Commons Debates Defence, Equality and Safe Maternity Care

High-Level Summary

The day opened with Environment, Food and Rural Affairs questions on farming support, sewage, waste crime, UK–EU agrifood arrangements, flooding and related food-sector policy. Questions to the Church Commissioners, the House of Commons Commission and the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission covered places of worship funding, safeguarding, parliamentary plastics, young people’s skills and local-government boundary reviews. An urgent question examined additional Royal Air Force support for Saudi Arabia in response to Houthi attacks; Ministers said the Typhoon deployment would be defensive and that diplomatic and humanitarian efforts would continue. The House considered a motion thanking retiring Clerk of the House Tom Goldsmith, agreed a motion on Black History Month, and concluded with an adjournment debate on North Devon maternity services, where the Government said the unit would reopen once safe staffing was secured.

Detailed Summary

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs questions

Questions covered the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), sewage discharges, waste crime and fly-tipping, the prospective UK–EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, wine production, flood preparation, Scotch whisky geographical indications and wider farming and food policy. Angela Eagle said the Government had allocated “£310 million per year for the next three years” to SFI. She said the Government would consider alternatives to a first-come, first-served application process and rejected the description of the scheme as a collapse, pointing to nearly £1 billion of support over three years. MPs also raised farm profitability, climate pressures and possible effects of EU alignment on gene editing and crop-protection products. Stephen Morgan said the negotiations were in their final stages and that the Government would pursue an agreement “that has British interests at its heart”.

On water and waste, Emma Hardy referred to automatic penalties for companies that fail to report sewage pollution within four hours. Ministers also cited water-company fines, additional Environment Agency enforcement funding, proposals to make polluters pay for clean-up and consultation on requiring offenders to clean up their own waste. The timing of the deposit return scheme was not stated in the transcript; Hardy said only that “Significant progress has been made on the deposit return scheme”. On flooding, she described the first meeting of a new flood and drought taskforce and said the Government aimed to be “more prepared than ever before”. Further commitments included laying a statutory instrument for a new internal drainage board by the end of the year, subject to parliamentary time, and working towards a simpler SFI for 2027. The Government also said that Scotch whisky’s protected status and production requirements remained unchanged following registration of the English whisky geographical indication.

Church Commissioners: places of worship funding

The Leader of the House, representing the Church Commissioners, answered questions about the places of worship renewal fund, including its operation in deprived and suburban parishes, the second application round, Scottish funding implications and possible VAT support. Alan Campbell said the national Church institutions were in regular contact with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), were collecting parish feedback before the third round, and that the fund, administered by Historic England, “prioritises areas of double deprivation”. He also said the Church would continue to relay the experiences of clergy and parishes.

Campbell said the current scheme applied only in England because heritage policy was devolved. He reported that Barnett consequentials for Scotland had not been separately identified as a dedicated Budget line, but formed part of wider funding for the Scottish Government. In response to concerns about Southwell Minster’s financial position, he undertook to raise the matter with the Second Church Estates Commissioner. No commitment to introduce VAT relief was made; Campbell said that the matter was for the Chancellor and that Members would have to await the Budget.

House of Commons Commission: single-use plastics

Nick Smith said Parliament was reducing single-use plastics on the parliamentary estate by removing plastic water bottles from sale, which he said would eliminate about 120,000 bottles a year, replacing plastic straws and cutlery, and increasing the use of reusable and recyclable products. He also referred to a packaging sustainability policy for procurement.

Jayne Kirkham asked for a long-term reduction plan after raising concerns about plastic cups. Smith said Parliament would continue to identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary plastic use and undertook to ask officers to report back to both Members on the estate’s plastic-use reduction plan.

Church Commissioners: young people and safeguarding

On young people’s skills, Campbell said that Church schools educate more than one million children in 4,700 schools. In response to Julie Minns, he encouraged parishes and local churches to explore opportunities for young people and undertook to ask the Second Church Estates Commissioner to write about the Diocese of Carlisle’s northern young leaders project. He also said he would seek an update on mental-health training materials for Church schools and children’s groups raised by Jim Shannon.

On the statutory duty to report child sexual abuse, Campbell said the national Church institutions considered existing safeguarding policies and reporting expectations compliant with the Crime and Policing Act 2026, and would keep their guidance under review. When asked about discussions with the Home Office concerning religious confession, he said he was not able to provide the details and would seek an update. On independent safeguarding, he reported that an operating model had been approved, including an independent safeguarding authority governed by a majority-independent board, with implementation under way and the transition expected to be substantially complete by 2027.

Local government reorganisation and boundary reviews

Jeremy Wright, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, said the Local Government Boundary Commission for England had paused boundary reviews in areas affected by local-government reorganisation proposals. He said the commission would return to the reviews “when the reorganisation proposals are resolved”. The delay therefore meant that those awaiting reviews would have to wait longer.

Blake Stephenson also asked about any financial cost to the Commission. Wright did not provide a figure; he said he would write if there was anything to add. The transcript does not state the financial cost of the pause.

