Speeches by Powell.

“I am pleased that my hon. Friend’s constituents are so keen on recycling. I join him in calling for the Conservative-run council to do more to ensure that his constituents who want to recycle can recycle.”

“I love to hear of those intergenerational schemes in which young people such as Skye go into care homes and really lift the lives of those at the end of their life. I absolutely join my hon. Friend in saying that we should all be a bit more like Skye.”

“I am glad that my hon. Friend enjoyed dressing up. As I said at the beginning, scrabbling together an outfit is a bit of a stressful thing for working parents. He is absolutely right: we have to get our young people enjoying the love of reading and actual, physical books and libraries, and Bookstart and the National Li…”

“I am sure that many people across Redditch will join my hon. Friend and the local council on 29 March. I congratulate him as a great new MP for Redditch and its local council on bringing back Redditch market.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that. A number of Members have already raised digital literacy with me today and how we can do more to tackle misinformation and disinformation online, especially for our young people. That would make for a very popular topic for a debate, and I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets an…”

“I absolutely join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to Tom Farr and his life of dedicated service to Harlow and to Harlow council. I also take the opportunity to thank my hon. Friend for joining the Modernisation Committee.”

“I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating and thanking all those from the Ogwen Valley mountain rescue team for the fantastic work they do. It is a shame that they need to do it, because we really need people to take more seriously a common-sense approach to enjoying our beauty and not to put themselves at ris…”

“Absolutely; that is why this Government are taking our clean energy mission so seriously. It will not only give us energy security, but lead to lower bills for people such as my hon. Friend’s constituents. In the meantime, we are ensuring that we extend the warm home discount to another 2 million people next year, so t…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for organising and being so involved in the careers fair in his constituency. He is absolutely right—we have huge opportunities in this country, and we need to better link young people and the skills they have with the job opportunities of the future.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising the important work done by Oaklands health centre. This Government support social prescribing to address wider health determinants and improve people’s wellbeing.”

“We have an acute housing crisis in this country, and the long waiting lists, or even closed lists such as the one my hon. Friend describes, are a symptom of that crisis. That is why the Government are committed to 1.5 million extra homes, of which a huge proportion will be social and affordable homes.”

“Absolutely. I am familiar with Shrewsbury station, which is beautiful but could perhaps be better used as the interchange of important rail connectivity that it is for my hon. Friend’s constituents. That is why the Government and the Secretary of State are looking at how we can ensure that land use and station developm…”

“Absolutely; the Government are committed to growing the economy and ensuring that businesses such as Mail Solutions can grow and flourish and that red tape and barriers to growth are broken down as best we can.”

“I shall. The business for the week commencing 10 March includes: Monday 10 March—Second Reading of the Crime and Policing Bill. Tuesday 11 March—Remaining stages of the Employment Rights Bill, day one. Wednesday 12 March—Remaining stages of the Employment Rights Bill, day two. Thursday 13 March—General debate on the fu…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right; the flood assets we inherited were in the poorest condition on record after many years of under-investment. That is why we are putting more money into flood assets and have launched the floods resilience taskforce. I will ensure that my hon. Friend is kept updated on how those things…”

“I thank the hon. Member for raising these matters with me. First, I concur with what she says on World Book Day and school libraries. I am sure that, as Members of Parliament, we have opened a library in a school. I recently opened a library at a school in one of the poorest parts of my constituency, and the young chil…”

“My hon. Friend is a great advocate for his constituency on this and other matters. Flooding affects his area, as it does many others. As I have said, this Government are finally turning the oil tanker around when it comes to our flood resilience. I will ensure that the relevant Minister hears his call today. We have ha…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for organising the estimates days this week, and all the other debates. I am sure he will appreciate that I have been generous, much more than my predecessors on some occasions, in giving him notice both of estimates debates and of slots for Backbench Business. I have heard his plea today for…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising this serious matter. I recognise the concern about the loan charge scheme, as do the Government, and we are committed to ensuring that there is a fair resolution for those affected. We do not believe it is right for them to face years of uncertainty, which is why, as my hon. Friend sa…”

“This Government back British farmers, which is why we have increased the farming budget to £5 billion over two years, much more than was provided by the last Government. We have set out a deal for farmers, and we are investing in flood defences and extending the seasonal workers scheme, as well as dealing with many oth…”