In 2014, a man in my constituency was ambushed, violently beaten with a pickaxe handle and left lying in the street with serious injuries. At the time of the conviction, the judge called it a “brutal attack”. Many constituents have contacted me to express their concern that the perpetrator of this attack is still a… sitting Labour councillor in Keighley and was recently pictured celebrating an election with convicted crack cocaine and heroin dealers. Prime Minister, on behalf of all victims of serious crime, will you, as the leader of the Labour party, ensure that Councillor Mohsin Hussain is not permitted to stand in the local elections this May?
Hansard · 25 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
EA
Edward Argar
If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 25 February.
KS
Keir Starmer
Four years into Putin’s barbaric assault, the courage of Ukrainians burns bright. We are extending sanctuary to Ukrainians in their time of need and providing the weapons and aid to support them in their fight for a just peace. We are degrading Russia’s economy and planning for a ceasefire that protects Ukraine’s sover…
EA
Edward Argar
May I associate myself with the remarks of the Prime Minister in respect of Team GB and Ukraine? A great former Prime Minister once said, “You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning.” Like the leader of my party today, she was a leader of principle and backbone, but we know this current Government are no stran…
KS
Keir Starmer
It is good to see the right hon. Member in good form, particularly—if I may say so—after his health scare, which he and I have discussed a number of times. The right hon. Gentleman discusses a former leader of his party. He was the former Health Minister who presided over record waiting lists; he was the former Prisons…
RH
Rachel Hopkins
I very much welcome the fact that our Labour Government have recognised the state of Palestine. I also welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement last week as chair of the UN Security Council, setting out the UK’s commitment to increasing humanitarian access to Gaza and advancing a two-state solution. Does the Prime Min…
Farming Sector Productivity5 Feb 2026
RM
Robbie Moore
Farming cashflows are under pressure, and farming businesses need clarity, certainty and clear policy direction from this Government now more than ever. However, with partial U-turns, continuous consultations, new taskforces, road maps, frameworks, reviews and now—finally—an announcement that the renewed sustainable farming incentive will be launched, but not until summer, farming businesses are really struggling… to financially plan ahead. In all this confused policy direction, has the Minister decided the budget allocation for the new SFI scheme? How much will be available per farm? What will the assessment criteria be? Given that she wants to open up the scheme first to smallholdings, has she yet defined the definition of a small farm?
Hansard · 5 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
JS
Julian Smith
If she will take steps to help increase productivity in the farming sector.
AE
Angela Eagle
We are backing British farmers to build a profitable and sustainable future. We will put £11.8 billion into food and farming in this Parliament, including £200 million for cutting-edge innovations through the farming innovation programme. Last weekend, we announced £21.5 million backing 15 projects to turn new crops an…
JS
Julian Smith
The Batters report included a number of good recommendations about productivity. North Yorkshire farmers want to produce food; they are obviously worried about the environment, but the priority is food. After covid, we talked about more UK food resilience, so may I urge the Minister to press forward quickly with the re…
AE
Angela Eagle
I welcome the right hon. Gentleman’s support for the Batters review, which is an important part of ensuring that the sector remains profitable. I am always listening to farmers. I have had many welcome propositions to visit farms, and I will see what I can do to fit him into the grand tour.
ME
Maya Ellis
Last week, I visited Gisburn auction mart in my constituency, with my constituents John Alpe and Graham Young, where I heard the challenges that farms are currently facing with the rapidly dropping milk prices. Indeed, two farmers were there to sell up their farms entirely, while others are pushed into further intensif…
Topical Questions20 Jan 2026
RM
Robbie Moore
A 14-year-old child, the son of my constituent Mr Greaves, has been detained by the French state for 440 days. He is a British citizen with no dual nationality. He has received no schooling and, most concerning of all, has not received even a single welfare visit by the British consulate, despite having been chased… many times. Will the Foreign Secretary intervene personally in this case and meet with me to be able to secure a welfare visit?
Hansard · 20 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
DC
Dan Carden
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
YC
Yvette Cooper
In a few weeks’ time, we will reach the fourth anniversary of the Ukraine war. Extreme efforts have been made over recent months to pursue a just and lasting peace, but still we have seen no sign that Russia is willing to make peace. In the early hours of today, Russia attacked Ukraine with 34 missiles and 339 drones. …
DC
Dan Carden
I am grateful for that update. The brutal Iranian regime is dying and a new Iran is being born. We can assist that process, in the Iranian people’s interests and ours, by banning the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. If the Foreign Secretary requires a new legislative instrument for a proscription mechanism for state …
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. Come on—the hon. Member has to help me to get others in.
YC
Yvette Cooper
My hon. Friend will know that as Home Secretary I commissioned a review of the legislation which recommended changes, because existing legislation is drawn up around terrorism, and we need to be able to deal with state-backed threats. I assure him that both I and the Home Secretary take the threats from Iran extremely …
Digital ID15 Jan 2026
RM
Robbie Moore
We know that the Prime Minister was warned many times that voters would not believe the claim that introducing mandatory digital ID was about stopping illegal immigration, but he decided to push on regardless. Does the Minister think it was credible to argue that 67 million people—law-abiding citizens who already have passports, national insurance numbers… and driving licences—should be placed into a brand-new compulsory database to stop illegal immigration, or does he accept that this is just another example of the Prime Minister treating the public as fools?
Hansard · 15 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
MW
Mike Wood
(Urgent Question): To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on mandatory digital ID.
JS
Josh Simons
Following my appointment as a joint Minister across the Cabinet Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, I would like to respond to Members’ concerns about the digital ID policy. The programme has two core objectives. The first is to transform the state and make it work better for ordinary work…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Order. I assume that the Minister is about to come to a conclusion as he has overrun his two minutes.
JS
Josh Simons
I am, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am proud that this Labour Government are building this vital public infrastructure to make Government work better for everyone.
MW
Mike Wood
The Minister read his speech beautifully, and with a straight face. In September, the Prime Minister tossed this mandatory digital ID on to the table as a classic dead cat distraction, purely to keep Andy Burnham off the front pages as the Labour party conference started. Now it is left to a junior Minister to come to …
Business of the House15 Jan 2026
RM
Robbie Moore
In Ilkley, Labour-run Bradford council is shockingly set to remove the town’s free one hour of on-street parking, despite over 4,000 residents objecting to the proposals. That follows a local referendum in the town, in which 90% of residents rejected a blanket 20 mile per hour zone and speed humps, only for the results of… that poll to be ignored by the Labour mayor, who used his casting vote to push the vote through and, outrageously, said to residents that they should save their votes for “Strictly”, then went on to bill taxpayers £190,000 for the privilege. Ministers often say that decisions are for local leaders, but what happens when local leaders are outright ignoring the views of the public? Will the Leader of the House allow time for a debate on the role of central Government in areas where local democracy is clearly failing?
Hansard · 15 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
AC
Alan Campbell
The business for the week commencing 19 January will include: Monday 19 January —Remaining stages of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill. Tuesday 20 January —Consideration of Lords amendments to the Sentencing Bill, followed by consideration of Lords amendments to the Holocaust Memorial Bill, followed by considerat…
JN
Jesse Norman
I thank the Leader of the House for the clarity he has given us on the business of the House, and in particular for the rescheduling of the Diego Garcia Bill immediately after it was going to be debated, following the changes made to the Hillsborough law. I know the whole House will want to join me in expressing our co…
AC
Alan Campbell
I certainly join the shadow Leader of the House in sending our thoughts to the people of Iran and the region at this very difficult time. I also send our congratulations to Lord Forsyth, who was announced as the new Lord Speaker earlier this week, and I pay tribute to Lord McFall, the outgoing Lord Speaker, for his ser…
MH
Meg Hillier
I am sure that, like me and others, the Leader of the House will be pleased to learn that NHS waiting lists continue to drop. I am also sure he will agree that Homerton hospital, which has seen productivity on operations increase by more than 11% year on year, is a beacon of what can be done. I hope he will join me in …
Northern Powerhouse Rail14 Jan 2026
RM
Robbie Moore
I have spent years fighting to ensure that Bradford is at the heart of the north’s rail network, so I very much welcome today’s announcement. However, after decades of empty promises for the north from Whitehall, my constituents also need clarity. We have seen 13 U-turns in 18 months from this Government, including on the… West Yorkshire tram network, so how much will be spent specifically on the Bradford station project, and when will that project be completed? With at least four general elections between now and 2045, which is the period of time that this statement relates to, my constituents and I are worried that this is simply another future U-turn.
Hansard · 14 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
HA
Heidi Alexander
With permission, I would like to make a statement on the Government’s plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail. I realise that I am not the first Minister to talk about transforming infrastructure in the north of England, and I get why people there are sick to the back teeth of Westminster politicians promising the earth and…
JM
Jerome Mayhew
May I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement? She started the statement by saying that people are sick to the back teeth of Westminster politicians promising the earth and delivering absolutely nothing—and then she did exactly that. We on the Opposition Benches know what the right hon. Lady’s s…
HA
Heidi Alexander
I cannot believe what I have just heard, to be honest. I know that the hon. Gentleman is standing in for the shadow Transport Secretary, the right hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Holden) , but I really hoped that he would have done a bit better than that. The hon. Gentleman talks about no budget being set o…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Chair of the Transport Committee.
RC
Ruth Cadbury
This is another hugely welcome transport statement from the Secretary of State for Transport and her team. Today’s announcement promises levels of rail connectivity for communities from Merseyside to Tyneside that will compare to those of the London travel to work area. The question that I and many others have is: when…
Clause 86 - Rates of duty13 Jan 2026
RM
Robbie Moore
I rise to speak to clause 86 and new clause 26, tabled in the name of the official Opposition, which requires the Government to carry out a review of the impact of the increased level of alcohol duty on our pubs and hospitality sector. All these measures will have a cumulative impact on our hospitality… and pub sector, because this comes on the back of the huge amount of tax revenue that will be raised from the last Budget—£26 billion-worth, or £64 billion-worth if we take into account the last two Budgets. Alcohol duty alone will bring in an additional £400 million a year—a raid on our pints, spirits and glasses of wine. Alcohol duty is set to rise by an inflation-busting 3.66% at the start of February, equating to a 2p increase on the price of a pint in a pub. When I am out in my constituency speaking to the landlords of the Dog and Gun in the Worth valley, the Craven Heifer in Addingham, the Airedale Heifer in Keighley or the Black Hat in Ilkley, they all talk to me about the cumulative impact of not only the alcohol duty increase but rising employer’s national insurance, soaring energy costs, increasing minimum wages, the business rate relief reduction not being at the level that was initially indicated and, of course, the tourism tax that is coming down the line. The tourism tax will impact areas like Haworth in the Worth valley and Ilkley in my constituency, where a tax will be collected and go into a generalised pot to be redistributed by the Mayor of West Yorkshire, but I suspect it will not go back into places like Ilkley or Haworth, which are effectively being used as cash cows for the rest of West Yorkshire. These are all detrimental impacts over and above the alcohol duty. At a local level, on-street parking charges in Ilkley are set to increase at the end of this month. All these things are making it much more difficult for places like the Flying Duck and the Black Hat in Ilkley, where people like to go and enjoy a drink. Disposable income is getting les
Hansard · 13 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
NG
Nusrat Ghani
With this it will be convenient to consider the following: New clause 8—Review of impact of section 86 on the hospitality sector— “(1) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must, within six months of the passing of this Act, lay before the House of Commons a report assessing the impact of the measures contained in section 86…
LR
Lucy Rigby
I am pleased to open this session—the sixth and final session in Committee of the whole House on the Finance (No. 2) Bill—on clause 86, which concerns alcohol duty. This Government’s approach to alcohol duty is one of proportionality. Indeed, we are taking a fair and coherent approach to alcohol taxation as a whole. Th…
DD
Dave Doogan
The Minister says that she has considered carefully the fairness of the changes in this clause. Has she considered at all the compound effect of this and all the other taxes that are currently killing hospitality businesses?
LR
Lucy Rigby
We take all impacts on the hospitality sector and the pub sector extremely seriously, and this Government are proud to be backing British pubs across the piece. The changes we are making will help to ensure that, as a country, we live within our means, that we balance the books and that we properly fund the public serv…
JR
Joshua Reynolds
The Minister just said that the Government are pro-pubs, but any pub she speaks to in my constituency will tell her that this Government are not pro-pubs. The amount of profit left at the end of a pint for a pub is minuscule, and it is so far from reality to say that the Government are pro-pubs. How does she respond to…
Clause 62 - Agricultural property relief and business property relief etc12 Jan 2026
RM
Robbie Moore
Can the Minister explain how we ended up in the bizarre scenario in which two estates—I use the term “estates”, because they need not necessarily be farming businesses; they could be any kind of family business estate—valued at £5 million could generate different amounts of tax for the Treasury, depending on the ownership structure? Secondly,… can he explain, because I cannot see this in the amendments that have been tabled, why there is no indexation link to any increase? Obviously, land values will increase over time. Thirdly, when he was last at the Dispatch Box, he said that interest would not be charged, so can he clarify whether, when inheritance tax liability is triggered, interest is or is not triggered in that 10-year period?
Hansard · 12 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
JC
Judith Cummins
With this it will be convenient to consider the following: Amendment 42, in schedule 12, page 443, line 13, leave out from “and” to end of line 16 and insert— “(c) either— (i) is attributable to property that has been owned by the transferor for at least 10 years as part of a business that is actively operated by the t…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
As we come to the final group in today’s Committee stage on the Bill, I am pleased to open this important debate on clause 62, schedule 12 and the many associated amendments. As reiterated throughout the day, the Bill delivers on the choices made at this Government’s two Budgets. It delivers fair and necessary reforms …
JM
Julie Minns
I very much welcome the fact that, from next year, an estimated 85% of farms will pay no more inheritance tax on their farming and business assets. I agree with the Minister that it is a proportionate measure that aims to prevent the wealthy from abusing APR, and I know that he is mindful of the profitability of our sm…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her continued interest in this area; she is a strong representative for the rural communities that she represents in the north-west of our country. I am sure that colleagues in DEFRA, including the Secretary of State and others, will be working hard to make sure that the funds that this Gover…
JS
Jamie Stone
I thank the Minister for giving way; he is very courteous. As Members will understand, I represent a very remote constituency in the north of Scotland where crofting—very marginal farming and hill farming—is fundamental not just to the economy of the highlands, but to the social structure. The great curse in the past w…
RM
Robbie Moore
On practicalities, I would be interested to understand whether the Minister or the Treasury has done any analysis of the impact on the district valuer. There is a real challenge in that when a farm is valued, that value will be disputed by either the Treasury or the agent acting on behalf of the landowner with that tax…
RM
Robbie Moore
I will speak to clause 62, schedule 12 and the amendments to them tabled by the Conservative Front Benchers. Throughout debate on the Finance Bill, we have heard about the changes to inheritance tax, predominantly in relation to the agricultural and business property reliefs. My comments refer not only to the many fami…
RM
Robbie Moore
The hon. Lady has mentioned, I think two or three times, that it will be possible for the ultra-wealthy to be exposed to the inheritance tax liability. However, having a huge asset base that may be worth a great deal of money does not mean having a good income. A business could have a cash flow that is not generating a…
RM
Robbie Moore
I hope that the Minister will answer my question, which I have asked twice in this debate, about indexation and the scenario in which two estates valued at £5 million are subject to different IHT liabilities depending on their ownership structures. Given that this issue is so important, not only to our farming communit…
Topical Questions8 Jan 2026
RM
Robbie Moore
The latest cost projection by Labour-run Bradford council for building a pedestrian bridge between Silsden and Steeton over a busy dual carriageway is now a whopping £24 million, and the proposed design looks like some bizarre Scalextric track. Will the Secretary of State meet me to get those ridiculous cost projections under control?
Hansard · 8 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
AS
Andrew Snowden
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
HA
Heidi Alexander
Yesterday marked a turning point for road safety in Britain. Our new road safety strategy, the first for 10 years, will save lives and end years of complacency. Our targets are ambitious: reducing those killed or seriously injured on our roads by 65% by 2035, and by 70% for children under 16. That means stricter penalt…
AS
Andrew Snowden
Earlier, one of the Ministers dodged a very straightforward but important question, so will the Secretary of State now set the record straight? Do the Government have any plans that would change the scope, funding or timelines for Northern Powerhouse Rail—yes or no?
HA
Heidi Alexander
It is a simple fact that communities in the north of England have had to put up with second-rate transport systems for far too long. I can guarantee that this Government are fully committed to Northern Powerhouse Rail. I understand that the hon. Gentleman is impatient for announcements. He may have to wait a few days o…
SC
Sarah Coombes
Happy new year, Mr Speaker. Traffic jams at junction 1 of the M5 are a nightmare for residents, businesses and West Bromwich Albion FC fans. We have already had a traffic light upgrade, which has improved things slightly, and the Government have now given Sandwell council yellow box enforcement powers, which I hope wil…
Business of the House8 Jan 2026
RM
Robbie Moore
Hawarth village hall is a vital community asset in the centre of the Worth valley in my constituency, but it is in desperate need of repair, upgrade and maintenance. Under the last Conservative Government, over £1 million was allocated to this project back in 2021, but since then, the money has sat with Labour-run Bradford… council and remains unspent, while the asset deteriorates. Can we have a debate in Government time on making sure that money that is allocated is spent in a reasonable time, so that assets do not continue to deteriorate?
Hansard · 8 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
JL
John Lamont
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
AC
Alan Campbell
The business for the week commencing 12 January includes: Monday 12 January —Committee of the whole House of the Finance (No. 2) Bill (day 1). Tuesday 13 January —Committee of the whole House of the Finance (No. 2) Bill (day 2). Wednesday 14 January —Remaining stages of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill. Thursday…
JL
John Lamont
Mr Speaker, may I begin by wishing you, the Leader of the House, right hon. and hon. Members and all staff of the House a very happy new year? I appreciate that the Leader of the House may still be recovering from the excesses of the festive season, so I will try not to add unduly to his discomfort, but I will start wi…
AC
Alan Campbell
I wish you, Mr Speaker, and everyone across the House a happy new year. I congratulate parliamentarians past and present who were recognised in the new year’s honours. It is right and proper that people who make an exemplary contribution to public service are recognised, like so many others across our country. I was sa…
BG
Barry Gardiner
Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker. Delays in the court system mean that one of my constituents has been in prison on remand awaiting trial for over a year. She is in New Hall Prison, 200 miles away from her mother, who is disabled and cannot make that journey. She has requested a transfer to Bronzefield Prison, so her …
Rural Communities7 Jan 2026
RM
Robbie Moore
It has been clear that this Government have been a disaster for rural communities. We have heard that loud and clear in the many excellent contributions from Opposition Members that have highlighted the deep concerns of many of our constituents. My right hon. Friend the Member for Skipton and Ripon (Sir Julian Smith) highlighted the… challenge of the family farm tax, the challenge faced by pubs, and the challenge of funding rural councils such as North Yorkshire. My hon. Friend the Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) highlighted the funding challenges that Gloucestershire county council faces and the implications of the changes to shotgun licences, which will be disastrous for our shooting community. My hon. Friend the Member for Bridlington and The Wolds (Charlie Dewhirst) , who is a doughty campaigner for our rural community, highlighted the challenges associated with the pig industry, the shooting industry and the family farm tax. My right hon. Friend the Member for North East Cambridgeshire (Steve Barclay) , who I was proud to serve with as a Minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs before the general election, highlighted the challenge of the family farm tax for his constituents, the way that this Government have cut productivity grants, the implications of the Baroness Batters review, and the fact that the Government have not even announced yet what they will do on the 57 recommendations. My right hon. Friend the Member for Wetherby and Easingwold (Sir Alec Shelbrooke) highlighted the implications for many rural local authorities of measures such as the cut to the rural services delivery grant. He also highlighted the impact of the family farm tax and the family business tax on the wider supply chain. That is impacting many of the family businesses that support our farmers.
Hansard · 7 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
JC
Judith Cummins
I inform the House that Mr Speaker has selected the amendment in the name of the Prime Minister. I call the shadow Secretary of State.
VA
Victoria Atkins
I beg to move, That this House regrets that the Government’s policies have resulted in taxes forecast to rise to the highest proportion of GDP on record, record closures of agriculture, forestry and fishing businesses in the last 12 months, the closure of two pubs or restaurants every day and falling levels of business…
EL
Edward Leigh
My right hon. Friend is quite rightly talking about what really matters in the countryside, namely the family farm tax. Does it say much about the priorities of this Government that they think it is really important to waste Parliament’s time by banning people from getting on a horse and chasing after a rag soaked in l…
VA
Victoria Atkins
My right hon. Friend and county neighbour of course understands all the challenges facing our rural communities, and I think we are all wondering why, in the midst of a cost of living crisis, when very worrying events are happening overseas, food prices for all our constituents are continuing to rise, and jobs are bein…
AS
Alec Shelbrooke
Does that not speak to a wider point? I am sure that my right hon. Friend agrees that the shocking statistics out this week on just how few young people are able to get Saturday jobs show that if we cut business rates and allow businesses to employ people, we stand a much better chance of keeping them off welfare in th…
RM
Robbie Moore
I agree with the hon. Member, and I will come back to that, because it is ridiculous. My hon. Friends the Members for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey), for South Shropshire (Stuart Anderson) and for North Dorset (Simon Hoare) made the critical point that this Government should stop playing cat and mouse with our rural busi…
RM
Robbie Moore
My right hon. Friend’s excellent point feeds into the narrative that this Government are not making the sound decisions that we want for our rural economy; they are industrialising much of our prime agricultural land with heavy metals that will damage soil nutrients. Closer to home for me in Keighley are the plans to r…
Farming Profitability18 Dec 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Here we are, at the 11th hour, on the very last day before Parliament rises for Christmas, and the Secretary of State has left it until now to publish Baroness Batters’ profitability review —48 days since it was handed to her. She has tactically left it buried in her Department until well after the Budget… and purposely until after the crucial Finance Bill vote earlier this week, in which 333 Labour MPs backed the implementation of the family farm tax—all in the knowledge that whatever the recommendations in the profitability review, the Government’s financial assault on our farmers was locked in. What message does that say to our hard-working farmers?
Hansard · 18 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
SR
Sam Rushworth
What steps she is taking to help increase the profitability of farming.
TD
Tan Dhesi
What steps she is taking to help increase the profitability of farming.
ER
Emma Reynolds
As this House knows, Baroness Batters is a long-standing champion of British farming. Today, the Government have published her independent farming profitability review 2025, which we commissioned earlier this year. We will set out a more detailed response in the new year, but I can confirm today that, following her rec…
SR
Sam Rushworth
Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker. As we are all sleeping in or children are opening their stockings on this Christmas morning, farmers in Teesdale and Weardale will be up tending to their sheep and cows, and we thank them for that. As the Minister knows, at the moment only 25% of subsidies go to just 4% of farms. Smaller up…
ER
Emma Reynolds
I echo my hon. Friend’s thanks to farmers working hard over the festive season. Upland communities face unique challenges. I or the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs will be delighted to meet his delegation. We are reforming the sustainable farming incentive to make it simpler and easier for farmers to apply…
Violence Against Women and Girls18 Dec 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Happy Christmas to you and your team, Mr Speaker. Earlier this year, I was successful in my campaign to increase the ridiculously short sentences handed down to three vile grooming gang members in my constituency. However, I spoke to at least one victim in my constituency who has told me that she did not know… that the sentences of her abusers could be referred as unduly lenient. As the VAWG strategy is released today, will the Solicitor General meet me to discuss introducing a new statutory duty on authorities, mandating that victims of crimes must be informed about the unduly lenient sentence scheme?
Hansard · 18 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
LE
Lauren Edwards
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Crown Prosecution Service’s violence against women and girls strategy 2025 to 2030 on outcomes for victims.
ER
Ellie Reeves
It is this Government’s ambition to halve violence against women and girls. As I have said today, we are launching our cross-Government VAWG strategy. I will not pre-empt it—there will be a statement in the House shortly—but I hope that my hon. Friend agrees that this national emergency needs a truly cross-Government a…
LE
Lauren Edwards
I thank the Minister for her response. Earlier this week, I attended a local multi-agency roundtable on tackling violence against women to discuss how we can work together better to support victims, and I have reflected on what I heard from a very brave constituent who shared her story. Will the Minister set out how th…
ER
Ellie Reeves
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the devastating impact that VAWG has on victims and their families; it can affect every aspect of their lives, and I commend her brave constituent for coming forward with her experiences. That is why the strategy being announced today adopts a truly whole-system approach and unites …
ER
Ellie Reeves
This year I expect to have received in the region of 900 referrals to look at sentences under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. It is an important part of our criminal justice system that some cases can be referred for a review. I would be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss the issue further.
Business of the House18 Dec 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Madam Deputy Speaker, may I wish you, and indeed all Members across the House, a very happy Christmas? Like thousands of my constituents, I have recently been sending Christmas cards. May I use this opportunity to congratulate Leo from Oakworth on creating such an excellent design for my Christmas card this year? I am sorry… to say that hundreds of my constituents have raised their concerns about continued unacceptable delays in mail deliver. There has been partial or no delivery of mail, particularly in the Worth valley area, for months. It is resulting in missed doctors’ and hospital appointments, as well as in bills and urgent correspondence being missed. Can we have a debate in Government time on the importance of this issue, and ensure that Royal Mail is held to account?
Hansard · 18 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I wish all Members all the best for a restful Christmas, and let us hope for a more peaceful new year. I thank all the staff of the House, particularly my own team. They have been wonderful and they look after us. To those who are working over the Christmas period to keep this House safe, we must thank them as well. As…
JL
John Lamont
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
AC
Alan Campbell
The business for the week commencing 5 January 2026 will include: Monday 5 January —Debate on a motion on mobile connectivity in rural areas. The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Tuesday 6 January —Second Reading of the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Sy…
JL
John Lamont
I thank the Leader of the House for giving us the business for the start of the new year. I begin by expressing my deepest condolences and sympathies to the victims of the Bondi Beach attack at the weekend. I am sure that we were all horrified to see the events unfold, with innocent Jews murdered as they enjoyed Hanukk…
AC
Alan Campbell
First, I join the shadow Deputy Leader of the House, and the whole House, in sending our thoughts and condolences to those affected by the terrorist attack in Bondi Beach. Hanukkah should be a time of celebration; instead, it has become a scene of horror and violence. Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society…
Violence against Women and Girls Strategy18 Dec 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I absolutely welcome the strategy published today, and I share the Minister’s ambitions on early intervention. However, in constituencies such as mine, one of the state’s greatest failures has been the historical failure to openly and honestly confront perverse cultural attitudes behind violence and abuse against women and girls. I think of the women in… my constituency specifically targeted because they were working-class, white girls. I think of the many women I have met who have poor English and little education, and who do not know about their rights or how to access support. I also think of those many women I have met in my constituency who are too scared to raise those concerns. The Minister rightly speaks of challenging misogynistic attitudes within schools, but can she assure me that the strategy will not stop at the school gate and that the Government will challenge any institution, religious or otherwise, that continues to reinforce harmful attitudes towards women and girls and puts their safety at risk?
