Rebecca Smith

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

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1,245 held · 653 searchable for Rebecca Smith. The searchable lines are below in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 10.

This is not an official version of UK Parliament proceedings. It reproduces the published record and links to it; the official version is the one UK Parliament publishes.

1. “The Department argues that unemployment can have “long-term scarring effects” on younger people. Therefore, those whose health has improved should not remain on PIP any longer than necessary. Of course, younger claimants are more likely than older claimants to see improvements in their functional capacity, which helps explain why they are exempt from these longer review periods, but the logic just does not hold up, because unemployment can have scarring effects at any age. If regular reviews are important for younger claimants because circumstances can change, why should that principle suddenly cease to apply when someone reaches 25? Either regular reviews matter or they do not. The Government cannot have it both ways.”

   House of Commons24 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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2. “At the same time, the Secretary of State has made it clear that the Timms review of personal independence payment is not designed to deliver welfare savings, something that I find extraordinary. How can that possibly be an effective review if it refuses to tackle the elephant in the room—our ballooning benefits bill? Real compassion means not abandoning people to a life on benefits. State support must act as a springboard, not a destination. As the official Opposition, we believe in supporting the vulnerable, but we also believe in fairness to taxpayers—fairness to those who get up every morning, go to work and expect the welfare system to be properly managed. The Government’s own rationale regarding work disincentives is also deeply inconsistent. PIP awards will be extended only for claimants aged 25 and over.”

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3. “Of course we want to save money, but we do not think that this statutory instrument is the right way to do it. We think that it will just reduce the opportunities for people to have those reviews—the assessments that need to take place. Arguably, more money can perhaps be saved if those reviews happen within a quicker timeframe, because there are many people who, if the right things happen, can be moved off benefits much more quickly than we believe the statutory instrument allows for. Over 4 million people of working age are now on sickness and incapacity benefits, nearly half a million of whom are under 25. One in four people in the UK now report as disabled.”

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4. “I assure the Minister that we did know what was going to happen. We will not change our minds on the position that has already been set out. We believe that this instrument moves us in the wrong direction. I appreciate the points that were made by the Minister and, indeed, by the hon. Member for Horsham, who highlighted that there was apparently little difference between in-person and online reviews. That highlights that the issues that we have raised have not really been addressed—the Minister certainly has not.”

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5. “Clearly, face to face is good, where possible. The 7% figure that you commented on was from the pandemic and from when you picked up. We know that we had a huge backlog to deal with—”

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6. “There is no ambition to say, “By x date, we want to have dealt with this backlog and then we will refresh.” Indeed, they give powers for a future emergency, when we seemed to manage perfectly well in the previous emergency, so we think it is not right to use that as a reason for these unending powers. We also believe that the measure risks locking more people into welfare, when we should be helping more people into work. I know that the Minister thinks the same, so I am surprised that this is the tool being used. For those reasons, we urge the Government to think again and we urge Members to reject this statutory instrument. Question put .”

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7. “Did I say “you”? I am sorry, Mrs Hobhouse. Obviously, where possible, face to face is good, but we are not convinced that it is the right trade-off—that it makes it acceptable not to see people as regularly as there should be an ambition to see them. As I highlighted, and the Minister has not addressed this, certain people will no longer need any support from PIP within that three-year period, and some might need more. If this instrument is purely about administrative convenience and enabling the backlog to come down, rather than having proper oversight, we feel that that is watering down the system and weakening the public’s confidence in it. It is also true to say that the regulations lack real ambition, because they have no end date; they just give the Secretary of State completely discretionary powers with no finish point.”

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8. “The inaugural Jewish Culture Month has just concluded. More than 100 events took place across the country to celebrate Jewish culture, community and creativity. For example, the Plymouth Jewish community partnered with the Klezmer Village Band to bring traditional Jewish music to local schools and Plymouth Theatre Royal, helping to share Jewish culture with a wider audience. Given that the Prime Minister believes that rooting out antisemitism is a highlight of his tenure, what support was the Minister able to show for Jewish Culture Month, and did she attend any events?”

   House of Commons24 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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9. “Ponies, cattle and sheep are intrinsically linked on the moors. In a visit over the summer, the Minister could be assured of a friendly welcome and hear directly from those involved.”

