It is a pleasure to respond to this debate, not least to further my education in my personal passion area of parliamentary procedure. Let me begin by responding to the motion, and then I will turn to the substance of the debate. The hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) will accept that no Government could… accept a motion such as that proposed by the Liberal Democrats. The motion goes against the Standing Orders of the House, which state that the Government as elected by the people control the Order Paper, apart from specific exemptions such as Opposition days. The motion would give the Liberal Democrats free rein to schedule the business on 9 March . Today they introduced a Bill. It is still not available to Members across the House, yet they are asking the House to hand them control of business to complete all stages of the Bill within a day. That is no way to make complex changes to the law in this area. This is not just a procedural outrage; more than that I am sorry to see the Liberal Democrats join the Conservative party yet again in their usual coalition of putting political desperation on this question ahead of the interests of British children and families. I urge the Liberal Democrats to forget this approach, and to take part in the Government’s consultation, which is a true attempt at engaging across parties and across the country, so that we find the right solution for children and parents. This Government have already set out a way forward that considers those vital issues in a responsible way, and allows for swift action in response. That is how we will give children the childhood that they deserve and prepare them for the future.
Hansard · 24 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
JS
Jim Shannon
I thank and commend the hon. Lady for initiating the debate, and for her devotion to this subject. Does she agree that we should consider education and the role of school principals? In Northern Ireland the Education Minister, Paul Givan, has introduced a pilot scheme on phone-free schools, and I have held an event in …
MW
Munira Wilson
It is always a pleasure to give way to the hon. Gentleman, who is the first to intervene in the debate, and I entirely agree with him. I will touch on the point about phones in schools later, and I believe that we will have a chance to vote on that specific measure shortly, when the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bil…
AD
Anna Dixon
The hon. Lady is making her case very personally and passionately, describing the harms to young people’s mental health that result from the predatory algorithms that the tech giants have devised to create addictive content for children. I, too, think that there is cross-party agreement on the need to look very careful…
MW
Munira Wilson
I hope the hon. Lady will not mind if I call her my hon. Friend, although we are on opposite sides of the House. I thank her for her intervention, and I take her point, which I have also heard the Government express. I agree that we need to consult, but I think we should be consulting on how we implement some of these …
GS
Gareth Snell
I am sympathetic to all the hon. Lady’s arguments. However, it appears that we are about to have a Second Reading debate on an as yet unpublished Bill, when the motion on the Order Paper is about whether we have a day for that Second Reading debate. I am conscious, because I have been to the Vote Office, that the Bill …
KN
Kanishka Narayan
The Government are seeing both urgency and responsibility in the correspondence that we are receiving and the consultation we are engaging with, not the desperate lurch to a specific answer that the Liberal Democrats are exemplifying in this instance. I want to take this opportunity to set out our approach.
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I take the hon. Member’s point about wanting to work together. The Government are committed to doing exactly that. It is not a question of whether we act, but how we implement specific changes to secure our children’s future. I encourage her and the entire Liberal Democrat party to engage with the consultation.
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I will make a little progress having already given way twice to Liberal Democrat Members in short succession. To be clear, it is crucial that we allow for a short, sharp consultation to allow the different parts of the debate to be heard, including crucially the voices of children themselves, who are too often under-re…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I commend my hon. Friend on her consistent commitment to evidence-based policy making in this place, and beyond it too. I commit to her that both the Born in Bradford study, which she mentioned, and wider research will be in the front of the Government’s mind.
KN
Kanishka Narayan
We will be very glad to come to the House as soon as the consultation is launched. It will be very soon indeed. As we have said, Members will expect not just a consultation—[Interruption.] I have not committed to debate the consultation today, prior to having published it. Perhaps the Liberal Democrats will take a less…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I can confirm to the hon. Member that the Government have committed to act robustly by the summer, which is about as short and sharp as a consultation can get. Instead of procrastinating on this question, I encourage her to engage intensively with the process of consultation and the national conversation. I mentioned i…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Both of my hon. Friend’s points—on the scope of how we look at particular platforms and at their functionalities—are not just considered by the consultation, but deeply important. I engaged with the Australian Minister on this issue just last week, trying to understand their experiences of this and the uncertainty of g…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I totally agree with the hon. Member’s call for urgency. I assure her that first, the Government will act by the summer in robustly responding to the consultation. Secondly, we have been focused on getting the consultation right, and not just for the wider public; we are ensuring that it is designed for young people’s …
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I am happy to repeat to the hon. Member this Government’s commitment, which is that we will act by the summer. That is about as short and sharp as a consultation period gets. The Online Safety Act took seven years; we are simply asking for one quarter to make sure that young people, parents and families across the coun…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I will simply repeat the point I have made, which is that we are going to act by the summer. We have already sought permissive powers to ensure that the Government are able to act on the outcome of the consultation through rapid legislation. I hope the combination of those two commitments gives the hon. Member some ass…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank the hon. Member for that point, and commit to her that we are going to try to do that as soon as possible. She will be aware that the legislative process is already very tight, so I will come back to her and the House with the wording of the motion as soon as possible. Last week, as I have mentioned, the Secret…
Rural Mobile Connectivity12 Feb 2026
KN
Kanishka Narayan
First and foremost, can I start by thanking the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) for securing this debate on mobile connectivity in rural areas? I thank all hon. Members for their insightful contributions. While I am here speaking in place of my noble Friend in the other place, the Minister for Digital Economy,… I feel the pain described by many hon. Members personally, as I too represent a rural constituency. In that context, I particularly thank my hon. Friends the Members for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) and for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham) and the hon. Members for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) and for Caerfyrddin (Ann Davies) for their representations on behalf of farmers and agricultural communities, whom I know face a particular challenge. I also thank the hon. Members for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas), for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth) and for Lewes (James MacCleary) for talking about not only maintaining bucolic beauty but parity and economic opportunity. I thank the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine) , who raised a very concerning case about coercive control through the use of connectivity. I encourage her to write to the Department about that, as I would be keen to follow up on that particular issue. The constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) has features of rurality and remoteness, and has coastal communities, and from my constituency I personally understand those features too. The all-party parliamentary group on digital communities, which the hon. Member for North Shropshire is a member of, along with the other Members, published in January a detailed report on this topic. It provided valuable insights and recommendations. It is well understood across the House that access to high-quality, reliable and secure digital connectivity is essential to day-to-day life, with many services now requiring an online presenc
Hansard · 12 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
HM
Helen Morgan
I beg to move, That this House calls on the Government and service providers to help improve mobile connectivity in rural areas. I start by thanking the Backbench Business Committee for granting time to hold this vital debate and for granting us a second opportunity to do so, as the debate had to be postponed earlier t…
MP
Mark Pritchard
I am grateful to the hon. Lady, a fellow Shropshire MP, for giving way. Part of my constituency used to be her constituency, and she will know that there are lots of small rural businesses that rely on connectivity, not just broadband but cellular connectivity and being able to take and make telephone calls. Will the h…
HM
Helen Morgan
The right hon. Gentleman, my constituency neighbour, makes an extremely good point. The quality of the data is critical. One of the recommendations of the APPG is exactly that: to ensure that data is reliable and that Ofcom can challenge it where they know that it is inadequate. There is a huge difference in which area…
AC
Alistair Carmichael
It would be wrong to let this moment pass without reflecting on the fact that EE has its network of masts as a result of significant public investment, because it got the contract for the emergency services network. Does that not impose a duty on it to do more than merely commercial negotiation in relation to other com…
HM
Helen Morgan
My right hon. Friend makes a good point about the use of public money and how we develop infrastructure fit for the modern age as part of a public and private operation. Rural roaming measures have been opposed by the industry, but they were recommended by the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in …
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank the hon. Member for raising that point. I will come to that question, because I recognise the gap between the aggregate picture and the experience felt on the ground. Let me return to aggregate investment. To ensure that investment delivers coverage improvements for communities right across the UK, including in…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I confirm to the hon. Member that there is no sense of judgment on the Government Benches on the conduct of her cause. The Government continue to work with Ofcom to improve the accuracy of reported mobile coverage, building on the launch of its Map Your Mobile tool in June last year. I am glad that hon. Members recogni…
Protecting Young People Online4 Feb 2026
KN
Kanishka Narayan
With the groundbreaking steps in the Online Safety Act 2023, we are protecting children from illegal and harmful content online. The Secretary of State’s first step was to ensure that self-harm and suicide content were made priority offences. We have legislated to criminalise both the depiction of strangulation in pornography and the creation of non-consensual… intimate images, making them priority offences. We have now launched a short, sharp consultation to protect children’s experiences online. Under this Government, children’s wellbeing is put right at the heart of our decisions.
