Business of the House Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: Leader of the House

Business of the House

Jayne Kirkham Excerpts
Thursday 27th November 2025

(1 day, 4 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Alan Campbell Portrait Sir Alan Campbell
- View Speech - Hansard - - - Excerpts

I certainly join my hon. Friend in congratulating the Natalie Couper Dance Academy on its growth and thanking it for everything it does. I am frankly not surprised that he has been recognised as a man of the left, because he has been proclaiming it for such a long time. Local businesses like dance academies can add so much to a local community, and I am pleased to hear that it is expanding its business again.

Jayne Kirkham Portrait Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)
- View Speech - Hansard - -

I recently presented a petition to restore Falmouth’s pool, which we lost three years ago. It got 5,754 wet signatures—over a quarter of the population of the town. We have a very active community interest company and private business support, and the mayor has just swum the length of the channel—in a different pool a 40-minute drive away—to raise money. Will the Leader of the House ask the relevant Minister to meet the mayor and me as part of the response to our petition and grant Government time for a debate on Government support for pools?

Alan Campbell Portrait Sir Alan Campbell
- View Speech - Hansard - - - Excerpts

My hon. Friend is a fierce campaigner for her constituency, and I commend her for that. I understand that she has raised this issue with the Department before. We are committed to ensuring that communities can benefit from high-quality sports facilities, and we are investing £400 million in new and upgraded grassroots sports facilities, including swimming pools, across the UK. I will ensure that she gets the meeting she requests from the Minister.