Commons
Debate
13 April 2026
SEND Provision and Reform
My hon. Friend and I, along with colleagues in Surrey, have campaigned hard to change Surrey county council’s appalling approach to children with special educational needs. Does he agree that local government reorganisation is a huge opportunity for us to change the culture? Will he urge the Ministe…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 April 2026
Social Housing Standards
Housing, including damp and mould, is a top issue in my inbox as MP for Woking. One of the key problems is the Conservatives’ unlawful removal of more than £4 million from the housing revenue account, which has resulted in a huge backlog of issues. What steps are this Government and this Minister ta…
Commons
Westminster Hall
13 April 2026
Disclosure and Safeguarding: At-risk Children
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. At the start of this year, I held a debate similar to this one, also in Westminster Hall, on local authority children’s services. I did so following the appalling abuse, torture and murder of a 10-year-old Woking constituent, Sara Sharif. W…
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
Topical Questions
T2. The Justice Secretary will no doubt be aware of the tragic case of Sara Sharif from my constituency. Her father, who went on to murder her, was given custody of Sara by the family court, after her Polish mother was unable to give evidence because she did not have an interpreter and could not …
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 March 2026
Immigration Reforms
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer.
I thank the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart) for securing the debate. He and I served together on the Committee that considered the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, where we proposed amendments to li…
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 March 2026
4 contributions
Rough Sleeping: Families with Children
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank the hon. Member for Liverpool Wavertree (Paula Barker) for securing this important debate.
In my constituency of Woking, we are fortunate to host the extraordinary work of the York Road Project. For three decades that local charit…
I am happy to give way to my hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset. I believe he will attend debates a bit earlier as a result of your comments, Dr Murrison.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
Local Government Reorganisation: South-east
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Vickers. I thank my constituency neighbour and hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) for leading this debate and eloquently putting the case. I endorse his calls this afternoon.
I will use my time to talk about why local government…
Commons
Debate
9 March 2026
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
On that point, will the Minister give way?
I thank the shadow Minister for raising the case of Sara Sharif from my constituency. The safeguarding review that she has referred to highlighted failings in Surrey county council and failings in the law. That review recommended three quite detailed things, which are not included in the Lords amend…
Commons
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Immigration Policy
It is deeply disappointing that these changes were pushed through without an explanation in this Chamber. The same Home Secretary who emphasised the importance of scrutiny from MPs at the Institute for Public Policy Research has denied this House the chance to question her reforms. That is not good …
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
4 March 2026
Engagements
Q5. Last month I visited my old school, Woking high school. I saw classrooms built in the 1960s that were meant to last 20 years, but are still in use and are being held together by gaffer tape. I visited my old music classroom and I nearly fell through the floor: I saw a hole in the roof, and I …
Commons
Debate
3 March 2026
SEND Provision: Local Authorities
I thank the Minister for giving way, and I particularly thank my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Dorking and Horley (Chris Coghlan) for securing the debate and for the manner in which he introduced it. Since he has been in this place, he has been a strong advocate for SEND families, and I tha…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 March 2026
3 contributions
Power to Cancel Local Elections
It is a pleasure to serve under your leadership, Mr Mundell. Thank you for chairing this debate. I also thank the almost 153,000 people across the country who signed the petition, including 186 in my constituency of Woking who I think signed it because they—we—unreasonably lost our right to vote in …
I quite agree. My memory does not stretch back as far as that, but the right hon. Gentleman is completely right. Elections have been postponed only during serious wartime, during the foot and mouth crisis of 2001 and, as we all—even I—remember, during the covid pandemic in 2020. But in Surrey and ac…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
25 February 2026
Electronic Travel Authorisation: Dual Nationals
I congratulate and thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Manuela Perteghella) for securing this urgent question. The Government’s lack of planning and haphazard communications over these changes are totally unacceptable. Countless dual British nationals have found themselves in hear…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
25 February 2026
Draft Surrey (Structural Changes) Order 2026
