Showing every spoken contribution, including 5,731 under 12 words. Hide short remarks

1. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Andrew Griffith

   Advanced Manufacturing

   This week, our hard-pressed automotive industry has sounded the alarm: under the zero emission vehicle rules, British car makers are being fined for making precisely the type of cars people want to buy. That is costing them £5 billion a year, denying consumer choice, damaging British jobs and putting automotive firms at risk. Like me, the Secretary of State met with car makers earlier this week, so will he listen to them, adopt the Conservative policy of scrapping these rules and support our great British automotive industry?

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2. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Alicia Kearns

   Topical Questions

   In early 2025, Rutland police caught a local shop owner red-handed with a carload of illegal fake cigarettes. Since then, I have reported this to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the police and trading standards, and nothing has happened. Will the Minister please haul in trading standards, because this individual runs two shops in my constituency, which are both still open, attracting in children and encouraging the sale of vapes? That is wrong, and such shops are clearly part of the black economy.

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3. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Alicia Kearns

   Business of the House

   In 2023, I secured funds from the last Government to conserve and bring home our 10-foot sea dragon to Rutland. Unfortunately, Rutland county council has now overrun on another project and has decided not bring the ichthyosaur back to Rutland, which will cost our local economy in terms of future prosperity. The local conservator has said that he will reduce the cost of conserving this specimen of national importance, but the council has said that it cannot accept a reduced cost or retender for the work because of national Government rules. Does that not seem preposterous? It flies in the face of the idea of best value for taxpayer money.

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4. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Alicia Kearns

   Historical Forced Adoption

   To all the mothers and your stolen children who have wrongly carried grief and shame for so long, you were denied the love that you deserved and tortured by a state—and the silence only revictimized you. We are sorry. It is shameful that Barnardo’s and the Salvation Army have yet to apologise and face up to the role that they played in this. My father was haunted by the way in which Barnardo’s played a role and he would tell me of his horror, which he carried for life, of seeing the laundries as he walked around the streets of Dublin. In addition to those who were cruelly and forcibly adopted, hundreds of babies died—frankly, they were killed—as their mothers were tortured, and they were buried in unmarked graves. Will the Prime Minister, as he continues with his important work on this, put in place an effort to find those graves and to force the opening up of those records so that the mothers who were denied a lifetime of memories with their children can at least now bury them and have time at those graves with them?

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5. 2 Jul 2026·Parliament·Alex Burghart

   Historical Forced Adoption

   I thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement and for coming to the House to deliver the statement himself. On behalf of His Majesty’s Opposition, we welcome what he has said and agree that whenever the state makes grave errors, it has a deep responsibility to apologise for what it did to those it has wronged. One hundred and eighty-five thousand children grew up in Britain without their mothers because of bad decisions and fundamentally flawed beliefs that treated unmarried mothers with a shame and stigma that is mercifully alien to us today. Those decisions and beliefs left a permanent mark on each and every one of those lives: on children separated from their mothers, and on the mothers whose children were taken away. As the Prime Minister said, this is a stain on our history. Bonds between mothers and children are the foundation of security and identity; indeed, perhaps the foundation of all we have. While I know from much experience that the act of adopting a child is among the greatest kindness one person can show another, and that many of those children will have gone on to be raised by loving families, there can be no doubt that they will also have carried a great grief across many years. One cannot help but be moved by the powerful testimonies that some have given. I will mention just one mother’s experience: the journey back from the hospital “was the longest I held my daughter—it was two hours—and it was like everything suddenly made sense. I just felt like this was absolutely right, and I wouldn’t let go of her…a woman appeared and said, ‘It’s time’…and she was taken from my arms and handed over. And she howled—I assume I did…and the following week they sent me back to school.” Thousands upon thousands of such experiences happened every day in every corner of our country over many years. Thankfully, in the years since, a huge amount has been done to ensure that such things cannot happen again in our country; change in adoption law and modern courts and legislation make a repeat of these injustices much less likely. We welcome the steps that the Prime Minister has outlined today and the fact that the Education Secretary is writing to local authorities and agencies setting the expectation that requests for records should be swiftly responded to. I am glad that that builds on the steps the previous Government tried to take to improve access to adoption records, offer post-adoption counselling and improve the complaints procedure for agencies. We hope that all these steps will make a difference to some whose experiences lie in the past, and to many in the future. I would like to ask the Prime Minister two questions. The Education Committee called for an assessment of international redress schemes. Can the Prime Minister confirm whether the Government are considering that? I welcome his announcement of support groups for mothers and adopted adults. Who will be responsible for establishing this service and what budget will be set aside for it? I thank the Prime Minister very much for his statement and repeat what he has said to those affected: the shame was never yours.

