Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
2 contributions
Climate Change: Weather Events
7. What steps he plans to take following recent weather events to help tackle climate change.
While many of our ongoing discussions in this House rightly focus on decarbonising heating, climate change means that cooling is becoming increasingly important, too, particularly in the context of our recent extreme heatwaves. As these heatwaves become increasingly frequent, homes and businesses in…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
22 June 2026
Topical Questions
A new Best Start family hub is opening in Cotmanhay, bringing together support for families in one of the most deprived communities in my constituency and across Derbyshire. As the Government roll out the hubs nationwide, what steps is the Minister taking to ensure that they improve school readiness…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 June 2026
East Midland Railway Collision
Long Eaton is a railway town. On Saturday, a train driver who lives in my constituency stopped me to say that he had known Shaun Burton, the driver who was killed in the incident, and that he himself had been driving one of the two trains involved earlier that day. Like many colleagues in the House …
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
16 June 2026
2 contributions
Ebola Outbreaks
15. What steps her Department is taking with international partners to support the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The covid-19 pandemic showed us how quickly infectious diseases can spread globally and the importance of acting early to contain outbreaks at source. Given that lesson, can the Minister outline how the UK is working with international partners to strengthen pandemic preparedness through this respon…
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
9 June 2026
Topical Questions
Particularly for people with a very low body mass index or an eating disorder, the use of app-based fitness classes for hours of ultra-high-intensity exercise every day can lead to addiction. When I wrote to one brand to ask about implementing access limitation tools in its app, it was dismissive. W…
Commons
Oral Questions
27 April 2026
Unemployment
Because of the previous Government’s actions, the number of people not in employment, education or training rose by nearly 250,000 between 2021 and 2024, leaving many hundreds of my constituents among the almost 1 million young people in that situation today. I am glad to see, then, that the Secreta…
Commons
Debate
23 April 2026
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
I thank the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade) for securing this important Backbench Business debate. I am grateful to her and her fellow Liberal Democrat Members, the hon. Members for Guildford (Zöe Franklin) and for Melksham and Devizes (Brian Mathew), for raising issues that…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
23 April 2026
UK Biobank Data
I am deeply concerned by today’s statement, not least because I am a former research scientist who is all too aware of the professional ramifications of research institutions breaching data control regulations. I know that the vast majority of researchers would never dream of abusing data in this wa…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Business of the House
A very happy St George’s day to you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Erewash Voluntary Action underpins dozens of community groups in Erewash, providing governance, safeguarding and volunteer support. Councils for voluntary service like EVA need infrastructure investment to provide support to frontline groups…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
2 contributions
National Security
22. What steps his Department is taking to improve national security.
Happy St George’s day, Mr Speaker. Erewash is home to many workers whose labour is vital to national security, employed at firms such as Rolls-Royce or at our many small and medium-sized advanced manufacturers, building things like jet engine parts. Although we have broadly been kept out of Donald T…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 April 2026
Women’s Health Strategy
As a trained science teacher, I welcome the Minister’s news that through the strategy, the Government are launching a new programme to improve education for girls about their menstrual health, with additional funding from this year to support targeted work in schools and community settings. Does the…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 April 2026
British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme
Erewash has a proud manufacturing history, from the ironworks, whose grates cover almost every manhole in the country, to our high-end furniture manufacturing industry, whose sofas adorn palaces, to our advanced manufacturing firms and the concrete makers building the tunnels for High Speed 2. As a …
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Transport Accessibility for Disabled People
I thank the Chair of the Transport Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbury), for her efforts in securing this debate, and indeed the Backbench Business Committee for granting it.
At Long Eaton train station in my constituency, the two platforms are well above …
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
Long Eaton Town Deal Board has been accelerating towards delivery of so many projects—a new events field, a new office space, a pair of beautiful bridges across the Erewash canal, and a stunning rebuild of our town centre. So many have contributed, but none more so than our board chair, local busine…
Commons
Proceedings
18 March 2026
Student Loans
The hon. Member talks about the effect of interest over time. Given that the loans are eventually written off under the current system, can he tell me what threshold a salary would have to be at for the proposed changes in interest to make any realistic difference over the course of a graduate’s ent…
Commons
Proceedings
18 March 2026
Student Loans
I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, and in particular to my role as the chair of the all-party parliamentary university group and to my membership of the University and College Union.
I must note my shock and awe at the Conservatives’ decision t…
Commons
Oral Questions
18 March 2026
2 contributions
UK Research and Innovation
5. What steps she is taking to increase levels of funding for UK Research and Innovation.
I thank the Secretary of State for her answer. Despite the massive Government increases in funding generally, in a recent meeting of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, we heard how the Science and Technology Facilities Council is currently dealing with a significant reduction in fundi…
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
2 contributions
Knife Crime: Support for Children
14. What steps he is taking to help support children involved in knife crime through the criminal justice system.
In December 2024, 18-year-old Noah Smedley from Ilkeston in my constituency was killed when he was stabbed by a 17-year-old armed with a Rambo knife. For a young man to lose his life this way, murdered by another teenager, was absolutely devastating to our community. There was a very deep public out…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 March 2026
Productivity and Economic Growth: East Midlands
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing the debate, and colleagues across the House for their contributions. For too long, the east midlands was left behind: abandoned by a post-1980s, neoliberal, globalisati…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Business of the House
In Erewash, we are very lucky to have a fantastic community radio station in Erewash Sound. Thanks to the incredible Jeff Martin, Paul Stacey, Emma Duthie and dozens of other volunteers, we have a proper local radio station that focuses on hyper-local matters, promotes our community and has created …
Commons
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Immigration Policy
Like many towns, Long Eaton is home to an asylum seeker hotel. It was gifted to us by the last Tory Government, but I know the Minister is doing everything in his power to close it as soon as possible. A secondary effect of the Tories’ hotels, however, is illegal work associated with the exploitatio…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
9 March 2026
2 contributions
Young People and Work Report
9. What recent progress has been made on the young people and work report.
With almost 8% of 16 and 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training, Derbyshire is the worst county in the east midlands for NEET. In New Stanton Park in Ilkeston, on the former site of a once-famous ironworks, major investments are bringing good manufacturing jobs back to Erewash. Will t…
Commons
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
Topical Questions
T8. Over the past few months, I have been involved in the new Long Eaton Business Partnership, which is bringing together business owners, private investors, health investors and local politicians. The goal is to shape the future of our town and revive Long Eaton’s town centre. Will the Minister …
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
3 March 2026
2 contributions
Hong Kong: Human Rights Situation
5. What recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the human rights situation in Hong Kong.
Many people who have come to us from Hong Kong have made their home in Long Eaton in my constituency. Their children are thriving in our local schools, new businesses are being established, and a vibrant community is taking shape. Will the Minister outline what further steps the Government are takin…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Business of the House
I know from my own time in the air cadets, as well as from hearing recently from 348 Ilkeston squadron and TS Indomitable in Long Eaton, that the cadet movement is an incredible force for excellence in young people’s development. I am sure the Leader of the House will agree that the adult volunteers…