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10. “27, or paragraph 23.2 according to gov.uk—to ensure that ponies remain on the moors, but it also reports, in paragraphs 23.1 and 23.3, that cattle and sheep in significantly deliverable numbers are an intrinsic part of delivering that and the land management needed for Dartmoor; otherwise, farms on Dartmoor are not sustainable. The Dartmoor Land Use Management Group was set up following the Fursdon review to assess how farming and environmental land management can co-exist. It has yet to report back, which is why it is so disappointing that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Natural England are pushing ahead with livestock stocking numbers that risk the sustainability of farms right across Dartmoor and, with them, the ponies themselves. A petition to adopt recommendation 27 has more than 200,000 signatures.”

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11. “It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. Let me start by inviting the new Minister—I welcome him to his place—to visit Dartmoor over the summer to meet farmers, commoners, the Dartmoor hill pony organisations and, importantly, the Dartmoor Land Use Management Group. I invite him to bring Natural England, too, because it is at the centre of quite a lot of what has been said about Dartmoor in the past few weeks. Previous meetings with Ministers and officials since the Government came into office do not seem to have made a difference and have not delivered a plan for sustainable farming on the moors. In 2023, the previous Government launched the Fursdon review on the future of Dartmoor. Its report includes a recommendation —No.”

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12. “On that point specifically, I raised Dartmoor and invited the Minister to visit my constituency. He has about 30 seconds left to speak, but could he respond to that point?”

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13. “The former Defence Secretary has blown apart the defence investment plan, revealing that the Treasury was prepared to offer only a pitiful increase in defence spending—just 0.08% by 2030—despite growing threats across the world. At the same time, the Treasury continues to fork out billions for welfare and the net zero agenda. Innovative small and medium-sized enterprises in defence are effectively locked out of MOD contracts and denied the opportunity to scale their capabilities. As the Chief of the Defence Staff put it, “the price of peace is increasing”. Will the Chancellor commit this morning to filling the £28 billion gap in defence investment by 2030 to secure our position on the world stage, or will she stand in the way of the delivery of the DIP that we need?”

    House of Commons23 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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14. “I want to press the Secretary of State a little further on looked-after children in particular. At the beginning of his statement, he said that his bottom line is to protect the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Given that parental or guardian permission has to be granted for the trial to take place, I am wondering who will give that permission for a child in care. Will it be himself, the Secretary of State? Will it be the foster parent? Will it be a social worker from a local council? We already know that looked-after children are overrepresented within the cohort of children with gender dysphoria. Ultimately, if we are going to protect them and make sure that their safety and wellbeing are at the forefront, we need some clear direction on what that is going to look like.”

    House of Commons22 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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15. “On Monday my hon. Friend the Member for West Worcestershire (Dame Harriett Baldwin) asked the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, the hon. Member for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard), about the impact of these new steel tariffs on the defence investment plan. His answer was not particularly clear, which surprised me, given the strong representations that both he and I will have had from the Plymouth Manufacturers’ Group. What conversations have the Minister and his colleagues had with the Ministry of Defence about the impact of tariffs on the DIP, and will he agree to meet me and the Plymouth Manufacturers’ Group?”

    House of Commons17 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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16. “Members of 42 Commando Royal Marines, led by Commanding Officer Tom Quinn, were a key part of the seizure of the Russian shadow fleet vessel yesterday morning. It is clear that our Royal Marines will always deliver for this country. They are world class, and I have had the privilege of seeing them in action at their home in Bickleigh barracks in my constituency. However, their ability to succeed can be sustained only if we invest in our defence and prepare for the wars of tomorrow. The former Armed Forces Minister, the hon. Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns)—a former Royal Marine himself—said in his resignation letter: “We are still purchasing capability suitable for the last war while our adversaries arm for the next one.” Does the Minister agree?”

    House of Commons15 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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17. “I know that, like me, those on the Government Front Bench welcome the regulating for growth Bill, which will enable the modernisation of regulations for maritime autonomy testing and the creation of regulatory sandbox powers. That is vital for the unmanned vessels that we need to protect our coastal waters, but defence firms such as those in my constituency cannot afford unnecessary delay due to the parliamentary timetable, or we will risk losing ground to international competitors. What conversations is the Department having with colleagues across Government to speed up the progress of the Bill through Parliament? I am planning to ask the Leader of the House about that in due course.”

