Mr Joshua Reynolds
MP for Maidenhead · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“The Act is now law and the House has still not been told how any of this is going to end, so I have three questions for the Minister. First, Jingye has said it has started the process to seek compensation from the Government for nationalisation; will the Minister confirm what compensation Jingye is asking for, the Government’s assessment…”
“I am particularly glad that the Government accepted many Liberal Democrat amendments to the steel industry Bill, even if they did not accept them in this place and they had to be tabled in the other place instead.”
“We have a duty to stand by our steel sector, especially as it navigates unprecedented challenges such as President Trump’s unfair steel tariffs, China’s anti-competitive state aid practices, and the transition to environmentally sustainable production methods.”
“Over the last year, Royal Mail delivered just 75% of first-class post the next day, against a target of 93%. Ofcom has fined it nearly £40 million across three years and has opened a fourth investigation. Constituents in Maidenhead are still missing hospital appointments and other important business because letters do not arrive.”
“The Liberal Democrats want a closer, more sensible relationship with our European friends and neighbours, so there is plenty to welcome here. I congratulate the Minister and his team on being able to secure some of the things we see today.”
“I know the Minister agrees: when he was in front of the Select Committee recently, he told colleagues that if he had the choice, he would rejoin the European Union.”
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“Is the Minister confident that the existing framework that prevents public funds from being used to platform individuals and groups who seek to stoke division is robust?”
“I am sure the Minister will accept that there is growing concern about issues of automated decision making, artificial intelligence and algorithms. While wanting to ensure that we get the best results, is the Minister able to commit to the transparency we need when it comes to AI and algorithms in relation to the Bill to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are not unfairly hit?”
“In Maidenhead, the local authority and generous individuals have taken matters into their own hands and have been able to get rid of many sunken boats along our stretch of the Thames. The EA has regarded owners of land as being responsible, but lots of riverbank owners are not known—we do not know who lots of the mooring owners are—and that causes significant delays and costs. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is time for the Environment Agency to step up and take responsibly? It should be supporting our community, rather than trying to pass on responsibility to unknown landowners.”
“In my constituency, the Cut runs from Binfield all the way through to the Thames. That river had 615 hours-worth of sewage pumped into it last year, and my constituent Danny’s dog had to be put down, having got so ill from swimming in that water. Does the Secretary of State agree that no matter how many fines we levy against Thames Water, which ultimately come back to our bills—we have to pay for them—they will do absolutely nothing to deter the shareholders and make them invest properly where needed?”
“I thank the Secretary of State for giving way. Once he has the powers in this Bill, I urge him to use them decisively and swiftly, but then, as he has said, we need to look to the future. Once we have secured Scunthorpe’s future, we need to discuss what happens next, which is clean energy, and investing in the global clean energy that the UK really could succeed in. Does he agree that the people of Scunthorpe have upheld their end of the bargain for decades, and now it is time that we in this House make sure we uphold our end too?”
“Trading standards are really important and obviously, therefore, so are fixed penalty notices, so will the Minister support amendment 1, which would mean that any fixed penalty notice sums will be retained by local authorities to spend on public health, thus saving the NHS money, as she mentioned earlier?”
“T5. With the UK frozen out of the EU rearmament scheme while defence contractors and security firms in Albania, Norway and South Korea stand to benefit, what estimates has the Secretary of State made of the potential loss of economic activity in the UK as a result?”
“The fire and Heathrow closure will have impacted not only on travellers and on goods and services, but on the employees and contractors who work at Heathrow. Could the Secretary of State reassure me and those workers that she will urge all employers at Heathrow to ensure that staff who were due to work but were unable to do so, through no fault of their own, will be paid for that day?”
“What advice can the Minister give Thames hospice and Alexander Devine children’s hospice service in Maidenhead, which are looking at a £300,000 and £50,000 increase in bills respectively? Is he saying that they should cut services, or is he expecting residents in our constituencies to raise more money for them, for it to be given directly back to the Chancellor?”
“What would the Minister say to residents in Maidenhead who have told me that they are not eligible for pension credit? He talks about responsible choices, but the choice those residents now have to make is whether to dip into their savings to pay for their energy bills or to turn off their heating at night. A Labour voter contacted me who had had to make exactly that decision, and she said that she will never vote Labour again. Is that really the change that the Government were elected to introduce?”