Hansard · 18 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
JP
Jess Phillips
Merry Christmas, Madam Deputy Speaker. With permission, I will make a statement on the publication of the Government’s strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. Let us start with the facts. Last year, one in every eight women was a victim of domestic abuse, stalking or sexual assault. Every day, 200 rapes ar…
KL
Katie Lam
I wish you a very merry Christmas, Madam Deputy Speaker. I would like to start by thanking the Minister and the colleagues she has worked with for bringing forward this strategy today. Tackling violence against women and girls is a deeply noble aim, and one that the Opposition very much share. Women and girls face part…
JP
Jess Phillips
In the list of people who have put in effort over the years in this regard, I would like to make special mention of Baroness May, who I worked with for many years on many of these issues. In answer to the hon. Lady’s question, let me give her a really specific answer about data. She is absolutely right that data collec…
SO
Sarah Owen
I welcome the new VAWG strategy and thank the Victims Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones) , and the Safeguarding Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips) , who have both worked so hard and who are wholly committed to ending harm against women and girl…
JP
Jess Phillips
My hon. Friend is absolutely right when she characterises the kind of violent pornography that young people are exposed to. Among other things, part of the strategy is to ban strangulation in porn. Indeed, I am sure that everybody will go away and read the strategy and some of the guidance that comes from the review on…
Christmas Adjournment18 Dec 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
The levelling-up agenda is incredibly important for traditionally forgotten-about places like Keighley. That is why, turning back the clock, I was incredibly proud to achieve a drawdown of about £80 million for various levelling-up projects across Keighley, which was delivered through the £33.6 million Keighley towns fund; the long-term plan for towns—rebranded by this Labour… Government—that awarded £20 million to Keighley in 2023, to be spent on rejuvenating the town centre and other projects; and the £19 million that we were able to draw down through the levelling-up fund. We are making good progress on many of those projects. The Providence Park project has developed and units can now be rented out, although there are some problems getting them valued through the Valuation Office Agency. I would like to see the Government put pressure on the office to unlock that. We have managed to achieve the manufacturing, engineering and tech hub, money has been spent on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, and toilets and new roofs have been built in many community projects, but we are still finding a roadblock with the accounting body that is Bradford council. Significant projects are at risk, right now, of not being delivered on time: the new stand that we need to see delivered for Keighley Cougars; the new health and wellbeing hub that we want to see built in the centre of Keighley, but which Bradford council is so lethargically slow in getting off the ground; and the money that needs to be spent on the maintenance and rejuvenation of Haworth village hall to get it up and running. I met the new trustees who are forming and driving forward that project, but we need Bradford council to get a move on. The money was allocated way back in 2022 and Bradford council is being so slow. Likewise, we are yet to get the skills hub that will deliver adult learning, and we need to make sure that the money that is due to be drawn down to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway through t
Hansard · 18 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
BB
Bob Blackman
I beg to move, That this House has considered matters to be raised before the Christmas adjournment. I wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and Members, their staff and all the staff here in Parliament a very merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, and a happy, peaceful, prosperous and, above all else, healthy new year. As the n…
CN
Caroline Nokes
There will have to be an immediate three-minute time limit.
JM
Jessica Morden
It is good to see the Leader of the House personally responding to this debate; it shows the respect that he has for the House, which is much appreciated. We were talking yesterday about the Chartist graffiti in the Cloisters, which lay hidden until a few years ago when it was uncovered. As the MP for Newport East, I c…
MF
Mark Francois
As I have three minutes, I just want to raise two quick issues. The first, I hope, is good news; it is to do with Riverside medical centre. I have been trying for seven years to get an extension on its GP practice, but because of the unbelievable NHS bureaucracy, about which I will not try the patience of the House, it…
BG
Barry Gardiner
Following the reduction of their grant by 9% in real terms, National Parks and National Landscapes were explicitly encouraged to use biodiversity net gain markets to attract private finance. I was disappointed, therefore, to see that in setting out their consultation on planning reform proposals on Tuesday, the Governm…
Finance (No. 2) Bill16 Dec 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I am not quite sure whether the Minister believes what he is reading, because UKHospitality has already done the sums on the impact that this Budget is having on many hard-working hospitality businesses across Keighley and Ilkley. Indeed, it has calculated that over the next three years, hospitality businesses in my constituency will have to… pay on average an additional £13,690 per annum. Can the Minister say what the Budget will mean for the growth of hard-working hospitality businesses in my constituency?
Hansard · 16 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
CN
Caroline Nokes
The reasoned amendment in the name of the Leader of the Opposition has been selected.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. On 26 November , my right hon. Friend the Chancellor delivered her second Budget at this Dispatch Box. This was a Budget to build strong foundations and a secure future for our country, with no cuts to capital spending—which I am sure would have been implemented b…
GS
Graham Stuart
The Minister says that there will be no cut to capital budgets, but of course he is talking only about the public sector. Has he seen the CBI Economics research that suggests that there will be severe capital budget reductions in the private sector—the very sector that creates the wealth on which everything else depend…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will have read the Office for Budget Responsibility’s report—we had a bit of extra time to read it this year. He will know that according to that report, investment—both overall, whole-economy investment and private sector investment—has outpaced the OBR’s forecast from March thi…
CL
Carla Lockhart
The Government have chosen to absolutely decimate family farms across the whole United Kingdom. The Prime Minister was questioned yesterday by members of the Liaison Committee, and he was told that farmers have said that they might be better off dying before this tax change comes in. I feel that we need to let the real…
RM
Robbie Moore
Business property relief impacts many family businesses across the country. What does the Minister say to Fibreline in my constituency, which has worked out that its BPR liability is about £850,000? The company employs 250 people in Keighley whose jobs are potentially at risk as a result of the business not being able …
RM
Robbie Moore
This comes down to choices. The tax revenue that will be raised from the changes to APR and BPR is about £500 million. On the other hand, the Government are saying, “We are going to spend £1.8 billion on a roll-out of mandatory digital ID, and £47 billion on the Chagos deal.” This is about choices and how the Governmen…
RM
Robbie Moore
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
RM
Robbie Moore
I am not quite sure whether the hon. Member for Erewash (Adam Thompson) has read the Budget. He said that those with the broadest shoulders must bear the pain, but those on the basic rate of income tax will be paying an additional £220 a year in income tax as a result of this Budget. I am not quite sure that those with…
RM
Robbie Moore
I absolutely agree. This Budget has an impact not only on our farming community, but on the wider agricultural supply chain and the many businesses that support our farming community. Why? Because bringing in a threshold of £1 million will impact nearly every family farming business. Let us look at the figures. The ave…
RM
Robbie Moore
I absolutely agree, because the value of farmland in Northern Ireland is far greater than the average rate per acre in England or, dare I say, anywhere else in Great Britain. That is why Northern Ireland farmers are going to be absolutely decimated as a result of the changes that this Labour Government are bringing in.
RM
Robbie Moore
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Indeed, I was in Dumfries and Galloway just last week to speak to farming businesses that will be impacted by the changes that this Labour Government are bringing in. He hits on a very important point, because the NFU, the Country Land and Business Association, the Tenant Farmers Ass…
RM
Robbie Moore
Absolutely. All I advocate, as I am sure my right hon. Friend does, is that this Government simply engage with and listen to our farming community. It is not just our farming community that is hit by the IHT changes; it is family businesses more widely.
RM
Robbie Moore
The hon. Member makes an excellent point, and not only Cornish farmers, but those right across the country are being impacted by this Government’s decisions. He also makes the excellent point that many of our farming businesses are incredibly highly geared, given the level of debt associated with their businesses, and …
RM
Robbie Moore
The point to make quite clearly is that every single farming business will, in one way or another, be impacted by the £1 million threshold kicking in. Why? Because for an arable farm in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire or wherever it is, the price of feed wheat is still at about the same price it was 20 years ago, but the …
RM
Robbie Moore
I do agree with the hon. Member that the Government must get their own house in order before implementing strategies that are impacting many of our hard-working businesses. The changes to BPR are detrimental. Why? I would use the example of a business in my constituency that has already worked out that its liability af…
Business of the House11 Dec 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I pay tribute to five dads from Ilkley—Will, Sam, Martyn, Joe and Dan—who last week walked the entire 82-mile Dales Way, raising over £11,000 for the maternity and neonatal teams at our fantastic Airedale hospital. Between them, they have faced numerous challenges as fathers and are giving back to the hospital through their efforts. Can… we have a debate, in Government time, to show our support for dads during early parenthood, and to discuss mental health and wellbeing support and the role that fathers play in neonatal care?
Hansard · 11 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
AC
Alan Campbell
The business for the week commencing 15 December will include: Monday 15 December —Consideration of a Lords message to the Employment Rights Bill, followed by Second Reading of the Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill. Tuesday 16 December —Second Reading of the Finance (No. 2) Bill. Wednesday 17 December —I…
JN
Jesse Norman
A key theme of business questions has been the need for the Government and, indeed, the whole country to be resolute in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine. In that context, I know the whole House will want to join me again in expressing our profound sorrow for the death of Lance Corporal George Hooley of the Par…
AC
Alan Campbell
First, I join the shadow Leader of the House in sending our condolences to the friends and family of Lance Corporal Hooley, who died while serving our country and in the cause of keeping the flame of freedom alive. As we approach Christmas, I want to recognise the contribution that charities make across our country. Ho…
SN
Samantha Niblett
At one second past midnight tonight, the race for the Christmas No. 1 begins. My constituent Andrew Horth, of HorthWorld, will be in that race, with his incredible Christmas song “Merry Christmas (Make Amends)”, which was written in support of men’s mental health in the wake of our having lost Mikey Heald, another cons…
Grooming Gangs: Independent Inquiry9 Dec 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I have an urgent plea for the Home Secretary and the new chair, Baroness Longfield, who I know will be watching. They will both know that, shockingly, Keighley and the wider Bradford district have never had a full independent inquiry despite Ann Cryer raising the alarm more than 20 years ago. I, leading child abuse… solicitor David Greenwood and local survivor Fiona Goddard supported by more than 5,000 local residents have written to the incoming chair urging her to immediately launch a targeted inquiry across Keighley and the wider Bradford district. Will the Home Secretary ensure that Baroness Longfield sees our letter, understands the overwhelming public will across Keighley on this issue and meets Fiona, David and me at the earliest opportunity so that we can ensure that Bradford district is at the heart of the national inquiry?
Hansard · 9 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
JC
Judith Cummins
Before I call the Home Secretary to make the statement, I remind hon. Members that they should not refer to any specific cases currently before the courts, and that they should exercise caution with respect to any specific cases that might subsequently come before the courts, in order not to prejudice those proceedings…
SM
Shabana Mahmood
With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on the independent inquiry into grooming gangs, the appointment of its chair and panel, and the inquiry’s terms of reference. I know that, for many, this day is long overdue. For years, the victims of these awful crimes were ignored. First abused by vi…
JC
Judith Cummins
I call the shadow Home Secretary.
CP
Chris Philp
Let us remember that victims are at the heart of this. Young girls, some only 10 years old, were groomed and gang raped by men of mainly Pakistani origin—girls like Jane, who was just 12 years old when she was raped by an illegal immigrant; when she was found by police, instead of arresting the rapist, they arrested Ja…
SM
Shabana Mahmood
I thank the shadow Secretary of State for his remarks. He read out excerpts from some of the court transcripts that have been made public, and like other hon. Members, I have read some of them as well. They make for truly horrifying reading. They are the starkest reminder, for everyone in this House and beyond, that it…
Income Tax (Charge)26 Nov 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
This Budget was dead on arrival. We were promised that the last autumn Budget was a once-in-a-generation event, but I suggest that the Chancellor may want to correct her record on that claim. Despite setting out to find growth, she has flatlined the economy and tanked employment. Indeed, we now know that Labour will raise… taxes by more than any Parliament has raised them since the 1970s. All sectors are being impacted, not only those in hospitality but manufacturing and engineering—the sectors, and the organisations, that grow growth. Our hospitality sector and high streets are the backbone of my constituency, but the cost of doing business is spiralling out of control, not helped by the previous Budget, which hiked employer national insurance contributions and significantly reduced business rate relief, and by an energy policy that is crippling everyone from manufacturers to those in hospitality. Rather than helping businesses—for example, by axing business rates on our high streets, as those of us on the Conservative Benches are committed to doing—the Chancellor has offered them absolutely no ladder at all to get out of the hole that she has created for our small businesses. A month or so ago, I held a roundtable at New Brook Street Deli in Ilkley in my constituency, when Ilkley Brewery, The Little Teahouse and many other businesses came along specifically to raise the challenges around increases in overheads, which they simply cannot pass on to their customers. This Budget does nothing at all to help them. Indeed, it almost seems like this Government look at those businesses as if they were separate from the families who work for them, but when we make it more expensive to employ someone, it is the workers who end up paying through lower wages, fewer hours or potentially having no job at all. Given that those in my area are subjected to council tax increasing by 10%, and that Labour-run Bradford council will increase it by a further 5% next year, there is less di
Hansard · 26 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the Leader of the Opposition.
KB
Kemi Badenoch
May I congratulate the right hon. Lady on delivering her second Budget? I hope she enjoyed it, because it really should be her last. What a total humiliation—[Interruption.]
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Order. Can colleagues who are exiting the Chamber do so swiftly and quietly, so that we can focus on the Leader of the Opposition?
KB
Kemi Badenoch
It is a total humiliation. Last year, the Chancellor put up taxes by £40 billion—the biggest tax raid in British history. She promised that she would not be back for more. She swore that it was a one-off. She told everyone that from now on, there would be stability and she would pay for everything with growth. Today, s…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Order. The Chief Whip in particular knows that we do not allow clapping in the Chamber.
RM
Robbie Moore
I absolutely agree. The fact that the Met police cancelled today’s pre-organised Budget day protest and rally at the last minute is an absolute disgrace. I was proud to be out on Whitehall today with many of our farming community and my Conservative colleagues. We share their anxiety and concern that the changes to inh…
Topical Questions18 Nov 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
The Minister will know that our peatlands are a vital store of carbon, storing 26 times more carbon than UK forests. Would he therefore agree that green energy projects built on peatland must prove that they will mitigate more carbon than they will release through construction and disturbance of the underlying peat? Will he commit… to refuse any nationally significant infrastructure project that fails that test?
Hansard · 18 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
RT
Rachel Taylor
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
MS
Michael Shanks
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Minister for Climate are in Brazil at the conference of the parties, fighting for Britain’s interests in the global transition and playing our part in securing leadership on the climate crisis. Since our last oral questions session, we have announced that 250 schools …
RT
Rachel Taylor
Last year, over 1,000 former mineworkers in North Warwickshire and Bedworth benefited from this Government’s historic decision to release the surplus from the mineworkers’ pension scheme. Now, members of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme, such as my constituents Ray Sweet, Don Jennings and Andy Callow, are s…
RT
Rachel Taylor
Could the Minister reassure my constituent and others like her that the Government are doing everything they can—
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. Sorry, but one of us is going to have to sit down. Please—topical questions are meant to be short and punchy. You cannot do a full statement. I think you ought to try to catch my eye for an Adjournment debate, because this is a very important subject. Minister, I think you have got the principle of the question.
Access to Nature13 Nov 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
The Secretary of State will know that farmers play a key role in enhancing nature and access to it, but that farmers can do so only when it is financially viable and their businesses have certainty from the Government. Yet with the sustainable farming incentive chopped, de-linked payments slashed, capital grants cut, the family farm… tax looming and a profitability review completed but deliberately held back from the public until well after the Budget, this Government have created a food and farming emergency, and when our farmers suffer, so does nature. What real, tangible reassurance can the Secretary of State give our farmers right now so that they can stay afloat, produce food, and deliver for nature and the environment?
Hansard · 13 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
CC
Chris Curtis
What steps she has taken to improve access to nature.
ER
Emma Reynolds
I am a Buckinghamshire Member, Mr Speaker, but there we go. The Government are delivering our manifesto commitments to improve access to nature and deliver three national forests. We recently announced that the second national forest will be in the Oxford-Cambridge corridor. Milton Keynes is the beating economic heart …
CC
Chris Curtis
I welcome the comments about Milton Keynes, the largest economy in the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, and we are very excited about the upcoming forest. The Wetland Arc, led by the Parks Trust, is another exciting project that spans the Great Ouse valley in my constituency. It will bring significant benefits for both peopl…
ER
Emma Reynolds
I commend my hon. Friend for championing the Wetland Arc project in his constituency. Wetlands enhance water quality and biodiversity, and provide effective natural flood defences. As he suggests, we will continue to support initiatives such as these, and I would be delighted to visit his constituency, should he so wis…
JB
Jessica Brown-Fuller
Over the summer, the renovation of the Centurion Way was extended, and the cycle path now goes all the way from Chichester to West Dean in my constituency. Mr Speaker, you would be more than welcome to come to join me on a bike to cycle the new length. The restoration of this once crucial transport link provides reside…
Business of the House13 Nov 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Earlier this week, there was a large accidental industrial fire on Pitt Street, in Keighley in my constituency. Nine fire crews attended, some coming from as far away as Mirfield in West Yorkshire. Unfortunately, one person was taken to hospital, and there was a huge amount of damage done to local buildings. My thoughts go… out to all those affected by the fire, and I want to personally thank the emergency services for their work, and for acting so professionally. Could we have a debate in Government time about recognising our emergency services, and about what more support the Government can give to businesses that are impacted by such devastating fires?
Hansard · 13 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
AC
Alan Campbell
The business for the week commencing 17 November will include: Monday 17 November —Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill. Tuesday 18 November —Second Reading of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. Wednesday 19 November —Consideration of Lords amendments …
JN
Jesse Norman
I am sure I speak for many Members when I thank you, Mr Speaker, and the whole of the Speaker’s Office for the work you have put in to make this past week of remembrance so memorable. The gardens of remembrance, the projection of images from the second world war on to the Elizabeth Tower, the wreath laying in Westminst…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Leader of the House.
AC
Alan Campbell
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker—[Interruption.] Mr Speaker, sorry. It is very early in the day. I thank the shadow Leader of the House for his remarks. I join him in thanking you, Mr Speaker, and indeed all House staff, for this week’s work on remembrance events, which provide an opportunity for us, not just as a House bu…
Regulation and Inspection of Funeral Services27 Oct 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
On that point, will my hon. Friend give way?
Hansard · 27 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
SH
Simon Hoare
There are many issues that will divide this House and many issues that will divide society, but one thing that probably unites all of us, and indeed society, is that we have a legitimate expectation of decent and respectful treatment for our dead. I do not think that is asking too much. The vast majority of funeral dir…
HM
Helen Maguire
The hon. Member sheds a light on an area that I have only just come to, and that was through a piece of casework. It was absolutely devastating to receive a piece of casework about abysmal funeral services, which included the mis-selling of a plot in a local cemetery, extortionate funeral costs and countless issues wit…
SH
Simon Hoare
I do agree. In many respects, the only bit of legislation on which we can rest a serious prosecution is the Burial Act 1857, which deals with the corpse post internment. It is silent on the corpse’s treatment from the point of death through to the point of either internment or cremation. There is an enormous vacuum in …
JS
Jim Shannon
I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing the debate. This is the second Adjournment debate of his in which I have been involved in the last six months. He brings to the House subjects that are pertinent not just to North Dorset but to every constituency across the whole United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ire…
SH
Simon Hoare
I fundamentally agree with what the hon. Gentleman said, as would the lion’s share of operators, because they are acutely aware of a crisis of public confidence in the sector’s ability to deliver.
RM
Robbie Moore
My hon. Friend makes the point that many of our constituents across the country do not realise that anybody could set up and run a funeral director service. Sam Gallagher, one of the directors of Gallagher Family Funeral Directors in Keighley, wrote to me to advocate, quite rightly, that the Government should look at b…
Rape Gangs: National Statutory Inquiry21 Oct 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I have a copy of the Government’s response to the developments last night addressed to the Home Affairs Committee, and I find the response completely unacceptable. Are the Government seriously implying that Fiona and Ellie, who have been disbelieved and called liars by the British state their entire lives, are spreading “misinformation” about a process… they have been directly involved in? That would be a deeply damaging thing for any Government to imply. Worse, there is a line in the letter about the Government’s proposed inquiry in Oldham that says that the Government “have been in discussions with Oldham Council about the right approach for Oldham”. How can that possibly be right? How can the Home Office discuss the right approach with the very local authorities being investigated? It would be like the Post Office inquiry sitting down with the Post Office to negotiate how it should be investigated. Will the Minister explain how the Government will restore trust right now in the process, given the contents of the letter that she sent to the Home Affairs Committee last night?
Hansard · 21 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
CP
Chris Philp
(Urgent Question): To ask the Home Secretary to make a statement on the recent criticism of the statutory inquiry into the rape gang scandal.
JP
Jess Phillips
As stated in my previous statement to the House on 2 September and in my letter to the Home Affairs Committee yesterday, the Government remain resolute in delivering Baroness Casey’s recommendations following her national audit of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse. These crimes committed by grooming gangs…
CP
Chris Philp
This scandal arose because young, mainly white girls were systematically gang-raped and it was covered up by those in authority because the perpetrators were mainly of Pakistani origin. It is all the more shocking that when calls for a national inquiry became public in January, the Prime Minister smeared campaigners as…
JP
Jess Phillips
The right hon. Gentleman cannot have listened to my remarks at all if he is suggesting that the Government have silenced anybody. The Government have not handled the process; it has been handled by a grooming gang charity. He cited and named a victim of crime. If the right hon. Gentleman had done anywhere near the leve…
JM
Jim McMahon
Oldham has stepped forward to take on a local inquiry, and it has been waiting to understand what the move to the national inquiry means for its work. The same is true of victims and survivors, whose bravery and strength in the most difficult circumstances have been truly remarkable. What arrangements have been put in …
Moorland Protection4 Sep 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
The thanks of Conservative Members go out to all the emergency services, our mighty farmers and gamekeepers who have been consistently fighting the horrendous blaze on the North York moors. The Secretary of State is currently pushing a dangerous proposal to ban a vital conservation and land management measure through eliminating the use of controlled… burning of heather on moorlands, which manages fuel load and helps to prevent out-of-control fires. Does the Minister now recognise that if the Government’s burning ban and deep peat changes go ahead, they will be responsible for more uncontrollable and far more damaging wildfires that negatively impact wildlife, our precious peatland and rural businesses?
Hansard · 4 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
AH
Alison Hume
What steps his Department is taking to help protect moorland.
DZ
Daniel Zeichner
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs works with others to protect moorland by restoring peatland, managing grazing and reducing practices that in some cases can be harmful, such as burning. Those steps make peatland wetter to help reduce the impact of wildfires. We are reviewing the existing protectio…
AH
Alison Hume
A devastating wildfire has been raging on the North York moors, between Scarborough and Whitby, covering about 10 square miles—it is a huge fire. I am sure that the Minister will want to join me in commending the incredible bravery of our firefighters, as well as the tireless service of farmers, water tanker drivers, g…
DZ
Daniel Zeichner
I thank my hon. Friend for her powerful contribution. I join her in expressing sympathy for all those who have been affected and I thank all those involved in fighting those fires. This is a cross-governmental issue. Wildfire and fire and rescue services are the responsibility of the Ministry of Housing, Communities an…
CD
Charlie Dewhirst
I join the hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume) in paying tribute to the firefighters, farmers, gamekeepers and everybody who has taken part in fighting the moorland fires in North Yorkshire, just over the border from my constituency. Does the Minister agree about the huge importance of managing moorlan…
Business of the House4 Sep 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Starting a family is a huge milestone for any couple but, crucially, it comes with a huge financial hit, as parents must scale back their working lives in order to care for their newborn. Ben Barnes in Keighley, the winner of best butcher across the whole of Yorkshire, has seen at first hand how, despite… working extra hours, one of his employees is still worse off, because his partner is on maternity pay. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate on the merits of extending marriage allowance so that claimants can transfer a greater proportion of their personal allowance, in order to help young people take that crucial step of starting a family?
Hansard · 4 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
The business for the week commencing 8 September will include: Monday 8 September —Consideration of Lords amendments to the Renters’ Rights Bill. Tuesday 9 September —Second Reading of the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill. Wednesday 10 September —Remaining stages of the Bus Services (N…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the shadow Leader of the House.
JN
Jesse Norman
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I hope you and everyone in this Chamber had a very good summer break, with just the right proportions of sun, sleep and family. If I may, let me start with a double round of congratulations: first, to the Prime Minister on his 63rd birthday this week, putting him squarely in the prime o…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the Leader of the House.
Property Taxes3 Sep 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
That is exactly the problem. Many businesses in my constituency—and, dare I say it, in others—are saying to us as Members of Parliament that they want to but dare not invest in growing their businesses, because they do not know what increases in taxes are coming down the line from this Chancellor. Does my hon.… Friend share my concern that businesses are reluctant to invest right now in the projects they want to deliver for the growth of their own enterprises?
Hansard · 3 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
ED
Emily Darlington
I appreciate the opportunity to speak in this debate. I want to take on the challenge set by the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride) , so let us talk about how we got to this point, and the devastating consequences. Under the last Government, despite 27 tax rises, Government debt…
PF
Peter Fortune
After a summer of rumoured tax rises, my constituents are deeply concerned. They are already paying more, because Labour broke its promise to freeze council tax, broke its promise not to increase national insurance, and broke its promises to first-time buyers, small businesses and farmers. Thanks to the Chancellor’s an…
LF
Louie French
Residents in Bromley, like those in Bexley, have been hit by the Mayor of London’s 77% increase in his share of council tax since he took office, alongside various driving taxes. Does my hon. Friend agree that this increase in property taxes would be the straw that broke the camel’s back for many residents?
PF
Peter Fortune
I agree that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is causing residents in Bromley and Bexley real financial hardship. However, I in no way believe that this will be the final straw—the final way that the Mayor of London can find to damage my constituents and those of my hon. Friend. I am sure that he has plenty more straws…
MF
Mark Ferguson
It is wonderful to be back for another Opposition day debate, as I am sure we can all agree. It is another debate about imagined proposals. It must be a difficult time for Opposition Members, because for so many years, this was the time of year when they were preparing for their conference and for the Budget, but this …
RM
Robbie Moore
Here we are, well over a year into this new Administration, this new Labour Government, and it is clear that they have fundamentally mismanaged the economy in their first year in office. What do we see? Borrowing costs up, growth flatlining, taxes rising and businesses being absolutely hammered. To fix this mess to the…
RM
Robbie Moore
My hon. Friend makes a valid point. Many of our family businesses, whether in the hospitality sector or in other sectors, are actively withholding a level of investment in their businesses which they want to grow and thrive. I have spoken to many farming businesses and many family businesses in my constituency who have…
RM
Robbie Moore
I just want to pick up on the hon. Lady’s point about free school meals, because these meals are not free. I spoke with a school in my constituency just last week that has been mandated to provide these so-called free school meals. However, the meals are having to come out of the school’s own budget. Can we change the …
Hospitality Sector3 Sep 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Hospitality is under a huge strain. Pubs particularly are really struggling across the country, and indeed in my constituency of Keighley and Ilkley. Nationally, pub closures are estimated to be running at one establishment a day, thanks to this Labour Government’s hike in employers’ national insurance, the hike in the minimum wage and the looming… threat of this Labour Government’s Employment Rights Bill. The number of closures is only climbing, and these punitive measures are pushing our pubs to the brink. That is coupled with disposable income tightening for families, including families who may want to support our pubs. In the Bradford district, council tax has been raised by 10%. That impacts all my constituents who want to spend money at their pubs but cannot because they have to tighten their belt. The Dickie Bird in Long Lee and many other pubs are coming under a huge amount of strain as their overheads increase; they are, dare I say it, looking at closure. I met the owners of the Dickie Bird recently, and they expressed to me how much financial strain this Labour Government’s policies have put on them; that has ultimately led to them having to make the decision to close.
