Speeches by Foord.

“At one of my surgeries, I heard from a civil servant who had gathered evidence for the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse across the whole of England. They described themselves as being “left emotionally and physically drained” after collecting evidence, only for the Government not to act on it. I welcome this…”

“I pay tribute to the hon. Member for West Ham and Beckton (James Asser) for securing the debate, which takes place five years after covid-19 swept across the country. It is right that we take a moment to reflect not only on what we have lost, but the duty we have to those who continue to carry the burden of the pandemi…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. A covid register makes good sense. She mentioned symptoms, and those can also include tiredness, struggling for breath, memory problems and heart palpitations. We should remember that many of the people affected by long covid are the very people who took the brave decision to expose …”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“What does my hon. Friend think about how ICB funding is weighted? I contend that the formula overemphasises the size of each ICB and the size of the registered population, but does not account sufficiently for age, given that older people require more funding spent on them.”

“I wanted to ask about the global anti-corruption regime. So far, we have been talking very much about the UK sovereign sanctions regime, but thinking about global anti-corruption and the introduction in 2021 of the law here in the UK, could you talk a bit about the limitations on such things as unexplained wealth order…”

“Sir David, I take your point that you do not see a whole lot of value, as I understand it, in scrutiny in the pre-designation space. Thinking about the post-designation space and implementation area, do you see any value in having a Committee where the members and the staff have access to highly classified information?…”

“I wanted to ask about the global anti-corruption regime. So far, we have been talking very much about the UK sovereign sanctions regime, but thinking about global anti-corruption and the introduction in 2021 of the law here in the UK, could you talk a bit about the limitations on such things as unexplained wealth order…”

“Sir David, I take your point that you do not see a whole lot of value, as I understand it, in scrutiny in the pre-designation space. Thinking about the post-designation space and implementation area, do you see any value in having a Committee where the members and the staff have access to highly classified information?…”

“New jobs in clean energy are very welcome. Many of the skilled jobs at Hinkley Point C in the south-west are going to young people from beyond the area. Given the social mobility challenges in East Anglia and west Somerset, will the Secretary of State comment on investment in colleges and skills to encourage applicatio…”

“Last October, Lord Cameron said that, as Foreign Secretary, he had been working up plans to sanction extreme right-wing Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. What took the Government so long?”

“I, too, will keep my remarks brief, but I wish to put it on the record that Devon, which is rightly celebrated across Britain for its rugged coastline, its rolling farmland, its spectacular moorlands and its ancient woodlands, is subject to the diggers of developers who are encouraged by this Government. Although we al…”

“That sounds similar to the Otter Trail in my patch, which would link Feniton to King’s School at Ottery St Mary. Does my hon. Friend agree that these new active travel paths will enable young people to get to school safely?”

“Local authorities could really do with compulsory purchase powers for cycling and walking paths. The Devon local cycling and walking infrastructure plan that came out last December said that “certain private sector development…may come forward sooner, or later, than anticipated”. Local authorities do not have any contr…”

“I welcome the partial reinstatement of the winter fuel payment. When we met, the Minister and I discussed the cliff edge that existed last winter, which meant that people in receipt of pension credit could in some cases leapfrog the income of people in receipt of a small private pension. Can the Minister indicate wheth…”

“Open Doors reported earlier this year that about three quarters of houses belonging to Christians in Gaza have been damaged or totally destroyed. Given that that is true for people of all faiths in Gaza, does the hon. Lady accept that it is incumbent on the Church, the Government and all of us to support them?”

“The Minister mentioned maintenance contracts and Department for Education support. Schools have seen steep increases in the cost of sustaining themselves. One school leader in Devon whom I spoke with said that the cost of maintaining grounds, bins and toilets grew by 69% over the last four years. Given that schools’ bu…”

“I am grateful to the Joint Committee for this report. I note the Committee’s call for “more prompt and regular reviews by the Mental Health Tribunal.” The basis for that call is compliance with the individual’s right to liberty, but does the hon. Member agree that regular reviews by the tribunal are also in the interes…”

“I am grateful to the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee for this thorough set of proposals, and especially for the call for a greater role for Parliament. The Committee red, amber and green-rated its 20 proposals and marked as green the UK-EU security pact. Yet the Prime Minister’s spokesman admitted: “This is a…”

“My hon. Friend mentions Airband. Building Digital UK wrote to me last month to say that villages and premises had been de-scoped because Airband had withdrawn from the contract. Does she share my view that BDUK ought to find alternative providers that can fill the gap left by companies such as Airband when they give up…”