Commons
Proceedings
17 November 2025
Illegal Waste: Organised Crime
My constituency is on the edge of the west midlands conurbation, and has plenty of country lanes and quiet beauty spots. Communities in my constituency, and particularly in my home village of Norton Canes, know all too well the impact of fly-tipping and organised waste crime. We Labour Members have …
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 November 2025
Support for Dyslexic Pupils
It is a pleasure to speak with you in the chair, Ms Butler. I thank and pay tribute to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance), not only for his powerful speech drawing on his deep personal experience, but for his steadfast campaigning in this place. He is a strong advocate for children and adults w…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 November 2025
Curriculum and Assessment Review
I welcome Professor Francis’s review. On the critical issue of SEND, does my right hon. Friend agree that the review’s findings—on flexibility, time for repetition and revision, early identification of need and the role of special educational needs and disabilities co-ordinators in ensuring an inclu…
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
Public Office (Accountability) Bill
It gives me great pride as a Labour MP to speak in this debate on an incredibly important Bill that will further right historic wrongs—stains on our nation’s history. Although my constituents hold a range of views on many issues, they are united in expecting public servants and institutions to act w…
Commons
Proceedings
30 October 2025
Business of the House
Earlier this month a 12-year-old girl was hit by a car while crossing a dangerous crossroads on the A5 in Bridgtown. Despite being thrown to the other side of the road, she miraculously escaped with minor injuries, but the incident has reignited long-standing concerns from residents—including her pa…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 October 2025
Children’s Social Care
It is a real pleasure to speak in this debate. As this is the first debate in which I have spoken with the Minister in his place, I warmly welcome him to his new role. I know that he brings an immense amount of professional and personal experience to this role. It is always wonderful to see somebody…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 October 2025
Statutory Maternity and Paternity Pay
It is a pleasure to speak with you in the Chair, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Burton and Uttoxeter (Jacob Collier) for introducing this petition so thoughtfully, and I thank Grace Carter and the more than 100,000 signatories. For too many families, including in my constituency…
Commons
Proceedings
23 October 2025
Business of the House
I recently met a constituent whose husband died while serving in the police force and who now finds herself in a difficult position. Under the 1987 police pension scheme, surviving partners do not receive lifelong survivor benefits, whereas under the 2015 scheme, they do. She feels, understandably, …
Commons
Oral Questions
21 October 2025
2 contributions
NHS Menopause Treatment
15. What steps he is taking to ensure that women have access to menopause treatments on the NHS.
Earlier this year, a constituent came to speak to me about shortages of the one hormone replacement therapy drug that was working for her after years of misdiagnoses and ineffective treatment. She told me that GPs have very low awareness of menopause and often recommend alternatives that cause adver…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Co-operative Sector: Government Support
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton (Jim McMahon) on securing this important debate and his impassioned opening speech. I can think of no greater or better-informed champion of our co-operative sec…
My hon. Friend has given us a prime example of how thinking about problems differently and more collaboratively is rooted at the heart of co-operatives. The roll-out of EVs to people who do not have a driveway and perhaps do not have ready access to charging infrastructure is one of the many challen…
Commons
Debate
16 October 2025
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill
Cannock Chase may be one of the most landlocked constituencies in the country, but that has not stopped my constituents from writing to me in support of the Bill, and rightly so. If anyone does come across a marine genetic resource in Staffordshire, I would be impressed and also slightly concerned, …
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Business of the House
During recess, I became the first interviewee of my constituent Brendan Woodbridge, an inspiring disabled 19-year-old who aspires to be a freelance journalist in order to spotlight accessible places and services so that people like him do not feel trapped at home. Brendan and his mom Natalie told me…
Commons
Oral Questions
Church Commissioners
16 October 2025
2 contributions
Small Churches in Rural Constituencies
3. What steps the Church Commissioners are taking to support small churches in rural communities.
Back in May, St John the Baptist church in Slitting Mill near Rugeley held its final service. St John’s is a huge loss to the community—it was such a welcoming and unique church, having been housed in a semi-detached house with neighbours still living next door. Although the closure was sadly necess…
Commons
Debate
16 September 2025
Sentencing Bill
I am grateful to have the opportunity to speak in favour of the Bill, because in so many ways it epitomises what the Government have had to do over the last 14 months. We inherited a prison system in crisis, having been fit to burst for years—something that evidently did not catch the attention of t…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
16 September 2025
2 contributions
Court Backlogs
1. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the Crown court backlog.