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. Surrey is the first local authority to undergo local government reorganisation under this Government’s new plan because of the catastrophic failures of local Conservative councils: Woking borough council, Surrey county council and a raft of …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
23 February 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
Given that the Government have now reversed their decision to postpone the 2026 local elections following legal advice, can the Secretary of State confirm whether the same legal considerations also applied to the elections to Surrey county council—which covers my constituency—that were postponed las…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 February 2026
Social Rented Housing Sector
The quality of social housing is a huge issue across my Woking constituency, and residents and constituents contact me about it daily, so I was pleased to help draft the cross-party report. I sincerely thank the hon. Member for her leadership on the issue. What response has she had from the Governme…
Commons
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Pharmacy First: Withholding Payments
Residents of West Byfleet are frustrated that a new pharmacy that wants to open in their area is not allowed to do so. Be it that unreasonable restriction, the increase in NICs or a lack of funding, this Government’s every action seems to undermine the pharmacy sector. Will the Minister explain why …
Commons
Oral Questions
Transport
12 February 2026
Topical Questions
T5. Despite my constituency being just 30 minutes from London, my constituents cannot use tap-in, tap-out technology to commute. Will the Transport Secretary agree to back the Liberal Democrat amendment to the Railways Bill to roll out tap-in, tap-out infrastructure across the country, as well as in…
Commons
Debate
11 February 2026
Local Government Finance
I agree with what the hon. Lady is saying. I am concerned that the Government’s support package for councils such as Woking borough council—which effectively went bankrupt several years ago following Conservative mismanagement—is allowing them to borrow more money to pay off their Government loans. …
Commons
Westminster Hall
11 February 2026
Supported Exempt Accommodation: Birmingham
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Ms Lewell. I thank the hon. Member for Birmingham Perry Barr (Ayoub Khan) for securing this important debate. Shelter is a basic human need. It is a human right. The Liberal Democrats and I believe that everyone has the right to a saf…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 February 2026
National Cancer Plan
Yesterday, for World Cancer Day, I hosted here in Parliament Walk the Walk, a national charity that I am proud is based in my Woking constituency. It has raised over £146 million to fight cancer and to help people live healthy lives. I am sorry that the Secretary of State is no longer in his place, …
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 February 2026
2 contributions
Transport in the South-East
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) for securing and leading this debate. She and I, with my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Zöe Franklin), got a train together 18 months ago to arrive in Parliament for …
I agree with my hon. Friend. National Highways is far too slow at tackling issues. Only this morning, I had to report a chunk of debris fly-tipped on National Highways land, which has been there for ages. It is far too slow to tackle simple things such as that, to invest in our highway network, whic…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 February 2026
3 contributions
Indefinite Leave to Remain
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell.
The Liberal Democrats and I are completely opposed to these sudden and retrospective changes to entitlement to indefinite leave to remain. Families who have worked hard, paid taxes and integrated into British society should not face more ye…
I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting that issue. She is a strong advocate for children and families, and she is right to highlight how the Government have not thought this policy through. It has a disproportionate impact, particularly when childcare costs are so significant. I will come on to tal…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 January 2026
4 contributions
Local Authority Children’s Services
I beg to move,
That this House has considered children’s services in local authorities.
I applied for this debate because of a 10-year-old constituent who was abused, tortured and murdered by those who should have loved and protected her. Her name was Sara.
Sara was found dead in the early hours …
I do. Funding is an issue; I am concerned that we are not properly resourcing our children’s services departments. The Government’s recent decision to shift funding away from rural constituencies like my hon. Friend’s could have a dramatic impact, and the Government need to recognise that in differe…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 January 2026
3 contributions
Local Government Reorganisation: Referendums
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his leadership on this issue. I am pleased that he is standing up for his community, which has not been listened to. In Surrey, local government reorganisation is being imposed on us; despite the fact that nine out of 11 boroughs and districts wanted three local counci…
As I highlighted, Surrey is being reorganised, partly because of the debt of the former administration in Woking, which is completely unaffordable for my local area, and Surrey council is concerned that it is going to have to pay that tab. How would a referendum work in that situation, where Woking …
+1 more contribution in this session