Speeches by Robertson.

“From what we are hearing, it sounds like however it is presented, there will be considerable detail within the workforce plan about how we meet the needs of end-of-life care and palliative care. Can the Committee take that as a given?”

“I was not asking about the way in which it will be presented, or how it will be formatted; I am looking for assurances that the specific needs within end-of-life care and palliative care will be dealt with in the workforce plan. Clearly, there is a need in respect of general staffing, as there is across the whole of he…”

“Turning to a report that we know is coming out this year—or you say it is—the workforce plan will, we hope, be a plan for across the spectrum of health and social care. Can you give the Committee an assurance that a specific part of that will deal with the palliative and end-of-life workforce?”

“I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend, and thank her for raising that point. The Government are also destroying many rural areas with a clamour for house building in the wrong places. We can all agree that we need more houses for future generations; the argument is about where we build them, and I am surprised to …”

“Good morning, Minister. The Government published its 10-year health plan over the summer. It did not contain a workforce plan, so you are writing one. It did not contain a palliative care end-of-life plan, so you are writing one. It did not contain a social care plan; are you writing one of those?”

“It is a pleasure to speak in this debate on supporting rural communities, although to the casual observer who may have been here at the beginning to hear the Minister’s opening speech, it may have appeared that this was a general rambling debate about covid. Later on, if they were here when we heard from the hon. Membe…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. I congratulate the hon. Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) on securing this important debate on the UK town of culture competition. Let me begin by welcoming the announcement of the UK town of culture programme. The UK city of culture initiative, first l…”

“I am happy to join the hon. Member in congratulating the local authority in Bradford on its bid. She illustrates very well the point that I am trying to make: there is a financial risk in undertaking the process and, indeed, the risk of not being successful. For smaller towns with less financial might, that could becom…”

“The Secretary of State said earlier that there is an extremely high bar for him stepping in and stopping these tests using puberty blockers. What bar could be higher than a Government protecting children from being tested on with drugs specifically to stop or alter their sexual development? There is not a unified clini…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. It is also a pleasure to take part in this important debate on Government support for membership-based charity organisation. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage) for securing such an important debate and for her opening remar…”

“Secretary of State, as you will know, the Alzheimer’s Society and the Daily Mail are refocusing attention on dementia. Part of the fight against dementia is ensuring early diagnosis and ensuring that there is not inequality across the country in terms of diagnosis. It is a really important campaign. What can you do, an…”

“Turning to something different, you are currently planning puberty blocker trials—testing on hundreds of children who will receive drugs to alter their sexual development. You have said that you are uncomfortable with that, but you are in a uniquely privileged position to do something about it. Will you ensure that no …”

“It is not a permanent ban, because you are allowing a test so that children who have not received drugs so far will do so on your watch.”

“I get that it is tough. Can I ask you a question about a subject that is about public policy—the potential for a lower age limit, under which no child can consent? In law, no child under the age of 13 can consent to sexual activity because they do not have capacity and do not understand what it means. How can children …”

“I understand, and of course it is right, that you upheld the ban on it originally, so if this trial is to go ahead, it is on your watch and with your consent. There is an alternative. The primary outcome measure of these tests, we learn, is a survey of children, some of whom have had body-altering drugs. There are alre…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I congratulate the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) on securing this important debate. His timing is excellent, because I am confident that tonight we shall witness the start of a resurgence by the England men’s cricket team, as they begin thei…”

“The Secretary of State says that the strikes come at a time of maximum danger for the NHS and has called on the junior doctors to call off the strikes. I agree with him, but will he accept at least some responsibility for the second round of strikes on his watch? Last year he conceded a bumper pay deal to the same juni…”

“We know what the Government want to do to support tourism and hospitality: they want to get those on welfare to work in that sector, despite the fact that some of those people are on welfare because the Government have taxed tourism. Does my hon. Friend think that that is socialism or incompetence?”

“Tourism and hospitality offers seasonal, flexible and part-time work, and that is why many people, particularly young people, choose to work in that sector. The UK tourism and hospitality sector is one of the most taxed sectors in Europe, so what did the Government do for the sector? They reduced flexibility and increa…”

“The hon. Member obviously was not listening to what I said at the beginning, which was that I absolutely believe in uniting the trains and the track; that was the 2023 plan of the previous Conservative Government. If he is right about the improvements in his part of the world, I suspect that the reason is not nationali…”