Speeches by Powell.

“Water customers in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and in many others, have been left to pay the price of many years of Conservative failure. The Conservatives allowed water companies to spend billions of pounds on bonuses and shareholder payouts, instead of investing in our crumbling infrastructure. I assure him that t…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right; space has transformed in strategic importance over the past decade. The Minister for Science, Research and Innovation has responsibility for co-ordinating space policy right across Government, and I know that he will be putting rocket boosters under this policy area in the future.”

“Not one to miss an opportunity for another pun, I shall say that I know that Stockton high street has a reputation far and wide for what it offers. My hon. Friend is right to raise these issues. I am glad to hear that Stockton is getting the investment in its town centre that it so desperately needs.”

“The business for the week commencing 10 February is as follows: Monday 10 February—Second Reading of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. Tuesday 11 February—Consideration of Lords message to the Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords], followed by consideration in Committee and remaining stages of the Arbit…”

“May I start with a couple of business questions updates? After my hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Laura Kyrke-Smith) asked me to join her in congratulating “Bake Off” star Dylan Bachelet, they both joined me this week to taste some delicious cakes in my Leader of the House’s office bake-off. Dylan is not only an …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue and for all her campaigning on these matters, which she takes incredibly seriously. This Government consider the early years to be really important, as well as maternity and paternity leave and ensuring that parents can do their jobs and be parents. The early year…”

“First of all, I thank the hon. Lady for raising the issue of police community support officers in Essex last week. I am sure that she and many colleagues across Essex will be pleased with the news, subsequent to her raising the issue last week—I am sure that is not unrelated—that those PCSOs have been saved from the ax…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising the nuclear industry and nuclear waste disposal. We need to put some rocket boosters under nuclear power in this country. It is vital to our future energy security. He is right that we have to do that alongside rigorous safety standards for waste disposal and other matters. I will ens…”

“I thank the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee for, as ever, advertising his forthcoming business, and for explaining how estimates days work. That is especially important for new colleagues, for whom the forthcoming debate will be the first such occasion. I hear his lobbying about the allocation of days, which …”

“My hon. Friend is a real campaigner on this matter, which she has raised with me a number of times. She knows that the SNP Government have wasted over £5 billion of taxpayer’s money on pet projects, including ferries that did not sail. They have had a massive boost to their budget as a result of the UK Government’s Bud…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for sending her thoughts to those affected by the air crash in Washington DC. She, the hon. Member for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey) and I are all members of the Modernisation Committee, and we represent three different parties. It is great to work with her on that Committee, and on the House of Co…”

“I am delighted that, after 60 years of closure, the Northumberland line was finally reopened last December. I would have loved to have been a passenger on that train, and to have heard how the conversation between my hon. Friend and the Brazilians flowed—or not, as the case might be. He is absolutely right that vital t…”

“I thank the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee for informing the House of the important debates that his Committee has allocated for the coming weeks. I think we have been very generous in allocating Backbench Business time in recent weeks, and we will continue to be so. We have been doing our best to announce b…”

“I am sure the whole House will join my hon. Friend in putting on record our thanks for those involved with the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit and its important work. As she will be aware, we have funding for a huge number of activities to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war. The Minister resp…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for welcoming the Government’s commitment to alleviating passenger congestion in the south-east, and for his local airport’s commitment to doing that, which I am sure we all welcome. He raises some serious matters, which were mentioned at Prime Minister’s questions yesterday, about the …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that excellent idea with me. He is absolutely right that we need to appropriately mark the late Queen’s extraordinary 70-year reign in a very big way, given all that she contributed to our public life and national identity. He will be aware that the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee …”

“The right hon. Gentleman will know that this Government are committed to free speech and to making sure that everybody has the ability to express themselves freely and without recourse. He might want to join my neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Blackley and Middleton South (Graham Stringer), to apply for a Backb…”

“My hon. Friend will know that we have been clear that we will not challenge the judicial reviews in this case. We will consult on new guidance that takes into account the Supreme Court’s ruling on environmental impact assessments to enable the industry to secure jobs and invest in the economy of the future. We aim to c…”

“The hon. Lady is absolutely right to raise that issue, because people are still suffering, as are the families of those affected by MND. We need more research. We have some great campaigners, such as Kevin Sinfield, who have raised a huge amount of money. The hon. Lady is right that access to trials and research is cri…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important issue for her constituents. It gets raised with me many times in business questions, because access to cash and making sure we have banking hubs in all our communities, which this Government are committed to doing, is critical to thriving market towns and high streets s…”