Commons
Debate
9 July 2025
Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill
I rise to speak in support of new clause 11 and amendment 38. I am incredibly relieved that the Government have listened—most importantly, they have listened to the people who will be affected by changes to PIP—and taken clause 5 out of the Bill. The terms of reference for the Timms review have alre…
Commons
Oral Questions
7 July 2025
2 contributions
Domestic Abuse: Joint Tenancies
5. What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on protecting domestic abuse victims from the perpetrators of that abuse with whom they share a joint tenancy.
My constituent Molly is trapped in the house where she was violently attacked in front of her children. She is confined to living upstairs, because going into the room downstairs triggers her post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite the perpetrator of this abuse rightfully being in prison and having …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 July 2025
Business of the House
Residents in Burniston are waiting anxiously to see whether North Yorkshire council will approve Europa Oil and Gas’s application to undertake small-scale fracking on the edge of the North York Moors national park. The technique, known as a proppant squeeze, is not currently included in the moratori…
Commons
Oral Questions
3 July 2025
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
Scarborough Athletic football club is proudly 100% fan owned. Recently, the home ground that it rents from North Yorkshire council was declared unfit to play on due to botched astroturf installation. The club faces significant financial losses now that they need to play matches at another ground. Wi…
Commons
Debate
1 July 2025
Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill
May I ask the Minister to confirm at the Dispatch Box that clause 5, which specifically references the need for claimants to score four points in order to receive the daily living allowance, will be removed from the Bill?
Commons
Debate
30 June 2025
Road Safety Powers: Parish and Town Councils
My hon. Friend is being most generous with his time, and I thank him for securing this really important debate. There is a busy bridge on the A171 in my constituency, which is used by pupils in years 7 and 8 based at the Airy Hill site of Whitby School, as well as the parents and pupils who attend A…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 June 2025
Businesses in Rural Areas
The hon. Gentleman is making an impassioned speech, as is his norm. While tourism is vital for our rural economies, he touched on accommodation, and many businesses in my constituency of Scarborough and Whitby are finding it harder and harder to employ enough staff because of the increase in short-t…
Commons
Debate
13 June 2025
5 contributions
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
I rise to speak in favour of new clause 15, which clarifies that an assisted death would not be classified as an unnatural death and that a full coroner’s inquest would not normally be required.
My constituent Anthony Shackleton lived with motor neurone disease for six long years. As his condition …
New clause 15 particularly addresses the role of coroners. Coroners investigate deaths in which there is a reasonable suspicion that the deceased has died a violent or unnatural death, where the cause of death is unknown, or if the deceased died while in custody or state detention. This is not the c…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
12 June 2025
2 contributions
Industrial Strategy
8. What progress his Department has made on developing an industrial strategy.
British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis announced yesterday that it is consolidating its operations in the UK to its Scarborough facility, placing 400 jobs in Falkirk at risk. The company is warning about competitive imbalance, the increasing market share of Chinese bus manufacturers and an absenc…
Commons
Westminster Hall
12 June 2025
2 contributions
Long-term Medical Conditions
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley) for securing this extremely important debate. He speaks from a position of great experience. He rightly points to a holistic approach, putting the patie…
I congratulate my hon. Friend on her turn speaking from the Front Bench. DWP analysis suggests that people with long-term conditions such as arthritis are more likely than most to be affected by the changes to PIP. Does she acknowledge that taking away PIP from people with long-term conditions such …
Commons
Debate
10 June 2025
Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords]
My hon. Friend says that the prospects for both industries have improved. I have spoken in this place about my previous role as a screenwriter—I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests—and this week, the British Film Institute reported that AI threatens the British …
Commons
Debate
9 June 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. In my constituency, the Scalby school playing fields long served the community as vital green space, but that space is under threat as the council is seeking to remove protections, which could lead to its being sold. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 June 2025
Winter Fuel Payment
I welcome this announcement, as will the 26,000 pensioners in my constituency, where we have particularly cold and harsh winters. Will the Minister reassure my constituents that automatic payments will be reinstated, and will there be any change to the date on which payments will be made?
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
9 June 2025
2 contributions
Construction Sector Specialist Apprentices
8. Whether her Department is taking steps with independent training colleges to train construction sector specialist apprentices to support house building targets.
The construction skills village in Scarborough is an innovative real-world training environment for the specialist trades that we desperately need to build homes. Does the Minister acknowledge the importance of independent training providers in our plans to build 1.5 million new homes, and will he m…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 June 2025
2 contributions
Disadvantaged Communities
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton North East (Mrs Brackenridge) for securing this important debate; she is a huge champion for disadvantaged communities in her constituency.
I am proud to represent the beautiful constituen…
The shadow Minister is speaking quite eloquently about the failings, as he sees them, of the Labour Government, who have been in power for 10 months. Does he not accept that the communities that many hon. Members have talked about are disadvantaged because of the profound failure of the past 14 year…
Commons
Debate
22 May 2025
Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords]
I welcome the Secretary of State’s words; it is great to hear words such as “cherish” and “champion” in this House. I acknowledge that there is no opt-out in the Bill, but the Secretary of State mentioned the consultation that was launched alongside it, which adjoins these very issues. Will my right…
Commons
Debate
19 May 2025
Mental Health Bill [Lords]
Recently, I met grandparents in my constituency who are caring for their grandchild, who was recently diagnosed with autism. Their grandchild is suffering from poor mental health and is unable to attend school, and the family is struggling to access support. I welcome the Government’s work so far in…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
19 May 2025
2 contributions
Armed Forces Housing
11. What steps he is taking to improve armed forces housing for military families.
In December, the Defence Committee found that two thirds of service family homes
“need extensive refurbishment or rebuilding”
to meet modern standards. We know that poor-quality housing impacts children’s ability to learn and to attend school, as well as their physical health. What steps are the G…
Commons
Debate
14 May 2025
2 contributions
Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords]
The Minister mentioned the consultation. Could he confirm that the Government no longer consider an opt-out model to be their preferred approach to copyright and AI, and if so, what alternative approach is now being actively pursued or developed with the sector?
The hon. Member is making some important points. As Lord Brennan said recently, this Bill is an opportunity to regulate AI:
“This Bill, this bus, is an opportunity that the Government should be getting on rather than waiting for another bus several years down the road”. —[ Official Report, House of…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 May 2025
Future of Public Libraries
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies) on securing this important debate. Public libraries are at the heart of our communities, and we urgently need a national strategy to protect and strengthen them.
In …
Commons
Debate
7 May 2025
Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords]
I am delighted to be called to speak on Report of the Data (Use and Access) Bill. I draw Members’ attention to my membership of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. Before I entered this place, I worked as a freelance screenwriter, creating dramas for adults and children. I might add that children a…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 April 2025
UK Airstrike: Houthi Military Facility
I thank the Defence Secretary for his statement and pay tribute to all those involved in the successful strike. Does he agree that this Government will always put personnel at the heart of our defence plans?