Speeches by Platt.

“I beg to move, That this House has considered social enterprises and community ownership. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. When people make speeches about post-industrial towns like mine, they often begin in the same way: by listing everything that we have lost. They talk about decline, depriva…”

“My hon. Friend is a great advocate for the co-operative movement, whose birthplace is in his constituency. I absolutely agree with him—there is more the Government can do to support co-operatives in all sectors. Today, the co-operative spirit is alive and well in my constituency. In towns like mine, such organisations …”

“That is exactly what this debate is about: hearing about initiatives that are thriving all over the country, bringing them together, and creating the support that those organisations need. I will definitely take that forward to see whether there is anything that we can do in our local area. Across the UK there are abou…”

“I spoke very broadly about the value of social enterprise and community ownership, but to hear individual stories from across the country just shows the power that they have and their effect on us. I thank the Minister for his response and commitment to the sector, and I look forward to working with him in the future. …”

“Another issue from my local area is culture being done to us. We get the big institutions coming in from Manchester city centre and taking over theatre space or art space that is populated by our local organisations. It does not go down well. On a larger scale, the English National Opera relocation obviously raised a f…”

“Absolutely, I agree. I will have to put on record that I have a great local authority that is very engaged in our culture programme. I would just like to go back to that question because there is a huge gap. It is about getting community involved. Just for the record, I put out about entering the town for a UK Town of …”

“I want to declare an interest: I was a recipient of Arts Council funding in between being elected. During that time we were identified as coming from an underserved area. I know you have mentioned in Vicky’s questions some local and regional boards. What further action should be taken to reduce regional disparities bey…”

“But does it concern you that YouTube is being put in that category of other social media? It goes back to your identity crisis—the first question—doesn’t it?”

“The banning of social media for under-16s is a live topic here in the UK, as you know, with the Government launching a three-month consultation to improve children’s digital wellbeing. The Government are watching the Australian ban very, very closely. Moving on to that, the eSafety Commissioner in Australia advised tha…”

“You have just mentioned one aspect there, so what other arguments would you give to Parliament that YouTube should not be included in a similar under-16 social media ban?”

“Families in Leigh and Atherton are exhausted from constantly fighting for the SEND support their children need, so I welcome the White Paper’s proposals, including individual support plans and more inclusion bases in schools, because inclusive education benefits everyone. These reforms must come with real oversight and…”

“22. What steps she is taking to improve SEND provision in schools.”

“A lot of the hospitality small and medium-sized enterprises in my constituency start out as market traders. As we know, our markets are a vital part of our identity and central to our local ecosystem, giving businesses the space to start, test and grow. Does the Minister agree that markets and hospitality are key to re…”

“Is it just muscle memory?”

“Is it just muscle memory?”

“How do you stop events from clashing with each other?”

“And that should be driven by the Government, to make that point. We have evidence that suggests that smaller organisations and event organisers are not able to fund the evaluation.”

“Adrian, this is to you. Claire McColgan from the first panel told us how they collaborate closely with other city regions in planning their events. How could festivals better support one another and share information that is needed?”

“When I put Leigh forward for town of culture, I will be taking those points back. Thank you.”

“How do you stop events from clashing with each other?”