Speeches by Ballinger.

“I want to come back to the funding point and your comparison about the small amount of funding that comes into grassroots organisations compared with Northern Ireland. Where does that money come from? We also heard from Robi earlier that the American pause in US aid funding could have a big impact. What sort of impact …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your premier chairmanship, Sir John. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) for calling this important debate and for her passionate speech. It is fantastic to hear from both the victims and the perpetrators of these crimes. As the MP for Halesowen, I am all …”

“So it is just the loan; it is not the rest of the business causing that uncertainty.”

“It is good to meet you again, Scott. Just sticking to the loans, part of that cost was used for your transformation programme. Could you tell us a bit more about how successful that has been and how the loan contributed to progress there?”

“Lots of cost savings have been generated by the transformation and the outsourcing, but your last set of accounts, for the year ending March ’23, said that there was “material uncertainty” over whether the British Council would be able to survive financially. How much of that is about the ambiguity about the repayment …”

“I completely agree that the lack of funding for local authority playgrounds over the last 14 years has been catastrophic. In my constituency, we have had to rely on central Government funding to renovate playgrounds, in particular Haden Hill Park, next to Old Hill cricket ground. It is fantastic that we have been able …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I thank the hon. Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) for organising the debate. I am sure we can all agree that creative arts play a unique and invaluable role in enhancing the wellbeing and education of our young people. The evidence is clear: partic…”

“The hon. and learned Member talks about the Good Friday agreement. Why does his Bill not guarantee that the institutions of the agreement have powers, and why is he happy to put those with UK Government Ministers, unlike the existing arrangements under the Windsor framework?”

“I thank the hon. and learned Gentleman for introducing this debate. He is talking about the democratic deficit; is it not right that the Northern Ireland Assembly will be debating consenting to the procedures on 10 December, and are we not pre-empting that debate by holding this debate here now?”

“Will the hon. and learned Gentleman give way?”

“After 14 years of repeated broken promises, it is hardly surprising that many people are distrustful of politicians and the ability of government to do anything positive. Does the Minister agree that in setting out a clear plan for change, the Government are offering the British people not just the hope of a better fut…”

“I join my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) in congratulating all the voluntary groups receiving the King’s award for voluntary service during the King’s birthday celebrations this year. I want to pick out Halesowen in Bloom, a fantastic community organisation in my constituency that has been …”

“I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for organising this important debate. From the many examples he has given from his long time spent fighting for religious freedom in Pakistan and for Christians around the world, I can see that this is something he cares deeply about, and it is important that we are …”

“I welcome the 1p reduction in tax on beer. I have spoken to many businesses in my constituency’s hospitality sector, including many pubs, that are happy with this measure, which they hope will increase the footfall in our town centres and in their businesses. I am also delighted that the Budget confirmed £20 million of…”

“It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett), who gave a wonderful maiden speech. I am sure that her daughter Lillian will look on her as a lovely role model as she moves forward. Earlier this month, we witnessed an historic moment as the first ever female Chancellor deli…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for mentioning carers. I was also really pleased to see in the Budget an increase in the carer’s allowance eligibility limit to £196 a week, which will allow many carers to work longer and earn more money before their allowance is withdrawn. Does he welcome that commitment, which shows the real c…”

“The right hon. Gentleman will have noticed that we reached record NHS waiting lists under the last Government, more than 7 million people waiting and many of my constituents waiting over two years. If he thinks the investment in the NHS by the last Government was enough, he is completely wrong. Our roads are literally …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for organising this debate on such an important subject. In my constituency, Foxcote Lane is regularly used by fly-tippers to dump fridges, building waste and all sorts of other detritus. We think that is appalling—absolutely awful—and I welcome the Home Secretary’s move on respect orders to tack…”

“5. What steps his Department is taking to help increase levels of innovation in the Black Country.”

“It is a pleasure to have heard the beautiful maiden speech of my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth), whose father must be really proud. It is excellent to hear the details of the Bill, but Russia’s continued assault on Ukraine is absolutely terrifying. We must not buy into a narrative of peace …”