Commons
Oral Questions
Wales
17 June 2026
Defence Spending
The increase in spending for Wales should encourage us all, as it does across this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Does the right hon. Lady agree that the extra money for defence spending underlines the importance of being a member of the United Kingdom of Great Britain a…
Commons
Debate
17 June 2026
National Security (State Threats) Bill
I commend the Minister for bringing forward this legislation. I am concerned on behalf of my constituents of Chinese descent who still have families living in Hong Kong and China and who are still subject to persecution and human rights issues. The pursuit of my constituents by Chinese officials in …
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 June 2026
Mental Health: Parity of Esteem
I commend the hon. Lady for securing the debate, and she is absolutely right to address this issue. In Northern Ireland, we have extreme mental health issues; indeed, the figure is 25% higher than it is here on the mainland. The Government have made a commitment to address the nation’s physical heal…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 June 2026
2 contributions
Abuse of Customer-facing Workers
It is a pleasure to speak under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Chris Evans) for telling us the stories of this issue with passion, belief and conviction, as he so often does. He brought them to our attention capably today. It is always a pleasure to come along …
The hon. Gentleman always brings something pertinent to the debate, so I thank him for that. That is a positive step forward and probably one of the things that the Minister will respond to when she concludes.
We are talking about absorbing a crime tax just to pay for security when staff live in fe…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 June 2026
Community Hospitals
I commend the hon. Lady for securing this important debate. I apologise to her and to you, Sir Jeremy, for not being able to stay; unfortunately, I have to be somewhere at 10 o’clock that is about 10 miles away. Like the hon. Lady, I wish to shine a light on the quiet heroes of our health service: o…
Commons
Debate
16 June 2026
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill
It is about our security, our cyber-security and our resilience. Within a three-mile radius of Belfast, we have some of the best cyber-security resilience in the whole of the United Kingdom. It is about those 2,750 employees and the £258 million of direct gross value added. Does the hon. Lady recogn…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 June 2026
Access to Dental Services: West Sussex
I commend the hon. Lady on bringing this forward. She is absolutely right that there is a dental crisis not just in West Sussex, but across the whole United Kingdom. Some 14 million people cannot get an NHS dentist. Whenever I look back—and I am old enough to look back, at my age—I think that perhap…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 June 2026
West Midlands Police: Government Support
I commend the hon. Member for securing the debate. He is making a reputation for himself in the House when it comes to such subjects, and I wish him well. Does he agree that to have an effective police force, there must be community buy-in? To have community buy-in, people need to see the police on …
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
15 June 2026
Leasehold Reform
I welcome the measures introduced in England and Wales through the 2024 Act to improve the transparency of service charges. Unfortunately, however, in Northern Ireland leaseholders have limited control over service charges imposed on them, and under the current legislation they have limited means of…
Commons
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
I put on record my thanks to the former Secretary of State and the former Minister for the Armed Forces for their principled stand on defence spending. Over the weekend, a Minister referred on the Laura Kuenssberg show to extra defence funding. I understand that the new Secretary of State, the right…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 June 2026
Brain Cancer
On the brain tumour research consortium, I understand that none of the moneys to which the hon. Gentleman refers have made it to Northern Ireland’s research facilities. Does he share my concern about the need to ensure that the money reaches the whole United Kingdom to benefit our collective researc…
Commons
Debate
15 June 2026
NHS Dentistry
I commend the hon. Gentleman for bringing forward this debate, in which all of us across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have an interest. The Government committed themselves to increasing dental training places by 40%, but the fact is that after three years of training, tho…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
11 June 2026
Transport Hubs: UV Index Alerts
I thank the Minister for that answer and the hon. Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) for bringing this issue forward. She always brings forward incredible issues for us all to be aware of. The figures for skin cancer in Northern Ireland are rising, and she has brought UV index alerts…
Commons
Proceedings
11 June 2026
Compassionate Use Medicine Schemes: VAT
Hon. Members have raised concerns for compassionate reasons and on behalf of their constituents who feel the pain. Compassionate access schemes are a critical lifeline for terminally ill patients, often stepping in when the NHS has exhausted all standard funding avenues. Any move by HMRC to levy, to…
Commons
Debate
11 June 2026
Legacy of Jo Cox
I commend the Minister for leading the debate. I recall well the Friday morning in my constituency office when the news broke. I immediately penned a letter because at that stage, Jo was still with us, although injured. I had hardly finished the letter when, unfortunately, the sad news came through …
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 June 2026
3 contributions
Clean Power by 2030
I thank the Scottish Affairs Committee for the report and the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire (Mr MacDonald) for outlining the factual case. I also thank hon. Members who commit their time and energy to coming forward with ideas—there are many ideas in the report. Am I allowed to…
I will try to combine two issues in one question, then—my apologies for being overambitious. On green energy issues, does the Committee intend to share its ideas with the Northern Ireland Assembly? In Northern Ireland, green energy is not as advanced as in Scotland, and we are looking towards the en…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 June 2026
3 contributions
Freedom of Religion or Belief: Sudan
I beg to move,
That this House has considered freedom of religion or belief in Sudan.
