Speeches by Kirkham.

“In lieu of the dental contract being renegotiated, could something not be done by the local integrated care boards that commission dentistry to make special provision for local contracts when dentists are considering giving up contracts in the short term? That could be done now, in lieu of that renegotiation.”

“T8. My constituency has some brilliant further education colleges and apprenticeship schemes, but some students struggle, retaking GCSE and functional skills maths and English over and over again. Will the Minister consider how the process could be done better, so that those students do not end up feeling like a failur…”

“Before the election, farmers in my constituency were very concerned about the environmental land management system, which had not worked for a long time but which they felt was just beginning to work. Will the Minister please reassure them that the Government will be proceeding with it?”

“I have Falmouth University in my constituency, which is a world-leading arts university. Unlike the Conservatives, this Government have committed to restore the arts as a large part of the economy in this country. Could the Secretary of State confirm that arts degrees will be an important part of the economy in future,…”

“The Bill’s job is to set up a new and unique public energy company, to work within the clear objects set out in clause 3(2)—not simply as an investment bank, but as part of a developing strategy for renewables across the UK. Cornwall, where I am from, is set to benefit hugely from the investment from GB Energy into unb…”

“The adversarial system has caused such damage and upset. Can the Minister confirm that she will look towards a system in which expectations are clear and co-produced, and will she also look at the funding formula more generally, because some places have far less high needs and direct funding for students than others ev…”

“Can the Minister confirm that the procurement reforms will consider social value and local impact in contracts of Government and partners, such as the Crown Estate and Great British Energy, in important areas where there are World Trade Organisation non-competition exemptions, for example floating offshore wind contrac…”

“The hon. Member mentioned some of the solutions. Would it not be a good idea to consider giving a suite of powers to a local authority so they could pick and choose which of those would suit that local authority and those particular circumstances?”

“In my constituency this week, as well as having sewage in our bathing waters, we have had sewage on the streets in Penryn. The Conservative party cut funding to the regulator in 2015. Will the Secretary of State please confirm that the review will completely reset the role of the regulator?”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the development of renewable energy in Cornwall. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. To achieve net zero by 2030, Britain needs Cornwall. If I get anything across in the next 15 minutes, I want everyone in this room to leave with full knowledge of, and e…”

“Yes, of course. I thank my hon. Friend for drawing attention to that business, which is on the edge of my constituency. I agree that we have to embrace all sorts of energy sources—the urgency is definitely there. Kensa is one of the largest manufacturers of ground source heat pumps in Europe, but it is currently stymie…”

“Absolutely—scaling up and providing the skills that are required need to be done extremely quickly. It is a race against time to remove the barriers and kick-start those projects; then, the Crown Estate, the Government and GB Energy must work together to provide a feasible timeline of contracts for difference and leasi…”

“I agree that the opportunities are vast. We have all heard incredible enthusiasm from the Secretary of State for DESNZ in particular about grasping those opportunities for Cornwall with both hands. I am pleased that that will hopefully happen. We already know and recognise the potential for wind and solar in Cornwall. …”

“I thank the hon. Member. That is true particularly around standards on homes, where our local solutions for ground source heating could have been made more of in the past and have obviously now been delayed for that reason. The feed-in tariffs introduced by the previous Labour Government were reduced several times by t…”

“The hon. Gentleman is quite correct. My point is that Cornwall has some catching up to do with other parts of the country, but I am aware that other parts of the UK are in the same situation. The Secretaries of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and for the Department for Business and Trade visit…”

“11. What steps her Department is taking to increase public trust and confidence in policing.”

“As an MP from Cornwall, where we have seasonal workers aplenty, I should say that although the Bill talks about a suggested reference period of 12 weeks, after which average hours will be offered, employees do not have to accept that if they do not want to. They can choose to stay on zero-hours contracts. We have a lar…”

“Despite town and city councils in Cornwall employing street rangers and antisocial behaviour officers and having ShopWatch radios funded from their precept or business improvement districts, shop managers still struggle with shoplifting and ASB. The record under our Conservative PCC on answering and responding to 101 c…”

“Does the hon. Member remember 1997 and 1998, when the Conservative party said that the social chapter and the national minimum wage would cost half a million jobs? In the late 1990s, half a million jobs were actually created.”

“Does the hon. Member agree that when we are looking at scaling up wind—floating offshore wind, for example, which will benefit Scotland and Cornwall, where I am from—we could look more closely at contracts for difference, and the licences and leases with the Crown Estate, in order to embed social value in them on a lar…”