Hansard · 4 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
JB
Jessica Brown-Fuller
What steps she is taking to help reduce social media harms for children under 16.
CA
Catherine Atkinson
What steps her Department is taking to help protect young people online.
DB
Danny Beales
What steps her Department is taking to help protect young people online.
JB
Jessica Brown-Fuller
The Online Safety Act was intended to protect children and teenagers from harmful social media content. The Molly Rose Foundation’s study found that, before the Act’s implementation, over a third of 13 to 17-year-olds had seen harmful content online, including self-harm, depression or eating disorder content. Young peo…
CA
Catherine Atkinson
I have heard from many parents in Derby who want to know that their children are properly protected when they go online, not left exposed to harmful content or addictive design features. I have also spoken to many young people who are also concerned about what they face online. Can the Minister set out how, in addition…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank the hon. Lady for raising that important point. I have engaged deeply and frequently with the Molly Rose Foundation on this issue and wider concerns. We continue to ensure that the monitoring and evaluation of the Online Safety Act’s implementation is in progress—I am engaging regularly on that, and I am happy …
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I first pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the depth and breadth of her advocacy for the people of Derby. I can confirm that I would be delighted to ensure that we continue the conversation with young people. I was at a school last week, and I will be in a school this week. I commit to the House that the Secretary of St…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: regulation is one part of this issue, but we are also focused on the fundamental aspects of media literacy and education. We are engaging very closely with the Department for Education on a media literacy aspect of the national curriculum to ensure that our young people can spot misi…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
We are looking very closely at that. Of course, under the Online Safety Act, platforms already have a responsibility to make sure that young people are not able to access harmful content. In relation to wider access methods—whether virtual private networks or others—we are looking very closely at patterns of behaviour.…
5G Connectivity: Telford and West Midlands20 Jan 2026
KN
Kanishka Narayan
First and foremost, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Telford (Shaun Davies) for securing this Adjournment debate. Throughout his entire tenure as the local MP, he has been a relentless champion for the people of Telford on the question of 5G and mobile coverage. He has listened closely to those he represents in… person and through surveys. He has represented their voices in the media and to my hon. Friend the Minister for the Digital Economy in the other place, and he has done that again in this debate with both an impressive speech and a deep understanding of Telford. Mobile coverage is an extremely important topic, which is reflected in the amount of interest shown across from the House in any parliamentary activity on the subject. Access to high-quality, reliable and secure mobile connectivity is critical for people to participate effectively in the modern digital economy. It is essential for day-to-day life in many cases. Whether it is to run a business online, to access essential public services, to manage finances online, to contact GP surgeries or to stay in touch with loved ones, we all need reliable mobile connectivity. The Government have an ambition for all populated areas to have access to higher-quality stand-alone 5G by 2030. That of course includes Telford and areas right across the west midlands. It is true that Ofcom currently reports that stand-alone 5G is available outside of only 1% of premises across my hon. Friend’s constituency. That is clearly unacceptable. I am also conscious that the picture has slightly updated in recent months, and I will take the opportunity to shine some light on that. The published coverage stats were last collected in July last year, and there has been some improvement in the picture since then. We expect that the figure will further increase significantly in the next report published by Ofcom as reporting catches up with network roll-out. Mobile network operators are investing significantly to improve coverage an
Hansard · 20 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
SD
Shaun Davies
It is good to see the Minister in his place. He is a man with great knowledge of, and passion for, this agenda, and I know he will take it forward in Telford, west midlands and further afield. I also want to place on record my gratitude to the Department for how helpful and proactive it has been with me since I raised …
HM
Helen Morgan
The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent speech and a really good point, which applies equally to urban and rural areas. Mobile network operators do not have minimum standards of coverage and quality of signal. At some places where there was good coverage before, that now no longer appears to be the case because the s…
SD
Shaun Davies
I agree with my Shropshire neighbour. This is a rural issue and an urban one. A mobile signal is very much like a utility; people expect it to work for both their personal life and their work-related life. Telford and Wrekin council kindly shared with me a report containing research by the River Severn Partnership. Bet…
WJ
Warinder Juss
My hon. Friend has made some excellent points. Tettenhall in my constituency is a significantly populated suburb of Wolverhampton, where residents face similar problems to those highlighted by my hon. Friend. Constituents say that they have little or no signal and they struggle to make contact with family and friends. …
SD
Shaun Davies
I completely agree. My hon. Friend makes the excellent point that this issue is not just about economic growth and access to public services, though that is important; it is also about access to lifesaving services in an emergency. In case I have come across too negative, at this point I would like to acknowledge the p…
Parliamentary Debate6 Jan 2026
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I might just make a bit of progress. My hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington mentioned the food sector and food retailers, given recent attacks. Following the attacks on Marks & Spencer and Harrods, my hon. Friend the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs has written to and engaged deeply with the… chief executive officers of major food retailers to advise on how the food sector can best protect itself from cyber-threats. There is a broader question about sectors that are not regulated by this Bill, which has been raised by numerous Members from across the House. The fact that a sector is not regulated under the Bill does not mean that organisations in it cannot protect themselves against cyber-attacks. As I said, the Bill is not designed to cover every sector. Where sectors are covered by existing regulations, and where the Government do not consider it essential to regulate a sector through the Bill, we have taken a proportionate approach. Introducing blanket coverage for whole new sectors would create extensive regulatory burdens for more of our economy, stifling economic growth. At the same time, this Bill will enable the Government to bring more sectors into scope in the future, and to take swift action if national security is at risk. The Bill sits alongside a series of actions that the Government have taken. I highlight in particular the fact that the Government have written to UK businesses and trade bodies across sectors to make sure that they are embedding cyber essentials across their supply chains, that they are making cyber-resilience a board-level priority, and that the NCSC’s early warning system and advice is heeded. Both Conservative Front Benchers, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted (Victoria Collins) , and my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton spoke about coverage of the public sector. The public sector requires a significant step change in cyber and digital resilience. As has been
Hansard · 6 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
IM
Ian Murray
I thank my hon. Friend for all he did on the issues facing Jaguar Land Rover. I know that the matter is close to his heart and, indeed, it was a really big issue across the country, showing how a cyber-attack can affect not just one company, but has a ripple effect throughout the economy. Of course, the Government step…
Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill6 Jan 2026
KN
Kanishka Narayan
First and foremost, I thank all Members for their contributions to the debate. I am glad that the House has welcomed the Bill, with deep expertise shown by Members on both sides of the House. Of course, Members have asked questions and I will try to share the Government’s approach. Before that, let me set… out what is at stake. The UK is the most cyber-attacked country in Europe. In 2024, more than 600,000 businesses were subject to a cyber-attack, the average cost of which was just over £190,000. The cost of cyber-attacks to UK businesses in aggregate is estimated to be £14.7 billion a year. The personal experience of my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South (Mike Reader) is on my mind, as well the facts that my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) shared, such as the most common password in this country being “password”, and, indeed, the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Cheshire (Andrew Cooper) about Buffy the Vampire Slayer being an effective name deployed in some contexts. The combination of aggregate impacts and such personal experiences is the motivation for the Bill. National security is the first responsibility of any Government. Cyber-threats have grown and the previous Government failed to move fast enough in the light of that. This Government are acting robustly to ensure that the British public are secure. The big message is, “Let’s ditch legacy systems and platforms and move to a more secure future.” We have done that by ditching the Conservative party; it is time to do it across our economy. Let me deal with some of the themes that hon. Members raised, especially threats from AI that will emerge in future. The right hon. Member for Hertsmere (Sir Oliver Dowden) and my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Sarah Russell) mentioned those threats. AI will almost certainly continue to make elements of cyber-intrusion operations more effective and efficient, and cyber-threats more frequent and intense. That is
