Speeches by Taylor.

“I thank the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for securing the debate and for his bravery in going as far as Kharkiv. I admire his work and advocacy. I associate myself with everything that hon. Members have said, especially about the bravery of the men and women of Ukraine, who…”

“I spent all last week in Ukraine, and had the opportunity to meet a Defence Minister and a number of soldiers on the frontline. The Defence Minister painted a bleak picture of the situation there, including the fact that Russian production of arms continues to go up and up and up. Meanwhile, the soldiers I spoke to on …”

“Yesterday marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Make Poverty History campaign and of a fantastic speech, remembered by all of us who were there, delivered by the late, great Madiba. That campaign inspired a generation of campaigners and a great Labour Government to deliver unprecedented action to tackle globa…”

“West Herts college in my constituency offers a great selection of courses, including computing courses that offer a pathway to a career in cyber-security. For young people in Hemel Hempstead considering a career in that field to defend our country, can the Minister outline further details of the steps that he took last…”

“8. What steps he is taking to help increase recruitment to the armed forces.”

“To change the tune slightly, we have talked about smallholder farmers a bit already. I know that the FCDO provides some funding to help smallholder farmers, recognising that they have a role to play in food security, particularly within their own countries and maybe regionally as well. Partly because of my background o…”

“Hi, Minister. Thank you for coming in again. I am now turning to questions related to how SDG2 relates to some of our broader policies around trade and Alice’s question around debt. There are two questions on trade specifically. First, have assessments been made about the potential impacts of UK trade agreements on foo…”

“10. What steps her Department plans to take with employers to help increase economic growth.”

“The last Labour Government reduced child poverty by nearly half, from 3 million to 1.6 million, and legislated to eradicate child poverty by 2020. Instead, under the Conservatives, the number of children in relative poverty significantly increased between 2010 and 2023. Does the Secretary of State agree that working wi…”

“17. What steps she is taking to improve SEND services.”

“At a recent surgery, a constituent told me that she had fought Tory-led Hertfordshire county council to carry out an EHCP assessment for her son for well over a year. Since it concluded, she has been forced to go to tribunal six times in the past two years. She informed me that she met resistance from the school and th…”

“The hon. Member knows that I try to work with him locally in a constructive way, and I will in future, but the problems that we have in Hemel Hempstead are 14 years in the making. Some of them go back 20 years, because of long-standing issues. It is fair to point out that the people in charge of those issues at the tim…”

“I entirely agree, and I would point to some of the visits I have made to businesses in my constituency because, as the hon. Member will know, there are similar themes. It is a slightly different point, but I am grateful that this Government are planning to bring in new measures to crack down on shoplifting, which is al…”

“There are people in Hemel Hempstead who live in constant fear; people who are too scared to leave their homes, or who fear for their children’s safety. Those people are not statistics, they are not numbers; these are their lives. I wish to tell the House about someone called Tom—I have changed names and places for peop…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his point. I myself benefited from Hertfordshire youth services as a Member of the UK Youth Parliament, which is sadly something that has had to be pulled back by Hertfordshire county council because of cuts to youth services. That is just one example of the ways young people can be offered a…”

“I am doing everything I can to work with the Labour Mayor, but he is subject to the same national cuts in police numbers that we have seen elsewhere. We all have problems with police resources. As a candidate and again since my election to Parliament, I have been out with bobbies on the beat to see the issues that they…”

“To follow on from the Minister’s answer, Members will be reminded of the fact that ODA costs spent in the UK are now at record levels, thanks to the last Government. That should not be the case. ODA should be spent, as much as possible, in the world’s poorest countries. What steps are the Government taking to help the …”

“T4. To follow up on the previous question, I am grateful to the Minister for coming to the event that I hosted for the Syrian diaspora yesterday. He will know that they are very keen to support their homeland to rebuild. Will Ministers look at ways to change the sanctions to ensure that ordinary citizens can send back …”

“We are delighted that the UK envoy for Sudan has been appointed, but we previously heard evidence in front of this Committee that there was a concern that they perhaps were not operating yet at pace. I just wondered about your reflections four months on from that person in being in post. What are your expectations for …”

“I have a very quick question to follow up on the Shafik review. I just wondered if there was an expected publication date for that, and if there was a sneak preview or any further details you could give about where it is headed.”