Speeches by MacNae.

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will speak relatively briefly. I would just like to thank everybody for their presence, honesty and passion today. This has been a moving, deeply powerful and deeply impactive debate. I particularly thank the Secretary of State, not just for being here, but for the passion, anger and …”

“As the Leader of the House well knows, Rossendale is the only local authority area in the north without a commuter rail link. Rossendale council’s city-to-valley proposal would have finally addressed that by linking us up with Manchester. The idea was repeatedly shot down by the previous Government, but this Government…”

“T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.”

“As we move into autumn, flooding is once again on the minds of residents in Rossendale and Darwen. This Government have already made vital commitments to our flood defences, but recently some communities have expressed concern that flood modelling is out of date and is either not fully identifying risk areas or identif…”

“I enormously welcome this Bill. It is a thoroughly rare thing for a Government to seek to actively give up power, but this Government understand that we are going to deliver an economy that works for everyone, with a new way of governing that shifts powers away from Westminster once and for all. At its heart, this Bill…”

“In Rossendale, the academy trust that runs our “stuck” school, Valley leadership academy, recently announced plans to introduce a virtual teacher for top-set maths. This approach has understandably raised a lot of concerns, and I have been working with the trust to make sure it is designed in the pupils’ best interests…”

“15. If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of virtual teachers on school children.”

“Q3. Last week, four-year-old Eli Testa was killed in Rawtenstall cemetery when a memorial stone fell on him. All of Rossendale was shocked by this tragedy, so I hope the Prime Minister will join me in offering his deepest condolences to Eli’s parents and family.Families in Rossendale are also deeply concerned about rep…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered state support for victims of terrorism. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. In a week when we remember the victims of the 7/7 attacks and all terror attacks, I am grateful for the opportunity to open this important debate to consider our response to …”

“I thank the Minister for his response and every colleague present for their brilliant contributions to the debate. I was just reflecting on how many Members present have been personally touched by incidents of terror. For so many of us, it is removed by just one or two persons. This is a personal matter for so many Mem…”

“I cannot help but note that the news of the defection of my predecessor, Jake Berry, has generally been greeted in Rossendale and Darwen as bad news for Reform. It has been suggested that the party should re-establish its vetting procedures. On further Reform news, I was informed this week that the Reform-led Lancashir…”

“Every day in my constituency, we are faced with poorly organised and overrunning street works clogging up our roads. A lane rental scheme through which companies pay for the time the works take would reduce such delays on our busiest roads. However, I remain frustrated that, so far, Lancashire county council has refuse…”

“I thank the Minister for acknowledging the power of the outdoors. I should say that I have failed to climb many more mountains than I ever actually got up. Many of the lessons I learned in the mountains are the reason why I am here today. The power of the outdoors in building confidence and resilience among young peopl…”

“7. What steps he is taking to improve young people’s access to nature for outdoor activities.”

“In Rossendale and Darwen we have real concerns about rural crime and its impact on our farms and village communities. We have excellent, hard-working rural crime teams, but they cover vast areas with limited resources. One team with a single vehicle between six officers covers three local authority areas. Will the Lead…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for the acknowledgement. The Green Book review has rightly identified issues of capacity and capability when it comes to business case development in certain areas, and of course the spending review allocated lots of money to areas with high capability, such as Manchester and Liverpool. That high…”

“I will speak briefly before handing over to my esteemed colleagues for some additional context. We are here as the chairs of the baby loss, maternity and patient safety APPGs to request a debate on baby loss during Baby Loss Awareness Week, which is 9 to 15 October. Baby loss is a profound issue. Every day, 13 families…”

“T6. In Rossendale and Darwen, the Valley leadership academy is a vital school serving some of our most disadvantaged communities, yet it was recently identified as a stuck school following successive “requires improvement” Ofsted assessments. The staff and leadership at the school are working incredibly hard to drive i…”

“Yesterday’s spending review saw this Government investing in national renewal. To truly deliver on that, it is vital that small towns such as those in my constituency fully feel the benefits. We need local investment strategies to address the things that hold our areas back, such as a lack of a commuter rail link in Ro…”

“The hon. Gentleman is making a wonderful point about the value of outdoor education within the education system. Does he agree that the Ofsted assessment mechanism is a great tool for encouraging greater use of the outdoors and of sport and activity per se? Would he suggest that we look to make sure that any outstandin…”