Contributions
292 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCost of EnergyIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. This country has been in need of a coherent national energy policy for a long time, as the lack of one has left us in a…11 Feb 2025HANSARDInheritance Tax Relief: FarmsIt is a fundamental principle that legislation should not be retrospective, but here we have a tax that requires farmers to have acted seven years before they ever knew the tax…10 Feb 2025HANSARD English Devolution and Local GovernmentI refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. In my constituency, we are lucky enough to have a district council that is very well run and very well…05 Feb 2025HANSARDSocial Security BenefitsIn my constituency of Horsham, food bank usage increased by 25% last year, and it has increased by 700% over six years. In the light of that evidence of the pressures, will the…04 Feb 2025HANSARD Children in CareI thank the hon. Member for securing this very important debate. In my Horsham constituency, a family has approached me who are kinship carers for their grandson. They feel they…04 Feb 2025HANSARD Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillI am sure that I speak for all hon. Members when I say that putting a stop to fraud of any kind is welcome, especially at a time when public money is scarce. However, many of my…03 Feb 2025HANSARDEngagementsQ13. In my constituency of Horsham, my local council faces a tax bill of half a million pounds from the rise in national insurance, and my local hospice, St Catherine’s, has had…29 Jan 2025HANSARDRoad Safety: Young DriversI thank the hon. Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) for securing this important debate. Just a few weeks after my election, I received a letter from my constituent, Jane. She…28 Jan 2025HANSARDAirport ExpansionWill the Minister confirm what compensating measures the Government will take, if airport expansion is to go ahead, to ensure adherence to carbon budgets? They must have already…28 Jan 2025HANSARD Creative IndustriesOn the funding of local arts and theatres, my constituency has a wonderful local theatre called The Capitol, which is owned and managed by the district council. However, our…27 Jan 2025HANSARDClimate and Nature BillThe key stewards of our landscape for hundreds of years have been our farmers: no one has done more to make our countryside as beautiful as it is or has a bigger stake in…24 Jan 2025HANSARD Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs: OBR CostingFarmers have made their inheritance tax plans in good faith, based on existing rules. In effect, the measure is a retrospective change to tax law, so will the Minister agree to at…23 Jan 2025HANSARD Education, Health and Care PlansI congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Marie Goldman) on calling this vital debate. EHCP provision is a national crisis, but how it plays out locally varies…22 Jan 2025HANSARDWelfare of DoctorsLast week I met with a GP in my constituency, and she described very much what the hon. Gentleman is talking about: at the end of the day, after blitzing through 25 patients, back…21 Jan 2025HANSARD Employer National Insurance Contributions: CharitiesOn the hon. Member’s earlier point about Age UK, it estimates that just in my Horsham constituency it will cost £150,000 per year to cope with the changes and the extra charge.…07 Jan 2025HANSARD Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charitiesrose—07 Jan 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsT2. A farmer in my constituency tells me that even in a good year he is lucky to see much beyond £20,000 in profit. With margins as wafer thin as that, regular farming barely…19 Dec 2024HANSARD Gatwick Airspace Modernisation ReviewIndeed, as I will come on to, noise is the primary issue at stake here. Gatwick Airport Ltd, referred to as GAL, is a private company. As the operator at Gatwick, it has been…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Gatwick Airspace Modernisation ReviewI thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. Indeed, there is a suspicion that part of the motive behind this is to enable an expansion, which has not been permitted yet. In this…18 Dec 2024HANSARD Gatwick Airspace Modernisation ReviewI thank the right hon. Member for his intervention. I am aware that he has been fighting this cause for a very long time. I certainly agree with his comments and the need for a…18 Dec 2024