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).
Renationalise the NHS, scrap integrated care systems, and end PFI contracts
Gov Responded - 23 Dec 2021 Debated on - 31 Jan 2022 View Steven Bonnar's petition debate contributionsWe demand the Government restore England’s publicly funded, publicly provided NHS by reversing all privatising legislation, ending ongoing PFI contracts, and scrapping plans for Integrated Care Systems and for-profit US-style ‘managed care’.
Prohibit employers from requiring staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19
Gov Responded - 25 Nov 2021 Debated on - 24 Jan 2022 View Steven Bonnar's petition debate contributionsMake it illegal for any employer to mandate vaccination for its employees. This should apply to all public sector (including the NHS, armed forces, care workers), third sector and all private sector.
Introduce Mandatory Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting
Gov Responded - 30 Jul 2020 Debated on - 20 Sep 2021 View Steven Bonnar's petition debate contributionsMuch like the existing mandatory requirement for employers with 250 or more employees must publish their gender pay gap. We call upon the government to introduce the ethnicity pay gap reporting. To shine a light on race / ethnicity based inequality in the workplace so that they can be addressed.
Stop the rising number of ear-cropped dogs in the UK
Gov Responded - 9 Mar 2021 Debated on - 7 Jun 2021 View Steven Bonnar's petition debate contributionsLeading veterinary and welfare bodies are concerned by the alarming rise in ear-cropped dogs in the UK. Ear cropping is illegal in the UK and an unnecessary, painful mutilation with no welfare benefit. The practice involves cutting off part of the ear flap, often without anaesthesia or pain relief.
Ban the exploitative import of young puppies for sale in the UK.
Gov Responded - 8 Sep 2020 Debated on - 7 Jun 2021 View Steven Bonnar's petition debate contributionsPlenty of dogs from UK breeders & rescues need homes. Transporting young pups long distances is often stressful, before being sold for ridiculous prices to unsuspecting dog-lovers. Government must adjust current laws, ban this unethical activity on welfare grounds & protect these poor animals ASAP.
Protect Retail Workers from Abuse, Threats and Violence.
Gov Responded - 15 Sep 2020 Debated on - 7 Jun 2021 View Steven Bonnar's petition debate contributionsEnact legislation to protect retail workers. This legislation must create a specific offence of abusing, threatening or assaulting a retail worker. The offence must carry a penalty that acts as a deterrent and makes clear that abuse of retail workers is unacceptable.
The UK should ban the importation of Shark Fins.
Gov Responded - 3 Nov 2020 Debated on - 7 Jun 2021 View Steven Bonnar's petition debate contributionsNow that we have left the EU, the UK has the ability to finally stop the importation of Shark Fins. They had previously stated that 'Whilst in the EU, it is not possible to unilaterally ban the import of shark fins into the UK.'
End child food poverty – no child should be going hungry
Gov Responded - 11 Nov 2020 Debated on - 24 May 2021 View Steven Bonnar's petition debate contributionsGovernment should support vulnerable children & #endchildfoodpoverty by implementing 3 recommendations from the National Food Strategy to expand access to Free School Meals, provide meals & activities during holidays to stop holiday hunger & increase the value of and expand the Healthy Start scheme
Do not give consent for another Scottish Independence Referendum
The SNP government appears solely intent on getting independence at any cost.
These initiatives were driven by Steven Bonnar, 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.
Steven Bonnar has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Steven Bonnar has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Steven Bonnar has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Steven Bonnar has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
All primary and secondary schools in England are now expected to provide remote education for the majority of their pupils and students, with the exception of vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers, who can attend school or college in person. Where vulnerable children and young people and children of critical workers do not attend school or college, we expect schools and colleges to provide them with remote education.
We have updated the remote education guidance for schools to clarify and strengthen expectations while on-site attendance is restricted, drawing on our evolving understanding of best practice in remote education. This guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952443/210114_School_national_restrictions_guidance_FINAL_14012021.pdf#page=46&zoom=100,72,76.
