What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the defence industrial strategy 2025 on Northern Ireland.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the defence industrial strategy 2025 on Northern Ireland.

The defence of our country is always the first duty of any Government. Last week I met businesses big and small, the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry and representative bodies, as well as our great universities, to discuss how the defence growth deal for Northern Ireland can pack the biggest punch poss…

I am happy to join my hon. Friend in doing that. Just last week I visited Mallaghan, where four apprentices were being given incredible opportunities as a result of taking up their jobs, and I am sure they would agree with my hon. Friend’s assessment.

My hon. Friend will be aware that the defence industry sector is well established in my constituency, where it is building links with its counterparts in Northern Ireland. Does the Minister agree that the defence industrial strategy presents a huge opportunity for businesses in constituencies throughout the country, in…

In Northern Ireland the defence sector offers many opportunities to apprentices, as it does across the rest of the country: I met two apprentices from MSI Defence Systems in my constituency yesterday. Will the Minister join me in celebrating apprentices throughout our United Kingdom, and will he explain how we will sup…

With permission, I will make a statement about the local power plan and allocation round 7 solar and onshore wind auction results, both of which have been published today. Britain’s drive for clean energy is about helping to answer the call for a different kind of economy that works for the many, not just the wealthy a…

I thank the Secretary of State for prior sight of his statement. It is becoming increasingly difficult to tell whether the Secretary of State is at the Dispatch Box as the Energy Secretary or rehearsing for a future move to perhaps No. 11. Once again, he is more distracted by personal ambition than concerned about the …

Well, there were no questions, but I will reply none the less. Let me start with the AR7 auction, because this is very interesting and it will give the House a picture of what has actually changed. What has changed is the Conservative party, not the reality. We had the AR5 auction a couple of years ago, when the Conser…

I call the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee.

Select Committees look at the evidence. The evidence we have heard is that community energy is a great way of bringing down bills and giving people the confidence to take part in the energy transition. The Secretary of State talked about solar in his statement. We heard that golf courses use 10 times as much land as so…

I inform the House that Mr Speaker has selected the amendment tabled in the name of the Prime Minister.

I beg to move, That this House regrets that both youth unemployment and the numbers of young people not in education, employment or training are rising as a result of the Government’s policies, such as increasing the rate of employer’s National Insurance contributions, reducing business rates relief for 2025-26 for ret…

I have a lot of sympathy for the situation that the hon. Lady describes. The number of people who are NEET is very high, but that trend started in 2021, when her party was in government—the election was not until two years ago. Why did the Conservatives not do anything about the situation then?

I am glad that the hon. Lady has some sympathy with the position of young people who are struggling to get jobs. My party halved unemployment; her party’s record is of unemployment going up and up. Since Labour has been in power, unemployment has gone up every single month. What is going on? What is going on is them: t…

UKHospitality says that we could be seeing the death of the great British summer job, and even Labour’s own Alan Milburn has warned that there is a long-standing decline in the number of 16 and 17-year-olds getting Saturday jobs. Previous Labour Governments always shoved up youth unemployment, but never before has Labo…

What steps she is taking to providing funding for rail infrastructure.

Investment in our railways is a crucial part of our plan to unlock economic growth in every nation and region of the UK. Earlier this month, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced our plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail. That transformational programme is backed by up to £45 billion of investment in the long term…

People across Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages are delighted that this Government have funded the midlands rail hub project, meaning a doubling of the number of trains from Lichfield to Birmingham every hour. Ministers could go even further, though, by investigating the reopening of the Derby-Burton-Lichfield line…

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the value of the midlands rail hub, which we invested in at the spending review. We are determined to invest more in transport in the midlands. Indeed, at the spending review the Government committed to investing £4.4 billion there through transport for city regions funding. My h…

East West Rail is a transformational project that will unlock economic growth and housing. Just yesterday, I was glad to host a representative from East West Rail at an infrastructure roundtable at the Treasury with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. My hon. Frien…

I welcome the investment the Government have made in rail, including East West Rail, but there are still several projects that would hugely benefit passengers and the local economy in the east. Those include upgrading the Trowse swing bridge near Norwich and, of course, Ely and Haughley junctions. Will the Chief Secret…

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

The business for the week commencing 26 January will include: Monday 26 January —Second Reading of the Armed Forces Bill. Tuesday 27 January —Consideration of an allocation of time motion, followed by all stages of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill. Wednesday 28 January —Opposition day (16th allotted day). Deb…

I thank the Leader of the House for that update. The House will know that I am obsessive about improving education, skills and life opportunities for young people; I know that the Leader of the House, with his own background, shares that passion. I cannot let this week pass without noting that on Tuesday our new specia…

I am going to speak first. I want temperate language, and I am sure you would love to withdraw that little message you had for us.

I thank you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to exercise my quadriceps on several occasions. Yes, of course I unhesitatingly withdraw that appalling term from the record. All this, I should say, comes from the hon. Member for Clacton after a lifetime spent denouncing Davos as a hub of evil globalist elites where, in his wo…

If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 21 January.

In recent days, I have spoken extensively to our international allies, including European leaders and others, the US and NATO. We will continue to engage constructively to resolve issues, particularly those relating to international security, applying the principles and values that I set out on Monday. In addition, thi…

We face an affordability crisis in this country. In the short term, our dependence on fossil fuels has led to a rise in energy bills, and in the longer term, the aftershocks of Thatcher mean that there are not enough good, non-graduate jobs. That is why today’s warm homes plan is such good news: batteries, solar, home …

I thank my hon. Friend. I know how much he cares about making life affordable. We are taking £150 off energy bills. That is £300 for the 6 million poorest families, including almost 3,700 households in his constituency. The warm homes plan we are announcing today is the biggest ever public investment in upgrading Briti…

I call the Leader of the Opposition.

With permission, I would like to make a statement about the seventh contracts for difference allocation round and the results for offshore wind. Eighteen months ago, the Government set out on our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. That was a mission rooted in a simple argument: if we want to take back c…

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. What the Secretary of State has done today has given a massive boost to the profits of multimillion-pound energy companies, but will be paid for by consumers through their bills. What do the prices show us? First, wind power is not getting cheaper as pr…

That was a lot, as they say. Let me deal with what the right hon. Lady said point by point. First, we will take no lectures from her on energy bills. She presided over the worst cost of living crisis in history, and not once have we heard a word of apology. This Government are taking £150 of costs off bills. How are we…

Before I call the first Back-Bench Member, may I remind Members that we have an important debate on Ukraine later this afternoon? We will look to finish this statement at about 4 pm, which leaves us with around 30 minutes. Please keep questions and answers short.

I commend the hon. Lady for bringing this debate to the House. I spoke to her beforehand, just to give her an idea of what I was thinking about. As of late 2025, over 37,200 people from Afghanistan have been resettled in the UK through Government-sponsored schemes—specialised, safe and legal routes—including the Afghan…

The hon. Member and I are members and officers of the all-party parliamentary group on Afghan women and girls. On the point about education and access to healthcare for women, we hosted a meeting last year with Dr Feroz, a former Health Minister in Afghanistan. He spoke movingly about the case for medical care for Afgh…

Milton Keynes is proud to host four hotels full of Afghan evacuees. I have had the pleasure of meeting many women who completed their education, become professionals, finished university and become judges, lawyers and doctors. They could no longer work in their country and were evacuated. Their fear above all was for t…

I thank the hon. Lady for giving way again. She is speaking powerfully about aid and contributions. May I briefly mention the global polio eradication initiative? Polio could be eradicated in the next three years, which would be a historic milestone for the world, but to do that the UK Government need to commit £50 mil…

Earlier, my hon. Friend mentioned Fawzia Koofi, who spoke to the International Development Committee. In her evidence, she told us that “the main Taliban agenda is women.” Does my hon. Friend agree that that point, and the point that she is making, demonstrate why the UK Government and our international allies must sta…

I thank the hon. Member for that important point. He is right. The Government have set out new proposals on immigration that have a focus on safe routes, and it is important that we stand with female human rights defenders from Afghanistan. Many of them came over here before there were those routes. It was not easy for…

I thank the hon. Member for her contribution, and for everything she has done as chair of the APPG. She has been advocating for Afghan women and girls for a long time. I totally agree, and I will come on to healthcare a bit later in my speech. To return to education, Afghanistan is the only country in the world that ba…

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. This week, girls in the UK are going to school, and it is a right that we take for granted. It is a right that so many countries take for granted. A country that bans education is putting a brake on its prospects. According to UN Women, only 24% of women are part of the labour fo…

But still those women fight on. Women-led organisations continue to lead the way in so many different respects, delivering humanitarian assistance, supporting survivors and helping communities, all the while navigating life-threatening risks. I know that the Minister cares deeply about Afghanistan and has huge experien…

Absolutely. We were, of course, on the brink of eradicating polio. It exists in very few countries, and to see it surge again in countries such as Afghanistan risks so many development gains. Can the Minister tell us how much is currently being spent on women’s rights and how much we will spend next year? Will he commi…

I entirely agree: it is a war on women, and we must make clear that we will not tolerate it. There have been some welcome moves, including the announcement by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in January last year that he had applied to the Court for arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders. I am…

I agree, and I welcome my hon. Friend’s support. Gender apartheid speaks to the systemic dismantling of a whole system of women’s rights, not individual cases of persecution. We should listen to the people who are calling for this, because it is a unifying call from many Afghan women. If we turn our back on this crisis…

With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on the Government’s ongoing efforts to overhaul the planning system. As the House is fully aware, England remains in the grip of an acute and entrenched housing crisis. It is a crisis, first and foremost, that is blighting countless lives, not least th…

I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement. This Labour Government’s last planning framework began pushing development on to rural areas, prioritising concreting over the green belt and green fields rather than focusing on supporting building in urban areas, which is where we need to build most. From what …

I thank the shadow Minister for his questions. I appreciate that he has not had a huge amount of time to look over today’s announcement, but he has completely misunderstood one of the primary thrusts of the changes we are making, which is to double down on a brownfield-first approach. Through the draft framework, we ar…

I call the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.

I thank the Minister for his statement. I commend him for his work on bringing the planning system up to date, which can be quite a technical process, and on the landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which will receive Royal Assent later this month. I welcome the fact that the Minister has listened to many people …

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the violence against women and girls strategy.

The scale of violence against women and girls in our country is intolerable, and this Government are treating it as a national emergency. Members are aware that we have made an unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. This effort will be underpinned by our violence against women a…

I stand here today disappointed—disappointed that women and girls continue to be unsafe in Britain in 2025, and disappointed that the strategy has been delayed three times this year, when urgent action is clearly needed. This Government should not have to be dragged before the House for an urgent question on a strategy…

I feel every moment of disappointment that the hon. Lady feels about the failures over the years. I recall working in a service during the coalition Government, when we had to cut our child rape service and get the money from the Big Lottery Fund, because the state, in an era of austerity under that Government, took aw…

It is important to acknowledge that there have been delays, as the Minister has said, but it is also important that the next strategy is comprehensive and has multi-departmental and cross-departmental working embedded within it. Will the Minister, who was formerly an active member of the all-party parliamentary group o…

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if she will make a statement on UK Government actions on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this urgent question. The thoughts of the whole House will be with those affected by the horrific antisemitic terrorist attack on Bondi beach yesterday. The Foreign Secretary will address this further at the start of her statement, which follows this UQ. Sudan is experienci…

I thank the Minister for his statement and thank the Speaker for granting this urgent question. In fewer than two months, since the RSF captured El Fasher on 26 October , the city has been consumed by a killing spree—a series of appalling international war crimes. We have seen reports of relentless assassinations of in…

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his further questions. He is not correct about ODA cuts for Sudan. The Prime Minister has already committed to that funding continuing over the next three years, so it is not correct to say that there will be ODA cuts for Sudan. We continue to support the International Criminal Court’s ac…

I welcome the Government’s sanctioning of senior commanders in the RSF, but the Minister will be aware of the genuine fears about further barbaric escalation in the run-up to Christmas. He rightly talked about the appalling killing of peacekeepers, but in the past couple of days a hospital has been shelled, and there a…

The reasoned amendment in the name of Mr Richard Holden has been selected.

