Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
13 July 2026
2 contributions
British National Overseas Visa
12. What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the British national overseas visa settlement route.
The Hong Kong community in Bracknell Forest has welcomed the announcement of the continuation of the five-year settlement route for BNO visa holders, as well as the expansion to adult children. However, real concerns remain around changes to language and income requirements, as well as concerns that…
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
9 July 2026
2 contributions
Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution Rates
2. What steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates for crimes involving violence against women and girls.
My right hon. and learned Friend is right that the system needs to change. I have been contacted by a constituent who has waited four years for her day in court, following her ex-partner being charged with coercive and controlling behaviour. She has seen her trial date repeatedly pushed back, often …
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
Topical Questions
T8. Year 7 students from Ranelagh school in Bracknell have written to me as part of the Creative for Climate Justice Project. As well as sharing some incredible artwork and poetry, they wrote that the impacts of climate change are already visible, and that we should act now to avoid irreversible dam…
Commons
Proceedings
6 July 2026
Rochdale Grooming Gang: Offender Deportation
It is my view that Shabir Ahmed, a vile paedophile, signed up for a one-way ticket out of this country on the very day that he started committing his vile crimes. I thank the Minister for his statement setting out that he will stop at nothing to see him deported, but is it not also the case that thi…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
2 July 2026
Topical Questions
T7. Bracknell residents are concerned that two vital local post offices, in Crown Wood and in Bracknell town centre, are at risk of closure because of the travails of their host stores, Morrisons Daily and TGJones. That follows the recent closure of a post office in Easthampstead. Will the Minister …
Commons
Oral Questions
Culture, Media and Sport
18 June 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
Whether it is cheering along to every one of those England goals, bawling our eyes out as we watch the heartbreaking social drama “Tip Toe”, or even following the latest twists and turns at Westminster from trusted news sources, it is undoubtable that public sector broadcasting enriches all our live…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 June 2026
Human Rights: Supply Chains
My hon. Friend will know that I am a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, which recently published a report called “Forced Labour in the UK’s Supply Chains”. One of our recommendations was that the Government need to strengthen section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and specifically th…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
15 June 2026
Topical Questions
My hon. Friend will know how enthusiastic I am for a Thames Valley foundation strategic authority covering Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon, but he will also know of my concerns about a spatial development strategy being imposed on us using a different, larger geography. Does he share my concern t…
Commons
Oral Questions
Health and Social Care
9 June 2026
Topical Questions
T2. One of the biggest barriers to accessing community healthcare in Bracknell Forest is constituents not being able to get routine diagnostic procedures done at their local GP or health centre, and instead having to travel. One constituent with cancer was told that he had to go to Guildford for a s…
Commons
Oral Questions
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
4 June 2026
2 contributions
Clean Waterways: Thames Valley
10. What steps she is taking to help clean waterways in the Thames Valley.
Last week there was a major fire in Bracknell, and I pay tribute to the emergency services, Bracknell Forest council, local businesses and the community, which all came together to respond. Alongside the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mr Reynolds), I have since contacted the Environment Agency to raise…
Commons
Debate
4 June 2026
Pride Month
The Minister is making a really important point. The fact that the first action of many Reform councils has been to tear down Pride flags and to ban or defund Pride events really speaks to who they are and their values, and I do not think that they are the values of the vast majority of British peop…
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
3 June 2026
2 contributions
Supreme Court Dillon Judgment: Policy Implications
1. What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the Supreme Court judgment in the Dillon case [2026] UKSC 15.
Terrorists were responsible for the vast majority of deaths during the troubles. Many of those murders remain unsolved, and the last Tory Government’s Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 sought to offer immunity to the perpetrators. Does the Secretary of State agree that t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 June 2026
5 contributions
Children: Development of Essential Skills
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government support for children developing essential skills.
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I start by declaring that I am chair of the all-party parliamentary groups for schools, learning and assessment; on social mobili…
Absolutely. I thank my hon. Friend for making that point. I am aware that the financial strategy sits with the Treasury but, like many of the tasks that face this Government, there must be a cross-Department approach. It is really important that all Departments grapple with the need to deliver bette…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
14 May 2026
Getting Britain Working Again
The hon. Lady makes a powerful case, but her party was the future once, so why were all the challenges that she identifies not fixed when the Conservatives were in government? They were the ones who set up and built this welfare system.
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 April 2026
Park Home Owners
I thank my constituency neighbour for giving way. As he knows, there are many park homes across Bracknell Forest, which we both represent. I understand the scepticism that some have expressed about the call for evidence, but as he has identified, the Government need to put forward something that can…
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill (Carry-over)
As a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, I thank the Secretary of State for appearing in front of our Committee on two occasions—he has truly embraced scrutiny. The JCHR is currently carrying out legislative scrutiny of the Bill, and the remarks I offer tonight are informed by the evidenc…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 April 2026
Animal Testing
My hon. Friend is making a powerful point. A conflict is sometimes presented between our understandable concerns about animal welfare and good science, but, as she set out, there is no such conflict. The really heartbreaking, frustrating thing is that many of the ongoing experiments that cause anima…
Commons
Debate
22 April 2026
Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for bringing this debate to the House tonight. I have been asked to come along on behalf of my constituent, James Nichols, who lost a dear friend in just that age group to SUDEP and has been a tireless campaigner on the issue ever since. He explained to me that th…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 April 2026
2 contributions
Car Insurance Industry: Fraud
The hon. Lady is setting out an extraordinary situation. I want to draw her attention to another real challenge facing drivers: collisions with people who are not insured. Uninsured drivers cost the economy £1 billion a year, and they are disproportionately likely to be involved in collisions, speed…
At the start of his speech, my hon. Friend mentioned the involvement of AI in this. That issue was raised with me by the Thames Valley police roads team, which said it is now quite possible for uninsured drivers to use AI to generate a fake insurance document at the roadside, and in that way to prev…
Commons
Oral Questions
22 April 2026
2 contributions
Clean Energy
1. What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for clean energy projects in Wales.
The war in Iran has put in stark relief the importance of clean energy to the UK. From Bracknell to Bangor, we have all seen the effects on our bills. Will the Secretary of State update the House on the role that clean energy is playing in Wales and its importance to the future of Wales?
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 April 2026
Topical Questions
T8. As the MP for Sandhurst, I am proud to represent many armed forces families. As the Minister will know, armed forces families often move around, but no particular support seems to be given to their children. There is no marker to identify these children, they do not qualify for fair access proto…
Commons
Debate
15 April 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
As well as being a member of the Education Committee, which has done sterling work on this point, I am a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, which is undertaking an inquiry on human rights in the care system. We held a powerful roundtable with care-experienced young people, and that point…
Commons
Debate
15 April 2026
Strategic Defence Review: Funding
When this Government took office, they inherited an armed forces on its knees and responded to that challenge with the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war and a bold 10-year strategic defence review to ensure that we have an armed forces that once again is able to prote…
Commons
Oral Questions
14 April 2026
2 contributions
Access to GPs: Bracknell Forest
7. What steps his Department is taking to improve levels of access to GPs in Bracknell Forest.
I declare an interest: my brother is a GP. Many residents in Bracknell Forest find the best way to contact their GP is online or by phone, but others have told me that they want to be able to visit their local surgery and book an appointment in person. Can my hon. Friend confirm that the new GP cont…
Commons
Debate
13 April 2026
2 contributions
SEND Provision and Reform
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
I recently hosted an open meeting with parents on these reforms. Although there was widespread welcoming of much of what is in the White Paper, they urged that real, sustained change should happen. One concern was about the enforceability and accountability for ISPs, what would happen if a school wa…