Speeches by Asser.

“I want to come on to the powers of the Speaker, which we touched on earlier when we were talking about contempt of court—the very great differences in punishments. What are the powers of the Speaker to deal with breaches of the sub judice resolution, and do you think they are sufficient?”

“That makes perfect sense. Thank you.”

“I have in my constituency a very well-established funeral director that operates in a large area and has been around since the Victorian era, and many other Members will have similar firms in their areas. The hon. Gentleman has talked about the trade bodies. Does he agree that such long-established family firms have a …”

“Do you think there would be any risks with a fixed term? It sounds like not, but I will give you the chance to say whether there are any risks associated with a determined period.”

“Do you have any views on whether all the Chair posts should be part of the process of being elected at the start of a Parliament? For example, should the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee be elected to serve for the whole Parliament, or continue to be elected on a sessional basis?”

“We touched on the canvassing and electioneering in the Chair elections, which I think was a delight for all of us. We all know how it feels to live in a parliamentary by-election in terms of leaflets. This question is mainly to Stephen and Mark. Following the election last year, we had a uniquely long campaign period b…”

“Point taken. [Laughter.]”

“Ellie, we have heard about Northern Ireland, but we are keen to hear about your experience of dealing with published call lists in the European Parliament. Could you outline how they worked there and how you found them?”

“It is a reasonable point.”

“My hon. Friend mentions gradual change, which was apparently the policy of the Conservative party. Does he agree that a six-month temporary arrangement that takes a quarter of a century to overturn is the epitome of gradual?”

“7. What steps she is taking to increase the number of children meeting the early learning goals.”

“I thank the Minister for joining me at Curwen primary school in Plaistow recently to see its excellent early years education work. He heard from parents about the struggles they often face as a result of serious economic and housing hardship. Will he assure my constituents that the Government will look at communities l…”

“It is good to see you in the Chair, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns) for securing this debate. I also put on record my thanks to the Spitfire AA810 project for the work it has done to highlight the work of the Photographic Reconnaissance Units, and to get them a proper memorial. For man…”

“I recently visited Richard House hospice in west Beckton in my constituency. It is the first dedicated children’s hospice in London, and currently supports more than 300 families every year. This summer, it is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the hospice on its si…”

“My hon. Friend is making a very strong case for the importance of history. As my parliamentary neighbour, she will know that our part of east London has an incredibly strong labour and industrial history, but does she agree that it is so often forgotten that much of that history involved—or was led by—strong working-cl…”

“One of the issues with the health service that my constituents most often ask me about is the struggle to get basic appointments. That is leading people to the hospital, which is unable to cope with the sheer numbers, and in a populous, fast-growing borough, that is creating unsustainable pressure. As such, I welcome m…”

“2. What steps she is taking to support children’s access to theatre.”

“I recently visited Keir Hardie primary school in Canning Town, which has been involved in a scheme run by Disney that ended up with 42 of the children performing in “The Jungle Book” in the west end. The children are now absolutely enthused by the idea of performance and theatre, and the teachers tell me that their con…”

“7. What information the Church holds on the operational situation of the Anglican al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.”

“I raised the al-Ahli hospital at the end of last year, when it suffered quite a lot of damage. The situation has deteriorated rapidly since then. I understand that the hospital, as my hon. Friend outlined, has suffered further damage, including the loss of its emergency room. Given it is one of the few functioning hosp…”