Robin Swann MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 18 Mar 2026 · Student Loans · Hansard source

  More

  On that point, does the Minister agree that there is another way? The Open University also allows people to earn and learn at the same time. The situation is not as simple as university or apprenticeship. There is a middle way and, as a former graduate of the Open University, I encourage the Government to support it.

• 18 Mar 2026 · Student Loans · Hansard source

  More

  The right hon. Lady says that the system is unfair. Does she agree that charging interest rates during maternity and paternity leave is also unfair? It disadvantages people in the workplace, especially women, who have worked hard to get into progressive careers through university education, and they are penalised at that point.

• 11 Mar 2026 · Commonwealth Day 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Member for giving way. He will be aware that a good friend of ours, Frank Feighan, the TD for Sligo-Leitrim, is in Westminster today. Frank has often championed the idea that the Republic of Ireland should return to the Commonwealth and expand that greater familiar connectivity that we have across the old empire. Does the Member agree that Frank should be encouraged to forward that argument?

• 11 Mar 2026 · Commonwealth Day 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  rose —

• 25 Feb 2026 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: Scottish Veterans · Hansard source

  More

  First, may I join the commemoration of Jeane Freeman, having served with her during her period as Scottish Health Secretary? The question I asked was actually about whether the Secretary of State for Scotland had met the Scottish Veterans Commissioner in respect of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. That legislation will have a dramatic effect on veterans across the United Kingdom, no matter where they served, and it would be best if the Scotland Office also knew about its impact.

• 25 Feb 2026 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill: Scottish Veterans · Hansard source

  More

  2. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Veterans Commissioner on the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.

• 23 Feb 2026 · Northern Ireland: Local Growth Fund · Hansard source

  More

  4. What plans he has for the delivery of the local growth fund in Northern Ireland.

• 23 Feb 2026 · Northern Ireland: Local Growth Fund · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Minister for meeting me to discuss the concerns raised by the voluntary community sector in Northern Ireland about how the fund will be split between capital and revenue. We are now looking at a fund that is more capital-heavy than revenue-heavy, and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People has said that the shift towards capital-heavy investment fails to recognise the reality that youth and community work is relational, intensive and people-driven, not infrastructure-driven. Will the Minister continue to work to shift the balance between capital and revenue, so that the funding supports the people who use it?

• 27 Jan 2026 · Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I welcome the Secretary of State’s approach to the Bill, and how he has worked across all devolved Administrations. May I seek his assurance that medical students who reside in Northern Ireland, who identify as Irish and who study in an Irish institution in the Republic of Ireland will not be excluded from coming back to work in the national health service in Northern Ireland, where we very much need all the talent we can get?

• 27 Jan 2026 · Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  As I said earlier, I will be supporting the Bill. I thank the Secretary of State and the Minister for their engagement with the devolved institutions on the Bill’s intentions, and on expediting its progress. Its implications for Northern Ireland, and for the medical workforce spanning the islands, are crucial. As has been discussed, the Bill introduces a UK-wide duty on providers of medical training to prioritise applicants who have graduated from medical schools in the UK or the Republic of Ireland. While health is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, I entirely recognise that this legislation is essential to preserving a joined-up and UK-wide approach to medical training and recruitment. For too long, we have seen increasing pressures on training pathways, with locally trained graduates facing uncertainties and bottlenecks when moving from undergraduate education into foundation and specialty training. I hope very much that the Bill will ensure that those who trained in UK and Republic of Ireland systems have a clear and reliable route into employment in those same systems. I welcome clause 4, which refers to the terms “UK medical graduate” and “the priority group”, but am concerned about the drafting of amendment 9, which was tabled by members of His Majesty’s official Opposition. If Northern Ireland were excluded from these arrangements in any way, by default, it would face an invidious choice between accepting increased competition for limited training places and withdrawing from national recruitment altogether. The latter would place a significant administrative and financial burden on local bodies, particularly the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, and could risk undermining long-established recruitment structures. I welcome the fact that the Bill does not impose additional costs on health services in Northern Ireland, given that the system is under unprecedented financial strain. Instead, it simply changes the order in which applications are considered for existing programmes, and by doing so, it helps to protect the investment made in medical education. However, I seek an assurance from the Minister in connection with a graduate-entry medical school that was created at Magee College back in 2021. The first cohort of graduates came through in June 2025—69 second-degree doctors and surgeons. I hope that nothing in the Bill will hinder their progression into the workforce. I am sure that the Minister has engaged with the Northern Ireland Health Minister on ensuring that there are no impediments to that progression. Ultimately, the Bill supports locally trained doctors and maintains the integrity of national recruitment systems. I therefore fully support it, along with its extension to Northern Ireland through the legislative consent motion process. I genuinely wish the Minister well, and commend her on the constructive approach taken to recognising Northern Ireland’s devolved competences while ensuring alignment across the entirety of the United Kingdom. However, I will support the Opposition amendment regarding the timing. In my view, this legislation is not just the right thing to do. It is the timely thing to do in order to tackle the issue of workforce recruitment, and it should not be used in any negotiations with the British Medical Association to resolve another issue out there. I seek an assurance from the Secretary of State, as other speakers have done, that the Bill will be introduced in the right manner, because it is the right thing to do.

