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12,868 spoken contributions under 12 words (interjections such as “Will the hon. Member give way?”) are hidden. Show them

1. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

   Nuclear Energy Sites: Scotland

   My hon. Friend is right. The industry estimates that more than 5,000 Scots are currently working in the nuclear industry, but not in Scotland. There is a huge potential for the expertise and experience of oil and gas workers to build the new nuclear power stations of the future, and to work in them as well. We need to capture those skills and keep them in Scotland, but because of the out-of-touch ideological approach of the SNP we will not have the opportunity to build those power stations in Scotland and those workers will have to go elsewhere, which is a great shame.

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2. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

   Nuclear Energy Sites: Scotland

   I echo the shadow Minister’s words about those who lost their lives on Piper Alpha 38 years ago. That event was a wake-up call in respect of safety in the industry, but, as the hon. Gentleman rightly said, it is also a reminder that there are men and women working in extremely dangerous circumstances right now in order to keep the country going. I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s support for the Government, which is actually not a first. Until he ended up on the Opposition Benches, he regularly agreed with what the Government are now doing. [Hon. Members: “He still does.”] He still does—I am convinced of it—and he is welcome any time. We will do everything we can to move forward with possible sites for new nuclear in Scotland, but the fact is that we cannot make as much progress with those sites as we would like because of the Scottish Government’s opposition through their planning regulations. I will continue to do what I can to persuade them to change their mind. There are hundreds of possible jobs, along with continued energy security in Scotland, and this is an opportunity that we should not miss.

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3. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

   Nuclear Energy Sites: Scotland

   What I love about the shadow Minister is how every single time his face gives away the fact that he does not believe a word he is saying. However, I welcome the former Minister for consultation and his view of his nuclear ambition, which, of course, never came to fruition in the 14 years for which the Conservatives were in government. Meanwhile, the delivery to which he referred is exactly what we are getting on with in this Government. We are delivering on the Hinkley and Sizewell C nuclear reactors, delivering on a small modular reactor programme that already has an international reputation—countries around the world are interested in that technology—and building the nuclear that he only talked about.

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4. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

   Agrivoltaics

   The Government closely follow developments in the agrivoltaics sector and support innovative technologies, for instance through initiatives funded by UK Research and Innovation. In the solar road map that we have published, the Government and industry have committed themselves to exploring future research and demonstration opportunities for agrivoltaic systems.

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5. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

   Agrivoltaics

   My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and we are in favour of innovation wherever we can deploy solar. He talks about solar on reservoirs, which is absolutely an opportunity that we want to explore, but we also want to look at how agrivoltaic technologies can be deployed, and we are supporting the University of Lancaster to work out what that model would look like. I have visited a number of solar farms where farming and solar generation go hand in hand, and we want to see much more of that. Planning policy supports that, but we want to go further.

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6. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

   Agrivoltaics

   Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have always enjoyed my conversations with the right hon. Gentleman, even if we disagree on many things. First of all, it is possible for farming practices to go hand in hand with solar generation. Secondly, even if we hit our most ambitious targets, less than 0.6% of farmland will be taken up with solar. Thirdly, he is right to say that we want to see solar on as many rooftops as possible—car parks, offices and schools—and on reservoirs, but the challenge that we face as a country is such that we need both ground-mounted solar and rooftop generation. I know that we can work together on the rooftop point, and I hope I will convince him of the other.

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7. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

   Community-owned Renewable Energy

   We love community energy and we are determined to see much more of it all across the country. Through the local power plan, which we published recently, we are rolling out the biggest expansion of community energy in British history. By 2030, Great British Energy, which is delivering for the people of this country, will support over 1,000 local and community energy projects, with £1 billion of investment. Ownership matters to this Government, and we are determined to deliver it for communities across Britain.

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8. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

   Community-owned Renewable Energy

   That sounds like a great project, and I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend, as I would anyone across the House who has exciting community energy projects in their area. The local power plan partly deals with investment, but it also deals with those questions of how we get regulation right so that communities can sell power locally and make a return that they can keep in their community.