“T2. Martin, a disabled resident, lives in his park home in Maidenhead. After his boiler broke down two months ago, he has faced significant challenges. He is unable to apply for the boiler upgrade scheme, as park homes do not get energy performance certificates, and the National Energy Foundation, which visited him three weeks ago, has still not provided him with a response. Will the Secretary of State outline what support he can give Martin and other elderly residents without heat or hot water?”
“A BMJ study found that people in food poverty have diets with worse health outcomes including more fat, sugar and salt, so what conversations has the Minister had with the Health Secretary about how lifting the two-child benefit cap could improve diet and reduce costs for the NHS?”
“We are in the bizarre position where the body that advises judges on how to judge may decide to go to court for a ruling on whether Ministers have the power to tell judges what to do. What preparation has the Minister’s Department made for that possibility?”
“What work is the Secretary of State doing with the Victims’ Commissioner to ensure that the families of British citizens who are murdered abroad have the same rights as the families of homicide victims in the United Kingdom?”
“I thank the hon. Lady for her warm words about carers. Will she therefore support Liberal Democrat new clause 10, which would make paid carer’s leave an entitlement?”
“What steps are the Government taking to help those leaseholders with doubling ground rents who now feel trapped and unable to remortgage or sell their properties without meeting the massive costs of changing their leases, which, as I know from personal experience, can amount to five-figure sums?”
“Will the Minister confirm what portion of the £2.6 billion allocated to flood preparedness will be used in my constituency of Maidenhead, specifically to protect the villages of Hurley and Cookham?”
“Parliament has been without a say on the deal, despite numerous efforts to raise concerns. Why should Donald Trump have a say about British sovereign territory when British elected officials do not? When will the Minister ensure that this House is given a final say on the deal?”
“The Deputy Prime Minister said that new unitary authorities need to be the right size to withstand financial shocks, so will she explain how merging councils that are in severe financial difficulty and just hoping that they get on with it will provide the security that we need?”
“Some 3.4 million people in England live further than 45 minutes away from a radiotherapy centre. We all want to see that changed, but one of the challenges will be the fact that eight out of 10 radiotherapists have considered leaving the profession. Could the Minister outline what work the Government are doing to retain and recruit the radiotherapists that we need?”
“Jamie from my constituency is a full-time carer, but he is also in full-time education and is therefore not entitled to carer’s allowance. Will the Government confirm that they will extend carer’s allowance to those in full-time education?”
“Given the protectionist policies of US President Trump, can the Minister confirm how he will seize the opportunity to make the UK the best place for pharmaceutical investment in the world?”
“I have spoken to a number of headteachers in Maidenhead today, who have told me that what Ofsted is proposing is incredibly overcomplicated, makes “exceptional” seem out of reach and will be a blunt tool that will not allow schools’ individual identities to be taken into account. They still do not believe that anybody can accurately judge a school’s strengths and areas for improvement within two days. What does the Minister have to say to those headteachers, and will she meet me and Maidenhead heads to discuss?”
“T2. The outgoing chair of the Competition and Markets Authority warned of the authority being vulnerable to “expediency or vested interests”. Does the Minister believe that appointing a former Amazon executive produces that risk?”
“Residents of a housing development in Maidenhead bought their properties 10 years ago on 99-year leases. Now they are coming to sell their flats, they are faced with a charge of £15,000 to £25,000 each to extend their lease so that the new owners can get a mortgage. What will the Minister do directly to help those residents?”
“Families of British citizens who are murdered abroad do not have not the same rights as families of homicide victims in the UK. Often, families coping with the trauma of that news must arrange to pay for their own translators, so that they can speak to local police and read legal documents—all while trying to negotiate the criminal justice system of a foreign jurisdiction. Those families deserve the same rights as those of homicide victims in the UK, but at the moment they are not even entitled to a police family liaison officer. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on that, so that we can build consensus across the House on a way forward?”
“With almost 4.5 million entries and exits over the past year, Maidenhead train station is a busy transport hub, but with crowded gatelines, flooded underpasses and a drop-off facility that is not fit for purpose, the station needs major upgrades to give Maidenhead commuters what they deserve. Does the Prime Minister understand what Maidenhead residents face at the station, and will he commit his Government to fixing these issues in this Parliament?”
“One thing we could do to improve the situation in Maidenhead is to reopen the walk-in urgent care centre at St Mark’s hospital so that we can keep people out of the big hospitals and A&E and, as the Secretary of State said, help people get care closer to home. Will he meet me to discuss how we can work together to get the walk-in urgent care centre at St Mark’s back open?”
