Business of the House

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

Yes, I do. My hon. Friend is right to praise the innovative work of the Horizon Group. We are committed to supporting innovation by small and medium-sized enterprises, including through the £7.4 billion for UK Research and Innovation to support innovative company growth. There are a number of days’ debate on the Budget, and I encourage my hon. Friend to make these remarks—should he catch your eye, Mr Speaker—in that debate.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

As a result of the Government’s so-called fair funding formula, Richmond council—my local authority—faces a devastating cut of over £100 million in Government funding over the next four years. That is almost 60% of its budget about to be gutted. Our vulnerable children and adults will suffer the most from these cuts. Given the Prime Minister’s commitment to local leadership and empowering local communities, will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on revisiting this damaging formula, so that we can find a sustainable solution?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The Budget announced £100 million for local authorities to provide further support to the households in greatest need. We are giving local leaders greater control over locally generated revenue. We are delivering £78 billion in a multi-year finance settlement, and a £5.6 billion boost for local services over the next three years. I understand that local authorities that are adversely affected will have concerns, and the hon. Lady is right to raise them. We have a local government statement after this; she might find a way of getting that point into the statement.

Business of the House

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

We send Ethan and his family our best wishes. The direct answer to my hon. Friend’s question about a meeting is yes.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

Last week, Kenneth Law pleaded guilty in Canada to 14 counts of aiding suicide. The toxic packages that he distributed around the world are believed to be linked to the deaths of some 79 Britons, including Tom, the son of my constituent David Parfett, yet Law will not be tried in the UK following a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service. David, other victims’ families and the Molly Rose Foundation have called for a public inquiry into these deaths and similar deaths connected to pro-suicide forums. Will the Leader of the House arrange for the relevant Minister to give a statement to the House on this case and the wider issue?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I offer the hon. Lady a meeting with the relevant Minister to look at the details of the case and see what more can be done.

Business of the House

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 4th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating the Stotfold Good Neighbour Group on receiving the prestigious King’s award for voluntary service, which is the highest award for local volunteering groups in the UK. I have said before, and it remains true, that volunteers are the bedrock of our communities, and I hope that the award gives them well-deserved recognition and appreciation.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

Residents across Twickenham, Teddington, the Hamptons and Whitton are sick to the back teeth with South Western Railway repeatedly cancelling, delaying and putting on short trains. The service to every station in my constituency has become appreciably worse since nationalisation, despite promises to the contrary from Ministers, with local residents missing out on work, medical appointments and education. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on the performance of SWR?

Business of the House

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 4th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend reminds us that the effects of the huge contract with Norway to build frigates in this country will be dissipated right through our economy and into constituencies such as my hon. Friend’s across the country. We should be celebrating the international agreements that we have, not going abroad and doing this country down.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

I was disappointed that the Leader of the House, when she was celebrating summer moments, did not mention our Lionesses’ amazing victory in defending their European title.

In a less positive moment over the summer, the Metropolitan police announced the closure of Twickenham police station’s front counter as part of plans to close half of London’s police counters and reduce hours at many others. This comes despite Sadiq Khan’s 2024 manifesto commitment to maintain a 24-hour police counter in every borough, and Richmond borough will now be left without one. Will the Leader of the House grant a debate in Government time on the Met police’s funding for the forthcoming year and beyond, especially as the closures come on the back of the slashing of the Royal Parks police and our school police liaison officers?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Lady for reminding me about the brilliant Lionesses’ triumph in the Euros earlier in the summer. I take this opportunity to congratulate them on that.

The hon. Lady raises the important issue of neighbourhood policing. Community policing has been hugely diminished over the last 10 to 15 years, and we are determined to fix it. The nature of how policing is done has changed, but we are providing the funding and the additional police officers for community and neighbourhood policing to flourish in constituencies like hers.

