Speeches by Ferguson.

“On 26 February I raised with the Leader of the House my fears that the unreliability of the postal service might affect constituents in Glasgow West who wish to vote by post in the Scottish Parliament elections. Since then, I have been advised of a situation where a proxy vote application was received some days after t…”

“I thank the Minister for his statement. According to the United Nations, the number of violent incidents in the west bank caused by illegal settlers increased to a record level last August. It is no coincidence that that is the time of maximum harvests in the area. Will the Government continue to enact sanctions agains…”

“Does the Chief Secretary to the Treasury agree that it is right that we did not rush into the Iran war and that our Government’s plans and actions to support households are responsive to changing events, rather than being knee-jerk reactions that end up causing more damage to our economy in the longer term?”

“My constituent recently applied to renew his passport. As requested, he returned his old passport to His Majesty’s Passport Office. He then received two consecutive messages advising him that he had sent the wrong passport—he had not. Subsequently, he received from HMPO a package purporting to contain his old passport,…”

“In January, 15-year-old Jordan Kerr went to the aid of a person who had collapsed on the platform at Drumchapel train station. Jordan administered CPR—cardiopulmonary resuscitation—having learned that skill in the Army cadets, and ultimately helped to save the passenger’s life. Will the Leader of the House join me in o…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. Like others, I was not aware of this condition until I was contacted by my constituent Jo, who has bravely shared her story widely. I am grateful that she has done that. However, one of the things that Jo wanted to have raised today is that a recent repor…”

“Prime Minister, we recently had a very good discussion in Committee with a number of very innovative SMEs and start-up companies. They expressed to us a frustration about not being able to get on to a list of contractors, a list of tenderers, and wondered how they might do that. Can you reassure them that there is a sp…”

“The Scottish Affairs Committee visited Faslane in autumn 2024 and saw for ourselves the scale of investment needed to maintain the base’s operational readiness. What investment has been made to ensure that the Faslane and Lossiemouth bases can continue to maintain NATO’s defence posture in the High North?”

“How do we ensure the balance between exporting frigates and retaining enough for our own use?”

“Moving away from BAE, which is partly in my constituency, Babcock at Rosyth is on track to win a £1 billion contract from the Danish navy for Type 31 frigates. Can you tell us how close you think we might be to securing that deal? At a time when the Royal Navy is very stretched, how do we ensure that we get the right b…”

“Last week we heard reports that the Type 83 frigate programme could be delayed to plug gaps in the defence budget. Do you recognise that such delays could hamper the momentum that has been building in the shipbuilding industry in recent years?”

“I thank the Foreign Secretary for her statement. It was reassuring to hear her say that we will not be outsourcing our foreign policy—something I think we should all agree with. Is she confident that the United States properly understands that its actions in the middle east have not only made peace in Palestine much mo…”

“I draw the hon. Member’s attention to a scheme that has been running in Scotland since about 2000. It used to be called “Bookstart” and is now called “Bookbug”. New-born babies through to children at the beginning of primary school go along to the library with their parent or carer and take part in communal reading, si…”

“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Hobhouse. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) for securing the debate, and for her excellent contribution that set the scene for our discussion. I am sure we all remember what triggered our own love of reading—a particular book or st…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for securing the debate. I intervene in my capacity as Chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, of which she and many other hon. Members here today are valued members. As she knows, our Committee has been examining this entire topic a…”

“My right hon. Friend is well aware of the ongoing issues with Royal Mail and the concerns of many Members and constituents about the delayed delivery of hospital appointment letters and other important correspondence. The Communication Workers Union advises that the problem of delivery office staff turnover is worse in…”

“The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa, recently said of Palestine: “Peace and reconciliation are beautiful concepts, but they risk remaining mere slogans if they are not accompanied today by concrete actions, gestures and testimonies that physically demonstrate the possibility of rebuilding trust.” Does…”

“7. What steps the Church is taking to support Palestinians living in Gaza and the west bank.”

“Any support for Scottish hospitality businesses is welcome; however, the recent Scottish Budget simply tinkers around the edges, with many businesses still in line for a 400% tax hike. Does my hon. Friend agree that a fundamental overhaul and redesign of the current system is required so that we can deliver stronger ec…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. Instruments such as this draft order alter Scotland’s devolution settlement and require inter-governmental co-operation: areas that fall squarely within the remit of the Scottish Affairs Committee. For that reason, as members of this Committee will know, the …”