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6. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Wendy Morton

   Israel: E1 Zone Expansion

   I will address directly the matter of settlements in a moment, but I want to make a broader point first. Diplomacy is about rolling up our sleeves and putting in the hard yards, not just issuing condemnatory statements. I believe that if the Minister wants to have real sway with the Government of Israel, there has to be meaningful dialogue, but at the moment there is no dialogue between this Labour Government and Israel, despite the obvious importance of the bilateral relationship to Britain across so many domains. That is because of the decisions that Labour has made—from suspending export licences when Israel was burying murdered hostages to cancelling trade talks and recognising a Palestinian state when hostages were still being held in terrorist captivity. By deliberately keeping relations with Israel in a deep freeze, Labour is cutting off its ability to influence situations on the ground. None the less, settlement expansion in the west bank is not helpful for achieving the long-term peace that we all want to see. [Interruption.] That has long been my party’s position. We would also like to see Israel use its legal system to bear down on settler violence. We on the Conservative Benches do support a two-state solution: one that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people. Will the Minister tell us whether he has spoken to his Israeli counterparts directly on the E1 situation? Are the Government doing anything at all to help the Abraham accords expand or to unblock issues holding up a broader regional peace? Finally, will he update us on his assessment of the Palestinian Authority’s plan to hold elections in November and whether he is concerned by the PA’s lack of progress on the total overhaul of curricula and welfare policy, which is so clearly needed?

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7. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Desmond Swayne

   Engagements

   Q11. Through omission or insufficient advice, injured veterans may fail to place their compensation in a trust within the one year allowed by universal credit. Can discretion be had in compassionate cases?

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8. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Ashley Fox

   Coastguard Volunteers: Remuneration and HMRC Guidance

   It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for securing this debate and introducing it so very well. In Burnham-on-Sea, we have a fantastic coastguard team and rescue officers. They are dedicated volunteers who respond to incidents along one of the most challenging stretches of coastline in the country. The Bristol channel has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world, and the risks are very real. When people get into difficulty, it is these volunteers who respond, often within minutes. Following the recent court ruling and changes to policy, many of those volunteers now face losing the limited financial compensation that they receive in return for their valuable efforts. I have spoken to members of the Burnham-on-Sea coastguard team, who are deeply concerned about what that means for their future involvement.

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9. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Ashley Fox

   Coastguard Volunteers: Remuneration and HMRC Guidance

   I agree with the hon. Lady: I think those volunteers have been poorly treated. The payments were never a salary, but they made it possible for people to continue volunteering. One officer of many years, who shared his thoughts with me, said: “Call Outs never come at a ‘convenient’ time. The money we earn would never replace the time lost, but it does soften the blow.” It is often said that rescue officers do not volunteer for financial reward but out of a strong sense of duty and community spirit. However, the modest compensation recognised the very real costs involved: travel, time away from work and the disruption to family life. I understand that the MCA must operate within the law, and that the Court of Appeal ruling has created a complex situation. It is, though, sad to see these committed volunteers penalised as they have been. I urge the Government to look at what they can do to continue supporting our volunteer coastguards and would be grateful if the Minister addressed these questions when he sums up. What assessment has been made of the impact on recruitment and retention? In constituencies such as mine, a reduction in volunteer numbers would have a direct impact on public safety. Is the Minister satisfied with the MCA’s engagement with volunteer coastguard teams? I end by thanking the coastguard volunteers in Burnham-on-Sea and across the country.

