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12,832 spoken contributions under 12 words (interjections such as “Will the hon. Member give way?”) are hidden. Show them

1. 9 Sep 2026·Parliament·Conservative·Alberto Costa

   Engagements

   Q7. I hope that the Prime Minister likes South Leicestershire as much as he likes the southern parts of England. Blaby, Enderby, Huncote, Cosby and Countesthorpe, to name but a few, are rural or semi-rural villages that have little in common with the urban area of the city of Leicester. The Government are going against the wishes of the residents of those villages, who have responded to the Government’s consultation and said that they do not want to be part of the city of Leicester. This has nothing to do with devolution; it is local government reform changing the boundaries. I have a very easy ask of the Prime Minister. He said that he is in listening mode; will he therefore meet me, the villagers of the areas that I have mentioned, and other stakeholders to discuss the issue of local government reform?

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2. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Yvette Cooper

   Health Bill

   I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. Let me thank all those who have been involved in bringing this Bill to this point, including all those involved in Committee. I thank the parliamentary staff, the departmental staff and the legal staff, and the Members on both sides of the House, who have debated so many different issues during the passage of the Bill. In particular, I pay huge thanks to the Minister for Secondary Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth), who has not only chaperoned this Bill through every stage from beginning to end—with some different Health Secretaries along the way—but has done today’s Report stage on her birthday; I wish her a hugely happy birthday. I am grateful to everybody for their engagement, including those who, as well as debating the issues covered by the Bill, have taken the opportunity of these debates to raise so many issues that are so important to patient care right across the country, and to the improvements we need to make to patient and family care. I include in those thanks the parents of little Hugh Menai-Davis, who were in the House today. Members in all parts of the House have been raising issues from special educational needs and disabilities to funeral regulation and health inequalities, and it is important that our NHS and health systems continue to improve.

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3. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Yvette Cooper

   Health Bill

   My hon. Friend is exactly right to raise this vital issue. So many of us will have families and constituents who are affected by dementia. We are committed to introducing a dementia tsar as part of our response to Louise Casey’s commission, and we will be looking at data issues and evidence as part of that. As this legislation completes its passage through this House, I thank my predecessor Health Secretaries for the work that they have done in bringing down waiting lists, improving treatment and getting more appointments than ever before. There are thousands more doctors, nurses, midwives and mental health workers in place than ever before, and we thank our national health service staff across the country. They also recognised that we inherited a system that was still badly held back by the failed 2012 Lansley reforms, including the huge administrative issue and unaccountable bureaucracy, with lots of duplication, poor communication and no proper accountability. This legislation is about strengthening democratic accountability and the focus on patient care. To be clear, I pay tribute to the work done by many people across NHS England—including in particular the recent work of the current chief executive, Jim Mackey, to substantially improve patient care and to reduce that duplication—but the systems and structures have been holding people back. That is why we have brought this reform forward, part of which will not just end the wasteful duplication, but ensure that our NHS system is better able to deliver. I will update the House and the NHS shortly on the future operating arrangements. Let me say now that that means returning to some of the arrangements that applied before 2012, when we had strong national NHS leadership, but with much greater partnership and accountability and far less duplication than we have today. I have been frank with both the Department and NHS England that the focus needs to be on patients. We are making some further reforms in response to the discussions in this House. I have made a commitment that we will bring forward amendments in the House of Lords to establish England’s first statutory maternity commissioner, implementing the Amos review’s recommendation, but also directly reflecting the work and determination of my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh), the Government’s national maternity adviser. I thank her for the work that she has done. We have also amended the Bill to ensure that local government is represented on ICBs. That was raised by the Select Committee. I am also clear that we need to ensure that patients’ voices are properly embedded in decision making. Members have all debated the importance of the single patient record to improve care. It is great to be back at this Dispatch Box as a Health Minister, 24 years since I last spoke at the Dispatch Box as a Health Minister. I am surprised by how little has changed in many ways, but one thing that has not changed, but which is so immensely important to all of us, is the dedication of NHS staff and the people who work right across the country to support patients and communities. This Bill is about helping them to ensure they can do their jobs in the most effective way. I commend this Bill to the House.

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4. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Yuan Yang

   Israel and Palestine

   Two months ago, our new Prime Minister admitted that the UK needed to do better. Today, the Foreign Secretary has shown us how things get done, by working together with our allies to declare a ban on trade with illegal settlements and declaring the occupation unlawful. Last year, my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central (Abtisam Mohamed) and I were denied entry to the west bank for our advocacy in this House. The Foreign Secretary has already withstood threats and intimidation as a result of his bold, principled stand. Will he continue to do so with the moral courage he has shown us?

