Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Louise Haigh and Max Wilkinson

Thursday 10th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight this issue. For too long, in order to unlock growth for their areas, local leaders have had to navigate Whitehall Departments that have played them off against each other. No. 10 North brings those local leaders’ priorities into the heart of Government, gets the right people around the table and drives joined-up action, ensuring that the centre works as one to unlock good growth in every part of the United Kingdom.

[Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)]

Our long-term economic success is only going to be strengthened by our cyber-security. As Ministers are aware, right next to GCHQ in Cheltenham is the Golden Valley development, which is going to support our cyber-security capacity. It is a vital development for the nation, as well as for my local area. Will the Government go a little bit further on the matter of the designated area, so that proceeds from that development can be held locally, which I think is in line with the new agenda being set by the Cabinet Office? Will they also restart the discussions with the local authorities and the developer around the places for growth scheme, as they seem to have stalled?

[Louise Haigh]

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. That is exactly the kind of project that No. 10 North will gladly look at, to consider whether it should be a designated zone for further retention powers. I will ask No. 10 North to write to the hon. Gentleman and consider the proposal.

Rewiring the State

Debate between Louise Haigh and Max Wilkinson

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

Health is absolutely part of the devolution agenda. We are already pursuing a number of reforms, including the abolition of NHS England, to ensure that decisions can be made democratically at the centre of Government and then pushed locally, and to ensure that they are resourced where possible. I will take away the hon. Gentleman’s specific issue and raise it with the Health Secretary.

[Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)]

The First Secretary mentioned the heroics of firefighters during the summer. Gloucestershire fire and rescue service was involved in fighting the wildfires, even though we did not have any within our county boundaries, but the funding pressures on the fire service in Gloucestershire are now so acute that Cheltenham West fire station will be closed overnight if the consultation proposals are accepted. That cannot be right when we know we are going to be having more wildfires, perhaps even in Gloucestershire. Will the First Secretary have a chat with her colleagues in MHCLG to work out how we can get the support that the county fire service and the county council need to keep Cheltenham West fire station open overnight?

[Louise Haigh]

We are incredibly conscious of the historical underfunding of fire services across the country. That is why the previous Administration committed an additional £100 million to local fire and rescue services. Future funding decisions will be for the Budget.

Rail Performance

Debate between Louise Haigh and Max Wilkinson

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

Wi-fi is one of the examples of passenger experience that we are clear needs to be delivered through Great British Railways. I take East Midlands Railway, and the wi-fi is even worse on that line. I would be happy to raise that issue with Avanti. We are in the process of attempting to facilitate an agreement with Northern on the conductor issue that my hon. Friend mentions in the north-west, which has the most egregious example of working terms and conditions being outside of a normal working week.

[Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)]

I join the chorus of those talking about GWR’s shocking Sunday service. Its timetable is a work of fiction akin to “Chuggington”, which I often watch with my daughter. Were that the only problem that my constituents faced, we might be able to look past it. However, the lack of carriages on trains home on a weekday is a huge problem—my hon. Friend the Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) recently used some choice language about it, which I urge hon. Members to look up online; I will not report it in the House. We often find that there are only half the carriages that we need to get home. I recently stood by the loo for 90 minutes until Stroud, which was an unpleasant experience shared by many others on the train. What will the Secretary of State do to reassure me that GBR will solve that problem?

[Louise Haigh]

Again, the current fragmentation of the network means that we have dozens of different types of rolling stock across the network, all procured by different operators at different times, which are not interoperable between operators and cannot be moved around the network precisely when there are issues such as those that the hon. Gentleman described. With the establishment of Great British Railways and a long-term rolling stock strategy, we can procure fewer types of trains and start to move them around. I will take away the specific issue of short-form trains on Great Western Railway and write to him about what action can be taken.