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I chaired three debates in Westminster Hall on Tuesday 7 January 2025 from 2.30-5.30pm: The first debate, ‘That this House has considered the fiscal impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on Scotland’ was moved by Gregor Poynton MP and responded to by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, Kirsty McNeil MP. The second debate,

I wish you a very Happy Christmas and A peaceful New Year Advent candles are lit for each week of Advent and promote Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. I hope we can renew those sentiments into 2025.

In November and December, I chaired five sessions of the Employment Rights Public Bill Committee, including an evidence session, 26 November, 3 December, 12 December – two sessions, 17 December. The Employment Right Bill seeks to: ensure that jobs provide a baseline of security for workers, prioritise fairness, equality and wellbeing of workers, ensure workers

On 17 December 2024 the House debated and voted on amendments relating to the National Insurance Contributions Bill. The Bill, introduced on 6 November 2024, seeks to ask employers to contribute more. This means, from April 2025, the rate of Employer NICs will increase to 15%, and the per-employee threshold at which employers become liable

The Financial Bill was debated and voted on in a Committee of the whole House on 10 and 11 December 2024. A number of proposed amendments were debated, and the following clauses were voted on: New clause 5 The Bill as introduced stated in section 8 that from 6 April 2025, the Capital Gains Tax