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5. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Yasmin Qureshi

   Israel and Palestine

   May I say how proud I am to sit behind a Foreign Secretary with the courage to take this action? I thank the Prime Minister for showing leadership on this matter as well. Let us be clear what this is about: Israel’s occupation of the west bank and Gaza is illegal under international law. Israel has moved more than 700,000 settlers on to Palestinian land and forced half a million Palestinians from their homes, while the new planned E1 settlement will, according to Israel’s own Ministers, “bury” a two-state solution. These sanctions target trade from illegal settlements, not Israel and not Jewish people, and anyone who says otherwise is being deliberately misleading. Will the Foreign Secretary confirm that no amount of pressure from Washington or Tel Aviv would cause the Government to retreat from doing this?

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6. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Will Stone

   Business Rates: Hospitality Sector

   23. What discussions he has had with representatives of the hospitality sector on the potential impact of business rates relief on that sector.

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7. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Will Stone

   Business Rates: Hospitality Sector

   Pubs across Swindon, such as Arkell’s, contacted me regularly about the reduction in business rates, so I thank the Minister for that. However, can he outline whether there will be any further business rates reductions for the wider hospitality sector?

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8. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Warinder Juss

   Retirement Property Management Companies: Regulation

   I thank the hon. Member for giving way. I have a 92-year-old constituent, Freda Quinton, who has been unable to live in her retirement property since April because persistent and unresolved leaks have not been repaired, despite repeated assurances that they would be. She therefore cannot live independently. She now has health concerns, emotional distress and financial pressures. Does the hon. Member agree that that is no way to treat older residents and that a problem exists not only with the management company that he has referred to, but with others?

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9. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Tulip Siddiq

   Israel and Palestine

   While I recognise this was not the main part of the Foreign Secretary’s statement, I thank him for raising the plight of British Jewish children who are fearful going to school. As he will know, a lot of British Jewish children live in my constituency, and their safety is my main priority. On the subject of children, a recent report showed that 40% of displaced children in Palestine lose complete access to education. The Foreign Secretary has outlined a host of policies and legislation in his statement today; has he given any thought to how he would help these displaced children to ensure that they do not lose access to schooling? Finally, if you would indulge me for one second, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would just like to say that my right hon. Friend’s mother, Marion, who lobbied me endlessly when I was a local councillor, would be very proud of him.

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10. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Tristan Osborne

    Economic Growth

    15. What steps he is taking to help ensure that the UK remains the fastest growing economy in the G7.

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11. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Tristan Osborne

    Economic Growth

    Thank you, Mr Speaker—and happy Star Trek Day. Last week, the Opposition chose to Klingon to the Truss legacy, and what a damaging legacy that was. How can we engage in warp speed, so that our economy continues to grow the fastest in the G7?

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12. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Tristan Osborne

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    In 1982, the people of Chatham and Chatham dockyard waved off the boats that went to safeguard our territory in the south Pacific. HMS Medway, a ship named after our river in Chatham, is there today, with its sailors working to protect and secure that territory. Will the Minister pay testament to the hard work of the Royal Navy to defend the territory? What further advice and security can she give to ensure that we have the right defence posture to counter any aggression?

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13. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Torsten Bell

    Topical Questions

    Employment levels have risen since the general election, but the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to highlight that too few young people are getting the chance to move into work and to participate in education. That is exactly what the Milburn report is looking at, and I hope the hon. Gentleman will feed into that. However, we are not waiting for that report; the Government are already acting. That is what the jobs guarantee is doing, and why businesses that employ young people on universal credit will receive £3,000. It is right that there is a moral as well as economic imperative to get young people into work.

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14. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Torsten Bell

    Topical Questions

    I thank my hon. Friend for his question and congratulate his wife on what is a significant achievement; I am sure the whole House is supporting her. He is absolutely right that we want to see more young people having the income, opportunities and purpose that work provides, which is why it is welcome that employment is up. However, we do need to do more. We will keep providing national insurance relief for employees aged under 21 and apprentices under 25, and we are rolling out our youth hubs, including in North Somerset.

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15. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Torsten Bell

    Topical Questions

    The difficult choices that we have had to make are why NHS waiting lists are falling in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and why his own police chief constable said that “increased officer numbers will enable us to further tackle issues such as antisocial behaviour, theft and drug-related crimes.” The hon. Gentleman is a man who, unfortunately, on the day of the mini-Budget spoke up in this Chamber and said that it was a “vote of confidence” in the whole UK economy. The only regret he must have is not being more enthusiastic—otherwise he would be shadow Chancellor.

