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.”
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“On Thursday, I visited the Acorns nursery and Forest school in Lindfield in my constituency, which was founded 40 years ago by the indomitable Janet Irwin. Its manager, Mrs Christina Franks, was recently awarded an MBE in the King’s birthday honours. The Acorns has been Ofsted outstanding for many years, but following a recent inspection in which one new piece of paperwork was found to be missing, it was downgraded. This was absolutely devastating for Mrs Irwin and Mrs Franks—they have shed tears and cancelled their 40th anniversary celebrations. The paperwork is now fixed, but Ofsted is unable to come and reinspect. What advice does the Secretary of State have for the Acorns?”
“Alongside the UK condemning these actions, does the hon. Gentleman consider it appropriate for practical measures, such as banning trade in settlement goods, to be introduced?”
“Sarah told me she has no faith in the system operated by the Department for Work and Pensions and no trust that fair and just decisions will be reached, because in her experience, the DWP’s overriding drive is not to understand but simply to cut.”
“Sarah’s PIP funds a CPAP—continuous positive airway pressure—machine that runs 24 hours a day, connected directly to the hospital, because she has developed sleep apnoea, and it pays for the additional electricity to keep it going. It pays for a specialist mattress to prevent pressure sores, bathing aides and specialist body wipes for when cleaning herself is just too difficult. It pays for extra fuel for an average of four medical appointments each month, some in Hassocks and some as far away as London, and it has helped to make her garden accessible so that there is at least one part of her home where she feels free. These are not luxuries; they are the bare essentials that allow Sarah to live in dignity, with some measure of independence.”
“I want to begin today not with statistics or slogans, but with the reality of just one life: a constituent of mine, Sarah, from Hassocks. Sarah has a spinal cord injury. She is a wheelchair user, and this is what her personal independence payment makes possible. It pays for underwear that does not dig into her skin, wedge pillows to raise her legs, grabber sticks, so that she can pick things up off the floor, and a second wheelchair to keep upstairs. It covers the use of a specialist rehabilitation gym that keeps her as healthy as possible. It allows her to buy heated blankets for the cold weather, because the cold weather makes her pain worse. It pays for specialist outdoor clothes from Norway to cover her legs, and in hot weather, it pays for extra fans, because the heat makes her injured body swell.”
“I did not need to explain that to Sarah—she fully understands that—and I am about to address that point. The Government’s last-minute climbdown has brought Sarah no comfort, because she never imagined she would be in a wheelchair. She never thought her life would change forever in an instant, and she knows that for thousands of people, that change is still to come. Life can turn on a sixpence—a single diagnosis, a single accident—and suddenly we find ourselves in a world we never imagined, up against barriers we never thought we would face. When that happens, the welfare system should be there to support us, not abandon us. It is not just disabled people themselves who will be harmed by this Bill; it is also the millions of family carers—the unpaid carers—whose labour sustains our entire health and social care system.”
“In truth, most able-bodied people think that they understand disability, but until someone is there, they cannot comprehend the world of barriers that are thrown up. For many, that day will come after this Government’s reforms have been forced through. That is why I say to Ministers that they should pause the Bill and go back to the drawing board. They should consult the people whose lives they are about to upend, and show them the basic respect of listening before they legislate to take away their support. If we do not stand with disabled people and carers now, and if we do not insist on compassion and fairness at the heart of our welfare system, we will all pay the price later, not just in higher costs to the NHS and social care, but in the erosion of the values that bind our communities together.”
“Carers have been ignored by the Government throughout this entire debacle, and their voice must now be heard loud and clear. The Liberal Democrats will continue to oppose the Bill, which risks stripping thousands of carers of vital assistance, and leaving some of the most vulnerable people in Britain without support. Yes, we agree that the welfare bill is too high, but if the Government were serious about bringing it down, they would be serious about fixing health and, critically, social care at pace, tackling chronic ill health at its root, rather than punishing those who live with its consequences. Sarah told me that she wanted to speak up not for herself but for that future community of disabled people.”
“My hon. Friend makes a wise point. In my constituency of Mid Sussex, one in four carers are themselves disabled. Carers UK has warned in the clearest possible terms that the Bill still risks a severe and lasting financial impact on future unpaid carers and disabled people—people already facing significant hardship. Even after the Government’s partial concessions, around 81,000 future carers stand to lose support by 2029-30. That is not a small technical change; it is a decision that will push families closer to poverty, create a two-tier system of entitlements, and deepen inequalities. Let me be clear: the Government have produced no impact assessment, no comprehensive evidence of what this will mean, and there has been no consultation with carers themselves.”
