Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
2 contributions
Rugby in Schools
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government support for rugby in schools.
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Vickers. It is a privilege to bring this important debate to the Chamber. Rugby is far more than 80 minutes on a Saturday afternoon: it teaches young people th…
The hon. Member must forgive that my speech is weighted towards English rugby, as he is absolutely right that the important role rugby clubs play in a community is true in all four parts of the United Kingdom.
Research has now described the evidence linking organised sport with improved psychologic…
Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
Support for Pig Farmers
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. I congratulate the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) on securing this important and timely debate.
Pig farming is an important part of our rural economy in West Dorset. Alongside several family-run pig farms, we are h…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
13 July 2026
2 contributions
Mental Health Support for Police Officers
10. What steps her Department is taking to improve mental health support for police officers.
A police officer constituent of mine reported a senior colleague for sexual assault. Separately, she was domestically abused and raped by a partner. Her domestic abuser was arrested, with bail conditions preventing contact, but in her trauma-induced state she continued to instigate contact and was s…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 July 2026
Draft UK-EU Agreement on Gibraltar
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir John. I congratulate the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) on securing this important debate. Before I begin, I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. It was my privilege to represent the Libe…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 July 2026
4 contributions
Government Support for Bus Services: West Dorset
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government support for bus services in West Dorset constituency.
It is a pleasure, as always, to serve with you in the Chair, Ms McVey. It is my privilege to bring this debate to the House.
This issue may seem niche, but it matters a great deal to my …
The hon. Member rightly touches on a lot of the issues that I will come to, all of which I know are as pressing in his part of the United Kingdom as they are in mine.
I thank the Minister for the constructive meeting we had on these issues. For the first time, the funding formula explicitly recogni…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
8 July 2026
4 contributions
Greenhouse Gas Removals Sector
I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to bring this Adjournment debate to the House and to make the case for greater Government support for the greenhouse gas removals sector. First, I thank the sector for engaging so openly with me about its businesses and concerns, the Minister for his conti…
My hon. Friend and neighbour is absolutely right. There are many exciting nature-based solutions for which I have high hopes. In my role as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on climate technology, my focus today is mainly on the engineered solutions, but we need to consider all solutions to…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
Financial Inclusion: Young People
It is a honour to serve under your chairship, Sir John. My first job was on the deli counter of my local supermarket. I congratulate the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Josh Dean) on securing this important debate.
In the middle of a cost of living crisis, whether a young person knows how t…
Commons
Debate
29 June 2026
Cabinet Office
It has been my huge pleasure to serve on the hon. Member’s Committee for the better part of the last two years, and as I stand down from it, I wish to thank him for his leadership—it has been exemplary.
On the whole-society conversation, to go back to the hon. Gentleman’s earlier point about the in…
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
16 June 2026
Topical Questions
T4. On 28 May, Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to seize control of 70% of the Gaza strip, in breach of the ceasefire agreement. Some 90% of the homes have now been destroyed, and an estimated $53 billion is required to rebuild the strip. Meanwhile, settlement expansion in the w…
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
15 June 2026
2 contributions
Retirement Home Exit Fees
12. What recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of exit fees for retirement homes.
A constituent of mine has been unable to wind up his late uncle’s estate since 2023. The shared ownership retirement flat, managed by Abri in Poundbury, is incurring £15,000 in service charges; even if they find a buyer, those charges plus the exit fees will effectively wipe out any value from the s…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 June 2026
Water Safety
I thank the hon. Member for securing this important debate. He is right; summer comes around every year. West Dorset is home to the Jurassic coast—a major tourist attraction—and our population increases by 40% over the summer months. Despite the inter-agency working of Dorset police, Dorset fire ser…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 June 2026
Summit on Illicit Finance
It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Roger. I join right hon. and hon. Members in thanking my hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Steff Aquarone) for securing this vital and timely debate, as well as for his broader work on illicit finance. I also thank the APPG for its work.
