Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
7 contributions
Mandatory Digital ID
It is interesting that my hon. Friend talks about the Estonian experience, as I often hear my constituents’ frustration that they do not know what the Government are doing with their data, and how they even have trouble accessing it. Does my hon. Friend think that a scheme like Estonia’s would help …
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. For reasons of timing, I will not repeat what my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Jo White) said about the important change in the relationship between citizen and state that could come from digital ID—putting the citizen in charge r…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
Ending Homelessness
My hon. Friend is making a fantastic speech. Does she agree that supporting people from rough sleeping into solo accommodation involves a continuum of support from the charity and public sectors? That creates the system that holds people up and supports them, with trauma-based support at its heart.
Commons
Proceedings
20 October 2025
Alleged Spying Case: Home Office Involvement
Mr Speaker, I share your frustration at the collapse of the case. Two questions remain top of mind for Members of the House and for people in my constituency. First, what is the Minister’s assessment of the risk of spying on MPs in this House? Secondly, what is his assessment of the ongoing transnat…
Commons
Debate
13 October 2025
Digital ID
I think that many Members have fundamentally misunderstood the proposal. It is actually about putting power in the hands of the citizen, not the state. The state already holds this information; digital ID will allow citizens to access it. On fraud, £11.4 billion was lost in scams last year, and £1.8…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 October 2025
Security Update: Official Secrets Act Case
I welcome the Minister’s clarity on tackling the threats that China poses, including the transnational repression of Hongkongers in the UK. That will be a real reassurance to the many British nationals overseas who live in Milton Keynes. I would like him to go into further detail, particularly in th…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 October 2025
2 contributions
Homelessness
20. What recent progress the inter-ministerial group on homelessness and rough sleeping has made on the development of a cross-Government strategy to end homelessness.
As the Minister may know, Milton Keynes used to be called “tent city”. We reduced the number of rough sleepers down to 16 when I was deputy leader at the council. We were able to do that because we understood that rough sleeping was more than just a housing issue; it was a whole-person issue. Is she…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 September 2025
Children with SEND: Assessments and Support
Milton Keynes has more than 15,000 specialist school places, but there has been a 114% increase in children with EHCPs. Even with the level of specialist provision that the council has been able to provide, it still cannot meet the demand. How should we square that circle?
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 September 2025
2 contributions
Indefinite Leave to Remain
Does my hon. Friend agree we should be clear that when we say BNO, it stands for British national overseas? We are not talking about Hongkongers or Chinese people; we are talking about people we literally recognise as British nationals overseas, because of our historical relationship. Does he think …
Does my hon. Friend agree that the Hong Kong community’s contribution to Milton Keynes, to our diversity and strength as an economic powerhouse in the UK, should not go unseen by the Minister and this Government? The reality is that we made the Hongkongers a promise, and we should keep it.
Commons
Debate
3 September 2025
Property Taxes
I appreciate the opportunity to speak in this debate. I want to take on the challenge set by the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride), so let us talk about how we got to this point, and the devastating consequences. Under the last Government, despite 27 tax ris…
Commons
Proceedings
3 September 2025
2 contributions
Property Taxes
rose —
What the right hon. Gentleman has said is not a fact. The reality in my region is that Milton Keynes, the Labour-run local authority, has lower taxes than all the surrounding Tory authorities, including in Northamptonshire, which has failed over and over again. Two Conservative and now Reform counci…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
2 September 2025
Sudan
Given the devastation of the United States Agency for International Development, the temporary cuts in official development assistance and the growing desperate situation in areas of Africa, is the Foreign Secretary willing to meet me and colleagues who have worked in and care about the region, to u…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 September 2025
Ukraine
I want to share with the House the deepest solidarity from the Ukraine Appeal and the Sunflower Ukrainian supplementary school in my constituency of Milton Keynes about the recent attacks in Kyiv and on the British Council. The British Council’s vital cultural initiatives have supported peace and cr…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 September 2025
Middle East
Happy birthday, Madam Deputy Speaker. I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s comments about recognition of Palestine, which, of course, is absolutely what all Labour Members stood on in our manifesto. I would like to raise specifically the devastation and starvation of people in Gaza and the numerous rep…