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16. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Tom Hayes

    Safety of the Jewish Community

    It is a privilege to speak in this debate on Jewish safety, and to represent one of Britain’s oldest seaside Jewish communities as the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East. Jewish families in Bournemouth have built businesses, strengthened our heritage and contributed to civic life, and we have had a number of Jewish mayors, including Louis Barney, Gabriel Jaffe, Michael and Anne Filer, Pamela Harris, Ben Grower, Barry Goldbart and Lawrence Williams. I was privileged to attend the consecration of the new synagogue for the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation in East Cliff—my neighbourhood—in the presence of the Chief Rabbi just a few short months ago. It marked a new chapter in the life of the Jewish community in Bournemouth. The new shul has been refurbished, and throughout the building there are colours inspired by Bournemouth’s sand, cliffs, piers and breakwaters. The light-filled main prayer hall has a series of stained-glass images, many of which recreate those from the old Wootton Gardens synagogue. I was pleased to visit that synagogue many times, including for its farewell concert, which showed that a new start means that we must also say farewell. My Jewish constituents deserve what every citizen deserves: to feel safe. The statistics tell part of the story: Dorset police tell me that they recorded 26 antisemitic crimes across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in the year to May, and every one of those crimes matters, but statistics alone cannot explain what it feels like when fear enters everyday life. For that, we must listen to the people in Bournemouth, so I encouraged my constituents to get in touch ahead of this debate. Ann told me that she has removed the Star of David necklace that she wore throughout her life because she no longer feels comfortable openly displaying her Jewish identity. Stefan from East Cliff and Springbourne wrote: “We are alone, we are afraid.” At the age of 73, he has never experienced such open antisemitism, and he speaks now of conversations taking place around dinner tables that many had hoped belonged to history. David, a retired rabbi, said that British Jews regard themselves as British citizens first and foremost, and he spoke of generations of Jewish people serving our country in our armed forces, of prayers being said in synagogues each week for the royal family and the Government, and of a public duty throughout our town. I know some Jewish patients in my constituency are reluctant to identify their faith when admitted to hospital, because they fear how they may be treated. I want them to know that, following Lord Mann’s review, the Government are requiring anti-racism training aimed at tackling antisemitism and other racism in the NHS. Another constituent, who is not Jewish himself, showed solidarity by writing to me about friends who feel unsafe and threatened. Josephine, who has happily lived in Bournemouth for more than two decades, told me that she never expected to face continual hostility and intimidation. She and her husband recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary at the synagogue, but they felt compelled to employ security guards for the event. Adele, who is 82, spoke movingly of her grandparents who found safety, democracy and peace of mind in our country, and she tells me: “All we ask is to live here in peace and free from fear.” Derek describes the reality that many Jewish people now live with, following the atrocities of 7 October and the war that followed, which has left many Jewish people spending their time, in his words, “watching our backs”, relying on police protection and the Community Security Trust to guard places of worship and community events. Several members of the community have been in touch to talk about a particular incident in Bournemouth Square last year. Alongside Jewish residents and Christian supporters, a small protest—

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17. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Tom Hayes

    Safety of the Jewish Community

    On a point of order, Sir Christopher. I was under the impression that there was no time limit. I was not warned in advance of the need to reduce the length of my speech. I have deliberately solicited the views of my constituents, which I want to put on the official parliamentary record, about an issue that affects them very deeply, which is their feeling of insecurity and discontent in our country because of antisemitism. I am concerned that they have been unrepresented on the parliamentary record because you, as Chair, have artificially circumscribed the time limit. I ask that I be given the chance to speak fully and represent my constituents’ views in their entirety.

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18. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Tom Hayes

    Conflict in Sudan

    Sudan is the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis and, like my hon. Friend, I have constituents who are deeply concerned, including Sandra in Queen’s Park, Gemma in East Cliff and Springbourne and Colleen in Muscliff and Strouden Park. I have heard constituents’ concern about a report in The Guardian on 7 September about women and girls fleeing from the brutal civil war to Egypt, where they thought they would find safety, but they have fallen prey to sexual abuse and exploitation. Does she agree that women and girls are suffering in Sudan, but they are also suffering in places where they should be finding safety?

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19. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Tom Hayes

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    Bournemouth has a close relationship to the Falklands. Twenty-two-year-old Lance Corporal Christopher Charles Thomas was killed on 30 June 1982; he was of Cardiff and Bournemouth. The people of Bournemouth formally adopted HMS Phoebe and granted it the freedom of the borough; HMS Phoebe patrolled the south Atlantic after the war. I have been contacted by constituents who are outraged by the comments they have heard—in particular, I am thinking of Richard, of East Southbourne and Tuckton, who wants the Government to conduct an urgent review into the defence of the Falklands. Will the Minister give my constituents that assurance?

