Speeches by Powell.

“I am really looking forward to coming to my hon. Friend’s constituency tomorrow to speak at the Co-op Congress. I am not sure whether the attraction is me or Steve Coogan—I am pretty sure it is Steve Coogan. I join my hon. Friend in thanking co-operatives for their work, including the one in the west bank and Gaza that…”

“Maybe my hon. Friend is becoming one of Madam Deputy Speaker’s new favourites— rightly so. I congratulate Jo Doyle and all of those at Sir Frederick Gibberd college on the fantastic work they have done to turn the school around and provide such a quality education to young people in Harlow.”

“The nuisance caused by e-bikes, and their regulation and safety, is of concern to Members across the House. We have taken steps and are looking into these issues further, and I will ensure that my hon. Friend and the rest of the House are kept updated.”

“I am sorry to hear what happened to Joanne. This issue is raised with me regularly during these sessions; people’s lives are being put at risk by poor regulation and the poor training of many people in the cosmetic sector. We will soon bring forward and publish proposals in response to the consultation on the licensing…”

“This Government are committed to introducing the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation, and that includes addressing the use of snare traps, as my hon. Friend describes. I will ensure that he and the whole House are kept updated.”

“I take this opportunity to congratulate my hon. Friend on his leadership on this issue and on getting Wortley’s Wembley—what a great title—back into use. I thank Leeds United and all those in the local community who have been involved, because I know just how important this project will be for his community. What a gre…”

“There is always a great competition in these sessions for the most beautiful constituency, but I can confirm that Buxton and many other parts of my hon. Friend’s constituency are indeed beautiful and well worth a visit. I join him in congratulating Explore Buxton, and encourage those who want to have a lovely day out t…”

“My hon. Friend raises an important issue, which is vital to the future workforce of the NHS and ensuring that we have the research and innovation that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will shortly be outlining in the statement on the 10-year NHS plan. I think the Department for Education would be respo…”

“As my hon. Friend knows, and as she rightly points out, this Government are committed to banning fracking for good. That is what many Members want to see. We are keeping under review the regulation of proppant squeezes, which she describes, because those are not bound by the fracking regulations, and I will ensure that…”

“That was a good little segue there. I know the right to manage is of real concern to constituents, such as my hon. Friend’s, who live in leasehold properties. A few weeks ago, Ministers brought forward measures from the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, but there is further to go in implementing the measures in t…”

“I join my hon. Friend in congratulating and thanking all the volunteers who engage in the Change Grow Live initiative in his constituency. We all know the effect that the blight of alcoholism has on families, children and those who are alcoholics, and how vital it is that people get support early and consistently. Gett…”

“As ever, the hon. Gentleman raises an incredibly serious issue. He will know that we continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to fully investigate incidents of violence, prosecute those responsible, and provide justice to victims and their families. As a Government, we are committed to defending freedom of religion …”

“As I said previously, the Bill is now considerably narrower in scope. It does protect the incomes of those who currently receive universal health support. We are absolutely committed, through the Timms review, to the principles of co-production, which is why we are now removing from the Bill all references to the perso…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that issue, which was discussed in the debate yesterday by many colleagues. As the Minister set out, there is a clear precedent for the approach taken yesterday—it happened in 2001, for example, when the motion bundled together 20 other militant groups alongside al-Qaeda. I know the s…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on bringing forward her Bill, which highlights the value that sports facilities such as Concordia leisure centre bring to our communities. They should be valued and, as a Government, we do value them. We are bringing forward measures so that communities can keep them in their control.”

“My hon. Friend is not the first Member today to raise the issue of her constituency’s post office services, which are vital. Post offices provide a huge range of services, many of which have now gone from our communities and high streets, including access to cash and banking services. I am sorry to hear of the proposed…”

“I completely agree with my hon. Friend that the thousands and thousands of pubs across the country, including the Horse & Groom, are vital to our communities. We support them as a Government, and we support the hospitality sector. How we use pubs has changed over time, but we need to support them going forward.”

“Absolutely. I join the hon. Gentleman in thanking all those at the Lavender Touch, and at all the other hospices across his constituency and the country, for all that they do in people’s hour of most need. I think that most of us would not be able to do that job, so we thank them greatly for doing it.”

“I join my hon. Friend in thanking those at the Bread and Butter Thing for all the work that they do in tackling food poverty in his constituency. I am sorry that food poverty is still such a blight on many of our communities, but the work that supermarkets and others do—donating food so that it does not go to waste and…”

“I am sorry to hear about the pavement parking and parking problems in Polegate. Pavement parking can cause real problems, especially for wheelchair users and others. Local authorities have the powers to tackle the issue, but we constantly keep it under review. I know lots of us have received many emails about the issue…”