Speeches by Stafford.

“Although I accept the hon. Gentleman’s wider point, given that we are about to have a national grooming gang inquiry that Opposition Members had to drag the Government, kicking and screaming, to do, would it not be helpful for that inquiry to have the data? Surely sunlight is the best disinfectant on this issue?”

“On the point of accountability and scrutiny, the Government are looking to abolish HSSIB or bring it into the CQC, they are getting rid of Healthwatch—which serves my constituents so well—in places such as Surrey and Hampshire, and they are getting rid of governors from the boards of foundation trusts. That does seem t…”

“I have asked this question both as a member of the Health and Social Care Committee and on the Floor of the House to the Secretary of State’s predecessor. Given that the new Secretary of State is a numbers man, I hope that he can answer it where his predecessor could not. How much in redundancy payments will this measu…”

“We could have an interesting debate about causal symptoms, but I will leave it there. Thank you very much.”

“Are there any other specific changes that you would make to the pathway to ensure that you get to the position that Dr O’Brien was talking about?”

“6. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to jury trials on the criminal justice system.”

“In your experience, would GPs welcome doing that if given the resources to be able to do it?”

“We have had evidence from the Royal College of Physicians, who raised concerns about surgery being prioritised on a first come, first served-type basis rather than on clinical need. Do you both recognise that characterisation? What could ICBs or, indeed, the Government do to address the problem?”

“On the Secretary of State’s watch, the courts backlog has reached record levels, yet his answer is to weaken one of the oldest rights in our justice system: trial by jury. The backlog was not caused by juries and it will not be solved by scrapping juries. The Bar Council says there is very little evidence for the Gover…”

“Do you accept the Royal College of Physicians’ assessment that that is what is happening?”

“Who is responsible for doing that? Is it ICBs individually, a national governmental change, or NHS England—or the Department as it will be? Who is responsible for getting it to the state that you are talking about?”

“I have questions about tier 3 services. Currently, patients are reviewed in specialist weight services—tier 3 services—for their suitability for surgery. Do you believe that this approach is working? What impact, if any, might it be having on access to bariatric surgery?”

“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your guidance on a long-established convention of this House that Members notify other Members when they intend to visit another Member’s constituency in an official or political capacity. Over the weekend, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the right hon. Member for Kingston a…”

“The Secretary of State talks about deregulation, but does he not accept that adding 330 pages-worth of regulation in the Employment Rights Act 2025, at a cost of a billion pounds to the economy, is having the opposite effect? Youth unemployment in my constituency has gone up by 28% in just one year.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt) on securing this debate. I have applied for a similar debate twice, but clearly I do not have the touch of a former Chancellor in the Westminster Hall lottery. This is a v…”

“Before the hon. Member moves on, I should correct what he said: CIL was introduced in Waverley in 2019, and the Liberal Democrats took over the council one month later. The idea that the Conservatives brought it in is utter nonsense. The Liberal Democrats have now had seven years to try to fix it, and they have not. I …”

“As the Government’s reforms to special educational needs and disabilities provision focus on pushing children into mainstream education, they risk removing specialist support from many who need it and undermining successful work programmes, such as the Witherslack futures programme. Will the Secretary of State meet me …”

“T7. Happy St George’s day, Mr Speaker. When was Jonathan Powell appointed as the Prime Minister’s special envoy to the British Indian Ocean Territory, and what security clearance was he given on appointment.”

“Yes.”

“On a point of order, Mr Speaker.”