Speeches by Ellis.

“You said “very soon”; could you give us more of an indication of when you expect the independent panel to be appointed?”

“I am Maya Ellis, the Member of Parliament for Ribble Valley.”

“I thank the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) for securing this debate. When I became a new parent, I was shocked to my core to see in my communities, both in person and online, the extent to which relationships between new parents can suddenly descend into coercive control, gaslighting, financial abuse a…”

“May I first thank the Secretary of State for visiting Preston last week to attend this year’s convention of the north? It was a fantastic event and reinvigorated the case for northern investment to be a key determinant in Government decisions. In that vein, can the Minister outline what conversations are being held wit…”

“Like many of my colleagues, I found that this year’s National Apprenticeship Week really brought to life the amazing work being done by businesses, organisations and students across my constituency. Listening to many of the comments from across the House about how we need to improve the culture and perception around te…”

“Looking broadly at this country at the moment, we know that political and democratic engagement is quite low. Unitarisation and devolution should be aiming to re-engage people more with government, to have more faith in what it can do and to improve it, so I will ask a few questions around unitarisation. Particularly i…”

“I am Maya Ellis. I am the MP for Ribble Valley in Lancashire.”

“Building on that, there was a mention in the White Paper about a local government workforce development group. I just wondered whether you could give a bit more of an update or detail on where that is up to. I am particularly interested in whether that is just around those tiers of local government. This is one of the …”

“While all the plumbing that we have been discussing is really important, I am moving on to questions now about how we actually make the most of the opportunity of strategic authorities going forward. Some of the witnesses we have heard from on the subjects have raised concerns about the lack of agility and flexibility …”

“How do you make sure that you do not fall back into grant funding and that those local growth plans do not just become another application into a national pot for innovation funding, for example, that people have to bid on based on how good their local growth plan is?”

“Is there anything that you are trying to bed in, though, to the process over the next year where the decisions are being made about how areas reorganise where you expect local councils to engage locally? Is it in your judgment that actually that is for the councillors to decide?”

“My question is building on that. Where is your current thinking? Taking innovation funding for example, I think that there are lots of people who would argue that, historically, in the last 10 years a lot of the innovation funding has gone directly to the combined authorities because it is a bit of a shortcut and an ea…”

“I have one more specific question going back to unitarisation and how you make decisions locally. I will be putting you on the spot, so if you cannot answer now I would appreciate a response on this in writing. Where councils in a local area cannot come to a single consensus in terms of a proposal for reorganisation or…”

“You would say that those are the three criteria.”

“Essentially, if there are competing priorities, you will judge based on how well they meet each of those criteria.”

“Given that 70% of youth services investment has been slashed since 2010, does my hon. and learned Friend agree that we need to provide opportunities, aside from school, where children can interact before taking away one of the few places that they have to spend time with their peers?”

“My constituency is Ribble Valley, in Lancashire. It is a very rural area, and it can take me about an hour to drive from one side to the other. That raises logistical issues for local services. What do you make of this year’s settlement, particularly in light of the discontinuing of the rural services delivery grant? D…”

“I am Maya Ellis, MP for Ribble Valley.”

“To build on that, in terms of those local ecosystems and that potential redistribution of responsibilities, is there anything else that is missing there? I am thinking about the type of talent that we attract to local government or to those kinds of services, for example. Where we do not have lots of money, what is sto…”

“To build on that, is the way local government funding is allocated at the moment reflective of needs or of deprivation, and does it provide support according to need?”