Youth Parliament: Government Support

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Government support for the UK Youth Parliament.

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I warmly welcome the Minister to her place for what I believe is her first Westminster Hall debate.

Many colleagues have taken their seat in this place after years of serving their community as a local councillor or in a political role, but before my election I was a teacher and an academic. Standing for Parliament was almost the first time that I had run for anything; in fact, my only prior experience was running to be a Member of the Youth Parliament when I was about 14. I am sorry to say that I came third, although the confidence that I gained from putting myself forward stayed with me and, I have no doubt, helped me to reach this place.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

The hon. Gentleman may have come third that time, but he came first in the last election—well done. The National Youth Agency does magnificent work in delivering the programme. These brilliant young minds need certainty and sustainable funding, not just allocations handed out year by year. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that equitable funding across the whole United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including Strangford, would ensure that young voices are heard on the national stage with proper financial support to enable full participation, just as he himself achieved when he had the opportunity?

[Peter Swallow]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for making that point, to which I will return at the end of my speech. As we look to deliver better youth services and participation for all our young people, we certainly need to think about how to fund it properly.

The UK Youth Parliament is an institution in which we can take great pride. It develops skills, provides opportunities to young people right across the country and helps them to have a voice in our democracy. I have had the privilege of meeting Erin and Kingsley, the last two MYPs for Bracknell. I believe that Kingsley has joined us in the Gallery today, alongside other MYPs; we briefly lost them to the right hon. Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak), but I am glad to see that he has let them go so they can join us for this debate. I have heard at first hand from MYPs in Bracknell and across the country about the benefits of the scheme for them personally, as well as for the young people they represent.

I should declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for schools, learning and assessment. Just before the summer, the APPG concluded its inquiry into votes at 16 with a report that I encourage all Members, especially the Minister, to read. The inquiry’s aim was to explore and make recommendations on how the Government can prepare young people to feel educated and empowered to use their vote at the age of 16. We heard from a wide range of young people, education professionals and youth and civil society organisations on how votes at 16 can be not just implemented, but made a success. Contributors to the report highlighted the importance of engagement with democracy and the democratic process, not just in the classroom but through wider enrichment opportunities. The UK Youth Parliament is a perfect example.

Votes at 16 has been a long-standing campaign of the UK Youth Parliament. Its imminent introduction is a direct example of the power of the UK Youth Parliament to give young people a platform to make change at the highest levels. I firmly believe that the Government would not be making this historic change were it not for the campaigning zeal of successive generations of MYPs. I pay tribute to them all.

[Sureena Brackenridge (Wolverhampton North East) (Lab)]

I put on the record my sincere thanks to Wolverhampton’s youth council, which has done a tremendous job of bringing a strong voice to represent young people across our city. They truly care about our communities and our city. Do my hon. Friend and the Minister agree that investing in our young people now makes good economic sense for our future?

[Peter Swallow]

Absolutely, and that is a theme to which I will return. Investing in young people is so important, not only for empowering them but for the skills and experience we need in the economy, so that young people can go on to get good jobs and support their local communities. That is exactly why I have always championed everything we can do to empower young people at the earliest age.

[Maya Ellis (Ribble Valley) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an extremely important speech about young people’s participation in politics. I recently got to meet Freddie Burnett-Cherry, the MYP for Preston and South Ribble in my constituency. I was particularly impressed by how much work he has already done to better his community, such as youth surveys on antisocial behaviour and work on water safety. Does my hon. Friend agree that greater investment in the UK Youth Parliament is not just a nice thing for young people, but a brilliant investment in improving our communities right now?

[Peter Swallow]

I quite agree. Many young people have used their time as MYPs to make a real difference, including Sienna, a former MYP for Wolverhampton whose campaign against knife crime delivered bleed control kits across the west midlands, and Caitlin, a former MYP for Durham who worked on setting up the Big Debate in her local area. I am proud that I will be working with Kingsley, the MYP for Bracknell Forest, on his priorities for our community, including young people’s mental health and local transport.

