Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
15 July 2026
Devolved Powers
For 23 years, I proudly served in Scotland’s NHS, working alongside dedicated hard-working brilliant nurses. Under the SNP Government, those very nurses are paying higher income tax than colleagues anywhere else in the UK. Does the Secretary of State agree that instead of demanding more power, the S…
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 June 2026
Fly-tipping: Residential Areas
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) on securing this important debate.
Scotland is not immune to fly-tipping, which has a significant and often underestimated impact on our communiti…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
10 June 2026
2 contributions
Pride in Place Programme
7. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues through the Pride in Place programme to support regeneration in Scotland.
Happy birthday, Mr Speaker.
I was delighted that the Darvel Improvement Group was awarded £200,000 of Pride in Place funding, meaning that it can now progress its work to restore the Sir Alexander Fleming commemorative garden and create an educational memorial in Hastings Square. My right hon. Frie…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
21 May 2026
Topical Questions
Does the Minister agree that expanding the use of home-grown timber in construction and manufacturing would not only support UK forestry and small businesses, but strengthen supply chain resilience and reduce our reliance on imports, which currently make up 80% of the timber we use? What specific me…
Commons
Debate
20 May 2026
Defence Readiness
Does the right hon. Member agree that there should be a national SEND programme for armed forces children throughout the United Kingdom to support them in changing schools so often?
Commons
Proceedings
13 January 2026
Chinese Embassy
I appreciate the limitations on what the Minister can and cannot say, but in the light of the publication of unredacted plans for the Chinese embassy, will the Government and the security services look again at whether it would be appropriate to allow the embassy to proceed?
Commons
Westminster Hall
12 January 2026
2 contributions
Call for General Election
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that children deserve to be fed, and that it was right to raise employer national insurance contributions to pay into public services, in order to free up the resource to introduce breakfast clubs to feed young children, many of whom are in poverty due to Tory policies?
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq.
After only 18 months in office, this UK Labour Government have taken decisions that have ended Tory austerity and delivered the largest block grant to Scotland since devolution. After years of Tory under-investment, £50 billion for Scotland…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
8 December 2025
Topical Questions
The youth guarantee scheme represents a clear statement of intent from this Labour Government. Unlike the Conservatives, we will not abandon our young people to a lifetime on benefits, or allow the mental health toll of long-term unemployment to define their futures. Will my right hon. Friend outlin…
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
Topical Questions
XLCC’s project to build the UK’s first high-voltage direct current subsea cable manufacturing factory at Hunterston, with its headquarters in my constituency, represents a major opportunity for Ayrshire. It is exactly the kind of investment in renewable energy that we need to drive growth, create jo…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 October 2025
World Stroke Day
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) for securing this important debate.
During the past year in Ayrshire, 852 people’s lives changed in an instant when they suffered a stroke, the outcome of which depended on the speed and q…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
Ending Homelessness
I thank the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) and my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Wavertree (Paula Barker) for securing this important debate.
I am angry and frankly embarrassed that I am here today to discuss the deepening homelessness crisis in Scotland, which is inseparable from…
Commons
Oral Questions
14 October 2025
Topical Questions
T6. Ofgem’s latest 2% price cap rise means higher bills for millions of households this winter, with the average annual cost now over £1,700. For families who are already struggling, even a small increase can push them into hardship. While the expansion of the warm home discount to more than 6 milli…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 October 2025
Postural Tachycardia Syndrome
I share my constituents’ concerns about the average time for diagnosis of PoTS; seven years is simply too long, and it is unacceptable—and that is in Scotland too. Given the limited awareness of postural tachycardia syndrome among healthcare professionals, does my hon. Friend agree that the introduc…
Commons
Debate
9 September 2025
3 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
Could the right hon. Lady tell me why the US and the Five Eyes have backed this deal?
I rise in support of the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill. This Bill is not only timely, but essential for our national security, our international obligations and the strategic future of the United Kingdom.
To be clear, Diego Garcia is not just an isolated atoll i…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
9 September 2025
Topical Questions
The Bellfield interchange is situated on the A77. Its location has significant strategic importance in the south-west trunk road network, connecting to the A71, the A75 and the A76, making it critical for transport and economic connectivity across the Ayrshire region and beyond. East Ayrshire counci…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
8 September 2025
2 contributions
Cadets
9. What steps he is taking to increase the number of cadets.
As one of the first female cadets in Scotland during the mid-1980s—I know I do not look old enough—I am aware of how transformative the cadet experience can be, but now, in 2025, girls make up only a third of our cadet force. What more can my hon. Friend do to ensure that joining the cadets is seen …
Commons
Proceedings
4 September 2025
Business of the House
The SNP Government have awarded public contracts to China, Turkey and Poland to build Scottish ferries and buses. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the SNP Government should accept the offer from the UK Government to rewrite Scottish procurement rules—as they have previously in a range of other a…
Commons
Oral Questions
22 July 2025
2 contributions
Accident and Emergency Waiting Times
1. What steps he is taking to help reduce waiting times at A&E departments.
I welcome the progress this UK Labour Government have made in reducing A&E waits in England. That sadly contrasts with a crisis in Scotland, where recent figures revealed 2,472 Scots waited over eight hours to be seen. Jackie Baillie rightly warned that
“Lives are being put at risk”
under the …
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 July 2025
West Bank: Forced Displacement
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) on securing this important debate.
For decades, Palestinians living in the west bank have faced increasing pressure from settlement expansion, home demolitions and m…
Commons
Proceedings
19 June 2025
Business of the House
My constituent Lynne recently wrote to me about a new car purchase. She paid £190 for a full year’s road tax, but then discovered that the tax expiry date was set for the first of the month, not the 29th—the date she bought and taxed the vehicle. When she queried that with the Driver and Vehicle Lic…
Commons
Debate
18 June 2025
Post-industrial Towns
My constituency has a proud industrial heritage and is renowned for the rich diversity of its industrial output during the 19th century. We had the world famous Johnnie Walker whisky plant which was linked to Kilmarnock for more than 190 years, Saxone, a shoe manufacturing and retail company, Massey…
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
17 June 2025
2 contributions
NHS: Wasteful Spending
16. What steps his Department is taking to tackle wasteful spending in the NHS.
I thank the Secretary of State for his earlier reply. In Scotland, there are more quangos than MSPs. After four years and £30 million of taxpayers’ cash down the drain, the SNP has scrapped its plans for a national care service—its flagship policy—which was seen as a significant setback for Scottish…
Commons
Debate
16 June 2025
Animal Experiments: Medical Research
The use of animals in research raises serious questions about animal welfare, particularly in procedures that cause pain, distress or even death. Does my hon. Friend agree that advances in technology are making the transition away from animal testing more feasible? In vitro techniques using human ce…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 June 2025
Iran-Israel Conflict
Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is right that the UK as part of the international community comes together to urge all sides to show restraint through diplomacy to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon, and that it is also right that our focus is not diverted from Israel’s continued assaul…
Commons
Debate
12 June 2025
2 contributions
Covid: Fifth Anniversary
Will the right hon. Member give way?
My right hon. Friend is speaking about children. Does he agree that the covid pandemic really affected children who were going through school? All of a sudden, they could not see their friends for many, many weeks. I worked in the NHS. When we are living in the moment, we do not think of these thing…