Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
13 July 2026
Topical Questions
T5. The Home Secretary is boasting about the fact that hotel asylum seekers’ numbers are being reduced, but of course, they are being moved into houses in multiple occupation and the Government will not produce the figures of how many are going into HMOs. This means that places such as Hinckley and …
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
6 July 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
I welcome the new Defence Secretary to Question Time, and simply pose a quick question to him, because we need some clarity about the Chagos deal. Will he confirm that it has been cancelled and that the money—the billions—that was going to Mauritius has now been transferred to defence spending?
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
30 June 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
The Fuller inquiry called for a strengthening of the safeguards and the law in relation to looking after the deceased, but last week’s mortuary report on Nottingham hospital described some of the abuses and horrors that have taken place—bodies mislabelled, or even left decomposing. Does the Secretar…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 June 2026
2 contributions
National Lung Cancer Screening Programme
It is a pleasure to be here in an air-conditioned room while we continue this debate. It is poignant that it is so hot today, because we know how that can impact people with respiratory illnesses; we are probably talking about this issue at a very useful time.
I too thank the hon. Member for Woking…
I appreciate that this is not part of the Minister’s brief. The speed of the programme’s roll-out is fantastic, but there remains a concern that if 60% of people have taken it up, 40% have not done so, despite having had an offer that could have been given to someone else who wanted to go. Can the D…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
24 June 2026
Engagements
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
23 June 2026
Topical Questions
T3. Will the Chancellor explain why she is now clawing back VAT on the compassionate medicines scheme, which means that this Labour Government are taxing free cancer drugs given to children? Will she reverse that decision? Patients are starting to miss out on the treatments they really need.
Commons
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
The Business Secretary said on the weekend that a lot of time and effort had gone into the defence investment plan, but when pushed he said that he had not read it. The former Defence Secretary and former Minister for the Armed Forces have read it, and they resigned. The Minister for Defence Readine…
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
9 June 2026
2 contributions
Waiting Lists: Unreported Removals
Last month, the Health Service Journal reported that the elective waiting list target was met largely—largely—because a record number of patients were removed from waiting lists in March without receiving treatment. Can the Minister tell the House how many patients were removed in March and what hap…
It is not just the Conservatives who are raising this issue; it is patients and the Health Service Journal. The answer is that 350,000 people—a city the size of Coventry—were wiped off the waiting list with no treatment, and that is 100,000 more than the month before. If there is genuinely nothing t…
Commons
Debate
1 June 2026
Health Bill
The Secretary of State is making himself the data controller of all the data that will be in place. What impact does that have on the sections he has just talked about?
Commons
Debate
20 May 2026
2 contributions
Defence Readiness
To be charitable to the Government, there is actually £34 billion that could be spent in defence, given that they had another U-turn on the Chagos deal. Maybe there is a delay in the plan because they are trying to decide how to spend that money, or can my hon. Friend think of another reason?
I posed this question to the Minister’s colleague, the Minister for the Armed Forces, when he was last at the Dispatch Box: where is the DIP stuck? He seemed to point the finger at the Treasury, but can I get an update on where the DIP is actually stuck?
Commons
Debate
28 April 2026
5 contributions
Referral of Prime Minister to Committee of Privileges
When the Prime Minister came in, he said that he wanted to do things differently. He has had not one, but two, opportunities—one in an emergency debate tabled by the Opposition—to come to the House and answer all the questions so he would not need to go to the Privileges Committee. Will my right hon…
If it is not party political, why is it being whipped?
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
4 contributions
Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment
In the immortal words of the famous film “A Few Good Men”:
“‘I want the truth.’
‘You can’t handle the truth!’”
The court goes quiet. That is the moment of realisation that things have moved from process to accountability and responsibility. If hon. Members have not seen the film, it is about two …
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is the bottom line: the Prime Minister shaped the system by having a settled political decision—one with horrific consequences—despite all the warnings that we have talked about in this House, about Mandelson being fired twice and so on, and now tries to poin…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 April 2026
3 contributions
Wheelchair Provision: Independent Review Body
The NRS case is so important. I am keen to understand how the Government are ensuring the ongoing provision and servicing of wheelchairs, given that NRS has gone bust. I have been contacted by constituents who worked at high levels in NRS, and who are concerned that those contracts will not be follo…
I thank the hon. Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis). He is becoming a regular in these Westminster Hall debates, rivalled only by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). It seems that there is a competition to be the one who makes the most representations.