Hansard · 3 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
NG
Nusrat Ghani
We now come to the second Opposition Day motion. I inform the House that Mr Speaker has not selected any amendments. I call the shadow Secretary of State to move the motion.
AG
Andrew Griffith
I beg to move, That this House regrets the combination of catastrophic choices made by the Government causing the closure, downsizing and lack of hiring by pubs, restaurants, hotels and hospitality businesses across the United Kingdom, with an estimated 84,000 job losses over the last 12 months and an average of two si…
GS
Graham Stuart
My hon. Friend might have been like me: the first job I ever had was as a porter, and then a barman, at the Crown and Mitre hotel in Carlisle. These are opportunities for people who are coming into the labour market for the first time or trying to get back into the labour market. The hospitality sector offers opportuni…
AG
Andrew Griffith
My right hon. Friend is exactly right. Opportunity is a word we are going to hear again and again, because of the huge contribution that the hospitality sector makes to the economy and to getting people on the ladder of opportunity with their first job in life.
AG
Andrew Griffith
The hon. Gentleman is trying to get his first opportunity, and I will give him that. We are going to have a good debate, and I will make some progress after this.
RM
Robbie Moore
As all of us know, I have been campaigning tirelessly to secure the funding to rebuild Airedale hospital, and it was finally announced in 2023, but it was very disappointing to many of my constituents when the completion date for the rebuild was pushed back by this Labour Government from 2030 to 2035. My constituents a…
Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse2 Sep 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Over the summer, Lord Cryer said that there was a deliberate attempt to silence his mother, Ann Cryer, when she first bravely raised the issue of grooming gangs in Keighley more than 20 years ago. Ann Cryer was, of course, one of my predecessors as Member of Parliament for Keighley. Lord Cryer said that he… was “absolutely certain there has been a cover up on a local level”, and that Bradford needs to be examined as part of the inquiry. Unfortunately, Bradford council and others in this House are still saying that they will only support a focus on Bradford if that is deemed necessary by the inquiry chair. That is not the same thing as saying that they will actively lobby for that outcome, so does the Minister share my concern that Bradford council’s reluctance for an inquiry to take place in our area has not changed, despite the voices of so many victims and others demanding one?
Hansard · 2 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
CN
Caroline Nokes
Before I call the Minister, I remind hon. Members that they should avoid referring to any active cases that are currently before the courts.
JP
Jess Phillips
I would like to update the House on the progress being made to deliver Baroness Casey’s recommendations following her national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, which was published before the summer recess. The sexual exploitation and abuse of children by grooming gangs are the most horrific and…
CN
Caroline Nokes
Order. Given that the Minister has just taken 12 minutes, I will be extending the time allowance to the shadow Home Secretary to six minutes and to the spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats to three minutes. I call the shadow Home Secretary.
CP
Chris Philp
I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement. Let us remember that victims are at the heart of this: young girls, some only 10 years old, were groomed and gang raped by men of predominantly Pakistani origin. They were girls like Jane, who was just 12 years old when she was raped by an illegal immigrant, but …
JP
Jess Phillips
I partially thank the shadow Home Secretary for his tone, but I will correct the record. I did not say that he had done nothing: I said that Baroness Casey said that there had been “a decade of inaction on these appalling crimes by previous Governments”. That is exactly what I said. I answered in my statement many of t…
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill2 Sep 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Bringing decision making closer to local people and making it more accountable and more reflective of local needs is a laudable aim, but that is not what the Bill will do. Rather than bringing decision making closer to hard-working local people, it will cement the damaging present system of oversized unitary authorities and dubiously useful… mayoralties. If we want our communities to have responsive local government with easily accessible political leaders who deliver on the desires of residents and are accountable at the ballot box, we should not be pushing for larger local government boundaries. If anything, we should be reducing their size.
Hansard · 2 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
CN
Caroline Nokes
The reasoned amendment in the name of the official Opposition has been selected.
AR
Angela Rayner
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…
WM
Wendy Morton
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?
AR
Angela Rayner
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…
JS
Jamie Stone
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 …
RM
Robbie Moore
I absolutely share that concern, and I will give my hon. Friend an example of what we face across the Bradford district; the people across Keighley and Ilkley have long known the dangers to smaller communities when such amalgamations occur. In 1974, their well liked and well remembered councils were abolished and absor…
RM
Robbie Moore
I absolutely agree. The Bill is not about local democracy; it is about taking the power for decision making away from local people on where their council tax should be spent. That is why I am advocating that the Government should stop the Bill from progressing. Bradford council is made up of 90 councillors, with Bradfo…
Points of Order22 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I wonder if I could seek your guidance. It has now been 36 days since the Home Secretary came to the Dispatch Box to give a statement on the possibility of a national inquiry into the grooming gangs; indeed, it has been seven months since the Home… Secretary, back in January, indicated at the Dispatch Box that there would be five local rape gang inquiries. This is causing a huge amount of concern for many victims and survivors of this heinous crime. Yet here we are on the last day before recess without an update from the Home Secretary at the Dispatch Box on the timings, who the independent chair will be, the funding arrangements, and, dare I say, whether Keighley and the Bradford district will be included. I seek your guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker: under Standing Orders, is there any mechanism for you to ensure that the Home Secretary comes to the Dispatch Box before the end of the day to provide an update on the national inquiry into grooming gangs?
Hansard · 22 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
JC
Judith Cummins
I thank the hon. Member for notice of his point of order. I have to say that I have received no notice from Ministers that they intend to make a further statement on this matter, but Ministers on the Front Bench will have heard his point of order.
AB
Alison Bennett
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. At the start of this month, I submitted a number of parliamentary questions to the Department of Health and Social Care on the subject of the independent commission into adult social care. A number of those questions, despite being due for answer on the 7th of this month, rema…
JC
Judith Cummins
I am grateful to the hon. Member for giving notice of her point of order. The timeliness and adequacy of answers to written questions are not matters for the Chair, but all hon. Members are entitled to expect full and helpful answers on time. She might like to raise the matter with the Procedure Committee, who I know t…
JH
John Hayes
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. You will know that long ago—indeed, before we were born—tens of thousands of young men were sent to a far off place to witness the first British nuclear tests. Ever since, some of us have been campaigning for their interests. Earlier this year, the Government announced that th…
JC
Judith Cummins
I thank the right hon. Member for notice of his point of order. I have received no notice from Ministers that they intend to make a statement on this matter. He has, however, placed his point on the record.
Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment22 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
It is a pleasure to speak in the Sir David Amess summer Adjournment debate, which is one of my favourite debates of the year, because it gives all parliamentarians the opportunity to talk about the fantastic places and communities we represent. We are blessed to have an excellent network of charities in Keighley and Ilkley… tackling mental health issues. Andy’s Man Club, Nebula Girls’ Group, AWARE and Missing Peace Wellbeing and Support all do fantastic work. I was privileged to host them recently at a mental health forum in Ilkley alongside Dr Caroline Rayment, where we brought together a range of stakeholders to talk about the challenges facing younger people. I thank Dr Laura Spells, who came along to give hugely compelling and deeply worrying evidence about the damage that smartphones are doing to our young people. I look forward to continuing to work with Dr Caroline Rayment and those stakeholders to tackle the mental health challenges facing our young people. In Keighley and Ilkley, we like to do things properly. That is why just last weekend it was excellent to attend two standout shows from both ends of the musical spectrum. Beat-Herder is one of the highlights of the UK festival calendar, and it was fantastic to go along and support the independent show created by six lads from Keighley. I want to say a huge thanks to Jamie Foxon and Nick Chambers for organising that event. At the other end of the spectrum, the BBC definitely has competition, because Silsden Proms on the Farm was a roaring success for another year running. I pay tribute to Stuart Clarkson, William and Eileen Jowitt and their team of 10 volunteers who put that fantastic event together, raising money for Sue Ryder Manorlands hospice and the Silsden Methodist church. I know that many who attended that fantastic music event visited Olive & Green and Isherwoods butchers beforehand to ensure that their picnics were as good as they could be. I also attended the Oxenhope straw race, which is in its
Hansard · 22 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
BB
Bob Blackman
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…
BB
Bob Blackman
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…
RG
Roger Gale
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…
LT
Liz Twist
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…
EL
Edward Leigh
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…
Independent Water Commission21 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
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 460 pages and 88 recommendations, and represents one of the most detailed examinations of the water sector since privatisation. Indeed, there is much in it that we cautiously welcome, including the merger of the regulators. As we examine the recommendations in more detail, we stand ready to support serious reform if it is done properly. However, I am afraid that what we have seen and heard from the Secretary of State over the past year has not matched the seriousness of Sir Jon Cunliffe’s work, nor has it gone anywhere near the root-and-branch radical reform that he sold to voters before the election. I therefore seek clarity from him on the following points. First, over the weekend the Secretary of State announced that Labour would cut sewage spills by 50% by 2030, but what he did not mention was the fact that plans submitted under the last Conservative Government were already set to cut sewage spills by even more than that amount. The Times reported yesterday that the Secretary of State’s new pledge would actually see an additional 20,000 discharges of sewage in our rivers, compared with existing plans. Can the Secretary of State explain why, after 88 recommendations and a year-long review of the sector, he has watered down sewage reduction targets rather than massively ramping them up? Secondly, the Secretary of State took to the airwaves at the weekend telling the public that we needed to go back to the “purity” of our waters that we all remember, but the uncomfortable truth for which Labour still refuses to take responsibility is that when it left office in 2010, just 7% of storm overflows were monitored. Let me repeat that: under Blair and Brown
Hansard · 21 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
RG
Roger Gale
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…
SR
Steve Reed
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 …
SR
Steve Reed
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…
BE
Bill Esterson
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’…
SR
Steve Reed
I was, of course, on the television show in question with the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) . I think he told us six times that he had no idea—well, that much we knew. It is this Government who have a plan to clean up our waterways. We have put in place the building blocks for change, and that allows me to sta…
Independent Retailers17 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I recently met the owners of Bababing in my constituency, who have opened up new premises in Keighley. They want to grow and expand as quickly as possible, but they told me that this Government are stifling business growth for not only Bababing but many other SMEs across the country due to the decisions they… made in the Budget last year to increase employer national insurance and the minimum wage, and the Employment Rights Bill, which is coming down the line. Do the Government recognise that they are stifling growth, and if so, what are they doing about it?
Hansard · 17 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
LB
Lee Barron
What steps he is taking to support independent retailers.
GT
Gareth Thomas
We have frozen the small business multiplier for 2025-26, protecting over 1 million ratepayers from bill increases, and we are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street and supports investment. Our forthcoming SME strategy will set out further plans to help businesses on the high street and …
LB
Lee Barron
In Corby and East Northamptonshire, retail and wholesale jobs account for the largest share of employment, supporting thousands of jobs. Will the Minister confirm that, unlike the last Tory Government, which promised to reform business rates but did absolutely nothing, this Labour Government are committed to delivering…
GT
Gareth Thomas
I know that Northamptonshire has a thriving retail and wholesale sector, and I commend my hon. Friend for championing the jobs and businesses in his constituency. He rightly says that the Conservatives promised to reform business rates. What he did not say was that they promised many times to reform business rates and …
GT
Gareth Thomas
I welcome the establishment of Bababing in the hon. Member’s constituency. I recognise that difficult decisions had to be taken in the Budget. I am sure he has pointed out to the owners of Bababing that those difficult decisions were taken as a direct result of the £22 billion black hole that his party left us to tackl…
Strategy for Elections17 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Fair elections must be elections that we can all trust. The most important element of our electoral system is that it is a secret ballot and that it should be down to the individual to make up their own mind. I am therefore deeply concerned that the widespread use of postal voting across the country… is allowing dangerous fraud with many voters still intimidated and coerced into using postal votes on the instruction of somebody else. The review covers many practical aspects of postal voting, but what steps are the Government taking to ensure the accuracy and honesty of the postal voting system?
Hansard · 17 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
PH
Paul Holmes
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the new policies announced in the Government’s strategy for elections.
RA
Rushanara Ali
The Government have today published our strategy for modern and secure elections. When we came into power just over a year ago, the Government committed through our manifesto to bringing forward measures to strengthen our precious democracy and uphold the integrity of our elections. The strategy we have published today…
PH
Paul Holmes
Yesterday, the Department gave notice of a written ministerial statement on the Government’s new strategy for elections, which is a significant policy document on changes to election law and political finance law—something that affects us all in this House. Instead of the Minister using this democratic Chamber to annou…
RA
Rushanara Ali
This Government were elected on a manifesto that committed us to granting 16-year-olds the right to vote and protecting our democracy from foreign money. I remind the hon. Gentleman that his party lost the general election, in the worst general election defeat for decades, so it is no wonder that the Conservatives are …
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.
NHS Pensions: Frontline Patient Care17 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
The Daily Telegraph reported in April that a quarter of doctors have reduced their overtime to avoid potential five-figure tax bills, and NHS capacity has been reduced by about 10% as a result. This has been raised many times when I have been out and about door-knocking across Keighley and Ilkley. What steps will the… Government take to rectify this absurd situation, which is preventing doctors from working more to reduce waiting lists?
Hansard · 17 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
LE
Luke Evans
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care if he will make a statement on NHS pensions and the impact of administrative delays on frontline patient care.
KS
Karin Smyth
As the House knows, the NHS pension scheme is administered by the NHS Business Services Authority, which is facing challenges, as are all public sector pension schemes, as a result of the coalition Government’s public sector pension reforms in 2015, which in 2018 were found to have been discriminatory—known as the McCl…
LE
Luke Evans
I declare an interest, for myself and on behalf of the shadow Front-Bench team, as we all have NHS pensions. In April, Mr Speaker granted us an urgent question because the Government have no real plan for NHS pension statements. Today we return because the Government have now admitted in writing that a new plan is fail…
KS
Karin Smyth
As I outlined in my initial response and further to the written ministerial statement, we have asked for an independent review of the process and will report back as soon as possible with a realistic deadline for that. With regard to the strikes, we will continue to be open to discussing the avoidance of those strikes,…
JS
John Slinger
Given that the summer recess is imminent, will the Minister use this opportunity to update the House on the number of additional appointments and, more importantly, the number by which the NHS waiting lists have fallen under this Government? Does she agree that it would be very nice if the Conservative party addressed …
Business of the House17 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
In a few weeks’ time, more than 500 Kate Bush fans from up and down the UK and across the world will descend on to the moors near Haworth for what is billed as the “The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever”. This year, the mass wuther is doubling up as a protest against environmentally damaging… proposals to place a huge onshore wind farm at the very heart of Brontë country, damaging protected peatland. I do not know whether the Leader of the House is a Kate Bush fan, but will she consider joining the hundreds on the moors for “The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever”, and does she agree with me, climate experts, nature organisations and the Brontë Society that destroying carbon-rich peatland in the name of net zero makes net zero sense?
Hansard · 17 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give the House the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
The business for the week commencing 21 July includes: Monday 21 July —General debate on the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan. Tuesday 22 July —The Sir David Amess summer adjournment debate. The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee. The House will rise for the summer recess a…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Where do we go from there? I call the shadow Leader of the House.
JN
Jesse Norman
I doubt if the Leader of the House has ever given a more popular statement to the House of Commons. More seriously, this is a welcome development as it will give guidance to colleagues and their families, and I am sure it will be widely welcomed across the House, so I thank her for that. I understand that Robert Gibbs,…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Before the Leader of the House responds, in case I misheard, let me say that the shadow Leader of the House knows we do not accuse colleagues of misleading the House. “Inadvertent” is the language.
Ukraine17 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
It has been three and a half years since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and we all know that there has been huge loss of life, and incredible disruption and pain caused to many residents, not only in Ukraine but across the world. I saw that for myself when I met the Keighley Ukrainian association,… which has gone above and beyond, not only raising funds for those in Ukraine but supporting many families in my constituency. The owners of Keighley Cougars are in Ukraine as we speak, delivering sports equipment to organisations involved in rugby league in Ukraine, who are unable to have the equipment they need as a result of the war. Will the Secretary of State join me in paying tribute to those two organisations? We all know that a divided west only benefits Russia, so following the latest talks with NATO, will the Secretary of State also comment on what more the Government could be doing to ensure other nations are playing their part, both through military support and through funding and developing key defence capabilities to continue to support Ukraine?
Hansard · 17 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
JH
John Healey
With permission, I wish to make a statement on the war in Ukraine. Today is day 1,239 since President Putin launched his full-scale invasion and it is more than a decade since the Ukrainians have known peace in their homeland. They have had homes destroyed, lands seized, children abducted and loved ones killed by Putin…
CN
Caroline Nokes
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
JC
James Cartlidge
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. It was less than a month ago that the United States undertook a bombing raid on Iranian nuclear facilities—one of the most significant military actions undertaken anywhere in the world for years. With such developments understandably dominating…
JH
John Healey
I am grateful to the shadow Secretary of State for his welcome for the update. I welcome the Opposition’s continued backing for the steps that we are taking to support Ukraine, just as we gave our backing to their Government when we were in opposition. The shadow Secretary of State is right to point out that the massiv…
AB
Alex Baker
As the Member for Aldershot, I know how deeply people in my constituency understand the cost of conflict and the value of standing by our allies, so I welcome this statement and thank the Secretary of State for his leadership on this issue. Does he agree that the outcome in Ukraine matters for not just European securit…
Global Plastics Treaty17 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I begin my remarks by acknowledging an interest in this area: my family own and operate a plastic recycling business, though I make it clear to the House that I am not directly involved in the management of the business, nor do I have any financial interest in it. I thank the right hon. Member… for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing this really important debate. All Members have made hugely valuable contributions. The right hon. Member spoke about the importance of responsibility for not only stakeholders but wider industry and, indeed, policymakers. In the light of the upcoming negotiations on the global plastics treaty, it is an important time to have this debate. Before coming to the potential treaty, it is worth taking a moment to consider some of the domestic context to our national relationship with plastic, and that brings me on to the other contributions. The hon. Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) rightly raised concerns about microplastics, which have been mentioned by many Members in this House. The hon. Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord) talked about the challenges of plastic litter and plastic waste in his constituency, and he rightly called on the Government to hold China to account in their global discussions. My hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) rightly raised the importance that young people place on reducing plastic usage, and he mentioned the concerns and letters that have been submitted to him by various schools in his constituency, as did the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean) . The hon. Member for Stratford and Bow (Uma Kumaran) , who is not in her place, raised the importance of banning single-use vapes and the work of local businesses and organisations in her constituency—including ABBA Voyage, which I have seen, and I noted its work to reduce plastic waste. The hon. Member for Melksham and Devizes (Brian Mathew) focused on regulation and the importance of
Hansard · 17 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
AC
Alistair Carmichael
I beg to move, That this House has considered the Global Plastics Treaty. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for making time available for this debate, and for allocating the debate to the main Chamber. That is an important signal that the House is in political consensus on the issue, and we attach a great deal o…
DC
Deirdre Costigan
I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate. He has outlined the important global action that we need to take on plastics. Does he agree that this Government’s action to bring forward a deposit return scheme will help address some of these issues? It will ensure that we can recycle plastic…
AC
Alistair Carmichael
Yes, if it is a properly constructed, nationwide deposit return scheme. The experience in Scotland was, shall we say, not everything that it might have been. A properly constructed scheme will be critical. I see the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Member for Coventry East (Mar…
LI
Leigh Ingham
I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing this debate. I know he is deeply committed to this issue. I want to draw attention to a part of this crisis that is often overlooked but no less urgent: microplastics, which I know the Minister is passionate about too. These tiny fragmen…
SC
Stella Creasy
My hon. Friend is giving an incredibly powerful speech. Microplastics are also part of what we are wearing, and microfibres are a key part of the problem with plastics. I wonder if, like me, she is interested in what the French have done to get companies to disclose when microfibres are part of the material used in clo…
RM
Robbie Moore
I will come on to those points, but I first wanted to outline the nature of the debate, because it is important to recognise the contributions that have been made. We know that reducing our plastic use is vital for two key reasons. The first is the impact on the environment. It is estimated that as many as 1 million se…
Taxes15 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
In my constituency there are dozens of hard-working family businesses, which are the backbone of our local economy and key to our local identity. These business owners get up early, go to bed late, work weekends, employ hundreds of local people and contribute hugely to our local high streets, local communities and local economy. But… this Government seem desperate to squeeze every single penny out of those family businesses and into the hands of the Chancellor. The rise in employer national insurance puts a huge strain on the wage bill, especially when coupled with the rise in the minimum wage. That is squeezing every single family business, as well as schools and hospices. Indeed, last weekend I took part in a local fundraising event—the Oxenhope straw race—which raises money for our local hospice, the Sue Ryder Manorlands hospice in the Worth Valley. Every year they do fundraising, but they tell me that instead of the money going to provide end-of-life care, it now goes straight to the Treasury through employer national insurance. The sad fact is that the large sums of money going to charities is not providing the support that is needed because it is going directly to the Treasury. The business rate relief reduction is impacting many hard-working businesses across Keighley and Ilkley. The inheritance tax challenges are impacting many of our farming businesses and family farming businesses through slashing the 100% relief on agricultural property relief and business property relief to the £1 million threshold. That is where the naivety kicks in. When we consider the size of the average farm in England—about 200 acres—and value the farmland, the house, the cottage, the growing crops, the machinery and the livestock, we reach well above the £1 million threshold, therefore exposing nearly every farming business to an inheritance tax liability. Those hard-working businesses make a return of less than 1%, if any at all, yet Labour Members say that they must have the weig
Hansard · 15 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
CN
Caroline Nokes
I must inform the House that Mr Speaker has not selected any amendment. I call the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.
MS
Mel Stride
I beg to move, That this House notes that the Government was elected on the basis of a manifesto commitment not to increase taxes on working people and not to increase National Insurance or the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT; accordingly regrets the decision to raise employers’ National Insura…
LE
Luke Evans
I am grateful to the shadow Chancellor for making that point. Does he believe that a humble toolmaker who happens to own a small business is a working person?
MS
Mel Stride
Indeed, my hon. Friend is absolutely right. We need to stand up for everybody—even our toolmakers. Let us be frank: we have had to table this motion today, which seeks to do nothing other than reaffirm the commitments that the Labour party has already made, because of the litany of broken promises that I have just shar…
JH
Jeremy Hunt
Does the shadow Chancellor agree that, following the welfare U-turns, public finances today are in a far worse state than they were a year ago when the Government came into office? There is a crucial difference: a year ago, the Conservative Government were taking difficult decisions to bring taxes down in order to grow…
RM
Robbie Moore
I will take a quick intervention from the hon. Member, but I hope that he will justify why those hard-working family farms and businesses in Keighley and Ilkley, who get up day in, day out, have to shoulder the burden for the mistakes that this Labour Government are making. Will he answer that point?
RM
Robbie Moore
I am sure that the Government Whips were watching the hon. Gentleman and making a note that he will be in line for a job, and I saw the Minister quaking in his boots at the thought of those bizarre recommendations. The point is that the Labour Government do not realise that all these tax increases are hitting the many …
Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life7 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
More than 300,000 children in mainstream schools receive education, health and care plans, including many from my constituency, but it is being reported that that vital provision may disappear. Whatever the challenges of the SEND system, surely the answer is not to remove those rights, because families cannot afford to lose such precious protections. Will… the Secretary of State confirm that EHCPs will not be removed for children receiving mainstream education?
Hansard · 7 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
BP
Bridget Phillipson
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on this Government’s vital work to change our country for good by giving every child the best start in life. The focus today is firmly on our youngest children, but the impact will be much more broader. This Government are building a stronger, fairer societ…
JC
Judith Cummins
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
LT
Laura Trott
When the right hon. Lady was in opposition, she criticised every announcement simply because it came from the Conservatives. Take childcare: she called the hours model that she talked about today “broken”. She said that she would have a new childcare system, and that its creation would be “like the creation of the NHS.…
BP
Bridget Phillipson
Every time I come here to announce the positive changes that a Labour Government are bringing, whether it is free breakfast clubs, school-based nurseries or our “best start in life” strategy, what is the right hon. Lady’s response? The same confected outrage, the same negativity, and the same petty point scoring. She h…
JC
Judith Cummins
Order. I certainly want to listen to what the Secretary of State for Education has to say.
Clean Energy: Funding1 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
This week, the 19% tariff on imports of US ethanol falls to zero through the 1.4 billion litre quota negotiated by this Labour Government, which represents the size of the UK’s entire ethanol market. That will have a hugely damaging impact on our rural economy, UK jobs and the NHS, with Government effectively offshoring the… benefits of ethanol production and its by-products to the US. What conversations are the Chancellor and her team having with this green energy sector, in which a huge number of jobs are now at stake in Teesside and Hull?
Hansard · 1 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
DC
Deirdre Costigan
What steps she is taking to help increase funding for the clean energy sector.
JM
James Murray
The spending review announced significant investment into clean energy to strengthen our energy security and our economy. That includes over £8.3 billion for Great British Energy and Great British Energy Nuclear and £14.2 billion for Sizewell C.
DC
Deirdre Costigan
Although my constituents in Ealing Southall are no doubt sweltering in today’s heat, they are worried that come winter, they will again face eye-watering energy bills to heat their homes. The previous Government left us with the leakiest homes in Europe, slashing grants for loft and cavity insulation. Can the Minister …
JM
James Murray
My hon. Friend is an excellent advocate for her constituents in Ealing Southall, and I am sure that many of them will benefit from our warm homes plan, which will see £13.2 billion invested across this Parliament. That investment will be allocated to schemes to support the roll-out of heat pumps, alongside energy-effic…
JM
James Murray
Of course, our colleagues in the Department for Business and Trade are having conversations with those businesses and industries that may be affected. I hope the hon. Member welcomes the trade deal that we got with the US—an economic deal that is so important for our prosperity and will see us being the only country to…
Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill1 Jul 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I speak today not just as a Member of this House, but as someone who has lived with the reality of a disability in my own family. I grew up with a sister who has a learning disability. Later in life, she also faced the brutal challenge of cancer. I have seen for myself the… emotional toll, the complexity of care, and the financial pressures that came with that journey—pressures that were not self-inflicted, or in any way her fault. I have also seen at first hand how PIP can be a lifeline for many people working in my constituency of Keighley and Ilkley, helping them to avoid total reliance on the state. For my constituent Shane, this support is “the fragile scaffolding” on which his life and work currently depend. All these experiences have shaped my own principles, including the need to take personal responsibility, to have a moral duty to support those who genuinely cannot support themselves and to follow the foundational principle that people in exactly the same situation should be treated the same before the law. This Bill breaks those principles. Under Labour’s current plans, someone like Shane, or my sister, Becky, will be treated completely differently by the state, not due to their willingness to work, but based on a completely arbitrary cut-off date, currently being forced through by Ministers in Whitehall. If the Bill passes, someone in my constituency of Keighley and Ilkley, newly diagnosed with a learning disability, cancer or other life-changing condition in late 2026, will get thousands of pounds less in support than someone in identical circumstances today.
