Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
8 July 2026
Community Cohesion
In his first answer, the Secretary of State said that the recent disorder was a problem that needed to be solved. A fortnight ago, I arranged a roundtable in my constituency that included the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the police, the Executive Office, the Department for Communities and man…
Commons
Debate
29 June 2026
2 contributions
Northern Ireland Office
Will the hon. Member also acknowledge that even Members of the Finance Minister’s party are now opposed to the budget he produced?
I congratulate the Chair on how she is raising the issue in this debate and how she has handled the legacy inquiry. Does she agree that there must be an answer to the concerns raised by the PSNI that it does not have any additional moneys to provide that information to the ICRIR with regard to legac…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
23 June 2026
Topical Questions
In an earlier answer, the Minister ruled out a VAT reduction for hospitality businesses across the United Kingdom. Will he at least meet me, Hospitality Ulster and the Northern Ireland Food to Go Association to discuss the concept of a Northern Ireland-specific pilot?
Commons
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Defence Investment Plan
The Minister said that the defence investment plan will be published following a “line-by-line review”. It is obvious that the previous Secretary of State resigned because he could not review it downwards any further—because of the actions of the Treasury. The Minister also said that the plan is “sc…
Commons
Proceedings
9 June 2026
North Belfast: Violent Attack
The right hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) described the incident as “medieval”. It was not just medieval: what we saw happen on the streets of the United Kingdom was pure evil. While tribute has been paid to those members of the general public who stepped in and the emergency services …
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
3 June 2026
Public Service Reform
Transformation needs to be embedded through a recurrent budget. We are three months into this financial year, at Northern Ireland political speed, and we still do not have a recurrent budget. What steps is the Northern Ireland Office taking to bring about such a financial budget in Northern Ireland?
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
Topical Questions
Northern Ireland is home to some innovative carbon capture businesses with real export potential, but many UK clean technologies face a gap between successful pilot innovation and that first commercial deployment. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that high-value opportunities can be sc…
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
Dunmurry Police Station Attack
What price does the Secretary of State put on a Northern Ireland life? What price does he put on the lives of PSNI officers, whom we have praised in this House today for saving so many lives at the weekend? The majority of his answers at the start of this session referred to Barnett consequentials a…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
21 April 2026
Topical Questions
T2. The Foreign Secretary has paid tribute to Sir Olly Robbins on a number of occasions. In that case, can I ask what the grounds were for his dismissal and what was contained in his dismissal letter? Was he allowed to state a case against his sacking?
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
25 March 2026
Spring Forecast
The Northern Ireland Office and the Treasury are doing an open book exercise on how all the Departments of the Northern Ireland Executive are spending their block grant allocations. Will the Secretary of State commit to publishing their findings?
Commons
Debate
23 March 2026
3 contributions
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
I welcome the Minister to her place. I worked with her predecessors when I was Health Minister in Northern Ireland, when this Bill first came about. I am sorry to disappoint the hon. Members for Windsor (Jack Rankin) and for City of Durham (Mary Kelly Foy), because this legislation started its itera…
That is the concern, but I point out that the Windsor framework was negotiated and implemented by the previous Government, who left Northern Ireland in this current situation. When I was in post, I received reassurances from the previous Government and from this Government. I would like to be in a p…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
23 March 2026
2 contributions
Public Order Legislation: Religious Expression
3. What guidance her Department has provided to police forces on the application of public order legislation in relation to the expression of religious beliefs.
May I start by condemning the attack on the ambulances of the Hatzola community ambulance service over the weekend?
A core tenet of our system and beliefs is that of civil and religious liberty for all. Does the Minister agree that we all have a role to play in upholding that core British tenet?
