Jeremy Balfour: I am pleased to speak in the debate. Several decades ago, I was a member of the Law Society of Scotland and, in fact, my late father was a fiscal for the society’s disciplinary tribunal for many years. It is interesting to hear the various comments that have been made. I also thank all the organisations that have provided submissions over the past number of days. I will focus my brief...
Jeremy Balfour: On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I am not sure whether my vote was counted; I would have voted no.
...Robison, Shona, Ruskell, Mark, Slater, Lorna, Stevenson, Collette, Stewart, Kaukab, Stewart, Kevin, Sturgeon, Nicola, Swinney, John, Torrance, David, Tweed, Evelyn, Whitham, Elena Against: Balfour, Jeremy, Briggs, Miles, Burnett, Alexander, Carlaw, Jackson, Carson, Finlay, Dowey, Sharon, Eagle, Tim, Findlay, Russell, Fraser, Murdo, Gallacher, Meghan, Golden, Maurice, Gosal, Pam, Greene,...
Jeremy Corbyn: I thank the SNP for using its Opposition day to bring about a debate on Gaza. The House has not covered itself in glory today, with all the delays at the start of this debate, and I cannot quite understand why we are now finishing early. The issues before us are the reality of the horror of people’s lives. The hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran), who spoke earlier,...
Andrew Lewer: ...for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) are not as draconian, undemocratic and questionable in law as they were when he served in the shadow Cabinet of the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn)—when it looked like the party was trying to abolish the sector entirely—they are still very worrying indeed. The principle of parental choice is supported by article 2 of the...
Jeremy Miles: Yes, certainly. This is, of course, the first year in which the new ALN reforms will be introduced post 16, so it's the beginning of that process from this year. So, in a sense, it's early days in the implementation of the ALN regime in post-16, but the national implementation lead has been working closely with colleges—a post that is hosted within ColegauCymru—and I think, on the ground,...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Janet Finch-Saunders for the question. We've prioritised protecting core front-line public services, including schools, through protecting the indicative rise, which we indicated to local government, of 3.1 per cent overall. She will know that, in particular, in the case of Conwy and a small number of local authorities, the Government provided additional funding—in Conwy's case, of...
Jeremy Miles: I do agree with what John Griffiths says about the centrality of very early years provision in giving each of our young people the very best start in life. I think what’s important is a joined-up approach to early childhood play, to learning and to care, the kind of approach that we advocate as a Government, and I hope we’ll continue to advocate. That’s the best way, I think, of...
Jeremy Miles: Well, there is high local enthusiasm for the festival. We know about the work that’s going on to ensure that local communities understand the offer of the Eisteddfod. So, there is a Maes B tour that is being held in schools in the coming months, and every year 6 and 7 pupil will have an opportunity to enjoy a show about the Eisteddfod free of charge, and there is a workshop to encourage 16...
Jeremy Miles: The Member makes an important point, and it is important both when reforms happen in Wales and also when reforms happen in England, as with the T-levels most recently, that the particular nature of vocational qualifications, and GCSEs in this context as well, is recognised and portable, in that sense; it is very, very important. So, I know that, as the qualifications regulator, Qualifications...
Jeremy Miles: Well, being able to practise as a dentist or as a clinician of any sort through the medium of Welsh is really important from the point of view of the profession, but also, most importantly, from the point of view of the person receiving care, who is perfectly entitled to make whatever choice they wish in terms of the language in which they prefer to be cared for. We know that that is the...
Jeremy Miles: Just to be clear on one thing, it's not a case of the funding being cut with the 'inclusion of postgraduate courses', but 'only for postgraduate courses', and the unfortunate reason for that is the pressure on our budgets. So, everything we know about when you spend in an individual's learning pathway, and the impact that you can have does point towards investing as early as possible—so, in...
Jeremy Miles: I think it is an exciting proposal. As John Griffiths will know from our previous discussions about it, I'm very enthusiastic about it, and I very much hope that our officials, together with those of the college and the local authority, are able to make progress to realise the ambitions that the plan describes. I think it's really important from the point of view of the visibility of...
Jeremy Miles: I thank Sam Kurtz for the question. The point that he makes is an important point. That's the exact purpose of the budget that we're providing to Mudiad Meithrin, but also to CWLWM, so that they can provide the necessary training to the workforce, so that we can ensure not only that settings can be opened up but that they can be staffed by people qualified to do that. Since the start of this...
..., Collette, Stewart, Kaukab, Stewart, Kevin, Sturgeon, Nicola, Swinney, John, Thomson, Michelle, Todd, Maree, Torrance, David, Tweed, Evelyn, Whitham, Elena Against: Baker, Claire, Balfour, Jeremy, Bibby, Neil, Boyack, Sarah, Briggs, Miles, Burnett, Alexander, Carlaw, Jackson, Carson, Finlay, Choudhury, Foysol, Clark, Katy, Cole-Hamilton, Alex, Dowey, Sharon, Eagle, Tim, Findlay, Russell,...
Jeremy Miles: The recent consultation on Reform of the School Year provided an opportunity for everyone across Wales to share their views on the proposals. The findings, including information on any impacts, will now be considered carefully.
...Mullan Holly Mumby-Croft Sheryll Murray Andrew Murrison Bob Neill Caroline Nokes Guy Opperman Ian Paisley Jnr John Penrose Andrew Percy Chris Philp Daniel Poulter Victoria Prentis Tom Pursglove Jeremy Quin Will Quince John Redwood Jacob Rees-Mogg Nicola Richards Angela Richardson Laurence Robertson Gavin Robinson Mary Robinson Andrew Rosindell Douglas Ross Lee Rowley Dean Russell Gary...
Greg Hands: ...Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) up above, but below him something different is done, particularly by Members who were active when the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) was the party leader. The hon. Member for Harrow West reminded us of his time on the Trade Bill Committee, when he was opposed to all UK trade agreements. Without myself embarking on a...
...of an encounter. Virtue is action. It was Francis Hutcheson who first suggested that virtue involves pursuing “the greatest good for the greatest number”. That phrase, which was made famous by Jeremy Bentham, makes a claim on our moral imagination. Hutcheson sought not to circumscribe our moral calculus but to expand it by including what he termed “universal benevolence”—the good...