in the south, we are truly blessed. I have felt truly blessed to call Mid Sussex my home for the past 12 years, not only because of its beauty but because of its brilliant people.”
“A significant proportion of Mid Sussex, and the area that is my home, was formerly—given the most recent boundary changes—part of the Arundel and South Downs constituency. I thank the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith) for his courteous and prompt handover of casework. I probably owe a bigger debt of gratitude to his predecessor, Lord Herbert of South Downs. The noble Lord might not realise it, but he played a hand in lighting the touchpaper on my political journey that has led me to be here today. During the EU referendum campaign, the noble Lord was chairman of Conservatives for Reform in Europe. He kindly agreed to come to my village one afternoon to join a cross-party stall for remain that I was organising. It might be said that he inspired me.”
“He raised concerns about the expansion of Gatwick airport, about housing growth without vital infrastructure, and about doctors and teachers not being able to afford a house. All those things are important to people in my constituency, as well as to the Liberal Democrats. Of special note was Baron Renton’s call for more generous attendance and disability allowances, so that people can be properly cared for by loved ones in their own home. The importance of having a care system that truly works and genuinely supports carers is critical to ensuring that we live in a civilised society, where regardless of someone’s life stage and their physical or mental health, they can live the best life possible and achieve their potential. We must care about care. We must make that a priority of this new Parliament.”
“Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield (Mims Davies), who has already given her time and support in relation to urgent issues affecting children in both our constituencies. It would be amiss not to acknowledge the noble Lord Soames in another place, who is held in high regard by the good people of Mid Sussex. Due to the vagaries of boundary changes, I had to go back some 50 years to the maiden speech given by the late Baron Renton to find the original and only maiden speech made by a Member of Parliament for Mid Sussex. On reading that 1974 maiden speech, I briefly considered a simple copy-and-paste job, such is the relevance of his speech echoing through the decades to the moment we find ourselves in today.”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and congratulations on your appointment to your new role. I congratulate the hon. Member for St Helens North (David Baines) on his maiden speech and election to Parliament. He is right to remind us all about the role of aspiration and all children seeking to do their best. I must pay tribute to my parents: to my father for sparking my interest in politics, and my mother for telling me, when I was 17, “If you don’t try, you’ll never know what you can do.” It is truly the honour of my life to take my seat in this place. I am the fourth person to serve Mid Sussex since the constituency was created in 1974. I thank my predecessor, now the hon.”
“I welcome the Government’s support for strengthening the pharmacy sector. The Minister talks about the workforce. Residents in my constituency have raised concerns about the pressure on pharmacists to take on more and more services that might traditionally have been provided by primary care. What assurances can he give me that he will make sure that the workforce plan for pharmacists is robust enough to cope with the extra demand?”