“Housing is not the only issue affecting armed forces families. When a member of the forces moves, their family often move with them. My work experience student Amy, who is in the Gallery today, is from an armed forces family and attended three primary schools. One school provided dedicated support, whereas others had less understanding of the issues that children whose parents are in the forces may face. Will the Secretary of State work with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure that armed forces children receive consistent support at every school that they attend?”
“Secondly, are the Government confident that the CQC and the Department of Health and Social Care have the capacity, resources and real-time data systems to monitor visiting arrangements and act swiftly if restrictions become harmful? Thirdly, will the Government commit to going further by passing Gloria’s law, guaranteeing a statutory right to unrestricted in-person support from at least one essential care supporter? The lessons of the pandemic are clear. Families are not visitors but vital partners in supporting those we love through their most vulnerable moments, so let us act now and give vulnerable people the rights they need and deserve. In doing so, perhaps we will save lives like Donald’s.”
“That is why my Liberal Democrat colleagues and I are calling on the Government to implement Gloria’s law without delay. Gloria’s law would enshrine in primary legislation the right for every person in a care or health setting to have at least one essential care supporter present, regardless of circumstances. As Rights for Residents says, “only Gloria’s Law will guarantee that none of us will be forcibly separated from our loved ones again”. I urge the Minister to answer the following important questions. First, does she believe that regulation 9A alone is sufficient to prevent isolation and ensure that residents can be supported in times of crisis or future public health emergencies?”
“But while that regulation aims to ensure that care providers do not discourage visits, and that people can attend medical appointments accompanied by a family member or advocate, it falls short of what is needed. Regulation 9A relies on enforcement by the CQC, an organisation that is well understood to be stretched thin and facing a number of challenges. The CQC cannot prosecute providers for breaches of the regulation, and often lacks the resources for swift and consistent enforcement. Most importantly, the regulation does not create an enforceable right held by the individual resident. That gap leaves residents and their families vulnerable. Without clear legal protections and a statutory right to visitation, we risk repeating the mistakes of the past.”
“It is beyond tragic that that happened, and that it is how Donald’s life ended. If hon. Members present who are not from the south-east region are interested, the video and reports of the attack on Donald are available to view online. I commend the tireless work of advocacy organisations such as the Relatives and Residents Association, Rights for Residents, Care Rights UK and John’s Campaign. Their efforts have been instrumental in raising awareness and pushing for change. I also commend the way that the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton set out the case for the required change. The Government’s recent introduction of regulation 9A by the Care Quality Commission—a new fundamental standard on visiting and accompanying—is a welcome step forward.”
“Donald was a wheelchair user, having had one leg amputated, and on 21 June 2022, he was reportedly brandishing a knife in his wheelchair, having become irritable and confused. Care home staff failed to resolve the situation and so the police were called. Donald was sprayed with pepper spray, hit with a baton and tasered by police, all while still in his wheelchair. Donald was taken to hospital as a result of those injuries, and he subsequently caught and died from covid-19 a couple of weeks later. On the BBC South East news report last week, Donald’s family were interviewed. Those family members only lived 10 minutes away from his care home. They said that if they had been called, they would have been able to go there and, potentially, calm him and resolve the entire situation.”
“Data shows that between April and September 2022, 10% of care homes permitted no visitors at all during covid outbreaks, 20% confined residents to their rooms for up to 28 days and nearly half maintained some form of visiting restrictions even without any outbreak present. The impact of those policies was brutal. Vulnerable people in Mid Sussex and across the country were left isolated and confused, their symptoms worsening without the emotional and practical support that only loved ones can provide. I want to share a story that will be distressing to some. Last week, I was horrified to watch a report on BBC South East about a 92-year-old gentleman, Donald Burgess, from East Sussex.”
“That was especially devastating for residents living with conditions such as dementia or severe memory loss, which affect approximately 70% of care home residents. For those individuals, familiar faces are more than just comforting; they are essential to their sense of identity and stability. Let us imagine being cut off from the people we know best, who can calm us in moments of confusion, and who understand our needs in ways that no staff member possibly can. This is not an abstract issue but a painful reality that caused immeasurable harm during the pandemic. Even as the rest of the country began to reopen in 2022, care homes continued to impose harsh restrictions.”
“It is very much appreciated that you have come to chair this important debate, Ms Butler, and I thank the hon. Member for Liverpool Walton (Dan Carden) for securing it. As the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) just said, the number of people in this debate is not a reflection of its importance. All hon. Members who have contributed have spoken with real moral authority and have reflected the gravity of what we are talking about: the rights of some of the most vulnerable people in our society—those living in care homes, hospitals and hospices—and their right to maintain contact with and see their loved ones. Throughout the covid-19 pandemic, thousands of people living in care settings in my constituency and across the country were forbidden from seeing those closest to them.”
