Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
8 December 2025
Topical Questions
Some 1,750 kids in Falkirk, most of whom have a parent in work, will be lifted from poverty and its lifelong economic consequences by the fully funded lifting of the two-child cap. Does the Minister agree that the cost of this poverty-alleviation policy is far less than the long-term cost of leaving…
Commons
Proceedings
4 December 2025
Business of the House
Last month, during consideration of a Lords message on the Employment Rights Bill, I said:
“I have proportionate respect for the work of the other place”. —[ Official Report , 5 November 2025; Vol. 774, c. 978.]
However, this House and the public—especially young, lower-paid and insecure workers—e…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
4 December 2025
National Resilience
Considering that Chinese state-subsidised manufacturers have gained a rising market share in the UK over the past few years, that the Department for Transport and the National Cyber Security Centre have recently announced an investigation into kill switches in Chinese buses, and that the 10-year bus…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
4 December 2025
Proposed Chinese Embassy
My constituents are concerned about the broader domestic security risk that China is currently posing, beyond the potential implications of its embassy planning application. Considering that Chinese state-subsidised bus manufacturers have gained a rising market share in the UK over the past few year…
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Business of the House
Forth Valley College recently announced that its Alloa campus risks closure due to SNP cuts. The prospect is devastating for Forth valley and is a direct threat to the opportunities of thousands of working-class Scottish kids from Stirling, Falkirk and especially Clackmannanshire. Reform Falkirk too…
Commons
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
Topical Questions
Considering the imminent publication of the 10-year bus pipeline and rapidly rising Chinese market share in UK bus orders, will the Minister expand on what the Government will do to ensure that domestic manufacturers have a level playing field, which the SNP’s infamous ScotZEB2 shopping list for Chi…
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
Topical Questions
Last month the Energy Minister stated that the £200 million investment in Grangemouth from the national wealth fund that was secured by Scottish Labour Members has brought private investment to the table. Does he agree that we need an anchor industry in Grangemouth with a scale and skills profile si…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
Asylum Hotels
The Government have already acted to fix the unworkable mess in which the Tories left the asylum system. An increase of 116% in processing in one year is bringing down the backlog, securing refugee status for those fleeing persecution and removing those with no right to be here, but communities such…
Commons
Debate
12 November 2025
Nolan Principles
It was fantastic to see the consensus in this House in relation to the Hillsborough law. Does the Minister share my concern that the Scottish Government have yet to confirm whether they will match the non-means-tested legal aid that is written into the Bill, as passed on Second Reading last week, ac…
Commons
Debate
5 November 2025
4 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
Can the hon. Lady define what rights somebody working behind a desk in this place should have under amendment 48B that somebody working behind a bar in this place should not?
I refer hon. Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a proud, experienced hospitality worker of six years. I have proportionate respect for the work of the other place on the Bill, and am once again bemused and frustrated on behalf of my constituents that this generati…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 October 2025
Infected Blood Compensation Scheme
I welcome the Minister’s statement, and the opening of further interim payments last week. The families of infected people in Falkirk have in the past told me that systems could be better streamlined to improve the pace of delivery. I know the pace of delivery will continue to be imperative for fami…
Commons
Proceedings
30 October 2025
Business of the House
My constituent Brian is suffering from cancer and is unable to work. He has been unable to alter his child maintenance payments, despite persistently making contact with those concerned over a number of months, and has been paying over half his income. When will the Government react to the inquiry b…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
30 October 2025
2 contributions
Industrial Strategy
14. What recent progress he has made on implementing the industrial strategy.
I declare an interest as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for British buses. Our bus manufacturing industry supports thousands of jobs across the country, but faces an existential challenge from China. Market share has increased rapidly, and the Scottish National party’s disastrous Scot…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 October 2025
Children’s Social Care
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq.
With National Care Leavers Month starting next Saturday, it is apt that we are discussing this issue here in Westminster Hall today. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes), the Chair of the Education Commi…
Commons
Proceedings
29 October 2025
Asylum Seekers: MOD Housing
I welcome the urgency with which Ministers are seeking to end Tory-created asylum hotel use—which does not work for those fleeing persecution, or for local communities such as those in Falkirk—while also lowering the cost of the asylum system and speeding up processing. Will the Minister elaborate o…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 October 2025
World Stroke Day
Does my hon. Friend agree that we need a plan in Scotland to install 24/7 emergency thrombectomy care across the country as soon as possible? I believe the objective is 2031, but we should be pushing the Scottish Government to go further and faster on that.
Commons
Proceedings
23 October 2025
Business of the House
Older constituents living in the high flats at Callendar Park and Kemper Avenue in my constituency have for years raised the issue of unacceptable antisocial, and sometimes criminal, behaviour. Those flats are the last place that any drug dealer should be rehoused. Can we have a debate in Government…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
23 October 2025
2 contributions
Public Procurement: Employment
13. What steps he is taking to increase employment opportunities through public procurement.
I declare an interest as the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for British buses. Alexander Dennis and Wrightbus create 13 jobs for every four directly hired in bus manufacturing, and for decades Alexander Dennis has been an invaluable piece of the Scottish economy. After the business al…
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
3 contributions
Devolution in Scotland
I welcome the debate, brought forward by the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone). As my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) pointed out, I am a member of the devolution generation. As my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh East and Mus…
I imagine the people of Wales choose to vote in the same ways as the Scottish people do for the Scots. My hon. Friend the Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman) put it very well: simply picking a different nation in the UK to tackle our policy issues is getting exhausting, especially on t…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 October 2025
Asylum Seekers: Support and Accommodation
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. My contribution will focus exclusively on the asylum system and the impact that my community has seen. Falkirk has been a host community for asylum seekers over the last few years. I have met people from Ukraine, the middle east and the ho…
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Business of the House
Last Friday, I attended a graduation for STEM—science, technology, engineering and maths—students at Forth Valley College. This college is a crucial educational asset and it is vital to plans to re-industrialise our area. However, due to a 20% cut in funding for the college sector since the SNP bega…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
16 September 2025
Topical Questions
Barlinnie prison is operating at 30% above capacity, and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons is strongly urging Scottish Government action before the £1 billion replacement is finally built in 2028. What steps are Ministers taking to avoid the costly mistakes of the SNP Scottish Government in tack…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 September 2025
2 contributions
Employment Rights: Impact on Businesses
Does my hon. Friend agree that we have to assess the economic impact and consequences, which we have seen over a number of years, of low pay and insecure hours, and how they have contributed to high turnover and sickness absence in businesses? I believe that those problems are substantially addresse…
I welcome the Minister to her place. She is making an excellent point, but I refer her to specific sectors in which some Opposition parties have called for carve-outs. Does she agree that it is important that we do not carve out, for any particular sector, the strong provisions in the Bill, and that…
Commons
Debate
15 September 2025
8 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
I would like to start by thanking all Members who have contributed to the debate, but especially the new ministerial team and senior Ministers across the Government who recommitted to this legislation in public, and especially to the previous ministerial team who advanced the Bill as it went through…
I agree, especially if we look at unfair dismissal. The issue is not the cause of the dismissal; at its core, this is about denying people recourse. If a worker cannot claim unfair dismissal because of the two-year threshold, their recourse is substantially weaker. The course of the conduct is not c…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
2 contributions
Bus Sector Support
8. What steps she is taking to support the bus sector.
The consultation on 400 jobs at Alexander Dennis closes tomorrow. It has been a time of deep anxiety for the local workers. The SNP’s ScotZEB2 scheme initially sent over three times as many buses to China as to Scotland’s sole manufacturer. Although £40 million has now been made available by Transpo…