Business of the House

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend raises a really important matter. Local people want to know that their council tax is going towards the services that they want to see in their communities. Nothing frustrates our constituents more than seeing things in their area and their community that they perceive to be, frankly, a waste of money. This Government are committed to bringing more accountability and audit into local government, and we will bring forward legislation on that soon.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

Just over three weeks ago, the Minister for children and families had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to the Dispatch Box to be forced into extending the adoption and special guardianship support fund, which had expired the previous day, leaving thousands of vulnerable children and their adoptive parents and kinship carers in limbo. Not once during that 45 minute urgent question did she say, when she triumphantly announced £50 million extra to continue the fund, that the individual support grants were about to be cut by 40%. That information was snuck out in a private letter last week, during recess, to local authorities and charities. Will the Leader of the House demand that the Education Secretary comes to the House, makes a statement, and takes questions from hon. Members who feel that they were, I am sure inadvertently, misled by the children’s Minister that day, so that we can understand the impact on some of the most vulnerable children in our society?

[Lucy Powell]

I know that this is a matter of deep concern to many Members across the House, and I commend the hon. Lady for continuing to raise the issue, which also affects a number of my constituents. The Government have ensured that we have the £50 million arrangement for this year, but she will recognise that the increased demand on the adoption system, which is a good thing, means that we have had to make money from the fund go a bit further for many families. However, I hear what she says about the Government’s accountability. There was a written ministerial statement on the subject on Tuesday, but I will ensure that she and other hon. Members are able to question and speak to the Ministers, as appropriate.

Business of the House

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 24th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend is right to point out the very serious and harmful effects of drug addiction and the number of deaths that it causes. Many of us will have been affected by such tragedies for our constituents or for our own loved ones. The next Health questions are in November, but the topic might also be suitable for consideration by the Backbench Business Committee or as the subject of an Adjournment debate.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

Right hon. and hon. Members across the House agree that it is right that the House consider the issue of assisted dying. However, many of us are deeply torn on the issue and want to look in depth at the practical, moral, ethical and legal considerations. We do not feel that a private Member’s Bill with only five hours of debate before we have to vote on Second Reading is the right vehicle. The Prime Minister committed to Government time on the issue, so I urge the Leader of the House to introduce legislation in due course, in Government time and with proper pre-legislative scrutiny and impact analysis, so that if we are to take such a grave decision, we will have all the resources for doing so at our disposal.

[Lucy Powell]

I recognise the difficult issues that the hon. Lady raises and which many hon. Members are struggling with and considering. Such matters as assisted dying are matters of conscience that have traditionally always been addressed through private Members’ Bills, because the Government do not have a view. There will be a free vote for Government Members.

There will be no Government time, but the Second Reading will get the same time for debate as that of other Bills, and there will be lots of other opportunities for these matters to be debated. The hon. Lady could apply for other debates to take forward other issues, but it will be a matter for the House to decide, and we will take it forward on the basis of what the House decides.

Business of the House

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 18th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I welcome my hon. Friend back to her place. New Members who do not know her will not be aware that she raised matters relating to sport very thoroughly—indeed, superbly—during the last Parliament. I certainly join her in wishing Team GB all the very best for the upcoming Paris Olympics.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Speaker, and I congratulate the Leader of the House on her appointment.

The recent closures of two Boots pharmacies in Hampton in my constituency came amid hundreds of other community pharmacy closures across England, driven largely by the financial pressures on community pharmacies from an outdated pharmacy contract, coupled with impenetrable bureaucratic NHS England processes that do not engage with local communities when it comes to closures and new licence applications. Will the Leader of the House urgently grant a debate in Government time to consider this issue, given the health crisis faced by our country?

[Lucy Powell]

The hon. Lady has raised an extremely important issue. Ensuring that community pharmacies are available in every community, offering a full range of services that can help to prevent people from needing access to primary care or A&E, is key to our delivery of an NHS fit for the 21st century. I am sure that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who I know has already been progressing some of these matters, would welcome a question about this particular matter during Health questions next Tuesday, and hopefully the hon. Lady’s name will be drawn in the ballot.