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9. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

   Community-owned Renewable Energy

   I love all the work that the hon. Member has been doing on community energy; I am tempted to say that we were going to do it anyway, but it was great to have the report on my bedside cabinet to read as well. Giving guidance and making reforms are exactly what we need to do; it is about making it much easier for communities to sell power to the market and hold on to the profits that they make from that. We will legislate to take that forward in the energy independence Bill. There are a number of other things that we are taking forward, but investment in those community energy projects is critical. I would encourage her to speak to the hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne) and make clear that £1 billion through GB Energy to make it happen does matter.

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10. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

    Topical Questions

    I love Bellshill, and it was a pleasure to visit the other day to see this fantastic facility opening just across my constituency boundary. More than 300 wind turbines are being maintained and operated from the facility. That is a good example showing that the clean energy mission is about not just the renewables being deployed, but the jobs that go with it in communities like my hon. Friend’s.

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11. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

    Topical Questions

    The hon. Lady could go on all day reading out the things that this Government are already going to do. We want to see much more community ownership, because it matters to us that communities own their future energy, and that people keep the wealth in their communities to invest it in the things that they think are important, because they know their community best. There is a whole series of actions that previous Governments have not taken that would have made that possible. We are going to clear that away and make it possible for communities to own their energy, and we have put £1 billion into that. I always welcome the Lib Dems’ support for what we are doing.

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12. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

    Topical Questions

    First, just to be clear, we are not abandoning at all the idea that we should put solar on as many car parks as possible and encourage the creation of car ports, so that there can be solar panels on the roof. That is brilliant, and we should see much more of that. We consulted on whether there should be one mandatory solution for the whole country, and the consultation responses, which we take heed of, suggested that was not the right way to go. That does not mean at all that we are not hugely ambitious about solar on car parks.

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13. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

    Topical Questions

    Yes, I completely agree. I am sure that if my hon. Friend’s local authority is listening, it will hurry up and make those decisions. We also want the process to be more standardised across the country, so that community projects like hers can learn from others who have done the same, and so that we can speed up the whole process.

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14. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

    Topical Questions

    I suspect that in the coming days England fans will learn a lot from Norway in something else. On the serious point that the hon. Member raises, we should first recognise that Norway took a different approach to extraction from the North sea 60 years ago, and it has continued to do that over its 60 years of extraction from the North sea. Secondly, we are not turning off the taps in the North sea. We have said that we will introduce transitional energy certificates to allow new production tied back to existing fields.

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15. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

    Topical Questions

    First, we are delighted to be building the first long-duration energy storage in Britain in 40 years, including pumped hydro storage projects that will help us store renewable energy for when we need it. Secondly, there will be local benefits from that and I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman’s point about jobs. These are big construction projects and there will be jobs relating to running them afterwards. However, I will look further at his point on community benefits, because the community should benefit from such projects being built.

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16. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

    Topical Questions

    We take those issues seriously across the energy resilience and security piece. It is for individual developers to look at their individual sites and ensure that they comply with the regulations that are in place. We are also looking at what more needs to be done, because the security and resilience of all our energy infrastructure has never been more important.

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17. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Michael Shanks

    Point of Order

    I am very happy to answer, because I responded to all the right hon. Lady’s written parliamentary questions, as I always do. In my answers, I set out very clearly that this is not a Government project so the Government do not have all the details. It is a private project, and as with any other private development going on around the country, we would not expect the Government to have an insight into all that data. The Government have not backed that project, so the answers to her questions were as I accurately gave them, and that is the case for all my written parliamentary questions.

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18. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Melanie Ward

    UK Aid Policy: Global Funding Trends

    The Minister is talking about the importance of long-term partnership. Last week, I was proud to lead the first British parliamentary delegation to Syria since the fall of the Assad regime. I had a number of conversations with Ministers, who asked for technical support from our Government, particularly on special educational needs and disabilities. Some 27% of Syrian children are disabled, following the war. They also asked for us to reopen the embassy in Syria, for business support and a lot of other things. Does the Minister agree that now is the right time for a new development partnership with the Syrian Government, as that nation hopefully builds from the ashes?