Hansard · 6 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
IM
Ian Murray
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. A happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to all the House staff. This is the first opportunity I have had to say that to you. On 3 June 2024 , a busy Monday morning in south-east London, criminals attacked Synnovis, an organisation that processes blood tests on be…
CV
Christopher Vince
Does the Minister agree that, as we become more and more reliant on IT systems—I am thinking in particular about the new patient registration system at the Princess Alexandra hospital in my constituency—it is more and more important that we combat potential cyber-attacks, particularly from foreign powers and enemies of…
IM
Ian Murray
I could not agree more. I gave the example of the Synnovis incident that brought blood transfusions in London to a halt, affecting thousands of patients. Our everyday lives are affected by this. As we modernise and digitise our economy and our Government, we have to ensure that our systems are as secure as possible, an…
TP
Toby Perkins
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way, and it is great to see him in his post. On economic growth, how has he sought in the Bill to balance the absolute need for a regulatory framework that businesses can have confidence in alongside the ability to attract continued investment, and to ensure that we do not end…
IM
Ian Murray
The Bill builds on the 2018 regulations, which were a hangover from the EU when we adopted them in this country. The Bill expands on those. As my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) just suggested, this is about economic growth as well as protecting our systems, so we have to find a balance between ensuring…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I might just make a bit of progress. My hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington mentioned the food sector and food retailers, given recent attacks. Following the attacks on Marks & Spencer and Harrods, my hon. Friend the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs has written to and engaged deeply with the c…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I point the hon. Member to a thriving compound semiconductor cluster in south Wales, as well as chip manufacturing companies. If he doubts how advanced Arm is—the primary chip design company in the world—I would advise him to read a primer on the chip company supply chain. The Government are pursuing a clear sense of d…
Torture of Animals: Online Content17 Dec 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Online content depicting or promoting animal torture is horrific and—let me be clear—unacceptable. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, animal cruelty is a priority offence, which needs proactive steps from platforms to counter it. We will keep the pressure on to enforce that.
Hansard · 17 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
JB
Johanna Baxter
What steps she is taking to help tackle online content promoting the torture of animals.
JB
Johanna Baxter
Earlier this year, two teenagers were prosecuted for the torture and killing of kittens in a public park. A BBC investigation has since uncovered a disturbing international network sharing videos of extreme cruelty to cats and kittens, and users here in the UK and those prosecuted have been found to be in possession of…
AE
Alex Easton
Can the Government do more to ensure proactive detection of this vile material, such as by using artificial intelligence tools and human moderators with specialist training in animal cruelty, so that such content is swiftly identified and removed, and put robust measures in place to prevent it from reappearing online?
KN
Kanishka Narayan
May I first pay tribute to my hon. Friend—and indeed her cats Clement Cattlee and Mo Meowlam—for being right at the vanguard of campaigning on this serious issue. Animal cruelty is a priority offence in the law, as I mentioned, and Ofcom must enforce it and platforms must act on it. The Government will keep the pressur…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank the hon. Member for an apt question on this theme. As I mentioned, animal cruelty is a priority offence under the law. Platforms must take proactive steps, including to assess risk before it pertains and to remove content where it clearly falls foul of the law. The Government will keep making sure that enforcem…
Online Harassment17 Dec 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Online harassment has no place in our society. Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must take steps to remove illegal content. These duties apply to abuse, to harassment, to threats and hate crimes, and to disinformation and misinformation that amounts to illegal content. What is more, the Government have already written to Ofcom to accelerate… the final phase of implementation of the Online Safety Act. We will continue to ensure that we are empowering users against harassment.
Hansard · 17 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
SS
Sarah Smith
What steps she is taking to help tackle online harassment.
SS
Sarah Smith
The family of my constituent Jay Slater, who tragically lost his life last summer, have been subject to the most horrendous harassment and misinformation online while grieving their son. Sadly, it does not appear to be an isolated case, and there is evidence of the same content creators targeting multiple victims throu…
EM
Edward Morello
Online harm and harassment amplifies real-world violence. In West Dorset, 14-year-old Isabella was brutally attacked, but the lasting trauma came from the assault being deliberately filmed and circulated online and in group chats in schools across the local area. It was designed deliberately to humiliate her and led to…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
VC
Victoria Collins
I join colleagues in wishing you and everyone a merry Christmas, and my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade) a happy birthday. Alongside online harassment, online fraud is also on the rise. Nobody wants a broken heart for Christmas, and online romance fraud is not only ruining lives but e…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank my hon. Friend and pay tribute to Debbie, the mother of Jay Slater, who has had to deal not just with the tragedy of her son’s death, but with all the subsequent harassment that she, family and friends have experienced. After I met my hon. Friend and Debbie, I raised the issue with the platforms. I know that th…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank the hon. Member for raising a very important point. The Online Safety Act 2023 already focuses on areas of illegal content, in particular to keep young people safe under the child safety duties. If there are particular instances that the hon. Member wishes to write to me about, I will be happy to raise them. No…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
While love might be in the air at this festive moment, we want to make sure that it is financially responsible. In that spirit, therefore, I will continue to engage with both the regulator and platforms to ensure that the existing provisions of the Online Safety Act are robustly enforced when it comes to online fraud a…
Online Safety12 Nov 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
This Government are committed to keeping people safe online. For the first time, platforms now have a legal duty to ensure that they are protecting users from illegal content and, in particular, safeguarding children from harmful content, but we have gone further still. Within weeks this team have made self-harm and cyber-flashing, and now strangulation,… extreme violence and pornography, priority offences. We will go further still by backing Ofcom to make sure that enforcement is robust too.
Hansard · 12 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
BB
Bob Blackman
What steps she is taking to keep people safe online.
BB
Bob Blackman
I thank the Minister for his answer, but the reality is that chatbots are prompting young people to commit suicide and to self-harm. What action can the Minister take to make sure that these chatbots are taken down and do not give this sort of advice?
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.
CO
Chi Onwurah
The Minister says that the Government are looking deeply into this issue, but as part of my Committee’s inquiry into misinformation and algorithms, we heard conflicting evidence from Ministers and Ofcom as to whether generative artificial intelligence is covered by the Online Safety Act. The Government have refused to …
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank the hon. Member for raising these cases, which are very much in our minds. Each one is a deep tragedy. We have looked very carefully at this issue. Some chatbots, including live search and user-to-user engagement, are in scope of the Online Safety Act 2023, and we want to ensure that enforcement against them, w…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank my hon. Friend, both for the point she makes and for her ongoing insight and expertise on these questions. Let me be very clear about the current scope: chatbots that involve live search and user-to-user engagement are in scope of the Online Safety Act, as I mentioned. We are continuing to review its scope, and…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Let me be very clear: of course we will. We have already both engaged with Ofcom and commissioned further work on this question, and we will report on that at the earliest opportunity.
