Speeches by Hamilton.

“My colleagues will dig deeper, but could you give us an example, before I ask my last question, of something that you are really proud of that you have done across the UK?”

“Let me focus you a little bit. Your CV is excellent: it talks about all the wonderful things that you have done around the world. But in the UK, you seem to have centralised, predominantly in London and the surrounding areas. I am from Birmingham, and some of the people here are from further afield, so the other bit of…”

“Good morning, Penny. My first question comes after reading your CV. You talked about the health systems that you have supported around the world to deliver improvements, and you also talked about supporting major reform programmes in the NHS over the last 25 years. How do you feel that this experience will assist your …”

“Thank you for that. I am not going to ask anybody else because you are the specialist. I am going to move swiftly on to transitions. This has been a bugbear of mine—I will just declare that—for many years. I could never understand why it just drops off a cliff when a young person gets to the age of 18. The problem with…”

“Kadra, it is lovely to see you again. I had better start by saying that I have had a long history in mental health. I do the associate manager role, so I do section in mental health. I just wanted to declare that before I open my mouth. I know Kadra from before, so I also need to declare that. My first question is abou…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. In Birmingham Erdington, we have a high proportion of young people with poor access to youth services and shockingly high youth knife crime statistics. Does she agree that the youth funding crisis must be urgently resolved?”

“My hon. Friend makes a critical point. If we want to see people grow, we have to give them the support they need; that is vital. I would not have got to Parliament without the support that I received earlier in my life. These stories are not unique to the Birmingham Erdington constituency. Many in the Chamber will no d…”

“Everybody heard my hon. Friend’s contribution and agreed with what she said. Earlier this year, I was delighted to welcome the Minister for Employment, my hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Alison McGovern), to my constituency of Birmingham Erdington. During her visit, we saw the impact of personalised assistance a…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we need collaboration. Such programmes will not work if organisations work in isolation. There is always room for improvement. I firmly believe that the Government should look at the success of place-based partnerships and professional support, as demonstrated by the north Birmin…”

“My hon. Friend raises the valuable point that we cannot do anything without money, so we must ensure that the funding is there to support these organisations to deliver what we need in our local communities. The challenges that we face in Erdington and north Birmingham are not unique. The UK has long grappled with the …”

“Before I start the debate, I would like to declare an interest: I chair the organisation in my constituency that I will be talking about, but I get absolutely no remuneration for it. It is a privilege to speak on behalf of my constituents in Erdington, whose communities are filled with untapped potential. My constituen…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for sharing what his constituents are doing. The results speak for themselves. To date, we have secured over £15 million in investment, supported 8,000 residents—two thirds of whom are aged between 24 and 49 —and helped over 1,000 people into work. We have enrolled 1,500 residents in gateway …”

“I will absolutely give way to my lovely hon. Friend.”

“My hon. Friend makes a valuable point. Communities working together with people makes a difference, and as leaders it is vital that we not only encourage that but press Governments to support us to make that happen. The work that we are doing in Erdington and north Birmingham is a testament to the power of a community,…”

“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. It is so important for us to work together to get what we need for our local communities.”

“My hon. Friend makes a valuable point, and I absolutely agree with what he says. The commitment of the partner organisations in my constituency has been the driving force behind our shared vision, and I take this opportunity to pay tribute to them. I am sure the Minister will join me as I extend my heartfelt thanks. Ho…”

“My question is on unpaid carers. For many years, just to preface the question, as someone who led adult social care, we could not manage the system in Birmingham, where I was the cabinet member for adult social care, without unpaid carers. They were an army of people. I heard what you said earlier, Anita, but to be hon…”

“That is fine. I am going to bring Anita in quickly.”

“Thank you. Do you want to add anything, Oonagh?”

“Very good point. Can I add a little bit extra? For the future, we have a risk: if we continue to rely on unpaid carers for adult social care, how are we going to quantify the risks for the future? The way social care is going is falling down, and everybody admits that. These unpaid carers cannot carry on. For the futur…”