Lucy Allan: It is a privilege to follow the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) and I welcome many of her comments about mental health. I congratulate all my colleagues who have made their maiden speech over the past few days. There have been many awe-inspiring and somewhat intimidating speeches to have to follow. I am honoured that the people of Telford have sent me to this place to speak...
Lucy Allan: Which provisions in the Education and Adoption Bill will ensure that more children in care are placed in loving and stable homes.
Lucy Allan: I thank the Minister for visiting Holmer Lake primary school in Telford earlier in the year to hear about the excellent child safeguarding work being done for year 6. With increasing numbers of children entering the care system, and with rates in my constituency significantly above the national average, what will the Minister do to ensure that all alternatives to adoption are fully explored...
Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to improve the frequency and speed of rail services between Telford and Birmingham.
Lucy Allan: I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for South Shields (Mrs Lewell-Buck) and the excellent maiden speeches we have heard today. One key theme of the debate is adoption. I am pleased that we are giving airtime to the subject. I welcome the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Neil Carmichael), who spoke passionately. It is an important issue for him to focus on as Chairman of...
Lucy Allan: We should provide mental health support to all children going through the care system. I should like to tell hon. Members a story about a case I worked on. A mother had two children, both of whom were removed when she went to seek help because she believed she could not cope with the parenting of her young toddler. That family ended up completely broken: one child was adopted, and the other...
Lucy Allan: What his plans are for the future of rehabilitation services for prisoners; and if he will make a statement.
Lucy Allan: I thank the Secretary of State for his reply and for the great work to support the rehabilitation of offenders to give them a second chance. Will he assure me that that rehabilitation will never be appropriate in cases such as the brutal murder of Telford teenager Georgia Williams?
Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure the electrification of the train line between Wolverhampton and Telford.
Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that levels of business rates do not put the future of small businesses at risk.
Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to provide funding for local bus routes which provide an important service but are not commercially viable.
Lucy Allan: I note what the Minister has said about the excellent progress in reducing youth unemployment numbers, which is really welcome. What has the Department done specifically to focus on reducing the numbers of young people who are not in education, employment or training, given the very specific challenges that those people face?
Lucy Allan: Does the hon. Gentleman agree that anyone who has any knowledge of suicide sees it as a desperate and tragic act, committed by somebody in extreme emotional distress? It is usually committed alone, leaving families and loved ones devastated. The desire of a dying person for a peaceful death is so different from what I have just described, and anyone who has any knowledge of suicide would...
Lucy Allan: I am very grateful to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West (Rob Marris) for bringing this Bill to the House today. It is incredibly important that we are discussing this issue. I have been incredibly moved by many of the speeches that we have heard. This is a matter of public interest. We all know from our postbags that there are passionately held views on all sides. I am also very...
Lucy Allan: No, I am sorry—I only have two minutes. A vote against this Bill will not stop assisted dying; it will simply send the message that we in Parliament will not debate the issue further. I want to add something from a constituent that I found particularly moving. She is talking about her dying mother, and she says: “It broke my heart on a daily basis watching her suffer…My darling Mom...
Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ensure that parents who share custody of a child are exempted from the under-occupancy penalty.