Mid Sussex / data
Alison Bennett · Liberal Democrats · sitting since 04 Jul 2024 · every division, speech and committee appearance.
Since election
659days
from 04 Jul 2024
Divisions
362
of 504 possible
Attendance
72%
142 absent / paired
Whip alignment
100%
vs party majority
Speeches
167
118 debates
Written Qs
221
210 answered
Committees
0
memberships
Expenses
£146k paid
FY 2024–2025 · 142 claims
Interests
4
3 categories
A · Overview
Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted — engagement only, not direction.
| Issue | Volume | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Taxation | 75 | |
| Economy | 66 | |
| Employment | 39 | |
| Crime & Policing | 35 | |
| Education | 30 | |
| Welfare and Benefits | 26 | |
| Constitution and Democracy | 21 | |
| Housing | 17 |
Speech topics
Words spoken, by topic. Source: Hansard.
| Topic | Debates | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Social Care | 41 | 18,350 |
| Health | 38 | 14,647 |
| Local Government | 32 | 7,061 |
| Education | 20 | 6,443 |
| Economy Jobs | 40 | 5,677 |
| Fiscal Policy | 12 | 3,241 |
| Labour Market | 16 | 3,193 |
| Cost Of Living | 12 | 2,720 |
B · Notable divisions
Free votes, rebellions and high-salience whipped votes — the moments that distinguish this MP from the party machine. The full division-by-division record will follow once the per-MP archive is wired.
No notable votes recorded for this MP yet.
C · Speeches
| Date | Contribution | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Apr 2026 | Allied Health ProfessionalsMy hon. Friend is right. We know that with the right support, often from allied health professionals, people do not need to present at A&E and they can get out of hospital and … HealthLabour MarketSocial Care | 889 |
| 23 Apr 2026 | Allied Health ProfessionalsI am grateful to the hon. Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for opening the debate, and to the hon. Member for Dudley (Sonia Kumar) for her work on the APPG and as a physiotherapist.… HealthLabour MarketSocial Care | 123 |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Government Procurement StrategyPVL is a SME in Burgess Hill that fabricates high-visibility livery, supplying 80% of police vehicles and 40% of ambulances. It is being hammered by the rules enacted in the Procur… Economy JobsTechnologyDefence | 126 |
| 21 Apr 2026 | Wheelchair Provision: Independent Review BodyIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank and congratulate the hon. Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis) for securing this important d… HealthSocial CareLocal Government | 947 |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Multi-academy Trusts15. What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the governance of multi-academy trusts. Education | 15 |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Multi-academy TrustsThere are three schools in my Mid Sussex constituency that were part of the University of Brighton academy trust. Given that serious concerns about financial management at UBAT per… Education | 63 |
| 14 Apr 2026 | Topical QuestionsCerys was just 22 when she took her life while an in-patient at Park House in Greater Manchester. The coroner described the unit as “a shambles”. Cerys’s was just one of a number o… HealthLocal Government | 80 |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Water Supply and Housing Targets: West KentThe Minister refers to the changes made in Sussex; I assume she means the changes made around Horsham, which relate to Southern Water, rather than South East Water. Nothing that ha… HousingUtilitiesLocal Government | 87 |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Sudden Unexplained Death in ChildhoodIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I thank the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) for his brilliant opening speech setting out the frame … HealthSocial Care | 892 |
| 23 Mar 2026 | Draft Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority Regulations 2026It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. Before I begin, I refer the Committee to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. The Liberal Democrat… Local GovernmentEconomy JobsHousing | 297 |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Topical QuestionsT4. My Mid Sussex constituent has waited four months for a transcript that will prove the financial terms agreed with her ex-husband in family court, which he now disputes. Without… CrimeImmigrationHousing | 71 |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Meningitis OutbreakI thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of the statement. Like other hon. Members who have spoken, first and foremost my thoughts are with the family and friends of the tw… Health | 290 |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Disability Equipment ProvisionIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) for securing this debate, which … Social CareHealthLocal Government | 340 |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Disability Equipment ProvisionMy hon. Friend makes an important and interesting point, and I very much want to get underneath the detail of why that change has happened. Returning to my constituent’s case, I wa… Social CareHealthLocal Government | 236 |
