Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
Topical Questions
Putin’s war in Ukraine and Trump’s war in Iran have shown us the need to make Britain more resilient against global energy shocks. Can my hon. Friend set out what the Government are doing to ensure that domestic electricity prices are decoupled from global gas prices, so that my constituents can get…
Commons
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Water Companies
I thank the Minister for her statement. Tomorrow, I will be bringing Thames Water’s management into Parliament to answer a simple question: what improvements will my constituents get in return for the increases in their bills? My constituents do not feel they are being treated fairly by Thames Water…
Commons
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
Topical Questions
T2. This weekend, while door-knocking in Woodley, I spoke to a young father of three who, despite working multiple skilled jobs, feared being made homeless because of high and rising costs of rent. Will the Chancellor examine the case for a fixed-term rent freeze in the private rented sector to prot…
Commons
Oral Questions
27 April 2026
2 contributions
Statutory Sick Pay
9. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of rates of statutory sick pay.
I am indeed very proud of this Labour Government’s historic Employment Rights Act 2025, which, from this month, means that workers will get statutory sick pay from the first day they are ill, rather than having to wait till the fourth. Too many people in Reading—even those working in health and care…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
2 contributions
UK-EU Relations
7. What steps he is taking to improve relations with the EU.
Mr Speaker, I wish you and the Minister a happy St George’s day. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on rejoining the EU Erasmus+ scheme. It is very exciting for students across the UK, including at the University of Reading.
On energy prices, we are all paying the price of Trump’s war in Iran. It …
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
16 March 2026
Topical Questions
T10. Reading is home to a large diaspora of Gurkha veterans; we are proud of their service and grateful for their sacrifices. Following the recent elections in Nepal, will the Minister work with the new Nepalese leadership to address collaboratively the issues these Gurkha veterans still face in the…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
16 March 2026
United Nations Charter
Last month, satellite imagery of the Gaza war cemetery showed that Israeli forces had destroyed more than 100 allied graves using heavy machinery. This is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission site, and these are graves of British and allied personnel who served in the first and second world wars and…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
3 March 2026
Spring Forecast
I thank the Chancellor for her strong statement and, in particular, for her words on deepening our alliances with our European partners. This is crucial for bringing down the cost of food and for healing the economic self-harm done by the Conservatives. The Bank of England has said that her cuts to …
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
2 March 2026
2 contributions
Supporting Children with SEND
2. What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the system for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Secondary school students with special educational needs have told me of their struggles with academy trusts in south Reading and Shinfield that have failed to properly prioritise inclusion. Will the Minister set out how the schools White Paper will address that on the part of multi-academy trusts? …
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 February 2026
2 contributions
EU Membership Referendum: Impact on the UK
We know so much now, 10 years on from the referendum, about the economic impacts of the Conservative Brexit deal. I will not spend too much time discussing them, other than to say that they come up every time I knock on a door in Reading that belongs to an owner of a small or medium-sized enterprise…
No thank you.
There is much we can now do to mitigate the costs of Brexit for our constituents, including securing a sanitary and phytosanitary veterinary agreement with the EU. I ask the Minister to give an update on the progress of that. Colleagues on the living standards coalition of MPs found t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 February 2026
Indefinite Leave to Remain
So many families in Reading, including my own parents, decided to accept positions in the UK and bring their children over on the promise of a stable educational future. We know how transformational education can be for children’s ability to contribute to the economy in future. Does my hon. Friend a…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
I thank the Home Secretary for the Government’s focus on funding for neighbourhood police patrols, which has enabled Thames Valley police to form a new anti-shoplifting unit in Reading. Retail crime is still far too frequent and blatant in our shops. Will the Secretary of State or her Ministers come…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
