Speeches by McDonald.

“I thank the Foreign Secretary for his commitment to de-escalation and I particularly thank my hon. Friend the Minister for the middle east, who has worked so hard over the last few days. Could the Foreign Secretary say a little more about our commitments to our long-standing friends and allies in the region, particular…”

“It is really important that we remember the parents, families and carers—the big support network around these boys. It seems to be such a small thing that we need to do from the point of view of the NHS. There are some very good examples: Leicester royal infirmary is leading the way as the first hospital to dose a pati…”

“The important thing for us to consider here is that with only 1,100 or 1,200 lads and young men in the country living with the disease, and only 500 boys eligible for the treatment, we could at least expect some consistency in approach across the whole of the United Kingdom.”

“Yes, my hon. Friend is absolutely right about that. Time is muscle, as she says. Sadly, because the drug is currently only available, in the areas where it is available, to lads who are ambulant, the waiting time has meant that some lads out there who would have qualified for the drug now no longer do so. That is, fran…”

“I thank the Minister for her response, to which I am listening very carefully. I appreciate her point that it would be inappropriate for the Department of Health and Social Care to direct what trusts should do, but what we have heard from the trusts is that they would like to issue this drug, but have certain issues an…”

“I do agree. I recognise the figures from the Oxford university hospitals NHS foundation trust. It is quoting around £2,000 per lad treated, which I understand is very similar to other areas of the country. I see that as quite a small amount of money for the 35 lives that could be saved. Despite, as we have heard, givin…”

“I thank the hon. Member for that intervention. I am very pleased that he has intervened and I think the comment about a postcode lottery is exactly right. I noted, when I looked at the figures, that currently the Belfast health and social care trust is not offering the drug to lads in Northern Ireland, because it is cl…”

“On Friday last week, a mass brawl broke out outside a primary school in my constituency, with children as young as four and their families witnessing violent acts, and they were understandably scared. Will the Leader of the House join me in condemning this disgraceful behaviour and in commending Cleveland police and th…”

“Yes, I do agree with that very timely intervention. In fact, the slogan of Duchenne UK is “Time is muscle”, and it is absolutely right that every day and every week makes a difference to these boys.”

“I thank the Minister for what I think is her triple shift at the Dispatch Box today. A few months ago, I met three really great young lads—Benjamin, Eli and Jack. We had a great conversation, and they had me laughing and joking along with them for a very long time. I slightly disappointed Eli when I first opened my mou…”

“We heard earlier from my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central (Sally Jameson) how proud the people of Doncaster are of their airport, but I challenge her to a “pride in your local airport” competition, because nowhere is more proud of its local airport than Teesside—to the extent that whether politicians promis…”

“I agree. Whether it is in Sunderland or, as I mentioned, the north-west and down in south Wales, we will see jobs in the supply chain throughout all this work. It will also benefit Heathrow and our other major airport hubs. I thought it might be useful to make a few comments about why I believe SAF is the solution. The…”

“I could not agree more. As my hon. Friend the Member for Dover and Deal (Mike Tapp) said, we are indeed an island nation, if anyone had not spotted that, and the quickest way to get about is to go by air. What everyone wants is to wake up on a morning in Stockton and then be sat on a beach in Benidorm by lunch time, an…”

“The Chancellor of the Exchequer may remember that the last Conservative Prime Minister boasted about moving funding from Teesside to Royal Tunbridge Wells. I am pleased to see that her statement plugs places such as Stockton North back into our economy. I thank the Chancellor for agreeing to make Stockton central one o…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. When we think about space, it is a natural instinct to look towards the skies, but actually someone wanting to find out a lot about what is happening up there could do much worse than dive one mile underneath the North York Moors—something I did a number of y…”

“2. What steps she plans to take to reform the leasehold system.”

“The decision to restore the winter fuel payment to those earning under £35,000 a year is the right decision. I thank the Minister and his predecessor for their constructive engagement with representations from my constituents in Stockton, Billingham and Norton on the threshold issue, but does he agree with my constitue…”

“I thank the Minister for his positive engagement with me on the issue of a safe crossing at roads on the Wynyard and Queensgate estates in my constituency, but can I also bring to his attention the issue of service charges at the Willow Sage Court estate? Does he agree that our leasehold reforms must ensure fair servic…”

“I particularly welcome the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster saying that he would like to hear more accents from different parts of the country in the civil service. Billingham in Stockton North is home to the UK’s biggest biomanufacturing cluster, and we are also somewhat exposed to international trade with our ste…”

“18. What steps he is taking to relocate civil service roles to locations outside London.”