Speeches by Voaden.

“We have talked a lot about reading in the early years. I would like to look at secondary school because, Jonathan, I think you said that there is a noticeable dip when children go to secondary school. Perhaps you could talk a little bit about what best practice looks like in secondary schools to address the change and …”

“To very quickly follow up on that, do you think that the development of the English curriculum has had any effect? We hear that children in primary school are having to learn what a fronted adverbial is and, the way that literature exams are, there is less about loving the book and more about—”

“We have talked a lot about reading in the early years. I would like to look at secondary school because, Jonathan, I think you said that there is a noticeable dip when children go to secondary school. Perhaps you could talk a little bit about what best practice looks like in secondary schools to address the change and …”

“21. What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the west bank.”

“Last year, the Israeli Government issued nearly 10,000 units of settlement housing tenders, which was more than the combined total of tenders over the previous six years. The extremists in Netanyahu’s Cabinet clearly have the explicit intention of undermining any prospect of a viable Palestinian state, let alone a two-…”

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“Reading daily to young children is shown to have a direct correlation with better outcomes, qualifications and social mobility later in life. Just one book a day means a child will hear approximately 300,000 more words by the age of five than those who are not regularly read to. However, many parents are not aware of t…”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that, as our electoral system fractures into a multi-party system—we have traditionally had a system involving two parties in this country—there is a massive missed opportunity to use the Bill to introduce a commission that could bring forward a proportional voting system? That would ensure th…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) for her powerful speech introducing the debate and for all her work on this subject. It is normal in debates in this Chamber to bring the stories of our constituents to illustrate the issue, but today I am going to share my story as well. In 2002,…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention; I could not agree more. In 2017, it all changed: the previous Conservative Government replaced the widowed parent’s allowance with the bereavement support payment—an 18-month flat-rate payment paid regardless of the child’s age. That decision drew cross-party criticism and w…”

“I thank the right hon. Lady for her intervention. In the UK, around 120 children are bereaved of a parent every day. By age 16, approximately one in 20 young people in the UK will have experienced the death of a parent. I became the chair of the Widowed and Young organisation and met loads of kids and their parents thr…”

“How long would it take the Salvation Army to respond to a request?”

“This is a final, wrap-up question for all of you. As we have said, the Joint Committee on Human Rights has recommended that the Government issue an apology. Dr Gallen, you have spoken very powerfully about how that can be done in the most meaningful way, saying that there are different kinds of apology. Perhaps I could…”

“It has to be more than just words. In closing, what are the most important actions that you believe this Committee should recommend to the Government following today’s discussion?”

“There isn’t much time left, is there?”

“Three to five months?”

“In its inquiry, the JCHR found huge disparities in how quickly local authorities and agencies respond to requests for adoption records. Starting with Emily, what specific changes do you think would improve the speed and consistency of responses to adoption record requests?”

“Brenda, if somebody comes to Barnardo’s to ask for their adoption records, roughly how long would it take for them to get a response?”

“On that point, will the Minister give way?”

“In its inquiry, the JCHR found huge disparities in how quickly local authorities and agencies respond to requests for adoption records. Starting with Emily, what specific changes do you think would improve the speed and consistency of responses to adoption record requests?”