Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
Mandatory Digital ID
Digital IDs are nothing short of a direct attack on our freedoms and I am utterly opposed to them. The claim that they will help to tackle illegal immigration is utter nonsense. If the Government were serious about that, the Prime Minister would strengthen border security, crack down on smugglers an…
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 October 2025
Bovine Tuberculosis Control and Badger Culling
I differ slightly in my view. We certainly do not want badgers to be culled unnecessarily, but the evidence shows that a sustained badger cull does reduce TB. Northern Ireland has not had a badger cull and our TB compensation costs are soaring to more than £100 million this year. Reports from Somers…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 September 2025
Windsor Framework: Internal Market Guarantee
I thank the right hon. Member for giving way and for his engagement on this issue. I wrote to him at the beginning of the year, asking him to come to hear directly from businesses in Upper Bann. The offer was declined, but he kindly sent officials along.
The impact was laid bare at the meeting with…
Commons
Proceedings
9 September 2025
2 contributions
Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack
Cyber-security costs are rarely taken into account by any company, but for a company such as JLR, such costs should be easily absorbed because of its profit margins. SMEs do not have that luxury. Their profit margins will not necessarily cover the costs, and often they hold just as much personal and…
indicated assent .
Commons
Oral Questions
22 July 2025
Metachromatic Leukodystrophy Screening
In my constituency, there is a little boy called Teddy, who was diagnosed with MLD—one of the most cruel and degenerative diseases, which is now treatable if diagnosed at birth. Teddy was diagnosed too late because there was no screening. He has lost his ability to walk and talk, and he even fights …
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 July 2025
UK Internal Market
The protocol and Windsor framework continue on a daily basis to fail the people of Northern Ireland. The failure is not anecdotal; it is measurable, documented and deeply felt. I say this with sincerity: it is a bureaucratic burden, a constitutional compromise, and for many of our people and busines…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 July 2025
Gene Editing
I commend the right hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. No one should underestimate the importance of gene editing and its advancement. Does he agree that there is a problem in the devolved regions? Because of the EU law that is applicable to Northern Ireland, we will be behind the curve and co…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 July 2025
Credit Unions
It was good to hear the hon. Member for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch (Katrina Murray) mention Northern Ireland. I, too, am a member of the credit union, and I have a savings account for my little boy as well. Does my hon. Friend agree that in Northern Ireland, where so many people bank with the cre…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 July 2025
British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act 2024
The timeline that my hon. Friend has outlined certainly highlights the number of years that he has been in this place. However, the Act must strengthen and not complicate the process. Does he agree that, currently, the practical outworking of the Act is complicating the process, particularly on the …
Commons
Debate
9 July 2025
Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill
The right hon. Member is right to bring his speech back to the vulnerable people who will be impacted. He will know the devastating impact of cancer on many families. One in two face the reality of a cancer diagnosis. Young Lives vs Cancer has said that, on average, the disease costs £700 a month an…
Commons
Proceedings
9 July 2025
Trial by Jury: Proposed Restrictions
Does the Minister accept that changes to fundamental rights, such as trial by jury, in one part of the United Kingdom could create serious divergence across jurisdictions and raise questions about equal access to justice for citizens in Northern Ireland?
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 July 2025
Early Years Providers: Government Support
My hon. Friend makes a powerful point with regard to the interventions that have been made. However, returning to SEND growth, in Northern Ireland it is outpacing the growth of the general school population, and I believe that late identification of SEND and delayed support for it is one of the bigg…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 July 2025
Neighbourhood Plans: Planning Decisions
Appropriate and adequate housing is key to the growth of any area. A lack of housing is a very real problem in Northern Ireland, particularly in my constituency. While we have a different planning system, our issues are the same. The hon. Member mentioned the lack of investment in water and sewerage…
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
2 July 2025
EU Trade Agreement: Economic Impact
The Windsor framework is causing untold damage to businesses in Northern Ireland. It cost one of my local businesses £86 to bring a box of simple ties from GB to Northern Ireland because of the parcels border, and used farm machinery is now subject to EU import procedures, with some having been turn…
Commons
Debate
1 July 2025
Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill
The Secretary of State has claimed that she is listening. Does the hon. Member agree that she is certainly not listening to many of her Back Benchers, nor the 86 disability charities that have said this Bill will harm disabled people? We all know that reform is needed, but when we talk about reform,…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 July 2025
Parental Leave Review
Everyone will know that I want to see life-affirming laws restored to the United Kingdom. Therefore, underpinning the birth of a child with adequate parental leave is of the utmost importance, given the important needs before and after birth. Will the Minister confirm that the review will look at th…
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 July 2025
Hospitality Sector
My hon. Friend is right that the hospitality sector is important to Northern Ireland. It is probably one of the most difficult sectors, with long hours, high costs and low margins. Does he agree that one of the most challenging things is the VAT disparity with the Republic of Ireland? Does he theref…
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 July 2025
ADHD: Impact on Prison Rehabilitation and Reoffending
Does the hon. Member agree that there is also a real problem with data collection, which means that the extent of the problem in our prison service is not known? We experience that problem in Northern Ireland, and I am sure it is the same across the United Kingdom.
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 July 2025
Business Energy Supply Billing: Regulation
Many businesses in Northern Ireland query their bills and recognise that they have been overcharged. It is dispute resolution access that is the problem: that is why many businesses come to us, as elected representatives, to resolve it. Does my hon. Friend agree that there needs to be better, cleare…
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
18 June 2025
Endometriosis
One in 10 women in Northern Ireland is thought to have endometriosis, and the average wait time for diagnosis is an unacceptable nine and a half years. Does the Minister agree that there needs to be a UK-wide strategy that equips our NHS with endo-experienced surgeons, fertility experts, mental heal…
Commons
Debate
17 June 2025
Prostate Cancer Treatment
The effects of prostate cancer have been well noted tonight, as has the number of men who are affected. About 12,000 die from it each year, more than 300 of them in Northern Ireland. Does the Minister agree that Northern Ireland should be included in the commissioning, and will she undertake to spea…
Commons
Debate
17 June 2025
3 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
If criminal law does not work as a deterrent, why did late-term abortions increase in the State of Victoria and in New Zealand after decriminalisation? If we look at New Zealand in 2020, there was a 43% increase in late-term abortions between 20 weeks’ gestation and birth compared with 2019. Therefo…
Will the hon. Lady give way?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
13 June 2025
3 contributions
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
I rise to support and speak briefly to amendment (a) to amendment 77, tabled by the hon. Member for South Antrim (Robin Swann), and I will speak to new clause 13, amendment 96 and other amendments if time permits.
I was rather confused when I looked at the amendment paper a few days ago and noticed…
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. On a constitutional basis alone, amendment (a) to amendment 77 is necessary, and I hope that hon. Members will feel they can support it.
Moving on to factors beyond the constitution, I am concerned that there is a dangerous absence of an adequate regulatory frame…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Wales
11 June 2025
Employment: Wales
Job creation in Wales is vital, so what representations has the Secretary of State made on behalf of businesses in Wales and the rest of Great Britain, which are being forced not to supply businesses in Northern Ireland any more because of the outrageous and unnecessary parcel border in the Irish se…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 June 2025
Theft of Tools of Trade
Northern Ireland has been named as one of the top hotspots for tool theft in the United Kingdom, with tools stolen every 12 minutes according to police force data. Does the Minister agree that, although this is primarily a devolved issue, we should be looking at what is being done in Great Britain a…