22 January 2026
2 contributions
UK-EU Relations
3. What steps he is taking to improve relations with the EU.
The inflation figures out yesterday show that despite the Government’s good progress on energy prices, food inflation remains stubbornly high. Even the price of a Tesco meal deal is stuck at £4.25. The Government need to make food and life more affordable, so will the Minister update us on his negot…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 January 2026
Water White Paper
Earlier this week, my team and I secured a £12,000 refund from Thames Water for one of my constituents whose pipes had been left to leak for almost half a year. Half a year ago, when I first met Thames Water bosses, I asked them to explain how they would be using higher bills to pay for better pipes…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
12 January 2026
2 contributions
Leasehold Reform
7. What steps he plans to take to reform the property management system.
I was glad to get involved in the Government’s recent consultation on property service fees. More than 700 of my constituents living in new builds in and around Reading have written to me about high fees and unfair behaviour from property management agents. One constituent, called Sunil, said to me:…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
8 December 2025
Topical Questions
T4. Data from the millennium cohort study suggests that over half of cases of young people not in education, employment or training are attributable to persistent childhood poverty and adverse experiences. I recently visited Starting Point, a charity that helps young people in Reading back into wo…
Commons
Proceedings
3 December 2025
OBR: Resignation of Chair
I join the Chair of the Treasury Committee in thanking Richard Hughes for his service, and commend him for taking responsibility for the security leak that happened on his watch.
In testimony given to the Treasury Committee yesterday, the OBR described the “£21 billion average absolute revision” to…
Commons
Proceedings
27 November 2025
2 contributions
Budget Resolutions
I rise to welcome the Budget, because despite the difficult economic times we are in, the Chancellor has made decisions that are strong, sound and fair. It is a strong budget that more than doubles the fiscal headroom to £22 billion. It is a sound budget that improves the economic efficiency of some…
Three quarters of the tax raised by this Budget will go towards building fiscal headroom, doubling it—something that previous Conservative Chancellors never did. Does the hon. Lady welcome the investment in the gilt markets that international investors have now shown, demonstrating their confidence …
Commons
Debate
26 November 2025
4 contributions
Budget Resolutions
rose—
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way. Does he find it fiscally responsible that with his two Budgets, he left us with the lowest amount of fiscal headroom since the OBR was created at £8.9 billion in 2024? Is he proud of that? That left the current Chancellor and this Labour Government a …
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
2 contributions
Settlement: British National Overseas Route
14. Whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of exempting British national overseas visa holders from the proposed extension of the settlement qualifying period on levels of net migration.
Reading is proud to be a town of many immigrant diasporas, including Hong Kong BNOs who are seeking refuge here. Many of my immigrant constituents have lived in our community for years, and they work incredibly hard so that they can put down roots, much as my parents did when I was a child. Will the…
Commons
Proceedings
23 October 2025
Business of the House
I have heard from local residents, as well as local refugee charities in Reading, who are all calling for the use of hotels to house asylum seekers to end as soon as possible. That practice began five years ago as a result of the previous Government’s irresponsible build-up of the backlog of claims.…
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
20 October 2025
Topical Questions
Last month, I held a SEND community consultation in south-east Reading in my constituency, attended by over 60 parents, children and local experts. We all agreed that the current system is broken, and one of the young people, Megan, spoke about the feeling of being let down by the system and constan…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 October 2025
Middle East
I deeply welcome this long-awaited ceasefire and the release of the hostages. I thank the Prime Minister and his Ministers for their tireless work and international leadership on this front, including in the upcoming Gaza recovery summit, which is to be held in the UK later this week. I am glad to h…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 September 2025
Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Access
I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. Last night I co-hosted an event in Parliament for Wael al-Dahdouh, the former bureau chief of Al Jazeera in Gaza, whose family members have been killed, and five of whose colleagues were killed during a double strike on a hospital only a few weeks ago…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 September 2025
Indefinite Leave to Remain
My hon. Friend’s stories remind me of stories that I hear in Reading, in my Earley and Woodley constituency. Angie is a nursing associate in the NHS, and her daughter wishes to study paramedic science and also work in the NHS. However, for that to happen, Angie’s daughter needs a route to settlement…