Commons
Proceedings
1 December 2025
Budget Resolutions
I spent the weeks before the Budget talking to constituents about what they wanted to see, and I spoke to them over the weekend. I have to say that when I met them, there was sadness and a degree of anger, because they know that last week’s Budget was a missed opportunity.
Yesterday was the first S…
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 November 2025
3 contributions
Unpaid Carers: Inequalities
It is a pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) for securing this important debate in honour of carers’ day-to-day rights, and for her work in the all-party parliamentary group on carers. I declare an interest as an honorary vice-p…
I want to express my thanks to Baroness Casey, who, although she has been appointed to this commission, is doing other work for the Government. I would not want that to go unrecognised when we are talking about the delays.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 November 2025
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
I am interested in what my hon. Friend says about plans in England, because in my constituency we were privileged to have an incredible ME specialist nurse, Keith Anderson, who helped countless people. Sadly, he passed away two years ago, and since then there has been no specialist support in Fife—i…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 November 2025
ExxonMobil: Mossmorran
I agree with the hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward): this is devastating news for Fife. Although the Mossmorran plant is not in my constituency, I know that I will have constituents who are affected. I note what the Minister said about this decision not being due to a lack of a…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
Topical Questions
As a former police officer, I have policed protests, and I know how important they are. On the issue of cumulative disruption, what evidence has the Minister gathered that demonstrates that a protest that is deemed safe as a one-off would become a public safety risk if it were repeated?
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
5 November 2025
Violence against Women and Girls
We know—and I have sadly seen through my casework—that coercive control can continue for years after a relationship has ended through the manipulation of child maintenance payments by perpetrators. What steps is the Minister taking with her colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to ensur…
Commons
Proceedings
29 October 2025
Gaza and Hamas
Over the past decade there has been a stark absence of diplomatic efforts to address the core issues of the conflict, and the continued advocacy for a two-state solution. Civil society organisations have played a vital role during this time in entering that chasm. Will the Minister outline how the G…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
28 October 2025
Topical Questions
Cuts to spending in Afghanistan inevitably impact women and children disproportionately. They are more likely to be employed by NGOs forced to make cuts and more likely to need assistance. Does the Minister agree that we need to ringfence and protect funding to Afghanistan?
Commons
Proceedings
23 October 2025
Business of the House
Next month, the UK will be co-hosting the Global Fund replenishment summit with South Africa, but it has been reported that the UK will slash its own funding by 20%. It is estimated that such a cut will cause 82,000 more deaths in Africa and cost over £5 billion to its GDP. Will the Government have …
Commons
Proceedings
23 October 2025
Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund
The East Neuk fishing fleet in my constituency may not be delivering what Shetland does in terms of tonnage, but it is critical, and it faces challenges around spatial mass and recruitment. I associate myself with the remarks of my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael)…
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
2 contributions
Devolution in Scotland
The Victoria hospital is not in my constituency, but it serves my constituents. Does the hon. Member share my concern that the proposed downgrading of the neonatal intensive care units in both Dundee and Fife will means that our constituents will have to travel much further for critical need, and th…
The hon. Member is making a very strong and powerful point. Does he agree that, as a result of those quangos and the things he is describing, we have actually seen a loss of power to the Scottish Parliament, where MSPs are not getting the opportunity to put things forward? Often, that is because the…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
Youth Services: Deprived Communities
Local charities would be better equipped to deliver youth services if they could maximise their income from sources such as the People’s Postcode Lottery, but in spring the Government refused to make the reforms that would enable more money to be available for good causes, despite supporting it in o…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 October 2025
Speaker’s Statement
Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I stand here as a friend of Ming’s, but also as the current representative of his seat. I know how much he felt the privilege of being elected to this House for 28 years as the representative for North East Fife. I also know the very high regard in which h…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
9 September 2025
2 contributions
Employer National Insurance Contributions: Economic Growth
3. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to employer national insurance contributions on economic growth.
The national insurance increases in last year’s Budget not only increased national insurance, but impacted on part-time workers, many of whom the hospitality industry relies on. Hospitality companies in North East Fife have written to me directly, but they have also started to share with their custo…
Commons
Proceedings
4 September 2025
Business of the House
We all deal with Department for Work and Pensions casework through our teams, but in North East Fife we are seeing a transition to universal credit that means that vulnerable constituents—often those with dyslexia or learning disabilities —are really struggling. They are not being offered the enhanc…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 July 2025
Afghanistan
I welcome the Secretary of State’s pledge to restore full accountability to the Government’s relocation schemes, but I am saddened that this is the first opportunity that we have had to talk about the closure of ACRS and ARAP on the Floor of the House, given that they were announced by written state…
Commons
Oral Questions
15 July 2025
Topical Questions
I am already being contacted by constituents who are worried about affording their energy bills this winter, but do not feel that the service they get from the energy companies is properly supporting them. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that energy companies provide the support that …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 July 2025
Business of the House
On Tuesday, a written statement was published at 12 noon that announced that three hours later, the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme and Afghan relocations and assistance policy were to close with immediate effect. That comes six weeks after an assurance that the scheme would continue for the pre…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 July 2025
4 contributions
ECO4 Scheme Redress
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the matter of redress under the ECO 4 scheme.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Sir John. This debate is about a lot of things. It is about the need to retrofit UK homes to improve their fuel efficiency, training the future workforc…
I will go on to mention the particular challenge with older properties, but my hon. Friend’s example illustrates exactly what the issue is. This scheme is under the auspices of Ofgem and is funded through the Government levy on energy bills, but does not have any real oversight, so consumers end up …
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
12 June 2025
Covid: Fifth Anniversary
I thank the hon. Member for West Ham and Beckton (James Asser) for securing the debate, and for the eloquent and passionate way in which he spoke. I agree that it has been hard preparing for this debate, because in many ways I think we have still to come to terms with what happened. For me, it was p…
Commons
Proceedings
12 June 2025
Business of the House
Transferring from legacy benefits to universal credit seems to be overly complicated, and makes it difficult for my constituents not to find themselves in debt. As an MP, I feel that my hands are tied. We are seeing constituents coming forward with rent arrears and in very difficult situations. May …
Commons
Debate
5 June 2025
2 contributions
Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy
I am grateful to the right hon. Member for bringing forward this debate. Waiting for more than three years to hear about the outcome must be absolute torture for those who served in Afghanistan and supported us. As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Afghan women and girls, I am emaile…
rose —
Commons
Debate
5 June 2025
2 contributions
Bank Closures and Banking Hubs
As others have said, the hon. Member has been very generous. His speech is making me think about vulnerable customers, and access to responsible credit for them. Just a couple of weeks ago, the all-party parliamentary group on fair banking had a roundtable. Actually, online banking services do not h…
It is clear that we all care about our constituencies. My constituency of North East Fife is well below the UK average in the statistics on access to cash. The new powers and obligations given to the FCA under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 have gone some way towards addressing these pr…
Commons
Proceedings
5 June 2025
Business of the House
My constituent was due to have her radio teleswitch meter replaced on Thursday after three years of wrangling with her supplier, but it did not happen. We know that the RTS switch-off is happening at the end of June, and at the current rate in Scotland it will take 380 days for all the meters to be …
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
5 June 2025
2 contributions
Civilian Gallantry Awards
10. What recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the five-year time limit for civilian gallantry awards.
I thank the Minister for her answer and for meeting me. She knows that I have been supporting the families of PC Taylor and DS Hunt in the search for recognition of their bravery, which resulted in their deaths some years ago. They cannot understand why there is a committee to consider historic mili…