• 26 Jan 2026 · Armed Forces Bill · Hansard source

  More

  rose—

• 26 Jan 2026 · Armed Forces Bill · Hansard source

  More

  The Secretary of State talks about a patchwork quilt and a postcode lottery. Operation Restore supports military veterans with their physical and mental health, but Northern Ireland-resident veterans do not have the same access in devolved institutions—the likes of the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt orthopaedic hospital. Will the legislation enable Northern Ireland-resident veterans to access the services that are accessible to English veterans?

• 26 Jan 2026 · Police Reform White Paper · Hansard source

  More

  The Police Service of Northern Ireland is currently excluded from the counter-terrorism policing grant of about £1 billion a year, which is accessible to GB forces. Now that counter-terrorism is being looked after by the National Police Service, will the Police Service of Northern Ireland be able to access some of that funding?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and Reconciliation · Hansard source

  More

  Can I ask the House to pay tribute to and acknowledge the contribution of my hon. Friend the Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon)? [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] That emotion, that story and that heartfelt contribution to today’s debate are replicated across many houses across Northern Ireland, and indeed across this United Kingdom, in regard to those who have lost loved ones, both at the hands of terrorism and in other circumstances in Northern Ireland. That emotion is also felt by our veterans. It is only when I came into this place that I realised, as a Northern Ireland politician, that when we speak of a Northern Ireland veteran, we speak of the RUC, the UDR, the home regiments and those who served, as well as the family and relatives of my hon. Friend the Member for Strangford and all those who contributed, including all those who went home at night not knowing if their colleague walking beside them was actually the individual who was passing information to the person who was planning their murder. But when I came here, I realised that the conversation is also about the Northern Ireland veterans from England, Scotland and Wales who came to Northern Ireland to serve and to defend and protect what we believed was a democratic system in regard to our rights and our beliefs. Let us remember that context in regard to that emotion and that service, and then look at what is being brought forward to this House and what is being asked of Members of this House and of members of the Government. I have respect for many of them, but throughout this three-hour debate—no harm to the Government—their Benches were empty. When the bells ring, Government Members will come and do what they have been bid to do. That is in complete contrast with Monday evening. The question has been raised: why are we rushing this remedial order while there is no troubles Bill to replace it? Why the rush? On Monday evening, the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones), said on the Public Office (Accountability) Bill that “we must think about all the possible scenarios and unintended consequences”. —[ Official Report , 19 January 2026; Vol. 779, c. 103.] It is right to acknowledge that that is not a simple issue. The Government remain resolutely committed to finding a way forward, which is why they took the decision to delay. If it was right for the Government to do that on Monday evening, it is right for this Secretary of State to delay this remedial order until the judge and the courts have had their opportunity to complete their processes in regard to what is right and just, and then this House can have that legal, informed debate on why we should be moving forward. I want to refer to two contributions from Government Members. The hon. Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson), who I have a lot of respect for from when she served in the Northern Ireland Office, referred to how rare it is to use a remedial order, so why use it in haste? Why not take the time to actually reflect on what it is? In regard to those parts of the legislation that are being removed, the hon. Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald) said that they have actually never taken effect, so why the rush to bring this remedial order?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and Reconciliation · Hansard source

  More

  Would the hon. Gentleman consider that there is a political reason for the Northern Ireland Office to bring this measure forward: to placate the Irish Government and their timeline rather than the timeline of this place?

