Speeches by Bailey.

“I do want to pay tribute again to John and Katie, Gigi’s parents, for their brilliant campaigning on this. They have bravery and courage. They have just been phenomenal. It has been a huge privilege to work with them on this question of safe sleep. We have done several things. We are updating the EYFS from September to…”

“Thank you very much, Chair. It is a really great pleasure to be here. Thank you for this inquiry, which I am really looking forward to reading the outcome of. I am here with Chris Armstrong-Stacey, who is director of early years in the Department of Education. Have I mangled your job title or is that correct?”

“Yes, we are. The latest data was just over 68%. It is a stretching target, and rightly so. We have done lots of things to try to make sure that we hit the target. Every local authority has its own specific target. We are putting a load of work into supporting teachers and staff in reception year, because the end of rec…”

“Yes. It was my great pleasure to speak at their conference, not recently but a few months ago, and I would very much like to continue that conversation. Your suggestion of some more structured engagement with maintained nursery schools is a good idea, Chair, and one that I will take away, because I hugely value the con…”

“I sincerely thank my hon. Friend the Member for City of Durham (Mary Kelly Foy) for calling this debate, for her excellent speech and for her important advocacy on this crucial topic. I also join her in commending Mrs Middleton for her compassion and leadership; she has painted a powerful image of the staff clapping th…”

“House adjourned.”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her advocacy on this topic both in the Chamber and outside it. I am extremely concerned to hear of the practice that has been described this evening. I am happy to meet with her, my hon. Friend the Member for City of Durham and any other affected Members, along with a relevant Minist…”

“I thank my hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for giving me the opportunity to thank the fantastic early years staff in my constituency of Reading West and Mid Berkshire and across Reading, who do a brilliant job for our children. As a constituency MP, as well as a Minister, I know that giving every child the best …”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I thank the hon. Member for North East Hampshire (Alex Brewer) for securing this important debate, and all hon. Members who are present. I will start by also thanking all the wonderful staff who work in early years settings in her constituency and across Hampshir…”

“Sitting suspended.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her question and her conversations with me on this important topic. Let me be clear about what the Bill does. The legislation is symmetrical in its approach to abusive conversion practices that attempt to change somebody from one gender identity to another or from one sexual orientation to an…”

“I am clear that the Bill will not impact the ability of parents to parent how they wish. The abuse thresholds, which I have set out several times this afternoon, are clear about that. To repeat: there has to be an intent to change somebody, there has to be abuse—the abuse that we have defined in the legislation mirrors…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for all his work campaigning for those freedoms. When considering the legislation, I reflected on the impact of my experiences growing up as a young lesbian and the impact that shame had on me. I cannot even begin to comprehend how that might feel for someone who has been subjected to this kind o…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her support for the draft Bill and I look forward to engaging with her further on it. It is vital that we continue to defend and protect LGBT rights in our country and around the world, where we have a proud role to play too. That is something that this Government and I are committed to doing …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his support and engagement on this important topic. He is of course right: abuse is never acceptable, wherever we find it, and this is a really important piece of legislation to make that completely clear. To be clear, LGBT people are subject to that abuse at the moment because we have not le…”

“That is a really important question. Let me explain how this will work. It is my view that legitimate healthcare would not fall under the remit of this Bill in any way, shape or form, because legitimate healthcare would never be abusing somebody to try to change their identity and causing them serious harm. However, I …”

“On my hon. Friend’s last question, I can say that there will absolutely be time. One of the many merits of the pre-legislative scrutiny process is that we can work through those issues together. The question of the definition of healthcare workers is a matter for the Department of Health and Social Care, which I know w…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend wholeheartedly. As I said earlier, I really want to thank the brave people who have experienced these appalling practices for having the courage and strength to come forward and talk about their experiences. I agree that they should be at the front and centre of this conversation as much as …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for all his work and support, and for his very important question. I can confirm that asexual people will be included in the remit of the Bill, because our simple principle is that abuse is not acceptable, no matter to whom it is done or where we find it.”

“I can confirm that the Bill is fully trans-inclusive, because abuse—no matter to whom—is unacceptable. I concur wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend’s sentiments about the importance of being able to choose yourself and live your life with pride, and I thank him for sharing the testimonies of Mich, Rosie and Johnnie. The…”