Commons
Ministerial Statement
16 June 2025
Iran-Israel Conflict
Given the UK’s long-standing friendship with Israel, what assessment has the Foreign Secretary made of the increased risk to our military personnel in the countries in the wider region?
Commons
Oral Questions
Education
16 June 2025
School-based Nurseries
In the last couple of months, I have been speaking to lots of nursery providers across my constituency about these issues, and the thing that comes up again and again is small business rate relief. The Secretary of State’s Department has already replied saying that nurseries can claim the relief, bu…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
11 June 2025
Spending Review 2025
I declare an interest as a sitting councillor. Local government will be pleased to see an increase in spending and to have clarity but, alongside social care, we have no clarity on another area that will sink councils: the statutory override on special educational needs. That was promised time and a…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
10 June 2025
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
The Foreign Secretary summoned the Israeli ambassador to meet the Minister two weeks ago and we were asked to “wait and see” what positive steps would come from the meeting. Since then, we have seen violence and attacks on vulnerable people increase by the state of Israel. The ambassador has repeate…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 June 2025
Winter Fuel Payment
Almost £85,000 was paid out by Dorset Community Foundation through its “Surviving Winter” campaign, including to many in my constituency. The foundation has noticed that many more people are relying on oil and liquefied gas, especially those in park homes and rural areas. What is the Minister doing …
Commons
Proceedings
9 June 2025
Chinese Embassy Development
Moving on from national security, according to the documentation—I have double-checked—community safety is a significant material planning consideration. In such a multicultural area, what assessment of risk to community cohesion and the safety of local people is being made? How does taking such dec…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
4 June 2025
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Under the UK strategic export licence criteria, licences are prohibited when there is a clear risk that items would undermine peace and security or, under criteria 7, where the controlled items might be diverted for such uses. Can the Minister confirm that the export of all items, both those with li…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 June 2025
2 contributions
Disadvantaged Communities
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger.
I think we would all agree that it is a basic human right to have a decent place to call home, a neighbourhood where one feels safe, an opportunity to earn a decent living, access to healthcare and a clean environment. If people have tho…
My hon. Friend is absolutely right—there are micro-communities within communities that look wealthy from the outside, and I will come on to some local examples.
In rural and coastal areas, employment opportunities are incredibly limited, as the hon. Member for East Thanet (Ms Billington) said, with…
Commons
Debate
3 June 2025
Dementia Care
Dementia is such a cruel disease. Let us be clear that it is not simply part of getting old, yet too often it is treated as though it is inevitable. In my constituency the number of people living with dementia is nearly 40% higher than the national average. One in every 45 adults of all ages has bee…
Commons
Debate
2 June 2025
2 contributions
Arms and Military Cargo Export Controls: Israel
Does the hon. Member share my concern that some equipment, such as drone engines, may be being exported to Israel without the need for export licences and are potentially getting into the hands of military organisations, perhaps not directly to drop bombs but to engage in other military activity, su…
Will the Minister give way?
Commons
Debate
2 June 2025
Strategic Defence Review
I rise to speak as a proud member of the armed forces covenant family; my husband Paul is a naval veteran, and my daughter is a reservist. I am really pleased to see the whole-society approach in chapter 6 of the defence review, but what actions are being taken to make a career of service in the arm…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 May 2025
2 contributions
Parkinson’s Disease
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I thank the hon. Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) for securing the debate. It is interesting that three of the five Back Benchers who have spoken in it are from Dorset. I do not know what that says about our population, but there we …
My hon. Friend and constituency neighbour is correct. We have the Jurassic coast, but we are also the oldest county.