Hansard · 1 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
The reasoned amendment in the name of Rachael Maskell has been selected.
LK
Liz Kendall
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. This Bill and our wider welfare reforms seek to fix the broken benefits system that we inherited from the Conservatives and deliver a better life for millions of people across our country. Our plans are rooted in principles and values that I know many in this Hous…
LK
Liz Kendall
Let me make some progress. I do not believe that this is sustainable if we want a welfare state for generations to come that protects people who most need our help. There is nothing compassionate about leaving millions of people who could work without the help they need to build a better life. There is no route to equa…
PH
Paul Holmes
The Secretary of State is absolutely right that any Government that take office should aim to reduce poverty in this country. Why then do her own Government’s figures show that the actions she is taking this afternoon will put an extra 150,000 people into poverty? Does she really think that is what her Back Benchers ex…
LK
Liz Kendall
That is what they call chutzpah, seeing as Conservative Members put an extra 900,000 children into poverty. This Government are determined to tackle child poverty and will take 100,000 children out of poverty through our plans to extend free school meals to every household on universal credit—a downpayment on our child…
RM
Robbie Moore
I am sure that Dennis and Jill will be looking at the debate carefully and understanding clearly the issue of fairness, which is at the heart of what this legislation addresses. As I have explained, it is a scenario that Shane, in my constituency, is experiencing: he is able to receive PIP today, but someone in a simil…
RM
Robbie Moore
This Bill gives no clarity or dignity to the many people such as the constituent the hon. Lady kindly mentions, or those in my constituency of Keighley and Ilkley. That is why I do not support a plan that creates such a two-tier system, which now seems to be the hallmark of this Labour Government and goes against the v…
RM
Robbie Moore
That is the nub of why there is so much concern that has been consistently raised by all Members on the Conversative Benches, and many on the Government Benches as well, who, dare I say, are considering how they will vote later. No one doubts that our welfare system, which is set to exceed £100 billion by 2030, needs r…
RM
Robbie Moore
Trust is at the heart of the issue, and if we want to create a system that commands public trust, this is not the way to do it. We need to reward effort and promote self-reliance, but the Bill creates a two-tier system detached from individual responsibility. We need to make the welfare system more targeted, but the Bi…
RM
Robbie Moore
I will take no lectures from somebody who supported a 10% rise in council tax across the Bradford district, impacting many of those who will be impacted by PIP. This is not principled reform, it is not radical and it is not good policy making—and many Labour Members know it. The Government can and should be doing bette…
Business of the House26 Jun 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Earlier this month Family Business UK confirmed what was obvious to many on this side of the House—but not, apparently, to Labour Members—that the Government’s changes to business property relief will cause more than 200,000 job losses and cost the economy nearly £15 billion. That includes 250 jobs in my constituency and more than £60… million lost to the local economy in West Yorkshire. Can we have an urgent debate on the catastrophic consequences that the Government’s changes to inheritance tax, through business property relief and agricultural property relief, will have on many of our family businesses from April 2026?
Hansard · 26 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
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…
JN
Jesse Norman
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…
JN
Jesse Norman
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…
LP
Lucy Powell
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 …
Topical Questions19 Jun 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
It is a pleasure to cover for the shadow Secretary of State, who is speaking to farmers at the 140th Lincolnshire Agricultural Show. Having visited many such shows myself, including North Sheep 2025 and Cereals 2025 just last week, may I say how disappointed I am by the Secretary of State’s lack of attendance at… these crucial farming events? At a time when our farmers are going through some of the most extraordinary pressures in a generation, we have now learned that this Government have chosen to slash the farming budget. To make matters worse, Ministers have spent the past week trying to sell cuts of more than £100 million a year in real terms as a historic deal for farmers. If the Secretary of State has secured such a historic deal for his Department, where does DEFRA rank compared with others in terms of cuts in the spending review?
Hansard · 19 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
LT
Luke Taylor
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
SR
Steve Reed
Last week, the Minister for Water and Flooding and I attended the United Nations ocean conference in Nice. We announced that the Government will introduce a Bill by the end of the year to ratify the high seas treaty, delivering on our commitment to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. This agreement will provide the first…
LT
Luke Taylor
The Beddington energy recovery facility has an outstanding request to increase its annual permit tonnage to 382,000 tonnes from the originally approved 300,000 tonnes when planning was approved. I know the Secretary of State is familiar with this, as the facility is a mere 100 metres from his constituency. May I ask hi…
SR
Steve Reed
As the hon. Member says, I do know of this situation because the facility is adjacent to my constituency as well. He will know that I cannot comment on what the Environment Agency is intending to do, because it is its decision. None the less, I certainly agree with him that the EA must listen to constituents and people…
JN
Josh Newbury
Whether it is cheap vapes littering our parks and town centres, or fly-tipping blocking country lanes in Norton Canes, my constituents are rightly fed up with waste crime. My local council has had to deal with 1,500 instances of fly-tipping in the past three years, and it is all too often paid for by taxpayers, not cri…
RM
Robbie Moore
It is a shame that the Secretary of State did not do any media at the Royal Cornwall Show and pulled out of speaking events. I can tell him that DEFRA is ranked the third biggest loser of any Government Department in the spending review, and that is his failure. In reality, we are now looking at cuts to the farming bud…
RM
Robbie Moore
This is effectively going to ban the spraying of organic manures in the coming months. Is the Secretary of State categorically ruling that out?
Child Sexual Exploitation: Casey Report16 Jun 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
The fact that victims and survivors of this horrific crime literally had to become campaigners themselves to reach this outcome should make everyone in the House stop and think. When I last met the Safeguarding Minister, the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips) , along with the leading child abuse lawyer David Greenwood, we… pointed out the fundamental flaw in her Government’s grooming gangs strategy: namely, the completely ridiculous decision to give council leaders in areas such as Keighley and Bradford the option to simply say no to an inquiry. Now that we have an inquiry equipped with statutory powers, may I ask the Home Secretary what message she has for local leaders in my region who think that they can still get away with saying no, and what message she has for victims such as Fiona Goddard, who is also from my area and who will no doubt be worrying, like me, that there will still be no focus on Keighley and the wider Bradford district?
Hansard · 16 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
YC
Yvette Cooper
With permission, I will update the House on the audit the Government commissioned from Baroness Casey on child sexual exploitation and grooming gangs, and on the action we are taking to tackle this vile crime—to put perpetrators behind bars and to provide the innocent victims of those crimes with support and justice. T…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Hopefully the report will be available in the Table Office for those Members who wish to see it. The Home Secretary quite rightly took longer than expected, and I have no problem with that. I say to the Leader of the Opposition, and to the Lib Dems, that it is available to them to do the same.
KB
Kemi Badenoch
I thank the Home Secretary for advance sight of the statement, although when I listened to it, I could not believe my ears. It was as if this was the Government’s plan all along, when we all know it is another U-turn. After months of pressure, the Prime Minister has finally accepted our call for a full, statutory, nati…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. Mr Swallow, I want you to set a good example. This is a very serious statement, and tempers are running high, but I certainly do not want to see you pointing, shouting and bawling in that way.
KB
Kemi Badenoch
Mr Speaker, they can point and shout as much as they like; they know the truth, just as we on the Conservative Benches do. Three times—[Interruption.] I will repeat myself: Labour MPs voted against the reasoned amendment to the children’s Bill; in Committee, they voted against that Bill; and they voted against the Crim…
Business of the House12 Jun 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Across Keighley and Ilkley, there are many fantastic independent businesses that rely on footfall for customers to come through their doors. However, after hiking parking charges in Ilkley earlier this year, Labour-run Bradford council has now decided to strip away our free one hour on-street parking from the town centre and, quite rightly, local businesses… and residents are up in arms. On top of the whopping 10% increase in council tax and increases in business rates, Bradford council is now scrapping free car parking, so does the Leader of the House feel that will be to the detriment of our many businesses and residents across the constituency?
Hansard · 12 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
The business for next week is as follows: Monday 16 June —Motion relating to the House of Commons independent complaints and grievance scheme, followed by a general debate on Windrush Day 2025. The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Tuesday 17 June —Remaining stages of the Crime…
JN
Jesse Norman
As the House will know, we have incoming news of a terrible disaster involving a flight out of Ahmedabad in India. I know that the Leader of the House will want to say a few words, but, from the Conservative Benches—I am sure that I speak for the whole House—let me wish everyone involved and their families the very bes…
LP
Lucy Powell
I start by saying that the thoughts of the whole House and the Government will be with the families of those travelling on flight AI171 from Ahmedabad in India to London Gatwick, which has reportedly crashed. This is an unfolding story, and it will undoubtedly be causing a huge amount of worry and concern to the many f…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
To follow on from what the Leader of the House and the shadow Leader of the House have said, all our prayers and thoughts go to the families of the London-bound aircraft that has crashed. Let us hope there is better news to come on that. I was tempted by the Leader of the House when she talked about the knighthood for …
New Clause 22 - Use of compulsory purchase powers for active travel routes10 Jun 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
To bring the hon. Member back to the compulsory purchase measures in part 5 of the Bill, which we are discussing today, many residents along the A1 corridor have been severely impacted by the Government’s decision not to continue the development of the A1. Will he consider supporting our new clause 42, which would increase… the occupier’s loss payment from 2.4% to 7.5%? That would help many of his constituents along the A1 corridor. With the new clause in place, they would receive bigger payments for compulsory purchase orders along the A1 corridor.
Hansard · 10 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
FM
Freddie Van Mierlo
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
JC
Judith Cummins
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 42—Alignment of basic and occupier’s loss payments— “(1) The Land Compensation Act 1973 is amended as follows. (2) In section 33B (occupier’s loss payment: agricultural land), in subsection (2)(a) omit ‘2.5%’ and insert ‘7.5%’. (3) In section 33C (occ…
FM
Freddie Van Mierlo
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to new clause 22. Active travel—cycling, walking and wheeling—is hugely beneficial for health and happiness, and I know there is wide agreement on that point in this House. I welcome the investments being made by this Government in active travel through increases to the budget…
MR
Mike Reader
It is fantastic to speak in the Chamber on a subject that has been part of my career for the better part of 20 years. I started working in the construction sector as a civil engineer and finished my time working on major programmes around the world. Planning, and particularly planning in respect of national programmes …
PH
Paul Holmes
It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Northampton South (Mike Reader) . He was very generous in congratulating many Members on their amendments and very constructive when he outlined his position on this piece of legislation. I know that Members across the Chamber will be devastated to hear that this will be m…
RM
Robbie Moore
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech about choices, but this is also about fairness. The compulsory purchase powers contained in part 5 of the Bill disregard any hope value over and above agricultural value, which is not fair at all for those landowners who are having their land compulsorily acquired. If my hon…
RM
Robbie Moore
I rise to speak about new clause 127 and amendment 153, both of which are in my name. Compulsory purchase is a highly emotive and highly controversial subject. Indeed, much of yesterday’s debate was taken up by discussion of precisely the new CPO powers that the Bill will grant to Natural England and local authorities.…
RM
Robbie Moore
That is exactly why I am so frustrated by the intent of the Government’s Bill. It gives Natural England more compulsory purchase powers, more funds through environmental delivery plans, and an ability to scrutinise and, indeed, to dictate to landowners how their land or farm may be utilised. That is wrong, especially w…
RM
Robbie Moore
But the Government are going way beyond that and giving more powers to local authorities and, indeed, Natural England. If the Minister has gone out and spoken to anyone in the agricultural world, he will realise that trust in Natural England is shot, yet the Government are giving it more powers to compulsorily acquire …
RM
Robbie Moore
That is exactly why I urge the Government, as I have throughout the passage of the Bill—I know this point was also raised in Committee—to realise the huge level of disenfranchisement it represents for landowners. This Bill is not introducing fairness into the system, because it does not enable the state to pay the mark…
RM
Robbie Moore
Here we have the Liberal Democrats setting out their position, and it is a good that they are doing so because I fundamentally believe that if a farmer owns land and the state seizes control of it through compulsory purchase powers, it is absolutely right that that farmer should be rewarded with the market value, not t…
RM
Robbie Moore
The farming community faces so much uncertainty not only as a result of the Bill, but because of all the additional pressures, whether it is the family farm tax or the increases in overheads, that are hitting cash flow this year. That is why my new clause 127 and amendment 153 —and, indeed, Opposition new clause 42—are…
Winter Fuel Payment9 Jun 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Today’s U-turn is an astonishing victory against the Government, whose support has dried up after less than a year in office. When the Government announced their cruel cut to the winter fuel payment, costing 64,000 Bradford district pensioners vital support, experts across the country warned that up to 4,000 lives could be at risk as… people were forced to choose between heating and eating. Now that the majority of the winter fuel payment has been restored, do the Government dare to produce a figure for how many pensioners may have lost their life as a result of the Government’s choice to remove the winter fuel allowance?
Hansard · 9 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
TB
Torsten Bell
On 21 May , the Prime Minister told this House that the Government wanted to extend eligibility for winter fuel payments to a wider range of pensioners in England and Wales. Today we are setting out how this will happen for the coming winter and the years ahead. This will provide certainty for pensioners and ensure tha…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
HW
Helen Whately
I feel for the Minister, sent here by his bosses to complete what must be the most humiliating climbdown a Government have ever faced in their first year in office. For nearly a year, the Conservatives have campaigned against this cut, and for nearly a year, the Government have tried to hold out. Just four weeks ago, I…
TB
Torsten Bell
I will deal directly with two of the questions raised because it is important to provide reassurance. The right hon. Lady asks what will happen with the estate of someone who is deceased. I want to be clear that His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will never pursue any estate for the winter fuel payment alone. She also a…
NM
Navendu Mishra
Members on both sides of the House will have had a large volume of correspondence on this matter, so I thank the Minister for his statement. This fair policy change saves our public services £450 million by ensuring that the wealthiest pensioners do not continue to receive the winter fuel payment. Does he agree?
Business of the House15 May 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
West Yorkshire police recently announced, to much fanfare, that areas such as Keighley and Ilkley would receive extra officers as part of a new neighbourhood policing team strategy. What seemed like a good and positive announcement hid the fact that the so-called new officers have been seconded from Operation Steerside—a critical team of officers that… tackles vehicle crimes, which will now be disbanded, with a negative impact on my constituents. May we have a debate on that important issue in Government time? Does the Leader of the House agree that if officer numbers are an issue for West Yorkshire police, the force should not continue with discriminatory hiring practices that deter white recruits from applying?
Hansard · 15 May 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the future business?
LP
Lucy Powell
I shall. The business for the week commencing 19 May includes: Monday 19 May —Second Reading of the Mental Health Bill [Lords]. Tuesday 20 May —Second Reading of the Victims and Courts Bill. Wednesday 21 May —Opposition day (8th allotted day). Debate on a motion in the name of the official Opposition, subject to be ann…
JN
Jesse Norman
I thank the Leader of the House for her remarks. As you will know, Madam Deputy Speaker, this week saw the tragic and untimely death of Sir Roy Stone. We had a brief moment of recognition of him earlier in the week, but I am keenly aware that many Labour colleagues were not in the House at the time of his flourishing. …
LP
Lucy Powell
I will take this opportunity to also pay tribute to Sir Roy Stone, the former principal private secretary to the Government Chief Whip. He was very much known as the “usual channels”, and I think he embodied that with distinction. I did not know him personally, but I know of his reputation and of the love and esteem in…
CB
Christopher Bloore
Astwood Bank is a beautiful village in my constituency of Redditch and the villages. However, despite its aesthetic beauty, it is the people of Astwood Bank who I am most proud of. In the Gallery today are a group representing Astwood Bank’s Royal British Legion, which has been responsible for raising tens of thousands…
Solar Farms15 May 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. One issue not normally considered is the reinstatement provisions after a solar farm has been implemented. A vast quantity of our prime agricultural land is being taken out of production, generally for a term of 20 to 25 years. Should not consideration be given to the state… of the organic matter, the soil and the potential yield of that land after the term of 25 years or longer has ended, and the negative impact on our food production?
Hansard · 15 May 2025 · parliament.uk
DJ
Dr Caroline Johnson
I beg to move, That this House has considered solar farms. I must first inform the House that my husband is a farmer and agricultural contractor. I am very grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for allowing me time for a debate on large-scale solar farms. There are some things that Members across the House can a…
JH
John Hayes
There is a further point about suitability. My hon. Friend, as a Lincolnshire MP, will know that our county produces a hugely disproportionate amount of the nation’s food. Compromising food production puts food security at risk, because the solar farms, which are industrial developments, use up land that could otherwis…
DJ
Dr Caroline Johnson
My right hon. Friend is of course right, as usual, and I will address that point in more detail later in my speech. Even if we could resolve all those production, recycling and transportation issues, and so accept that solar is viable for the UK, ground-mounted solar projects are not the right approach. Panels installe…
RG
Rachel Gilmour
Does the hon. Lady agree that solar energy generation is a key stepping stone on our pathway towards a green economy and to reaching net zero, for those of us in this House who still believe in it? However, where possible, we should not take up agricultural land. I am very pleased to say that my office is supporting Fa…
DJ
Dr Caroline Johnson
I agree wholeheartedly that we should not use our best agricultural farmland for solar panels. The previous Government took steps to establish a £50 million fund to incentivise rooftop installations on farm buildings. That is the right measure to maximise the efficient use of land. This Government’s approach, by contra…
Infected Blood Inquiry: Government Response14 May 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I will be forever indebted to my constituent Clive Smith, who is also the president of the Haemophilia Society. He has been a long-standing advocate and a voice for those victims seeking justice for being affected and infected. Of course, time is of the essence and many victims still feel disillusioned and that the Government… are dragging their heels. While the Government have accepted publicly that victims will die before they get the compensation they are owed, as has been referenced in this Chamber, surely this just illustrates that the system is not going fast enough. What reassurance can the Minister provide that compensation will be delivered at speed and that the system will be as simple as possible for those affected and infected to apply for compensation? Also, what reassurance can he provide that they will be kept informed and updated as part of that process?
Hansard · 14 May 2025 · parliament.uk
NT
Nick Thomas-Symonds
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…
MW
Mike Wood
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 …
GS
Gregory Stafford
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.
JC
Judith Cummins
Points of order come after the statement.
NT
Nick Thomas-Symonds
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…
Flooding: Protecting Vulnerable Communities8 May 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
On the 80th anniversary of VE Day, I thank those who fought for our and Europe’s freedom and, indeed, those who worked our land and kept our nation fed. Our peatlands store 26 times more carbon than forests. They improve water quality and protect communities up and down the UK from flooding. The Nature Minister… rightly called peatlands our “country’s Amazon rainforest” and launched a consultation to protect them. She is right, because once they have been destroyed, they can never be replaced. At the very same time, the Energy Secretary plans to rip up 2,000 hectares of protected peatland on historic land in West Yorkshire for a vast wind farm development, opening up communities to flooding and destroying the peatlands that Labour says it wants to protect. How can the Government claim to be protecting our irreplaceable peatlands when the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is actively considering destroying one of our most environmentally important landscapes in the country?
Hansard · 8 May 2025 · parliament.uk
AB
Alex Barros-Curtis
What steps he has taken to help protect communities vulnerable to flooding.
EH
Emma Hardy
After 14 years, the Conservatives left our flood defences in the worst condition on record. We are investing a record £2.65 billion in a thousand projects to better protect 52,000 properties by March 2026.
AB
Alex Barros-Curtis
Following the recent storm season, serious flooding damaged the foundations of Radyr cricket club and exposed electrical cables, which forced the club to close and cancel practice until the site was made safe. The club is also situated next to important electricity infrastructure, which means up to 930 customers could …
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I am sure they have got a meeting already.
EH
Emma Hardy
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue, and I am sorry to hear about the issues his constituents are facing with flooding—I know at first hand how disruptive and awful flooding can be. As I am sure he knows, flooding is a devolved matter in Wales, but I would of course be happy to work with him and to …
Business of the House8 May 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Baby Jack was just 16 months old when, on Boxing day 2022, he passed away from sudden unexplained death in childhood, which was incredibly heartbreaking. It is something that unfortunately we just do not know enough about. I want to commend Jack’s parents, Cheryl and Darren from Silsden, whom I have met. They have been… fund- raising on this issue ever since that fateful day. This weekend they will be taking on their biggest challenge: cycling from Leeds to Liverpool along the canal. I hope that hon. Members across the House, including the Leader of the House, will join me in sending our thoughts to Cheryl and Darren and their eldest son Louis on their fortitude and determination, and wish them the very best of luck in their cycling challenge this weekend.
Hansard · 8 May 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
The business for the week commencing 12 May includes: Monday 12 May —Remaining stages of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Tuesday 13 May —Opposition day (7th allotted day). Debate on a motion in the name of the official Opposition, subject to be announced. Wednesday 14 May —Consideration of Lords messa…
JN
Jesse Norman
This is of course the 80th anniversary of VE Day, when all Britain rejoiced at the defeat of fascism and the end of the war in Europe. I am sure I speak for the whole House in putting on record once again our profound thanks and our celebration of the immortal memory of that extraordinary generation who—through their c…
LP
Lucy Powell
Mr Speaker, further to your statement, talks on the US trade deal developments continue at pace. With your permission, the House will be updated later today. I will come on to VE Day shortly, but may I first address the remarks of the right hon. Member for Hereford and South Herefordshire (Jesse Norman) ? I thank the r…
KE
Kirith Entwistle
Women’s Aid reports that 82% of domestic abuse cases go unreported. Reporting and prosecution rates are disproportionately lower for black and minoritised survivors. Does the Leader of the House agree that consistent collection and publication of disaggregated data is key to assessing whether Government actions are wor…
Trade Negotiations8 May 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
We have had huge amounts of tariffs put on the UK, and then a trade deal to reduce them; there have been positive impacts on some industries, and potentially negative impacts on others. Today’s announcement of a UK-US trade deal has therefore given rise to more questions than answers. On one side, we have US… officials hailing the deal as “dramatically increasing” access to the UK agricultural market, which I am sure will ring alarm bells for many. On the other side, we have the UK Government claiming that the agreement is balanced and fair. First, will the Minister categorially confirm that no reductions to UK food standards, environmental protections—which have not been mentioned yet—and animal welfare rules have been conceded in this agreement? Secondly, what is the true impact of the tariff arrangements on British farmers and growers? We have heard vague claims of reciprocal access, but have the Government conducted any assessment of the economic impact for UK farmers, their practices and their opportunities?
Hansard · 8 May 2025 · parliament.uk
DA
Douglas Alexander
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Let me make the statement, as requested. Within the last couple of hours, a deal has been announced by the Prime Minister and President Trump respectively. I therefore welcome the opportunity to update the House on the terms of the agreement that has just been reached. Back in February, I stood b…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
AG
Andrew Griffith
Thank you for ensuring that the House had the opportunity to hear this statement today, Mr Speaker. Free trade betters us all. It has lifted billions from poverty and has made us the country we are today, and the country that had the ability to join the fight for Europe’s freedom 80 years ago. Unfortunately, this is no…
DA
Douglas Alexander
Where to begin, Mr Speaker? As I sought to reflect in my statement, and as the Prime Minister remarked only a few minutes ago, “This is jobs saved…not job done.” It is significant that two former Conservative Prime Ministers —the former Members for Henley and for Maidenhead, as I recollect—sought and failed to deliver …
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee.
Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary6 May 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Victory in Europe Day is a time not only to celebrate, but to reflect and remember. I am privileged to represent a community that does all three. Recently, I met two veterans of the war, both 100 years young. It was an honour to spend time with them, listening to their stories. In April 1945,… Mr Philip Jackson from Keighley drove one of the first wagons into Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, notorious as the location of the death of Anne Frank, her family and over 70,000 inmates in the cruellest and most unspeakable of conditions. The work of Mr Jackson and his unit not only began the process of recuperation for the survivors, but provided us with a record of that terrible place for the world to see. I also met Pam Rae from Ilkley. Mrs Rae was a Women’s Royal Naval Service radar mechanic, installing cutting-edge radar sets in ships on the Clyde, including HMS Vanguard. In fact, Mrs Rae took part in the original VE Day celebrations and the parade in Glasgow 80 years ago. Groups working to preserve the memory of that great generation and educate the young are strong in Keighley and Ilkley. Our cadet forces are a constant presence, flying the flag for our modern armed forces, and an organisation called the Men of Worth Project has meticulously researched the lives, stories and legacies of hundreds of men and women of the first and second world wars from Keighley and Ilkley. I thank Andy Wade and his team for their incredible work. Our very own Home Guard unit, WR28, is still going strong. When I visited that unit recently, I was thoroughly impressed by the traditions that it is still keeping alive. Of course, even once the fighting is over, our armed forces continue to remember those who fought. That memory is also preserved by our fantastic armed forces and veterans breakfast club, which helps bring a vital social network to veterans and servicemen across the Ilkley area. Mark Sugrue and the team recently held a sleep-out to raise money for and awareness of veterans i
Hansard · 6 May 2025 · parliament.uk
SP
Stephanie Peacock
I beg to move, That this House has considered the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan. I am honoured to be opening today’s debate as we come together as a House and a country to mark 80 years since victory in Europe on Thursday 8 May . On 15 August , we will mark victory over Japan. In May 1940…
JS
Jim Shannon
I notice an oversight in the Minister’s contribution: Northern Ireland made a very significant contribution. There was never any conscription needed in Northern Ireland, and the great thing about it was that the women filled the gap. They worked in aircraft factories, at Harland and Wolff, in engineering, on the farms,…
SP
Stephanie Peacock
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and I will come on to speak about Northern Ireland later in my contribution. I was delighted to visit Northern Ireland a few weeks ago to see at first hand how it will commemorate VE Day. I am sure that Members will share how their constituencies or families played their part in …
MP
Mark Pritchard
The Minister talks about victory. Will she join me in paying tribute to Corporal Thomas Priday, from the 1st Battalion of the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, who was one of the first soldiers killed in world war two? While she is paying tribute to him and his relatives, will she also pay tribute to the Shropshire Roy…
SP
Stephanie Peacock
I join the right hon. Gentleman in paying tribute. He makes an incredibly important point, which he has put on the record, and I am really pleased to echo his sentiments. As I was saying, it is up to all of us to keep the collective memory alive as time marches forward.
