Speeches by George.

“If we as a Committee wanted to go and look at a location where co-production has been handled well, sincerely and with meaning, and has resulted in satisfactory outcome, where would we go? Can you point us to anywhere?”

“Is it all lip service?”

“I have two areas of questioning. The first was in relation to what you thought good community health services look like, but, following the excellent first panel and what you have said already, we can see the component parts and we can probably collate that ourselves, if you do not mind. We are also running slightly be…”

“The hon. Gentleman is making a very powerful point, which I strongly endorse. Of course, he can go further, because we are well aware that the new US Administration are now recommending the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. On top of the UK Government making clear their abhorrence of all of the actions that the hon. Gentleman …”

“The hon. Gentleman is making a very thoughtful contribution. He is clearly looking at ways in which the policy can be amended to make it more palatable to the farming community. That may be the reality that we are looking at, rather than getting rid of it altogether. Does he therefore agree that we should look at chang…”

“I am grateful to the Minister for her reply. The UK is one of the most nature-depleted nations on this planet. The “State of Nature Report 2023” indicated that up to one in six UK species faces the risk of extinction. The Minister’s reply is very encouraging, but just last week the Chancellor, promoting the Government’…”

“1. What steps he is taking to promote biodiversity recovery.”

“Thank you.”

“The US has the most substantial interest in Diego Garcia, which is the fulcrum of what we are discussing today. Although I understand that the Minister cannot disclose the details of the compensatory package that is being negotiated, is it reasonable to assume that the US will be making a substantial contribution to th…”

“That is really helpful. Finally, on the disaggregation of residential and domiciliary care, what has happened, in view of what you just described, about care workers’ conditions of employment with regard to travel time and travel recompense, and having sufficient time to care when they get to a home? This has always be…”

“What proportion of providers are not covering the travel time? Do you know? Are there any figures on that?”

“Anita, when you commented earlier you said that the current situation is having appallingly low wages so that everyone else can have a good life. I want to address the cold health economics, not the soft argumentation that justifies why we should pay care workers more. If, for the sake of argument, we were to model an …”

“That would be helpful. I am sure that all MPs have met the proprietors of care homes or domiciliary services, when there was a recent increase in the minimum wage, and been told bluntly without any shame that that will be a challenge, and that it is the biggest problem they currently face in maintaining the viability o…”

“Further to the questions raised by the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) and several other hon. Members, I, too, have picked up numerous cases in my constituency of Government-sponsored defective home insulation work and of extortionate, poor-quality and defective work of unscrupulous cowboy contractors who masquera…”

“8. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government-funded home insulation schemes.”

“On greenfield development, whether it be in the green belt or outside it, rural housing developments often take place in green locations. In the light of that, will the Minister ensure that the Government strengthen local authorities’ ability to use the rural exception policy? We would rather pay 10 times agricultural …”

“The right hon. Gentleman has not mentioned the rural exceptions policy. He is talking about rural housing, but to achieve the outcome he is describing, surely he should be advancing rural exception schemes. There is massive hope value on the edges of towns and villages if the targets are high, but rural exception schem…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I congratulate the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) on securing this important debate. It is interesting to follow the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith). His constituency is a different environment, with a different set of …”

“Well—”

“I beg your pardon, Ms Jardine—I ran away with myself. As far as my hon. Friend’s question is concerned, a range of reasons make it extremely difficult to deliver on rural exception sites. One of the difficulties, which I have expressed to the Minister, is that the viability thresholds are quite difficult for housing as…”