Speeches by Collins.

“In Harpenden, commuters face the absurd reality that a single off-peak ticket can cost £18.40, but 11 minutes further on people can get an Oyster fare at Radlett for £5.90. Does my hon. Friend agree that this absurd and unfair pricing system needs to be reviewed?”

“Absolutely. We have to do all we can. After the thousands of hours of pollution into the River Ver, the Ver Valley Society found worrying levels of E. coli in the water. This has been blamed on high groundwater levels, but it still contains sewage and the fine sediment can lay in the river bed. That incident has been r…”

“Absolutely. The English chalk downland houses 85% of the world’s total. It is a privilege to say that in my constituency we are home to four of those rare and precious habitats: the River Bulbourne, the River Gade, the River Lea and the River Ver.”

“Exactly. I call on the Minister to provide proper protection, regulation and enforcement. Although Ofwat has finally taken action, ordering water companies to return £158 million to customers via lower bills, that is just a drop in the ocean—or, should I say, a drop in the chalk stream. We must go further. I call on th…”

“Absolutely. As my hon. Friend says, chalk streams are extremely rare. There are almost 200 in the world—not many at all. As for regulating our water, Ofwat simply is not fit for purpose, and we ask the Minister to replace it with a new clean water authority that takes relevant powers from the Environment Agency. We ask…”

“Absolutely. These are vital investments that have to go ahead. Locally, many organisations have worked tirelessly for many years to highlight the importance of precious catchment areas and protect them. From the Chiltern Society, the Ver Valley Society, the Chilterns Chalk Streams Project, the River Colne Catchment Act…”

“I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury.”

“We have absolutely been let down by the last Conservative Government and we need to turn that around. Chalk streams and their catchment areas, such as the one in Harpenden and Berkhamsted, have been a lifeline around which our towns and villages have flourished, using the chalk streams to power thriving mill communitie…”

“Absolutely. We must also see a ban on bonuses for water company executives until sewage spills end and leaks are fixed. Ultimately, we need to transform water companies into public benefit companies. Our precious chalk streams are of rare, global ecological importance and the backdrop to our towns, villages and daily l…”

“Absolutely. Many of my constituents are horrified at the local state of rivers and frustrated by the lack of progress, and feel compelled to attend the march for clean water on Sunday 3 November. Sewage pumping in our rivers is hugely damaging for the local environment, contaminating the water with unacceptably high le…”

“I will be calling for a lot in holding water companies to account. Analysis completed by the Liberal Democrats found that almost 50,000 hours of sewage was discharged into chalk streams in 2023. That is more than double the previous year. The dire situation speaks to the 2022 report, which found that only 14% of Englan…”

“It is my first Westminster Hall debate.”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of tackling sewage discharges in chalk streams. One Friday evening, I received a text and photos from a desperate resident, Maz, as the numbers cranked up on the sewage discharge map, asking: “Surely something can be done about our precious chalk stream!” I had b…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for securing the debate. Constituent after constituent has written to me, including an elderly couple who have just recovered from cancer. They said that they will slip through the net and are considering going around on a bus in Harpenden and Berkhamsted to keep warm in the winter. Does the hon. …”

“My hon. Friend took the words right out of my mouth. At the current rate in Hertfordshire it would take 15 years to achieve parity between the two counties. This is a lost generation. A three-year-old in Hertfordshire today with SEND needs would have to finish all their formal education before they would get equal fund…”

“I thank the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) for securing such an important debate. An Ofsted report for Hertfordshire deemed that there were widespread systemic failings in the county, and that the area had not acted with the necessary urgency to address long-standing, systemic and significant weaknesses in…”

“The hon. Member talks about hospital services, especially for the more elderly in society. Will he join me in calling for more cross-party talks on social care, which is often the back door to the support that a lot of people who go into hospital need?”

“T7. In one month alone at the West Hertfordshire teaching hospitals trust, we lost 843 days because of the social care backlog. The burden of that cost is often taken up by families and individuals, which impacts not only on them, but on the rest of our NHS healthcare. I welcome the talk about working together across p…”

“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to make my maiden speech today. I thank the hon. Member for Blackpool South (Chris Webb) for his passionate speech and join him in his comments about the hon. Member for North Down (Alex Easton), to whom I pass on my massive congratulations and say that I am s…”