Catherine Fookes MP: speeches 2025

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Speeches

18 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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T6. I am sure that Members from all parts of the House will join me in sending their best wishes to residents across Monmouthshire who have been severely affected by floods this weekend, particularly residents of Monmouth. One has told me that a tidal wave came down Drybridge Street at 1.30 am—in the middle of the night. It was terrifying, and businesses and houses have been decimated. The Minister recognises that we are facing a climate crisis, which means such events are all the more frequent. Can he reassure me that he will continue to work with Cabinet colleagues to meet our climate change commitments, so that we stop such events happening so frequently?
12 Nov 2025 · Broadband Coverage · Hansard source
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My constituents regularly tell me how frustrating it is to try to take work video-calls from home: they get the circle of doom. I know they are not exaggerating, because it happens to me too, especially when my kids are at home. Can the Minister update my constituents and me on Project Gigabit’s progress and plans for better broadband in rural areas?
11 Nov 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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Thanks to incredible campaigners on the Labour Benches, the Victims and Courts Bill protects children by putting important restrictions on parental responsibility following certain serious sexual offences. One of my constituents is a fierce campaigner for services and safety measures for children whose parent has committed a sexual offence against a child outside the family home. Children in the home are victims even though they were not directly abused. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that all children of child sex offenders are offered better protection and support?
11 Nov 2025 · Prisoner Releases in Error · Hansard source
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I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. Having spoken to my prison governor in Monmouthshire this weekend, I know the burden that clerks and prison officers are under when they are calculating these sentences on paper. The brass neck of the Conservatives is quite something to be believed. Their own party grandee William Hague has said that “the Conservative Government failed to grasp either that they had to build more prison places or that they had to let people out, and they did not want to face up to either.” Can the Secretary of State say how we are tackling both?
4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source
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No; I want to remind the shadow Minister that we on this side of the House talk up our high streets, while all I can hear from the opposite Benches is people talking them down. As for red tape, the family businesses in my constituency were desperate to get rid of the red tape that the Conservatives created during their botched Brexit deals. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that by giving £5 billion to the Pride in Place scheme, this Government are doing a great deal more to support our high streets than his Government ever did?
4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source
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Does the Minister agree that the £1.5 million that my constituency of Monmouthshire will get for our five high streets will make a huge impact and help deliver the change that we so vitally need in our high streets?
4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source
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rose—
29 Oct 2025 · Cross-border Rail Connectivity · Hansard source
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I thank the Minister for that £445 million investment, which will be a fundamental driver of economic growth and connectivity in south Wales. What action is she taking with Cabinet colleagues and industry partners to ensure that a new station serving my constituents in Magor and Undy is delivered without delay, getting my constituents on track, and faster, towards their destinations?
29 Oct 2025 · Cross-border Rail Connectivity · Hansard source
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6. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to improve cross-border rail connectivity between Wales and England.
27 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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At the Conservative party conference, the shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury called for the state pension to be means-tested. This has caused deep concern to pensioners in Monmouthshire who have worked hard all their lives and built up modest savings. Under the Conservative party’s plans, they would risk losing their state pension. Will the Secretary of State confirm that, under this Labour Government, the state pension will remain available to all?
27 Oct 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
3 Sept 2025 · Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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Last weekend, I attended the reopening of a wonderful pub in my constituency: the Star in Llansoy. It was one of the 10,000 pubs that shut on the Conservatives’ watch, and it has now been reopened by the community. Does the shadow Minister agree that our policies are giving businesses confidence to reopen?
3 Sept 2025 · Hospitality Sector · Hansard source
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Last week I was delighted to attend the reopening of what was once my local pub when I first moved to Monmouthshire 25 years ago. The Star on the Hill in Llanfihangel Tor y Mynydd was one of 6,000 UK pubs and bars that closed during the 15 years of Tory neglect, but it has been revived by the brilliant local community and its new landlords, who have worked tirelessly to get it started again. Other new hospitality businesses have opened recently, including the Fuzion restaurant in Abergavenny and Rustica in Monmouth. Monmouthshire is the food capital of Wales. We have the Abergavenny food festival, which was once described as the Glastonbury of food festivals. Members are welcome to visit on 20 and 21 September and see the incredible hospitality we have on offer. Over 450 hospitality businesses, employing over 2,800 people, play a vital role in making Monmouthshire a fantastic place to live and visit—from the Black Bear Inn and the Boat Inn, to my new local, the Halfway. The Halfway is run by Rhi and Jason, who have also opened an amazing shop so that people do not have to drive to the nearest shop, because we are a bit out in the middle of nowhere. It is a community interest company, and it is doing fantastic stuff for our community and employing people from the community. I am relieved that the Government are determined to deliver the support that pubs and hospitality need to survive and begin to thrive once again. Labour backs hospitality and, unlike the Conservatives, it is matching that message with meaningful action. This Labour Government have cut tax on pints and are getting rid of the red tape that stops customers being able to take their after-work pint on to the pavement. The Welsh Labour Government will help my constituents in Monmouthshire by providing a 40% discount on non-domestic rates for businesses in retail, leisure and hospitality for the sixth year in a row. This is the life support that our pubs need, and I know that the Government will continue to do the right thing by engaging with the sector about the challenges it is navigating and the help that it needs. I look forward to spending as much time as this job will allow in the various pubs and cafés I have mentioned in Monmouthshire. I can now be hopeful that after over a decade of neglect, we can start to see hospitality businesses go from strength to strength.
3 Sept 2025 · Support for Trans People · Hansard source