Child Rape Gangs28 Apr 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
In February, a brave group of victims and a leading child abuse lawyer wrote to the Home Secretary warning her that the rape gangs scandal across the Bradford district is likely to be one of the most significant of its kind in the UK, and that leaders in Bradford are deliberately seeking to avoid the… commissioning of an in-depth inquiry for fear of unearthing a significant problem. The letter, which still sits with the Home Secretary, outlines the dreadful deadlock that we are in across the Bradford district, where there is overwhelming victim-led support for a full inquiry, but a council unwilling to commission one. Does the Minister believe that victims and families across Keighley and the wider Bradford district deserve a full rape gangs inquiry, and if not, why not? If she believes they do deserve an inquiry, what powers will she use to overrule Bradford council if it continues to ignore victims’ wishes?
Hansard · 28 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
CP
Chris Philp
(Urgent Question): To ask the Home Secretary to make a statement on the child rape gangs scandal.
JP
Jess Phillips
The shadow Home Secretary was away when I updated the House on the Government’s response to the independent national inquiry into child sexual abuse, and on the action that we are taking to investigate and tackle child grooming gangs across the country. As I have said many times, people up and down this country are und…
CP
Chris Philp
The whole nation is shocked by the rape gangs scandal. Thousands of young teenage girls were systematically raped over years by men of predominantly Pakistani heritage—girls such as Jane, who was repeatedly gang raped at the age of just 12. The police found her being abused by an illegal immigrant, but instead of arres…
JP
Jess Phillips
I thank the shadow Home Secretary. I do not need to read out the things found in other local inquiries to know, because I speak to the victims. I spoke to some of the victims of grooming gangs this morning, and I will speak to some more tomorrow. I have spoken to them from Oxford, from Birmingham, from Rochdale, from R…
JR
Jake Richards
I genuinely welcome the renewed focus on this issue in this Parliament. In the Home Affairs Committee we have heard evidence from Professor Jay about her report, which made a number of recommendations in November 2022. She then set out her efforts in trying to get the previous Conservative Government to act on any of t…
Bail Guidelines22 Apr 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
If she will have discussions with the HM Prison and Probation Service on the potential merits of reviewing its guidelines on bail.
Hansard · 22 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
SM
Shabana Mahmood
Equality before the law is a cornerstone of our justice system, and my position on this is clear. Later today, this House will debate legislation to overturn guidelines that the last Conservative Government welcomed, and I am not stopping there. I am reviewing current policy, and this guidance is being redrafted as we …
SM
Shabana Mahmood
First, I share the hon. Member’s outrage over the crimes that were committed in his community, and the fact that two of those individuals have been able to leave the country, and therefore evade the full force of the law and serving their sentence here. He will know that the decision to remand an individual in custody …
RM
Robbie Moore
After the conviction of eight men for a string of horrendous child rape offences in Keighley, I wish I could stand here and say that justice has been fully served, but I cannot, because two of these men—dual nationals—absconded during their trial, are still evading justice and are known to be abroad. Does the Secretary…
Topical Questions22 Apr 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
In a single week in Bradford, we have seen council leaders once again reject my calls for a full rape gangs inquiry. An ex-police officer has been threatened with arrest for investigating these horrific crimes, and now a judge is blocking the release of official transcripts from a major rape gang trial in Bradford. Can… the Lord Chancellor explain why our justice system is being used to block the truth about these trials?
Hansard · 22 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
GS
Gregory Stafford
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
SM
Shabana Mahmood
The House will be aware of the attack at HMP Frankland on 12 April . The bravery of the officers involved undoubtedly saved lives, and my thoughts are with them as they recover. I think also of the victims of the Manchester arena bombing and their families, who are understandably outraged. Since the attack, I have susp…
GS
Gregory Stafford
I associate myself with the Lord Chancellor’s comments and extend my sympathies to the families of those who were attacked. In Bordon, the release of a sex offender to a property near the Hogmoor inclosure—frequently used by young people, families and children—has caused consternation in my constituency. What is the Lo…
SM
Shabana Mahmood
We have robust processes in place to ensure that those offenders can be monitored effectively at both national and local levels and that those monitoring mechanisms are as robust as possible. I will happily look into the case that the hon. Gentleman raises and ensure that he gets a ministerial response.
AJ
Adam Jogee
The Conservatives presided over 14 years of total failure in our justice system. Let me be topical. To restore justice in this country and keep my constituents safe, we cannot just do more of the same; we need more transparency about the time criminals spend in jail, and common-sense sentencing must mean exactly that. …
Tackling Child Sexual Abuse8 Apr 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I have to say that I am completely infuriated by today’s statement. Here we are, on the very last sitting day before the Easter recess, and the Government have all but admitted that no real progress whatsoever has been made on their promise to launch five local rape gang inquiries before Easter. It gets worse:… for more than five years, leaders at the very top of Bradford council in my constituency have denied, refused and covered up, every single time I and victims, survivors and their families have called for a full rape gang inquiry across Keighley and the wider Bradford district. Yet the Minister and this Government refuse to face the facts. Bradford’s leadership simply will not act by itself, so why are this Government letting the very councils that failed victims decide whether they want to be investigated? When will this Government step up, use their statutory powers and give the victims and survivors in areas such as Keighley and the wider Bradford district the full inquiry that they have wanted for almost two decades?
Hansard · 8 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
JP
Jess Phillips
With permission, I will make a statement updating the House on Government action to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation and on progress on the recommendations of the independent inquiry. Child sexual abuse and exploitation are the most horrific and disturbing crimes—an abuse of power against those who are most v…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call shadow Minister Katie Lam.
KL
Katie Lam
I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement. In January, the Home Secretary said that the Government would conduct five local inquiries into the rape gangs who have terrorised so many innocent children. More than three months since the Government announced those local inquiries, Tom Crowther KC, a barrister…
JP
Jess Phillips
I thank the hon. Lady; I think it is a shame that she referred to only one sort of child abuse victim, when the statement is clearly about all child abuse victims. There should be no hierarchy; we are also talking about children raped by their fathers or raped in other circumstances, such as in children’s homes and ins…
PW
Paul Waugh
I welcome today’s action plan. I particularly welcome the creation of a new child protection authority and the doubling of funding for groups who are helping survivors and victims of child abuse, up and down the country. The independent inquiry into grooming gangs in Rochdale, commissioned by Greater Manchester’s Mayor…
Easter Adjournment8 Apr 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
It is great to speak in this Easter debate, and I would like to use this opportunity to thank a handful of fantastic organisations from across the constituency. It is really difficult to pick out a few from across Keighley, Ilkley, Silsden and the Worth Valley, an area that I am incredibly proud to represent.… I start with Joze school of dance. It is a fantastic dance organisation based in Ilkley, delivering performing arts training to young people. It has been going for 20 years, and I was lucky enough to watch its 20th anniversary performance last weekend. I want to say a huge thank you to Jo, who has dedicated 20 years of her life to providing a great deal of confidence to young people from not only Ilkley but the wider area, enabling young people to become much better at dancing, singing and choreography. There are two individuals I want to give a big shout-out to: Masie Swann, who was recognised as being a star performer, and Blythe Dale, who was winner of the “Heart of Joze school of dance” award last weekend. Moving on to sports, I want to give huge congratulations to Silsden Association Football Club, who were this month crowned champions of the Northern Counties East premier football league after beating Pickering Town 2-1. This is an incredible achievement in what is the Cobbydalers’ 120th anniversary year, and it means that for the first time a local club from our part of West Yorkshire will be playing just three divisions below the Football League—a remarkable feat. I confess that I cannot be a Cobbydaler because I am definitely still an off comed ’un when it comes to living in Silsden, but the whole town is incredibly proud. I wish to put on record my great thanks for the amount of effort that the team is putting into not only raising the profile of Silsden but supporting the many young people across Silsden. I put on record a huge thank you to Keighley Albion, who have also made waves this year by reaching the National Conference League after a long abs
Hansard · 8 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
BB
Bob Blackman
I beg to move, That this House has considered matters to be raised before the forthcoming Adjournment. The first quarter of this year has flown by, and it seems as though it was only yesterday that we were preparing for Christmas and the new year. I am pleased that the weather has finally indicated that spring has spru…
JS
Jim Shannon
I thank the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee for obliging me with all these debates over the year. There are a couple more coming up, which will keep us busy in a few weeks’ time. On the future of Gaza and Israel, I support the two-state solution as the way forward, but does the hon. Gentleman share my view th…
BB
Bob Blackman
I thank the Backbench Business Committee season ticket holder for his intervention, but I assure him that it will not get him any favours in his applications for further debates. I was saddened to hear that on Sunday night, Hamas yet again fired 10 rockets into Israel in an attempt to cause further harm and destruction…
CN
Caroline Nokes
With a birthday contribution, I call Alan Strickland.
AS
Alan Strickland
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Now that I know I get to go first, I might have birthdays more often. It is a real pleasure to speak in this Easter Adjournment debate. In doing so, I pay tribute to the memory of our late colleague Sir David Amess. I was not a Member of the House at the time, but I hear that the number…
RM
Robbie Moore
Absolutely. That is why it is so important that all Members across the House support grassroots sporting organisations and the sporting facilities at their heart. They drive confidence in our young people, whatever sport it may be. I also put on record my thanks to the Ilkley business awards committee, which, every yea…
Local Development: Public Consultation7 Apr 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Whether she plans to include more local people in discussions on development in their area.
Hansard · 7 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
CY
Claire Young
What her policy is on the future role of planning committees in the planning process.
MP
Matthew Pennycook
Local plans are the best way for communities to shape decisions about how to deliver the housing and wider development that their areas need. We want more people to be involved in the development of those local plans, and a key objective of our digital planning reforms is increased public engagement with them. Measures…
MP
Matthew Pennycook
I appreciate that the hon. Gentleman needed to make a political point to get his clip, but I am glad that we have Labour councils across the country that back development. Of course residents should have their say, but it is the role and responsibility of local authorities to make decisions about material consideration…
CY
Claire Young
When I was leader of South Gloucestershire council, in partnership with Labour, we restored the right of local people to speak at planning committee site visits, giving people back their voice in the affected community. However, clause 46 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill would enable the Secretary of State to by…
MP
Matthew Pennycook
As I have made clear, we want more people involved in the development of local plans. There is nothing in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that will prevent them from objecting to individual applications. The measures simply ensure that the process of determining applications at a local level is more streamlined an…
RM
Robbie Moore
Across my constituency, local people are hugely frustrated at Labour-run Bradford council inundating our communities with hundreds of new houses, while not investing in local services and roads. Despite protests and valid concerns, the council has steamrollered through developments at every stage. Yet when vast numbers…
Road Maintenance7 Apr 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Will the Secretary of State give way?
Hansard · 7 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
HA
Heidi Alexander
I beg to move, That this House has considered road maintenance. For too long, Britain has been plagued by potholes. Too many people in too many parts of the country have had their everyday journeys turned into frustrating obstacle courses by our pockmarked roads. It is worse than that, however, because cratered roads c…
CV
Christopher Vince
My right hon. Friend reminds me of the road on which I live, where drivers trying to avoid a pothole in the road went on to the pavement, which led to the pavement being damaged. Does she agree that fixing potholes quickly wills save pavements as well?
HA
Heidi Alexander
My hon. Friend describes a win-win situation.
MO
Melanie Onn
At my constituency surgery on Friday, my constituent Helen came to see me because she has had a terrible fall on a badly maintained pavement, and she has really been struggling to find out who is responsible for maintaining the pavement. Does anything in the funding brought forward by this Government enable quick and e…
HA
Heidi Alexander
Local authorities are free to use the money as they see fit, as long as they are using it in a way that represents value for money for the taxpayer. The money can be used for work on roads, pavements or structures. On the issue of responsibility raised by my hon. Friend’s constituent, that will be for the local highway…
RM
Robbie Moore
I receive countless emails and letters from local people across the constituency about the shocking state of our roads. People are rightly frustrated about potholes, and about the little and long waits for repairs forced on them by Bradford council. This is perhaps one of the most important issues that all of us, as MP…
RM
Robbie Moore
I am pleased that the hon. Member brought that up. Just in 2021, Bradford council, through its statutory responsibility to provide feedback to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government —it was the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities at the time—reported that it was in sound financial he…
RM
Robbie Moore
Does my hon. Friend agree that it is not just north of the border that these cuts are being made? South of the border, we have seen this new Labour Government cut the local service delivery grant by over £100 million. The grant is specifically allocated to assist rural councils in providing much-needed services, such a…
RM
Robbie Moore
Does my hon. Friend agree that this causes inconvenience not only to the many commuters who use the A1, who want better connectivity north of the border, but to the landowners who have been moved around in the negotiations for years? This Labour Government’s decision to scrap the funding allocated for the A1 upgrade no…
RM
Robbie Moore
I welcome the announcement on better transparency in how local government is spending money on potholes, but the challenge I have in the Bradford district is that, according to the answer to a freedom of information request, only 4% of highway spending over six years was spent in the Keighley and Ilkley constituency. T…
Planning and Infrastructure Bill24 Mar 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
There are so many points to address in the Bill, but I will keep my remarks to just a few. I have grave concerns that the Government’s agreeable aim of freeing up our planning system will be dragged further by this Bill into the bog of planning delay and indecision. There has been a lot… of talk about whether the Bill will afford special protections for peatland on sites of special scientific interest, but I have looked at the detail and have concerns that, rather than leading to better protections for peatland areas, the Bill does the opposite. I will start my contribution by explaining why that is such a huge issue. Take Walshaw moor, which borders my constituency, just next to the Worth valley in my beautiful part of West Yorkshire. Most importantly, it is an irreplaceable blanket bog peatland and carries protected status. It is a site of heavily protected bird species and ground-nesting birds. Recently, it has become the proposed site for what would be England’s largest onshore wind farm. I am firmly opposed to that development. The disruption that a new wind farm would cause, through the constructions of 65 turbines—each taller than Blackpool tower—would be devasting to the blanket bog peatland. In fact, peat bogs across the UK store many times more carbon than our forests. Disturbing that peatland by constructing a wind farm on top of it could release many tonnes of carbon back into the atmosphere, directly contradicting the aim of the whole development—namely, to reduce carbon emissions. It is simply nonsensical to use Walshaw moor when the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has shown that the Government could achieve their targets for wind power without building on a single acre of protected peatland. Let me come to the substance of the Bill as it relates to that development. The introduction of environmental development plans seems like a good idea: why shouldn’t developers pay some form of compensation for the environmental damage that their developm
Hansard · 24 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
CN
Caroline Nokes
The reasoned amendment in the name of Gideon Amos has not been selected.
AR
Angela Rayner
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. It is time to get Britain building again. It is what working people expect of this Government and it is what we will deliver. Our Planning and Infrastructure Bill is critical to achieving economic growth, higher living standards and a more secure future for our co…
MP
Mark Pritchard
I gently say to the Secretary of State that none of my constituents is saying, “In Shropshire, we don’t need any more homes. We don’t want any more homes.” They just want to be consulted. They want the homes in the right place, at the right scale, with the right architecture and in the right numbers. They want their vo…
AR
Angela Rayner
I gently say to the right hon. Member that it is this Government who have brought forward mandatory local plans, and it was his Government who did not. For too long we have left home ownership to collapse, with homelessness soaring and over 160,000 children in temporary accommodation. This is a country that simply is n…
LC
Lewis Cocking
Can the Secretary of State outline what powers in the Bill she will use to take on developers and make sure that they build based on the planning permissions they already have?
RM
Robbie Moore
I absolutely agree. It is why the Government should be honest with the public that, far from strengthening environmental protections, the Bill creates a direct avenue for developers to pay to do environmental damage and get around otherwise more stringent protection laws.
RM
Robbie Moore
The Minister gets to the nub of the issue in that the nutrient neutrality issue caused an absolute stagnation in housing development. Indeed, the Government want to give Natural England even more powers, which will lead not only to increased stagnation in development but to frustration for those who want development to…
RM
Robbie Moore
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is not fair at all for the state, be it national Government or our local authorities, to step in and not pay a landowner the market value they deserve. It is absolutely outrageous that this Government are introducing legislation, and changing section 12 of the Land Compensation Act 1…
RM
Robbie Moore
Let me get to the point—I know time is short, Madam Deputy Speaker. This Government’s approach in the Bill will not deliver planning done at speed, and it will not give the environmental protections that the Government are indicating to the wider public. It is not a good Bill.
RM
Robbie Moore
Does my right hon. Friend not realise that, in addition to placemaking, this is about making sure that infrastructure is at the heart of any new development, so that those who move into new places have GP practices, doctors surgeries and other facilities available to them?
Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs20 Mar 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Back in November, the farming Minister unbelievably said from the Government Dispatch Box that it was striking how many people were coming up to him at farming events and saying, “You’re right to be making these changes to APR and BPR.” Conservative Members have been out and about all over the country; indeed, I was… in Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Shropshire yesterday, and I have not found one farmer who thinks that he is right. In fact, the level of anger and sheer disbelief among our farming community is immense as this Government’s attack on our farming cash flows continues through the dramatic reduction in delinked payments, the sudden stop of the sustainable farming incentive and the rise in employer’s national insurance contributions—I could go on. Business confidence is at an all-time low, so can the Minister provide the name of just one farmer he has spoken to who thinks he and his Government are right to be pursuing these changes?
Hansard · 20 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
DR
David Reed
What estimate he has made of the number of farmers affected by changes to agricultural and business property reliefs.
DZ
Daniel Zeichner
Around 500 claims each year will be impacted. Our reforms will mean that farmers will pay a reduced inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40%, and payments can be spread over 10 years interest free. Farm-owning couples can pass on up to £3 million without paying inheritance tax. In our view, this is a f…
DR
David Reed
I am starting to feel like DEFRA Ministers are purposefully ignoring me and Devon’s farming community. I have given the Secretary of State since early December to answer my letters and my invitations to meet with Devon’s farming community, in order to explain how changes to agricultural property relief and business pro…
DZ
Daniel Zeichner
I hear the hon. Gentleman’s complaint, but I have been to Devon in my role before, and I will come to Devon again. I am always happy to meet farmers. I have spent quite a lot of time at this Dispatch Box answering questions from Conservative Members, so perhaps fewer questions will mean more time to go out and meet far…
DZ
Daniel Zeichner
I suggest that the shadow Minister goes out and speaks to a few more people, because I was stopped in a local village just this weekend and encouraged —[Interruption.] I am not going to name names, but he should check with some of his Conservative candidates in elections. They said, “Keep on going, you are doing the ri…
Business of the House20 Mar 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Following Santander’s disappointing decision to turn its back on Ilkley and close the bank branch there, Link has recommended that our town gets a full banking hub, which I have long campaigned for. That is welcome news, but it should not have taken the last bank closing for us to get one. Meanwhile, in Keighley,… bank branch after bank branch has closed, but there is no sign of us getting a banking hub. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on getting banking hubs open without our waiting for an area’s last bank branch to close? Will she ensure that banking hub services are accessible, with full cash access?
Hansard · 20 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the business for next week?
LP
Lucy Powell
I shall. The business for the week commencing 24 March includes: Monday 24 March —Second Reading of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Tuesday 25 March —If necessary, consideration of Lords amendments, followed by consideration of Lords amendments to the Non-domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill, fo…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the shadow Leader of the House.
JN
Jesse Norman
Thank you very much indeed, Madam Deputy Speaker. I hope that you and the House will excuse me if I start on a very personal note. Almost exactly 24 hours ago, my father, Torquil Norman, died at the age of 91. He was an extraordinary man. He flew Seafires and Sea Furies during his national service in the Fleet Air Arm.…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Before the Leader of the House responds, I wish to put on the record my condolences to the right hon. Gentleman, and my love and prayers. He and I spent some time together in a Department. He was a top gentleman to work with, and his father will have been very proud.
Minimum and Living Wages13 Mar 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Whether it be the increase in the minimum wage, the increase in employer national insurance, the increase in business rates, or indeed the changes made to the Employment Rights Bill, all of these measures collectively are negatively penalising many businesses across my constituency, whether in Keighley, Ilkley or further afield. As a result, redundancies are… having to be made, or the price of products and services are having to increase, and these businesses cannot absorb the additional increase that this Labour Government are putting on them. Did the Government undertake any economic impact assessment of what all of these measures collectively would have on hard-working businesses across my constituency?
Hansard · 13 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
KS
Kenneth Stevenson
What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the national minimum wage and national living wage on families in Airdrie and Shotts constituency.
LA
Luke Akehurst
What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the national minimum wage and national living wage on families.
JR
Jonathan Reynolds
More than 3 million workers are expected to receive a pay rise due to increases to the national minimum wage in April, protecting the lowest paid in society. After our changes to the remit, we accepted in full the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission, which considers the impact of rates on business, competitivenes…
KS
Kenneth Stevenson
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. Just yesterday, Parliament approved Labour’s new deal for working people—the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. This will see a pay rise for more than 200,000 working Scots, many in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency, and a marked improvement to terms an…
JR
Jonathan Reynolds
The plan to make work pay is a core part of our mission to grow the economy, raise living standards and create opportunities for all, and there will be significant benefits for workers in insecure and low-paid jobs in central Scotland, including in Airdrie and Shotts. This plan is about making people stay in work. It i…
Business of the House13 Mar 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
The Worth valley in my constituency is probably one of the most beautiful parts of the countryside, but it is under threat from the Walshaw moor wind farm, which is potentially the largest wind farm development in the UK, ripping through 235 hectares of protected peatland—one of our most protected natural carbon stores. Local campaign… groups are staunchly and quite rightly against it, as am I. In the interests of party unity, I have written to all neighbouring MPs—West Yorkshire is a lonely place for a Conservative, as they all happen to be Labour MPs—but I have not had a response from any of them, despite writing to them back in January. Can we have a debate in Government time about the importance of raising our local concerns about wind farm developments and Labour’s announcement that it is removing the moratorium on wind farm developments?
Hansard · 13 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
I shall. Monday 17 March —Remaining stages of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (day one). Tuesday 18 March —Remaining stages of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (day two). Wednesday 19 March —Consideration of Lords amendments to the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bi…
JN
Jesse Norman
I am sure the whole House will want to join me in recognising and thanking the salvage and nature recovery specialists who are even now scrambling to clear up after the disastrous collision in the North sea. They say a conservative is a socialist who has been mugged by reality. If that is so, we are witnessing the extr…
LP
Lucy Powell
I start by congratulating young carers across the country on their day of action yesterday. I know the whole House will be as hopeful as everybody else in the country about Ukraine, as talks continue this week and over the weekend. I am sure we all welcome the resumption of military aid and intelligence sharing between…
CE
Cat Eccles
I recently met my constituent, Becky, who is profoundly disabled after her mother was given Primodos, a hormone-based pregnancy test that was popular in the ’60s and ’70s and taken by roughly 1.5 million pregnant women. It was directly linked to miscarriages and severe birth defects in a study commissioned by the Unive…
Mental Health Support: Educational Settings13 Mar 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance on what mechanisms are open to Members under the Standing Orders of this place to obtain accurate information from Government Ministers. Earlier today, during the debate on the future of farming, the shadow Environment Secretary asked the farming Minister for the exact cap… associated with the sustainable farming incentive, which the Minister claimed has now been reached. Astonishingly, the Minister was unable to give that information to the House, despite farming being in his brief. How can Members of this place ensure that Ministers provide accurate information to the House of Commons? If the Minister is unable to do so when requested, how can I request that he come back to the House to update Members when the exact information is known?
Hansard · 13 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
CB
Christopher Bloore
I beg to move, That this House has considered mental health support in educational settings. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting this debate, and the MPs from across the House who supported its application. I also thank Emily Horsfall, my team and the staff at the Mental Health Foundation for their su…
JS
Jim Shannon
I commend the hon. Gentleman for bringing forward this issue. I was just looking at some of the stats for Northern Ireland in order to support his argument. In 2023, pupils with disabilities reported lower levels of general wellbeing across all measures than those who are not disabled. Does he agree that access to past…
CB
Christopher Bloore
I think that is the first time the hon. Gentleman has intervened on me, so I feel very honoured. I absolutely agree with him, and I will talk about other affected groups later in my remarks. I thank him for his intervention. I hope this debate can be about how we support our schools and education professionals, but I a…
AD
Anna Dixon
I thank my hon. Friend for securing this Backbench Business debate. That statistic of one in five young people having a mental health condition must concern us all. I hear from my own constituents in Shipley that they are waiting a long time to get their children seen on the NHS—whether for an attention deficit hyperac…
CB
Christopher Bloore
I absolutely agree. This is about parity between mental and physical health. We would move heaven and earth if those children had physical injuries, and we must do more to assess and treat the mental health conditions from which young people are suffering.
Defendants Absconding before Trial11 Mar 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
What steps she is taking through the criminal justice system to help prevent defendants absconding before their trial.
Hansard · 11 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
ND
Nicholas Dakin
The decision to remand or bail an individual is solely a matter for the independent judiciary. Courts are required to considered the likelihood of absconding as part of that decision. The courts have the power to impose a broad range of robust bail conditions in the bail package, including electronic monitoring, exclus…
ND
Nicholas Dakin
I understand that the case to which the hon. Gentleman refers took place under the last Government, and the men he referred to were tried in absentia. The Home Secretary set out the steps that the Government are taking to tackle the terrible crimes of child sexual exploitation and abuse, including group-based child sex…
RM
Robbie Moore
After the conviction of eight men for a string of horrendous child rapes in my constituency, I would like to be able to inform the Secretary of State that all those men were now serving their just punishment. However, two of them absconded from their trial and are believed to be abroad. Their exact whereabouts are an o…
Business of the House6 Mar 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
This week the BBC uncovered the shocking case of how a man convicted of a horrific murder in Bradford went on to spend almost two years working with vulnerable children and schools after he was wrongly cleared by the Disclosure and Barring Service in 2021. In response to that major safeguarding failure, the DBS now… claims that although serious offences committed after 2006 may lead to someone being automatically barred from working with children, offences committed before 2006 may not. That is clearly wrong, and I suspect that this case in Bradford is not a lone one. May we have a debate in Government time on the wider system of DBS checks, particularly for individuals seeking to work with vulnerable children, so that we can get to the bottom of this?
