Sean Woodcock
MP for Banbury · Labour · United Kingdom
“In the Thames valley, as with much of the south-east, the key driver of homelessness is high house prices. Many of the measures announced today and over recent months, while welcome, are focused in areas with mayors. In the south-east, however, devolution has stalled, meaning that some of these levers will not be available.”
House of Commons26 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Every week in my surgeries I hear about the consequences of Thames Water’s failures. An elderly widowed constituent was left without running water after it failed and botched the installation of a water meter, and she was forced to shell out hundreds of pounds on an emergency plumber to remedy the situation.”
House of Commons14 July 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I meet businesses in my constituency all the time. As I stated at the beginning of my speech, they raise a number of the issues that the Opposition have raised, and I do not pretend that none of those come up in my conversations.”
House of Commons7 July 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is about protecting the firm, the other employees and the productivity of the business as much as it is about protecting the employee. This debate exposes a fundamental difference in vision. The Opposition believe in and want an unstable, low-growth economy built on a race to the bottom.”
House of Commons7 July 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is right for the Opposition to look at what this Government have done in this sphere, and they should absolutely provide such scrutiny, but they have missed a few things that this Government are doing. Our youth hubs will give young people the localised support they need to get into their local labour market.”
House of Commons7 July 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“A strong package of workers’ rights and protections goes hand in hand with a strong economy. The Employment Rights Act has been vital to modernising protections and making work pay, because when we give people certainty over their hours and their wages, we give them the confidence to spend on our high streets, to go into their local pubs…”
House of Commons7 July 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
The complete record
286 held · 275 searchable for Sean Woodcock. The searchable lines are below in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 6.
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.
“I rise to speak to amendments 108, 343 and 344. I am delighted that the promoter of the Bill, my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, has said that she accepts amendment 108, which was tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for East Thanet. It would require a doctor who was having an initial conversation with a person about assisted dying to “offer” to refer them to a palliative medical specialist. That would give the patient a chance to discuss end of life matters in depth with somebody who has the necessary expertise. We have spent much time in previous sittings on palliative care options, and there was some understandable concern about removing autonomy from those looking for assisted dying. I hope that amendment 108 strips away that concern, because it is about offering, not mandating, more information.”
House of Commons4 March 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I beg to move amendment 345, in clause 4, page 2, line 31, at end insert— “(4A) If a registered medical practitioner conducts such a preliminary discussion with a person, the practitioner must record and document the discussion and the information provided to the patient in their medical record and provide a copy to the patient.” This amendment would add a requirement ensuring that the preliminary discussion is recorded and forms part of the patient’s medical record.”
House of Commons4 March 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The amendment seeks to do what she says she wants to do—protect patients and doctors—by making records of the discussions. In written evidence TIAB55, Professor Allan House suggested that “It should be required as it is in all other areas of medical practice, that specific written records are kept of this assessment and of procedures followed to end life—not just the substances used. The written record to be included in the person’s medical record so that it is available to the Medical Examiner. Records also to be available at appraisal to enable assessment of the quality of the process.””
House of Commons4 March 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Amendment 345 was tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon); I referred earlier to her record in this area. The amendment would ensure that medical practitioners record and document preliminary discussions with a patient about assisted dying and provide the patient with that information. I welcome the amendments from the Bill’s promoter to make records of the first and second doctor’s assessments. Those safeguard patients and the process. It is important that we have transparency and clarity on such weighty decisions. Several people raised in their written evidence the importance of good documentation. These amendments meet those concerns. I assume that not including a record of the preliminary discussion is merely an oversight by the Bill’s promoter.”
House of Commons4 March 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Dr Jamilla Hussain, in her written evidence, TIAB252, explained that the various inequalities faced by certain communities “contribute to mistrust in health and social care services” and that “minority patients frequently express fear of having their lives shortened by healthcare providers, especially at the end-of-life with medication such as morphine and midazolam.” In situations where patients are uncertain or lack trust in medical professionals, a record of the initial conversation is important to protect everyone involved. As Professor House stated, documenting the process and making records is common medical practice, so why would we differ here? We must protect patients and doctors, and making clear records at every stage of the process contributes to that.”
