Speeches by Fookes.

“We have had a wonderful surf around the UK’s rivers, lakes and seas this afternoon. Every single one of us in this House will have a waterway in our constituency, and we have all had to endure the worst impacts of the 14 years of negligence and failure that almost killed some of our rivers. The Wye and the Usk, which r…”

“I echo the Chair’s sentiments: thank you very much for coming a second time to our Committee. My first question is for you, Akeela, please. How would you describe the current situation for Muslims in the UK and how that has evolved over the last few years?”

“There will be opportunity obviously for more a bit later, but I just wanted to take that up with Dr Green. Do you have any examples of specific impacts that the summer riots had on Muslim communities?”

“Coming now to Professor Khan, the majority of Muslims in the UK are from a minority ethnic background. Can you share how racism and Islamophobia are interacting or have interacted?”

“This question is open to whoever has some experience, perhaps, of what has been going on in Wales. I am an MP from Wales, and there were no riots in Wales in the summer, which I am obviously really grateful for and pleased about. Do you think there was a different approach taken by the Welsh Government or by communitie…”

“I have already been contacted by several LGBTQ+ and trans organisations in my constituency of Monmouthshire that are really concerned and frightened about the implications of this judgment. Will the Minister commit to meeting trans people from my constituency, such as those from Queerspace, Abergavenny Pride and Monmou…”

“Yes.”

“I am just sitting here reflecting on all this. Women got the vote 100 years ago, and there were no women in Parliament until I do not know when. We are only on around the 600th woman in Parliament. But to get there, some political parties, like mine, practically set targets, did really positive action and that is the w…”

“It is such an interesting discussion today; I have loved it. Last week was spring statement week. Debbie, what would you have liked to have seen in the spring statement to support female entrepreneurs? At this point, because this is the last question, is there anything else that we have not talked about today? You have…”

“I have a question for Lorna, please. It is really interesting that only 5% of female entrepreneurs say they have a mentor, versus 12% of men. What can we do to get more mentors for women who want to go into this sector? Obviously, I am aware that there is no silver bullet, and it is not just mentors; it is networking; …”

“It is lovely to see you again. When we left off last time, Claire was answering a question. We were talking about what the key barriers are to promotion and take-up of SPL among parents working for smaller and private sector employers.”

“It has been a really interesting and far-ranging discussion. Of course, we are all aware that there is no silver bullet that will improve shared parental leave. If it was that simple, I guess we would have done it. But I am going to put you all on the spot and ask you, if there was one thing that could be done tomorrow…”

“Nikki, while you are on, as it were, I will follow up with a question that I know Claire answered last time but you did not get the chance to, which was: should the Government consider introducing a streamlined process or an online platform? Have you had any thoughts about how the administrative burden might be eased?”

“Just to make sure I understand what both of you said earlier about not wanting to take money away from one to give to another, should the Government consider introducing a cap on maternity pay in the first six weeks or not? Nikki, are you saying no?”

“Thank you very much. Would anyone else like to comment on that?”

“Thank you very much for coming and for bearing with us. Nikki, if I may come to you first, the UK’s rate for statutory parental pay is less than half the national living wage. What should the Government be aiming to achieve on statutory pay in their proposed review of the system?”

“Absolutely.”

“Does anyone think that paid paternity leave should be compulsory?”

“Claire and Nikki, would either of you like to comment on the question?”

“Jonny, besides increasing rates of pay, what steps should the Government be considering to increase the take-up of paid parental leave among lower-income and working-class fathers for example? Is there a case for making a period of paternity leave compulsory?”