Commons
Westminster Hall
10 July 2025
2 contributions
Victims of Terrorism: State Support
I am grateful to the hon. Member for giving way; I understand why he might need to take a moment to compose himself. This debate is an opportunity for those of us whose friends and family have served in the armed forces or security organisations and lost their lives to pay tribute to them. Although …
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Harris. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) for securing a debate on this subject, and pay tribute to all Members who have spoken. The hon. Member for Beckenham and Penge (Liam Conlon) told the story of Christi…
Commons
Proceedings
9 July 2025
Trial by Jury: Proposed Restrictions
The Justice Secretary talks about the need to expedite trials for the sake of victims of crime, and she is absolutely right. As she considers the proposals from Sir Brian Leveson, will she take into account those who are innocent and who stand wrongly accused, who are having to wait anxiously for ye…
Commons
Debate
18 June 2025
Post-industrial Towns
While the hon. Lady is talking about the south-west of England, I would hate for her to forget Axminster, which still has a flourishing carpet maker, but it does not have quite the same level of employment that it did in its heyday. Does she agree that Government can help by investing in superfast b…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 June 2025
Businesses in Rural Areas
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Western. In eastern and mid Devon, we have many ordinary medium-sized and small businesses, but they are facing extraordinary barriers, including being held back by a lack of reliable broadband in rural areas. I appreciate that that is not in the M…
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
17 June 2025
Topical Questions
People in East Devon have been told that they must now travel to Exeter for audiology services that they previously received at their local community hospital. What steps are the Government taking to encourage new providers to restore accessible audiology services?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 June 2025
Iran-Israel Conflict
I support the Foreign Secretary in his call for de-escalation. In April last year, the RAF participated in the shooting down of drones that Iran fired at Israel. Will the Foreign Secretary comment on why the UK acted to defend Israel from drone attack at that time, but did not do so at the weekend?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 June 2025
Child Sexual Exploitation: Casey Report
At one of my surgeries, I heard from a civil servant who had gathered evidence for the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse across the whole of England. They described themselves as being
“left emotionally and physically drained”
after collecting evidence, only for the Government not to act…
Commons
Debate
12 June 2025
2 contributions
Covid: Fifth Anniversary
I pay tribute to the hon. Member for West Ham and Beckton (James Asser) for securing the debate, which takes place five years after covid-19 swept across the country. It is right that we take a moment to reflect not only on what we have lost, but the duty we have to those who continue to carry the b…
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. A covid register makes good sense. She mentioned symptoms, and those can also include tiredness, struggling for breath, memory problems and heart palpitations. We should remember that many of the people affected by long covid are the very people who took the brave…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 June 2025
2 contributions
NHS Funding: South-west
What does my hon. Friend think about how ICB funding is weighted? I contend that the formula overemphasises the size of each ICB and the size of the registered population, but does not account sufficiently for age, given that older people require more funding spent on them.
Will the Minister give way?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
10 June 2025
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Last October, Lord Cameron said that, as Foreign Secretary, he had been working up plans to sanction extreme right-wing Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. What took the Government so long?
Commons
Debate
10 June 2025
3 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
Local authorities could really do with compulsory purchase powers for cycling and walking paths. The Devon local cycling and walking infrastructure plan that came out last December said that
“certain private sector development…may come forward sooner, or later, than anticipated”.
Local authorities…
That sounds similar to the Otter Trail in my patch, which would link Feniton to King’s School at Ottery St Mary. Does my hon. Friend agree that these new active travel paths will enable young people to get to school safely?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
10 June 2025
Nuclear Power: Investment
New jobs in clean energy are very welcome. Many of the skilled jobs at Hinkley Point C in the south-west are going to young people from beyond the area. Given the social mobility challenges in East Anglia and west Somerset, will the Secretary of State comment on investment in colleges and skills to …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 June 2025
Winter Fuel Payment
I welcome the partial reinstatement of the winter fuel payment. When we met, the Minister and I discussed the cliff edge that existed last winter, which meant that people in receipt of pension credit could in some cases leapfrog the income of people in receipt of a small private pension. Can the Min…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 May 2025
Mental Health Bill: Legislative Scrutiny
I am grateful to the Joint Committee for this report. I note the Committee’s call for
“more prompt and regular reviews by the Mental Health Tribunal.”