House of Commons4 March 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful for that intervention, which goes to the heart of my next question: why would we record and document later conversations, but not the initial one? That conversation could be one in which coercion takes place and without a record of it happening, patients and doctors are at risk. We have acknowledged that patients can be influenced by their doctors, whether consciously or unconsciously. We also noted how certain groups lack trust in the healthcare system.”
House of Commons4 March 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That is why the decision of the General Synod on this issue is entirely regrettable, and one to be lamented by this House.”
House of Commons3 March 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It also commended what it described as a “safeguarding first” philosophy and congratulated the parishes in the diocese on their work on the frontline, “where talented parish safeguarding officers lead by example” and where “collaboration is strong”. I mention that because that should be the standard. It should not be a postcode lottery; it should be the standard across the Church. What I have described is proof that it can be done by the institution, but in too many cases, it is not being done. Victims want a victim-centred approach—one that is not about protecting the reputations of individuals or the institution. Practical action is needed, and frankly, the victims must also have confidence that those who have been involved in the Church’s failings will not be able to influence future decision making in this area.”
House of Commons3 March 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Luke Myer) for securing this important debate. Safeguarding is the responsibility of everyone in our society, and the Church of England is just one of many institutions that have fallen short after having issues with abuse and safeguarding. My hon. Friend mentioned that although there are clear issues in parts of the Church, there are examples of good practice. He made mention of his own Church, and I point to the example of the diocese of Oxford. Last September, an independent report said that the diocese of Oxford had a “solid safeguarding foundation”, which was delivered by an “exceptionally well-led and blended safeguarding team”.”
House of Commons3 March 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In oral evidence, Fazilet Hadi stated in answer to a direct question from me that she felt that disabled people had not been listened to properly. Will the hon. Member comment on that?”
House of Commons26 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend quotes Dr Rachel Clarke. I was profoundly moved by her evidence. She was very clear that she wanted to talk about the NHS as it is, not as we would like it to be. Despite the efforts the Government are putting into bringing down waiting lists, there is still extreme time pressure on doctors. There are extreme waiting lists for people to access specialist care, which may impinge on the ability of doctors to carry out what my hon. Friend is asking. Does she accept that?”
House of Commons25 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I think we all accept that prognosis is quite difficult, but one reason why I think this is fundamentally important is that a member of my constituency Labour party was given a prognosis of 12 months in 2012. Last year, they were out delivering leaflets for me in the general election. That is why it is so important that we make sure we get this right. I am sure that my hon. Friend has examples of her own. Is that what is guiding her to press this amendment?”
House of Commons25 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will do my best to abide by that, Ms McVey. My recollection of the oral evidence is that the practitioners from California made it very clear that there was not a great deal of coercion, but they had seen families put undue pressure on people to prevent them from pursuing assisted dying. Given human nature, I find it incredible that the pressure would go only in that way and not in the other. I see the proposals as ensuring that and safeguarding people who are at a very vulnerable stage of their lives. Will the hon. Lady speak to that?”
House of Commons12 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is making a very powerful argument. She is absolutely right to focus on protecting the vulnerable people who this law might apply to. She has touched on medics. I also want to mention the state and its role in what we are talking about. For example, I am opposed to capital punishment, and I link this discussion to that because we are talking about the state providing an individual with a method by which they can end their own life, such as by handing them a pill. I am concerned that, if we are not taking these safeguards seriously, we are abandoning vulnerable people by allowing the state to aid and abet the misuse of the Bill against them. Does my hon. Friend share my concerns?”
