Speeches by Shannon.

“First, I commend the right hon. Gentleman for all he is doing in this debate tonight and for all he has done in the past. It is recognised by a great many people, and we thank him for it. Does he agree that the reason why the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office guidance advises against travel to areas such as …”

“When it comes to promoting economic growth in Scotland, it is clear that the best way to do that is from within this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. What is the Minister doing to make that happen, and to convince my SNP colleagues sat in front of me of the best way forward?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. May I congratulate the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking) on setting the scene so well? I will not delay the House very long, but I want to make a contribution from Northern Ireland, highlighting some points and then putting forward a couple of solut…”

“I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this debate. I spoke to her beforehand, and the subject is incredibly important. According to international climate finance reports, 14 programmes have been initiated to support farmers across the globe to improve their access to clean energy. As she rightly said, that is an obj…”

“I am just chewing a sweet, Sir Roger; my apologies. It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I congratulate the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) on setting the scene so well. Today, we had some good news in the Chamber: that £22 billion will be spent on the NHS. The good news for us is that, through the…”

“I thank the hon. Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne) for setting the scene. It is nice see him in his place; he used to be in opposition, and now he is in government. He has been elevated, so well done. I was saddened to hear about Zoe’s Place in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency having to become a stand-alone …”

“I commend the hon. Lady for securing this debate and directly underlining the issues pertinent to her constituency. There are also other important issues to consider, including autistic children, children who need speech therapy and the one-to-one support needed in nurseries and childcare. Does she agree that a special…”

“There is no better choice the Government can make than committing that money to the NHS—we all welcome that. Anybody who does not would be insane. I always try to be constructive in my contributions. I asked about staffing and made the suggestion to retain students wherever they do their training. Sometimes they come t…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. He is absolutely right. The £14 million raised in Northern Ireland for hospice care is extra money and—I say this very gently to the Minister and those in positions of power—that should not be taken by the Government as, “Well, we can take £14 million off what they’re doing…”

“I say this very gently to the Minister, but it must be said: throughout his term, Mr Speaker has been painfully clear that there is a procedure for this House that we must all follow. Does the Minister not agree that this Government, who have come to power on a mandate to do things the right way, must pay respect to th…”

“I thank the Minister for her answers and for her clarity, which is much appreciated. Does she accept that Israel did not take this decision lightly, but based it on intelligence gathering which indicated an infiltration of Hamas within UNRWA? Does she agree that we must work to find a solution to ensure that charitable…”

“I thank the Minister very much for her response. It is clear to the House that the Minister is doing her best to try to find solutions to the questions we are asking. On the escalating violence in Sudan’s Gezira state, recent attacks by the Rapid Support Forces have reportedly led to some 124 civilian deaths and widesp…”

“I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this debate. She mentioned the age of 65, which is really important; in Northern Ireland, there are some 2,800 new strokes every year. While the majority of strokes affect people who are over the age of 65, they can strike at any age. Some 25% of people who have strokes are unde…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for giving way again. One of the things that we have noticed back home in Northern Ireland is that even if someone gets a type 1 diabetes diagnosis early on, it does not mean that their life is over—they can still go on. We have a high prevalence of young children in Northern Ireland who have type…”

“I commend the hon. Lady for securing the debate. I declare an interest: I am a type 2 diabetic. In our discussion before the debate, I informed the hon. Lady that, when I was first diagnosed some 18 years ago, believe it or not, I was at least 17 stone and probably getting bigger by the minute. I went on a diet because…”

“As always, it is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank the hon. Member for Southgate and Wood Green (Bambos Charalambous) for setting the scene so well, and all those who contributed. We do not have this sentence in Northern Ireland, but I have met some of the groups that have been lobbying her…”

“rose—”

“The shadow Minister—absolutely. We sometimes forget that time has elapsed. It is nice to see him in his place too. It is clear that IPP sentences remain an issue. The House of Commons Library prepared an excellent briefing for us, which helped us bring together our thoughts. As of 31 March 2024, there were 1,180 unrele…”

“I commend the hon. Member for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards) on introducing this issue. I spoke to her before the debate, and I understand that she is bringing forward something that we all need to endorse, right across this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We should encourage local councils to dea…”

“If the Chancellor wants to increase investor confidence, the thing to do is help small and medium-sized enterprises. Tomorrow she will have the opportunity to do that. What will be done to help them? In Northern Ireland, 85% of businesses employ 10 or fewer employees. If she helps the SMEs in Northern Ireland, that wil…”