Business of the House

Alison Bennett Excerpts

Thursday 13th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The protecting of local businesses by the police is very important, not just in Scotland but everywhere else. Policing is a matter for the Scottish Government, but what my hon. Friend describes sounds like an untenable situation, particularly for the business to which he referred. Scotland has had the biggest funding settlement for a very long time, so I hope the Scottish Government have heard his words.

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

Hon. Members who watched “Newsnight” last night will doubtless have been moved by Sir Michael Palin’s interview about his wife Helen’s final days and passing in a hospice. The package reveals what is known to many Members: the hospice crisis of funding, cuts and beds being closed. In the light of that, will the Leader of the House make time for Members to debate the crisis in our hospices, including the urgent need to reverse the Government’s increases in national insurance contributions and to ensure that hospices are finally fairly funded?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The hon. Lady will know that the changes in the Budget last year were to find the money to support public services, so these are not easy decisions by any means. I know that her concern about hospices and the fantastic work they do in our local communities is felt across the House. She may wish to seek a debate on this issue, because the Government will at that point be able to remind the House that we have in fact put in more resources; £100 million has gone into hospices in the last year.