Commons
Debate
23 February 2026
6 contributions
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
Specifically on that point, does the Department have good enough data on subsequent children? Have people provided the information that the Department needs to ensure that the extra payments can be made timeously?
Is the hon. Lady aware of what percentage of people currently subject to the two-child cap are in work? Is she aware that 22% of people on universal credit earn more money than the personal allowance and therefore pay income tax?
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
5 contributions
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
Does the Secretary of State regret saying that whether the two-child cap on benefits causes harm is “open to debate”?
I will touch briefly on the Conservatives’ position and then turn to the Bill itself.
The Conservatives have at least been consistent on this policy—consistently cruel. I would point out the level of detachment with the reality faced by so many families in my constituency. The reality for such a hi…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
3 February 2026
Point of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. A number of news outlets are reporting, alongside comment from Downing Street, that the Cabinet Office has sent unredacted correspondence to the police regarding Peter Mandelson’s leaks of market-sensitive information to the sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.…
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
Iran
There is a very real human cost to the violence used by the Iranian authorities. As many as 6,000 protesters—people like me and you, Mr Speaker—have been killed and murdered and more than 10,000 have been arrested. There is a real risk of extrajudicial execution. Political prisoners, including child…
Commons
Debate
29 January 2026
3 contributions
Holocaust Memorial Day
It is an honour to represent the SNP in today’s debate on Holocaust Memorial Day. Six million Jews were murdered. I was trying to think about what words to use to describe it. The word “tragedy” was one of the first I thought of, but a tragedy is something that is unavoidable—in my head, anyway, it …
I absolutely agree, and I know that a number of schools in Scotland take part in trips to Auschwitz. It is important that that continues, particularly given the theme of “Bridging Generations”. Fewer and fewer individuals can talk about their experiences, and it is incredibly important that we remem…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
29 January 2026
Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report
The Secretary of State’s colleagues stood with WASPI women holding boards saying, “We support the WASPI women” and “We support compensation for the WASPI women”. He now stands at the Dispatch Box holding his hands up and saying, “I am very sorry that the previous Administration forgot to send out a …
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
28 January 2026
Race Equality Engagement Group
It is 316 days since the Minister announced that consultation, and it is 560 days since the King’s Speech when the draft legislation was announced. The Minister has made it clear that she expects the draft Bill to be published during this Session. Please will she update us on whether that is still h…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
26 January 2026
Cost of Living: Support for Families
Food and energy costs remain high, and a significant number of families are struggling—more than they ever have before—to try to make ends meet. Has the Minister given any consideration to matching the SNP’s Scottish child payment to ensure that more families with children can be kept out of poverty…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 January 2026
Science and Discovery Centres
Thank you for keeping us all in line today, Mrs Harris—although I think this is a fairly good-tempered debate, because we are all in favour of our local science centres. I congratulate the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr (Steve Witherden) on introducing the debate. It was really cool to …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 January 2026
Business of the House
This afternoon, I will present a Bill to strip Peter Mandelson of his peerage and kick him out of the House of Lords for continuing his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Since tomorrow afternoon is now legislation-free, will the Government please schedule the Second Reading of my…
Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
Social Media: Non-consensual Sexual Deepfakes
Will the Secretary of State consider adding AI responses to prompts by users to the definition of user-generated content, so that that is included in the scope of the Online Safety Act? Will she or one of her Ministers meet me to discuss my concerns about the risks posed to children of children bein…
Commons
Proceedings
17 December 2025
Puberty Suppressants Trial
Although I disagreed with the permanent ban, it is to the Secretary of State’s credit that he has been very clear about all the competing issues that he is balancing to make his decisions, and I appreciate that. There are young people who are hoping to be part of the clinical trial and to receive pu…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 December 2025
5 contributions
Asylum Reforms: Protected Characteristics
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the potential impact of proposed asylum reforms on people with protected characteristics seeking asylum.