“T2. Over the past few weeks, I have seen at first hand how businesses on WhatsApp groups are using bots to buy up driving tests and then sell them at £250 or more. That is even after the Government’s changes that came into force on Monday this week. What further steps can the Secretary of State take to stop that practice?”
“Public services are at breaking point after the previous Government’s mishandling of the economy and budgets locally. However, does the Minister recognise that scaling back investment in vital public services risks even more devastating consequences for our local communities?”
“Some 160,000 people live in residential park homes in England. However, when they come to sell their property, they are required to pay 10% of the sale price to the site owner. Although local authorities are responsible for the site licence, they often do not have the specific knowledge necessary, made worse by the fact that they do not have to have a named park home officer. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate how we can give park home owners more rights over their properties and fix some of these issues?”
“WASPI women across the UK have been let down time and again, including by this statement. In the Budget, the Chancellor announced £20 billion of additional borrowing this year, and an average of £32 billion over the next five years. How does the Secretary of State expect WASPI women to believe that the Government cannot afford a single penny of compensation?”
“Ben and Henry, otherwise known as the Ocean Oarsmen, will be rowing across the Atlantic next year for the Alexander Devine children’s hospice in Maidenhead, with a target of raising £50,000. That hospice, Thames hospice and many others are struggling with rising costs and the planned increase in employer national insurance. Will the Prime Minister join me in wishing Ben and Henry the best of luck on their journey, and will he take this opportunity to scrap the NI rise for hospices?”
“Hurley and Cookham in my constituency have been hit time and again by storms. What work are the Government doing to protect villages along the Thames, which often get flooded several days after a storm has passed?”
“The advice from Great Western Railway this morning was not to travel. Following the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), how many meetings has the Secretary of State had with the Transport Secretary about the resilience of Great Western Railway?”
“My hon. Friend mentions several businesses in her constituency that will be impacted by the changes. I spoke recently to a small restaurant owner in my constituency. They have six restaurants across the south of England and they say that the business rates changes, plus other Budget measures, will cost their business £150,000 just to do what they are doing today. Does she agree with me that that will not encourage such businesses to invest in the UK, open new restaurants and help grow the economy, which we all want?”
“The rise is not without benefit, but I recognise that it is painful. The future for this country, however, cannot be as a low-wage, low-productivity economy that does not give people the living standards they want. I have been on television many times talking about the stagnant wages of the last Government. I want wages to be higher. The doubling of the employment allowance in the Budget recognises the burden on those types of businesses, which can now employ up to four people on the living wage without any national insurance liabilities at all. We have to have a system that accommodates those burdens, but fundamentally this Government are in favour of higher wages, and we are not going to pull away from that in any measure.”
“The hon. Gentleman should recognise that the Chancellor did not make an announcement on personal tax thresholds, which, for some Conservative Members, was unexpected and reflected the difficult inheritance of the new Government. Labour Members are proud of the minimum wage, now called the living wage, which has been one of the most successful policies in the history of this country—and even some Conservatives claim credit or support the measure as a policy innovation. There is no doubt about the burden on the hospitality sector, because if the living wage goes up for people employed in it, that is a business cost. We have to acknowledge that. What those businesses fundamentally need are customers who have some spending power to use their disposable income in those places.”
“They voted for stability, for growth and to fix the foundations. That is exactly what this Budget delivers, and I commend it to the House.”
“Indeed, on the back of the Budget, the IMF has said that it supports the reduction in the deficit over the medium term, including by sustainably raising revenue. It recognises what we on the Government Benches know to be true—the principal way to drive economic growth is to invest, invest and invest. May I remind the Opposition that we have tried their way? All that did was stagnate wages, stifle growth and put the public finances into a £22 billion black hole, with nothing to show for it. We cannot cut our way out of a hole; we need investment to lift the economy up. Having endured the last Government lurching from crisis to crisis, the British people voted in July overwhelmingly for change. They voted for a Government that would set Budgets to serve their long-term interests, not serve the news cycle or election cycle.”
“It recognised us as “a government who wants work with business to enable the investments required.” M&G went one step further. It said: “The UK has a clear national mission to drive economic growth and back wealth creation across every region of the country.” It welcomed our efforts to “put the UK back on the investor map, showcase market opportunities and reinforce how business and government can work in partnership.” Let there be no doubt, despite the dust the Opposition are trying to kick up, this is a Budget with stability at its core, which sets a course for growth and rebuilds Britain. The former Prime Minister’s response baulked at the wave of new investment this Budget ushers, but he could not be more wrong. While we are restoring economic stability and going for growth, we are keeping debt on a downward path.”
