Commons
Debate
3 September 2025
Hospitality Sector
I recently visited the General Tarleton in Ferrensby, which has just reopened. A fantastic group of people have created the Jeopardy Hospitality project, which reopens pubs that have closed down; those involved include the celebrity chef Tommy Banks and Matt Lockwood. Pubs are the heart of the commu…
Commons
Debate
2 September 2025
Solar Development: Newark
My constituency has a similar situation to the one the right hon. Gentleman is describing. The village of Scotton, which is home to the house where Guy Fawkes grew up, risks being encircled by a similar sort of development. People on the ground are pragmatic, but the issue comes down to planning rul…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 September 2025
2 contributions
Eating Disorders: Prevention of Deaths
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley) on securing this important debate.
Prior to entering this place, I worked in the charity sector for type 1 diabetes charity JDRF, as it was then. In the last Parlia…
One of the great organisations that does a lot of work on the accountability of services, including eating disorder services, is Healthwatch. We know that these organisations are going to be scrapped. They have done loads of valuable work at local and regional levels. What levels of accountability w…
Commons
Oral Questions
21 July 2025
Rebuilding Schools
A number of years ago, Woodfield school in Bilton in my constituency was closed. It has been rebuilt as a specialist school for children with autism. It was meant to open in September last year, but that was delayed until September this year. Will the Minister meet me and confirm whether it will ope…
Commons
Proceedings
17 July 2025
Accountability for Daesh Crimes
I am grateful to the Government for engaging with the Joint Committee on Human Rights report, “Accountability for Daesh crimes”, and for the response they have provided. There are some areas of welcome agreement; for instance, the Government have reiterated their commitment to ensuring justice for s…
Commons
Proceedings
17 July 2025
Social Media: Misinformation and Algorithms
I am a member of the Select Committee over which the hon. Lady presides as Chair, and I thank her and all the staff who helped with this report and inquiry. I know that many of us in this place wear not one, but multiple hats; I also sit on the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and we are doing an in…
Commons
Proceedings
17 July 2025
Business of the House
A couple of weeks ago at a Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network event in Harrogate, I met constituents who came to the UK from Afghanistan under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme, and who still have family living in Afghanistan. They showed me photos of their loved ones, some smiling …
Commons
Proceedings
17 July 2025
NHS Pensions: Frontline Patient Care
I would like to take this opportunity to put my thanks on the record to the Minister. I have spoken to her outside this place about the money we have secured for removing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete at Harrogate district hospital, which I have been campaigning on for years.
It is great h…
Commons
Proceedings
17 July 2025
Strategy for Elections
There is lots in the strategy that the Liberal Democrats and I welcome. Could the Minister explain why there is a difference between Westminster elections and combined mayoral elections? We know that the majority of the British public want to see the scrapping of first past the post, and we know fro…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
17 July 2025
2 contributions
Hospitality Sector
13. What steps he is taking to support the hospitality sector.
I regularly meet the Harrogate business improvement district and the chamber of commerce, and we have a thriving hospitality and tourism sector in Harrogate and Knaresborough. I recently met Alison, a constituent who runs a number of local bars and restaurants, and she is worried that with the incre…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 July 2025
Further Education Institutions
I thank the hon. Lady for securing this important debate. One of the first things that I had to do after the general election was to ensure a funding guarantee of more than £20 million for a rebuild of Harrogate college. Due to the local authority dropping the ball, the planning expired and the fund…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 July 2025
Future of the Post Office
I thank the Minister for his statement, and I add my thanks to our postmasters, including Andrew Hart in my constituency. Last year, residents in Knaresborough faced a prolonged period without a Post Office service. I had extensive communication with Post Office officials about service continuity, m…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
14 July 2025
Leasehold Reform
At a recent surgery, a constituent brought to me the leasehold problems that she is experiencing with her housing association. Despite paying a considerable amount in service charges, leaseholders have been whacked with a £7,000 bill for improvements to the property’s roof, with the expectation that…
Commons
Proceedings
10 July 2025
7 contributions
Disabled Bus Passes
It is a pleasure to stand here today and raise, once again, the issue of restrictions on the use of disabled bus passes. The Minister will be well aware of this matter, which I have raised with him on a number of occasions, and I have already had the opportunity to discuss it with him directly, for …
I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention; she speaks extensively about an area in which I know she is a champion. I completely agree with her. If we are giving people disabled bus passes, we are doing that for a reason, and those reasons often do not apply only from 9.30 am onwards.
