Speeches by Richards.

“Back to the children—does anybody else have anything they want to add about that particular issue in the system?”

“That seems to be the answer we are getting.”

“To press on that, there is a wide range of issues, I am sure, but why do they not raise this? Is it because they just do not want the trouble, they do not have the capacity or they do not know to do it? Is there a head-in-the-sand culture among the professionals working there on the ground?”

“That is helpful. I have a follow-up question for Alex and Enver first. How widespread are the problems with accommodation? The Committee has attended lots of different sites, and it is fair to say that the variety in the problems is pretty large. In terms of particular groups and safeguarding issues, how easy or perhap…”

“You would recommend lowering the burden and having an ongoing duty in the guidance and training?”

“Good afternoon. Thanks for coming in on a sunny afternoon. I thought we would start with a broad question about your central concerns as to the adequacy of accommodation for asylum seekers and the role of hotels. We hear an awful lot about hotels in the media and elsewhere and what role they play in some of the problem…”

“Can I follow up on Enver’s point about local authorities? Forgive me if this is a silly question, but we get casework all the time, and at the moment local authorities are unable to house people leaving prison, children in care and children leaving care. How would that work?”

“They are resolved?”

“I genuinely welcome the renewed focus on this issue in this Parliament. In the Home Affairs Committee we have heard evidence from Professor Jay about her report, which made a number of recommendations in November 2022. She then set out her efforts in trying to get the previous Conservative Government to act on any of t…”

“Congratulations to Liverpool fans. As we have been hearing this evening, football is more than a game. For my constituents and me, it represents community, joy and sometimes a fair bit of despair, too. It provides jobs, brings people together and is a source of immense pride, in spite of—or especially perhaps in—the da…”

“I rise to present a petition about a £47 retrospective charge that Yorkshire Water has unfairly given residents across my constituency, due to the water company’s own mistake. That comes on top of rising bills, record profits, and excessive executive pay. I urge Yorkshire Water to think again, to be reasonable, and for…”

“I think they agree with that now—interesting. Does the Lord Chancellor agree that this episode shows that our constitution is working? Parliament is sovereign, and if Parliament seeks to change this guidance, under this Government it will.”

“The Sentencing Council was created in April 2010; a month later, the Conservatives came to power. If, as so many on the Conservative Benches seem to think, the Sentencing Council is a shadowy, revolutionary group of activist judges dangerously undermining the British way of life, why on earth did they not do anything a…”

“Absolutely. Care should always be the last resort, and later in my speech I will speak about the false economy of spending billions of pounds on a care system that is failing children—most importantly—but also the taxpayer and everyone else. Early intervention is absolutely critical, so I completely agree with the hon.…”

“My hon. Friend makes an important point. I know that the Government and the Minister take kinship carers and the care system very seriously, and the Government have introduced a number of measures already. That is very welcome in their first 12 months—it emphasises just how seriously they take these matters—and it is p…”

“My hon. Friend is right. There is a particular problem in the south-west—his part of the country—and in his constituency, which he represents so ably. In fact, there are some care leavers with that experience in the Public Gallery who are from that part of the world. There are particular issues there. My Bill does not …”

“I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. I am grateful for the opportunity to bring this Bill before the House. On entering politics, I was determined to raise the issue of children in care and, in particular, the lack of safe, decent accommodation for the most vulnerable children. The state’s enduring f…”

“Absolutely—that is one of the most welcome measures in that Bill, introduced to this Parliament in its first Session. Data can be quite a boring topic, but it is so important, because it allows everyone—including this place, journalists and campaign organisations—to hold the Government’s feet to the fire and hold them …”

“I appreciate the point that the hon. Member is trying to make and I think it is a fair one, but how does he think this could work? As he said in his own intervention, people might have to be paid for one part of the process, and then for the next. If we appreciate the principle that people get paid for time, there is i…”

“I rise to speak briefly in support of amendment 548, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley. I do so fundamentally for two reasons. First, there may be a lot of support for the principle of assisted dying among members of the Committee and, indeed, Members of the House, but there are also understandable co…”