Commons
Proceedings
8 July 2026
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
I sincerely thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for asking the urgent question. Highly skilled, experienced coastguard volunteers are being badly let down by the Government, and I cannot imagine other rescue service personnel being treated in the same way. N…
Commons
Debate
1 July 2026
Medical Services (Rural Areas)
I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require the Secretary of State to prepare a strategy for expanding the provision of Minor Injuries Units and Urgent Treatment Centres in rural areas; to require the Secretary of State to report to Parliament annually on the implementation of …
Commons
Westminster Hall
1 July 2026
2 contributions
Fishing Industry: Government Support
Will my hon. Friend give way?
I will be brief. My local fishermen in North Cornwall have been waiting three years for the inshore fisheries and conservation authority and DEFRA to implement a byelaw to restrict vessels above 12 metres in the inshore Cornish waters within 6 nautical miles. Does my hon. Friend agree that this is u…
Commons
Westminster Hall
30 June 2026
High Streets
Unfortunately, Cornwall was unsuccessful in the latest Pride in Place funding round. Does the Minister agree that Cornwall desperately needs a proper devolution settlement so that Cornwall council can fill the many empty shops in Bodmin, in Launceston, elsewhere in my constituency and across Cornwal…
Commons
Westminster Hall
16 June 2026
Access to Dental Services: West Sussex
I commend my hon. Friend on an excellent speech. Some of my residents still travel to their NHS dentist clinic in Nottinghamshire, which is a more than 500-mile round trip from Cornwall. Does my hon. Friend agree that Cornwall integrated care board needs to sort out its underspend? This year, there …
Commons
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Water Companies
South West Water has pleaded guilty to illegal sewage dumping across my constituency, including at Bodmin and Harlyn. It will likely get yet another fine and a slap on the wrist—a cost of doing business. The Water Minister kindly met me recently, but she has confirmed in writing that vital sewerage …
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
4 June 2026
Violence against Women and Girls
Recent CPS data shows a welcome reduction in victim attrition in domestic abuse cases where the defendant was charged. However, the same CPS dataset shows little evidence of corresponding improvements in charging rates, timeliness or wider prosecution performance. By what metrics will the Solicitor …
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 June 2026
Rail Freight
I have been supporting a project called Kernow Connect alongside Cornwall council, and it looks to advance freight capacity to Cornwall significantly. We have Falmouth, one of the deepest ports in the world, and fantastic resources such as critical minerals, but we do not have the infrastructure to …
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 June 2026
Seasonal Hospitality Businesses in Coastal Areas
I have heard from countless hospitality business in my constituency, be it the Bullers Arms in Bude, which has seen astronomical business rates, or Stir café in Wadebridge, where VAT is a huge struggle. National insurance contributions, wage costs and energy costs are going up. Does the hon. Member …
Commons
Oral Questions
Business and Trade
21 May 2026
2 contributions
SMEs: European Trade
9. What steps his Department is taking to help small and medium-sized businesses trade with European nations.
I always welcome the cutting of red tape and I await the details excitedly. My North Cornwall constituent, Hannah Willow, runs two art businesses. Prior to Brexit, around 30% of her sales were to customers in Europe, but this has now fallen to 10%. As a result of recent tariffs on trade, her exports…
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 May 2026
Middle East
I am grateful to the Minister for his statement, having applied for an urgent question alongside the leader of Plaid Cymru in Westminster, the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts), and other hon. Members.
