Speeches by Smith.

“In 2021, Plymouth, part of which is in my constituency of South West Devon, had two horrific tragedies affecting a number of people. We had the Keyham shootings, which were incel-linked, hence my question about that earlier, and the tragic murder of Bobbi-Anne McLeod. I know that both Ministers are well aware of those …”

“My right hon. Friend is making a valuable point about the dangers online. Does she agrees that one of the big threats is the incel community? This highlights the need to approach violence against women and girls from a public health perspective, because we cannot just rely on the police to deal with it. Often there are…”

“I thank my right hon. Friend for her contribution. It would be great if Ministers could address that point this afternoon, so that those who are watching this debate can understand whether the Government will recommit to doing something on single-sex spaces. To go back to Plymouth, the experts in our city are beginning…”

“I will make some progress, because I will not get any extra time for taking a further intervention. The requirements in the Bill therefore risk hindering families who, for legitimate reasons—often because of failures in the SEND provision that they needed—have opted to educate their children at home. I have three quest…”

“My right hon. Friend is correct. There has to be a middle ground that we could find. I suggest that we are using a hammer to crack a nut. A lot of these parents are not against having to say something about what they are doing, but to suggest that they have to give chapter and verse to their local authority, which in m…”

“Clause 7, which introduces proposed new section 23CZAA to the Children Act 1989 on Staying Close support, builds on the previous Conservative Government’s “Stable Homes, Built on Love” strategy. In particular, I refer to the pledge to strengthen the Staying Close offer and provide a statutory basis for it. I therefore …”

“I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend. The Bill is seeking a detailed explanation from parents of what they are planning to do at home with their children. Quite frankly, it will hinder the work that they are doing in educating those children. Schools are probably not readily providing some of that information e…”

“T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.”

“We have long-standing, cross-party support in Plymouth and Devon for ensuring the future of the Royal Marines, including 42 Commando in my constituency. Given the amphibious assault capability gap that we have as a result of scrapping—or, should I say, retiring—Devonport ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, what commitmen…”

“What is missing from today’s announcement is any sort of update on the new hospitals programme review, which is vital in my constituency of South West Devon, because Derriford hospital needs its urgent and emergency care centre to bring down ambulance waiting times before it can even start to tackle its general waiting…”

“I thank the Minister for that answer. Farmers in my constituency of South West Devon have highlighted the role that the rural England prosperity fund could play in the economic growth of our community. Given the publication of the English devolution White Paper this week, what conversations has the Minister had with th…”

“2. What recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the rural England prosperity fund.”

“Q3. My constituents Caroline and Savannah are just two of thousands across Devon, Cornwall and beyond who are living with postural tachycardia syndrome and have been unable to access adequate treatment since the retirement of the only consultant available to work with them in July. What actions can the Prime Minister t…”

“The rail Minister has expressed the view that enabling those of us from the south-west to connect to the midlands and Birmingham would be one mitigation, but does the hon. Member agree that that is not a good enough result for the overground services? Frankly, we need connections into London, because we can already get…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this morning, Mr Efford. This is the second debate in a week that we have had on railway lines. I will not repeat everything that I said in last week’s debate, which was just about Devon, but we touched on Old Oak Common last week and I am keen to do so again today. It …”

“What have you done about increasing capacity on the lines that will close, so that in the last few days when people need to travel there will potentially be enough space? I am sure that we have all been on trains at Christmas where it is standing room only. You have that team meeting twice a week: is increasing capacit…”

“In a way this should probably be our last question because it is about Christmas, and that tends to be how we head out of the door, but we don’t want to miss it, as it is important. We have had disruption with the weather, which we cannot do much about, but, historically, rail services at Christmas are massively disrup…”

“I suppose it is linked, but looking more at the enhancements pipeline, this is a fairly straightforward question: do the Government intend to produce a long-term rail enhancements pipeline as well as the strategy?”

“Thank you, Chair. It is just on the infrastructure piece and which things are going to get funded and which are not. I completely appreciate the fact that there were a lot of unfunded things in the past, but my understanding of how politics works and Government works in the long term is that you find the money when you…”

“It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard, and I am delighted to follow my colleagues from across Devon; I know that some others will be speaking shortly. Hon. Members who listened to my maiden speech will have noticed that I have committed to fighting for railway and transport in the south-west,…”