Commons
Westminster Hall
1 July 2026
2 contributions
Early Years Funding: Hampshire
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the adequacy of early years funding in Hampshire.
It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Alec. A Hampshire nursery manager recently told me:
“Sometimes the funding arrives so late that we are genuinely worried about making wages.”
That s…
Yes, I absolutely agree; that is a precise summary of the current position. When we think of early years, most of us automatically think of nurseries, but in many areas of the country, and especially North East Hampshire, many families rely on local childminders. Earlier this month, a constituent of…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
High Street Regeneration and Unlawful Storefronts
The small businesses that my hon. Friend is talking about make up 84% of store closures nationally. That trend is felt very much in my constituency, as I am sure it is in hers. Does she agree that the Government must urgently reform our business rates system before those independent businesses vanis…
Commons
Debate
2 June 2026
Armed Forces Bill
Veterans’ mental health challenges can be significant, for obvious reasons—trauma, stress, spending a long time away from friends and family, and so on. As I am sure my hon. Friend knows, devastatingly, veterans under the age of 24 have a suicide rate that is two to four times higher than that for t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 April 2026
Cost of Heating Oil
I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. As the representative for North East Hampshire, I know all too well the premium that many rural households face when it comes to bills and expenses. Rural households already have a really heavy burden, as he has outlined, including higher ra…
Commons
Debate
12 March 2026
International Women’s Day
This year’s theme, as we have heard, is “Give to Gain”. That prompted me to think about feminism on a global scale, and how interconnected we truly all are. Our globalised world is far from being made up of isolated countries, bounded by iron borders; we exist in the physical space and online. Our g…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
NHS Capital Spending
My hon. Friend is giving a powerful and important speech. Half the residents in my constituency are served by Basingstoke hospital, which was included in the now infamous promise of 40 new hospitals by 2030. Now it seems completion could be as late as 2046. The delay means another 20 years of spendi…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
23 February 2026
Topical Questions
What measures is the Minister taking to protect communities from inappropriate, speculative development when effective and expensive local plans that were working have been rendered effectively useless by new housing targets?
Commons
Proceedings
9 February 2026
Brain Tumour Survival Rates
I thank the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) and my hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) for bringing this important debate to the House.
I want to talk briefly about two things. First, I want to acknowledge and put on the record the bravery of my very clos…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 January 2026
Dementia Support: Hampshire
I am sorry to hear about the experience of my hon. Friend’s mother, and the experiences of my hon. Friend’s constituents. Many people in my constituency of North East Hampshire face similar challenges. I have personal experience with a relative who could not get a diagnosis in Hampshire despite many…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 December 2025
Planning Reform
I am pleased that the Government have listened to my calls, and to those of other Liberal Democrats, to mention the explicit protection of chalk stream rivers in the statement. The Minister mentions the consistent application of policy. Will he confirm whether those policies might include, for examp…
Commons
Debate
15 December 2025
Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill
The hon. Gentleman talks effusively about the benefits of our biggest trading partner, Europe, and the disaster of Brexit. Does he agree with me that we should be forging a new customs union as soon as possible?
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
4 December 2025
2 contributions
EU Relations
10. What steps he is taking to improve relations with the EU.
Given that Brexit has left a £90 billion hole in the UK’s tax revenues and that small business owners in my constituency of North East Hampshire are telling me that the last two Budgets have been “catastrophic” for them, why are the Government not pursuing a bespoke UK-EU customs union to cut red ta…
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
Topical Questions
T5. In North East Hampshire, small energy-intensive businesses such as hair salons are struggling, because they cannot reduce their consumption. What plans does the Minister have to support those kinds of small businesses?
Commons
Debate
13 November 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
As I am sure the hon. Member knows, chalk streams are among the rarest habitats in the world. This is not the first time I have mentioned them in this Chamber. Only 11 of the more than 200 chalk streams are protected, and even those 11 are in decline. The problems are over-abstraction, significant p…
Commons
Debate
16 September 2025
Ambassador to the United States
Does my right hon. Friend agree that one of the reasons that Epstein escaped justice for so long was that he was protected by other powerful men, and that if we are truly to protect young people from predators, we need to ensure that the protectors of paedophiles have absolutely no place in public l…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
15 September 2025
Topical Questions
People in my constituency have raised with me problems of hare coursing, thefts, speeding and fly-tipping. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can tackle the wide range of crimes in rural areas?
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
8 September 2025
2 contributions
Strategic Defence Review Recommendations: Timetable
10. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the planned timetable for implementing the recommendations of the strategic defence review.
With RAF Odiham celebrating its centenary this year, I am proud of the many close military ties that we have in my constituency of North East Hampshire. One of the recommendations of the strategic defence review is to improve accommodation, where we are letting our military personnel down. Given tha…
Commons
Oral Questions
21 July 2025
Topical Questions
T4. Children in receipt of funds from the adoption and special guardianship support fund often have significant mental health, wellbeing and educational needs. For many of these children, their individual therapy is the single biggest factor enabling them to continue at school. What assessment has t…
Commons
Oral Questions
15 July 2025
2 contributions
Household Energy Bills
18. What steps he is taking to help reduce household energy bills.
Almost 10% of people in my North East Hampshire constituency live in fuel poverty. I agree with the Minister that investing in renewable energy would help to tackle that, so how is she working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to empower local authorities to develop rene…
Commons
Debate
7 July 2025
Pension Schemes Bill
In Hampshire, we have a super-ageing population, so pension and post-retirement financial concerns are frequently raised in my North East Hampshire constituency casework. One of my constituents wrote to me to say:
“I want my pension to be put to work delivering sustainable, long-term growth and pro…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
30 June 2025
2 contributions
Supporting Veterans
18. What steps he is taking to ensure that veterans receive adequate support after leaving the armed forces.
I welcome the Government’s investment in supporting veterans, but as my hon. Friend the Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke) mentioned recently in the House, female veterans are about 10% less likely to be employed after service than male veterans. What specific steps are the Government …
Commons
Committee Stage
17 June 2025
6 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill (Second sitting)
Q Coming back to parental consent—at the risk of labouring the point—you have all said that you would like that to be extended. Do you think that removing the minimum requirement of a four-year sentence would help to protect more children?
Farah Nazeer: Yes, absolutely. I think part of the challeng…
Q What difference do you think the measures proposed in the Bill will make to victims and survivors, and what might the gaps be?
Suky Bhaker: In terms of the ambitions of the Government to get victims the justice that they deserve, things like greater accessibility and information sharing are all r…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Committee Stage
17 June 2025
Victims and Courts Bill (First sitting)
Q What do you think will be the impact of the new definition of “victim” for the purposes of the victim contact scheme?
Katie Kempen: We think it is clear and makes it quite accessible. From our perspective, if possible, we would like to see the eligibility for the victim contact scheme to go to al…
Commons
Debate
12 June 2025
SEND Funding
Hampshire is a county that falls into the f40 group, which are areas that receive some of the lowest per-pupil funding in the country. This disparity is hitting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities the hardest. The cumulative deficit in Hampshire for the dedicated schools grant now…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
10 June 2025
Topical Questions
T8. Standing order charges are making energy bills unaffordable, particularly for those on lower incomes. What steps are Ministers taking to address this?