Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
14 July 2026
General Practice Partnership Model
The GP patient satisfaction survey results are out, and I am really proud that the Sunderland Central and Sunderland East PCNs show a satisfaction rating of 83%—notably higher than the national average. Will the Minister join me in thanking everyone who works in primary care in Sunderland? Equally, …
Commons
Debate
13 July 2026
2 contributions
Embodied Carbon: Buildings
The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. In my constituency, we have the National Glass Centre building—a huge building, built 30 years ago, that unfortunately does not seem viable for its current use any longer. Rather than demolishing that building, as some are seeking to do, the council has b…
I thank the Minister for the point she is making about the role of local government. I think she heard what I said to the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) about the National Glass Centre in my constituency. Would she encourage planning authorities, such as Sunderland city council, to …
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
1 July 2026
Engagements
Q9. Too many people are waiting too long for NHS mental health care, with over 6,000 adults waiting up to two years. In Sunderland, grassroots organisations like the wonderful Betsy Jenny café are providing support to our community, but they cannot substitute for timely, NHS-funded care. As the Gove…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 June 2026
8 contributions
Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Newborn Screening Test
I beg to move,
That this House has considered e-petition 755980 relating to spinal muscular atrophy and the newborn screening test.
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Mundell, and a privilege to open the debate as a member of the Petitions Committee. I want to begin with two littl…
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right and I will come on to talk about screening in just a minute.
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
9 June 2026
Waiting Lists: Unreported Removals
I commend the Minister for her work in reducing waiting lists for GP referral to first treatment, and they are genuinely coming down. She will be aware, however, that that statistic does not capture the entire picture, particularly for people who require subsequent follow-up care—for example, women …
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 June 2026
19 contributions
Progression of Bills through Parliament
I beg to move,
That this House has considered e-petition 752673 relating to the timely progress of bills through Parliament.
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Edward, and to open this important debate as a member of the Petitions Committee. I want to start by being clear about w…
I agree that private Members’ Bills provide an important avenue for democratically elected Members of the Commons to seek important legislative change. For decades, they have been a long-established precedent in how this country introduces social change—whether that is the decriminalisation of homos…
+17 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
8 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I would like to speak to Lords amendment 94B and 94C on the agent of change principle. My particular concern, as I said last week, relates to grassroots music venues and the impact on them of the current lack of robust application of the agent of change principle through planning guidance.
To set a…
I fondly remember the vibrant cultural scene during my time in Broadstairs. Too many grassroots music venues risk facing their own “Waterloo” at the moment.
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I will speak to Lords amendment 41, regarding putting the agent of change principle on a statutory basis, particularly ensuring that new developments have a noise impact assessment when they are near grassroots music venues. I support the Government’s plans to increase house building, and I recognis…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 April 2026
Knife Crime
My family sadly knows the devastating consequences of knife crime. As the Government launch their welcome action plan today, I think of my cousin David Charlton, who was killed with a knife in 2012. Reducing knife crime is a moral imperative, so that there are fewer families like David’s or indeed l…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 April 2026
Topical Questions
Can the Minister outline how the new national homelessness strategy will provide additional funds to Sunderland city council to tackle rough sleeping and to support the vital work that organisations such as Oasis Community Housing, the Salvation Army and the Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen do in o…
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 April 2026
3 contributions
Disclosure and Safeguarding: At-risk Children
I beg to move,
That this House has considered e-petition 731497 relating to a disclosure and safeguarding mechanism for at-risk children.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell, and to open this important debate as a member of the Petitions Committee. The petition creator, G…
I thank the Minister for his response and the very welcome commitment that he has made to involve the family in the development of the statutory guidance. As he alludes to, family circumstances differ significantly and the person in the family best placed to keep a child safe may or may not have par…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
Sunderland is a happier place than Mar-a-Lago at the moment. Perhaps that is why the leader of Reform UK, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage), is visiting today, having called on the UK to do all we can to support the US and Israel’s war on Iran. But I am here to stand up for Sunderland, not …
Commons
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Immigration Policy
Along with Home Affairs Committee colleagues, I spent time in northern France last year seeing the challenges of intercepting small boats. The French maritime doctrine has clearly been an obstacle to adopting the more assertive tactics that my constituents wish and expect to see. Can the Minister ou…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
Access to Mental Health Services
Analysis by Rethink Mental Illness of the latest NHS waiting time statistics shows that people are eight times more likely to wait over 18 months for mental health treatment than physical health treatment. Does the Minister agree that waiting 18 months for such treatment is totally unacceptable? Wha…
Commons
Proceedings
12 February 2026
Business of the House
Roker park is loved by our community, and there is loads going on there—from bowls and model boating to a miniature railway. Recently, I met some of the volunteers who keep the park so vibrant, along with Councillor David Newey, who has attracted investment for the restoration of the bandstand and t…
Commons
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Lord Mandelson: Government Response to Humble Address Motion
The Minister mentioned strengthening the process for direct ministerial appointments. Could he say a little more about that and how quickly he believes those strengthened processes will be put in place?
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
Topical Questions
Network Rail has rightly apologised for its failure to deliver a functional Sunderland station following refurbishment. We now have the bare basics in place, and plans for improvement. Will the Secretary of State join me in asking Northern Rail to get on with delivering those improvements, and will …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 February 2026
National Cancer Plan
I wish to thank NHS cancer teams in Sunderland for doing such incredible work in my constituency. Other Members have mentioned the unacceptable variation in NHS performance against waiting times, and I commend the Minister’s focus on that. Can she say a little about the variation in waiting times by…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 February 2026
Indefinite Leave to Remain
I thank my hon. Friend for the speech he is making. Does he agree that although the Government seek through their proposals to increase integration, by limiting ILR to those who stay beyond 10 years we are actually going to reduce integration in exactly the sort of instance that he has outlined? Tha…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
I welcome the Home Secretary’s statement. My constituents expect the everyday policing response to improve, but they know the value of more specialist public order capabilities, because in August 2024 the brave officers of Northumbria police put on their public order gear to protect our citizens aga…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 January 2026
Prisons: Illegal Drugs
I thank my hon. Friend and his Committee for their work on this really important matter. I would like to ask about the recommendations regarding substance misuse treatment commissioning. Does he agree with me and Collective Voice, the umbrella organisation for drug treatment providers, that drug tre…
Commons
Proceedings
15 January 2026
Digital ID
As someone who supports modernising and digitising the state, but who spoke against mandatory digital ID, I welcome the Minister’s sensible approach and his engagement over recent months. My constituents are really concerned about illegal working. Does he agree that the current and largely paper-bas…
Commons
Debate
12 January 2026
Finance (No. 2) Bill
The hon. Member mentioned £100 million or £300 million as minuscule amounts, but that is quite a lot of money to my hard-pressed constituents. Could the Liberal Democrats outline how they would pay for the policy that they advocate for—either increasing taxes on working people in my constituency or …
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 December 2025
9 contributions
Online Safety Act 2023: Repeal
I beg to move,
That this House has considered e-petition 722903 relating to the Online Safety Act.
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Pritchard, and to open this important debate as a member of the Petitions Committee. I start by thanking the 550,138 people who signed the petition…
I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman, and he will not be surprised that I will come on in my speech to deal with some wider issues about the Online Safety Act, in particular the protection of children. I think that today’s debate is likely to be more nuanced than simply whether we should maint…
+7 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
10 December 2025
Resident Doctors: Industrial Action
The coming weeks are always the most dangerous time of year for the NHS, and it is important to note that the patient safety risks arising from the strike will be present not just during the strike period but in the weeks following it. Some of my most daunting, and indeed scary, times in the NHS inv…