House of Commons12 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way while he is in full flow. One of the areas that I have been confused about in this debate is that the Minister said—I have no reason to dispute it—that coercion is a clear term, so the courts know where they are with it, because they are already dealing with it. However, we have also heard from proponents of the Bill that it is about making life easier for the professionals who are involved. I mention that because, overhanging all of this is the fact that the Bill as it stands—as it passed Second Reading—has a High Court judge intervention. We are told that an amendment is coming that will remove that for a potential panel of professionals—”
House of Commons12 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“On the point of people feeling that they are a burden, one moment that stood out in the oral evidence was that, although the Western Australian Government’s own statistics show that 35% of people opting for assisted dying cited being a burden as their reason for doing so, the practitioners who offer assisted dying to people were not aware of this fact. I had to clarify it for them. Is that part of my hon. Friend’s motivation for supporting the amendment?”
House of Commons12 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way again, and I am sorry to interrupt her when her speech is in full flow. My response to the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough, which links to my previous point about Western Australia, is that we have been told throughout this process that clinicians can spot the signs of coercion and whether people feel that they are being manipulated. However, in Western Australia, the people administering assisted dying—who we are trusting, in this Bill, to be able to spot those things—were not aware that 35% of people in the state cited “being a burden” as their reason for going for assisted dying. That is my concern. Does my hon. Friend have a response to that?”
House of Commons12 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful for this debate, particularly as lots of people who, on Second Reading, were happy to pass the Bill through to Committee wanted the debate to happen. We should all welcome that, as I know the promoter of the Bill, the hon. Member for Spen Valley, does. I am grateful that we are here. I will move away from the philosophical debate and return to what I said before lunch: this is about not just the role of the individual—though that is clearly important—but what we see as the role of the state and what we are comfortable with the state allowing. I see this amendment as very much linked to that. Does my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West think there is something in that—about whether the state is happy for people to cite the benefit of others as a reason for opting for assisted dying?”
House of Commons12 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“While the oral evidence was divided on many things, I think there was unanimity that palliative care is in need of serious improvement across the board. I do not think a single witness said that palliative care was good across the country and could not be improved significantly. I mention that, linking back to the comment from the hon. Member for Richmond Park, because we are looking to create this law in a situation where a serious risk has been identified of people choosing to opt for assisted dying because of a fear of care costs and so on. That is my concern, and I see this as a safeguard to prevent that. Is that the hon. Member’s view?”
House of Commons12 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Further to those points of order, Ms McVey. My point of concern is similar to the one just raised, and is about the fact that on Second Reading a key plank of this proposed Bill was about the role of the High Court judges. We are aware of an amendment coming via the promoter of the Bill, my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, to remove that completely and replace it with something else. I suggest that a lot of the evidence that we have seen, including the new stuff that has been mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford, is based on the expectation of there being a High Court judge in that role; not on there being a new amendment. I suggest that we are missing vital perspectives on the way that any new amendment, and the Bill going forward, would work in the light of that. That is my concern.”
House of Commons11 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“During the oral evidence, we heard from three sets of psychiatrists who all cast doubt on the suitability of the Mental Capacity Act for decisions such as assisted dying. Is the hon. Lady’ s amendment an attempt to alleviate those doubts and put that right in the Bill?”
House of Commons11 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Royal College of Psychiatrists highlights that a person’s capacity can change and is decision-specific. It therefore says that the Mental Capacity Act is not suitable for the Bill. What is the hon. Member’s response?”
House of Commons11 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Earlier, the hon. Member for Solihull West and Shirley made a point about public confidence in the Bill. In oral evidence, the representatives from the Royal College of Psychiatrists—we nearly did not hear from them; we had a vote about whether we would, and they were added later—made it clear that they have severe doubts about applying the Mental Capacity Act to the Bill. Does my hon. Friend share those concerns?”
