Wendy Chamberlain
MP for North East Fife · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“Scottish Government figures released yesterday show the lowest level of new house building in more than a decade. Ahead of the Budget, councils in England are expected to benefit from new investment to stimulate council house building and access low-interest borrowing.”
House of Commons28 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“During Evidence Week, I met Dr Sara Polo to discuss violence against women and girls in conflict areas, including Afghanistan. Although many aspects of the national action plan on women, peace and security are encouraging, academics such as Dr Polo have pointed out that there are areas for improvement, such as including victims of non-sex…”
House of Commons27 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In North East Fife, civil service pension delays are not the only issue. I have previously spoken in this House of the “Jobs Forgotten” campaign for retired former police officers who are dealing with the failings of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, so I found the comments from the hon.”
House of Commons26 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am very grateful to both the Minister and my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Ian Roome) for allowing me the opportunity to contribute to this debate, and I am glad that we have a little bit of time for me to do so.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The first is Kristie Haldane, who has shown immense courage in speaking publicly about her experiences so that others do not have to suffer in silence. She experienced both an incomplete abortion and a traumatic miscarriage.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Friend the Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) and the new MSP for Caithness, David Green, for the SNP Government to finally provide better maternity services in the far north of Scotland.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“If it stems back from before the 2024 election, why is it taking so long to tackle it? What grounds does his Department use for considering expediting reassessment? My caseworkers, coincidentally, went to an information session run by Maximus yesterday, and they, with the 50 or so other staffers on the call, were told that the DWP has the power to approve reassessments being processed if it thinks there are reasonable grounds for doing so. That was news to my team and me, because DWP case handlers have consistently said that Maximus is independent and that it has no influence over its operations. However, we were told yesterday that Maximus is under instruction from DWP to prioritise all new applications, and to look at the backlog of reassessments only if it finds spare capacity.”
House of Commons4 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“However, the reality is that we are all stuck in a holding pattern until the assessments are carried out and decisions are made. My constituents are not alone; they are in a cohort of 35,000 others. The Minister mentioned the steps the Government are taking to reduce the backlog in his letter to me last month. He will be unsurprised to know that I have some questions that I hope he will be able to address today. First, can he explain why his Department has prioritised new work capability assessments over applicants who have notified the DWP about a change in condition? I am not saying that existing claimants should be prioritised, but a “first come, first served” process, or some other type of prioritisation system, might be fairer. Can the Minister explain how the backlog has got so big?”
House of Commons4 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“One of my constituents has been advised that there is no point pushing on with investigations and treatment for her pain while so many anxiety-inducing factors are ongoing, so recovery is being impacted too. Being unable to work without the additional health element of universal credit can make it incredibly difficult to make ends meet. As we all know, poverty and ill health is a terrible cycle. The constituents I am working with are trying their best, and I am grateful to the local agencies that offer support. I would like to highlight the work of Fife Women’s Aid and Square Start. The former offers invaluable trauma support and counselling, and the latter can help with all sorts of essential life skills. Many of my constituents have particularly benefited from help with budgeting and managing their finances.”
House of Commons4 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Culture does seem to be part of the problem in these circumstances. My view is that my caseworkers work incredibly hard, but if systems, processes and institutions worked the way they were supposed to, the casework often would not come to us in the first instance. One of my caseworkers told me that, on the phone, someone can go from being completely fine and talking about their application and their health treatment to being in floods of tears and expressing suicidal thoughts with next to no warning. The DWP is not responsible for the underlying factors and histories of my constituents—let me make that clear—but it is here to provide a safety net. Leaving my constituents in limbo has made everything much worse. Mental and physical health are worse, and trauma responses are triggered.”
House of Commons4 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Last September, there were 2.6 million jobs in the hospitality industry and it is estimated to be worth £70 billion to our economy. It is also part of our community. That came across very strongly in the roundtable. On the day that my son was born, our local pub was across the road from our house and I went there to wet his head, because why should I miss out on all the fun? Since then, it is the place he has worked in and the place where he had his 18th birthday. We need to support these hospitality industries.”
