Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
26 January 2026
2 contributions
Employee Health
13. What steps he is taking to help support employers to keep people healthy at work.
I am delighted that we have a trailblazer pilot in my constituency. In The Times at the weekend, Alan Milburn emphasised the importance of boosting young people’s life chances. Will the Secretary of State outline how data from the pilot will strengthen delivery to keep people healthy at work?
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
22 January 2026
2 contributions
Cyber-crime
8. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle cyber-crime.
There has been a tendency to offshore much cyber-support, but we are producing excellent cyber-security talent at Ebbw Vale college to protect our digital infrastructure. Will the Minister please outline what is being done to develop our home-grown workforce and security resilience to help reduce th…
Commons
Oral Questions
House of Commons Commission
15 January 2026
2 contributions
British Manufacturers
My hon. Friend always takes an interest in ceramics and parliamentary procurement. He will remember that approximately 85% of ceramic items purchased in our gift shops are either fully or partially made in the UK. More widely, Parliament endeavours to purchase British goods, in compliance with the p…
My hon. Friend is a doughty campaigner for ceramics and Stoke. The limited edition House of Commons Christmas mugs are a popular product in our gift shop. Those products are sourced as unfinished products from overseas and then hand-finished in the UK. This approach ensures that the product is comme…
Commons
Oral Questions
Restoration and Renewal Client Board
15 January 2026
2 contributions
Restoration and Renewal: Member Consultation
The restoration and renewal programme has engaged extensively with Members of both Houses. In this Parliament, there have been 380 interactions with MPs and peers through briefings, tours and events. The number of interactions over the past three years, since January 2023, is about 980. The client b…
After ramping up engagement on the cost information, and once the House has provided direction on the R and R programme, if we do go to full decant, the Lords will likely go to the Queen Elizabeth II centre and MPs to the northern estate. There will be ongoing work on temporary accommodation, and th…
Commons
Oral Questions
House of Commons Commission
15 January 2026
2 contributions
New Palace Yard Project
The New Palace Yard project will be completed this month, at an expected cost of £62 million, within the latest approved business case. The project included important security works and significant ground and heritage works.
There have been different estimates for the stages of the project, as the hon. Gentleman rightly points out. The costs have evolved since 2017. I will send him the recent Finance Committee report, which was published just before Christmas and goes into detail on this matter. Delays have occurred, pa…
Commons
Proceedings
8 January 2026
Business of the House
Constituents in the upper Rhymney valley face unacceptably high petrol prices. When I wrote to the Competition and Markets Authority about that, it referred to a forthcoming fuel finder scheme; however, that scheme has no confirmed launch date. I get that this is complicated, but will the Leader of …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 January 2026
Venezuela
Maduro was an illegitimate president. In The New York Times today, Colette Capriles, writing from Caracas, describes a “struggle for survival”, a “primitive capitalism”, a
“web of bosses, private loyalties, corrupt practices and institutional ruins that have replaced public life”
in Venezuela. I a…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
11 December 2025
2 contributions
Secondary Ticketing
9. What steps he is taking to protect consumers in the secondary ticketing market.
The Government’s action on ticket reselling is the first substantive effort to tackle those who leech off the music sector. Previously, as one loophole closed, another would often open. There have been warnings, however, that ticket reselling could continue through social media and messaging apps. H…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
Topical Questions
The Minister for pensions was brilliant at the Budget in helping our mining communities across the UK. Will he provide an update on plans for changing the surplus sharing arrangements for both the mineworkers’ pension scheme and the British Coal staff superannuation scheme?
Commons
Oral Questions
Wales
3 December 2025
Grooming Gangs
Can the Minister say more about how the Government are reflecting the experiences of victims when tackling grooming gangs in Wales?
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Business of the House
May I thank the Leader of the House for his kind words about those of us who campaigned for miners’ pensions justice?
