Speeches by Rushworth.

“Next month, railway enthusiasts from around the world will come to my constituency, where we will mark the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington railway, which took off from the town of Shildon. Will my right hon. Friend ask the Rail Minister to meet me and other MPs along that route to talk about how the Go…”

“3. What steps she is taking to help improve local bus services.”

“I thank the Minister for that answer. The cost of transport is a huge cost of living pressure for children and young people in my constituency who are trying to access education and social and leisure opportunities. What assurance can the Minister give me that the buses Bill will end a system in which bus services are …”

“You have slightly answered what I was going to ask, which is it sounds to me that what you are saying is that value for money is not defined in terms of poverty reduction. Obviously, the International Development Act says that the purpose of international aid is poverty reduction. If not poverty reduction, then what go…”

“Within that country?”

“Presumably, there is some theory of change that says that if we invest in education or if we invest in the private sector—”

“I thought you made a very powerful point about the economic benefits of saving lives and prolonging life and healthy life expectancy. First, with the Chair’s permission, could you share that data with us to go into this report? I think that was very helpful. I also wonder if you do any modelling looking at the macro le…”

“I do not know why the right hon. Lady keeps saying that. We have not voted on the policy yet. There was a vote against a motion that was put forward by the Opposition. It was a cynical motion that was designed to make us want to vote against it, because it was so ridiculous.”

“T9. I thank the Government for improving the pay and housing conditions of our armed forces. Bishop Auckland has turned out some excellent young men and women into the armed forces, many of whom first went through our brilliant volunteer-led cadet forces. Without wishing to pre-empt the strategic defence review, will t…”

“The hon. Member is making an excellent speech, but some of the farmers in my constituents are concerned that the Liberal Democrats have talked about a land tax and a wealth tax. Will she tell us how that would affect the farmers in her constituency and mine?”

“Will the right hon. Member give way?”

“There is absolutely nothing timid about what I am telling the right hon. Gentleman: farmers in my community were massively let down by the previous Government.”

“There are a variety of things that could be looked at. I met the NFU this morning and we discussed various points. I feel that these are all things that should be considered. I reiterate that I believe that the community I represent still has good will toward this Government and the intentions of this Government, but t…”

“I welcome that intervention. There are two areas in particular on which I think farmers in my constituency would like some answers. One is thresholds. Because the policy still keeps the 50% agricultural property relief, it does not actually close a tax loophole at all for the very wealthiest. My constituents would like…”

“I am here to speak up for the farmers in my constituency of Bishop Auckland, which is a Labour farming community. Farmers in my area are worried. They put their trust in us at the general election, and why did they do so? Because they had been so badly let down for 14 years and they knew that the previous Government co…”

“T5. Working-class boys in the north-east are being held back by an attainment gap, based on gender and income. The previous Government had no strategy for dealing with such attainment gaps. What will this Government do? Will the Minister commit to a strategy on this issue?”

“One of the biggest cost savings for children’s social care is kinship carers. These unsung heroes do a great deal to care for children, often in very difficult circumstances, but they often feel that the state is not there to support them in that work. Does my hon. Friend agree that more needs to be done to properly re…”

“I thank the Minister for highlighting the rise in the number of children in care. Will she acknowledge the link between the growing number of children in care and the effects of 14 years of austerity?”

“This is a slight departure from nutrition, but nutrition has a close relationship with immunisation. We know that children who are not immunised are more susceptible to disease, but so are children who are malnourished. There is concern in the donor community about the replenishment of Gavi. The understanding seems to …”

“I have two questions. The first is about the degree to which centrally managed programmes are making use of the knowledge of in-country staff. What do you do to ensure that that knowledge is being shared?”