House of Commons4 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Food inflation—especially with the impact of tariffs—is a real concern, and the only real lever to control soaring costs is to cut back on training, hours and staff: those things that the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee said are so critical to delivering some of the change that the Government want to see. The biggest ask that came from hospitality was to cut VAT from 20% to 15%, which is a move that the Liberal Democrats have been calling for for some time. I know that that is not in the gift of the Minister, but I urge him to make representations to the Treasury if we want this to be the best place in the world to do business. It is also a measure that would support hospitality across the UK, and I say that as a Scottish MP. Hospitality is important for so many reasons.”
House of Commons4 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“With the lower threshold for contributions dropping to £5,000, employees now pay national insurance on more of their employees’ earnings, which means that many part-time roles have been impacted and part-time recruitment is no longer happening. More full-time roles are being recruited, which stops young people, for example, from finding that first rung on the hospitality ladder. Business rates are also going up. As a Scottish MP, I appreciate that that problem lies squarely at the feet of the SNP Government in Scotland, who could pause this year’s re-evaluations but are refusing to do so. I am grateful to my colleagues in the Scottish Parliament, who have secured hospitality reliefs in our budget negotiations with them.”
House of Commons4 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As has been already touched on, the feeling is that hospitality is being hammered from every direction at the moment—the question asked was: how much more can businesses take? Across the board, businesses understood the reasons behind the changes to national insurance contributions, and they were supportive of the national living wage. Part of that is because most leaders in hospitality have worked their way up within the sector, and they know that the hard work of the service industry deserves proper pay. But as business owners they are also acutely aware that their wage bills are going up unsustainably. A significant amount of hospitality businesses’ costs relate to staffing—some of them quoted 30% to 40%, or even higher.”
House of Commons4 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Part of the reason for the debate was because the Department has increased its budgets for the British Business Bank and the growth guarantee scheme, which the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee mentioned. There are other sectors in North East Fife—we have seen losses in manufacturing, largely due to our departure from the EU, and we have the University of St Andrews doing groundbreaking work and research—but we are largely a rural economy, with farmers across the constituency. Turning to hospitality, one of the issues raised at my business roundtable was the difficulty in accessing finance. Given that has already been raised by the Chair of the Committee, I hope that the Minister will address that point in particular.”
House of Commons4 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will make some brief remarks. I note that the Department’s estimates memorandum made specific reference to spending supporting the objectives to make the UK the best place in the world to do business, the best place to do business from, and to deliver great services to businesses. I will talk about a roundtable I held for hospitality businesses in my constituency last week. The organisations that attended varied hugely in size, turnover and business model—North East Fife is a place that generally people want to visit, and it caters for a number of visitors accordingly—but none of them thought that the Department for Business and Trade was making this the best place in the world to be operating.”
House of Commons4 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Member is talking passionately about the impact of physical injuries on young people, but we also know that trauma recovery for children and young people will have to be a vital part of the long-term solution for Gaza. The International Centre for Child Trauma Prevention and Recovery has pioneered a capacity-building model of training to put as many counsellors on the ground as possible. I engaged with the ICCTPR’s co-director at a fundraising event in Ceres in my constituency. Does the hon. Member agree that when the UK Government are looking at providing funding and support, they also need to look at trauma recovery?”
House of Commons24 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I entirely agree with the Minister on the abhorrence of the comments made in the media back then. Does he agree that we still have a degree of that problem now, because often in the media we talk about “under-age girls” when actually we are talking about children, and we should ensure that when we talk about Epstein’s crimes, we talk about the children who were involved?”
House of Commons24 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“By sketching out that timeline, the hon. Gentleman brings to light the reason why we are calling in our Humble Address for information about the actual creation of the appointment, which, as the Minister rightly pointed out, was a unique role created for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Does the hon. Gentleman therefore agree that we are right not only to call out the creation of that role, but to ascertain whether Mandelson had any role in it?”
House of Commons24 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way. I am conscious that she was close to concluding, but her words about the victims are powerful. I co-chair the all-party parliamentary group for the survivors of Fayed and Harrods. We have just started our work, but Members may have heard a powerful interview on the “World at One” a couple of weeks ago, which talked about the lack of acknowledgement of what had taken place and the fact that the police did not properly understand trafficking. The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Alex Burghart), described this as a global enterprise. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to do much more work around this and that it is not just about the victims of Epstein, but other trafficking victims, too?”
