Speeches by Paul.

“Thank you for your very helpful answers on that front. Earlier—and this leads on from the questions that have just come up—you made the important point that, if only there had been more dialogue 10 years ago, we would not find ourselves in the difficult and almost toxic situation that we are in on these kinds of questi…”

“Thank you, Dr Stephenson, for your time today. I have a follow-on question to build on what Baroness Kennedy already asked about. I think you recognise that you have not had a role that is commensurate in size and budget before. What will you do to address the skills and expertise that you need to do that? Have you got…”

“Thank you. That was such a comprehensive answer that I think you have addressed most of my follow-ups. It is horrifying to hear, and you do not have to be an expert to know that this is incredibly damaging to women, girls, children and society as a whole. You made the point about the need for more studies, but it seems…”

“Would you mind talking to that question, please?”

“Thank you for coming in today, Laura. It is absolutely fascinating and extremely concerning to hear about these trends. To what extent do AI-powered technologies such as AI girlfriends and sex robots encourage real-life misogyny and abuse? I have to say, I did not know very much about this topic until I did some readin…”

“I rise to speak against new clauses 1 and 20, and in support of new clause 106, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson). First, it is important for me to say that I fully support women’s reproductive rights. I think that we generally get the balance right here in the UK, and prot…”

“Obviously I was pleased to see the course correction and that you were not afraid to recognise an error had been made and were looking to address it. That is exactly the right thing to do. The point I want to make today is that that error has led to women and girls losing out on opportunities. That error will have pote…”

“Can I make a point?”

“Thank you very much. First, can I say thank you to Baroness Falkner and Mr Kirkpatrick for being here today, and thank you for all your work over recent years? I want to take a moment to actually think about the impact on women and girls. It is clear that organisations, going back many years, have breached the Equality…”

“Does the EHRC currently have sufficient resource available to it to review all the responses that you get on the consultation in a timely manner? If not, can you elaborate on that and explain what action you are taking or what action needs to be taken?”

“You have already talked about it a little. Clearly, there is not much flexibility for you here. The Supreme Court has issued a judgment, and like you say, you are the messenger. Your job is to take that judgment from the highest court in the land and convert it into usable, user-friendly guidance. But really, the pilla…”

“No. I recognise that you cannot do that. The point I am making is that other people out there may make that incorrect assumption, and how do you best manage that? People need to realise that you are not the decision-maker here on how this works; you are interpreting a Supreme Court judgment. People will not like some o…”

“I want to talk very briefly about the legislative programme. We have obviously already talked about the Supreme Court and the clarity that comes from that. What consideration have you given to the potential of new legislation muddying the waters again? For example, the Data (Use and Access) Bill, which does not require…”

“Not in my experience.”

“I would like to say, with respect, that it is absolutely relevant because the Supreme Court ruling determines the legal definition of sex for the purposes of the Equality Act, and the Equality Act covers the single-sex discrimination piece with regard to sport. So, with respect, it was very relevant.”

“No, and that is exactly the point I am making, in order that you can do what you need to do as quickly as possible and just making sure that people understand that and the limitations.”

“Are Government receptive to the preliminary discussions you have had and are they recognising the issue?”

“Women and girls are impacted.”

“T5. It has been estimated, and reported, that billions-worth of unspent community infrastructure levy may be available at local authority level for investment in critical infrastructure. Will the Minister ensure that the money is invested in roads and drainage, so it can deliver the improvements that our residents dese…”

“It is chicken and egg, isn’t it? I am a new MP, and I used to get frustrated by seeing politicians not really answer the questions. I thought, “I’m going to go in and be different; I am going to answer the question.” But what I now realise is that, because of the increasing abuse, that is how a lot of politicians survi…”