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20. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Tom Hayes

    Online Safety

    Democracies face a choice between allowing the online world to be a wild west or stepping in, so I really welcome this Government’s decision to regulate the tech titans that have been putting profit before protection. I have families in my constituency who have been deeply affected by traumas online that have repeated what has been experienced in the real world, and they would really welcome the chance to meet the Secretary of State at the Department. Would she meet them with me so that they can share their experiences and help to shape the legislation as it goes forward?

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21. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Tom Collins

    Online Safety

    I really welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. We have a massive crisis of digitally enabled child sexual exploitation in the UK. As an illustration, there is a global industry for livestreamed abuse material from the Philippines. The UK is the second largest global consumer and is second only to the US, which is a much larger country. The abuse extends beyond our borders. It extends to adults as well as children on adult devices, and it extends to interfaces as well as content. We will need a broader approach. The Secretary of State is right to identify that technology has disrupted society before. In such cases, we have seen massive expansion, harm and then regulation, and then moved to product safety. I have been working with experts and innovators on how a product safety approach might work. Will she meet me to discuss that?

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22. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Tahir Ali

    Online Safety

    Children are being exposed daily to horrific, violent content online. Ofcom’s own research shows that nearly a quarter of 11 to 17-year-olds have seen violent content in just four weeks, and nearly three quarters have seen harmful content of some kind. The number has barely moved since the Act’s child safety duties came into force. Much of this content is not even sought out, but is served up by algorithms as children scroll. We know the pattern: cruelty to animals first, then violence against people, desensitising a generation and, for some, opening a path to real violence and criminality. Primary legislation to enforce all this at the app and device level is welcome, but we need to give Ofcom the tools that will enable it to deal with this immediately, as it becomes an issue.

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23. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Sureena Brackenridge

    Vehicle Theft

    Vehicle theft across the west midlands has fallen by 13.6% since its peak in 2022-23, which is welcome news for my constituency of Wolverhampton North East, but little consolation for a person whose vehicle has been stolen—it is a devastating experience. Does the hon. Lady agree that the Minister and all of us must continue to work with the police and manufacturers to ensure that vehicles are harder to steal?

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24. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Sureena Brackenridge

    Topical Questions

    I was pleased to see that the Chancellor was in the west midlands yesterday meeting manufacturing apprentices alongside Mayor Richard Parker. What conversations has he had with the mayor about using new devolution powers to invest in local skills and employment, and what will he do to make sure that young people in Wolverhampton North East get more local opportunities to benefit from?

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25. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Steve Yemm

    Safety of the Jewish Community

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) for securing a very important debate. The safety of the Jewish community is not a marginal issue. It goes absolutely to the heart of the kind of country that we want to be. British Jews should be able to go to synagogue, send their children to school, travel, work and live openly as Jews without fear, intimidation or abuse. I pay tribute to the Community Security Trust, the police, synagogue security volunteers and Jewish schools and community organisations for their vital work, but it should trouble every one of us that such work is so necessary. The scale of the challenge is clear. CST recorded almost 2,000 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of this year, the second highest total ever reported in the first six months of a year. That is not a short-term spike that has simply passed; it is a sustained change in the atmosphere faced by Jewish communities. This is not about asking for special treatment, but about the basic right to live without being held collectively responsible for events that happen around the world. No child should ever grow up thinking that security guards outside their school are a fact of life, yet for many Jewish children that is exactly what normality looks like right now. The Community Security Trust recorded almost 200 antisemitic incidents affecting schools in the first half of this year, the highest January-to-June total that it has recorded. Jewish children should not have to pass security guards on their way to school as if it were normal. Young people should never have to choose between their safety and being openly Jewish, and Jewish students should not have to change their routes across campus or hide parts of who they are. The Government must continue to support the security of Jewish communal life. However, as other Members have said, the answer cannot simply be higher fences and more guards. We must deal with the hatred that makes those fences necessary. That requires serious work on online radicalisation, proper enforcement against antisemitism in schools and universities, and a social cohesion strategy that is prepared to confront hard truths. I look forward to the Minister’s response on those issues. Jewish citizens are asking for what every citizen in the UK should rightly expect: the right to live, worship, study and contribute openly and safely. That is the absolute minimum that a decent society must guarantee for us all.

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26. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Sonia Kumar

    Israel and Palestine

    I welcome the statement condemning the E1 settlement project in the west bank and the sanctions. With that in mind, we must think of the Palestinians who are directly impacted and prevented from accessing basic health care; ambulances are being stopped from taking acutely unwell patients to hospital and 20,000 children have died. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking with international partners to ensure that the aggressive Israeli settlements do not prevent Palestinians from accessing healthcare?

