Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
English Rugby
I commend the hon. Gentleman for bringing this issue forward for debate. It is not just about the clubs; it is also about those who inspire. One of those who perhaps inspires is the pop culture sensation Fury, a former English rugby player who is now a Gladiator. We watch her—on a Saturday night, no…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
Local Government Reorganisation: South-east
I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. I spoke to him beforehand, so he knows what I am going to say. I want to support him—that is the reason why I am here—and I want to give an example that happened in my constituency and which is similar to what the hon. Gentleman is referring to.…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
Adult Cerebral Palsy: National Service Specification
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate, and I thank him for sharing his personal story. That personal knowledge adds to the debate.
Studies by Queen’s University Belfast indicates that adults with cerebral palsy often struggle to navigate adult health and rehabilitation services…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
Fur: Import and Sale
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. I thank the hon. Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones) for highlighting this topic, which is important to many of my constituents. I get regular comments and queries about it.
I put it on the record that it is wrong to kill …
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Funeral Directors: Regulation
I commend the hon. Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage) for securing the debate. She is right to raise this issue. In Northern Ireland, we are fortunate to have a number of funeral directors of long standing who have impeccable reputations and integrity. However, funeral directors in Northern…
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
There is much positivity in what the Government are bringing forward. Back in Northern Ireland, Minister Paul Givan has brought forward a pilot scheme to take smartphones out of the classroom while children are in school. Has the Minister considered that positive strategy? If it is a positive in Nor…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 March 2026
Social Cohesion Action Plan
I thank the Minister very much for his positive statement, in which he described the society we all wish to live in. It is the society that I wish to live in, too. As he will know, I chair the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief, which speaks up for those of…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Immigration Policy
Some time ago, there was a debate on fisheries in this Chamber. The Minister who replied for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said that she would meet those of us who represent fishing villages. There is a need for visas for fishing crews, and it will not cost this country any …
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
9 March 2026
Worker Protection: Hazardous Medicinal Products
I thank the Minister for his answers. I do not know whether he had a chance to see in the paper last week some figures for poisonings of those over 50 years of age on a number of occasions, although whether those were the unexpected effects of medicinal products or arose from lifestyle is not yet kn…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 March 2026
Energy Markets
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. As soon as the first missiles were launched over Iran, those working in the energy sector were already warning that prices would escalate. The public can little afford the price gouging that took place when Russia invaded Ukraine, so what steps will …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 March 2026
Consular Assistance
I thank the Minister for his answers, and I also thank his Department. I have some constituents who work for Bombardier and were in Malaysia. They were returning home to Northern Ireland via the middle east but found themselves restricted by the events taking place there and unable to travel. They g…
Commons
Proceedings
5 March 2026
Business of the House
It is always a pleasure to ask a business question. I want to raise concerns regarding the detention of Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, the leader of Zion church, who was arrested during co-ordinated raids across several cities in China. Zion church is an unregistered Protestant church that was previously c…
Commons
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
Official History Programme
When we go to get tickets on a Wednesday for PMQs, we see the story of the suffragette movement on the walls. What assessment has the Minister made of the importance of teaching the women’s suffrage movement as a compulsory component of the Official History Programme, particularly given its role in …
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
Local Museums
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank the hon. Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for leading the debate. She has done it again: she has brought an excellent debate to Westminster Hall. Whenever she speaks, she always draws a crowd, so well done to her—we can see the n…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
2 contributions
World Book Day
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank the hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) for setting the scene incredibly well. It is a real pleasure to have her back in a very constructive role; I thank her for her work on the Education Committee. Her speech …
Six.
Commons
Debate
4 March 2026
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
I commend the hon. Lady—a champion by name and a champion by conviction. We are very pleased to see her in her place, and we thank her very much for what she does.
I sometimes think there are opportunities for partnerships. For instance, churches in my constituency have very active partnerships in …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 March 2026
China: Foreign Interference Arrests
I thank the Minister very much for his answers. Nobody in this House doubts his commitment to finding answers to ensure that the truth is out and justice is done—I thank him for that; everybody respects it. I highlighted when my constituents raised surveillance by the Chinese Communist party in my c…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
Healthcare in Rural Areas
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I want to give a special thank you to the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson) for securing today’s debate on this matter. It is important that I am here, as a representative of a vastly rural constituency, to highlight the …
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
Energy Security and Net Zero: Scotland
I commend the hon. Lady for bringing this debate forward; she is absolutely right to do so. The devolved institutions’ contribution to net zero targets are important, and I am pleased to hear of Scotland’s success. I look forward to the Minister’s response.
Northern Ireland shares the commitment to…
Commons
Oral Questions
4 March 2026
Economic Growth
I thank the Minister for her answer. She and I know that when it comes to economic growth in Wales, or indeed in Northern Ireland, Scotland or England, we are better together. We are also better together historically and culturally. My Gaelic cousins on the Benches in front of me are my friends—I wa…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
3 contributions
NATO and the High Arctic
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, as always, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) for leading the debate in such a helpful way. He set the scene, the focus and the strategy, and he asked questions that I was going to ask—great minds think alike. He has a …
That is the focus we need to have. Climate change is affecting the world. We might find ourselves in a slightly different geographical position in a short time. The right hon. Lady has illustrated that to our advantage.
The Greenland-Iceland-UK gap remains vital for monitoring submarine activity. I…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
Work Capability Assessment Timescales
I commend the hon. Lady for securing this debate. To add my support from a personal point of view, in my office I have a lady who looks after nothing else but benefits. She has told me that there are major issues regarding reassessment waiting times for those who are up for review. The official inte…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
NHS Capital Spending
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I thank the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean) for setting the scene incredibly well. Of course, I want to give a Northern Ireland perspective, but I want to put forward two areas where possible savings could be mad…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
3 contributions
Environmental Protection and Biodiversity
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
I thank the hon. Member for North East Hertfordshire (Chris Hinchliff) for securing this debate. Some 12% of species are threatened with extinction in the countryside we live in, as he underlined very clearly. The 50% loss of biodiversity since the ’70s is a serious problem. I want to give an exampl…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 March 2026
Funeral Premises: Environmental Health Inspections
I commend the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate. I always try to be helpful by talking about what we do in Northern Ireland. Issues around funeral service premises are sensitive and people must be treated with care when they are dealing with the death of loved ones. In Northern Ireland, funeral…