House of Commons11 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We all understand the evidence of the chief medical officer and why he and others, including Members here, prefer the use of the Mental Capacity Act. It is understood by doctors and it is used every day. What this debate is fundamentally about is that assisted dying is not done every day. It is not something doctors are used to. As somebody who has said that she wants the toughest safeguards, it is incumbent on my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley to understand that what those of us who have concerns about the Bill are saying is that this is unusual. It is a step into the dark. The amendment tabled by the hon. Member for Richmond Park is about making sure that the issue is not just about what doctors are used to, but that there is another safeguard to ensure that people are not being exploited. Does my hon. Friend understand that?”
House of Commons11 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend the Member for Stroud, in his rebuttal to my hon. Friend the Member for Bradford West, described assisted dying as “medical care”. Personally, I do not regard assisted dying as medical care. Does my hon. Friend agree?”
House of Commons11 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I believe that what the hon. Member has just espoused, and what has prompted this amendment, is the sort of thing that would have come out if we had had an impact assessment. If this were a Government Bill, some sort of consultation would have flagged up the potential issues ahead of the next stage. I believe that that is the exercise in which he is engaged. We have been promised a Bill with the strongest possible safeguards. He comes from a position similar to mine, which is that there is no stronger safeguard than preventing people from having assisted dying. I believe—I am happy to be corrected—that what he is trying to do in the absence of that is flag up potential issues that mean that more safeguards are needed than are being offered in this Bill. Is he prepared to comment on that?”
House of Commons11 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There are good farmers and there are bad farmers, and that affects profitability, but I am concerned that this policy is going to rob me of my inheritance, which several generations of my family have worked incredibly hard to build up.” This level of concern, justified or not, merits the Government’s listening. I hope that they will do so.”
House of Commons10 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I will keep my comments brief. Every week when I am out in the constituency, I take the time to visit a farm, and this issue always comes up. It is concerning for many in my constituency. They are clear that it is not as though everything was ticking along nicely and then suddenly this hit; they were sold down the river by the Conservative party, with the trade deals with Australia and New Zealand. But this has caused a great deal of consternation. A chap I visited last month said, “I don’t want to tell a tale of woe. I am doing okay.”
House of Commons10 February 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That does not mean that they do not have the capacity. It simply is an expression of how they feel. The key thing is not whether they think they are a burden; the key criteria are whether they have the capacity and whether their decision is voluntary and free from coercion. Health practitioners make those assessments all day, every day.”
House of Commons30 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It must go through with them what voluntary assisted dying involves, and it must also include discussion of, “What if the voluntary assisted dying moment does not work?” The list of matters that must be discussed by the practitioner is very extensive. In no other sphere of medicine where a patient is working with their healthcare practitioner does this level of informed consent apply. In terms of medical practitioners ensuring that people have the capacity to make the decision, are making it voluntarily and have all the relevant information at their disposal, we cannot find anywhere, in any other context of healthcare, the level of safeguards and protections that we find in this sphere. If there are people who are saying they are a burden, that does not mean that their decision is not voluntary.”
House of Commons30 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We have a system of ensuring that decisions are valid, which has proven to be long-standing and successful. That is that the person has capacity, that their decision is voluntary, and that they are informed of the relevant facts and information. That test has stood the test of time, and our legislation, and the legislation throughout Australia, seeks to replicate it. I would add that with our voluntary assisted dying laws, there is a very clear emphasis on the information that the patient is entitled to. The information that the practitioner has to give to the patient is extensive. It must go through the palliative care options.”
House of Commons30 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Let me just clarify. The state’s own report in 2023-24 had 35%. Professor Blake: We have in a place a system whereby at least 20 case studies are examined by the board every year to look at the reasons behind the taking up of the option. As a means of checking up on how the system is working, that has proven to be very workable. There are people who feel that they are a burden. People can feel that they are a burden, and that is part of their autonomous thinking. People have their own views of their own life. The system in place is adhering to the very well-established tests for valid decision making in healthcare generally. If we are talking about people making decisions because they feel like they a burden, well, people make decisions about their healthcare in all sorts of contexts.”
