Speeches by Wrigley.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I have a couple of questions about the SI. Having worked for a regulator that was similarly funded by a charge on those regulated and the ability to levy fees, I question what power we are giving Ofcom to collect the fees charged. Is it explicit in the Act…”

“I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. However, in my remaining minutes, I will focus on two or three other areas that were not covered by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade). In all the powers and broad strategic aims of this Bill, the key roles played by town and parish councils are …”

“I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as someone who is still a sitting councillor. In fact, when I came into this place, I sat on three different councils, so I speak from a good history of local council knowledge. This Bill focuses on mayors, yet we hear about puttin…”

“The United Nations described the famine in Gaza as a “deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival” and “a man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself.” Every day my constituents ask me, “What more would it take for the Government to recognise this as genocide?” What would th…”

“I thank the hon. Member for mentioning a report from my old university, which I will go away and look up. However, I think this is more about getting the visas extended, rather than pursuing the people who are refusing them.”

“The war seems further from ending—perhaps more protracted than ever. The EU clarified its position, extending temporary protection for all guests to March 2027 and requiring all member states to find ways for guests to have pathways to residency or settlement within those two years. The Home Secretary commented in a Se…”

“That is a dreadful situation. I really hope that the Minister can give us some positive news, or at least a glimmer of hope of where we can go.”

“I thank the Minister very much for that announcement; I really appreciate it.”

“Very much so. In my meetings, people have been asking about these different visas and routes, not many of which work.”

“I absolutely agree, and this is now urgent as guests start to have less than 12 months on their visas.”

“The right hon. Gentleman has obviously been reading my speech. I shall get on to that shortly. I have spoken to a Ukrainian lady and her elderly mother in Newton Abbot. This lady has lost her husband, her son and her father. Her home in Ukraine is in the Russian-occupied zone and, like much of her village, has been raz…”

“Yes, we need to do exactly that. If the UK is to support the defence of Ukraine, we must continue to support the vulnerable Ukrainian guests in our country and to give them some certainty about their future. In my discussions with groups around the Newton Abbot constituency, I have heard many of their concerns. We have…”

“Yes, I believe that we should be looking for a permanent solution and a permanent answer for the Ukrainians, and that is why I asked the Prime Minister about it last week. His answer was more positive than before, and he even appeared to say that another 18 months would be added. I ask the Minister to clarify that stat…”

“I thank the hon. Member for his intervention and I absolutely agree. Ukrainians are scared of what happens next, and we have no answer for them. They see reports of their countrymen being refused asylum in the UK because it is said to be safe to return to Ukraine, even while Putin’s drones explode in Ukraine’s cities i…”

“I absolutely agree, and people in that situation are very worried—I have several in my own constituency. I have spoken to groups of guests in Newton Abbot, and they are mostly working, getting on with integrating into the local community and strongly supporting each other.”

“I am happy to have secured this debate on Homes for Ukraine and the Ukraine permission extension scheme. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Russia started on 24 February 2022, eight years after the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014. Now in its fourth year, this awful war has seen some 7 million members of t…”

“I thank the hon. Member for his intervention and will be moving on to that shortly. I have been impressed by the way that the Ukrainians do not sit back, but get up and get working. In many cases, they have taken jobs way below their qualifications while they learn the language, settle in and find their way. Their chil…”

“Absolutely. I would like to give a couple of stories from Ukrainians here. I am keeping an eye on the time. This is from Anya Glebova in north Devon, who is hosted by Julie. I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker, for using the word “you”. These are her words: “How do you live during the war? And can a person who has not ex…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention and I absolutely agree. I want briefly to mention another story. This is of Mariia and Ksenia in north Devon, written by their host Helen. I apologise for my Ukrainian pronunciation. They said: “On 21 June Oleh Yurash age 28 was killed in Sumy in a missile strike. He was the h…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I thank the hon. Member for North Northumberland (David Smith) for securing this important debate on the role of freedom of religion or belief in UK foreign policy, and for his work as special envoy. The ability to express one’s political and religious affilia…”