[Sureena Brackenridge]

I must thank Sienna, too: Sienna completed a week of work experience in my constituency office and in Parliament. I truly think that she is extraordinary. I just wanted to place that on the record.

[Peter Swallow]

What a lovely thing to have on the record. Sienna sounds like an incredible young woman.

MYPs, like MPs, are elected to represent their local area. They engage in debate at a local, regional and national level on a huge range of issues. In 2009, the Youth Parliament became the first body ever, aside from Members of Parliament, to use the Commons Chamber.

[Mr Lee Dillon (Newbury) (LD)]

We have some alumni of the Youth Parliament in this Chamber today. As a young person, I was on the steering committee that set it up. It is great to see so many former MYPs taking a seat in this Chamber, although sadly not so many on my side of the aisle. Does the hon. Member agree that the UK Youth Parliament plays a crucial role, but that young people who are less confident and more disadvantaged or who simply feel that politics has nothing to do with them might not engage through it? This is an opportunity for the Government to encourage more engagement across youth politics, not just among those who want to take elected roles.

[Peter Swallow]

I quite agree. That is a theme to which I will return. I think that there are sometimes some miscomprehensions about how diverse the YP scheme really is, but as the Government look to its future, we should absolutely be talking about making it even better and more inclusive; that is all to the good. In the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s own words:

“The UK Youth Parliament is DCMS’ key mechanism for engaging with young people and ensuring their voices are heard in policy and decision making.”

If we are serious about protecting and nurturing our democracy, we must also protect and nurture the opportunities that we give our young people to properly engage with it, understand it and feel a part of it.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that with Pride in Place we have a great opportunity to get our local youth voices heard in shaping the future of their local community?

[Peter Swallow]

I completely agree. Sadly, I have not yet secured Pride in Place funding for Bracknell Forest, but I encourage all right hon. and hon. Members to think about including their local MYPs and other youth representatives as part of that programme. It can only be for the better.

With the welcome enfranchisement of 16 and 17-year-olds, all this has never been more crucial. The UK Youth Parliament has a vital role to play in seizing the opportunity presented by votes at 16 to make the next generation the most informed and engaged ever.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend makes a good point about young people being informed and engaged but, more than that, it gives their brilliant ideas the chance to be heard and have an impact. I pay tribute to the young people who joined my “Your Voice, Your Future” campaigns programme this summer and in previous summers. They raised with me things like the social media ban, which has come into force, and I have been able to ensure that their voices are heard in my contributions in Parliament. With the Youth Parliament, however, they can do that directly. Does my hon. Friend agree that what is important is the impact that young people can have through those ideas?

[Peter Swallow]

Absolutely. I passionately believe, as do the Government, that it would be very wrong to form policies that will directly shape young people’s lives without actually engaging with young people. We might not always agree with their conclusions—on the social media ban, many of the young people I spoke to in Bracknell Forest came to a different conclusion from mine—but I hope they feel that I have listened to their concerns. Their views have very much shaped my thinking on that issue and many others.

In 2023, DCMS commissioned IFF Research to evaluate the UK Youth Parliament. The evaluation found that the programme is delivering on its intended goals: to engage young people across the country in the democratic process and give them a route to express their voices on the issues that matter most to them. MYPs reported improved confidence, resilience, communication, problem solving, teamwork and critical thinking skills, to name but a few—the very skills that employers are crying out for from young people, and the very skills that the Government have committed to placing at the heart of our education system.

I emphasise that MYPs consistently reported that meeting and making connections with other young people from across the country was a highlight of the programme. I share the concern raised by parents and teachers across the country that an increasingly online world is an increasingly atomised, isolated one for young people. Programmes such as the UK Youth Parliament, which inspire and excite young people and give them the opportunity to connect and learn from their peers away from the online world, are crucial.

