Speeches by Costigan.

“10. What steps she has taken with Cabinet colleagues to increase the supply of affordable housing.”

“On behalf of so many of my constituents in Ealing Southall, may I wholeheartedly welcome this news about a potential ceasefire in Gaza and the return of the hostages? I thank the Foreign Secretary and his ministerial team for all their hard work to get us to this moment of hope, but this is only a beginning. Can the Fo…”

“Thank you for allowing me to take part in this debate, Madam Deputy Speaker. Having been a member of the Bill Committee—my first Bill Committee in this place—I appreciate being able to contribute on Report in the Chamber. Southall town centre is well known the world over as a great place to shop for an Asian wedding, w…”

“I was shocked when a young man came to my last constituency surgery to ask me as his MP to help him get a GP appointment. Morning after morning, he had spent hours queuing on the phone, and he was desperate. If my constituents cannot see a GP, they end up in A&E instead. How is the Secretary of State continuing to …”

“That is a lot of concerns. Do you have a clear timetable for that?”

“It is good to hear that you are rolling out this programme of engagement but, as you said, many staff could see the issues clearly and raised them at the time. Do you have a whistleblowing procedure and are you confident that it works? Do any changes need to be made? Will people be listened to this time?”

“Thank you very much, Sir Julian and Ian. I want to focus on exactly those issues around staffing and workforce. I know that some of the changes made to how you employ people in the CQC have led to some of the issues we have spoken about today. It is no wonder there has been a loss of credibility from the public and pro…”

“I am delighted to hear that you are moving forward with the four chief inspectors. I know that the Richards report said that one of the issues was that there was a sort of divorce between strategy and operations. Hopefully that might go some way to bridging that gap. How will you make sure that you do not recreate silo…”

“What is your assessment of what staff morale is like at the moment at the CQC? You can imagine that people will feel sort of bashed a little bit. What specific steps are you going to take to ensure you do not lose what I am sure are very experienced people still there in the CQC who want to do a good job and be part of…”

“A third of people in my constituency live in private rented accommodation. That is already pretty high, and well above the national average of 19%, but in some wards, such as Southall Green, it rises to almost 50% of people living in rented homes. Ealing borough is what is known as super-diverse, with people from all o…”

“Will the Chancellor confirm that, for her, growth must always go hand in hand with economic security? That is a lesson that the previous Conservative Government refused to learn when they left 85% of us dependent on expensive foreign gas to heat our homes this winter.”

“I absolutely agree that we need fair funding for local councils and for playgrounds. Access to play is a fundamental human right. It is written down in the United Nations convention on the rights of the child. There should be no argument about it, so it is heartening that the new Labour Government has immediately shown…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Lewell-Buck. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) for securing this important debate. Playgrounds are not just nice things to have. They are vital spaces where children grow, learn and thrive. In densely populated urban constituencies, li…”

“We do not have solar panels feeding into our energy system to that much greater degree because of the last Government; it is as simple as that. I will continue with the changes that I would like the Minister to consider. Lastly, I would like her to think about heat pumps and heat batteries and the way they both current…”

“I absolutely agree, and I will come on to exactly those points. Kensa’s approach also uses ground source heat technology, aligned with heat batteries—a cheap and efficient way of rolling out heat pumps at scale. My hon. Friend mentions a visit he made; another example is that Kensa has replaced direct electric heaters …”

“I am sure that the Minister will have more to say on that when she responds. Heat batteries in the UK currently face a significant disadvantage compared with heat pumps as they are not eligible for a grant under the boiler upgrade scheme. I know the Minister is continuing to look at how she can maximise the benefits of…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered decarbonising homes and heat batteries. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. My constituents in Ealing Southall regularly speak to me about the cost of heating their homes. Gas bills have risen astronomically over the past few years, and in freezing wea…”

“I thank the hon. Member for her intervention; I will come to that point later in my speech. I know that the Government are giving this much consideration.”

“I thank the hon. Member for his support for Backbench Business in this place, which is very much appreciated by all Members. I certainly agree on the need for financial support; I will touch on that point later. I expect the Minister will too, as there has been a significant move forward over the past six months. As I …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I am well aware of the company he mentions and will talk about it later in my remarks. It is a great example to build on. We need to wean our home heating systems off gas, in the same way that we need to wean the country off gas when it comes to renewable energy. The recent …”