Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
15 July 2026
Engagements
Q11. Before coming to this House, the Prime Minister and I attended the launch of my uncle’s book. It was entitled “Fine Lines and Distinctions”. Clearly, sometimes we have had those differences, but I genuinely wish him and his family well for the future. But before he places his pen down, I unders…
Commons
Proceedings
15 July 2026
Oral Answers to Questions
Q11. Before coming to this House, the Prime Minister and I attended the launch of my uncle’s book. It was entitled “Fine Lines and Distinctions”. Clearly, sometimes we have had those differences, but I genuinely wish him and his family well for the future. But before he places his pen down, I unders…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
Extreme Heat: Preparedness
It is always a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. It was the 1976 New Forest fire in your own constituency that woke me up to the dangers of climate destruction. Just last weekend, on Sunday night, I heard about a fire raging in the area of Acomb, on the edge of my own constituency. …
Commons
Oral Questions
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
9 July 2026
2 contributions
River Pollution
4. What steps she is taking to help tackle river pollution.
This weekend, I will be competing in York’s dragon boat race on the River Ouse, but with 3,779 sewage dumps last year, the river is the second worst for pollution. The clean water Bill gives us the opportunity to take control of our water, ending the cycle of profiteering from failure, leaving our r…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 July 2026
Conflicts: Impact on Older People
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Betts. I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing this debate. I also wish his mother a very happy birthday for next Tuesday.
In many areas of deep conflict, the population rarely reaches our definition of older people.…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 July 2026
National Youth Strategy
It is always a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms McVey. If we are going to make interventions that will have a real impact on lives and change opportunities and trajectories, we have to look at where we place those priorities. Of course, these transition points in life are those opportunities: th…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
2 contributions
Energy Prices: Household Support
11. What steps he is taking to support low-income households with increases in energy prices.
I thank the Minister for his answer. Preparedness for the sharp increase in domestic energy costs is vital, with 13.5 million homes expected to be paying more than 10% of their household’s spending on energy this winter and 5.5 million homes more than 20%, leaving families at breaking point. What fu…
Commons
Proceedings
6 July 2026
Patient Safety Review
I want to concur with all of the remarks by the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin), who has made a crucial point. But there is a wider issue, which the Health Bill completely misses and which I urge Ministers to look at, around the accountability systems within the NHS. The…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 July 2026
Historical Forced Adoption
I sincerely thank the Prime Minister for his statement. In my role as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on adoption and permanence, he will know that I wrote to him at the start of the year about the importance of issuing this apology. I really thank him for the way that he has done tha…
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 July 2026
MPs’ Second Jobs: Prohibition
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing today’s debate. When he talks about second jobs, I think about my constituents who have to work second jobs to pay the bills. That is where our attention should be focused. On professional qualifications, I recognise that being an MP is a full-time job. A…
Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
1 July 2026
Topical Questions
T5. The broadcasting, entertainment and arts unions all-party parliamentary group heard deeply concerning evidence from writers, journalists, musicians and performers that their work is being scraped, ripped off and stolen by sophisticated AI models for training purposes. When will the Secretary of …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 July 2026
Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re
The Government have invested £45 million in flood defences in York. That will provide resilience until 2039, which coincides with the ending of the Flood Re scheme. It is important for us to think about how, in the longer term, we will support people with that risk-sharing approach. Will the Ministe…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
2 contributions
High Street Regeneration and Unlawful Storefronts
I am grateful to the hon. Member for securing this important debate. York is fortunate that two thirds of its high street businesses are independent, but they are really struggling at the moment, not least because of the costs pressing on their finances—particularly business rates, which have gone u…
The hon. Member is being incredibly generous. He has talked about infrastructure and agencies. It is also important to ensure that we have facilities such as public toilets and good seating on our high streets, but the disinvestment in our local authorities over a long time has prevented that. Will …
Commons
Oral Questions
29 June 2026
2 contributions
Child Poverty
11. What progress he has made on reducing levels of child poverty.
Lifting children out of poverty will be this Government’s greatest legacy. However, we know that around 4 million children will remain in poverty, so it is really important to go further. Last year, the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested a levy on the gambling and betting industry to raise…
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
9 June 2026
Healthwatch
Replacing Healthwatch will mean that, ultimately, patients will not have confidence in the commissioners. We have just heard one example, and I can offer many examples from York. Healthwatch York, which is phenomenal and is led by Siân Balsom, has produced reports that have brought about change. I p…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
8 June 2026
Topical Questions
T9. Academics, professionals and environmentalists have experienced dozens of arrests and yet no charges have been upheld. At a recent vigil for the trees, there were more police than protesters. Will the Minister meet me to discuss the over-policing of my constituents, who are literally standing up…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 June 2026
Milburn Review: Interim Report
In York, 410 young people are not in education, training or employment, and we know from Alan Milburn’s report the causes of that. I particularly want to focus on mental health, and the fact that we do not have the right support in place for young people much earlier than the point at which they see…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
21 May 2026
Topical Questions
In October, Nestlé announced 16,000 job losses, including 450 in the UK. In the light of the significant impact that this will have in York, will the Secretary of State ensure that meaningful consultation happens with the trade unions, and will he meet them to save those jobs?
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update
I thank the Chief Secretary for his statement. I am interested in the costs. We know about the £75,000 payout, and obviously a police inquiry is incredibly costly. There are the costs to his Department in complying with the Humble Address. Will he publish the costs? Will he also publish the costs in…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
22 April 2026
Engagements
Q14. In 1777, Bootham Park hospital was given in trust to the people of York. Since it closed in 2015, NHS Property Services has squandered £5.5 million—almost its sale price—keeping the building empty, and threatened to sell it for a luxury complex our city does not want. This much sought-after com…
Commons
Debate
20 April 2026
Security Vetting
At the beginning of February 2026, we learned from former Prime Minister Gordon Brown that Peter Mandelson had shared highly sensitive Government information with Jeffrey Epstein. At that juncture, if I had been in the Prime Minister’s shoes, I would have been forensic in recognising a security risk…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 April 2026
Topical Questions
Some 4% of children are diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. It is totally avoidable, yet it can impact on movement, communication, thinking, concentration and many physiological changes, placing significant demands on the SEND system. Will the Education Secretary work with the Health Se…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 April 2026
Women’s Health Strategy
As the Minister knows, I have long campaigned around mental health. The strategy highlights that women disproportionately have poor mental health, and I welcome that recognition. However, action 49 says:
“we will improve mental health support for women and girls”,
but it does not say what the Gove…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 April 2026
Business of the House
Academics in York, a human rights city, drew my attention to the Government consultation, “Family Returns: Reforming Asylum Support and Enforcing Family Returns”, which seeks to extend the use of constraints, including physical restraint, to children. This is extremely chilling. The consultation is …