    House of Commons1 June 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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18. “I have a simple question for the Minister. He keeps stating that 1,000 or so contracts have been signed, nearly all with companies based in the UK, but what percentage of those companies are small or medium-sized enterprises compared with the primes?”

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19. “If we start giving them additional costs on top of the challenges they have had around employment, we will see the end of manufacturing in this country, and I am sure no one in this Chamber wants that.”

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20. “I think you will agree, Madam Deputy Speaker, that while I understand what the Government are trying to do to promote British industry, if we impact British manufacturing inadvertently—I am sure it is not deliberate—where the supply chain cannot always buy purely British steel, we ultimately hinder the Government’s aims to see growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing, particularly around the industrial strategy. I therefore urge the Ministers here to listen to manufacturers. Letters have gone to the Secretary of State about the issue, but it is vital that we do not tie another hand behind the backs of these manufacturing industry professionals, who want to help and make a difference and who are passionate about what they do.”

    House of Commons20 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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21. “Plymouth is home to Plymouth Manufacturers’ Group, which is a cluster of manufacturing businesses ranging from Alderman Tooling, Lang and Potter, Olympus Algram and Plessey to Rittal CSM and Kawasaki Precision Machinery. All those businesses have been part of a system of manufacturing in Plymouth that was set up after the war when the dockyard was seeing a decline, so naturally, we have this hub there. Yet ultimately, the new regime that will come in on 1 July means those businesses are already seeing costs going into the hundreds of thousands—in one case, there are additional costs of at least £2 million a year—simply because of the steel quotas.”

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22. “I call on the Government to make the Bill a priority, and let us see Second Reading soon after the Whitsun recess so we can get moving. Please, let us also keep the Bill agile and flexible in its drafting to avoid a repeat situation where regulations cannot keep up with technology. Let us make sure this legislation is as good as it needs to be. Tomorrow sees the debate on the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill. Before that even begins, however, we have another steel-related issue that has the potential to significantly damage UK manufacturing and, by association, our defence readiness. The new UK steel regime kicks in on 1 July.”

    House of Commons20 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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23. “Similarly, I recently met an American company whose ambition to manufacture unmanned ships would not yet be deliverable in this country purely because of our out-of-date regulations. Local businesses such as MSubs, ZeroUSV and ACUA Ocean—I know the Secretary of State is familiar with many of them—are all cutting-edge and desperately in need of the legislation to fully deliver on their ambitious potential, a part of which is the developing of test sites. I believe the coast off Plymouth is the perfect place to pilot that, and we do not need to wait until it is ready for everyone at the same time. Turnchapel Wharf and those behind Team Plymouth are keen to get going, and I would be delighted for us to be that pilot, if that were helpful.”

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24. “That is why I tabled an Autonomous Maritime Vessels (Regulation) Bill in March this year, because I was keen to force the conversation. That seems to have had the desired effect, so I will take some credit for the regulating for growth Bill. I am pleased to see that, within the Government’s write-up of the Bill as it stands already, there are illustrations from overseas. I was recently at Oceanology International at the Excel centre, where I met Canadians from Nova Scotia who already have the regulations that we need here, which, in about six weeks, enable equivalent marine autonomy businesses to get the right permissions to test and develop and put the development of the new vessels into practice.”

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25. “I have raised this issue here time and again. I have met key stakeholders, local businesses, industry experts and the Marine Management Organisation. I have also spoken with relevant Ministers and I know that they have been aware of the issue for a considerable amount of time. I have to say, though, that I am disappointed with the speed at which things have moved. At the end of the day, marine autonomy waits for no man—it is progressing quickly down the river, so to speak—and we are not doing the industry any favours with the amount of time this is taking. The matter requires primary legislation, which is why the Bill is welcome. However, the Government were able to push through the removal of the two-child benefit cap, which was never on their programme, so that highlights their priorities.”

    House of Commons20 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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26. “That is incredibly serious, whether to constituents of mine working in Portsmouth or to businesses in my constituency who tell me that they are waiting with bated breath for the DIP. However, I want to focus on two things: the regulating for growth Bill and the challenge that manufacturing is facing around the steel industry. The King’s Speech included a regulating for growth Bill. We might argue that that is a misnomer as regulations usually have the opposite effect and stifle growth, but I appreciate what is trying to be done here—it is something that I have long been calling for. Plymouth has been named the centre for marine autonomy by the Government. That is a welcome designation, but that means nothing if we cannot change regulations to enable these businesses to do what they have set out to do and deliver for our defence industry.”