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27. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Seema Malhotra

    Public Sector Productivity

    Public sector productivity is improving, with the latest Office for National Statistics figures showing output continuing to grow faster than inputs, and Departments being challenged to improve efficiency and modernise outdated processes. Can the Minister confirm that the Government expect that will have a positive impact for residents in Feltham and Heston and people across the country, ensuring that Government services are faster, better and easier to access?

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28. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Sarah Smith

    Online Safety

    I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and the work done by my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall) to finally take back control of our children’s safety online. Tackling misinformation and disinformation is also a part of creating safe online spaces. I have been leading, with my constituent Debbie Duncan, a campaign to tackle tragedy trolling. Will the Secretary of State meet me to find out more about the importance of trying to protect victims who have lost people in suspicious circumstances, when that horror happens to them?

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29. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Sarah Jones

    Safety of the Jewish Community

    It is a pleasure to close this debate, which I think has been very useful and moving. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet (Catherine West) on initiating it. Before I respond to Members’ questions and to the debate itself, I have two reflections. One is to reiterate the commitment from this Government that we recognise we are on a journey to tackle antisemitism. Although I appreciate that many Members welcomed the funding that we have put in place and the changes that we are making, this will not be the end of the journey. We are on that journey to tackle antisemitism and we will do whatever is necessary for it. We have taken measures that many Members have talked about today, but that will not be the sum of everything we intend to do. We certainly do not intend to shy away from the huge challenge that we all face. My second reflection, from listening to the MPs in this place who made such powerful speeches, is that as Members of Parliament we are all leaders of this country, and we should all ensure that we are well educated, trained and equipped to answer the call to tackle antisemitism. Whether that means going on the training days provided to Members of Parliament by the Antisemitism Policy Trust, or reading, or talking to and listening to our Jewish friends in our communities, it is incumbent on every single one of us to play a role in this debate and to be the leaders that people elect us to be. I was very struck by what my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) said about how people are retreating from the public space because of their fear.

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30. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Sarah Jones

    Safety of the Jewish Community

    I completely agree that the solution is not just to build higher walls. If our Jewish friends and colleagues are retreating from the public space for fear of their own safety, we have to loudly make sure that that public space is full enough with the call against antisemitism, so that we can rebuild a society where people feel comfortable speaking openly about their religion and their faith, proud of being Jews in Britain and being able to exercise their religious rights freely. I will respond to the points made as fully as I can. Many Members talked about the Protecting What Matters commitments. We are keen for the work to expand and be done as quickly as possible, and a whole cohort of work under that banner is being done as we speak. The disruptions team, which horizon scans for extremist influence and events, is being expanded with additional resources. Efforts to stop hate preachers and extremists entering the UK are increasing as part of an expanded global visa taskforce, which is important. Work is going on to ensure that we report back to Parliament on our work. An annual “State of extremism” report is being developed, and the first iteration of that will be published this year. Embedding the 2024 definition of extremism and the engagement principles across Government means clearer guidance and improved training. Updating and embedding the 2024 engagement principles helps public bodies not to confer legitimacy, funding—crucially—or influence on extremist groups. A whole body of work is therefore being undertaken, and the annual “State of extremism” report will be published. Several Members talked about universities, which are incredibly important, and referred to a powerful report that I have also read. Members quoted some absolutely shocking statistics. I was privileged to be at a roundtable with members of various universities, the Office for Students, Lord Mann and several representatives from the Jewish community talking about antisemitism in our universities. I know that there is a big programme of work under way to look at training, to make sure that there is funding to support new guidance from the Office for Students, to invest in the University Jewish Chaplaincy services and to make sure we work across different Departments, which was also mentioned, to tackle this issue. From a policing point of view, my engagement on this issue is largely on some of the smaller unplanned protests that happen in Jewish spaces and trying to work with local police in those situations as to being clear who is responsible and how those issues are going to be tackled.

