Commons
Debate
11 February 2026
2 contributions
Police Grant Report
Before I delve into the issues facing policing in Norfolk, I have to discuss some of the simply incredible ways that funding allocations are decided in the police grant report that we are debating. This is just another example of government functioning in a way that is rapidly becoming unfit for pur…
Those facts are irrefutable. I will come on to some of the points that the hon. Member makes about the challenges of policing an area like North Norfolk, due to the unique characteristics of our shared county.
We are lucky to have a lower than average rate of crime, but that does not mean that we s…
Commons
Debate
28 January 2026
Youth Unemployment
I have carefully read the Opposition motion on this hugely important issue, and I am rather concerned that transport is not mentioned once. Transport is a massive barrier to employment and training for young people in North Norfolk, but the Conservatives do not seem to realise that it is an issue. D…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 January 2026
4 contributions
Local Government Reorganisation: Referendums
I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a Norfolk county councillor. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire (Mr Bedford) on securing the debate. Might I say how welcome it is that, unlike the Norfolk Conservatives, he is a Conservative who thinks…
Not only do I cynically agree with my hon. Friend, but I think that is precisely why it is so important to have local elections, because of not just the time that will have elapsed but the very important the decisions that authorities will make as part of the local government reorganisation that, as…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 January 2026
Horse and Rider Road Safety
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) on securing this debate and his long-running championship of the issue. He is a true champion of rider safety; the riding community could hope for no better advocate in this plac…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 January 2026
Iran
I am appalled by the actions of the murderous Iranian regime, but I am deeply concerned that the financial secrecy of our overseas territories is enabling sanctions dodging. Will the Foreign Secretary assure me that she is doing everything she can to secure greater transparency in the overseas terri…
Commons
Westminster Hall
6 January 2026
Less Survivable Cancers
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (Clive Jones) on securing the debate. He is a truly committed campaigner on cancer care.
Over previous decades, we have managed to achieve great progress on cancer care and survival. Many cancers now have high survival rates and straightforward…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 December 2025
Topical Questions
T9. Whatever changes the Secretary of State is seeking to make to juries, they will make not one bit of difference in my constituency if people cannot get the legal advice they need. Can he assure me that the recent funding announcement will be targeted at legal aid deserts such as North Norfolk? …
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 December 2025
Grassroots Cricket Clubs
I congratulate the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) on securing this debate. I am pleased to wind up for the Liberal Democrats. In place of my hon. Friend the Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine), I am acting as our 12th man on this occasion. I am pleased to be the opener f…
Commons
Debate
10 December 2025
2 contributions
Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer
Will the Minister give way?
On the same topic, the way this Budget was handled has undermined public confidence in North Norfolk in many ways, few more so than the fact it produced radio silence on our long-pledged dental school at the University of East Anglia. Does the Minister agree that if the Treasury had spent a little l…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 December 2025
Village Schools
Schools are not only at the heart of village communities but make living in rural villages in North Norfolk viable for young families. Without village schools, working-age parents simply cannot live in these areas and will leave for towns and cities, but the current funding formula does not recognis…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 December 2025
Water Scarcity
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (John Milne) on securing a debate on this vital issue. The fact that I previously secured a debate in this place on flooding in Norfolk and our problems with too much water, and now I am c…
Commons
Proceedings
2 December 2025
Budget Resolutions
My hon. Friend and I both represent rural constituencies that face similar challenges. Businesses in North Norfolk already face extra struggles to stay afloat, including training and retaining staff, finding affordable premises, and even things as simple as getting a strong and reliable phone and in…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 November 2025
Parkinson’s Disease
The real-world experience in North Norfolk is very much like that. It is a struggle to secure the care that people need. We have a shortage of specialist care and Parkinson’s nurses, and those are just some of the things that our rural health system struggles with. Does the hon. Member agree that th…
Commons
Debate
13 November 2025
2 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
I am pleased to speak today in full support of Lords amendments 38 and 40. I would also like to take the opportunity to press the Minister on the Government’s response in the other place to Lords amendment 32, which I will come to shortly.
