Speeches by Rushworth.

“In the context of constrained funding, it none the less remains a strategic priority; there has not been a change of direction?”

“In terms of certainty for stakeholders, could they be encouraged by your answer that Patrick loves it?”

“I have two questions. One is about the Ayrton fund, which is currently funded until March 2026. How do the Government plan to ensure continuity of funding and momentum after this date?”

“We have done a whole report on it, haven’t we?”

“It touches a lot of SDGs with one package of delivery, does it not?”

“It was about mainstreaming energy access across strategy and programming.”

“This is in two parts, and I will ask them both at once just for speed. The question is about whether the UK could be doing more to mainstream energy access across its strategy and programming. With regards to value for money, to what extent do value for money frameworks capture the multiple and cross-cutting benefits o…”

“Our soft power.”

“Another example of this—albeit historic—is that UKRI used to have programmes where certain research funding required a global south partner. This was one of the ways that the UK exchanged knowledge and built the research and innovation capacity in the global south. I wonder whether that is something you feel was a succ…”

“Are there British companies involved in that process of knowledge transfer and capacity building?”

“How does the UK ensure that its work with the private sector is carried out in a way that is sensitive to local communities?”

“Do the Government see any role for ODA in delivering community energy?”

“I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests—like most Labour Members, I am proud to be supported by trade unions. Others have mentioned the absence of Reform Members from this debate, and of course we know why they are not here: they do not support the measures in the Employ…”

“Does the shadow Minister understand the difference between fair dismissal and unfair dismissal?”

“The Bill absolutely will do so. I remember speaking to a young couple when I was canvassing 12 years ago. The young woman had just had a baby, but because she was on a zero-hours contract, she was unable to get the maternity rights to which she was otherwise entitled. Her young partner, who likewise was on a zero-hours…”

“My hon. Friend raises an excellent point. Another great provision in the Bill is that right to sick pay, which is so important and would have been so important for many care workers during the pandemic. In my mind’s eye are those women sitting at that bus stop in the cold. Two other people I met who were also care work…”

“It will, absolutely. We should not have people working in those kinds of conditions and that sort of poverty in 2025.”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that the Conservatives bequeathed us an economy in which more and more people were moving out of work and becoming long-term sick? A lot of that sickness was driven by mental health disorders— in particular, anxiety, worry and stress, which are driven by an insecure labour market. Does he also…”

“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. That is what the Bill speaks to. There is a power gap between the ordinary working person who does not necessarily know their rights and is unable to assert them, and the sort of person who, for example, might buy a house in their girlfriend’s name. I will progress. I also oppose…”

“There is a difference. My hon. Friend is an expert in this field, having come to us from USDAW, and I know that those who worked on the Bill will have thought this through carefully. It certainly chimes with my experience. People should not need to have to request and assert their rights; they should be given those rig…”