Speeches by Johnson.

“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your guidance about how this House can obtain answers from the Government, particularly the Department of Health and Social Care. On Budget day I tabled a question asking what the changes to national insurance contributions would cost the NHS both directly and indirectly. On 4 No…”

“I have tried repeatedly through written parliamentary questions to get an answer to this without success, so I will try asking it face to face: will the Secretary of State tell the House how much his Chancellor’s changes to national insurance contributions will cost the NHS?”

“The right hon. Member speaks of ducking questions, but it is worrying that three weeks after the Budget he still does not know, or will not tell the House, how much it will cost the NHS. Of course, changes to national insurance contributions affect not just the NHS directly, but suppliers, contractors, charities and ot…”

“Could you please advise me, Mr Speaker, on how to get to the truth, so that this House and my constituents can understand the magnitude of the effect of these national insurance contribution changes on the NHS?”

“Can I clarify one small point that you made? You said it was taking two years to diagnose Down’s syndrome, which is not my experience as a doctor. It is normally diagnosed antenatally or in infancy, and it is done on a very simple, straightforward blood test, so that is a surprise. Is that what you are seeing?”

“That is very interesting. Thank you. I want to ask you about the children not in school. I was part of the Committee that unanimously backed the recommendation to have a register of children not in school. What do you say to the families who, in their view, have chosen the home education route as a positive step, who a…”

“My other question is about the role of parents versus the role of schools, and where responsibility lies. We have heard a lot recently about children not having their teeth brushed while schools must brush their children’s teeth and children not having their clothes washed while the teachers wash the children’s clothes…”

“Let us look at the example of tooth brushing. We have heard about the number of children coming into hospital to have huge numbers of teeth removed. There is a balance to be struck in ensuring good dental care for children so that this can be dealt with at an early stage. I am interested in the idea that children are g…”

“My final question is also on neglect. As you are aware, there are different forms of child abuse, and some have had a lot of attention in the press, including child sexual abuse and physical abuse. In some respects, neglect and emotional abuse are much more difficult to define and more difficult to prosecute. Does that…”

“In services generally. Do you think we pick up on neglect less because it is more difficult to define?”

“I certainly do. One benefit of the ban on disposable vapes is that regardless of whether or not a disposable vape is currently illegal on the basis of its constitution and content, it will now be illegal. It will be much easier to identify illegal vapes, because all disposable versions will be illegal. I also agree tha…”

“The hon. Lady says that people have arrived to vote in somebody’s name and have been turned away and did not return when asked for ID. How can she be certain that they were the person they said they were?”

“Does my hon. Friend accept that it is quite difficult for the consumer to establish which vapes are illegal and which are not? One may have thought that going into a reputable supermarket to buy such a product was a surefire way of ensuring that it was safe, but we have heard examples of major supermarkets selling a we…”

“I understand the hon. Member’s point, but the party responsible for putting an item in the bin is not the council, but the person who has it in their hand. People who drop litter should take responsibility. They should not be doing so in the first place. When I worked with the River Slea clean-up project a year ago, we…”

“My point was that there have been examples of supermarkets unknowingly selling vapes that did not meet requirements, and it is difficult for a consumer who puts a disposable vape in each hand to identify which is allowed and which is not. As a result of the new regulations, they will be able to tell, because both will …”

“I am interested to know: is my hon. Friend trying to argue that the Government should have gone further and banned all vapes, including those that can be refilled?”

“My hon. Friend is referring to an important issue. I know that he is concerned about personal responsibility and people’s ability to make their own choices. The Government face something of a choice between the protection of an adult—a former smoker who is now vaping, who will be presented with a choice of going back t…”

“The impact assessment has been referred to repeatedly during the debate. I understand that it refers to this piece of legislation only, and not to the wider impact of other measures that the Government have proposed, or that have not completed their parliamentary process. Is that correct? Will an assessment of the effe…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“It is a pleasure to follow the maiden speech of the hon. Member for South Dorset (Lloyd Hatton). It was an excellent maiden speech—very interesting—and his constituency sounds lovely. Indeed, it sounds almost as lovely as Sleaford and North Hykeham, but not quite. I welcome him to his place, and hope he enjoys his time…”