Commons
Oral Questions
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
9 July 2026
2 contributions
Dartmoor Ponies
2. What steps she is taking to support native Dartmoor ponies.
I recognise the work that the Secretary of State and Ministers have done on this issue, and I thank them for their engagement. While the Conservatives rejected recommendation 27 of the Fursdon review, will she reassure me that this Government will find a solution that works for all the communities o…
Commons
Oral Questions
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
9 July 2026
Topical Questions
T4. The Secretary of State recently met my constituent Reuben Santer, whose case was featured in the “Dirty Business” documentary. Reuben campaigns to ensure that real-time sewage information is available to bathers at the beachside. Will the Minister work with local councils and water companies to …
Commons
Westminster Hall
7 July 2026
UK Aid Policy: Global Funding Trends
As the right hon. Gentleman knows, nutrition is foundational for development, and the UK has been a trusted global partner on nutrition for many years. In the context of the recent reduction in aid spending, does he agree that supporting and developing innovative new mechanisms such as the Child Nut…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 June 2026
Draft Conversion Practices Bill
I thank the Minister for her determination and hard work in bringing this draft Bill to Parliament—the trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban that has been eight years in the making after it was first proposed. Labour promised this legislation, and I am really proud that it is a Labour Government wh…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
11 June 2026
2 contributions
Mass Transit Systems
1. What steps she is taking to support the delivery of mass transit systems.
People in Exeter love using the railway, and Devon was the first area to get back to and exceed pre-covid levels of rail travel, but our local and regional railway is hampered by under-investment. We do not need a new mass transit system, but we do want the one we have already to be frequent, reliab…
Commons
Proceedings
20 May 2026
Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions
I thank the Minister for his usual clarity and candour on this issue, and I welcome the new sanctions package. Will he confirm one last time for me, my Ukrainian residents and our friends in Ukraine that this is a new package of sanctions, part of which we are introducing in a phased manner, and tha…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 April 2026
Animal Testing
I commend the petition’s signatories for bringing this debate to us. I also commend my hon. Friend, with whom I have been in many debates over the past two years, for all her hard work and advocacy in this area. Does she agree that, although the Government’s strategy to phase out the use of animals …
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
I am sure that the Minister will join me in welcoming the result of the Hungarian election where, in part, anti-LGBT policies were roundly rejected at the ballot box. As LGBT rights suffer from backsliding around the world, will the Minister commit to working with our EU partners to promote LGBT hum…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
2 contributions
UK-EU Relations
9. What steps he is taking to improve the UK’s relationship with the EU.
Mr Speaker, Happy St George’s day to you and to the House.
From pandemics and health emergencies to the impact of climate change and Russian aggression on our border, residents in Exeter know that the EU and the UK have shared challenges and opportunities. What discussions has the Minister had on f…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 April 2026
British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme
The Secretary of State will know that the south-west and Exeter is home to a nationally significant cluster of high-value manufacturing businesses and is identified in the Government’s industrial strategy as a key region for advanced manufacturing, with critical clusters in nuclear, green energy, de…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 April 2026
Middle East
From Iran to Russia, the major security threats we face are pan-European challenges. The Prime Minister referenced the need, and our intention, to work more closely with our European allies within NATO. Will he set out what more we can do to be ambitious with those allies on the continent to strengt…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Business of the House
Last week, I was delighted to welcome £20 million of long-term Pride in Place funding for Heavitree East and Whipton in Exeter. This funding will be transformational for those communities, after years in which they have felt left behind by the last Government. Will the Leader of the House join me in…
Commons
Debate
26 March 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
I welcome the Government’s move to reorganisation, which will benefit cities such as Exeter. Yesterday, the Minister may have seen official communications from Devon county council that said that reorganisation will
“put the lives of vulnerable people at risk”.
Notwithstanding the fact that, accor…
Commons
Debate
11 March 2026
Commonwealth Day 2026
I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate and for the excellent speech that he is giving. I recently joined Tim and Lizzie for a walk around our main Commonwealth war graves site in Higher cemetery in Exeter, which sits at the centre of the shared endeavours across the Commonwealth in both wor…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 March 2026
Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation
Many residents and fantastic posties in Exeter have raised exactly the same concerns as other Members of the House. Can the Minister give an assessment of how he thinks Ofcom has dealt with this issue so far, and does he have confidence in Ofcom to get a grip on it?
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
Middle East: Defence
I talked to people in Exeter over the weekend, and there was very strong support for the Government’s current position of defending British citizens and assets, and—at this point—not going further. Does the Secretary of State agree that the Government’s work to increase defence spending and commitme…
Commons
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
2 contributions
EU: Mutual Interests
20. What recent discussions he has had with EU counterparts on topics of mutual interest
I welcome the Government’s changed approach to our vital relationship with the EU. As a member of the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, I know how much it has been welcomed by our partners in Europe, as well as by my residents in Exeter. Ahead of the next session of the PPA later in March, w…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
23 February 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
The reorganisation of local government is very welcome in Exeter, as we are being held back by our county council on numerous fronts. Can the Secretary of State confirm that reorganisation and devolution will enable cities such as Exeter to pull away with our economic development, housing and strate…
Commons
Debate
12 February 2026
2 contributions
LGBT+ History Month
I thank my indefatigable hon. Friends the Members for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome) and for Jarrow and Gateshead East (Kate Osborne) for leading this debate so well.
Let me start by celebrating how far we have come. I was 14 when Labour came to power in 1997, and I already knew that I was gay. F…
I absolutely did, Madam Deputy Speaker; I sent the hon. Gentleman an email before this debate.
In the wake of the Supreme Court judgment and a relentless campaign waged against trans people in some quarters, with funding from outside this country flooding in to stoke division, it has never been mor…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
11 February 2026
Engagements
Q8. The Prime Minister will be aware of Lorraine Cox, a resident of Exeter who in 2020 was murdered by a man whose asylum claim had been denied but who was not removed from this country. Will the Prime Minister set out what more this Government will do to speed up deportations of people who have no …
Commons
Debate
4 February 2026
8 contributions
Construction Industry Training Board: Funding
Since its establishment in 1964, the Construction Industry Training Board has been the industry-led and industry-funded training board for the UK construction industry. At present, it is an arm’s length body of the Department for Work and Pensions, so I thank the Minister for being here to respond.
…
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention, and I hope the Minister will cover these points at the end. We are grappling with rising costs for construction firms, and we need to support them, as I hope we will, with CITB, in the future.
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
2 February 2026
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill
I very much welcome the Government’s showing commitment to global leadership on protecting the oceans by bringing this Bill through Parliament so quickly. Last week I joined Greenpeace on board its vessel Witness, which was docked nearby in London, and I heard about the devastation that bottom trawl…
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
Youth Unemployment
Along with the youth hubs and the youth guarantee, there is the £725 million investment in apprenticeships. With its new technical excellence college status, Exeter college in my constituency is becoming one of the biggest providers of apprenticeships in the country. Does the Minister agree that tha…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 January 2026
Animal Testing
I have also worked alongside Animal Free Research on these issues, including to introduce a private Member’s Bill representing its version of Herbie’s law. As my hon. Friend says, incidents of non-compliance in 2024 involved 22,204 animals. Does he agree with me that the Government’s recent “Replaci…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
I welcome the statement and the improvements to policing that I am already seeing in Exeter thanks to a 13% increase in funding, with 171 officers newly on the streets across Devon and Cornwall. As the Secretary of State consults on police force structures, can she confirm that strong local policing…