March 2026

I would point out to the hon. Lady that the 2010-15 coalition Government cut our defence budget by £12 billion, which is what has placed us in the difficult situation we are in now—at a time when we face huge security threats. We will be the fifth largest funder of international development, exactly because we are continuing to champion it. Having been part of the previous Labour Government—which made priorities of debt relief and tackling global poverty, hunger and hardship—is exactly why I am

The investment that I set out in the statement includes £6 billion of climate finance for climate change and nature, and a further £6 billion in UK-backed investment, including more support to bring in private sector investment and extremely innovative approaches to climate finance. We will be able to tackle these issues globally only if we work in partnership and have a strong voice on the international stage. This is about policy and funding operating together.

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I have discussed with Foreign Ministers across the world the importance of combining opportunities for young people with strong security measures to prevent radicalisation and extremism. That is about security in different regions, but it is also about our security at home.

4. What steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates for cases involving violence against women and girls.

I very much welcome that news. Prosecution rates in cases involving violence against women and girls are shamefully low. I strongly welcome the Government’s ambition to tackle violence against women and girls, including our manifesto commitments to fast-track rape cases and introduce specialist courts. Will the Minister meet me to discuss the Government’s progress on those promises?

The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that listing is a matter for the judiciary, but one proposal is a national listing framework to ensure that cases are listed as soon as possible. We are committed to supporting victims of rape and serious sexual violence. That is why we launched our landmark strategy in December to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. It is why we are investing over half a billion pounds in victim support services, including for victims of rape and serious se

Parliamentary appearance by Layla Moran

Parliamentary appearance by Layla Moran

The hon. Member is absolutely right, but in the last five years under the previous Government, incidents rose by 20%. We are encouraging councils to seize and crush the vehicles of fly-tippers, and we will be consulting on a conditional caution so that people who do fly-tip will pick up and pay up.

I agree that the environmental improvement plan that we inherited was not fit for purpose. We will oversee the largest ever investment in nature. We have banned bee-killing pesticides, licensed the first wild beaver release in England for 400 years, and announced the first new national forest for 30 years.

Parliamentary appearance by Joe Powell

My hon. Friend, as always, makes an extremely important point. I would be happy to discuss the comments of the Lady Chief Justice, with whom I meet regularly, with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice to get answers on that important issue.

Parliamentary appearance by Luke Myer

T6. The recent real-life drama “Dirty Business” highlighted the scale of the issues within the water industry. In my constituency, Yorkshire Water has had serious issues with sewage outflows and poor standards of infrastructure. I welcome the Government’s water reforms, which will protect customers. However, does the Secretary of State agree that we now need to consider public ownership of the water industry in order to resolve the fundamental problems it faces?

I am sure that you, Mr Speaker, will be as concerned as I am about the recent outbreak of meningitis in Kent, and I am sure the thoughts of the whole House are with the families who have lost loved ones already. The UK Health Security Agency has a huge job on its hands to get good public health information out there and to work with the NHS on a targeted vaccination programme. It is a reminder of how much faith and trust we put in health professionals in these moments of crisis. They are all ded

I share my residents’ anger that a Thames Water site has reportedly released over 900 hours of sewage into the River Stort, one of our precious local chalk streams, since the start of the year. I have written to Thames Water and the Environment Agency to raise my community’s concerns about the lack of urgency in tackling sewage discharge. Will the Leader of the House join me in calling on Thames Water to take urgent action to protect our precious local chalk streams, and will he help to facilita

My hon. Friend is completely right, and she has considerable experience as a former Crown prosecutor. She will know that that is why we are investing £2.78 billion in the coming year, which includes over £280 million for vital repairs, digital upgrades and unlimited sitting days in the Crown court—record funding for our courts. Only the combination of reform, investment and modernisation will ultimately deliver faster and fairer justice.

I thank the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy), my fellow member of the all-party parliamentary group on climate change, for securing this debate. The climate and nature emergencies are the most pressing issue of our time. They go to the heart of every area of Government, and we ignore or sideline them at our peril. A suppressed national security assessment report, partly released in January in response to a freedom of information request, warns: “Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway

I am just coming to an end. We must leave no stone unturned, whether it is housing standards, taxation, jobs, transport, energy, defence or food. That is my main message today, and I hope the Government are open to hearing it. It is important that we look at climate change across every single Department, because that is how we will build a safer, more positive, more equal and happier country together.

Will the hon. Lady give way?