Commons
Westminster Hall
10 February 2026
Independent Water Commission: Final Report
My hon. Friend mentions the River Lim Action group that works on the boundary between his West Dorset constituency and mine. The group has identified that the sewage treatment works at Uplyme cannot cope with the amount of sewage that occurs during high rainfall. Does he agree that South West Water …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 February 2026
Standards in Public Life
The Intelligence and Security Committee wrote to the Prime Minister last Thursday. The letter, which has been published, included the following request:
“The Committee would be grateful to, now, be told the date on which we will receive those papers such that we are able to plan the resourcing requ…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 February 2026
Russian Influence on UK Politics and Democracy
I accept the hon. Gentleman’s point about the need to amplify threat perception, but I do not think that that is required with the conduct of elections. The Intelligence and Security Committee’s Russia report in 2020 said that it was informed that
“the mechanics of the UK’s voting are deemed largel…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 February 2026
2 contributions
Sustainable Drainage Systems
What my hon. Friend has identified in his Newton Abbot constituency is a situation that exists all over the country. In July 2025, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs wrote a report called “National standards for sustainable drainage systems”, which talked about a national shortag…
I am really grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this debate. He talks about maintenance, but design is also crucial. Margaret Leppard, from Seaton, set up the Seaton Flood Working Group. She points out that developers sometimes use outdated datasets when designing drainage systems. She says that…
Commons
Debate
4 February 2026
2 contributions
Construction Industry Training Board: Funding
It is my understanding that, in addition to employer networks, the CITB is also seeking to redirect funding to the new entrant support team. I declare an interest: my father worked as a new entrant training officer. Does the hon. Gentleman accept that the new entrant support team is good value, and …
I am grateful to the hon. Member for Exeter (Steve Race) for calling the debate. I appreciate that CITB is at arm’s length from Government, but of course, 946,000 young people were registered as NEET last summer. Does the Minister share my view that money is better spent on organisations such as CIT…
Commons
Debate
4 February 2026
Lord Mandelson
On the shortcomings of what the Prime Minister proposed from the Dispatch Box earlier, the Cabinet Secretary told the Foreign Affairs Committee back in November:
“The only information which was not already in the public domain at the time is a reference to official records which have since been dis…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 February 2026
Civil Service Pension Scheme: Administration
I was contacted by a constituent who is a former civil servant. They waited on the so-called helpline for over two hours on six occasions and were cut off continually. It is a contradiction in terms to call it a helpline. Does the hon. Member agree that that is completely unacceptable behaviour from…
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
Iran
In response to the unilateral US action in Venezuela, the Government merely said that they were waiting to establish all the facts. Meanwhile President Trump said that he does not need international law, and that he is constrained only by his own morality or conscience. In advance of any US unilater…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
US Department of Justice Release of Files
The Epstein files suggest that Lord Mandelson was prepared to lobby in the United States in 2009 for a policy position in contradiction to that of Her Majesty’s Government, in which he was then serving as Business Secretary. Will this revelation encourage the Government to find out whether Lord Mand…
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
China and Japan
In 2023, the Intelligence and Security Committee reported:
“The UK’s academic institutions provide a rich feeding ground for China to achieve both political influence and economic advantage”.
Was interference in UK universities raised with President Xi?
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 January 2026
Ukraine: Non-recognition of Russian-occupied Territories
It is an honour to serve under you in the Chair, Sir Jeremy. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel), who is chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Ukraine and who has advocated daily for Ukraine ever since the full-scale invasion.
The hon. Gentleman ta…
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 January 2026
River Habitats: Protection and Restoration
I commend the hon. Member on securing this debate. On the point about beavers, this week we have had massive flooding in the west country, in Dorset and in Devon. I am hearing from farmers in my patch who agreed to have beavers released into rivers on their farmland that there are complications. Doe…
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
Education Funding: Distribution
On the point about distributing funding across the country, does the Minister recognise that, under the current high needs block system, a pupil in Westminster receives £2,800, whereas a pupil in Devon receives less than half that amount? When designing the new system, would she ensure that it is le…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
28 January 2026
Engagements
Q5. The Met Office reports that climate change is driving wetter winters, but the United States withdrew from the Paris climate agreement yesterday, on the same day that much of the west country disappeared under floodwater. My part of Devon is submerged, and needs better flood defences. Would the…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 January 2026
Defence Industry: Environmental, Social and Governance Requirements
The hon. Gentleman plainly knows a great deal about this subject and is educating a few of us on it. He talks about the US example; could he also reflect on the European Union regulatory regime around ESG, given that the EU is about to start investing considerably more in defence?
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 January 2026
2 contributions
Local Authority Children’s Services
It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Western. As of March 2025, nearly nine in 10 London councils were rated good or outstanding for children’s services. By contrast, in the south-west of England, the figure is barely half that.
Children’s services in Devon have faced serious challeng…
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. His situation is similar to ours: in Devon, it is reckoned that those profiteering companies make a complete packet. Local Government Association analysis suggests that 20 of the largest independent children’s social care providers in England took in about £1.6 bi…
Commons
Debate
26 January 2026
3 contributions
Armed Forces Bill
I agree with everything that the hon. Member has said about service family accommodation, but the investment in single living accommodation is unlikely to keep up. As we have heard, that is the responsibility of frontline commands that are unlikely to prioritise it. Does she think that there could b…
The hon. Member comes at this not only from having served, but from now serving on the Defence Committee. On that point about the age limit for recall liability, does he know whether any modelling has been done on what impact it might have on recruitment?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
One resident from Uplyme on the border of Dorset and Devon wrote to me about a burglary that she had experienced. She reported it to Dorset police, who told her that it was for the police in Devon to pick up and that her case would be passed on to Devon, but days later she had heard nothing more. Ca…
Commons
Debate
26 January 2026
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
In answer to a recent written question, a Defence Minister confirmed that
“all decisions on whether to approve foreign nations’ use of military bases in the UK for operational purposes considers the legal basis and policy rationale for any proposed activity.”
Can the Minister confirm that this com…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 January 2026
Water White Paper
I welcome the abolition of Ofwat, but I wish to let the Secretary of State know about one of my constituents. Marion from Axminster is aged 85. Her direct debit to South West Water this month is £45, but next month it will nearly treble to over £118. Residents who I represent are fed up with being r…
Commons
Debate
14 January 2026
Ukraine
I want to speak briefly about Russian intent, the coalition of the willing and sanctions on Russia, and I will of course do so using open-source reporting and analysis. First, however, I want to praise the courage and determination of the Ukrainian people, because we of course look to them for our o…
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 January 2026
Arctic and High North
The hon. Gentleman talks about our High North allies. I have just been next door with Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s Minister responsible for energy and mineral resources. Given that Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and Denmark is a founding member of NATO, does t…
Commons
Proceedings
12 January 2026
New Medium Helicopter Contract
I, too, am concerned about the potential loss of jobs in Yeovil and the wider south-west if we do not see a positive decision on the production of the new medium helicopter at Yeovil. Late last year, we learned that the Government had failed to negotiate access to Security Action for Europe, a €150 …
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
8 January 2026
Topical Questions
Before Christmas, Colyford in Devon was subject to the death of a member of the community who had herself said that someone would be killed on that road. How will the Government’s road safety strategy help to prevent road deaths like the one that happened in Colyford last month?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
7 January 2026
Ukraine and Wider Operational Update
The Secretary of State said in relation to Ukraine:
“we will continue to work with the United States towards security guarantees”.
I regret that President Trump has continued to undermine NATO this afternoon, writing:
“I doubt NATO would be there for us if we really needed them.”
That flies in t…