Jeff Smith: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for calling me to make my maiden speech. It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth), who made an excellent speech. Many Members in all parts of the Chamber have made excellent maiden speeches today and raised the bar very high. I begin by paying tribute to my predecessor, John Leech. John and I have had many political...
Jeff Smith: What steps he is taking to alleviate road congestion.
Jeff Smith: Wilmslow road, which runs through my constituency, is one of the most congested roads in the area, as a result of the large numbers of unregulated buses that pass down it. When does the Secretary of State expect progress to be made to allow the London-style bus franchising powers that Manchester needs?
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of whether schools and students are adequately prepared for forthcoming changes to A-levels.
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of jobs in the economy which are low-skilled.
Jeff Smith: Will the Secretary of State tell me what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport to ensure that business and growth do not suffer as a result of the delay to the electrification of the trans- Pennine line?
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to address the root causes of attempted migration to Europe across the Mediterranean.
Jeff Smith: If the Prime Minister really is committed to the northern powerhouse, he will know that an essential element of that is improved transport connectivity between the key cities of Manchester and Leeds, and that is now under threat. Given the vague and evasive answer that he gave earlier, will he now join me in welcoming the Manchester Evening News campaign to get the electrification of the...
Jeff Smith: What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of EU sanctions on the Russian Federation.
Jeff Smith: The BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India and China—announced at the summit last week that they will not join in imposing sanctions on Russia. How much of a blow does the Minister consider that to be, and what diplomatic efforts will the UK Government make, if any, to remedy the situation?
Jeff Smith: What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the cessation of work on the electrification of the trans-Pennine route and the midland main line on the northern powerhouse initiative.
Jeff Smith: In February, the Secretary of State wrote: “A transformation in transport connectivity between the cities of the north is vital to realising their potential to become a ‘northern powerhouse’ for the UK’s economy.”—[ Official Report, 27 February 2015; Vol. 593, c. 33WS.] Now that the project has been postponed indefinitely, will he tell the House how we can build a northern house...
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking (a) to ensure that children who have migrated across the Mediterranean are adequately protected when they arrive in Europe and (b) in relocating highly vulnerable, unaccompanied children to the UK.
Jeff Smith: Thank you, Mr Hollobone, for the opportunity to take part in today’s debate. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time. I echo other hon. Members’ congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane) on securing the debate. I will be brief because I do not want to repeat other hon. Members’ comments about Healthier Together,...
Jeff Smith: My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Clearly, Wythenshawe was the public choice for a specialist hospital. On working together, which I was just talking about, there is clearly a growing and improved relationship between Wythenshawe and the Manchester Royal Infirmary. Some people see that as a concern, but I think that it is very much to be welcomed and we need to see it as an...
Jeff Smith: What assessment her Department has made of the effect of the proposed changes to the feed-in tariff on the numbers of jobs in the solar power industry.
Jeff Smith: Estimates suggest, as we heard earlier, that over 20,000 jobs are at risk. Some companies are already giving notices to workers, and projects such as the Greater Manchester community renewals project, which is planning to install solar roof panels in schools in my constituency, will become unviable. How can the Secretary of State fulfil her promise to “unleash a solar revolution” when she...
Jeff Smith: Like other Members, I have constituents who are affected by birth defects resulting from the use of hormone pregnancy tests in the 1960s and 1970s. Following a Backbench Business debate some 10 months ago, the Under-Secretary of State for Life Sciences agreed to set up an expert panel of inquiry, which will sit for the first time on 14 October. It now appears that the panel’s terms of...
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the science budget.
Jeff Smith: Before I came to this House in May, I had spent 18 years as a city councillor in Manchester, and I am very proud of what we achieved for our city in that time. We have shown how good civic leadership can help transform a city and create partnerships that really help to improve the lives of our citizens. We led the way not just in leading the demands for devolved powers, but in demonstrating...