May 2026

I thank my right hon. Friend for the package of support she has announced today. She knows at first hand that hospitality is what my little town does best. My hospitality industry, fairground and constituents will be very happy today. Can she clarify, as I am not sure, whether the 15% VAT cut applies to all restaurants, café, pubs, bars and hotels serving children’s meals? Will she please keep under review the possibility of extending this welcome VAT cut to the hospitality industry as a whole?

For years now, I have been trying to help a constituent who has been the subject of repeated identity fraud via their NHS records. Meetings with Ministers have been cancelled or refused, and questions and letters to the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Department of Health and Social Care always result in the same response: it is not their responsibility and there is nothing they can do. This is impacting on my constituent’s daily life in so many ways. Will my right hon. Friend please use hi

Scotland is an energy superpower, so it is particularly galling for constituents and businesses in my constituency, which is a two and a half hour drive end to end, and where road vehicles are an absolute necessity to conduct daily life, to face the prices they currently face. Will the Government commit to using the hundreds of millions of pounds of extra tax revenue from VAT for a VAT freeze for the duration of the current crisis?

As artists and songwriters gather today for the Ivor Novello awards, fans across the country are still being ripped off by ticket touts, despite the Prime Minister’s promise to act “as soon as possible”. It is incredibly disappointing that the Government have proposed only a draft ticket tout ban Bill in the King’s Speech. Does the Minister accept that any further delay simply benefits those touts and secondary ticketing platforms, and will she give us a date for when proper legislation will be

I almost sympathise with the Minister, because really everybody in the House is exasperated by the lack of action. I represent Dundee, which has been twinned with Nablus on the west bank for the last 45 years. The members of the Dundee-Nablus Twinning Association write to me regularly about positive things that could be done; I will give one example. Given that entirely illegal expansion of the occupied west bank is continuing—there were 34 settlements planned in April alone—the International Co

May I take this opportunity to congratulate both the SNP in Scotland on an historic fifth landslide election and Plaid Cymru on its historic win in the Welsh Senedd elections? That brings together the north of Ireland, Wales and Scotland as being represented by Governments who believe not only believe in the people, but in unlocking the nations’ potential by being independent nations in the future. The north of Ireland has a legal mandate to hold a referendum on its future. However, Scotland doe

While it is good news that the Chancellor has been forced into another humiliating U-turn over her increase to fuel duty, it just delays the increase until the end of the year. The cost of living is surging, and families are feeling the pinch in every aspect of their lives. Why will the Government not give people and businesses the certainty they need and cancel the fuel duty increase altogether?

Nurses are at the heart of our wonderful NHS. I am delighted that two nurses from NHS Borders recently gained national recognition from the Royal College of Nursing Scotland: intensive therapy unit clinical nurse educator Karen Bacon was highly commended in the “learning in practice” award category, and Michelle Brownlee, a healthcare support worker in the ITU, was a runner-up in the nursing support worker of the year award. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Karen and Michel

Parliamentary appearance by Johanna Baxter

In Lebanon, the Government’s contribution to the humanitarian response is welcome, but the response does not work when aid workers are being killed; 116 healthcare and rescue personnel have already died. The House is united in condemning these violations of international law, but does the Minister accept that the killing will not stop until there is accountability?

What businesses in Didcot and right across the country need is a fast-growing economy, and that is what we are delivering.

Yes, of course I will.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. The package that we are announcing today will be significant. I will not say any more, because the Chancellor will be making that announcement later. I can say, however, that the boldness of the package is a direct consequence of the voices that we have heard from MPs, including from my hon. Friend and others in Stoke—whether losing their voice or not. Those voices have been profoundly important to the scope, scale and boldness of what will be an

My right hon. Friend, as always, gives great voice to the automotive sector. I have listened closely to the voices of the sector in relation to the ZEV mandate—it is important that we do that. It is also important that, when setting such targets, we take into account consumer demand. That is something I am very aware of and having conversations about with colleagues across Government.

My hon. Friend raises an incredibly important point. The UK Government have a support package for England, with £4.3 billion to protect ratepayers. The Barnett consequentials provide support for Scotland, but where the UK Government are supporting businesses, the SNP is choking off investment and risking jobs.

I am very grateful for my hon. Friend’s question. Yes, I can say that Little Layton in his constituency is one of the 379 communities across the UK that will receive Pride in Place funding, just one of the cross-departmental packages of support that his constituency will benefit from. We will not forget. We will keep on supporting him all the way.

There will be no price cap and there will be no price controls, but I am not going to apologise for throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the cost of living challenges that we inherited, along with an economy that was broken.

Just last year, I was in my hon. Friend’s neck of the woods for the investment summit, unleashing further billions into his part of the country. I know that the automotive sector is incredibly important to him, and we are pledged to getting back to the level of automotive output we had before the Tories halved it. When we get back to that point, he will see a flourishing, booming industry, with the jobs that follow.

Dynamism is increasing in our economy, and that is why we have so much growth—growth that the Conservatives failed to deliver in their 14 years. As for young people, we have the youth guarantee, which includes a six-month funded programme placement that provides a rich environment for kids who were put out of work—a lot of the time, by the Conservatives when they were in government. It gets kids back into work, and does so sustainably.

It speaks for itself when the Opposition try to take credit for the Government’s achievements. It shows just how good this Government actually are. However, I am grateful for the hon. Member’s warm words about the GCC deal. A lot of work went into it, but of course when we came into office, we were practically on the starting line; we were so close to it at that moment. I will be really up front about youth unemployment. This issue faces most communities in our country, and we should have much m