Speeches by Nandy.

“I have heard the right hon. Gentleman loud and clear, and I absolutely, wholeheartedly give him that commitment. This is personal for me: in my own town of Wigan an enormous number of young people join the cadets and other uniformed groups every year, and we are tremendously proud of them. It was a privilege to be at t…”

“I know that my hon. Friend has a great deal of expertise in this area, having supported young people in his constituency for a long time. We are acutely aware of the challenges facing local authorities. As a former councillor myself, and with experience in the youth sector, I know the enormous frustration when more and…”

“The Education Secretary has laid out the terms of the curriculum review and wasted no time in appointing the chair of the review, and that work is under way. As well as making sure that all young people have access to a broad curriculum, my Department is working with many of the organisations that Members have describe…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his question, and I pay tribute to him for the work he is doing and for standing up for a group of young people who mean a great deal to me too, having worked for the Children’s Society. They have often lacked a voice. It is fantastic to see him in his place and to know that they have a stron…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her questions. Our intention is to close the NCS, but we must go through all the necessary steps, including engagement with His Majesty the King, as required, and with Parliament. She will know that it will take some time to pass the necessary legislation, but our intention is to honour the ex…”

“I look forward to visiting an adventure playground with my hon. Friend sometime soon. I could not agree with him more, and he is absolutely right to flag this issue to me. We are keen to make the interface between young people, youth organisations and the Government as painless as possible, particularly to ensure that …”

“It was indeed a pleasure to meet Supertato at the recent reception that we hosted in Downing Street. I know Mr Speaker got the reference, but I am not sure that anybody else did—Supertato is a legend. I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s emphasis on Cheltenham Festivals, and on arts and culture. We think that every child and…”

“I welcome my hon. Friend’s commitment to young people, which was known about before her election. I have deliberately placed an emphasis on what happens at local and regional level. As this Government seek to embark on the biggest devolution of power out of Westminster and Whitehall in a generation, we must ensure that…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his constructive challenge. I welcome him to his place, and I look forward to more of this in the coming months and years. The right hon. Gentleman asked about grassroots sports funding and the facilities that we make available around the country. He will have noted that over the su…”

“The hon. Gentleman will know that the Government inherited a disastrous economic situation, and not only because of how the economy had been mismanaged, but because of the lack of investment in public services over a long period of time. This has meant that so many local councils have focused on their statutory respons…”

“Many years ago, the Government had a national play strategy, which my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Sir Nicholas Dakin) will probably remember. Since then, there has been a lack of focus on the opportunities for children to play. I will take away the hon. Gentleman’s point on housing and discuss it with my rig…”

“I am not sure whether that will form the centrepiece of what young people tell us in the consultation, but I reassure the hon. Gentleman that this Government take value for money very seriously. Although I would not suggest for a moment that there was not huge value in the National Citizen Service, one reason for today…”

“I will have to write to the hon. Lady on that point, but I echo what she says. As I said in my statement, buildings are of no use without the army of adults who work with children and young people. Those relationships are hard-fought and that trust is hard-won, and it is something we are determined to protect. Many yea…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for all her work to support young people in her constituency over many years. It is a source of national shame that youth funding decreased by 73% under the last Government—one of the deepest cuts made to any of our public services—and that there was no real strategy for a generation of …”

“I gently say to the hon. Gentleman that he should know, as we do, that we cannot believe everything we read in the papers. As he will have heard in my previous answer, we are determined to strike the right balance. As I said in answer to the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Nick Timothy) a moment ago, we are aware of the …”

“We are pleased to have announced investment worth £123 million in grassroots sports facilities for the coming year. Demand currently outstrips the pace at which such facilities can be created, but the Government are absolutely determined to work with the hon. Gentleman and partners across the House to ensure that we gi…”

“I am pleased to offer my hon. Friend our support on that. The football governance Bill, which we intend to introduce shortly, will significantly advance the protection of fans. We are working with the widest range of partners, and we hope to command proper cross-party support, as the previous Football Governance Bill d…”

“I very much welcome the work that my hon. Friend is doing to champion his community, and offer him the Government’s support for it. I am working with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government ahead of the publication of our forthcoming devolution plans to ensure that we give communities the t…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for raising this important issue. I am deeply concerned by the number of cases that have been brought to my attention since taking office of women who have fallen foul of this practice. I have personally had discussions with the BBC leadership about that. Obviously, the charter review, whi…”

“As I announced to the House last week, it means introducing an independent film tax credit, which the previous Government talked about for several months and did absolutely nothing about. I have to say to the hon. Lady that after the legacy that her Government left, which has brought our proud country to its knees, it …”