Speeches by Vince.

“Can I come back on that really quickly? It is interesting what you said about the different experience you give to teens. I have got Facebook because I am that age, right? There is a real danger of spending a lot of time scrolling because the algorithm is specifically designed to give you more content that you want—I g…”

“Thank you all for your time today. The previous iteration of this Committee’s 2023 report was distinctly concerned about the harms of screentime. In fact, it specifically said there is an “overwhelming weight of evidence submitted to us suggests that the harms of screentime and social media use significantly outweigh t…”

“On the idea of having a teen account, my concern would be whether there is a danger that young people and teenagers set up an adult account. There is probably an answer to this—and I do not know what it is—but how do you ensure that people under the age of 18 or 16 do not just set up an adult account? How do you contro…”

“I will go back to the initial part of the question. The previous Committee found that social media and screentime do pose harm. Would you agree with that? You have put that hour cap in place for a reason, so you must have concerns about a young person using social media for a longer period of time in a 24-hour period.”

“Just to push back on something Professor Goodyear said about the digital age, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you couldn’t have a social media ban at 16, does it? It just means that whenever the decision is made as to when young people are able to access social media, digital education is important. It wouldn’t nece…”

“At present, children can consent to have their data processed by companies only at the age of 13, so young children obviously need parental consent. The Government’s consultation has proposed to raise that age of consent. Would you support that change?”

“I take your point about evidence. I always mention this in every Select Committee, but I used to be a teacher. One of the things that I am concerned about, which Rebecca touched on briefly in her statement, is the amount of time that young people are spending on these platforms late into the night. You mentioned the 9 …”

“So you would favour it—you would say that there is evidence to suggest that a restriction, potentially in the way that you have suggested, would be a good thing?”

“I thank the Minister and the shadow Minister for opening the debate. I oppose Lords amendment 11, but I do recognise its merits. Let me begin, however, by talking about the wider issue of fly-tipping, which is an absolute bugbear of mine. When I go canvassing, or indeed when I visit Harlow Town football club, I am ofte…”

“I apologise to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), because I have just beat him to an intervention. Can I put on the record my thanks to the Minister for her work on this Bill? Whether we agree on different parts of the Bill, nobody in this Chamber or the other place could fail to recognise her personal commi…”

“I thank the Minister for giving way. I realise she has only just started her speech, but what I did not do in my speech was pay massive tribute to the Harlow Wombles. They are not little creatures from Wimbledon, but representatives of the Harlow community who go out week in, week out to collect rubbish in their local …”

“I would say that he is not here, so my hon. Friend can carry on. I thank him for his contribution. Having a rural crime strategy and having community police officers in place are both hugely important. I have often joked with the shadow Minister about this, so he will know that I have previously taught a number of my c…”

“To return my hon. Friend’s compliment, I often like hearing what he has to say. I would say that more is more.”

“I do not know much about Staffordshire’s police and crime commissioner, but I absolutely take on board what my hon. Friend says. If that is the case, it is hugely disappointing. It is hugely important that police and crime commissioners across the country take seriously all parts of the areas they represent, including …”

“His speech was a bit shorter than mine, to be fair.”

“Do you want more? Okay. [Laughter.] To finish, I will say that it is hugely important that democracy is not just for the few. It is so important that everyone has the opportunity to take part in this country’s democracy, and this place is a beacon for democracy in this country like probably no other; actually, it is a …”

“I thank the Minister for her statement, and for her ongoing commitment to ensuring that women’s health is at the heart of this Government’s agenda, which is hugely important. A bit like my hon. Friend the Member for Burnley (Oliver Ryan), I was shocked by the number of women from my constituency of Harlow who came forw…”

“I thank the Secretary of State for his statement, and I welcome the extension of the BIC scheme and the difference it will make to manufacturing businesses in my constituency. I wish to make a brief representation on behalf of the Lea Valley Growers, who are based in Nazeing in my constituency. As the Secretary of Stat…”

“I thank the Leader of the House, the shadow Leader of the House and the Liberal Democrat Chief Whip—I have no doubt that she will thrash me in the London marathon in 10 days’ time—for starting the debate. I join the Leader of the House in paying tribute to the former Leader of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member…”

“I thank the Minister and the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Helen Whately), for opening this debate. I was not expecting it to be quite so lively, so I will try to add a bit of animation to what was initially going to be quite a dry speech from me. [Interruption.] That is hard to…”