Commons
Oral Questions
Wales
2 September 2026
Child Poverty
The Secretary of State is right to recognise the reduction of child poverty in Wales, but of course the Government here took the decision to reduce child poverty not just in Wales but in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland as well. Does he agree that when it comes to recognising the good work the…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
1 September 2026
Climate Change: International Partners
I thank the Minister for her answer. There are 67 wars across the world—countries in conflict with other countries. What can she do to ensure that sworn enemies come together to tackle climate change, which is the real enemy of every country in this world?
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 September 2026
Science Facilities and Laboratories
I commend the hon. Lady on securing this debate. This is an immense issue: it is about providing the world-class science facilities and laboratories of tomorrow. Does she agree that, when it comes to spreading the moneys across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Queen’s Univer…
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 September 2026
2 contributions
Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Wishart, and a big thanks to the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) for raising this debate. As the Member for Strangford, I am growing increasingly concerned about the effects of bank closures on vulnerable individuals in our rural commu…
Does the hon. Lady agree that there is something immoral about banks that make such exorbitant profits money closing branches and penalising their customers?
Commons
Proceedings
1 September 2026
Speaker’s Statement
I thank the Minister for her answer. There are 67 wars across the world—countries in conflict with other countries. What can she do to ensure that sworn enemies come together to tackle climate change, which is the real enemy of every country in this world?
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 September 2026
Local Authorities: Aluminium Recycling
I thank the hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills (Tessa Munt) for setting the scene. The hon. Lady has done the House a favour in highlighting an issue that maybe not many of us were totally aware of—I know that I was not, until I did some research in Northern Ireland.
I will have a specific requ…
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 September 2026
Local Government Reorganisation: Cambridgeshire
In Northern Ireland some 10 years ago, we had local government reorganisation that promised significant savings and more efficiency. Unfortunately, on neither of those two occasions were they delivered. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that when looking at what others have done, as he has outlined, per…
Commons
Debate
1 September 2026
Sudden Cardiac Death: Young People
The hon. Member has raised a heart-rending and very difficult case, and I congratulate him on that.
The British Heart Foundation estimates that in Northern Ireland one person under the age of 35 dies every month from an undiagnosed heart condition. In view of that, does the hon. Member agree that m…
Commons
Debate
1 September 2026
Sovereign Grant
I thank the Minister for his introduction, and for setting the scene for the motion. Clarification is needed, and the Minister has provided that in a way that I think is transparent. The nation needs to know as well.
Do the Minister and this House agree that although we must always ensure absolute …
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
16 July 2026
Transport Decarbonisation
I will focus on the decarbonisation of the transport sector. I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. She will know that we in Northern Ireland want to be part of decarbonisation; Wrightbus in Ballymena is an example of that. What has been done to ensure that we can be part of that future?
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 July 2026
Protecting Built Heritage
I thank the hon. Lady and her Select Committee for their many positive recommendations when it comes to the repair and conservation of shared heritage. Previous schemes have retained and restored churches and other shared heritage across the Province of Northern Ireland, including in my constituency…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 July 2026
2 contributions
National Planning Policy Framework
I commend the hon. Lady for the ambition she has put forward. Does she not agree that there is a risk of severe regulatory divergence? If the English planning system undergoes massive deregulation and introduces a faster, rules-based yes by default to major projects, capital will do what it always d…
I commend the right hon. Gentleman on his speech. I know that the Minister is not responsible for my constituency across the water, but does the right hon. Gentleman feel that recommendations and good things learned on the mainland should be shared with us back home to ensure that we do not have the…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 July 2026
Regional Accents and Social Mobility
Thank you very much, Sir Roger, for giving me the chance to participate. I thank the hon. Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt), my cousin from across the sea—or across the shuck, as we would say back in Northern Ireland—for highlighting this issue. It is a real pleasure to speak in this debate.
…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 July 2026
Peak Cluster Pipeline and Project
I fully support the right hon. Lady’s efforts on behalf of her constituents. I have an understanding of the issues. Does she agree that any final approval for the Peak Cluster project must include cast-iron, legally binding guarantees to protect landowners’ rights, and that local environmental objec…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 July 2026
4 contributions
Northern Ireland Hospitality Sector
I commend the hon. Gentleman, who is a friend and colleague, for securing this vital debate. I rise to support the UK-wide #VATsTheProblem campaign, alongside our local champions at Hospitality Ulster. The hospitality sector in Northern Ireland is an industry trapped in an impossible competitive vic…
Will the Minister give way on that point?
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
2 contributions
Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation
I am in a state of shock; I had to fiddle through my papers to get my notes. Thank you, Sir Alec, for calling me to speak. I thank the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for setting the scene. He is right about the deprivation of coastal communities everywhere in the United Kingdom…
I thank my friend and colleague, whose intervention is now on the record. He is right to focus on that. I hope the Minister will be able to answer. What happens in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency happens in mine.
Pockets of the peninsula face employment and income deprivation due to the seasonal …
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
Rugby in Schools
I commend the hon. Gentleman for bringing this forward. He outlines some of the clubs in his constituency that do great things. In my main town of Newtownards, Ards rugby club is a phenomenal club that seeks to be involved in charitable as well as sporting aspects within the area. On its own initiat…
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
14 July 2026
Lung Cancer Screening Programme
Never intimidation, Mr Speaker; I am not strong enough for that. My colleague and friend, the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby (Sarah Pochin), has kindly let me ask this question.
As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on respiratory health, I want to ask this question. The lung cancer scr…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
Extreme Heat: Preparedness
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak, Sir Christopher; it is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship. Let me say a big thank you to the hon. Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay) for highlighting this issue. Whether people like it or not, it has to be addressed. It is a key iss…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
3 contributions
Support for Pig Farmers
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship again, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) for setting the scene incredibly well.
It is a pleasure to champion a sector that is not only vital to my constituency, but a cornerstone of the entire economy of Nor…
I certainly do. That is one of the things that the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan and others have asked for, and I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.
Sadly, pig farming cannot simply be switched on and off like a tap. It requires immense long-term investment, precision and dedicati…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
9 July 2026
Tuna Fishing Licences
I do not know how to respond to that, Mr Speaker, but I will take it that it was meant in a good way.
I echo what the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) said and I ask the Minister to focus on Northern Ireland. Why are Northern Ireland’s sustainable rod and reel fishers being t…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 July 2026
NATO Summit
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, which had vast portions of positivity and good news within it. While the £70 billion Ukraine package and the 5% spending target by 2035 sound impressive, our constituents want to know just how well those declarations translate into safety on the grou…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 July 2026
2 contributions
Conflicts: Impact on Older People
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the humanitarian impact of conflicts on older people.
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Betts; thank you for chairing this debate for us. I have been asking for a debate on this subject for some time. The subject is close to my he…
I speak for myself, but I think you are not too far off my years, Mr Betts, although I know that I am older than you.
In Sudan, the health sector has been destroyed and medicines are in short supply. Even those with manageable health conditions are at grave risk. In parts of Darfur, dozens of older…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 July 2026
Lobular Breast Cancer: Moon Shot Project
I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. He has been very vocal on this subject matter and we all support him. I apologise to him, to you, Mrs Hobhouse, and to the ladies in the Public Gallery today, because I have an early flight home so I cannot be here to make a longer contribution …
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 July 2026
Draft UK-EU Agreement on Gibraltar
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I thank the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) for securing this incredibly timely and crucial debate. It is nice to see some representatives of Gibraltar in the Public Gallery, as well as one of our old friends from th…