Speeches by Cooper.

“I am grateful to the Minister for giving way again. He will be aware that in other compensation schemes, there are often waves of compensation. The first wave of compensation can be on one indicator, with a second wave looking at other complicating factors. Have the Government looked at that model?”

“I, too, congratulate the hon. Member for Salford (Rebecca Long Bailey) on securing the debate, on campaigning on this issue, and on making sure that this debate came to the main Chamber. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions this afternoon. As well as hearing the very strong and powerful case around this par…”

“A few moments ago, the Minister said that the Government had concluded that it would not be appropriate to apply a flat rate to all 3.8 million women. Have the Government done any modelling on paying a flat rate to any other smaller cohorts within that 3.8 million women—for example, women on pension credit, or under a …”

“rose—”

“Non-profit businesses and charities have been hit really hard by the jobs tax. Last week, my local meals on wheels service told me that businesses like theirs around the country are having to make redundancies and put up prices for vulnerable people. In the context of today’s welfare reforms that the Government are pur…”

“More than 50% of local authorities are having to overspend on the dedicated schools grant to cover the rising costs of SEND services, and the increasing demand for inter-authority borrowing has pushed up interest rates. May I urge the Chancellor to consider, as a matter of urgency—even before the Government publish the…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I congratulate the hon. Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Mohindra) on securing his first debate, and securing such an important one. It is a pleasure for me to respond on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, and as a fellow Hertfordshire MP. I have been pa…”

“Derek French is a constituent in my neighbouring constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted —I just want to put that on the record. Harpenden very proudly defends its independence from St Albans and I do not want anybody to be inadvertently offended by my trying to secure some recognition from the Minister in the House,…”

“I associate myself and my party with the remarks of the Deputy Prime Minister in calling for de-escalation in the middle east, the release of hostages and urgent aid to get into Gaza. We Liberal Democrats oppose the Government’s cut to personal independence payments and carer’s allowance. With a growing rebellion on th…”

“We Liberal Democrats warmly welcome this statutory instrument, which will introduce long-overdue consumer protections. We particularly welcome the fact that buy now, pay later will fall under FCA regulation, as well as the fact that consumers will have access to the independent complaints system under the Financial Omb…”

“It is disappointing that the Deputy Prime Minister could not give that cast-iron guarantee, but if the Government pursue the Bill next week, we will pursue this matter on behalf of carers. Given the reports that the Government are giving a green light to President Trump’s demands for a state visit to be brought forward…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Vickers. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire (Mr Bedford) on securing this important debate. It is a pleasure to wind up on behalf of the Liberal Democrats. As we have heard from a number of colleagues, small and medium-sized enterprises are the heart…”

“Will my hon. Friend give way?”

“Will the right hon. Gentleman give way on that point?”

“Every medical college has retained a neutral position. By my count—[Interruption.] I will go on. By my count, two or three medical colleges have said expressly that they welcome specific amendments to the Bill, and all MPs will have received the letter from senior psychiatrists, who include a former president of the co…”

“On that point, will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“Will my hon. Friend give way?”

“I am grateful to the Deputy Prime Minister. We support those efforts. Today, the Government are set to unveil their plans to cut personal independence payments and carer’s allowance, a prospect that one of my constituents described as “terrifying”. Liberal Democrat analysis of the Government’s own data suggests that 1.…”

“On behalf of my party, may I associate myself with the Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks about the Air India crash? In a week that we remember the murder of Jo Cox and David Amess, our party’s thoughts are with their friends and families and all those in this House who lost their beloved friends. We also remember those w…”

“It has been almost a year since Labour swept to power with the promise of change, but we are still not seeing the scale of ambition needed to turn the country around. We welcome the announcement of investment in the NHS, but it will not work unless the Government invest in social care too. We welcome the investment in …”