Speeches by Stafford.

“On a point of order, Mr Speaker.”

“”

“Yesterday’s statement from the Prime Minister should have brought clarity. Instead, it has left this House with more questions than answers. This is not a narrow procedural issue; it goes to the judgment of the Prime Minister. It is a disgrace that he is not here today to answer questions—perhaps the usual excuse that …”

“Division! [Laughter.]”

“I do not attribute any unfair or untoward motive to the Government; I think they are trying to improve the system. However, as I said in my opening remarks, my view is that if we improve it properly and get it right, that will save money. The danger with the way the Government have approached this is that they are look…”

“Given the time available, I will probably not take too many more interventions. On the hon. Gentleman’s point, it is a strange argument that, because a child has been legally given an EHCP that requires a certain level of support but, for whatever reason—whether through the school, perhaps, or the local authority—that …”

“The hon. Gentleman raises an interesting point. If we are to solve—if that is the right word—the issue of special educational needs, and, more importantly, put in place the systems to support children with such needs, we need to understand the reasons for those needs. Instead, there is a feeling that families who are a…”

“I entirely support what my hon. Friend is saying, and I think the idea that anyone on this side is wholly endorsing the current system is a false one. My fear, however—which I think my hon. Friend is expressing—is that, under the current proposals in the White Paper, if he unfortunately has to proceed through the tribu…”

“I do not think those two points are contradictory. One is an issue of the legislation, which is what I am talking about and what the Government are potentially looking to change, and another is how the system itself is being implemented by local authorities and others. I have been very clear in my speech that although …”

“In a minute. Across the country, over nine in 10 tribunal appeals are upheld against the local authority. And while, to be frank, that covers no local authority in any glory, it is evidence that the legal framework works when families are able to challenge decisions. If we remove that safeguard, families will lose thei…”

“No, I will not. That parent’s relief exists because there is a system that ultimately guarantees support. Replacing that certainty with ambiguity is not reform; it is regression. The second test is whether the proposals improve delivery on the ground. The model set out in the White Paper relies heavily on early interve…”

“I beg to move, That this House believes that SEND is an issue that affects every constituency; acknowledges that all hon. Members represent families who face daily challenges in navigating a system that can feel complex, inconsistent and under-resourced; further believes that ensuring that every child, regardless of th…”

“While Greater Manchester police has stated that there was no evidence of family voting in a recent by-election, Democracy Volunteers reported witnessing “concerningly high levels” of such activity on polling day. How does the Minister reconcile these conflicting accounts, and can she clarify how Greater Manchester poli…”

“6. What steps his Department is taking to help prevent family voting in UK elections.”

“Madam Deputy Speaker, I am sure that you would agree that the speeches we have heard today have been wide-ranging and passionate. I thank all those who have spoken, all those who unfortunately did not manage to speak and the many Members who supported this debate. I am leading it, but plenty of Members across the House…”

“That is very helpful. This is slightly on a tangent, but in your opinion is the Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme ambitious enough to meet the current demand for GLP-1s?”

“If no one else has anything to add to that, I am going to jump a question I had, because you have touched on it, Dr Doyle. In our evidence gathering, we have heard some very strong calls for the weight management services and treatments like GLP-1s to be nationally commissioned. Is that something you support, and what …”

“That would be very helpful. This is a final question from me. Again, what we are trying to do is work out what the NHS can learn from all this. From your in-store experience, what do you think the NHS could learn from those pilots? Has there been any input, either from its side or yours, to share that information to im…”

“What I am trying to do is get a practical idea of numbers. Have any of you done any modelling to say, “We could treat X number more patients if we did this,” just so the Committee can get some idea of the numbers we are talking about here?”

“Do you have a model in your mind of how that service would be designed in terms of the way you operate?”