Speeches by Smith.

“There is a huge need for greater transparency; would you consider making publicly available the tracker that I believe is in use in the Department?”

“Why do you think there has been such a delay in bringing it forward? Why haven’t the Government already committed to introducing it?”

“Obviously this issue has been back in the news in the last couple of days; that is linked to what I am about to ask. When will the Government make a decision on whether to introduce a national oversight mechanism for overseeing the implementation of recommendations from public inquiries? I ask because the Committee has…”

“13. What steps he is taking to ensure special educational and disability needs are met by the NHS.”

“As the Minister is aware, last year we faced the devastating closure of the Accrington Victoria hospital after 14 years of mismanagement by the Conservative party. I place on record my thanks to the frontline staff who have managed that transition and the operational challenges to relocate services, but sadly a fully p…”

“In recent days, nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured, and once again, many more are being displaced. The humanitarian situation is getting worse in Gaza, as Israel refuses to let through the aid trucks. The crossings have been closed for 18 continuous days, which is surely a breach of international law…”

“It is a privilege to stand again in support of the Bill. If we are to improve our school system for the benefit of all children, regardless of their background or educational needs, their welfare and interests need to be at the heart of any reform. Opposition Members’ suggestions that that cannot be done without sacrif…”

“Last week, my constituent Ellie, who is visually impaired, visited the local jobcentre, but as a full-time student seeking part-time work, she was belittled, spoken over and told that she could not get help because she was on PIP, not on UC. She left feeling devastated by that experience. Can the Secretary of State rea…”

“rose—”

“Under the current system, a third of our children leave school without the basic qualifications to succeed in life, so does the right hon. Gentleman not agree that that shows that the current system is failing and needs change? Furthermore, in the communities with the most disadvantaged—I mean those outside of London—t…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way once again. In my most recent conversation with a group of my headteachers, not one of them raised concerns about this section of the Bill and the reforms. For them, the question of academisation and how the amendments have been made will not limit them in their capabilit…”

“I absolutely agree. We look forward to what is going to happen on that, and particularly to what we will do to tackle those challenges and ensure that we offer truly inclusive settings and that the needs of every child are at the centre of all the decisions that we take. I look forward to working with colleagues and di…”

“I am the MP in Hyndburn.”

“Moving on to discuss in a bit more detail the Phase 2 recommendations for Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council. Does the panel think that the implementation of those recommendations on resilience would ensure that if there was a future disaster on the sort of scale that we saw in Grenfell, there would be a bet…”

“Guidance is due to be published on identifying and supporting vulnerable people. Before we move on, I was interested to know whether there is anything specific that you want to see in that guidance coming forward from the Government.”

“There are currently thousands of disabled children and adults across the country, including in Hyndburn and Haslingden, who cannot access their childhood tax funds. How is the Minister working to address this issue with the Ministry of Justice to help families to gain quick and easy access to these funds? Will he give …”

“I will try to keep my remarks brief as I am keen that other colleagues get to speak in this important debate. As we have heard, rare cancers are defined as those that affect fewer than one in 2,000 individuals; in Hyndburn, that equates to an estimated 1,500 people being impacted. Behind every number is a story, as we …”

“Before the hon. Gentleman moves on from Natural England, in my constituency we have got a huge problem with the Whinney Hill tip, which Natural England and the Environment Agency are both heavily involved in. My residents face horrendous issues with gulls, the stink and many other challenges from that tip, but we have …”

“Let us move on to the importance of preventative services. Have your councils had to make cuts to discretionary preventative services? What long-term impacts has this caused?”

“Before I move on to some questions around preventative services, I want to understand the views of the panel on the decision to discontinue the safety valve agreements with regard to the high needs block.”