Drug Dealing on Social Media12 Nov 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Let me assure the hon. Member that we are taking tough action against drug dealing, both offline and online. There is now a strong new duty under the Online Safety Act to prevent illegal activity, including drug dealing. Ofcom has a duty to enforce that. We will continue to make sure it has the full… backing to do so.
Hansard · 12 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
WH
Wera Hobhouse
What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act 2023 in tackling drug dealing on social media.
WH
Wera Hobhouse
Drug dealing is absolutely rampant on social media. The Minister might be aware of the campaign I lead, together with the University of Bath, against spice-spiked vapes in school and the terrible harm they are causing. We are increasingly frustrated that Ofcom does not use its power under the Online Safety Act to hold …
CV
Christopher Vince
Sadly, the glamorisation on TV of drug taking is not a new phenomenon, but I particularly worry about the nature of the internet and social media, and about the short clips that people watch in which the true consequences of drug taking and drug culture are not really shown properly. What can the Minister do to use the…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
The hon. Member’s campaign has been noticed and I would be very happy to meet her to discuss how we can work together to ensure that enforcement is robust on this question.
KN
Kanishka Narayan
My hon. Friend is a master of short clips in the Chamber, so I will take both his skill and his sincerity on this question to heart and work with him to ensure we robustly enforce the duties already placed on Ofcom under the Online Safety Act.
UK Research and Innovation: Funding Distribution12 Nov 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
A British technological revolution is going to ensure that working people see good jobs and local prosperity wherever they live and wherever they call home, right across the country. A record £86 billion in research and development investment will spread that opportunity to every region, from Birmingham to Belfast. With UKRI’s £500 million local innovation… partnerships fund, we will ensure that local leaders turn ideas into the industries of the future.
Hansard · 12 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
ME
Maya Ellis
What steps her Department is taking to ensure the equitable regional distribution of funding by UK Research and Innovation.
ME
Maya Ellis
The £54 million UKRI global talent fund, which was designed to attract and retain international research talent, has excluded all northern universities from its funding. UKRI waived eligibility criteria to ensure that the devolved nations received some of the funding. Meanwhile, Lancaster University, a huge driver in t…
MP
Mark Pritchard
The Minister will know that Harper Adams University is a world-leading research institution. He will also be aware of the university’s agritech research centre. May I invite him, on behalf of the vice-chancellor, to visit the university to look at the excellent work on robotics, AI and sustainable farming, in particula…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Let me assure my hon. Friend that the Government are committed to ensuring that every region benefits from the UK’s world-leading research base. That is exactly why we are backing Lancaster University with £4.9 million for its cyber-focus project to ensure that the region’s cyber-sector grows. With my hon. Friend’s exp…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
That is a very easy yes, combining my interest in agriculture and technology. I will take the right hon. Member up on his offer.
Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund22 Oct 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I beg to move, That this House authorises the Secretary of State to undertake payments, by way of financial assistance under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982, in excess of £30 million to any successful applicant to the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, launched on 30 October 2024 , up to a cumulative… total of £520 million. Thank you for calling me on this none the less memorable occasion, Madam Deputy Speaker; it is the first occasion on which I seek the Chamber’s authority. The life sciences sector is a jewel in the crown of our economy—a national asset that plays a unique role in both the health and the wealth of the United Kingdom. The sector drives jobs, investment and innovation right across the country, from cutting-edge research laboratories in Cheshire to—close to my heart—advanced manufacturing sites in south Wales. Life sciences manufacturing is the critical link between our world-class research and real-world patient benefit. It ensures that scientific breakthroughs translate into tangible improvements in care, while underpinning economic growth and strengthening the resilience of our NHS. Yet despite the UK’s global leadership in many areas of life sciences manufacturing, we must acknowledge that, in recent years, growth in manufacturing sites and jobs has not kept pace with the expansion of the life sciences sector as a whole. That is why this summer the Government published the life sciences sector plan—a comprehensive strategy to ensure growth in all parts of the sector. The plan sets out the UK’s ambition to secure more life sciences foreign direct investment than any other European economy by 2030, behind only the US and China globally by 2035. Central to that ambition is boosting manufacturing through delivery of the life sciences innovative manufacturing fund, one of six headline commitments in the sector plan. Launched last October, the fund demonstrates this Government’s commitment to the continued growth of our life s
Hansard · 22 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
NG
Nusrat Ghani
If everyone is in their places, in particular Mr Anderson, who seems to have sat on every Bench in the Chamber this afternoon—
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Well, quite. In that case, I call the Minister to move the motion. Is this your first time at the Dispatch Box, Minister?
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Well, congratulations and welcome.
JA
Jim Allister
Northern Ireland has a vibrant life sciences manufacturing sector. I am looking to the Minister for an assurance relating to article 10 of the Windsor framework, which subjects Northern Ireland to EU state aid rules. Can the Minister assure us that there is no impediment arising therein that would impede successful app…
JW
James Wild
Since the Minister has been talking about taxpayers’ money, I would be grateful if he could let us know what the minimum leverage is. For every pound of taxpayers’ money put in, what is the minimum that has to be put in by the private sector?
KN
Kanishka Narayan
The talent and ability of people in Northern Ireland are very much at the forefront of our minds, and we want to ensure that everything we are doing to support the life sciences sector is taking a whole-UK approach. I am very happy to write to the hon. and learned Member on his questions about Northern Irish eligibilit…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I will make some progress for now. The life sciences innovative manufacturing fund directly supports two of the Government’s key missions: to kick-start economic growth and to build an NHS fit for the future. The scheme is projected to attract nearly £4 billion in private investment, creating more than 7,000 jobs and s…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I will make some progress. This week we announced the first two grant awards through the scheme, marking a major milestone in the fund’s roll-out. This will unlock substantial private investment, showcasing the UK’s appeal to valuable, globally mobile life sciences manufacturers. As delivery of the scheme progresses, w…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
My understanding is that these are grant capital investments that the Government will be making, and I am sure we will be looking at the leverage at a whole-fund level. If there are particular requirements at an individual investment level, I am happy to write to the hon. Member on that particular point.
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I feel that, out of parity, I must give way to the hon. Member too.
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank the hon. Member for his important point. I am happy to take a full look at the R&D tax credit system and how it will support our ambitions to back our private sector partners in both R&D and subsequent commercialisation. The Government are clear that the life sciences innovative manufacturing fund is a strategi…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I want to be in your good books, Madam Deputy Speaker, so I will proceed at pace in answering some of the questions raised. I first thank the Members on the shadow Front Benches and in particular the hon. Member for Hornchurch and Upminster (Julia Lopez) . I was sad that her generous welcome to me was not extended to t…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I must proceed because, as I said, I need to be in Madam Deputy Speaker’s good books. A particular concern has been raised about VPAG, another part of a longer-standing legacy from a Tory Chancellor’s austerity rampage for the life sciences sector in this country. The Government’s position is very clear: we will always…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I will make some progress for now. My hon. Friend raised a particular point around synthetic biology, which is very close to my heart because I think that Britain has a particular opportunity in the convergence of engineering, AI and life sciences, and we are keen on seizing that to its fullest extent. On the three par…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I am afraid I will not; I believe I have been relatively generous in welcoming contributions from across the House. On the point of regional impact, in addition to the midlands, may I join the shadow Front Benchers in welcoming—they do so with laughter and amusement—the collective efforts of our entire Northern Irish c…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
If the Member listens, he may feel that his point is addressed in my claims. In at least one of those cases, a pause, rather than a cancellation, was announced and in the other, there have been a series of announcements globally regarding thousands of jobs, not only in the UK but beyond. As I said, I hope that the two …
Technology Companies: Accountability10 Sep 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Through the Online Safety Act 2023, platforms now have a legal duty to protect users from illegal content and safeguard children from harmful content. Ofcom has strong powers to hold firms to account, including fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue. Ofcom has made it clear that it will… act where platforms fall short, and has already launched 12 investigations into suspected non-compliance. I assure my hon. Friends that we will continue to review this area carefully and will not hesitate to go further.