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31. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Sarah Jones

    Safety of the Jewish Community

    I thank my hon. Friend for that praise. I am sure that it will be well appreciated and I absolutely endorse what she has said. Members asked about the IRGC and the extra work being done beyond its sanctioning. We have sanctioned the IRGC in its entirety, as well as 550 Iranian individuals. Iran has been placed on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme, and we are going after the criminal networks, proxies, enablers and illicit finance networks used by the IRGC, including with sanctions against criminal proxies. A lot of work is being done. Members also asked when the David Bell report will be published. That will be this autumn, and it is important work about tackling antisemitism in schools. I should touch on the funding that we have put in place following the awful attacks that we have seen in recent times and an absolutely dismal story of antisemitism and violence to which we as a Government have had to respond. Last April we provided an additional £25 million, initially to fund increased officer patrols and disruption deployments. We spent time just before the summer recess having a series of meetings with Jewish community colleagues, Jewish leaders and others, including a summit in Downing Street, talking about what extra was required. Just before the summer, we announced over £250 million of additional funding for the police to tackle antisemitism over the next three years. That includes training for police officers, which the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Guildford (Zöe Franklin), asked about. Antisemitism training will be rolled out across policing as part of that work. That work is being largely done in our big cities where our Jewish communities mostly live and £85.8 million will be allocated to the Metropolitan Police Service. It will deliver 300 dedicated personnel to support the work that the Metropolitan police have already been doing. Other areas—Hertfordshire, Essex, Northumbria, Sussex, Thames Valley, West Midlands and West Yorkshire—will also be funded. I am aware that I have not even really begun my speech, but that I now need to end it. I will do so where I started: by thanking all Members for their contributions. This is a journey, and we are absolutely committed to ensuring that our Jewish communities feel safe where they live and proud of their religion. We will do whatever we need to do to make sure that that can be delivered.

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32. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Sarah Jones

    Vehicle Theft

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Liz Jarvis) for securing the debate. I start by thanking the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead in this area, Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Grahame, and her colleague Oli Fisher, who lead the work nationally on our response to vehicle crime. Vehicle crime soared in the 1970s and 1980s, but there was then a big fall as new technology designed out vehicle theft and vehicle crime. As the hon. Member suggested, it then increased over about the last 10 years, although it has dropped over the last two. That is partly because of some of the disruption the police have been able to do. Ridiculously, issues such as the strait of Hormuz also make a difference, because vehicles are often shipped abroad when they are stolen. Just as global trade is interrupted, global criminals are interrupted when there are big global shifts such as those in Iran. There are multiple reasons, but numbers have gone down over the past two years. At the moment, several bodies are looking at how to solve the problem. There are local police forces; the hon. Member pointed to numbers of police officers, and we are committed to putting 13,000 more police in our neighbourhoods. In her area, there are 88 more full-time neighbourhood officers than when we came to power, on the streets and policing our neighbourhoods in the way she would expect. Large criminal gangs are driving the changing nature of vehicle crime. Cars are stolen, using the technology in the way she explained, and then shipped abroad and sold on. Neighbourhood policing is an important part of the picture, but we need to address large criminal gangs nationally. Some bodies are doing really good work in this area. The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service, which is financed by the private sector, does some of the work opening containers at ports, and there is more we can do in that space if cars are stolen and taken abroad. The hon. Member referred to Opal, which is the NPCC intelligence unit, and the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership has been in place for about two years. We in the Home Office give it £1 million, but is funded by the private sector. The fundamental problem with serious organised crime that is not drugs, guns or very high-harm crime is that quite often a car will be stolen in one place and taken somewhere else. It might go to a port or pass through three or four different forces, but because of the nature of the 43 police forces, the system is not joined up. Our reform programme will help with those kinds of serious, specialist crime. When we have a national police service responsible for serious organised crime, which brings together the different national agencies and oversees a more regional structure of policing, with local policing units that are responsible to their local communities at the bottom, that will enable the forces to flex those specialisms more where they need to be. Our organised crime strategy needs to look at drugs and guns and at very high-harm crimes such as people-smuggling, but while car theft is less high harm it has a huge cost. This is a very lucrative business for the criminals, and an expensive business for us. Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Grahame will be able to tell us the annual cost, but it is something in the order of £1.7 billion. We need to look at this centrally, and the reform programme will help to tackle that challenge. At an Interpol conference last year or earlier this year—forgive me, I cannot recall—lots of countries came together to talk about this challenge. Lots of countries have the same problem: Canada, the Netherlands and Japan are net exporters of stolen vehicles. Those vehicles are taken to certain ports in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or the United Arab Emirates, for example, and then sold on to other parts of the world. There are lots of problems with that network. For example, if a car enters Russia there are no checks on who owns it and whether it is stolen or not, so basically as soon as that car gets to Russia, off it goes. Some vehicles are sent into warzones, such as Ukraine, via nearby countries, and the more high-end vehicles are sold on to be used in other countries in the normal way. There is a pattern that we are increasingly understanding, but the question is how we disrupt it. Part of the answer is through the legislation we have introduced, which is a good first step. Some of the kit that criminals use, such as a device that logs into a vehicle, can cost £30,000 to £50,000; these are obviously serious organised criminals who have the money to buy such kit. We now have the legislation, although it has not been enacted yet; we have passed the law, but it has not commenced. Nevertheless, it will make a difference. I noted the hon. Lady’s point about online platforms and the videos on them, and I will take that away. It was not something that I was well aware of, but I will definitely take it away as something to raise with the tech companies, alongside the very long list that we are raising with them of other dangerous things online that should be taken down. How do we work with manufacturers to design out vehicle crime and how do we ensure that the legislation is in place to disrupt vehicle crime as much as possible? In addition, there is a question about ports and how easy it is to get vehicles out of the country, which we need to look at. There is also the international picture and ensuring that we share information with police forces around the world, where we can. There is the central capability that I think we need as part of the national police service to ensure that we treat this crime with the seriousness it deserves. The hon. Lady talked about the impact that vehicle theft has on individuals and communities, and she is right. There are some similarities with the theft of mobile phones and how the police respond to that, which is evolving. For an extended period, more and more people had their phones stolen, with each theft being dealt with by a local police force individually as an individual crime. The Metropolitan police in particular put some of this information together and realised that organised criminal networks were taking these phones, wrapping them in silver foil, putting them on a plane, sending them to China and selling them on from there. We understood the criminal network involved, and the police are now targeting and trying to disrupt them in various ways. There is a similar picture with vehicle theft, and we need to respond to it in a similar way. As I have said, I think the reform programme will help with that. Of course we need to keep looking at new technology, new legislation and other things that we can do. I am very grateful to the police, who are already tackling this challenge, and I am particularly grateful to ACC Sarah Grahame, who is leading this work and pushing us in the Home Office to go further and do more. With the reform programme, we in the Home Office are trying to design a structure that not only enables the police to do their job but enables us to step back and not have to provide small bits of funding for each individual crime type, and instead give the police the resources in the right place to tackle the problem. There is some evidence—not lots, but some—that the criminals stealing cars and sending them abroad also take part in other organised criminality of a more dangerous kind, involving guns and drugs. We need to gather more intelligence on that, but it is often the case that criminals do not stick to one type of crime; they do lots of things all at the same time. There is probably a network of organised criminals we should target who are not only stealing cars and moving them abroad but doing other things that are more high harm. This debate has been a timely conversation on an issue that we in the Home Office are very alive to. We want to enable the police to respond to it. It is part of the changing nature of crime. People see a spate of car thefts in one area because the cars are stolen to order by serious and organised criminals who know what they are doing. They come into an area, they steal the cars there and they move on somewhere else, in part because they know that different police forces will not be joining up with each other, in the way that I described. I thank the hon. Member for Eastleigh again for securing this debate, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton North East (Sureena Brackenridge) for raising the issues that her constituents are facing. Hopefully, what I have said today will reassure the hon. Lady that we are taking this issue very seriously, and I appreciate all suggestions and ideas as to what more we can do. Question put and agreed to.