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
2 July 2025
2 contributions
Investment: Technology Businesses
5. What recent discussions he has had with technology businesses on investing in Northern Ireland.
Does the Minister agree that the strength of Northern Ireland’s tech sector means that it can play a huge part in becoming an AI superpower, supported by this Government? However, as we have heard in the Northern Ireland Committee, chaired by my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi), t…
Commons
Debate
1 July 2025
Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill
Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the issues with the points system is that it does not take gender into account? The assessment process does not understand that there are different issues for women and the physical things that our bodies face. Any changes that we make to the points system or de…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
1 July 2025
Topical Questions
The loan charge scandal was absolutely awful and has devastated the lives of tens of thousands of people. It failed to be addressed under the last Government. Can the Minister please tell us what he is doing to make sure people are not still being sold this illegal product?
Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
25 June 2025
2 contributions
Health Science and Innovation
7. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of funding for health science and innovation on the UK’s global influence.
As the Minister will know, Gavi and the Global Fund not only provide a global vaccine programmes and programmes on saving lives from malaria and HIV, but provide us with biosecurity and jobs in the UK, not least over 500 research and development jobs and funding for the institute of tropical medicin…
Commons
Debate
17 June 2025
5 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
In the interests of time, I will skip through the many amendments I want to support, but there are a few that will really make a difference to people in Milton Keynes Central.
First, I reiterate what my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Jo White) said on street racing. Unfortunately, we had a F…
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
17 June 2025
Points of Order
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your advice. Over the past few days, we have recognised Jo Cox’s murder. Given the additional focus and the encouragement of the targeting of MPs using false information, can you advise us, as the person responsible for the safety of Members of Parliament, how…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
10 June 2025
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
I welcome the sanctions announced today by the Minister, which have been taken in conjunction with our allies, and his commitment to a Palestinian state. However, people in Gaza are starving. I want to update the Minister on one such person: Dr Radi, the elderly and frail father of my constituent Mo…
Commons
Debate
10 June 2025
Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords]
I thank the hon. Member for his creativity in his speech. The heart of the debate is whether creatives are asked before we steal their material or style, but also that they are remunerated for that. That is a commitment we have heard from the Minister and from the Secretary of State in his media per…
Commons
Proceedings
9 June 2025
Breast Cancer Screening: Bassetlaw
Medical testing of the BRCA1 gene is effective, but polygenic risk factors mean that if someone has a combination of genes, they might be more at risk of breast cancer. Does my hon. Friend think we should be rolling out polygenic risk testing so that, with a better understanding of their genes, wome…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 June 2025
4 contributions
Decriminalising Abortion
I thank all those who signed the petition to make sure that we had this debate. Is my hon. and learned Friend aware that more than 200 women have been investigated for this? Does he agree that some of the police tactics used—crime scene tape, excluding families from their own homes, and removing chi…
I completely agree that we need to be respectful in this debate as people hold views on all sides. But does the hon. Member agree with me that when we criminalise women, their bodies and abortions, we get absolutely mad circumstances as we have seen in the US, where a woman cannot be saved in the em…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
22 May 2025
3 contributions
Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords]
I thank my right hon. Friend for the way in which he is comprehensively showing our commitment to the creative industries. Like him, I am a huge nerd when it comes to amazing new innovations in data and AI. I am hugely enthusiastic about them, but I also share his equally huge enthusiasm for the cre…
Does the hon. Member agree that what that quote proves is that AI cannot capture the wit and humour that my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda and Ogmore (Chris Bryant) brings to this Chamber?
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
22 May 2025
Independent Sentencing Review
Despite what the shadow Justice Secretary has said about this scheme putting domestic abusers and rapists out on the streets, can the Justice Secretary cut through the rhetoric and fearmongering from the Opposition and be clear that she has put the victims of sexual and domestic abuse at the heart o…