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19. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Maya Ellis

    Longridge Community Hospital

    I am proud to present this petition on behalf of residents in Longridge in my constituency of Ribble Valley regarding the future of Longridge community hospital, which serves patients across a large semi-rural area, many of whom need health services within easy reach of their homes and families. The petitioners, and those who signed two similar petitions—combined they have over 3,000 signatures—are calling on Lancashire and South Cumbria integrated care board to improve the consistency of its communications and protect the long-term provision of services at Longridge community hospital. The petition states: “The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to direct NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board to commit to a full reopening of the hospital to provide health services to benefit the community, and to promptly address fire safety concerns, providing a timeline to reassure residents of when to expect a resolution to their concerns.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the constituency of Ribble Valley, Declares that Longridge Community Hospital serves patients in a wide geographical rural and semi-rural area, many of whom need health services within easy reach of their homes, but its inpatient services were temporarily closed in November 2025, with beds relocated to Chorley Hospital in December; and further declares that this temporary relocation has placed strain on many residents and left people fearful of the future of health services in the Longridge area. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to direct NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board to commit to a full reopening of the hospital to provide health services to benefit the community, and to promptly address fire safety concerns, providing a timeline to reassure residents of when to expect a resolution to their concerns. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003217]

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20. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mary Kelly Foy

    Independent Schools: Regulation of Proprietors

    I am grateful for the opportunity to draw the House’s attention to a hugely concerning issue that has recently unfolded in my constituency: the sudden closure of Durham high school. The lack of communication and clarity from its owners, Galaxy Global Education, up until the very final moments of the school year left staff and families heartbroken and in shock. Founded in 1884, the local institution spent 142 years providing an outstanding educational environment rooted in our local community. Indeed, in 2024 it was named independent secondary school of the year for the north-east by The Sunday Times. In early 2026, the school was still issuing marketing material and advertising pupil enrolment opportunities. Pupil enrolment was still being offered as recently as the beginning of June. Parents had parted with significant sums of money to secure places at the school, yet only a few weeks later what seemed to be an assured future in new hands has fallen apart. Members may ask what went wrong. In 2024, the school was acquired by GGE as part of its proposed expansion into the UK independent school sector. The stated mission of the company was to operate independent schools and promote international education opportunities. As Durham high school has found out to its cost, however, the reality has been different. Following the acquisition of the school, which formerly operated as Durham high school for girls, the parent company incorporated a new UK company, Durham Education Ltd, to run the school under the umbrella of GGE. At a meeting on 27 June 2025 designed to allow parents to understand more about GGE, attendees were told that there would be investment in the school for at least five years to help make it financially viable. One of the parent company’s first acts was to mandate a shift to co-education from September 2025, claiming that it would increase the student roll and secure the school’s future. That was resisted by some families as there was no consultation, and GGE actively silenced parent feedback. The school became Durham high school. But, having demanded that shift, the promised investment to fully install male changing facilities at the school did not materialise. GGE also seemingly blocked the senior leadership team’s efforts to make it work. In one specific instance, the school’s leadership proposed a co-educational integration plan requiring only £3,000 of investment from the parent company, but GGE flatly refused. That starved the school of minimal resources while setting a benchmark designed for failure. This is not an isolated incident; there is a clear pattern across the country. We saw warning signs when GGE acquired and closed Malvern St James, but in that case there was at least some notice. Durham and another GGE-owned school in Wales, Ruthin school, have been afforded no such courtesy.

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21. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mary Kelly Foy

    Independent Schools: Regulation of Proprietors

    I thank my hon. Friend for the intervention. I completely agree. The way in which the company has acted towards pupils, parents and staff is outrageous. The least it could do is to provide some clarity and support going forward. Later in my speech, I will ask the Minister about some lessons that can be learned.

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22. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Mary Kelly Foy

