Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
10 September 2026
Topical Questions
I very much welcome the procurement changes that this Government have brought in. In the summer, the docks in my constituency lost a UK Research and Innovation contract on the RRS Sir David Attenborough to a Danish dockyard. Can the Minister assure me that the new rules will refer to agencies across…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
10 September 2026
Severe Weather Incidents
Returning to the topic of Cornwall, the Minister mentioned the possibility that Cornwall could be a pilot area for storm resilience measures, so it would be good to hear more about that. Measures to raise awareness would be very welcome, and guidelines for how people in Cornwall should act—on an ind…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 September 2026
2 contributions
Fathers and Positive Male Role Models
Does my hon. Friend recognise that it can be particularly difficult for men in the armed forces, who are often away? Even were there a willingness to provide paternity leave at 90% of pay, sometimes they simply cannot get the time. That is another thing that we need to consider when we are talking a…
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) on securing this debate; it has been fascinating so far.
The Centre for Social Justice’s recent report, which a number of people have talked about, revealed tha…
Commons
Debate
9 September 2026
Ticket Price Regulation: Live Events
Does my hon. Friend agree that community-owned venues are better protected against that kind of touting? If live music belonged to the people who watched it and used it, that would be the way to protect it most—through community and co-operative ownership.
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
7 September 2026
2 contributions
Housing Revenue Account: Council Houses
11. What support her Department is providing to councils to help them use their housing revenue account to build council houses.
This Government have committed to council housing and taken steps to boost it, which is fantastic. Cornwall council’s housing revenue account has struggled to build because it has had to invest in repairs, meaning that it has had to reduce the amount of funds available annually for new homes. Of cou…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 September 2026
2 contributions
EU Membership Referendum: Impact on the UK
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I will talk about the impact of the EU referendum on my part of the UK. In ’99, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly was recognised as a region in the EU in its own right and granted objective 1 status, reflecting the fact that we were one of the…
My hon. Friend makes a good point, which I was rushing through due to lack of time. The impact on farmers has been huge in so many ways, particularly with exports and imports. It is really important that the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement takes that into account. We are lucky in that we are ho…
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 September 2026
Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Wishart. I thank the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden)—who faces issues similar to those we have in Cornwall—for securing this debate. Lloyds, the last bank in Falmouth, closed in March. Big banks have been pulling their branches out of …
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I am so pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) secured this debate. Isolation and hidden deprivation in coastal communities is such an important issue.
Cornwall is not an island, like the Isle of Wigh…
Commons
Debate
13 July 2026
Immigration and Asylum Bill
Even in rural areas like Cornwall, community schemes welcoming Syrian refugees are working very well. They show that community sponsorship schemes can work well across the country.
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
Topical Questions
There is so much innovation going on in my constituency for floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea, including by companies such as Reflex Marine, but we need the test and demo models up in the Celtic sea to test the technology. The contracts for difference in the next auction will be crucial for o…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
6 July 2026
Royal Navy Surface Fleet
The Royal Navy fleet obviously sits alongside the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Will the Minister confirm that he is committed to the RFA and its fleet expansion?
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
2 July 2026
Topical Questions
The Government’s critical minerals strategy was a fantastic achievement, with clear targets, and it will kick-start a nascent industry. To take the next step to get the sector up on its feet and to a more competitive place, will the Minister support a Government price certainty mechanism for lithium…
Commons
Debate
2 July 2026
2 contributions
Access to Further Education
There is another further education college in Cornwall: Truro and Penwith college. Does my hon. Friend agree that transport, and getting children in rural and coastal areas to colleges and work placements, is a major issue?
I would just like to highlight a point of inequity. Mayors sometimes subsidise buses for young people aged 16 to 19, which means that young people in urban areas are better set than those in rural areas where the councils cannot afford to do that and young people have much further to travel.
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
High Streets
In Truro, the city council has bought a property to convert to commercial and residential use. It is using some of its town deal—what would have been Pride in Place money—to invest in properties and restore some of the flats above shops that have been empty for so long. Does the hon. Member agree th…
Commons
Oral Questions
Cabinet Office
25 June 2026
2 contributions
Public Procurement: UK Businesses
13. What steps he is taking to prioritise UK businesses in Government procurement.
A&P Falmouth, now owned by Balaena, at Falmouth docks in my constituency, bid for a maintenance and repair contract for the Sir David Attenborough research vessel from UK Research and Innovation. Despite the company’s experience—the vessel was built at its sister yard, up in Teesside—and a stron…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 June 2026
4 contributions
Ports and Port Connectivity
I beg to move,
That this House has considered ports and port connectivity.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. As an island nation, our prosperity has always been closely linked to the strength of our ports. Towns have flourished where ports have thrived, and declined where…
Obviously, I agree. Places such as Cornwall will be fundamental to growth in renewable energy, particularly with the critical minerals strategy. The industrial strategy zones will be so important to unlock that potential.
I am grateful to the many hon. Members from across the House who supported my…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
24 June 2026
Topical Questions
T3. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidelines were to provide clarity. However, washing facilities adaptations will be difficult and costly for businesses, and providers such as Girlguiding risk potentially being sued for being inclusive. Small vulnerable minorities need our protection. …
Commons
Oral Questions
24 June 2026
Discrimination against Trans People
T3. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidelines were to provide clarity. However, washing facilities adaptations will be difficult and costly for businesses, and providers such as Girlguiding risk potentially being sued for being inclusive. Small vulnerable minorities need our protection. …
Commons
Westminster Hall
23 June 2026
Prison Safety
I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. I, too, went to HMP Wandsworth not very long ago. There was an incident on the wing: something happened and the prison officers had to shut all the doors and run. That was a horrible example of what they deal with every day. The violence is …
Commons
Debate
22 June 2026
2 contributions
Armed Forces Bill
Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
It is not, actually, although I can always talk about the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in the context of clause 31, in which it is brilliantly included and which will give the RFA a commissioner at last, which is fantastic.
May I ask the Minister to confirm—because I have had some correspondence about thi…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 June 2026
High Street Shops: Illicit Activity
Hotspot teams are looking at this issue in certain areas, but does my hon. Friend agree that it is also a problem in rural and coastal areas, such as mine in Falmouth? The problem is spreading across the country—he talks about it moving into the Black Country—so perhaps we should look at extending t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 June 2026
Abuse of Customer-facing Workers
This is a really important debate. In Falmouth and Truro, we have a lot of abuse of shop workers in connection with shoplifting. An issue in the past has been that people think they are immune if they shoplift something worth less than £200. That is changing and the police will now arrest those peop…
Commons
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
This Government are not year zero. The 2.5% target has not been hit since 2010—the end of the last Labour Government—and there has been an extra £11 billion since the end of the last Conservative Government. I met my ex-husband in the Fleet Air Arm in 2003, just in time to witness some of the hollow…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
15 June 2026
Topical Questions
T9. The King’s Speech contains proposals for an overnight visitor levy. The decision on whether to introduce it is to be devolved to mayoral strategic authorities and, potentially, foundation strategic authorities. Most coastal and rural areas that struggle with the impact of tourism are not in mayo…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 June 2026
Rail Freight
We had a rail freight line going down to the docks in Falmouth, but it was closed about 20 years ago. I am trying to reopen it, and we are working with the docks and potential customers to do so. Does the hon. Lady agree that this is something that the Government and Great British Railways, when it …