My daughter is currently undertaking a PhD in the causes of Parkinson’s, and I should also declare that I am a member of the all-party parliamentary group on Parkinson’s. Although li…
Commons
Westminster Hall
21 May 2025
Broadband and Mobile Connectivity: Rural Areas
Does my hon. Friend agree that it is unacceptable for homes and businesses that were originally put in scope for local Gigabit projects to be de-scoped partway through, like the homes and farms on the National Trust’s Cowgrove estate, and then told that the Gigabit voucher scheme has been paused, so…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 May 2025
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
The Foreign Secretary talks of children orphaned. The prediction is that 14,000 babies will die. If that comes true, it would wipe out an entire generation. We have also seen families burned alive in tents, in events that have shocked the world. Enough is enough. I join the right hon. Member for Nor…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
20 May 2025
UK-EU Summit
British people having access to e-gates is welcome. As the Minister for EU Relations told the BBC, it should ensure more time for UK residents when abroad. But my constituents have a better suggestion for achieving that. Does the Prime Minister agree that we should be developing a reciprocal travel …
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
20 May 2025
Topical Questions
Dorset and Wiltshire fire and rescue service has suffered a real-terms funding cut, partly because the majority of firefighters are on call so the employer national insurance contributions were not sufficiently compensated. Will Ministers commit to reviewing the funding formula to fit the needs of c…
Commons
Oral Questions
Defence
19 May 2025
Topical Questions
UNCLOS––the United Nations convention on the law of the sea—is an incredible international anti-piracy and anti-drug-running tool, but as the House of Lords discussed in 2022, it needs upgrading to include measures on modern slavery and human trafficking. What work are the Government doing on that i…
Commons
Westminster Hall
19 May 2025
4 contributions
Gender Self-identification
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell.
It is shocking that over 16,000 people are currently waiting for treatment at the London gender identity clinic alone, and that it is currently treating people referred in the summer of 2019. There are 6,225 children currently waiting on g…
My hon. Friend is absolutely correct.
We talk a lot about the needs of trans women but very little about the needs of trans men. I am deeply concerned about the impact on trans men who might be forced to go into women’s toilets. Many of them do an amazing job of masking and appearing to be men. I a…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
14 May 2025
Gaza: UK Assessment
Barely a day goes by when I do not receive impassioned pleas from my constituents begging for actions, not words, from this Government. Many have shared their distress that we celebrated the defeat of tyranny on VE Day at the same time that the people of Gaza starved and were being bombed to oblivio…
Commons
Debate
12 May 2025
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
The trafficking gangs that profit from the most vulnerable refugees do not care if the people on those boats live or die. It is obvious that we all want to see the end of this horrendous crime, but those who travel are not bad people; they are desperate. It is understandable that communities who see…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
12 May 2025
Personal Independence Payment: Assessment Review
My consistent, Louisa, wrote to me about her PIP assessment. She suffers from a number of debilitating fluctuating conditions. Her assessment took over two hours and the assessor ignored her explanations, did not ask how she felt afterwards and threatened to end the call when her words were misinter…
Commons
Debate
7 May 2025
Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords]
We live in a rapidly changing world. Like everyone else, I am sure that I am guilty of handing my data to organisations every hour of every day, oblivious to the impact on my privacy. I am also guilty of absorbing and using content assuming that it is trustworthy and that it has been obtained fairly…
Commons
Oral Questions
Women and Equalities
7 May 2025
Topical Questions
T6. Perpetrators hanging around school, malicious contact with customers, and rat poison being sent to my constituents’ homes are all frightening experiences faced by victims of domestic abuse, but police responses are inconsistent, even when perpetrators are on bail. What is the Secretary of State …
Commons
Ministerial Statement
6 May 2025
Middle East Update
An Israeli human rights group has now described Israel as using starvation as a method of warfare, which is a war crime under article 54 of the Geneva convention. Will the Minister join Ireland, South Africa and many other countries in clarifying that there has been a genocide and apartheid against …
Commons
Oral Questions
6 May 2025
Topical Questions
Last month I began to receive concerning emails from employees of the NHS trusts in my constituency, saying that the trusts were seeking to create a subsidiary company and move staff into it. They are really worried about their future rights. I know how important it is to the Secretary of State that…