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10. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Ashley Fox

    Fishing Industry: Government Support

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) for securing this important debate. Fishing is not just an industry; to many it is a way of life, passed from one generation to the next. It is why so many people in our fishing communities looked to the Government’s UK-EU summit in May 2025 with disbelief. At that summit, the Government agreed to grant the European Union full access to UK fishing waters until 2038—a 12-year extension of the existing arrangements. The Government said that it would be in return for British participation in the Security Action for Europe defence fund. Despite repeated questions, however, it remains unclear exactly when or indeed if they will achieve that. That is because the talks collapsed when the EU demanded billions of pounds from Britain as a condition for joining. You might think, Sir Alec, that the Government would have thought about that possibility before signing away important fishing rights. They seem to have got nothing in return. Can the Minister therefore confirm whether the Government will renegotiate with the EU and return the fishing rights to our fishermen and women, now it is clear that the talks have failed? Or was our fishing industry just used as a bargaining chip in pursuit of the Prime Minister’s broader political objective? This House deserves answers, and so do the communities whose futures depend on those decisions. I have no doubt that the Minister will refer to the fishing and coastal growth fund and will claim that it demonstrates the Government’s commitment to the sector, but fishermen across the country feel very differently. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has raised serious concerns about the Government’s approach in relation to this fund. It found that Ministers had not clearly explained why the figure of £360 million was chosen, why the fund should run for 12 years or why this support is best delivered through a single integrated scheme. Crucially, the Committee also concluded that the fund lacks clear objectives against which success can be measured. That is a remarkable criticism, and I hope the Minister will address it. I ask him these questions directly. What are the objectives of this fund? How will he measure its success? What outcomes will demonstrate to fishing communities that this money has delivered meaningful change? And what happens if those objectives are not met? The previous Conservative Government had a clear record of backing our fishing industry. We secured increased fishing opportunities, allocated substantial support for the long-term future of the sector, developed new fisheries such as bluefin tuna, and began replacing the hated common fisheries policy with a bespoke framework designed around the interests of UK fisheries. On this side of the House, we support investment in fishing and coastal communities. Many stakeholders have rightly highlighted the need for better port infrastructure, improved training opportunities and investment in skills, scientific research and fleet modernisation. By contrast, this Government’s headline achievement has been to lock in EU access to UK waters for another 12 years while offering a fund that, to many, looks to be little more than a sticking plaster. Additionally, “Economic outcomes of annual negotiations for UK fishing opportunities in 2026”, published earlier this year, shows that there has been a decrease in this year’s quota of 135,000 tonnes compared with last year’s quota. That will cost the British fishing industry £136 million. At the same time, spatial squeeze is forcing fishermen out of their traditional fishing areas, and new rules have been imposed governing trawl mesh sizes. The Iran war pushed up fuel prices, but the Chancellor’s May statement on support during the Iran war did not help fishers at all. The fishing industry is vital for our food security and deserves proper support from the Government to address the financial pressures and uncertainty that many fishing communities now face. The Conservatives will always stand up for the rights of access to our own waters and Britain’s rights as an independent, sovereign coastal state. I urge the Government to do the same.

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11. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Ashley Fox

    Fishing Industry: Government Support

    Will the Minister give way?

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12. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Ashley Fox

    Fishing Industry: Government Support

    The Minister is drawing to the end of his time allocation, but could he explain to fishermen the benefits, as he sees them, of his Government signing away to the EU 12 years of access to our fishing waters?

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13. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Ashley Fox

    Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re

    I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement, and for our recent conversations about flooding in Somerset. Flooding is a huge challenge for areas across the country. Some 6.3 million properties in England are currently located in areas that are at risk of flooding, including many in my constituency. When floods occur, the Environment Agency, local volunteer groups and farmers work to help people quickly, often in difficult circumstances. I was humbled and deeply proud to see the way the community pulled together in affected areas during the flooding earlier this year, particularly in Moorland and Fordgate. The Minister knows how seriously I take flooding, and has engaged with me following my requests for stronger national support, clearer local responsibilities, more dredging and improved pumping capacity. The previous Conservative Government took real action to prevent flooding and protect homes and businesses, ensuring that over 600,000 properties were better protected from flooding and coastal erosion. Between 2015 and 2024, over 900,000 acres of farmland were also protected. In 2020 the previous Government announced a doubling of capital funding for flood defences in England, which rose to £5.6 billion from 2021 to 2027. Flood Re was set up under the former Conservative Government, and it remains an important scheme to promote the availability and affordability of flood insurance for eligible homes. Its recent accounts report contains serious warnings for Ministers. Flood Re is clear that “the external environment has changed materially, with higher climate-driven loss volatility, tighter global reinsurance capacity and greater pressure on affordability.” It says that the scheme is now retaining higher levels of risk and facing “increased liability exposure”. At the same time, Flood Re warns that the scheme is under structural pressure. Its board has said that improved flood mapping has led to “more properties being classified as high risk…including a growing number of higher-value homes”, and that without change, the scheme risks being asked to carry “unsustainable levels of exposure and cost.” As such, will the Minister please explain what steps she is taking to ensure that Flood Re’s growing pressures do not result in additional costs for households through higher insurance bills? Will Ministers bring forward a credible, long-term flood resilience plan? Do the Government have plans to include businesses in Flood Re? What assessment has the Department made of the impact of these changes on households that are asset-rich but income-poor, including pensioners living in higher-band homes in flood risk areas? In her statement, the Minister said that Flood Re would reform its premium model across council tax bands and regions. Will she publish the modelling behind those changes, including regional impacts, so that households can see what this means for them? Flood performance certificates may help households understand risk, but will the Minister confirm who will pay for them? Will they be mandatory, and will they affect mortgage availability? Flood Re has done valuable work, but households continue to need affordable insurance. They also need a Government who are serious about flood prevention, resilient homes, and long-term protection for communities. Conservative Members will always work with the Government to ensure that every person living in a property that is vulnerable to flooding gets the support they need.

