Speeches by Edwards.

“Have you asked the Government to change any elements of their approach? You alluded to looking at and encouraging the deployment. Are there other aspects to those conversations or things that you have said to Government in terms of, “This is the kind of movement that we’d need, or this is what we’d like to see.”?”

“You said there were 500-odd containers at Felixstowe. We have data from 2022-23 that says 49% of consignments examined—so almost 250—had unsafe products in them, including toys, electrical goods and e-scooters.”

“I was going to ask you about that, so well done.”

“Would it ordinarily be trading standards that has to go in and look at these things? Do you go into warehouses? Do you walk into Amazon warehouses and test things there, or is it mainly at the ports? Is that where this happens? Where in the process do you try to intervene?”

“I was going to ask whether the Product Regulation and Metrology Act has given enough powers to the Secretary of State?”

“I am particularly interested in exactly what you are describing. We have high streets that are dying at the moment, but thank you very much to trading standards for the work that you are doing—two vape shops in my area have closed in recent weeks. However, as the high street dies, we get the online giants coming in. We…”

“Two weeks ago, I held a roundtable for hospitality businesses in Tamworth to discuss the broken business rates system, and I then wrote to the Department about their preferences for support. The rates are crippling, and those businesses asked me to ask the Minister when reform is coming and how they will receive suppor…”

“I am so glad that we are having this important debate, because my constituents have contacted me to say how concerned they are about the decibels issue. The hon. Lady’s proposal to limit displays to a certain number of days a year, which everybody can plan around, is important, and we should consider whether silent fir…”

“Julian, are there any solutions in other countries? Switzerland has a slightly different method. That is something that we could look at adopting, with some tweaks. What is your experience? Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Is there something that you would like to copy?”

“You are confident, but it will not be any time soon.”

“Thank you for clarifying. We are all quite interested in how we can move this situation into something that might hopefully work, because it is not sounding like it works. Toby, you have just described 26 red stamps all over your paperwork. That seems distinctly analogue. We should be moving, I would have hoped, to a d…”

“Is there any inkling as to when we might be rejoining it? Have you heard anything on the grapevine about making sure that we can re-enter the electricity trading element?”

“Matt, I am quite interested in the current challenges that we have around the cost of energy in the UK. Could you describe the current situation that we have? Can you help us to understand the costs that we are currently having to pay on the basis that we left the internal electricity market that the EU currently opera…”

“We have just heard that there is a lot of red tape and there are quite a number of red stamps. We now have red lines and negotiations. We have a patchwork of product regulations and requirements that, quite frankly, we need to smooth out somehow. We have conformity assessments being called for by Make UK and the Britis…”

“Alastair, I just wanted to come back to a point that you made. You represent road haulage firms across the whole of the United Kingdom, and they are responsible for moving goods across this country—import and export. You are saying that you have never had a conversation, in your memory, with the Department for Business…”

“That is very helpful.”

“With your permission, Chair, I would like to revisit something that was just mentioned.”

“It was targeted, rather than a blanket approach of checking everything.”

“Happy new year, Mr Speaker. Access to a local GP is vital for every community, and residents in Shenstone and Stonnall are rightly concerned about a consultation that proposes reducing services at Westgate surgery from five days a week to three. That raises concerns about the long-term future of the practice, and risks…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and happy new year. Although I welcome the road safety strategy, it sadly ignores school minibus safety, despite my raising this issue with the Department last year. I have been campaigning with my constituents Liz and Steve Fitzgerald since 2023, following the tragic loss of their daug…”