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. Two centuries ago, the first passenger railway services to run in the UK symbolised the hope and ambition of a confident nation, yet today that same railway symbolises something rather different. Every cancelled service, every cramped carriage and every dodgy wi-f…

The Secretary of State is extolling the virtues of nationalisation. South Western Railway, which serves my constituents across Teddington, Twickenham, Hampton and Whitton, was nationalised earlier this year. We have only seen the service get worse and worse, with delays, cancellations and short-form trains leading to o…

The hon. Lady is right to say that South Western Railway had a difficult few months after it came into public ownership, but the problems that it is experiencing were inherited from the private sector operator. The number of new Arterio trains on the South Western Railway network has quadrupled since the train operatin…

I thank the Secretary of State for joining me at Branksome depot in my constituency to launch Great British Railways. It was welcomed by engineers, passengers, railway operators and local schools. I have a very different experience from that of the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) , so will my right hon. Frie…

(Urgent Question): To ask the Minister if she will make a statement about the cancellation of local elections scheduled for May 2026.

Let me respond to the question directly. Local elections will go ahead in 2026—that has been and continues to be our position. We are a responsible Government, so if there are extenuating circumstances on the ground in particular councils, we will have that conversation with them, as the House would expect, but we are …

You and I both value local democracy, Mr Speaker. Last week, in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes) , the Secretary of State told the House that “the Government’s intention is that all the elections scheduled for next May will go ahead next May.”—[Official Report, 24 No…

It is really important that we distinguish between two things. We have been absolutely consistent that local council elections are happening in 2026. We are cracking on with it and getting ready for them. I hope the Opposition parties are getting ready for them. We will crack on with them, but these are inaugural mayor…

I call the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

The business for the week commencing 8 December will include: Monday 8 December —Consideration of Lords message to the Employment Rights Bill, followed by consideration of Lords message to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, followed by consideration of Lords message to the Mental Health Bill [Lords]. Tuesday 9 Decem…

If I may, I would like to express my personal sorrow at the death of Sir John Stanley this week. The House may not know that he was the first person to reach and to comfort the dying Airey Neave, after Neave had been the victim of a bomb from the Irish National Liberation Army, a spin-off of the IRA. Sir John was also …

First of all, I join the shadow Leader of the House in paying tribute to Sir John Stanley, who was a committed and long-standing Member of Parliament and a highly respected Minister. He gave 41 years of continuous service to this House and to his constituents. Let me also congratulate one of our senior Doorkeepers, Pau…

Last week was Parliament Week, and like Members across the House I had the chance to visit some of the brilliant schools in my constituency, to hear from Hartlepool children about the things that matter to them at St Teresa’s, St Peter’s Elwick, West View, and Eldon Grove academy, where pupils showed me their brilliant…

I call the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The film “Groundhog Day” sees Phil Connors go to a place where he wakes up every morning to the same DJ playing the same song: “I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher. We have a very similar situation with the Chancellor. It is groundhog day, with the Chancellor destroying the economy, putting up taxes, losing her fiscal he…

I liked the introduction to the shadow Chancellor’s speech. Would a better film analogy perhaps be “The Nightmare Before Christmas”?

That is absolutely true. Let us look at how we ended up at this sorry pass. In opposition, Labour assured the British electorate that they would not be putting up taxes left, right and centre, and when they got into power, what did they do within a few short months? They slapped taxes—£40 billion-worth—on the British p…

The Minister is having trouble containing himself, such is the punishment that he is receiving at the moment. They borrowed all this money, and what did that do? It stoked inflation, and with inflation higher, interest rates have been higher for longer.

What steps her Department is taking to introduce more neighbourhood police officers.

As part of the neighbourhood policing guarantee, we have made £200 million available to police forces this financial year to kick-start the journey towards delivering 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel. By April 2026, there will be 3,000 more neighbourhood police across England and Wales, strengthening …

I welcome the Government’s decision to phase out police and crime commissioners, with the savings reinvested into frontline policing. I also warmly welcome the recent grant for additional wardens to tackle antisocial behaviour hotspots. The partnership between the council, community groups and the police has reduced an…

I am pleased to see the progress made, and I would love to visit again, as I did with the Prime Minister in opposition, to see that progress in action. There are two aspects to where we are, and we will be making significant changes. One is through the Crime and Policing Bill, which contains new powers for us to tackle…

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue. It is an issue in my constituency, and I suspect in many across the country, and the scourge of fly-tipping must be tackled. Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are putting in place new statutory enforcement guidance for local authorities on what is to be expe…

Recently, I visited Mile Cross with local councillors and members of Mile Cross Litterbusters, a local voluntary group that does excellent work to clean up the area, but they really should not have to. Fly-tipping is a real challenge in this area and in other parts of Norwich, so I welcome the pledge to increase neighb…

With permission, Mr Speaker, I shall make a statement on releases in error from prison. On Armistice Day, let me begin by paying tribute to those we honour: Members of both Houses and parliamentary staff who gave their tomorrow for our today. Whatever divides our politics, today we remember what binds us together: our …

Can I just clear something up, which does not have to happen? First of all, I was told that the Justice Secretary needed 13 minutes. [Interruption.] Bear with me. I said, “You will need to ask,” and in the end, the Department came back and said, “Oh no, it’s 10 minutes.” That statement was not 10 minutes; it was almost…

So we are back here again. At least the Justice Secretary is getting some use out of his new suit. But where has Wednesday’s bombast and bravado gone? “Get a grip, man!”, he thundered last week, without even a hint of irony. There was none of that today, was there? Why is that? It is because, like increasing numbers of…

This is a crisis that we inherited in our prison system. [Interruption.] That is worthy of sober reflection, because the shadow Justice Secretary knows that when the Conservatives were in government, 17 prisoners were released in error every month. He knows that. A former Conservative Justice Secretary said in respect …

I call the Chair of the Justice Committee.

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if she will make a statement on the Government’s approach to the worsening conflict in Sudan.

I am sure the whole House will join me in condemning the shocking violence against civilians in El Fasher. The latest reports, including of 460 civilians being killed in a single attack, are harrowing. This is part of a pattern of appalling violence perpetrated against civilians and is just one element of the suffering…

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question. The atrocities of recent days, including in El Fasher, are beyond horrifying. The suffering inflicted on the Sudanese people by this war is an affront to humanity. Red lines have been crossed in the prosecution of this conflict that cannot be allowed to stand, e…

I thank the right hon. Lady for that important set of questions. On accountability, we continue to lead the core group in Geneva. We are supporting the fact-finding mechanism of the United Nations, and it is absolutely vital that work on accountability and justice continues. Those at the top of both the RSF and the Sud…

I call the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if she will make a statement on the UK’s activity to promote the protection of civilians, following a reported massacre at El Fasher’s Saudi maternity hospital.

With your permission, Mr Speaker, before answering my right hon. Friend’s question, I will say a few words about Hurricane Melissa, which is currently a category 1 or 2 hurricane. It is passing through the Bahamas’ outer islands and is impacting our British overseas territory, the Turks and Caicos Islands. I have been …

Mr Speaker, I am very grateful to you for granting this urgent question. The scale of suffering in Sudan’s war on civilians is almost impossible to comprehend. A population the size of Australia’s are living in acute hunger. A population the size of London’s have been forced to flee their home. There are consistent rep…

I share my right hon. Friend’s outrage and horror at the reports we are receiving. We have made repeated calls for restraint on all sides in this conflict. We have shown leadership as the UN penholder, as one of the largest donors, through our work with partners, including those in the Quad, and through the work of our…

If I may, I will start by thanking the Minister for his update on Hurricane Melissa. On behalf of His Majesty’s official Opposition, I add my thoughts and solidarity for all those affected at this time. I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for granting the urgent question and to the right hon. Member for Oxford East (Anne…

These questions will last around an hour. Members will have to police themselves over the length of the questions that they wish to deliver. I call the shadow Leader of the House.

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

The business for the week commencing 3 November includes: Monday 3 November —Second Reading of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill. Tuesday 4 November —Opposition day (12th allotted day). Debate on a motion in the name of the official Opposition, subject to be announced. Wednesday 5 November —Consideration of Lords…

I thank the Leader of the House for that update. I know the whole House will want to join me in sending our very best wishes to the victims of the hurricane in Jamaica, and now also Cuba, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands. I want to pay a personal tribute to Prunella Scales, who died this week. She was a magnifice…

Let me begin by joining the shadow Leader of the House in his tribute to Prunella Scales, who was a fantastic actress, and in his remarks about the effects of Hurricane Melissa. The UK is offering full support to Jamaica and many Caribbean countries in the aftermath of the hurricane. The Foreign Office is delivering hu…

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero if he will make a statement on the future of the North Sea oil and gas industry.

The North sea will be at the heart of Britain’s energy future. For decades its workers, business and communities have helped to power our country and our world, and they will do so for decades to come. The oil and gas industry has lost around a third of its entire workforce in the last decade as oil and gas production …

Another week and yet another hammer blow to our North sea oil and gas industry, another gut punch to energy workers and another blow to our energy security. Whatever the Minister says today, the blame lies squarely with this Labour Government. [Interruption.] They do not like to hear it, but it is true. Today, the ener…

On Petrofac, the hon. Gentleman should be careful with his tone. To come here and try to undermine efforts to find a buyer for the UK arm and to talk down a business, which, as I just outlined, is a successful and growing business in the North sea, is deeply irresponsible. There have been long-standing issues at the co…

Will my hon. Friend outline to the House how the Government are delivering the clean energy jobs plan, which will see 40,000 new jobs in the clean energy industries in Scotland by 2030? I am sure that move will be welcomed around the Chamber. Will he advise us what support will be given to that plan by the Scottish Gov…

What steps she is taking to help increase the affordability of childcare.

As it is my first time at the Dispatch Box, I want to thank my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth South (Stephen Morgan) , and say what an honour it is to build on his work to give every child the best start in life. This Government have delivered a record expansion of childcare, saving working parents £7,500 a year…

I thank the Minister for her response and welcome her to her place. I recently had the pleasure of welcoming my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary to St Anthony’s Catholic primary school in Penge, where we saw preparations for the opening of its new school-based nursery. St Anthony’s is one of two schools in my …

I do agree with my hon. Friend, and I congratulate St Anthony’s and Oak Lodge, as well as my hon. Friend for being a tireless champion for his constituents. This Government have delivered 5,000 places at new school-based nurseries this year alone, with 7,000 more to come next September. I encourage Members across the H…

Absolutely—I thank the brilliant team at Mousehold, who are so dedicated to giving every child the help and support they need. This Government want every child to have the best start in life, which is why we have expanded childcare entitlements, are supporting schools to open new nurseries, and—after the Conservative p…

As the Minister has said, nurseries are an important part of the childcare picture. Last month, I visited Mousehold infant and nursery school, which—thanks to the funding it has received from this Government—has been able to double the number of places it offers to families in Norwich North. The team there told me how …

Order. Mr Waugh, you do not cross the Front Bench, even to take a shortcut. It is not on.

