Speeches by Reid.

“When my colleague asks the question around the definition of halving violence against women and girls, are you aware of whether that will be the definition used within the strategy when it is published?”

“This definition point is really important because we are assuming that that is going to be the definition that drives and measures the success of the strategy. Forget about the granular detail for a moment. Whether it is having knife crime or violence against women and girls, either of those two big targets or commitme…”

“Just to follow up on what Paul was saying, the diagnosis is not really new, is it? That lack of accountability and transparency is something we have heard quite a lot of over the last two decades. What I am trying to get a sense of is what is different this time so that we and the public do not feel that it is just som…”

“The aim of halving violence against women and girls has not changed with the incoming Home Secretary. That remains our target for the Home Office, right?”

“Moving on to group-based child sexual exploitation and the national inquiry, can you give us an update on the inquiry and talk about what the problems are and why it is taking so long to appoint a chair?”

“Just to follow up on Robbie’s point about the local inquiries, are you able to commit to them? Oldham, in particular, has been asking for this. Will they be involved in those national inquiries which were committed to back in November?”

“Do you think they should?”

“But it has been a target since this new Government came in following the election last year. Do you think it is reasonable? It is not a loaded question. It could be very complex; you have lots of partners that you need to consult. Should it take this long? It has been 16 or 17 months, and we have not yet seen a publish…”

“Turning now to the regional elements of it, how well do you think that we can align the different needs of different parts of the UK on migration policy? I am thinking particularly from a Scottish perspective, where the demographic pressures are more acute—we have a more acute skills shortage. Do you think a one-size-f…”

“If the public debate focuses on the headline net migration, do you think there is a risk in terms of misinformation and how the debate is handled in the press and the media?”

“Thank you for coming today, we really appreciate your time. I want to begin by focusing on the headline net migration numbers. Is it important to make distinctions between different migration routes—skilled work or students—rather than treating them as an overall net migration figure?”

“Do you have any thoughts on whether that would work for the UK?”

“Are the Scottish Government involved in the group that you mentioned, as skills is devolved?”

“Does that work successfully?”

“You mentioned that the policies of the previous Government, continued by this Government, are what have driven the declining numbers. Do you think that you can predict quite well the impact of particular Government policies on the overall numbers, or do you think that is quite a tricky exercise?”

“Recent reports show that Babcock is having to recruit hundreds of overseas welders because of a skills shortage in Scotland. This is the direct result of decades of under-investment in further education and skills in Scotland. Can the Minister outline what the UK Government can do to ensure that my constituents can acc…”

“The Minister has made it clear that women and girls were failed by every institution, and it is a positive step that the failure has now been acknowledged by Government and that the acknowledgment is leading to action after years of inaction. But in Scotland we have had absolutely no acknowledgment or action. What advi…”

“The Minister will know that the rise of platforms such as OnlyFans has led to the mainstream commercialisation of women’s bodies. Does she agree that if we are to tackle violence against women and girls, we must look at pornography prostitution? Will she commit to working with colleagues in the Department for Science, …”

“I have one sentence left. OnlyFans is not a success story; it is a pimping empire built on the pain of women and children.”

“I completely agree with the hon. Lady. Social media companies should not be allowed to push pornography and sexual content to under-18s, and they should be banned from doing so. The wider tech industry is crucial to this issue—it is not just OnlyFans. It should not be allowed to profit from directing children towards p…”