House of Commons24 February 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend talks about some of the key issues in relation to the US and its agreement. On remarks from the US, I remember being contacted by my friend on the morning her brother was injured severely in an improvised explosive device explosion in Afghanistan. I have also had many constituents get in touch with me who are deeply angry at President Trump’s remarks about our service personnel. Does my hon. Friend agree that the rowing back is not sufficient and that the President needs to give an apology to British service personnel?”
House of Commons28 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is highlighting two important things. The increases in on-costs for businesses mean that they are not taking on young people. More importantly, they are not then able to support the supervisory roles that give those young people the development they need, because they cannot make the differentiation in terms of salary. I am standing here as a Scottish MP. The Scottish Government did not pass on the business rate relief the last time. They have confirmed that they will do so for Barnett consequentials, but does she agree that the Scottish Government are simply not doing enough in this area and that, in fact, we are in a worse position than what is being debated today?”
House of Commons28 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Member is talking about further and vocational education, which is important. Another aspect of it is that it helps young people for whom school has not been a success. It is not just about the skills that they learn; it is about that arm that is put around them. Does she share my concern at the rural agricultural college in Cupar in my constituency of North East Fife effectively mothballing its building and moving a number of its courses online, meaning that young people studying animal care for, for example, are missing out on those arm-supporting opportunities that they desperately need?”
House of Commons28 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“T9. I heard the Minister’s words to the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) about the energy company obligation 4 scheme, but the vague promise in the warm homes plan to put right poor-quality work under ECO4 seems like empty words to my constituents who are affected. Will the Treasury consider the only viable alternative to this disastrous scheme, which is redress?”
House of Commons27 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“T6. I have two constituents who have been awaiting work capability reassessments since July and September 2024. That is more than a year that they have been stuck in limbo, rather than preparing to get back to work. Will the Minister confirm what my team has been told—that extreme waiting times are now normal in the Department? Will he set out what it is doing to break that backlog?”
House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We have focused too much on police officer numbers and not enough on the back-office functions and the expertise of police staff. Will this White Paper address the overall resourcing model for policing?”
House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As a former police officer, I have watched the roll-out of Police Scotland with some sadness because, despite best efforts, it has not delivered in Scotland what the Home Secretary hopes to achieve with her amalgamations. Communities feel that neighbourhood policing is further away from them, and that they do not have the hoped for visibility and local accountability. I hope that she is taking some lessons from Scotland. The Home Secretary has also been making points about the number of police officers who are working in desk jobs. She surely recognises that a number of those individuals are working in those areas because they are on light or restricted duties, and we always need to have roles available for those people.”
House of Commons26 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Business rates are crippling, particularly for the hospitality sector in my constituency, including hotels. We in Scotland have not seen the initiatives that have delivered business rates relief in other parts of the United Kingdom. The UK Government may be U-turning on this issue, but would they consider a cut in VAT for hospitality, so that businesses throughout the UK can benefit?”
House of Commons14 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My point is that if we want the UK to be a world leader in research and development, which is key to the Government’s modern industrial strategy, then we need to attract the brightest and the best. We cannot do that if the security checks needed to process their visas are not working.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Creating novel chemical materials could revolutionise food packaging and how it is recycled. We all know that we need better energy systems and sources. Buses now commonly run on hydrogen, a move that in Scotland, I am proud to say, was supported by experts in the school of chemistry at the University of St Andrews in my constituency. And then there is artificial intelligence. We know that it is having a huge impact on how we live our lives, and I want to ensure that the best and brightest are here in the UK working on it, ensuring that the development of AI includes the necessary guardrails to prevent its abuse. Those are just a few examples of research subjects that could require ATAS approval for an international student or academic.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is clearly an incredibly important process, and one that exists in some form in most other countries where advanced research is taking place. ATAS checks are most commonly needed when individuals will be studying, researching or working in subject topics that could be used to develop advanced conventional military technology or weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. There is an obvious reason why it is important to get ATAS right. The type of research that, in the wrong hands, could be used to develop weapons of mass destruction is also the type of research that is critical for making many non-military advancements. For example, biophysics research in molecular medicine involves groundbreaking discoveries in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases that can change the lives of millions of people.