House of Commons30 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I was merely suggesting that the direct evidence from Oregon is that being a burden is something that might come from a lack of decent social care, and it might be encouraging people to make the decision to seek assisted dying—but fair enough.”
House of Commons29 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The scheme has its own power generation and the homes are covered in solar panels. It is a brilliant example of innovation and looking after the community in the face of challenges from elsewhere. In the village of Middle Barton, in my constituency, bus services had been cut by the previous Conservative county council, because of decisions made by the Conservative Government in Westminster. Local people took it upon themselves to set up their own bus company, although, granted, it was manned by volunteers. Last year, not long after I was elected, I had the privilege to open the new bus scheme and see the two brand-new buses serving the community, ensuring that people there are not stranded. Those buses are electric, so they are thoroughly in keeping with our climate agenda.”
House of Commons22 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In many ways, our rural areas are suffering because they are too robust, too resourceful, as my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland said, and too innovative, so they have not been seen to suffer as much as other parts of the country may have done. I have a couple of examples of that from my constituency. House prices are an issue in my area, as they are across much of the rest of the country. In one village, Hook Norton, people working in local shops and even artists—people valued by the community—have had to leave because they could not afford to stay. Not content to allow that to continue, people in the village set up a community land trust and invested capital in purchasing land to build properties. Last year, the trust opened 12 affordable homes in the village, catering to local communities.”
House of Commons22 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland (David Smith) for securing this debate. He gave a really long speech of considerable depth. I am not going to repeat that, purely because I do not want to repeat any of the things he has said in such detail. I am grateful for the debate because it offers an important chance to reset the narrative that has gone around over recent months about our rural areas. It has been suggested that our rural areas are suddenly in crisis because of things that have happened in recent months. Let us be clear: our rural areas are in crisis because of 14 years of under-investment and the betrayal of the post-Brexit deals that undercut our famers, making their lives much more difficult than they were previously. That needs to be put on the record.”
House of Commons22 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“They face a double whammy of poor connectivity in relation to transport—we have already touched on buses—and to access to broadband and decent communication services. My plea to the Minister, in my final remarks, is that he makes it clear to his Cabinet colleagues that people in rural areas do not want anything different to what is wanted by those in the urban seats, which may previously have been seen as the Labour heartland. People in rural areas want exactly the same as those in urban areas: access to good health services, education, jobs and affordable housing, and the same opportunities as everybody else.”
House of Commons22 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention. A further example is the village of Charlbury, where there is an installation called South Hill solar farm, a community-owned solar farm providing energy to 1,200 residents. It is an incredibly popular and well-run scheme. It is in an area of outstanding natural beauty, but absolutely everybody there loves it. I mention it because this Government’s ambitions are not contrary to the ambitions of those in rural areas. This Government’s ambitions rely on delivering in rural areas, whether on housing justice, improving public health or, above all, delivering growth, which is our main focus. However, people are being held back, as my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland said.”
House of Commons22 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I do wish to make a brief contribution. I am broadly sympathetic to the fact that there is considerable public interest in the Bill, so we would all broadly welcome as much public scrutiny as possible of all its aspects. However, I think the hon. Member for East Wiltshire made a meal of his argument, talking about the merits or otherwise of the various witnesses and casting aspersions, which I note he has withdrawn, on my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, who is the promoter of this legislation. I will vote to sit in private, despite the fact that I am sympathetic to the idea that as much of the Committee as possible should be in public. Question put and agreed to .”
House of Commons21 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful to the Secretary of State for her statement. There are victims and survivors in many communities, including in my constituency, and I welcome the steps that she has announced. I commend the contributions from my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet) and the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde). Does the Home Secretary agree that the voices that matter when we discuss how we tackle these issues are not those of billionaires, politicians or talk show hosts seeking to weaponise the pain and suffering of victims and survivors? Above all, we should be listening to victims and survivors themselves.”
House of Commons16 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Can the Minister assure me that the fast-tracking and the speed of this process, which I acknowledge the reason for, will not lead to rushed proposals that do not take into account what communities actually feel and look like?”
