YouSaid · the spoken record
Lucy Powell
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On the record 2012–2026
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“My highly academic son, who is about to choose his options, would really like to get some applied qualifications as well. I want all our children to have these options open to them, and to have access to pathways that lead to similar destinations, but via different routes.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Lady for her response. From the many exchanges that we had when I was the Leader of the House, I know what a doughty campaigner she is, and I am really looking forward to working with her in this role. The hon. Lady is absolutely right to say that we need parity of esteem between technical and academic subjects. I do not want there to be such a delineation between the two, because technical subjects can give new life to academic standards and vice versa. My vision, which we are now embarking on, is to have new high-quality technical and vocational qualifications available at 16. Students would look at a suite of those; they would not have to choose entirely academic or entirely technical subjects. Everyone will obviously have to do English, maths and science alongside that.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There is just too big a jump between the classroom and the workplace at the moment, as employers tell us time and again. Tomorrow, I have a summit in No. 10 North, bringing together all our mayors, including the Mayor of the West Midlands, with business, school and college leaders, so that we can design real experiences of work and better careers advice, and close that gap between schools and the workplace.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I really hope that, on something as sensitive and important as special educational needs reform, we can come together across this House and recognise that reforms are necessary. They have been ducked, I would say, for too long. We have increasing amounts of money going in, but outcomes that are not good at all, and a very adversarial system that does not really work for anybody. That is why we are proceeding very carefully, in full consultation with parents. My good friend the Minister for School Standards and others have been right around the country doing hundreds of events. We are going through all the responses to the consultation with a fine-toothed comb, and I assure the hon. Member that the proposals we come forward with will take account of all the responses we have received.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend, as a former teacher, understands these issues well. There is a range of things we need to do. We are introducing new, high-quality, rigorous vocational and technical qualifications, which I think will be attractive to young people and their parents. We are looking at the incentives for schools; the changes to Progress 8 measures will encourage schools to offer a broad curriculum—not an increasingly narrow one—that they will be judged on. This is about supporting and working with teachers, so that they are excited about delivering these new options and courses. As we have seen, where these are embedded in schools, people vote with their feet and really take them up in high numbers.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This is also about teaching more practical skills for some current qualifications—drama, music, PE or even computing—in which there is very little practical assessment at the moment.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Can I just say that I admire greatly our teaching profession? Teaching is not a job; it is a calling, and every day we should all thank our teachers for the amazing work they do. I want teachers to feel respected and valued, and to be attracted to the workforce. I feel that is my first priority. Yes, we will look at making sure that we have the teaching staff, but also at the preparation and the training that teachers need to adapt to these new courses, which we will bring in in a way that takes the workforce with us. However, I think there are real opportunities for teachers who are already teaching certain subjects to transfer those skills and combine them with technical education.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. PISA measures are important, but they are not the whole picture. This is about improving outcomes and opportunities. Our announcements on technical pathways and qualifications are incredibly popular with students and parents. There is huge evidence for that. In a world of AI, which is transforming jobs and careers across the world, there are jobs that AI cannot replace: building a brick wall, or building a house; frankly, cutting my hair; looking after our parents or grandparents in a care home; or providing high-quality childcare support to our kids. Those jobs will never be taken over by AI, and that is why we need to support young people to access them.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There are discrepancies—these things can be very postcode-specific—which we will be addressing. The hon. Member will know that at the moment, we are going through quite a robust process with local authorities about their special educational needs plans and about their budgets and deficits. He can be assured that we are taking a very rigorous approach to that to make sure that local authorities really are delivering what people expect.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I do want to pay tribute to teachers and school leaders right across the country. Almost my entire family are teachers and headteachers, so if I ever said anything like what my hon. Friend describes, I would never be able to go home again! Rest assured, I will not be doing that. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I served on the Education Committee when Robert Halfon was its fantastic Chair. It was he who really taught me something about the value of technical education. He pioneered that and pushed it through. He was also very determined to make sure that we addressed the gap for white working-class boys that exists in our education system. If he were here today, I know that he would support what I am announcing.