Speeches by Thomas.

“You touched on SSEP. What is the timescale for that and what kind of consultation will you be engaging in? Kayte O’Neill: Consultation is at the heart of our approach to all of our strategic planning. Last week, or at the beginning of this week, we launched our first consultation on the SSEP. That is a consultation on …”

“To boost public confidence in the criminal justice system, can the Minister confirm that the Government will not resort to increased dependency on community sentences, many of which are unserved?”

“The Deputy Prime Minister said that this country has plenty of houses. If that is true, can the Minister explain why the Government are imposing an 82% increase in the housing target for Bromsgrove district?”

“Absolutely not. I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman. Under the previous Government, the NHS received record levels of funding. The Government have committed additional funds to the NHS, but they have not put forward a productivity improvement plan. The Government are unable to deliver structural reforms because they…”

“I think the hon. Lady misses the point that I am making. If we are to have a thriving, sustainable set of public services, it is not just a case of funding them; we need structural reform, so that we can deliver the best-quality services at the point of need. Take the NHS as an example. It is fundamentally different fr…”

“Can the Minister tell the House which decision was harder, giving an inflation-busting pay rise to union paymasters or cutting the winter fuel payment?”

“There appears to be a glaring omission on the part of the Government: without a thriving private sector, there is no public sector to fund at all. I wish that Labour would acknowledge that much more vehemently and clearly than it appears to. The Government talk a lot about public services and how the proposals they hav…”

“Will the Chancellor admit, as she has already done in the media, that wages will be lower because of her jobs tax?”

“When the Conservative Government headed by David Cameron were elected in 2010, the circumstances that they faced following Labour’s trashing of the economy meant that it took two and a half to three years to get the public on board. That stands in great contrast to what happened this summer, when Labour inherited good …”

“2. What steps the Church is taking to preserve historic places of worship.”

“My constituency is home to many historic churches that continue to be much loved by their communities. They include St John’s church in Bromsgrove, which dates from 12th century but was predominantly constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries. The church has had to raise many hundreds of thousands of pounds for the upk…”

“Does the Minister agree that the ICC’s decision does nothing to help secure the release of hostages, deliver more aid into Gaza or deliver a sustainable end to the war in the middle east?”

“Do you have a figure for how many jobs you expect to be created and hosted at the Aberdeen HQ? Secondly, on the point about regional job creation and regional growth, you touched on local authorities and engaging with devolved Administrations, and you could probably include LEPs as well. To what extent do you see GB En…”

“Splitting the skills and jobs piece into two sections, GB Energy as a company will clearly need to acquire new talent to support its objectives and will need to develop that talent in-house. How are you going to do that, and what is the plan that sits behind that? Secondly, thinking more broadly about the benefits to t…”

“Welcome, Simon. You have touched on this already, but I will ask the question. The Telegraph has quoted industry sources as saying GB Nuclear is “shackled by red tape” and a “tortuously slow” decision-making process. Do you agree with that?”

“Splitting the skills and jobs piece into two sections, GB Energy as a company will clearly need to acquire new talent to support its objectives and will need to develop that talent in-house. How are you going to do that, and what is the plan that sits behind that? Secondly, thinking more broadly about the benefits to t…”

“Do you have a figure for how many jobs you expect to be created and hosted at the Aberdeen HQ? Secondly, on the point about regional job creation and regional growth, you touched on local authorities and engaging with devolved Administrations, and you could probably include LEPs as well. To what extent do you see GB En…”

“Welcome, Simon. You have touched on this already, but I will ask the question. The Telegraph has quoted industry sources as saying GB Nuclear is “shackled by red tape” and a “tortuously slow” decision-making process. Do you agree with that?”

“I wholeheartedly agree with my right hon. Friend. As he rightly points out, we are at risk of large-scale industrial energy production installations becoming the new cash crop, displacing valuable agricultural land across our constituencies. I want the House to be aware of a comment from a constituent who wrote to me l…”

“My constituency and its neighbouring villages are defined by their green space and rurality, providing a sharp contrast to the urban west midlands next door. Our villages are home to rural enterprises and to farmers, and it is our farmers who are the lifeblood of our rural communities. Their role cannot be overstated: …”