Commons
Proceedings
5 March 2026
Business of the House
A constituent has been on a waiting list for over two years with no end in sight. After waiting this long without progress, they wrote to me about their referral being moved to an equidistant clinic with shorter waits, yet NHS Forth Valley has as yet been unable to facilitate that. Does the Leader o…
Commons
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
Topical Questions
There are still serious questions to answer on the administration of the civil service pension scheme. When my constituent Campell tragically died in April last year, his wife, Gaynor, waited months to receive the death in service payment; in December, they found out that MyCSP had paid it into the …
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 March 2026
Local Museums
Does the Minister share my concern that, rather than increasing funding for Historic Environment Scotland, the Scottish Government appear to have cut it by £3.7 million in last week’s Budget?
Commons
Debate
3 March 2026
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill
As a fellow member of the Bill Committee with my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince), I welcome the return of the Bill to this place. Its progress is an example of the common-sense approach of this Labour Government.
With airport expansion and infrastructure expansion—such as, perhaps, …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Business of the House
Next week, SNP-controlled Falkirk council proposes to cut school bus services from communities such as Shieldhill, Hallglen and Maddiston—bus services that get bairns from some of our most rural and deprived communities to school on time. Hundreds of working parents in Falkirk responded to the budge…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
Topical Questions
T4. Many people in Falkirk face barriers to accessing treatment because they are juggling often contradictory bits of paper regarding appointments across different health boards. What assessment has the Minister made of this Government’s NHS digital transformation strategy for improving treatment…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
23 February 2026
Topical Questions
In Falkirk, an allocation from Labour’s impact fund has addressed the funding gap that would otherwise have risked the delivery of Scottish Canals’ national centre of excellence for canals and traditional skills. Will the Minister visit this regeneration project once it is completed to celebrate thi…
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate
I declare an interest as chair of the British buses APPG.
The previous Government’s failure to provide any certainty on the ZEV mandate was not good for British industry or the environment, and I welcome this Government’s progress. We must acknowledge that the ZEV mandate must retain a degree of fl…
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
Businesses: Cost of Energy
To transition away from fossil fuels, we need zero emission vehicles on the road. Manufacturers such as Alexander Dennis should be leading that transition, although it currently operates with a gas-intensive production process. To stay competitive against imports, those manufacturers need greater su…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
9 February 2026
2 contributions
Asylum Seekers: Hotels
3. What steps her Department is taking to close asylum hotels.
The Tories’ asylum hotels have divided communities and endangered vulnerable people in communities such as Falkirk, but we must be honest: the Inverness barracks proposal is controversial, and will aggravate community tensions in Scotland rather than cool them if there is no corresponding urgent mov…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 February 2026
Civil Service Pension Scheme: Administration
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell.
Those who serve the public deserve dignity and respect as they go into retirement, but, after a lifetime putting their shoulder to the wheel to keep the country running, that is not what my constituents in Falkirk who have been impacted by …
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
3 February 2026
Topical Questions
The Scottish Parliament is this week considering a Bill by the fantastic Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon that would enable the prosecution of climate criminals who cause widespread, long-term or irreversible damage to our environment. What consideration have Ministers given to consulting on making…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 February 2026
2 contributions
Indefinite Leave to Remain
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I will confine my remarks to the impact of the ILR proposals on social care in my constituency in Scotland.
Around 25% of social care workers come from other countries. We need social care staff who live, work and breathe care, and, with…
I agree with my hon. Friend’s point, and am glad that he managed to get it on the record. I also reflect that there will be an economic impact on social care if we are not able to attract a sufficient domestic workforce to compensate for those who would leave the country.
Those changes would risk d…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
29 January 2026
Business of the House
My constituent Muhammad is a young man educated at a local school and hoping to go on a school trip in a couple of weeks with his classmates. His application for citizenship was received by the Home Office in November 2024, but a decision is now eight months late, and if he went on this trip, it wou…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 January 2026
Business of the House
My constituent Mary plans to retire next week. Despite applying to resolve her civil service pension in early summer last year, it has still not been resolved. I wrote to Capita about this immediately, but currently there is little prospect of Mary’s pension being resolved before she plans to retire…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
22 January 2026
Topical Questions
The 10-year bus pipeline is yet to be published, and a media report about the investigation by the National Cyber Security Centre and the Department for Transport into kill switches suggests that 700-plus Chinese buses on British roads have remote disabling technology. Can the Minister confirm wheth…
Commons
Debate
15 January 2026
Covid-19: Financial Support
In the early days of the pandemic, the country came together in the worst of times, making unprecedented sacrifices in all of their lives so that they could collectively fight the pandemic and save lives. The pandemic also put the structure of governance and our public finances under extreme strain;…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
14 January 2026
2 contributions
Economic Growth
10. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Scotland.
In November, I called for urgent intervention to support the Forth valley’s industrial economy. Since then, we have a £150 million deal to protect 500 jobs at Grangemouth’s ethylene plant, £14.5 million in the Budget to unlock hundreds of new jobs quicker at Grangemouth, such as those announced at M…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 December 2025
INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth
People in Falkirk, Grangemouth and across Forth valley are delighted to see the decisive action taken by this Government to preserve 500 jobs in our community. The £120 million investment and £150 million deal are Labour’s industrial strategy in action. It protects our industrial community and keeps…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 December 2025
Topical Questions
The Hillsborough law will deliver a generational strengthening of legal aid, but does the Minister share my constituents’ concern about the fact that the Scottish Government have yet to confirm that similar non-means-tested legal aid will be available to bereaved families in Scotland?
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
15 December 2025
Topical Questions
On Armed Forces Day, it is crucial to mark the bravery of our armed forces personnel and bring our communities together. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can better support Armed Forces Day 2026 events in places such as Falkirk?
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
11 December 2025
Topical Questions
I welcome the 340 jobs at Grangemouth announced this morning as a direct consequence of the investment made by this Labour Government and MiAlgae. [ Official Report , 15 December 2025; Vol. 777, c. 10WC.] (Correction) In less good news, the National Timber Group went into administration last month, …
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 December 2025
5 contributions
Oil Refining Sector
I hear the hon. Member on the strategic importance of oil refineries; we have seen it in Grangemouth for over 100 years. Back in February 2024, in response to a question from the former Member for East Lothian, the right hon. Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak), the then Prime Minist…
It is a privilege to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I congratulate the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) on securing this important debate, and I agree with his comments regarding the strategic importance of oil refineries for their communities—if only colleagues who were…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
10 December 2025
7 contributions
Seasonal Work
I am going to confine my remarks to the criticisms of the Employment Rights Bill, because it is where my experience sits and because I tried—in no small part thanks to the efforts of yourself, Madam Deputy Speaker—to get into Monday’s debate on the Bill, but sadly I was not able to speak.
Having sa…
Yes, absolutely. I also find it disgraceful that the Leader of the Opposition suggested this week that we should freeze the minimum wage. That would mean that, in later years, the workers who are going to keep the lights on this Christmas in the gift shops, the pubs and the restaurants would be enti…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
2 contributions
Forth Valley: Industry
9. What fiscal steps she is taking to support industry in the Forth valley.
I welcome the additional £14 million-plus to get new industry delivered quickly in Grangemouth and the £25 million to finalise the freeport in the Budget two weeks ago. Forth Valley college is vital to giving local working-class kids the skills they need to grasp the new opportunities that must come…