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33. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Sarah Champion

    Israel and Palestine

    I welcome the entirety of this statement, particularly the acceptance of the ICJ advisory recommendation that Israel is illegally occupying Palestine. The ICJ recommendation is broad and damning. It is not just about settlements; it is about taking Palestinian natural resources, forced transfer, taking Palestinian land, taking their goods and taking their businesses. It is also about stopping Palestinian trade and the free movement of people, and about imposing Israeli laws on the Palestinian people. Has the Foreign Secretary given any consideration to moving a motion at the UN Security Council to protect Palestinian rights? Is he doing anything to support the Palestinian Authority to be able to govern effectively? Is he doing more to urge Israeli politicians and the Israeli Government to enable journalists and politicians to enter Gaza, so that we can see for ourselves exactly what is going on?

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34. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Sadik Al-Hassan

    Topical Questions

    Very briefly, I would like to congratulate my beautiful, long-suffering Kiwi wife on completing her citizenship ceremony today in North Somerset. Will my right hon. Friend the Chancellor set out how the Government’s investment can support the development of more local schemes for young people in North Somerset?

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35. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Rushanara Ali

    Israel and Palestine

    I thank the Foreign Secretary for his incredibly moving and courageous statement. He has been a friend of Israelis and Palestinians. When he was Leader of the Opposition, he and the Labour party recognised Palestinian statehood, and I am proud of the fact that this Labour Government have recognised Palestinian statehood. We know that at least 17 companies linked to illegal Israeli settlements were found to hold 125 UK public sector contracts worth £2.1 billion, so does the Foreign Secretary agree that without sanctions, we will not be able to take the necessary action to protect a viable two-state solution and ensure that we see the day when we have a Palestinian state?