| 10 Mar 2026 | Local Government Reorganisation: South-eastI am very much appreciating and enjoying the hon. Member’s contribution to the debate. Can I suggest that, when it comes to getting local government in England on a sound financial… Local GovernmentFiscal PolicySocial Care | 57 |
D · Written questions
Top departments
| Department | Questions | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health and Social Care | 92 | 41.6% |
| Department for Work and Pensions | 39 | 17.6% |
| Home Office | 19 | 8.6% |
| Department for Education | 17 | 7.7% |
| Treasury | 13 | 5.9% |
| Department for Transport | 9 | 4.1% |
| Ministry of Justice | 7 | 3.2% |
| Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 6 | 2.7% |
Most recent
| Date | Department | Question | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Apr 2026 | Ministry of Justice | To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether HMCTS, the Ministry or another body has a formal process for keeping in contact with jurors hearing the most distressing cases after their jury service is complete. | Pending |
| 24 Apr 2026 | Ministry of Justice | To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support mental health support is available to jurors in Crown Courts that were not part of the pilot launched in October 2024. | Pending |
| 24 Apr 2026 | Ministry of Justice | To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the outcomes of the pilot launched in October 2024 to provide free mental health support for jurors who hear distressing cases in Crown Courts across England and Wales will be published. | Pending |
| 24 Apr 2026 | Ministry of Justice | To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of distressing cases on the health of jurors who hear those cases. | Pending |
| 22 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2026 to Question 123423 on Hospices: Children, how much has NHS England advised integrated care boards to give to each children's hospice in 2026/2… | Pending |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 30627, if he will provide updated figures on the number of carers with Carer's Allowance overpayment debts as a result of breaching… | Pending |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many earnings-related Carer's Allowance overpayments were referred to Debt Management between January 2025 and March 2026. | Pending |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what detailed breakdown he has made of planned expenditure of allocated funding for the Carer's Allowance review of £20m in 2026-27, £35m in 2027-28 and £20m in 2028-29, including (a) red… | Pending |
| 20 Apr 2026 | Department for Work and Pensions | To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many clearances for Carer's Allowance claims have been made involving carers' earnings being averaged since 3 September 2025. | Pending |
| 16 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all paediatric departments have access to specialists trained in the diagnosis and treatment of Paediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychia… | Pending |
| 16 Apr 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative assessment of the adequacy of levels of access to Procysbi for people with Cystinosis in England compared to other parts of the UK. | Pending |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve acute mental health inpatient units. | Answered |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish individual allocations per children’s hospice in 2026-27 from the funding announced in October 2025. | Answered |
| 23 Mar 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on developing a national implementation plan for the roll-out of Fracture Liaison Services. | Answered |
| 23 Mar 2026 | Department of Health and Social Care | To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to address regional disparities in access to early diagnosis services for osteoporosis. | Answered |
E · Committees
No committee memberships recorded for this MP.
F · Expenses
Every business-cost claim reimbursed by IPSA in the current financial year, grouped by category. “Aggregated” rows are IPSA’s own year-end totals for cost types like payroll and rent that aren’t itemised claim-by-claim.
