Speeches by Smith.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I congratulate the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) on securing this afternoon’s very important debate, and I likewise welcome her constituents to the Chamber. It is clear that we all have the privilege of representing autistic adults and children. T…”

“I seek clarification on those numbers. When I have heard them in the main Chamber during questions and statements, I have wondered whether those people are new members of staff or existing members of staff who have moved into a slightly different role. When we say that there are 1,000—or the other numbers that the Mini…”

“I begin by echoing the thanks expressed to Members in all parts of the House and in the other place who have contributed to the Bill. In particular, I pay tribute to the excellent work of Baroness Finn, Viscount Younger and Lord Vaux, whose detailed and constructive engagement made the Bill stronger, more balanced and …”

“Obviously, one of the things that we have been talking about quite a lot in these inquiries is the challenge that we have around transport manufacturing and manufacturing in other sectors. Obviously, there is a huge push on the industrial strategy. In my constituency down in the south-west, defence is the main hub, so …”

“Yes, just a couple of things to ask. First, obviously GBR is presented as the kind of panacea to everything, so I would be quite interested to get your sense of what success looks like and how quickly that is going to come. Secondly, specifically on that capacity of secondary manufacture, with all due respect we alread…”

“Just very briefly on that, I hear what you are saying and that sounds like it answers Scott’s question. However, because it is this devolved transport system, are the procurement rules actually going to be telling the devolved areas what they should be doing as well, or is that just an aspiration that it would just be …”

“On that, the challenge is you are consulting at the moment, but most of those strategic mayoral authorities do not yet exist. It is important to make sure you are getting the voices of not the big city mayoralties, but the slightly smaller ones that are going to exist, because ultimately, they are going to get delivere…”

“I am going to make some progress, if I may. Youth unemployment had fallen by nearly 380,000, giving far more young people the security of a meaningful career. However, under this Government, the unemployment rate is set to reach 5% by next year, compared with 4.1% a year ago. We have already heard that graduate jobs ha…”

“Napoleon’s famous remark that “England is a nation of shopkeepers” was meant as an insult. However, for many of us up and down these isles, the high street and its many small businesses are a source of immense pride. My constituency is home to one of the highest concentrations of small businesses in the country, with m…”

“I am going to continue because I am running out of time. We will stop taxpayers subsidising new cars for people with ADHD and tennis elbow, and will ensure that the scheme is targeted at those with genuine mobility issues. It is not compassionate to pretend that our welfare system can solve everyone’s problems. If we c…”

“Sorry; I am going to continue. Motability is a lifeline for those with serious mobility issues, yet under Labour, Motability costs have surged by almost 10%.”

“I bow to my hon. Friend’s medical wisdom. I agree that we need to give people hope and ensure that our policies tackle the most severe mental health problems. However, if is mental wellbeing that we are talking about, we need to do more to ensure that people have the skills and tools to stay in work, so that they can e…”

“I want to start the debate by acknowledging the fact that many Members here do not know that much about me. The debate so far, with this caricature of Conservatives who do not care, has saddened me. Like my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), who is no longer in his pl…”

“Will my hon. Friend give way?”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Doncaster Central (Sally Jameson) and everyone who has intervened. I will keep my remarks even briefer than I said I would. We have already heard a huge amount about supported lodgings, and that is what I wanted to speak about briefly, as much as anything to highlight the cross-party …”

“The Minister rightly promotes our world-class maritime sector in the south-west, where considerable private investment is being made, including a new resilience factory opening in my constituency next week. Such innovative young companies live or die on the pace of Government contracting, but we continue to wait for th…”

“Under the Welsh Labour Government, waiting lists, educational standards and opportunities for young people have all ground to an abrupt halt. It is therefore shocking that the Welsh Labour Government are not prioritising issues that would make a real difference to the people of Wales. Instead, Labour Ministers, support…”

“5. What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the adequacy of accommodation for asylum seekers in Wales.”

“The hon. Member talks about broken dreams, but no Government Member has spoken about the hard-working families in the middle—not the ones struggling to buy their first home and not the so-called rich people at the top who in the Government’s world this will benefit, but the hard-working families, who he has no doubt sp…”

“The hon. Member is making a powerful speech, as he always does. However, there is a gaping hole in his argument when it comes to people who are looking not for their first home, but for a bigger home, which may be a new property or a property that already exists. What would he say to his Taunton constituents who are in…”