Speeches by Bennett.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for securing this important debate, and for setting out why this issue matters. Three years ago, the country watched in disbelief as P&O Ferries carried out one of the most disgraceful attacks on wor…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that reassurance. An issue too often overlooked while talking about seafarers is their mental health, as the right hon. Gentleman drew to our attention in his contribution. We know that life at sea can be tough, isolating, demanding and physically and psychologically draining: long …”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair this afternoon, Dame Siobhain. I sincerely thank the right hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes) for securing this debate, for his thoughtful remarks and for his advocacy on this subject over many years. As we have heard, an acquired brain injury…”

“I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am a district councillor. This is such a shambles. We have a local government sector on its knees as a result of decisions made by the Conservatives and, now, the Labour party. So much time and resource has been put into these m…”

“I am hoping that, for the avoidance of doubt, the Justice Secretary can rule out any changes to inquests with a jury, which are required when the deceased has been detained by the state. These inquests are also subject to agonising delays for bereaved families. Given those delays, what plans does he have to address bac…”

“10. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the adoption and special guardianship support fund.”

“Alison Roy is a constituent of mine. She is a therapist and works with adopted children. Last week, she drew to my attention the BBC Radio 4 programme “File on 4” on the impact and state of adoption, which highlighted that more than 1,000 adopted children have been returned to care in the past five years. Does the Mini…”

“Q2. University Hospitals Sussex currently has 350 people well enough to go home, but occupying beds. That is the same number of beds as in Princess Royal hospital in Haywards Heath in my constituency. The reason they cannot go home is that there is no social care package for them to go on to. This is terrible for them,…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“I am interested in how far the hon. Gentleman would propose to go. Would he advocate the abolition for the Mayor of London?”

“My amendment 34 is simple but vital. It would strengthen the ability of all our communities not only to bid for assets of community value but to make informed, responsible decisions when doing so. At present, communities have a right to bid, yet, absurdly, no guaranteed right to view. We ask our town and parish council…”

“As my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) said, dealing with the Department of Health and Social Care over the past year or so has been an exercise in opacity. One thing that we have struggled with has been the 50% cuts to NHS integrated care boards. That has left hon. Members from across the Hou…”

“My Mid Sussex constituents are frustrated by the number of cancellations, particularly on Thameslink services. One of the reasons for those cancellations is driver shortages; in particular, sickness rates are running at 15% to 20%. The operator has told me that it is now paying private healthcare providers, because NHS…”

“21. What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of passenger rail performance.”

“I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend’s excellent point. It is regrettable that there seems to be only one person that the Government like to call on to do very important work across a number of different areas.”

“I agree with the hon. Lady’s comments. Unpaid carers, who are the focus of Carers Rights Day, do remarkable, difficult and emotionally demanding work every single day. They do it out of love, without recognition and, too often, without the support or rights that they deserve or should have access to. As the spokesperso…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) not only for securing this important debate on Carers Rights Day, but for all her work championing carers since her election to Parliament. I welcome yesterday’s publication of the terms of reference of the employme…”

“I agree wholeheartedly. The MHRA workforce has been cut by 40%, and that has slowed down the arrival of new therapies for people who desperately need them. We should be halving the time it takes for new treatments to reach patients, not lengthening it. None of this is impossible. It requires us to listen to people livi…”

“I am happy to agree. My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and it also applies to the loved ones of people receiving a Parkinson’s diagnosis. We need better social care for all people when they are faced with a disability. We need there to be more respite breaks, paid carer’s leave and a system that recognises the s…”

“Of course I am happy to join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to Peter Cook and to Paul Mayhew-Archer for their campaigning. The Liberal Democrats believe that people deserve regular mental health check-ups, access to walk-in mental health hubs and timely specialist dementia care. No one should have to fight the system…”