Speeches by Ellis.

“I am proud to present this petition on behalf of residents in Longridge in my constituency of Ribble Valley regarding the future of Longridge community hospital, which serves patients across a large semi-rural area, many of whom need health services within easy reach of their homes and families. The petitioners, and th…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland (David Smith) for securing this timely debate and welcome the Minister to his place. I asked local farmers in Ribble Valley what they would like to highlight in this debate about profitability. As hon. Members would expect, the responses included the increasing…”

“I completely agree. The main point I want to make, alongside all the powerful financial and security arguments that have been made, is that we need farming to be financially sustainable because we want it to be sustainable. We want it to be part of what we prioritise as this country. A More In Common poll found that, a…”

“I absolutely agree. As I will come on to, it is about ensuring that we make the most of all areas of our country. Some of those areas already have growth, and we need to ensure that we are expanding the growth that is already there. Without a proper holistic look at how the Government can support businesses in Lancashi…”

“I completely agree. As many of my constituents regularly tell me, the congestion we get when the M6 fails or has a closure is a nightmare when it falls on to the A-roads around the constituency, so a second bridge around Preston to create a ring road is critical. Staying with the subject of transport, my hon. Friends t…”

“I completely agree with my hon. Friend. As much as the debate is about Lancashire, one thing that will underpin change for both our counties is a commitment to devolution and to towns, so that the focus is not just on our cities. We know what works. Our enterprise zones at Samlesbury and Warton have already helped to d…”

“I am grateful for the opportunity to debate Government support for private investment in Lancashire this evening. Lancashire is my home. It is also the home of some of the most powerful innovators that we have in this country. Often, they fly under the radar of both Government and private investors. In many ways, that …”

“I completely agree with my hon. Friend. As I will come on to, the people and places in counties such as Lancashire deserve that kind of funding. Even if the politicians who have been making the decisions have maybe delayed those opportunities to get devolution, we should not penalise the people there for that. Lancashi…”

“I am delighted to present this petition on behalf of Walton-le-Dale residents in my constituency regarding the potential felling of the 18 royal lime trees that have stood for 112 years. In this petition, and in a similar, separate e-petition with almost 8,000 signatures, the petitioners believe that the Environment Ag…”

“Good morning, Minister. I have a question about geographical diversity within local government finance. When we heard from previous Ministers in your role, we got a decent amount of encouragement that rurality would be considered as part of fair funding. However, when the fair funding formula eventually came out, I thi…”

“Will my hon. Friend give way?”

“A few weeks ago, 12-year-old Junior Slater tragically drowned in the River Ribble in the heart of my constituency. We will cover many things to prevent such senseless losses in this debate, but what struck me most in the village on the day that it happened was the hundreds of young people who were there from surroundin…”

“Thank you. I think what often happens in rural areas is that there are pockets of deprivation, or near-deprivation. However, because the communities are strong, they often absorb some of those costs and sometimes that does not show up in the evidence of how communities are supporting and delivering some of those servic…”

“We currently have a maternity inquiry addressing the fact that two thirds of maternity units are deemed unsafe in normal times, yet one of the clearest lessons from the covid-19 pandemic is how easily mothers and pregnant women can be overlooked even more when decisions are made at pace. As chair of the all-party parli…”

“It is brilliant to see an example in the interim report of a young woman who taught herself Shopify in order to start a business. This Government have prioritised growth, which comes from innovation and entrepreneurship. Given that young people have incredible ideas and often thrive when they can direct their own desti…”

“It is brilliant to see an example in the interim report of a young woman who taught herself Shopify in order to start a business. This Government have prioritised growth, which comes from innovation and entrepreneurship. Given that young people have incredible ideas and often thrive when they can direct their own desti…”

“The crux of my question, though, was around why there is a sense that that was the ambition, but, within the last year, that has been backtracked on and there has been a lowering of ambition. We have heard today and in other conversations about the technical complexities of putting that in. Is that your understanding a…”

“Since this Bill was first talked about until now, there has been a shift from the talk of automatic to automated. What do you think happened in that time to shift from a more insinuated opt-out system to what we are now talking about, which is piloting and potentially making things more efficient? Do you think the digi…”

“Just to follow up on that digital ID point I made, from your understanding, would a stronger digital ID system have made that quicker? There is a lot of frustration and fear around digital ID, but there is a lot of public support for automatic voter registration. Are we doing enough to align what digital ID enables us …”

“Just lastly on this topic, are there any specific methods of registration that you would most like to see the Government pilot? They have committed to pilots, so what would you most like to see?”