There is real momentum for new economic opportunities now that Labour-led councils, the Welsh Labour Government and the UK Labour Government can work in tandem. In Blaenau Gwent, th…
Commons
Oral Questions
House of Commons Commission
27 November 2025
3 contributions
Technology: Productivity of MPs
A new approach to proactively understand Members’ needs has been introduced by the Parliamentary Digital Service to shape improvements to digital services. Recently, its research informed a trial of a paid version of Copilot artificial intelligence with Members, including me, and with staff. To ensu…
My hon. Friend has a fair beef. The volume of unwanted emails received by MPs is a known problem, but no one yet has an easy solution. Testing of whether Copilot or other digital solutions can help with inbox management has taken place, but Copilot is unlikely to be the answer for it. I understand t…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
House of Commons Commission
27 November 2025
2 contributions
House of Commons Domestic Abuse Policy
I am pleased to report that the House of Commons Commission agreed in October to seek accreditation from the White Ribbon campaign. The campaign does important work to prevent violence against women and girls by promoting equality, building networks and challenging harmful attitudes and behaviour. T…
I thank my hon. Friend for her question. I am happy to help with her key point about messaging. Members, as employers, could implement a domestic abuse policy. To help with this, the Members’ human resources advice service has specific guidance and templates available for Members, and can support th…
Commons
Oral Questions
House of Commons Commission
27 November 2025
3 contributions
Palace of Westminster: School Visits
The Commission has taken steps to widen access to schools in terms of both volume and geographic spread, and these changes have led to an increase in the number of schoolchildren able to visit. More than 71,000 are expected to visit this year—an increase of over 20% since 2022—and we expect the numb…
My constituency of Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney is 1,200 feet above sea level and we get snow a lot, so “Just be careful what you ask for” might have been good advice to that lovely eight-year-old. Of course, we need to improve access to this place. Fairer access to Parliament is a good cause, and our …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 November 2025
Business of the House
Coalminers powered our great country in the 20th century. They need justice in this century in relation to their pensions. Labour put right the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme, but parity is needed for the British Coal staff superannuation scheme. Will the Leader of the House ask the Treasury for a stat…
Commons
Proceedings
20 November 2025
Separation Centres: Terrorist Offenders
I thank the Minister for her response to the urgent question. The Frankland attack was awful. Given that body armour is crucial to the safety of prison staff, can she please tell us more about its procurement, so that prison staff are protected as best as possible, as soon as possible?
Commons
Proceedings
20 November 2025
Ukraine: Forcible Removal of Children
The stealing of 20,000 children like this is an outrage. I thank the Minister for his statement. Does he agree that the Bring Kids Back campaign is right to emphasise that the return of these children is non-negotiable in any future peace deal?
Commons
Proceedings
20 November 2025
Russian Ship Yantar
Given both the Baltic sea incident in 2024, where underground cables were said to be sabotaged, and the latest provocation where the Yantar is said to be mapping undersea cables, will the Minister please outline how allied co-ordination, particularly with our Nordic and Baltic partners, could be str…
Commons
Proceedings
19 November 2025
Flooding: Monmouthshire
Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney neighbours Monmouthshire. Last winter, we experienced coal tip slipping because of heavy rain. People experiencing flooding deserve all our support. Can the Minister please tell us more about the support available to residents who are claiming insurance or emergency financi…
Commons
Proceedings
29 October 2025
Asylum Seekers: MOD Housing
I am often asked on the doorsteps what we are doing to tackle this issue. Will the Minister please set out more information on what the Government are doing to stop small boat arrivals in the first place, so that we can close more hotels more quickly?
Commons
Proceedings
29 October 2025
Gaza and Hamas
I thank the Minister for his answer to the urgent question. He has done a great job over time updating this Chamber—he has been terrific through this difficult period. Will he say more about the type of aid that he thinks our country needs to send into Gaza to support the people there?
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
29 October 2025
2 contributions
Engagements
Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 29 October.
I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s remarks about supporting Jamaica.
Across our country, and in Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, off-road bikers are a menace. They tear up our environment, and turn our streets into racetracks. After years of Tory cuts, Gwent police are now tackling that. Does t…
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Business of the House
Will the Leader of the House please grant a debate on tenants paying their landlord a reasonable rent? In Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, Vodafone is in dispute with one of my community organisations, Aberbargoed rifle and pistol club, over the hosting of a telecoms mast. Vodafone’s rent helps to fund th…
Commons
Oral Questions
House of Commons Commission
16 October 2025
2 contributions
British-made Ceramics
The House Administration sources a wide range of crockery from firms in the UK, as well as those based elsewhere. Where possible, Parliament endeavours to purchase British goods to support domestic supply chains. All purchasing is in line with the relevant legislation for public bodies, which priori…
It pleases me when I see my hon. Friend turning his plate or mug upside down in the Tea Room, to double-check whether the crockery was made in Stoke. It is good when Westminster shows off the best of our UK ceramics manufacturing. Where possible and appropriate, and in accordance with procurement la…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 October 2025
2 contributions
World Menopause Day
I thank my hon. Friend for making such a fantastic contribution on this important topic. I am sure that she will recall the shared visit we had to Tesco in Abertillery, in my constituency, where staff talked about the extensive package of support that their employer gave them. Will she join me in co…
My hon. Friend’s point about these issues affecting older women is, of course, fair and understood, but is it not also true that younger women can be affected and need support?