Commons
Westminster Hall
23 June 2026
Prison Safety
I thank the Minister for outlining the issues. One of the critical problems in prisons is the mental health crisis. People are coming in with complex needs, including complex emotional needs; sometimes they have addiction issues; and they may have experienced abuse in the past as well. Those things …
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 June 2026
3 contributions
Environmental Sustainability: UK-Indonesia Collaboration
I commend the hon. Lady for rightly securing this debate. She has given us some of the problems and, in her intervention, the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) suggested some of the things that could happen to solve them.
Back home in Northern Ireland, we have a number of small …
If Members have not had the chance to go to it already, I will just let them know that the British Red Cross is holding an event in a dining room A or B today. Earlier, I was talking to a young lady who is doing some work in Nepal on water issues, including water shortage. There is flooding in Nepal…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 June 2026
2 contributions
Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Newborn Screening Test
I commend the hon. Gentleman for, as he often does, leading this debate on a petition that has generated a lot of interest. I understand that the one of the life-altering gene therapies for SMA, Zolgensma—I hope that I have pronounced it correctly—is available on the NHS, but such gene therapies onl…
On 23 March, Scotland rightly introduced routine screening. In October, babies born in England will benefit from the in-service evaluation framework. Yet families in Northern Ireland do not qualify whatsoever. Does the hon. Member agree that the Government must commit to working across jurisdictions…
Commons
Debate
22 June 2026
2 contributions
Armed Forces Bill
On reservists, I am sure that the hon. Member will be aware that the maximum age of recall is being increased from 60 to 65, and the threshold for mobilisation is being lowered. The problem in Northern Ireland is that our reservists are overwhelmingly employed in civilian jobs in our small and mediu…
I thank the shadow Minister again for all his endeavours on behalf of the defence forces. He is an example to us all.
I understand that the Government have extended the armed forces covenant to Northern Ireland, but there is a question mark over the responsibility of local borough and district coun…
Commons
Debate
22 June 2026
British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme
I commend the hon. Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) on securing the debate. I think it is the third time that he has brought the issue before the House, and I congratulate him on that. The issue is a matter of basic dignity and fair play, because this is about the miners’ own money, paid in from h…
Commons
Oral Questions
Electoral Commission Committee
18 June 2026
Polling Stations: Blind and Visually Impaired Voters
I thank the right hon. and learned Gentleman for that answer. The RNIB has been in touch with me in relation to an issue in Northern Ireland. Access to elections is imperative if we are to encourage true democracy, and there must be confidence that any and every polling station has easy access. Will…
Commons
Oral Questions
Culture, Media and Sport
18 June 2026
UK Artists Touring in Europe
I am very fortunate that I have exceptional talent in my constituency, and for those who wish to take their talents across Europe and other parts of the world, the opportunity is there. The Minister was positive in his answer to the hon. Member for Manchester Withington (Jeff Smith). Will the same e…
Commons
Debate
18 June 2026
Infected Blood Compensation Scheme
I commend the hon. Gentleman for setting the scene so well, and I am sure that everyone in the House is committed to the same objectives. The hon. Gentleman is right to underline the issues. My constituents back home face significant stress over delays, and unfair deductions when compensation is pas…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 June 2026
Courts and Tribunals Bill
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his recommendations. Many are specific to England and Wales, but could be helpful for us in Northern Ireland. I always ask this question, because it is important that it be put on record: has the Committee suggested that the recommendations could be helpful to us in No…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 June 2026
Human Rights: Supply Chains
First, Mr Dowd, I commend you for taking the Chair and saving the debate. It is said that you never go home, so perhaps that is why you were able to get here.
I thank the hon. Member for Southgate and Wood Green (Bambos Charalambous) for securing this incredibly important debate. He has outlined a …
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 June 2026
4 contributions
Stoma: Public Toilet Provision
I beg to move,
That this House has considered public toilet provision for people with stoma.
Thank you for standing in, Mr Dowd. It is much appreciated by us all. It is always good to have you in the Chair, no matter what, but today is a special occasion. This is not what I would call a particular…
I thank the hon. Gentleman, and I will take advantage of that opportunity if it comes.
More than 200,000 people across the United Kingdom live with a stoma. For some, it may be a short-term issue, their body may heal and they will recover—that is to be welcomed. However, there is a lot of anxiety f…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 June 2026
Transport: Marston Vale
I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. I very well understand the absolute devastation caused by bad management. As I said to him beforehand, I have similar problems in my constituency in relation to the Ballynahinch bypass. We must have robust Government involvement in prioritising …
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…