“The Government’s proposals to change benefits have a compound consequence for people wanting to stay in work. For example, the Department has said that 95,000 working-age claimants receive carer’s allowance and, under the proposals, would lose the PIP they receive. Does the Minister agree that those proposals will actually make it harder for people to stay in work, rather than easier as they claim?”
“Consort Frozen Foods, which is based partly in Burgess Hill in my constituency, distribute ice creams across the UK. It does some distribution overseas as well, but I met its representatives recently because they really wanted to understand how best to access more markets. What advice does the Secretary of State have for Consort Frozen Foods? Given the comments of the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith), I also wonder whether the Secretary of State would like to reflect on the fact that the hon. Member’s first role after being elected was as Boris Johnson’s net zero business champion.”
“I was very lucky last year, on the day after the general election was called, to celebrate my birthday at Albourne Estate, which is a vineyard that produces exceptional English wine. As those of us in areas such as Sussex look towards devolution, does my hon. Friend agree that it is vital that businesses like Albourne are given support through the incoming mayors, and that those mayors have the powers in areas such as transport, training and skills to deal with the issues that he is outlining?”
“Part of a successful cancer journey is swift cancer treatment as well as swift diagnosis. My constituent Catherine was diagnosed last year with stage 3 breast cancer. She had a mastectomy and went through chemotherapy. She was then meant to begin a course of radiotherapy in December, but as of May that still had not begun. What can the Department do to ensure that those unacceptable delays do not happen and lives can be saved?”
“My constituent John Clifton chairs the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum. Last week John wrote to me and all West Sussex MPs outlining a number of the forum’s concerns, including the provision of mental health support for children who have special educational needs and are neurodiverse. How will the Minister ensure that the support that will be provided is inclusive for all children, regardless of their needs?”
“For example, in my own patch in Mid Sussex, the Princess Royal hospital recently had only one of its four lifts working over a weekend.”
“The Liberal Democrats believe that people deserve better, and that they should be in control of their own lives and health. That means people getting the care that they need, when they need it and where they need it, without them having to fight every step of the way. Instead of lurching from one crisis to the next, as previous Governments have done, we have a plan. It starts with early investment in community health—in GPs, pharmacists and dentists—so that fewer people end up in hospital to begin with. We will finally fix the crisis in social care, so that people are not left stuck in hospital beds with nowhere to go. If we expect to rely on our NHS in future, we simply must invest in it. We need not just big grand schemes but investment in the simplest yet most important things.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Steve Darling) for bringing forward this important debate. We have been reminded by hon. Members that the Conservative legacy is pensioners left in agony, waiting for hours for an ambulance that may not come in time; women forced to give birth in unsafe, overstretched conditions; and people having to pull out their own teeth—in the 21st century—because they cannot find an NHS dentist. We have heard from hon. Members that the south-west has some of the longest ambulance waits in the country, some of the worst repair backlogs, and waiting times for GPs and dentists that are simply unacceptable. That is not just a strain on our health services but a daily struggle for families, carers and patients across our region.”
“Soon after ICBs were first created, they had to cut their budgets by 30%. They have now been asked to cut their budgets by 50% on average. Indeed, for Sussex, the cut is more than 50%—it is 53%. It is no surprise that Sussex and Surrey have formally proposed merging their ICBs, which, by running at the same time as local government reorganisation and the creation of a mayoralty, means we will end up with an ICB that does not have the same footprint as the new incoming mayor.”
“My hon. Friend makes an excellent point about rurality, which is obviously a big issue in the south-west. It is also a serious issue in Sussex where we have things in common with the south-west, such as having an older than average population and all the challenges that come with that, as hon. Members have mentioned. Hospitals want to be able to sort those issues out, but they are left juggling priorities, barely scraping by with the current levels of funding. Things do not work if we do not look after them, and if we do not look after our health system, it will not be able to look after us or our loved ones. Although I am sure that the Minister will make the point about capital investment in the NHS, which is welcome, the future looks very uncertain and precarious for our ICBs, as a number of hon. Members have said.”