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I actually agree with the right hon. and learned Lady. I did not just mention them a minute ago; I mentioned in my opening statement the white working class commission, which has done valuable work. One of its findings was that white working-class boys in particular just could not see the purpose of school. It did not relate to their lives and they did not understand where it was going to take them. That is why offering technical and vocational pathways or qualifications is part of the answer. She is absolutely right that this is also about how we engage, how we have a more interesting curriculum right from when children start school to when they leave school, and how we give them the opportunities to express themselves in perhaps a different way to other students.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for those very kind words; I am sure I will get up to Burnley very soon to visit a school with him—I would be happy to do so. He is absolutely right that there is a huge amount to celebrate in the PISA results. There has been a real consensus over a long period of time about what works and what needs to be done, but we do need to address the fact that outcomes are very poor for some and recognise that our current education system, which is a bit one-size-fits-all, has left too many behind. That is why I am taking the steps that I need to take. I know that some people do not agree with me, but I think it has to be done and that is why we are going to get on with it.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“First, I thank the hon. Member for what he said about the approach we are taking on the endless cycle of resits. To be absolutely clear, every child has the right to resit an exam should they want to do so, but putting them on a treadmill of repeated resits that just brands them a failure and knocks their confidence for life is no way to help give a child a sense of achievement. Actually, the former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed my remarks on that, so it is not everybody who disagrees with me. We are developing national inclusion standards, which we will publish alongside any legislation or further steps we take on SEND. Of course, devolution does not just stop with mayors. We have great local authorities and great local leaders, and they are at the frontline of delivering a lot of our SEND support.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I was really concerned when I saw some of the growing gaps between regions in this year’s results, particularly the gap between the north-east and London, which has grown wider and wider this year. That is why we have the Mission North East programme, working alongside our RISE—regional improvement for standards and excellence—programme in the north-east. That is bringing together school leaders with the local authorities and all those involved to make sure there is real focus, to share best practice and to work together to drive up standards. I would be really happy to meet my hon. Friend and other colleagues from the region to discuss that further.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Some groan every time the Prime Minister mentions it, but I have seen the transformation that has come from giving young people free bus passes in Greater Manchester; not just so that they can attend school and college, but so that they can gain independence, have the confidence to go out and about, and tackle some of those mental health issues. We have announced some of those measures. Expect to see more on bus passes for young people.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for all the teaching he did in his former career. He is absolutely right. Degree apprenticeships and apprenticeships are becoming increasingly popular. As with T-levels, when we have good vocational and technical qualifications that combine those things, they become really in demand as people can see the value of them. I do want to see an expansion of degree apprenticeships across higher education. I also want to see more level 4 and 5 apprenticeships being offered, so we have clear pathways and lines of sight that help young people get confidence and get into the world of work.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The hon. Lady raises a really good point and I am happy to join her in praising the staff of Summerwood school, which her son attends. This is about ensuring that the mainstream offer is also more inclusive. If I had a pound for every parent or child who said to me that school just had not worked for them and that they had had to leave the school system because it was not designed for them, I would be very rich indeed. Sitting alongside our important SEN reforms are the curriculum and inclusion reforms that we will be bringing in. Of course, people will be able to help design those and she should not, hopefully, worry too much about some of the issues.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Especially after my hon. Friend’s excellent question about Gravesham at Prime Minister’s questions today, I am really keen to visit. I thank her for her previous work as a science teacher. As someone with a science degree myself, I love science, and my hon. Friend is right that the core of science is about experimenting, getting things wrong and working out how things work in a practical, not just theoretical, way. I look forward to discussing that further with her.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for asking about that. It was one of the first things I asked when taking office, because, as I represent a number of further education and sixth-form colleges in Manchester, I am well aware of the issues. I assure him that there will be no gaps in that transition. I have asked the Department to bring forward some of the work on the specification of qualifications and the teacher training that is needed, so that with open days coming up next month for many colleges, teachers feel confident offering V-levels as well. I will let the hon. Gentleman know more in due course.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The work placement requirement in the T-levels has been challenging, but that is now coming on stream and many more students are taking T-levels. We know the value of work experience or experience of work while young people are at school, yet it is something that can be challenging to deliver. That is why we want employers, alongside mayors, to give those experiences of work and work placements to our young people.