Speeches by Sabine.

“Can you think of an example of one?”

“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?”

“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 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 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 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 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 …”

“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…”

“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.”

“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…”

“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 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…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies) for securing this debate. I want to talk about the future of public libraries in my fairly rural constituency. In particular, I wish to highlight the role of Radstock library, one of 11 community-run li…”

“What consideration has been given to social media? I know that you do not regulate it in the same way, but I am thinking about politicians and what could look like news on social media. Was any consideration given to that when you came up with your guidelines or proposed changes?”

“I have older teenagers at home who almost exclusively consume their news from TikTok—and occasionally Radio 4, when they are subjected to it in the car—so I am interested in this area. Cristina Nicolotti Squires: That is a good mix.”

“It is quite undermining if politician Fred Bloggs is not allowed to present news on broadcast media, but they are allowed to run a TikTok channel that says, “Fred Bloggs News”, and they present news on it and millions of people follow it.”

“I heard what you said in response to Gill’s question about how research shows that people trust traditional media more, and when something happens they go back and refer to that. I do not want to labour this point, but I wonder whether that is a bit generational. I do not know whether my children’s generation will feel…”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.”

“I seek a quick clarification from the Minister. Was she saying that under the plans to implement the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act, there may be scope within some secondary legislation to look at GPS thefts specifically? Did I understand that correctly?”