Contributions
565 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCommunity Energy ProjectsCommunity energy schemes provide a great opportunity for local communities to take ownership of clean energy production. In Glastonbury and Somerton, we have seen the benefits as…17 Dec 2024HANSARD Community Pharmacies: Devon and the South-westI thank my hon. Friend for securing this really important debate. As she was laying out, community pharmacies face large funding gaps, but the rate of pharmacy closure is…17 Dec 2024HANSARD Improving Public TransportI wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. Integration between public transport and active travel is vital. He and I live in a beautiful part of the world, which frankly more…05 Dec 2024HANSARD Improving Public TransportAbsolutely I will, and I encourage all hon. Members to do exactly that. To summarise, I thank the Minister for his assurances. He knows that the Liberal Democrats will hold him to…05 Dec 2024HANSARD Improving Public TransportI congratulate the hon. Member for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard (Alex Mayer) on her maiden speech. I wish I could share her frustration about three buses turning up at once; in…05 Dec 2024HANSARD Improving Public TransportThe point is that if prices go up any further, patronage on buses will go down, and in rural areas we travel further and longer. It is difficult to incentivise people to use buses…05 Dec 2024HANSARD Improving Public TransportI thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. That is vital for rural areas. I have excellent community transport providers in Glastonbury and Somerton: there is Wincanton…05 Dec 2024HANSARD Improving Public TransportI entirely agree, and I will address that point in my speech. Poor public transport compounds social ills, while the unreliability, inaccessibility and lack of integration in…05 Dec 2024HANSARD Improving Public TransportI beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of improving public transport. I begin by thanking the Backbench Business Committee for scheduling this important and…05 Dec 2024HANSARDFarming and Inheritance TaxThe shadow Minister says that Labour Members do not know any farmers—I do. I am proudly a sixth-generation farmer’s daughter. My brother still farms, but for how much longer I do…04 Dec 2024HANSARDBiosecurityIt is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dame Siobhain. I thank the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for securing this really important debate. We have…04 Dec 2024HANSARDNational Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) BillI rise to share my concerns about the unintended consequences of this tax hike on small businesses, GPs, social care providers and farm businesses. The arguments about the damage…03 Dec 2024HANSARDHomelessness ReductionSome 18,000 homes with planning permission across Somerset are waiting to be built, but nutrient neutrality issues, flood risk and the national shortage of planners are preventing…02 Dec 2024HANSARDMen’s Violence against Women and GirlsAfter a case of domestic abuse, my constituent dealt with over two years of delay before eventually the CPS decided not to proceed with the case, as the perpetrator had not…29 Nov 2024HANSARDMen’s Violence against Women and GirlsI thank the hon. Member for securing this important debate. There are around 3,000 reports of violence against women and girls made in Somerset every month and at least one in 12…29 Nov 2024HANSARD Sewage Discharges: South WestIn 2020, Natural England notified Somerset councils that the phosphate levels in the Somerset Levels and Moors Ramsar site were too high, and thousands of homes are still caught…27 Nov 2024HANSARD Violence against Women and GirlsI thank the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse (Apsana Begum) for securing this incredibly important debate. Violence against women and girls on trains has risen by 50%, and…27 Nov 2024HANSARD“Get Britain Working” White PaperI thank the Secretary of State for her statement. Some 13% of jobs in Somerset are in manufacturing, and many of them are in the defence industry—in Thales in Templecombe, RNAS…26 Nov 2024HANSARDCOP29I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and agree that the UK must show global leadership on climate action. Peatlands are the largest natural terrestrial carbon store,…26 Nov 2024HANSARDDomestic AbuseThere is a significant disparity in sentencing for murder based on whether a weapon was taken to the scene of a domestic crime or was already present. Sentences for murderers who…25 Nov 2024