Speeches by Gilmour.

“In my constituency, there is a fantastic organisation called the Filo Project, a community interest company that provides innovative and award-winning dementia care. When people come to the Filo Project, however, their care is subject to VAT of 20% simply because it is not commissioned by a local authority, which can c…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. I thank the hon. Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Collinge) for securing this debate. Ashley Combe, which sits above Porlock Weir, was Ada Lovelace’s home for many summers. She would walk across west Somerset, admiring its fauna and flora, includin…”

“I congratulate the right hon. Member for Goole and Pocklington (David Davis) on securing this debate. Like everyone in the Chamber, my thoughts are first and foremost with the victims of that dreadful man whose name I refuse to mention. A week is a long time in politics. Last week, we saw the Prime Minister stand at th…”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that Foxes hotel in my constituency of Minehead is a trailblazer? It is the UK’s only fully operating training hotel for young people with learning disabilities, many of whom have Down’s syndrome. It has shown that structured on-the-job training, dedicated mentorship and clear progression path…”

“I am perplexed. Can you tell me why it took 18 months for the MOD to identify that a significant data breach had occurred?”

“Never mind the lives.”

“It is not very impressive.”

“Was it human error, then, or were the systems not up to it?”

“I count a great many hereditary peers among my friends, and I know that they do excellent jobs. However, Britain stands, alongside Lesotho, as a complete anomaly in the 21st century by preserving legislative roles based on lineage. Serving in this House, as in any other, is a privilege of the highest order. Does the ho…”

“A particular concern of my constituents in Tiverton and Minehead, where we have one local authority in Devon and one in Somerset, is the real difficulties around special educational needs and disabilities. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill could create difficulties for local authorities that are struggling to del…”

“We need to make sure that grant is ringfenced.”

“My constituency is very rural. West Somerset is particularly poor with bus services. We have one No. 28 bus, which turns up when the bus company thinks it ought to, and if it does not think it ought to, it does not turn up. I noticed from the Report that there have been significant reductions in commercial routes, but …”

“Is that a yes?”

“As the permanent secretary touched on, there are greater challenges in rural areas like my constituency, and for smaller operators. You have specifically identified city funding. What do you have in place to fund these buses in rural areas, and for smaller contractors?”

“We’ll put in our report, won’t we?”

“Very specifically, will there be money for that strategy? To give you an example—I have spoken to Heidi Alexander about this—I need the trains from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard to Taunton linked up. There currently is not any money in the Department for Transport’s budget, but if that were to become part of the integrat…”

“The switchover or adoption of zero emission buses appears to be a relatively positive move because between 2021 and 2024, 56% of all new sales were for zero emission buses. You have a relatively ambitious aim to have local services with net zero emissions buses no earlier than 2030—although my view would be to just say…”

“Could I ask about Somerset?”

“Thank you.”

“Will local authorities be mandated to ringfence the money they receive for buses?”