Speeches by Sabine.

“Farmers in my constituency of Frome and East Somerset have had to deal with constantly changing information regarding the sustainable farming incentive. We welcome the news that the Government have allowed those who started their application between January and March to submit it now, but when it comes to sustainable f…”

“Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a complicated and difficult condition that currently has no agreed medical treatment pathway. Children with FASD are disproportionately represented in the care system. Tragically, since the covid lockdowns, the number of cases is on the rise across the country, but particularly in th…”

“T4. The Minister previously stated that the extended producer responsibility was not retrospective. However, the industry understands that it is now DEFRA’s position that it is a retrospective tax. Will the Minister confirm what industry engagement was undertaken to advise producers of the change to a retrospective tax…”

“I take the hon. Lady’s point, although the same would apply if someone were face to face with a doctor; for example, I could get abortion pills and then give them to someone else after my appointment. I represent a semi-rural constituency, where we struggle with lack of bus routes and medical facilities. I understand h…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I congratulate the hon. Member for Sheffield Hallam (Olivia Blake) on securing this important debate—it is also clearly important to her. No child in Britain should grow up in poverty. As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, it is nothing short of a polit…”

“I have a nice, friendly wrap-up question for you. Us MPs are already required to be fairly transparent about our outside interests in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Are there any further transparency requirements that you think would be beneficial?”

“So it is not as if there is a checklist of things that you have to be doing each year to maintain your accreditation?”

“Can you think of an example of one?”

“Hi, I am Anna. I am one of the MPs. Thanks for coming. I am not sure you will necessarily know the answer to this. We talk about doctors quite often in the context of second jobs because they are a good example. You might become an MP and already be a doctor, and you might need to carry on doing some role as a doctor i…”

“My hon. Friend mentions the Somerset NHS foundation trust, which made a decision recently to reduce the number of beds and associated staff at Frome community hospital. Does he agree that those decisions really need wide consultation, allowing for boundaries and relationships with hospitals such as the RUH, as well as …”

“I agree with my hon. Friend; when I moved into my house in Frome recently, I was told that only one broadband provider was available, because all the other cabinets were full. There are many issues around broadband connectivity in towns as well. I will finish my points there, because I believe that other colleagues hav…”

“That is an extremely good point; perhaps the Minister will be able to address it in his response. In today’s hyperconnected world, no community should be excluded. We speak of self-driving cars and space tourism, so clearly the technology exists; it is not a question of possibility, but a question of political will.”

“That does sound very unfortunate. I know of villages in my constituency where vouchers have been applied for and received, but it is taking so long to get internet coverage that the vouchers are expiring. Clearly, there are a few voucher-related issues. My second ask relates to concerning reports from the telecoms indu…”

“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that those issues hold back rural economies. I am sure there are some interesting statistics on how much more growth—which is the Government’s agenda—we could get out of rural areas if they could connect at speed and at the times they needed to, without having to pay for often exp…”

“I thank my hon. Friend; there are a couple of interesting points there. The number of people affected may be relatively low, but they can be concentrated in one area, and it is quite often a rural area. On the question of one-time passcodes, I notice that many companies now offer alternatives, but the process seems to …”

“I have met the Minister before, which I will come on to. I know there is a plan, about which I have some specific questions. I totally agree that this is a nationwide challenge. On mobile reception, I am particularly concerned about the elderly and vulnerable in the Government’s digital switchover. Many of those indivi…”

“I have not seen that research by The Observer, but it is interesting. I live in a town in my constituency and I have poor mobile coverage. I am sure it is not uncommon to find that it is worse than it is reported. Many older people in my constituency still rely on landlines, not by choice but because the mobile signal …”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered broadband and mobile connectivity in rural areas. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I represent the fairly rural constituency of Frome and East Somerset. In February this year, I conducted a survey asking residents in villages such as Lamyatt, Do…”

“I do not want to go down a rabbit hole but do want to touch on the full attention point. We have talked a lot about how as MPs we are not employees but postholders; that we do not have a job description and that no one tells us what time we are supposed to be spending on the job. We might all have our own sense of what…”

“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. The risk with mobile libraries is that, in terms of numbers, they may not necessarily have as much footfall as a static library, but they provide much more to local communities than can be quantified in footfall. Not everyone lives near a town library, and mobile services are oft…”