Commons
Westminster Hall
14 July 2026
2 contributions
Employees Travelling Outside the UK: Expenses Rate
I beg to move,
That this House has considered expenses rates for employees travelling outside the UK.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I am calling on the Government to ensure that serious consideration is given to reassessing the scale rates for expenses and sub…
I take that fully on board. I am delighted that the hon. Member is here for this debate.
There are cities in Europe where the situation is even more pronounced than in Amsterdam. In Budapest, the total residual rate set in 2013 and unchanged since 2014 has been eaten away by a compound inflation ra…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
23 June 2026
2 contributions
Green Book Wellbeing Guidance
6. Whether she plans to update the Treasury Green Book supplementary guidance on wellbeing. [R]
I thank the Chancellor for her response. With the constantly growing evidence base behind it, wellbeing economics offers Governments an increasingly sophisticated means of supplementing conventional economics in decision making. It reveals that big-ticket items very often offer little wellbeing bene…
Commons
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
2 contributions
Automated Enforcement Technology: Evidence
9. What assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing greater use of evidence from automated enforcement technology in trials.
The Government are to be commended for the largest ever investment in police technology, including facial recognition to catch serious offenders, and a drone squad to crack down on waste crime. However, the rules around admissibility of some high-tech evidence, such as the six-month crime rule, are …
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 March 2026
Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. This issue has been on my radar for a very long time. I used to be the leader of the local authority in Crawley, and we have been aware for many years that the capacity limitations that are coming on the line will be so severe that they will…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 March 2026
4 contributions
Local Government Reorganisation: South-east
Is the hon. Gentleman astounded, as I am, that the majority of that debt is with the public works loan board, which sits underneath the Treasury. Where was the Treasury when that debt was being allowed to accumulate?
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers.
Local government is an area of great interest to me. I did my master’s dissertation on models for English devolution; I have worked at the UK’s leading think-tank on devolution; for 17 years I worked as an adviser to local authorities, …
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
4 March 2026
Ministry of Defence
Does my hon. Friend accept that part of the reason for the difference in defence spending is that those nations’ security is at much more immediate risk than that of the UK? If we are going to maintain a leading role and ensure the security of our people moving forward, we must be honest with our co…
Commons
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
Topical Questions
Crawley A&E’s closure was accompanied by a commitment to a 24-hour urgent treatment centre, a commitment that the trust is now breaking. Can the Minister meet me to discuss how local services can be preserved and improved?
Commons
Ministerial Statement
23 February 2026
2 contributions
Local Government Reorganisation
I have great respect for the Secretary of State; I believe that he is one of the finest Ministers on this Government’s Front Bench, and I have great sympathy for him. The reality is that at times, we have all been presented with advice that has proven to be poor. Frankly, the reality that a lot of u…
Immediately, yes. Given that poor advice has previously been given by the Department to the Secretary of State, is it not time to pause and reconsider the evidence base for local government reform?
Commons
Statutory Instrument
21 January 2026
2 contributions
Draft Non-Domestic Rating (Chargeable Amounts) (England) Regulations 2026
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I am here replacing another Member. When they told me the subject, I said, “Great! It is the first time I have ever actually known something about the subject.” They said, “For goodness’ sake, don’t let the Whips hear you say that”—such i…
I would be delighted to have a different system in place. In fact, I spent many years as a local authority leader, lobbying the last Government to try to do anything on that front to resolve a system that, frankly, is still Elizabethan in design and in no way reflects the changing nature of local ec…
Commons
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
Topical Questions
T10. What action are the UK Government taking to support Tamils in seeking justice for past and current injustices?
Commons
Oral Questions
Northern Ireland
7 January 2026
2 contributions
European Convention on Human Rights: Belfast Agreement
5. What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK’s membership of the European convention on human rights on the Belfast agreement.
Given the chaos around the world that is being experienced by politicians playing fast and loose with international law, it is deeply concerning that Conservative and Reform MPs are speaking so flippantly of the risks of violating the Good Friday agreement by leaving the European convention on human…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
2 contributions
National Grid: Supply Point Capacity
8. What steps his Department is taking to help increase the capacity of major national grid supply points.
Despite its rural setting, Crawley’s travel-to-work area has a larger economy than many of the UK’s core cities. Despite that, it has been held back over recent years due to a lack of grid capacity at its major connection point with the national grid, resulting in the loss of several major investmen…
Commons
Debate
25 November 2025
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Does my hon. Friend agree that while it is good news that the Government have now proposed national minimum standards, her new clause represents the other part of the Casey review’s recommendations, without which the House would have failed to act on the licensing requirements specified in the revie…
I thank my right hon. Friend for his efforts to move these provisions forward. I will relay the key points of our agreement on this issue. The key challenge is that since the Deregulation Act 2015, we have a system in which councils no longer know who is operating in their area, on what basis they a…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
