Speeches by George.

“You are building up a community of mutual support.”

“I just wanted you to say that. I want to be clear that we are not talking about professionals hand-holding people as professionals to book appointments and make arrangements for them.”

“Can I just interrupt you there? You are saying that a lot of the benefit of the service that you provide is through peer support and volunteers.”

“There were lots of process references there. I want to get down to the nuts and bolts and the bricks and mortar, as it were. How much professional assistance is provided, whether that be administrative and about co-ordinating things? How much volunteer effort is going in? Accommodation seems to be a key element of what…”

“Can I ask you both—I will bring in Abdirahim as well—about the process of commissioning from ICBs or local authorities? First of all—this one may be primarily aimed at Karyn—what is the national picture? Let me just be devil’s advocate. If we are depending on the voluntary and community sector to provide services, we c…”

“I am just trying to bring this all together. You mentioned the 10-year plan. You see all the talent out there in the voluntary and community enterprise sector. How should the Government engage with you to ensure that all the talent that is there is harnessed and best utilised going forward? How can you be commissioned …”

“Karyn, going from the geographically very specific and very much advocacy-based—I was very impressed by that—KeyRing is more nationally based. You were started in 1990. Tell us more about how you work.”

“On a practical basis, as I understand it, you also arrange or provide accommodation. Three projects in the UK have been given plaudits by the WHO, no less. You say you are not really a mental health organisation, yet the WHO describes you as such.”

“Because of the time limitation, I just want to bring in Abdirahim as well. You are focused on your own area, although I am not saying that you do not look at how you compare with others. One assumes that you are benchmarking against things that are happening in a wider sphere. Where do you sit? How is the commissioning…”

“Fishermen in my constituency were let down by the Conservatives and their Brexit friends, and they now feel very disappointed by the news about EU vessel access within the six to 12-mile zone. Both before and since Brexit, we have retained regulatory autonomy in that zone. Will the Prime Minister ensure that we exercis…”

“Although it is long overdue, I warmly welcome the sentiment behind the Government’s announcement. The hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam) and I visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories last month. What we saw there was absolutely shocking. Others have described it as apartheid; I think it is a…”

“My first question is on the stats, so it is probably to you, Marian, if that is okay. We have looked at the stats. We have heard that the statistics indicate that black women are five times more likely to suffer maternal death than other groups. As a brief opening remark in less than a minute, what are the highlights? …”

“Thank you very much. That is very helpful.”

“No.”

“To what extent can you pan this across to other health conditions? In other words, do you see the same disaggregation and difference in terms of both outcome and treatment in other health conditions? I am sorry; being pregnant is not a health condition. I do not want to get myself in hot water. Do you know what I mean?…”

“No, that is fine. I have two other quick questions. The first is about your communications with health professionals, the Royal College of Midwives, NICE and others. This information has been presented to them. What reaction do you get from them? They must be alarmed to think this is going on.”

“I do not mean only maternal mortality, but, for want of a better expression, unsatisfactory outcomes from the birth process.”

“From your experience of talking to the profession, to what extent is it a factor of benign ignorance or malignant discrimination?”

“This may be an evaluation that is beyond your analysis of statistics, but, if white women were experiencing these outcomes as opposed to black women, do you think there would be a different sense of urgency and action taken within the system to address the issue?”

“Yes, exactly.”