Speeches by Irons.

“I agree with the hon. Gentleman: sustainable long-term funding is the only way for any area outside London to grow sustainably. In addition, CARS would see significant improvement to East Croydon station, Britain’s 21st most used station, by adding two new platforms, a larger concourse to improve facilities for passeng…”

“I absolutely agree that once people get into the doom loop of thinking that the train is not going to arrive, they find other routes or stick to their cars. If we can improve rail performance in every region across the country, I am sure we will see passenger numbers also go back up to those pre-pandemic levels, and ev…”

“T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.”

“A constituent has contacted me about the difficulty he is facing in trying to get what he is entitled to via the Windrush compensation scheme. Given that victims of the Windrush scandal are not entitled to legal aid, a large proportion are assessed as eligible for compensation but cannot meet the high threshold of evid…”

“16. What steps she is taking to improve passenger rail performance.”

“The Croydon area remodelling scheme would upgrade East Croydon and Norwood Junction stations in my constituency and improve services across the Brighton main line and most of the south-east. However, after the previous Government withdrew funding for this vital infrastructure project, passengers continue to suffer dela…”

“Councils are at the coalface of politics and are leaders in delivery. From potholes to parks and parking, local councils deliver the things that we care about. For too long, our councils have been failed by central Government. They have been undervalued and underfunded. In London, where councils receive 28% less fundin…”

“Of course I agree. It is imperative that we solve this crisis. With overspends in children’s and social care services across London, seven London boroughs require exceptional financial support to balance their books, and Croydon council is one of them. As with councils across the country, poor decisions and failure in …”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that when we think about violence against women and girls, and role models for young men, we need a greater focus on protecting the future of our young men, including by thinking about how we can help them to deal with the challenges they face, in order to make them safer and give them space w…”

“I thank the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Ben Obese-Jecty) for securing this important debate. Knife crime among children and young people is a national emergency that should shame us all. With 3,000 knife crime offences involving children reported in the year ending March 2024, this crisis cannot be ignored. Each one of…”

“I thank the hon. Member for securing the debate. East Croydon station in my constituency is the 21st most used station in Great Britain. It has a bridge that has been closed for 10 years, despite the use of local taxpayers’ money, national funding and developer funding. We also have Norwood Junction station, which is t…”

“The system is clearly broken, and I welcome the urgent work to get it fixed. What reassurance can the Secretary of State provide to children living in households that receive PIP but are in poverty? What reassurance can she provide to the one in five people in receipt of universal credit and disability benefit, who are…”

“I am one of the MPs for Croydon, a place that continues to pay the price for the previous Government’s inaction on knife crime and youth violence. Does my hon. Friend agree that when it comes to youth violence, we have to focus on prevention, and does he welcome the introduction of the Young Futures programme so that w…”

“Have you been working with Ofcom on the implementation of the Media Act? Do you have any concerns about their approach to that process?”

“Dr Shah, in November you gave a speech in which you talked about the speed of Ofcom’s regulatory processes, and you called for regulation that “helps rather than hinders” in “the changing media landscape”. How would you change how Ofcom regulates the BBC?”

“On behalf of parents everywhere, thank you for “Wallace and Gromit”. That got us through a long Christmas break and, yes, brought us all together. Back to new audiences and new platforms, I have a couple of questions about what you said about linking back to the BBC. How do you ensure you extract enough revenue from th…”

“Anna, did you have any ideas on how we could make it easier for people to find what is going on in their local community?”

“Thank you so much for coming today. I am going to take it back to the community setting and not just school, because obviously your passion for sport or your lifelong journey with sport is not just going to be confined to the classroom. Ali, we have heard in evidence about the Grand Canyon-sized gap between school and …”

“I will follow up with our athletes. Thank you so much for being here; you are putting us all to shame. How did you enter sport outside of a school setting? You touched on this a little bit and you talked about the difficulty with signposting and finding the clubs around you. What was your experience and what can we do …”

“Do you think that it has changed at all? Is it still difficult for young people to find things to get involved in?”