Did you mean on confidence?
Simon Hoare: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I am grateful to the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) for instigating this debate. The topic set out on the Order Paper is “the conduct of elections”, which is a wide canvas. We had no reference to any specific points the hon. Lady was going to draw the House’s attention to, so I am working from...
David Johnston: ...(AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department set out plans to build a consistent national SEND and AP system which parents and carers can trust, easily navigate, and have confidence in, wherever they live in the country. The foundation for the new nationally consistent SEND and AP system will be new evidenced based National Standards for early and accurate...
Siobhian Brown: Yes, I am confident about that. We have received expressions of interest from local authorities for funding for 11 firework control zones. I recognise that it was disappointing that no zones were in place for bonfire night in 2023, but firework control zones have been developed to support a long-term cultural change with regard to fireworks, and were never intended to be a quick fix. A...
Baroness Scott of Bybrook: ...over many years. I look at the party opposite, which has been funded by the unions over the years; I believe that I have seen quite large donations given to the Liberal Democrats too. On party donors, I think it was the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, who asked why anybody would want to give money. Some people feel very strongly and passionately about the policies of some...
Damian Hinds: I echo my hon. Friend’s words about the power of music, and I join him in paying tribute to the great work of NMPAT. I do not have the statistics at my fingertips to assess where in the table, as it were, those thousands place it relative to others, but it certainly is a very impressive reach. The expectations set out in the plan, starting from early years, are unashamedly ambitious, and...
Pat Sheehan: The motion is about giving children and young people the best start in life. Approximately 100,000 children and young people in the North are entitled to free school meals. The free school meal programme is designed to support families on the lowest incomes. It takes away a significant expense for parents whilst ensuring that children get a nutritious meal. Sinn Féin has been trying to make...
Gary Middleton: As we embark on a new chapter in the Northern Ireland Assembly, we have an opportunity to make Northern Ireland an even better place in which to work, live and invest. The new Executive, working together, can make a positive difference to the economic and social well-being of so many across our society. It is imperative that we set about growing the economy through ambitious targets that will...
Lord Lansley: ...Lords, I am glad to have the opportunity to express our thanks to the committee, its chair and its former chair for the work in preparing this report. I am glad we have the opportunity to debate it now, in good time in relation to the CRaG process. Noble Lords will recall that, in previous discussions on trade Bills, we secured what we regarded as agreement from the Government that, where...
Tim Loughton: ...to the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 empowering coroners, if they see fit, to investigate stillbirths in certain cases. It also requires the Secretary of State to prepare reports, and yet we have not got a report. All we have is a factual account of the consultation, which opened on 26 March 2019 and closed on 18 June 2019. Its results were reported, after years of nagging from me, on 6...
Mark Drakeford: ...are lessons that have already been learnt; there will be more as a result of the inquiry and some of those will be to do with preparedness. But if we were faced with something similar, then I've no doubt at all that the system would be in a better place to respond. I'll just make this wider point to the leader of the opposition: it's almost inherent, in a pandemic, that it won't be like...
Mark Drakeford: Well, I thank Huw Irranca-Davies for that, Llywydd. I was very pleased last year to know that we had attracted that international conference, and there's no doubt that one of the reasons why we had experts from around the world here in Wales was because there were things that we could show that we were doing in this area, because this is not an issue just for Wales; it's an issue for all...
Matthew O'Toole: By definition, they are different, of course. We are debating non-agricultural GIs; that is the entire purpose of the debate. I was acknowledging the precedent that came from agricultural GIs. However, there is an important precedent, which I will to link to the non-agricultural GIs, around all-island geographic indications. People, including Mr Beattie, have said that we do not know what...
Paul Frew: ...you this: taking medicine should be down to individual choice. It is all very well for Members and Ministers to say, "Everyone should get a vaccine" and actually discriminate against people who do not, but it is about people's individual health needs, and that is why they should consult their GP. No MLA should force a vaccine on anyone. That is especially important when medicine can have...
Jonathan Gullis: I completely agree. I have huge problems with universal schemes because they are not a benefit if everyone is receiving them, in my personal opinion. Having universal free school meals for every child in primary school is not a good idea, because why on earth would my children be given access to a free school meal when I myself can afford it? I would rather see that additional funding for...
Grahame Morris: ...couple of key issues in the Bill, and safety is one of them. Of course, the other major element is insurance liability. I think it is reasonable to discuss that and consider the implications. I do not want to regurgitate the explanatory notes, but clause 1 would establish a self-driving test and make provision for the Government to classify a vehicle with features that meet the test as an...
David Johnston: ...Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department set out plans to build a consistent national SEND and AP system which parents and carers can trust, easily navigate and have confidence in, wherever they live in the country. The foundation for the new, nationally consistent SEND and AP system will be the new evidenced-based National Standards for the early and...
Jim Fairlie: ...the use of snares in Scotland. Edward Mountain’s amendment 45 seeks to remove the effect of those amendments and put us right back to where we started. The decision to ban the use of snares is not one that has been taken lightly. Indeed, there are many people, including those who use them, who are surprised that their use has not been banned before now. The decision takes into account a...
Nigel Huddleston: I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. This is fantastic, and I think it is a recurring pattern, Mr Speaker. We have positivity, optimism, and confidence in the future of the UK economy from Conservative Members, but absolute negativity from Opposition Members, because they have no plan, they have no clue and they have no hope. We have a plan and it is working.
Andrew Murrison: ...a fair amount of inconvenience to serve their communities in that way. We all owe them a great deal. The benefits that our cadet programmes offer to young people and society as a whole are well known and well rehearsed. I agree wholeheartedly that the MOD-sponsored cadet forces provide brilliant opportunities for our young people. They have been catalogued by academics from the University...
Michael Tomlinson: ...debate? It has been detailed, thorough and constructive, and I am grateful to each and every one who has contributed. I shall start in reverse order with the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who is so often left until the end. It was delightful to see him without a time limit on the clock at least. I will come back to his point on amendment 10 at the end, as a number of hon....