Speeches by Hall.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. When I come to Parliament, I try to bring my constituents with me—not just their names on a petition, but their views, experiences and the reality of life on their streets. In shaping my contribution to this debate, I asked constituents to share their though…”

“I agree, and I think this needs to be considered in the round. If regulations are put in place, funding will absolutely be needed to fill the gap. For too many people, fireworks no longer mean celebration; they mean disruption and nights without sleep. This debate is not about banning joy; it is about listening careful…”

“It is also important to have one set of guidance that everybody follows.”

“Good afternoon. I want to look at the number of people who are dying in hospitals at the moment. We know that the demand for palliative and end-of-life care in community settings is increasing. What is being done to reduce the number of people dying in hospitals, and to support the greater number of people who wish to …”

“Obviously, there is a lot of variation at the moment. Does having one set of guidance, which they all adhere to—”

“Do you agree that, at the moment, there seems to be a lack of oversight? Do you think it is important to have that national accountability, which does not really exist, to ensure equitable access?”

“Would you say that you are aware of where the gaps in provision are at the moment?”

“Going back to the data, which I know we will expand on later, there is a need to improve data collection and understanding, because we have a limited idea of activity, equality and spending in community services more broadly. We talk about that statutory service or provision, but how do we know that people are getting …”

“I want to ask a question about inequality of access to palliative and end-of-life care. We know that there are significant inequalities in access, based on geography, conditions or just the affluence or deprivation of an area and whether there is a charitable hospice that is able to raise the funds needed for it to exi…”

“You can have those honest conversations.”

“I have read quite a lot about workforce shortages. Is there a plan for tackling some of this to make sure you have the right people in place to do the jobs?”

“Given the challenges that this is going to bring, are you confident that ICBs have that knowledge? It is not just a question of funding, is it? It is things like the way in which services are currently organised and, as you said, the co-ordination that maybe is not happening, or the communication so that families know …”

“I absolutely agree. Some neurodiverse people would describe it as a superpower; some do not like that term, but there are so many wonderful assets and abilities that we in the neurodiverse community have. If only we were given a chance, we could make a real difference and be fantastic in whatever we choose to do. Recru…”

“I absolutely agree with the hon. Member. I am passionate about inclusion in the workplace and for children in schools. I would be happy to work with him on driving that forward. The response to my constituent was not inclusion, but exclusion, and it shows how neurodivergent women can be pushed out of work at exactly th…”

“I agree, and I will come on to that point in my asks of the Minister. Something that I hear repeatedly from constituents is the lack of consistency around reasonable adjustments. Support agreed with one manager often disappears when roles change, teams move or a restructure happens. People are forced to re-explain them…”

“I could not agree more. I will come on to some of the work that GMB, Unison and USDAW—the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers— are doing in this area. The barriers that I mentioned are what disable people. Too often, neurodiversity is still approached through the medical model of disability, focusing on what…”

“I thank the hon. Member for his intervention; I absolutely agree. I echo his comments about the fantastic work that is being done in Northern Ireland on inclusion, and I am sure that the Minister will address the points he made in her closing remarks. It is also important to say this clearly: not all neurodivergent peo…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered neurodiversity in the workplace. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. Neurodiversity is still too often misunderstood, overlooked or treated as a marginal issue, when in reality it affects millions of people across our workforce, across every sector and…”

“I could not agree more. My hon. Friend makes a very good point. Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found that one in five neurodivergent workers have experienced harassment or discrimination at work because of their neurodivergence.”

“I agree and feel that the hon. Member is describing me a little bit in that. So yes, I absolutely agree with that characterisation. Just as concerning is the fact that nearly a third of neurodivergent workers have not told their manager or HR department at all, not because they do not need support, but because they fea…”