“Thirdly, what is the impact assessment for patients and the service that they will receive as a result of cuts to ICBs? For too long, social care has been treated like the back door of our public services. It has been overlooked, underfunded and taken for granted. That must change. That is why we must once again ask for more urgency on social care reform. I believe that personal care should be free at the point of use, just like the NHS—”
“My hon. Friend makes a really good point. It is vital that when we look at per head of population funding, we think about the different factors that actually drive up the true cost of delivering healthcare across the country, which obviously varies by region. On ICBs, I will press the Minister on three points. First, on the timescale for cuts to be delivered by ICBs, they have to be completed by the end of 2025. The Sussex ICB had about three weeks to make that initial submission to the Department. Does the Minister think that those timescales are realistic and achievable? Secondly, what will the cost of the redundancies be for ICBs? Has that calculation been done? For Sussex, we are looking at more than half the workforce losing their jobs.”
“I have listened to the Minister’s statement and read the words, too, and nowhere can I see an explanation for why this decision has come now, 11 months after it was first announced. Why has this decision come now? Will we have to wait another 11 months for the Government to rethink their cuts to disability benefits?”
“Dyslexia is vastly over-represented in the prison population. While 10% of the general population are dyslexic, it is thought that as many as half of all prisoners have dyslexia. Does the Minister consider rehabilitation programmes to effectively meet the specific needs of dyslexic prisoners?”
“Val Upton is a pillar of the community in the village of Lindfield in my constituency. Among the many hats she wears in her village is her involvement in the Royal British Legion. When I saw Val a couple of weeks ago at the 30th celebration of the Eastern Road nature reserve, she asked me to find out whether more notice could be given for celebrations and commemoration events for VJ Day than were provided for VE Day. Is that possible?”
“Let us listen to the voices of people living with Parkinson’s—including women, whose voices and needs have been overlooked for far too long.”
“Friend the Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas), for raising the issue of the personal independence payment. According to the Government’s own assessment, 150,000 family carers are going to be impacted by 2029-30 as a result of the proposals on PIP, and that is on top of the 800,000 people losing PIP. Has the Minister pressed his colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions on that point when it comes to conditions such as Parkinson’s? People with Parkinson’s should be supported not only to live, but to live with independence and dignity. Parkinson’s is cruel: it steals movement, independence and, far too often, hope. But we can fight back with the right policies, the right funding and the right political will. We can make a difference.”
“We want a faster approval process for new treatments through an expansion of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s capacity—not slashing it, as the Government have done by cutting 40% of its workforce. Every person with Parkinson’s or other long-term conditions needs access to a named GP, because continuity of care should not be a luxury. We also need to restore the importance of mental health in NHS planning. The Government’s decision to let the share of NHS funding going to mental health to fall and to scrap targets for dementia and mental health was wrong and totally short-sighted. We also know that family carers are at breaking point. I thank the hon. Members for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) and for Strangford (Jim Shannon), as well as my hon.”
“What is perhaps worse is that some patients in hospitals are not even receiving their medication on time. For people with Parkinson’s, that delay can mean the difference between mobility and being bedbound, between clarity and confusion, and between dignity and indignity. We have to do better. We must also talk about mental health. Nearly half of all people with Parkinson’s experience anxiety and depression. As the disease progresses, up to 60% develop psychotic symptoms, and they are up to six times more likely to develop dementia. Those are staggering figures. What needs to change? We Liberal Democrats are calling for urgent reform, starting with a full review of the medicine supply chain, to ensure that no person has to live in fear of running out of vital medication.”
“When I submitted a written parliamentary question about that recently, the response revealed that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has no specific guidelines for Parkinson’s that reflect those gender differences. We need, as a society, to realise how differently the disease can present in and affect women. Across the board, people with Parkinson’s face long waits for specialist care, delays in diagnosis and difficulty in accessing essential treatments. I recently talked to Richard, a constituent of mine in Mid Sussex who has Parkinson’s. He spoke of the profound difference that such treatments can make; he told me that they make life-changing differences to him. Yet for too many they are inaccessible due to postcode lotteries, which hon. Members have mentioned, and a lack of trained staff.”
“Women are more likely to be misdiagnosed, and more likely to be underdiagnosed. They are more likely to experience delays in treatment and to have their symptoms dismissed or attributed to anxiety or the menopause. Some research even suggests that women’s Parkinson’s symptoms may fluctuate more dramatically due to hormonal cycles, but we do not yet fully understand that because, historically, as in so many other contexts, women have been under-represented in clinical trials. Women with Parkinson’s are also more likely to carry the invisible burdens of being carers themselves, all the while struggling with a progressive neurological disease. We need gender-specific research, treatment strategies and clinical training. We need health professionals who understand that Parkinson’s in women is a critical gap in care that we must close.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I thank the hon. Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) for securing today’s debate. As hon. Members in the Chamber have noted, Parkinson’s does not just affect movement; it affects every part of life. It disrupts eating, swallowing, sleeping, mental wellbeing and independence. Although more than 40 symptoms are recognised, each person’s experience is different—as unique as their fingerprint. I want to focus a little on one group today: the experience of women with Parkinson’s is often more complex, more misunderstood and more neglected. That was brought to my attention by a constituent of mine in Mid Sussex, whose mother was diagnosed six years ago; it took her mother five years to get an accurate diagnosis.”
