Speeches by Smith.

“We all agree that it is important to protect our overseas bases and personnel deployed on operations, and that must include Ukraine. Over the weekend, the MOD posted a video on social media from a British-run military repair facility in Ukraine. It has been taken down, reportedly because it revealed the geolocation of …”

“When the Secretary of State and I last met like this, he lauded the roll-out of youth hubs and the introduction of the youth guarantee as the solution to tackling the scale of young people not in education, employment or training. Since then, however, apprenticeship figures have been updated. The latest figures show th…”

“The hon. Member is making a powerful speech. Does he agree that this is where the role of the public engagement co-ordinators at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is so important, as they go out to tell those stories? We have graves right around the country of Indian, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh service personnel. Ensu…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) on securing the debate. “Their name liveth for evermore”— Those words are carved on to each stone of remembrance in large Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries and memorials right around the world. Today’s debate, ahead of Commonwealth Day on Monday 9…”

“Does the hon. Member agree that a significant contribution was also made by the 140,000-strong Chinese Labour Corps, ironically enough, who came over from 1916 to do a lot of the work on the front, which then freed up the soldiers to do the fighting?”

“On the South African regiments, does my right hon. Friend agree it is vital that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission continues its work to honour those labourers, as it has done with the recent opening of a memorial in Cape Town—and, soon, in Kenya and Sierra Leone—with a commitment to do whatever it takes to ensure…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I rise to speak on behalf of the official Opposition. The draft order that we are debating will allow the Construction Industry Training Board to raise one more year of levy on the construction sector for the specific purpose of funding training. The purpose …”

“Over the weekend, I heard from families in my constituency whose loved ones—also constituents of mine—are among the 300 service personnel in Bahrain who were within metres of the Iranian missile strike. Given that we have known for some time about the build-up of US forces in the region, why did the activity to decommi…”

“The roll-out of free breakfast clubs and the Government’s wider child poverty strategy are supposed to be driven by data, yet the Department does not even hold information on which councils in England have implemented auto-enrolment for free school meals. If the Government do not hold that basic data, which would show …”

“The point you make about free car parking in the city centre is absolutely right. The example I am thinking of is not in the city centre but at a suburban shopping area. It is encouraging people to shop, but has that added—although perhaps not intended—benefit. As providers of transport services, what factors do you co…”

“That sounds really interesting, in the sense that you have these local authorities coming to you. Do you think there is scope within the integrated transport strategy planning to almost incentivise local authorities to use that data? It strikes me that you are going to have some councils jump on board and others that m…”

“You can’t come to a safe stop; it’s too heavy. I once rode around Hyde Park and then realised that I couldn’t get out of the park. Anyway, that’s too much information. Alex made an interesting point about integration. In a lot of suburban areas or smaller cities, you might have a car park that you can use for free for …”

“That is helpful. It is an issue of the development of council services, local government reorganisation, and where those services are delivered in those different areas. This is where the integrated transport strategy is going to be so important. Obviously, we are not quite keeping on track with that.”

“Just briefly on the safety of women, and violence against women and girls, we did a big piece of work in Plymouth on this about three years ago after a couple of really horrific incidents. One of the issues was about people feeling safe on transport. The challenge in a place like Plymouth is that no one is on the roads…”

“My question is about integration in different areas—urban, suburban and rural—and it leads on from Alex’s, so I am going to pick it up from what Samuel said. One challenge the Committee faces is that a lot of success stories are based in the big cities and it gets difficult when you try to roll them out. I am sure my c…”

“Anything that encourages a consistent home for young people is vital. One thing I have not had time to mention yet is the use of supported lodgings, which we have talked about before. Ultimately, I have seen the success of enabling young people to stay within a home, so anything that encourages that is definitely worth…”

“It makes a huge amount of sense that foster carers are considered a key part of that process. I am sure that in certain parts of the country they are, but it sounds from the hon. Member’s question like there are other parts where some work is needed. Independent fostering agencies are responsible for 44% of mainstream …”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered foster care recruitment and retention. It is, as always, a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. I want to start by talking briefly about why this subject matters to me personally. By the time I was 18—I had left home—my parents had started fostering, and i…”

“I will speak in part to amendments 1 and 2, although we will not vote on them this evening. Essentially, I am speaking because we do not believe that scrapping the two-child limit and lifting it in this way is the way to tackle child poverty. When the Conservatives introduced the two-child limit in 2017, we did so for …”

“Schools right across my constituency already have inclusion bases, but often there is already tension between the schools and the parents, who want better support through EHCPs, which they are having to wait for. What is the Secretary of State’s thinking on ensuring that the relationship between schools and parents rem…”