Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 January 2026
Prisons: Illegal Drugs
I thank my hon. Friend for speaking so powerfully about our Committee’s report. He knows that I am a huge supporter of policies that seek to maximise opportunities to rehabilitate offenders and prisoners, so I welcome the Government’s positive response to recommendation 6 on purposeful activity. We …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 January 2026
Business of the House
It is an indisputable fact that Amber Valley has the best pubs in the country. [ Interruption. ] It is true: they include the Moot Bar in Alfreton, Tom Said in Ripley and the Tip Inn in Loscoe, near Heanor. I welcome the Government support announced for pubs, including the £4.3 billion for businesse…
Commons
Debate
7 January 2026
3 contributions
Jury Trials
On the point of saving time through fewer jury trials, does my hon. and learned Friend agree that this is not just about the amount of time a jury is in the courtroom? It is about all the other factors within the criminal justice system that contribute to the time taken—the time it takes for back of…
I gently point out to the hon. Lady that it is not just about a courtroom being available, but the resources that have to go into that. It is about not just whether we have the space, but whether we have the barristers and the solicitors, and whether we have enough CPS lawyers, court clerks and ushe…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
17 December 2025
Puberty Suppressants Trial
May I associate myself with the comments of other Members who have said that we are talking about humans who deserve to be treated with dignity? As a former Crown prosecutor, I firmly believe that evidence is hugely important, and the Cass review said that there is not enough evidence at present tha…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
17 December 2025
Engagements
Q10. Just days before Christmas, heartbroken Derbyshire families and staff have learned that the Reform-led council is closing eight care homes, including Rowthorne in Amber Valley. That comes just days after we learned that the council’s cost-saving claims were entirely fabricated. Does the Prime M…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 December 2025
Digital ID
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. Hon. Members should note that, in the interests of time, I do not intend to take any interventions.
I have had hundreds of emails from constituents about digital ID. Some are entirely supportive, some are completely against it, but most…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
2 December 2025
Criminal Court Reform
I spent two decades working on the frontline in the criminal justice system, and I can tell hon. Members that this crisis has been building for years and years and years. I spoke to one of my former colleagues today to ask him how things are. He said:
“Something has to be done. The backlog and dela…
Commons
Westminster Hall
26 November 2025
Young People not in Education, Employment or Training
I beg to move,
That this House has considered support for young people not in education, employment or training.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I am delighted to introduce this debate on an incredibly important topic. Young people not in education, employment or traini…
Commons
Debate
19 November 2025
2 contributions
Northwich Railway Station: Accessibility
I share my hon. Friend’s concerns about accessibility in train stations. We had a similar issue at Alfreton train station, where, after 20 years of campaigning by Labour councillors, I was fortunate enough to open the new lift, allowing accessibility from one platform to the other, only in July. How…
It is very exciting to hear the proposals coming forward from Network Rail. Can the Minister give us some more information on how we local constituency MPs can support our local communities in pushing forward with the campaigns to have our stations included in that? As he heard me say earlier, it to…
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
Topical Questions
Reform-led Derbyshire county council has recently abolished its climate change committee and scrapped its aim to tackle the causes and impact of climate change. Will the Minister outline the steps that his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities continue to address climate change effec…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
12 November 2025
Engagements
Q8. Prior to the general election, the Health Secretary visited Amber Valley and declared it an NHS dentistry desert. Since then, I have secured £240,000 of additional funding, encouraged my constituents to access the 16,300 emergency appointments in Derbyshire, and last week secured thousands of ex…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 November 2025
3 contributions
Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights
My hon. Friend is making a very powerful speech. I was looking at some of the examples of how this mechanism protects people in the UK. For example, the injunction served on The Sunday Times preventing it from reporting on thalidomide was overturned by the European convention on human rights. Such c…
rose—
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
29 October 2025
4 contributions
Sentencing Bill
My new clause 36 seeks to implement a key recommendation of David Gauke’s independent sentencing review, on which the measures in this Bill are based. The new clause proposes that release at one third of a sentence should be conditional on positive actions and purposeful activity, such as attending …
I absolutely agree. As my hon. Friend will have seen—she sits alongside me on the Justice Committee—there is clear evidence to back that up. Secondly, starting the process of rehabilitation through positive requirements earlier will reduce reoffending rates on release, thereby cutting crime and cons…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 October 2025
2 contributions
Holidays During School Term Time
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) for opening this important debate. The strength of feeling behind this petition is clear, with over 1,000 signatures in my constituency alone. It was raised by my constituent, Na…
On that point, is the Minister also concerned about local authorities such as Derbyshire county council, whose leader is parroting the sentiments of the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) about “overdiagnosis” of SEND? All the families in my constituency that face SEND issues are at their wits’ …
Commons
Debate
21 October 2025
Sentencing Bill
My hon. Friend is making a powerful case that I wholeheartedly support. She is outlining not only the real problems that gambling addiction causes but the trauma that often leads to it, which shows how important rehabilitation is. We have heard much from Opposition Members today about how everybody …
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 October 2025
2 contributions
Higher-level Learning Target
18. What steps her Department is taking to ensure that it meets its target of two thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning.
