Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
My hon. Friend is making an excellent point. The issues he describes in his Southampton constituency apply in a similar way to my residents in Reading. Does he agree that an important aspect of the Government’s work is not only what we are debating today, but the wider and broader package of measure…
Commons
Debate
26 January 2026
Armed Forces Bill
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, which I commend to the wider public beyond this House. In my own area, the local council and many voluntary sector organisations have done a very impressive job of adhering to the armed forces covenant, and are willing to do more. I thank Reading borough…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
22 January 2026
Topical Questions
I thank the Government for their work on cutting the cost of living. Can the Minister say how the Cabinet Office is supporting other Government Departments to continue this work?
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
22 January 2026
2 contributions
Erasmus+ Programme
2. What steps he is taking to help increase the number of education and training opportunities for young people through the Erasmus+ programme.
I thank the Minister for his answer and warmly welcome the Government’s new commitment to this scheme. It is hugely important to my residents in Reading, for families and young people, for employers and for science and technology. Could the Minister say a little more about how this wonderful scheme …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 January 2026
Warm Homes Plan
I wholeheartedly welcome this announcement from the Secretary of State, and his work over many years in this important policy area. This is an enormous issue in my constituency, where there are many older houses, and many people struggling to pay their bills, so I wholeheartedly welcome the plan. Mi…
Commons
Debate
14 January 2026
Ukraine
I thank the Minister for his update, particularly the in-depth overview that he is giving us. Further to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley (Tahir Ali), I would appreciate an update on the work that the Minister is doing to support families in this coun…
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
Rural Communities
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Will she comment on the importance of rural bus services for the mobility of local staff in rural areas? In particular, will she commend the work done by Labour mayors on bus franchising and the work of Nottingham and Reading buses in providing excellent…
Commons
Westminster Hall
7 January 2026
UK Town of Culture
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) for securing today’s important debate. I wholeheartedly support this competition; it is vital to celebrate our towns. I want to talk about my own town, Reading, and the incred…
Commons
Debate
16 December 2025
2 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill
The Minister is making an excellent series of points, and I commend him on behalf of 4,000 vulnerable children in Reading for the fantastic support he is offering them and their families. It is much deserved and appreciated by our community. I point out other significant benefits, such as the freezi…
The Minister is making an excellent point. May I commend him on his work on the loan charge? Many IT consultants in my constituency and across the Thames valley are grateful to the Treasury for looking into this matter. Many of them felt they were sold schemes that they did not always fully understa…
Commons
Debate
9 December 2025
Railways Bill
The Secretary of State is making an excellent speech on a very important matter of policy. May I thank her for the outstanding work to reduce the cost of rail travel for my residents in Reading, and residents in many other parts of the country? Will she say a little more about the benefits of contac…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 December 2025
Creative Education
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Does he agree that the role of community-based arts organisations is central to supporting our schools? I hope he will also support my campaign to turn Reading Gaol into an arts and heritage hub, which, one day, in showing the possibilities of an arts-ba…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 December 2025
Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) for securing today’s important debate. I want to make three brief points in the time that is available to me. First, I will provide some support for the wider principle of in…
Commons
Debate
26 November 2025
2 contributions
Budget Resolutions
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, and I wholeheartedly agree about the appalling damage done by the Conservatives to our economy over 14 years. I wonder whether he would also mention the significant benefit to both employers and employees of the freezing of rail fares, which will make an…
My hon. Friend is making an excellent point. Is she ready to move on to the importance of breakfast clubs? Last week, I had the pleasure of welcoming the Prime Minister and the Education Secretary to Reading, where they visited a breakfast club providing excellent support to many children. The progr…
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
2 contributions
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill
Will my hon. Friend give way?
The Minister is making an excellent speech, and I pay tribute to her work and that of the Government in showing UK leadership in this important environmental area. Could she also briefly touch on the importance of working in a multilateral way with partners from around the world, and—perhaps she wil…
Commons
Debate
12 November 2025
Energy
I commend the Minister for his speech; I hope my words will reflect the seriousness of the issue in front of us.
Does the Minister agree that, sadly, the last Government fell woefully short on building new solar in particular? I think the statistics are very much along the lines of more solar being…
Commons
Debate
11 November 2025
BBC Leadership
Staff at the former BBC Monitoring station in Caversham in my constituency played a vital role over many years, monitoring broadcasts from around the world. Indeed, they broke a number of important news stories over the years, including that of the Iranian revolution, which was only possible because…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 November 2025
Curriculum and Assessment Review
I warmly welcome the review and the Secretary of State’s statement. I am particularly pleased that the Sutton Trust is wholeheartedly behind the review. Will she say a little more about the importance of triple science, and how she hopes that will benefit social mobility across the country?
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
2 contributions
Supporting High Streets
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and shows himself to be a true champion for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme. Does he agree that we all ought to talk up our high streets? There is a danger that some on the Conservative Benches are failing to see that, and they are doing real damag…
My hon. Friend is making an excellent point about the importance of arts and culture in town centres, and of restoring and reclaiming historic buildings to bring a sense of place, to help small traders to flourish, and to bring arts activities to the public and footfall into our town centres. I woul…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 November 2025
Houses in Multiple Occupation: Planning Consent
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I commend and thank my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Steve Yemm) for securing this important debate.
Reading constituents are concerned about this issue. We are lucky to live in a beautiful Victorian town, but sadly many historical st…
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 October 2025
2 contributions
Independent Lifeboats: Government Support
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I thank the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes) for securing today’s important debate. I also thank all those who work and volunteer in the independent lifeboat sector, as well as those who support the RNLI.
I would like to raise t…
The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. Education is a vital part of this. Where local businesses or sports clubs, such as those involved in rowing, canoeing or other activities on the river, have a supply of trained personnel available—not necessarily 24 hours a day, but certainly for large pa…
Commons
Debate
27 October 2025
North Sea Oil and Gas Industry
It is very important to increase the number of skilled jobs in renewables and in hydrogen. I welcome the Minister’s mention of the Government’s clean jobs plan; can he say more about that plan, and in particular about training and development for younger staff, as well as retraining for existing sta…
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund
My hon. Friend is making some interesting points about investment decisions. Has her Committee also investigated why some decisions have been made to bring investment into the UK, such as the recent decision about investment in Oxfordshire? As part of that, is there a parallel need to explore where …
Commons
Debate
21 October 2025
3 contributions
Social Housing: South Cotswolds
The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech and highlights perfectly the pressure on the landscape in southern England. Does she agree that there is a great deal of scope in many towns and even some larger villages for building on brownfield land? In Reading there are a number of examples of this, a…
Does the hon. Lady have anything she wants to say about the value of good design principles and linking to the existing traditional architecture in specific communities? We have had a great deal of success in our community in preserving the historical brickwork of Reading and encouraging new develop…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 October 2025
Ada Lovelace Day
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that there is also an important role for apprenticeships, particularly apprenticeships in the tech sector? There are some excellent apprenticeships of that nature in Reading and the surrounding area. Would he perhaps also offer a few words of support for the Government’…