Speeches by Martin.

“Does the Minister agree with me and my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Mr Charters) that we do need to look at alcohol sales, but that we need to do it with all stakeholders in the round—not just throw it in as a gimmick to this Bill, which is about finance and governance?”

“As the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North, I am proud to speak in support of the Licensing Hours Extensions Bill, which is a sensible and necessary reform to support our struggling hospitality sector and, as we have heard, allow communities to come together during moments of national significance. The Bill gives…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Tracy Gilbert) for introducing the Bill and welcome the opportunity to raise issues of fairness and equality in the UK’s democracy. We have seen in England that absent voting, by post or proxy, has empowered thousands of people to make their voices heard,…”

“I am proud to speak in this debate as the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North—a seat I did not hold this time last year, but proudly hold today, although technically not for a year until 4.30 tomorrow morning. I want to speak today in strong support of the Bill. It is a vital step forward in our duty to protect a…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) for bringing the Bill forward. I also thank the hon. Member for Wyre Forest (Mark Garnier) for chairing the all-party parliamentary group for space and for his promotion of the sector. As the MP for Portsmouth North, I strongly support this pivotal Bill, w…”

“Thank you for that. The joint commission relies on robust data and information sharing. You have just highlighted that there are some areas in the country that are doing it well and others that are not. Are you taking steps to improve the data that is collected and do you anticipate the introduction of a unique identif…”

“I have one final thing. As a former teacher, I am aware that often Education takes the heavy weight of this. Are there any plans for these costs to be shared with the Department of Health and Social Care instead of it just falling in Education, because it often comes from the high-needs budget? Are there any plans to s…”

“Minister, you touched on this with the earlier question from Darren, but I just wanted to explore further joint commissioning. The Council for Disabled Children told this Committee it would like joint commissioning to be a requirement rather than an expectation. In three parts, how would you assess the current joint co…”

“I thank the hon. Member for that wonderful intervention and send my best wishes to Jack for his birthday. In remembering that, I would also like to remember John Jenkins—one of our very own veterans from Portsmouth. In Portsmouth, we also proudly celebrated Armed Forces Day last Saturday, honouring the service and sacr…”

“I associate myself with the Minister’s opening words. It is a privilege to speak in this debate as both a member of the armed forces parliamentary scheme and the proud Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North, the home of the Royal Navy and a community with deep historic ties to our armed forces. However, for me, this…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I declare my interests as a season ticket holder at Portsmouth football club and as an elected member of the board of Pompey Supporters’ Trust. I thank my hon. Friend for introducing the Bill. I understand the need for it, but members of the public buy tick…”

“The hon. Member for Harrow East made a really good point; there have been some developments on that issue through things such as fan zones. Fans can buy a ticket for such a zone, which is an area outside the stadium, and that allows for dispersal. It also allows fans to watch the game, particularly if they are going to…”

“You touched on devolution in the first question I asked; this is a bigger question on devolution. What discussions have you had about the Government’s long-term ambitions for deepening and widening devolution and its impact on skills provision across England? In the light of concerns that have been raised by some strat…”

“Welcome, both of you. We have heard that the cuts to adult education and skills funding directly threaten the Government’s ability to complete and achieve their five missions and that, without significant investment, the Government’s ambition for a highly skilled workforce may not be realised. What assessment have you …”

“I have three questions on apprenticeships. First, we have heard a lot about moving people into the workplace. The growth and skills levy will fund new shorter foundation apprenticeships designed to be an entry-level route into the workplace. We have heard evidence from the hospitality and retail sector that it would be…”

“There is also the question of what GCSE maths looks like nowadays.”

“What do you think a constructive alternative would look like, as opposed to just resitting the GCSE each time—say four times, five times? In Portsmouth we don’t have sixth forms in schools; all kids go to college. Exactly like the picture we saw in Norwich, many of those kids are on the lower level of BTEC while they a…”

“The maths and English resit policy for 16 to 18 year-olds has been described as a “vital lifeline” on one hand and a “nightmare” and “remorseless treadmill” on the other. I have had constituents who have sat GCSEs four times already and are not in a space to be passing them. The curriculum and assessment review has sug…”

“My question is about T-levels, so it is good to hear the bigger picture. Level 3 qualifications were among the first things the Committee discussed. In its interim report, the curriculum and assessment review described T-levels as the “gold standard” technical qualification, yet the evidence we have heard paints a diff…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for securing the debate. In Portsmouth North, we are proud of our naval heritage and deep connection to those who serve. Our war memorials are more than stone and metal; they are …”