The Government’s national youth strategy was the first in two decades. It sets out our commitment to building a country that works not just for but with young people. The UK Youth Parliament has a clear role to play in helping the Department to achieve the strategy, especially its key aim that our society must be one in which young people are meaningfully seen and heard.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making a brilliant speech on an important topic. On ensuring that young people’s voices are heard at the very heart of Government, does he agree that the Government should consider appointing a Minister for the younger and future generations, with a team of staff whose sole job is to listen to those voices, bring them to the Cabinet table and assess all policy, legislation and proposed legislation through the lens of whether it gives a voice to young people and takes their interests into account?

[Peter Swallow]

I welcome the point. I will do my hon. Friend one better: I think that that should be the job of every single Minister. The Government’s role is to deliver for people up and down this country, and we have a particular duty to deliver for our young people. Sometimes it is their voices that are the most forgotten.

I recognise that the UK Youth Parliament scheme always has room for improvement. It is certainly disappointing that not every area is represented in the Youth Parliament and that not all local areas engage evenly with the scheme. To coin a phrase, I want to see youth opportunity and youth engagement in every postcode.

I have also heard concerns that it is not diverse enough and that it engages only those most likely to participate already. In fact, on that measure the Youth Parliament is far outperforming this Parliament, its older sibling. It is a far more representative body than we are. About 52% of the previous UKYP intake were women, compared with 41% of MPs; 40% had an ethnic minority background, compared with 14% of us; and 9% came from the most disadvantaged 10% of areas, according to the index of multiple deprivation, with roughly 51% coming from postcodes ranked in the most deprived half of IMD deciles. There is always more work to be done, but we would do well to take note of the UK Youth Parliament’s success in electing a rich and diverse group of representatives.

I also think it is important to stress that although the programme’s most visible success might be the annual debate in the House, where young people stand up and debate so eloquently, there are many local successes that we should remember as well. We have already spoken about many of those here today. All those successes, both locally and nationally, come at a cost, but in departmental terms—certainly in Government terms—they are extremely small and extremely good value. The last full two-year funding commitment given by DCMS came to only £750,000.

I hope colleagues will appreciate that I have tried to avoid too many clichés about young people. From a man of my age they are, in the words of young people, “cringe”. But I do want to indulge a little bit now with some final thoughts, not from myself but from Kingsley, our current MYP for Bracknell Forest. He put it so much better than I ever could hope to, saying that

“investing in UKYP is investing in young people, our communities and the future of our democracy”.

Online Safety

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Tuesday 8th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

I have already discussed issues around VPNs with officials; device-level controls are one part of the answer but not the whole answer, so my hon. Friend is right to raise the issue. I will take up the issue of smart glasses as well.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

When I speak to parents in Bracknell Forest, they tell me of their anxiety about what their young people might be exposed to online and their feeling of powerlessness—they do not feel that they have the tools to do anything about it. Today’s statement makes it clear that this Government believe that the power to act lies squarely with the tech companies, and that they should get on and fix their platforms so that our young people can be safe.

[Lisa Nandy]

I support my hon. Friend in saying that it is the responsibility of all of us to keep children safe, and we would like to see the tech companies do more—and more quickly. Today’s statement also shows that the Government can do things to improve people’s lives. We are not powerless; we were elected to do that, and we intend to fulfil that promise.

Sporting Events Bill [Lords]

Peter Swallow Excerpts

2nd reading
Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

It is my intention that we introduce the Bill as soon as possible, and we may be in a position to do better than the hon. Gentleman suggests. I will update the House shortly, but I have heard the strength of feeling on all sides of the House about this issue and I share it. The Government intend to treat this piece of legislation as a priority to ensure that we get it on to the statute book without delay.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State is being incredibly generous in giving way. She is right to pay tribute to the spirit of the 2012 Olympic games. I was a teenager at the time, I am afraid to say, and it changed my life; being able to go to some of those events was transformative. It did not turn me into a world-class athlete, it has to be said, but it nevertheless gave me a sense of pride in my country.