There have been a lot of announcements in relation to immigration policy in the year and a half since this Government came into office. There has b…
I absolutely agree, and there was a very similar case in my constituency. There was a woman here with her young child, and it had been agreed that her husband was eligible for reunification with his family here under the ARAP scheme, but he was in hiding in Pakistan. No matter how much we pressed th…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Electoral Resilience
In terms of looking at political finances, we are supportive of the review, and I thank the Secretary of State for announcing it today. Donations made to political parties are one thing, but donations made to either candidates or politicians are another thing and can be considered slightly different…
Commons
Debate
8 December 2025
2 contributions
Child Poverty Strategy
It is nice to hear the Secretary of State acknowledging that child poverty in Scotland is lower than it is in England, and that it is reducing. Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty is going down—that is according to the graph in the Government’s own document.
The document is 113 …
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. During the statement, I asked about the evaluation measures that will be used. The Secretary of State said in response that I had not welcomed the removal of the two-child cap; in fact, I did so explicitly and at length during my speech on 27 November in re…
Commons
Debate
3 December 2025
5 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
To take us back to the consultation and action to provide guidance for trustees, we all think that is a good thing, as trustees have a difficult job to do and providing them with more guidance is incredibly helpful. On the timeline for the consultation and the legislation arising from it, it would b…
I appreciate the chance to speak in this debate, especially without time limits—it is lovely. I absolutely love a very technical debate in the Chamber, but unfortunately not enough Members do. It would have been nice to see huge numbers delighted to talk about the technical aspects of legislation, b…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Wales
3 December 2025
2 contributions
2025 Budget
1. What recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the potential impact of the Budget 2025 on Wales.
The autumn Budget made minor tweaks to Wales’s borrowing limits. Scotland has stronger borrowing powers, allowing us more flexibility for investment in capital projects. Can the Secretary of State tell us why the tweaks to Wales’s powers were so small? Why have those tweaks not even made up for the …
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Budget Resolutions
I will start by welcoming a few of the measures in the Budget. I was contacted yesterday by the Pension Protection Fund about the indexation of pre-1997 pensions. The hon. Member for Caerfyrddin (Ann Davies) fought hard for this on the Pension Schemes Bill Committee, and I spoke about it on a number…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
26 November 2025
2 contributions
Cost of Living
10. What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of her policies on the cost of living in Scotland.
In the 16 months since the King’s Speech, when Labour MPs were whipped to vote against scrapping the two-child cap, how many children have been pitched into poverty as a result of the Government’s refusal to scrap the cap?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 November 2025
ExxonMobil: Mossmorran
We are seeing 400 jobs go, and we saw jobs go at Grangemouth. Is the Minister surprised that people in Aberdeen and the north-east of Scotland, who are arguing for a just transition and being promised 60,000 jobs five years hence, have no faith in this Labour Government?
Commons
Debate
11 November 2025
2 contributions
Remembrance Day: Armed Forces
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Earlier today, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East (Pat McFadden), made a statement. During the statement, he said:
“Since then, as part of the legal proceedings challenging the Government’s deci…
indicated assent.
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 November 2025
Pensions
The Secretary of State said that as part of the legal proceedings challenging the Government’s decision, evidence has been cited about research findings from a 2007 report. Who cited that evidence? Was it the Department for Work and Pensions or the Government, or was it the people opposing the Gover…
Commons
Debate
5 November 2025
2 contributions
Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill
I am still not exactly clear why the Minister disagrees with Lords amendment 84. I understand that he is saying that DWP agents will look at EVM information and everything else, but what happens in circumstances when they have only EVM and not much else by way of information? Is he unable to agree w…
It is not easy to follow that excellent speech. I really appreciate the hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne) reading out the names of people who have been failed by the system that was meant to support them—and we should remember that the system is what failed them. As he said, in a number of cases …
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
5 November 2025
Violence against Women and Girls
One of my constituents was domestically abused by someone on a dependant visa. She has been trying to obtain information from UK Visas and Immigration about whether that person is still in the United Kingdom, or still has a visa. Would the Minister consider a measure similar to Clare’s law, so that …
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
2 contributions
Welfare Spending
It is interesting to hear what is being put forward, considering that this lot on the Conservative Benches created the welfare system that we currently have, and that lot on the Labour Benches are keeping it going. The reality is that the mini-Budget that massively changed house prices and meant mor…
No, thank you.
What we should be doing in the Budget and in the child poverty strategy is talking about how the welfare system should support people and about how the welfare system fails to support people. I wish the Minister for Social Security and Disability well in his work co-producing his rep…