Hansard · 6 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
I shall. The business for the week commencing 10 March includes: Monday 10 March —Second Reading of the Crime and Policing Bill. Tuesday 11 March —Remaining stages of the Employment Rights Bill, day one. Wednesday 12 March —Remaining stages of the Employment Rights Bill, day two. Thursday 13 March —General debate on th…
JN
Jesse Norman
Mr Speaker, may I first associate myself very strongly with your kind remarks about Peter Hipkins and his service to this House? We join all colleagues in celebration of International Women’s Day this Saturday. I am sure the whole House will also share my deep concern at the latest news in relation to Ukraine and will …
LP
Lucy Powell
I join you, Mr Speaker, in passing on our condolences to the family of Peter Hipkins, who gave long service in this House. I also wish peace and blessings to those observing Ramadan and those marking Lent. Today is also World Book Day, a day to celebrate our favourite books and authors—and, I have to say, every working…
MT
Marie Tidball
Flooding has caused heartache for families and communities in my constituency. In order to be protected from extreme flooding, they desperately need Sheffield city council’s excellent proposals for the upper Don flood alleviation scheme, including work on the Clough Dike culvert and Whitley Brook improvements. Despite …
Creative Industries27 Feb 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
In a statement released two months ago, the Government claimed that Bradford city of culture will generate £700 million of growth for the district by 2030, and that 6,500 new jobs will be created. About £40 million of taxpayers’ money has already been allocated to Bradford city of culture. Forty million pounds is, of course,… the same as the financial black hole that Bradford council faces as it cuts services to children with special educational needs and sells off local assets. The Centre for Cities says that the Government have massively overstated the economic benefit that being the city of culture brings. In the interests of transparency, will the Secretary of State release the impact assessment that was made to reach the £700 million figure and the job growth that they say will be created?
Hansard · 27 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
JS
Jeevun Sandher
What steps her Department has taken to help support creative industries in Loughborough constituency.
AD
Anna Dixon
What steps her Department has taken to help support creative industries in Bradford.
LN
Lisa Nandy
The creative industries are one of the industrial strategy’s eight priority sectors, and they play a critical role in driving growth across the country. In January, we named West Yorkshire as a creative industries priority region, with funding to be devolved to support growth in the region. That is a sign of our belief…
JS
Jeevun Sandher
Local theatres, art centres and galleries enrich our lives and our local economies. Each job in the creative sector creates two elsewhere in our local economy. In my constituency of Loughborough, we are building the Generator, an arts and community hub, restoring a disused building to do so. I could not be prouder of t…
LN
Lisa Nandy
Mr Speaker, you will know that I have never willingly turned down a pint, so my hon. Friend tempts me with his offer. I congratulate him on the work that he is doing to support cultural life in his constituency. Last week, we announced the Arts Everywhere fund in memory of the legacy of Jennie Lee, who was the first ev…
Business of the House27 Feb 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I am sure that the whole House will want to join me in wishing my constituent Philip Jackson a very happy 100th birthday. In a very varied life so far, Philip joined the Royal Army Service Corps during the second world war and was involved in the liberation of Cherbourg, but perhaps one of his… most harrowing contributions during his period in service was being one of the first to enter the notorious Nazi Bergen-Belsen concentration camp when it was liberated in 1945. Can we have a debate in Government time to celebrate those from our veterans community who have gone above and beyond throughout their life in the name of peace and freedom for us all?
Hansard · 27 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Leader of the House.
JN
Jesse Norman
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker—[Interruption.]
JN
Jesse Norman
Touché, Mr Speaker. Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
I say to the gorgeous and brilliant Mr Speaker that I will. The business for next week is as follows: Monday 3 March —Remaining stages of the Finance Bill. Tuesday 4 March —Consideration of an allocation of time motion, followed by all stages of the Church of Scotland (Lord High Commissioner) Bill. Wednesday 5 March —E…
JN
Jesse Norman
Mr Speaker, I am not quite sure what mental obfuscation is filling my head this morning, but I thank you again. It is my happy task to open by saying that today sees the retirement of Dawn, a stalwart of the Tea Room. I am sure that I speak for the whole House in wishing her a very happy retirement. On a very different…
Family Businesses26 Feb 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
As we all know, family businesses are the very backbone of our local economy. They are the job creators, the innovators and the entrepreneurs—those that drive the local economy and are at the heart of all our communities. They employ 14 million people and contribute £585 billion to the economy. Rightly, the Opposition are very… concerned about last October’s Budget. As the shadow farming Minister, I have heard much noise that has been rightly made about the implications of the family farm tax, but I want to use the opportunity of this debate to focus specifically on the implications of business property relief. Earlier, I heard the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury at the Dispatch Box talk about the mechanisms by which the Government have calculated the impact that business property relief will have. I specifically question how he, and indeed the Treasury, arrived at those decisions. I note that that Minister is not even here to listen to the points I want to make, so I hope that the Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade, the hon. Member for Harrow West (Gareth Thomas) , will specifically address them. The Treasury has calculated that the agricultural property relief and business property relief changes will bring in about £500 million, yet despite the challenges that I and others have raised with Ministers and the Treasury, no economic impact assessment has been provided as a result of those changes. I want to understand whether any specific detail has been looked at for business property relief and the wider implications that it will have on too many of our family businesses. Only last week, I met Richard Prudhoe, who runs Fibreline and employs 250 people in Keighley. He has commented that the negative implications of business property relief on his business, which is completely owned by him and his family, will be catastrophic. If something happens to him, the dire consequences of tax that will be implemented on his wider family will be catastrophic, p
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.
RM
Robbie Moore
I absolutely wish that the Government would listen to the many concerns that are consistently raised by Family Business UK, which is doing an excellent job in the amount of data it seems to be providing to the Treasury, yet nobody in the Treasury seems to be listening. Indeed, just last week the Chancellor did not even…
RM
Robbie Moore
Absolutely. My hon. Friend makes the excellent point that the likely revenue—albeit I challenge the Treasury’s figures—is only £500 million, yet the impact that it will have on many of our family businesses is catastrophic. That includes those in the hospitality sector, and manufacturing, engineering and tech-based bus…
RM
Robbie Moore
I am not entirely sure whether the Minister himself believes what he is reading. Has any economic impact assessment been made of the collective impact that all the Budget changes will have on many of our family businesses, including the reduction in the agricultural property and business property reliefs?
Local Road Condition13 Feb 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
A recent freedom of information request revealed that, of identified highways spending across the Bradford district by Bradford council over the past six years, £49 million was spent within Bradford city itself, but only £4 million was spent in Keighley and my wider constituency, despite streets such as Elliott Street in Silsden being in a… very poor state of repair. Will the Secretary of State write to leaders at Bradford council and remind them that highways spending needs to be spent equally across the whole Bradford district, including places such as Keighley and Ilkley, and not just within Bradford city centre?
Hansard · 13 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
EF
Emma Foody
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the condition of local roads.
HA
Heidi Alexander
We have empowered local councils to tackle the highway maintenance backlog, which is the result of a decade of under-investment by the previous Government. We have made an immediate start by providing an extra £500 million next year, representing an increase of nearly 40% for most councils. We will end the pothole plag…
EF
Emma Foody
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. I recently met the roads Minister—the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood) —and National Highways about the need for investment in Seaton Burn and Moor Farm roundabouts. Those critical pieces of infrastr…
HA
Heidi Alexander
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for her question. I know she is a committed advocate for improvements to the road network in the north-east. I recognise the importance of Moor Farm and Seaton Burn roundabouts to her local area, and I assure her that both are being considered as part of a pipeline of projects for o…
HA
Heidi Alexander
I am not the sort of Secretary of State who would sit at my desk in Whitehall and instruct local authorities to spend certain amounts of money on certain roads. I expect local authorities to take strategic decisions based on where the investment is needed, and I will leave it to local leaders to make those decisions.
Business of the House13 Feb 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
This year marks the 160th anniversary of Ilkley train station, a vital transport link for my town. I am delighted to say that Steven Thornton—I met him again just last Saturday—and his wider team at the Friends Of Ilkley Rail Station are pressing ahead with developing a business case for improving interconnectivity between the train… station and the buses that pick up from the adjoining street. This will improve accessibility and make the station a more inviting and user-friendly place for all. They are also trying to get toilets at Ilkley train station. Can we have a debate in Government time on how Government can support these vital projects in getting off the ground?
Hansard · 13 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
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…
JN
Jesse Norman
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…
LP
Lucy Powell
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…
NM
Navendu Mishra
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…
Topical Questions11 Feb 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Insomnia affects many patients, including my constituents, who are being advised by their GPs to try cognitive behavioural therapy as an alternative to medication. However, digital CBT programmes are not available on the NHS, leaving many without access to drug-free treatment. Will the Minister outline what steps the Government are taking to ensure that patients… have access to digital therapies, so that more people can get access to evidence-based, drug-free support?
Hansard · 11 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
BL
Brian Leishman
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
WS
Wes Streeting
Yesterday, we kicked off National HIV Testing Week. Getting tested for HIV is quick, free and confidential. I pay tribute to the leadership of my right hon. and learned Friend the Prime Minister, who became the first leader in the history of the G7 to take an HIV test. As a former member of the independent HIV Commissi…
BL
Brian Leishman
Fourteen years of austerity have created a new stratum of society: the in-work poor. Recent talk of ruthless cuts to social security is beyond alarming. Does the Secretary of State agree that having a welfare system that covers the cost of essentials, as proposed by the Trussell Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation…
WS
Wes Streeting
I am a product of the welfare state, and I remember the benefit system putting food in the fridge and money in the electric meter. I also know from lived experience that people who are trapped in the benefits system want to escape. The best way out of poverty is not through social security, important though that is, bu…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Just a reminder that we are on topicals, folks.
Biodiversity Recovery6 Feb 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
When we thought it could not get any worse, the Government roll out their latest attack on our farming community and UK food production, setting the direction that they want to replace food production, with around 20% of farmland being dedicated to solar farms, tree planting, biodiversity offsetting and wildlife habitats, all to meet green… targets. The figures are astonishing, with the Government proposing to take well over 1 million hectares out of food production. The economic analysis already predicts that well over 12,000 farms will be lost within a generation as a result of this Government’s policies. Will the Minister acknowledge that hard-working farmers are being caught in the crossfire in this Government’s dash towards green targets, and does she recognise the fear among our farmers that their policies amount not to food security but food lunacy?
Hansard · 6 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
AG
Andrew George
What steps he is taking to promote biodiversity recovery.
MC
Mary Creagh
This Government are determined to halt and reverse the trend of nature loss in our country and end the cycle of destroy, regret and restore. We are investing £400 million in tree planting and peatland restoration. We have announced a new nature restoration fund and set out plans to end the use of neonicotinoid pesticid…
AG
Andrew George
I am grateful to the Minister for her reply. The UK is one of the most nature-depleted nations on this planet. The “State of Nature Report 2023” indicated that up to one in six UK species faces the risk of extinction. The Minister’s reply is very encouraging, but just last week the Chancellor, promoting the Government’…
MC
Mary Creagh
We have to end the false dichotomy between creating places for people and creating places for nature. The previous Government introduced biodiversity net gain, which means that when a developer builds somewhere, they must deliver a 10% BNG for nature. That is in its early stages, after just a year, but we are looking t…
CF
Catherine Fookes
I congratulate the Minister on announcing our plan to ban bee-killing pesticides. That is welcomed across Monmouthshire, particularly by our fantastic charity based in Monmouth, Bees for Development. Does she agree that where the Conservatives failed, this Government will restore nature and biodiversity for future gene…
Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution Rates6 Feb 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
My constituency is blighted by the shocking crime of child sexual exploitation, and rebuilding trust among victims in our criminal justice system is vital if victims are to come forward. Recently, eight men from my constituency were sentenced for the horrendous gang rape of two children and received shockingly short sentences; one was as low… as three years. I have written to the Attorney General on this issue. Does the Solicitor General agree that these weak sentences are hugely damaging trust in our justice system? Will she commit, via the Attorney General, to reviewing them?
Hansard · 6 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
ME
Maya Ellis
What steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates for cases involving violence against women and girls.
LI
Leigh Ingham
What steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates for cases involving violence against women and girls.
LR
Lucy Rigby
The scale of violence against women and girls in this country is intolerable, and the Government are treating it as the national emergency that it is. The CPS has begun securing convictions of offenders who breach domestic abuse protection orders—a scheme that the Government introduced in November 2024 in order better …
ME
Maya Ellis
The national conviction rate for domestic abuse cases is woefully low, standing at 4.5%, but the picture is even worse in rural constituencies such as Ribble Valley, where the overall conviction rate is only 3%. What does the Solicitor General regard as the unique challenges in rural areas, and what steps is she taking…
LR
Lucy Rigby
My hon. Friend raises an important issue. She is right to highlight the unique risks faced by women in rural areas, including her constituency; increased isolation can bring with it more risk. To tackle violence against women we need to address the overall number of prosecutions, which unfortunately is still far too lo…
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories6 Feb 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Many constituents, including Maggie Gardiner, have kindly contacted me about their deep concern for the wellbeing of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, who has been detained by the IDF. I have written to the Foreign Secretary about that, and I know that the Government have raised the issue with the Israeli authorities. What explanation has been… received in those meetings, and what further work is the Foreign Secretary undertaking to obtain more details on that important case?
Hansard · 6 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
AM
Andy McDonald
(Urgent Question): To ask the Foreign Secretary to make a statement on the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
AD
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this important matter, and for the urgent question being granted. The whole House will be well aware that for the people of Gaza, so many of whom have lost lives, homes or loved ones, the last 14 months of conflict have been a living nightmare. The UK is clear that we must se…
AM
Andy McDonald
I thank my right hon. Friend for her statement. The context in which we approach this question is following 16 months of bloodshed and the deaths of almost 50,000 Palestinians, and a welcome temporary ceasefire. So the remarks of the US President, in conference with the Israeli Prime Minister, that the US will “take ov…
AD
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his many points. Of course, he is right to underline the appalling suffering that so many Gazans have experienced over recent months. We also recognise the suffering of the hostages and their families. This has been a truly horrendous time for Gazans, Palestinians and Israelis. The c…
WM
Wendy Morton
The ceasefire remains fragile. There continues to be a long road ahead. We want the agreement to hold, and that means that each and every hostage must be released, in accordance with the terms of phase 1 of the agreement, and the subsequent phases. The videos we have all watched of the released hostages being reunited …
Business of the House6 Feb 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I put on record my sheer admiration for my constituent and local community champion, Julie Meares. I first met her four years ago, when she wanted to make sure we had a proper community centre in the centre of Braithwaite. We got there with her dedication to improving Braithwaite, and I went to the opening… of the new Keith Thompson community centre. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Julie Meares? Can we have a debate in Government time on the importance of community hubs and community centres, which play a vital role in improving society and providing a space for us all to get together in our local communities?
Hansard · 6 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
The business for the week commencing 10 February is as follows: Monday 10 February —Second Reading of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Tuesday 11 February —Consideration of Lords message to the Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords], followed by consideration in Committee and remaining stages of the Arb…
JN
Jesse Norman
This week we have seen a Government who talk about growth but have proved themselves unwilling to support transformational investment at the AstraZeneca plant in Liverpool. At the same time, they appear keen to expand the sums being paid in relation to the Chagos islands to a number some 250 times larger than that bein…
LP
Lucy Powell
May I start with a couple of business questions updates? After my hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Laura Kyrke-Smith) asked me to join her in congratulating “Bake Off” star Dylan Bachelet, they both joined me this week to taste some delicious cakes in my Leader of the House’s office bake-off. Dylan is not only an …
ME
Maya Ellis
As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on babies (pregnancy to age 2), I have had the privilege over the past few months to meet leaders from across society who have incredible passion and energy for Government policy that relates to babies from pregnancy to age two. Will the Leader of the House consider a d…
Local Government Finance5 Feb 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
I rise to speak on behalf of my constituents across Keighley, Ilkley, Silsden, Craven, Worth Valley, and indeed my wider constituency area. I want to focus on a specific part of the Government’s announcement and the real frustration that all my constituents will now face, as a result of the Government’s decision, a 9.9% increase… in their council tax. That comes as a result of a request put forward by our Labour Administration, which runs Bradford council, for a 15% increase in council tax. The Government have instead decided to instigate a 9.9% increase without any opportunity for a referendum to allow my constituents to choose whether they deem that to be reasonable. That is a choice by this Labour Government to impose a significant council tax increase on hard-working families, and not only in my constituency but across the wider Bradford district.
Hansard · 5 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
CN
Caroline Nokes
We now come to the motions relating to local government finance, which will be debated together.
JM
Jim McMahon
I beg to move, That the Local Government Finance Report (England) 2025–26 (HC 623), which was laid before this House on 3 February , be approved.
CN
Caroline Nokes
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following motion on council tax increases: That the Referendums Relating to Council Tax Increases (Principles) (England) Report 2025–26 (HC 624), which was laid before this House on 3 February , be approved.
JM
Jim McMahon
The Deputy Prime Minister and I, like many others in this House, have local government in our blood—we are proud public servants. We know what a difference the sector makes every day to millions of people across this country, and how much stronger local government, working in genuine partnership with central Government…
JH
John Hayes
I am extremely grateful to the Minister for giving way, and I appreciate much of what he has already said on the difficulties and challenges local government faces, and the Government’s recognition of that. Part of the consultation feedback he will have had is on the local authorities that have to fund drainage, such a…
RM
Robbie Moore
I will give way to my neighbour, the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) . I hope that she will join me in opposing the council tax rise.
RM
Robbie Moore
I am pleased to see that the hon. Member has been given her Labour Whips’ handout note. It is interesting that not once did I hear her oppose the Labour Government’s increase in council tax. Not only that, but she did not call out the mismanagement of the Labour-controlled authority. I am referring to the whopping £50 …
RM
Robbie Moore
I will not give way, because I do not think the hon. Lady will agree with me and many of the constituents across the Bradford district in opposing a nearly 10% increase in council tax. I hope that her constituents are watching. Not only that; it also comes down to the absolute mismanagement of children’s services by Br…
RM
Robbie Moore
I absolutely agree. That point has been made not only by my hon. Friend, but by many Conservative Members. They say that the Government may, on the one hand, be passing down finance to local government, but they are, on the other hand, taking it away through the increase in employer national insurance contributions. Th…
RM
Robbie Moore
I give way to the hon. Member for Shipley.
RM
Robbie Moore
I would be interested to hear what the hon. Lady’s constituents say. She has quoted the previous Administration completely wrongly, because they were absolutely behind the campaign to split the two constituencies apart. Indeed, I had many a meeting with the boundary commission. The challenge is that we have to get cons…
RM
Robbie Moore
Will the hon. Member give way?
Growing the UK Economy29 Jan 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Whether it be the drastic reduction in business property relief and agricultural property relief, which will decimate many family businesses, or the increase in employer national insurance, which will negatively impact all businesses, including the GP surgeries in Keighley that have told me they are now deciding to freeze recruitment, or the increase in the… minimum wage or in business rates, or, perhaps, the Employment Rights Bill, which will cost businesses £45 billion a year, will the Chief Secretary to the Treasury say, in his statement on growing the economy, which of these measures he thinks will grow the economy most?
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.
Extremism Review28 Jan 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
In Keighley, we have seen how labelling legitimate concerns around grooming gangs as far-right has distorted conversations, silenced victims and inadvertently given space to bad faith actors. It is therefore incredibly concerning to see this report written by Home Office officials using similar language, calling grooming gangs an “alleged” problem and once again framing this… issue through the lens of the far right rather than the eyes of victims. Does the Minister agree with the language used in the report around grooming gangs? If not, how can he, or the Home Secretary, have faith in the Home Office officials?
Hansard · 28 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
CP
Chris Philp
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the Government’s extremism review reported on today.
DJ
Dan Jarvis
In our manifesto, the Government set out our commitment to redoubling efforts to counter extremism, including online, to stop people being radicalised and drawn towards hateful ideologies. A number of strands of activity have been established to progress this work, which, among other things, have led to the appointment…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Home Secretary.
CP
Chris Philp
Yesterday evening, Policy Exchange put into the public domain the Home Secretary’s review into extremism, or at least a version of it. It contained some deeply concerning proposals that I would like the Minister to directly address. The report apparently says that the definition of extremism, for the purposes of Preven…
DJ
Dan Jarvis
Let me gently remind the shadow Home Secretary that his remarks refer to a leaked report, which, I could not have been clearer, does not and will not represent Government policy. The work, as I understand it—because it is not entirely clear which version of the report was leaked—did not recommend an expansion in the de…
Business of the House23 Jan 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Despite stating in 2021 that it was in “strong financial health”, Labour-controlled Bradford council now wants to put up council tax for my constituents by a whopping 15%. This is a shocking situation, resulting from continuous mismanagement by our council leaders, who have splashed millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on Bradford city centre projects,… including £50 million on a music venue that is finished but not yet open, despite our city of culture status. All the while, the council has let children’s services degrade to an unacceptable level, despite the last Conservative Government stepping in and issuing it a bail-out just last year. May we have an urgent debate in Government time on how to stop local people across Keighley, Ilkley, Silsden, the Worth valley and my wider constituency paying the price for Bradford council leaders’ failures?
Hansard · 23 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
The business for the week commencing 27 January includes: Monday 27 January —General debate on the creative industries. Tuesday 28 January —Remaining stages of the Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords]. Wednesday 29 January —Second Reading of the Arbitration Bill [Lords], followed by motions relating to the charter for…
JN
Jesse Norman
Over the past few months, the Labour party has been generous indeed in offering the people of this country regular evidence of its remarkable incompetence, but even by its formidable standards it has excelled itself this week. The Prime Minister said some time ago in terms that he prefers Davos to Westminster, but this…
LP
Lucy Powell
I am sure that the thoughts of the whole House and the country will again be with the families of Bebe, Elsie and Alice, the two teachers, the neighbour and all the children who attended the Taylor Swift dance class in Southport, after the horrific attack and murders last summer. What they faced is truly unimaginable. …
JF
James Frith
My constituents Mandy and Bernie, along with many other homeowners in Bury North, are facing serious issues with Residential Management Group. Despite dutifully paying their service charges, residents of Wharfside Apartments and Broad Oak have been hit with additional fees and alarming practices that equate to neglect …
New Hospital Programme Review20 Jan 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Airedale hospital has some of the worst RAAC of all the hospitals on the new hospital programme. All the surveys have said that given the risk profile associated with RAAC, parts of the hospital will have no life expectancy beyond 2030, which is why the completion date of 2030 was so important. With funds having… been allocated to the project for it to be delivered, it is disappointing to hear today that the start date will be between 2025 and 2030. When is it likely that the new, rebuilt Airedale hospital will open? Will the Health Secretary provide the trust with confidence that additional funds will be available to help with the mitigation that needs to take place before the new hospital can open, to keep the existing hospital operational?
Hansard · 20 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
WS
Wes Streeting
With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the new hospital programme. Of all the damage that the Conservative party did during their time in office—the broken public finances, the broken economy, the broken NHS—perhaps the most egregious was the broken trust between the British people and their G…
JC
Judith Cummins
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
EA
Edward Argar
I am grateful, as always, to the Secretary of State for his typical courtesy in giving me advance sight of his statement. Labour was prepared to make all sorts of promises in opposition to win power—it promised not to raise taxes on working people, it said that it would not cut the winter fuel payment, and it promised …
WS
Wes Streeting
This weekend the Leader of the Opposition said that she will be honest about the mistakes of the Conservative Government. It seems that the shadow Health Secretary did not get the memo. If the Leader of the Opposition is serious about showing some contrition, she might want to start here. In 2020 the Department of Heal…
SM
Siobhain McDonagh
I think my point will be unlike that of any other Member in the House. The specialist emergency care hospital in Sutton is in tier 2 of these schemes. Can I say to the Secretary of State, as I have said to every Health Secretary over the past 25 years, that no one wants this? We want the services at St Helier hospital …
Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse16 Jan 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
The House will be well aware that I have been consistently campaigning for a rape gangs inquiry into child sexual expectation across Keighley and the wider Bradford district for far too long. So I welcome some of the points that the Home Secretary has made, particularly on the implementation of the 20 recommendations from the… IICSA report. Unfortunately, I do not feel that she is going far enough, and I would like to make a few points. In particular, I have serious concerns about the ability of inquiries at a local level to compel witnesses to give evidence and about the amount of funding that will be made available. Will the local inquiries that the Home Secretary is advocating be truly independent, not just local authorities marking their own homework, and will they lead to convictions? Local authority leaders in Bradford district have consistently refused to back my calls for a public inquiry, as has the Mayor of West Yorkshire and the deputy Mayor for policing, Alison Lowe. How on earth are we meant to get across this barrier of local leaders refusing to have an inquiry on this issue without the Government stepping in and giving the statutory authority that we on this side of the House are demanding?
Hansard · 16 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
JC
Judith Cummins
I remind Members to take care to avoid saying anything that could prejudice any cases relating to vulnerable children that are currently before the courts or might come before the courts at a later date.
YC
Yvette Cooper
Last Monday, I set out the actions this Government are taking to tackle the terrible crimes of child sexual exploitation and abuse, including mandatory reporting, a new victims and survivors panel, an overhaul of data and police performance requirements, tougher sentences for perpetrators, and support for local inquiri…
JC
Judith Cummins
I call the shadow Home Secretary.
CP
Chris Philp
Let us start by remembering the victims of this scandal. Thousands of young girls, often in their early teens, were systematically raped by gangs of men, predominantly of Pakistani heritage. Those in positions of authority—the police, local councils and the Crown Prosecution Service—ignored them and, in some cases, eve…
JC
Judith Cummins
Order. The shadow Home Secretary will be heard.
Topical Questions9 Jan 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
The Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership campaign group has long been advocating, as have I, for a new rail link between Skipton and Colne, because it will bring huge benefits to the likes of Keighley, for both freight and passengers. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss this long ongoing campaign that… I have been advocating for?
Hansard · 9 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
BO
Ben Obese-Jecty
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
HA
Heidi Alexander
Transport is at the heart of this Government’s plan for change. Since I joined the Department more than a month ago, we have introduced the Bus Services Bill, which will give transport authorities across the country the tools to take back control of local services. We are bringing clarity and confidence to our automoti…
BO
Ben Obese-Jecty
On those new bus routes, within the last hour, Stagecoach East has issued a statement about the delayed new tiger bus routes, citing the decision by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough combined authority to retender the routes, inconsistencies in the award letter, concerns over the legality of the operation and the increas…
HA
Heidi Alexander
I am happy to speak further with the hon. Gentleman about his concerns regarding local bus services. I know how critical bus services are for young people wanting to get to school, people wanting to get to work and older people wanting to access vital lifeline services. I am happy to meet him to talk in more detail abo…
MS
Michelle Scrogham
In Barrow and Furness, we often joke that we live at the end of the longest cul-de-sac in the UK. The A590 and the A595 are lifelines for people in my constituency. Our future growth, the nuclear deterrent and the emergency services depend on the roads working well, but we are often cut off. Will the Minister therefore…
Business of the House9 Jan 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
A constituent of mine, Maria Culley, has long been campaigning for a comprehensive regulatory framework for nannies, such as mandatory background checks, standardised training, ongoing professional development and the inclusion of other standards, all to ensure that every nanny in the UK is held to a high standard, while protecting families with the security of… knowing that their children are safe and in capable hands. I have been asking for a meeting with the children and families Minister—the Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby) —for some time. Could the Leader of the House push that meeting along, so that I and my constituent Maria can meet the Minister to discuss this campaign?
Hansard · 9 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
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 …
JN
Jesse Norman
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;…
LP
Lucy Powell
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 …
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the Chair of the Defence Committee.
