Business of the House

Ann Davies Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

My hon. Friend raises an important matter. Fly-tipping is a blight on our communities. We are giving councils powers to crush the vehicles of suspected fly-tippers and bringing in new prison sentences of up to five years for those who transport waste illegally. The Scottish Government have been given the biggest funding settlement since devolution, and I suggest they take more seriously the matter raised by my hon. Friend.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

Enzo Romano is a talented young footballer who has already played for the Welsh youth team. He could have chosen Italy or Spain, but he has chosen Wales first. Despite his birth certificate proving that he was born in Cardiff, his British citizenship application has been refused for a second time. Without it, he cannot further his football career and play in the world cup. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate to ensure the Home Office cannot unfairly hold back talent like Enzo—and others, I am sure, across the UK? He just wants to play football for the country he was born in and obviously loves.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I genuinely wish the young man well. Before we get to a debate, should the hon. Lady raise with me the details of this case, I will take it up with the appropriate Department and see if we can get some progress.

Business of the House

Ann Davies Excerpts

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

The question to the Prime Minister yesterday from the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) rang a bell with me. Many of my constituents are waiting for their civil service pensions, which are administered by Capita. Sarah Elizabeth Rees had to retire due to ill health in February last year, but a year on, she still has not had her pension and has nothing to support her or pay her bills. We have written five letters to the relevant Department. We have had one reply, which asked for confirmation of name, address and national insurance number. That really is not good enough. I kindly ask whether the Leader of the House will allow for a debate in Government time to discuss fully the issues that have arisen for all our constituents.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) earlier, Capita has recognised the scale of the issue and is recruiting additional staff to deal with it. However, there are issues for particular departments as well. I will draw the case and her disappointment to the attention of Ministers. This would be a popular topic for an Adjournment debate, should the hon. Lady be successful in securing one, because we have already seen that it is an issue not just in her constituency but in many others too.

Business of the House

Ann Davies Excerpts

Thursday 15th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank my hon. Friend for all her work on the incredibly serious issue of suicide prevention and for championing the fantastic work of Samaritans and the Brew Monday campaign. The Government are fully committed to delivering the suicide prevention strategy for England. We have listened to what she and others have said on these matters and are investing a significant £3.6 million specifically in suicide prevention, with a particular focus on middle-aged men.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

Last week, Consumer Energy Solutions went into administration, costing nearly 300 jobs and leaving Welsh households stuck waiting for repairs after faulty energy company obligation 4 work. There are two parts to my question, if the Leader of the House and Madam Deputy Speaker will allow it. What immediate support are the Government offering to those impacted by the closure of CES? While I am fully aware of the Public Accounts Committee’s work following that of the National Audit Office, will the Leader of the House make time for a debate in Government time on all aspects of ECO4—not just insulation—given its abject failure to deliver for so many of the people of Caerfyrddin and Wales?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I must confess that I am not fully across the matter, so my reaction is this. If the hon. Lady wishes to expand a little on what she has said, she may seek an Adjournment debate or even a Backbench Business debate; otherwise, I will facilitate a meeting with the relevant Minister so that she can explain her concerns and the Minister can explain, if the Government are able to do anything about it, what we are able to do.

Business of the House

Ann Davies Excerpts

Thursday 27th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

It is right that teachers, wherever they are and whoever they are, are paid fairly for the vital service they do. We promised change for working people, and we are delivering: teachers and others are getting pay awards above inflation for the second year in a row. I will draw my hon. Friend’s remarks to the attention of the Minister, but he may also wish to raise them directly with Ministers on Monday.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

Lloyds bank is to close the last bank in Ammanford on 12 January, leaving a banking desert in the second-largest town in my constituency. As we are all being encouraged to bank online and become digital, we forget the 39% of Lloyds’ Ammanford customers who do not bank online. Despite Ammanford having levels of deprivation seen in many post-industrial towns, a large number of young people not in education, employment or training, and high unemployment, Link does not feel that the town requires a banking hub, despite an appeal from me and colleagues. Will the Leader of the House allow a debate in Government time on the importance of banking hubs in rural and post-industrial areas such as mine?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I invite the hon. Lady to apply for an Adjournment debate as this matter has been raised a number of times in business questions. I know that there has been an attempt to get a banking hub, but I suggest that she pursues that and draws that to the attention of Ministers. We changed the law to ensure that, where they are necessary, face-to-face banking can take place through banking hubs, so I would not give up on it.

Business of the House

Ann Davies Excerpts

Thursday 30th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

It is right that my hon. Friend continues to pursue this matter on behalf of his constituents, and I hope that TotalEnergies will have heard his comments today. I also encourage his constituents, if they have not already done so, to contact the energy ombudsman to see whether their case is suitable for investigation. I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a full response from the relevant Department.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

I have had the pleasure today of hosting the Royal Welsh show rural leadership participants in Parliament; they are in the Gallery. We met in Committee Room 12, which, for those who do not know, was the very place where the Royal Welsh show was formed in February 1904, 121 years ago. Will the Leader of the House congratulate the Royal Welsh show on its continued success, and wish its participants from all over Wales well in their endeavours to keep rural Wales the vibrant food-producing community that we all want it to continue to be? I thank them all for their work—diolch yn fawr iawn i chi gyd.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I have been here quite a while, and you learn something every day; I did not know that about Committee Room 12. I welcome people from the Royal Welsh show to the Gallery, and I congratulate them on the fantastic work they do.