“That summit resulted in £63 billion of private investment commitments, more than double the amount secured by the previous Government last year—and in just 100 days. It will see billions of pounds flowing into our tech, digital, manufacturing and life sciences sectors, spurring growth in all four nations of the United Kingdom and creating almost 38,000 new jobs in the process. We saw something else at that business and international investment summit: a ringing endorsement of this Government’s restoration of stability for the UK economy. IFM Investors said that it was “very encouraged by the new government’s commitment to a long-term pro-investment mindset.” Ørsted, a global leader in green energy, stated that the main reason it was investing more in the UK was because of our green energy targets.”
“That is why the Federation of Small Businesses has said that the “Budget shows a clear direction in business policy now for the whole of this Parliament to target support at small businesses…prioritising everyday entrepreneurs working in local communities in all parts of the country.” Through this new support for SMEs, the stability afforded by our new industrial strategy and the resetting of our trade relations, we are showing unequivocally that the UK supports business, wants to partner with business and is open for business. That pro-worker, pro-business approach is already having a significant impact. Last month, hundreds of the world’s biggest firms and investors, from Blackstone to the BW Group, Haleon to Holtec, lined up at our international investment summit to back Britain and back this Government’s growth mission.”
“Members will know and have asked about during the debate, while we are raising national insurance contributions, we have mitigated the impacts for small businesses by doubling the employment allowance to £10,500. That means 1 million small businesses will either be paying the same or less in national insurance contributions than they do now.”
“That is why in September, together with the Federation of Small Businesses, we announced robust measures to tackle late payments with a new fair payment code and tough, new rules on company reporting. At the same time, we are reforming the British Business Bank to free up precious capital for SMEs to expand, to create new jobs, and to take ideas from design to development. The Chancellor’s Budget gives the green light to my Department to invest over £1 billion over the next two years so that the British Business Bank can widen access to finance for small businesses across the country. That includes over £250 million each year for small business loans programmes, like our start-up loans and the growth guarantee scheme. As hon.”
“The hon. Gentleman raises a legitimate point that is considerably outside the remit of the Department for Business and Trade. He is right to put that issue on the record. There will be opportunity for clarity in that space. I understand why, for his constituents, he will want to ask that question in the Budget debate. As Members’ interventions have shown, the Budget is not just about a set of policies that will be to the advantage of larger businesses; they will also be important to our smallest start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as for our oldest, biggest family firms. We have committed to hardwiring the views of small businesses into everything we do, and we have already started to do that.”
“On Friday, I visited an agricultural college in my constituency, where I heard concerns about how the changes in this Budget will potentially strip an industry of young farmers. What discussions did the Minister have with farming stakeholders on changes to the agricultural property relief prior to the Budget?”
“It was not that many years ago that I was at university— [ Laughter. ] Who would have thought it? Just before the Secretary of State took to her feet, I checked my student loan balance, and it is just over £60,000. For many students at university, the elimination of maintenance grants was devastating, and the reintroduction of maintenance grants will mean that living costs are not barriers to university for those disadvantaged students. Will the Secretary of State confirm the reintroduction of maintenance grants, so that no young people are put off university for fear of the costs?”
“I will not repeat the calls on the Minister that every other speaker has made today, but it is clear that we need to see forward movement. I am really hopeful that our wishes this morning will be reflected in the Budget later. I close by reflecting on the words of Fiona and John Devine: “The word ‘hospice’ is not a word that many relate to with happy thoughts; I much prefer the Latin ‘a resting place on life’s journey’. I know from my experience that you cannot go into a children’s hospice and not be filled instantly with love, laughter, happiness and tears.””
“The impact that Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service has on the community is profound. In the last year, it has provided over 18,000 hours of care and support for families, which is not just a statistic for those families; it means countless moments of relief and joy, and the creation of precious memories for families, all of whom have challenging lives. However, that is set against the backdrop that 83% of the hospice’s funding comes from donations, fundraising and gifts in wills. The reliance on charitable contributions underscores the precarious nature of funding in this sector. We understand that children’s hospices are not luxuries but necessities, filling a critical gap in our healthcare system. However, if they are to do that, we need to fund them properly.”