    Independent Schools: Regulation of Proprietors

    I agree with the hon. Gentleman. It seems that this overseas company had no intention of educating our children in the UK, and legislation should be strengthened or put in place to stop this happening again. It is as though GGE saw the fallout of their decision to inform Malvern in advance and attempted to hide from any further scrutiny by giving the other schools zero notice. It is abhorrent. When I contacted GGE’s directors to demand answers, they were at pains to point out to me that they have done all they can to support staff and families. They even alluded to the Government’s introduction of VAT on independent school fees. That is nonsense. Since the VAT changes were announced, Durham high school’s roll only dipped from 288 to 281—a net loss of just seven pupils. The school has a physical capacity for 650 pupils, and a financial break-even point of roughly 350. A senior staff member said in their parting message: “Whatever you read, this isn’t a VAT story. It isn’t a falling rolls or unstoppable decline story. The truth is deeper, and more complex, and eventually truth will out.” It seems clear that there was never any genuine effort by GGE to make this school a success. Speaking to union representatives at the school, I am told that repeated requests to see even a basic plan for how the company would secure the school’s future were rebuffed. What do we know about GGE? Very little seems to be the answer. It was only incorporated in the UK in April 2025, and I understand that it has not yet been possible to assess its level of available cash, debt levels, profitability or inter-company lending. The structure of the company seems equally opaque, spread across several companies, school-operating companies and overseas interests. One of those beneficial owners ultimately traces back to the Cayman Islands, with no transparency at that point. What is clear is that one person holds a significant amount of power, and they were the person with overall control of the school until its closure. Shangqin Gao, a Chinese national, holds roughly 75% of GGE’s shares. As I understand it, the school has had no contact with this person. The House may note that this individual is also linked to two other businesses: Shine Space Management Ltd and Galaxy Capital Real Estate. The latter was incorporated only two years before the purchase of Durham high school. All this background leads us to the crux of the situation: more than 280 children have been left stranded without a school, staff have been left without jobs and young women who sat their public exams this summer may not even be able to collect their results in the school where they studied. Local suppliers have been left facing significant losses due to unpaid invoices. Crucially, children with additional needs who thrived in this intimate environment have been thrown into limbo. They must now search for alternative specialist provision potentially miles away from home, or face being absorbed into mainstream settings. Our local secondary state schools that provide top-class education and often win prestigious awards—such as St Leonard’s, Durham Johnston and Belmont—are all just about full. There is not enough capacity to easily absorb these pupils. As well as throwing these families into crisis, GGE has also heaped pressure on the local authority. Will the Minister liaise with Durham county council to ensure that the admissions team is appropriately supported? The conduct of GGE in the final days, weeks and months of the school’s operation reveals the true nature of this business. As the company ran down the school, the financial team carefully managed the remaining funds to ensure they could pay staff salaries for June, despite GGE blocking the school from paying suppliers. Yet days before payroll was due, an unexpected invoice was received from GGE that would have wiped out those payments entirely, and GGE required the massive bill to be paid that same day. Thankfully, the school business manager prioritised the livelihoods of the hard-working staff, paid the wages and ignored the demand. However, in a final blow to devastated staff, I heard just yesterday that the administrators have informed them they cannot claim unpaid salaries for July and August, despite already carrying out their work for the academic year. A cynical mind would look at how Durham Education Limited was put into administration and conclude that it benefits a parent company to position itself as a major debtor upon any future sale, especially when the ultimate ownership of the land is in doubt. Despite assurances from GGE, the entire debacle bears the hallmarks of a land grab. In Durham, the prime real estate on which Farewell Hall sits is estimated to be worth around £10 million. That brings me to the core question: what can the Government do to stop predatory overseas companies asset-stripping our educational institutions and treating our children’s futures as real estate speculation? Schools such as Durham high served as a safety valve for the local authority's overstretched school place allocations. Despite that, entire families have been thrown to the wolves so that an overseas corporate entity can access prime land on the edge of a historic city centre. Section 128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 rightly gives the Secretary of State for Education the power to bar unsuitable individuals from managing independent schools. Yet with the opaque structure of the business and the fact GGE has been able to rapidly churn through directors at Companies House, shuffling responsibilities and moving its statutory administrative offices to anonymous London addresses, it seems that oversight on such businesses is patchy. How can we ensure in the future that what has happened in Durham, Malvern and Ruthin does not happen elsewhere? To be clear, my key asks of the Minister are as follows. Will the Minister help families in Durham, Ruthin and Malvern get clarity on what steps were taken by the Department for Education, Estyn and Ofsted to ensure the suitability of GGE? Will the Minister commit to reviewing the governance structure of all the affected schools? Will she advise me whether an independent investigation could be called into GGE’s management of Durham, Malvern and Ruthin to establish exactly what happened? Will she advise me on efforts that the Government, the local authority or the school community can take to preserve the Durham high school site for educational use, rather than allow a historical education asset to disappear? Finally, will the Minister take steps to close corporate loopholes and ensure proper regulation is in place for foreign investors in UK schools? We need robust legal mechanisms within the DFE to prevent foreign capital from severing historical school properties from their educational purposes. We need statutory protections that stop predatory owners transferring freeholds out of educational charities into private, for-profit shell companies. What happened at Durham high school will not simply go away. My constituents may be down but they are certainly not out, and they are driven by a desire for justice. Though they understand it may be too late for their beloved school, they wish no other family or hard-working member of school staff to have to go through the pain and uncertainty that they have felt. Last Friday, my team joined families, pupils, staff and trade unionists outside the school gates for a final act of solidarity. The compassion, mutual respect and dignity that was on display is something that GGE would do well to learn from. I am sure that all of us across the House might agree that no matter the nature of the establishment, the education of our children is a public good, not a real estate portfolio. What happened to Durham, Ruthin and Malvern cannot be allowed to happen again. I will close with the words of Mrs Middleton, the acting head for the school’s final weeks, who has been highly commended for the compassion and dedication that she has shown to the entire school community during the most horrendous circumstances: “On the final day we came together. Of course, there was sadness. There were tears. But there was also laughter, celebration, joy, and a deep sense of knowing one another. The hardest words I have had to say over these past few weeks were: “It’s time to go.” No one moved. So I left the stage, and Mrs Rochester and I walked the children out. Senior Leaders had planned to stand outside, greet parents and clap the children out. All the staff joined us. And for over an hour we clapped, talked, cried, hugged and clapped again. In that hour there was no complaining. No anger. Just togetherness. A community to the very end.”