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I am really pleased that the Government are committed to delivering a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy. When will that legislation be introduced to bring that abusive practice to an end?
16 Jul 2025 · Family Farms · Hansard source
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The Welsh Government’s budget contains over £300 million to support Welsh farmers. Is it not the case that Plaid Cymru and the Tories put Welsh farmers’ livelihoods at risk by voting against that crucial money?
9 Jul 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source
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Q8. I am delighted at the spending review commitment of £445 million for Welsh rail. A new station at Magor and Undy will take cars off the congested M4, offer greener journeys and open doors for local residents without a vehicle to get jobs. It is also great value for money due to the track and infrastructure that is already in place. Does the Prime Minister agree that Magor and Undy is an excellent candidate to be the first Burns station to be built, so that it can start serving local people?
8 Jul 2025 · Road and Rail Projects · Hansard source
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I welcome the ramped up spending that the Secretary of State has announced today and the £445 million for Wales that was promised at the spending review. The new station at Magor and Undy could take cars off the M4 and open doors for local people who do not have a car and currently cannot get a job because of a lack of transport. Does she agree that the Magor and Undy walkway station would be an excellent candidate for starting the five Burns stations, given the track and infrastructure that already exist at Magor and Undy?
1 Jul 2025 · Supporting Economic Growth · Hansard source
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9. What steps she is taking to help increase economic growth in Monmouthshire.
1 Jul 2025 · Supporting Economic Growth · Hansard source
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As the Minister knows, I am delighted with the spending review’s investment in Welsh rail of £445 million. It shows the power of two Labour Governments working together and corrects years of underfunding from the Tories. This investment in Welsh communities and Welsh business is extremely welcome and it will be a brilliant driver of our Government’s mission for economic growth. Will she outline what steps she is taking with other Departments to ensure that rural economies and market towns such as Monmouth, Abergavenny, Caldicot and Chepstow, and small businesses across Monmouthshire, can be helped to thrive and contribute to that growth mission?
26 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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As the Secretary of State knows, I welcome the £445 million being invested in Welsh rail over the next five years, but will she help me to secure a meeting with the Rail Minister, so that we can discuss the need to start off building the Burns stations with the Magor and Undy station in Monmouthshire?
25 Jun 2025 · Department for Transport · Hansard source
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Monmouthshire is a rural county and access to transport is critical, so I am delighted to speak in this estimates day debate. Transport enables people to get to work, school, hospital appointments and, of course, anywhere else they need to be. It also enables me to get up here from Monmouthshire. I have already talked about my favourite bus service, the No. 65, which goes through the lovely villages of Trellech and Devauden, and is incredibly important for allowing young people who cannot drive yet to get to work and so on. I am delighted with the expenditure outlined in the comprehensive spending review for improving transport links across south Wales and reaching over the border. This has the potential to be an absolute game changer for my constituents. A lack of regular, reliable public transport is holding our county back, and it is frustrating and restrictive for residents. More importantly, it is a major barrier to economic growth, which is the main mission of this Government. That is why I and Monmouthshire residents were over the moon when, in the spending review, £445 million was committed to Welsh rail. The funding is being made available for the Burns stations—five stations outlined in the Burns review that run between my constituency of Monmouthshire and across to Cardiff. That includes an important station to me: the station of Magor and Undy. Hundreds of new homes have been built at Magor and Undy, and the commuters who live in them do not have a viable option to get to work other than by road. There are major road congestion problems around Magor, particularly on the nearby M4, so this transformative rail funding will see huge benefits for my community and allow huge numbers of people to avoid using a car at all for their commute.
25 Jun 2025 · Department for Transport · Hansard source
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Buses are important to my community in Wales, including the No. 65 that connects Monmouth and Chepstow and is supported by an incredible community group called the Friends of the 65 Bus. Does my hon. Friend agree that we must have more funding for buses across the UK?
25 Jun 2025 · Department for Transport · Hansard source
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I strongly agree. It is great to see two Labour Governments working together, here in Westminster and down in Cardiff, to deliver those better transport links between London and Reading and all the way down to south Wales. It is important that we have Magor and Undy station as soon as possible. It is a walkway station, which is really innovative; people will walk to the station from the surrounding area. It is innovative, it is green and it is an affordable choice to kick-start this important new set of transport links. We have to start somewhere with our five stations down in south Wales, so I am using this debate to strongly suggest that Lord Hendy and the other Transport Ministers support starting the journey at Magor and Undy. Another key issue we face is the closure to heavy goods vehicles of the M48 bridge over the Severn. That is really impacting businesses around Chepstow, particularly on the Newhouse Farm industrial estate. Drivers are being forced to add miles to their journeys. Of course the safety of our bridges is incredibly important, but the closure of the M48 bridge is bad for businesses, bad for the environment and bad for everyone driving locally, as they face even more congestion. Sadly, the situation is expected to continue until late 2026, but I am delighted that the Roads Minister has confirmed to me today that she is encouraging National Highways to expedite the process as soon as possible. I must stress that current timescales are going to hit Monmouthshire hard, so support for local businesses, many of which are in the logistics sector, and help for National Highways to move faster would be extremely welcome. We need the bridge fixing and we need our station at Magor. Those are two really big transport issues for Monmouthshire, proving the importance of the UK and Welsh Governments working together to improve connectivity, sort out congestion, reduce vehicle emissions and, ultimately, supercharge economic growth. I wholeheartedly welcome the funding outlined in the spending review to help us take steps in that direction.
24 Jun 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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T5. Almost daily we hear reports of Israeli forces opening fire near aid distribution sites in Gaza. People cannot even access basic food supplies without risking their lives. Given the horrific level of suffering that we can all see taking place, is it not time to end all arms sales to Israel and to recognise the state of Palestine?
19 Jun 2025 · River Pollution · Hansard source
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9. What steps he is taking to tackle river pollution.

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