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14. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Alec Shelbrooke

    Coastguard Volunteers: Remuneration and HMRC Guidance

    Order. I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to catch my eye. Colleagues can see how many people are bobbing. We will go to the Front Benchers at 3.28 pm. I intend to start with a three-minute limit to try to get in one speaker from each of the parties. That may not be possible, but I will try to achieve that.

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15. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Alec Shelbrooke

    Coastguard Volunteers: Remuneration and HMRC Guidance

    Order.

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16. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Alec Shelbrooke

    Coastguard Volunteers: Remuneration and HMRC Guidance

    Order. I am going to break with convention ever so slightly. The next speaker will be the hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, as she is one of our new colleagues and I want to give her three minutes. After that, returning to convention, I will call Lloyd Hatton, at which point we will have a two-minute limit.

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17. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Alec Shelbrooke

    Coastguard Volunteers: Remuneration and HMRC Guidance

    I do want to let everybody have a chance to put something on the record but, due to interventions, I have to cut to one minute. Any further interventions on speeches will reduce that further.

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18. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Alec Shelbrooke

    Coastguard Volunteers: Remuneration and HMRC Guidance

    Order. I call Edward Morello.

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19. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Alec Shelbrooke

    Coastguard Volunteers: Remuneration and HMRC Guidance

    Order. I am about to suspend the sitting due to Divisions in the House. I will aim to come back earlier than 10 minutes after the last Division starts. If the Liberal Democrat spokesman, the shadow Minister, the Minister and the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland are here, we will start as quickly as we can, but it will be no later than 10 minutes after the last Division. I remind Members that if they have spoken, they need to come back to the Chamber. If I start slightly earlier, I will give some leeway, but I expect everybody who has spoken to be back in the Chamber 10 minutes after the start of the last Division.

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20. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Alec Shelbrooke

    Coastguard Volunteers: Remuneration and HMRC Guidance

    Order. Mr Carmichael, you have been a Member of this House an exceptionally long time. You know that you are not allowed to wear clothing with slogans on it. Please fasten your jacket.

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21. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Alec Shelbrooke

    Early Years Funding: Hampshire

    Alex Brewer will move the motion, and then the Minister will respond. I remind other hon. Members that they may make a speech only with prior permission from the Member in charge of the debate and from the Minister. As is the convention in 30-minute debates, there will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up.

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22. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Alec Shelbrooke

    Fishing Industry: Government Support

    Order. I gently remind the hon. Member, first, that we do not use the word “you”—I am not responsible for any of this. You speak through the Chair so that we can maintain calmness in the Chamber. Secondly, you are not allowed to use aids and props. You may describe the aid or prop, but please do not hold it up as if it will be recognised.

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23. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Alec Shelbrooke

    Fishing Industry: Government Support

    Well, with an introduction like that, I call Lara Bird.

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24. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sir Alec Shelbrooke

    Fishing Industry: Government Support

    I call the Liberal Democrat spokesman.

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25. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Simon Hoare

    Online Safety: Children

    Parents, teachers and young people across North Dorset welcomed the Secretary of State’s announcement last month, as do I. This is clearly a fast-moving area of communication. Will the Secretary of State assure the House that this will be an iterative and evolutionary process, with Government deploying the resources so that we are well placed to meet new challenges and our young people are safe and protected?

