Jeff Smith: Thank you, Ms Rees, for the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Opposition. It is a pleasure, as always, to see you in the Chair. I congratulate the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) on securing the debate and setting out so clearly and powerfully the dilemma facing some of the country’s most respected academic and cultural institutions. I thank all hon. Members...
Jeff Smith: It is a pleasure to take part in this debate with you in the Chair, Mr Gray. I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and note that I am a proud member of USDAW, which does so much great campaign work on this issue. The pandemic has shown once and for all how vital retail workers are. They have been largely unsung heroes on the frontline of the pandemic—dealing...
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with publishers of children’s magazines on ending the depiction of football shirts with gambling advertising in their publications.
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of gambling advertising on children; and if he will take steps to ban the depiction of football shirts in publications which are marketed to children.
Jeff Smith: My constituent Julia was breastfeeding her child in a park when a stranger started taking long-lens photos of her. She and I were shocked that there was nothing that could be done about this unwelcome intrusion. Does the Minister think this is an acceptable situation and, if not, will she support action to prevent this kind of voyeurism?
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Manchester Withington of 30 March 2021 on British citizens currently detained in Syria, reference JS41774.
Jeff Smith: What steps he has taken to improve the transition of armed forces personnel into employment.
Jeff Smith: Getting a decent job is key to a successful transition to civilian life, but the Armed Forces Bill, as my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne) said, does not include responsibility for employment or transition. Service charities have said that the Bill is too narrowly focused, so why will the Minister not widen the scope of the Bill to ensure that all the promises of the covenant...
Jeff Smith: If the Government are serious about tackling the backlog of court cases, will the Attorney General explain why his colleague in the Ministry of Justice has halved the amount spent annually on recorded sitting days in the past five years, from £19 million to £9.5 million?
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of cases being withdrawn as a result of court delays and case backlogs.
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many door supervisor licences are being used for the purpose of (a) door supervision and (b) security guarding in the most recent period for which that data is available.
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many door supervisor licences are being used by people in (a) part-time and (b) full-time roles in the most recent period for which that data is available.
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many door supervisor licences are being used (a) by people in static security roles and (b) for the purpose of door supervision at licenced premises in the most recent period for which that data is available.
Jeff Smith: My 50-plus years of watching Man City has brought me a lot of emotions—pain, despair, misery and, more recently, a lot of elation and joy—but always pride, whatever tier we were in, until last night, when the overriding emotion was shame and anger at my club being part of this. In, in effect, ending competition by merit at the top of the pyramid, this ends hope for clubs throughout the...
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many businesses received funding through the first round but not the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund.
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) nightclubs, (b) live music venues, (c) festivals and (d) businesses that supply those entertainment businesses have received support from the Government under the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund.
Jeff Smith: Last week, one of my constituents visited a local park with her friend and their two young babies. They both began breastfeeding and before long saw a stranger taking photos of them with a telephoto lens. They confronted him, and the man refused to delete the photos, even when asked to do so by the park warden. They reported it to the police, who said there was nothing they could do, because...
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with a severe mental illness, including those who do not have a diagnosis of psychosis or bipolar disorder but whose illness causes a severe functional impairment, are correctly identified and invited for their covid-19 vaccination as part of JCVI Group 6.
Jeff Smith: What steps he is taking to support businesses subject to non-tariff barriers to trade with the EU.
Jeff Smith: Unicorn Grocery in Chorlton tells me that “the notion that no tariffs means no problem is not the case at all. We still have to deal with agent fees, phytosanitary certificates and organic certificates. The admin fees are the same whether it’s a box of broccoli or a pallet of broccoli.” These barriers are going to cost Unicorn £170,000 a year. What are the Government going to do to...