Neil Hudson: ...interest as a veterinary surgeon and a fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. I strongly support the Bill. I have had to frantically rewrite the introduction to my speech, having heard my colleagues name-check their pets. I know that my two lovely dogs, Poppy and Juno, are following the debate closely, so I now have to name-check them. They would never forgive me if I did not,...
Thangam Debbonaire: ...and for the whole country. A record low for living standards, GDP per capita lower since the Prime Minister took office, debt tripled—nothing in the Budget will change any of that. As we have heard from Members including my hon. Friends the Members for Sheffield Central (Paul Blomfield), for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne), for Birkenhead (Mick Whitley), for Lewisham, Deptford (Vicky...
Rachael Maskell: ...through it. Nearly 4 million people are living in absolute destitution, with 1 million on universal credit requiring budgeting advances, as the Chancellor said. We hear what the Joseph Rowntree Foundation is saying. Its research shows that social security is simply not enough for the essentials; it needs to be paid at a rate of at least £120 a week for a single person or £200 for a...
Jeremy Hunt: ...completely. Next, the household support fund. It was set up on a temporary basis and due to conclude at the end of this month. Having listened carefully to representations from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Trussell Trust, the right hon. Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms), my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey) and my hon. Friends the Members for...
Baroness Vere of Norbiton: ...Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has a look at Hansard because it is important that he understands the breadth of feeling and some of the important issues that were raised. As noble Lords have heard, this Bill would amend the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Regulations to remove listed investment companies, also known as investment trusts, from scope. It would also make amendments...
Lord Caine: ...right to remind us of—as I said in my opening speech—the interlocking nature and interdependence of those three strands. The noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, asked me about future meetings of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. It is due to meet in the spring and work is in progress in that respect. The British-Irish Council is, I think, due to meet later in the...
Mike Freer: I congratulate the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Wayne David) on bringing forward the Bill, and the numerous campaigners who have been pressing this issue for many years. As we have heard, SLAPPs are an abuse of our courts and our laws by corrupt individuals who seek to stifle free speech and a free press—two of the linchpins of our democracy. I cannot talk about the specific case that the...
Karin Smyth: ...Dean Russell) for securing it. I think we all agree that he made an excellent and heartfelt speech not just about his own experience, but about the effect on his family and his team. He thanked the British Heart Foundation, and I agree that the resources of such organisations are well received at such times, which can often be very lonely. We wish him and his family the best of health...
Ruth Jones: ...the Member for Newport East, I made a promise on that march last Saturday to stand up for the steelworkers and ensure that their fight on the production lines for the future of the industry is heard loud and clear here in Westminster. It is vital that we fight for them and all our communities. Wales’s future depends on those of us here speaking out and protecting our steel foundations,...
the Bishop of Southwark: ...it was a nuclear-free Hackney. I am not sure what that achieved but it was a matter for them. More significant is that some of the action in respect of apartheid South Africa would not, as we have heard, have been possible had such a Bill been in force then. There was, let us remember, sharp controversy about disinvestment in South Africa, but it was at the level of argument, not...
Lord Randall of Uxbridge: ...has not been great, and I was a bit worried about my blood pressure—which might have been accentuated by listening to the debate. I declare an interest as the chair of the Human Trafficking Foundation. I have added my name to Amendment 70, tabled by the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss. I do not need to say much because the speeches have been wonderful, except to make a plea...
Lord Caine: ...forward to an early meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council, and I look forward to the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland taking up their seats once again when the British-Irish Council next meets to carry out its important work. The restoration of strand 1—the Assembly and the Executive—which I think most of us in this House support, makes possible...
Nuala McAllister: ...one such group, members of which are in the Public Gallery behind me today. Members of Nothing About Us Without Us have been working on the issue for years to ensure that their voices as women are heard when it comes to the commissioning of such a strategy. I move on to the motion. It is an unfortunate reality that women often face additional barriers in accessing proper healthcare. Health...
The following Statement was made in the House of Commons on Monday 5 February. “Today, and in British Sign Language for those watching on Parliament Live, I am delighted to deliver on the Government’s commitment to transform the everyday lives of disabled people across the country for the better. We as a Government are working to make this country the most accessible place in the world...
Mims Davies: Today, and in British Sign Language for those watching on Parliament Live, I am delighted to deliver on the Government’s commitment to transform the everyday lives of disabled people across the country for the better. We as a Government are working to make this country the most accessible place in the world for disabled people to live, work and thrive, and today I am proud to announce...
Lord Willetts: ...of bipartisanship that he will bring to this Chamber and which I am sure will lead to many interventions in the months to come. I register my interests, particularly as president of the Resolution Foundation and chair of Innovate Cambridge. Industrial strategy is a very fraught concept, which is sometimes argued about too much. It has a very simple meaning. All of us believe that we can...
Baroness Smith of Basildon: ...; lots of concerns have been raised about both funding and the pipeline of talent. My noble friend Lady Thornton spoke about how young people can be engaged and enthused by museums and theatre. We heard a lot from the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans and others about the role of music in health—for example, the growth of community choirs and...
Sarah Murphy: ..., including hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol, and, then, also, to promote and raise awareness of heart failure on a national level, with support from key stakeholders, including the British Society for Heart Failure, Pumping Marvellous—I hadn't actually heard of that one before, but they sound great—the British Heart Foundation, and Cardiomyopathy UK. Thank you very much....
Lord Stirrup: ...stake, we must prove him wrong”. He went on: “Old enemies are reanimated. New foes are taking shape. Battle lines are being redrawn. The tanks are literally on Europe’s Ukrainian lawn … the foundations of the world order are being shaken to their core. We stand at this crossroads—whether to surrender to a sea of troubles, or do everything we can to deter the danger”. If that...