Category breakdown
| Category | Claims | Paid (£) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office Costs | 106 | 22,774 | 15.6% |
| Accommodation | 29 | 19,946 | 13.7% |
| Staffing | 3 | 100,905 | 69.1% |
| MP Travel | 0 | 1,756 | 1.2% |
| Staff Travel | 0 | 696 | 0.5% |
Top itemised cost types
| Cost type | Category | Claims | Paid (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | Accommodation | 6 | 11,573 |
| Equipment - purchase | Office Costs | 20 | 8,231 |
| Hotel - London | Accommodation | 19 | 7,717 |
| Rent | Office Costs | 9 | 6,320 |
| Pooled staffing services | Staffing | 1 | 4,900 |
| Stationery & printing | Office Costs | 50 | 4,425 |
| Training - staff | Staffing | 1 | 1,875 |
| Software & applications | Office Costs | 4 | 1,746 |
| Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Office Costs | 12 | 987 |
| Recruitment Services &Costs | Staffing | 1 | 900 |
| Landline phone & internet - installation & equipment purchase | Office Costs | 1 | 600 |
| Council tax | Accommodation | 1 | 473 |
Most recent
| Date | Category | Description | Paid (£) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 498 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 408 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 408 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 408 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 332 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 204 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 204 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 204 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 204 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 204 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 204 | Paid |
| 11 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Stationery & printing | XMA March 2025 | 166 | Paid |
| 03 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Internet | 133 | Paid |
| 03 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Landline phone & internet - rental & usage | Landline | 70 | Paid |
| 03 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Utilities | Electricity | 14 | Paid |
| 01 Apr 2025 | Office Costs Rent | Rent | 1,053 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Accommodation Rent | 2024-25 [***] rent pro-rata | -427 | Paid |
| 31 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Rent | 2024-25 [***] rent pro-rata | -1,053 | Paid |
| 28 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | SERIF EUROPE LTD [200011725-9701] | 68 | Paid |
| 28 Mar 2025 | Office Costs Software & applications | SERIF EUROPE LTD [200011725-9702] | 68 | Paid |
G · Register of interests
Every financial interest declared by the MP, grouped under the Register’s official categories. Retracted entries are hidden but counted above.
2. (a) Support linked to an MP but received by a local party organisation or indirectly via a central party organisation1 entry
03 Feb 2026
Name of donor: Ian Howard
Address of donor: private
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £5,000
Donor status: individual
(Registered 22 January 2026)
3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources2 entries
03 Feb 2026
Name of donor: The National Liberal Club
Address of donor: 1 Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2HE
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Honorary membership of the National Liberal Club from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2026, value £1,140
Date received: 23 December 2025 to 31 December 2026
Date accepted: 23 December 2025
Donor status: unincorporated association
(Registered 22 January 2026)
26 Sept 2025
Name of donor: The National Liberal Club
Address of donor: 1 Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2HE
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Honorary membership of the National Liberal Club from 11 September 2024 until 31 December 2025, value £1,327.20
Date received: 8 July 2024 to 31 December 2025
Date accepted: 11 September 2024
Donor status: unincorporated association
(Registered 18 September 2024)
8. Miscellaneous1 entry
16 Dec 2025
Member of Mid Sussex District Council, (unpaid since 30 September 2024 and previously registered under Category 1).
Date interest ended: 25 March 2026
(Registered 1 August 2024; updated 12 October 2024, 10 December 2025 and 27 March 2026)
H · Ward results
Most recent winning councillor in each ward — 18 wards, 34 councillor seats.
