Speeches by MacAlister.

“I completely agree that progress is inevitable, given the strength of feeling in the country on the matter. I was grateful for the substantive research document pulled together by Rachel, Tom and the team at Nesta, which clearly demonstrates why action is needed, and for the polling and focus group research done by the…”

“I and a number of colleagues have had fairly extensive dialogue with Ofcom over the past few months about some of the detailed points, and there are two important gaps in the existing legislation. First, social media companies might put in a minimum age requirement, but there is no power to provide that social media pl…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his work on this issue in his constituency. He is absolutely right. Micro-experiments and anecdotal feedback from members of the public, who have signed this petition in large numbers, show that parents are really worried that something is going on here, but it will take some time to gather t…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. The debate so far has done a really good job of summarising lots of the reasons why I chose to bring forward a private Member’s Bill earlier last year to address some of the issues relating to the addictive features of smartphones and social media, such as…”

“Last year, the Government announced an extra £1 million for boosted antisocial-behaviour patrols across Cumbria, which was extremely welcome. Since then, we have seen a huge reduction in antisocial behaviour in those hotspots in Cleator Moor, Workington and Whitehaven. Under the leadership of the brilliant Labour polic…”

“Shortly after the election, the new Government announced £4.3 million for a new community mental health hub in Whitehaven. Unfortunately, the local mental health trust followed that decision by announcing the closure of the Yewdale ward for acute mental health services. Does the Minister agree that we need to get early…”

“The hon. Member’s intervention was perfectly timed, because I was about to say that it is in these communities that the easy soundbites of populists can take hold. I will answer his question in time. Our response must be economic revival in coalfield communities that can generate a renewed sense of purpose and pride. T…”

“I thank all Members who were involved in bringing forward this debate, including my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee). The coastal coalfield of west Cumbria stretches 14 miles from Whitehaven up the coast to Maryport. The coal seams in my constituency were mined for over 420 years before the …”

“How confident do you think we can be about the projected increase in demand for energy from major changes such as the use of datacentres and AI? There are some assumptions built into models about the amount of demand that will come into the system, but how confident can we be in the current projections that are there e…”

“How confident do you think we can be about the projected increase in demand for energy from major changes such as the use of datacentres and AI? There are some assumptions built into models about the amount of demand that will come into the system, but how confident can we be in the current projections that are there e…”

“Thank you to Ed and Jeremy for coming to the Committee. Also, thank you for your leadership on these issues and the energy you have brought to them. In the first six months you have shown what Government are capable of doing and we have a clear plan and energy behind it. I want to ask about planning reform, because it …”

“I have a few questions about nuclear, which have we spent lots of time talking about, Ed, so it is good to get into it here. The first question is quite a specific one to do with arm’s length body appointments, and it is probably more for Jeremy than for the Secretary of State. This has come up in quite a lot of the ev…”

“Earlier in this session we talked about the goals that are in place for solar and wind. The last Government had a goal—I would not say much of a plan, but a goal—around 24 GW of nuclear by 2050, and the current US Administration has a 200 GW nuclear goal for 2050. Using the same logic that we have for clear goals to gi…”

“On the Government’s announcement earlier this week about AI growth zones, Secretary of State, there is potentially a big link there to the use of nuclear power in the future. The industry is waiting for two important things that were long delayed under the previous Government: one is the publication of an alternative r…”

“I completely agree. I have a huge amount of respect for the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmonds), who shared his comments a while ago, but if he and other Members were serious about this matter, they would table amendments to deliver on IICSA’s recommendation not to go through the process agai…”

“Does he agree that provisions in the Bill for measures such as regional care co-operatives, which would agglomerate services—bring them together—across local authorities, to do some of the work of commissioning, recruiting and building up children’s homes would help with the problems that he describes?”

“I welcome this Bill because it is a chance to make progress on resetting the children’s social care system in England, and that is where I will focus my remarks. Children’s social care is a special endeavour. It is a collection of kin, professionals and volunteers who seek to provide safe, stable and loving homes for c…”

“I completely agree that we need to do an awful lot more to support the recruitment and retention of foster carers. Ministers have shown reforming zeal with this measure to provide the Secretary of State with powers to create regional care co-operatives across the country. If the Bill is passed, I urge Ministers to use …”

“Will my hon. Friend give way?”