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I hear what the hon. Gentleman is saying. I know my own hairdresser and her team really well—they do a great job on my hair. [ Interruption. ] Thank you. Indeed, the hairdressers here in the Commons do a great job for me and for the Deputy Speakers. Hairdressing is a job that AI is never going to do—AI is not going to be colouring or cutting my hair any time soon. These are good careers for young people, so we need to look at the barriers to entry. An apprenticeship in a hair salon was once a clear pathway into work, but for many reasons those numbers are falling, and that is something we need to look at.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Minister with responsibly for school estates, my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), who is sitting next to me on the Front Bench, will be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that. We are going to have to look at the school estate, as pupil rolls in the early years are diminishing, yet requirements on further education, apprenticeships and technical education are expanding. Those are some of the issues that we have to address. The Minister will meet with my hon. Friend soon.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I pay tribute to the hon. Lady for all her work, engagement and leadership on these issues, which I know it has been much appreciated by the Schools Minister, who has been leading many of those conversations. I absolutely agree that issues around absenteeism, exclusion, off-rolling, and home schooling—which is often not what parents in those circumstances want, but they feel that the mainstream system is not working for their children—are of paramount importance. We will we be tackling those issues in the reforms that we are making.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank my hon. Friend for all the championing she has done on those issues in the time that she has been here—I am sure that her results day was not as long ago as mine was. She is right that there are huge job opportunities in the creative subjects, the creative industries, fashion—of which she is a particular champion—and textiles. Frankly, our curriculum and the system as it has been designed recently have not allowed those sectors to flourish as much as they could. My hon. Friend can rest assured that that is top of my mind when looking at our reforms.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I recently met and made a video with a student at Alstom who had attended Crewe UTC. UTCs have provided a pathway for some young people to start apprenticeships, to go on to other studies, or to have great opportunities such as those that that student had had at Alstom. But it has not been at the scale that we need, which is why we need more technical and vocational pathways and qualifications available to all children, not just those who can get into one of the UTCs.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the challenges faced in many of our coastal communities are particularly deep, and that is why Mission Coastal is such an important initiative. The Schools Minister is working tirelessly with school and local leaders on this matter, and I am sure that she would be happy to meet my hon. Friend and other coastal MPs to give an update on it. We really do need to press on with this kind of support so that we can see real improvements in opportunity and outcomes for young people in our coastal communities.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“First, I thank my hon. Friend for all her leadership and contributions to this very important debate, which I know means a lot to her personally. I look forward to meeting her and discussing it all further. Rest assured that we will absolutely develop our plans in concert with Members of this House, including my hon. Friend. I would be happy to meet Teach Me Too in one of those meetings in order to really focus on supporting all our young people, no matter their needs, to develop their passions and core skills in a way that gives them a sense of achievement and progress in their lives.”
House of Commons9 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Debate in this country is now highly politicised, highly polarised and highly personalised, which is bringing more and more threats on to all of us. Does she agree that we must do more to tackle, with urgency, the online algorithms and business models that heighten polarisation and hate towards those in public life?”
House of Commons13 July 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I join the Home Secretary in paying my respects and condolences to the family of Ann Widdecombe. We might not have agreed politically, but I always greatly admired and respected her outspokenness, her fearlessness and her ability not to take herself too seriously. She was one of a kind, of the like that, frankly, we do not make any more. I think we can all agree on that. I hope that, at moments like this, we can come together across the House to talk about these issues with one voice. May I also place on record my thanks to you, Mr Speaker, for your leadership, in all that you have done over many years, in making sure we are all kept safe and secure? Does the Home Secretary agree, though, that this is about not just our security and our safety but reducing the level of threat?”
House of Commons13 July 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Thank you very much, Mr Speaker—it is nice to speak from the Back Benches for the first time in a very long time. I strongly welcome this commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail and the vision that underpins it. This will be game-changing for the north after decades of under-investment and poor connectivity; after years and years of indecision by the Conservative party, this really is going to transform lives. Does the Secretary of State agree that in order to ensure long-term reliability and capacity for generations to come, we have to solve the problem of Manchester Piccadilly station? That station finally having through capacity in an underground station will truly unlock connectivity between Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester airport and unlock the real potential of all regions across the north.”
