Speeches by Simons.

“Can I ask the Minister about the integrity of our democracy? In particular, what steps is he taking to ensure the integrity of the processes and institutions of our political process, especially but not only with regard to China?”

“The economic arguments in this debate will be well covered by other Members, so I would like to make a brief point about choices and political leadership—about having arguments, rather than ducking them. For a decade, as low growth placed an ever-greater burden on the public finances, Conservative Members fiddled and f…”

“Good luck doing this in 30 seconds. Is the set of legislation and Government bodies that we currently have adequate to combating at speed the way that algorithms in social media can promote disinformation, as we saw in the riots?”

“I have a quick follow-up on the very exciting-sounding national data library. Is that data purely for research purposes, or, given the value and interesting and helpful patterns that you might find in it, is there the possibility that it can be used for delivery purposes in the future?”

“As you know, Secretary of State, I am extremely excited about this agenda and element of DSIT’s new remit. I wanted to ask about some of the specifics on what the digital centre of Government means and how we can judge how it is going. The first question is about measurement. How will you, and how should the Committee …”

“Not only do I agree with my hon. Friend’s point about the carer’s allowance, which will benefit 8,000 people in my region of the north-west, the increase demonstrates a wider point about respecting those who provide care in our society and economy. For too long, we have thought the profession to be unskilled, and have …”

“If the hon. Member is so concerned about inequality and poverty in this country, why does he refuse to support the building of pylons, thereby adding about £4 billion to the cost of increasing electricity production in this country? Those costs will, above all, go on to the bills of working people. Is that not a measur…”

“I absolutely take that point, but I will remind Conservative Members of the simple argument I am making in case they have lost the thread of it. I am going through the measures in the Budget that may have been lost by media scrutiny of some of the bigger measures. My question is: how would they pay for those measures? …”

“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that those who kept this nation going, who kept teaching our children and who kept looking after those who were sick and dying deserve every penny of the pay rise that this Government awarded them. Since the subject of the pandemic has come up, I would add that the moral credibili…”

“I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. To be specific about the benefits that will accrue, there are 500 families in my constituency who for decades have watched the Government take out of their pension scheme and refuse to rectify the ongoing justice. We all know what Conservative Members think of miners. By ensuring t…”

“May I start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett) on her excellent maiden speech? As a fellow technologist, she has done so much to make sure that women in particular are part of the technology sector. That is vital as we work to get more women involved in the technology se…”

“Since I was elected, there has been a constant stream of antisocial behaviour incidents across the towns that I represent, at Hindley Town and Ashton Athletic football clubs and in Platt Bridge and Winstanley. It really dents people’s pride in the towns that they live in, as the Minister said. Does she agree that the c…”

“1. What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of patient access to primary care services.”

“In my Makerfield constituency, Wigan council and my local NHS trust are working closely together to pioneer a health system focused on prevention and delivered through neighbourhood health centres, but they need help. What is the Secretary of State doing to improve access to primary care, especially data-driven prevent…”

“I will ask this question as a bundle, and you can each pick off the bit that is most relevant. I would like to look ahead towards the spending review and pick up on a few of the things that you have said about what the Department should be thinking about in that spending review. The top-line question is, what should it…”

“Just to underscore that point, Professor Jones, it is helpful to think of Greater Manchester as a case study in what works well. In my area, we have Wigan & Leigh college and St John Rigby college, and both are fantastic educators in exactly the sort of skills that are not generally looked at because they are below PhD…”

“I, too, rather than getting lost in the weeds, will take a step back, because we in this country today, like allies over the Atlantic and across the channel, are reckoning with turbulent forces of change: technological transformation, ageing societies, the destruction of our natural world, vast inequalities of wealth a…”

“No, I will not. Labour Members are proud that, alongside the Make Work Pay package, the Government are delivering a generational shift in wealth and power towards workers—a shift that is long overdue. We know that eroding worker power and pay is bad for productivity and growth. More importantly, how can any worker in B…”

“I will make some progress. Secondly, the Chancellor chose who the Government will stand beside, by raising taxes; taxing assets, wealth and those who can afford it; protecting working people; and following my predecessor, Ian McCartney, in raising the minimum wage, from which 8,000 of my constituents will benefit.”

“3. What steps she is taking to increase long-term investment in the economy.”