T…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
9 June 2026
Draft Contracts for Difference (Allocation) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stringer. I will leave the Minister to respond to all the inaccuracies in the shadow Minister’s speech. The purpose of the draft regulations is not to alter the underlying policy objectives of the CfD scheme but to improve the administration and op…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
8 June 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T2. Dorset police is among the 10 worst-funded forces in the country. It faces higher operating costs due to our rural geography and, during the summer, has to contend with a population that increases by 40%. It has already had to make cuts worth £2.8 million over the past three years. Will the Secr…
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. In my topical question earlier, I asked the Minister whether the Department would reform the police funding formula to account for seasonality and rurality. The Minister said that that announcement had already been made; actually, only a review of the funding formula…
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 June 2026
Seasonal Hospitality Businesses in Coastal Areas
It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stuart. I congratulate the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson) on securing this important debate. West Dorset is home to the world famous Jurassic coast, a UNESCO world heritage site. Tourism contributes more than £320 million annuall…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 June 2026
Community Pharmacies
My hon. Friend raises the spectre of Jhoots, which resulted in the closure of the Bridport and Lyme Regis pharmacies in my constituency. Jhoots exposed serious concerns around contractual failures, unsafe practices, staff treatment and service continuity, leaving staff in my constituency relying on …
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
Transition from Fossil Fuels: Progress
The UK is home to fantastic and innovative clean technology start-ups in the energy space. However, these businesses tell me that funding for start-up and, importantly, scale-up phases in this space is falling off a cliff. The net zero innovation portfolio, which awarded more than £1.3 billion in gr…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
Topical Questions
The UK should be the world leader in greenhouse gas removals, but the sector is struggling to attract funding and off-takers because of uncertainty about Government support for GGRs. Will the Government please confirm when they plan to publish their response to the independent GGRs review, and wheth…
Commons
Westminster Hall
2 June 2026
Preparedness for National Emergencies
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I congratulate the hon. Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) on securing this important debate.
Before summer has even begun properly, an amber wildfire alert has been issued in West Dorset. Since 2021, there have been 397 wil…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
1 June 2026
2 contributions
Defence Procurement
7. What steps his Department is taking to expedite defence procurement.
In the south-west, the defence sector and associated supply chains provide more than 40,000 jobs and contribute more than £3 billion to the economy. In West Dorset, firms provide skilled employment and apprenticeships, but they are frustrated by repeated delays to the defence investment plan and a s…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 April 2026
National Accident Prevention Strategy
Twenty-eight-year-old Benedict Solly was killed on the A37, near Cerne Abbas, at a notorious accident hotspot. Local residents had been calling for interventions to make that junction safe, but part of the problem is that the decision on whether to make an intervention at the junction is based on hi…
Commons
Westminster Hall
28 April 2026
Fire and Rescue Services: Funding
I thank the hon. Member for securing this debate. May I thank Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service for its response to the fire at Newell House in Sherborne the other night? I am in awe of the bravery of its firefighters, who were on the scene within eight minutes.
The hon. Member talks abo…
Commons
Debate
23 April 2026
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
A lot of my constituents say that there is effectively a two-tier system: if someone is able to use the digital system, it is extremely fast; if someone has a medical condition, they have to use the paper form, which creates all sorts of administrative problems that we end up chasing up. My casework…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 April 2026
2 contributions
Army Reserve
Will the right hon. Member give way?
Before the right hon. Member leaves his first point, which I absolutely agree with, I want to pay tribute to the 6th Battalion the Rifles in Dorchester, the only infantry reserve in the south-west. Their proud track record includes service in Mali, Cyprus and elsewhere with British forces. The issue…
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment
This morning, Sir Olly Robbins appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee. What I saw was a dedicated public servant who, over 25 years, has held some of the most senior roles in the civil service. The Prime Minister would like us to believe that he was let down by officials such as Sir Olly, but…