Speeches by Johnson.

“I am not sure she has answered the question.”

“I am not sure that answered the question, Chair, which was—”

“Thank you, Secretary of State. I also learnt Latin at a state school to GCSE in the north-east of England, so we have more in common than we think. I wanted to ask you about the effects of the VAT. We have heard about children having to move schools, including some children having to move schools during their GCSE or A…”

“If I could interrupt the Secretary of State to come back to the question, I also grew up in the 1980s and 1990s in the north-east of England as she did and went to a state comprehensive school until 16, so I understand the system as it was then. That is a long time ago. What I am interested in now is how cancelling the…”

“Thank you, Secretary of State. I should say I have three children who are at independent schools. In the explanatory notes for the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill it says the primary aim is that the educational system should be more consistent, which is interesting because “consistent” can be consistently good as…”

“Sorry, could I bring you back to the question, please? The question was: there will be schools whose fees are set at a certain level and whose parents cannot afford that level anymore. Those children may have to leave those schools as a result. These are children. However affluent their parents may be and whatever thei…”

“I respect the Secretary of State’s wish to ensure that she has considered the Act thoroughly. I regret that it has taken her so long to come to the conclusion that free speech is important, but I am glad that she has decided to bring into force many of the measures in the Act, which was introduced by the Conservatives.…”

“Thank you for the answer to the question. I appreciate that. My second question was about degree apprenticeships. The degree apprenticeships offer young people the opportunity to learn and work at the same time, which can be a financially advantageous as well as an educationally advantageous programme. Does the Secreta…”

“Sorry. Equally, I note that the vast majority of Members across the House, both in my party and in other parties, strongly agree with clause 10 and the other clauses that seek to ensure that children do not have access to these products. If someone sells a vaping or nicotine product to a purchaser who is under the age …”

“On a point of order, Mr Dowd. May I ask a procedural question? I heard some Members shout, “Aye”, and some Members shout, “No”. In the previous session we recorded what Members said, but we have not done so this time. Can I inquire as to what the reason for that is? Last time there was a vote that was then recorded for…”

“How would they do that?”

“I beg to move amendment 58, in clause 2, page 2, line 23, at end insert “, save if it is a first offence.”. See explanatory statement to Amendment 59.”

“Amendments 58 and 59 seek to amend clause 2. Will we get the chance to debate clause 2 later, Mr Dowd?”

“Amendments 58 and 59 go back to the principle of proportionality. I know the Minister gave his views on that last week, so I will not go on at length. But there is a difference between the individual shop assistant who may make an intentional error, and a shop that continues to repeatedly and recklessly sell to childre…”

“I apologise again for not speaking loudly enough.”

“Clause 2 makes it an offence for a person aged 18 or over to make a proxy purchase of tobacco products, herbal smoking products or cigarette papers for a person born on or after 1 January 2009. It essentially stops an older person going in and buying those products for a younger person, which we are aware has been happ…”

“Clause 48, which we obviously have not come on to yet, gives the interpretation of part 1 and all the definitions. The definition of cigarette papers in the Bill includes “anything…to be used for encasing tobacco products or herbal smoking products for the purpose of enabling them to be smoked”. Different chemicals are…”

“rose—”

“As the Minister says, clause 3 outlaws the use of vending machines that sell tobacco or tobacco products, as well as herbal smoking products and cigarette papers. I note that there are no amendments to clause 3, presumably because it is somewhat settled and established law. In the same way as vapes and other nicotine p…”

“The Minister says that it has been illegal for some time and that is an offence to sell loose cigarettes, and of course it has been. However, we heard in evidence from the Royal College of Physicians last week that the sale of loose cigarettes to youngsters was still a problem—it is an entry way into cigarettes. Does t…”