House of Commons14 January 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The House will rise for the conference recess at the conclusion of business on Tuesday 16 September and return on Monday 13 October. Hon. Members will also wish to note the written statement made this week confirming that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will deliver her Budget statement on Wednesday 26 November.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The business for the week commencing 8 September will include: Monday 8 September—Consideration of Lords amendments to the Renters’ Rights Bill. Tuesday 9 September—Second Reading of the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill. Wednesday 10 September—Remaining stages of the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [ Lords ]. Thursday 11 September—General debate on regional transport inequality, followed by general debate on suicide prevention. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Friday 12 September—The House will not be sitting. The provisional business for the week commencing 15 September includes: Monday 15 September—Consideration of Lords amendments to the Employment Rights Bill. Tuesday 16 September—Second Reading of the Sentencing Bill.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The shadow Leader of the House wanted to talk about the performance of the Government over the summer, but he did not. Let us be honest: the Leader of the Opposition does not need a reset but a full-blown resuscitation—her party spent most of the summer checking whether she had a pulse or not. The truth is that her leadership, like the future of the Conservative party, is, quite frankly, at death’s door.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“After a decade and a half of poor productivity because of a lack of investment, we are now powering up this country and investing in the new jobs of the future around the country, with jobs coming every day. The Chancellor will set out the Budget in the usual way, but she has made clear that most of the speculation is quite honestly damaging rubbish. Let us not forget that we are now coming up to the three-year anniversary of the disastrous Liz Truss mini-Budget. I think I remember that the shadow Leader of the House being the Financial Secretary to the Treasury at that Budget. When Governments lose confidence and take irresponsible decisions, the poorest in society pay the heaviest price when the economy crashes. We will take absolutely no lectures from the Conservatives.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Yet again, the shadow Leader of the House comes here and talks about the economy and the Budget, but another year has gone by and we have still had no apology from him or his Front-Bench colleagues for the state they left the country’s finances in. Let us just remind ourselves about that. They left a huge black hole in public spending, high levels of debt and borrowing, and living standards that had, for the first time in history, fallen during a Parliament. He is always very selective in his use of statistics; he did not mention that the British economy has grown faster than all other G7 countries in the first half of this year, or that mortgages are now at a five-year low.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“She made it clear that she is now rectifying her mistake. She has referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, who is now looking into it. I will not say any more on that matter because he is looking into it. Suffice it to say that the Deputy Prime Minister is a huge, huge asset to this Government. She is an incredibly effective Minister and she has been delivering, whether on our record investment in social housing, the flagship Employment Rights Bill, the biggest settlement for local government in many years, major planning reforms to get more homes built, or the delivery of devolution and community empowerment, among much more. The Conservatives have a go at her because she is so bloody good at her job.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In contrast, the Conservatives really have shown on whose side they stand in this Session: on the side of landlords against the Renters’ Rights Bill; on the side of criminal gangs in voting against our Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill; for the few, not the many, in education; and, as ever, dying in a ditch to save the hereditary peers in the other place. We know whose side they are on. The shadow Leader of the House chose to have another go on the issue of tax and property, which was, I noticed, the subject of one of the Conservatives’ Opposition Day debates yesterday. They could not muster enough speakers for that debate to go the full three hours, so he is having another go today. I repeat that the Deputy Prime Minister has given a full account of her family circumstances and living arrangements.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We are giving the biggest boost to workers’ rights in a generation, finally ending no-fault evictions, stopping water bosses’ bonuses, setting up Great British Energy to get bills down, bringing back rail into public ownership, saving British Steel jobs, seizing and crushing dangerous off-road vehicles, finally recriminalising shoplifting, ensuring that buses are affordable and serve their communities, and protecting our much-loved football clubs. We are taking on the vested interests that hold this country back, and we still have much more to do in the rest of this Session.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I hope that he will still on occasion ask me some questions and invite me to his constituency from the Back Benches, which I am always happy to accept as he knows. I am also pleased to announce that this first bumper Session of Parliament under the Labour Government will last until spring 2026. By any measure, our legislative programme in this first Session is highly ambitious, delivering on the promises that we made in our manifesto and shifting power and opportunity to working people. There are a few highlights, which I know that shadow Leader of the House is always happy to hear about.