Commons
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
Business of the House
Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative Society relies on a supply of glass eels to meet its regulatory commitment to be a sustainable eel fishery, but the supply from GB rivers is now being blocked because of EU wildlife trade regulations. That issue has been raised with the Department for Environment…
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
19 March 2026
Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecutions
The Solicitor General will know that 29 women have been murdered since 2020 in Northern Ireland—we have seen a significant increase in femicide. Will she give me an assurance that she will continue to engage with Northern Ireland’s Attorney General and Justice Minister to ensure that prosecution rat…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 March 2026
3 contributions
Northern Ireland: Legacy of the Past
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. I congratulate the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on bringing forward the report, and the Chair, the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi), on the way she has stewarded the debate and taken evidence from so many groups. Bringing f…
I do accept that point. If the hon. Gentleman looks back to my contribution in that debate at the end of January, he will see that I made that same point, because I could not understand why the Government were in such a rush to bring forward a piece of legislation that was not actually necessary, as…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
18 March 2026
2 contributions
Student Loans
The right hon. Lady says that the system is unfair. Does she agree that charging interest rates during maternity and paternity leave is also unfair? It disadvantages people in the workplace, especially women, who have worked hard to get into progressive careers through university education, and they…
On that point, does the Minister agree that there is another way? The Open University also allows people to earn and learn at the same time. The situation is not as simple as university or apprenticeship. There is a middle way and, as a former graduate of the Open University, I encourage the Governm…
Commons
Debate
11 March 2026
2 contributions
Commonwealth Day 2026
rose —
I thank the Member for giving way. He will be aware that a good friend of ours, Frank Feighan, the TD for Sligo-Leitrim, is in Westminster today. Frank has often championed the idea that the Republic of Ireland should return to the Commonwealth and expand that greater familiar connectivity that we h…
Commons
Oral Questions
Scotland
25 February 2026
2 contributions
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: Scottish Veterans
2. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Veterans Commissioner on the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.
First, may I join the commemoration of Jeane Freeman, having served with her during her period as Scottish Health Secretary?
The question I asked was actually about whether the Secretary of State for Scotland had met the Scottish Veterans Commissioner in respect of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bil…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
23 February 2026
2 contributions
Northern Ireland: Local Growth Fund
4. What plans he has for the delivery of the local growth fund in Northern Ireland.
I thank the Minister for meeting me to discuss the concerns raised by the voluntary community sector in Northern Ireland about how the fund will be split between capital and revenue. We are now looking at a fund that is more capital-heavy than revenue-heavy, and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for…
Commons
Debate
26 January 2026
2 contributions
Armed Forces Bill
rose—
The Secretary of State talks about a patchwork quilt and a postcode lottery. Operation Restore supports military veterans with their physical and mental health, but Northern Ireland-resident veterans do not have the same access in devolved institutions—the likes of the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt or…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
26 January 2026
Police Reform White Paper
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is currently excluded from the counter-terrorism policing grant of about £1 billion a year, which is accessible to GB forces. Now that counter-terrorism is being looked after by the National Police Service, will the Police Service of Northern Ireland be able to…
Commons
Debate
21 January 2026
2 contributions
Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and Reconciliation
Would the hon. Gentleman consider that there is a political reason for the Northern Ireland Office to bring this measure forward: to placate the Irish Government and their timeline rather than the timeline of this place?
Can I ask the House to pay tribute to and acknowledge the contribution of my hon. Friend the Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon)? [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] That emotion, that story and that heartfelt contribution to today’s debate are replicated across many houses across Northern Ireland, and in…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
21 January 2026
Engagements
Q7. Challenging economic inactivity and supporting the vulnerable across the country is something that we all want, so would the Prime Minister be surprised to learn that, in Northern Ireland, around 11,000 people previously supported by UK shared prosperity funding will see those programmes cut d…
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
14 January 2026
Engagements
At question time last week, the Prime Minister seemed to intimate that the Government were bringing forward amendments to the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. Within hours of him saying that, the Irish Government’s Minister for Foreign Affairs said that any “significant changes” must have the
“full …
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 January 2026
3 contributions
Northern Ireland Political Institutions: Reform
Does the hon. Lady acknowledge that much of the work that was achieved in the Belfast agreement was undermined in St Andrews in 2007, when there was a change to how the First and Deputy First Ministers were elected? Rather than being a co-post, it became a divided office.
I heard the Prime Minister refer to the work of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee in the Chamber last week. Does the Minister realise that that has met only 12 times since 2024? It is not a Committee that is doing a lot of work or delivering a lot.
+1 more contribution in this session