Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
11 March 2026
Engagements
Q2. This afternoon, the Mandelson papers, or the first tranche of them, will be released, bringing to light for the first time UK institutional knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein and those associated with him. But here in the UK, we have our own Epstein in Mohamed al-Fayed and the institutions that suppor…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
10 March 2026
2 contributions
High Street Businesses: Tax Changes
6. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of tax changes on high street businesses.
I recently hosted a hospitality roundtable in North East Fife. In an area that boasts such attractions as St Andrews and the East Neuk, one would expect to find an industry in rude health, but that was not the case. Indeed, one business could not attend because it was taking difficult decisions in r…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Immigration Policy
In Afghanistan, women and girls are being persecuted on grounds of their gender. They cannot work, they cannot study, and by law their husbands can punish them however they see fit. Last year the Home Office closed safe and legal routes for Afghan women to come to the UK, and last week it closed the…
Commons
Proceedings
5 March 2026
Business of the House
There are beautiful churches across my constituency, many of which are listed. Following the announcement that the listed places of worship scheme will be closed, I have been contacted by many church communities that are deeply concerned about what that means for them, as the scheme will no longer p…
Commons
Debate
4 March 2026
Department for Business and Trade
I will make some brief remarks. I note that the Department’s estimates memorandum made specific reference to spending supporting the objectives to make the UK the best place in the world to do business, the best place to do business from, and to deliver great services to businesses. I will talk abou…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
3 contributions
Work Capability Assessment Timescales
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Work Capability Assessment timescales.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I welcome the Minister to his place to discuss this important issue. I am grateful to him and his office for their recent engagement with my office on th…
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his intervention. I will go on to talk about my own caseworkers’ experience. It is right that we recognise that they are the people dealing with the brunt of this. I am going to outline some of the challenges and what I hope the Minister might tell us he is doing…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
24 February 2026
3 contributions
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
I entirely agree with the Minister on the abhorrence of the comments made in the media back then. Does he agree that we still have a degree of that problem now, because often in the media we talk about “under-age girls” when actually we are talking about children, and we should ensure that when we t…
By sketching out that timeline, the hon. Gentleman brings to light the reason why we are calling in our Humble Address for information about the actual creation of the appointment, which, as the Minister rightly pointed out, was a unique role created for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Does the hon. Gen…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 February 2026
Gaza Healthcare System
The hon. Member is talking passionately about the impact of physical injuries on young people, but we also know that trauma recovery for children and young people will have to be a vital part of the long-term solution for Gaza. The International Centre for Child Trauma Prevention and Recovery has pi…
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
2 contributions
Youth Unemployment
My hon. Friend is highlighting two important things. The increases in on-costs for businesses mean that they are not taking on young people. More importantly, they are not then able to support the supervisory roles that give those young people the development they need, because they cannot make the …
The hon. Member is talking about further and vocational education, which is important. Another aspect of it is that it helps young people for whom school has not been a success. It is not just about the skills that they learn; it is about that arm that is put around them. Does she share my concern a…
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
British Indian Ocean Territory
My hon. Friend talks about some of the key issues in relation to the US and its agreement. On remarks from the US, I remember being contacted by my friend on the morning her brother was injured severely in an improvised explosive device explosion in Afghanistan. I have also had many constituents get…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
As a former police officer, I have watched the roll-out of Police Scotland with some sadness because, despite best efforts, it has not delivered in Scotland what the Home Secretary hopes to achieve with her amalgamations. Communities feel that neighbourhood policing is further away from them, and th…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
26 January 2026
Topical Questions
T6. I have two constituents who have been awaiting work capability reassessments since July and September 2024. That is more than a year that they have been stuck in limbo, rather than preparing to get back to work. Will the Minister confirm what my team has been told—that extreme waiting times are …
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
14 January 2026
Economic Growth
Business rates are crippling, particularly for the hospitality sector in my constituency, including hotels. We in Scotland have not seen the initiatives that have delivered business rates relief in other parts of the United Kingdom. The UK Government may be U-turning on this issue, but would they co…
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 January 2026
4 contributions
Academic Technology Approval Scheme
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the Academic Technology Approval Scheme.
It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher; I wish you a happy new year, although we are probably in the dregs of when we can say that. I welcome the Minister for what I hope will be …
The hon. Member always manages to touch in advance on the key topics that we will raise in the debate, and timescales in relation to ATAS is certainly one of the things that I will touch on.
I turn to the time it takes for ATAS checks to be carried out. I am grateful that the Minister wrote to me l…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
4 contributions
Rights of Women and Girls: Afghanistan
The hon. Member and I are members and officers of the all-party parliamentary group on Afghan women and girls. On the point about education and access to healthcare for women, we hosted a meeting last year with Dr Feroz, a former Health Minister in Afghanistan. He spoke movingly about the case for m…
I thank the hon. Lady for giving way again. She is speaking powerfully about aid and contributions. May I briefly mention the global polio eradication initiative? Polio could be eradicated in the next three years, which would be a historic milestone for the world, but to do that the UK Government ne…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
I find it interesting that the Minister says that this is the right policy. That is what the Government said on 23 December, but not what they said at oral questions on 18 December—the day before we rose for recess. I have spoken to farmers who will now not be affected by the tax, but who have spent…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 December 2025
Quarries: Planning Policy
The hon. Member is making a very technical speech, but it is bringing to light the challenges in the planning process. Although the situation in Scotland is devolved, I recognise quite a lot of what he is saying. He is talking powerfully about the impact of air quality on people, but it also affects…
Commons
Proceedings
11 December 2025
St Andrew’s Day and Scottish Affairs
As the hon. Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) highlighted in his opening remarks, as the MP for North East Fife, I represent St Andrews, so I thought it was important to be here today.
St Andrews was the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland until the Reformation, but it was not always…
Commons
Proceedings
11 December 2025
Business of the House
My constituent fled Ukraine after Russia’s illegal invasion. She is now 89 and disabled after suffering a stroke here in the UK, and is therefore bed-bound and needs specialist care. She recently applied to renew her visa, but the Home Office told her that her existing documents were no longer recog…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
11 December 2025
Economic Growth
I always appreciate the Minister’s optimism, but I was with my local chamber of commerce a few weeks ago and it did not have the same views on how the Government are doing with growing the economy. I heard from a hospitality business in my constituency that costs for next year will go up by £150,000…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
Topical Questions
T7. There is agreement across the House on the importance of access to cash, as well as on the importance of access to banking services, which are critical for high streets in areas such as Cupar and Letham in my constituency. When will the Government agree to have the Financial Conduct Authority re…
Commons
Proceedings
4 December 2025
Business of the House
As part of the visa process, academics and researchers coming to our universities from other countries to do research in sensitive fields rightly have to go through extra security checks. This is known as the academic technology approval scheme. I have been supporting a constituent who had to apply …
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
4 December 2025
Devolved Administrations
Despite the Government’s assurances, they and the Scottish Government fail to communicate in many ways. As a Scottish MP, I am used to the frustrating process of being sent from one to another, with nobody taking responsibility. Access for All is a great example. The new ramp at Leuchars station, wh…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 December 2025
Acquired Brain Injury Action Plan
My hon. Friend is right to congratulate Headway Bath. These local groups are so important in providing support within our constituencies and are sometimes used by us to signpost people on. I highlight Graham Geddes, who set up Headway North East Fife in my constituency and has been nominated as volu…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 December 2025
Catapults and Antisocial Behaviour
I recognise what the hon. and gallant Member says about the strength and power of catapults. As a police officer, probably my easiest investigation was in relation to thousands of pounds-worth of damage being caused to the plate glass windows of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. The ope…