I share the Secretary of State’s ambition for us to bid for future events—hopefully future football world cups as well as future Olympics. However, the Secretary of State will also know that many were concerned by some of the scenes at the world cup this summer—not on the pitch, but in relation to ticket sales and the high price of tickets. Can she assure the House that, if this Government bid for events, we will always prioritise making them as accessible as possible as part of those bids?

[Lisa Nandy]

I hope I can reassure my hon. Friend on that. We have the immense privilege of hosting the Euros in 2028, and I have been pleased to work alongside the various sporting bodies, which have given an assurance that they will not be using dynamic ticket pricing for that event. We will always do everything we can to ensure that football remains for its fans. He will know that one of the first things the Minister for Sport and I did was to introduce the Football Governance Act 2025 in order to protect football clubs from owners who prey on them. We will not hesitate to pull every lever we can to put fans first. I thank my hon. Friend for his advocacy on behalf of fans in his constituency; they will really appreciate it.

This Bill will also introduce provision to manage transport and traffic in relation to a sporting event in England, as well as bespoke funding powers for events in either England, Scotland or Northern Ireland. That will remove the current piecemeal reliance on powers from across multiple other Acts and enable us to fund related activities beyond the sporting event itself.

Finally, I want to touch on the issue of including domestic events in the Bill’s provisions—a concern regularly raised in the other place. I reassure the House that we have heard those concerns loud and clear. We recognise that there is a real opportunity here for some of our incredible domestic events. We will therefore seek to address that issue throughout the passage of the Bill, and I look forward to working with Members from across the House to achieve that.

The Bill is a clear signal that this Government are serious about major events and about harnessing the power of sport and culture to change our country, and the lives of the people in it, for the better. Driven by a new enhanced Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Britain will rebuild its sense of self-confidence and go out to deliver extraordinary major sporting events that light up not just our towns, villages and cites, but the world. This Bill is about ensuring that we are ready for those global moments, and that when the world comes calling, this country will stand ready. For that reason, I commend it to the House.

Media Green Paper

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Wednesday 24th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to talk about the centrality of broadband access. We are looking really carefully at digital exclusion, and we will make sure that this transition does not leave his constituents behind. I am looking to work with him to make sure that we get this right.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Last week we had a powerful reminder of how important trusted news broadcasting is when the BBC reported that arson attacks targeting the Prime Minister and his family were orchestrated by Russia. Not stopping there, Russian-backed bots then spread homophobic misinformation about those attacks. We know how the Conservative party responded to that: its deputy chair, the hon. Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers), went on national TV and laughed. Now we can see how this Labour Government are responding to the issue. Can I urge the Secretary of State to go even further on supporting trusted news sources, as a powerful response to misinformation and disinformation online, a lot of it fuelled by our foreign adversaries?

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

As well as sending artists across the European Union, Strangford sends the very best to this Chamber. There is a firm commitment on the EU side to take this forward. I met Commissioner Micaleff at the high-level meeting, and also discussed the matter at the Culture Ministers’ meeting. We are determined to ensure that there can be as much ease as possible for UK touring artists in Europe. That is the manifesto commitment, and we are doing everything that we possibly can. It is complicated. There are a number of Commission elements to this—it is not just about visas but transportation, marketing and all those kinds of issues—but we are trying our very best to get through those as quickly as possible.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)]

I know that Members across this House will be horrified and disgusted at the serious allegations of abuse against women in the TV industry that have emerged recently. Everyone has the right to be safe and treated with dignity. The Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts recently met Channel 4 about the serious allegations that have emerged about “Married at First Sight”. We are not satisfied as a Government with the response that we have received, and I will discuss that further with Channel 4 in the coming week.

