Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
8 September 2026
Topical Questions
T3. Child trust funds were designed to give every child the same financial start, regardless of who they are. However, trust fund savings are currently taken into account when assessing an 18-year-old disabled person’s financial contribution to their social care, meaning that they do not get the sam…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
7 September 2026
2 contributions
Democratic Participation: Young People
5. What steps her Department is taking to encourage greater participation by young people in democratic processes.
I very much welcome the Government’s plans to extend the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds, but blind and visually impaired young voters will still be disenfranchised as long as there is not legislation that requires them to be able to vote, in secret and independently, like their peers. Will the Min…
Commons
Proceedings
3 September 2026
Bluetongue Virus in Livestock
Can I add to what my neighbour across the border, the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper), has said about the friction we already experience with cross-border trade? Over the summer, I visited the country’s largest sheep auction, which is in my constituency, and that trades right acr…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
1 September 2026
2 contributions
Climate Change: International Partners
25. What steps his Department is taking with international partners to help tackle climate change.
The Minister will be aware that the world’s peatlands play a critical role in tackling climate change, storing twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined. Thanks to previous EU funding, work to restore the Bolton Fell Moss peatland in my constituency began in 2015. Can the Minister out…
Commons
Proceedings
1 September 2026
2 contributions
Speaker’s Statement
25. What steps his Department is taking with international partners to help tackle climate change.
The Minister will be aware that the world’s peatlands play a critical role in tackling climate change, storing twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests combined. Thanks to previous EU funding, work to restore the Bolton Fell Moss peatland in my constituency began in 2015. Can the Minister out…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
16 July 2026
Topical Questions
T3. Residents have long called for the A69 through Warwick Bridge to be detrunked. Given that the A689 provides an alternative route from the M6 to the east of the village, can the Minister confirm that detrunking this section of the A69 would not be a major change to the strategic road network?
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
16 July 2026
2 contributions
E-bikes
1. What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the sale of kits used to convert pedal cycles into e-bikes that do not meet the definition of an electrically assisted pedal cycle.
I thank the Minister for her response; I know that she shares my concern about the increasing use of illegal e-bikes on our streets. When I visited Palace Cycles in Carlisle, the owner told me that he is increasingly under pressure from people who have illegally modified bikes to do repairs on them.…
Commons
Debate
9 July 2026
Israeli Settlements: Trade Ban
My hon. Friend is setting out very clearly the illegality of the settlements on the west bank, and the Geneva convention is very clear on this point. There are reports that properties on the west bank are now being advertised for sale, which is absolutely despicable. Does she share my outrage that t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
7 July 2026
3 contributions
Carlisle-Settle Railway: 150th Anniversary
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the 150th anniversary of the Carlisle-Settle Railway.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford, as we celebrate a remarkable milestone in the history of one of Britain’s great railways. This year marks 150 years since passenger serv…
It is always a pleasure to be intervened on by the hon. Member. As I will go on to say, there are many lessons from the history of the railway line that we can apply to the challenges that community groups across the country raise when they are campaigning for their local railways. We can learn a lo…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
Topical Questions
Last night, Members of this House passed regulations to crack down on rogue landfill operators. Does the Minister agree that no public payments should be made to a landfill gas energy provider when that provider is linked to rogue landfill operations?
Commons
Debate
6 July 2026
Environmental Protection
I thank the Minister for her opening remarks. This is an overdue and welcome attempt to curb a problem blighting a number of communities. I acknowledge the comments from my hon. Friend the Member for Normanton and Hemsworth (Jon Trickett). I worry slightly that we are at risk of entering into some s…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
2 July 2026
Topical Questions
The owner of Palace Cycles recently told me that while explaining to a customer that he would not service the illegally modified e-bike that had been brought into his shop, the bike shot across the shop of its own accord. When will the Government regulate to ban the sale of dodgy, illegal, unsafe e-…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
30 June 2026
2 contributions
Prison Smuggling: Drones
10. What steps he is taking to help tackle the smuggling of contraband by drones into prisons.
Will my right hon. Friend outline what learnings the Government have taken from international expertise to develop and shape counter-drone measures in UK prisons?