Hansard · 10 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
MY
Mohammad Yasin
What steps her Department is taking to hold technology companies accountable for the content on their platforms.
PH
Patrick Hurley
What steps her Department is taking to hold technology companies accountable for the content on their platforms.
MY
Mohammad Yasin
I welcome the Minister to his position. On World Suicide Prevention Day, I welcome the Government’s action requiring online platforms to proactively protect users from illegal and harmful content, but charities like the Molly Rose Foundation remain concerned about whether major platforms are fully complying with UK reg…
PH
Patrick Hurley
I welcome the Minister to his place. Yesterday, I sponsored a drop-in event here in Parliament with Parent Zone to highlight the “hit pause” campaign, which aims to teach people to recognise conspiracy theories and misinformation online. Does the Minister agree that although we can make online platforms more accountabl…
AM
Alan Mak
I welcome the Minister to his place. When it comes to holding tech companies accountable for using copyrighted material on their platforms without consent, the Government’s Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 let down our creative industries. The Department’s new working groups on AI and copyright include just one British t…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank my hon. Friend for an important and timely question. It is important because I have been in the room with Ian Russell, the father of Molly Russell, and I have seen the tireless resilience with which he and the Molly Rose Foundation have campaigned to protect children online. It is a timely question because, in …
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I am grateful for this chance to put on the record that even when others have put their interests first, my hon. Friend has always put Southport above everything. In doing so, he has inspired many of us from across the House. Media literacy includes critically evaluating information. It is a key skill in helping people…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Our technology sector, our entrepreneurs and our creators are close to my heart, as I spent most of my professional life—prior to coming to this place—in those contexts. We have consulted, we have listened and we continue to listen as a new team. Across the board, we will look closely at the evidence and make sure that…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
The right hon. Gentleman raises an incredibly important point. I am sorry and disappointed to hear of the instances he mentions. This is an incredibly important issue. We will look closely at the evidence base and if, under the codes of practice for illegal harm already published and implemented by Ofcom, there are fou…
Welfare Spending15 Jul 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
The shadow Minister talks about trade-offs in public finances, growth and child poverty. In the period since 2015-16, there was zero progress on absolute poverty and zero progress on relative poverty—public finances ruined and growth flat. Does he not think that the central trade-off was between a Tory Government and a thriving country?
Hansard · 15 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I inform the House that Mr Speaker has not selected any amendments. I call the shadow Secretary of State to move the motion.
HW
Helen Whately
I beg to move, That this House believes the two-child benefit cap should remain in place and that households with a third or subsequent child born from 6 April 2017 claiming Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit should not receive additional funding, because those who receive benefits should make the same decisions abou…
DD
Dave Doogan
The shadow Minister talks about kindness. Does she agree, therefore, with the Children’s Commissioner for England, who has said that children in England are now living in “Dickensian levels” of poverty? A principal element of that is the two-child cap. What element of kindness does the shadow Minister see present in th…
HW
Helen Whately
I do not agree with the hon. Member. I am going to talk about poverty in a moment, so if he will just hold on, he will hear my view on that point. This is a ticking time bomb. If we do not solve this problem, our economy will collapse, yet opposite me sit members of this Labour Government who have just shown us, with t…
HB
Harriett Baldwin
My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. Does she agree that, as a result of that Bill, one of the things that is most shocking is that in due course it will actually pay someone more to be on welfare than to work full time on the minimum wage?
Government Performance against Fiscal Rules7 Jul 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
The Leader of the Opposition has appointed every member of Liz Truss’s Treasury team to her Front Bench, apart from those booted out by the public. Does my right hon. Friend agree that a party that has no fiscal strategy but to believe “In Liz We Truss” cannot be trusted on any of it?
Hansard · 7 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
MS
Mel Stride
(Urgent Question): To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if she will make a statement on the Government’s performance against the fiscal rules.
DJ
Darren Jones
As the shadow Chancellor knows, it is a long-standing convention of this and previous Governments not to provide a running commentary on a fiscal forecast, and it is for the independent Office for Budget Responsibility to assess performance against the Government’s fiscal rules in its official economic and fiscal forec…
MS
Mel Stride
The Chancellor said that she would not make any commitments that were not “fully funded and fully costed”, but the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has just said that he now expects us to wait until the autumn to hear how the Government intend to cover the £6 billion of unfunded commitments that their U-turns have run u…
CN
Caroline Nokes
Order. The shadow Chancellor will know the time limit. I am sure that this will be his last sentence.
MS
Mel Stride
It certainly is now, Madam Deputy Speaker. If Ministers are to begin putting their house back in order, that must start right now with full transparency and proper answers.
Transport: Economic Growth26 Jun 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
What steps she is taking to help ensure that the transport system supports economic growth.
Hansard · 26 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
CC
Chris Curtis
What steps she is taking to help ensure that the transport system supports economic growth.
HA
Heidi Alexander
Economic growth is this Government’s top priority, and the Chancellor put growth right at the heart of her spending review, announcing more than £92 billion of capital investment in transport infrastructure to give people access to jobs and opportunities. This includes long-term funding for our largest city regions, bi…
CC
Chris Curtis
Every French city with a population of more than 150,000 has a mass rapid transport system, yet over 30 UK cities or towns of that size still lack it. Research from Centre for Cities shows that poor connectivity holds back growth and productivity by limiting mobility. A key reason why we have so few is cost, because bu…
HA
Heidi Alexander
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that matter with me in person a few days ago and for sending me further information on the report and the research. Trams do have the potential to support growth at much lower cost than heavy rail, but he is right that the cost per kilometre of new tramline is much more expen…
HA
Heidi Alexander
As we have seen in so many areas, the previous Government may have made promises about this station, but they allocated no feasibility or development funding to get the project moving. Through the spending review and infrastructure strategy, this Government will provide at least £445 million of rail enhancements over t…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
We have a proud community in St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan that is both growing and thriving thanks to the economic opportunity provided by the Bro Tathan enterprise zone. Will the Secretary of State work with Welsh colleagues to progress funding for a new railway station in St Athan to support that growth and prov…
Engagements25 Jun 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Just this week, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) put a singular burning injustice first: the plight of overseas billionaires who pay too much tax. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree with the hon. Member’s priority, or does she agree with me that Reform UK doing sweetheart deals with the super-rich is a betrayal… of British working people?
Hansard · 25 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
MT
Mike Tapp
If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 25 June.
AR
Angela Rayner
I have been asked to reply as my right hon. and learned Friend the Prime Minister is attending the NATO summit in The Hague. At this time of international volatility, we are working with our allies to de-escalate tensions in the middle east and ensure that the conflict does not further intensify. Our aim continues to b…
MT
Mike Tapp
The Conservatives gave up on law and order. They betrayed our country and let criminals run riot. Now, they desperately post wannabe superhero videos, shamelessly pointing at the problems they created. Last week, they had the chance to put it right, and what did they do? They voted against tough action on knife crime, …
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. This is about Government responsibilities, not the Opposition. I call Sir Mel Stride.
