Stephen Doughty: I would be grateful if the House would note my recent employment with Oxfam. The Foreign Secretary will no doubt be aware that in the Cast Lead operation four years ago, there was significant damage to UN facilities and the operations of other humanitarian agencies in Gaza. What conversations have he and the Secretary of State for International Development had with the head of the United...
Stephen Doughty: Does the Prime Minister agree with his party chairman that we should leave open the option of exiting the EU?
Stephen Doughty: Diolch yn fawr, Mr Deputy Speaker. Thank you very much for giving me the liberty to make my maiden speech in this important debate today. I can certainly say that at a time of great economic hardship and uncertainty for many hard-working families across my constituency of Cardiff South and Penarth, the actions of this Government—whether in giving tax cuts to millionaires, failing to invest...
Stephen Doughty: May I take the Chancellor back to his statement in 2010, when he said that he wanted to see the richest paying most and the vulnerable protected? To press the point raised by many of my hon. Friends, why is he persisting with the tax cut for millionaires when thousands of people across Wales are increasingly relying on food banks, such as the one I visited this weekend?
Stephen Doughty: Does the right hon. Lady agree that most parents would prefer their children to be happy, rather than prefer them not to be gay?
Stephen Doughty: Thanks to Jobs Growth Wales, an innovative start-up in my constituency called Boulders Climbing Centre, which I recently visited, has taken on a new member of staff. Will Ministers join me in congratulating the Welsh Government on their scheme and explain why they cancelled funding for the future jobs fund?
Stephen Doughty: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship again, Sir Alan, and I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate on a crucial subject. She was speaking about the impact of missing meals, but I am sure that she is also aware of the effect of families downgrading what they are eating. She may be familiar with the statistic that low-income families are eating 30% less fresh fruit and veg...
Stephen Doughty: Is my hon. Friend aware that the Trussell Trust said that less than 5% of its clients are homeless—on the absolute breadline; in fact the vast majority are working families who are struggling to make ends meet.
Stephen Doughty: I endorse what my hon. Friend is saying. There has certainly been an explosion in the use of the provision in my constituency. We would not expect there to be a 100% increase in the use of food banks month on month in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. In Penarth, the more affluent part of my constituency, I visited a food bank collection point in the local Tesco and asked whether the...
Stephen Doughty: If I might reflect on what my hon. Friend has just said, food parcels are extremely basic: they include basic rice and basic pasta—there is nothing glamorous in them at all. Other charities are doing equally important work in offering hot, nutritionally balanced meals, with meat, veg and everything else, rather than just what we find in a food parcel. I note that the audience includes...
Stephen Doughty: The hon. Gentleman is making important points, which I welcome, about the wider challenges of food prices in the world. Does he have any thoughts about the impact of speculative commodity trading on food prices and biofuel targets driving up the price of certain foods both here and abroad?
Stephen Doughty: Thank you, Sir Alan. I thank my hon. Friends and hon. Members for allowing me to intervene. I do not want to go over the ground that I have already covered. I would appreciate it if colleagues noted my recent employment at Oxfam and my work with the Trussell Trust, Fair Share and the Co-operative Group, which has been in the last six months. I want to share a couple of brief personal...
Stephen Doughty: Having visited Helmand two years ago, I want to add my own tribute to the fantastic work of our armed forces, having seen that at first hand. I recently spoke to personnel serving in Afghanistan who fear leaving the forces, fear looking for a job, and fear the cuts to support to people on low incomes. Increasing numbers of veterans who have served in Afghanistan are turning to the Royal...
Stephen Doughty: rose —
Stephen Doughty: I first commend Members of all parties for their thoughtful contributions to the debate and associate myself with the comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen), who is no longer in his place. His words represented the type of mature and thoughtful approach that we need to take to energy and climate change and the Bill. We must redouble our efforts, both on...
Stephen Doughty: I thank the hon. Lady for securing this important debate. I must apologise to her and to you, Mr Bayley, because I must leave the debate early to attend the Energy Bill debate in the main Chamber, but I wanted to be here today to listen to the comments being made. The hon. Lady has made important points about children, access to medicines and the pharmaceutical industry. She will be aware...
Stephen Doughty: My hon. Friend makes an important point about jobs. The benefits bill is rising because of this Government’s failure on the economy and jobs. Does she agree that the Welsh Labour Government are showing the way with their Jobs Growth Wales fund, which is already ahead of target, in stark contrast to the failure of the Work programme, which has seen only two in 100 people put into work?
Stephen Doughty: Is the Prime Minister proud of the growth of food banks across this country, including in my constituency? Has he visited one, and if not, will he do so?
Stephen Doughty: Despite a 400% increase in the demand for food banks since 2010, the Prime Minister has neglected to give clear answers to me or to my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) about whether he will visit one. May we have a debate on the subject of food banks in this Chamber so that we can bring the facts to the Prime Minister, if he is unwilling to go and see them for himself?
Stephen Doughty: Given the scale and scope of this disgraceful practice, does that not underline the urgent need to get to the bottom of this and take action to tackle it? We are going to invest in huge national infrastructure projects, whether in the energy sector or more widely, and we must never let this happen again.