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill8 Jan 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Having consistently advocated for victims of the rape gangs scandal in my part of West Yorkshire—I have raised the subject more than 40 times in this place since being elected—I want to focus on that issue in the short time I have been allocated to speak today. It is over two decades since the Labour… MP Ann Cryer, my predecessor, first brought the issue to the House. Unfortunately, we seem to be repeating the mistakes of the past today. It is deeply concerning to me that right hon. and hon. Members on the Government Benches plan to vote against the call in the amendment for a national rape gangs inquiry. Last night, the safeguarding Minister—the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips) —told the public that a national inquiry is not needed because local inquiries are more effective at bringing about change. However, just minutes after she made those remarks, local leaders in Bradford once again rejected my long-standing calls for a full local inquiry into rape gangs across Keighley and the wider Bradford district, arguing that it would be too expensive. That same local authority has spent more than £40 million of public money on an empty music venue in the heart of Bradford. This is a complete and utter dereliction of duty by local leaders. More importantly, it demonstrates what I have been trying to say on this issue for years: every time I have brought up this issue at national level, it is referred back down to local government, but every time I have taken the prospect of an inquiry down to the local level, the suggestion is blocked by local leaders, and I am told that this is a national problem. There has been a complete vacuum of accountability in the system over the past two decades.
Hansard · 8 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
The reasoned amendment in the name of the Leader of the Opposition has been selected.
BP
Bridget Phillipson
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. In the week in which we return to this House and our children return to school, I am proud to be the Secretary of State for Education in a truly child-centred Government. The actions I take and the decisions I make are always in pursuit of what is best for the chi…
GS
Graham Stuart
The Secretary of State has mentioned previous generations of politicians, and all of us in this House must recognise that we follow in the footsteps of giants. Tony Blair, Lord Adonis and others created the academy system that was built on under the last Conservative Government and brought about a transformation of Eng…
BP
Bridget Phillipson
That is simply a mischaracterisation, and the right hon. Gentleman knows it. I will come on to the wider schools measures in this Bill later in my speech, but I note that he had nothing to say in his intervention about the safety of children and the measures we are discussing today. The wrecking amendment that the Lead…
CV
Christopher Vince
The right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) mentioned uniformity, but the only uniform measures I can see in the Bill are about saving parents money on uniform bills, which I think we can all welcome. Does the Secretary of State agree that the fragmentation of the school system created by the last…
RM
Robbie Moore
Nobody has, and that is exactly why I have been advocating for a local inquiry across the Bradford district—for far too long. A report of 50 pages that looked at five children who had been sexually exploited in the Bradford district was released in 2020. It acknowledged that there had been mistakes, but nobody was held…
Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse6 Jan 2025
RM
Robbie Moore
Rape gangs and the grooming of children has haunted Keighley and the wider Bradford district for decades, yet local leaders have consistently refused to launch an inquiry. The national IICSA report, which the Home Secretary is treating as a silver bullet, was not an inquiry into rape gangs. Nor does it reference Keighley or Bradford… once, despite many, including me, fearing that the scale of this issue across the Bradford district will dwarf the scale of the issue in Rotherham. If the Home Secretary believes that the IICSA report gives us all the information that we need to tackle this vile and disgusting crime, can she tell me how many children across the Bradford district have been abused through child sexual exploitation? Who are the perpetrators, and when can my constituents expect to see them behind bars or deported?
Hansard · 6 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Before I call the Home Secretary to make the statement on child sexual exploitation and abuse, I have a statement to make on behalf of Mr Speaker. I remind Members of the House’s sub judice resolution, which prohibits reference being made to any active criminal cases. Members should therefore not make any reference to …
YC
Yvette Cooper
Child sexual abuse and exploitation are the most vile and horrific of crimes, involving rape, violence, coercive control, intimidation, manipulation and deep long-term harm. The information from the crime survey should be chilling to all of us. It estimates that half a million children every year experience some form o…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the shadow Home Secretary.
CP
Chris Philp
I thank the Home Secretary for advance sight of her statement. The whole country is shocked by the rape gang scandal. Over years or decades, thousands or maybe tens of thousands of vulnerable young girls were systematically raped by organised gangs of men, predominantly of Pakistani heritage. Instead of those victims b…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Order. People want to hear the response to the statement.
Pollution of Waterways19 Dec 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I take this opportunity to wish you and all in the House a very merry Christmas. Many customers are rightly concerned about Thames Water and the situation that company finds itself in. For the third time of asking the Secretary of State in this Chamber, will he confirm that he will… not issue any regulatory easement to Thames Water in his discussions with that company, so that its environmental obligations and service commitments to its customers will not be reduced?
Hansard · 19 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
CR
Connor Rand
What progress he has made on reducing pollution in waterways.
SR
Steve Reed
The public are sick and tired of the scandal of sewage polluting our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are taking immediate action to place water companies under special measures through a new Bill that will give the regulator the power to ban the payment of undeserved bonuses for polluting water companies and bri…
CR
Connor Rand
Last year, there were 3,366 hours of sewage dumping into the rivers and streams of Altrincham and Sale West, leaving Sinderland brook, the Bollin and other waterways in a terrible condition. Will the Secretary of State outline further how the Government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill will ensure the end of sewage dump…
SR
Steve Reed
I congratulate my hon. Friend on being such a champion for clean rivers in his constituency. As I said, the Bill will ban the payment of undeserved bonuses to water executives who are responsible for this kind of pollution, and will ensure instead that money is spent where it should always have been spent: on fixing th…
EC
Ellie Chowns
Merry Christmas to you and your staff, Mr Speaker. I declare an interest as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on water pollution. While I welcome the limited measures that the Government are taking to tackle pollution from the water industry, there is an elephant in the room, because agricultural pollution …
Hospice Funding19 Dec 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
I have been contacted by vast numbers of families and relatives of those who have been wonderfully cared for by Sue Ryder Manorlands hospice in Oxenhope in the Worth valley. They are all concerned about the impact that the rise in employer national insurance will have on them. Those at Manorlands are deeply concerned that… it will cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds. In answering the urgent question, the Minister has announced additional funding, but can she confirm whether it will cover the cost of those rises to Sue Ryder Manorlands hospice in my constituency? Did the Government carry out an impact assessment of the negative impacts that the Budget would have on those in the charitable and hospice sectors?
Hansard · 19 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
DJ
Dr Caroline Johnson
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care if he will make a statement on hospice funding.
KS
Karin Smyth
I am grateful to the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson) for asking that important question. This Government want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. We will shift care out of hospitals into the community to ensure that pa…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. I think you might find that I granted the urgent question, but don’t worry, Minister. I call the shadow Minister.
DJ
Dr Caroline Johnson
After the confusion of yesterday, I welcome the fact that further details on hospice funding have been announced, albeit by our dragging them out of the Government on the very last day of Parliament before the recess. On 30 October , the Chancellor decided to break her election promise by increasing employers national …
KS
Karin Smyth
To govern is, indeed, to choose. The Conservative party chose neither this sector nor any other health sector and it refused to govern. Within five months, we have not only increased the funding to the health sector to stabilise it but made today’s announcement. Beneath all that, there might have been a welcome for the…
Business of the House19 Dec 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Many businesses will be severely negatively impacted by the Government’s announcement on changes to inheritance tax through business property relief. Those in the hospitality sector, such as hoteliers and breweries, and even the manufacturing, engineering and tech businesses in my constituency, have contacted me with their deep concerns about the effect the changes will have… on their businesses. Is the Leader of the House aware of any economic analysis or modelling done by the Government specifically on the negative impact they will have? I see that the Secretary of State for Business and Trade is sitting next to her on the Treasury Bench. Was he, or even the Chancellor, aware of the negative impact of the measures in the Budget on those particular businesses?
Hansard · 19 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
The business for the week commencing 6 January 2025 includes: Monday 6 January —Debate on a motion on seizing frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, followed by a general debate on backlogs in the NHS. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Tuesday 7 January —Second Reading …
JN
Jesse Norman
Mr Speaker, may I associate myself very strongly with the remarks you have just made about hospices? You will recall that St Michael’s hospice was the topic of a recent discussion that we had at the Dispatch Box in business questions. Mr Speaker, I must confess that I feel a slight degree of trepidation and nervousness…
LP
Lucy Powell
Mr Speaker, I too would like to start by wishing you and everybody in the parliamentary community a very merry and restful Christmas. From the Doorkeepers to the cleaners, the police, the Clerks, Hansard and the Lobby, to the hairdressers and the gardeners, there are so many to thank. May I also take this opportunity t…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I thank Members for their comments. I hope that Chorley get promoted—that is the gift we need for the new year. I wish all Members a merry Christmas, and let us hope for a very peaceful year. I thank all the staff of this House for all that they do. They are wonderful; whether they are security or whoever—we can go aro…
Christmas Adjournment19 Dec 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
I often think of our role as place-makers, problem solvers and great representatives of our constituencies, and on that basis, I say a huge thank you to all of my constituents for re-electing me. There is loads of fuel in the tank to keep me going in representing the mighty constituency of Keighley and Ilkley… with great enthusiasm and energy. I reaffirm my commitment to doing my very best as their local champion. Of course, place-making is all about driving local growth within our communities. That is why I want to go through some of the key projects across my constituency that I am honoured to be working on. A lot of this work comes on the back of money from the last Conservative Administration, who allocated and ringfenced £33.6 million specifically to Keighley through the Keighley towns fund. This funding is aimed at driving growth by using public sector money to try to drive private investment into the centre of Keighley. One of those great projects is Providence Park, which is due to open early next year. Next door to that, we have Keighley train station, which has just benefited from a £9 million funding allocation. Further along the same road, Keighley fire station is undergoing development. We also have a new skills hub, a new manufacturing, engineering and tech hub, and a new health and wellbeing hub coming down the line shortly. That is not to mention our mighty Keighley Cougars, to which the last Conservative Administration allocated £2 million to regenerate the stands for the benefit of fans. Haworth village hall is benefiting from money to make sure that our community groups can continue their range of activities. Keighley central hall is also benefiting from money. The building of a new sixth-form college has also been announced. I urge the Government to stick to this plan, as I know it is currently under review. We need this new sixth-form college, announced by the last Conservative Administration, to be completed. Madam Deputy Speaker, your constitue
Hansard · 19 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
BB
Bob Blackman
I beg to move, That this House has considered matters to be raised before the forthcoming adjournment. It seems like only a few days ago that we were having the pre-conference recess debate, yet here we are in the final days of 2024. What a busy year it has been for all of us. We have had general elections, mayoral ele…
JC
Judith Cummins
I ask Members to invoke the spirit of Christmas and help each other out by keeping their contributions to around four minutes so that we can get everybody in.
VV
Valerie Vaz
It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) . Again, in the best traditions of Sir David Amess, I will be going around my constituency. He is sorely missed here, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time—a time of family. I will raise four local issues, one in…
JL
John Lamont
Ahead of the Christmas break, I am delighted to have this opportunity to recognise and celebrate some of the amazing organisations that serve the Scottish Borders all the year round. These groups, and the volunteers who help keep them running, often do not get the praise they deserve, so I want to mark the excellent wo…
AS
Alan Strickland
I want to highlight a few key issues in my constituency that I have been proud to work on since I was elected in July and flag up some issues that we intend to push in the future. I want to start with the Hitachi train factory in my constituency. I campaigned on it for two and a half years, and it is a source of huge p…
New Energy Infrastructure: Community Benefit Scheme17 Dec 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a community benefit scheme for households near new energy infrastructure.
Hansard · 17 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
MS
Michael Shanks
We have made clear, through the clean power action plan that we announced last week, that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, we will ensure that they benefit from it. There are many options in that area, including community funds and direct support for households, and we are exploring all those options…
MS
Michael Shanks
I cannot comment on the specific details of the case. However, I would like to know more about why the hon. Gentleman’s community might not benefit, because the aim is for all communities affected by hosting infrastructure to benefit in different ways. We are looking at the options—be they money off bills, or the commu…
MO
Melanie Onn
Community benefits come in many different forms—in my constituency, Ørsted has contributed £1 million towards Horizon Youth Zone, and RWE is supporting Projekt Renewable, which is a box park learning zone—but the most wide-reaching benefit is to people’s pockets. Schemes such as the Octopus fan club bring down people’s…
MS
Michael Shanks
My hon. Friend asks an extremely important question. All communities should benefit from the transformation that we want to make to the energy system. Part of the answer is improving how we use smart systems right across the energy system, so that people have much more consumer-led flexibility in their options—we are m…
JM
Joy Morrissey
Community engagement and funding are important. With large-scale solar farms planned for agricultural land, does the Secretary of State think that there are any circumstances in which local communities might know better than him?
RM
Robbie Moore
There is a proposal to build 65 wind turbines on protected peatland in the neighbouring Calderdale council area, which I am staunchly against. To make matters worse, if the development is approved, my constituents will not benefit from any community benefit scheme, despite being on the periphery of the proposed locatio…
Business of the House12 Dec 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Dalton Mills in Keighley, which has previously been the film set for “Peaky Blinders” and the like, has unfortunately experienced continual arson attacks. The most damaging fire was back in March 2022, when £15 million of damage was caused, and the most recent arson attack happened only two days ago. The situation is causing deep… concern to many constituents across Keighley because the site, which is owned by the Crown Estate, is dangerous and derelict, and needs to be secured. Can we have a debate in Government time on the responsibility of landowners, including the Crown Estate, to ensure that derelict sites that are dangerous are properly secured?
Hansard · 12 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House please give us the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
The business for the week commencing 16 December includes: Monday 16 December —Second Reading of the Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords]. Tuesday 17 December —Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill. Wednesday 18 December —Commit…
JN
Jesse Norman
What a marvellous time of year it is when I see the Christmas tree in New Palace Yard, and the trilling sounds of the parliamentary and Salvation Army choirs to boot. On a slightly more sober note, you will recall, Mr Speaker, that the story of this Government so far has been one of early scandal, a first reset and a d…
LP
Lucy Powell
May I start by saying how appalled I am—I am sure the whole House is—about the details that have emerged on the murder of Sara Sharif? May I say, on behalf of the Government, that nothing is more important than keeping children safe? We are committed to further reform of children’s social care and much stronger safegua…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
The Leader of the House rightly mentioned a live case. I hope nobody will add to that, because it is in the courts at the moment.
Support for Veterans4 Dec 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support veterans in Scotland.
Hansard · 4 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
NS
Neil Shastri-Hurst
What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support veterans in Scotland.
KM
Kirsty McNeill
This Government are fully committed to delivering for veterans, and I pay tribute to them and their families for the sacrifices they make during their service, as well as their valued contribution to our society after they leave. The Minister for Veterans and People, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (…
NS
Neil Shastri-Hurst
There is significant variability in the provision of veteran services across the nations. What steps is the Secretary of State taking, alongside his Cabinet colleagues, to ensure parity of services across the nations, and in particular in Scotland?
KM
Kirsty McNeill
The Minister for Veterans and People is leading this work. The Prime Minister recently made an announcement on giving veterans a social housing exemption, which, I can confirm, will bring England in line with Scotland, where veterans are already exempt from the local connection requirement to access social housing. We …
KM
Kirsty McNeill
I join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to the volunteers who often run these events. I also draw the House’s attention to the work of the War Memorials Trust, which is one of the many unsung organisations that do incredible work across this country to maintain war memorials so that we all may remember. Across this…
RM
Robbie Moore
Since 1921, the Royal British Legion Scotland has supported veterans and their families through education, remembrance and direct support. This weekend, in my constituency in Keighley, the town council and community groups are unveiling a memorial to the fallen of the first world war, with a time capsule placed under t…
Farming and Inheritance Tax4 Dec 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
This morning, ordinary farming families across all four corners of our United Kingdom will be waking up to another day of hard graft. If it is anything like my upbringing, the kids will be out early helping their parents feed the livestock, dad might be milking the cows or perhaps out crop-walking with the agronomist,… rightly concerned about the impact of recent wet weather, and mum will no doubt be battling the elements, keeping the whole operation running smoothly and somehow still finding time to make sure everyone has their wellies on the right feet. Anyone with experience of rural life understands all too well the constant struggle of keeping a family farm afloat. It is tough work—long hours, barely any room to breathe and a financial struggle for many. As I have said many times in this House, our farming families are not multimillionaires; many will be striving to make a profit, but a lot of our families will not be, with many of our farmers earning less than the minimum wage. But today these farmers will also be waking up with the crushing reality that they now face losing everything they have ever worked for—everything that their mum or dad or the generations before them worked for—all because of this Labour Government’s disastrous farm tax. I have spoken to hundreds of farmers in the days since the Budget, as have the shadow Secretary of State and many colleagues sat behind me, and we have learned that Labour’s catastrophic Budget really is an anxiety that very few farmers were ready for. We have heard about many of their concerns in the debate. My hon. Friend the Member for Weald of Kent (Katie Lam) spoke about those, such as Ross in her constituency, who may have ill health and other challenging circumstances, who do not have time to plan. My right hon. Friend the Member for Braintree (Mr Cleverly) talked about farming accountants raising incredibly distressing calls from farmers. My hon. Friend the Member for Bridlington and The Wolds (Charlie Dewhirst)
Hansard · 4 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I inform the House that I have selected amendment (a) in the name of the Prime Minister.
VA
Victoria Atkins
I beg to move, That this House regrets that the Government has undone its promises to farmers, and is seeking to punish them with Inheritance Tax bills of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of pounds by cutting Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief; further regrets that the Government has prov…
JS
Jim Shannon
Will the shadow Minister give way?
VA
Victoria Atkins
In a moment. Since the Budget, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers has analysed the family farm tax and applied tax law and the realities of modern-day farming to it. Its analysis has revealed that up to 75,000 individual owners of farming businesses could be affected over the coming generation, even before…
AH
Alison Hume
Will the right hon. Member give way?
RM
Robbie Moore
The hon. Member highlights the devastating consequences that Labour’s Budget will have on our family farms. Many questions remain unanswered, so with the opportunity of Treasury and DEFRA Ministers sat side-by-side, I will put a few to them. First, if this is a unified Government, why did the Treasury tell DEFRA about …
Topical Questions18 Nov 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Many veterans who I have spoken to recently are deeply concerned about the Government’s decision to remove the role of Veterans Minister from Cabinet. Will the Secretary of State explain how he will ensure veterans get the attention from Government that they rightly deserve?
Hansard · 18 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
LM
Luke Myer
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
JH
John Healey
This Government are delivering for defence. Last month, the UK and Germany signed the landmark Trinity House agreement, marking a new era of co-operation between our armed forces and our defence industries. With threats increasing, we must strengthen European security. Tomorrow marks the bloody milestone of 1,000 days …
LM
Luke Myer
I welcome that announcement by the Secretary of State. It should shame every politician in this House that today veterans who have served our country are still sleeping rough on our streets. Can the Secretary of State set out the steps he will take to ensure that homes will be there for heroes?
JH
John Healey
Our first step was to ensure that veterans who face homelessness have a more advantaged place in social housing provision—that was announced by the Prime Minister in his Labour party conference speech and will be followed up by the Deputy Prime Minister in changes to the arrangements for local authority guidance. On th…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
Budget: Impact on Farming Communities14 Nov 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
The Minister’s response to my hon. Friend’s question highlights his arrogance on this issue. He constantly keeps saying that we need to look at the detail, yet his Department and the Treasury disagree on how many farms will be impacted by as much as 40%. In fact, as he knows, the figures being repeatedly regurgitated… by the Government consider only past claims for agricultural property relief, not those combined with business property relief, which is just as important. Why? Because the Treasury does not have the data. We need comprehensive detail on this policy to properly understand the impacts of his family farm tax. I ask this for a third time in this House: will he release a full impact assessment—yes or no?
Hansard · 14 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
JL
John Lamont
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the autumn Budget 2024 on farming communities.
DZ
Daniel Zeichner
The Labour Government have committed £5 billion to the agricultural budget over the next two years—the biggest budget for sustainable food production and nature recovery in our history. It is good for British farming, it is good for the country, and it should be welcomed by the Opposition.
JL
John Lamont
This week, the president of the National Farmers Union of Scotland, Martin Kennedy, said: “The new UK Government’s first budget…hammered hard-working family farms and crofts with crippling tax bills”. The Minister has accused the Conservatives of scare- mongering about Labour’s family farm tax. Is the National Farmers …
DZ
Daniel Zeichner
I talk regularly to the National Farmers Union of Scotland. I respect it fully, but I genuinely say, as I have said on many occasions, that we need to look closely at the figures and look at the detail. We will find that the vast majority of farmers in this country will be fine.
DZ
Daniel Zeichner
We seem to be discussing this endlessly. The figures on agricultural property relief are absolutely clear. I have kept asking people to look at the detail, because what they will find—listen to the tax experts and the people who have actually looked at the policy in detail—is that fewer than 500 farms will be affected.…
National Insurance Contributions: Healthcare14 Nov 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
In a tweet to the Health Secretary, Caroline Rayment, who is the clinical lead for the Wharfedale and Silsden community partnership, said, “you came to our practice in June and told us you wanted to support the family Dr. Costs for the NMW and NI will come to approx £50k—we are a small practice of… 7000 patients—how is this helping us?” Can the Minister answer Caroline’s question?
Hansard · 14 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
LE
Luke Evans
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care if he will make a statement on the impact of changes to employer national insurance contributions on primary care providers, hospices and care homes.
KS
Karin Smyth
I am grateful to the hon. Member for asking this important question. It gives me the opportunity to say to GPs, dentists, hospices and every part of the health and care system that will be affected by changes to employer national insurance contributions that this Government understand the pressures they face and take t…
LE
Luke Evans
I draw the House’s attention to my declaration of interests. Many in the health sector will have been pleased to hear the announcement of the extra funding for the NHS, only for their joy to be struck down by the realisation that a manifesto promise not to raise national insurance contributions had been broken. That wa…
KS
Karin Smyth
Well, really. I am quite dumbfounded by the hon. Gentleman’s response. I respect him for his professional practice, and he knows the state of the NHS that we inherited from the previous Government, as reported in Lord Darzi’s report. He talks about joy, but there was no joy when we inherited the mess they left back in …
JF
Josh Fenton-Glynn
Does my hon. Friend join me in welcoming the Opposition’s new interest in social care? Does she further agree that the problems that social care faces owe more to the previous Government’s failure to do anything with Andrew Dilnot’s 2011 report than they do to anything that is happening now with national insurance?
Business of the House14 Nov 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Over the weekend, my fantastic local football club, Silsden, progressed to the third round of the FA vase after beating Ramsbottom, thanks to two first-half goals from Casey Stewart. We all know that local sports clubs play a fantastic role in bringing fans and residents together. Could we have a debate in Government time on… the importance of grassroots sports clubs and the positive benefits that they offer our young people?
Hansard · 14 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
JN
Jesse Norman
Will the Leader of the House present the forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
The business for the week commencing 18 November includes: Monday 18 November —Second Reading of the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill. Tuesday 19 November —Consideration of Lords amendments to the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, followed by a general debate on the infected blood inquiry. Wednesday 20 …
NG
Nusrat Ghani
I call the shadow Leader of the House.
JN
Jesse Norman
Thank you very much indeed, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am sure that the whole House will want to join me in wishing a very happy birthday today to His Majesty the King. The last few days in global politics have been extraordinary, featuring one of the most incredible comebacks of modern times. It was wildly hard to predic…
LP
Lucy Powell
I also wish His Majesty the King a very happy birthday. This is Islamophobia awareness month—a chance for us all to come together to tackle all forms of religious and racial hatred. It is also transgender awareness week, which started yesterday, celebrating our trans heroes. It is a chance to remind ourselves that the …
Rural Affairs11 Nov 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Rural communities are proud communities, and our farmers work tirelessly around the clock not only to put high-quality food on our plates but, through their businesses, to help to keep our rural economy going—as, indeed, do many other rural businesses, as Members on both sides of the House have recognised. I congratulate the hon. Members… for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury), for Hemel Hempstead (David Taylor) and for Stirling and Strathallan (Chris Kane) on delivering their maiden speeches. I know Stirling and Strathallan very well, having been born in Stirling—I am a proper Unionist—which gave me my red hair. Each spoke proudly on behalf of their constituents, and I welcome them to this place. We are just a few months into this Labour Government and, following a string of broken promises and damaging cuts, trust among our farming community is now at an all-time low. Why are this new Government, across every single Department, deciding to sideline the voice of our rural communities? We have heard that the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero is ploughing ahead with his plans to replace productive agricultural land with solar panels, and to replace protected moorlands with wind turbines—all against the consent of local people. The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government is taking away from local people the power to decide how they would like to see their rural communities expand, while providing no commitment whatsoever to improve services and infrastructure alongside any increased demand. The Secretary of State for Transport is scrapping the £2 bus cap, which the previous Government introduced as a vital part of the rural transport plan. Labour’s change leaves many people in remote rural communities paying even more to get to work or to visit friends and loved ones. The Chancellor is stifling rural growth by hiking national insurance for small business owners, who are the backbone of our rural community, alongside her disastrous c
Hansard · 11 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
SR
Steve Reed
I beg to move, That this House has considered rural affairs. I am delighted that the House has this opportunity to discuss the impact of the Budget on rural communities. Let me begin by addressing what the Budget means for farming in the round. We can all agree that food security is national security, which is why we h…
DS
Desmond Swayne
What estimate has the right hon. Gentleman made of the impact on capital investment, which will be reduced as farmers consider the inheritance tax implications of those investments and adjust their plans accordingly?
SR
Steve Reed
The changes have been signed off by the Office for Budget Responsibility and the full impact assessment will be available when the Finance Bill is published, before they come into force in 2026.
AM
Andrew Murrison
Does the Secretary of State understand that a farmer coming towards the end of his career is hardly likely to invest either in improving his land or in the hundreds of thousands of pounds that a piece of agricultural plant costs these days, knowing that there will be a surcharge when, sadly, he deceases?
SR
Steve Reed
The vast majority of farmers will be unaffected by the changes, so that point will not apply. We are also rapidly releasing £60 million to support farmers whose farms have been devastated by severe flooding. That is £10 million more than the previous Government were offering and, unlike their fantasy figures, we have s…
RM
Robbie Moore
I know David well, as a fellow Nuffield farming scholar, and I agree with him on this Budget’s catastrophic consequences. I am not sure how many farmers the Secretary of State spoke to in Croydon over the weekend, but I can tell him that the many farmers I spoke to are up in arms. Just last week I was at the northern f…
Budget: Implications for Farming Communities4 Nov 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Mr Speaker, “losing a farm is not like losing any other business—it can’t come back.” Those are not my words, but the words of our Prime Minister at the National Farmers Union conference just last year. Over the weekend, we have heard gut-wrenching stories from farmers up and down the nation who feel completely and… utterly betrayed by the measures in this Budget. I ask the Minister: why does the Secretary of State continue to say that he is proud of his family farm tax? Does the Minister realise that the vast majority of farming families are not multimillionaires? Most are cash poor and many are struggling to break even. How does the Secretary of State expect farmers, in his words, to do—[Interruption.]
Hansard · 4 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
AC
Alistair Carmichael
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications of the Budget for farming communities.