MS
Mel Stride
Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is a pleasure to stand opposite the right hon. Lady. Despite what many may think, we have a great deal in common, not least that we both viscerally disagree with the Chancellor’s tax policies. It is also great to see the right hon. Lady standing in temporarily for the Prime Minister for the se…
Industrial Strategy: Chemicals Sector1 May 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
What steps he is taking to include the chemicals sector within the industrial strategy.
Hansard · 1 May 2025 · parliament.uk
SJ
Sarah Jones
The industrial strategy has identified eight key growth-driving sectors that will be the arrowhead of our economic success, but of course they cannot succeed without the critical supply chains and foundational industries that underpin them. We are looking at all those foundational industries, including the chemicals in…
SJ
Sarah Jones
I do not want to underestimate the challenges that the chemical sector faces. Between 2021 and 2024, UK chemicals manufacturing fell in real terms by about a third. We are working to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU. We want to build exports and investment opportunities and reduce barriers…
JS
Jim Shannon
What assessment has the Minister made of the benefits that inclusion of the chemicals sector among the eight sectors could bring for our national security and our pharmaceutical sector? How can all regions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland benefit from this sector?
SJ
Sarah Jones
When we look at the eight sectors that we are trying to turbocharge through the industrial strategy, we see that the chemicals sector underpins so many other sectors. We need to make sure that we protect it. As I have just said, chemicals manufacturing has fallen by nearly a third over the past three years; we need to …
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I very much welcome the Minister’s recognition of the chemicals sector’s contribution as a foundational sector and an anchor employer in constituencies such as mine; we have the Dow site there. What can we do to support the deeply integrated supply chains across the UK and Europe that the chemicals sector, and Dow in p…
Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill7 Mar 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
My hon. Friend has given detailed and eloquent descriptions of the UK space sector, and Glasgow’s contribution in particular, but what will the provisions of the Bill do for the rest of us—including those in south Wales and across Wales—so that space is also felt in our communities?
Hansard · 7 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
JG
John Grady
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. It may be of interest to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, that Bradford, part of which you represent, contains a centre of space expertise, namely the University of Bradford. I will return to that later. I am privileged to introduce a Bill that will help to push forward…
SA
Scott Arthur
I thank my hon. Friend for introducing this Bill—he is reaching for the stars with it, quite literally. I am proud to have a company in my constituency called Alpha Data, which is just 50 metres from my constituency office, but the products it designs are 250 miles above us. It has a sensor outside the International Sp…
JG
John Grady
I could not agree with my hon. Friend more. Edinburgh has a thriving space sector, as does Scotland. My hon. Friend has for many years been heavily involved in work to grow the economy in Edinburgh and the Borders, and I pay tribute to him for that. I must, however, take this opportunity to pick a minor bone with my ho…
JG
John Grady
The Bill applies across the United Kingdom, and obviously there is a space industry in south Wales, too. It will encourage investment in south Wales by protecting investors against unlimited liability. I see this as critical for the space industry in south Wales as well as in Scotland. Naturally, I focus on Scotland be…
AB
Alex Ballinger
Does my hon. Friend recognise that the Ministry of Defence is a massive investor in the space sector, having invested £6.5 billion over the last decade? Does he welcome that investment as we are strengthening European security?
Family Businesses26 Feb 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I notice that the motion is on family businesses, but 96% of them have either no employees or a very small number. They are unaffected, if not helped, by the doubling of the employment allowance. Only 4% of family businesses have claimed BPR; most are unaffected. Moreover, the shadow Chancellor cannot name a single proposal… under the Employment Rights Bill. Will he apologise to family businesses for the total irrelevance of his complaints to the theme that we are discussing?
Hansard · 26 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
NG
Nusrat Ghani
The Speaker has not selected the amendment. I call the shadow Chancellor.
MS
Mel Stride
I beg to move, That this House regrets the Government’s decision to introduce a cap on Business Property Relief, meaning that some family businesses passed down upon death will face Inheritance Tax for the first time in 50 years; further regrets the Government’s other economic policies that will damage family businesse…
WM
Wendy Morton
On that specific point, a local businessman wrote to me: “I have spent over 50 years building my engineering business from the ground up, only to now face the possibility that my life’s work could be dismantled due to an unfair tax burden.” Why on earth would anybody want to start a business in the current climate, whi…
MS
Mel Stride
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right, and we see that in the surveys to which I referred; business confidence is at virtually an all-time low. Before this whirlwind of disaster visited us, we had a calmer time during the general election. It was a Labour party on best behaviour with business, a Labour party with a …
AL
Andrew Lewin
I am pleased that the right hon. Gentleman has expressed concern for people on lower wages, and I hope he will therefore welcome the decision announced at the Dispatch Box by this Labour Government to increase the living wage by 6.7% from April.
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I will start by doing what the Opposition failed to do, which is to recognise the particular contribution of family businesses. I think family businesses in the Vale of Glamorgan will be disappointed that the shadow Chancellor trotted out a generic business conversation, rather than honing in on what is special about f…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank the hon. Member for her question; let me say something that I was going to come to later. In all my experience of business, the one thing I have learned is that businesses are nothing but collections of people. They are mums and dads who drive their kids to school. They are people who drive through the potholes…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
The hon. Member talks of cutting one’s cloth. Perhaps he can tell the 14 million people employed by family businesses how he would cut the public services they rely on to fund the unfunded tax cuts he is talking about making.
Growing the UK Economy29 Jan 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Harold Wilson said: “The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” Today, we can add to that the Tory party. Will the Chief Secretary ditch that Tory past, seize the spirit of Wilson and bring the white heat of technology back to Britain’s shores, including an AI growth zone in the Vale of… Glamorgan?
Hansard · 29 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
DJ
Darren Jones
With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to update the House on the Government’s work to unlock investment and secure economic growth. That is the No. 1 mission of this Government. Without growth, we cannot deliver on the priorities of the British people, cut NHS waiting lists, rebuild our schools or put more pol…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.
MS
Mel Stride
The Chief Secretary told us that growth is the No. 1 mission of this Government and added, “Now we must go faster”, which I have to tell him suggests a certain lack of ambition. What we do not need is some hasty mañana moment of unquantified, vague promises of a better tomorrow; we need action now to reverse the grievo…
DJ
Darren Jones
The House is indebted to the shadow Chancellor—Mr Melmentum himself—for his lecture on the need for speed from this Government. Let me tell him that we have done more in the last six or seven months than that lot did in the last 14 years. The shadow Chancellor asked me about our plans to work with business. The comment…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Chair of the Treasury Committee.
UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue14 Jan 2025
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Unlike the bickering in the Conservative party, we are cutting deals in the national interest and putting Britain at the frontier—£600 million just over the weekend, and an AI opportunities plan just this week. Does the Chancellor agree that we are the party of action and the Conservatives are the party of rhetoric?
Hansard · 14 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
RR
Rachel Reeves
Growth is the No. 1 mission of this Labour Government. To grow the economy, we need to help Great British businesses to export around the world, including to China, the second biggest economy in the world and our fourth-largest trading partner. Not engaging is simply not an option. That is why I led a delegation, inclu…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.
MS
Mel Stride
It is good to see the Chancellor in her place, and I thank her for advance sight of her statement. I know that she has been away, so let me update her on the mess that she left behind. The pound has hit a 14-month low; Government borrowing costs are at a 27-year high; growth has been killed stone dead; inflation is ris…
RR
Rachel Reeves
The shadow Chancellor is simply not serious. I was on the Opposition side of the House for 14 years, and I think that after a statement one usually asks some questions. We heard a great deal from the right hon. Gentleman about what he would not do, but we heard absolutely nothing about what he would do. Now we can see …
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Chair of the Treasury Committee.