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The happy news does not stop there. My hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Test (Satvir Kaur) had her beautiful baby daughter. I am thrilled for her and also for my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East (Shivani Raja) on the arrival of her new baby, too. There are new dads in the House as well: my hon. Friends the Members for Wirral West (Matthew Patrick) and for York Outer (Mr Charters), so that is dispatches for this week. We are very much more a family-friendly Parliament these days, and I am determined that modernisation will continue that trend. I join the shadow Leader of the House in welcoming the new shadow deputy Leader of the House, the hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont), to his place.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Welcome back to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and all the House staff. I join the shadow Leader of the House in wishing the Prime Minister a happy birthday for earlier this week. This summer has been marked by some happy personal events here in the House—no, I am not talking about Taylor Swift’s engagement to Travis Kelce, although I am sure we will all want to wish them a happy engagement. We have our very own power couples: my hon. Friends the Members for North East Derbyshire (Louise Sandher-Jones) and for Loughborough (Dr Sandher), who got married to each other over the summer recess. There are also my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt), who married her long-term partner Ian, and my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), who married Kristiam this recess.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I know what an issue parking charges can be in city centres, such as my own. My hon. Friend is right: that would make a really good topic for a debate. Let us have a look at the performance of the SNP Government in Scotland. They have had the biggest settlement ever in Scotland. What are they doing with that money, and how are they serving the people of Scotland?”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The recognition of Palestine as a state is an important step towards that, which is why the Prime Minister set out those plans as we approach the UNGA later this month. I have personally long supported the recognition of Palestine, including last time Parliament was asked to give a view on the matter. On Monday, in a two-hour statement to the House, the Foreign Secretary updated Members on the steps we are taking to recognise the state of Palestine and made clear that unless the Israeli Government take urgent steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace, we will make that assessment before the leaders meet at the UN in New York. We will, as ever, ensure that the House has a full opportunity to continue to discuss and scrutinise these very important decisions.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the hon. Member back from summer recess and look forward to continuing to work with her on the many Committees on which we both sit. I thank her for raising that very important issue. Let us be under no illusions: the situation in Gaza is unimaginably bleak. It is truly horrific, and the horrifying images and accounts we are seeing daily are seared on all our minds as we go about our business. On top of everything else, after so many civilian deaths and so much destruction, we are now seeing a man-made and wholly avoidable famine and widespread starvation. The Government are leading international efforts for a peace plan. That involves the release of hostages, a ceasefire and the huge humanitarian response needed to prevent further death and destruction.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating Paul on his extraordinary achievements. Quite honestly, I am exhausted just listening to what he is doing, let alone doing it myself.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee back after recess, and thank him for announcing the forthcoming Backbench Business. I recognise the disruption to those who wanted to speak on Monday in the debate on transport inequality, which was sponsored by my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson), and I am pleased that has been rescheduled for Thursday. I am happy to look at protecting time for that, so that Members can be confident about their contributions in what is obviously a well-subscribed debate. On the tube strikes, nobody wants to see strike action in London. It is incredibly disruptive for commuters and businesses. As ever, the Government—and, I am sure, the Mayor of London—call on Transport for London and the unions to get back round the table so that those strikes do not go ahead next week.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise such issues. Fraud is increasingly prevalent across our country and economy. It is becoming increasingly sophisticated, especially given advances in technology such as AI. That is why the Government continue to focus on those issues. I think it would make a very good topic for a debate.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am sorry to hear about the issues that the hon. Lady has rightly raised on behalf of her constituents. I do not know about those specific allegations, but I assure her that we take standards in local government incredibly seriously, as we take standards across all our politics seriously. We will have further legislation at some stage in this Parliament.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That sounds like a great visit. I am pleased to hear that my hon. Friend had such a sunny summer packed full of events in his constituency. I am delighted to join him in congratulating all the organisers.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Can I pass on my congratulations to that employee of local butcher Ben Barnes on the birth of his first child? I am really pleased to hear the hon. Gentleman advocate so strongly for stronger maternity and paternity leave and pay; that has not always been what we have heard from the Conservative party and some of his colleagues. We are committed to strengthening rights and supporting pay. Just this week, we brought in the free childcare package, which will be worth £7,500 a year to families that qualify, and we are extending that further. I look forward to working with the hon. Gentleman on strengthening it in the coming months.”
House of Commons4 September 2025Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