Speeches by Fox.

“I referred to Openreach’s comments to me. It said that it did not believe there is sufficient funding in the spending review for the Government to meet their target of 99% by 2032. Does the Minister believe he has sufficient funding to meet that target?”

“I agree with the hon. Gentleman. He and I have perhaps similar constituencies, in that we have one large dominant town and a hinterland of many small villages and hamlets. Those in the town often have a very good service, while those in the small villages do not. A lack of reliable broadband limits productivity, increa…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important point. I agree with her and hope the Minister will respond. We cannot expect businesses to survive, let alone grow, if they are cut off from the digital world that the rest of the country takes for granted. For farmers and small business owners, the issue is especially …”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the impact of the time taken to install gigabit capable broadband on rural communities. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. Broadband is now an essential part of daily life. Families, businesses and communities all rely on a good connection. The …”

“Yes, I agree. We are waiting for the Government to respond to a consultation. I will now make some progress so that the Minister has time to respond. The objective of the previous Government was simple but ambitious. It was to reduce reliance on a single incumbent network and instead create the conditions for alternati…”

“I think the word “shambles” is harsh; I would say that “patchy” is a more accurate description. Going from 6% in 2018 to 78% today is an achievement, and the hon. Lady should give some credit for that. The Conservative Government made a deliberate and strategic choice about the future of digital infrastructure. We chos…”

“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that point. He is right that time that should be spent running a business is often wasted waiting for files to load, forms to submit or video calls to reconnect. My constituent Sue Felstead runs a restaurant at Greenway farm in Wembdon. She had ongoing problems with the farm’s in…”

“I wish the Secretary of State well with this initiative, but does he share my concern that as his Department seeks to reduce youth unemployment, the Chancellor is doing everything she can to increase it, with her jobs tax increasing unemployment? Of the 170,000 payroll jobs lost since the election, until November 2025,…”

“My constituents are already concerned that Avon and Somerset constabulary is dominated by Bristol and that far too few resources are devoted to Somerset’s smaller towns and villages. How will the Home Secretary ensure that her new, larger regional forces police our rural communities properly?”

“Can the Minister explain what is pragmatic about withdrawing a 2p in the pound tax relief from a higher rate taxpayer without a student loan, while withdrawing a 17p in the pound tax relief from a basic rate taxpayer who happens to have a student loan?”

“I thank the Minister for her statement, and ask her for two points of clarification. Does she believe that it is appropriate for the heads of the intelligence services to determine what information is provided to an investigation, or should that be determined by someone else, and does she accept that in the early stage…”

“May I agree with the point raised by the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Rachel Blake)? In the village of Cossington, there is a small housing estate that had the misfortune to be managed by FirstPort. My residents had to put up with unexplained charges, poor service and a complete lack of transparenc…”

“My constituents are opposed to digital ID, and I welcome the Minister’s U-turn—I look forward to him being given responsibility for jury trials as well. The problem is that digital ID will have no effect on illegal working or illegal migration, because employers that ignore the system at the moment will continue to ign…”

“The Secretary of State is going to pay a floating wind farm £216 per megawatt-hour. Can he explain how that will lower fuel prices for my constituents?”

“I think the idea that the resources and the concordat are anything to do with the publishing of the modelling is a complete red herring. You could just decide to publish it if you chose to. You have chosen not to, but that is your choice.”

“May I suggest that you publish this as soon as possible? Making such a dramatic change to what many of my constituents regard as an ancient constitutional right to save time, and then presenting no evidence as to the saving of that time, is a grave error by the Government. That is entirely up to you, but I think you ar…”

“All right. Given Leveson’s admission that incomplete modelling was undertaken, what independent analysis has your Ministry conducted to validate that judge-only trials will deliver net time savings once written judgments and appeals are factored in?”

“Most people would regard that as a retrospective change.”

“That is not what the Lord Chancellor said before Christmas.”

“Minister, if you have been committed to trial in the Crown court at the moment, you are expecting to have a jury trial, and what you are telling me is that once these changes take effect, you will divert those people committed but whose trial has not started into the swift court.”