With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I wish to make a statement on the action we are taking to restore pride in place. Britain’s renewal is a driving mission of this Labour Government, and we know that that must be seen, felt and heard in every single neighbourhood. Our identity, sense of patriotism and feeling of be…

This statement speaks of pride. Conservative Members have pride in our local pubs, 200 of which have closed in the past six months, hammered by the Labour party’s business rates rises. We have pride in our restaurants, which are closing in record numbers under the business rates burden imposed by this Government. We ar…

I am disappointed by the hon. Member’s lack of contrition and his failure to say sorry. The Conservatives presided over 14 years of failure, during which, over a period of austerity, local government and local civic institutions were denuded and deprived communities were hollowed out. He says that we are funding areas …

Order. “Because of your record”? My record? “Because of you”? Me? Let us temper our language, lower the temperature and continue.

The reasoned amendment in the name of the official Opposition has been selected.

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. This Government were elected on a manifesto to deliver change—real change for working people; change that people can see and feel around them. That means more money in their pockets, decent jobs, new homes, good transport links, thriving high streets and opportuni…

In the right hon. Lady’s attempts to drive forward this carthorse of devolution, will she tell us where the accountability and scrutiny will come from and where the voice of local people will really be heard?

I am really disappointed, because I thought that the previous Government were the ones to turbocharge devolution, and we are moving on that agenda. We actually do believe that devolution is a good thing and that these measures will enable mayors and local areas to be empowered more to drive that growth that we desperat…

Madam Deputy Speaker, you many wonder why a Scot would make an intervention at this point in the debate. May I advise the right hon. Lady to look north, to Scotland, to see how this should not be done? The Scottish Government have centralised powers, taking them right away from communities such as mine. That is how we …

Before we come to the statement by the Home Secretary, I should like to say something about the House’s sub judice resolution. The case of Epping Forest district council v. Somani Hotels is still active and before the courts, but because the case concerns wider issues relating to the planning consent required for hotel…

With permission, I will update the House on the actions we are taking with France to strengthen our border security and the next steps in our reforms to the asylum system. The House will be aware that when we came into government, we found an asylum and immigration system in chaos: for seven years, small boat gangs had…

I call the shadow Home Secretary.

I thank the Home Secretary for advance sight of her statement. The Government have now been in office for well over a year, and I think it is fair to say that not even their kindest friends would say they think it has gone well, but listening to her statement, it sounds like she thinks everything is fine and that if th…

I worry about the shadow Home Secretary’s amnesia. In the 14 years that the Conservatives were in government, they never managed to do any of the fantasy things that he claims they did. Let us come back to reality from his fantasy rhetoric. The shadow Home Secretary talked about the approach that his Government were ta…

I beg to move, That this House has considered matters to be raised before the forthcoming adjournment. I should say, for the benefit of new Members, that this is quite rightly called the Sir David Amess debate, because this was his debate. I remember a poor Minister having to respond to him after a five-minute time lim…

I will not, because many Members want to get in. The justification for these “tough choices” is the need to address a £260 million funding gap, yet this is not the right area in which to be cutting vital support. For years, Sadiq Khan has told us how much better London would be with a Labour mayor and a Labour Governme…

I am sure we can all say amen to that. There are 34 Members seeking to intervene in this debate, and we need to go on to the wind-ups at about 6.30. Work it out for yourselves: that is about five minutes a head. I am not going to put a time limit on at this stage, but it may mean that some people drop off the end if co…

I recognise that it is a privilege to speak high up the list in this important Sir David Amess debate. Just over a year ago, we welcomed not only a new Labour Government but the creation of the new Blaydon and Consett constituency. It is fair to say that there was some bemusement locally about our new boundaries. The n…

I rise to talk about Lord Anderson’s report on Prevent and the death of our wonderful fallen colleague and my dear friend, Sir David Amess, which was published last week. It is obviously appropriate to make this speech today, in the Sir David Amess Adjournment debate, which is rightly named in his honour. However, it i…

Before I call the Secretary of State to make his statement, I place on the record the fact that Mr Speaker and the Deputy Speakers were disappointed to see extensive coverage in the media this morning of Ministers’ responses to the Independent Water Commission, before the House has had the opportunity to consider the m…

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I have, of course, saved the bulk of my responses for you and the House this afternoon. With permission, I would like to update the House on the Government’s plans to reform the water sector. The water industry is clearly failing. Our rivers, lakes and seas are polluted with record levels …

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. I shall be responding on behalf of the shadow Secretary of State while she meets farmers at the Royal Welsh Show. Let me begin by recognising the scale and seriousness of the work undertaken by Sir Jon Cunliffe and his team. The review contains…

I thank the hon. Gentleman—I think—for his comments, but it is disappointing that the shadow Secretary of State did not consider a matter of this urgency to be important enough for her to show up in the Chamber this afternoon. I am afraid that that really does reflect the importance that their party ascribed to this is…

My constituents will be very pleased with what the Government have announced today, following 14 years of seeing increases in the dumping of sewage on the beaches, and in the rivers, in my constituency. I could not help but notice that yesterday the leader of Reform, in his answer to every question, said either “I don’…

With permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the middle east. I will begin with Syria. We have been horrified by the recent violence in the south, including civilian deaths. Clashes between Druze and Bedouin militias have quickly escalated into intense fighting, with involvement from Governme…

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of his statement. The violence, loss of life and conflicts that continue in the middle east shock us all. Events in the middle east have a direct impact on our national interests and on people living on our own country, from concerns about family members in the r…

I am grateful to the shadow Foreign Secretary for the tone of her remarks, and I am grateful for the cross-party consensus in the House that this war must come to an end. I note the huge concern that we all feel, not just in the House but in the international community, about the humanitarian suffering that we continue…

I call the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

With permission, I will make a statement on the Government’s manifesto commitment to review the system of entitlements to parental leave. This Government are dedicated to delivering more for working families, and our plan to make work pay is central to achieving that, with the mission to grow the economy, raise living …

I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement. From personal experience—as a father of three—I understand the importance of fathers being able to spend time at home with their newborns and supporting mothers in those early days. Having experienced paternity leave both as a Member of Parliament in 2020 and 202…

I take it that the shadow Minister is not in support of the review. May I correct him on a few points? Of course it is not a coincidence that this is being announced today; our manifesto was clear that we would launch the review within one year of taking office, and, of course, this week we do celebrate that astounding…

I call the Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee.

It is great to see so many hon. Members, with almost every party represented but one: there are four empty seats where the Reform UK MPs sit. They like to bang on about family values, but when it comes to actually standing up for dads and for parents, they are nowhere to be seen. I thank the Minister for acting on the …

With permission, I will make a statement on the Government’s welfare reforms. This Government believe in equality and social justice, and we are determined to build a fairer society in which everyone has the chance to fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions, no matter where they were born or what their paren…

Order. I say to those on the Opposition Front Bench that the statement has only just started. You might not be interested, but I know my constituents are. I expect the same courtesy when you speak.

We are investing in our vital transport infrastructure and in skills, and getting the NHS back on its feet. Our landmark Employment Rights Bill will improve the quality of work, and our increases in the national minimum wage are helping make work pay. But alongside these vital steps, we need to reform the welfare state…

I thank the right hon. Lady for advance sight of her statement. This is a Government in chaos: open rebellion from their own Back Benchers, unfunded U-turns costing billions, and welfare plans that are not worth the paper they are written on. Their latest idea is a two-tier welfare system to trap people in a lifetime o…

I am in listening mode, and I listened carefully to what the hon. Lady said: once again, her strategy seems to be to rail against the problems that she and her party created. She has some chutzpah to talk about a two-tier system, when that is precisely what the Conservatives introduced when they protected people on leg…

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

I shall. The business for the week commencing 30 June includes: Monday 30 June —Second Reading of the Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill. Tuesday 1 July —Second Reading of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. Wednesday 2 July —Consideration of Lords message to the Arme…

I am afraid to say that the past week has been another horror show for the Government. This is Armed Forces Week, as the House will know. It is a time to celebrate and champion all those who serve and have served in our armed forces, and nowhere more than in my own county of Herefordshire. We must also note that, far f…

Ah, okay. I am very sorry to say that the Leader of the House has corrected me. She is, in fact, a union member and therefore fully complicit in the same problem. The Treasury itself is now the only hold-out against union demands. Little wonder the Chancellor has looked so unhappy and out of sorts—and that was before t…

May I start by wishing two Deputy Speakers a happy birthday? [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] As the right hon. Gentleman said, this is Armed Forces Week, when we thank and show our support for the men and women who serve, or who have served, in our armed forces over many years. It is nice to see the right hon. Gentleman …

This Labour Government are focused on delivering security for the British people—national security, economic security, and social security. On social security, I recognise that there is a consensus across the House on the urgent need for reform of our welfare system, because the British people deserve protection and di…

I call the Leader of the Opposition.

I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement. He has evaded Prime Minister’s questions for two weeks, only to come back here to tell us what we already heard on the news. This is a weak statement from a weak Prime Minister, which can be characterised in two words: noises off. In his statement, the Prim…

Order. You may not wish to hear the Leader of the Opposition, but I do. It does not do anybody good in this Chamber to try to shout down somebody who is speaking.

Labour Members can shout as much as they like, but we all know the truth. We used to be a strategic player on the global stage, advancing Britain’s interests with confidence, and now we are on the sidelines. Over the last few weeks, historic events unfolded in the middle east, and at every stage Britain has been out of…

I beg to move, That this House has considered Armed Forces Day. This week, our nation comes together to give profound thanks to the men and women of our armed forces, their families and veterans—the heroes who give and sacrifice so much for their country at a time when the world is becoming increasingly dangerous, unpr…

I was fortunate to be there and had the opportunity to meet Lord Coaker. I was clear to him, as were the 60,000 people who turned out to commend and celebrate such a wonderful occasion. Will the Minister outline later on what can be done to recruit more Territorial Army soldiers? Will there be flexibility with employer…

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his years of service. It was in Westminster Hall yesterday that he added up all the years that he served in uniform. I think it was 14 and a half years in total in various roles.

I thank him for his service to our country. It is vital that we address the retention and recruitment crisis that we inherited from the previous Government. We are making good progress in that regard. A key part of that is not only recruiting new people to our regular forces, but making it easier to join the reserves. …

One of the 180 events that the Minister mentioned will be Armed Forces Day in Andover, which I will attend on Saturday. As the Minister knows, Andover is home to the Army’s land forces headquarters. Will he reflect on the importance of the work of celebrating the armed forces in the communities that physically embrace …

If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Waiting lists are at their lowest level for two years, we have taken almost a quarter of a million patients off waiting lists and for the first time in 17 years waiting lists were cut in April. There is a long way to go, but this Government are finally putting the NHS on the road to recovery. Through our plan for chang…

It is nearly four years since Professor Sir Chris Whitty published his striking report on health in coastal communities. Covid inevitably delayed implementation, so will the Secretary of State look again at that report, deliver on the chief medical officer’s recommendations and ensure that my constituents in Bridlingto…

The hon. Gentleman is right to commend Sir Chris Whitty’s report. We have taken that into consideration, as well as the wider consultation we did in preparation for our 10-year plan for health, which will commit to tackling the gross health inequalities that affect our country, particularly in rural and coastal communi…

Will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming the recent NHS waiting list figures that show that the Worcestershire acute hospitals NHS trust has seen a fall of over 6,000 since this Government came into office? Does he agree that progress like this shows that, in partnership with our hard-working NHS staff, we can …

With permission, I would like to make a statement on the outcome of the spending review for the Department of Health and Social Care. This Government were elected on a manifesto to fix our broken NHS and make it fit for the future. Our job is twofold: first, to get the NHS back on its feet and treating patients on time…

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

Yesterday, yet again, we saw the Chancellor do what the Labour party always does: default to high spending, more borrowing and higher taxes, leaving the public finances vulnerable. The Minister has spoken of additional funding for the NHS. To use the same comparison as the NHS England chief executive, the NHS budget wi…

I am entirely unclear, after that run-through of a number of different issues, whether the Conservatives welcome the extra investment in the NHS or oppose it. We know they oppose the means of funding it, but after that, I have no idea. At some point, they have to make up their mind whether they support that extra inves…

I welcome my hon. Friend’s statement about the record funding going into our NHS. We are already seeing the benefit in my constituency, with millions of pounds going into investment in our hospital; that is so desperately needed to get waiting lists down. People were left behind by the Conservative party, and I note th…

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. On the day when the Chancellor has set out this Government’s determination to deliver a decade of national renewal, I am proud to stand before this House to make good on our promise to deliver a sustainable aviation sector. If we are once again to be an outward, c…

Does the Secretary of State agree that this Bill has a missing half, which could cut aviation emissions by demand management, and that at the very least, if there is to be public money spent setting up this system, it should be raised from the most frequent flyers and private jets?

