Business of the House

Claire Young Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

It is unacceptable that women face long waits for the health services they need. We published our renewed women’s health strategy to deliver women’s health priorities. We are committed to ensuring that women can access the services they need, whether that is through their own GP or through a women’s health hub. I encourage my hon. Friend, perhaps on our return, to apply either for a Westminster Hall debate or an Adjournment debate, because I think it would be a popular topic for Members from all parts of the House.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

Families in rural communities may spend the next six weeks finding out that the Government’s “kids go free” scheme is not designed for them. In Thornbury and Yate, the Government are funding First Bus, but not the rural local bus companies, so the combined authority has had to foot the bill. I am sure that we are not the only rural community affected. I have written to the Transport Secretary about this, along with more than a dozen other MPs. Will the Leader of the House ensure that we receive an urgent response?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I will ensure that the hon. Lady gets a timely response.

Business of the House

Claire Young Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

My hon. Friend is right to champion the scheme that she refers to, which sounds like an excellent partnership that benefits all sides. I join her in congratulating Stephen Dunn on instigating this project, as well as the many other council officers across our country who do a fantastic job. I will ensure that the Secretary of State hears about it, because it sounds like an arrangement that has a lot of potential going forward.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

Freeholders on private estates currently face unregulated service charges and have no meaningful recourse if managing agents are incompetent. In January, the Minister of State for Housing committed to tackling these so-called fleecehold schemes by the end of this Parliament. However, with a new Prime Minister likely to reset the legislative agenda, affected constituents will be worried that that promise will be quietly dropped. Will the Leader of the House request a written statement on delivery from the Minister?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I announced in the business statement that there will be a debate on these issues next week, when I hope the hon. Lady will be able to make her case. Let me reassure her that the Government are absolutely committed to taking action on this matter, and I am sure that, whoever is Prime Minister, that commitment will be maintained.

Business of the House

Claire Young Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

Nearly seven years ago, National Highways spent £40 million building a ghost junction on the M49 that was left entirely unconnected to the local road network. South Gloucestershire council stepped in and is on track to complete the slip road this year, but National Highways now tells me that the junction is unsafe and cannot open, with no timeline for remedy, meaning my constituents will continue to have lorries thundering through their villages, shredding the roads. Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on the accountability of National Highways for this farcical situation?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The lorries thundering through must be deeply frustrating for the hon. Lady’s constituents, and they must be frustrated at not having the road network they thought they would get. It is an ideal topic either for an Adjournment debate or a Westminster Hall debate, so that she can hear from a Minister what could be done to take this matter through to completion.

Progression of Bills through Parliament

Claire Young Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Wishart. I thank the petitioners who provoked the debate.

I agree with the hon. Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier) on one important point: there are benefits of having a revising Chamber. However, I believe that the proper duty of the Lords is to scrutinise, improve and revise, not to block or frustrate. That distinction matters most of all in the case of private Members’ Bills, which proceed with limited time allocated to them and, for conscience issues, without a whipped vote.

When our constituents send us to this place, they trust that we will apply our judgment to serious matters carefully and thoughtfully, and while taking their views into account. I certainly tried to take that approach when I voted on the assisted dying Bill, as, I believe, did Members on both sides of the House, regardless of the view that they took. When we consider the time spent scrutinising the Bill, which a number of Members have mentioned, we should not overlook the time that individual MPs committed to learning, researching and listening. I suspect that it was far more than is typical for a Bill that emanates from a manifesto.

The questions on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill were among the most difficult and personal to come before us in Parliament, yet in debates on the Bill, I saw the House at its very best. There was careful argument, deep feeling and genuine respect among Members who profoundly disagreed. What followed did not reflect the same spirit. In the other place, the Bill fell not because peers had weighed it up and rejected it, but because its passage was run down by delay, by more than 1,000 amendments and by a refusal to let the elected House reach its conclusion. The clock was allowed to defeat what a vote could not. I cannot accept that an unelected Chamber should be able to set aside the settled will of the elected Chamber simply by running down the time.

It is precisely because of such episodes that I support a wholly elected second Chamber, as I have for many years—I, for one, am not relying on this specific petition to decide my view. An unelected House should not hold the power to block a Bill that commands a majority in the elected House. The Government’s removal of hereditary peers was a welcome step but, as I have said before, they too often tinker at the edges when our constitution needs fundamental reform. That reform will never be completed if an unelected Chamber can override the wishes of the people whom the public chose. In plain terms, that is undemocratic.

The petition, which was signed by more than 114,000 of our fellow citizens, is just the latest evidence that the public will no longer accept an unelected few standing in the way of the elected many. I commend the petitioners and urge the Government to introduce the reform that this moment so clearly demands.