On a serious note,…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
14 April 2026
2 contributions
Access to GPs: Bracknell Forest
Under the Labour Government’s new GP contract, Bracknell GPs and all GPs will have to refer through a single point of access. Can the Minister confirm that every referral deemed clinically necessary by a GP will be reviewed explicitly by a specialist consultant before being rejected or redirected?
The House will have heard that there was not an answer—that was a no. It is plain for all to see that this means patients will be blocked from seeing a specialist. They could potentially be assessed by a non-doctor, under Government pressure, with a target of one in four referrals being bounced. The…
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
3 contributions
Defence
I thoroughly enjoyed the Minister’s interview on Times Radio, in which he talked about his role in defence and his history and was asked about his leadership. I will not ask him about his leadership ambitions, but I would like to know where the DIP is stuck. Which Minister is it stuck with? Is it st…
Will the Minister give way?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 March 2026
3 contributions
Endometriosis Services
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. Hon. Members have share powerful and distressing stories and experiences from their constituents. They are typified by Monica and I pay tribute to her for coming here to explain her story.
We must recognise the reality faced by many women …
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising her constituent’s case; Eleanor must be suffering, and the aim is to try to get more people into primary care so they can get the support that they need. That view is shared by both sides of this House and that leftward shift into primary prevention would …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
23 March 2026
2 contributions
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
I welcome the new Minister to her place; she is stepping in and taking the Bill through this stage, like a technical finishing substitute. I, too, have been substituted for my hon. Friend the Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson), who spent a huge amount of time going through the Bill i…
I am glad the Minister has addressed many of the questions that I posed. One was about the designation of vape-free places, and I think there is consideration of what that will look like. How will the Government approach that? I would welcome it if she could at least set out the framework of what sh…
Commons
Proceedings
18 March 2026
2 contributions
Student Loans
Will my hon. Friend tell us more about the quality?
Given that the Minister has just listed a great big set of problems facing students, what does he say to students when the Chancellor has said that they are not at the front of the queue?
Commons
Proceedings
18 March 2026
6 contributions
Student Loans
Is my right hon. friend also concerned by the fact that, last year, the Office for National Statistics said that 257,000 people left the UK, up from an expected 77,000? Three quarters of those people were under the age of 35. That shows that young people are fleeing this country to look elsewhere fo…
The Opposition have made the argument that 30% of courses leave people with a negative bank balance. That is the problem that we are trying to solve. We are not denigrating anyone for wanting to choose; this is about ensuring that the quality of the course means that people have a positive life outc…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
18 March 2026
21 contributions
Fuel Duty
All my right hon. Friend’s arguments stand, and that was true before the war in Iran. The Prime Minister stood there on Monday saying that the freeze is still in place, but the world has literally changed around us. Does my right hon. Friend share my concern that this Government are not being reacti…
The tourist tax!
+19 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
2 contributions
GP Contract
(Urgent Question) : To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care if he will make a statement on the changes to the GP contract in 2026-27.
The Health Secretary and his team have perfected the sales pitch for NHS reform. The problem is that the detail never seems to arrive. We have seen a 10-year health plan with no delivery chapter, and a plan for the abolition of NHS England with no price tag; the Health Secretary has announced 10 new…
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address
I welcome the first tranche of documents being released. One of those documents—the due diligence checklist, “11-12-2024 Advice to the Prime Minister”—has an entire section about Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, yet on 4 February at Prime Minister’s questions, the Prime Minister said t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 March 2026
4 contributions
Disability Equipment Provision
It is lovely to see such a thoughtful, thought-provoking debate, with cross-party unity on the question of how we can better support our constituents who are suffering. It could be with a stairlift, a shower, a home aid or an adaption. When I was a GP, I saw what difference that can make to people. …
My right hon. Friend has hit the nail on the head. This is part of the problem in how we get different parts of the system to work together to get a full understanding of the situation; that is most important for those who are affected, but also for the commissioners who are trying to make the decis…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Immigration Policy
Raising that point was useful, because many of the migrants are going into houses in multiple occupation, which is a real problem in my constituency. Along with my Liberal Democrat-run council, I have raised concerns not only about the impact on our community, but about where people are being placed…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 March 2026
China: Foreign Interference Arrests
A Member of Parliament’s partner has been accused of spying for China. The Minister has been asked this several times: have the Foreign Secretary or the Home Secretary specifically asked and summoned the ambassador to come to explain themselves, and if not, why not?