One of my constituents, Katy Davidson, was on board the Global Sumud…
Commons
Proceedings
20 May 2026
Processed Russian Oil Products: Sanctions
Rocketing fuel prices are hitting rural families in constituencies like mine, but the answer can never be to play directly into Putin’s hands by weakening sanctions, just as Ukraine is finally pushing back against Russia’s war machine. Does the Minister agree that we can both stand firmly with our U…
Commons
Oral Questions
Justice
19 May 2026
2 contributions
Topical Questions
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
Cornwall continues to face some of the UK’s worst legal aid deserts, with rurality and lack of transport adding to the postcode lottery. According to the Law Society, a third of domestic abuse survivors were forced to represent themselves in court, as even when advice is available, eligibility crite…
Commons
Debate
27 April 2026
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I will keep my contribution brief and speak once again on Lords amendments 98 and 98A, to allow other hon. Members to speak. Along with many of my constituents, I was very disappointed last Tuesday that the Minister failed to mention Cornwall once in her closing speech, despite my pointing out the d…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Business of the House
Some of the most shocking stories that I heard during the general election campaign on doorsteps throughout North Cornwall were of people pulling out their own teeth because they could not afford the high cost of private dental care. This week, all parties at Cornwall council unanimously passed a Li…
Commons
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Topical Questions
T8. Successive Governments have handed public contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds to the US tech firm Palantir, including the Ministry of Defence and NHS England, for a procurement process that many clinicians and other experts say completely lacks transparency. That is not to mention Pal…
Commons
Westminster Hall
22 April 2026
Mountain Rescue
I fully endorse and support what my hon. Friend is saying. My brilliant Cornish search and rescue team have asked me to attend this debate to make exactly the same point, that if they are not exempted from that CQC registration requirement, they will face thousands of pounds in costs and lots of tim…
Commons
Debate
21 April 2026
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I will briefly speak to Lords amendment 98. When it comes to regions such as Cornwall and my constituency of North Cornwall, this Bill neither respects nor gives due consideration to our unique national minority status. In a letter sent to the leader of Cornwall council in November last year, the Se…
Will the Minister give way?
Commons
Oral Questions
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
21 April 2026
Topical Questions
T5. Last week marked three years since the start of Sudan’s ongoing civil war, which has sparked a disastrous famine affecting an estimated 34 million people, while about 14 million have been displaced. What are the Government doing to combat the reported obstruction of aid delivery by the Rapid Sup…
Commons
Debate
25 March 2026
Victims and Courts Bill
This Bill returns to us from the other place, where my Liberal Democrat colleagues tabled a number of crucial amendments that come before us today, which concern changes to the unduly lenient sentence scheme, the victims code, access to free court transcripts and more. I am really pleased to hear th…
Commons
Debate
23 March 2026
Rail Connections to London: Rural Towns
I thank the Minister for giving way right at the end of the debate. My constituency does not contain a single mainline station. The six Cornish MPs would also love to meet the Rail Minister. We have a plan called “Kernow Connect”, and we have huge economic potential, with critical minerals and one o…
Commons
Oral Questions
Solicitor General
19 March 2026
Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecutions
First, can I ask the Solicitor General to please follow up on her kind offer to chase the Justice Minister responsible for legal aid, the hon. and learned Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Sarah Sackman), about meeting me to discuss support for domestic abuse victims?
The 2024 domestic abuse j…
Commons
Westminster Hall
18 March 2026
6 contributions
Domestic Abuse Survivors: Government Support
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government support for domestic abuse survivors.
It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship in this important debate, Mr Twigg. I thank all Members for attending the debate and standing up for survivors of domestic abuse in their constitue…
I thank the hon. Member for that excellent point—I will come on to accommodation issues and the impact on children.
I recognise that really important steps have been taken in recent months, on which I congratulate the Government. For instance, many people will agree that the removal of the presumpt…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
12 March 2026
Defending Democracy Taskforce
I thank the Minister for his statement; it stood in very stark contrast to the response from the Opposition, which was chilling. Many Members have referenced the horrific online abuse that we see on a daily basis, which often originates, as has been said already, from foreign states. What steps are …
Commons
Debate
11 March 2026
Finance (No. 2) Bill
I wholeheartedly endorse what the hon. Member is saying in support of new clause 11 tabled by the Liberal Democrats. Lots of my farmers in North Cornwall are constantly telling me that they are pleased with the Government’s decision to change course on the family farm tax, but it is essential that t…