Contributions
1,438 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Rural CommunitiesGo on, then.07 Jan 2026HANSARD Rural CommunitiesIf the hon. Lady gets me the information, I will pass it on to the relevant Minister. I will make sure that we cover the point that she makes. I was astonished to see that the…07 Jan 2026HANSARD Rural CommunitiesCertainly, the animal welfare strategy is very comprehensive. As hon. Members will know, it encompasses farm animals, wild animals and pets, as well as international trade and all…07 Jan 2026HANSARD Rural CommunitiesPerhaps the hon. Gentleman should be patient and let me finish my sentence. He should be well aware that the Conservative Government’s record on enforcement was dire, because a…07 Jan 2026HANSARD Rural CommunitiesWill the hon. Gentleman please let me develop my point? Over 1 million further premises have been included within contracts to provide access to superfast broadband, with funding…07 Jan 2026HANSARD Rural CommunitiesThat is exactly right. The cuts that were made to enforcement activities and enforcement muscle have caused many huge problems that we are attempting to clear up, such as the 20%…07 Jan 2026HANSARD Future of Thames WaterThere is a process going on between the creditors and the company that must be allowed to finish one way or another. I have just said that, should Thames Water become insolvent,…06 Jan 2026HANSARD Future of Thames WaterI was talking about the specific point that my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) made about ringfencing for investment, not about some of the costs of the…06 Jan 2026HANSARD Future of Thames WaterNo, I must make this point, which is quite important in the context of the debate. There is a high bar for the use of special administration regimes. The law states that special…06 Jan 2026HANSARD Future of Thames WaterIt is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I do not know whether it is down to you, but it is now much warmer in this room than it was in the last…06 Jan 2026HANSARD Future of Thames WaterI can confirm that, and it was one of the first things that this Labour Government, when we were incoming, put on to the statute book as a priority, in order to prevent that…06 Jan 2026HANSARD Future of Thames WaterThere is an ongoing process that I cannot and will not comment on from the sidelines. What I have said is that the Government will ensure that any resolution comes in the…06 Jan 2026HANSARDAgricultural and Business Property Relief: Food PricesThis is a highly sensitive issue. The reasons for someone contemplating taking their own life are often very complex. My heart goes out to every family who is devastated by such…18 Dec 2025HANSARDSupport for Dairy FarmersWe have a close relationship with the Home Office, and I have old contacts there too. I promise that we keep a close eye on these things and look at what we can do about emerging…18 Dec 2025HANSARDSupport for Dairy FarmersMy hon. Friend raises the important point that a third of all farmland in England is managed by tenant farmers, so a fair and sustainable tenant farming sector relies on positive…18 Dec 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe have already brought forward some sectoral regulations to improve fairness, but there is a built-in difficulty when there are small suppliers and very large buyers. The…18 Dec 2025HANSARDSugar Beet ContractsI thank my hon. Friend for her question, which is an acute one. I agree that growers too often bear disproportionate risk, which is why the Government have launched a public…18 Dec 2025HANSARDDEFRA Policies: Impact on Farming CommunitiesThis is a matter for the University of Cambridge, but having visited the veterinary school at Harper Adams University, I am all too aware—as clearly the hon. Gentleman is—of the…18 Dec 2025HANSARDDEFRA Policies: Impact on Farming CommunitiesI meet farmers all the time, and I intend to spend the early part of next year, and hopefully many years thereafter, continuing to do so.18 Dec 2025HANSARDDEFRA Policies: Impact on Farming CommunitiesI pay tribute to the farmers in my hon. Friend’s constituency in the awful situation they face. We are closely monitoring the outbreak and have taken action to eradicate disease…18 Dec 2025