    House of Commons20 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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27. “We have heard plenty this afternoon about the lack of a defence readiness Bill in the King’s Speech and lots about the yawning delay of the defence investment plan, which has been rehearsed over and over again. I want to remind Ministers of why that is important. It is important because SMEs right across this country are waiting for the detail to be set out so that they can plan for the future, to provide the skills and jobs that the country needs. We have already heard from the Minister that contracts have been awarded since the Government came into power, but that is not good enough, because they are not providing reassurance and security, particularly to SMEs.”

    House of Commons20 May 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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28. “One constituent simply said: “Help, please.” I plead with the Minister to hear that and to commit to make that plea on behalf of park home owners to his colleagues in other Departments.”

    House of Commons28 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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29. “My view is that every constituent whose household relies on LPG should receive support equivalent to that going to households using oil. I appreciate that the Minister is in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, rather than the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, but I hope he will hear those pleas. It is not difficult to understand why my constituents are seeking support. As we have heard, these households are off grid not by choice, but by circumstance. LPG prices, unlike mains gas prices, are unregulated and uncapped, and users are exposed to market volatility with no safety net. One constituent told me that they are “finding it very hard to make ends meet.” Another told me that “being pensioners does not give us much for essentials”.”

    House of Commons28 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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30. “Could that review look at planning and tenancy length? Ultimately, people choose to live in park homes permanently, but they can end up on a site with a time limit, or one where some properties are on a time limit and some not. It is incredibly difficult to know what they are buying into. The main challenge that I want to address, which has already been touched on, is the fuel costs for residents, particularly those who use LPG. I recently surveyed residents of Devon Oak Park and Bittaford Wood on whether the issue was impacting them, so that I could seek to do something about it. Everyone using LPG who responded had seen an increase in their costs. Most were paying up to a quarter more, and some were paying as much as half again. That equates to a bill increase of more than £100, and some are paying as much as £150 more.”

    House of Commons28 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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31. “I thank the hon. Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing this important debate. There are clearly many issues facing park home residents across the country, and I want to touch briefly on two of them. The first is the challenge around planning and sales problems. At Devon Oaks Park, a site in my constituency, it seems that the owner has effectively mis-sold properties on varying lengths of tenancy. When it is found that he has breached the planning conditions, it is the residents who are impacted, not the park owner. Dartmoor national park is rightly seeking to enforce those conditions, but many residents will be made homeless if that issue cannot be resolved. I would be interested to know what the Minister has in mind, particularly for the review being done on the commission.”

    House of Commons28 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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32. “The Child Maintenance Service is not working for parents and it is not working for children. My own casework shows that the majority of those getting in touch about the CMS believe it to be ineffective, with systemic issues in communication, timeliness and case handling. My constituents are not alone. The independent case examiner received 1,827 complaints about the CMS in 2024-25, up from 1,519 in 2023-24. In November 2024, the charity Gingerbread published a report, “Fix the CMS”. In October 2025, a House of Lords Public Services Committee report recommended a range of changes to do the same. The Government have responded to both, but when will the Government enact the changes to bring forward the recommended and acknowledged improvements to the service?”

    House of Commons27 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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33. “I echo the concerns raised by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, which has criticised the Government’s requirement for integrated care boards to reduce their budgets by 50% and the impact that will have on allied health professional leadership roles. Under the previous Conservative Government, NHS England set out to increase our much-needed AHP workforce, as outlined in the 2023 NHS long-term workforce plan. This included an ambition to increase training places by 25% by 2031-32. We know how critical allied health professions are to prevention and recovery. The Government must ensure that they prioritise them in the revised NHS workforce plan, which is due to be published this spring. The allied health professions are ideally placed to help people help themselves.”

    House of Commons23 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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34. “Of course, that is in no way a reflection of these professionals themselves, as they are simply doing the job they are there to do with limited time and resources. Let me finish with three brief requests. First, I urge the Minister to capitalise on the record number of newly qualified physiotherapists. Will she confirm what steps the Department is taking to ensure that newly qualified physiotherapists can be guaranteed an NHS job? Secondly, I urge her to commit to retaining the chief allied health professions officer role to ensure that their clinical expertise is recognised in the Department. Thirdly, a plug for rehabilitation: I would love the Minister to ensure that the role of intensive care rehabilitation is reflected in the NHS workforce plan, and a holistic approach is central to that.”