House of Commons15 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a serving district councillor for 13 years. I broadly welcome the thrust of this document. My question is on a matter that the Minister has already referred to—areas that are serviced by a number of different local authorities, which mine is. I have a county council, two district councils, any number of parish councils, and Banbury town council—Labour-run for the first time ever. In those areas, there will be a wide variety of views as to what a local government reorganisation should look like, because different communities have different views.”
House of Commons15 January 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is known as the Horizon scandal, but the real scandal is not the failings of software but the action and deeds of individuals and institutions, as Sir Alan Bates said. In that light, I would include the misuse and potential abuse of private prosecutions. Will the Government commit to acting on that?”
House of Commons18 December 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Cherwell district council’s housing waiting list quadrupled over the past decade under the Conservatives, which is why I committed to my constituents in Banbury during the general election campaign that I would make addressing the housing crisis a priority. We all recognise that planning reform, which the Conservative party ducked during its time in office, is crucial to fixing the housing crisis, but does the Minister agree that it is also crucial to helping us get the growth that we want in our economy, because it is good for businesses, whether they are sandwich shops or high-tech engineering firms, across the country?”
House of Commons12 December 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am grateful to the hon. Lady for bringing this important debate to the House. Following on from her comments about mainstream education, one of my first jobs after leaving university was as a teaching assistant. I also spent a year in a special needs school. Does she agree that the issues we are seeing are partly the result of the lack of recognition and appreciation over the last 14 years for support staff in mainstream schools and of the role that they play in ensuring that every child has a decent education?”
House of Commons12 December 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Opposition parties have spent an awful lot of time attacking various measures in the Budget. Does my hon. Friend agree that if they are going to do that, they need to point out which investment—money to our schools or to hospitals—they would not provide to alleviate their concerns?”
House of Commons3 December 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Banbury FM provides news, music and information. Its services are in many ways much better than those provided by larger FM licence-holders. Unfortunately, Ofcom’s effective veto on stations obtaining FM licences means that Banbury FM and many other independent local radio stations are accessible only via digital platforms. That deprives parts of society—especially the elderly and the isolated—access to their services. Will the Leader of the House commit to a debate on improving access to FM frequencies for independent radio stations, and on the potential for Ofcom to provide on-demand licences?”
House of Commons24 October 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As for myself, I stand here in support of this Government and their mandate for change—something that Banbury has a history of embracing. Before I finish, I want to thank my family for their support, in particular my wife who, despite having multiple sclerosis, remains the strongest, most steady and most stable woman I have ever met. I stand here as someone Banbury born and bred, ready to build a better Britain and a better Banbury, and I am determined to do it.”
House of Commons17 October 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Throughout the pandemic, as in other places, people across Banbury worked hard to help those less fortunate during that most testing of times. Banbury’s community, led by some of its many thousands of Polish citizens, got together again to gather supplies to support the Ukrainian civilians fleeing that conflict, while welcoming others into their homes and communities. On that note, I pay tribute to my predecessor, Victoria Prentis. Although there was much in the campaign that we disagreed on, this side of the House was united with the Conservative party in support for Ukraine. I pay tribute to Victoria’s decency and her clear compassion for humanity, exemplified as much by her taking a Ukrainian refugee into her home as by her nine years of service to the community.”
House of Commons17 October 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“For all the entertainment that the series has provided, for me the most important aspect of it is the light that it shines on the huge challenges faced by our farmers, and not just in the Banbury constituency but throughout the UK. I hope that the Government’s programme to support them will relieve many of the burdens that have made farming so challenging for so long. Southill Solar farm on the edge of the Wychwood forest near Charlbury provides community-owned power to 1,200 homes. That is another reason I am so passionate about this Government’s exciting agenda on renewable energy. Then there is the volunteer driver service in Banbury, taking the elderly or those less able to hospital and GP appointments at nominal rates.”
House of Commons17 October 2024Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