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36. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Rosie Wrighting

    Topical Questions

    In recent weeks, the fast fashion online retailer Shein has been valued at a fraction of its price when it listed in Hong Kong, in part due to the treatment of low-value imports in the US and Europe. With that in mind, I welcome the Government’s decision to end the £135 de minimis relief by October 2028, but what more can be done before then to level the playing field for British retailers?

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37. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Richard Burgon

    Israel and Palestine

    These sanctions on Israel for its illegal occupation are incredibly welcome as a step towards meeting our moral and legal obligations. Will the Foreign Secretary continue to resist pressure from those who say that he should not make international law apply to Israel? May I urge him to push forward and demand the full implementation of the ICJ ruling so that the Palestinian people can have justice?

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38. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Rebecca Long Bailey

    Media Green Paper

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank the right hon. Member for Maldon (Sir John Whittingdale) for his pertinent opening comments. He said a lot of the things that I was going to say, so I will keep my comments as brief as possible. I very much welcome the Government’s intention to tackle misinformation, but a crucial question that follows is who will decide what is trustworthy. It cannot be Ministers, and it certainly cannot be the tech giants. First off, then, I ask this Minister to consider an independent accreditation scheme based on the Press Council of Ireland model, with an independent chair and representation from journalists, the industry and civil society—protected by legislation but, crucially, independent of Government. To be clear, trustworthy news has to mean more than public service broadcasting. That is a central pillar, of course, but it must include other outlets, independent publications and freelance journalists who meet recognised standards. The Government should support prominence for trustworthy news online, but that prominence must not become de-ranking by another name for journalists who challenge those in power. Alongside regulation, education is critical, so will the Minister commit to a nationwide, properly funded media literacy programme and restore the strategic priorities grant for journalism education, as urged by the National Council for the Training of Journalists? We must have stronger duties on the platforms themselves, as we have heard from colleagues today. One option, supported by the National Union of Journalists—I am a chair of its parliamentary group—is the Cairncross review’s proposed news quality obligation. Will the Minister consider introducing stronger obligations on those technology companies that are amplifying harmful and misleading content, and will he ensure that Ofcom’s standards apply to online content, including video on demand? We know that social media is dangerously fragmenting our information environment, so it is clear that public service broadcasting matters now more than ever. The BBC and other public service broadcasters provide journalism, investigation, culture and local coverage on crucial issues in the public interest, which commercial operators often do not consider profitable. Yet sadly, at the moment, the BBC is cutting hundreds of jobs and programmes. How can we honestly claim to be strengthening our information environment while we are allowing the capacity to produce trusted journalism to be cut away? I have some key questions on which I am pretty sure the Minister is already working. Will the Government use the charter renewal process to secure sustainable funding for the BBC? Will he intervene to protect the jobs and programmes now under threat? If the Government believe, as I do, that over-75s should receive free TV licences, will they fund those licences directly, rather than making the BBC pay? Crucially, at a time when disinformation crosses borders in seconds, will the Government restore full funding to the BBC World Service? We must also address media ownership. Will the Government strengthen ownership rules and invest in local public service journalism, as proposed in the NUJ’s news recovery plan? Finally—this case has been made articulately by hon. Members in this debate—we must protect access to television. We know that Freeview reaches 99% of the population and that a premature switch to internet protocol television risks excluding older people, disabled people and rural communities with poor connectivity. Will the Minister reject any Freeview switch-off timetable until free-to-air public service broadcasting is universally accessible and free at the point of distribution? I welcome this debate and hope that the Government can address the issues raised. Getting this right means truly creating an information environment that serves our communities and democracy, not a wild west that serves whoever has the biggest algorithm, the deepest pockets or the loudest voice.

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39. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Rachel Taylor

    Falkland Islands: Sovereignty

    I thank the hon. Member for Bicester and Woodstock (Calum Miller) for securing this important question. Brave British servicepeople died defending the Falkland Islanders’ right to freedom and self-determination more than 40 years ago. We must never forget. Will the Minister confirm that this Labour Government will do the right thing and never compromise when it comes to defending British sovereign territory in the Falklands?

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40. 8 Sep 2026·Parliament·Labour·Rachel Taylor

    Health Bill

    I thank the hon. Member for giving way and the tone in which she is conducting this debate. Would she feel more comfortable, however, if a transgender man with balding hair and a full beard, who was behaving like a man and full of testosterone, was attending a female toilet facility at night at a motorway service station? I would not feel safe, but it seems she would feel safer in that situation than she would with a trans woman getting changed in front of nurses or attending a toilet.

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