Speeches by Lewell.

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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 …”

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

“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?”

“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…”

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

“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?”

“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 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.”

“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.”

“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?”

“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 …”

“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?”

“1. What steps he is taking to consult the public on reforms to the water sector.”

“I echo the Secretary of State’s initial comments. South Shields has a long-standing problem with sewage being dumped in the sea at Whitburn. Just this week, Little Haven beach was handed a brown flag, and myself and local campaigners are completely fed up. The Environment Agency, Ofwat, Northumbrian Water, the council …”

“I remind Members that this debate will run until five past 6. I will be calling the Front Benchers at 5.45 pm, so I ask Members to keep their contributions to five minutes.”

“I will call the Member in charge of the debate to move the motion and then I will call the Minister to respond. I remind other Members that they may only make a speech with prior permission from the Member in charge and the Minister. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the conven…”