Speeches by Sewards.

“I commend the Minister on this strategy; I know how much tireless work she has put into it. I represent residents on Stonebridge Lane in Farnley, Dixon Lane in Wortley, Green Lane in Lofthouse and Westerton Road in Tingley. They all tell me that the speeds on their roads are far too high, but they are repeatedly told b…”

“I recently met the Morley Indian community, who raised concerns with me about the proposed changes to the indefinite leave to remain rules. Many of these people are highly skilled and highly qualified, work in key sectors and claim no benefits, but they are seriously worried that their families will not qualify for ILR…”

“I welcome this evening’s statement. I say, primarily to those outside this Chamber, that any deployment of British forces in Ukraine is not going to be a tripwire to a wider conflict. If we do not deploy those forces, put that deterrent in place and back Ukraine—if we allow Putin to take Ukraine either now or at some p…”

“I welcome the strategy that the Minister has set out, and commend her and everyone around her for their tireless, often lifelong, work that has got us to this point. When I speak with the charitable sector and with third-sector organisations, such as Leeds Women’s Aid in my constituency, which has worked in this space …”

“Merry Christmas to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to all the House staff, everybody here and everybody who is not. When asked to become a kinship carer for seven children, in addition to already having two of her own, my constituent and her partner stepped up because those seven children were being neglected. She was t…”

“Just before I bring Daniel in, could you elaborate on those workload issues? How do we solve that?”

“The evidence you have given today of mentors certainly lines up with the anecdotal experience I have of mentors because it certainly helped me. Just as an aside, then, before we move on to the next question, we have also heard evidence that some teachers really like it when schools say that their children can attend th…”

“I am conscious that we are 10 minutes over. Daniel, can you just finish on this point?”

“The January 2024 review of the Early Career Framework and Initial Teacher Training highlighted several concerns including, but not limited to, unnecessary repetition, the fact that it was not subject-specific enough, that there was excessive rigidity, there was insufficient focus on SEND, and, as we heard in the last p…”

“Turning back to behaviour, which we talked about earlier. Again, when I was a teacher—head of maths—I did not lose a single maths teacher: a record I am very proud of to this day. I was the first person to leave my school and my department, and that was to do this job. One reason was that when I trained my staff, I was…”

“Thank you, especially for the statistics. Anyone else?”

“Sticking with the theme of retention and to plug the holes in the bucket that Daniel was talking about earlier, one reason that I stayed in teaching for eight and a half years is that I had excellent training right at the start from Teach First, the mentors in school and the NQT programme as it was known then. My quest…”

“T5. Following a string of shocking cases in which funeral directors did not treat the bodies of the deceased with the care and respect that they deserved, will the Minister update the House on the cross-departmental work being done to regulate the funeral industry?”

“I will be brief. I proudly refer members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am a proud member of several trade unions, and have indeed received money from trade unions to remove the Conservatives from power. Speaking of removing the Conservatives from power, on 4 September I proudly voted, a…”

“Given that the Chinese Communist party has clearly broken its promise in the joint declaration to protect freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong, and that this judgment was handed down by a politically appointed judge in a sham or show trial, does the Foreign Secretary agree that those Members of the House of Lords w…”

“Taking into account the Minister’s previous answers about the source of weapons, and given that civilians are being deliberately targeted, with murder, rape and starvation being used as weapons of war, what steps can the UK Government realistically take to disrupt the flow of weapons, drones and military support to the…”

“My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech, as my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) did earlier. May I pursue the question asked earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell)? Defibrillators can be incredibly useful when they are rolled out to communities, for all the reasons given …”

“We will always pay attention to the arguments made in the other place, but I place more credence on the arguments made by life peers—people who have been appointed because of their expertise and not because of the family they were born into. However, I appreciate that that point has been well made, Madam Deputy Speaker…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The votes in the other place serve only to strengthen my resolve that we must get the Bill through Parliament and strengthen the rights of workers.”

“After a string of burglaries across Morley, Gildersome and Drighlington, in which the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shop has been targeted more than any other, I am so pleased to report that four people are serving time in prison for these crimes. Will the Leader of the House join me in paying …”