Patricia Ferguson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my hon. Friend for taking a further intervention. As a signatory to his amendment, I wonder whether his discussions with the Minister have included someone with a condition such as relapsing-remitting MS who can spend long periods appearing to be perfectly healthy, but then have other periods when a crisis occurs and they are debilitated by their condition. Will the provisions that the Minister describes be sympathetic to those sorts of situations?

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman will understand that it is for me to decide what my intervention will be. I was going to say that I am very pleased to hear him sticking up for people who really need help. What part of new clause 9 actually makes things better for people who need help?

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  rose —

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  rose—

• 3 Jul 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My right hon. Friend will be aware of the importance of post offices to communities up and down the country, particularly those where there are no banks and where other facilities are in short supply. I hope she shares my concern that the post office in Drumchapel, in my Glasgow West constituency, is being threatened with closure. Will she allow a debate in Government time on the merits of post offices and their importance to local communities across the land?

• 30 Jun 2025 · Welfare Reform · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to my colleagues on the Front Bench for listening to what Back Benchers have been saying for months, and for making so many changes. However, I did not see any changes that affect young people, particularly care-experienced young people. Will the Secretary of State cast some light on what discussions are ongoing with young people about the processes involving them?

• 26 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  My constituent applied to have his case against his pension provider considered by the ombudsman, and he contacted me because of the delay in receiving a determination. I, in turn, wrote to the ombudsman, who advised that my constituent was in the correct place in the queue and would be allocated to an adjudicator in September 2025. My constituent made his original application in May 2020. I am sure the Leader of the House would agree that this timescale is not acceptable, so will she find time for a debate to shine a light on why such inefficiency and poor response to constituents is happening?

• 26 Jun 2025 · G7 and NATO Summits · Hansard source

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  I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and his leadership—something that I am sure is welcomed by our allies around the world, if not by the Opposition. My right hon. and learned Friend mentions that there is now a window of opportunity for peace in the middle east. I am sure that we would all want that to come to fruition. However, given the continuation of deadly attacks on Palestinian people seeking food, can the Prime Minister advise, following his discussions, whether there is any prospect of Israel allowing the United Nations and other humanitarian organisations to resume food distribution in an ordered and fair way?

• 25 Jun 2025 · Haemochromatosis Screening · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes an excellent point about the need to test in the Western Isles, and his solution of using the community payback from wind farms is an excellent idea. Would he want to go further thereafter and test more widely? My brother has haemochromatosis, and it was discovered completely by accident. The rest of the family were then tested, and one or two cousins were found to have it, although I fortunately do not. It is much more prevalent than any of us ever imagined, and I had never heard of it until my own brother was diagnosed.

• 24 Jun 2025 · War Memorials · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I, too, thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for securing this important debate. In preparing for this debate, it occurred to me that war memorials are significant in a variety of ways. The first and most personal is their importance to the families of those who died in war. My great-uncle Philip Ferguson served in the 75th Squadron of the RAF Volunteer Reserve. Philip was one of 13 children, but a combination of age and reserved occupations meant that he was the only one to serve in the second world war. Unfortunately, on 22 January 1943, Philip’s plane was shot down over the channel. For a time, he was officially listed as missing, but it quickly became clear that he had been killed. Clearly, his body was never recovered, so there was no funeral, and until the national memorial at Runnymede was established in 1953, there was no official record of his service and death. To the family, it is important that his name is recorded, and I very much look forward to visiting Runnymede to see the memorial for myself. Memorials are also important to communities. In 2010, after a considerable amount of lobbying and hard work, a memorial was created and dedicated at Knightswood Cross in my Glasgow West constituency. Terence McCourt, himself a Parachute Regiment veteran and a charity fundraiser, was recently recognised with the award of an MBE, in part for his efforts to secure that memorial. It is the rallying point for all the commemorations that take place in the area, most of them also organised by Terence, but outwith those days, it is always good to see people sitting on its benches, admiring the flowers and perhaps reflecting on their own family’s service. The third way in which memorials are important is in giving communities a sense of place. I served for some time as a Member of the Scottish Parliament, and my constituency contained part of an area now so ably served by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes). The area in question was, until the 1960s, the location of a great many tenemental properties. One particularly short street was called Lyon Street, and the 1901 census tells us that there were a dozen tenement buildings housing around 1,500 people. It really does beggar belief. Sometimes, according to the census, families of eight or nine took in lodgers to help to pay the rent. From that street, 211 men volunteered to fight in world war one. They served in every Scottish regiment: the Cameronians, the Highland Light Infantry, the Black Watch, the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Seaforth Highlanders. Forty-five never came home, 27 were wounded and two were missing in action. Immediately after the first world war, Lyon Street was recognised as the most decorated street in Britain. Unfortunately, nothing now remains of Lyon Street—it does not exist any longer, and even the plaque commemorating the fallen has long since disappeared. When I was the local MSP, I tried hard to locate it, but it seems to have been lost forever. However, the site is now home to St Joseph’s primary school, and the pupils and staff arranged their own memorial and honour the fallen every year. I mention Lyon Street because researching the story made me realise that this part of Glasgow has changed completely since the world war. Lyon Street has gone and the overcrowded tenements have gone, but the memory of those men, and the place that was their home, is still alive—not least thanks to the pupils of St Joseph’s, who although separated from the first world war by more than 100 years, understand the importance of remembering.