• 21 Jan 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  Q7. Challenging economic inactivity and supporting the vulnerable across the country is something that we all want, so would the Prime Minister be surprised to learn that, in Northern Ireland, around 11,000 people previously supported by UK shared prosperity funding will see those programmes cut dramatically, compounded by 400 job losses? Does he support the cuts to those vital programmes, and will he arrange an urgent meeting for me, and the organisations that have been impacted, with the relevant decision maker in Government so that these changes and challenges can be resolved?

• 14 Jan 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

  More

  At question time last week, the Prime Minister seemed to intimate that the Government were bringing forward amendments to the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill. Within hours of him saying that, the Irish Government’s Minister for Foreign Affairs said that any “significant changes” must have the “full agreement of both Governments”. Is the Prime Minister intending to bring forward amendments to the flawed Northern Ireland Troubles Bill? Will he give me a reassurance that the Irish Government do not have a veto over legislation in this House?

• 13 Jan 2026 · Northern Ireland Political Institutions: Reform · Hansard source

  More

  I heard the Prime Minister refer to the work of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee in the Chamber last week. Does the Minister realise that that has met only 12 times since 2024? It is not a Committee that is doing a lot of work or delivering a lot.

• 13 Jan 2026 · Northern Ireland Political Institutions: Reform · Hansard source

  More

  The Minister knows that I have challenged the Secretary of State about the transformation fund that was set up when the Executive came back two years ago. Does he agree that it is lamentable that that money is still not completely spent and not completely allocated? A committee has been formed to assess the best projects, rather than actually getting on with supporting the Ministers who want to make transformation a real thing.

• 13 Jan 2026 · Northern Ireland Political Institutions: Reform · Hansard source

  More

  Does the hon. Lady acknowledge that much of the work that was achieved in the Belfast agreement was undermined in St Andrews in 2007, when there was a change to how the First and Deputy First Ministers were elected? Rather than being a co-post, it became a divided office.

• 12 Jan 2026 · New Medium Helicopter Contract · Hansard source

  More

  On 26 March last year, three RAF Pumas performed a final fly-past of Aldergrove in my constituency. What urgency is there to fill that capacity gap of medium-lift helicopters and to secure a full utilisation of what used to be Joint Helicopter Command Aldergrove?

• 12 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  That is an important point, and one that the Minister needs to clarify. The Government’s online advice actually says that it is not simply a married couple or those in a civil partnership; it says: “Two people (such as siblings) who jointly own a farm will be able to pass on a farm up to £5.65 million tax free.” The Government have to provide clarity on that.

• 12 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I want to take the Minister back to his earlier commitment on Scotland. Will the Government give the same commitment to farmers in Northern Ireland? We have a very different family farm structure from that in the rest of the United Kingdom, and the engagement of and representations by the Ulster Farmers’ Union and the Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster should bring this Government to a realisation that their last proposals did not sit well with farmers across this United Kingdom.

• 7 Jan 2026 · 2025 Budget · Hansard source

  More

  When the Executive were restored two years ago, a fund was set up for the transformation of public services. As of yet, that money has not been fully allocated. Will the Secretary of State use his offices to encourage the Executive to deploy that transformation fund to transform Northern Ireland’s public services?

• 7 Jan 2026 · Draft Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (Application To Immigration Officers and Designated Customs Officials In Northern Ireland) and Consequential Amendments Regulations 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I have two questions for the Minister about the regulations. He touched briefly on the interaction with Garda Síochána; I note that enforcement of the regulations will “serve to improve the interoperability of Border Force and Immigration Enforcement with partner law enforcement agencies”. Given that Northern Ireland is the only part of this United Kingdom that has a land border with an EU member state, that interaction with the Garda Síochána and equivalent organisations will be crucial to implementing the regulations appropriately. The other question is maybe minor, but I seek clarity from the Minister on the additional powers being given to customs officials under the regulations, and on the additional customs implications for small and medium enterprises in Northern Ireland due to the Windsor framework. Can he reassure me that the use of those additional powers will not have an adverse effect on parcels and packages coming from GB into Northern Ireland, and that the regulations will not become an impairment to keeping the border between GB and Northern Ireland free for the movement of goods and parcels?