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23. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Martin McCluskey

    Essential Energy Guarantee

    The hon. Gentleman will know that tackling the cost of living is this Government’s priority. We have already taken action at the Budget, and we have also expanded the warm home discount to nearly 6 million households. We are working closely with other Departments on our kickstarter programme to test how public sector data could be better joined up to target support at those who need it most.

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24. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Martin McCluskey

    Essential Energy Guarantee

    I am disappointed at the hon. Gentleman’s statement. We are making the case strongly and our pledge to reduce energy bills still stands. He will know that renewables are the quickest way to reduce our energy bills. He will also know that the warm home discount is providing significant support to people in his constituency right now. Just this year, the number of people in his constituency receiving the warm home discount has more than doubled to over 5,000.

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25. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Martin McCluskey

    Essential Energy Guarantee

    My hon. Friend makes a really important point. If we are to reach our clean power targets, we need heat networks on the system to be providing significant levels of clean heat. He will know that the green heat network fund is already providing significant support across the country, and we will of course look at what more we can do to support heat networks over the coming years.

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26. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Martin McCluskey

    Energy Prices: Household Support

    I know the recent rise in energy bills will be very concerning for families across the country. At the last Budget, we took an average of £150 off energy bills, which is now factored into our bills for years to come, and we have also expanded the warm home discount.

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27. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Martin McCluskey

    Energy Prices: Household Support

    We are preparing for every contingency and looking at the support that may be required in the autumn and winter. The significant increase in the warm home discount has obviously benefited households right across the country, not least in my hon. Friend’s constituency. The number receiving the warm home discount in York Central has increased from nearly 2,500 to over 8,000, to a value of £1.2 million in support offered to her constituents.

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28. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Martin McCluskey

    Energy Prices: Household Support

    This is nonsense. That was set up by an arm’s length organisation set up by the previous Government. It is not something that the Government are funding. In so far as that refers to more affordable energy, we are obviously working at pace to make sure energy is affordable right across the United Kingdom, including whatever support we can offer in Northern Ireland.

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29. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Martin McCluskey

    Topical Questions

    I commend my hon. Friend and his constituents for their enthusiasm for the warm homes plan. They can already access grants through the warm homes plan, and they will soon be able to receive loans.

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30. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Martin McCluskey

    Topical Questions

    I pay tribute to the work my hon. Friend is doing for her constituents on this issue. The most effective way to decouple our electricity prices from gas is to expand our renewable generation. Every wind turbine we turn on and every solar panel that we deploy helps to push gas off as the price-setter. We will continue to work in this way.

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31. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Martin McCluskey

    Topical Questions

    My hon. Friend is right that more people need to claim the support that is on offer, and I encourage them to do that in his constituency and across Scotland. My understanding is that just over £1 million of the £10 million in the fund has been distributed.

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32. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Martin McCluskey

    Topical Questions

    I will share details of that with the hon. Lady. We are also undertaking the cost allocation review, which deals with those issues.

