Speeches by Downie.

“Q Finally, I have a question, which I raised on Second Reading, about the relationship with the devolved Administrations where there are devolved areas such as health. How do you envisage the commissioner working with the devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and across England? Luke Pollard:…”

“Q Related to that is new section 340IA in clause 4(2), which states: “in the Commissioner’s opinion…may materially affect the welfare”. Is the concern that that word choice creates the possibility almost of a bottleneck being artificially created? Angela Kitching: There is a very broad invitation in new section 340IA i…”

“Q Lastly, how do you envisage the new role working with the devolved Administrations? As a Scottish MP, I am thinking particularly of Scotland. How will the role interact with the veterans commissioners in place at the moment, and do you see any benefits from this role compared with the existing one? Mariette Hughes: A…”

“Q I am conscious of the time. Could you answer that question, and include the role that you feel your charities would have with the commissioner in heading off some of those issues on a more practical, day-to-day basis? Lt General Sir Nicholas Pope: I will start with the codicil, if I may, which goes back to my beaten …”

“Q You mentioned the issues you sometimes have with this highly mobile population. Do you see the commissioner helping or playing a role in some of those issues? In Scotland, we have recently seen how the moving of forces personnel has caused issues with healthcare and education. Is that something where you could imagin…”

“Q Minister, you mentioned ensuring that issues are handled and dealt with, and you said that previously issues had fallen away and not been taken up by the MOD. Would that not make it more sensible to have a duty on the face of the Bill for the MOD to respond to commissioner reports to ensure that action can be taken? …”

“Q If someone is dissatisfied with the outcome that they have received from the commissioner, is there a way they can appeal it? I think we covered this earlier with other witnesses, when I expressed concern about the decision on whether someone is materially affected being in the hands of the commissioner. What if ther…”

“In his statement, the Foreign Secretary referred to HTS co-operating with the international community on the monitoring of chemical weapons. Given the situation on the ground in Syria and the ongoing chaos, what confidence does he have that there is the capacity for HTS to conduct that work? Is there anything the UK Go…”

“Finally, ahead of the introduction of those arrangements, was any consideration given to comparable statutory entitlements available to the public, so that MPs are not getting ways to not be at work, as maybe others in society might see it. That would be a helpful thing for us to consider as well.”

“In the letter you sent to the Committee on 19 November, you set out some of the changes that you wanted to be made to the proxy voting guidance. I have a couple of points that we would like to clarify.”

“Has the role of the Speaker in determining the length of the proxy vote in each of the circumstances allowed for under the scheme changed? If so, what is the reasoning behind the change?”

“I think you covered this in an earlier answer to me, but to clarify it for the record: is it that all proxy votes are now automatically issued for seven months and then you can ask to extend them, or can you ask for three?”

“It is just about making those procedures as simple as possible for both the person affected and the partner as well.”

“Related to that is the role of the partner. If someone has a complication related to pregnancy such as that, or any of the other range of complications that might require a partner to be present, if the MP is the partner, would they be considered for a proxy in those circumstances?”

“Thank you, Lucy, for coming along today. My question is related to some of the items that you have just brought up. The new proxy arrangements for complications relating to pregnancy and extended absence for fertility treatment were brought in immediately as permanent, rather than on a pilot basis. Can you outline why …”

“If I may, I will take you back to your point about complications relating to pregnancy. For someone with an incredibly difficult condition such as hyperemesis, it can often result in quite a changeable condition. One day is good and the next is bad, or it changes over a period of months or indeed throughout pregnancy. …”

“Yes, sorry—I should have explained. It is a condition where you can feel very sick either for a short period of pregnancy or indeed throughout an entire pregnancy. It can lead to someone being bedbound for a number of months. Sometimes they need hospital treatment, and there are a whole variety of related conditions. I…”

“T8. The previous Government left a mess of £22 billion for us to clean up following their short-term decisions and absolute lack of investment in services. This Government are taking a different approach, with long-term investment for our economic success. Will the Chancellor work with me to find the £3 million of long…”

“I could not agree more. I had the pleasure of being in Belfast just a couple of weeks ago for a family occasion. I was not able to take the ferry on that short trip—sadly, I had to fly—but I could not agree more with the hon. Gentleman’s point. For coastal communities in my constituency, such as Kincardine, Culross and…”

“T7. Given the upcoming audit into the UK’s relationship with China, how does the Foreign Secretary plan to strike a balance between economic growth and growing security concerns about China’s dominance in critical national infrastructure and Chinese-made IoT modules?”