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I beg to move, That this House has considered the Academic Technology Approval Scheme. It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher; I wish you a happy new year, although we are probably in the dregs of when we can say that. I welcome the Minister for what I hope will be a constructive half-hour debate. I will start by briefly setting out what ATAS is, because if I have learned one thing in the last few months, it is that it has quite low salience—including, I regret to say, in the Foreign Office. If this debate achieves nothing else, I hope it resolves that. ATAS, known properly as the academic technology approval scheme, is a system by which additional checks are carried out on international students and researchers of certain nationalities, or those working in security-related fields.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is important for our industrial strategy, medical breakthroughs, securing our energy future, and supporting our universities and our security as a nation. It is also about people. These issues are not minor. Roughly a quarter of the University of St Andrews’s skilled worker visa applications last year involved ATAS checks, and a tenth of the ATAS students had their start days impacted. As proud as I am of the university, I know it is not the only top-level research centre in the UK. If we add up those figures, we are looking at thousands of delays and research projects impacted, as well as time and money lost. I hope that the Minister will set out how we can address these issues and bring ATAS and its processes into the light.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is true that this is not one of the cases of terrible delay that I referred to earlier, but it clearly demonstrates the need for escalation routes for MPs or sponsoring universities, transparent processing timeframes, and a compassionate travel route or other allowances for bereaved applicants—or at least knowledge of what the process can and should be and whether indeed it is possible at all. Above all, there should be some form of knowledge or oversight within the FCDO, given that nobody seemed to know that ATAS existed or was an FCDO responsibility. Something called the academic technology approval scheme might sound incredibly dry, but I hope that this debate demonstrates that it is incredibly important.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There is a positive ending in this case. Although my constituent missed the funeral and the initial mourning period, his checks did go through and his visa was renewed. He was able to see his mother and sister and pay his respects to his father. I am not convinced that anything done by my office—or indeed by me, because I did try to speak to a couple of FCDO Ministers in the House—did anything in that regard. I know that the Minister will point out that in the end my constituent’s ATAS checks were done within the six-week processing window.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The only option, we were told by the Home Office, was to try to get his visa renewal through as quickly as possible. That left one big stumbling block: the inability to directly contact, chase or otherwise check in with ATAS over his security checks. This was without knowing how long the current waiting period was, and without ATAS having any guidance or grounds for expedition in compassionate circumstances. My team are a pretty resourceful bunch, and they tried everything they could think of. They obviously emailed the public email address, and we wrote to the FCDO. We rang the FCDO helpline, and I was told on that phone call that the FCDO did not know what ATAS was and whether it was part of its remit. That is a bit worrying. When it was explained, we were told that surely this was the responsibility of the Home Office. It went on.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There does not seem to be a Home Office exemption to allow time-limited bereavement travel, even where evidence of death has been provided; and the UKVI escalation process, while effective, is still slow in consideration of the cultural norms for burial soon after death in many countries. All of that means that my constituent had missed his father’s funeral before any answers were received. He still wanted to return home to be with his family and pay his respects as soon as possible, and this is where we return to ATAS, because he was told that if he left the country, he would need to start his visa and ATAS applications all over again. That would require him to incur significant cost and uncertainty and risk serious disruption to his ongoing academic responsibilities.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My constituent, an academic at the University of St Andrews, was applying for his visa to be renewed. This was all completely routine, but tragically, after his having submitted all the information and with the ATAS checks under way, his father unexpectedly took ill and passed away. He naturally wanted to travel home to Syria to see his family, pay his respects and, as the eldest son, arrange and play a part in his father’s funeral. He immediately contacted UKVI and asked for permission to travel. The next developments, I understand, are outwith the remit of the Minister and are not why we are here today, but they are worth noting.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I would rather we did not have delays with visas or pensions, which my team have to chase up on constituents’ behalf, but this is at least something that we can do and that can give some answers as to why things are moving slowly and when an answer can be expected. Will the Minister look into an MP hotline for ATAS or a dedicated email address for use by registered universities? We can of course get in touch with the Home Office, as ATAS delays stop visas being processed, but this does not help at all, with UK Visas and Immigration officials left as in the dark as everyone else over the status of an ATAS check. Like us, all they can do is wait. The opacity of the system was thrown into sharp relief for me towards the end of last year by one particular piece of casework.