Speeches by Kirkham.

“Cornwall has so much to offer the UK—critical minerals, floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea, defence, geothermal energy—but infrastructure, particularly ports and rail, will be critical to enable growth. Cornwall is a perfect place to designate as an industrial strategy zone. Will the Minister agree to meet me and…”

“It seems clear that the lack of early-years intervention, the lack of SEND support and the cuts to youth services in the past 14 years have let down a generation of our children. How will the youth intervention courts bring together those agencies to tackle the entrenched root causes, including poor mental health and d…”

“That makes perfect sense. Early years and education are pretty much the most important things that any Government can focus on, and I am so proud that that is what we are doing. The King’s Speech includes legislation to enable the delivery of this Government’s much needed SEND reforms. Parents of children with SEND in …”

“A big part of why I became an MP was for the young people in my constituency. I have a 20-year-old Cornish son, and I want young people to have the choice to stay and work in Cornwall, and not be forced to go elsewhere and not come back. There are genuinely exciting opportunities for good, well-paid green jobs in the r…”

“Does the Minister agree that Pride in Place is a fantastic programme, which will help campaigns such as the Save the Stag campaign in my constituency to buy their local pub, but that it has not reached all corners of the country yet? Will she confirm that she will look at how Pride in Place extends and is calculated, s…”

“The Foreign Office shared the outcome of the vetting process, but not the conclusions of the vetting reports—not just the detail, but the conclusions. If the Prime Minister is going to own a decision, he needs to know what is within it. What changes will he be making to stop this happening again?”

“I welcome the Experts at Hand service and the £3.7 million that has been given to Cornwall to set it up. We struggle, however, to get occupational therapists, educational psychologists and speech and language therapists in rural and coastal areas. What incentives are there, and what is the Minister doing, to encourage …”

“I wonder whether the Minister will confirm that veterans will have access to their medical records, whether within the month or not. As he knows, we have had some issues getting hold of the medical records of veterans who developed cancer after service with certain helicopters. It has proved very hard to get hold of th…”

“The Liberal Democrats’ new clause 5 would merely commission an independent review, not prosecute it. It does seem that we are getting out of scope.”

“I am on the Armed Forces Bill Committee. We have heard terrible testimony about the state of military housing, but we have also heard that it is already improving. Does the Minister agree that the £9 billion investment that we are making in military housing to deal with the botched privatisation can only be a good thin…”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the arguments against single worker status is that of flexibility, particularly for young people who want to work seasonally, as happens in my constituency in Cornwall? I therefore ask the Minister to confirm that that option still remains open if a person remains an employee under…”

“I feel I should say something about this, as I started it. I did so because I consider Falmouth to be the home of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s Bay class ships, as it is where they are maintained and repaired, so the RFA personnel are in great part my constituents. RFA personnel are fundamental to the Navy and to the mil…”

“The Minister will be aware that Cornwall has the second highest number of short-term lets in the country, after London. I understand that DCMS has responsibility for the scheme, but will the Minister discuss with his opposite number in DCMS the possibility of uploading things such as fire and safety certificates and ch…”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Furniss. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) for securing this debate, which I have been asked by a number of constituents to attend. I would like to talk specifically about what it is like to live with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome in Cornwall…”

“I understand that the Department will be looking at it further, but will it be looking at it further with the intention to create a pathway for CCI?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Betts. I thank the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis) for securing the debate and for writing to tell me it was happening—otherwise I would not have known. I am here mainly because I have a very good friend who was a prison officer. A number of ye…”

“Having had years of personal experience, I think it is a shame that the modernised accommodation offer did not go through, because that would have dealt with these situations. We are back to square one. The Minister will be aware that specific contact orders will have to be maintained, but we will have to build from a …”

“I cannot let a debate on swimming pools go without mentioning Falmouth, which is on a peninsula with sea on three sides. The children of Falmouth have lost the swimming pool, as it was shut by the Conservative council in 2022. We have been campaigning rigorously, including with a petition to this House, to try to reope…”

“There is obviously a terrible history going back a number of years of cancers and other illnesses caused by exposure in this case. I wonder whether my hon. Friend would forgive me for raising a similar but more contemporary situation: that of aircrew on military helicopters who are developing blood cancer. I have been …”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that for those places that have not yet had Pride in Place funding, bodies such as the National Lottery Community Fund, Sport England, the Arts Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund are also great sources of funding and could be encouraged to do things in a simpler way? In Cornwall, o…”