I think the hon. Lady and I fundamentally differ on the issue of demand management, because demand for air travel is only going one way, and it is therefore our moral responsibility, if we are going to have more people in the skies, to reduce the carbon emissions associated with that. As I said, we have no time to wast…

I really welcome the Bill and the creation of a mechanism to increase the supply of sustainable aviation fuel. Can I add that, as we look towards airspace modernisation, we will have not only cleaner and quicker but quieter flights?

My hon. Friend is completely right to highlight the benefits of cracking on and delivering airspace modernisation. It could mean not only more direct flights and therefore less use of carbon, but noise benefits for communities close to airports. We are determined to make rapid progress on this issue because we have an …

Since the last Energy Security and Net Zero oral questions, the Government have confirmed that rooftop solar panels will be standard for all new build homes, delivered the first 11 solar on schools projects, scrapped the absurd 1-metre heat pump rule, secured Royal Assent for the Great British Energy Bill and, alongsid…

The east of England will be a clean energy powerhouse for the country. My hon. Friend raises an important issue about workforce, and we will be publishing the workforce plan soon.

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

In the dim and distant past, in 2023, the Secretary of State described the Rosebank oilfield as “a colossal waste of taxpayer money and climate vandalism”. Does he still agree with that?

As with any application, there is a process that my Department will go through. We will look at any application in a fair and objective way.

The east of England has a unique energy mix from offshore wind, hydrogen and nuclear. I welcome the game-changing investment in Sizewell C today. Can I ask specifically about wind? A new report from EastWind and Opergy says that in the east of England, we need more than 6,500 extra offshore wind farm workers. Does the …

As the Planning and Infrastructure Bill enters its remaining stages in the Commons, I thank my hon. Friend the Housing Minister and Members across the House for their continued work on this important piece of legislation that will get Britain building again. This weekend marks the eighth anniversary of the Grenfell tow…

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. The Government are committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure that new developments provide the necessary infrastructure that communities expect. We will set out further details in due course. Earlier I mentioned the changes to the national plannin…

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

As the Secretary of State has said, Saturday marks the eighth anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy. As she knows, I can confirm to her that I will work constructively with her and her colleagues to deliver remediation, building safety and the best outcomes for local communities. The previous Government committed over £5…

I thank the shadow Secretary of State for the constructive way in which he has approached this issue. We all remember what happened at Grenfell and the work that the previous Government did, and we are continuing that work, as outlined in phase 2 of the recommendations. The buildings Minister, my hon. Friend the Member…

Many of my constituents are concerned that too often new estates go up without the necessary infrastructure, whether that is schools, GP surgeries or even playgrounds. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is vital to address that issue, and can she elaborate on how we will do so after too many years of inaction?

I am delighted to have secured this Adjournment debate on an issue that might not be right at the top of the political agenda, but affects the lives of hundreds of people in my constituency every day: street parking on residential estates in Bracknell. It is a topic that comes up on the doorstep perhaps more than any o…

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, and I think he is about to describe the incredible pressure that many residents feel because of parking problems, whether that is difficulty parking near their home, difficulty walking along a pavement because of pavement parking, or one of many other problems. It drives pe…

I thank my hon. Friend for that insightful intervention. In Bracknell Forest, we have few permit parking zones, because they simply would not work for our community. The point that he makes is absolutely correct, and I will come back time and again in this debate to the need for local areas to come up with local soluti…

Absolutely. My hon. Friend’s point about the challenge around schools is well made. We all want to see more young people and families walking and cycling to school, but in some communities, that just is not possible. Also, we have to be realistic: in some communities, it just does not happen. The end result is what we …

I thank my constituency neighbour for giving way, and congratulate him on securing this Adjournment debate. As he knows, Binfield in my constituency is part of Bracknell Forest. An issue in Binfield is commercial businesses being run from residential properties, which often creates increased demand for parking. I reall…

We are unlocking growth by progressing airport planning decisions and inviting third runway proposals for Heathrow by the summer. A new UK airspace design service and support fund will drive airspace modernisation. We introduced the sustainable aviation fuel mandate, and yesterday we proposed a revenue certainty mechan…

This Government want to see the UK maximise the benefits of the future of flight technologies, including flying taxis, both for the economy and for communities. We recently announced over £20 million of Government funding for the Civil Aviation Authority and the future flight challenge to deliver the future flight prog…

As the Minister is well aware, the Government have supported and signed off on the development consent order for Manston airport in my constituency. It is hoped and expected that the final private funding for that package will be in place and that work will start in the very near future. Will the Minister now reaffirm …

I was delighted to spend my Easter holiday in the right hon. Member’s constituency, cycling the Cantii way. I stopped and took a look at Manston airport—and a sip of water from my bottle, because it was a hot day. I am looking forward to the outcome of the talks and the funding, and at that point I will be happy to loo…

My hon. Friend will be as aware as I am that the air passenger duty, which was introduced by a Conservative Chancellor more than 30 years ago, has been studied intensively. Every study shows that the revenue generated by that tax is much less than the benefit of abolishing it. Will my hon. Friend and the Secretary of S…

SaxonAir, Norwich airport and Norfolk and Suffolk county councils recently launched Aviation East, a call to make East Anglia the heart of aviation innovation. We are already leading in the development of electric aircraft and the early availability of sustainable aviation fuel, but we could do so much more to unlock g…

With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on the Government’s work to respond to the recommendations made in the infected blood inquiry’s 20 May 2024 report. I am grateful for the opportunity to update the House on this work. On 20 May 2024 , the then Prime Minister issued an apology on behalf of t…

I thank the Minister for his statement and for advance sight of it. The infected blood scandal is one of the clearest failures of the state and public services in recent years, causing enormous harm over many years to countless victims and their families. Next week marks the first anniversary of the publication of the …

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Points of order come after the statement.

I think I can anticipate the hon. Gentleman’s point order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have been reassured by the Department that the statement has been sent and is on its way; I hope that deals with that issue. Let me say to the shadow Minister that the cross-party approach that we have taken has been very important. It w…

Which development programmes he plans to maintain funding for after the planned reduction of the official development assistance budget in 2027.

This Government are resolutely committed to development, but we recognise that we must do it differently. We will ensure that the aid budget delivers value for money and has impact globally. Supporting and growing economies will be at the heart of how we spend ODA going forward, and further decisions on the ODA budget,…

These severely constrained budgets call for thinking smarter, not simply smaller, so what work are the Government doing with the World Bank and other international institutions to make sure that UK development spend is fully leveraged so that every penny is as effective as possible?

The right hon. Member raises a very important point, and we of course continue to engage closely with our partners at the World Bank and other multilateral development institutions. Multilateral co-operation allows a global scale of investment and delivery that outstrips what countries can achieve alone. We are also lo…

It certainly is, and women and girls will remain at the heart of our programming. I can assure my hon. Friend that equality impact assessments are an essential part of how we make decisions on ODA allocations. Indeed, Minister Chapman will be appearing before the International Development Committee later today, and I t…

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Government new clause 17—Report on the use of copyright works in the development of AI systems. New clause 1—Age of consent for social media data processing— “(1) The UK GDPR is as amended as follows. (2) In Article 8 of the UK GDPR (Conditions applicable to chi…

Earlier I appeared as a Department for Culture, Media and Sport Minister, and now I appear as a Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Minister. I hate to embarrass Members, but they will get two bouts of me today. I will start with the Government amendments, and then once I have heard the arguments from Mem…

The right hon. Gentleman is enticing me. I hope he will be nicer to me than the Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the hon. Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage) was earlier.

I am sure that the Chair of the Committee and I will always be nice to Minister. I was only going to say that I have experienced the slight schizophrenia he has referred to in holding roles in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and in DCMS at the same time. Although he is appearing as a DSIT Minister…

Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the interaction between mayors and integrated care boards, in the context of the English devolution White Paper.

Our mission-driven approach to this issue means that we are working with all Departments to deliver an NHS fit for the future. We expect integrated care boards to work closely with their mayors to maximise public health and contribute to the Government’s health and growth missions.

Funding and delivery of a GP surgery for Wixams in my constituency continues to fall between the cracks of developers, local councils and the local ICB. Does the Minister agree that to break those deadlocks and build the infrastructure that our communities require, new mayors should have the power to direct ICBs, makin…

The hon. Member tempts me slightly on local accountability, on which he has been a strong campaigner. As he knows from meeting me, I agree that it is important that such local bodies respond properly so that where there are expansions of housing, which we want to see, they are supported by local infrastructure. I am ha…

My hon. Friend is right to campaign on behalf of her constituents to make sure that more services are delivered in communities. We want to see services brought out of hospital and into local communities. It is up to the ICB to decide how those are commissioned, but we will certainly make sure that, as part of our commi…

What steps he is taking to help improve the energy efficiency of homes.

What steps he is taking to help improve the energy efficiency of homes.

In 2025-26 alone we will upgrade up to 300,000 homes through the warm homes plan and other measures. That is more than double the number of homes upgraded last year. Later this year we will set out more detail of our warm homes plan to upgrade up to 5 million homes with energy-efficient technologies such as heat pumps,…

I recognise that there are very good schemes for those on lower incomes and that heating homes is really important. For many older properties and properties in conservation areas, as fast as we heat the homes, the heat just goes out the windows. In my area, where there are lots of older homes and homes in conservation …

The hon. Lady raises a really important point. I am constantly on the look-out for small measures and large in the planning system that can obstruct the sensible energy efficiency measures, such as solar panels, that will make all the difference. I say to her and other Members of the House that if they have specific ex…

What recent progress he has made on the infected blood compensation scheme.

The infected blood scandal is the worst medical scandal in the history of our NHS, and the infected blood compensation scheme was set up to provide some small measure of justice to victims and their families. We have set aside £11.8 billion for victims, and since the scheme became law on 31 March , the Infected Blood C…

My constituent, who is 77 years old, is a victim of the infected blood scandal. He is worried that haemophilia patients infected with hepatitis are being sidelined by the compensation scheme. He tells me that he was told those on the special category mechanism with hepatitis C would be upgraded to the same level as tho…

I will certainly write to my hon. Friend on the issue of the special category mechanism. I reassure her that the Government’s objective is for all victims of the infected blood scandal to be able to achieve the compensation that they deserve.

