First elected: 12th December 2019
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by Greg Smith, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
A Bill to make provision to prevent the theft and re-sale of equipment and tools used by tradespeople and agricultural and other businesses; and for connected purposes.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 20th July 2023 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to change the period of life expectancy relevant to certain pension rules.
A Bill to require persons selling second hand tools online to show the serial numbers of those tools in searchable advertisement text; and for connected purposes.
Roadworks (Regulation) Bill 2024-26
Sponsor - Mark Francois (Con)
Disposal of waste (advertising and penalty provision) Bill 2023-24
Sponsor - Paul Bristow (Con)
Assistance Dogs and Pavement Parking Bill 2023-24
Sponsor - Bill Wiggin (Con)
Public office (child sexual abuse) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Alexander Stafford (Con)
NHS Prescriptions (Drug Tariff Labelling) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Con)
Brain Tumours Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Siobhain McDonagh (Lab)
Schools and Educational Settings (Essential Infrastructure and Opening During Emergencies) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Robert Halfon (Con)
Consumer Protection (Double Charging) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Huw Merriman (Con)
Recall of MPs (Change of Party Affiliation) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Anthony Mangnall (Con)
The most recently approved Business Case for the works in New Palace Yard anticipated a completion date of between October 2024 and March 2026. This range takes into account identified risks that may occur over the life span of the project, for example material shortages, unexpected discoveries during excavation, or unexpected events. The works are currently expected to complete in October 2025, which is within the approved range. The works are anticipated to complete within the overall budget set out in the Business Case.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th September is attached.
The Chancellor has been clear that the government must take difficult choices. This was a budget to fix the foundations of the economy, and these tough decisions are intended to provide a platform for growth.
Government is focused on its five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain's high streets. We understand how important the high street is to our businesses which is why our plans include tackling retail crime, ensuring a level playing field between online and high street businesses, stamping out late payments and ending the blight of empty spaces. The government is creating a fairer business rate system and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities.
Through the Retail Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills and sustainability. This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper next year.
The Chancellor has been clear that the government had to take difficult decisions in budget. To fix the foundations of the economy, and provide a platform for growth.
The government is creating a fairer business rate system and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities.
Through the Professional and Business Services Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector. In addition, Professional and Business Services is one of the Industrial Strategy’s growth-driving sectors. We will work with businesses to co-create a Professional and Business Services Sector Plan which will identify key barriers to growth and describe how government and industry intend to achieve long-term growth for the sector.
The Autumn Budget outlined The Government’s commitment to support the infrastructure sector to rebuild Britain. It included plans to increase capital investment by over £100 billion in the next five years. This investment spans the infrastructure sector, including rebuilding schools and hospital, improving roads and public transport, building homes, and launching Great British Energy. Strengthening our infrastructure will drive substantial increases to our national income, positively impacting GDP.
The Government will also introduce reforms to enable greater delivery of infrastructure projects. This includes publishing a 10-year infrastructure strategy, establishing the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority and reforming the planning system.
Hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and vital for economic growth. Following the budget I have met extensively with hospitality sector stakeholders including a meeting of the Hospitality Sector Council where we discussed the budget
The Government is creating a fairer business rate system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities. All of these measures have been consistently demanded by the sector.
This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper next year.
The Chancellor has been clear that the government had to take difficult decisions in budget. To fix the foundations of the economy and provide a platform for growth.
Government is focused on its five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain’s high streets supporting the consumer goods sales in particular. We understand how important the high street is to our businesses which is why our plans include tackling retail crime, ensuring a level playing field between online and high street businesses, stamping out late payments and ending the blight of empty spaces. The government is creating a fairer business rate system and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities.
The Small Business Strategy Command Paper, which we will publish next year, will set out our plan to boost scale-ups, grow the cooperative economy, create thriving high streets, make it easier to access finance, help break into overseas and domestic markets, build business capabilities, and provide a strong business environment.
DBT is committed to creating a safe, supportive and inclusive work environment for its employees and does not tolerate any form of unacceptable behaviour or abuse, by any party, towards an employee.
DBT’s HR policies provide guidance on how to report third party harassment and the actions managers can take to respond when it occurs.
Mandatory training is provided for all employees on bullying, harassment and discrimination.