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have mentioned casework, because for MPs that is a huge part of our job. Visa problems, Department for Work and Pensions issues and HM Revenue and Customs delays are the bread and butter of our inbox and the work that our constituency staff do. It is a question of trying to find out the problem and what can be done to unstick whatever is stuck. But frustratingly, we cannot do that with ATAS. There is just one email address, for use by universities, MPs, students or anyone else who needs to get in touch. I am not sure that I have ever received a response from it. I am not surprised—it must be absolutely inundated. Surely there must be a better system.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Could that be put into a formal, service-level agreement, so that universities, applicants and funding providers could manage expectations? There are naturally peaks to the number of applications for review over the summer, given that the academic cycle, even for non-taught research, tends to start in the autumn. Could the Government be taking steps to prepare for that? Could extra resources be put in place? I understand that the highly technical nature of the checks being carried out means that there is a need for scientific experts, who are already in high demand in Whitehall. Does the Minister feel that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has sufficient scientific capacity to meet demand? Is that something that engagement with the university sector and the specialists we have here could resolve?”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Although I am relieved to know from my conversations with the University of St Andrews that it has managed to deal with the stress of these concerns—but not the losses themselves—I have been told by the Russell Group about other universities that have experienced researchers and students withdrawing applications and going to other research-intensive nations instead, and about large research and development businesses withdrawing from university-led projects because they could not wait any longer for applications to be approved. I therefore ask the Minister whether the 30-day standard period is a reasonable reflection of capacity. Would a 40 or even 50-day target perhaps be better? Then universities and applicants could plan accordingly.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Sir Christopher, can you imagine securing the funding for groundbreaking research and attracting the best global talent, only to find, days before the project is due to start, that you still do not know whether you can go ahead? You find yourself having to go back to the finance provider to ask for leniency and change contract dates and funding arrangements—all while worrying that the funding might ultimately be withdrawn. That could jeopardise your chances of receiving future support, or mean that the individual in question gives up on the process and secures employment elsewhere.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Processing delays are not anything new, but there are a few elements that I want to pull out. Most postgraduate programmes of study and research programmes have defined start and end dates, which is particularly true when grant funding is being utilised. Missing those start dates due to ATAS delays means that research students miss the start of their course, and that research projects might need to delay their start dates or begin without key personnel. The University of St Andrews will not make a formal offer without ATAS being completed, and the student cannot apply for their visa without receiving a formal offer from the university. [ Official Report, 21 January 2026; Vol. 779, c. 4WC.] (Correction) These are the different roadblocks on the way to getting approval.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Member always manages to touch in advance on the key topics that we will raise in the debate, and timescales in relation to ATAS is certainly one of the things that I will touch on. I turn to the time it takes for ATAS checks to be carried out. I am grateful that the Minister wrote to me last week confirming a standard timeframe of 30 working days—six weeks—to process applications. That seems quite reasonable for something technical that we clearly want to get right. The problem is that that response timescale is not exactly everyone’s experience. I have had casework for academics and students coming to the University of St Andrews with delays of up to six months, an experience that is shared by the Russell Group of universities, which reached out to me in advance of this debate.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Minister has just mentioned the Home Office. I suppose part of our frustration as a team was that ATAS responsibility sits within the FCDO rather than the Home Office, and that there is a lack of knowledge and understanding. I am very pleased to hear that work is ongoing. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that the House is properly updated in relation to that work? Will it take on board some of the suggestions I have made? The key frustration for me and my team is that we are used to being able to get some answers, but with ATAS that feels very, very difficult to do.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I put my thanks on the record—it is great to hear that the case was expedited as a result of our actions—but what I have tried to illustrate today is that we had no real knowledge of that or of how to achieve it, so I am grateful to the Minister for that update.”
House of Commons13 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I find it interesting that the Minister says that this is the right policy. That is what the Government said on 23 December, but not what they said at oral questions on 18 December—the day before we rose for recess. I have spoken to farmers who will now not be affected by the tax, but who have spent cashflow and hard-earned savings on financial advice to ameliorate their position. Things are not getting easier for farmers; just this morning, one of my local farmers got in touch to say that he was informed on new year’s day that his milk supply faces a 3p per litre cut. What is the Government’s assessment, alongside what is in the Batters report, of the ongoing financial impact on farmers, be it of poor Government policy or of poor supply chain practices?”
