Speeches by Stafford.

“In just one year, this Labour Government have already failed rural Britain on transport. They have scrapped the £2 bus fare cap, pushing up costs for working people; they have wasted £250 million in the process of nationalising South Western Railway, while my commuters are still stuck with cancelled peak services; and …”

“I must declare that my wife works in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. The Minister and the Chancellor claim to want to boost growth, yet investment is fleeing the very sectors that he claims are a priority. Is it not the case that the vague aspirations of the Government do not meet the real-world test and…”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance on a matter that I believe constitutes a breach of the ministerial duty to respond to Members’ correspondence in a timely manner. On 28 November last year, I wrote to the now former Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology to raise concern…”

“Just on the back of my colleague’s questioning, Sir Jim, back in March you said—this is a quote from the HSJ—you thought that some legal duties on ICBs needed to be removed to allow them to balance their budgets. Do you still stand by that? If so, which legal duties are going to have to be removed from ICBs? I think of…”

“Just for absolute clarity, when you talk about legal duties, you are not talking about frontline services; you are talking about administrative functions. Presumably, those administrative functions are going to have to be paid for by somebody. It is not a saving. It might be a saving to the ICB or whatever it looks lik…”

“I am sorry, Chair. I want to tease that out, because that is a slightly different answer. Sir Jim, you said that the only way the ICBs were going to be able to balance their budgets was by removing some legal duties, but now you are saying that, if they do remove those legal duties, they do not get to keep the money. H…”

“When you get to that point, it would be really helpful for this Committee to understand where that money is coming from. When you are in a position to be able to tell us where that is in the next few weeks, it would be good to get that. Wherever it is going to come from, it is going to be a cost, presumably, to the Exc…”

“Just as an aside, I have three ICBs covering my area—Frimley, Surrey Heartlands and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight—and I can tell you, from my experience, that the size of them is inversely proportional to how good they are. Although large ICBs may produce efficiencies, I do not suggest they necessarily improve effect…”

“What confidence do you have that your negotiations with the Treasury will elicit £300 million or whatever the figure happens to be?”

“Is that a dealbreaker for you? If the Treasury were to turn around and say, “No, you cannot have the money to cover this. You have to find it from within existing budgets”, is that the point at which you say, “Thank you very much. Goodbye”?”

“No, I will not. I have already given way a couple of times. This is a tax on the family home, and it will hit hardest those who have worked hard, saved responsibly, and played by the rules. Let us be clear: this is not simply a question of numbers on a balance sheet. It is about whether families can stay in the communi…”

“I do not want to correct the hon. Gentleman, but I was not here to oppose or support any of them. I gently remind him—I use the word “gently” because I know that the Minister loves the word “gently”, so I have used it twice now—that there was a pandemic that had to be dealt with, and that had to be funded. There was a …”

“The Treasury has been flying more kites than we saw at the end of “Mary Poppins” in the papers over the last few weeks, but if they are genuine, the Chancellor is preparing the most destructive raid on homeowners in living memory. Families across my constituency are bracing themselves for new taxes on homes worth more …”

“My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech, with which I agree. Like him, I have been part of the armed forces parliamentary scheme with the Royal Marines. Over the past year, he and I have seen drones deployed—I will not say where. More importantly, there is innovation in the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines, but it i…”

“That sounds like an interesting idea. I will support anything that will get the pub industry thriving, but to be frank, Labour is destroying the opportunities for pubs to thrive, and I am afraid a guest ale will go no way towards solving that problem. I am conscious of time, Madam Deputy Speaker, so I will touch briefl…”

“Hospitality has been battered by a perfect storm of punishing taxation, regulation and soaring operational costs, which has left pubs and restaurants fighting for survival. In recent months, I have visited 36 of the 55 pubs in my constituency and hosted a hospitality roundtable. I will shortly be sitting down again wit…”

“Will my right hon. Friend give way?”

“My hon. Friend is entirely right. Once again, the Government are showing that they do not understand and do not value pensioners and the sacrifice that they have made. Everyone—pensioners, farmers and business owners—is seen as a cash cow for this Government.”

“6. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the autumn Budget 2024 on family farms in Wales.”

“Although the aims of the sustainable farming scheme are laudable, many farmers across Wales are expressing real concern about its complexity, the potential reduction in food production and the adequacy of the financial support on offer. What assurances can the Minister give that the scheme will be simplified, sufficien…”