We are strengthening protections against workplace sexual harassment. The Employment
Rights Bill will amend the Equality Act 2010 to:
The Department does not routinely publish correspondence that it receives and sends as part of the normal course of business.
The government recognises the need to upgrade and reinforce the grid at pace to achieve clean power by 2030.
Ministers and officials engage regularly with Transmission Owners, including National Grid Electricity Transmission, as part of the normal policymaking process. This includes but is not limited to discussing network infrastructure.
In September, Ofcom issued new guidance to ensure consumers are told in clear terms about the technology that underpins their broadband service. At point of sale, providers will no longer be able to use the term ‘fibre’ on its own; they must now state whether their network is a new ‘full-fibre’ network or a ‘part-fibre’, ‘copper’, or ‘cable’ network. The government will continue to engage with the regulator and the Advertising Standards Authority to monitor the impact of these new rules, including considering the implications for advertising terminology.
The Shared Rural Network has already delivered substantial improvements to outdoor 4G mobile coverage across the UK.
I’m pleased to report to the House that 4G coverage across the UK now stands at 94.9% which is an increase from 91% in March 2020 when the Shared Rural Network was agreed.
This indicates the programme will deliver the overarching 95% coverage target ahead of its December 2025 target, enabling rural businesses and communities to thrive.
DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impacts of various options to scale the scheme.
We believe that the changes announced were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and considering competing financial demands in other parts of the heritage and cultural sector, and will continue the widest distribution of the scheme’s benefits within the available means. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by this change.
We believe that the changes announced were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and considering competing financial demands in other parts of the heritage and cultural sector, and will continue the widest distribution of the scheme’s benefits within the available means. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by this change.
Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims were for under £5,000. We believe that the modifications were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and the capital pressures on other parts of the heritage sector.
Claims received in this financial year are unaffected, assuming that they are eligible claims with the required detail and documentation.
We expect the cap will be applied to all claims received on or after 1 April 2025. We will be publishing guidance on scheme applications and eligibility in due course.
DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impacts of various options to scale the scheme.
We believe that the changes announced were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and considering competing financial demands in other parts of the heritage and cultural sector, and will continue the widest distribution of the scheme’s benefits within the available means. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by this change.
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and giving every child the best start in life. Applications to run a special free school in Buckinghamshire have closed. The department is working through next steps and will provide an update in due course.
The government is clear it wants to make sure all children with special educational needs and disabilities receive the support they need to achieve and thrive. That is why the manifesto set out a clear ambition to improve inclusivity in mainstream schools, while ensuring that special schools cater for those with the most complex needs.
As with all government investment, special free school projects will be subject to value for money consideration through their development, in line with the government’s vision for the special educational needs system.
The Government consulted on the principles of extended producer responsibility in 2019 and 2021, including the principle that producers would cover the full net costs to local authorities of managing household packaging waste. This included an estimate of the total costs of the scheme. In accordance with this principle, disposal fees per tonne for each material category are determined by dividing the total efficient cost to LAs by the total amount of household packaging placed on the market.
Through making producers responsible for the costs of managing the packaging they use; packaging extended producer responsibility will incentivise producers to use less packaging and transition to re-usable or easy-to-recycle packaging. Defra have not identified any evidence that pEPR will lead to reduced consumer choice or product availability, including through assessment of international schemes.
The Scheme Administrator, PackUK, is required to set base fees in line with the regulations, which were developed by the previous Government following extensive engagement and consultation with stakeholders. Since the publication of the first illustrative base fees my department has continued to engage extensively with stakeholders, including through material specific workshops and the Scheme Administrator Steering Group (SASG) comprised of stakeholders across the sector. Most recently my department published a third set of illustrative base fees in December 24, which provided point estimates in direct response to industry feedback
The Government consulted on the principles, objectives, and proposals for extended producer responsibility in 2019 and 2021, and these received high levels of support. This followed initial lobbying in 2018 from the sector, which preferred extended producer responsibility, in which funds are invested back into the sector, to other fiscal measures such as a non-hypothecated tax.
