Speeches by Smith.

“I want to put on the record my gratitude for the leadership that the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have shown on this issue as it evolves. Does she share my confusion about why Members of this House who claim to be patriots would join a party that blames NATO for starting the Ukraine war, that has a leader w…”

“Minister, do you also want to respond?”

“Getting this right is key to building the trust of the communities where these places will be. Unfortunately, we could probably go around every single member on this Committee who would have an example of where a smaller development has not delivered on that, that the commitment to social infrastructure was not there, …”

“Sarah Smith, MP for Hyndburn.”

“Sir Michael, in your report it was clear the importance you placed on placemaking in these new towns. Would you agree that there is an inherent tension between having ambitious house-building targets and the aspirations for the high-quality aspect of these new settlements you want to see built?”

“Minister, I saw you shaking your head when I suggested that perhaps those two things were in tension—”

“On the specifics you outlined around the environmental standards within these new towns, do you believe that, given the exemplar nature of what we want these developments to be, there needs to be higher environmental standards than currently provided?”

“Focusing specifically on the environmental sustainability requirements that have been outlined by the taskforce, if the new towns are to be these exemplar developments, should they be required to meet higher environmental standards than what might currently be the norm? I am happy for that to be the Minister or someone…”

“The family of my constituent Jay Slater, who tragically lost his life last summer, have been subject to the most horrendous harassment and misinformation online while grieving their son. Sadly, it does not appear to be an isolated case, and there is evidence of the same content creators targeting multiple victims throu…”

“3. What steps she is taking to help tackle online harassment.”

“And that is because of the regulation. It really surprises me—shocks me, I think—that we have had these boards overseeing these organisations and not making the right decision. It has taken so much pressure and so much regulation to drive the point that if they have to choose a priority, the right call is to first make…”

“To continue your analogy—I recognise that the councils in the room are taking some of this action—if you had a group of GPs who were not referring anybody for an operation, you would ask some questions about whether they were assessing the needs of their patients effectively. What barriers are preventing some councils—…”

“The Guardian recently reported that two thirds of councils in England had not prosecuted a single landlord in the past three years. Hearing some of what you have said so far, I think we are starting to get a bit of a picture as to why that might be, but I want to know what your own experiences of your own councils have…”

“That is a real change from where we were in the 2010s.”

“Looking forward over the next decade, how worried are you that pressures to increase the supply and try to increase the standards are going to come into conflict, and that we might see one over the other?”

“About 38% of children in my constituency are sadly growing up in poverty. This Government are committed to ensuring the best start in life for all children, so in addition to the increase in mental health support teams in schools, does the NHS workforce plan currently address the vital need for trained specialist commu…”

“You said the difference is that previously these organisations were making a margin of 25% to 30%, and now they are down to 15%. Would you agree that a better approach over the last decade would have been to agree as a board of directors on, say, 20%, in order to be able to do that investment along the way, and to do t…”

“I am Sarah Smith, the Member of Parliament for Hyndburn. I also declare an interest as a landlord.”

“Building on what Andrew has just been asking about, lenders are now offering a much wider range of mortgage products than in previous years and many have targeted designs at first-time buyers. Do you think this is benefiting borrowers, and is there any risk in this direction of travel that we see a repeat of what happe…”

“I welcome the news of the UN security resolution passed last night, the establishment of the international stabilisation force and the arrangements that will follow for the board of peace and the Palestinian committee. With a record 260 Israeli settler attacks on the west bank taking place in October alone, does the Fo…”