Commons
Statutory Instrument
8 September 2026
2 contributions
Draft ACAS Code of Practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities
On the surface, this revision introduces the legal right to reasonable paid time off for union equality representatives, ensures that representatives can hold multiple positions—thus increasing the provisions under which they qualify for more time off—puts a greater onus on employers in tribunals, a…
Does the Minister accept that in settling trade disputes, the Government should emphasise increases in productivity, not just blanket above-inflation pay rises?
Commons
Statutory Instrument
8 September 2026
2 contributions
Delegated Legislation Committee
On the surface, this revision introduces the legal right to reasonable paid time off for union equality representatives, ensures that representatives can hold multiple positions—thus increasing the provisions under which they qualify for more time off—puts a greater onus on employers in tribunals, a…
Does the Minister accept that in settling trade disputes, the Government should emphasise increases in productivity, not just blanket above-inflation pay rises?
Commons
Debate
8 September 2026
Retirement Property Management Companies: Regulation
I thank my hon. Friend for giving way again and for securing this Adjournment debate. Does he agree that there is a particularly predatory aspect upon the death of a resident who has occupied one of these properties? I would like to use this moment to pay tribute to Alex Roll, a constituent of mine …
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
7 September 2026
2 contributions
Urban Housing: Densification
3. What steps she is taking to ensure that her Department has effective strategies for prioritising housing densification in urban areas.
I just heard the Secretary of State say that there should be a brownfield-first approach, but what is going on in Bromsgrove, and in many other constituencies, is contradictory: an 85% increase in the housing target in a constituency that is 90% green belt. I challenge the Secretary of State to thin…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
7 September 2026
Economic Growth
On a day when Jaguar Land Rover has announced 4,000 job losses, how many more jobs have to be lost before the Government change course?
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
2 September 2026
Engagements
Q2. I welcome the Prime Minister to his place. He knows the importance of protecting local green belt; indeed, he made it a key part of his by-election campaign in Makerfield. It is incredibly important in my constituency too, where there has been an 85% increase in the housing target and we are 89%…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
1 September 2026
2 contributions
China: Threat to UK Interests
7. What assessment he has made of the level of threat China poses to UK interests.
It is good to hear the Minister acknowledge that China is a threat. The directors of GCHQ and MI5 have been clear that China presents the most significant state-based threat to the UK. The Government have previously talked about their China audit; will they commit to publishing it in full?
Commons
Proceedings
1 September 2026
2 contributions
Speaker’s Statement
7. What assessment he has made of the level of threat China poses to UK interests.
It is good to hear the Minister acknowledge that China is a threat. The directors of GCHQ and MI5 have been clear that China presents the most significant state-based threat to the UK. The Government have previously talked about their China audit; will they commit to publishing it in full?
Commons
Statutory Instrument
1 September 2026
2 contributions
Draft Energy Prices Act 2022 (Extension of Time Limit) (No. 2) Regulations 2026
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond, and I congratulate the Minister on her appointment. The draft regulations extend the period during which the Government may exercise the existing powers under the Energy Prices Act 2022. Specifically, they extend the Secretary of State’…
My right hon. Friend is experienced in these matters. I would have thought that question would be in the 101 of presenting this instrument to the House.
We are pleased to see the Government finally adopt our Conservative party policy of abolishing the carbon price support on electricity generation,…
Commons
Proceedings
7 July 2026
Summer Jobs
Does my hon. Friend agree that is perhaps the most corrosive consequence of all? Businesses have all the pressure that is bearing down on them, and so many are telling me that it is just not worth it. The correlation between effort and success is being depleted, their self-confidence is being eroded…
Commons
Debate
2 July 2026
Access to Further Education
I congratulate the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby (Sarah Pochin) on securing this debate. Whatever our political differences, I welcome the opportunity to discuss an issue that should unite Members across this House: ensuring that every young person, wherever they live, has the opportunity to de…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
14 contributions
High Street Regeneration and Unlawful Storefronts
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government support for regenerating local high streets and removing unlawful storefronts.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz, and a delight to see so many Members present to talk about this important topic. High streets matter: t…
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing a debate later today. He is absolutely right: the pressure and stress that high streets are under mean that, on the current path, they will be unrecognisable in a decade.
