Commons
Westminster Hall
13 November 2025
Rogue Builders
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I thank the hon. Member for Wyre Forest (Mark Garnier) for securing this important debate.
A house builder and social housing provider have treated some of my constituents disgracefully. Three families with children bought shared ownership…
Commons
Westminster Hall
12 November 2025
SEND Provision: Kent
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I thank the hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) for securing this debate.
I was born in Kent and attended St Paul’s infant school in Maidstone in the 1960s. As the hon. and learned Gentleman said, SEND education i…
Commons
Oral Questions
11 November 2025
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
The Conservative Thames Valley police and crime commissioner has said that the public should be doing more to stop shoplifting. This week, my constituent Sarah described being “smacked into” during a shoplifting incident and the fear that she felt at that moment. Does the Minister agree with the pol…
Commons
Proceedings
30 October 2025
Business of the House
In Wokingham, there is a real issue with mainstream schools declaring that they cannot meet the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities. Specialist providers are also unavailable, which leaves children effectively out of formal education for many months, if not years. Can w…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
29 October 2025
Engagements
Q6. Targets for cancer patients beginning treatment within 62 days have not been met by any NHS trust for 10 years—a legacy of the last Conservative Government. If those targets had been met in every month of 2025, so far nearly 3,000 breast cancer patients would have started their treatment on time…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 October 2025
Obesity and Fatty Liver Disease
I thank the hon. Member for bringing this very important subject to Westminster Hall. She is absolutely right. Fatty liver disease is the fastest rising cause of liver cancer death in the UK and highlights the risk of developing a less survivable cancer for people living with obesity. Does the hon. …
Commons
Proceedings
23 October 2025
Business of the House
It was announced yesterday that family courts will no longer presume that contact with both parents is preferred when domestic violence has occurred. Many in Wokingham, including Kaleidoscopic UK, are concerned that abusive partners will still manipulate courts by claiming that they are the victim. …
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 October 2025
3 contributions
NHS Workforce Levels: Impact on Cancer Patients
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the impact of NHS workforce levels on cancer patients.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Hobhouse. I declare an interest as a governor of the Royal Berkshire hospital. Also, a family member has shares in a medical company.
Being a can…
I thank you, Mrs Hobhouse, and the Minister for leaving me time to sum up the debate. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) for her contribution and her kind remarks, and I thank other Members for their kind remarks as well. I thank all hon. Members who have contribut…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 October 2025
Ending Homelessness
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I thank the co-sponsors of this debate, the hon. Members for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) and for Liverpool Wavertree (Paula Barker), for securing it.
Local housing allowance is meant to help people on low incomes afford private rent by cover…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 October 2025
Topical Questions
T5. According to a survey carried out by campaigners from the adoption and special guardianship support fund, just 40% of respondents believed that the previous £5,000 fair access limit was sufficient to meet their children’s needs. Following its reduction to £3,000, 71% reported a reduction in the …
Commons
Westminster Hall
20 October 2025
Asylum Seekers: Support and Accommodation
My hon. Friend is making a really powerful speech. The Conservatives and the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) created this crisis in small boat crossings. Before the botched Brexit deal, we had, in effect, a returns agreement with every other EU nation under the Dublin system, as our hon. Frie…
Commons
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Business of the House
We know that at times it is hard to see a GP, and the Teenage Cancer Trust has highlighted that 16 to 24-year-olds have to see a GP more often than any other age group—often three times—before getting a referral for cancer diagnosis. Will the Leader of the House allow a debate in Government time on …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 October 2025
Middle East
As the Prime Minister and President Trump get along, does the Prime Minister think he can secure President Trump’s support for genuine progress towards securing a two-state solution, which is the only path to ensuring peace, security and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 October 2025
Speaker’s Statement
Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sure that Ming would have been delighted with the tributes paid to him today by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) and many others. Just as importantly, I think Elspeth would have been equally deli…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 September 2025
London Fashion Week: Cultural Contribution
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank the hon. Member for Kettering (Rosie Wrighting) for securing this debate.
London Fashion Week is known worldwide. As we probably all know, it started in 1984 in a tent in a Kensington car park, where the British Fashion Council br…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 September 2025
Children with SEND: Assessments and Support
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I and many of my constituents would like to thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for introducing the debate. People living with special educational needs and disabilities are like everyone else: they have dream…
Commons
Debate
10 September 2025
Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]
I will speak to new clauses 1 and 2, and amendment 9. This Government are giving more powers to local authorities, such as the franchising of local bus services. They expect councils to fund more bus services, while they undermine and reduce councils’ core funding at the same time. Our amendment 3 w…
Commons
Proceedings
10 September 2025
Russian Drones: Violation of Polish Airspace
Russian drones over Poland suggest that Putin is testing NATO’s resolve to support its members. Will the Minister push the Prime Minister to urge President Trump and the members of the G7 to produce a cohesive plan to seize the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets held in their countries and funnel…
Commons
Proceedings
10 September 2025
Qatar: Israeli Strike
My Lib Dem colleagues and I have repeatedly called on the Government to introduce further sanctions on Israel; we called for sanctions on Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, and now we call for sanctions on Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Cabinet. Does the Minister agree that those are the people who …
Commons
Proceedings
9 September 2025
Jaguar Land Rover Cyber-attack
I welcome the Minister to his new role. There has been a spate of cyber-attacks on important UK companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, on supermarkets and on the Legal Aid Agency. What are the Government doing to restore public and, just as importantly, international trust in the UK’s cyber-security n…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
9 September 2025
2 contributions
Employer National Insurance Contributions: Economic Growth
14. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to employer national insurance contributions on economic growth.
I have had many meetings with business owners across Wokingham, whether that is world leaders in the defence industry, GP surgeries, medical manufacturers, farmers, hospitality companies or exporters. It is clear that Labour’s hike to national insurance contributions has created immense financial bu…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 September 2025
Neurodivergent People: Employment
I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. In Wokingham, the Kimel café does a fantastic job taking on neurodivergent youngsters, giving them key skills and including them in our community. Does my hon. Friend agree that more businesses should employ neurodiverse people? Does she als…
Commons
Proceedings
4 September 2025
Business of the House
Recently, I have had meetings with AI technology companies and medical professionals, seeing how AI can help speed up cancer diagnosis and make the NHS workforce much more efficient, ultimately saving lives. However, hospital systems and staff are not yet ready to start utilising new AI systems in d…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 September 2025
Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) for securing this debate. In a recent parent and carer survey examining the impact of cuts to the ASGSF, the findings were alarming. Some 71% of children have seen a reduction in the number of therapy sessions, and 34% of families hav…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 September 2025
Pavement Parking
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) for organising the debate. It is wholly unacceptable that the Conservative Government dragged their heels on this important issue. They dithered and delayed because the…