To ensure all pupils continue to access high-quality education, we are securing 1.3 million laptops, investing over £400 million to support access to remote education. A comprehensive package of support continues to be available to schools and colleges which can be accessed via the Get Help with Remote Education page on gov.uk, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-remote-education. As part of that support, we have published a ‘Review Your Remote Education Provision’ tool to help schools to understand their remote education strategies and signpost them towards packages of support to help them meet basic requirements and go further in their strategies, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-your-remote-education-provision?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=53522a25-c275-4777-996d-ade6d8f11bd5&utm_content=immediately.
We have asked schools to publish information about their remote education provision on their websites by 25 January and published an optional template to support schools in setting out that information, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providing-remote-education-information-to-parents-template.
During the spring term Ofsted will conduct monitoring inspections of schools most in need. These will have a strong focus on remote education and an emphasis on being supportive. In addition, Ofsted will inspect schools of any grade if it has any significant concerns about a school’s provision, including in relation to remote education. Where parents approach Ofsted with concerns, having first sought to resolve them with the school, Ofsted will consider and take action where appropriate. This could mean discussing the complaint with the school, or if necessary, inspecting the school.
Discussions with the devolved administrations took place in advance of the publication of ‘COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19’. In addition, officials are in regular contact understand the approach taken by each nation and any implementation issues.
Experts continue to keep the symptoms under review as our understanding of the virus develops. We assess the data from the COVID Symptom Study in addition to other surveillance studies and will update our guidance if necessary.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have been working closely with the Ministry of Justice to gather more evidence on the use of screening tools, including screening for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults within the criminal justice system in England. An action plan in response to the recommendations of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services report, Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System, is due to be published in October 2021 and will address this recommendation.
We have set out five tests that will need to be satisfied before any lockdown measures are eased which are as follows:
To offset the risk for a second peak, a certain degree of social distancing measures will need to remain. We have rapidly and very significantly expanded our testing capability and are developing a test and trace programme to support the next phase of our Covid-19 response.
I continue to speak regularly to my counterparts in Europe.
The FCDO continues to work closely with colleagues across Government, including the Secretary of State for Transport, to maintain smooth operation of the UK's border with the EU for both freight and passengers.
We are working closely with the Ministry of Justice on the development of a national strategy to improve outcomes for neurodivergent people in the criminal justice system (CJS).
The recent Criminal Justice Joint Inspection report on neurodiversity in the CJS is welcome. I look forward to discussing this with the new Secretary of State for Justice.
The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those in need. Since 2015, we have resettled more than 25,000 people – more than any other EU country – and we have a new global UK Resettlement Scheme running.
The Nationality and Borders Bill, which was introduced last week, will fix the broken asylum system in the UK and ensure that access to the UK’s asylum system is based on need, not on the ability to pay people smugglers
We welcomed the Evidence Review Report on Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System, which has highlighted the importance of gaining a better understanding of the needs of people with neurodivergent conditions across the criminal justice system.
The report suggests that potentially half of the adult prison population has some form of neurodivergence. The report identifies current gaps in provision and areas of good practice, and it provides six recommendations as to how current provision might be improved.
The first recommendation is to develop a cross government overarching neurodiversity strategy across the criminal justice system. An action plan in response to the report is due to be published in October 2021 and my department is currently engaging in discussions with all of the relevant departments to identify appropriate steps to work towards this key recommendation.
I was pleased that we could agree a fantastic deal on the Protocol in December. It delivers on the commitments we made to the people of Northern Ireland, maintaining unfettered access, protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the UK Customs Territory, and ensuring that Great Britain to Northern Ireland trade flows as smoothly as possible.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is in constant contact with the Executive on matters relating to the Protocol, as was the case throughout the Transition Period. This includes regular engagements with the First and deputy First Ministers, as well as cross-Government forums like the EU Exit Operations Committee and JMC(EN).
Effective working relationships already exist between the Crown Estate and the Welsh Government.
There is no public appetite at all in Wales to devolve the Crown Estate, which would serve merely to fragment the market and delay the further development of key projects in Wales.