+12 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
29 June 2026
2 contributions
Job Opportunities: Rural Areas
2. What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of job opportunities in rural areas.
The picture that the Minister paints is not one that I recognise, and it is not one recognised by businesses in my constituency. Rural job opportunities have gone down, rural unemployment is up, and businesses routinely tell me that the increased cost of employment under this Government has directly…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 June 2026
4 contributions
North Sea Oil and Gas
I beg to move,
That this House has considered North Sea oil and gas.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. Energy security is a matter that impacts all of us. It allows us to reliably meet daily demand without concern for supply disruption or price spiking. It ensures that…
I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman supports continued activity in the North sea, and I will address that point later on in my remarks.
Increasing reliance on imports and blaming unstable global markets regardless of the product, when we have the ability to produce it domestically and help stabili…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
23 June 2026
2 contributions
Youth Unemployment
8. What assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of her Department’s policies on levels of youth unemployment.
Some 42% of employers have cut back on graduate recruitment, and across Bromsgrove and the villages there has been a 25% increase in youth unemployment over the last two years. With unemployment undoubtedly weighing heavily on the Chancellor’s mind, does she regret the choices she has made and the i…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
22 June 2026
2 contributions
SEND Provision: Finance
11. What financial plan she has for improving SEND provision.
Looking out to 2028-29, there is a £2 billion gap between what the Government say they will be spending on SEND and what the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that SEND spending will be in that period. That will risk children across Worcestershire being forced to fit into a box that does no…
Commons
Oral Questions
Culture, Media and Sport
18 June 2026
Topical Questions
Will the Secretary of State rule out extending the BBC licence fee to streaming services such as Netflix?
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
17 June 2026
Engagements
Q10. May I associate myself with the tributes paid to Jo Cox? In two weeks’ time, new steel quotas and 50% tariffs will come into force, which industry has said will cost jobs. UKF steel in my constituency has been clear that without a change of course, it will almost certainly cease trading before …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
15 June 2026
Social Media Ban for Under-16s
This is a really important topic and a really important announcement about children’s health, safety and wellbeing, and I wish the Government well as they navigate some very thorny topics in bringing it into effect. Can the Secretary of State give any indication as to what accountability will look l…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
2 contributions
Chinese-manufactured Solar Panels
13. What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the use of Chinese-manufactured solar panels by Great British Energy.
The Xinjiang Uyghur region of China is estimated to provide 45% of the world’s solar-grade polysilicon. An estimated 68% of UK panels come from China, and two thirds of NHS trusts are dependent on Chinese solar. The Government have said that GB Energy is committed to having a supply chain free from …
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
21 May 2026
Topical Questions
T8. The Government’s new steel tariff and quota regime, due to come in in a few weeks, means that many businesses face a cliff edge. One in my constituency recently got in touch to tell me that it faces either a slow death or a swift death, and that it faces calling in the administrators before Chri…
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
21 May 2026
2 contributions
Pubs: Bromsgrove
11. What steps he is taking to support pubs in Bromsgrove constituency.
I thank the Minister for her response, but I am afraid that the picture she paints is not one that pubs across my constituency will recognise. A typical pub in my constituency is paying around £2,500 in additional costs a month compared with two years ago, because of a rise in energy costs, employme…
Commons
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
2 contributions
Retail, Hospitality and Leisure: Business Rates
16. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to business rates announced in the autumn Budget 2025 on the retail, hospitality and leisure sector.
I recently met Chris, the owner of Chapters Hair in Bromsgrove, who told me that current conditions are the most difficult he has faced in 25 years of trading, which he attributes directly to the decisions taken by the Chancellor. Why is it that the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Government acr…
Commons
Westminster Hall
27 April 2026
Animal Testing
The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. On cosmetics, does she share my concern about the continued use of botox in the non-surgical aesthetic treatment industry? Botox occupies an unusual, but perhaps not unique position in the market: because it is used for medical purposes, it falls under th…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Business of the House
For far too long, mobile phone connectivity across Bromsgrove and the villages, Worcestershire and, frankly, the rest of the country has been woeful. I find it shocking that humanity can send a rocket to loop around the moon and back, and yet we cannot get reliable mobile phone signal. This morning,…