    House of Commons23 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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35. “We know from Department for Work and Pensions data published in January—rather late—that over half of assessors leave in their first year. Assessors describe stressful time constraints and impossible workloads as some of their reasons for leaving. Under the current Government, one in 10 people in England and Wales is now claiming disability benefits, and the number is only set to increase. I urge the Minister to ensure that all allied health professionals are empowered to assess their patients without undue haste. I worry that otherwise this overstretched system may be incentivising assessors to recommend that a person receives disability benefits without having the appropriate time to thoroughly investigate their needs.”

    House of Commons23 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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36. “The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and others have highlighted that the NHS long-term workforce plan is likely to cover only speech and language therapists in the NHS workforce, which overlooks shortages in education and criminal justice settings. As we have heard, there is a real need for a holistic approach to developing the workforce, in recognition of the vital role played by speech and language therapists and others in supporting, in particular, children with special educational needs. Without capacity in the NHS for speech and language therapists, we will not be able to deliver on improving outcomes for some of the most vulnerable in our community, which I am sure we would all want to see. Finally, I want to mention the work of allied health professionals who assess people for health-related benefits.”

    House of Commons23 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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37. “That point has been raised time and again—it came up during the last Parliament in the work done by the all-party parliamentary group on intensive care, which my predecessor, Sir Gary Streeter, chaired—and it needs to be addressed. While that is not entirely about allied health professionals, I am sure the Minister will be aware of it, and it would be interesting to hear what might be done. Ultimately, the role of rehabilitation is good for patients and for society, because we want to enable everyone who has survived intensive care to leave intensive care and leave hospital. We have heard plenty about occupational therapists and speech and language therapists.”

    House of Commons23 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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38. “Kate has spent years campaigning to ensure that every patient in the UK can access rehabilitation services towards the end of their stay in intensive care, which would end the current patchy provision. People might ask what Rehab Legends is. It is effectively a multidisciplinary team that helps rehabilitate men and women who have been on life support, because they often see deconditioning in the rest of their body. With rehabilitation, they stand a much better chance of moving on from intensive care. Why is this important? At the moment, the step down from ICU to a normal ward is huge, and if people do not have the physical ability to take that step, their ultimate rehabilitation and ability to get back out into life will be significantly affected.”

    House of Commons23 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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39. “Worryingly, the Government confirmed last year that they had made no estimate of the impact of recruitment freezes on physiotherapists and physiotherapist support workers. Twenty-three per cent of my South West Devon constituents have at least one long-term condition. Over 18,000 are classed as disabled, slightly higher than the average across England. Relatively speaking, it is an ageing constituency, with 45% of constituents over the age of 50. That makes the role of physios and other allied health professionals in enabling people to prepare for and rehabilitate from things like cancer treatment and surgery even more vital. I commend the Rehab Legends campaign led by Kate Tantam, an inspirational constituent of mine who works as an intensive care sister at Derriford hospital.”

    House of Commons23 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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40. “However, we know that physiotherapy is highly cost-effective, generating an overall return of around £4 for every £1 invested. It can prevent illness and help people recover more quickly, which reduces the strain on health services. Crucially, physios enable people to stay in and return to work. They help people to reduce pain, obesity and inactivity, contributing to a healthier and more productive population. Expanding the physiotherapy workforce alone could save the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds over the next five years. However, as we have heard, many physios are struggling even to find a job due to recruitment freezes and a lack of entry-level positions, as well as problems with job security.”

    House of Commons23 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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41. “I start by paying tribute to the allied health professionals in my constituency and across the country, who work so hard to help people to regain and maintain their health. Indeed, I count many among my friends. From paramedics to physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and so many others, I am always amazed at the skill and dedication of these professionals, who often work under intense pressure. My constituent Jackie Lees-Howes is one of 174 registered physiotherapists living in my constituency. She highlighted several statistics that should give us pause for thought. Two thirds of the population will likely be living with a long-term health condition by 2035. Community waiting times continue to grow and, to make matters worse, the UK has far fewer physiotherapists per head than comparable countries.”

