Speeches by Opher.

“Will the Secretary of State give way?”

“I will keep this short, because many of my points have already been made. I think that there are two main problems. The first is about priority for our medical graduates. To be honest, I was a little bit surprised when, about a year ago, I found out that they are not prioritised. That clearly is not reciprocated around…”

“I commend the speed with which my right hon. Friend has brought this legislation to Parliament. I have been a GP trainer for 25 years. Fifty per cent of GP trainees are international medical graduates, and there has been some disquiet from them. Will he reassure our international medical graduates that they are welcome…”

“T9. In Stroud, we have secured £90,000 in funding for a scheme that places employment social prescribers and occupational therapists into GP practices. They support people who are out of work and in receipt of benefits to return to employment, improving their health and reducing their reliance on welfare. Will the Mini…”

“I thank the Minister and all those who spoke and brought their fantastic experience of this really difficult problem. Let me say two very simple things. We need to imprint on healthcare workers the idea “Think domestic abuse”, so that we do not miss it. If someone presents, we must have in the back of our minds the que…”

“I know that my hon. Friend is invested in trying to help women subject to domestic abuse. Coercive control is very important as it often stops women presenting to healthcare workers. As I have said before, one key thing as a clinician is that we have to be brave and ask the man to step out so that it is possible to hav…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the role of the NHS in preventing domestic homicides and domestic abuse-related deaths. It is a pleasure to serve under you, Sir John. I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for giving me the opportunity to open a debate on the role of the NHS in preventing domes…”

“I am a bit surprised by the mock rage coming from the Opposition, given that, over the past decade and a half, thousands of pubs have closed. I thank the Minister on behalf of Stroud publicans for agreeing to review the system so that we can get a really practical solution for pubs. Can I confirm that all business rate…”

“In Stroud, we have 4,000 council houses; we need at least double that. Will the Minister look again at the constraints that councils are under and see whether the Government can enable them to build more council houses?”

“I will be very brief. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) for securing this fascinating debate. All play is therapeutic, and I emphasise that the Government have put £18 million into new playgrounds. My constituent Tom Williams is a proponent of adventure play, which is incredibly good…”

“On international medical graduates, I commend the Secretary of State. It is something we have discussed in the past, and bringing forward emergency legislation is absolutely crucial here, so I thank him for that. I also want to mention trainers in the NHS. I can reassure the Conservatives that we will make this happen.…”

“It is interesting that creativity is particularly important for children with special educational needs. Indeed, there is some evidence that including creativity can actually make them attend school on a more regular basis. I have visited loads of schools in Stroud over the last 18 months, and one common theme has been…”

“I totally agree. In fact, there is evidence that creativity outside is even more effective for people than inside. This is clearly about access to natural spaces. I am chair of the all-party parliamentary group on creative health. There is really strong evidence that creativity reduces mental health problems in childre…”

“I know that my hon. Friend is incredibly supportive of the developments in Reading. I commend him on that. Because I am a scientist, I thought I could provide some reasoning on why the creative arts can help. They help on three different fronts. Biologically, they can influence physiological symptoms of anxiety—they re…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered creative education in schools. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I welcome the Government’s curriculum and assessment review, which recognises the need for a broad and balanced curriculum and recommends the removal of the English baccalaureate, a…”

“I thank the Chancellor for investing in our community care. In Stroud, the two beating hearts of our community—GP surgeries and our village pubs—reduce social isolation. Today, the publicans are meeting at Stroud Brewery to discuss the impacts of business rates. May I invite the Minister to discuss how we can help our …”

“19. What fiscal steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support patients in the NHS.”

“That is very true, and it comes back to the capabilities and confidence of the teachers, particularly in smaller schools. My children all went to smaller schools and they were lucky to have an inspirational music leader, but not every school has one. We can go further; we could have a world-class curriculum, but it can…”

“My hon. Friend has made exactly the point I was coming to about the role of music hubs. There are 43 music hubs in the UK, delivering something like half a million lessons and interventions up and down the country. Their reach is incredible, taking in about 90% of schools, although there is an issue in that they someti…”

“I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require the Secretary of State to issue a call for evidence relating to the promotion and funding of the installation of domestic energy efficiency measures; to require the Secretary of State to publish a response to the evidence received; and for connected purpo…”