Commons
Ministerial Statement
18 November 2025
Gaza and Sudan
I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement. With regard to Sudan, I agree wholeheartedly that both sides must allow the unhindered passage of humanitarian supplies. However, I do not share her confidence in the US-led plan, simply because the US is directly responsible for and a participant in …
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
2 contributions
ECO4 Scheme: TrustMark Standards
14. What steps his Department is taking to ensure approved suppliers providing home improvements under the ECO4 scheme continue to meet TrustMark standards.
Hundreds of my constituents in Leicester South installed external cladding as part of the ECO4 scheme. Despite using TrustMark contractors, my constituents have been left to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in fines because those contractors failed to obtain correct planning permission. To make m…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 November 2025
UNESCO: 80th Anniversary
It is a real honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. My speech, borrowing the term from the hon. Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies), is more about lofty ideals than the more detailed presentations that have been given by other hon. Members. As UNESCO’s founding fathers said:
“Since …
Commons
Proceedings
17 November 2025
Illegal Waste: Organised Crime
We all agree that fly-tipping is a national scourge. In addition to causing dismay, it causes a lot of disunity between communities. Furthermore, according to a 2018 report, it costs us £392 million to clear up. Will the Minister agree to give more resources to our local councils to fund enforcement…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
Topical Questions
In recent years, there has been a real increase in racist attacks in this country, including on our NHS staff; they have seen a rise of 55% in such attacks. Recently, two Sikh women were not just racially but sexually abused. Does the Home Secretary fear that implementing asylum policies like those …
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 November 2025
Parkinson’s Disease
Does the hon. Member agree that early detection is key to fighting this disease? Is he, like me, encouraged by research from Moorfields eye hospital and University College London that found that a scan of the retina—the back of the eye—can detect Parkinson’s disease seven years before any symptoms p…
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
13 November 2025
2 contributions
Support for Victims of Crime
3. What steps she has taken with the Crown Prosecution Service to support victims of crime.
A constituent contacted me in a severe state of distress, understandably, because she is a victim of sexual abuse. Unfortunately, her distress is compounded by the fact that her criminal trial date has been postponed not once but twice, while her perpetrator is walking free in her neighbourhood. Thi…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 November 2025
Points of Order
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. During the urgent question, the Secretary of State mentioned that she was aware of my social media posts attacking and targeting her. I have never made a post about the Secretary of State. Perhaps she would like to clarify that point. My colleagues may have…
Commons
Proceedings
12 November 2025
Independent Football Regulator
I and like-minded football fans welcome the much-needed creation of an independent regulator. Indeed, I am not even questioning the merit of the individual appointed as its chair. The issue is this: the Secretary of State, by her own admission, forgot that she was given money by the new chair before…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 November 2025
Support for Dyslexic Pupils
It is such a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I thank the hon. Members for Yeovil (Adam Dance) and Broxtowe (Juliet Campbell) for securing this vital discussion of dyslexia. Dyslexia is an evolving issue, with the definition being discussed as we speak. One in 10 children—more than…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 November 2025
3 contributions
Autistic Adults: Employment
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Turner. I thank the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) for securing this important debate. Like many other Members, I have met many neurodivergent adults and their families in my constituency who are desperate to contribute to society and real…
I wholeheartedly agree. We have to think expansively and not follow the rigorous rules that we have for abled individuals.
Some 77% of unemployed autistic people say they want to work. They are not unwilling; what is unwilling is the system, which creates barriers at the crucial first step, the tra…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
5 November 2025
Conflict in Sudan
In addition to surviving bombs, bullets and sexual violence, the 24 million people in Sudan are facing an acute food shortage. According to Save the Children, people are eating leaves, grass and even peanut shells to survive. That situation has been further compounded by the expulsion of the World F…
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
Huntingdon Train Attack
Does the Home Secretary share my deep concern that when incidents such as this occur, certain political commentators and, sadly, certain politicians race to set the narrative behind such attacks as ethnicity-based, faith-based or, ideally, both, rather than focusing on the key crime indicators, such…
Commons
Proceedings
30 October 2025
Sudan: Protection of Civilians
With so many conflicts around the world, I am sad to say that we have failed them as a House, as a country and as humanity, whether it be in Ukraine or in Gaza, but what we have not done is forget those other conflicts. This conflict is now in its third year, with more than 150,000 dead and the wors…
Commons
Proceedings
29 October 2025
Gaza and Hamas
It appears that this ceasefire is going in the same vein as previous announcements on ceasefires—primarily one side, the Palestinians, cease; the other side, Israelis, continue to fire. Some 20 Palestinians have been killed every single day since this so-called last ceasefire. Last night was the mos…
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 October 2025
2 contributions
Vehicle Headlight Glare Standards
It is an absolute pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I thank the hon. Member for Crawley (Peter Lamb) for bringing this debate to Westminster Hall. I declare that I have personal experience with this issue as a practising NHS optometrist, so I can say with some clarity that it is…
I agree wholeheartedly that better cars mean that we are driving for longer, but does the Minister share my concern that the UK is the only country in Europe that allows people to hold a driving licence until the age of 70 without ever being required to take a sight test? Perhaps we need a sight tes…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
27 October 2025
Employment: People with Health Conditions
At a recent roundtable at the Eyres Monsell club for young people in my constituency, parents told me that their young adults with learning difficulties, who volunteered for years, often with major supermarkets, still struggle to secure work. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that young pe…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 October 2025
2 contributions
Holidays During School Term Time
I agree wholeheartedly with the hon. Member’s argument, but does she agree that slapping on fines will make the relationship between parents and schools more adversarial, creating more problems than it tries to solve?
In the absence of being able to change the minds of our tour operators, does the hon. Member agree that we may need to look at the whole timetable of our syllabuses and school terms? They date back to Victorian times 150 or 160 years ago. Perhaps we should have a five-term academic year and more fre…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
Ending Homelessness
Does the hon. Member agree that being homeless should not prevent people from using primary care services, such as GP and dental practices, and the Government must support those practice providers as much as they can?
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy
I welcome the announcement that the Government are enhancing their provision of post-16 vocational qualifications, but when will the Secretary of State outline a dedicated post-16 strategy for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities? I recently held a heartbreaking roundtable with y…
Commons
Debate
20 October 2025
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC: Away Fans Ban
Antisemitism is vile, and no one should be prevented from enjoying their sporting game, whatever it may be, simply because of their faith. As a football fan, I take the decision to ban any fans very seriously, but the Prime Minister’s decision to interfere with the independence of West Midlands poli…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 October 2025
Topical Questions
Over 50% of parents of children who have special educational needs have admitted to neglecting their own health because they are too busy prioritising the health of their children. What is the Minister doing to ensure that parents’ health and mental wellbeing are being prioritised in this very adver…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
Youth Services: Funding
Youth services deliver huge benefits to our community, both socially and economically, reducing knife crime and antisocial behaviour and, in turn, saving the country £500 million a year. Yet the clubs that I meet in my constituency, including Wesley Hall youth club and Eyres Monsell club for young p…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 October 2025
Health and Social Care Committee
I thank the hon. Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton) for presenting this report. Does she agree that we need to have a wider conversation about healthcare for black and ethnic minority individuals, especially as there is a chasm in the provision of healthcare? For example, body mass …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 October 2025
Middle East
I welcome the ceasefire and the release of the hostages, and I take solace in the knowledge—or at least in the hope—that unlike other debates of this nature, at the end of this one countless Palestinian children will not have been killed by the IDF. However, does the Prime Minister agree that the pe…