    House of Commons23 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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42. “The hon. Member is making an excellent speech, which has reminded me of a conversation I recently had in my constituency. Drivers in the area of Hooe and Plymstock are showing really antisocial behaviour, and one of the police officers I was with mentioned this fact. We were not even talking about how cars are registered to the DVLA, but does she not find extraordinary the number that are registered to Mickey Mouse?”

    House of Commons23 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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43. “In Wales, the south-west and across the UK, nearly 1 million young people are not in education, employment or training. Labour’s jobs tax, failed welfare reforms and damaging energy policies will worsen that crisis. Does the Minister recognise that when the Labour Government’s first response to any crisis is to tax business, businesses stop hiring, and it is young people in Wales who suffer most?”

    House of Commons22 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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44. “I wonder whether the Prime Minister knew the difference between the due diligence information from the Cabinet Office and the security vetting that had not taken place when he appointed Peter Mandelson on 18 December.”

    House of Commons20 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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45. “Last week, I had the privilege of visiting Auschwitz, on a visit organised by March of the Living UK. I joined 200 members of the British Jewish community there, and almost 8,000 people from around the world. We marched between Auschwitz and Birkenau. Many of those there were Holocaust survivors. I heard their stories, from the 1930s and 1940s, and from today. Many told me that they have an exit plan. We were escorted by security the whole time. Will the Minister provide much-needed assurance to our Jewish community in the UK by explaining what steps are being taken to address rising antisemitism here, and will he commit to taking action that is significant enough to reassure British Jews that they do not need a plan B?”

    House of Commons20 April 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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46. “The local government reorganisation consultation for Devon closes today. It has had many responses that have all been completed in good faith. Can the Minister reassure Devonians that responses to the consultation will be digested and taken fully into account, especially in the light of the strength of feeling against the plans put forward by the Labour-controlled cities in Devon to expand into Devon’s beautiful green belt, which is surely a land grab to deliver the Labour Government’s housing targets?”

    House of Commons26 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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47. “The strategic defence review brought forward welcome promises: regional clusters in areas like Plymouth; the hybrid Navy, with the introduction of new autonomous systems; a boost for UK export potential; and the use of uncrewed vessels and autonomous systems in our own military, with improved regulations to enable the autonomous experimentation required. Indeed, recommendation 39 says: “More flexible regulation is needed to enable experimentation in areas such as autonomy. By April 2026, Defence should establish options to enhance the mandate of the Defence Maritime Regulator to allow the Royal Navy and industry to use a dedicated regulatory ‘sandbox’ to test and deploy new technologies.” We are a couple of weeks away; I wonder where that is.”

    House of Commons24 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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48. “South West Devon is home not only to 42 Commando Royal Marines, but to Plymouth and South Devon freeport, with Langage and Sherford offering significant development opportunities, thanks to the previous Conservative Government, and plenty of space for defence. We have Turnchapel Wharf, home of the Plymouth National Centre for Marine Autonomy. Devonport naval base is in the neighbouring constituency, which is involved in the upgrading of our nuclear deterrent. GMD Eurotool, Bluestone Technology and DTM Global Procurement, which I am visiting after Easter, are just some of the many SMEs that rely on defence. Members can therefore imagine the anticipation in my constituency for the strategic defence review. Indeed, at the Oceanology International event, it was clear that there are businesses queuing up to come to South West Devon.”

    House of Commons24 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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49. “I raised this matter recently in Prime Minister’s questions, asking for the changes that we need to see. Canada is able to clear these vessels for practice testing off their shores within as little as six weeks, yet our businesses are expected to fill out hundreds and hundreds of pages of applications.”

    House of Commons24 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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50. “The city has got going; we have Team Plymouth looking at how we can deliver. But the defence investment plan is required to fulfil this aimed-for growth and to enable contracts—like those just mentioned by my hon Friend—to be brought forward, with the jobs that have always been promised. For businesses, the SDR and the defence investment plan were exciting, but they are still missing the funding. This is a threat to our national sovereign capability and to the economic growth that the Government seem convinced that they are going to deliver. Furthermore, there is a delay to the vital trial areas for autonomy that we were also promised, and that is hampering growth too. Businesses in my constituency want the green light in order to go forward on their testing, but those trial areas have not come forward—we just see more dither and delay.”

    House of Commons24 March 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗

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