Since we last met, Mr Speaker, we have launched a new partnership with Gareth Southgate and the King’s Trust to provide mentors for young people, as part of our commitment through the national youth strategy to ensure that every young person in this country has somewhere to go, something to do and someone who cares. We have also launched “Every Child Can” to give young people, wherever they live, the chance to find their spark and build the confidence and positive relationships they need to succeed. As the world cup gets under way, and after such a strong start, the whole House will join me in wishing both home nations every success.

[Mr Speaker]

And Bolton Wanderers, who got promoted.

[Peter Swallow]

Whether it is cheering along to every one of those England goals, bawling our eyes out as we watch the heartbreaking social drama “Tip Toe”, or even following the latest twists and turns at Westminster from trusted news sources, it is undoubtable that public sector broadcasting enriches all our lives. We have heard about a lot of the challenges today, but what will the Secretary of State do to champion public sector broadcasting and ensure that it is fit and ready for the future?

Animal Testing

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Monday 27th April 2026 Westminster Hall

[Irene Campbell]

I agree with everything my hon. Friend said, and I will say more about that.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful point. A conflict is sometimes presented between our understandable concerns about animal welfare and good science, but, as she set out, there is no such conflict. The really heartbreaking, frustrating thing is that many of the ongoing experiments that cause animals to suffer are far less rigorous than some of the alternatives that we already know work better but are not yet regulated in the same way. Does she agree that the Government’s road map fires the starting gun to make sure we have regulated alternatives in place as quickly as possible? Will she join me in urging the Government to move as quickly as possible so we can get better, more robust science and protect animals? It is an “and”, not an “or” or an “either”.

[Irene Campbell]

I agree with everything my hon. Friend said. I will speak about some of this later on, but I have on occasion met the relevant Minister and we are due to have a meeting soon. At one meeting, I asked specifically that we remove dogs immediately from medical testing. I was very disappointed by the answer, but we need to keep up the momentum on these serious issues.

There are alternatives to animal research—known as new approach methodologies, or NAMs—that are constantly being researched and developed. For example, any Members here who attended last year’s Lush Cosmetics event would have seen their soaps depicting organ-on-a-chip technology; they are plastic chips that can mimic human organ and tissues for experimentation.

AI is another great and exciting opportunity for replacing animal testing. A software called AnimalGAN, developed by the US Food and Drug Administration, aims to accurately determine how rats would react to chemicals without the need to do new rat tests.

Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

I am sure, Mr Speaker, that the people of Birmingham Perry Barr are clamouring for a hobby hub. In that spirit, I will address the important point that the hon. Member makes. Our national youth strategy is the first time we have put young people in the driving seat of their own lives. We handed over money and power to a generation of young people who told us that they need three things: somewhere to go, something to do and someone who cares. That is why we are investing in the next generation of youth centres and youth workers. To the point made by the Chair of the Select Committee, the hon. Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage), I was delighted to be in Grimsby a couple of weeks ago where we opened an OnSide youth zone, which had people queuing for miles down the road to come in and see the incredible provision that we have been able to fund and back. I will certainly consider his proposal, and I would be keen to work with him as we help to rebuild youth work and youth centres, connect people to one another and turn around over a decade of decline.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

7. What steps her Department is taking to help improve outcomes for young people in Bracknell Forest.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

In December, we published “Youth Matters”, the first Government strategy in over a decade for young people up and down the country. It will, of course, run alongside other major Government investments, including the youth guarantee and the expansion of mental health support teams in schools.

[Peter Swallow]

Last week, I dropped into the Wayz youth centre in Bracknell to celebrate its 60th anniversary—that is, 60 years of supporting young people in Bracknell Forest, developing their skills and helping them find and use their voice. This Government are backing the youth centre with our national youth strategy, which young people from the Wayz contributed to. I am delighted that the Government have announced more capital funding to support youth centres after many years of neglect. What specific funding pots are available for the Wayz because when a youth centre is 60 years old, there is always a need to invest in the day-to-day upkeep?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who is a strong champion for his constituency, and to Wayz for all its work over the last 60 years. The strategy is backed by £500 million of new funding, £350 million of which will be available till the end of March 2030, to refurbish or build youth facilities through our better youth spaces programme. We are committed to working with areas of greatest need across the length and breadth of England, and I will write further to him.