House of Commons5 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Member and I are members and officers of the all-party parliamentary group on Afghan women and girls. On the point about education and access to healthcare for women, we hosted a meeting last year with Dr Feroz, a former Health Minister in Afghanistan. He spoke movingly about the case for medical care for Afghan women. One of his key asks was for more support in Afghanistan for women to be trained as midwives to improve maternal outcomes. I am potentially anticipating the Minister’s response, and I know how challenging the situation is, but does the hon. Member agree that we should be able to discuss this from a bilateral perspective?”
House of Commons5 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Lady for giving way again. She is speaking powerfully about aid and contributions. May I briefly mention the global polio eradication initiative? Polio could be eradicated in the next three years, which would be a historic milestone for the world, but to do that the UK Government need to commit £50 million a year to the initiative for the next two years. Given how little we can do to support Afghan at present, this is one tangible action that the Government can take. Will the hon. Lady reiterate that call tonight?”
House of Commons5 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I know the Minister’s commitment to and experience of Afghanistan. Before Christmas, the APPG, including the hon. Member for Norwich North (Alice Macdonald), met the UNHCR Afghanistan representative. As we know, many people are returning to Afghanistan from Pakistan, Iran and elsewhere, and they are often from single female-headed households, so they are doing so with a degree of trepidation. My understanding from that meeting is that that body receives no funding from the UK Government. Would the Minister consider looking at that, because that surely must be an item of leverage in the meetings with UK officials that he has described?”
House of Commons5 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Minister rightly mentions the Chevening scholarship scheme. I also commend the work of the Linda Norgrove Foundation in relation to the 19 female Afghan medical students who are brought to the UK to study at Scottish universities. That was really groundbreaking work between the UK and Scottish Governments on funding for their studies and the visas that allowed them to come. There are very small numbers of individuals who would like to do the same. Will the Minister take away that request to ensure we have that pipeline, so that hopefully in future those women can return to Afghanistan and provide the care that is required?”
House of Commons5 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“To conclude, in an age where it is less and less common to call on our neighbours and know their follies and scruples, and where the ridiculousness of Miss Bates would have potentially meant that Emma’s hot takes went viral on social media, it does us good as politicians to be reminded that community requires compassion.”
House of Commons18 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Fanny Price is one of the least popular of Austen’s characters because she is always good and always right, and although that is a very nice way for someone to live, it sometimes makes them slightly insufferable to live with. I agree with the hon. Member for Carlisle—Anne Elliot is my favourite character and her failing is that she has not been headstrong enough, which is not often a problem for the other heroines of Austen. Austen’s most powerful innovation was to realise that a lack of self-knowledge is the very voice of narration. Her dialogue is king of her works. The comic characters are monologists whereas our heroes—such as Emma and Mr Knightley—are supreme in their dialogue. We should also look out for the significant characters who we never hear from—they do not actually speak—because they are interesting too.”
House of Commons18 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We, the readers, understand that under her tutelage he will learn that. We also learn to laugh at Darcy a little ourselves. Austen’s ironies attract us still, but her balance and poise often elude imitators. But while laughing at foolishness is a good way to get by, it is not ultimately the salve that brought comfort to the soldier in the trenches or to an admiral’s family. To quote Beatrice Scudeler, “if her novels prove that moral corruption is ubiquitous, they also make the case that, despite our corrupted nature, we’re not unsalvageable: forgiveness and redemption are always within reach of humankind.” From Emma to Anne Elliot to Mr Darcy, confronting their mistakes is a powerful factor in how Austen’s characters grow.”
House of Commons18 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Member for Basingstoke mentioned, the careers of some of our greatest stars, and maybe even our Prime Minister, may have been launched through such things. What inspires so deep a devotion to Austen’s work, even in the inattentive reader? I would argue it is the way she captures human follies and scruples with genuine affection and humour. My hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Dr Chambers) referenced what Mr Bennet said about how we make “sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn”. On Mr Bennet, I have to say that the 1995 production fooled us all. Mr Bennet is a pretty neglectful dad, isn’t he? How did he end up with five daughters and be unable to provide for them on £2,000 a year? I think he has a bit to answer for. Towards the end of that story, Elizabeth reflects that Darcy “had yet to learn to be laughed at”.”
House of Commons18 December 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