Business of the House

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 14th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear about the situation in my hon. Friend’s constituency. The Government are committed to ensuring that by 2030 half of all journeys in towns and cities are walked or cycled, and enabling more choice about how people get around. That is good for them and for the environment. We have invested more than £600 million in active travel since 2020. That is a record amount of funding, with further investment coming this financial year. Of course, that is a good thing only if local authorities are spending that money well and things are being designed well. I shall make sure that the relevant Departments have heard his concerns and, again, offer some advice as to how he can ensure that this situation is mitigated and in future years rectified.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

Figures out this week show that the Government target for secondary school teachers entering training was missed by a whopping 48%. Schools are already struggling to find specialist teachers for their pupils and some schools, including the brilliant Turing House School in my constituency, have had to drop offering computer science at A-level because they cannot find a specialist teacher. The Prime Minister says that he wants our country to be a leader in AI, yet we cannot find the teachers to teach some of those skills. The figures are woeful; only three subjects met their targets—classics, physical education and history. I raised the issue with the Leader of the House back in June and asked for an urgent debate on the crisis in teacher training, recruitment and retention. Given that there is no legislation for us to consider, will she grant an urgent debate in Government time on the issue?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady will know that across all disciplines we have increased the number of teachers by close to 30,000. I am happy to raise the issue of specialist teachers in the specific disciplines she mentioned with the Secretary of State for Education, as Education questions is not until 23 October. We are introducing an enormous amount of legislation but we have given time to the Backbench Business Committee. She will have heard the advert that the hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns) gave earlier and she will know how to apply for a debate. I encourage her to do so, but I will ensure that the Secretary of State for Education has heard what she said.

Business of the House

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 8th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear about this case. My hon. Friend will know how to apply for a debate, which I am sure that many Members would want to attend, but she is right to say that this is a time-sensitive matter for her constituent. I know that the Department of Health and the Care Quality Commission have been working with private providers to ensure continuity of care for patients affected by the retirement of their current prescriber, so I will write today to the Department and ask that officials immediately contact my hon. Friend’s office to see whether the work they have been doing can assist her constituent, who should have access to the medical care they need.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

New figures published this morning show that almost a third of teachers quit within five years of qualifying. The Government miss their own teacher training targets so often that they are not worth the paper they are written on. Our children are being let down as a result, and millions are being taught by teachers who are not qualified in their subjects, particularly in maths and physics. May we have an urgent debate in Government time to discuss the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention, so that every child has the opportunity to learn from a great teacher? It is the very least our children deserve.

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Lady is right that every child should have the benefit of excellent teaching, and part of that is ensuring that we have the right number of teachers and in particular that they are teaching their specialist subjects. She will know that teacher numbers are up 2,800 on last year, and the figures out today show a positive trend. It is not just about those numbers but retaining teachers longer, for the wealth of experience they bring to the classroom. Teacher numbers are being increased not just through our moves to address workforce issues but through the reforms that we have brought into schools.

Business of the House

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 9th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

One of the ways in which my hon. Friend can do that is by raising the issue in this House. I am sure that all Members will want to join me and my hon. Friend in praising Tony for his huge achievements. He was recognised with a CBE and remains a very influential person in all aspects of sport. My hon. Friend knows how to apply for a Westminster Hall debate, and she could also use an early-day motion if other Members of the House want to express their support and thanks to him for all he has achieved.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

Last night I received a distraught email from a hard-working and dedicated civil servant who lives in my constituency. He described how he and his colleagues are demoralised and tired of being demonised and blamed by Ministers when they are serving the country as best they can, without exception, whatever their personal views of Government policy.

In the light of the Home Secretary’s outrageous email to Conservative party supporters, does the Leader of the House agree that political attacks on the integrity of the civil service are never acceptable, and will she grant a debate in Government time on the importance of Ministers upholding the ministerial code and the work of the civil service?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The fact that this is the third opportunity I have had in this question time to say how much we appreciate the work that civil servants do, and to recognise that they work hard to deliver on the policies of the Government of the day, should give people confidence that that view is shared by Members across the House. That sentiment has been expressed by Members on both sides of the Commons today. I say to the hon. Lady, though, that if we wish to provide reassurance that civil servants are respected and their contribution valued, it is not helpful to attribute the remarks to which she alludes to the Home Secretary. The Home Secretary has very clearly said that those were not her remarks and that she did not approve those remarks, and I know that she would want me to put on the record her thanks to all those in her Department and the agencies that work with them.