Speeches by Smart.

“I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, which shows that I am in the 19th year of being a proud primary school governor. The Secretary of State will know that schools are led by teachers but also that many volunteers go towards making our schools the brilliant places of learning t…”

“It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Edward. I thank the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) very much for leading this important debate; I agree with a great deal of what he said. I also thank the many petitioners who raised the issue. As the MP for Hazel Grove, I was not surprised to see that …”

“Stepping Hill hospital in Hazel Grove is reported to have a repairs backlog of £130 million. The people on waiting lists, which have been elongated by this repairs backlog, are police officers, teachers and nurses, thereby making it more difficult for the Government to deliver on any of their other missions. Can the ri…”

“My constituent Kirsty is looking to adopt a child, but, because she is self-employed, she is entitled to neither adoption leave nor adoption pay. If she were having a biological child, she would be eligible for maternity allowance, but she will get no Government support. Will the Leader of the House set aside some Gove…”

“Flexible affordable childcare is a critical part of our economic infrastructure. It gives parents more choice over how to organise their life, and it helps them return to work if they want to, as well as giving children a good start in life. Yet nurseries in Marple in my Hazel Grove constituency have told me that the G…”

“I will talk in particular about two organisations in my constituency that have contacted me about the subject we are debating. For context, we know that small businesses have had a tough time for a number of years. They have been struggling with rising prices, interest rates and input costs going up. They were absolute…”

“I very much agree with my hon. Friend. We will all have had constituents and organisations contact us because they are really worried about the impact that these changes will have. I do not think that the Government intentionally set out to make life more difficult for GPs, and I do not think that they intentionally se…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. Sadly, I have not yet tried the wares of Sheppy’s cider farm, but I would welcome the opportunity to visit, try those wares and support it as we all need to do in the face of these changes, which affect everyone. The second organisation is one of my GP practices, which email…”

“I completely agree with the hon. Member’s point. All Members across the House want to see our NHS thrive and to see the healthcare and social care that our constituents deserve. I urge the Government to think again about their plans.”

“I thank the Minister for advance sight of her statement, which I welcome. Stalking is a horrific crime that impacts every aspect of the victim’s life, threatening their mental health, wellbeing and, all too often, their physical safety. Far too many people, in particular women and girls, face that pervasive threat, so …”

“Many of my constituents would welcome further powers being devolved to their local communities. They are as keen as mustard to see the right homes in the right places, particularly social housing, but one of the things stopping social housing being delivered is the viability calculations that are undertaken by develope…”

“The Conservatives trashed our immigration system, and now it is time to pick up the pieces—[Interruption.] A period of quiet reflection on some Benches might be appropriate for the next couple of minutes. Their chaotic approach of making and breaking targets shattered public trust and left the system in a right shamble…”

“Across my constituency, whether in Heaviley, Woodley, Marple or High Lane, illegal off-road bikers are a persistent blight on the community. They intimidate people, endanger public safety and are generally noisy, antisocial and really annoying. I was interested to read the Home Secretary’s comments on respect orders ov…”

“One thing stopping some of my constituents from transitioning to electric vehicles is a lack of access to charging points. As a constituency neighbour, the Secretary of State will know that some of the housing stock in my patch lends itself more easily to personalised charging points than other parts. What more can the…”

“Stepping Hill hospital in Hazel Grove has a huge repairs backlog, which is reported to cost £130 million. We have had buildings knocked down because they are no longer safe, medics wading through flooded corridors and, most recently, a light fitting falling down in a delivery suite when the couple were in active labour…”

“One of the ways in which my Hazel Grove constituents have been impacted by Storm Bert is as passengers facing severe delays and cancellations on our rail network, particularly the west coast main line. Will the Secretary of State please update the House on the conversations that he has had with colleagues in the Depart…”

“While an asylum seeker waits months or even years in a hotel for a decision on their claim, they are trapped in limbo. They are unable to work and are forced to depend on Government funds. That benefits no one—not the asylum seekers, who want to get on and start rebuilding their lives, and not taxpayers, who foot the b…”

“(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on police reform.”

“I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question. Yesterday the Home Secretary announced significant reforms to policing through a written statement. A comprehensive restructuring of policing in England and Wales that will affect thousands of personnel, create a new performance unit and establish a n…”

“I speak as a former trustee of a local authority pension fund. Much of the correspondence that I received from pension fund members was not about the returns that they received, but about the investments they were in but could not choose to come out of because it was a defined benefits scheme. I appreciate that the rev…”