Petitions

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Wednesday 4th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Mental health services are a very important part of the provision in north Lincolnshire. I pay tribute to Catherine Lydon and others who have helped to pull this petition together of many hundreds of people locally, who are concerned about the closure of Sandfield House, which provides important and effective mental health services to local people.

The Petition states:

The petition of residents of North Lincolnshire,

Declares that Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber Mental Health NHS Foundation were given notice to cease operating at the site of Sandfield House by North Lincolnshire Council; and further notes that the closure of the community resource would affect more than 1000 people who are being treated there.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to intervene with North Lincolnshire Council to stop the closure of Sandfield House.

And the petitioners remain, etc.

[P002167]

[Mr Speaker]

There are a number of petitions to be presented on home education: draft guidance and consultation. I hope that it will be of assistance to the House if I set out how we shall proceed. John Howell will present his petition in the usual way and bring it to the Clerk at the Table, who will read out the title. Subsequent Members should proceed directly to the petitions bag at the back of the Chair. I shall call the next Member immediately after the previous Member has finished speaking. I am advised, so I hope that this is correct—some people may be doing this for the first time; the Chair is your friendly assistant, here to help—that John Howell, Sir Oliver Heald, Laura Smith and Colleen Fletcher will read their petitions to the House in full. [Interruption.] The right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Dame Cheryl Gillan) looks positively horror-struck at the prospective denial of her opportunity to so expatiate. I was going to say, but I cannot be sure that things will turn out this way, that subsequent Members should give a brief description of the number and location of the petitioners and state that the petition is in the same terms. It is fairly obvious why I intend to proceed in this way—so that we can avoid an excessively protracted experience.

I call the hon. Member for Henley (John Howell) to present his petition, to which I know the Whip on duty will be listening most attentively and with intense interest.