Catherine Fookes MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Sept 2026 · Speciality Steel UK · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for his support for domestic steelmaking. People do not often think of Monmouthshire as a steelmaking community, but we have excellent downstream steelmaking companies and hundreds of workers going every day to Llanwern, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden). Will the Secretary of State share what the Government are doing to support downstream steel and to ensure that we are buying more Welsh steel in all UK projects and construction that are undertaken?

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Lady very much for giving way and for sharing that really difficult story. Does she not agree that the current system has no safeguards at all against coercion, and that is exactly why we need this Bill?

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the right hon. Lady give way?

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 8 Sept 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T6. I applaud the Prime Minister’s rates cut for English pubs, but the Plaid Cymru Government in Wales have done nothing to help Welsh pubs. That is why I am supporting the “VAT’s the Problem” campaign, which seeks a much-needed cut in VAT to 10% for our struggling hospitality businesses, which is the rate in some EU countries. Will Treasury Ministers look at the campaign and help us to help our hospitality businesses in Monmouthshire?

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I will say from the outset that I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy): I am afraid I do not agree with drilling for oil in Rosebank. It would not take a penny off bills, and it would absolutely blow our carbon emissions targets out the water. The Conservatives are living in another world if they have not lived through the summer that we have all lived through, with drought and wildfires all across south Wales. We need to go hard on the green transition. Does the Minister agree that we should keep to our targets in the Climate Change Act 2008 and that we should not agree with the Conservatives to repeal it?

• 3 Sept 2026 · Global Biodiversity and Ecosystems: National Security · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for raising the big importance of the Joint Intelligence Committee report and shedding light on it. Does he agree that citizens must be brought up to speed on what they are facing with climate change? Does he agree that we must have a televised national emergency briefing across the UK?

• 2 Sept 2026 · Rewiring the State · Hansard source

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  I, too, welcome the First Secretary of State to her place, particularly as she has smashed another glass ceiling by being the first woman to hold the role. In her statement, she talked about wildfires. There was not one in Monmouthshire per se, but they were all around the edge of Monmouthshire, and there was a lot of smoke in houses in Abergavenny. I therefore really look forward to the summit she will hold on wildfires. One thing that the First Secretary of State did not mention and which I would like to draw her attention to is civil service pensions. I have a huge number of constituents who are waiting. I know that that issue comes under her Department, and I would really like her support on it.

• 2 Sept 2026 · Support for Farming · Hansard source

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  12. Farmers in Wales are suffering the dire consequences of drought, topped off by the horrific wildfires we had in south Wales and across the Monmouthshire borders in recent weeks. I am extremely grateful to the Prime Minister for sending troops to help the amazing fire service, including to Blaenavon. At this difficult time, will the Minister update me on how the UK Government are supporting our farmers?

• 1 Sept 2026 · Criminal Justice Reform · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for his statement, and I am grateful that he has worked hard to exempt more criminals from early release, such as rapists and child sex offenders. The VAWG sector is clear that perpetrators of violence against women should not be included in the early release scheme. I know how difficult this is, because the Conservatives left us a complete mess to clear up. Welsh Women’s Aid is really grateful that the victims fund has been announced, which will help it to look after victims. Could the Secretary of State reassure me that no survivor will be harmed as a result of these releases?

• 13 Jul 2026 · Death of Ann Widdecombe · Hansard source

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  I share the sentiments that have already been expressed and send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe. Of course, security is a huge issue to all of us in this Chamber, and I am sure that I was not the only one this weekend who went about my business in the constituency looking over my shoulder more than I normally would. It is terrible that this is the third Member of Parliament or ex-Member of Parliament to have been murdered—it should not be like this. While I thank Mr Speaker for everything he is doing, and I have already heard from my Operation Bridger contact this morning, who I was delighted to have heard from, about my security and if everything is okay, it does seem that security fobs and security in our houses are not enough. What more can the Home Secretary do to work with the Parliamentary Security Department and with Mr Speaker to ensure that our security is not undermined?

• 9 Jul 2026 · Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution Rates · Hansard source

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

• 9 Jul 2026 · Violence against Women and Girls: Prosecution Rates · Hansard source

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  I spoke recently, at a surgery, to one of my Monmouthshire constituents who had served on a jury in a case in which the victim had been subject to domestic violence. I was horrified to hear that there were only two women on a jury of 12, and that my constituent had heard other jurors victim blaming and making judgmental comments about the victim’s appearance. They were concerned that prejudices may have impacted the outcome of the trial. Of course, I understand that jurors are picked at random, but in cases of violence against women, what more can we do to change the system, so that survivors get the justice they deserve and are treated fairly?

• 9 Jul 2026 · River Wye: Pollution · Hansard source

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  9. What steps she is taking to help tackle pollution in the River Wye.

• 9 Jul 2026 · River Wye: Pollution · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for all her hard work on the River Wye, but as she knows, time is running out for that iconic river. With temperatures rising to dangerous levels, our fish stocks will be further affected. The Wye needs a water protection zone across the English and Welsh parts of the river to mandate larger riverside buffer zones, prevent soil erosion and force authorities to crack down on polluters. The proposed clean water Bill could give the Minister an opportunity to bring in a water protection zone, so can she promise today that she will do that and make sure that this Government are the one to save the River Wye?