I recently had the chance to visit my local magistrates court in Cannock, and I was told that a major barrier to ramping up the number of sitting days in both magistrates and Crown courts is the lack of legal advisers. I am told that many are leaving the Crown Prosecution Service because the pay is …
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 September 2025
3 contributions
Children with SEND: Assessments and Support
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for her brilliant speech, and I thank the petitioners.
Over the summer, like many hon. Members, I hosted a SEND coffee morning. From those 25 parents, I heard stories of not only love, resilien…
I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. I, too, have heard many examples of families who feel that they have had to work almost full time to manage their children’s EHCP processes, and even of some relationships that have broken down because of the strain—on top of the strains that already come …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
11 September 2025
Male Chick Culling
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) on securing the debate and outlining so eloquently the case for this cause, which I support. Given that we use many male chick carcases for animal feed, pet food and places like bird of prey centres, and we import…
Commons
Debate
11 September 2025
2 contributions
Regional Transport Inequality
I am glad to be speaking in this debate, because far too many of my constituents are being held back by our transport system. On rail, Rugeley Trent Valley, just over the border in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson)—he is no longer in his place—is a striking…
Given your warning, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will not give way.
Accessibility upgrades such as lifts, ramps and reliable step-free routes must not be treated as optional extras in towns such as mine. They are essential to dignity, inclusion and fairness.
On buses, Cannock Chase shows why change is …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 September 2025
Biosecurity at the Border: Britain’s Illegal Meat Crisis
On the Committee’s visit to the Port of Dover, we heard that many seizures of illegal meat include scales and tills—clear indications that the meat would be sold commercially. Most worryingly, as the right hon. Gentleman said, some of those imports are headed straight for farms, so the potential for…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
10 September 2025
Engagements
Q6. My constituent Connor Edwards lives with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and craniocervical instability, which, in his words, means his head is slowly falling off his body. Having once enjoyed fishing and mountain biking, at the age of 30 Connor is now largely bed-bound and says his condition has destroy…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 September 2025
2 contributions
Neurodivergent People: Employment
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I am pleased to have the chance to speak on the importance of supporting neurodivergent people into work. I will focus my remarks in particular on the experiences of autistic people, drawing on the voices of my own constituents and on the wor…
When we approach things such as welfare reform—this is probably also true of SEND reform—it is always bound to cause anxiety for people. We absolutely have to be mindful of that, particularly in this place, with the rhetoric we use and the way we go out to consult. I am concerned that the hon. Membe…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 September 2025
2 contributions
Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund
I thank the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) for securing the debate.
I begin by declaring that as a family, we will begin using the adoption and special guardianship support fund from next week, so this is current and personal for me. As I am about to find out, the ASGSF is a lifeline f…
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. When my husband and I were going through the adoption journey and had our training and information evenings, the post-adoption support offer was very much part of that. If families feel that they cannot take that step because they fear they will be unable to g…
Commons
Debate
3 September 2025
Diabetes in Sport
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Chris Bloore) for bringing forward the debate, and for so brilliantly setting out the challenges, but also the opportunity to give people with diabetes far more benefits from sport. One of the brilliant innovations in mental healthcare in recent…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 September 2025
Pavement Parking
I thank the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire). Pavement parking was regularly raised with me during my five years as a councillor before coming to this place, but its real impact was brought home to me by one doorstep conversation with a couple in Chadsmoor. Both are in their 80s, and …
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
2 September 2025
2 contributions
Gaza: Ceasefire
16. What steps he is taking to help restore the ceasefire in Gaza.
The world has watched in horror as humanitarian aid has been blocked from reaching Gaza, leading to a famine that is claiming the lives of those who survived the bombs. Meanwhile, in the west bank, the Israeli Government turn a blind eye to rampant settler violence and openly approve new settlements…