September 2025

I join my hon. Friend in saying that Bournemouth needs more football pitches. That is why we are investing more in grassroots sport and have given more money to local government. It is vital that those sorts of facilities are there for communities and young people to keep healthy and fit.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important issue. I am aware that that book is out today, but I have not had a chance to look at it. I am clear that Parliament needs to play its role in scrutinising those types of institutions, and any attempt to silence Members of Parliament is completely unacceptable. I look forward to working with her and other Members on taking that forward.

I am sorry to hear of the trouble that my hon. Friend is having in her constituency and of the challenges in supporting her council and police to take action. We keep powers under constant review to ensure they are effective in tackling unauthorised encampments. I will keep her updated on that.

Parliamentary appearance by Deirdre Costigan

It is wonderful to be back for another Opposition day debate, as I am sure we can all agree. It is another debate about imagined proposals. It must be a difficult time for Opposition Members, because for so many years, this was the time of year when they were preparing for their conference and for the Budget, but this year, scant attention will be paid to them—and, of course, they are not writing the Budget anymore.

Indeed. Thank God the Conservatives are not writing the Budget, because we have seen what their Budgets led to. I understand Opposition Members’ frustration. It is nice to see that they have settled into the most comfortable aspect of being in opposition. As I have said before in these debates, as a Labour party member of many years’ standing, I have a huge amount of experience of the comfort of opposition; you start to create straw men, talk about what the Government might be doing and your fea

The last Conservative Government left so many young disabled people in Ealing Southall who wanted to work consigned to a lifetime on benefits, but at West Ealing jobcentre we are already seeing a difference being made, with £1.3 billion of funding for employment support from this Labour Government. Does the Minister agree that the Mayfield review offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to transform the workplace to make it more accessible for disabled people?

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Labour’s Employment Rights Bill is all about levelling the playing field so that the efforts made by the great employers that we have in this country, including hospitality employers, to look after their workers can be broadened out to the whole of the industry. The Conservatives also need to stop pretending that this change that Labour is bringing in would stop seasonal working in the hospitality sector. Stop making things up! A worker can stay on a zero-

It is interesting that the Conservatives’ motion acknowledges the important role that hospitality businesses play in offering a first step on the employment ladder to “young and often excluded groups”. If they care so much about young and often excluded people, I would have thought they would have backed Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, because right now in Ealing Southall, young workers and the many workers of Indian heritage in my constituency can be sacked for no reason whatsoever in their fi

Parliamentary appearance by Mark Ferguson

Parliamentary appearance by Deirdre Costigan

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing such an important debate. I recently met a constituent who has been living with an eating disorder for years and who raised a number of important issues. She is fortunate to have a loving, supportive family but they often feel the system is impossible to navigate. Would my hon. Friend join me in encouraging the Minister to look at how the Government can support the families and loved ones of those living with an eating disorder, and to consider how care

We in London also face a proliferation of e-scooters and e-bikes. The last Conservative Government absolutely failed to take any action on that. Does my hon. Friend agree that it will make a huge difference to Londoners that Transport for London will now have the power to hold those companies to account and clear the pavements?

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision for a review of allergy guidance relating to the feeding and weaning of babies and infants; and for connected purposes. Having a child, I am told, is one of the most amazing and fulfilling times of a new parent’s life. I hope to be able to report back to the House on the validity of that claim later in the year. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] However, it can also be a period of huge anxiety. Parents are reliant on our brillia

They had no choice!

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. Pornography is nothing new, but access to the kind of content she has described is something that previous generations did not have to deal with. The most responsible and vigilant parents are struggling to prevent access to it. Does she agree that we need action from the companies that promote and disseminate this type of material, in addition to the work of parents, and the important work that the Government are doing?

Parliamentary appearance by Jade Botterill

Parliamentary appearance by Deirdre Costigan

Parliamentary appearance by Imogen Walker

Parliamentary appearance by Kevin Hollinrake