Business of the House

Ann Davies Excerpts

Thursday 23rd October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I agree with my hon. Friend. We will deliver the first ever modern service framework for dementia to deliver improvements in quality of care. We are committed to tackling the issue he mentioned and I will ensure that the Health Secretary has heard his concerns.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

In 2020, my constituent Dorien Williams submitted a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman service about the professional conduct of his former legal representatives. It took the ombudsman four years to find in his favour. The delay took Mr Williams over the six-year limitation period, denying him the opportunity for legal recourse. Does the Leader of the House agree that the ombudsman’s defence that other customers experienced similar delays is totally unacceptable? Will he allow a debate in the House to provide accountability?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

It is not good enough to explain away such delays by simply saying that they happen and that people should stand in a queue. I think we all sometimes get frustrated at the work that ombudsmen do, though they do important work. I will draw the point to the attention of the appropriate Minister to get a response for the hon. Lady.

Business of the House

Ann Davies Excerpts

Thursday 4th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend is right to say that bringing rail back into public ownership and our Employment Rights Bill are flagship policies of this Government, and I am particularly proud of them. We will ensure that as we take rail back into public ownership, it is done in the best interests of passengers and ensures that staff are well looked after and do not take industrial action, as they did under the previous Government.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

Diolch yn fawr, Madam Dirprwy Lefarydd. After the insolvency of Allied Steel and Wire, money that workers paid into their pension schemes before April 1997 was not fully inflation-proofed through the financial assistance scheme. The previous Work and Pensions Committee recommended that the UK Government legislate to provide pre-1997 indexation. I have tabled two amendments to the Pension Schemes Bill to do exactly that. Can the Leader of the House allow Government time to update the House on actions to rectify that scandal and others, such as the British Coal staff superannuation scheme scandal?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising another important issue on behalf of her constituents. That Bill is currently on the Committee corridor; when it returns to this Chamber, she will be able to raise those important matters. In the meantime, I will ensure that she gets a ministerial response.

Business of the House

Ann Davies Excerpts

Thursday 17th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend for his kind words about business questions. I join him in congratulating Mike and Clare and all those from Bonaly primary school. Their posters sound like an education and ones that we should all look at. The children are right to say that the climate and nature emergency is happening now, and we all need educating and training on how we can take steps to deal with it.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

Coming from a rural background and constituency, and having visited London only a handful of times before becoming an MP, it was a massive culture shock to come here last July. Representing our constituents would not be possible without the kindness and consideration of the whole of the House, including the Speaker’s Office, the Table Office, the Vote Office, the Tea Room, the catering staff and those who ensure our offices are clean and tidy in the morning. All the staff play their part in ensuring that we are able to do our work. On behalf of my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Llinos Medi) and myself from Plaid Cymru, as well as all the 2024 intake, I thank them for all the help we have received over the past year. I hope that the Leader of the House will join me in thanking everybody who ensures that the cogs of this place run so efficiently. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Member for that lovely appreciation of the Speaker, the Deputy Speakers, the Doorkeepers, all the House staff and all those who make our jobs in this place possible. I did not realise that the hon. Lady was from the 2024 intake. Because she does such an excellent job, I thought she had been here for a lot longer than that. She represents her constituents brilliantly and is a regular attender at these sessions. Notwithstanding that—I might sound like Bruce Forsyth now—I think the 2024 intake are my favourite intake.

Business of the House

Ann Davies Excerpts

Thursday 12th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

My constituent Mr Wayne Arnold has compiled a dossier of faults following an ECO4 upgrade at his home last year. I have the lever arch file here—it is two inches thick and well worth looking at. It has taken 62 weeks for the works to be completed. Another constituent, Judie Haines, cannot find local engineers to service the ECO4 system that has been put into her home. The company has become insolvent, meaning that my constituents cannot get remedial works completed. Will the Leader of the House allow a debate in Government time on the poor work that has been carried out under ECO4, the effect that that has had on vulnerable households and the lessons learned as we move on towards ECO5?

[Lucy Powell]

I am sorry to hear about the experiences that the hon. Lady’s constituents have had under ECO4. The Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Peckham (Miatta Fahnbulleh), made a statement to the House a few weeks ago, when this Government uncovered the real challenges of the previous scheme, which had been introduced under the previous Government, and the poor level of some work that had been carried out. We are taking steps to put that right and ensure that we learn all the lessons from that for the next phase, and I know that the Minister will be keen to keep the House constantly updated on that.

Business of the House

Ann Davies Excerpts

Thursday 22nd May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I am really glad to hear my hon. Friend’s welcome for GB Energy’s investment in solar panels on his local hospital and that it is already having an effect. He raises the important issue of how we can fully utilise solar technology and other advances in green technologies in new homes. That is what this Government are committed to doing.

[Ann Davies (Caerfyrddin) (PC)]

My constituent’s daughter, Greta Marie Otteson, and her fiancé, Arno Els Quinton, tragically died in Vietnam on Christmas day. The limoncello drink supplied by a local restaurant was contaminated with methanol, a toxic industrial chemical sometimes used instead of alcohol. Greta’s parents, Susan and Paul Otteson, are seeking transparency and justice. Notwithstanding their attempts to do so over the last five months, they remain without answers. Will the Leader of the House ask the Foreign Office to urgently provide either Greta’s parents or my office with an update on the ongoing criminal case?

[Lucy Powell]

Like many other Members, I am sure, I remember hearing of the shocking nature of this case over Christmas. I am sorry that the hon. Lady’s constituents have suffered since and have not been able to get the answers they need on the deaths of their loved ones. I will ensure that the relevant Minister is in touch with her at the earliest opportunity to ensure that her constituents get the answers and support they need.