Jeff Smith: Yesterday, I joined my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan) on the all-party parliamentary group on music for the launch of UK Music’s impressive “Manifesto for Music”. The opportunities and risks of AI are a key issue for the industry. Will the Government commit to musicians having a voice and a place at the table for the AI summit in November?
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on removing barriers to (a) school and (b) other group travel between the UK and France.
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to review the level of grant-in-aid for heritage institutions, in the context of rises in inflation.
Jeff Smith: It is a pleasure to follow my near constituency neighbour, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Esther McVey), and I join her and others in paying tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi) for her campaigns over the years, and of course to Marie Lyon for her many years of campaigning for justice for the families affected, including in my constituency. When...
Jeff Smith: I could not agree more, and families across the country have been affected in such a way. The Pierce family are another family in my constituency whose whole lives have been shaped by Primodos. Edward and Janet Pierce’s daughter, Louise, is now 54 years old. She was born with several different disabilities, which the families are convinced were caused by her mother having been prescribed...
Jeff Smith: What recent steps he has taken to implement the interim recommendations of the infected blood inquiry.
Jeff Smith: “Working through this” is not good enough. Several families in my constituency have lost partners or parents as a result of the infected blood scandal and they are frustrated by the delay and obfuscation. One of my constituents told me: “The lack of transparency is causing great stress and anxiety to those of us at the heart of this NHS treatment disaster who have already waited decades...
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to CPRE, the countryside charity’s report entitled Shout from the rooftops: delivering a common sense solar revolution, published in May 2023, whether he plans to ensure that the Future Homes Standard requires roof space-mounted solar arrays to be installed on new homes.
Jeff Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an equalities impact assessment of proposals for a points-based penalty regime for late submissions of tax returns.
Jeff Smith: What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of ticket office closures on rail users.
Jeff Smith: I have a lot of respect for the Minister, who I believe wants to do the right thing, but the rosy picture he portrays is not borne out by the reality. In my constituency, at Burnage station, the ticket office opening from 6.30 am to 1 pm is being replaced by a person from midday to 2 pm, at East Didsbury, where the ticket office has the same six-and-a-half hour opening, it is being replaced...
Jeff Smith: What recent progress her Department has made on reducing the use of hotels as contingency asylum accommodation.
Jeff Smith: In my constituency, I have had the same experience as my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mrs Hamilton), but the question I want to ask is about unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The Home Office still has not explained how it is going to find the children missing from asylum accommodation, so will it set out the plans to do that and find these vulnerable people?
Jeff Smith: What steps she is taking to increase trade with European countries.
Jeff Smith: On the subject of barriers to trade, not only is our world-leading cultural sector valuable in itself for our soft power, but it is an important part of our export trade. But our musicians face unnecessary red tape when trying to tour Europe. We need an EU-wide visa waiver for touring artists. The Secretary of State said earlier that her Department “works closely with musicians”, so what...
Jeff Smith: People who are released from prison into homelessness are much more likely to reoffend, but MOJ data shows that the community accommodation service tier 3 programme has had no meaningful impact on reducing the proportion of people leaving prison who are homeless on release or three months after release. Why does the Minister think the scheme is failing, and what will the Government do to fix it?
Jeff Smith: It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Dowd. I congratulate the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) on securing the debate and on his opening remarks, most of which I agree with. We have heard contributions from a lot of right hon. and hon. Members across the Chamber, demonstrating the pride and passion that people feel in their local heritage sites. I...
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent of Iran's influence on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of Iran's ballistic missile capabilities.
Jeff Smith: Can we have a debate on the treatment of football fans at matches, and specifically on how UEFA can be called to account for, once again, organising the Champions League final without respecting the needs and welfare of supporters? I was in Istanbul on Saturday and, although it was glorious to see City lift the trophy, it was marred by desperately inadequate transport arrangements, which led...