• 8 Jul 2026 · Rearmament and Warfighting Readiness · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that it is incredibly important that the Prime Minister is at NATO right now, working to calmly and strongly ensure that we are right at the heart of that alliance? Will he join me in congratulating the Prime Minister and the rest of the EU on our agreement to invest £37 billion over the next 10 years with 11 other countries on a new long-range missile to protect Europe?

• 7 Jul 2026 · Energy Security · Hansard source

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  2. What steps he is taking to increase energy security.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Energy Security · Hansard source

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  I agree wholeheartedly with the Minister. I recently visited the first UK deep geothermal site at the Eden Project in Cornwall, thanks to the excellent energy and environment parliamentary knowledge scheme—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] I learned that geothermal direct heat has several advantages, including zero emissions and particulates, and it is half the price and one third of the deployment time of a small modular reactor, but it is currently excluded from permitted development legislation, which leads to long delays, when it should be a much bigger part of our energy security. Will the Minister please update me on the steps being taken to ensure we can make the most of cheap geothermal energy for Monmouthshire and beyond?

• 30 Jun 2026 · Department for Work and Pensions · Hansard source

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  I pay huge tribute to our two new Members of Parliament, the hon. Members for Aberdeen South (Douglas Lumsden) and for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry (Lara Bird), for their maiden speeches. I will talk about something that makes up a relatively small part of the DWP’s operations and its spending, but that has an enormous impact on children’s lives. One of the four core aims for the Department set out by the Secretary of State, and clearly stated in the main estimates, is to “Tackle child poverty and hardship, ensuring financial security for all”. The Child Maintenance Service exists to ensure that separated parents have enough money for their children, but all too often it does not manage to do that. Being a child of divorced parents myself, I know how upsetting and difficult the issue of maintenance can be and how it can be scarring for children, making the separation of parents even harder. That is why I back the Government’s plans to improve the service, so that it does a better job of bringing children out of poverty. The Government have promised to move everyone from direct pay to collect and pay, as well as to cut the fees on collect and pay, allowing more families to transition to a system in which a third party ensures that the parent who looks after the child actually gets the money. Stronger enforcement on non-payment and better systems to accurately assess income, including when the paying parent is self-employed, would save the Government money. The changes that the Government want to make require minimal funding, but would lift 20,000 children out of poverty. That would help us to make meaningful progress on two of the Government’s core commitments: tackling violence against women and girls and ending child poverty.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Farming Road Map and Profitability Review · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for the excellent farming road map that she has laid out. I am really glad to see that supply chain fairness is at front and centre of the new road map, and I welcome the moving of the Groceries Code Adjudicator from the Department for Business and Trade to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as this will make things more joined up. Farmers in Monmouthshire have raised with me so many times the issue of unfair practices; in fact, five dairy farms there—yes, five—have recently had their milk contracts cancelled. Does the Secretary of State agree that processors and supermarkets have far too much power, and that that power imbalance must be remedied?

• 17 Jun 2026 · Steel Tariffs · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for recently meeting me to discuss my two brilliant downstream steelmaking companies in Monmouthshire, CMF and STAPPERT. Can I ask him to look at their cases again? If he is meeting my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden)—my constituency neighbour—at Llanwern, perhaps he could consult these two companies and hear exactly what their issues are.

• 17 Jun 2026 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  Monmouthshire’s high streets welcome the £1.5 million Pride in Place funding, especially Monmouth, after November’s devastating floods. I recently wrote to the landlord of 20 Monnow Street—more commonly known as the “pigeon-poop building”—as part of my campaign to fill empty shops. But we need deeds, not words. The commissions and the taskforce that Plaid says it is planning will not cut it, so will the Secretary of State make representations to the Welsh Government? They need to act on our high streets as soon as possible, not just establish quangos.

• 17 Jun 2026 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  6. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Wales.

• 11 Jun 2026 · Legacy of Jo Cox · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her amazing speech. I also have sisters, and I cannot imagine standing here and doing what she is doing, so I thank her for her bravery. I never met Jo, but her legacy absolutely lives on through my hon. Friend. Some of our opponents would have it that Britain is broken, that we are at war and that people do not care for one another any more, but my hon. Friend is showing that there is a huge swathe of people across the United Kingdom—including in Wales, where I am from, and in my seat of Monmouthshire—who care for and constantly look out for one another and support people, and who do not want the worst for our country. Does my hon. Friend agree that the idea of coming together and community is alive and well in our community and that we must all celebrate it?

• 11 Jun 2026 · Legacy of Jo Cox · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her incredibly moving speech. Does she agree that we must dial down the rhetoric in this place? Only last week, a male colleague of ours was punched in the face out on the street. I believe that is directly as a result of people using inflammatory language and being incredibly toxic. In this place we do not work in the cross-party way that I think we should. Last week I visited the Swedish Parliament, which has a semi-circular chamber in which the members sit by region rather than by party. They were saying how that makes a big difference, and I was thinking, as I sit here listening to all the incredible speeches about the wonderful Jo Cox, that would it not be an incredible legacy if we did politics in a much more consensual and cross-party way?