• 20 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member give way?

• 16 Jun 2025 · Iran-Israel Conflict · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and for making so clear what the UK Government’s actions are. However, it is very clear that the suffering in Palestine will continue, if not accelerate, given the situation pertaining in the middle east, so what action can be taken to try to ensure that aid gets into that beleaguered area? Also, what efforts can be made to ensure that the recognition of Palestine is kept firmly on the diplomatic table?

• 16 Jun 2025 · Child Sexual Exploitation: Casey Report · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary for her statement. One of the questions running through Baroness Casey’s audit is “Why?”—not just why that type of offending has been allowed to grow unchecked in our society, but why people are driven to commit such vile crimes. Can the Home Secretary assure me that the Government will commission serious, thorough and considered research into the drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation, including looking at all the issues around ethnicity and age? Will those findings be shared with the devolved Administrations who, as we have heard, have not been exempt from these issues?

• 13 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I am genuinely looking for clarification. As a former Cabinet Minister in the Scottish Government, I jealously guard the devolution settlement. I wonder how the extension of some of these clauses to include Scotland will be interpreted. What conversations have taken place between my hon. Friend, Scotland’s Lord Advocate and the Scottish Government?

• 13 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak to my amendment 13, which concerns the appointment of the voluntary assisted dying commissioner. In Committee, it was decided that the Prime Minister would appoint the voluntary assisted dying commissioner, and that the appointee would serve for five years and be responsible for appointing the assisted dying review panels. The commissioner would also oversee the training of panel members, give them guidance on the procedures to be used and, crucially, decide when a case that a panel has refused should be referred to another panel for reconsideration. According to the Bill, the commissioner will not be acting as a judge, but they must be a current or former senior judge of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal or High Court. However, they are not required to have any expertise in medicine or healthcare. Importantly, following our considerations in Committee, the Bill no longer requires that the chief medical officer be responsible for monitoring whether or not the assisted dying regime complies with the law. That responsibility has now been transferred to the voluntary assisted dying commissioner, so the person in charge of overseeing the process and setting up the panels will also be the person deciding whether the Act is being administered correctly.

• 13 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a valid point. The point of my amendment, as I will come on to, is that we need to ensure as much scrutiny as possible in this regard. From what I have outlined, this is clearly an exceptionally important post, which carries great responsibility and significant power; indeed, it seems the postholder will require the judgment of Solomon to be able to fulfil their role. It is therefore surprising that, as the Bill stands, there is no requirement for pre-appointment scrutiny by the relevant Select Committee, despite the profile of the post and the controversy it will inevitably attract. Considering that such pre-appointment scrutiny is required for the chair of the Competition and Markets Authority, the chair of the BBC, the chair of the Charity Commission, the Information Commissioner, the chair of the Care Quality Commission, the health service commissioner for England, the chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission and the chair of the UK Statistics Authority, the omission of such scrutiny in this case is clearly a serious oversight, which my amendment seeks to remedy by ensuring that the correct Select Committee has the power of scrutiny. In my view, we need to guard the rights and privileges of Parliament jealously. We must ensure that Parliament is involved in the scrutiny of this legislation going forward as much as we possibly can. The Bill itself requires this to be as rigorous and transparent as is possible. No matter what side of the debate we are on, it is important to ensure that the Bill is as strong and as good as it possibly can be; we owe it to the people who send us here—the people who have been writing to us in such great numbers. My amendment seeks to strengthen the Bill in respect of the voluntary assisted dying commissioner.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Child Poverty and No Recourse to Public Funds · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for taking my intervention, and it is always a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Dr Huq. Earlier this year, I held a consultation event on the Child Poverty Taskforce. One of the themes that came out starkly was that many children in migrant families act as interpreters for their own parents, who do not speak English, and often they attend appointments, miss school and are exposed to situations and correspondence that children really should not be exposed to, which adds to the inequality that these young people are facing. Does my hon. Friend agree that this “adultisation” of children really should not be happening?

• 11 Jun 2025 · Child Poverty and No Recourse to Public Funds · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Member agree with me that it is also invidious that young people in Scotland who want to apply for the Young Scot card, which allows them free travel, have to produce a British birth certificate?

