Speeches by Mathew.

“Were these rockets Israeli rockets or Iranian rockets?”

“Minister, thank you. Your enthusiasm tells a wonderful tale and it is wonderful to see you in post—I would say you are the right man in the right place at the moment. Just as an aside, and this is something that has occurred to me as we were speaking, perhaps other crises in the world today could benefit from the exper…”

“An intriguing question: is the old embassy in Damascus still in British hands? What has happened to it?”

“Leading on from that, what assessment has the Government made of the implications of sanctions relief and the influx of foreign aid for the potential diversion of UK aid into illicit financial channels?”

“To dig down a bit, to what extent do remaining sanctions, including secondary sanctions on organisations and state-owned bodies doing business with Syria, affect long-term private sector investment and rebuilding efforts in Syria?”

“I thank the right hon. Member for his comments; in fact, I will go into some details on that now. Members from all parties will recognise that rural fire services face different cost pressures compared with urban ones, and rurality is not adequately addressed in the current or previous funding formulae. We must continu…”

“I thank the hon. Member for those points; he made them well, and I take them on. We should all think of what happened in Glasgow at the weekend. Family members of firefighters from Wiltshire are in the Gallery, and I thank them for coming. I know of firefighters from Dorset and Wiltshire who would have liked to be here…”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to open this debate on fire station closures. I would like to begin by paying tribute to the bravery of firefighters across the country.”

“The Government’s changes to employer national insurance contributions have made it more expensive for employers to take on staff, particularly in the hospitality sector, which employs a high proportion of young people and part-time workers. Does the Minister agree that these changes have made it more difficult for youn…”

“18. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the autumn Budget 2025 on levels of youth unemployment.”

“I have to declare an interest. before coming to this place, I had a 30-year career as an aid worker, working in WASH: bringing water, sanitation and hygiene to some of the poorest people on the planet—so, yes, I am passionate about this issue, and I make no apologies for that. A number of sectors have been assisted by …”

“Thank you, we get the picture. Lionel, can you tell us how your communities are being affected by climate change?”

“Very briefly, what is your perception of how the climate and its effects have changed over the last five years?”

“Zahid, perhaps you can talk a little about how climate change is affecting your communities.”

“Quickly back to you, Elizabeth. Which groups of people are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and why?”

“Lionel, have there been any attempts to re-seed or re-grow the coral?”

“I am going to start with Elizabeth, if I may? How has climate change affected your local community or the communities your organisation supports?”

“Are you saying these attempts have not worked? Have you had any success with them?”

“Zahid, perhaps you can talk a little about how climate change is affecting your communities.”

“Thank you, we get the picture. Lionel, can you tell us how your communities are being affected by climate change?”