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence18 Dec 2024
KN
Kanishka Narayan
May I convey to the Minister my disappointment that his ChatGPT prompt yielded the Sugababes and “Football Manager” but not the enduring institution of “Gavin and Stacey” from the Vale of Glamorgan? I know that that is an omission that ChatGPT will correct. This is a critical debate, because the path to prosperity for nations… has to be a path through technology. In that context, the primary question on my mind is whether the Minister can set out plans for how data accuracy and completeness in the creative sector can underpin the Government’s wider AI action plan, and ultimately drive national growth.
Hansard · 18 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
CB
Chris Bryant
And now for something completely different! With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement regarding our launch of a public consultation on copyright and artificial intelligence. The United Kingdom has a proud tradition of creativity and technical innovation. From our film and television sectors to vide…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the shadow Minister, Dr Ben Spencer.
BS
Ben Spencer
I thank the Minister for advance sight of the statement. Britain is a world leader in the creative industries, from music to art to literature to our free and independent media. I say as a shadow Science, Innovation and Technology Minister that, while we need science to live, the arts make life worth living. The UK als…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call our very own James Bond, Minister Chris Bryant.
CB
Chris Bryant
Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. Fortunately, I asked ChatGPT what the shadow Minister would ask me and it was pretty much right—although some of the questions from ChatGPT were rather more to the point. I will deal with the serious points he made. First, the shadow Minister raised the point about mimicking a…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
He lives in the Vale of Glamorgan.
“Get Britain Working” White Paper16 Dec 2024
KN
Kanishka Narayan
What recent estimate she has made of the number of people who will be supported into work through the proposals outlined in the “Get Britain Working” White Paper.
Hansard · 16 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
LK
Liz Kendall
Our ambition is an 80% employment rate over a decade of national renewal. We will get Britain working by creating a new jobs and careers service in our overhaul of jobcentres. We will bring forward a new youth guarantee, so that every young person is earning or learning, and will give local areas the power to join up w…
LK
Liz Kendall
In the Vale of Glamorgan, the economic inactivity rate is almost one in four people. That is higher than the rate for Wales as a whole, and certainly higher than the UK average. From spring next year, we will launch eight trailblazers to support more people with long-term health conditions into work, including in Wales…
JB
Jessica Brown-Fuller
Fedcap, a national organisation, is running a scheme to get economically inactive people to become the next generation of solar panel engineers. More such schemes will be necessary to plug the skills gap that developers report, especially if the Government are to meet their ambitious housing target. Will the Secretary …
LK
Liz Kendall
I congratulate organisations such as the one that the hon. Lady mentions for their brilliant work, not only to keep energy costs down but to support people into work. I will work closely with the Minister for energy consumers, and others in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, to support those organisations…
PB
Polly Billington
In communities like mine in East Thanet, there is above-average youth unemployment. It is important to be reassured that the “Get Britain Working” White Paper will be designed to help young people, particularly in coastal communities like mine, where we need a year-round economy, and support and activity to get young p…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank my right hon. Friend for her response, not least given the dire inheritance from the previous Government: the worst performance of an employment rate in the G7 since the pandemic. I see that inheritance in my community, in Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, where individuals carry not the indulgence, and not the o…
Employer National Insurance Contributions4 Dec 2024
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I thank the shadow Chancellor for giving way; my interest was piqued by his talk of deficit financed tax cuts. Does he agree with his boss, the Leader of the Opposition, that the Liz Truss mini-Budget, which is the prime example of the thing he criticises, was the right package, but just with the wrong… communication?
Hansard · 4 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
MS
Mel Stride
I beg to move, That this House regrets that increasing the rate of employers’ National Insurance contributions (NICs) to 15%, and reducing the per-employee threshold at which employers become liable to pay NICs on employees’ earnings to £5,000, will lead to increased costs for businesses and lower wages for employees, …
TP
Toby Perkins
The right hon. Gentleman talks about the OBR figures, but he fails to mention that his party misled the OBR to the extent that it had to put the failure in writing. Given that he is talking about Lewis Carroll, is it not true to say that the figures that the OBR was working with were more likely to have been received f…
MS
Mel Stride
That is an amusing intervention, but it is thoroughly inaccurate, I am afraid. The OBR did indeed look into the suggestion that there was a black hole of £22 billion, and what did it conclude? It concluded that the fiscal pressure in that year was less than half that amount. The OBR readily accepted that had it had dis…
PW
Paul Waugh
The right hon. Member refers to broken manifesto pledges. The Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto said they would not raise national insurance, yet three years later he and all his colleagues voted to raise national insurance—not just on employees, but on employers. Can he help us with that process of logic?
MS
Mel Stride
I think the hon. Gentleman might just be overlooking a little something called covid, which shrank the UK economy by over 10% overnight. What this Government have done is take us right back to the 1970s when it comes to the jaw-dropping level of tax increases and spending splurges. The impact on jobs is stark, and it i…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
The Vale of Glamorgan, and Wales more broadly, is full of small and micro businesses. The Office for National Statistics and the OBR have both told us that most small businesses and micro businesses will be better off or the same as before. The Vale’s businesses get not only better public services but a good tax set-up…
Finance Bill27 Nov 2024
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Has the hon. Member reflected on the fact that the Liberal Democrats, instead of being just the party of no, were the party who enabled the coalition Government, which she is criticising?
Hansard · 27 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
JM
James Murray
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. Four weeks ago today, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor delivered the first Budget of this new Government. It was a historic, once-in-a-generation Budget—a Budget to deliver economic stability, to fix the public finances and to secure a step change in investment…
GS
Graham Stuart
Does the Minister agree with Gary Smith? This was supposed to be a Budget for growth and jobs. The increased energy profits levy is driving investment out of the North sea and will not make the slightest difference to how much oil and gas we consume, yet it is estimated that it will lose £13 billion of much-needed reve…
JM
James Murray
I will come to the energy profits levy in a moment, but we have engaged with the oil and gas industry to ensure that we raise the money we need for the clean energy transition while supporting investment and jobs in that industry. We recognise that oil and gas will play a part in the energy mix for years to come, but w…
AM
Andrew Murrison
The then Leader of the Opposition, and now Prime Minister, rightly said that his Administration would go for growth. He made it his No. 1 priority, and he inherited the fastest-growing economy in the G7. [Interruption.] The Minister shakes his head, but this is a fact. Can he say what has happened to growth since 4 Jul…
JM
James Murray
Every business knows that we can make investment decisions only on the basis of secure public finances and economic stability, which is why this Government’s first priority has been to wipe the slate clean of the mess we inherited from the Conservative party, to deliver economic stability and to provide the environment…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
It is a pleasure to speak while you are in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker. It was also a pleasure to hear the brilliant maiden speech from my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett) . We are colleagues and partners in crime in the cause of technology. I know that she has a glittering career in f…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
May I recognise, with warm comfort, the traditional place of the Scottish nationalists as total enablers of Conservative Governments? The hon. Gentleman talks about fiscal credibility. May I point out the absolute wreckage of the Scottish Government, who have wasted almost half a billion pounds of offshore wind proceed…
KN
Kanishka Narayan
On that point, will the hon. Gentleman give way?
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Will the hon. Member give way?
KN
Kanishka Narayan
The hon. Member keeps talking about his Government having been in the process of making a mark on productivity. Having left us with the worst productivity slowdown in 250 years, will he tell us how long the process would have taken?
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Does my hon. Friend agree that the proceeds from the Finance Bill will allow us not just to invest in the future but to recognise our heritage, compensate mineworkers, and in particular support coal tips in Wales?