--- Later in debate ---

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

Stafford Gatehouse Theatre in my constituency is absolutely smashing it in my constituency of Stafford, Eccleshall and the villages. It welcomed 150,000 people last year and is likely to welcome 170,000 this year. The pantomime alone welcomed 19,500 people—oh yes it did!

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Oh no it didn’t!

[Leigh Ingham]

Thank you. [Laughter.] Does the Minister agree that thriving venues in towns such as Stafford demonstrate the appetite for culture in our local places? What are the Government doing to support towns like Stafford?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lisa Nandy]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for championing Richmond’s town of culture bid. I have been following the work of the community interest company with interest. It has brought together an incredible group of people and gathered huge public support for the bid. The question that the Mayor of Richmond asked recently was, “Why not Richmond?” I concur with those remarks and encourage the company to continue its work.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

T7. The national youth strategy offers us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve access to youth services for young people in Bracknell Forest and across the country. What discussions has the Minister had with colleagues in the Ministry of Defence to tie the strategy together with the strategic defence review’s target of expanding access to the cadet forces by 30% by 2030?

[Stephanie Peacock]

The “30 by 30” programme seeks to recruit 40,000 more cadets across the UK. We are working with the MOD to do that. They do incredibly important work, and my hon. Friend raises an important issue.

--- Later in debate ---

The hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, was asked—

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

8. What assessment the Church has made of the potential merits of issuing a formal apology to mothers and adoptees affected by the Church’s involvement in historical forced adoptions.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Marsha De Cordova)]

The Church of England has expressed heartfelt sorrow and regret that anyone has been hurt. The National Church Institutions are engaging with a range of stakeholders, including, most importantly, those people who were directly affected.

[Peter Swallow]

On Tuesday, the Education Committee held a public evidence session on historical forced adoptions and heard how, over many decades, unmarried mothers were shamed and coerced into giving up their babies for adoption—a practice driven by the policies of the state and delivered by charities and religious organisations, including the Church of England. Do the Church Commissioners agree that the victims—mothers and adopted children—are owed a full and formal apology from the Church for its role in this scandal? I heard what my hon. Friend said, but only a formal apology will begin to heal the wounds of this horrible scandal.

[Marsha De Cordova]

The Church recognises the profound pain experienced by many mothers and adoptees affected by historical forced adoption practices, and it is sobering to hear the accounts from mothers and their children whose lives have been adversely affected by what happened to them in maternity homes, including those linked to the Church of England. I want to reiterate to my hon. Friend that the Church has expressed its heartfelt sorrow and regret that people have been impacted by that practice. If he is willing, I am very happy to meet him.

Mandatory Digital ID

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Tuesday 21st October 2025 Westminster Hall

[Emily Darlington (Milton Keynes Central) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. For reasons of timing, I will not repeat what my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Jo White) said about the important change in the relationship between citizen and state that could come from digital ID—putting the citizen in charge rather than the state knowing too much about us without our knowing what they know.

However, there is another reason why we might want a free, digital, Government-backed ID: £11 billion is lost each year to fraud, and ID theft costs us about £2 billion a year. People need to prove who they are at each and every moment. For too many people, that involves a passport or driver’s licence, which is not affordable for many. Having an ID that allows us to prove who we are could be more secure. We will also need it to show that we can work—there has been a 40% increase in illegal working—and to prove our age, including for the big changes made by the Online Safety Act 2023.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend raises the Online Safety Act. Some of my constituents have raised concerns about identity checks to access material online. Would it not have been far easier to prove one’s age online safely and securely if we already had a digital ID, and would that not have helped us to introduce safer checks online?

