Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 April 2026
Infected Blood Compensation Scheme
I, too, welcome the statement from the Minister. I pay tribute once again to my constituent Clive Smith, who is the president of the Haemophilia Society, on all the work he has done to press previous Governments and this Government on behalf of those affected and infected.
I am pleased to hear the …
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 April 2026
2 contributions
Ground-mounted Solar Panels: Alternatives
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, and I am afraid to say that I think the hon. Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) has completely missed the point, because the reality is that this country is about 60% to 63% self-sufficient in terms of food security. This is not just about land bein…
I have read the land use framework. The Minister has hit the nail on the head, because its sole beneficiary is his Department—the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero—and not our farmers or our food security. Can he specifically address the issue of land quality? If we are putting ground-moun…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 April 2026
National Suicide Prevention Standard
I commend the hon. Member for her work in chairing the all-party parliamentary group on suicide and self-harm prevention. I also thank her for jointly organising an event in Parliament to which constituents of mine, Anna Scott and Roger Cunliffe, who lost their daughter to suicide, brought the Yorks…
Commons
Debate
13 April 2026
SEND Provision and Reform
I am inundated with correspondence from constituents from across Keighley and the wider Bradford district challenging the quality of EHCPs and the diagnosis procedure. One of my big concerns is that the White Paper reforms will lead to a standardised approach associated with the ISPs that will be ro…
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 April 2026
2 contributions
Disclosure and Safeguarding: At-risk Children
I, too, commend the hon. Member for Sunderland Central (Lewis Atkinson) on his excellent opening speech on behalf of the petitioners. Star Hobson, who was murdered in 2020, was a constituent of mine. The findings of that case highlighted dysfunctionality in the reporting across all the safeguarding …
The hon. Member is making an excellent speech. Given the experience of the Star Hobson case in my constituency, where the grandparents were instrumental, does the hon. Member agree that we need a clear flagging system of risk posed to such children, and that information should be shared not just wit…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
Following roadwork infrastructure improvements in Ilkley, many residents and local businesses have been struggling since the middle of January due to utility works that are taking place on the middle of the A65. Following many a meeting with Bradford council’s traffic management officers, it seems t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 March 2026
Proposed Visitor Levy
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) for securing this incredibly important debate. Numerous constituents have contacted me about the proposals, which are causing great concern for the hospitality sect…
Commons
Proceedings
24 March 2026
4 contributions
Oil and Gas
Time and again, we hear this Labour Government’s rhetoric about being pro-growth, pro-jobs and pro-economy. Despite these claims, they have continued to do the very opposite, as has been reiterated by Conservative Members. That is why I absolutely support the motion before us, in the name of the off…
That is absolutely right, and my hon. Friend makes an excellent point. There is an additional cash-flow pressure on many food producers, which is why it is absolutely crucial that we have an energy strategy, alongside a food security strategy, under this Government.
I will pick up on the point abou…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 March 2026
Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I thank the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) for securing this really important debate.
There are a few meetings that Members of Parliament never forget. Over three years ago, in January 2023, I met my constituents Cher…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 March 2026
2 contributions
Shop Theft
7. What steps she is taking to help tackle shop theft.
Colin Appleyard Motorcycles in Keighley was recently the victim of a ram raid, which involved a vehicle being used to smash the entrance before a gang of seven individuals entered the business and stole nine off-road bikes worth approximately £80,000. Will the Minister tell me what the Government ar…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 March 2026
10 contributions
Court and Tribunal Transcripts
I beg to move,
That this House has considered e-petition 756036 relating to access to court and tribunal transcripts.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard, and a privilege to introduce this important debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee. I put on record my thanks …
I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Member. For a witness or a victim or survivor of a crime who has gone through a lengthy court process to then have to pay what is sometimes a huge cost for the transcript of those proceedings to be made available to them is deeply unfair. A victim or a witness pa…
+8 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Business of the House
I welcome the fact that Cavendish Street in Keighley is to be upgraded thanks to the investment secured through the previous Conservative Government’s towns fund, but among the brilliant local businesses the street is still home to several dodgy shops. They were stripped of their alcohol licences fo…
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
19 March 2026
Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme
May I thank the Solicitor General for our meeting in January to discuss improving the ULS scheme? As I have said before, it cannot be right that grieving families have just 28 days to appeal the sentences of their abusers, while the abusers themselves can extend the deadline. There are common-sense …
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Sustainable Farming Incentive
So here we are: after stopping and starting, and chopping and changing, the Government are finally working on the roll-out of the new SFI scheme, which will be launched this summer, but it comes with lower payment rates for key environmental delivery measures, and a £100,000 cap. We learn that thous…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 March 2026
Banking Services: Accessibility
The hon. Member is making an excellent speech. After a long campaign in my constituency, we have been lucky enough to secure a banking hub in Ilkley. It opens in a couple of weeks. I fear that more bank branches will close in Keighley and we will need to secure a banking hub there. One challenge has…
Commons
Debate
18 March 2026
7 contributions
Fuel Duty
It is good to speak in this debate on a subject that is impacting on all our hard-working businesses, families, hauliers and those involved in the logistics industry—the rise in fuel duty.
