Questions
Oral questions: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
“10. What progress she has made on implementing the waste crime action plan.…”
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Lauren Edwards
LabourMP for Rochester and Strood
What Lauren said recently
Questions
Oral questions: Housing, Communities and Local Government
“7. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of acoustic design requirements for workplaces in the planning system.…”
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Questions
Prime Minister's Question Time
“Q3. Flexible and co-working spaces play an important role in regenerating town centres such as mine in Rochester and Strood. They bring more people to our high streets to spend money in our local shops and support our local economies. But r…”
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Questions
Prime Minister's Question Time
“Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 15 April.…”
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Debate
Gurkha Veterans
“I thank the honourable and gallant Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) and the Backbench Business Committee for facilitating this really important debate. My constituency of Rochester and Strood has a long and proud history and associati…”
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Statement
Ministerial statement: Youth Unemployment
“I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. As someone who represents an area where more than 90% of businesses are SMEs, I particularly welcome the financial incentives for SMEs to take on young apprentices in the key industries of h…”
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Debate
Business of the House
“May we have a debate on the recent Valuation Office Agency changes to business rate classifications for flexible and co-working spaces? The agency says that it is just following case law, but the changes could have significant implications …”
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Urgent question
Urgent question: Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation
“Before I became a Member of Parliament, I worked for the CWU at the time of Royal Mail’s privatisation, and I am sad to say that much of what we feared would happen has come true. Residents in Grain in my constituency reported receiving no …”
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Questions
Oral questions: Treasury
“The Government’s business rate relief package for pubs has been hugely welcome, but other high street businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors are struggling. Will the Minister consider increasing the small business rate re…”
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Questions
Oral questions: Work and Pensions
“Net migration has fallen to the lowest level since 2021, which will have a significant impact on our labour market and economy if we do not train and support unemployed people in the UK into jobs in key sectors. What steps is the Secretary …”
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Debate
Ministry of Defence
“I thank the Chair of the Defence Committee for securing this debate. There was a lot of focus in the House on the percentage of GDP that we spend on defence, and it is important to meet our NATO obligations. I welcome the Prime Minister’s s…”
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Statement
Ministerial statement: Spring Forecast
“I thank the Chancellor for her statement, and welcome the OBR forecast that unemployment will fall to 4.1% by the end of the current Parliament. No doubt that will have been driven by excellent policies such as the youth guarantee and the a…”
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Legislation
Representation of the People Bill
“I welcome the Bill, particularly the parts that will deliver on the Government’s manifesto commitment to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote, introduce automatic voter registration, and widen the list of accepted forms of voter ID. B…”
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Questions
Oral questions: Justice
“6. What steps he is taking to ensure that education and training programmes support the rehabilitation of people leaving prison.…”
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Debate
Violence Against Women and Girls
“2. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Crown Prosecution Service’s violence against women and girls strategy 2025 to 2030 on outcomes for victims.…”
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Questions
Oral questions: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
“7. What steps she is taking to clear waterways.…”
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Questions
Oral questions: Work and Pensions
“Around 600 young people in Rochester and Strood are claiming unemployment benefits; many more are NEETs—not in education, employment or training—and are not known to the Department for Work and Pensions. Does the Minister agree that the bes…”
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Debate
Business of the House
“The Environment Agency budget was halved over the decade from 2010, and that contributed to the illegal waste sites that still blight our countryside today, including Brambletree Wharf in my constituency, which has been there since 2018. It…”
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Urgent question
Urgent question: Illegal Waste: Organised Crime
“Brambletree wharf in Borstal in my constituency has been blighted by an illegal tip for years. A council enforcement notice recently expired without the site being cleared, yet I have recently been informed that unfortunately the Environmen…”
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Legislation
Victims and Courts Bill
“I really welcome this Bill, which delivers long-overdue reforms to protect victims and goes a long way to rebuilding confidence in our judicial system. I particularly thank my honourable Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet) and fo…”
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Statement
Ministerial statement: Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy
“I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and the Government’s continued commitment to promoting vocational and technical education, which is welcome. Can she outline how the White Paper will address the capacity issues that a lot of col…”
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Statement
Ministerial statement: Work for Serving Prisoners
“I completely agree that all the evidence points towards the need to invest in prison training and employment programmes to reduce reoffending. Doing so is good for society and for the public purse, but does my honourable Friend agree that w…”
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Questions
Oral questions: Housing, Communities and Local Government
“I have been contacted by constituents who are concerned by media comments over the last week that suggest that the Planning and Infrastructure Bill may render sites of special scientific interest protections meaningless. Will the Secretary …”
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Legislation
Mental Health Bill [Lords]
“I welcome today’s Second Reading of the Bill. I would like to focus on one aspect of the legislation: the removal of autism and learning disability from the definition of mental disorder under section 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983. I rece…”
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Statement
Ministerial statement: Legal Aid Agency: Cyber-security Incident
“A recent Public Accounts Committee inquiry found that the Government still have substantial gaps in their understanding of how resilient their IT estate is to cyber-attack. It was really helpful to hear from the Minister about the work that…”
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Questions
Prime Minister's Question Time
“Q12. The previous Government failed to properly support further and adult education over the past 14 years. In contrast, the Prime Minister’s personal commitment to technical qualifications has been encouraging. Last year’s Budget provided …”
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Legislation
Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [Lords]
“I do not support the amendment but will speak in favour of the Bill. As many have highlighted, there is a gap between the skills needed by employers and the skills held by the UK workforce. Skills shortage vacancies have been on the rise ye…”
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Questions
Oral questions: Science, Innovation and Technology
“7. What progress he has made on setting up AI growth zones across the country.…”
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Debate
Income Tax (Charge)
“This Budget will improve the lives of so many of my constituents in Rochester and Strood. They will see the benefit in their wage slips, see the things they care most about in their community, such as the local pub and their high street, su…”
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Statement
Ministerial statement: Sentencing Review and Prison Capacity
“I welcome the sentencing review and thank the Secretary of State for her explanation of why IPP sentences are not included in the review. What steps will she take to accelerate routes out of custody for prisoners serving IPP sentences, incl…”
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