Speeches by Witherden.

“I have been a very vocal critic of the Australia and New Zealand trade deals. It has been some time now, so I want to hear from the industry on that, please. I would like to hear from all witnesses, if time permits. How well has Welsh agriculture coped with increased competition from Australia and New Zealand?”

“Bringing Aled in on the same theme, how is the industry preparing for the increases in quotas of Australian and New Zealand beef and lamb imports that are allowed under these free trade agreements?”

“I would like to ask some really specific questions on APR. Only last week, Aled, Ian and I were at a meeting in my constituency in support of tenant farmers. It was not about APR, but at the end of the meeting, APR was still the main issue that my farming constituents wanted to discuss. I have a couple of questions, an…”

“Dominic has partially answered my follow-up question there, so I will go back to Aled and Gareth. What have you heard from your members about how these proposed changes could impact the long-term viability of succession planning of farming businesses?”

“It was a very good debate on APR, and I am really glad that we have had that, but I would now like to move on to another issue that I feel very strongly about, which is profitability and the stranglehold that supermarkets have on driving down farming profits. That is something we really need to work on. With farmers of…”

“Digging into the specifics, how would expanding the groceries supply code of practice to include the whole of the supply chain support farmers in Wales?”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention, which is easy for me to respond to—yes, I agree wholeheartedly. Since October 2023 there have been at least 14 shipments of military goods from the UK to Israel. Those include over 8,500 munitions, bombs, grenades, missiles, and 146 armoured vehicle parts. In October 2023 al…”

“That is something I will touch on later in my speech, but I also hope that we will be getting some answers on those exact points in due course. Between October and December 2024 this Labour Government approved £127.6 million in single-issue arms licences to Israel, which is more than the total approved from 2020 to 202…”

“I rise to speak about British arms and military cargo export controls—specifically, our exports to Israel amid one of the most devastating conflicts in modern memory. “It’s horrific. Gaza has become a slaughterhouse. That’s what it is: a slaughterhouse.” Those are the words of Tom Potokar, a British doctor working in K…”

“I am in especial agreement on the importance of preventing those things. I am very eager, as I am sure the hon. Member is, to hear from the Minister in relation to those comments. Let us turn to the Government’s own assessments. In the same hearing, it was revealed that by September ’24, Israel had launched tens of tho…”

“The hon. Member raises some really important points and I am in agreement with her intervention. When reviewing arms export licences to Israel, the UK must also consider violations across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the west bank, where Palestinians face home demolitions, forcible displacement and s…”

“I agree with the hon. Member that all countries have the right to defend themselves. I have condemned the vile events of 7 October in other places, and do so again here. All countries have the right to defend themselves, but no country has the right to commit war crimes. Despite the International Court of Justice’s rul…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I am very glad that the al-Mawasi attack has been mentioned and I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments he expressed. Freedom of information data reveals that the F-35 open general export licence was used 14 times to export to Israel in 2023—three times as much as in any …”

“More than 9 million people in the UK are not actively seeking work, with long-term illness cited as the single largest reason. Does the Minister agree that rather than penalising those who are sick or disabled, the Government should introduce a wealth tax to fund a genuine transformation of our public services, enablin…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott) for securing this vital debate. I want to speak about working people. My constituency of Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr has a proud industrial heritage. Some may claim th…”

“I would like to question Mr Banton and Ms De Longhi. I will start with Mr Banton. With recent funding commitments to address coal tips and with the Disused Mine and Quarry Tips (Wales) Bill passing through the Senedd, how confident are you that the problem of coal tip safety will be resolved?”

“My question is also for Ms Luff. You have identified a particular concern with forever chemicals, such as PCBs, dumped in landfill sites, former quarries and old chemical plant sites. How prevalent is this problem across former industrial sites in Wales? Are we fully aware of the extent of the problem?”

“Ms De Longhi, is there enough expertise in local authorities to address coal tip safety?”

“Finally, do local authorities have the capacity and the expertise to address coal tip safety?”

“Following on from that, how long will it take for communities living near dangerous coal tips to be certain of their safety? In my own constituency, we have the Bersham Colliery spoil tip near Rhostyllen, which was the last coal mine in north Wales to close. That was one that was originally designated as safe. It took …”