2 contributions
Refund Delays
8. What steps she has taken to tackle delays in the payment of refunds by her Department.
I thank the Minister for his response. I have several residents who have been waiting almost a year for a refund from the Home Office. Given the dramatic improvements that we have seen in asylum application processing in the last year, can I trust that the Minister will put the same zeal into ensuri…
Commons
Oral Questions
13 November 2025
Topical Questions
T5. Crawley has the worst air quality in Sussex, yet under the previous Government, a new incinerator on the town’s border was approved; the town will be directly in its plume. In the context of incinerators, will the Minister set out how we can enhance air quality, and will the Government consider …
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 October 2025
4 contributions
Vehicle Headlight Glare Standards
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the potential merits of a new standard for vehicle headlight glare.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I am grateful for the opportunity to present this motion today; it is the first time that I have been successful in an ap…
Although the researcher involved did not look into particular age groups, I think we all know that on balance, it is often older citizens who are far more inclined to feel the issue of headlights and problems with driving in general. When looking at the numbers, which show the scale of people who ar…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
27 October 2025
Topical Questions
T2. Many other hon. Members have today outlined the proven track record of Access to Work in enabling disabled constituents to access employment, in addition to the challenges posed by the current shortfall in funding. Some £1 billion-worth of additional employment support funding has been announced…
Commons
Debate
23 October 2025
Black History Month
I thank the right hon. Lady for the points she is making. Does she share my concern that much as in the US, where rhetoric has shifted through a sudden strategy away from explicit conversation about race to coded references about race, we should be concerned by the change in rhetoric? We no longer s…
Commons
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
Topical Questions
Grassroots boxing clubs do fantastic work with young people and provide a pipeline of future talent for our communities. Crawley has provided such leading lights in the boxing world as Alan Minter. Will the Secretary of State meet me and representatives of the sector to see what more can be done to …
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
16 September 2025
2 contributions
Court Backlogs
17. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the length of time for cases to go to trial.
I have met constituents who have been victims of some of the most serious offences and were waiting for years before the general election to have access to justice. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how I can ensure that my constituents have timely access to justice?
Commons
Oral Questions
Science, Innovation and Technology
10 September 2025
Topical Questions
T2. What conversations have taken place with UK Research and Innovation on the support and development of new sustainable transport technologies, and on how they might benefit constituencies such as mine, Crawley?
Commons
Debate
9 September 2025
3 contributions
Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill
I congratulate the Minister on his appointment, and thank Ministers for the time they have given me to raise with them matters in relation to this Bill and for the responses they have provided to my questions.
I can see no logical reason why the Government would go through the painful process of br…
It is incredibly unfortunate that the Chagossians have not been given that opportunity—that is my view. Had we given them that opportunity, whatever the outcome, I would have had no problem honouring that because we are talking about their land; it is not our land.
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
4 July 2025
2 contributions
Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill
I am sure my hon. Friend will be aware of the role that the Starlink system has played in Ukraine in enabling the frontline operations of the Ukrainian army. For a very long time, GPS was the main determinator of whether Trident could arrive at its destination. It strikes me that in some ways the te…
I will try to keep my remarks brief. I start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) on making many fine contributions today and still managing to find time to pass his own Bill.
This is an area of personal interest to me. I made the terrible choice 20 years ago to…
Commons
Debate
4 July 2025
3 contributions
Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert) on bringing forward the Bill. Devolution has been an interest of mine for a very long time. It was the topic of my master’s dissertation and my first job outside politics, so I am thrilled to be back dealing with …
My hon. Friend has highlighted PACAC’s work scrutinising elections. As Parliament’s Select Committee that is overseeing this part of the process, we produced recommendations on behalf of the United Kingdom as a whole. Given that the Bill will devolve to Scottish Government representatives more deleg…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
4 July 2025
4 contributions
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill
My hon. Friend consistently refers to himself as a complete townie—a description that I would apply to myself, too. Of course, the fact that we reside in urban areas does not in any way mean that we are unconcerned by the fortunes of our fellow parliamentarians who represent agricultural areas, or i…
Like everyone who has spoken so far, I congratulate the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth). Much like the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady), Crawley is an urban constituency. On the plus side, I suppose that means I get to avoid the bu…
+2 more contributions in this session