It is a real pleasure to introduce this debate, which is one that I have sought for some time. It is also a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker—we have been friends for so many years in this H…
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his words. We spoke beforehand in the Chamber to go over what he has just referred to. There is a key role to play. We are very fortunate to have the Minister in his place, and that the Government have given that £146 million of humanitarian aid. I suspect that it prob…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 June 2026
4 contributions
Freedom of Religion or Belief: Sudan
I beg to move,
That this House has considered freedom of religion or belief in Sudan.
It is a real pleasure to introduce this debate, which is one that I have sought for some time. It is also a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker—we have been friends for so many years in this H…
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his words. We spoke beforehand in the Chamber to go over what he has just referred to. There is a key role to play. We are very fortunate to have the Minister in his place, and that the Government have given that £146 million of humanitarian aid. I suspect that it prob…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 June 2026
2 contributions
Local Government Reform
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston (Neil O’Brien) for securing this debate.
Obviously, the Minister is not responsible for local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland, but I want to caution against the …
That intervention sums up my comments, and it provides further evidence. When Ards borough council, on which I served for 26 years, was partnered with North Down council, we took on North Down’s debt, while we had been prudent—very Ulster Scottish—and had made sure that our moneys were well managed.…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 June 2026
Child Contact Arrangements
I commend the hon. Lady for securing this debate on a very complex issue. There were elements of the Courts and Tribunals Bill that were impossible to support, but it also sought to address the issue of a child’s consent in contact arrangements and, importantly, the need for the child’s opinion to b…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 June 2026
Water Supply in Kent
The hon. Gentleman talked about farmers, who need water to give to their cattle. If they cannot do that, it is almost an animal tragedy waiting to happen. When there are water supply problems, many people suffer, but particularly farmers, who may have to look after 150 to 200 cattle, sheep or whatev…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 June 2026
2 contributions
Myanmar: Human Rights
I commend the right hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. Since the illegal military coup, the junta has executed a brutal, calculated campaign targeting predominantly Christian ethnic regions in Chin, Kayah and Kachin states as well as Sagaing and Yangon. Reports from Open Doors confirmed that h…
In my earlier intervention, I mentioned the work that Open Doors does in Myanmar and across the world. Has the Minister had an opportunity—I suspect that he has—to contact Open Doors, find out what it is trying to do there, and work in partnership with it, for everyone’s benefit?
Commons
Debate
10 June 2026
National Resilience
I commend the hon. Member. Resilience is about not just defence but health. To cast the mind of the hon. Gentleman and that of the House back to the national emergency of covid-19, the report of the UK covid inquiry mentioned “fatal strategic flaws”. The NHS did not collapse, although it came close …
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 June 2026
Energy Costs
First of all, I commend the hon. Lady: in her short time here, she has made a name for herself as someone who speaks on behalf of her constituents, so well done. Power NI supplies 60% of Northern Ireland homes—a 6.2% increase—and charges £1,093 for credit meters and £1,065 for keypad meters, on top …
Commons
Proceedings
9 June 2026
North Belfast: Violent Attack
I thank the Secretary of State for his well-chosen and wise words, and for his answers. Tensions are inflamed, and I am aware of protests planned throughout my constituency. I am also aware that many of those who intend to attend do so not because they are frightened for their families alone, but be…