In my constituency of Amber Valley the David Nieper academy teaches employability skills in conjunction with local industry, and it has had zero NEETs—those not in education, employment or training—at age 18 for the past two academic years. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating its s…
Commons
Debate
15 October 2025
2 contributions
Work for Serving Prisoners
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way, and I agree entirely with what she says about the importance of meaningful work or purposeful activity in prisons. On that basis, does she share my concern that the court backlog means that there are thousands of prisoners on remand who are not require…
As part of the Justice Committee’s inquiry on rehabilitation and resettlement, we received evidence showing that ROTL use has declined, particularly since covid; it has not really recovered from that. It is great to hear the good work the Minister is outlining on this, but I urge him to continue to …
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 October 2025
Criminal Courts: Independent Review
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. Intervention to fix the Crown court backlog is needed now. Without radical reform, things will only get worse; but in my submission this situation presents an opportunity to present the positive case for modernising our system.
The chang…
Commons
Debate
16 September 2025
3 contributions
Sentencing Bill
Does the hon. Member agree that requiring an offender to look at the root causes of their offending is far from the easy option? Facing up to those life difficulties is very hard, but it is a really effective way of stopping the cycle of offending.
As a former Crown prosecutor of 21 years, like my hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Matt Bishop) and my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan), I have seen close up the impact of our broken criminal justice system on victims, on communities and on our cou…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 September 2025
2 contributions
Children with SEND: Assessments and Support
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for opening this Petitions Committee debate.
I want to take this opportunity to address the 208 people in Amber Valley who put their names to the petition, and the more than 100 constituen…
I absolutely agree. Unfortunately, in Derbyshire, obtaining an EHCP is merely the start of the struggle. It is certainly not the end of the struggle for those families who desperately need the support that their children deserve.
Many view the legal right to which the petition relates—the right for…
Commons
Petition
22 July 2025
Future of Wingfield Manor
This petition relates to the future of Wingfield Manor, and is presented in conjunction with Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust. It has been signed by more than 3,000 residents of Derbyshire, and states:
The petition of residents of Amber Valley and the wider Derbyshire area,
Declares that the fu…
Commons
Debate
11 July 2025
6 contributions
Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Bill
I rise to thank the hon. Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope) for his careful consideration of my Bill, although I am somewhat saddened by his suggestion that this is a trivial matter. As he himself went on to say, we saw scenes at the Carabao cup final that were very troubling and warran…
I perhaps misspoke; my understanding is that it is to align with the football calendar rather than the start of the season. Perhaps the Minister can clarify that in due course. We are now on a countdown to the start of the football season. My husband, being a season ticket holder for Coventry City F…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
30 June 2025
Road Safety Powers: Parish and Town Councils
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate, and we can see how many people this issue affects across the country. On speeding in our communities, does he agree with my sentiments, from my time as a borough councillor in Amber Valley for Kilburn, Denby, Holbrook and Horsley, abou…
Commons
Debate
25 June 2025
5 contributions
Criminal Justice
Does my hon. Friend agree that the lack of legal aid solicitors and barristers will only compound the problems of the court backlog? That is because cases will either have to be adjourned as a consequence of lack of legal counsel or they will take longer when defendants appear without legal counsel …
I, too, am a member of the Justice Committee. I am also a former prosecutor who worked in the criminal justice system.
Today is an opportunity not only to examine the Ministry of Justice’s estimates for the coming year, but to assess whether our criminal justice system is being resourced to meet th…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 June 2025
Winter Fuel Payment
My constituents are people of common sense, and they tell me that they do not think millionaires should get the winter fuel allowance, but they did feel that the threshold was too low, so they will no doubt welcome today’s announcement. However, after 14 years of being let down by the Conservatives,…