Speeches by Asser.

“T3. Recently, I witnessed an attempted phone snatch outside one of my stations by three masked youths on electric bikes; fortunately, they were unsuccessful, but residents raised this as major concern at a community neighbourhood safety forum. Will my hon. Friend outline what progress we are making against tackling pho…”

“5. What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the high streets organised crime unit.”

“High street crime and shoplifting remain key concerns for my constituents, who have seen some pretty awful examples. My local police have had some successes, and they are running local initiatives on high streets that are starting to deliver results. Given that there will be other such examples around the country, will…”

“We are going through another heatwave, but we know that well tree-lined streets can reduce temperatures by 5°C to 8°C. The data shows that we are significantly behind Europe, with 18% coverage compared with 30%, and that, where there is coverage, it is mainly in more affluent areas rather than poorer, more deprived are…”

“I am sorry to report to the House that last week, a 13-year-old boy lost his life in the Royal Victoria dock in my constituency, following a similar incident in the Thames in my constituency last year. The Royal Life Saving Society has reported evidence of an 80% increase in child deaths related to drowning over the la…”

“We have been probing the use of AI in written parliamentary questions from both sides. Do you use AI in answering questions? If so, what role does it play?”

“I am dealing with huge numbers of groups of leaseholders, and one of the things we have discovered—with the managing agent very much as my hon. Friend is describing—is this habit of subcontracting, only for the leaseholders to find that the subcontractors are owned by the same company; the name has just been changed. W…”

“A teacher of Sudanese heritage in my constituency came to see me to tell me about the experience of her family. She said, “They had just enough time to grab their flip-flops and run for their lives. Having left all their property, they are now scattered in multiple countries across the region.” Her concern was that Sud…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for all the hard work and conscientious effort she has put in to get us to this point. This is not just a Government promise; this is a long-standing request by the LGBT community, and it is a significant gap in our 30-year journey to legislative equality. That journey has been underpinned by a n…”

“Do you think, that under the current system, there is a risk of Ministers answering questions that are out of date? If I submit one on the first day of the recess, the world could have moved on by the time we get back in September.”

“Should there be any particular limit? We are looking at what options there might be and whether that would apply to the whole recess or on a daily basis, as it does with the 20 per sitting day.”

“Something else I wanted to touch on is the publication at the end of recess—particularly the long recess—when the telephone directory arrives of all the questions. Would it make sense to have more regular publishing of questions during that period?”

“You have touched on this a bit already, but we wanted to probe the WPQ situation during recess, because some of the evidence we have is about the dramatic rises in that period. You indicated that a limit during recess might be a good idea. Have I understood you correctly?”

“I know the constituent my hon. Friend has spoken about. My hon. Friend also makes a valuable point about the need to speak with people who have lived a life, given that these things have been done in ignorance. Her point about parents is key. I have a constituent who is trans whose parents have engaged with me and expl…”

“I had a feeling that that might be the answer, but we thought we should test it.”

“You are bound to get the odd Member who wants to put in more, but as an average it hits what people need, you think.”

“This follows on from the question that was just asked, but it also probably links back to what you were saying, Nick, about the growth in numbers. Members can currently submit up to 20 WPQs on MemberHub each sitting day. We know that it applies only to the electronic system, but in your experience does that limit remai…”

“That is helpful, because while we are very alert to your position on serving Members and making it work, we are also trying to take on board the practical aspects of your work. We are keen for you to have your monastic calm rather than be lying in a darkened room with a wet tea towel on your head.”

“They will be pleased to hear it. Moving on from the numbers to deadlines, if we were to recommend a later cut-off time for the electronic submission on MemberHub while retaining the ability to table in person until the rise of the House, what impact would that have on the Table Office and on Members?”

“You touched on this a little bit in your initial answer, but I will give you a chance to expand. Are there any aspects of the WPQs system that you would like to see improved? I am happy to look right from the point where you table them through to how the Government handle and respond to them.”