Speeches by Spencer.

“I start my contribution today by thanking our colleagues in the House of Lords for their work and public service in their vital role scrutinising and editing the legislation that we put together in this place. Prior to my first election in 2019, I did not know that much in depth and detail about the workings of the Hou…”

“rose—”

“The hon. Lady is being very generous with her time. The Liberal Democrats clearly have a very formed view of the reforms that they want, so what number of Lords would be in the elected upper Chamber? [Interruption.]”

“The Minister is generous in giving way. There is a fertile debate on this side of the House, and the Government should reflect on the fact that Opposition Members tend to think independently. Does he not think that the idea that a step-by-step process will work at all is for the birds?”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“The Prime Minister has repeatedly stressed the importance of preventing people from taking up smoking, as one of his priorities to improve the nation’s health, reduce waiting lists and lessen demand on the NHS, and we agree. The Government like to talk about the record of their first 100 days in office but, according t…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for sharing something so personal in his intervention, and for sharing his experience of the impact of suicide. Many Members have shared personal experience in this debate. That is very important. I am mindful that there will be people in the Gallery or watching at home who may be affected by…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I start by declaring that I am a former consultant psychiatrist and that a family member is a consultant psychiatrist. Listening to this debate has been a mixed experience. It has been great to hear the wealth of talent and expertise that we have in the House,…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out that, sadly, suicide is the No.1 cause of death among young men. My understanding, although the stats change all the time, is that below the age of 45, suicide is the No.1 cause of death among both men and women. It is absolutely right that we look at sex-specific approac…”

“Traffic delays at level crossings in Egham, Addlestone and Chertsey are punishing my constituents, and engineering works and diversion routes just make that worse. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how we can mitigate and improve our level crossings, especially during these engineering works?”

“Very briefly—I have only a couple of minutes left.”

“Bearing in mind that around 15% of children in independent schools have special educational needs and only around 5% have an EHCP, given the move back into the state sector that this policy will cause and given the hon. Gentleman’s experience and personal concern about EHCPs, will he be voting against the policy?”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?”

“As I said, schools in both the independent and state sectors are concerned about the policy and the sudden movement of children, in the middle of the year, into the state sector, which will struggle to find them places. Those children may be studying for exams and have already experienced covid disruption, and the stat…”

“Families and schools in my constituency are deeply concerned about this policy. They have contacted me to underline the pressure that it will put on them. Many have already started applying for state school places. Our independent schools reckon that about 5% to 10% of their students will move into the state sector. As…”

“I had a pop at getting the Minister to give way during the debate this morning, and I appreciate his doing so now. I love the irony of what he is saying, which is, “We need to do this to raise all this money, yet it isn’t actually going to raise all that much money because it can be reclaimed.” On the impact assessment…”

“Will the Minister give way on that point?”

“It is a pleasure, Dame Caroline, to serve under your chairmanship and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) for securing this important debate. I am so pleased to speak in it. I support all our schools and I am proud to have a range of independent schools in the Runnymede and Weybridge const…”

“What did the hon. Gentleman say to pensioners during the election campaign?”

“It is not often that one speaks in this place on changes to the law that will have the direct result of saving lives, but once the draft regulations pass, as I hope they will this evening, we expect them to save many peoples’ lives. Today is a very special occasion. I do not say this to disparage people who work in the…”