Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
HMP Leyhill: Offender Abscondments
My constituents are concerned that high-risk violent prisoners are increasingly being placed in Leyhill open prison, putting local residents at risk when they abscond. Will the Minister review the process for assessing prisoners prior to a move? With new rapid deployment cells expected to be online …
Commons
Debate
5 January 2026
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
Looking at farm sizes and land values locally, I fear that family farms will still be paying the family farm tax. What evidence is there that £2.5 million realistically reflects the value of a typical family farm in a constituency with higher land values, such as Thornbury and Yate?
Commons
Debate
11 December 2025
2 contributions
Historical Interim Development Orders
“A monstrosity”, “the giant greenhouse”,
“like living next to a large prison”
and
“like ‘War of the Worlds’, it just kept getting bigger and bigger”.
Those are just a few of the words that my constituents in the village of Pilning have used to describe a gigantic new warehouse being built close …
Residents of Pilning woke up one day to find piling work taking place on the edge of their village for a massive, stadium-sized warehouse, which they have dubbed the mega-shed. It now looms over their homes. Not only is it over 20 metres high, but the land on which it is built has been raised, makin…
Commons
Proceedings
11 December 2025
US National Security Strategy
In the light of the strategy’s departure from decades of shared assumptions, will the Government revise the 2025 national security strategy, and if not, why?
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 December 2025
3 contributions
Net Zero Transition: Consumer-led Flexibility
I beg to move,
That this House has considered consumer-led flexibility for a just transition.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Vickers. We have a problem in this country—one that is hitting all our constituents in the pocket, while wasting electricity and pushing up carbon emissi…
I absolutely agree, and I am coming to those points.
The Government have set out a clean flexibility road map, and E.ON has found that 84% of people want more control over energy, so what is the catch? It might be said that this is all well and good for affluent consumers, who can afford the smart …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 December 2025
Digital ID
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. Some 4,497 of my constituents signed the petition, and I thank the many who took the time to write to me to explain their concerns. They believe that a mandatory digital ID threatens our right to privacy while doing nothing to address the G…
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Budget Resolutions
The theme of today’s debate is fairer choices, so I want to look at whether the choices made yesterday really were fairer.
On energy bills, I welcome the removal of the main green levies from electricity bills. They created a perverse disincentive to switching away from gas, at a time when we need …
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
Business of the House
In a letter to me from 2 October, a Work and Pensions Minister stated that the Department was undertaking a review of the child maintenance calculation, and that it would be published “late this year”. Given that it is almost December, could the Leader of the House confirm whether that is still the …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 November 2025
COP30
Increasing the sustainability of agriculture is a vital part of action on climate change, and it was particularly relevant at a COP held in the rainforest, which is under pressure from farming. Can the Secretary of State outline the discussions he had at COP on agriculture, and will he work with his…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 November 2025
G20 and Ukraine
The Prime Minister referred to Putin’s barbaric attacks on civilian energy infrastructure. What discussions has he had with his G20 counterparts about learning from Ukraine’s experience to protect energy supplies and infrastructure from hostile Russian action?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 November 2025
Business of the House
Many of my constituents will be disappointed that small modular reactors will be going to Wylfa, not Oldbury, and disappointed too by the Government’s shambolic handling of the announcement. The news was leaked on Tuesday. The promised calls to me—first from the Minister, then from No. 10—failed to …
Commons
Oral Questions
11 November 2025
Topical Questions
T2. A 2022 victim survey found that only 10% of victims believed that the criminal justice system was effective. What steps are the Government taking to support victims of violence against women and girls, and will they ensure that all police and prosecutors receive training in understanding the imp…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 November 2025
Curriculum and Assessment Review
The Secretary of State acknowledged in her statement the progress gap for children with SEND. How will the Government support flexibility in the delivery of the curriculum, including for those children who are unable to access a traditional school setting?
Commons
Proceedings
30 October 2025
Business of the House
Constituents in Pilning are outraged that a stadium-sized warehouse is being built next to the village under a 1957 consent, which means that modern conditions are avoided. Another warehouse is planned that is twice the size. Will the Leader of the House enable a debate in Government time on tacklin…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
30 October 2025
Topical Questions
T5. Small and medium-sized businesses in my constituency have told me about the impact that Trump’s trade war is having on their ability to export to the United States. What is the Secretary of State doing to support these vital job creators and ensure that British goods can continue to be sold worl…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
27 October 2025
2 contributions
Workforce Skills
10. What steps he is taking to ensure that skills provision meets the needs of employers.
At a recent roundtable meeting in my Thornbury and Yate constituency, small businesses told me about the particular challenges they face in delivering apprenticeships. Given that the Secretary of State’s Department is now responsible for this important policy area, what is he doing to reform apprent…
Commons
Proceedings
23 October 2025
Business of the House
Last week, Billington Structures, one of the UK’s leading structural steelwork contractors, announced proposals to close its Yate site, with 81 jobs at risk. Businesses of all shapes and sizes are struggling due to the increase in national insurance contributions and rising energy costs. Will the Le…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 October 2025
Topical Questions
Time and again in my constituency surgeries, I hear stories of children’s needs going unrecognised and unsupported for years. Given the aim of increasing mainstream inclusion, what are the Government doing to ensure that all teachers receive comprehensive SEND training?
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Business of the House
Last week, I visited Christ the King school in Thornbury for the great school lunch, which raises awareness of the benefits of healthy and nutritious school meals. There is real concern that the funding for both school lunches and breakfast clubs is not enough to cover the cost of providing them, pu…
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Official Secrets Act Case: Witness Statements
Notwithstanding the decision to drop this case, it is clear that China is trying to undermine our democracy. Will the Government include all Chinese officials, Hong Kong special administrative region officials and Chinese Communist party-linked organisations on the enhanced tier of the foreign influ…
Commons
Proceedings
13 October 2025
Education Committee
One of the key findings of the report is that there needs to be a clear definition of what an inclusive education means. Does the Chair of the Select Committee agree that inflexible, draconian disciplinary systems at secondary level applied without consideration for reasonable adjustments are one of…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 September 2025
Children with SEND: Assessments and Support
I thank the 257 constituents in Thornbury and Yate who signed the petition. I want to focus on one symptom of the broken system: emotionally based school non-attendance. Children whose needs are not met can struggle to attend school and, too often, the response is to punish the parents rather than t…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
9 September 2025
2 contributions
Critical Infrastructure Funding: Maintenance and Repair
1. How much capital funding she plans to allocate for the maintenance and repair of critical infrastructure in the next five years.
The weight limit imposed on the M48 Severn bridge due to the deterioration of its supporting cables is having a big impact on local businesses and farmers who work on both sides of the Severn. National Highways estimates that it would cost up to £600 million to repair the bridge, with restrictions o…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 September 2025
Neurodivergent People: Employment
Does my hon. Friend agree it is ironic that, when neurodivergent people commonly experience executive functioning difficulties, applying for Access to Work requires them to have good skills in that area, and people actually need support to access support?
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 September 2025
2 contributions
Hydrogen Supply Chains
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Betts. I thank the hon. Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing the debate, and his able substitute, the hon. Member for Worcester (Tom Collins), for opening it.
With good access to offshore wind resources, the UK is ideally placed to scale…
I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention, and I am grateful for the support of the wider south-west mafia.
Hydrogen UK has reported that unlocking storage infrastructure investment is urgently needed as the sector could require 3.4 TWh of large-scale hydrogen storage by 2030, which could increas…