I will certainly pay tribute to Alan and to the work of all campaigners over decades. I am restless for progress, and I will support the Infected Blood Compensation Authority to deliver compensation as quickly as possible. On fast-tracking for specific claimants, last week IBCA set out details of how it is prioritising…

My constituent, Mr Alan Kirkham, has been badly affected by the infected blood scandal. He was infected with hepatitis C from a blood transfusion in 1983. I met Alan recently, and he has been campaigning for justice for years. Will the Minister welcome and pay tribute to the work of campaigners like Alan? Can he provid…

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the London Sudan conference.

Co-hosted with the African Union, the EU, France and Germany, the London Sudan conference convened Foreign Ministers, major donors and humanitarian leaders to galvanise co-ordinated international action on the conflict. Discussions focused on ensuring humanitarian access, protecting civilians and supporting a Sudanese-…

I thank Mr Speaker for granting this urgent question. It is so important that we shine a light on this conflict, which is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world at this time. Sudan is experiencing the most extreme hunger crisis. Conflict-related famine, mass displacement, and extreme and sexual violence and killing…

This is a truly tragic sequence of events for the people of Sudan. The right hon. Gentleman has long had an interest and he is right to call me to the House to answer questions. We had hoped that at the conference last week, we would be able to issue a communiqué agreed by all parties. As he identifies, there is a whol…

I call the shadow Foreign Secretary.

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

The business for the week commencing 28 April includes: Monday 28 April —Second Reading of the Football Governance Bill [Lords]. Tuesday 29 April —Remaining stages of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill. Wednesday 30 April —Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the Sentencing Guidelin…

Could there be a local election coming up? I very much hope that you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and everyone here had a perfectly spectacular Easter. I am sure I speak for the whole House in recording my sadness at the death of His Holiness the Pope, who was, in his work and in his life, the embodiment of faith, hope and c…

I am sure the thoughts of the whole House will be with Catholics in this country and around the world as they grieve Pope Francis. As the shadow Leader of the House said, Pope Francis embodied the very best of us with his deep faith and commitment to the poorest, the weakest and those dealing with conflict and destitut…

We have been dealing this week with the sad passing of Pope Francis. I was also deeply saddened by the shocking, cowardly and deadly terrorist attack on innocent tourists in Jammu and Kashmir. The victims and their families are very much in my prayers. I sincerely hope that the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justi…

Today, HMS Prince of Wales set sail from Portsmouth. I trust that the whole House will join me in wishing the entire carrier strike group a safe and successful global deployment. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Mr Speaker, I wish to make a statement on the ongoing war in Ukraine. Today, Parliament returns from our Easter…

May I associate the Opposition with the Secretary of State’s wishing a good and successful mission to the crew of HMS Prince of Wales as it sets sail on its latest trip? I am grateful to the Secretary of State, both for advance sight of his statement and for the support that was provided by his Department for my recent…

I am glad the hon. Gentleman has been to Ukraine recently, and I am glad we were able to facilitate that visit. I am proud of the number of Members of this House who are regularly going to Ukraine. It has a big impact on the Ukrainian population, who do not necessarily hear our debates in the UK. When they see British …

The SDR, as we have said many times, is close to completion. It is being finalised, and it will be published in the spring.

I call the Chair of the Defence Committee.

If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, which states that I am a trade union member. Let me update the House on the waste dispute in Birmingham. Our priority is tackling the misery and disruption caused to residents. The Government have consistently urged the council and Unite to …

Needless to say, everyone wishes the Secretary of State well with that. In March, the Chancellor said: “The regulatory system has become burdensome to the point of choking off innovation, investment and growth. We will free businesses from that stranglehold”. In my constituency, the Finnish company Metsä Tissue wants t…

We have been doing a lot to try to ensure that, under this Government, taxpayers get value for money from the fair and reasonable amounts that we can invest to make land ready for development. As the right hon. Member said, we have the freeports—some of them a legacy from the previous Government—but we want to see infr…

I was delighted recently to see civic and business leaders in Southampton join the Labour council in launching their Renaissance Vision, setting out an ambitious agenda for regeneration and house building in the city. What steps will the Government take in the upcoming spending review to support and enable house buildi…

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State to make a statement on whether the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund will continue.

I welcome the opportunity to respond to this urgent question. The adoption and special guardianship support fund has for many years provided valuable therapeutic support to adopted children and special guardianship children who were previously in care. I very much recognise that funding over that period has supported m…

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for granting this urgent question; I thank you especially on behalf of the thousands of vulnerable children, their adoptive parents and kinship carers who rely on the adoption and special guardianship support fund. I declare an interest as vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group…

I thank the hon. Member for her points. I very much appreciate the concern caused by the delay in this announcement, and I recognise the potential impact on children and families, as well as local authorities, regional adoption agencies and providers of therapy. Under the Adoption and Children Act 2002, there is a stat…

I clearly welcome today’s announcement, but it is a tragedy that many services have closed and people’s therapy has been stopped as a result of this funding hiatus. Will the Minister ensure that those impacted by the gap in funding will have additional support for the trauma that it could have caused to those young peo…

With the permission of the House, I shall make a statement about the conflict in Gaza. In January, I outlined to the House the deal agreed between Israel and Hamas. It was a moment of huge hope and relief. In the weeks that followed, hostages cruelly detained by Hamas were reunited with their families, and aid blocked …

I call the shadow Foreign Secretary.

I thank the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of his statement. We all mourned the loss of innocent lives in this appalling conflict. The death of the UN aid worker and the injury to a British national are tragic, and our sympathies and thoughts are with their families. Will the Foreign Secretary provide an update on…

I am grateful to the right hon. Lady, and let me make clear regarding the charity worker who was injured, that of course our ambassador and the Foreign Office are in touch with his family. As she would expect, we have made representations to the Israeli Government, and I will be speaking to the Israeli Foreign Minister…

I call the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Before we begin the debate, may I remind Members of the House’s rule on matters sub judice? Members should make no reference to live criminal cases in which a suspect has been charged.

I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of knife crime amongst children and young people. First, let me place on the record my gratitude to the Backbench Business Committee for granting this time in the House of Commons Chamber. I also thank all those from both sides of the House who supported my appli…

I thank the hon. Member for making such an impassioned speech. He has just outlined some of the role of the social media companies. Does he agree that the same rigour that we rightly use to catch some of the perpetrators of these crimes should be applied to the social media giants who refuse, in some cases, to take dow…

That is a very valid point. The social media companies themselves know full well that this content is there and could easily create an ability to moderate it. These are billion dollar companies and if they wanted to take down this stuff, they could. It is about willpower. It is part of our responsibility in this House …

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate and on making an impassioned speech. He is talking about the dangers of social media influencing boys and young men. One of the key aspects of that is their role in society and the lack of clear role models. Will he join me in paying tribute to the former …

I call the Chair of the International Development Committee.

I thank the Backbench Business Committee for selecting this subject for this very timely debate, which is in my name and the name of my right hon. Friend the Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) . I also thank the members of the International Development Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee…

I thank my hon. Friend for her work as Chair of the International Development Committee, on which I sit. Earlier today, I had the privilege of meeting representatives from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to hear at first hand about its lifesaving work. Gavi has, of course, played a pivotal role in ensuring that millions of…

I thank my hon. Friend and fellow Committee member. As he is well aware, the Committee is doing a value-for-money inquiry, and Gavi is one of the best ways to get value for money by vaccinating children around the world. It is not just that the House wants that commitment to Gavi and all other bodies. Do the British pu…

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and case against the cut to aid. She knows that the world’s most vulnerable children include disabled children. The Government’s disability inclusion and rights strategy was going a long way towards supporting those children through healthcare, and when it came to social pro…

Before the Prime Minister’s statement, let me point out that the Government’s own ministerial code says that the text of statements should be provided in advance to the Opposition and the Speaker. It does not provide for the text to be redacted. I am particularly concerned by reports that some of the redacted informati…

Let me begin by giving my word to this House that the statement was not given to the media. I will absolutely have an inquiry into that. I spoke to you, Mr Speaker, this morning. I would not be discourteous to you, the Leader of the Opposition or the House in that way. I give you that assurance from this Dispatch Box. …

I call the Leader of the Opposition.

I thank the Prime Minister for the partial copy of his statement. Now that I have heard the unredacted bits, I must welcome his response and his fulsome support for Ukraine. This weekend marked a grim milestone: it is now three years since Putin’s invasion. The Conservative party stands resolutely with the people of Uk…

May I first thank the Leader of the Opposition for her support in relation to today’s announcement and on Ukraine? That is important to the Government, to the House and, most of all, to the Ukrainians and President Zelensky. They want to see unity in our House—they value unity in our House—as they enter, after three ye…

What recent progress her Department has made on tackling antisocial behaviour.

May I support you, Mr Speaker, in your words about the people of Ukraine on the third anniversary of the invasion, including those who are here in the UK through the Homes for Ukraine scheme? Too many communities are blighted by antisocial behaviour, which has increased over the past 10 years while neighbourhood polici…

Mark Porter is a community leader who runs Kidsgrove Ladsanddads. Around 400 young people play football at Birchenwood fields every weekend, yet the football pitches are constantly damaged by off-road bikes. The same happens at Burslem golf club and across estates such as Mill Hill in Tunstall. What steps will be taken…

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Some off-road bikes are a total nightmare and can drive communities up the wall with harassment and intimidation. That is why we are strengthening powers. At the moment, the police must provide repeat warnings before they can take action to seize such bikes; we think that they s…

My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue, which causes havoc and can be really threatening for people in the local community. That is why we will strengthen the law by supporting the police to take stronger action on off-road bikes, and by introducing respect orders so that we can ban repeat offenders from town cent…

Antisocial behaviour comes in a variety of forms. Norfolk police have recently made it a priority to address safety concerns about e-bikes and e-scooters. In just one day, they reportedly seized 12 illegally modified bikes in Norwich. I welcome that crackdown, but speeding e-bikes and e-scooters are a real menace in ou…

With permission, I will make a statement updating the House on the Government’s work to deliver free breakfast clubs and give every child the best start in life. This is a Government who act on their principles, deliver on their promises and drive the change that the country needs—change that is felt in our villages, t…

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of the statement. The previous Government substantially expanded access to breakfast clubs in primary and secondary schools, and crated the holiday activities and food programme. The national school breakfast programme has been running since 2018, and 85% of schools now …

The shadow Minister asks a number of questions, but at no point did he welcome the massive investment and the benefits that this provision will bring to children across our country, including in his own constituency—not a word of support. I hope when the breakfast club in his constituency opens, he might take time to v…

I call the Chair of the Education Committee.

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement today. I welcome the news that St Luke’s Church of England primary school in my constituency will be one of the early adopters of a universal breakfast club under the programme. All too often, children with special educational needs and disabilities are excluded from ext…

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

The business for the week commencing 24 February includes: Monday 24 February —Remaining stages of the Crown Estate Bill [Lords]. Tuesday 25 February —Second Reading of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [Lords]. Wednesday 26 February —Opposition day (5th allotted…

Like some of our leading podcasters, we love a storm cloud or two in business questions. Sure enough, the poor Government have been desperately hoping that recent events in America would drive the storm clouds away from the UK economy. Even though the news from Washington DC has been startling, to say the least, it has…

May I first update the House on the work of the Modernisation Committee, which I chair? We established the Committee to rebuild trust in politics, raise standards, improve culture and make Parliament more effective. In recent years, the role of an MP has changed significantly, with many more demands and expectations in…

Women’s centres provide vital support for women facing issues including isolation, domestic abuse, health problems and navigating the social security system, among a wide range of other support. I recently visited Stockport Women’s Centre and want to place on the record my thanks to all the staff and volunteers there w…

With permission, I would like to update the House on devolution in England and local government reorganisation. The No. 1 mission of this Government is to unlock growth in our regions and put money back in the pockets of working people. Every one of our proud towns and cities has a vital contribution to make to growth,…

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, and for giving me advance sight of it. Although we support the principle of devolving power to local areas, we are totally against the Secretary of State’s plans to abolish every county council and district council in England, and we are against the unprecedented mass p…

I have been very clear that Labour is embarking on a once-in-a-generation project to unlock growth in our regions, and to shift power out of Westminster and into local communities. From the shadow Secretary of State’s response, I cannot quite figure out whether the Conservatives agree or disagree with it. First, this p…

I call the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.

