Speeches by Baxter.

“I declare an interest, as someone who worked for Unison immediately before coming to this place; its contribution to my campaign is included in my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I worked as a trade union official for more than 20 years, representing public sector workers. One issue that came up …”

“May I thank my hon. Friend for recognising and supporting hauliers and logistics companies, such as the Malcolm Group, the UK’s leading independent provider of third-party logistics services, which is based in my constituency and supports many hundreds of jobs across Paisley and Renfrewshire South? Those companies play…”

“Is there a gold standard out there for a youth guarantee, whether among European countries or in the rest of the world? Is that about implementation or about the structure of the guarantee itself?”

“Dr Miranda, you mentioned the youth guarantee, and the UK Government recently announced a youth guarantee. Could you outline the differences between the UK scheme and the youth guarantee that exists across Europe?”

“I have a final question. That is an issue at a cross-departmental level, but I represent a constituency in Scotland, and it is also an issue between Governments. So many of the levers for tackling this issue for my constituents rest with another Government, sitting in Holyrood. What is your recommendation for those two…”

“You talked about the difficulties of dealing with this as a horizontal issue. What is the way to tackle that, to make sure Government Departments are working together? Is it a cross-Government youth employment strategy or something else?”

“Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?”

“Before I start, let me pay tribute to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, because their views have been heard far too little in these debates. Let me address some of the quite patronising comments made to Back-Bench Labour MPs today. Nobody has asked me to speak today, and nobody has put any pressure on me. In fact, collea…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Those are the issues we could have been debating today, but instead we are debating a political stunt. This Government are standing up for the British people, showing leadership in our support for Ukraine, bringing our national rail services back into public ownership and delivering our…”

“Friday 8 May is a significant day: the country will celebrate the 100th birthday of our national treasure, Sir David Attenborough. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] He is an icon of broadcasting, a steadfast champion of the natural world, and an educator who has brought science and all corners of our world into the homes o…”

“A happy St George’s day to you, Mr Speaker. Global turbulence has driven up the cost of living for my constituents. Can the Minister set out how closening trading ties with our closest allies through the EU reset will help bring down prices for my constituents?”

“Are there any particular areas where you are performing better than Scotland or Scotland are performing better than down here?”

“In 2025, fewer than half of apprenticeship starts were by people under 25. You have just outlined the suite of foundation apprenticeships that you have put together, but how are you increasing awareness and improving perceptions of apprenticeships among young people?”

“Sorry, I am bringing you back again to devolution and how you work with local government. How do you see the local skills improvement plans making a particular difference to young people? How will you bring coherence to the skills agenda when you are dealing with different devolution settlements and different prioritie…”

“Thank you for joining us this morning. Before I get on to the meat of my question, I want to pick up on the international comparisons that the Chair asked about earlier. I am a Scottish MP and I am interested in how your work compares with that of Skills Development Scotland. I am acutely aware that in Scotland one in …”

“The verified number of Ukrainian children stolen by Russia has increased—it now stands at 20,570. In part, that increase in the verified number is the result of the tracing mechanism supported by this Government, and we hope that work will continue. However, last month a report by the Yale Humanitarian Research Laborat…”

“Thank you very much for joining us this morning. To what extent do you think the employment-related policies outlined in the strategy will help to reduce child poverty? Are the changes that the Government are pursuing the right ones to support parents?”

“What is your view about the Government’s decision to move the Child Poverty Unit from the Cabinet Office to DWP? Do you think that is going to have any impact at all?”

“I am interested in what you are saying about what more needs to be done. Does the strategy do enough to lift children from the deepest poverty, moving them from just below the poverty threshold to just above it? What more specifically needs to be done to make sure they are above that threshold rather than just below it…”

“Do you think we have that?”