Speeches by Gilmour.

“I am very lucky in my constituency to have a thriving high street in Minehead. It was obvious when I was wandering around doing my Small Business Saturday that the strength of the independent traders is what makes Minehead high street particularly successful and a thriving part of my constituency. Does the hon. Member …”

“My hon. Friend is making a point about the border between England and Wales, but I represent a constituent who lives in a spot equidistant between two hospitals in Exeter and Taunton. Only one hospital could provide the treatment she needed, but the consultant there recommended rehabilitation at a third hospital across…”

“I would rather have jam today than jam tomorrow.”

“I think other people here would say the same.”

“I know all that, but I have a constituent who had their health assessment over the phone in November last year, and they were notified in February that they did have a claim and were going to be given money—the PIP people were just waiting for a letter from the GP. The GP letter went in within 48 hours, but that consti…”

“I have seen forms, because I have helped constituents.”

“That is kind, thank you—she will.”

“Can you answer first why your performance became so bad in ’24-25? What factor or factors have made it significantly worse?”

“This is for Sir Peter. I am sure I will not be alone on this Committee in hearing from an increasing number of constituents who are waiting an extremely long time for their PIP and ESA to be processed. I noticed from the Committee’s Report that you said that the average time was 75 working days. My senior caseworker te…”

“We are pleased to hear that you have decided to publish performance data at district level, but our recommendation was that it should be done at jobcentre level. Given that there are 647 jobcentres and 37 districts, why have you not done it at jobcentre level, and only gone for district level?”

“I was lucky enough to go to a school in Cheltenham called the Cheltenham Ladies college where the IB was offered. It is grossly unfair that children who cannot afford school fees should not have the opportunity for this wonderful international qualification. Does my hon. Friend agree?”

“I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. When I was in Ukraine last month I met senior Ukrainian figures, all of whom told me the same thing: they need more support from Europe to win this war. With that in mind, will the Foreign Secretary finally commit to seizing the £25 billion-wo…”

“Minehead has a very large elderly and deprived population. Could we, as Members of Parliament, help the hon. Gentleman in his best endeavours by encouraging our constituents, particularly if we live in or represent constituencies with large elderly populations, to come forward and talk to us as their MPs, so that we ca…”

“My office is supporting a veteran with complex PTSD who has experienced a judicial process that simply does not adequately reflect the specific needs of some veterans. Does the Minister accept that veterans with conflict-related PTSD can function well in many or most aspects of life but may be especially affected or tr…”

“We Liberal Democrats accept that property taxes must be reformed—arguably, radically so—but I struggle with the Conservatives, who governed for years without substantial reform, now promising to abolish stamp duty with no credible plans to pay for it. Where is the money coming from? Is the magic money tree being re-roo…”

“I wanted to speak earlier on social mobility, which the hon. Lady mentioned. If anybody wants to see what happens to social mobility under the Conservatives, all they need do is come to Minehead in my constituency, which is ranked 324th out of 324 for social mobility in the entire country, having had a Conservative Mem…”

“I have met many pensionable-age constituents, most of whom live on the Duck estate, who have lost their entitlement to pension credit because of as little as 50p. Does the Minister agree that pension credit, the employment and support allowance and PIP assistance could all do with more common sense and a little less of…”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that schemes such as the new social housing in Minehead—the first social housing for a generation—coupled with more social housing in Mid Devon specifically for elderly people to downsize from their own social housing are the way forward? Does she also agree that the Liberal Democrats in both …”

“I sit on the Public Accounts Committee. Earlier this year, we investigated the state of our prison system and all the sorts of things that one should describe as restorative justice. The facts are that our prisons are overflowing, they are not making anybody any better or turning people around, and they do not provide …”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that the very idea of “Ihre Papiere, bitte” is not something that my constituents, or the British people more broadly, will stand for? That explains this cross-party opposition—which I, as a true Liberal, fully endorse.”