With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on this Government’s plans to reform school accountability. Before I begin, I want to say that I am devastated to hear that a boy has died after a stabbing at a school in Sheffield. My heart goes out to his family, friends and the entire school community at this very…

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

I am grateful to the Schools Minister for advance sight of her statement, and I echo her words: our thoughts and prayers are with the parents of the 15-year-old boy whose life was so tragically cut short, and with the teachers and pupils at All Saints Catholic high school. We are promised today a better and faster appr…

Perhaps the right hon. Lady would recognise the legacy that her Government left behind: schools crumbling, standards falling, a lose-lose-lose special educational needs and disabilities system, and a generation missing from England’s schools. It is no wonder that a shadow Minister admitted that they should hang their h…

I call the Chair of the Education Committee.

With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on the situation in Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The latest conflict in Sudan has now lasted 21 months. This weekend, the Rapid Support Forces attacked the last functional hospital in the besieged city of El Fasher, in Darfur. The Wor…

I call the shadow Foreign Secretary.

I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of his statement and for the way he has spoken about Sudan and the DRC. Both conflicts are truly shocking, and are resulting in an ongoing displacement crisis, with millions of innocent people having to flee their homes. As he has highlighted in his statement and…

I am grateful to the right hon. Lady. Of course, I know that she too draws some heritage from the African continent and so will take these issues very seriously. I also know the work of the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) before coming to office. He did a lot on the humanitarian aid side, particula…

I thank the Foreign Secretary for his updates, and for his clear and deeply felt commitment to Sudan. It is the largest humanitarian crisis on record, yet both of the warring parties are choking humanitarian access. The SAF have blocked the UN from reaching areas controlled by the RSF, while the RSF is increasingly imp…

I beg to move, That this House has considered the creative industries. I have of course noted the point of order that was just raised, and I will pass on the comments and make sure that an answer is provided. I should declare an interest of my own in this debate. Two of my books are optioned, one to Mother Films and an…

I observe no Paddington stare. The point is well made about young people starting off and growing into the creative industries. The pantomimes and local amateur dramatics that I get involved in are the seedcorn of these things by getting kids on stage, but does the Minister agree that if the local newspapers go down—an…

The hon. Gentleman asks four questions in one, which is quite creative of him. He says he is involved with pantomime; some of us on the Labour Benches would say that he has been in pantomime for much of his political career. He makes an important point about journalism, which is a very important creative industry in th…

I give way to the most irresistible man in the room.

I thank the Minister for setting the scene so positively. Does he agree that one of the great benefits of this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is that all the cultures and regions come together? If I have the chance, later I will talk about Northern Ireland’s contribution. We can all gain if we wor…

I recognise that point, but as a culture portfolio holder I saw that we increasingly had to bid for small pots of money, without overall systemic funding. We were able to keep all our libraries open, but many local authorities were forced to make difficult decisions. I recognise that there were some decisions during co…

As I was saying—[Laughter.] I was tempted to scare the House by saying, “Having concluded my opening remarks,” but I think I had better not. If I may, I will address directly the Minister on the Treasury Bench, the hon. Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh) . I want to do so sincerely, because I like and admire her en…

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a pleasure to speak on behalf of His Majesty’s official Opposition, and I congratulate the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) on bringing this private Member’s Bill before the House today. The Conservative and Unionist party has a record of which we should be incredibly p…

The hon. Gentleman will of course also congratulate the Labour Government before 2010 and the Liberal Democrat coalition on their good work, and it is important, in the spirit of consensus, to do that. However, does he agree that one important issue that is always missing from the debate about climate is national secur…

I could not agree more with the hon. Member; in fact, it is quite nice to hear the Liberal Democrats acknowledge that they were actually part of the Government over the last 14 years—they do not always choose to do so. As to the point about national security and energy security, that is why I am so concerned about the …

I wonder where the shadow Minister was when the hon. Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare) said, just 15 minutes ago, that this is not an either/or between prosperity and protecting nature and the climate.

If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Since the last Cabinet Office questions we have set out the Government’s approach on public sector reform, published our response to module 1 of the covid-19 inquiry, updated the national risk register and launched our artificial intelligence opportunities plan. Just yesterday, alongside the Department for Work and Pen…

Quite properly, this week the Government have been talking about applying AI to improve efficiency and effectiveness across Whitehall. When a human civil servant—let us say at His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or the DWP—makes a mistake and is challenged, they can explain their logic and how they came to the decision. …

The right hon. Gentleman raises an important issue. The public inquiry into the Horizon scandal shows that blind faith in a computer system used in a court of law can lead to injustices. I do believe in the possibilities of AI, but it is important to keep the human element at all times. It will enhance human productivi…

The Government were elected on a promise to buy, make and sell more in Britain. What action is the Minister taking to prioritise UK manufacturing and UK-made steel in public procurement for energy and defence products on national security grounds, as is allowed by the World Trade Organisation?

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

The business for the week commencing 20 January includes: Monday 20 January —General debate on the impact of food and diet on obesity, followed by a general debate on financial education. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Tuesday 21 January —Remaining stages of the Arme…

I am sure that the Leader of the House and every Member will join me in welcoming the news overnight of a ceasefire in Gaza. Let us hope and pray that it is as effective, comprehensive and long-lasting as possible. Back at home, all one can say is that it has been another extraordinary week for the Government, though p…

I, too, am sure that the whole House will welcome the developments between Israel and Gaza over the past hours and days, with a long-overdue ceasefire and the release of hostages now looking like a real possibility, although that is still to be confirmed. This will hopefully now lead to much-needed aid getting in,usb t…

Community organisations are the backbone of many events in towns and villages across North West Leicestershire. For the past 10 years, the Rotary Club of Ashby de la Zouch Castle has organised our annual charity Santa fun run in Ashby, which I have had the pleasure of taking part in alongside hundreds of local people. …

With permission, I will update the House on the deal announced between Israel and Hamas. Last night, US President Biden and Qatari Prime Minister Al Thani confirmed that negotiators had reached an agreement. While we await political approval for the text, the agreement is expected to come into force shortly after midda…

I call the shadow Foreign Secretary.

All Members recognise the fragile and sensitive nature of the current situation. There is a long road ahead at one of the most important moments for the middle east, which we all hope will usher in a sustainable end to the dreadful conflict in Gaza. It is a conflict that we should never forget was triggered by the horr…

I thank the shadow Foreign Secretary for her remarks and for her tone. Doing this role, one understands the effort that one’s predecessors have put in, so I want to put on the record once again that the right hon. Members for Braintree (Mr Cleverly) and for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) and Lord Cameron, before me, ma…

I call the Chair of the International Development Committee.

(Urgent Question): To ask the Minister to make a statement on plans for local government reorganisation.

The English devolution White Paper sets out how this Government plan to deliver on our manifesto pledge to transfer power out of Westminster through devolution and to fix the foundations of local government. This Government’s long-term vision is for simpler structures, making it clearer for residents who they should lo…

Although it was not a manifesto commitment, the Government published their agenda for reorganising council structures in England before Christmas, and we support our local government colleagues who are clearly required to respond to that call from Government. With local elections scheduled to take place in May this yea…

I thank the hon. Gentleman for those questions, and I am genuinely grateful for the spirit of consensus around the broader issue. I accept that there may be differences of opinion on pace, but we do not shy away from our ambition to see devolution experienced by the whole of England. I give a degree of credit to the pr…

I call the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.

I am grateful for this opportunity to raise the plight of women with endometriosis and the everyday struggles they face in the workplace. Endometriosis was first identified in 1860, but progress in improving the lives of women suffering from it has moved at a glacial pace since then. As the Women and Equalities Committ…

I commend the hon. Lady for raising this massive issue. I have in my office a girl who joined as a 16-year-old and has been with me for almost 12 years. She got married on new year’s day. At the age of 28, she had menopause to try to help her endometriosis. As a caring employer, I obviously made sure that she had all t…

I thank the hon. Member for that point. The issue has been known about for a long time. The women’s health strategy, published in 2022, painted a picture of what workplaces should be like over the next 10 years, arguing that women should “feel able to speak openly about their health and to be confident that they will b…

It is fortuitous that you are in the Chair tonight, Madam Deputy Speaker, given all the work you did on these issues in the last Parliament as Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee. I think that the hon. Lady attended my Westminster Hall last year, and I am grateful to her for securing this Adjournment debate. As…

I thank the right hon. Member for that intervention, and I absolutely agree. I pay tribute to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to the right hon. Member for the efforts he has put in over many years. Stigma and a lack of awareness by employers means that reproductive health conditions can have a significant effect on wome…

(Urgent Question): To ask the Minister for International Development for a statement following the United States’ determination of genocide in Sudan.

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for bringing this important urgent question to the House, and to you, Mr Speaker, for granting it. The evidence of abhorrent atrocities against civilians in Darfur is mounting. I am appalled by reports from the UN fact-finding mission, including those referring to acts of murde…

My purpose today is not to criticise the Government but to urge them to do more on what is without doubt the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. I wish not to detain the House on the high politics of the region, but to focus on the unspeakable suffering of the Sudanese civilians, who for almost two years have borne…

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his commitment to this issue, which I know is shared by many Members from every party in this House. We are determined to do something about these appalling events, and I am grateful for the passion and determination with which he rightly speaks. The right hon. Gentleman ta…

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the matter of conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, and for the work that she and others have undertaken on it. We had a debate on this subject in Westminster Hall last week, which raised the horrendous reports coming from Sudan about the impact on women and girls. She t…

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

The business for the week commencing 13 January includes: Monday 13 January —General debate on hospice and palliative care, followed by a general debate on the impact of food and diet on obesity. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Tuesday 14 January —Remaining stages of …

Madam Deputy Speaker, may I start by wishing you a very happy new year? I hope that all colleagues in the Chamber had a zestful and restful Christmas. I also pay tribute to those members of the House Service who were honoured in the recent honours list. The new year is always a time for new starts and fresh beginnings;…

May I, too, wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and the whole House a very happy new year? I send all our sympathies to the residents of Los Angeles who are being hit by wildfires—the situation unfolding there is very concerning indeed. May I also take this opportunity to congratulate a fellow northerner, Luke Littler, on …

I call the Chair of the Defence Committee.

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in northern Gaza.

