Speeches by Ferguson.

“I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I was very taken by the point made by the shadow Chancellor when he talked about the excellent inheritance left by the previous Government. We have had to listen to his views on what his Government have done and been given the benefit of his…”

“rose—”

“I defer to my hon. Friend; he is a learned historian and I dare say knows far more about the history of the pint then I will ever muster. I have probably drunk more than him, but he has probably read about more of them than I have. The title of this motion is “Family Businesses”. My hon. Friend the Member for Vale of G…”

“I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement, because although difficult decisions have had to be taken today, the alternative is inaction—which, of course, is also a decision. Does the Prime Minister agree that the lesson of history is that Ukraine’s survival and its defence are completely indivisible from our own?”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising the vital issue of kinship care. It is something that is very dear to my heart. Gateshead’s kinship care—a programme I am particularly proud of—has enabled the majority of children to safely remain in the care of their family or trusted kin, maintaining a stable family environment, pr…”

“I am glad to have secured the debate. I am also grateful to the Members who have stayed in the Chamber for a debate that is beginning somewhat later than they may have expected. I must start by declaring an interest, because a huge proportion of those who work in social care will be members of Unison, and I am proud to…”

“I echo my hon. Friend’s praise for schools in Gateshead, and indeed across the wider north-east, which I am sure we will cover in this debate. The changes being brought forward in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will obviously make a profound impact through the provision of breakfast clubs, but they will also…”

“I absolutely agree, and I commend my hon. Friend for the huge amount of work that he has put into the Employment Rights Bill and several other important pieces of forthcoming legislation, which will have a huge impact on the lives not only of those working in children’s services but of the children they seek to serve. …”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. We both have experience of representing in the workplace those who stand up for children in and across local government as well as in the health service, and I know we share a passion for the work that they do. They do not always get as much credit and commendation, in this place or anywher…”

“I could not agree more, and I commend North Tyneside children’s services. I also commend and echo Ofsted’s recognition for Gateshead council’s children’s services and place on record my personal gratitude to all the staff in Gateshead children’s services, including the director, Helen Fergusson—no relation—and Councill…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that excellent point. The Family Rights Group saves a huge amount of money and does incredibly valuable work, and it is important to talk about the funding here. The funding for children’s services is incredibly important. Since 2010, for example, Gateshead council’s budget has been cut to th…”

“I very much agree with my constituency neighbour. This is a huge problem and it increases the pressure on children’s social care, which, as I am sure we are all aware, already takes up a huge proportion of local government budgets. That is very relevant to those of us who sat through today’s debate on the local governm…”

“It is good to hear the Chief Secretary and the Chancellor talk about removing barriers to growth, but in Gateshead we have a literal barrier to growth: 400 tonnes of concrete in the Gateshead flyover, which is currently closed because it is unsafe. As yet the money to replace this has not been forthcoming, even though …”

“I thank the Security Minister for clarifying the timeline of when this report was commissioned. We should remember that since it was commissioned, we have seen the brutal, sadistic murders in Southport and the riots that came after them. Clearly, we are living in a time of rising and worrying extremism, which should co…”

“My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Northfield (Laurence Turner) made an excellent point about hub airports. At the moment, there are 19 flights between my local airport in Newcastle and Heathrow, but 30 a week between Newcastle and Amsterdam. I dare say that some people from the north-east may wish to sample the …”

“Like many people from Gateshead, I am proud to say that I come from a long line of people working in the defence manufacturing industry. Can the Minister assure me that this deal, and other defence manufacturing deals, will benefit those in all the nations and regions of the country, especially Gateshead?”

“To follow up on that and come back to what you said earlier, you have been clear that you believe that an absolute prohibition on outside employment is not the preferred approach. You have said that those who require professional registration, for example, would be excluded. It seems to me, as a Member of Parliament, t…”

“It was about conflict of interest. For example, I think everyone would agree that lawyers have contributed and continue to contribute a great deal to the work of this place. But if we are talking about trying to avoid perceived conflicts of interests, if you are writing laws and are interpreting laws and using your kno…”

“You have indicated support for a “qualified prohibition on paid outside interests, following a principles-based approach”. Can we dig into that a bit more, because you have talked about some of what might be outside the scope of that, but can we talk about what might be within the scope?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. This has been an interesting debate so far. Like other hon. Members, I thank the people who came up with the petition and those who signed it, but ultimately I believe that it is based on a false premise: the idea that economic growth can be kick-started wi…”