Business of the House

Claire Young Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

Our new waste crime action plan sets out a zero-tolerance approach in order to prevent waste crime, pursue the criminals responsible and accelerate clean-up, and I think it has been widely welcomed. Should my hon. Friend seek an Adjournment debate on the scourge of fly-tipping in rural areas, I am sure it would be well attended. If she is not successful, I will certainly see if we can find time in Government time to give her the debate that she asks for.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

My casework team routinely wait between three and six months—sometimes longer—for substantive replies from the Department for Work and Pensions on cases. I am also aware of colleagues experiencing similar delays. Will the Leader of the House advise on the most effective means by which Members can hold the Government to account for these persistent failings?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I understand the frustration that Members sometimes have when they do not receive full replies or the substantive replies that they seek. If the hon. Lady gives me details of that particular case, I will certainly follow them up. She may also know that the Procedure Committee is undertaking an inquiry into parliamentary questions. The situation is a bit more complicated than it seems, because the number of PQs has gone through the roof and there are all sorts of questions as to why that should be the case. Also, although Members are given the opportunity to ask questions and hold Departments to account, there is a question as to whether the rules that we work to and live by are the right ones for the current situation.

Business of the House

Claire Young Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important matter. We are committed to improving the system for 11 million private renters. I am pleased that we are abolishing section 21 no-fault evictions, but as other hon. Members have said previously, there are concerns about what less scrupulous landlords may do in that period. I will raise the matter with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, because I know that he is very much aware of MPs’ concerns.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

The conversation continues in the nuclear industry about whether Wylfa should have been reserved for gigawatt-scale nuclear, leaving Oldbury for small modular reactors. The US ambassador has spoken publicly in The Daily Telegraph about his discussions with the Government regarding Wylfa’s capacity for gigawatt-scale nuclear. I have tabled written questions on these representations, yet the Government will not acknowledge that those specific conversations even took place. What avenues can the Leader of the House recommend so that we can compel the Government to provide a proper answer?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The hon. Lady is right to raise concerns because it is right that MPs get the information that they need on behalf of their constituents. I will take this up with the relevant Minister and seek to get the answers that she wants.

Business of the House

Claire Young Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I will certainly join my hon. Friend in congratulating Wentworth primary school and wishing all the staff and students, both past and present, a happy birthday. As he says, there have been some notable alumni over the last 75 years, and I am sure that will continue in the next 75 years.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

My constituents regularly complain about private parking companies. Recent examples include a firm passing a case to debt collectors after the constituent provided evidence that they were ill and another issuing a charge when the driver had paid but the machine failed. Following last September’s consultation on raising standards in the private parking industry, will the Leader of the House confirm when the Government will bring forward a new code of practice and compliance framework to protect drivers from exploitative parking operators?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I cannot confirm when, but I know that this issue is uppermost in the minds of Ministers, because it is a problem in many communities, and I will take it up with the relevant Department and get the hon. Lady an answer.

Business of the House

Claire Young Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

That is easy for you to say, Madam Deputy Speaker. As I said before, volunteers are the golden thread that runs through our communities and we celebrate them and great Gaelic traditions.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

When the Government announced the local authority bus grant allocations, the use of the money was subject to conditions, particularly around social need, and the criteria were “to follow”. In the absence of those, the West of England combined authority has extended contracts only until July, leaving my Thornbury and Yate constituents fearing what will happen then. Can the Leader of the House ask his Department for Transport colleagues to publish the criteria as soon as possible, or to come to the House to explain the delay?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

Yes, I can.

Business of the House

Claire Young Excerpts

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

My hon. Friend is not the first Member to raise this important matter. I understand that Capita has recognised the scale of the issue and is recruiting additional staff to deal with it. Like my hon. Friend, I urge Capita to get on with it. I know that this will bring little comfort to Mary and many others, but I hope that there can be progress. Should my hon. Friend seek a meeting with a Minister to discuss these matters, I will arrange it for him.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

When I make inquiries on behalf of constituents about delays at the Child Maintenance Service, I, too, often face a long wait—a wait for a response—despite chasing. The longest delay is currently four months and 20 days. Will the Leader of the House allow a debate in Government time on this issue, so the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions can hear about the harm this is doing?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The hon. Lady raises a concern that is felt by Members across the House. I will ensure the Secretary of State is aware of her concerns and, if necessary, brings forward an update on our plans for improvement.

Business of the House

Claire Young Excerpts

Thursday 27th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

We are committed to protecting our national heritage, and have provided £50 million in the last year to protect our heritage buildings. I will ensure that my hon. Friend’s concerns are heard by Ministers in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, because the Government are committed to developing ways of supporting our high streets, particularly in coastal areas.

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

In a letter to me from 2 October, a Work and Pensions Minister stated that the Department was undertaking a review of the child maintenance calculation, and that it would be published “late this year”. Given that it is almost December, could the Leader of the House confirm whether that is still the timeline, and if it is, when the proposals will be published?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The Department has made clear what it proposes to do, and I am sure that it will bring forward the review at the earliest opportunity—if appropriate, before the end of the year.