Income Tax (Charge)30 Oct 2024
KN
Kanishka Narayan
It is a privilege to speak in this historic Budget and on this historic day, and I start by congratulating my right hon. Friend the Chancellor and the Treasury team. For 14 years, the people of the Vale of Glamorgan and this country have carried the weight of hope, pent up inside. Today the Chancellor… has weighed up their hopes, looked them in the eyes and lifted them. For that I congratulate her and the entire Treasury team. Government is supposed to be the means by which ordinary people exercise their collective agency to shape our communities. For 14 years, the Conservatives denied ordinary people their voice. They denied us collective agency and a sense of hope in our community. Per-worker productivity growth in the past decade was the weakest on average since 1850. That is the worst foundation for shared prosperity. Public services are on their knees. That is the worst foundation for shared dignity. Our Army has shrunk and our prisons are bursting. That is the worst foundation for shared security. And through it all, we have had the double whammy of high borrowing rates and low nominal growth, through which they punched into our weak foundations a further £22 billion fiscal black hole. As a side note, it is astonishing to me that the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood) talks about fiscal responsibility and semantics. I do not think he was rising and talking about that during the sharpest spike in overnight gilt yields this country had seen in the 21st century. This is a national embarrassment for the Conservatives. They should be standing here and apologising. They should be pointing the finger down, as they ought to have been doing at the time, and apologising for what they were doing, but I see no contrition on that side of the House. There are those who ask why we talk about the £22 billion black hole the Conservatives left, and why we dwell on the past. I do so because, if we are to grip the urgency of where we must go, we have
Hansard · 30 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the Leader of the Opposition.
RS
Rishi Sunak
On the day that the Prime Minister took office, he said that he wanted to restore trust to British politics with action, not words. Today, his actions speak for themselves, with a Budget that contains broken promise after broken promise and reveals the simple truth that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have not be…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Order. Just as we respected the Chancellor and heard her speak, we will hear the Leader of the Opposition.
RS
Rishi Sunak
Britain’s poorest pensioners squeezed, welfare spending out of control and a spree of tax rises that the Government promised the working people of this country they would not do. National insurance—up. Capital gains tax—up. Inheritance tax—up. Energy taxes —up. Business rates—up. First time buyer’s stamp duty—up. Pensi…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Order. The public will also want to hear what the Leader of the Opposition has to say. Those who I see shouting will not be called to speak later on. Simmer.
KN
Kanishka Narayan
I will say to them what I said during the campaign, which is that I see the pain inflicted on them over the past 14 years. The fact is that the animal welfare and environmental standards of our proud Welsh and British farms were sold down the river in trade deals negotiated by Conservative Ministers while the right hon…
Parliamentary Debate17 Oct 2024
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Diolch yn fawr iawn—I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the privilege of making my maiden speech in this House. I follow a long list of maiden speeches and so I perhaps offer no novelty, but I will take the opportunity of offering familiarity. I come to this debate on the international investment summit having… spent the last decade on the frontline of investment, backing the inventors of artificial intelligence data and wider software businesses across this country and the United States. I therefore know the cause with depth and personal experience, and in particular I know that no working-age person in this country has seen a start-up go to the FTSE top 10. In the United States, eight out of 10 have experienced that. In the last decade of innovation, Britons in this country and in the Vale of Glamorgan have been denied the opportunity of shaping their destiny. Decline no more, because I know from speaking to investors, including those at the summit, that they believe what I know with this Labour Government: change is on the way and has begun. My role has been to put the Vale of Glamorgan front and centre in that wave of change, but I start by also recognising the dual impact that change in this House always has. For every maiden contribution, there is a contribution that has been, and in my case I wish to recognise that of my predecessor, the right hon. Alun Cairns, Conservative MP for the Vale of Glamorgan for 14 years. In those 14 years Alun served our constituency with sincerity. In fact, he was so sincere that I remember knocking on doors in Cadoxton in Barry with the best constituency Labour party in the country, only to have my hopes dashed by a lovely elderly lady who said, “I am going to be voting for Alun, the best Labour MP this town has ever had.” We all carry an inflated sense of our personal vote in this House, beyond our political allegiances, but in that moment I have to say that I felt and saw one. I congratulate Alun on his service and wish him
Hansard · 17 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
SR
Sarah Russell
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing me to make my maiden speech. When I drive around my Congleton constituency, I thank my lucky stars that I have the privilege of both living in and representing somewhere so very beautiful. It is made up of gorgeous rolling countryside, farmland, hedgerows and oak trees. The…
SW
Sean Woodcock
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham and Bletchley (Callum Anderson) on his powerful maiden speech. I am not sure that when he and I attended a Birmingham University Labour Students meeting back in 2009, either of us anticipated that we would be making our …
JC
Judith Cummins
I call Yuan Yang to make her maiden speech.
YY
Yuan Yang
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West (Jessica Toale) on her wonderful maiden speech. I know that her international background and deep expertise in international development will add much richness to our new parliamentary Labour party, and I also believe that an international background is esse…
International Investment Summit17 Oct 2024
KN
Kanishka Narayan
Diolch yn fawr — thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the privilege of making my maiden speech in this House. I follow a long list of maiden speeches and so I perhaps offer no novelty, but I will take the opportunity of offering familiarity. I come to this debate on the international investment summit having… spent the last decade on the frontline of investment, backing the inventors of artificial intelligence data and wider software businesses across this country and the United States. I therefore know the cause with depth and personal experience, and in particular I know that no working-age person in this country has seen a start-up go to the FTSE top 10. In the United States, eight out of 10 have experienced that. In the last decade of innovation, Britons in this country and in the Vale of Glamorgan have been denied the opportunity of shaping their destiny. Decline no more, because I know from speaking to investors, including those at the summit, that they believe what I know with this Labour Government: change is on the way and has begun. My role has been to put the Vale of Glamorgan front and centre in that wave of change, but I start by also recognising the dual impact that change in this House always has. For every maiden contribution, there is a contribution that has been, and in my case I wish to recognise that of my predecessor, the right hon. Alun Cairns, Conservative MP for the Vale of Glamorgan for 14 years. In those 14 years Alun served our constituency with sincerity. In fact, he was so sincere that I remember knocking on doors in Cadoxton in Barry with the best constituency Labour party in the country, only to have my hopes dashed by a lovely elderly lady who said, “I am going to be voting for Alun, the best Labour MP this town has ever had.” We all carry an inflated sense of our personal vote in this House, beyond our political allegiances, but in that moment I have to say that I felt and saw one. I congratulate Alun on his service and wish him the b
Hansard · 17 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
ER
Emma Reynolds
I beg to move, That this House has considered the International Investment Summit. I am delighted to open this debate on the Government’s inaugural international investment summit, which we hosted at the Guildhall in London on Monday. Leaders of the world’s biggest companies, from Alphabet and BlackRock to Goldman Sach…
LE
Luke Evans
I welcome the Government’s success. Could the Minister tell us the proportion of that investment that came into play before the election?
ER
Emma Reynolds
The agreements were reached in the lead-up to the summit and at the summit itself. I am glad that the hon. Gentleman joins us in congratulating the new Government on securing £63 billion of shovel-ready investment. I lost count of the number of Prime Ministers, Chancellors and Home Secretaries we had under his Governme…
ER
Emma Reynolds
I will not have a cross-Chamber discussion with the hon. Gentleman. I am sure he will make a contribution to the debate. This Government are determined to increase the number of good, well-skilled jobs, to embrace the opportunities of technology and innovation, and to improve productivity across the country. At the int…
ER
Emma Reynolds
The shadow Secretary of State is demonstrating that from a sedentary position—it is the first time I have said that in a debate for some time. When we took over from the last Government, we recognised that there were issues we needed to address to improve the UK’s competitiveness. That is why we have already announced …
