Speeches by Foord.

“While the hon. Lady is talking about the south-west of England, I would hate for her to forget Axminster, which still has a flourishing carpet maker, but it does not have quite the same level of employment that it did in its heyday. Does she agree that Government can help by investing in superfast broadband, given that…”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Western. In eastern and mid Devon, we have many ordinary medium-sized and small businesses, but they are facing extraordinary barriers, including being held back by a lack of reliable broadband in rural areas. I appreciate that that is not in the Minister’s brief, but…”

“People in East Devon have been told that they must now travel to Exeter for audiology services that they previously received at their local community hospital. What steps are the Government taking to encourage new providers to restore accessible audiology services?”

“Is it possible that those healthcare workers are being indirectly targeted rather than directly targeted? Is it possible that they are—I hate this euphemism—collateral damage in an attack on sick or wounded combatants who are no longer taking part in the hostilities?”

“I would like to ask about the targeting of hospitals by the IDF. Rohan, I wonder whether I can direct this question to you. It is about international humanitarian law and the protected status of hospitals. You will know that, under international humanitarian law, a hospital loses its protection if so-called “acts harmf…”

“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 support the Foreign Secretary in his call for de-escalation. In April last year, the RAF participated in the shooting down of drones that Iran fired at Israel. Will the Foreign Secretary comment on why the UK acted to defend Israel from drone attack at that time, but did not do so at the weekend?”

“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 …”

“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.”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“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?…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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?”

“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…”

“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?”