Speeches by Mathew.

“A quick one: with the move to giving cash to individuals as a way of giving aid, possibly with cards, theoretically that would be a way in which you could really monitor right down to a micro level. Where that money is being spent could provide a huge amount of data in terms of what people are spending that money on an…”

“Earlier today I had the opportunity to meet a constituent, Darcy Johnson, and I want to share her and her family’s story. Four generations of Darcy’s family have worked Dogwood farm, which is a small, family-run beef and arable farm of about 250 acres. Her grandfather is the current owner. The plan was always to follow…”

“With the Russians using drones to drop CS gas into the trenches of the Donbas, and Avon Protection in my constituency ready to manufacture the residue of the 300,000 gas masks that Ukraine requested, will the Government put in an order as soon as possible, please?”

“I thank my hon. Friend for those comments. These small family-run businesses cannot afford it. If the plan continues, many will be wiped out completely. Such farms are often the backbone of rural communities, doing everything from clearing snow in winter to providing hay bales for village fairs. The loss of the farms w…”

“No, but it is in Wiltshire.”

“I commend the hon. Member for Southgate and Wood Green (Bambos Charalambous) for organising this debate on a vital and extremely timely topic. As all hon. Members present are likely aware, we face the most acute debt crisis in history. According to CAFOD, more than 3.3 billion people are living in countries where they …”

“Minister, how will you measure the contribution your Department’s climate and conflict stabilisation programme makes to improve food security and nutrition outcomes?”

“Leading on from that, you mentioned the impact of the value for money framework. Do you currently have an impact or value for money framework for SDG2 or is that something that is coming?”

“What progress has been made in tracking food security outcomes across UK Government programming?”

“I was making a point about the added expense.”

“Let me start by saying that I am in in favour of the motion, so I will vote for it, if it comes to that. However, would the hon. Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) and the Minister consider the inclusion of two social workers on the group, made up of two GPs and a High Court judge, that assesses requests for assis…”

“There would be added expense. Social workers are trained in understanding family dynamics, and need desperately to be involved in these situations.”

“I thank the hon. Lady.”

“Does the hon. Member agree that if the Government feel that some minimum income requirement is necessary or appropriate, it should never be greater than that necessary to render an immigrant unable to claim benefits, as Theresa May’s original sum was intended to do?”

“I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) and everyone who has spoken so far in the debate. Back in 2009 I was involved in an as yet conceptual tidal project known as the reef. It was projected to stretch from Aberthaw in south Wales to Minehead in Somerset, a distance of some 17 k…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his points, which of course are true. This technology could be employed right across the United Kingdom and its amazing coastline. A third advantage would be that ships could pass up and down the Bristol channel via large floating lock gates. Fourthly, the project could be upgraded over its l…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler) for bringing forward this important debate, and all hon. Members for speaking with such compassion. Although the £100 million for hospice capital projects is to be welcomed, it is cash that is most needed. Julia’s House, a children’s hospice in my constituency…”

“Minister, in order for us to understand the extent to which the eradication of extreme poverty is a priority for Government, what do you see as the appropriate balance between using ODA in middle-income countries, in support of diplomatic objectives, and in low-income countries, to combat extreme poverty?”

“To keep hammering on this particular topic, a greater proportion of ODA currently goes to middle-income countries, compared to low-income countries. Are there any plans to reverse this trend?”

“Is this not perhaps a good reason for thinking about how we re-establish DFID as a separate organisation from the diplomatic side, if you like, in terms of the “Foreign and Commonwealth” bit of the FCDO?”