Speeches by Morgan.

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“The hon. Gentleman is making an excellent speech outlining the issues. In North Shropshire, four of my five market towns have lost all their banks and only two of them will get a banking hub. Does he agree that we need to look at a much wider area to make those banking hubs work, because people who work in small hamlet…”

“Have the people who have developed these regulations considered that three miles is a very long way for those who do not drive or have access to a car, or where there is no bus service? That is certainly the case for large numbers of people in North Shropshire and, I am sure, the other rural communities mentioned durin…”

“I, too, welcome the new Minister to her place. This morning’s oral health survey revealed that more than one in five five-year-olds in England have experienced dental decay, affecting their ability to smile and socialise, as well as causing pain and distress. Will the Secretary of State guarantee the Government’s commi…”

“Last week, the Secretary of State issued a new mandate for the NHS in which a number of mental health targets were dropped. I accept that targets that drive perverse behaviours should be dropped and that some sharpened focus is necessary, but mental health waiting lists are at a record high, huge numbers of people are …”

“I agree with my hon. Friend, and will come on to that point in a moment. I want to mention Robert, whose family has farmed a traditional mixed dairy and arable farm near Oswestry for 120 years. Their farm is valued at £6 million, which sounds like a lot, but their income is only £60,000 a year. Even if the £3 million d…”

“My hon. Friend is doing an excellent job of summing up the debate. Lots of residential houses in rural areas such as mine have a couple of acres at the back, which people might use for hobby farming. They are not commercially viable farms. Does she agree that if the Treasury have taken those into account, it will have …”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dr Murrison. I thank the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for opening the debate. It is the first time that North Shropshire has been in the top 10 constituencies in a petition—713 people have signed, which is not surprising when we consider that there ar…”

“The hon. Member is making a really important point about coastal communities. Rural communities find themselves in a similar situation, where they may have lost a direct service. Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway has an excellent plan to run a direct-to-London service through Wrexham, Shropshire and the Midlands…”

“Thank you very much, Sir John. It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair. I promise that I will not go on at great length, partly because—”

“Well, my hon. Friend did go on at great length. He has secured a really important debate for World Cancer Day; it is an honour to speak in it for the Liberal Democrats. He outlined the issues comprehensively; I am not sure that I could improve on what he said. I welcome the Government’s announcement earlier today on th…”

“I congratulate my constituency neighbour on securing this critical debate. She is making an excellent case for improving road safety for young people. Does she agree that putting public transport infrastructure in place is critical to giving people options, and to enabling them to have a social life and feel less isola…”

“rose—”

“The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. Does she agree that, if the Treasury had considered increasing the threshold and raising the overall rate for very wealthy landowners to 40%, it might have achieved the outcome it was looking for? I put on record that I would not have gone down the route that it has anyway.”

“T7. A severe shortage of specialist provision and a council in dire financial straits is leaving children with severe levels of need in my constituency making four-hour round trips to school and back every day, which is too much for many of them to cope with. What steps is the Minister taking, working with local Govern…”

“The Chancellor will know that one of the biggest factors holding back the rural economy is poor public transport. When I visited the jobcentre in Oswestry last year, I was told that one of the biggest impediments to people finding a job is that they cannot get away from where they live because of poor public transport.…”

“I am pleased to hear that the Government have increased the number of speech and language therapists, which is so important for young people who are struggling to achieve their potential in an educational setting, but will the Minister address the specific point on commissioning by local authorities? Often, they are so…”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Western. I thank the hon. Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) for introducing the debate, as well as Sam, his family and Auditory Verbal UK for campaigning on this important issue. I confess that I am quite new to auditory verbal therapy, and it ha…”

“5. What fiscal steps she is taking to help increase levels of economic growth in rural areas.”

“It is a pleasure to close the debate for the Liberal Democrats. I congratulate the hon. Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) on securing the debate. All the contributions, including his opening speech, have been excellent and well informed. I was particularly interested to hear about the existence of good food deserts in Black…”