Speeches by Huq.

“Okay, so as Diana Ross said, I am still waiting.”

“T5. My constituent Charlie Vernon was happily benefiting from the Access to Work scheme until redundancy. He found a new job and did a fresh application last autumn, but since then, well beyond the 24-week timeframe, there has been nothing. Will my right hon. Friend look into these sorts of delays and have a more joine…”

“My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech about this very complex condition. He mentioned Rory Cellan-Jones, who is well known as a BBC technology correspondent and, as the person who houses Sophie from Romania, a famous dog lover. He is my constituent in Ealing. I totally agree with my hon. Friend; the “Movers and Sh…”

“The hon. Gentleman, who always speaks with such compassion and conviction, is making a powerful case. One of the worst examples is the detention of Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijan. They have not broken any criminal code, as he says; they are public servants held for political purposes, with no clear legal redre…”

“Thank you, Mr Stuart. Residential estate management companies are middlemen who sort things out per the lease—or notorious scammers, as our constituents call them. A few weeks ago, residents in Western Circus in east Acton were left without running water—a basic human right—between Friday and Wednesday, so for nearly a…”

“The Conservatives left legal aid in a mess, like so many other things, so I welcome the sums the Minister is announcing, but can she assure me that the money will reach Ealing? We have never even had a citizens advice bureau—not in the 10 years I have been the MP, and not in the 50 years I have been on the planet—to re…”

“18. What steps she is taking to increase the provision of legal aid services.”

“My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Was it not one of the most heartbreaking things that all of us in the House have seen when Christmas was cancelled in Jesus’s birthplace last year? We have seen the persecution in Palestine, and in Gaza what has happened to some of the most sacred sites in Christianity, wit…”

“I welcome the Chancellor’s “build, build, build” policy, but with temporary housing in London costing £4 million a day, soaring rents and a frozen local housing allowance, it is no wonder that London councils fear going bankrupt and having to rehouse people from outside the capital, where only 5% of homes are affordabl…”

“4. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase the affordability of new homes.”

“You look too young!”

“My hon. Friend makes a brilliant case for access to sport. I could challenge him on his last claim, but he is such a doughty champion for Harlow, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham), who brought us together for the debate. Does he agree that sometimes school sport can fall off when we talk…”

“Since Hamas’s war crimes of 7 October, we have seen multiple flagrant breaches of the rules of the international order. This week, 15 Palestinian paramedic Red Crescent workers were found in a mass grave alongside their abandoned emergency vehicle. That comes on top of a four-week total aid blockade. What are our red l…”

“Is it different for different sports? We have Trailfinders rugby in Ealing, and they have had difficulties going up a league because their facilities are not good enough. However, they also think that people perceive rugby to be a bit of an elitist public school thing. Could different sports do stuff because everything…”

“A structured training route, that sort of stuff.”

“Yes. We discussed “Bend It Like Beckham” in the context of film on this Committee. That is a good 20-something years ago. If those people can now coach—”

“Yes—if you have nice parents that can drive you all around the country. It is socioeconomic, as well as about ethnicity.”

“Related to that—I think you have answered this a bit—you said that all the research shows that the number of volunteers is shrinking, but also that they are a narrow category of people anyway, from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. Sarah, you said it was very un-diverse. Do you have any other ideas for getting in a wid…”

“I think you were all there when I asked this same question to the panel before. Figures from London Sport show that there is a lack of diversity in the volunteer workforce. What changes would you request of Government to get a wider range of people involved in coaching and that kind of thing?”

“Yes—if you have nice parents that can drive you all around the country. It is socioeconomic, as well as about ethnicity.”