Speeches by Darling.

“Thank you. I did ask at the beginning whether there is a dichotomy between rural and urban, because in your introduction you did talk about your patch covering rural and urban. Is there any of that, or is it mostly just that inner-city Plymouth is a challenge?”

“Thank you. It was good to have a brief chat with you outside this room, and thank you for trekking up here. Clearly Plymouth is very urban; equally, there is that level of rurality. It would be helpful if you could unpack that pensioner poverty and that dichotomy that may well exist between urban and rural pensioner po…”

“A significant part of my question was around winter fuel, but it has already been picked up by the previous colleague, so I will leave my question as it has now been covered.”

“We have lots of question, but if you can be brief, I am sure it will be helpful.”

“I am sure colleagues would have found your focus on frailty helpful. The impact on the health service and social care is probably a bit of a given from what you were describing, but Professor Marmot was highlighting the opportunities of the voluntary sector. Can you unpack that a bit? Not too far away, my constituents …”

“I concur strongly with the right hon. Gentleman. Also of core concern to us is the lowering of the bar for being able to take money out of people’s bank accounts, and the opportunity to withdraw driving licences from offenders. However, as colleagues have said, the best practice document is missing. That was alluded to…”

“I start by assuring the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) that my office has talked me out of mentioning the Waitrose cheesecake that was a hot topic throughout Committee. On a more serious note, I would like to explore the challenges in the Bill. As we have heard, fraud can only be a bad thing, as it ro…”

“I was horrified when I became aware that dogs could still be force-fed pesticides as part of these proposals. Does the hon. Lady agree that what we need from the Government today—I hope we will hear this from the Minister—is clear dates for an end to testing on dogs and all animals?”

“This weekend, I will join with the Ukrainian community in Torbay to mourn the sad loss of a Ukrainian national who has died far from home. Almost 20,000 children have been stolen by the barbaric Putin regime; can the Minister advise the Chamber on what practical steps the Government are taking to get those children hom…”

“May I also wish those in the Chamber a happy St George’s day? After a cost of living crisis overseen by the chaotic Conservative Government, many in the tourist industry in Torbay believed that they had weathered the storm, as did those in Devon and Cornwall. However, many in the tourist industry in Torbay fear that th…”

“Over Easter in Torbay, we had five sewage spills according to the Surfers Against Sewage app. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is extremely disappointing to say the least that, rather than colleagues just getting their cossie and towel to go swimming at their favourite swimming spot, they must now also check the sewag…”

“Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 23 April.”

“I strongly agree with my hon. Friend that this wrong-headed approach needs urgent review. In Paignton, there are threats to the long-term delivery of ambulance services, which would add delays to communities getting support. Perhaps the biggest threat is a financial one. Down in Plymouth, £60 million of cuts to health …”

“Torbay hospital is very much a family affair for me. My wife has worked there for more years than she would let me admit in this Chamber and my son is now a registrar there, so I thought I knew the hospital quite well until I was elected, and then the chief executive of Torbay and South Devon NHS foundation trust opene…”

“I would like you to take a trip down memory lane with me to when DLA was introduced and then transferred, or reformed, I should say, into PIP. I would welcome your reflections on how these benefits have impacted people with disabilities and also on the transition from DLA to PIP. Was that a bumpy ride or was it a posit…”

“Can you unpack the stuff you referred to that other countries do?”

“I would be grateful if Professor Ben would unpack a little further where there has been root-and-branch reform of a system on a large scale. What should we be looking at as a Select Committee to understand what that can look like in a good or a bad form?”

“There was an element where I was asking about how PIP is used to good effect. Is somebody able to unpack that a little bit? That would be helpful.”

“It was really helpful. Thank you.”

“Thank you. Any further reflections?”