Speeches by Pakes.

“Thank you, Chair. Hopefully, it is relatively self-explanatory. I have done my own apprenticeship—this is the first time I have done a Backbench Business Committee application, so I feel I am living the learning experience as well. Apologies if there are some errors in it. We have had Peter Bedford come forward as a Co…”

“I thank the Secretary of State and his team for their vision and leadership on this critical issue. These exciting plans could help us to drive growth, create jobs and improve public services. Places like Peterborough could be at the heart of the silicon fens if we get this right. Critical to that will be the issue of …”

“As a new Member, it is a privilege to serve on a Bill Committee under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers—I hope I will get all of it right. I felt particularly moved to speak on these amendments and clause 1, given some of the earlier comments. I was a bit worried that we had been transported by the Opposition back to a pre…”

“May I put on record my thanks to the Minister for the care and concern about the situation that he shows Members? Yet every time we meet, the situation seems to have become more desperate, even in recent weeks, with babies freezing, the continued bombing of hospitals and real concerns about the annexation of Gaza. Over…”

“An important aspect of Great British Energy’s work will be ensuring industrial strength in all areas of the UK. Places such as Peterborough are well placed to develop high-skilled jobs and great opportunities in green hydrogen to support that transition, through the work of National Gas in Werrington and our new univer…”

“20. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Great British Energy on job creation in industrial communities. [R]”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) on securing this debate. It is a privilege to follow both her and the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who have given us such a passionate case for the importance of appren…”

“Phew! Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Laughter.] I am privileged to speak on Second Reading of a Bill that is of huge interest to my constituents and the country. After 14 years, the new Government have inherited record levels of illegal sewage dumping in our rivers, lakes and seas, an Environment Agency budget halve…”

“Peterborough lido is one of the jewels in the crown of our city. Just two years ago, we had a hydrotherapy pool and an indoor pool as well as the lido, but due to the reckless behaviour of the previous Conservative Administration, the hydrotherapy pool was bulldozed and the indoor pool was closed. The lido will be at r…”

“Can you provide data on that to us?”

“An actual breakdown at that level so we understand how many are farms with couples?”

“We have picked up one of my questions, but one of the great troubles with public discourse on this is that we have too many different sets of figures that roll against each other, so we are comparing a one-year retrospective with 30 years, and we are scrutinising the Treasury assumptions., You will forgive me, I think,…”

“But the general public in my constituency do not have that opportunity in their own areas, so it is a special relationship. So when we talk of 30 years and 75,000 figures, that is a really wide canvas for us to understand without understanding assumptions.”

“Can you provide data on that to us?”

“I will just come in on a couple of questions. First, Tom, I hope you hear how much respect, as a Committee, we have for you and farmers, which is why we are holding this inquiry. We want to be able to look at it and shine a light on it from different angles. All of us on the Committee have the commitment to do that, an…”

“Absolutely. I said that because when the CLA came to see me before the Budget, and this was on the table, the CLA position given to me was that no change whatsoever was necessary. Now we seem to be discussing it differently, where change could be necessary.”

“My question was: you accept some change could happen, but not the changes proposed?”

“If the Government were here, they would be saying this is about how all sectors need to contribute, and they have tried to do it fairly. They would say all sectors need to contribute, because they are trying to repair public services. Have you done any modelling? Do you have any data you could share for us about what t…”

“I was more interested in whether you have identified other routes that would raise money to put into public services in rural areas, if it was not this.”

“We have picked up one of my questions, but one of the great troubles with public discourse on this is that we have too many different sets of figures that roll against each other, so we are comparing a one-year retrospective with 30 years, and we are scrutinising the Treasury assumptions., You will forgive me, I think,…”