Speeches by Kirkham.

“That is quite a long time away, though. How long do you think it will be before those two reservoirs are online, and will they definitely come online?”

“Yes. Thank you for coming; it is nice to meet you. My question is about water security. Your water resources management plan said that your area was classified as seriously water-stressed, and there was a drought, I understand, in 2022. How resilient have you been to drought over the past few years, and do you see that…”

“You are looking at the smart metres to be 40% coverage by 2030, is that right?”

“Thank you. That is all I wanted to check.”

“So you chose that alternative.”

“You are aware that you are a seriously water-stressed area, so my concern is: why has no investment in reservoirs been made before? We are looking at the first one coming online in 2032, so how come you did not invest in building reservoirs previously?”

“So you chose that alternative.”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. This matter affects the entire country. Unison, for example, has a campaign about migrant care workers, so, yes, this is a national issue. In Cornwall, those care workers are often given the early morning and late evening shifts with no flexibility. Some sit on benches, stranded in Cornish …”

“Local government funding will, of course, be increasing to take that into account, and funding for adult social care is rising and will rise further in the next three-year settlement under this Government. To return to my speech, in Cornwall we have seen the rise of care workers coming from other countries to work on s…”

“I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and declare my Unison membership, although I am also an ex-solicitor. I am going to address the Government amendments relating to enforcement, rather than trade union rights. We have a large demand for social care in Cornwall, as is the case in the con…”

“Does the hon. Member recall how many strikes there were under the last Conservative Government?”

“Can the Minister confirm that environmental land management scheme agreements will remain in place under this Labour Government, including SFI, and that there will be a new and better targeted SFI on offer as soon as possible, with details to follow in the spending review?”

“Does the hon. Member agree that geothermal, as a baseload energy source that can be developed quickly, should be included in the Government’s clean power plan and have the priority that that affords for grid connections?”

“Much like my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Cat Eccles), I am the fifth woman in a row to represent Falmouth, which is part of my constituency. The first woman to represent Falmouth, in 1997, was selected through an all-woman shortlist. It is more than 50 years since Barbara Castle introduced the Equal Pay Act…”

“Criminal justice was an easy target for Tory austerity cuts, which always impact the people with the smallest voice. Rape victims in Truro and Falmouth have told me that they have waited years for their cases to be heard and had hearings cancelled at the last minute, so I very much welcome this investment. Could I have…”

“So you could say at any one time, but do you know how frequently that is published?”

“Thank you very much. We had some figures given to us from the BBC from DEFRA, which said, “Over 1.78 million birds have been culled since 5 November 2024.” How frequently do you publish data about the number of birds being culled as a result of avian flu?”

“So, it could be three days from reporting. Is that standard, or is there delay? Is it common to have delays?”

“If it is 48 hours after you confirm the sign-off, how long can there be between the reporting of the issue on a farm and the sign-off?”

“It was raised with me when I spoke at a food and farming conference last week in Cornwall that there has been concern that DEFRA only pays compensation for healthy birds. Sometimes, I think, it is paid at the point of cull, and there has been concern about when the cull is delayed. Could you explain what you are doing …”