“Details of the changes to how the funding is allocated were released during recess, and I think we were all deeply dismayed by that. As other Members said, this money gives people the courage to offer to adopt and take on kinship children, and prevents adoption breakdowns every single day. There is a great deal of cross-party support for getting this right, which is why after this debate I am going to the Backbench Business Committee to put in a bid for a Back-Bench debate on this matter, because we share the same strength of feeling. I urge the Minister to come back with a better answer than the one that I suspect she will be able to give this afternoon, although I do not want to prejudge where she is going to go.”
“As has been said, many of us do not know what it is like to be an adoptive parent or to take on kinship care; I certainly do not. Until a few months ago, I was unaware of the ASGSF and the vital provision it offers to families who have come forward to take on children. When considering the work provided by the ASGSF, we need to remember that we are talking about families, and because of that, a lot of what goes on is in private, behind closed doors and not very visible to the public. That is why so many hon. Members have come today from all parties to make the case for the ASGSF to be reinstated and properly funded. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) for her work in pushing the urgent question that came the day after last year’s funding expired, which resulted in ASGSF funding being secured.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I thank the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) for bringing this vital debate. I rise to applaud the work of Beacon House in Cuckfield in Mid Sussex, which serves people across the south-east, including constituents of my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller). I visited recently and met the incredible people who do incredible work there. Jigsaw in Burgess Hill also supports children who have been adopted. I thank the families in Mid Sussex who have taken on children in kinship care or have adopted them. That is an enormous commitment to make and is so important, as we have heard from a number of hon. Members. I also thank them for writing to me.”
“The Hop Tub in Hurstpierpoint, the Hop Sun in Haywards Heath and the Brickworks in Burgess Hill are three fantastic microbreweries serving the constituents of Mid Sussex. Given the pressures of national insurance and the challenges of business rates, what is the Treasury doing to support these innovative businesses?”
“I welcome the news that the UK is deepening defence ties with the European Union, including participation in the €150 billion Security Action for Europe, or SAFE, defence fund. However, given that France has previously said that it wants the UK’s access to be limited to 15%, will the Secretary of State confirm what level of access has been agreed?”
“I thank the Secretary of State for giving way; he is very kind. I was interested, when he was talking about the impacts of mental health on society at large, whether he has given consideration to the Carers Trust proposal, which would amend the Bill so that when a parent has a mental health crisis, checks and safeguards are put in place to ensure that any young carers in that family are suitably cared for?”
“As everyone here is probably aware, if a carer earns just £1 over the threshold of £150 a week they lose their entire carer’s allowance.”
“Fe is looking at a bleak future: she has not paid into a pension and has been unable to build up a nest egg to look after her future after a lifetime of caring for others. Despite the enormous contribution that they make, unpaid carers like Fe live in financial hardship. As other hon. Members have said, the carer’s allowance, which is the main form of Government support, is just £81.90 a week—the lowest level for a benefit of its kind. That is not just unfair; it is also unsustainable. As our population ages and more people live longer with more complex needs, demand is only going to grow. How can we expect people like Fe to keep caring if they are pushed to the brink financially, emotionally and professionally? I do not see how we can. Worst of all, many carers have been punished for simply trying to make ends meet.”
“I think of my Mid Sussex constituent Fe, whom I met a few weeks ago. She is probably about my age, and has basically been a carer for the past 20 years—first for her mother, who sadly passed away, and now for her father, who has recently gone into a care home. Because of that 20 years of caring she has often been unable to work, and has at times been in employment that does not reflect her qualifications or the complexity of the work that she can do. Effectively, Fe has been impoverished by caring for her mother, and now her father. Now that her father is in a care home, the family home—her home—has had to be put on the market. When it is sold, Fe will find herself homeless. The hope is that there might be some money left over from the care home fees, but that may not be the case.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr Stringer. It is also a great pleasure to speak on behalf of the Liberal Democrats in this debate, given that it has been secured by my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain). I thank her not only for securing the debate, but for all the work that she has done on this issue over a number of years. We are all grateful to her. Listening to hon. Members’ contributions, I was struck by the thought that we have represented all the countries of the United Kingdom—from Scotland to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. That makes it clear that this issue is of national importance, but it is also a very personal and specific problem, which many millions of individuals are dealing with in every constituency throughout the country.”