Speeches by Bance.

“Twenty-seven per cent of working-age people in Tipton, Wednesbury and Coseley rely on universal credit. I welcome the fair repayment rate announced in the Budget, but a major reason for benefit debt is the design flaw in universal credit, which means that claimants must wait five weeks for their first payment. Will the…”

“5. What plans she has to review universal credit.”

“Is this the first time it has been used?”

“If the Government can unilaterally create exemptions from the SELC, what is there to stop this Government and future Governments applying what appears to be some sort of business security exemption in applying the criteria in future? Given that we are such close allies with the other partners in the F-35 programme that…”

“I thank the Justice Secretary for that answer. In common with many Members of the House, I have heard horrific stories of perpetrators breaching orders to which they are subject, giving them further opportunity to terrorise, injure, or in some cases kill women protected by those orders—may Harshita Brella and so many o…”

“Can you tell me what is the legal basis for the exemption of components for the F-35 programme, please?”

“T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.”

“The plan for change is clear. This Government will restore order to the asylum and immigration system, clear the asylum backlog, end the use of hotels, increase returns and cut small boat crossings. Does the Minister agree that this plan stands in stark contrast to the open borders policy that the Conservative party su…”

“I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a member of Unite the union. I thank the Secretary of State for coming to the House on such a difficult day for the car industry, and all our thoughts are with the workers in Luton today. I thank him for the work he is doing in engaging wit…”

“I wish to associate myself with the comments that have been made about the scourge of illegal motorbikes. They are a particular scourge in communities across Tipton, Wednesbury and Coseley. One of my favourite pledges in the Labour party’s manifesto was the pledge to seize those bikes without notice and crush them with…”

“One of the key things that many workers want to see is the wage rises that they have been waiting so long for, but the OBR is forecasting 0% real wage growth over 2026-27. What are you going to do in your Department to make sure that wages start growing again?”

“Secretary of State, it is nice to see you. The Labour party was elected on a pro-worker, pro-business platform. Over the last 14 years, we have seen enormous wage stagnation, the explosion of insecure work and a real sense that too many of the jobs in our economy are not of a good enough quality. How is the pro-worker …”

“A key way to raise wages is to increase the coverage of collective bargaining and trade union membership. What actions will your Department take to ensure that trade union membership rises and the coverage of collective bargaining rises?”

“Yes, if workers want that. In a number of large companies operating in this country, workers want trade union representation and have fought hard with the deck of cards stacked against them. What will you do as Secretary of State to ensure that workers can be recognised by the union of their choice and that the unlevel…”

“If you are a box-to-box midfielder joining up everything, one of the key things that needs that join-up—you have mentioned it—is skills. Employers are worrying about the lack of continued purchase on the skills agenda. The remit of Skills England is slowly emerging, but I would very much like to hear a commitment from …”

“The Green Paper said that past industrial strategies have been held back by weak co-ordination and delivery. How are you going to avoid that happening again? I appreciated your mention of devolution in the last answer. I would particularly add that this Committee has a heavy preponderance of west midlands MPs, who are …”

“It was about co-ordination.”

“On the point about co-ordination, you would expect me to say this as a champion of manufacturing and of automotive, but for months and years we have been hearing the problems that our motor manufacturers are having with the electric vehicle mandate. Is there going to be change on that soon? I certainly hope so.”

“We are all looking forward to the steel strategy in the spring, but in the meantime the Government could have done more to improve the business environment for the steel industry, such as by uplifting the electricity network charging compensation from 60% to 90%, as recommended by UK Steel. Of course, we had the disapp…”

“In the previous panel, Minister Thomas said that he has made it clear that “we want claimants to be given the benefit of the doubt,” and that offers should be “as generous as possible”. Do you think you are fulfilling that?”