Contributions
281 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBudget ResolutionsWill the right hon. Gentleman give way?06 Nov 2024HANSARD Budget: Implications for Farming CommunitiesI met farmers in my constituency in the days just ahead of the Budget. The biggest concern that they raised with me was not inheritance tax, but the transition from basic payments…04 Nov 2024HANSARDFair TradeChildren from Timothy Hackworth primary school in Shildon wrote to ask me to raise fair trade with the Minister as part of their fair trade week. They included Ashton, who…31 Oct 2024HANSARDBusiness of the HouseInternational Men’s Day, on Tuesday 19 November, celebrates the contributions made by men, and raises issues affecting men’s health and wellbeing, and gender equality, which are…31 Oct 2024HANSARDFair Trade12. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support fair trade for producers.31 Oct 2024HANSARD COP29 and International Climate FinanceI welcome the point the hon. Lady is making. Thirty-four countries in Africa are spending more on debt interest than on health and education. If we are to talk about a just…30 Oct 2024HANSARDLocal Authority FundingThe previous Government cut County Durham’s budget by 60%, and we have all seen the Royal Tunbridge Wells video in which the Leader of the Opposition boasted about that act. That…28 Oct 2024HANSARD Special Educational Needs and DisabilitiesA mother in my constituency came to see me. Her son has been off-rolled from mainstream primary school, which she would like him to attend, and offered only a distant special…24 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceMay I begin by expressing my appreciation of the family carers in the Bishop Auckland constituency? According to helpful researchers in the Commons Library, one in seven of my…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceThis sits among the many injustices that the new Government have to deal with, and I think an apology is in order. In conclusion, I welcome this Government’s review. I think there…16 Oct 2024HANSARD House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) BillThe hon. Gentleman seems to be operating on the premise that all hereditary peers are Conservatives. Why does he think that people with entrenched privilege are naturally…15 Oct 2024HANSARD Sport: Team GB and ParalympicsGBI echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) about repetition when speaking this late in a debate; I am aware that I am probably the…10 Oct 2024HANSARDVAT: Independent SchoolsI have come here today to speak on behalf of the children and young people in my Bishop Auckland constituency. I recently spent half a day at an independent school in my…08 Oct 2024HANSARDVAT: Independent SchoolsI was coming on to that, and if anybody in an independent school is struggling to cut their cloth accordingly as the state sector has done, I could introduce them to headteachers…08 Oct 2024HANSARDWinter Fuel PaymentI absolutely do, and Members may recall that I came to this House last week and asked the Chancellor a question about my own constituents. I represent the snowiest and coldest…10 Sept 2024HANSARDWinter Fuel PaymentI have not written a speech—I have written down a few points—because, like many colleagues, I have spent the past week agonising over how to vote today. In the end, I decided to…10 Sept 2024HANSARDGovernment Policy on HealthI think Opposition Members may be making the mistake of judging this Government by their own standards. I wish to ask the Secretary of State this: after my constituents and many…09 Sept 2024HANSARDCost of Living: Support for PensionersThe village of Copley, in my constituency, is the snowiest in England and we have many pensioners in receipt of the basic state pension who are, none the less, in fuel poverty.…03 Sept 2024HANSARDInfected Blood InquiryLike many Members, I have constituents who have been affected. Indeed, I grew up without a grandmother, due to infected blood. Not only did my constituents in Barnard Castle lose…26 Jul 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsT8. In recent years, rural parts of my constituency were left without power for a week following storm Arwen, and, during covid, children in upland areas were unable to access…25 Jul 2024