[Emily Darlington]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. All the complaints I have received are about people giving their information to third-party verifiers. If they had a free, digital, Government-backed ID, they could have proved their age to access any over-18 content. People are also concerned that those who should not be accessing the NHS are doing so. The reality is that if there were a Government-backed digital ID, it would be clear whether a person can access the NHS.

I have come up with a list that debunks what the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart) said, and I am happy to pass it to him afterwards. I think we need to add a few scientific facts, but I do not have time.

Life Sciences Investment

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Thursday 11th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

The hon. Member talks about yet more spending but with no idea of how the revenue would be increased. This Government had to make some incredibly difficult decisions in order to balance the books to give that stability in the economy so that we could invest in R&D, including in the life sciences. The NHS 10-year plan is moving from treatment to prevention, which require medicines; moving from hospital to community, which will require medicines; and moving from analogue to digital, which will enhance and better target medicines for patients. That is just one example of what we are doing in the NHS to improve our life sciences sector. It is a key part of the industrial strategy—one of the eight key sectors—and we intend to back it through the strategy.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend to his place. I also welcome my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed) to his place as life sciences Minister in the Department of Health and Social Care.

I am incredibly ambitious for the life sciences in my constituency of Bracknell and across Berkshire; it is a key industry for us. Will my right hon. Friend share my ambition and agree to meet me, or set up a meeting with the life sciences Minister, to discuss what more we can do to support the sector in Bracknell?

[Ian Murray]

In the interests of time: yes.

Football Governance Bill [Lords]

Peter Swallow Excerpts

Report stage & 3rd reading
Tuesday 8th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

I live just down the road from my hon. Friend in Bolton and has many friends who were directly affected by what happened at Bolton Wanderers, so I thank her for her tireless support for the fans and the town. Many people do not appreciate until they have been through a situation like that, as she and I have, that it does not just affect the football fans in the town. Bolton Wanderers stands for its town, as Wigan Athletic does; it is part of our identity and our pride. It is also part of our family inheritance. The chairwoman of my supporters’ club used to go to the football with her dad when she was a little girl. She now takes her children, and they will take their children. Football clubs are institutions that stand at the centre of our towns, and they deserve to be passed on to the next generation as part of our civic inheritance.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Bolton North East (Kirith Entwistle) mentioned what happened with Bolton Wanderers. Fans of Reading FC across Berkshire, including in Bracknell, experienced something similar when they were able to support the club to be saved from an unfit owner. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is so important that we pass the Bill so that we can prevent what happened to Reading from ever happening to a football club again?

[Lisa Nandy]

When my club Wigan Athletic was in trouble because of poor ownership for the second time, I used those precise words. I said that this must be the last time this ever happens to football fans, but as my hon. Friend rightly says, here we are with so many Members telling heartbreaking stories about the near loss of their clubs—so I could not agree with him more.

I want to acknowledge to the hon. Members for Cheltenham (Max Wilkinson) and for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean) that although we may disagree about the best way to improve access and protect the financial sustainability of the game, I do not doubt for one moment their sincerity in wanting to make sure that far more people can experience the joy of football. The Minister for Sport said to me earlier that it has been a pleasure to work with the hon. Member for Cheltenham to get this Bill on to the statute book, so I am grateful to him for his work.

I turn to new clause 9, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts), who has done extraordinary work throughout the passage of the Bill. I want to address the point that he did not have time to speak to earlier. We absolutely understand why he is pursuing this matter, and he is right to do so, but we believe that the clause is not necessary. I am happy to pass on the commitment that the Minister for Sport made to me: she will write to my hon. Friend with a full explanation of why the clause is not necessary, and a copy of the letter will be placed in the House of Commons Library. On behalf of the whole House, I thank my hon. Friend for the expertise that he has brought to bear.