September 2025

Absolutely, and I thank my hon. Friend for raising that awful case today. As he says, the Government take hate crime incredibly seriously. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion. We need to combat and stand up to rhetoric and campaigns that can make people feel insecure in their communities, and I look forward to working with him to that end.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue again. It is not the first time that I have heard of problems in the Environment Agency and about its not following through on the commitments that it has given. I will ensure that he gets a ministerial response, but we are determined that the Environment Agency and others should be held to account for the actions they take, and that they should take more responsibility for prevention.

My hon. Friend is right to say that bringing rail back into public ownership and our Employment Rights Bill are flagship policies of this Government, and I am particularly proud of them. We will ensure that as we take rail back into public ownership, it is done in the best interests of passengers and ensures that staff are well looked after and do not take industrial action, as they did under the previous Government.

I thank the hon. Lady for raising another important issue on behalf of her constituents. That Bill is currently on the Committee corridor; when it returns to this Chamber, she will be able to raise those important matters. In the meantime, I will ensure that she gets a ministerial response.

First, I congratulate my hon. Friend on becoming a new dad earlier this summer. I thank him once again for being such a brilliant champion for proper investment in our northern rail and connectivity, which is absolutely vital to the rebirth of our regions.

I am sorry to hear about the response the hon. Gentleman has had. We are working with telecommunications companies to reduce poor mobile signal—particularly in rural areas, which is not an easy task—and we have the shared rural network deal. However, I will ensure that he gets a better ministerial response to his questions.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue, which is raised with me all the time in business questions. I know that there is nothing more concerning to a local community than the closure of a bank or post office on the high street or in the town centre, knowing what that will mean for accessing cash. I will ensure that my she gets a full response about the roll-out of banking hubs.

The rise in Islamophobia, which we have all seen in our constituencies—I know I have seen it in mine—is absolutely unacceptable. Hate crime itself is unacceptable, and we need to call it out and root it out. We have the independent working group, which is soon to advise Ministers on the definition of Islamophobia, and we have a wider action plan to tackle the issues. The hon. Member is right to say that we should all be mindful of the language we use and the impact it might have.

I am really sorry to hear that the beaches in the hon. Member’s constituency have been closed. It is unacceptable that sewage has been flowing into the sea around her constituency. As she says, the Scottish Government are responsible for Scottish Water. They should get their act together and follow what we have been doing in England.

The hon. Member is right to highlight that, as the climate changes rapidly, unfortunately we are going to see more wildfires in the summer and more flooding in the winter. We are funding a national resilience wildfire adviser and looking at how we can work with stakeholders and everybody else to tackle this issue and build our resilience.

I am happy to join my hon. Friend in telling Staffordshire county council—which I hear a lot of complaints about in business questions, I have to say—to get its act together and get this new GP surgery open so it can serve his constituents.

I thank the hon. Member for raising the issue of step-free access at her local station—this issue is raised with me all the time at business questions. I am sure that a debate on the topic would be very well subscribed, if she wanted one, but I will ensure that she gets a ministerial response. I am pleased to hear about her written question.

It might not be quite an Oasis concert, but I am sure that the railway gathering in Derby that my hon. Friend describes was a fantastic event to champion the rail industry in his constituency. I am really pleased that Great British Railways will be based in Derby so that we can continue to provide the jobs of the future.

I know how important chalk streams are to our biodiversity and to many of our rural communities. We will bring forward further plans about how we can secure our waterways in all their forms, and I will ensure that the hon. Member gets an update from the relevant Minister.

I join my hon. Friend in welcoming that extra funding for Buckinghamshire and in her calls for the council to use it wisely to decrease congestion and support commuters in her constituency.

We are determined to tackle all forms of hatred and division and to take action on hate crime. It has been a topic for much discussion in our Crime and Policing Bill, but I will ensure that the hon. Member gets a ministerial response about the timeliness of the new action plan.

I certainly join my hon. Friend in congratulating that collective in her constituency, and I am always happy to get an invitation to a hospitality venue. I am well aware of the challenges for the hospitality sector relating to rising costs, access to staff, still dealing with covid repayments and so on. That is why the Government are supporting hospitality by taking action on business rates and on skills as well as in many other ways. I am sure that would make a good topic for a debate.

I know how busy my hon. Friend has been over the recess, meeting many of her constituents and celebrating the volunteers and the communities that she represents. I join her in doing that this morning.

The hon. Gentleman raises an issue about not only health services and where they are located, but access in constituencies such as his to affordable and reliable buses and transportation. This Government are tackling both of those after years of devastation in our health services and our buses. After 14 years of the Conservatives, I hope that his constituents will start to feel the benefit soon.

The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the huge opportunity that AI and technology present, especially in terms of diagnostics and healthcare services. He is also right to highlight that the real challenge to that is adoption and diffusion through our health system. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is committed to delivering that by working across Government, and I am sure he will continue to keep the House updated.