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26. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Simon Hoare

    Israel: E1 Zone Expansion

    I thank the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) for his urgent question. I was on the trip to Israel with him the other week, and we saw all too clearly and depressingly the very clear strategy of the Israeli Government; for them, E1 is a way of effectively blowing out of the water any delivery of a two-state solution. May I gently make this point to the Minister? The quiet, gentle Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office approach of taking a watching brief—looking at events to see how they unfold—needs a bit of gumption and muscle behind it. President Trump recently reminded Israel that without America, it would not exist. That should send a chill up the spine of Benjamin Netanyahu and his Ministers. As well as the Minister trying to talk to his Israeli counterparts, what conversation is he having with the Americans, who provide a massive amount of military support to Israel, to try to get the Netanyahu Government to rein it in, when it comes to E1?

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27. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Sarah Bool

    Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re

    I think this is an important moment for us to remind all our constituents to check their insurance policies and make sure that they have sufficient cover, but on a practical note, may I ask whether the Minister expects the flood protection certificates to have the same status as energy performance certificates? Obviously that encourages improvement, but there may be a problem of stranded assets. I just want to be sure that we have thought about the impacts on the housing market and on social mobility.

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28. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Peter Fortune

    Draft Register of Overseas Entities (Protection and Trusts) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Application of Company Law) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

    I agree with the principles put forward in the regulations, but I am a little concerned about the regulations allowing overseas beneficial owners to suppress their residential address. Could the Minister reassure us on how the Government will prevent dirty money from flowing into the UK?

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29. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Peter Fortune

    Draft Government of Wales Act 2006 (Increase of Capital Borrowing Limits) Order 2026

    What impact assessment has been done to look at the Welsh Government’s ability to service the additional borrowing?

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30. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Peter Fortune

    Packaging Manufacturers: Extended Producer Responsibility

    I appreciate the hon. Lady giving way so early in her speech, because I have to run to a Delegated Legislation Committee. I agree with all the points she is making, but would she talk later about the impact on the pub trade? This policy will hit the pub trade by about £50 million—it is going to do some real damage to a very important industry.

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31. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Ms Nusrat Ghani

    Israel: E1 Zone Expansion

    Order. I know that this is a very sensitive debate, so let us make sure that we keep our emotions in check.

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32. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Ms Nusrat Ghani

    Israel: E1 Zone Expansion

    “You” and “your”—the best thing to do is always speak through the Chair. That prevents that mistake from happening.

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33. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Ms Nusrat Ghani

    Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re

    I call the shadow Minister.

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34. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Ms Nusrat Ghani

    Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re

    I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

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35. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Ms Nusrat Ghani

    Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re

    I call the Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee.

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36. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Ms Nusrat Ghani

    Points of Order

    The hon. Member is an experienced parliamentarian and will know that I am not responsible for the Government’s policy position—if only I were. She will know that there are many ways in which this issue can be pursued with Ministers, and the Clerks and the Table Office are also available to advise her. No doubt those on the Treasury Front Bench will have heard her and will ensure that she gets a response in due course.

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37. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Ms Nusrat Ghani

    Points of Order

    All Members should be familiar with the convention that they should inform colleagues in advance whenever they intend to visit another Member’s constituency. As the guide to the rules of behaviour and courtesy states, “failure to do so is rightly regarded by colleagues as very discourteous.” I hope that if colleagues fail to observe these courtesies an apology is forthcoming.

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38. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Ms Nusrat Ghani

    Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill

    I call the shadow Minister.

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39. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Ms Nusrat Ghani

    Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill

    I will now announce the results of today’s deferred Divisions. On the draft Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026, the Ayes were 323 and the Noes were 107, so the Ayes have it. On the draft Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026, the Ayes were 318 and the Noes were 107, so the Ayes have it. I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson. [The Division lists are published at the end of today’s debates.]

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40. 1 Jul 2026·Parliament·Mrs Kemi Badenoch

    Engagements

    Can I associate myself and those on the Opposition Benches with the Prime Minister’s comments about Venezuela, and also about the Lib Dems? [Laughter.] But seriously, the Chief of the Defence Staff made it known that the armed forces needed a minimum of £28 billion more to defend the country. Can the Prime Minister tell us why he thinks half that amount is enough?

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