That brings …
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
10 July 2025
Business of the House
Last week, I asked the Leader of the House if she would join me in wishing good luck to Freedom Performing Arts, which was performing at the world championships in Spain. I am sure she will be pleased to hear that the six to nine-year-olds secured a bronze medal. Amy and the team are really chuffed.…
Commons
Petition
7 July 2025
Harrogate Spring Water money for Harrogate
Harrogate Spring Water pays a 0.5% levy on its revenue annually. This used to go to Harrogate borough council for the benefit of the local area, but following local government reorganisation, it now goes to North Yorkshire council. This was a key campaign during the Harrogate town council elections,…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
7 July 2025
Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life
Some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children are those who have been adopted or are receiving kinship care. Will the Best Start family hubs provide any specific help for those who have lost out on access and support as a result of the cuts in the adoption and special guardianship support f…
Commons
Debate
3 July 2025
5 contributions
Women’s State Pension Age: Financial Redress
It is a pleasure to be called to speak so early in the debate. I congratulate the hon. Member for Salford (Rebecca Long Bailey) on securing this debate. There is not much more that can be said, as she has put the case so eloquently, but there is one key point I want to get on the record: broadly spe…
I completely agree with my hon. Friend. At a time when trust in Government and politicians is so low, it is imperative that we do all we can in this place to right that wrong.
To get an idea of the level of support across the House, I would like to see a vote in Parliament about whether we should h…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 July 2025
British Film and High-end Television
Earlier this year, “Tinsel Town” was filmed in Knaresborough. The benefit of seeing the film industry come to my constituency was clearly apparent from the get go. It has given a real buzz and excitement to the local community. I would like to see more on the regional investment side. Channel 4 is h…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 July 2025
NHS 10-Year Plan
I welcome the 10-year plan; its focus on prevention is right. I notice that there are a number of references to diabetes in the plan, but none to type 1 diabetes. We already have simple blood tests for biomarkers that identify people who are likely to develop type 1 diabetes, and immunotherapy, whic…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 July 2025
Business of the House
Freedom Performing Arts, a dance school in Knaresborough, is currently representing England at the dance world cup in Spain. It had to raise £30,000 from the local community, businesses and parents to get there, and it still faces a funding shortfall. Will the Leader of the House join me in wishing …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 June 2025
G7 and NATO Summits
I welcome the increase to defence spending and the revised targets. Earlier this year, at the spring statement, we saw cuts to official development assistance—the overseas aid budget—to fund defence increases. The ODA budget is integral to our international security abroad, so will the Prime Ministe…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 June 2025
Business of the House
In recent weeks and months, Harrogate has been gridlocked, with seemingly unco-ordinated roadworks blocking our town. It is particularly difficult for businesses when those works go on for protracted periods of times—and when they already face Labour’s jobs tax. Will the Leader of the House agree to…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
26 June 2025
Topical Questions
T5. When the Government introduced the increased £3 bus cap, it saw the cost of a number of shorter journeys with local bus providers increase by more than inflation. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that people are not feeling the effects of Labour’s bus tax?
Commons
Debate
24 June 2025
2 contributions
Speed Cameras: Installation Criteria
I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and congratulate her on securing her first Adjournment debate. Many people in my constituency have written to me about this issue, particularly those in villages around the towns, such as Ferrensby. Does she agree that in rural areas like mine, there needs to be…
In North Yorkshire, we do not have any average or fixed speed cameras. We have a number of temporary mobile speed vans, but they do not act as a sufficient deterrent because they move around—that is obviously the purpose and nature of them. Instead, we have seen lots of community speed watch groups …