The basis for that call is compliance with the individual’s right to liberty, but does the hon. Member agree that regular reviews by the tribunal a…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 May 2025
UK-EU Summit: Policy Priorities
I am grateful to the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee for this thorough set of proposals, and especially for the call for a greater role for Parliament. The Committee red, amber and green-rated its 20 proposals and marked as green the UK-EU security pact. Yet the Prime Minister’s spokesman …
Commons
Proceedings
22 May 2025
School Teachers’ Review Body: Recommendations
The Minister mentioned maintenance contracts and Department for Education support. Schools have seen steep increases in the cost of sustaining themselves. One school leader in Devon whom I spoke with said that the cost of maintaining grounds, bins and toilets grew by 69% over the last four years. Gi…
Commons
Oral Questions
22 May 2025
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Christians
Open Doors reported earlier this year that about three quarters of houses belonging to Christians in Gaza have been damaged or totally destroyed. Given that that is true for people of all faiths in Gaza, does the hon. Lady accept that it is incumbent on the Church, the Government and all of us to su…
Commons
Proceedings
21 May 2025
UK Health Security Agency: Porton Down
In addition to the HSA, the right hon. Gentleman’s constituency is home to the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, and both do vital work on antimicrobial resistance. Does he know of any work that has been done by the Government to consider the implications for the UK’s AMR research of moving…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 May 2025
Broadband and Mobile Connectivity: Rural Areas
My hon. Friend mentions Airband. Building Digital UK wrote to me last month to say that villages and premises had been de-scoped because Airband had withdrawn from the contract. Does she share my view that BDUK ought to find alternative providers that can fill the gap left by companies such as Airba…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 May 2025
2 contributions
Ukraine: Forcibly Deported Children
It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stuart. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter). Normally we would congratulate somebody on securing a debate, but on this occasion it is such an absolutely miserable subject that all I can say is that I …
Absolutely. The hon. Member is right that pulling support from the programme is not an act of impartiality; it is an act of complicity. I am sure the State Department of the United States must have done it very reluctantly, given the professionals who work there on the programme.
To summarise, a sh…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 May 2025
UK-EU Summit
We heard from Ministers over the weekend that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. The Prime Minister said in his statement that the deal paves the way for access to the €150 billion defence industrial programme, SAFE—Security Action for Europe. If everything has been agreed, why does the s…
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 May 2025
Adoption and Kinship Placements
It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Harris. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) for securing this debate.
About 3,000 children in England are adopted each year, and most have suffered severe abuse or neglect. Earlier this year, the Government left m…
Commons
Proceedings
19 May 2025
Pubs and Community Funding
The hon. Lady is absolutely right to say that some sort of community ownership fund is required. Does she agree that the companies that own the pubs that the community is seeking to buy need to look after the properties? In Chardstock, the George Inn Continuity Group is trying to buy the pub, but th…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
19 May 2025
NATO: European Security
At the end of March, the US Secretary of State told the Foreign Ministers of the Baltic states that the US wanted to continue participating in EU defence procurement initiatives. What has the UK discussed with the EU about any exclusion of US companies linked to the security and defence pact?
Commons
Debate
15 May 2025
2 contributions
Youth Services
Young people in Devon have incredible potential. Across our whole county we see their creativity, resilience and ambition. We are lucky to have a dedicated network of organisations and volunteers who support them every week; from youth workers to counsellors, community leaders and peer mentors, peop…
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Devon county council was run by the Conservatives from 2009 to 2025, over which time we saw a staggering 76% real-terms cut to youth services.
Despite that, we have some really dedicated volunteers who are doing their very best with very limited means. In Cul…