The Government wants to see all businesses take steps to reduce packaging use, ensure packaging is easy to recycle, and where appropriate move to re-use systems. However, the pEPR scheme includes generous exemptions to reduce the burden on small producers. Producers with an annual turnover of less than £2 million and 50 tonnes of packaging supplied will be exempt from pEPR payments but will be required to report packaging data. Producers supplying less than 25 tonnes and that have less than £1 million turnover will have no reporting or disposal cost obligations.
The aim of pEPR is to ensure businesses - rather than taxpayers - are responsible for the cost of dealing with packaging when it becomes waste. These regulations will encourage manufacturers to reduce the amount of packaging they use and increase recyclable and reusable alternatives. It is up to individual producers to decide how much of these costs are passed on to consumers. While pricing decisions by producers will differ by product, the impact of pEPR on overall inflation is estimated to be small, increasing consumer costs by less than £1 a week per household, or 0.1%.
Defra officials are working closely with the Environment Agency (EA) and Devolved Governments to ensure robust plans are in place to both scrutinise the accuracy of submissions from enrolled producers, and identify and bring into compliance free riders who have not yet enrolled or reported their data. This is being supported by more than doubling the number of compliance officers. We are also encouraging compliant producers to report producers they suspect of being non-compliant to the appropriate regulator. The new pEPR regulations also significantly enhanced the potential penalties for non-compliance. This will give the EA the ability to secure compliance and to take swift and proportionate enforcement action with powers, including warnings, cautions, civil sanctions, and prosecution. In addition to regulator enforcement, PackUK, the new Scheme Administrator, also has the power to invoice producers for fees in the years in which they were non-compliant.
From 2028, the pEPR scheme administrator, PackUK, must assess whether each local authority is running an effective waste management service for household packaging waste. If PackUK determines that a local authority is not providing an effective waste management service, they are able to give notice to the local authority, work with them to determine how the services could be improved, and where necessary reduce the payments available to them in the following year by up to 20%. In relation to cost efficiency, local authorities will receive payments representing their estimated efficient costs.
No. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 came into effect on 1 January 2025, PackUK, the Scheme Administrator has been appointed, and producers will start to accrue scheme costs from 1 April 2025.
The scheme treats domestic manufacturing and import equally, with all packaging and packaged products, whether manufactured and supplied domestically or imported into UK, subject to the obligations in the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations.
Similarly, any packaging or packaged goods manufactured in the UK and exported will not be in scope of the UK Regulations but may be in scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility regime in the country the packaging or packaged goods are being exported to.
Following the passage of the legislation introducing extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) through parliament, the government has been working closely with industry, including the glass sector, to understand the impact of the upcoming fees on business as the scheme is implemented. To date we have had little evidence presented that pEPR fees cannot be afforded.
We are encouraging the glass industry to seek to reduce the cost impacts of pEPR through a transition to reuse and refill, something that used to be commonplace in the UK and continues to be in many other countries. The use of reusable/refillable packaging is encouraged under pEPR, as producers are only required to report and pay disposal cost fees for household packaging the first time it is placed on the market, and can then offset these fees when they recycle this packaging at then end of its life, thereby avoiding the vast majority of pEPR fees.
A full assessment of the impact of Extended Producer Responsibility was completed in 2024 and is published on legislation.gov.uk.
Following the passage of the legislation introducing extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) through parliament, the government has been working closely with industry, including the glass sector, to understand the impact of the upcoming fees on business as the scheme is implemented. To date we have had little evidence presented that pEPR fees cannot be afforded.
We are encouraging the glass industry to seek to reduce the cost impacts of pEPR through a transition to reuse and refill, something that used to be commonplace in the UK and continues to be in many other countries. The use of reusable/refillable packaging is encouraged under pEPR, as producers are only required to report and pay disposal cost fees for household packaging the first time it is placed on the market, and can then offset these fees when they recycle this packaging at then end of its life, thereby avoiding the vast majority of pEPR fees.
A full assessment of the impact of Extended Producer Responsibility was completed in 2024 and is published on legislation.gov.uk.
The Department announced on 4th March that it would be providing an additional £33 million for the Rural England Prosperity Fund in financial year 2025-26. This announcement continues funding beyond the lifetime of the original scheme providing new money for new projects in rural areas.
The Autumn Statement on 30 October confirmed Defra’s budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Funding allocations for individual programmes have been determined through the departments business planning exercise. Future funding decisions remain subject to the Government spending review.
