The Committee Stage of the Bill was held from 27 February to 18 March 2025.  The Bill returned to the Commons for the Report Stage on 29 April 2025.

The Bill is intended to safeguard public money and protect the economic well-being of the country by reducing public sector fraud, error and debt, making provisions to better identify, prevent and deter public sector fraud and error and enable the better recovery of money owed to the taxpayer where public money has been stolen or overpaid. The Bill is estimated to deliver total benefits of £1.5 billion over the next five years.

There were four amendments selected for debate and all were lost.

New Clause 1: This new clause would delay any payments being taken from people who the Government may think owe repayments on Carer’s Allowance until the independent review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments has been published and fully implemented: Ayes 73:Noes 255

New Clause 10: This new clause would require the Secretary of State to apply to a magistrates’ court  for a liability order where a person has been found guilty of an offence under section 1 or section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006, or the offence at common law of conspiracy to defraud; that offence relates to fraud committed against a public authority and the person has not paid the required penalties or not made the required repayments: Ayes 10:1 Noes 258

New Clause 21: This new clause would amend The Social Security Administration Act 1992 to create an offence of encouraging or assisting others to commit fraud: Ayes 95:Noes 257

Amendment 11:  This amendment would limit the exercise of an eligibility verification notice to cases where the welfare recipient is suspected of wrongdoing: Ayes 85:Noes 238

The question was moved that the Bill be read a third time and passed with no objections.

LACA-the school food people (Local Authority Caterers Association), hosted 'The Great School Lunch' on 29 April 2025. It was good to meet to LACA representatives and school caterers about the importance and challenges of providing school meals.

LACA are the leading professional body representing over 1000 members from across the school food sector. These members are responsible for 80% of the catering service. LACA say free school meals funding should be increased to at least £3.16 per meal to prevent further job losses, protect food quality and ensure every child continues to receive a hot, healthy school lunch.
LACA's proposed funding increase will end the existing postcode lottery, where children in England receive less funding for free school meals compared to those in Scotland (£3.30), Wales (£3.20), and London (£3).

The Football Governance Bill which followed the Fan led Review chaired by Dame Tracey Crouch was debated at Second Reading on 28 April 2025.
The Bill puts fans at the centre of football and aims, among many others, to establish an Independent Football Regulator (IFR) to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of English football. It will oversee clubs playing in competitions specified by the Secretary of State— starting with the top five English leagues (116 clubs). The IFR's goals are to improve how football is run, protect clubs from financial failure, and preserve the heritage of the game for fans and communities. It will be a light touch regulation but will ensure that the clubs in the lower leagues where many top players start their careers also benefit from the financial and other benefits that swirl around football in the Premier League. I signed a letter to the Prime Minister Keir Starmer (pictured below) with 25 other MPs and Lords, urging him to continue his support for the Bill.
A Reasoned Amendment about the regulator was moved, and was lost: Ayes 74, Noes 337.
The House agreed to read the Bill a second time with the result Ayes 342, Noes 70. 
The Bill will now be scrutinised line-by-line in a Public Bill Committee.

His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Mustafa visited Parliament and spoke to MPs after his visit to meet the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary to sign a landmark Memorandum of Understanding. I was pleaded to hear Dr Mustafa outline his hopes for Palestine. 

Dr Mustafa has been Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine in the 19th government since March 2024.

Dr. Mustafa is an independent member of the PLO's Executive Committee and has served as Chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), Deputy Prime Minister, and several senior political and economic positions. He has also worked in many international and Arab public and private economic institutions, including at the World Bank for 15 years in the fields of governance, institutional building, development, policies, and infrastructure development. He has led the institutionalization, launch and management of several leading local and regional funds and corporates.

Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary host Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, demonstrating the UK's steadfast support for the Palestinian Authority.

UK hosts Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mustafa in first official visit to the UK since 2021.
UK and PA to sign Memorandum of Understanding reiterating support for a two-state solution to help secure long-term peace and security in the Middle East.
New UK funding announced to support people in Occupied Palestinian Territories and to help reform and empower the PA.

The invitation reflects the UK’s steadfast support for the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people at a critical juncture in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and desire to further strengthen bilateral relations.

This included a £101 million package of support for the Occupied Palestinian Terroritories.

The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister Mustafa signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding  (MOU)  enshrining their commitment to advancing Palestinian statehood as part of a two-state solution. It will also stress that the Palestinian Authority is the only legitimate governing entity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and underlines the importance of reunifying Gaza and the West Bank under its authority. The MoU will also underscore the commitment of the Palestinian Authority to deliver its reform agenda as a matter of priority.

Alongside this, the UK will announce a package of support for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, expected to include £101 million directed at humanitarian relief, support for Palestinian economic development, and strengthening Palestinian Authority governance and reform.

The UK and PA will also agree on a coordinated approach to Gaza’s future, building on Arab and Palestinian-led initiatives. The UK will make clear that Hamas must immediately release the hostages and relinquish control of Gaza.

The strengthening of the UK-Palestinian partnership represents a key component of the UK government’s Plan for Change, as it works to support long-term peace and security in the Middle East. By working even more closely with the Palestinian Authority, the UK is demonstrating its commitment to the two-state solution as the best option for a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

 

As a Co-Chair of the All Party Parliament Group (APPG) on Publishing, I was delighted to attend the launch of the 'Turning the Page' report by the Publishers Association, who also act as Secretariat to the APPG. The event was held at the House of Lords on 28 April 2025.

In the foreword to the report Baroness Gail Rebuck DBE and I raised the crisis in children and young people's rates of reading for enjoyment. I have previously raised this in Parliament, at the pre-recess adjournment speech in December 2024 to raise these concerns  the National Literacy Trust's evaluation on its Libraries for Primaries campaign in 2024. 

Baroness Rebuck, Perminder Mann and Rob Biddulph spoke at the launch and are pictured with Dan Conway CEO at the Publishers Association. 

I was pleased to see in the "Turning the Page" report that the Libraries for Primaries campaign will have raised nearly £13 million, including book discounts, established 1500 libraries or designated library spaces, trained approximately 3000 teachers and support staff and distributed 628,000 books in primary schools. One of the key recommendations from the report is for the Government to partner with the Libraries for Primaries campaign to deliver universal primary school library provision. 

Other recommendations include:  aiming to create a culture of reading and increasing engagement in reading; the Department of Education to ensure that the national curriculum prioritises reading for enjoyment as well as reading skill development and for the Government to convene key stakeholders to discuss how to respond to the crisis in children's reading rates. We also said goodbye to Perminder Mann as Chair of the Publishers Association and to say thank you for her work and good wishes for her new post. 

You can find the report here: https://www.publishers.org.uk