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33. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Luke Murphy

    Topical Questions

    Third-party brokers will rightly be regulated through the energy independence Bill, but the market is complex, and time-poor business owners still find it hard to find the right deal. Is the Secretary of State willing to explore measures to standardise business energy bills, and will he look at new data rights under smart data powers, so that small and medium-sized enterprise owners can take back control?

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34. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Liz Twist

    Health Bill (Thirteenth sitting)

    I was flattered to hear my comments on Second Reading quoted by the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham, but I think she has misunderstood me. My question to the Minister was and still is about how we maintain within the new arrangements the ability to speak up on behalf of others. Could the Minister comment on that?

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35. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Lilian Greenwood

    Draft West Midlands Combined Authority (Key Route Network) (Amendment) Order 2026

    I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft West Midlands Combined Authority (Key Route Network) (Amendment) Order 2026. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Sir Desmond. When I said this was likely not to be a particularly controversial piece of delegated legislation, I did not really expect that the shadow Minister would be racing in at the last minute—but he is here now. These draft regulations relate to the key route network of the West Midlands Combined Authority. Let me begin by setting out what the KRN is and why it matters. Under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, every strategic authority is required to identify the most important locally managed roads in its area. Those roads form the KRN. In practice, most authorities, including WMCA, already operate such a network. The purpose is simple: a KRN ensures that the locally managed roads that carry the greatest strategic importance are planned and managed coherently across the whole region. The Government published guidance in April 2026 to support authorities in deciding which roads should be included. The KRN should include those locally managed roads that are most important for delivering the priorities set out in the local transport plan. Authorities should consider issues such as traffic volume, bus use, active travel routes and freight movements. In mayoral combined authorities, the KRN is agreed by a resolution of the authority following a proposal by the mayor. In the west midlands, the KRN covers around 605 km of road. That is roughly 7% of the network, yet it carries half of all traffic. WMCA oversees the strategic direction of the network, but the constituent councils of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton remain the local highways authorities and retain responsibility for day-to-day management, maintenance and safety of the KRN roads. WMCA does, however, share certain powers with them, including those relating to agreements with National Highways, road safety promotion and street works permit schemes. The 2026 Act also gave mayors powers of direction over KRN roads. That is a carefully limited power, intended for use only when necessary to deliver measures already set out in an agreed strategy, such as the local transport plan. It ensures that strategic ambitions for the region can be implemented consistently across local boundaries. The benefits of a well-managed KRN are clear: smoother traffic flow, reduced congestion, and the ability to introduce targeted interventions that improve infrastructure and bus reliability. It is a tool designed to help places to plan for the future and to respond to changing travel patterns. The Committee will be aware that travel patterns have changed, particularly since the pandemic. It is prudent for all strategic authorities to keep their KRN under review and to update it when the existing list of roads no longer reflects local priorities. For other authorities, updating the KRN is straightforward: they simply revise the list on their website. However, WMCA faces a unique challenge. Its KRN was written directly into legislation, the West Midlands Combined Authority (Functions and Amendment) Order 2017, in which the roads are described as combined authority roads. That was, of course, under a previous Government. In 2017, embedding the KRN in legislation provided clarity and stability, since WMCA was then newly established; but nine years later, the rigidity of having the KRN set out in legislation is a barrier to change. West Midlands Combined Authority is preparing a new local transport plan and wishes to update its KRN accordingly, yet doing so currently requires WMCA to ask the Department for Transport to legislate each time it wants to make a change. No other strategic authority faces that constraint, and I am sure the Committee will agree that it is not an efficient way of doing things. Following discussions with my officials, WMCA has written to the Secretary of State, requesting that the Government bring forward this instrument. A public consultation was held and 69% of respondents supported the proposal. The regulations remove the list of KRN roads from the 2017 order; once they are approved, WMCA will be able to update its KRN in the same way as every other strategic authority, allowing the region to respond more flexibly to evolving travel patterns and to deliver better outcomes for road users. This is a practical and proportionate change that supports devolution, improves processes for WMCA and ultimately benefits road users. I commend the regulations to the Committee.