The Department announced on 4th March that it would be providing an additional £33 million for the Rural England Prosperity Fund in financial year 2025-26. This announcement continues funding beyond the lifetime of the original scheme providing new money for new projects in rural areas.
The Autumn Statement on 30 October confirmed Defra’s budgets for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Funding allocations for individual programmes have been determined through the departments business planning exercise. Future funding decisions remain subject to the Government spending review.
The Government is committed to implementing its obligations under the Windsor Framework in good faith, including commitments on the use of 'Not for EU labels', as well as taking all steps necessary to protect the UK internal market. As per guidance published on GOV.UK, from 1 October 2024 milk and dairy products moving under the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme will need to be individually labelled.
The previous Government held a consultation on extending the ‘not for EU’ labelling requirements across Great Britain earlier this year and this, as well as further discussion with business, will inform our future approach.
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges. Defra maintains a collaborative relationship with industry which allows us to effectively respond to disruption. This includes a Food Resilience Industry Forum, which can be stood-up at short notice should the need arise.
Low carbon fuels, including synthetics, are helping decarbonise the logistics sector and are supported by the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. Any future policy decisions on the support for low carbon fuels in transport will be developed and informed by modelling potential impacts.
In the logistics sector, delivering net zero will require the adoption of zero emission vehicles and this is why we are turbocharging the rollout of zero emission HGVs and their charging and fuelling infrastructure through our Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme.
The logistics sector is vital to drive economic growth and achieve net zero and we are committed to working with the sector to achieve these aims.
The Secretary of State, who was appointed on 29th November 2024, has not yet met the Construction or Residents’ Commissioners. However, Minister for Rail Lord Hendy met both Commissioners on Monday 16th December.
The summary of the responses to the call for evidence was published on 9 December.
As part of the ongoing engagement regarding this matter, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency held a positive meeting with representatives of the Historic Vehicle User Group on 12 December, in which the DVLA updated the Group on potential next steps in reviewing the policies in this area.
As reported in the last HS2 report to Parliament published in November 2023, HS2 Ltd indicated that its projected cost to deliver Phase 1 would significantly exceed the current Funding Envelope of £44.6 billion (2019 prices). Following the significant scope changes and deferrals made under the previous government, the Department is working with HS2 Ltd to review the Estimate at Completion (EAC) for HS2 Phase 1 and will report to Parliament in due course.
The funding provided to HS2 Ltd includes allowances for inflation based on inflation forecasts set at spending reviews. HS2 Ltd has been impacted by high levels of inflation in recent years alongside all major construction projects. However, HS2 Ltd continues to bear down on its costs to mitigate this, manage pressures within its annual budgets, and is working to reduce the impact to any mitigation projects linked to the building of Phase 1.
The safety of everyone travelling on our roads is the Government’s priority, which is why we are committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade. We will set out next steps on smart motorways in due course.
Yes. The government is in the process of commissioning independent research to better understand the root causes of headlamp glare and help identify potential countermeasures.
The government is committed to maintaining and renewing the local road network, and to enabling local highway authorities to fix up to a million more potholes a year. The previous government made a number of funding commitments, the affordability of each of which is being examined closely as part of the Spending Review.
The allocation of general road safety funding does not take into account population density as a funding requirement unless specified. The majority of our funding for road safety improvements is based on collision data, including killed and seriously injured statistics as well as road length. Targeted road safety improvements are devolved to the local authorities.
The government knows that Britain needs a modern transport network to help kickstart economic growth. Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities, and the government is committed to working at pace with local transport authorities, bus operators and passengers to ensure that our vital bus services truly reflect the needs of the local communities.
As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will introduce the Better Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, to ensure networks can meet the needs to the communities who rely on them, including in Buckinghamshire. We also plan to empower local transport authorities through reforming bus funding. By giving local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding they can plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities.
This Government is committed to ensuring that people have access to transport and transport infrastructure that enables them to travel to the destinations they want to reach and meets their needs. As my Right Honourable Friend the Chancellor has set out, decisions must be made based on the assessment of the spending inheritance from the previous Government.
Tackling the poor state of our local roads is a priority for this Government, to ensure they are safe and serve all road users, and we will set out how we will achieve this in due course.