Speeches by Davies.

“Absolutely. The data is there for all. The closures disproportionately impact less populated areas, as the distance to travel to bank branches is greater. For instance, data from 2008 to 2018 show that the greatest increases in travel distance to the nearest bank branch were in Montgomeryshire, Clwyd South, Arfon, Dwyf…”

“I will. This is number two.”

“I am so sorry, but I am going to finish. Restricting access to cash also affects many of those living in rural and post-industrial areas. As the Financial Conduct Authority has noted, digitally excluded older people, people in poor health, those with lower financial resilience and those with lower financial capability …”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered banking hubs in rural and post-industrial communities. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. It is unfortunate really that this is a 30-minute debate. So many people have been in touch to make interventions or speeches, including the right hon. Mem…”

“Absolutely. Unfortunately, as of December last year, those post office vans no longer accept cheques. Some people of a certain generation still use cheques, but those cannot now be paid in by using a post office van, as we have in our village. Someone must physically go to a bank to pay in a cheque, which makes it very…”

“I promised the hon. Member for Waveney Valley that he could intervene on me, and that will be my final intervention. I am so sorry.”

“I totally agree, and I will come on to that later. In 2006, cash accounted for 62% of all payments in the UK. It now accounts for around 14%, with some forecasts taking it down to 6% in 2031. However, if we look beyond those percentages, we can see that cash still plays a vital role in people’s lives. For many, cash is…”

“I will. This is one of three, Sir Desmond.”

“I stand to speak in support of new clause 1, tabled by the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion (Siân Berry). The two-child cap should never have been introduced in the first place. As one of four siblings, I gently ask the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith): was I, the third born, worth less than my two old…”

“Public confidence is so important, and the ministerial code requires that Ministers, including the Prime Minister, uphold the highest possible standards of propriety. Given that the evidence clearly shows what the Prime Minister knew, the appointment of Mandelson did not meet those standards. Can the Minister confirm w…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) on securing this debate. Over the past 20 months or so since coming into this House, I think that rural connectivity has been the most constant issue in my inbox, which is really not surprising when we consider the fact that my constituency is 69% rural…”

“Enzo Romano is a talented young footballer who has already played for the Welsh youth team. He could have chosen Italy or Spain, but he has chosen Wales first. Despite his birth certificate proving that he was born in Cardiff, his British citizenship application has been refused for a second time. Without it, he cannot…”

“Pride in Place is not.”

“That is the problem with local government. The local government officials, councillors and officers I have spoken to are really worried that the funding will not be there to keep the jobs that the SPF has secured. For rural communities such as mine, that includes things like having a local bus service that covers the t…”

“Regarding Pentre Awel, it is a fantastic facility in Carmarthenshire. It is not in my constituency, unfortunately, but it is within Carmarthenshire. Can I just look at the transition between SPF and local growth plans, funds and Pride in Place? The local growth fund in Wales is £547 million over three years; that is a …”

“My Plaid Cymru colleague, Liz Saville-Roberts, asked in a written question what formal requests for devolution of powers had been made by the Welsh Government since July 2024, but, instead of providing that information, your Department met it with a political attack, which sadly appears to be a Wales Office trend in re…”

“The First Minister has also called for devolution to be legally protected through a constitutional reform Act. Are there any plans for the UK Government to introduce this type of legislation?”

“We will keep with devolution, if that is okay. We have discussed devolution of policing, and I am delighted to hear about the tax power devolution and the consultation that will be coming out on that, but we also need to look at the devolution of rail infrastructure, youth justice, probation and the transfer of the Cro…”

“You mentioned that it is starting this year, which is fantastic, because those jobs will then slowly come through. That is brilliant. When do you envisage the switch-on? When will the electricity come through from Anglesey to those 3 million homes?”

“The question is about Wylfa. How will the Department, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Welsh Government all work together to ensure that projects such as Wylfa, Awel y Môr and Celtic Sea have the infrastructure and the skills they need to deliver?”