Speeches by Lewell.

“We begin with the Select Committee statement. Helena Dollimore will speak about the publication of the second report of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, “Priorities for water sector reform”, for up to 10 minutes, during which no interventions can be taken. At the conclusion of her statement, I will ca…”

“We will now have a formal three-minute time limit.”

“I thank my hon. Friend, my colleague from the north-east, for that powerful intervention. He is absolutely right: in my grandad’s time, we did not know about the risk from those devastating fibres, but we now do, so we absolutely cannot let this happen to anybody else. The last time the House debated this issue was und…”

“I thank the hon. Member for cleverly pre-empting some of what I am going to say in my speech. He is absolutely right, but we also see people coming forward now, so it not just a historical issue. It is something we need to deal with right now, before it gets worse. I pray to God that I do not end up suffering from it o…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the removal of asbestos from non-domestic buildings. It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Western. Asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, yet we still have one of the highest levels of deaths from mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos in the world. Asbestos co…”

“I can tell the Minister is coming towards the end of his comments. I know resources are tight but people are dying, as my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) said, at a rate of 5,000 a year. As the Minister knows from the start of my speech, that is happening in my constituency at a faster rate …”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I think my right hon. Friend the Minister would also agree, because in his 2022 Work and Pensions Committee report, he asked for a central asbestos register and a deadline for the removal of asbestos from non-domestic buildings. The previous Government rejected that recommendation. E…”

“Hungry children do not learn, so I thank the Government for listening to those of us who have long campaigned for this announcement. This Government’s reforms are starting to put more money into people’s pockets, tackling the root causes of poverty, but they will take time to bed in—time that hungry children simply do …”

“We know that NATO has been slow to act to threats in the past. Overall, do you think that the alliance is taking Russian and Chinese co-operation in the High North seriously enough?”

“That is helpful. Dr Rogers or Brigadier Boyd, do you have anything to add about the alliance taking the threat seriously enough?”

“My constituent Claire Ball was sexually abused as a child. As an adult, she faced her abuser in court. He was allowed to provide character references. Her good character was called into question, yet she was not allowed character references. Will my hon. Friend take steps to rectify this unfairness for victims such as …”

“The review is welcome. Where the last Government hollowed out our armed forces, we are rebuilding. Russia’s northern fleet and China’s polar silk road ambitions have seen both countries focus and co-operate in the High North. As the framework nation for the joint expeditionary force, the UK has limited surface fleet ca…”

“In terms of societal resilience, do we have enough in the UK? This Committee visits lots of countries. We have been to Finland and other places, and they seem to have a completely different mindset, because of the geography of where they are. You read reports that some young Brits would not be prepared to take up arms …”

“Good morning, Dr Johnson. Just staying on the theme of homeland and national defence plans, is there one in existence at the moment? Do we have a national homeland defence plan?”

“We have been told that there is one being drawn up, but there are reports that it might never be released and the public might never see it. I do not even know whether this Committee would ever see it. Are you aware of any ongoing work or a timeline?”

“Just touching on what my colleague Calvin said, who should be responsible for this in Government?”

“Is it harder to work with the primes or with the MoD? Dr McGibbon, is there any other Government Department that you work with that is better at this than the MoD? Dr McGibbon: Oh dear, the answer to this is going to get me in trouble.”

“We are increasingly getting a sense on this Committee that the MoD, as an organisation, has a culture that is very resistant to change and is very big and unwieldy. Dr McGibbon: Yes, you might say that.”

“If we have a national defence plan that is not getting published and no one sees it, what is the point? How can people get behind it?”

“South Shields will be the 15th most negatively impacted constituency if the Government’s proposed welfare changes go ahead, yet there are no in-person consultation events in the north-east at all. Can my right hon. Friend please rectify that?”