Speeches by Stephenson.

“I beg to move, That this House has considered healthcare in rural areas. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I hope that this debate can be a constructive discussion of the particular challenges that rural communities face in accessing healthcare. In that spirit, I will open the debate by saying som…”

“4. What discussions she has had with her US counterpart on tariffs.”

“Given that the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran without British involvement, and that this Government seem increasingly at odds with the US in relation to Diego Garcia, can the Minister assure me that the Government’s actions are not damaging the special relationship and increasing the likelihood that further tar…”

“I absolutely agree. My constituents, like the hon. Lady’s, want a system that works, that is swift and that is safe. The delays coincide with rising licensing costs, meaning that responsible, law-abiding certificate holders are paying more while receiving a poorer service. That is not sustainable, and any reform must e…”

“While we are on the topic of Bedfordshire, will the Minister reflect on the lessons that have been learned from the Prosper case? I went into it in some detail. It is of concern to not only my constituents but constituents in Luton—the hon. Member for Luton South and South Bedfordshire (Rachel Hopkins) is here—so I am …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for introducing what has been a really balanced and thoughtful debate. I hope that the Minister has found it useful and will take lots of useful comments from it as the Government move forward with t…”

“It a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. It is also a pleasure to follow my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard (Alex Mayer). I congratulate another constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Milton Keynes North (Chris Curtis), on securing this important debate …”

“The hon. Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) mentioned the potential introduction of the lynx as an apex predator, but active deer management is already under way in my constituency through culling. Do the Government have a preference on culling versus introducing an apex predator, or a combination of the two? What thought…”

“I declare an interest: I am a Central Bedfordshire councillor. Central Bedfordshire will have to find £17 million off the back of this so-called fairer funding formula. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is nothing short of pork barrel politics?”

“While the rise in the agricultural property relief threshold to £2.5 million is a welcome step for farmers, does the Minister recognise the broader economic concern shared by the Ulster Farmers Union that inflation and steadily rising asset values will over time pull more family farms into inheritance tax liability, ev…”

“6. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Government policies on the economy in Northern Ireland.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy, on my first outing on behalf of His Majesty’s official Opposition. I congratulate the hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) on securing this important debate, and I join Members who have welcomed the work of Sir Jon Cunliffe. I thank local action gro…”

“GPs are contractually responsible for identifying and supporting people with frailty. Of course, those contracts are costing us all a great deal of money. So why does NHS England not set performance targets for GPs to identify and provide support to people with moderate or severe frailty? I think this is probably a que…”

“Recognising those challenges—and I do recognise them—without setting targets or monitoring compliance in a specific way towards frailty, how can you know whether patients are getting the services to which they are entitled? I suspect it is a complicated answer.”

“How do you know when to intervene? For example, just 10% of those aged over 65 in the area of the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB, which serves my constituents, were assessed for frailty in 2024-25. That sounds like a very low number. I am sure that you will know where that sits compared with other ICB areas.…”

“In that example, which is my ICB area, what would you do to improve performance in that scenario?”

“Yes. That brings me to my final question. I think that what is important is the quality of life of all our constituents. Taking it as a whole, stepping outside of the dashboards, metrics and performance measures, how do you as NHS England ensure that you are really focused on our constituents’ quality of life?”

“I do not have a hospital in Mid Bedfordshire—if you want to build a new one, you know where to come. My constituents rely on the hospital in Milton Keynes, which I will not ask about, for the reasons we discussed earlier, but also Bedford hospital and Luton and Dunstable hospital. Between the two of them, they have a m…”

“This is the final set of questions. You will be aware that some hospital trusts have raised concerns about the new design perhaps being more expensive to run than existing hospitals. Can you walk us through how you are addressing NHS trusts’ concerns that the new hospitals will be more expensive to run? This might be o…”

“Do you have anything further to add, Paul?”