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Votes | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardingly Balcombe Turners Hill | Gary Marsh | Conservative and Unionist Party | 567 | 04 May 2023 |
| Ardingly Balcombe Turners Hill | Jenny Edwards | Green Party of England and Wales | 709 | 04 May 2023 |
| Burgess Hill Dunstall | Mike Kennedy | Liberal Democrats | 648 | 04 May 2023 |
| Burgess Hill Dunstall | Mustak Miah | Conservative and Unionist Party | 622 | 04 May 2023 |
| Burgess Hill Franklands | David Christopher Eggleton | Liberal Democrats | 1,107 | 04 May 2023 |
| Burgess Hill Franklands | Janice Marie Henwood | Liberal Democrats | 1,130 | 04 May 2023 |
| Burgess Hill Leylands | Anne Eves | Green Party of England and Wales | 848 | 04 May 2023 |
| Burgess Hill Leylands | Simon Hicks | Liberal Democrats | 813 | 04 May 2023 |
| Burgess Hill Meeds Hammonds | Robert Eggleston | Liberal Democrats | 1,208 | 04 May 2023 |
| Burgess Hill Meeds Hammonds | Tofojjul Hussain | Liberal Democrats | 1,046 | 04 May 2023 |
| Burgess Hill St Andrews | Christine Angela Cherry | Liberal Democrats | 800 | 04 May 2023 |
| Burgess Hill St Andrews | Matthew Alan Cornish | Green Party of England and Wales | 665 | 04 May 2023 |
| Burgess Hill Victoria | Peter Jack Chapman | Independent Berwick Hills Resident | 666 | 04 May 2023 |
| Cuckfield Bolney Ansty | Jim Knight | Conservative and Unionist Party | 706 | 04 May 2023 |
| Cuckfield Bolney Ansty | Malcolm Ronald Avery | Conservative and Unionist Party | 894 | 04 May 2023 |
| Downland Villages | Geoff Zeidler | Conservative and Unionist Party | 511 | 04 May 2023 |
| Hassocks | Christopher Patrick Hobbs | Liberal Democrats | 1,699 | 04 May 2023 |
| Hassocks | Kristian Johannes Berggreen | Liberal Democrats | 2,084 | 04 May 2023 |
| Hassocks | Sue Hatton | Liberal Democrats | 2,314 | 04 May 2023 |
| Haywards Heath Ashenground | Duncan Pascoe | Liberal Democrats | 708 | 04 May 2023 |
| Haywards Heath Ashenground | Richard Stemp Bates | Liberal Democrats | 873 | 04 May 2023 |
| Haywards Heath Bentswood Heath | Alison Clare Rees | Liberal Democrats | 751 | 04 May 2023 |
| Haywards Heath Bentswood Heath | Anthony Peter Platts | Liberal Democrats | 700 | 04 May 2023 |
| Haywards Heath Franklands | Paul Kenny | Labour Party | 594 | 04 May 2023 |
| Haywards Heath Franklands | Rod Clarke | Conservative and Unionist Party | 620 | 04 May 2023 |
| Haywards Heath Lucastes Bolnore | Abdul Bashar | Liberal Democrats | 710 | 04 May 2023 |
| Haywards Heath Lucastes Bolnore | Paul Lucraft | Liberal Democrats | 715 | 04 May 2023 |
| Haywards Heath North | Sandy Ellis | Conservative and Unionist Party | 400 | 04 May 2023 |
| Hurstpierpoint | Alison Bennett | Liberal Democrats | 1,236 | 04 May 2023 |
| Hurstpierpoint | Rodney Thomas Hayden Jackson | Liberal Democrats | 1,050 | 04 May 2023 |
| Lindfield | Anne-Marie Cooke | Liberal Democrats | 1,141 | 04 May 2023 |
| Lindfield | Cavan Wood | Liberal Democrats | 1,020 | 04 May 2023 |
| Lindfield Rural High Weald | Lorraine Nunes-Carvalho | Conservative and Unionist Party | 851 | 04 May 2023 |
| Lindfield Rural High Weald | Paul Brown | Green Party of England and Wales | 852 | 04 May 2023 |
I · Demographics
| Indicator | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Population (2021 Census) | 103,391 | Electorate 75,969 (2024) |
| Median age | 42 | years |
| Degree-educated | 40.3% | level 4 or above |
| Ethnicity (White) | 91.9% | 2021 Census ethnic group |
| Owner-occupied | 72.9% | households |
| Private-rented | 15.6% | households |
| Social-rented | 11.5% | households |
| Employment rate | 62.4% | 16-64 in work |
J · Public spending
HMT publishes headline spending identifiable by region in PESA. Constituency-level capital allocations (Levelling-Up Fund, Towns Fund, UKSPF, transport capital, BEIS R&D) are published as separate departmental datasets. We are evaluating the cleanest reconciliation for a per-constituency view.