The situation in northern Gaza is dire. The UK condemns Israel’s restrictions on aid in the strongest terms. The scale of human suffering is unimaginable. We have been clear that this is a man-made crisis and Israel must act immediately to address it. The need for humanitarian assistance to reach Gaza is greater than e…

Over 450 days on, we all know the statistics—45,000 Palestinians killed, 100 hostages missing, 2.3 million people desperate—but I want to tell a single human story. I have previously spoken about my friend, consultant surgeon Mohamed, who operated on me when I had sepsis. His family are trapped in the Jabalia refugee c…

The hon. Member speaks passionately about a situation that so few in this House could even imagine. My thoughts are with Mohamed’s family and the many, many other women, children and civilians who are caught up in this war. I have seen for myself the injured children across the border in Sinai. They are the lucky ones …

I call the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement on winter preparedness. Before I begin, I want to say a very special thank you to all the staff who will be keeping our NHS going over the Christmas holidays and into the new year. When I was a manager in the NHS, I worked on winter planning, so, i…

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

I am grateful to the Minister for early sight of her statement—as I have said before, it is typically courteous of her. I echo the gratitude that she expressed to those in our NHS, and also those in the social care workforce who will be working hard throughout the festive period. As she alluded to, the NHS is already f…

I will do my best to address that range of questions. First, as even a stopped clock is right once—[Interruption.] Yes, twice. On that basis, I agree with the right hon. Gentleman. On correspondence and answers to parliamentary questions, again, the situation we inherited is not satisfactory. I apologise to all Members…

Despite York’s new emergency department, a consultant has described to me the situation in emergency medicine, where patients are waiting for days to be discharged and 50 patients are waiting to be placed on wards. We know we have inherited a broken NHS. Will the Minister say what she is doing first to enable primary c…

With permission, I would like to make a statement on the publication of the Government’s English devolution White Paper. This Government were elected on the promise of change, and we are determined to transform our economy and our country through a decade of reform and national renewal that reverses the chaos and decli…

According to the Ipsos MORI veracity index, 41% of our constituents trust local councillors, with just 19% having the same expectation of Government Ministers. That is a reflection of the value we place on local leaders who know and understand our communities. Those local leaders will be getting a clear message from th…

I will come to some of the questions raised, but let nobody in the Chamber take lessons and lectures from the Conservatives when it comes to the perilous state that local government has been left in. Let us talk about the councils that were going bust left, right and centre on their watch. Let us talk about the fiscal …

I call the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.

I thank the Minister for the statement. It is about how we bring local leaders back to the agenda and back to the central aims that they have been complaining about over the last 14 years. It is important that any devolution reforms build trust among local people, who rely on vital services from housing and planning to…

What steps his Department is taking to support small businesses.

Small businesses are the beating heart of our high streets and communities, and are essential to our economic success. That is why, on Small Business Saturday, I announced the business growth service, which will ensure that businesses across the UK get quicker and easier support and advice from Government. Further anno…

I very much welcome my hon. Friend’s question. My area on the eastern side of Greater Manchester has, like hers, a huge history of co-operatives and mutuals. The diversity in business models that they bring is a huge strength; they bring different things to the market and different ways of doing business. The resilienc…

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting the winners of my first Small Business Saturday awards in Southampton Itchen. They were Riann Care, The Bunker, Miss Ellie’s Café and Julie’s Dance Studio. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating them on their role in ensuring a thriving local economy? What assura…

I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. I certainly join him in congratulating those local businesses on their work and, indeed, all Members of Parliament on the work that they do on their constituency days to champion and support local businesses. The Government’s agenda includes long-term reform o…

Small and medium-sized businesses come in many forms, from microbusinesses to community interest companies and co-operatives. Often, co-operative and mutual business models are overlooked. Norwich has a proud history of co-operatives. Will the Secretary of State reassure me that co-operative and mutual business models …

If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

It has been a hugely significant six months for the Department for Business and Trade. After our record-breaking international investment summit and our industrial strategy Green Paper publication, my Department has been engaging with businesses big and small to drive growth. Just this week we have helped to land a £50…

My constituents still mourn the loss of our M&S outlet in 2015, but we are delighted that Superbowl UK has just opened in Aldershot. These anchor retail and leisure tenants are so vital for our town centres, so what can the Government do to assist communities such as mine to ensure that we can encourage businesses to b…

I very much agree and welcome the question from my hon. Friend. I certainly recognise that high streets are going through a transition from being primarily retail centres to now having much more of a mix of retail, hospitality and leisure, and I am delighted to hear about Superbowl’s investment in Aldershot. I am not n…

I remind the Secretary of State that these are topical questions, and contributions should be short. I come to the shadow Secretary of State for a good example.

Supporting kinship placements is critical to deliver our opportunity mission to ensure that children grow up in safe and loving homes. We have recently announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance. The trial will test whether an allowance can support more children to settle with family and friends.

This Government acknowledge and appreciate the crucial role that kinship carers play. I am pleased that the virtual school heads scheme has been expanded to support kinship children. I encourage kinship carers and schools to work together to support kinship children and those with identified needs. The Department will …

I welcome the Minister’s response about kinship carers. What progress has been made on offering kinship carers respite provision, so that they can be given short-term breaks to ease the pressures facing kinship families?

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his very good question. It is important that kinship carers, as well as the children they are looking after, have the support they need. Through the process of family group decision making, families will come together to have conversations about how best to support children in kinship car…

I recently met kinship carers in Norwich, who do an amazing job in very difficult circumstances. One of the biggest challenges they face is financial support. Kinship’s recent “Forgotten” report found that children in kinship care are struggling because of an inaccessible and complicated picture of support. Has the Min…

For the record, I draw the attention of those on the Treasury Bench, and all Members, to paragraph 9.5 of the latest addition of the “Ministerial Code”, which states that a copy of the text of an oral statement should be made available to the Opposition and to the Speaker’s Office at least 45 minutes before the stateme…

With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on net migration, asylum and border security, and on the collapse in controls that took place over the last five years, the damage done as a result, and the action we are now taking to turn that around. Last Thursday’s official statistics show how over the …

I call the shadow Home Secretary.

I thank Mr Speaker and you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for ensuring that we had the proper time to consider the statement. The Home Secretary seems to have a great deal to say about the last Government and rather less to say about her own record since the election, but fortuitously there was a large release of data last wee…

If anyone had believed that flights were going to go off to Rwanda this summer, the Conservatives would not have called the general election when they did. They would have hung on hoping that it might happen. However, we saw just the same thing time and again: they kept promising and kept saying it was going to happen,…

With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I shall make a statement about the UK’s focus on Sudan during the UK’s presidency of the UN Security Council this month and about the humanitarian emergency in Sudan. Eighteen months into this devastating conflict, the war that began as a power struggle between the Sudanese armed …

I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement. I welcome this statement not least because it provides an opportunity to highlight what is a humanitarian catastrophe. Yesterday, I was fortunate to meet representatives of the World Food Programme. From speaking to them and to others in the sector, I know how cr…

I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for her remarks and her clear concern about the situation. I hope that a loud and clear message has been sent that there is cross-party concern about what is going on. I was very encouraged by how she described the situation and the need for the UK leadership that we are determined …

I call the Chair of the International Development Committee.

Yesterday, in the Committee’s session on Sudan, Dr Eva Khair, director of the Sudan Transnational Consortium, made it clear that we should regard this not as a civil war but as a war on civilians, and she is right. Since April 2023, when the war started, 61,000 people have been killed, with 11 million people internally…

If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

In the past month, growth was at the heart of my visit to Africa. We agreed work on a new global plan in South Africa and a new strategic partnership with Nigeria. During our UN Security Council presidency we have shown support for Ukraine 1,000 days into the war and pressed for a lasting peace in the middle east, and …

Since coming into office, the Government have suspended arms export licences to Israel; rolled over on the International Criminal Court, with nothing new against Hamas terrorists; and poured cash into the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, despite concerns over a significant number of its staff double-hatting with…

The art of diplomacy is speaking to foreign leaders and foreign nations as best we can in the UK’s national interest. That does sometimes involve foreign languages, which is why, for example, we support the BBC World Service. It was a slightly bizarre question.

We can all agree that ending human trafficking across the English channel requires an approach that is co-ordinated with that of all the countries from which people are being trafficked. Can the Foreign Secretary assure the House that the French Government share our commitment to smashing the gangs and ending these cro…

The epidemic of knife crime that has grown over the last decade is devastating families and communities right across the country. That is why this Government have set ourselves an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime over the next 10 years. We are already taking action to get lethal blades off Britain’s streets a…

It was a great pleasure to meet my hon. Friend just last week to discuss this issue. Organisations like the Joe Dix Foundation do amazing work to help keep people safe and keep young people out of county line gangs in particular, and through the Home Office county lines programme we are going after exploitative gangs a…

The Minister speaks of the young futures programme. Will she work with the Northern Ireland Executive to put in place the same programmes so that we can prevent young people in Northern Ireland from joining paramilitary organisations, which are nothing more than organised and violent crime organisations?

I can certainly talk to Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office to discuss what we can learn from the proposed programme and the good practice we know exists already in many parts of the UK. We want to build on that so I am very happy to share that.

I thank the Minister for meeting me recently. As she says, too many young people are being drawn into county lines, suffering exploitation and violence. This is a significant problem across the country, including in Norwich. Many organisations are working hard locally to improve the situation, such as the Joe Dix Found…

If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

This weekend, we launched the first in-person consultation as part of change.nhs.uk, the biggest national conversation about the future of the NHS we have ever seen. We know that the Leader of the Opposition wants a conversation about whether the NHS is free at the point of use, and I can tell her, from that first conv…

Earlier this month, I visited Barnet hospital to see the way in which it is changing the emergency care department so that more patients can be seen more quickly, freeing up capacity in accident and emergency. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that trusts such as the Royal Free and others across the countr…

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. The Royal Free hospital saved my life when I went through kidney cancer, so it holds a special place in my heart. Thanks to the Chancellor’s decision and the investment she put into the NHS at the Budget, and the reform my Department is delivering, we will deliver the c…

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will update the House on our plans for better buses in England outside London. When we talk about fixing the foundations of our country, our minds should turn to the nation’s most popular form of public transport, because nothing props up our economy more or better supports…

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

I thank the Secretary of State for delivering her statement to the House, and for advance sight of it. It was, of course, the last Government who provided £4.5 billion of funding to the bus sector since 2020 alone. Some £2 billion of that was allocated to support every single local transport authority in England to del…

I am grateful to the shadow Secretary of State for his questions, but I have to say that I will take no lessons from those on the Conservative Benches on good government. The approach to funding allocation is based on need, on deprivation, on population and on bus mileage, whereas his Government wasted millions of poun…

I welcome the Secretary of State’s £9 million investment in the bus system across my constituency. Given the comments she has just heard, does she agree that it takes a Labour Government to really understand not just the cost but the value of public transport, and that our Labour Government are getting on with the job …

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle violence against women and girls.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle violence against women and girls.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle violence against women and girls.

This Government are committed to using all the levers at our disposal to deliver our mission to halve violence against women and girls. We have already announced our intention to embed specialist domestic abuse advisers in 999 control rooms, launched pilots for the new domestic abuse protection orders, and implemented …

I am very pleased to hear that from the Minister. I am proud that in Stevenage, independent domestic violence advocates and independent sexual violence advocates working for Survivors Against Domestic Abuse—also known as SADA—do brilliant but challenging work supporting those who are at risk and suffering as a result o…

When I spoke to the chief constable of Norfolk constabulary recently, he told me that if a suspect were arrested and charged today with a serious sexual offence such as rape, the Crown court trial could commence in the spring of 2026, which is more than a year away. That is totally unacceptable. What can the Minister d…

Before I call the Secretary of State for Education to make a statement, I note that reports about the possible increase in higher education tuition fees started appearing in the media earlier this afternoon.

Mr Holden, you don’t help yourself, do you? The Secretary of State is here to make a statement, so hon. Members will have the opportunity to question her. If the premature media reporting is due to an unauthorised leak, that is a great discourtesy to this House. I hope the Secretary of State will be able to identify th…

Mr Speaker, may I begin by expressing my deep regret that the content of the statement that I am about to make appeared in the media earlier this afternoon? It had always been my intention to come before this House to make the statement first, given its significance and importance. I appreciate that you, Members across…

Can we take it that there will be a full inquiry into how this has happened—that everybody will be brought in and questioned, and you will then update us on that full inquiry? That is what I really want.

