Speeches by Newbury.

“Across the UK, volunteers give their time, energy and care to support our communities, and we could not do without them. One such champion is my constituent Doug Smith, who founded Volunteers Count, a campaign asking organisations to record volunteer hours so that we can finally put a number and a value on the enormous…”

“Absolutely. That was a topic of huge discussion when I worked in the sector. I go back to my point that there are no silver bullets or dominant technologies, or at least there should not be. We need to ensure that each household—smaller properties, in particular, of which there are many in my constituency—has the right…”

“It is genuinely a pleasure to lead this debate on my birthday. Some people might sooner spend their birthday at Alton Towers or on the sofa, but an energy wonk like me would rather be here, among such knowledgeable and passionate Members, to discuss an issue of such significance to our nation’s future. I thank hon. Mem…”

“I could not have put it better myself. My hon. Friend must have been reading my mind, because I was about to come to that point about my neck of the woods. My fear is that, without a substantial shift in the cost barrier and a clear focus by the Government on inequality, as my hon. Friend said, decarbonisation inequali…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention and I pay tribute to him for all his years of work in the gas industry and for the knowledge that he brings to the House and indeed to this debate. I look forward to hearing from him later. Previously, I worked for the Energy and Utilities Alliance, which is a trade associati…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the future of the gas grid. It is a pleasure to lead a Westminster Hall debate for the first time with you in the Chair, Dame Siobhain, in particular given that it is my birthday today. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] Thank you, everyone. I thank colleagues from across the Ho…”

“What you have just said is very reassuring. Some campaign groups and citizen scientists have raised the concern that your interim report is very focused on investor confidence and less focused on things such as reforming governance and enforcing environmental protection. Could you give us your response to that?”

“If I may, I would just like to follow up quickly on one line of questioning from Andrew and Jane. For transparency, I would like to declare that I am also a member of the Co-operative party. For me, this question goes beyond just the legal status of ownership. It is also cultural. From the Water (Special Measures) Act,…”

“Watch this space.”

“I am conscious of time, so I just have one final question. One thing that we noted as a Committee when we started was the sheer number of regulators and quangos under Defra, including in the water space. We have heard complaints that there are both duplications and gaps. What are your thoughts so far about the case for…”

“Yes, absolutely. On data and the Environment Agency’s transformation programme, we know that data is an increasingly valuable currency and it can spotlight good practice and bad. Should the regulators have better access to the data that is held by water companies? Should they have a right to that?”

“If I could just pick up on a couple of things there, you mentioned the steps that are being taken to increase funding from permits and licences. Will that alone be enough to fully fund the monitoring and the enforcement that we need in the sector, particularly given that we know from the spending review that there is g…”

“I very much agree with you that there are no silver bullets and a need for realism, certainly. Both our report and your interim report talk about the resourcing of regulators, which has clearly been hamstringing action for many years. To what extent has poor monitoring and enforcement been at the heart of the poor perf…”

“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Mundell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for leading the debate; I heard her speak at the Humane World for Animals event, so I know her passion for the subject. The petitions that we debate in this place always draw a great dea…”

“I absolutely agree and am always happy to take interventions from hon. Members with greater expertise than mine. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that we need to bear that in mind. We also need to appreciate that it will probably be more difficult to verify the standards of imported products; it is much simpler f…”

“13. What steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for the adoption of children in foster care.”

“I thank the Minister for that response. As an adoptive parent and a foster carer, I know the transformative effect that early permanence can have on the lives of children in care. It is not right for every child or for every parent, but adoption agencies could make much wider use of it. Would the Minister be willing to…”

“I am sorry to hear about Monty’s story and I fear that we will hear stories like his from Members across the House in this debate. It is a perfect, but shocking, example of how the system is so broken that we are wasting huge amounts of resources. Money is leaking out of a system that is already inadequately funded. My…”

“For far too long, families across my county of Staffordshire, and indeed across the country, have been failed by the very system that was meant to support them. The breadth and depth of the crisis in SEND provision is such that this has to be one of the most, if not the most, frequently debated topics since the general…”

“This investment is so welcome, because my constituents in Cannock Chase have been struggling to access urgent care between their GP and accident and emergency since our hospital’s minor injuries unit was temporarily closed in March 2020. Despite the welcome investment in Rawnsley surgery, Chadsmoor medical practice and…”