DZ
Daniel Zeichner
I welcome the right hon. Gentleman to his place—he will make an excellent Chair of the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs—and thank him for the opportunity to talk about this important issue. As the Minister for Food Security, I can assure the House that food security is national security. The Gove…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. Dr Mullan, I heard you before, and I am certainly not putting up with it this time. If you want to leave, do so now, because I want to be able to hear others. Do we understand each other?
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Thank you. Carry on, Minister.
DZ
Daniel Zeichner
The Secretary of State met Tom Bradshaw this morning. We completely understand farmers’ anxieties about the changes, but rural communities need a better NHS, affordable housing and public transport, and we can provide that if we make the system fairer. The reforms to agricultural property relief mean that farmers can a…
RM
Robbie Moore
How does the Secretary of State expect farmers to do more with less? Why is he happy to hand our next generation of farmers an impossible tax bill? Next, the Government claim that small family farmers will be protected, yet the Country Land and Business Association and the NFU have today disputed the Government’s figur…
Income Tax (Charge)4 Nov 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
I start by putting on the record my sheer admiration for a constituent of mine, Clive Smith, who was chair of the Haemophilia Society and has long fought for compensation following the infected blood scandal. This has been a long and painful journey for many, and I welcome the measures for victims in the Budget,… building on the measures announced by the previous Administration. Last night I spoke to a family-run business in my constituency that has been operating for over two decades. During the general election, the Labour party in Keighley and Ilkley knocked on my constituent’s door and promised that a Labour Government would back businesses like hers, and she believed it. Like many people across the country, she was reassured time and again that this so-called Government of service would not raise taxes on working people like her. As a result of last week’s Budget, my constituent now faces tax increases of over 130%. That complete hammer blow on a local family business in my constituency could force her to freeze wages, raise prices and even consider the business’s future, all to the detriment of those same working people that the Labour party in my constituency promised to represent. That will be the reality not only for my constituent but for many other businesses right across the country. The Federation of Small Businesses, the Institute of Directors, the British Beer and Pub Association, Family Business UK, UKHospitality and Make UK—the list goes on—have all made it clear and warned businesses that the Budget will hit them hard. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility said that 76% of costs incurred by the rise in employers’ national insurance will be passed on to workers, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimated that the average family business would be £770 worse off, yet we have Cabinet members constantly saying that everything is okay.
Hansard · 4 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
LK
Liz Kendall
The first Labour Budget in 14 years—the first ever Budget delivered by a woman Chancellor—shows the difference that this Labour Government are already making. We are fixing the foundations of the public finances to bring the stability that our economy needs, putting more money into people’s pockets after the worst Parl…
JS
Jim Shannon
Many of us understand the need to have a more focused fraud law, and that is very important, but every other week people I represent come along to me and say that they have been overpaid for their employment and support allowance, their personal independence payments or their disability living allowance. They find them…
LK
Liz Kendall
I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman. The technology we will put in place will be precisely so that we drive down not only fraud but errors in the system. He will know, for example, that we are trialling a new system for carers in which we text them if they are about to go over their allowance, so that we do not …
JC
Judith Cummins
I call the Opposition spokesperson.
MS
Mel Stride
The Labour party pledged at the last election to usher in a new form of politics based on transparency and integrity. When pressed, Labour Members ruled out a large number of tax rises. One of these taxes, as the Labour manifesto explicitly stated, was national insurance: “we will not increase National Insurance”. Yet,…
Independent Water Commission23 Oct 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
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 illustrates no sign of any ambition. This is a sign of hesitation. It is a way to delay the difficult decisions and buy themselves more time. It is part of a growing trend that unfortunately we are seeing consistently from this new Labour Government, across all Departments: announce a review, a taskforce and yet another commission, and hope the public do not notice that really they never had much of a plan at all. That approach is simply not going to wash with the bill payers. Before the election, the Secretary of State toured the country with campaigners like Feargal Sharkey, promising radical change to the sector. He is now in power, and what has he actually achieved so far? He spent the entire election campaign telling voters that he wanted to put water company bosses in the dock, but we can see from the Government’s announcements on the Water (Special Measures) Bill that it will achieve no such thing, as campaigners and industry experts have already pointed out. Nor will the Bill provide any reassurance whatever for investors. Rather marvellously, the Secretary of State has managed not only to frustrate campaigners, but to disenfranchise investors from any long-term aspirations to invest in the sector. The Secretary of State says that he has announced a ban on water company bonuses. Hang on: that was a policy that we brought forward in our time in government and that the Secretary of State is now attempting to reannounce and pass off as his own. It was the Conservatives who announced a ban on water company bosses’ bonuses, linked shareholder dividends to environmental performance, quadrupled water company inspections, fast-tracked investments to cut spil
Hansard · 23 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
SR
Steve Reed
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 …
SR
Steve Reed
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…
CO
Chi Onwurah
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…
SR
Steve Reed
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 …
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
Employment Rights Bill21 Oct 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Does my hon. Friend agree that the crux of the issue is that the Bill is lacking in detail? The issues he is discussing have been identified and indeed referenced in the Government’s own economic analysis, and we cannot get into the detail of this debate without having that level of information on the face… of the Bill.
Hansard · 21 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
The reasoned amendment in the name of Kevin Hollinrake has been selected.
AR
Angela Rayner
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. I declare that I am a lifelong proud trade union member—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.] When the Government took office and I took this job, we promised the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, nothing less than a new deal for working people. We said t…
JW
James Wild
In a discourtesy to the House, the very extensive impact assessment to which the Deputy Prime Minister has referred was published only a couple of hours before the debate, but one thing that it says is that the estimated cost of the measures could be £4.5 billion a year. How does loading costs on to employers help to b…
AR
Angela Rayner
The impact assessment also makes it clear that the Bill will have a positive impact on growth. More than 10 million workers, in every corner of this country, will benefit from Labour’s plan, and the money in their pockets will go back into the economy and support businesses, in particular those on high streets. Across …
GS
Graham Stuart
The Government’s own impact assessment states that “the impact on growth could”— only could— “be positive”, and that any such impact “would be small in magnitude.” The negative impacts, not least on small businesses, will be very serious in magnitude, as my hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild) lai…
RM
Robbie Moore
This again highlights the point that there is so much detail yet to be released into the public domain about this Bill. I highlighted this before. Does my hon. Friend agree that if we had that detail, we could provide more reassurance to the small and larger businesses dealing with the challenges he has mentioned?
RM
Robbie Moore
I congratulate the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Kenneth Stevenson) on his maiden speech. Knowing his constituency a little, I can guarantee that the weather is not the link between Airdrie and Rome. I congratulate him on taking his place in this House. Today’s debate is deeply important, and it will have huge ra…
RM
Robbie Moore
I absolutely agree. My hon. Friend highlights that this Bill will not give businesses the certainty and confidence to recruit individuals who need that little bit more experience to get into the job market. Indeed, the Government’s own analysis points to an unintended consequence: “Where businesses cannot absorb the in…
RM
Robbie Moore
I have spoken to and received correspondence from many businesses, both small and large, in my constituency, but not one gave the Bill their full backing. In fact, they raised concerns about the relationship between the employer and employee being tampered with by the Government. One of the most unsurprising parts of t…
Flooding: Bedfordshire16 Oct 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Building on that point, many of our farmers—not only across Bedfordshire, but across the whole of the country—are facing their second serious crop losses in a growing period. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is incredibly frustrating that, despite the last Conservative Government having allocated £50… million through the farming recovery fund, many farmers who urgently need that money—money that was guaranteed to get out of the door—are not yet receiving it from the new Administration?
Hansard · 16 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
BS
Blake Stephenson
I rise in Flood Action Week to raise an issue that is front-of-mind for so many of my constituents. The flooding in September devastated homes, farms and businesses right across my constituency and those of hon. Friends across Bedfordshire. Indeed, my home in Shillington was flooded. Two months-worth of rainfall in 24 …
RH
Rachel Hopkins
I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this Adjournment debate during Flood Action Week. Constituents of mine were also impacted by the flooding across the county. Last week, I met representatives from the Fire Brigades Union, who said that over 400 calls had been taken in seven hours on flood-related issues alone.…
BS
Blake Stephenson
So many people across so many organisations, including fire and rescue, worked tirelessly to protect our communities. I associate myself with the hon. Lady’s comments about the support provided by our local police and fire and rescue services. Mid Bedfordshire is not an area at obvious risk of extreme flooding—unlike o…
RF
Richard Fuller
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate, which is important for residents of Bedfordshire. He talks about not having rivers in his constituency, but in North Bedfordshire we are blessed with two. Although this flooding was an extreme event, flooding issues have been persistent in places such as Harrold, C…
BS
Blake Stephenson
I absolutely agree. I would love to join any of those meetings with Mayor Tom to support those efforts in my wards of Wixams and Wootton.
Farming and Food Security8 Oct 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Food security is national security, and in a time of rising global uncertainty, we must support the British farmer and the British food and drink sector to deliver high-quality domestic food for our economy and our national security. That means providing farmers and growers with the certainty they deserve. Unfortunately, in recent weeks and over… the course of this debate, we have seen what happens when a Member for one of the least rural constituencies in the country is put in charge of the countryside. Some £50 million of the farming recovery fund is not yet paid out. Some £75 million ring-fenced for internal drainage boards has not yet been distributed. There is no commitment on the £220 million for farm innovation and productivity grants. There are reports that the farming budget is about to be slashed, leaving uncertainty and farmers facing a cliff edge. While the first assault of this Labour Government has been on pensioners right across the country, I fear that farmers are next on their hit list. The Secretary of State has had the chance in this debate to stand up for farmers and to confirm that the farming budget and other schemes will be protected. Instead, he seems to have already surrendered to the Chancellor, suggesting a cut of £100 million. I fear that it will be much more. As we know, Labour could only bring itself to include 87 words in its manifesto on its plan for farmers, which stands in contrast to our Conservative Government’s commitment to food security and our rural sector by putting food at the centre of policymaking. We introduced the food security index and an annual food security report, and we set out plans to introduce legally binding targets to enhance our food security. We established the farm to fork summit, held at Downing Street, bringing together key stakeholders from across the food and farming sector. That was all to ensure that the Government’s Departments were aligned on this agenda. We were willing to look farmers in the eye, t
Hansard · 8 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
SB
Steve Barclay
I beg to move, That this House recognises the real and immediate challenges faced by British farmers as a result of wet weather and rising costs; notes the importance of food security as an essential component of national security in an increasingly uncertain world; regrets that the £50 million extension of the Farming…
MA
Mike Amesbury
In the shadow Secretary of State’s time in office, why did he and the Government of the day fail to get £300 million out of the door and into farms in constituencies such as mine?
SB
Steve Barclay
I will come on to the underspends, because that is one of the key dividing lines between the two sides of the House. After we came out of the EU, I secured an agreement with the Treasury that all the underspends from the new schemes would remain in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs budget, for farm…
TP
Toby Perkins
We know that the previous Government made a whole raft of commitments that there was no way of paying for, so there is no credibility to the suggestion that the right hon. Gentleman secured something from the discredited Treasury that he was under. The key question is: if that money was so desperately needed, why was i…
SB
Steve Barclay
As we came out of the European Union, new schemes were set up, including the SFI, to support nature and farming. They represented a shift from the EU scheme, under which 50% of the money went to 10% of landowners. We were able to design new schemes. We listened to farmers, and that is why I announced at the farming con…
Water Pollution: Accountability12 Sep 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Sound management of water companies is of course vital if customers are to receive the high level of service they expect and environmental performance obligations are to be strictly adhered to. Some water companies are better managed than others, so will the Secretary of State guarantee that in his efforts to hold water companies to… account, no offer of a regulatory easement will be provided—in other words, no permission to lower standards, relax environmental permits or reduce agreed levels of investment will be provided to any water company, no matter their financial circumstances, by the Government or the regulator?
Hansard · 12 Sep 2024 · parliament.uk
SC
Sarah Coombes
What recent progress he has made on increasing the accountability of water companies for pollution discharges into waterways.
SR
Steve Reed
I welcome my outstanding former employee to her place in the Chamber, and thank her for her question. After 14 years of Conservative failure, the public are furious at the levels of sewage being released into our rivers, lakes and seas. Last week, this Government introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill to strength…
SC
Sarah Coombes
Our canals are the pride of the Black Country: they are very important to our communities, our wildlife and our tourism. Unfortunately, like the rest of the waterways, we have seen serious pollution incidents in the canals in recent years. What are the Government doing to protect our canals and waterways and clean up t…
SR
Steve Reed
I congratulate my hon. Friend on being such a champion for waterways in and around her constituency. Toxic pollution of canals or, indeed, any other waterway is disgraceful and unacceptable. The previous Government cut resources for the regulators, leaving them incapable of investigating all the incidents that were hap…
CD
Caroline Dinenage
Dozens of homes and businesses across Alverstoke village in my constituency were flooded with polluted water from the Alver creek when Storm Pierrick caused a tidal surge in April this year. We now hear that, without urgent flood protection measures, that could be a one-in-20-years scenario. Those measures will cost an…
RM
Robbie Moore
Thank you, Mr Speaker. So there we have it: the Secretary of State’s first outing at the Dispatch Box, and he was not able to clearly answer the question I asked. Will the Secretary of State confirm that, in fulfilling his obligation to hold water companies to account, he will not issue regulatory easements, no matter …
Business of the House12 Sep 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Many constituents across the Worth valley, Keighley and the wider area are deeply concerned about proposals to construct 65 wind turbines on Walshaw moor in Calderdale. That development will have a hugely detrimental impact on the carbon storage capacity of the peat bogs and on the ecology, but also on local communities, and I am… staunchly opposed to it. Constituents are concerned that as a result of Labour’s choice to remove the moratorium on the development of onshore wind farms, that development is more likely to take place. Could we have a debate in Government time on the negative impacts of the Government’s choice to remove the moratorium on onshore wind farms?
Hansard · 12 Sep 2024 · parliament.uk
CP
Chris Philp
Will the Leader of the House provide a statement about forthcoming business?
LP
Lucy Powell
The business for the week commencing 7 October is as follows: Monday 7 October —General debate on Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into NHS performance. Tuesday 8 October —Opposition day (2nd allotted day). Debate on a motion in the name of the official Opposition; subject to be announced. Wednesday 9 October —Se…
CP
Chris Philp
The business announced for the first week back strikes me as extraordinarily light. There is only a single piece of substantive Government business and half the time will be taken up with general debate. This “Government of service” seem to be taking it pretty easy. In fact, after 70 days, only 13 Bills have been intro…
LP
Lucy Powell
May I start by welcoming the news that the Princess of Wales has completed her chemotherapy and is moving on to the next stage of her recovery? Like you, Mr Speaker, I place on the record my thanks to the Speaker’s Chaplain, the Venerable Patricia Hillas, in her final week. We thank her for her contribution to this Hou…
SM
Siobhain McDonagh
Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on glioblastoma drug treatments? As Mr Speaker and she will know, 3,200 people each year are diagnosed with this death sentence. It is the largest killer of the under-40s, and life expectancy at five years is just 5%. Without Government intervention in the pharmaceuti…
Winter Fuel Payment10 Sep 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
I rise to voice my strong opposition to the Labour Government’s cruel choice to scrap the winter fuel allowance for an estimated 10 million pensioners across the country. I have been contacted by hundreds of pensioners in my constituency who are all incredibly concerned about the dire consequences of this Government’s decision. I met many… of them in surgeries and at Keighley agricultural show this weekend, and they are telling me that they are going to struggle to pay their bills this winter. Statistics show that just over 64,000 pensioners across the Bradford district, including 20,000 in my constituency, will be negatively impacted as a result of the Labour Government’s decision. That, quite frankly, is a disgrace. Citizens Advice, Age UK and hundreds of charities across the UK have also come out against these proposals, warning that low-income households that are already struggling to make ends meet will be forced this winter into impossible choices between heating their homes or putting food on the table. It is incredibly disappointing to see the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) from the Bradford district, vote with the Government this evening, ensuring that she does not stand up for the wider Bradford district, as I will be doing. It is Labour’s choice that we are putting pensioners at risk as a result of this decision, and Labour’s choice that is putting my constituents, pensioners who are vulnerable, in the dire position of having to decide whether they heat their homes or put food on the table this winter. I only hope that quick changes will be made to ensure that pensioners are looked after in the run-up to winter.
Hansard · 10 Sep 2024 · parliament.uk
MS
Mel Stride
I beg to move, That this House regrets that the Government approved the use of the urgency exemption in section 173 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 to make and lay the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024 before the Secretary of State had referred the Regulations to the Social Security Adviso…
GS
Graham Stuart
Does my right hon. Friend, like me, find it inexplicable that the Government should fail to go through the proper process when their own research suggested that thousands of people could die as a result of precisely this measure? That is something that the whole House should find deeply uncomfortable.
MS
Mel Stride
My right hon. Friend makes a powerful point. This is a very serious step that the Government are taking. Of all the steps that should be properly scrutinised, surely this is one of them. I remember when I was sitting on the other side of the Chamber, I could barely breathe without the cry going out that an impact asses…
AM
Andrew Murrison
Old people die in cold homes, and they die particularly if they are very old. Does my right hon. Friend think that if the Government are not minded to change their mind entirely, they might look at those aged over 80? Those people are in receipt of the higher rate of winter fuel payment, and paragraph 3 of the regulati…
MS
Mel Stride
I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention. It has been suggested that the Government are examining ways of ameliorating some of the harshest effects of this policy, and that might be one of the things they consider. On that particular point, we cannot escape the fact that, whatever age people are, over two thir…
Post Office Horizon30 Jul 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
The Horizon IT scandal is without doubt one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our history. While we cannot change what has happened, we must establish what went wrong. Will the Minister assure the House that he will carefully consider the findings of the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry? Does he agree with the… shadow Secretary of State that there should be prosecutions of those deemed responsible?
Hansard · 30 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
KH
Kevin Hollinrake
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to make a statement on financial redress for postmasters and outstanding issues relating to the Post Office Horizon scandal.
JM
Justin Madders
As hon. Members will know, convictions across the UK have been quashed through recent legislation, and those affected are now able to apply for financial redress under the Horizon convictions redress scheme. The scheme will be wholly delivered by the Department, not the Post Office. All the forms of redress, including …
KH
Kevin Hollinrake
It is disappointing that I have again had to ask an urgent question to get the Government to come to the Dispatch Box. It is also disappointing that neither the Secretary of State nor the postal affairs Minister—the Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade, the hon. Member for Harrow West (Gareth Thomas) —h…
JM
Justin Madders
We promised to update Parliament before the summer recess, and we have done that by way of a written ministerial statement. I note that, when the shadow Minister was the Minister, he came and answered on most occasions for the Government. We certainly did not take that as an indication that the Government were taking t…
LB
Liam Byrne
I welcome the answer provided by my hon. Friend. He will remember that, when the Select Committee reported just four or five months ago, we noted that 80% of the budget for redress had not been paid out. We suggested to the now shadow Secretary of State a number of measures to put into the Bill to speed up the process.…
Topical Questions29 Jul 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
Unfortunately, in certain parts of Keighley—namely Bracken Bank, Guard House, Braithwaite and in other areas—residents are constantly being plagued by selfish individuals who ride motorbikes at high speeds, doing wheelies, wearing balaclavas and revving their engines, and who have no regard for their fellow road users, or indeed, neighbouring residents, who are quite rightly fed… up. Can the Home Secretary outline her plans to deal with this increasing problem?
Hansard · 29 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
AJ
Adam Jogee
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
YC
Yvette Cooper
Last week’s crime figures showed that shoplifting has increased by 30% in a year and street crime has gone up by 40% in a year. At a time when antisocial behaviour has become a serious challenge in some town centres, neighbourhood policing figures are down by a further 28%. This is deeply damaging because communities n…
AJ
Adam Jogee
I am grateful to the Home Secretary for that answer. My constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme raise crime and antisocial behaviour with me almost daily, which is why they welcome the Government’s commitment to restoring meaningful and effective neighbourhood policing. Will she meet me to discuss how Newcastle-under-Lyme…
YC
Yvette Cooper
The policing Minister and I would be very happy to talk to my hon. Friend about the importance of rebuilding neighbourhood policing in his constituency and across the country. Fundamentally, this is about making communities feel safe, and about restoring the confidence of local communities in policing and community saf…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Home Secretary.
Public Spending: Inheritance29 Jul 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
May I welcome you to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker? During the general election campaign, the now new Health Secretary and the local Labour party in Keighley and Ilkley told my constituents that they were fully committed to delivering the full rebuild of the Airedale hospital—one of those hospitals that struggles with aerated concrete—following my… efforts to secure the full funds. With millions of pounds being spent on the project and works well under way, can I seek reassurance from the Chancellor that this new Labour Government will not deny my constituents their right to a full rebuild of Airedale hospital?
Hansard · 29 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
RR
Rachel Reeves
Before I begin my statement, my thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the events in Southport, and I am sure that the whole House will join me in paying tribute to our emergency services who are dealing with this ongoing situation. On my first day as Chancellor of the Exchequer, I asked Treasury officials to …
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. This is an important statement for all constituents, including mine. If I am struggling to hear it, they are struggling at home as well. You will all get your chance to ask questions; I think it is more important to hear, and then comment.
RR
Rachel Reeves
There were things that the Conservative party covered up—covered up from the Opposition, from this House and from the country. That is why today we are publishing a detailed audit of the real spending situation, a copy of which will be laid in the House of Commons Library. I take this opportunity to thank the Chief Sec…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. I want Government Members to be quiet as well—I want to hear the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
RR
Rachel Reeves
I can understand why people, and Members, are angry. I am angry too. The previous Government let people down. The previous Government made commitment after commitment without knowing where the money was going to come from. They did this repeatedly, knowingly and deliberately. Today, I am calling out the Conservatives’ …
Infected Blood Inquiry26 Jul 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
As your constituency neighbour, may I congratulate you on your elevation to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker? I must put on record my sheer admiration for one of my constituents, Clive Smith, who chairs the Haemophilia Society. When I was first elected to this place in 2019, one of my very first constituency meetings was… with Clive at his home, to talk specifically about the importance of pushing these matters through the House. I thank the previous and current Government for their collective work to get the House to this position of providing reassurance to those who have been impacted. I also thank the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham (Dame Diana Johnson) for her work as part of the all-party parliamentary group on haemophilia and contaminated blood. There are still concerns about how the payments will be made to the estates of those who have died. There is a risk that if such payments are made to the estates, they will be directed away from those who have been most impacted. My understanding is that it is currently expected that the executors of wills will decide how compensation payments are made to family members, and the payments may not go to those who have been most impacted. How will the Paymaster General ensure that the payments get to those who are most impacted?
Hansard · 26 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
NT
Nick Thomas-Symonds
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to provide an update on the Government’s progress in responding to the infected blood inquiry’s report. I start by reiterating that the inquiry’s final report laid bare harrowing aspects of the scandal that make it vital that we provide regular updates on this work. T…
JG
John Glen
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulate you on your elevation. I thank the Paymaster General for his statement, and thank him very much for the customarily early sight of his statement this morning. The findings of the infected blood inquiry remain a shameful moment for the British state. First of all, I reiter…
NT
Nick Thomas-Symonds
I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for the characteristically collegiate way in which he approached his perfectly reasonable questions. I shall deal with them one by one. I will certainly push for the debate to be scheduled as soon as possible. It is really important that across the House we are able to com…
CE
Clive Efford
May I congratulate you, Madam Deputy Speaker, on your elevation to your position? I welcome the Minister’s statement this morning, but can he say a little more about how the compensation authority will arrive at its decisions? There is concern that advisers have undue influence on the Cabinet Office and that the voices…
NT
Nick Thomas-Symonds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his questions. First, may I say that, of course, the voice of victims should be absolutely central to this. I thank Sir Robert Francis for the work that he did in the general election purdah period to ensure that that is the case. I will consider very carefully the recommendations th…
Flood Defences: West Worcestershire24 Jul 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
My hon. Friend is giving an excellent speech, and making a very strong case for why we need to invest in flood defence schemes. Under the last Conservative Administration, we increased the amount of investment in flood defence schemes from £2.6 billion to £5.2 billion over the next six-year period. Does she agree that the… new Government should adhere to those funding increases so that we can ensure that schemes such as the ones for which she is advocating are dealt with and funded?
Hansard · 24 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
HB
Harriett Baldwin
It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker, and what a pleasure you have had in listening to such an excellent array of maiden speeches this afternoon. I thank Mr Speaker for allocating me one of the first Adjournment debates in this new Parliament. My speech will be more of a reiteration of certain…
SD
Sarah Dyke
Rural areas are often the worst impacted by flood damage, yet they are often deemed less of a priority for flood defences than urban areas. Does the hon. Lady agree that the flood defence grant in aid cost-benefit analysis must be reviewed to ensure it sufficiently values agricultural and rural communities?
HB
Harriett Baldwin
The hon. Lady highlights something that I have grappled with throughout my time as a Member of Parliament. I will now move on to the situation in Tenbury Wells in my constituency. Seventeen years ago this month, in the middle of summer, we had the most severe flooding for many, many years. It caused massive damage and …
JS
Jim Shannon
I congratulate the right hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes) on being elevated to Deputy Speaker. She is well-respected and her appointment is well-deserved. Everyone in this House is very encouraged to see her in that position. May I also congratulate the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (…
HB
Harriett Baldwin
The hon. Gentleman raises an important matter. Indeed, it was after the 2007 floods that the idea of a flood reinsurance scheme came about. It was something that was established when the last Government came into power in 2010. It has now become somewhat easier to get insurance, but it does continue to be a challenge, …
Clean Energy Superpower Mission18 Jul 2024
RM
Robbie Moore
I welcome the Secretary of State to his place, but I have to say that the Government’s disastrous decision to industrialise our highly productive, good agricultural land by approving three huge solar farms clearly demonstrates their unwillingness to listen to the concerns of local rural communities; it runs roughshod over them and their ability to… have their say. It is also hugely detrimental to food security. Can he explain to the House how he will look the farming community in the eye and explain his decision, as well as the Government’s lukewarm words on food security being national security?
Hansard · 18 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Before I call the Secretary of State, I note that there is disappointment from the Opposition that the statement was not provided in time. The statement was not provided to my office in time either. I know we want to set off in the right way. I am sure that the officials will make note when they arrive that we need to …
EM
Ed Miliband
With permission, I would like to make a statement about the Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. This Government were elected two weeks ago. Since then, we have lifted the onshore wind ban in England, which had been in place since 2015; consented more than 1.3 GW of solar projects, powering t…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
CC
Claire Coutinho
I would like to put on the record my disappointment not to get the statement in good time. I know that the right hon. Gentleman will want to provide us with the same courtesy that we tried to provide him when we were in government. That being said, I congratulate him on his return to government. I was sad not to see mo…
EM
Ed Miliband
May I start by congratulating the right hon. Lady on her recent engagement? I wish her and her fiancé all the best for the future. We may disagree on some issues, but I believe this Government and the right hon. Lady can at least share a belief in long honeymoons. [Laughter.] On the right hon. Lady’s response, I have t…
