Speeches by Smith.

“Q Do you have an opinion on that? Joshua Reddaway: I do not have a major opinion. I would ask whether you are comfortable with the oversight arrangements. One thing to point out is that this will be the closest thing to an anti-corruption unit that the Government have, with search powers. Are you happy with that being …”

“Having a separate organisation? Joshua Reddaway: Having a separate body.”

“Q51 This question is for you, Joshua. As you no doubt know, the Bill will allow the Public Sector Fraud Authority to be established as a separate body from the Cabinet Office. Do you think that is the right approach, and what benefits will it bring? Joshua Reddaway: I guess I am agnostic as to what is done, but the ben…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Siobhain. I thank and congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson) on securing this important debate. It is the second on this topic today, but it puts a particular focus on the support that the Government should be providing. I a…”

“Sorry, I meant to say Wokingham. I had circled “Swansea West” in my notes; I was trying to be clever—forgive me. Anyway, I will go back to my notes; that would be much better. In the same way that the Government are coming after farmers, with the family farm tax, they have also gone after pensioners right across the co…”

“Does the Minister not agree that, from 2010, the previous Government secured a 200,000 reduction in the number of pensioners in absolute poverty? I do not have details of what the figure might have been otherwise, but it is important to put that on the record, because nearly a quarter of a million is still a significan…”

“Yes, absolutely, and I think we see that right across the piece of DWP benefits. That is one reason why we think getting people into work, in particular, is so important. The lack of notice, particularly for those with savings, who are doing the right thing, but who are now having to choose whether to do work on their …”

“2. What his plans are for the disposal of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.”

“Given that HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark are reportedly being sold to another navy for a figure that could well undervalue previous spends on refits and maintenance, how does the Minister justify the economic impact of their sale on Plymouth and Devonport dockyard, let alone the reduction in amphibious capability in the N…”

“In the summer of 2001, on a University of Southampton history field trip to the east end of London—part of the course “The Making of Englishness” on changing notions of British and English national identity in relation to issues of race, ethnicity and immigration from 1840 to the present day—Professor Tony Kushner, who…”

“T6. The Government have a long-standing position that they do not engage with the Muslim Council of Britain, so why did the Minister for Social Security and Disability decide to breach collective responsibility to attend a recent dinner hosted by the MCB?”

“It is a pleasure to wind up this important debate on behalf of the official Opposition. It has been a really interesting debate, with some strong views expressed by Members from all parties, and the disagreements did not necessarily come from where we might have been expected. In fact, it seems the official Opposition …”

“The community of Plymstock in my constituency saw its main post office close in September 2021, when Morrisons closed more than 80 of its newsagents across the country; the post offices were essentially collateral damage. Despite the best efforts of the community, my predecessor and councillors—including me, at the tim…”

“I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend. I think that all of us in this Chamber will agree that having a post office within these banking hubs is vital. We have seen 76 hubs open across the country in the last few years. Clearly, there is an appetite and a need for them, but it does not make sense to the public, a…”

“In September 2021, Plymstock post office closed. It was part of the collateral damage of the closure by Morrisons of more than 80 newsagents. It was a legitimate business decision no doubt, but it highlights the issue of the post office franchise model. Those businesses just disappeared from the high street. What follo…”

“11. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Post Office closures on local communities.”

“Hello. I was a bit late, so apologies.”

“I knew that was happening.”

“Can I come back? In response to that, one of the challenges you have—we had this when we were talking about railways last week—is that we already have the big combined authorities, but the vast majority of councils do not have those. As a local politician I have brought officers together to talk to each other across th…”

“What will happen before devolution happens? We had this conversation last week. It could be three or four years before CLAs exist in certain areas. Do people just carry on regardless, as if nothing has changed until it changes as far as what they are doing with you is concerned?”