Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
4 June 2026
2 contributions
Violence against Women and Girls
2. What steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates for cases involving violence against women and girls.
Does the Solicitor General agree that public confidence in the justice system and supporting victims is crucial to improving prosecution rates for violence against women and girls? What further actions is she taking with the CPS to reassure victims that sexual offences such as rape and other crimes …
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 June 2026
3 contributions
Home-to-School Transport
I beg to move,
That this House has considered home-to-school transport.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg, and I am grateful for having secured this important debate. At its core, home-to-school transport is a simple promise: where a child cannot reasonably walk to school, t…
I thank my hon. Friend for her diligent work as a member of the PAC, and for making that point about SEND, which I will come on to during my speech.
Local authorities in England spent £2.6 billion on home-to-school transport in 2024-25, which was a real-terms increase of 70% since 2015-16. SEND tra…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 June 2026
Seasonal Hospitality Businesses in Coastal Areas
The visitor levy is the wrong policy at the wrong time, as the hon. Gentleman puts it, and I have discussed it with UKHospitality. Does he agree that we need to stop this tax, at the same time as cutting VAT? If we do not, we will end up with an effective VAT rate on hospitality and tourism business…
Commons
Debate
1 June 2026
4 contributions
Health Bill
Will the Secretary of State give way on that point?
Will the Secretary of State give way on that point?
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
19 May 2026
High Speed 2 Reset
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. It is outrageous to hear about the waste, with money thrown away by successive Conservative Governments. Even now, the eye-watering level of money required to reset HS2 grates on people up in Yorkshire and the north, where the northern legs were canc…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 May 2026
Youth Justice
On Friday, I was at Leeds Trinity University and met with a group of future teachers. They were talking about the exclusion-to-offending pipeline in our schools, and the challenges in meeting the needs of SEND children. Will the Secretary of State elaborate further on what tangible steps his Departm…
Commons
Oral Questions
27 April 2026
Topical Questions
Disabled people in England face a postcode lottery when it comes to the time in which they can use their bus passes. What conversations have been had with colleagues at the Department for Transport and the Treasury about removing those unfair time restrictions?
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Given that the new powers are being handed to local transport authorities, will there be funding to enforce the new measures and the obligations that councils are getting?
Commons
Proceedings
20 April 2026
2 contributions
Community-owned Assets: Government Support
The right hon. Lady is outlining a really clear case for community-owned assets. Can she elaborate on that and tell us if the UPP is an asset of community value? We have recently had to fight a campaign to stop Harrogate Spring Water chopping down the much-loved Rotary Wood, which is an asset of com…
I just want to acknowledge the Government’s fantastic work, which the Minister is outlining, on this particular issue. Does she agree that one of the biggest worries people have in areas undergoing local government reorganisation is that cash-strapped councils will have to sell off such assets? Ofte…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 April 2026
Antisemitic Attacks
I recently had the pleasure of attending a Passover service at Harrogate synagogue. It saddens me that whenever I meet the Jewish community there, they always talk about their security and safety. In the light of the Chief Rabbi’s comment that attacks on the Jewish community are gathering momentum, …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 April 2026
Infected Blood Compensation Scheme
I, too, acknowledge the work the Minister has done on this issue. Last year, I asked him about a constituent who fell under the special category mechanism, so it is welcome news that there will be an additional award for that group, but those affected are frustrated that it has taken this long to ge…
Commons
Oral Questions
14 April 2026
2 contributions
NHS Dental Services
6. How many urgent dental appointments have been provided since 1 April 2025.
I have been contacted by dentists from across my constituency who want to expand access but are constrained by the current funding model. One NHS practice tells me that it has the physical space ready for a dentist to start working, but it cannot get them in because of the current funding model, for…
Commons
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
Topical Questions
The Labour Mayor of York and North Yorkshire is tinkering with the Department for Transport’s highways funding ratio, reallocating about £4 million from North Yorkshire to the city of York. When North Yorkshire council has already lost the rural services delivery grant, how can the Minister think th…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 March 2026
4 contributions
Proposed Visitor Levy
It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I congratulate the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) on securing the debate.