I can give you that undertaking, Mr Speaker, and I will speak to officials about the matter, as you request.

Before we come to business questions, I am sure that the House will want to send our best wishes to Robin James, who retires today after 40 years, during which he clerked the Home Affairs Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Defence Committee, the Committees on Standards and the Committee of Privileges. Robin …

Will the Leader of the House provide us with the forthcoming business?

The business for the week commencing 4 November includes: Monday 4 November —Continuation of the Budget debate. Tuesday 5 November —Continuation of the Budget debate. Wednesday 6 November —Conclusion of the Budget debate. The House will rise for the November recess at the conclusion of business on Wednesday 6 November …

Mr Speaker, I echo your thanks and congratulations to Robin James, who retires today after 40 years of service. In this House, we all rely on the service of the Clerks, and I know that we are all extremely grateful to Robin for the work that he has done over four decades. I am sure that the whole House will also want t…

Can I just say to the shadow Leader of the House that he said “you”? I am definitely not responsible for this Budget—I want to make that very clear.

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Sudan.

I am grateful to the right hon. Member for bringing this urgent question before the House and ensuring that we discuss the appalling situation that we currently see in Sudan. Since conflict erupted between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces in April last year, Sudan has witnessed one of the world’s …

I call the shadow Foreign Secretary.

The war in Sudan represents the largest humanitarian crisis, hunger crisis and displacement crisis in the world, but it has been almost entirely neglected because of the crises in the middle east and Ukraine. In the 18 months since hostilities erupted, tens of thousands have been killed and more than 10 million people …

The new Government are absolutely determined to not neglect this crisis. The right hon. Member has just used the word “hideous”; that truly is the case. I have spoken with some of those who came back into South Sudan from Sudan, including children—children who had effectively had to fend for themselves for many days, w…

With permission, I will make a statement on the latest action that we are taking to reconnect Britain to the world, for our security and prosperity. Following official visits that have spanned the globe, from South Sudan to Indonesia and the UN General Assembly in New York, in a speech at Chatham House last week I set …

I have had a chance to read the Minister’s statement while I have been in the Chamber, and I declare an interest as an executive committee member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Assembly UK. This statement really should have been delivered by the Prime Minister. It was he, along with the Foreign Secretary, who travel…

I am very grateful to the hon. Lady for her remarks and, above all, for her work with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Indeed, I commend all Members across the House who are engaged with that very important organisation, which brings parliamentarians together. The Prime Minister’s resolution to support the C…

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. She touched on IDA. IDA needs a minimum of $27 billion from donor countries to help countries at higher risk of debt distress. Can she further elaborate on the discussions she had with international counterparts on IDA replenishment, ahead of IDA21 in early December this year…

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this issue. IDA is a critical part of the World Bank’s architecture. It is the fund that is focused on the very poorest countries that are most in need of support, but also those which can grow very quickly when they receive that support economically. It is extremely goo…

With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to update the House on the action that this Government are taking to fundamentally transform our water industry and clean up our waterways for good. Fourteen years of Conservative failure have left our water sector in disrepair. The rivers, lakes and seas that we all love have …

I thank the Secretary of State for prior sight of his statement. Fourteen years in opposition—and this is what the Labour party has to offer. Labour Members have had more than a decade to craft a clear package of policies, listen to campaigners and prepare to govern, yet what they have brought to the House today illust…

Well, that was all a little bit embarrassing, wasn’t it? The previous Government had 14 years in power, our rivers, lakes and seas are awash with record levels of pollution, and that is all the Conservatives have to say. I took action seven days after the general election: I brought the water chief execs into my office…

At the weekend, I went swimming in the North sea —probably for the last time this year—having first checked on the Surfers Against Sewage website that there had not been any legal or illegal spills. It is disgraceful that the last Conservative Government left our seas and waterways in such as state, and it is notable t…

I thank my hon. Friend for her comments. Unfortunately, customers have been left to pay the price of 14 years of Conservative failure to secure investment in our water infrastructure, so it has collapsed to such an extent that Ofwat now recommends eye-watering bill increases. Every penny of that is down to the failure …

I inform the House that I have selected amendment (a), tabled in the name of the Prime Minister. I call Helen Morgan.

I beg to move, That this House regrets that the NHS has been plunged into crisis by years of neglect by the previous Government, leaving far too many people waiting weeks to see a GP or unable to find an NHS dentist, and children and adults waiting months or even years to receive the mental health care they need; belie…

On pharmacies, a new report from Healthwatch England reveals a worrying picture of pharmacy closures and reduced hours hitting older people and rural communities the hardest. NHS Norfolk and Waveney integrated care board, which covers much of my constituency, has reported the highest number of hours lost per pharmacy. …

That is an important point. In my constituency, carers who go to pick up prescription medicines are finding that the pharmacists are not there because they are relying on locums. The pharmacy funding problem needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency, and I will say more about that later. Growing the economy is so im…

My hon. Friend is making a brilliant introductory speech. Is she aware that perhaps only a third of those leaving medical school and seeking to go into general practice are able to find jobs, partly because the additional roles reimbursement scheme—which does exist—cannot be extended to enable some of those would-be GP…

Will the Leader of the House update the House on the forthcoming business?

May I wish the Leader of the House a happy birthday? Forty today!

Twenty-one today, Mr Speaker. The business for the week commencing 14 October includes: Monday 14 October —Second Reading of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. Tuesday 15 October —Second Reading of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. Wednesday 16 October —Opposition day (3rd allotted day). Debate on a…

Mr Speaker, may I start by welcoming your new Chaplain, Rev. Mark Birch, to his role? I am sure we all look forward to working with him. Let me also extend warm birthday wishes to the Leader of the House. It is hard to believe, but today is a very significant birthday for her. The whole House extends warm wishes to her…

I, too, welcome the new Chaplain, Mark Birch. I also pay tribute to Lily Ebert, who dedicated her life to ensuring that the horror of the Holocaust can never happen again. I am sure that all Members will want to send their best wishes to the residents of Florida as the damage of Hurricane Milton unfolds. I thank you, M…

We have committed ourselves to delivering 1.5 million new homes as part of our mission to achieve economic growth across the country, and we have already announced reforms of national planning policy that will help to get Britain building. They include the reintroduction of mandatory housing targets, and the removal of…

I thank my hon. Friend for her follow-up question and welcome her to her place. As she knows from the Chancellor and the Deputy Prime Minister, this Government take seriously our target to deliver 1.5 million new homes, and we will look at each and every opportunity across the country to do so. That includes making imp…

The Minister knows that the planning system is built on the ability to make millionaires at the stroke of a pen as a result of passing planning permission, which does not necessarily result in developments that are in the best interests of a local community. Surely there is more that the Government can do to ensure tha…

The issue of so-called hope value was referenced in the Labour party’s manifesto, and the Government will set out further detail in due course.

If unlocked, Anglia Square, a significant brownfield site in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich South (Clive Lewis) , could provide more than 1,000 homes and many jobs. The last Government failed to support the progression of this important site. Can my right hon. Friend tell me what local author…

(Urgent Question): To ask the Foreign Secretary if he will make a statement on the humanitarian and political situation in Sudan.

I would like first to welcome the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Dame Harriett Baldwin) to her place. She is a former Africa Minister, so I know she is deeply concerned about these issues. I am grateful for the fact that this urgent question has been granted; the situation could not be more urgent. Last month, I …

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question. Yesterday, Parliament spent time on two terrible conflicts—that in Ukraine, and that in the middle east—but we must not allow this Parliament to forget about the increasingly dreadful situation in Sudan. I welcome the right hon. Minister for Development to her p…

I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s commitment to the issue, and for her incredibly important questions. She gave the figures for those who have been displaced; indeed, Sudan is the world’s largest displacement crisis in absolute terms. Of course, some of those individuals have been displaced before. When I was in South …

This is one of the world’s worst conflicts and humanitarian disasters, but sadly it receives so little of our attention, so I welcome the urgent question and the Minister’s response. I praise the efforts of the British embassy in exile in Addis. It is clear that we need a long-term strategy to end the fighting and begi…

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson) . I congratulate her on a moving maiden speech, and I hope to add another place on her bucket list. I am honoured to have been elected as the first Liberal Democrat MP for North East Hampshire, a constituenc…

With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on the middle east. On taking office in July, I told the House that this Government’s priority in the region will be to advance the cause of peace. That continues to be our mission on every front: in Israel, in the west bank, in Lebanon, in the Red sea and, of course…

I call the shadow Foreign Secretary.

I thank the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of his statement. Over the weekend, we were once again reminded of the tragic human toll of this conflict, with Israel recovering the bodies of six more innocent hostages murdered by Hamas. The only way this conflict will be brought to an end, and for the suffering to end…

I am grateful to the shadow Foreign Secretary for the tone of his response. He will know as well as anyone that these are complex and sober questions, and it is right that the House can debate them in the appropriate tone and spirit this afternoon. I recall that Lord Cameron said that he was concerned that Israel had v…

I thank the Secretary of State for his important statement. I agree with the shadow Secretary of State that it is clear that Hamas have no humanity and no shame. Some have said that there is only a pause to vaccinate children because polio may spread beyond Gaza. With so many children killed in this war, I understand w…

I beg to move, That this House has considered technology in public services. It is the first time I have had the privilege of speaking under your chairmanship, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I am grateful for it. May I start by welcoming the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith) to his place? I had his j…

The Secretary of State is making a fine maiden speech in his start at the Dispatch Box. As a previously practising doctor, I know that one thing that could really help is using some of the AI we see coming forward in the back office. The previous Government committed to a £3.4 billion NHS productivity plan. Are the Gov…

I am grateful for that intervention and welcome the hon. Member to his place, too. The Government take extremely seriously the role that AI and digital technologies have in productivity in all public services and, as my speech unfolds, I hope that he will hear more detail about the scale of our ambition. To take just o…

This is obviously a positive debate, as there are so many benefits for us all. I could not remember 191 passcodes—I struggle to remember my own to log in every day in Parliament—but of course we have to underpin everything that we are talking about in terms of technology with cyber-security. In Cheltenham, we have a 4,…

The hon. Gentleman, who I welcome to his place, spent quite a bit of time on his intervention, but I realise that there is simply so much to talk about in his constituency. I pay tribute to the organisations he referenced, including GCHQ and CyNam. The work that they do often goes unthanked, but it is absolutely essent…

What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the NHS dental contracting framework.

What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the NHS dental contracting framework.

First, may I welcome my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Alice Macdonald) to the House, and say what an absolute privilege it is to have been appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care? We have our work cut out for us, with not only the worst economic inheritance since 1945, for which the Conserva…

It is appalling that Norfolk and Waveney are so poorly served in terms of dentistry. There are only 36 dentists per 100,000 people, compared with the national average of 53, so when my hon. Friend says that her community is a dental desert, Members should know that it is the Sahara of dental deserts. We will work with …

My constituents in Sunderland Central tell me that NHS dentistry is broken. It is not just that they cannot access routine care, but that if they are struck with, for example, excruciating toothache, they cannot access urgent appointments either. I therefore ask my right hon. Friend what steps he is taking, alongside t…

I welcome my right hon. Friend to his place. Norfolk is a dental desert and my constituents are suffering. As well as reforming the contract, we need to train more dentists. In the east of England we do not have a dental school, but the University of East Anglia has put forward proposals for one. Will he meet me, other…