Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Caroline Voaden

Wednesday 25th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am deeply sorry to hear about the case that my hon. Friend raises. We are the party of the NHS, and we will always fight to ensure that it remains free at the point of use. We inherited an NHS on its knees, but we are seeing progress: waiting lists are down; patient satisfaction is improving; and we have the best ambulance response times for half a decade. There is much more to do, but we are delivering the investment that is needed—and it was opposed by who? The Tories and the now departed Reform Members.

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

Q11.  My constituent Susan suffered horrific, unimaginable, lifelong injury from a pelvic mesh implant. She lost her business, her marriage and her health, and lives in constant 24-hour pain. I would like to congratulate the new Minister for Public Health—the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the hon. Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson)—on her appointment, after her tireless campaigning on this issue, which has clearly been recognised. However, more than two years after the Hughes report set out clear recommendations for redress, thousands of women such as Susan are still waiting for a Government response. Can the Prime Minister tell Susan and the thousands of other women like her how much longer they will have to wait?

[The Prime Minister]

Can I thank the hon. Member for raising Susan’s case? It is really important that she does so, and I am deeply sorry for the enduring harm that patients have suffered. Ministers have met campaigners and the Patient Safety Commissioner to discuss their recommendations, and I can assure the hon. Lady we will provide a full response to the Hughes report recommendations at the earliest opportunity. I am happy for Ministers to update her on the actions we have taken and to discuss the particular case that she has raised with me.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Caroline Voaden

Wednesday 11th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend. The people’s palace is an iconic British venue—a home for darts, snooker and world-class music. It is vital that we support brilliant venues that give so much to our cultural life. That is why we are providing almost £200 million to preserve heritage buildings across the country, so that venues like Alexandra Palace can have a bright future.

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

Q15. Last week, Start bay was devastated by storm damage. Homes and businesses were wrecked, and an important A road was severed. The thousands of people who use it to commute to school and work, and to get to healthcare, are stranded. Bus routes are broken and emergency vehicles are blocked. The presence of the 300,000 visitors who come annually and underpin our fragile tourism economy is now in doubt. That place stepped up twice to defend our country: once when 1.5 million cubic metres of shingle were dredged out of the bay to build to naval dockyards in Plymouth, and again when it was used as the training grounds for the D-day landings, at a cost of 750 American soldiers’ lives. It is also the site of a unique national nature reserve, with rare species found only there. This storm damage is of national significance. Will the Prime Minister ensure that the myriad Government agencies and Departments will work together with experts to find and fund a sustainable long-term solution to the coastal erosion that is inflicting so much—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. It is an important question but I am sure that the Prime Minister got it in the first two minutes.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Caroline Voaden

Wednesday 19th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for his honesty. It is never easy to stand up and say what he has, and I hope he understands just how important that is for others who are suffering, who will be inspired to talk openly about their experiences, and, importantly, to get the help that they need.

I am really proud to publish the first-ever men’s health strategy today to tackle challenges that disproportionately affect men, including certain cancers and suicide, which is tragically the biggest killer of men under 50. We will invest millions in helping more men access mental health support, in better care for former miners, and in rolling out at-home blood tests to tackle prostate cancer. I thank my hon. Friend for speaking out; I think it is so brave and important. It has been done across the House—this is not a party political issue—but it is always very powerful. It is a model for all of us.

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

Q2.  Given the Government’s desire to improve our children’s educational outcomes and wellbeing, they are ignoring the elephant in the room. This morning I hosted a powerful roundtable with three secondary headteachers who spoke about the transformational effect that a complete ban on smartphones in their schools had had—improved behaviour, increased focus, far fewer safeguarding issues, and, most importantly, happier children. But for them the ban has been hard won, and it has sunk a huge amount of time. Will the Prime Minister tell me, and the thousands of headteachers out there who are crying out for this change, why his Government will not back them with a ban on smartphones in schools?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member for her important question. I have teenage children in secondary school, and I know this is an issue for concerned parents and teachers. The reality of the statistics is that the majority of schools already ban smartphones—[Interruption.] They allow children to bring their phones to school but they ban them in schooltime and lessons. Of course we will always keep this under review, but we have got to take steps that will be effective. I agree with the sentiment of what the hon. Member is putting to me, but we need to deal with it effectively.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Keir Starmer and Caroline Voaden

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I begin by paying tribute to my hon. Friend’s sister Margaret, who was a guiding figure in the Labour party and left a powerful legacy in helping us to tackle brain cancer. We are determined to improve cancer survival rates and hit all NHS waiting times in relation to cancer so that no patient waits longer than they should. That is why we are investing £1.5 billion in new surgical hubs and diagnostic scanners to help deliver over 30,000 more procedures and over 1.2 million diagnostic tests.

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

I recently met about 20 independent local traders in Totnes who are furious that the last bank in town will close in January and that Link has refused to consider a banking hub. My businesses and constituents—1,100 of them have signed a petition—deserve better. The Prime Minister just told the hon. Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) that a banking hub can be rolled out wherever a community needs one, so will he now back my campaign, ask his Ministers to write to Link and instruct it to grant a banking hub to Totnes, and review the eligibility of rural towns for such hubs so that we can keep our vital high streets alive?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Member for raising that. She will have heard the answer I gave a few moments ago. I will ensure that she gets a meeting with the relevant Minister so that she can put the case for the banking hub in question.

UK-EU Summit

Debate between Keir Starmer and Caroline Voaden

Tuesday 20th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The deal will massively help my hon. Friend’s constituents because it will bring costs down. Morrisons is not the only supermarket that has come out in support of the agreement—pretty well all the supermarkets have come out openly supporting it. There is a reason for that: it will bring the prices on their shelves down, and that is good for working people across the country.

[Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)]

I welcome the SPS part of yesterday’s agreement, as I am sure will all the farmers of South Devon and those exporting fish and shellfish from Brixham. The Prime Minister may not know the answer to my question, but perhaps one of his Ministers will. Will bivalve molluscs that are fished in grade B waters, which are very important for one of my major exporters, be included in the SPS agreement?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady raises an important issue. I am not going to pretend that I have the answer in my back pocket, but I will make sure that she gets a proper, detailed answer to her question, which she can then make use of with her constituents.