It is clear that Labour is planning to put up fuel duty for the first time in 15 years. Despite the conflict i…
Last autumn, my constituent Lesley O’Brien got in touch with me with serious concerns about the ramifications of any potential fuel duty hikes on the road haulage sector. As well as being a trustee of the Road Haulage Association and the founder of the transport forum Freight People, Lesley is the j…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 March 2026
2 contributions
Royal Mail: Performance
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Exmouth and Exeter East (David Reed) for securing this important debate.
The debate is particularly timely because, just yesterday, my office received three separate phone calls about three separate a…
On Royal Mail’s website today, it says that if a customer buys a second-class stamp, they can expect delivery within two or three days, including Saturdays, but since 28 July last year, delivery has not taken place on a Saturday. There seems to be an inconsistency between what Royal Mail is saying p…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 March 2026
Rural Roads
It is frustrating, yet sadly not surprising, that roads across Keighley and Ilkley are facing so many challenges. I lay those challenges at the doorstep of Labour-run Bradford council, which has consistently shown disregard for the needs of the people across Keighley and Ilkley. That is backed up by…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 March 2026
9 contributions
Member Defections: Automatic By-elections
All political parties undertake a vast amount of data collection on their voter base. A good proportion of that data illustrates that the vast majority of people will cast their vote based on the political party rather than the individual. The individual carries less weight in someone’s mind when th…
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I thank the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for introducing the debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee. It is unfortunate that although we have a 3-hour allocation to discuss this important topic, other Members of this Ho…
+7 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Business of the House
Last week, I met Toby Hammond, the lead volunteer for West Yorkshire scouts. Astonishingly, the scouts have learned that they could be hit by Labour’s new tourist tax, which is being introduced by the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin. Because the tax is on overnight stays, it could apply to you…
Commons
Debate
11 March 2026
6 contributions
Finance (No. 2) Bill
I rise to speak about the changes that have been made in relation to inheritance tax, which is impacting many of our family farming businesses and also those family businesses that operate in many of our constituencies. I rise specifically to speak to amendments 89 and 90, which, if agreed, would re…
The hon. Member makes an excellent point. Despite the minimal, partial Government U-turn by increasing that threshold from £1 million to £2.5 million, the changes are still impacting many of our farming businesses and therefore the wider supply chain. This not only has a negative impact on the level…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
English Rugby
I thank the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello)) for securing this debate. In Keighley we have an urgent challenge: the last Conservative Government allocated more than £2 million to Keighley Cougars to build a new stand, but the money is still being withheld by Bradford council. It needs t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
Fur: Import and Sale
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I thank the hon. Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones) for securing today’s debate. She has been a tireless campaigner on this issue in her role as a shadow Minister before the general election, in tabling a private Member’s Bi…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
25 February 2026
Engagements
In 2014, a man in my constituency was ambushed, violently beaten with a pickaxe handle and left lying in the street with serious injuries. At the time of the conviction, the judge called it a “brutal attack”. Many constituents have contacted me to express their concern that the perpetrator of this a…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 February 2026
4 contributions
Firearms Licensing
The hon. Member is making some important points, but did he note that the Law Commission, in its 2015 report on firearms, did not recommend moving section 2 licences into the section 1 system? He references the points made to do with previous incidents, but the Law Commission was very clear in its 2…
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Barker. I thank the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for introducing this important debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee. More than 121,000 people have signed the petition, and I believe it has been signed more quickly tha…
+2 more contributions in this session