Speeches by Newbury.

“During recess, I became the first interviewee of my constituent Brendan Woodbridge, an inspiring disabled 19-year-old who aspires to be a freelance journalist in order to spotlight accessible places and services so that people like him do not feel trapped at home. Brendan and his mom Natalie told me that when leaving t…”

“Cannock Chase may be one of the most landlocked constituencies in the country, but that has not stopped my constituents from writing to me in support of the Bill, and rightly so. If anyone does come across a marine genetic resource in Staffordshire, I would be impressed and also slightly concerned, but the point is thi…”

“1. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the Crown court backlog.”

“I recently had the chance to visit my local magistrates court in Cannock, and I was told that a major barrier to ramping up the number of sitting days in both magistrates and Crown courts is the lack of legal advisers. I am told that many are leaving the Crown Prosecution Service because the pay is often better elsewhe…”

“I am grateful to have the opportunity to speak in favour of the Bill, because in so many ways it epitomises what the Government have had to do over the last 14 months. We inherited a prison system in crisis, having been fit to burst for years—something that evidently did not catch the attention of the then Ministers, g…”

“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for her brilliant speech, and I thank the petitioners. Over the summer, like many hon. Members, I hosted a SEND coffee morning. From those 25 parents, I heard stories of not only love, resilience and determination,…”

“I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. I, too, have heard many examples of families who feel that they have had to work almost full time to manage their children’s EHCP processes, and even of some relationships that have broken down because of the strain—on top of the strains that already come with supporting a SE…”

“I will proceed with my speech in the interest of time. Thirdly, on transparent timings, we need to meet statutory deadlines, publish a dashboard of local waiting times and outcomes, and co-produce communications with parent-carer forums using clear, respectful and up-to-date language. I could say reams more on things s…”

“Given your warning, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will not give way. Accessibility upgrades such as lifts, ramps and reliable step-free routes must not be treated as optional extras in towns such as mine. They are essential to dignity, inclusion and fairness. On buses, Cannock Chase shows why change is long overdue. We are o…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) on securing the debate and outlining so eloquently the case for this cause, which I support. Given that we use many male chick carcases for animal feed, pet food and places like bird of prey centres, and we import far more than we us…”

“I am glad to be speaking in this debate, because far too many of my constituents are being held back by our transport system. On rail, Rugeley Trent Valley, just over the border in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson)—he is no longer in his place—is a striking example of what we …”

“On the Committee’s visit to the Port of Dover, we heard that many seizures of illegal meat include scales and tills—clear indications that the meat would be sold commercially. Most worryingly, as the right hon. Gentleman said, some of those imports are headed straight for farms, so the potential for a devastating outbr…”

“Q6. My constituent Connor Edwards lives with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and craniocervical instability, which, in his words, means his head is slowly falling off his body. Having once enjoyed fishing and mountain biking, at the age of 30 Connor is now largely bed-bound and says his condition has destroyed his quality of li…”

“It is good to have you in, Minister. A lot of us had really high hopes for last month’s talks in Geneva, but as we know, sadly they collapsed once again and nations could not even seem to agree on what the voting procedure should be. What is your view on the main reasons behind that? What were the main bones of content…”

“Do you think that there is room for maybe a two-tier approach, like we have had with some other international treaties, where everybody signs up to a common framework but some countries perhaps phase in measures quicker than others? Is that a way of maybe breaking the deadlock, making some progress and then trying to e…”

“I wanted to ask you about the scandal of plastic waste exports. It seems to me that from successive Governments there have been really warm words but a lack of tangible action. This Committee looked at this back in 2022 and the recommendation then was a ban on exports by 2027. Back in 2019 both the Labour and Conservat…”

“Yes, absolutely. It is a good attitude to have in the face of what was a really disappointing and actually quite soul-destroying result, particularly, as you said, for the people who had worked on it for so long. We held an evidence session on the treaty back in July and something we were particularly concerned about w…”

“That is really good to hear. As you all know, it has been highlighted that by the year 2060 global plastic waste could reach 1.7 billion tonnes, which could cost $281 trillion to clean up: more than $32,000 per person on the planet. Clearly global action is needed on this but, like you, I am an optimist and a pragmatis…”

“When we approach things such as welfare reform—this is probably also true of SEND reform—it is always bound to cause anxiety for people. We absolutely have to be mindful of that, particularly in this place, with the rhetoric we use and the way we go out to consult. I am concerned that the hon. Member is picking that up…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I am pleased to have the chance to speak on the importance of supporting neurodivergent people into work. I will focus my remarks in particular on the experiences of autistic people, drawing on the voices of my own constituents and on the work of local organisat…”