Urgent question: Saudi Arabia and Royal Air Force support

Calvin Bailey set out additional UK military support for Saudi Arabia in response to Houthi attacks. The package extended air-to-air refuelling to 90 days, provided RAF Typhoon aircraft for defensive counter-air operations from Saudi Arabia, and made an RAF A400M available to move matériel within Saudi Arabia. Bailey said the aircraft “will not conduct offensive strikes”. He also said that there was no long-term military solution, while diplomatic efforts, humanitarian assistance and work towards political negotiations would continue. The Government said that recipients of UK assistance must comply with international law and that compliance would continue to be monitored.

Thomas Tugendhat and other Members questioned the absence of prior Privy Council briefings, the wider regional and United Nations strategy, possible proscription of the Houthis, the distinction between defensive and offensive action, and risks to British personnel and shipping. Bailey said the Government were considering all options on proscription but would not comment on future measures. He maintained that the deployment was defensive counter-air rather than an offensive strike capability. In a point of order, Lindsay Hoyle said that an oral ministerial statement would have been helpful but that “ultimately it is a decision for the Government”. No division or further decision on the deployment was recorded in the transcript.

Business of the House

Alan Campbell announced the forthcoming business for the weeks beginning 26 October and 2 November. It included a Backbench Business Committee debate on Royal Mail’s performance and a general debate on advanced artificial intelligence on 26 October; Second Reading of the Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill on 27 October; the Budget statement on 28 October and subsequent Budget debates; and the remaining stages of the Sporting Events Bill [Lords] on 4 November, after which the House would rise for the November recess.

Members also raised political intimidation, scrutiny of the Home Secretary, maternity services, frozen Russian assets, Nepal and constituency cases. Campbell said he would raise the request for a full response to Lord Walney’s report with Ministers. He said he would consider whether a debate on maternity services was necessary. On the Backbench Business Committee vacancy, he said, “I recommit to doing something about it”. Numerous other requests were directed towards Westminster Hall debates, Adjournment debates or ministerial meetings; the transcript records no general decision to grant those requested Government debates.

Retirement of the Clerk of the House

Lindsay Hoyle and Alan Campbell moved a motion asking the Speaker to convey the House’s gratitude to Tom Goldsmith on his retirement as Clerk of the House. The motion referred to his “wise contribution to the development of the procedure of the House” and “courageous and inclusive leadership”. Speakers from the Opposition, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Democratic Unionist party and other groups highlighted Goldsmith’s 30 years of service, procedural expertise, impartiality, work on hybrid and virtual Committees during the covid pandemic, and support for Members across the House.

Bobby Dean described Goldsmith as “a steady and impartial presence”. Members also welcomed Eve Samson as his successor; Hoyle noted that she would be the first woman to hold the office. The transcript records the motion being moved and the tributes being delivered, but does not state its formal outcome.

Black History Month

The House debated Black History Month 2026 under the theme “Honouring Our Communities”. Members from across the House described the contributions of black Britons to public life, the NHS, the armed forces, culture, business and local communities, and highlighted figures including Claudia Jones, Allan Glaisyer Minns, Eric and Jessica Huntley, Harvey De Pass and Commonwealth servicemen and women. Florence Eshalomi said the theme recognised people who “start a business, mentor young people or volunteer their time”. Rebecca Smith cited the service of Commonwealth personnel, including that “More than 700,000 black Africans served in the first world war”.

Members also discussed continuing racial inequality, online abuse, hate crime, representation, maternal health, the Windrush legacy, reparations, education and whether the debate should become an annual fixture. The Government said it intended to introduce ethnicity and disability pay-gap reporting and had committed to the national roll-out of a perinatal equity and anti-discrimination programme. Satvir Kaur said the Government were “moving at pace” to secure parliamentary time for the pay-gap policy. She also described the maternity programme as addressing inequalities affecting black and Asian women. The House agreed the motion, “That this House has considered Black History Month”. The Deputy Speaker reminded Members that references to the Jason Arday case were subject to the sub judice rule.

NHS maternity services: North Devon

Ian Roome raised the suspension of births at North Devon district hospital, where services had been diverted to Exeter for about 10 weeks because of consultant staffing shortages. He reported recruitment progress but argued that the episode exposed structural weaknesses in rural maternity provision. He called for national guidance on suspensions and reopening, a workforce plan with specific support for rural and coastal units, and an independent review. He described the journey to Exeter as 53 miles and said the area was “larger than Greater Manchester without an open maternity unit”. Other Members raised the resilience of isolated services, the pressure placed on Exeter and the experiences of women in maternity and reproductive healthcare.

Karin Smyth said the unit had closed because the trust could not provide a service that it considered unsafe, but accepted that the current arrangement was not sustainable. She set out three reopening tests: 24/7 consultant and registrar cover; three-quarters of staff employed full time; and completion of employment checks, onboarding and induction. Support measures included a helpline, maternity triage, assistance with travel costs and accommodation, free taxis in specified circumstances and mental-health support. Smyth stated that “The Barnstaple maternity unit will reopen”, but could not give a date because safe staffing had not yet been secured. The adjournment motion was agreed and the House adjourned.