First, on Lords amendment 40, I am pleased that the Lords a…
I am getting an indication that he will not do so, which is a shame.
I support the development of more homes in North Norfolk; there are 2,400 households on our housing waiting list who demand that provision. I am delighted that new residents in Walcott and Bacton will be moving into dozens of new …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
13 November 2025
Police Reform
Sarah Taylor, the Minister’s Labour colleague and Norfolk’s police and crime commissioner, has been turning things around in Norfolk, where PCCs have a very chequered history. She is taking real action on road safety. Under the Conservatives, PCCs sacked all the PCSOs, tried and failed to take over …
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
13 November 2025
Serious Fraud Office: Economic Crime
One way the Serious Fraud Office can be made more effective is through access to more registers of beneficial overseas interests. We know that fraudsters, tax dodgers and crooks are exploiting the financial secrecy in those territories to hide their ill-gotten gains. Does the Solicitor General agree…
Commons
Westminster Hall
5 November 2025
3 contributions
Financial Transparency: Overseas Territories
I congratulate the hon. Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell) on the way he has framed this discussion, because we are debating the impact of these tax arrangements in the overseas territories on UK communities. Every penny being shielded from paying the fair share in these places is a penny that i…
Yes, I am frighteningly aware, because I have tried to access these registers myself, and I have relied upon reports by other organisations to tell me what is really going on. When a country’s wealth in savings is a multi-hundred-times multiple of its GDP, that brings all this into sharp focus.
But…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
4 November 2025
Supporting High Streets
Stalham, a beautiful market town in North Norfolk, is one of the places receiving support from the high streets taskforce to revitalise its high street, and local businesses are enthusiastically getting involved. However, to support businesses to thrive, we have to equip them with skills and experti…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
3 November 2025
2 contributions
Low-flying Military Aircraft
9. What steps he is taking to reduce the potential impact of low-flying military aircraft on people living in North Norfolk constituency.
Dozens of my constituents have contacted me to express their frustration with the training patterns of both RAF and American fighter jets over North Norfolk’s towns and villages. It makes it hard to work, it traumatises pets, and in the case of one of my constituents it has left them with permanent …
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 October 2025
Independent Lifeboats: Government Support
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I am delighted to respond to this debate on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, and congratulate the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes) on securing it.
In coastal communities such as North Norfolk, independent lifeboats are not just …
Commons
Debate
22 October 2025
Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund
Scientists at the Norwich research park and Quadram Institute are doing incredible work in the field of agri-science, which could transform the future of food for the better; in fact, the Quadram Institute will be visiting Parliament and briefing MPs during evidence week next month about this work. …
Commons
Oral Questions
21 October 2025
Topical Questions
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests: I am a serving Norfolk county councillor.
It is two years since the Conservatives in Norfolk oversaw the closure of two convalescence facilities: Benjamin Court in Cromer and Grays Fair Court in Costessey, in the constit…
Commons
Debate
15 October 2025
Jhoots Pharmacy
For almost two years now, the people of Sheringham have been suffering from completely unacceptable service from our local branch of Jhoots. Shortages of drugs, shortages of pharmacists, issues with paying staff and a litany of other issues have caused chaos, including one resident sent by NHS 111 t…
Commons
Proceedings
16 September 2025
Points of Order
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. On 16 June, I asked a written question to the Department of Health and Social Care, seeking an update on plans for a new dental school at the University of East Anglia. This is a hugely important issue for people in Norfolk and has been raised by MPs across the House…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
16 September 2025
2 contributions
Prison Rehabilitation
5. What steps he is taking to support rehabilitative programmes in prisons.
I thank the Minister for his response and welcome him to his place. We have a prison population crisis, but rather than building or releasing our way out of it, we have to reduce reoffending. I recently visited HMP Bure in my constituency and saw the excellent work it has been doing internally to su…