Commons
Westminster Hall
8 July 2026
National Youth Strategy
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Harpreet Uppal) for securing this important debate. As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on youth affairs, I know the importance of services for young people, and I welcome the Government’s leadership on this issue.
When I meet young …
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
3 June 2026
Engagements
Q3. I am proud that, after decades, this Labour Government are putting passengers before profit by bringing Greater Thameslink Railway, Southern and Gatwick Express into public ownership. The previous Government shelved plans to unblock the bottleneck at East Croydon station, which not only causes d…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 April 2026
Knife Crime
I thank the Minister for her tireless work and campaigning on this issue, both in this place and in our community of Croydon. I know that this moral mission is personal to her, but given her experience, does she agree that tackling knife crime requires a whole-system approach bringing together polic…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 March 2026
2 contributions
Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government support for the Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq.
As the Minister will know, this is the second time that I have secured a debate on this topic; it is great to be reunited with him t…
I completely agree. We have to look at economic investment and infrastructure in broad terms. The fact that local plans can unlock local growth corridors and be key to local areas should be included in the assessment of the validity of these projects.
Addressing the bottleneck could unlock around £…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 March 2026
Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) for securing this urgent question. In my constituency, we have had a massive uptick in complaints about not only letters being delivered late, but priority service not happening when people have paid for it, and constituents bein…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 February 2026
Business of the House
I recently had the pleasure of visiting Coloma Convent girls’ school in my constituency, where students are campaigning on the vital issue of debt relief for developing countries and what this nation can do about it. They highlighted the stark reality that 3.3 billion people live in nations that spe…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
4 contributions
Student Loan Repayment Plans
I have enjoyed the perks of being an elder millennial, graduating in 2004 as a plan 1 student. The retrospective changing of the threshold, burdening plan 2 students with debt, is unbelievable, as is linking interest to the retail price index not the consumer prices index, which the Office for Budge…
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) for securing the debate.
The system that the current Government have inherited, after years of failure on the issue by the previous Government, is complex, ineffective and simp…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
24 February 2026
4 contributions
Online Harm: Child Protection
I thank the Minister for the decisive action that he took over the recent Grok incident. Given the scope of the consultation and the fact that we are talking about online harms, I want to flag the issue we have around content on YouTube, which is a video-sharing platform, not necessarily a social me…
I sincerely thank the hon. Lady for giving way. When we talk about the consultation, it is not necessarily about seeking consensus in this place; it is about seeking consensus with parents and children, and with people outside this place. Banning social media for children is a good approach, but thi…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
11 February 2026
4 contributions
Local Government Finance
rose —
I appreciate the hon. Member’s concerns. My constituency is an outer-London borough that has long been deemed as having inner-London support through finance, and it has inner-London problems—it is not particularly leafy, and deprivation is tough and takes a massive toll on our councils. Does he unde…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
26 January 2026
2 contributions
Youth Hubs
7. What steps he is taking through the roll-out of youth hubs to help support young people into education, training and employment.
The expansion of Department for Work and Pensions youth hubs and the roll-out of Young Futures hubs are a testament to the Government’s commitment to stand alongside young people and support them to succeed. The Centre for Young Lives has called for Government Departments to work jointly to ensure c…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 January 2026
Mobile Phones and Social Media: Use by Children
I welcome the Government’s launching of a national conversation about the impact of screens and tech on our children. As part of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s inquiry into children’s TV and video content, we have heard evidence that not all screen time is equal. Content that is meant for …
Commons
Debate
17 December 2025
Youth Services
I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision about the delivery of youth services by local authorities, including services under section 507B of the Education Act 1996; to require local authorities to specify groups of young people to receive particular services for the p…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
17 December 2025
Local Government Finance
I welcome the Government’s taking into account deprivation in the multi-year funding settlement. If there was ever a demonstration of what a difference a Labour Government can make, it is this: investment in our poorest communities, not crippling Tory austerity. It looks like in Croydon we are set t…
Commons
Debate
11 November 2025
BBC Leadership
Now, more than ever, the role of the BBC in our national story and our democracy and the trust we put in it are vital. Trust is not given; it is earned, and we cannot shy away when things go wrong. Does the Culture Secretary agree with me that the charter should focus on transparency, accountability…
Commons
Oral Questions
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Waiting Times: Online Services
7. What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of NHS online on waiting times.
The wellbeing of our nation’s young people remains in crisis, with one in five having a probable mental health condition and the number being referred to emergency mental health care continuing to rise. In communities like mine in Croydon East, where young people are waiting months and sometimes eve…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 October 2025
Pride in Place
After 14 years of neglect under the previous Government, it is refreshing to see that under this Labour Government, communities such as New Addington in my constituency come first. I welcome the £20 million long-term investment that this Government are making in New Addington, its people and its fut…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
2 contributions
Transport: Economic Growth
4. What steps she is taking to ensure that the transport system supports economic growth.
I am a member of a parliamentary group on the Gatwick diamond growth area, and it is clear that expanding Gatwick airport gives huge potential for economic growth across the south-east and Croydon. Plans to upgrade Norwood Junction station, in my constituency, with a lift were shelved when plans to …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 September 2025
Early Education and Childcare
I welcome this Government’s commitment to breaking down barriers to opportunity, as well as their investment in Fairchildes and Monks Orchard primary schools in my constituency so that they can expand their nursery provision. Can the Minister outline the role that school-based nurseries play in Labo…
Commons
Oral Questions
1 September 2025
2 contributions
NEETs: Croydon East
6. What steps she is taking to support young people into employment, education or training in Croydon East constituency.
Croydon is London’s youngest borough. Given that 6.6% of people aged 16 to 24 in my Croydon East constituency claim out-of-work benefits, supporting young people into work, and breaking down barriers to opportunity, is vital. Will the Minister give a little more detail about the additional funding f…
Commons
Proceedings
10 July 2025
Educational Attainment of Boys
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) for securing this very important debate. I rise to speak on an issue that cuts across every postcode, every classroom and every community: the persistent and growing gap in educational engagement and attainment among our boys.
Al…
Commons
Proceedings
10 July 2025
Business of the House
At a time when just 26% of the UK’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics workforce are women, I am incredibly proud that Croydon high school in my constituency is on course to become the first all-girls school in the world to design, build and launch a CubeSat into space, following a suc…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 July 2025
2 contributions
London’s National Economic Contribution
The hon. Member is making excellent points. On deprivation and the cost of housing, does she agree with me that when we factor in London’s housing costs, London becomes the poverty capital of the country? Without vital funding for housing in London, London does not grow. If London does not get the f…
I want to highlight the local impact of that £2.2 billion, which means that my community in Croydon will finally get new trams. Croydon is not the only place in London that has trams, but we have the oldest trams in the country, and the sustainable, multi-year funding settlement means that my outer …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
7 July 2025
Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life
I welcome this Government’s commitment to early years, because we all know that investment in early years has a profound impact not only on the lives of children but on communities such as mine in Croydon East. Does the Secretary of State agree that the fact that one in three low-income families cur…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
2 July 2025
Engagements
Q2. Unlike the Conservatives, this Government have not dragged their feet in banning zombie knives and ninja-style swords in their effort to tackle knife crime. In Croydon, where youth violence has cast a devastating shadow across our communities, our local police are running a surrender scheme th…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
25 June 2025
Engagements
Q13. Successive Conservative Governments stripped our councils of funding for youth services, pitting them against services that were under statutory protections. That has led to one in eight councils no longer having a youth centre. Croydon, which is London’s youngest borough, is about to lose it…