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
25 June 2026
2 contributions
Civil Service Jobs: Relocation
8. What steps he has taken to support the relocation of civil service roles.
The Minister will know, because she represents a constituency not dissimilar from Carlisle, that our post-industrial towns and cities have ageing populations. In Carlisle, only 7% of the population is aged between 18 to 24, and the next smallest group is those aged 25 to 34. Will the Minister ensure…
Commons
Debate
25 June 2026
Neuropsychiatric Conditions: PANS and PANDAS
I thank the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) for introducing the debate so well. It is always a pleasure in this place when I discover that I have something in common with Members from across the House. In recent months, the hon. Lady and I have discovered that we share an interes…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 June 2026
2 contributions
Conversion Practices Ban
4. What steps she is taking to ban conversion practices.
The work of Cumbria Pride and Pride in North Cumbria in supporting people to feel accepted and confident in their sexuality stands in stark contrast to those who peddle cruel and abusive conversion practices. The last Conservative Government failed multiple times to introduce a ban on these practice…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 June 2026
2 contributions
Discrimination against Trans People
4. What steps she is taking to ban conversion practices.
The work of Cumbria Pride and Pride in North Cumbria in supporting people to feel accepted and confident in their sexuality stands in stark contrast to those who peddle cruel and abusive conversion practices. The last Conservative Government failed multiple times to introduce a ban on these practice…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 June 2026
Farming: Financial Sustainability
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner.
About 55% of my Carlisle constituency is agricultural land. Farming remains vital to our local economy, our identity and our communities. However, more than half of the farmland in our county—some 54%—is classified as “less favoured area”. …
Commons
Oral Questions
Electoral Commission Committee
18 June 2026
2 contributions
Polling Stations: Blind and Visually Impaired Voters
1. What recent assessment the commission has made of the adequacy of polling station provision for blind and visually impaired voters.
I thank the right hon. and learned Gentleman for his answer. Responses to a survey by the Royal National Institute of Blind People at the time of the last general election showed that 73% of people who are blind and visually impaired did not know that those adjustments were available at polling stat…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 June 2026
High Street Shops: Illicit Activity
My hon. Friend mentioned mini-marts. We had none in Carlisle 12 months ago, and now we have at least 12 or 15. They are all distinguished by having wrappered windows that cannot be seen through. There is a presumption in planning guidance that windows should be active, whereas these are obviously in…
Commons
Petition
16 June 2026
Road Safety in Wetheral
I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of residents of the village of Wetheral calling for traffic-calming measures, including a 20 mph zone, to improve the safety of pedestrians and other road users.
The issue of traffic calming was raised with me by local residents at a coffee morning I hel…
Commons
Debate
15 June 2026
NHS Dentistry
My hon. Friend and I know that our constituencies are somewhat similar. My Carlisle constituents currently have to travel 12 miles to find a dental practice that is taking patients. That is an improvement: last year they had to go to Yorkshire to find an NHS practice that was taking on new patients.…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
10 June 2026
2 contributions
Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal
5. What steps he is taking with the Scottish Government to support the delivery of the borderlands inclusive growth deal.
May I wish you a very happy birthday, Mr Speaker?
Members on both sides of the border and both sides of the Chamber believe that the deal has the potential to be transformative for our region. What steps are being taken to ensure that progress on the deal is maintained, and will the Secretary of St…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 June 2026
Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way on the point about inspiration and aspiration. I hope that some of that comes a little south of the border and inspires residents in Carlisle. In areas such as mine, which are a long way from large infrastructure facilities to support sports, grassroots…
Commons
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Digital Safety: Children
It has been more than 20 years since I was one of half a dozen people who co-wrote the world’s first code of practice to protect minors from age-inappropriate content. One of the biggest challenges we faced then was age verification. Will the Minister assure us that the technology and the devices ar…