• 10 Jun 2025 · Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories · Hansard source

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  Many of us have urged this course of action on the Government for some time now, and the imposition of sanctions on these two individuals and others in the Israeli Government is something that is, perhaps, over time. However, I very much welcome the Minister’s statement this evening and the hard work that has gone into getting us to this point. I understand the importance of working in concert with our allies, but if the co-operation of our allies is not forthcoming, will the UK Government, given the strength of feeling across the Chamber, unilaterally recognise the state of Palestine?

• 3 Jun 2025 · Dementia Care · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for taking so many interventions; it is very welcome. As she will be aware, health is devolved to the Scottish Government, and we Scots have a slightly different system. However, Alzheimer Scotland has called on the Scottish Government to commit to recognising that the needs of people with advanced dementia are healthcare needs and to ensure equality of access to appropriate health and nursing care that is free at the point of delivery, regardless of our geography. Does she agree that that is what we all want for our loved ones?

• 2 Jun 2025 · Strategic Defence Review · Hansard source

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  I was pleased to read in the SDR about the importance of building on the 2024 joint declaration on the Norwegian-UK strategic partnership, which recognises the autonomy of both countries and the strength that comes from working together. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that important partnership would be further strengthened if Norway decided to purchase the Type 26 frigates—the best frigates in the world—that are built in Govan, in Glasgow South West, and Scotstoun, in my Glasgow West constituency?

• 21 May 2025 · Ukraine: Forcibly Deported Children · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter) for securing the debate and for all the work she has been doing on such an important issue. In August last year, I was delighted to attend what has become a regular event in Victoria park in my constituency to celebrate Ukrainian independence day. It was hosted by the Friends of Victoria Park, in partnership with the Glasgow branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain. We celebrated Ukrainian culture, freedom and sovereignty, and created a sense of community by bringing together Ukrainians and Glaswegians who took part in various sporting activities, enjoyed Ukrainian art workshops—best to gloss over my efforts—and listened to beautiful Ukrainian music. People across all generations were brought together in a celebration of Ukraine’s cultural heritage. But many Ukrainian children are denied the opportunity to engage with their heritage. Russia’s forced deportation of children has torn Ukrainian families apart, and the weaponisation of citizenship by the Russian Government is making it increasingly difficult for stolen Ukrainian children to be identified and returned to their families and homes. The naturalisation of these children as Russian citizens has a further devastating consequence, because it robs Ukraine of its future citizens. By denying those children their right to be Ukrainian, Russia is systematically working to remove their identity. As we have heard, this ideological strategy comes directly from the top of the Russian Government, with President Putin repeatedly denying the legitimacy of Ukraine’s sovereignty and describing Ukrainians as Russians. Beyond the horrific removal of children from Ukraine, the Russian Government are using a deliberate tactic of cultural suppression and re-education to further erase the children’s Ukrainian identity. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has described the Russian Government’s actions as the targeted destruction of Ukraine’s culture, noting that the Russian authorities have removed cultural symbols, dismantled Ukrainian language education and rewritten national history in the occupied territories. Sadly, this is not a new tactic. The Russian Government also used the forced displacement of children and the erasure of their culture during the annexation of Crimea. According to a 2017 review of court records, this meant that less than 10% of children born in occupied Crimea were able to get a Ukrainian birth certificate. This deliberate war strategy will have long-term implications for the future of Ukraine. By targeting the youngest members of society, Russia is purposefully raising a future generation whose ties to their country and heritage have been weakened and, in some cases, completely erased. The Government have taken welcome action to implement targeted sanctions on Russia to disrupt the military supply chain and revenue funding for the war; hopefully, the same urgency can be applied to identifying and sanctioning those involved in the illegal transfer and mass deportation of children. I am very taken with the idea of a day of action to highlight this issue—perhaps we should do that on Ukrainian Independence Day in August. Without imminent action, more Ukrainian children will lose touch with their family, their home and their culture. Russia’s actions will have far-reaching and damaging effects for the families and for Ukraine, but most of all for the children.

• 16 May 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend give way?

• 15 May 2025 · Sanctions Implementation and Enforcement · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a powerful case for the efficacy of sanctions in achieving our diplomatic and foreign policy aims, but as we observe the 50,000 deaths, the countless injuries, the forced displacement, and now the possibility of mass starvation and the renewal of bombing of hospitals by Israel in Gaza, is it not time that sanctions were applied to Ministers such as Smotrich and Ben-Gvir? It is perfectly understandable for the Minister to say that he will not discuss future designations in the Chamber, but will he consider and discuss with colleagues the strength of feeling in this Chamber that sanctions must be placed on these individuals sooner rather than later?

• 15 May 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Football Families for Justice is a voluntary organisation that campaigns on behalf of ex-professional footballers who have died or are suffering from neurodegenerative diseases incurred by heading footballs. Footballers suffer such diseases at four to five times the national average. The FFJ has tried to engage the football industry to persuade it to accept some responsibility for the problem, but to no avail. Will the Leader of the House advise on whether the Government would consider amendments to the Football Governance Bill that would encourage the industry to do so?