Speeches by Smith.

“Sarah Smith, Member of Parliament for Hyndburn.”

“Would expansion of Government support like the children’s social care prevention grant help to address the increasing demand for services in the longer term?”

“I assume it is also dependent on philanthropic funding through the voluntary sector, where how much is raised is potentially dependent on the wealth of an area.”

“Crime in Hyndburn and Haslingden is currently out of control. Robbery has skyrocketed in my constituency by 75% in the past year, which is far worse than the already shocking 17% increase that we have seen across Lancashire. Shoplifting has soared by 70%, which, again, is significantly worse than the 23% rise across th…”

“Permanent exclusion from primary school should be an almost non-existent occurrence. Any primary-age pupils exhibiting difficult behaviours should undertake diagnosis for SEND, and best efforts should be made to understand any trauma that the child may have suffered. What is the Minister doing to ensure that we build a…”

“I completely agree with my hon. Friend. It is encouraging to see so many Labour Members in the Chamber who share the responsibility for ensuring that we do not stay silent on the issues that matter the most. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act remains hugely concerning, given that it gives the Indian security forces de…”

“I do agree—that is very important—and I will get to that shortly. Human Rights Watch has stated that the Indian Government have not fully restored freedom of speech and association since the revocation of article 370 of the constitution in Jammu and Kashmir. It said in its July 2024 report: “The Indian security forces …”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for human rights in Jammu and Kashmir. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairwomanship, Dr Allin-Khan. I am very pleased to have secured this important debate on the Government’s support for human rights in Jammu and Kashmir, and I would like to thank…”

“I believe that, back in 2016 in the Farmer review, it described the training model for the sector as quite dysfunctional. I was just interested in your views as to how much, if to any extent, things have improved in the nine years since that was published, or whether you would say it was still a similar situation.”

“This is mainly for Victoria and Muyiwa. How concerned are you about the removal of some of the level 7 apprenticeships from the scope of levy funding? What might the impact of that be? What can the Government do to support the training and development of professionals in both the planning and architectural professions?”

“Does anyone else want to come in on that?”

“In terms of that simplification, are there any examples? Maybe these are some of the conversations you are having with the DFE right now. Where are those really specific barriers for small and medium?”

“There has been significant differentiation and underspend, if you like, between what the sector has been putting into the apprenticeship levy and what has been invested into apprenticeships. Would you like to speak further about reforms that might be needed to the funding to also support the changes that you are talkin…”

“I am Sarah Smith, Member of Parliament for Hyndburn.”

“To build on that, the most common issue that we hear from parents and parent carers across the system is that we need to find ways to remove the adversarial nature that it has become. What we hear from parents and parent carers is that they feel that they are knocking on all these different doors. They must try to get …”

“If we were to face into the quite catastrophic situation of the statutory override ending in March 2026, what protections could or should be put in place to ensure that SEND children and their families would continue to receive the support they are entitled to if local authorities were issuing section 114s?”

“On that point, I want to emphasise that the parents and carers who I speak to in Hyndburn and Haslingden are bruised and burnt out—my hon. Friend talked about the constant fight and the adversarial nature of the system. I also keep hearing concerns from the parents and teachers in the system about some fear around the …”

“You have all expressed the deep concern about the apathy and disengagement from the democratic process that we are currently witnessing. Why do people feel so disengaged? That is an open question.”

“You did not mention the role of social media and how that is part of the picture we now find ourselves in. To what extent is there the impact of trade unions and, linked to that, the issue of working-class MPs?”

“How do you think we can improve levels of voter registration specifically and broaden democratic engagement, particularly among those who are less likely to register? As we hear, it is an across-the-board question now. I will leave it open to you.”