As Liberals, we strongly believe that power should be handed down to the lowest level and that we should give local areas the tools and ability…
They may well be focus articles too. The local community champions that we have on the ground are making the point that if money is raised locally, it should be shaped locally, spent locally and seen locally. That applies across England.
Councillor Hannah Kitching in Barnsley put it to me very clea…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
18 March 2026
Student Loans
Will the Minister give way?
Commons
Debate
16 March 2026
Heating Oil Support
It is estimated that over 20,000 homes in North Yorkshire rely upon heating oil, including constituents in the rural part of my constituency in villages outside Occaney, Copgrove, Farnham, Flaxby and others. They already face what is known as a rural premium, with households paying more for everyday…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
GP Contract
I recently visited the Spa surgery in Harrogate and spent half a day with practice managers, GPs, partners, receptionists and nurses, and I am grateful to them for that opportunity. The Minister said earlier that he trusts GPs to make decisions, and just a moment ago he said that the Government shou…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
9 March 2026
Support for NEET Young People
I recently visited Ventrolla, a specialist heritage window manufacturer in my constituency. It was concerned by the recent announcements of apprenticeship reform and the impact that will have on its apprentices. It has signed a cross-party and cross-organisation letter from industry leaders and expe…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 March 2026
4 contributions
Type 1 Diabetes: Infant Testing
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I welcome the Minister to her place; the all-party parliamentary group for diabetes had a positive and constructive relationship with her predecessor, the hon. Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton), and I hope that that will continue.
I …
My hon. Friend is a passionate advocate of diabetes awareness. I completely agree that we need to do more to raise those symptoms with the general public. Everyone knows the key signs of some health conditions—heart attacks or strokes, perhaps—but sadly, type 1 diabetes is not one of those. We can d…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 March 2026
Consular Assistance
I thank the Minister, Government officials and all our casework teams dealing with our constituents on this matter. Many of my constituents have been affected, and I too have encouraged them to register for the scheme. I am particularly concerned about vulnerable people with health conditions. I und…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
Local Museums
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) on securing this debate.
North Yorkshire is blessed to have some of the UK’s finest and quirkiest small museums, from the Richmondshire Museum and the Green Howards Museum, and the Work…
Commons
Debate
3 February 2026
2 contributions
Fish and Chip Sector
The hon. Gentleman is outlining some of the economic challenges that the sector is facing. One of my constituents is heavily involved in the National Federation of Fish Friers. He told me that he often feels that the Government are very good at listening to UK hospitality and other big sectors, but …
I will not make any fish puns; it is not my plaice to do so. We have fantastic fish-and-chipperies in Harrogate and Knaresborough, including Oatlands Mount. Local chippy owners tell me that a cut in VAT for hospitality and restaurants would deliver a meaningful boost for them. Will the Minister pass…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 January 2026
3 contributions
Local Government Reorganisation: Referendums
I completely agree with the principle of what the hon. Gentleman is saying, but we did not have that opportunity under the last Government when the Conservatives imposed local government reorganisation on places like North Yorkshire. Does he think that his party’s Government should have done the sam…
The hon. Gentleman says that the electorate endorsed that at the ballot box. I wonder if he might show a little contrition in acknowledging that Labour got less than 50% of the vote, so trying to make out that that general election was a glowing endorsement of this Government and this manifesto comm…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 January 2026
12 contributions
Water (Special Measures) Act 2025: Enforcement
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the enforcement of the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025.
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the chair, Dr Allin-Khan, and to open this debate on the enforcement of the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025.
Like many Members across this House, I welco…
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. It is a pleasure to take an intervention from him, as always. I completely agree with what he has outlined and the characterisation of the way that the water sector is, frankly, morally bankrupt. There is no interest in the public good. That is why my pa…
+10 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 January 2026
2 contributions
Sale of Fireworks
Will the hon. Member give way?
I completely agree with the hon. Member, and I appreciate the hundreds of people in my constituency who have signed the petitions. When we talk about Government action, does he agree that if we end up with a licence scheme, it must give local authorities the money to enforce these provisions? If not…