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36. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Lilian Greenwood

    Draft West Midlands Combined Authority (Key Route Network) (Amendment) Order 2026

    I am delighted to hear that the shadow Minister finds the speeches of my noble friend the Rail Minister so unmissable, but I am also delighted to see the hon. Gentleman now in his place, and I thank all hon. Members for being here today and for their consideration of these draft regulations. Let me take this opportunity to address the points the shadow Minister made, although perhaps I will not try to address the points he made about low traffic neighbourhoods in London, because those will not be a matter for the key route network. They are not the sort of roads that we are talking about—high-volume roads that connect key centres of employment or key international gateways, or that carry large volumes of freight. Obviously low traffic neighbourhoods are very local roads in very built-up areas.

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37. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Lilian Greenwood

    Draft West Midlands Combined Authority (Key Route Network) (Amendment) Order 2026

    I hear what the hon. Member says, but the point is that local highways authorities are best placed to make decisions about the roads in their area, and mayors and combined authorities are empowered to make decisions about their key route networks. That is the point of this instrument: it is simply to put the West Midlands Combined Authority in the same place as all other combined authorities when seeking to address the key routes in their area. To come on to the second point that the shadow Minister raised, the benefit for road users is ensuring that people enjoy safe, smooth and seamless journeys, that they are not beset by congestion, that they are able to travel safely, that that applies to all road users, whether they are motorists or cyclists or pedestrians or motorcyclists, and that buses can operate effectively. Things that key route networks look at include the suitability of very high-volume bus routes, where we know that large numbers of people are travelling using those key public transport routes, or indeed where large freight volumes are using the key route network. The shadow Minister raised a concern that perhaps this change might provide less oversight of future changes to the KRN, but I disagree. This measure streamlines the process and simply places West Midlands Combined Authority in the same position as all other strategic authorities. Deciding which roads should constitute the key routes has always been a matter for the combined authority; it is still a matter for the combined authority and it must be agreed by a majority of the constituent members, which means all those councils that I previously referred to, and the mayor. I hope that this instrument, which makes an important change, will simply simplify things for the West Midlands Combined Authority.

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38. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Lilian Greenwood

    Draft West Midlands Combined Authority (Key Route Network) (Amendment) Order 2026

    Thank you, Sir Desmond. I will try to answer the right hon. Gentleman’s question without straying too far. This measure is about combined authorities. It is about the key route networks. It is about making sure that they have a strategic overview of the road network in their area and that they can work with the local highways authorities, their constituent members, to provide benefit for road users and ensure that traffic—whether that is public transport, private transport or freight transport—can move about seamlessly. It will not only simplify things for West Midlands Combined Authority, by putting it on a par with all other combined authorities, but improve life for road users in the west midlands. I hope the Committee will join me in supporting these draft regulations. Question put and agreed to.

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39. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Lee Pitcher

    UK Aid Policy: Global Funding Trends

    I am the chair of the water, sanitation and hygiene all-party parliamentary group and a big champion of WaterAid’s “Time to Deliver” campaign. One million mums and babies lose their lives each year because of a lack of access to water during childbirth. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that, in looking at humanitarian and global aid, we should make sure that remains a basic provision and a priority?

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40. 7 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Lee Pitcher

    Future of British Horseracing

    I am also a member of the APPG chaired by my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Walton (Dan Carden), and I have a couple of points to make. The first is about the cherished memories horseracing gives us, which I have had since I was a young lad. My mum’s cousin had the Prince of Wales pub at Newmarket, which was amazing, and we used to go and visit her. I have seen Desert Orchid finally get his head in front up that Cheltenham hill—the four-time winner of the King George, split by The Fellow one year, I think; Nicky Henderson, and Kauto Star and Denman fighting it out; Red Rum; and Frankel’s scintillating form in the Newmarket Guineas. Horseracing just brings so much wonderful passion and pride. It is also about patriotism and our country, because it goes back generations. I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central (Sally Jameson) will talk about Doncaster racecourse in a second, but I have the National Horseracing College in my area. We talk a lot about young adults going into new industries and about young adults with special educational needs and disabilities, as well as about the importance of 18 to 24-year-olds being able to find jobs that are not necessarily behind a desk or that do not require lots of theory. The National Horseracing College employs about 40 people and has 130 apprenticeships a year, and it is absolutely marvellous. This is also about the jobs and the industry, and what it can do to inspire young adults to get into a profession that is amazing as a career.

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