Speeches by Powell.

“Obviously I would never cross the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon)—of course not. His criticism or praise is very important to me. As ever, the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) outlined some really important debates that the Backbench Business Committee is facilitating. I will look very kindly on Thur…”

“My hon. Friend raises a really important matter. It is good to see that she is taking her experience from her previous job as a physiotherapist and providing strong leadership here in the House on those issues. She is absolutely right that AHPs provide a huge contribution to our NHS. Without physiotherapists and others…”

“As ever, the right hon. Gentleman raises an issue that I know he has long campaigned on and its implications for the UK. He is absolutely right to raise it. We should not tolerate slave labour being used in any of the products on sale or being used in this country, and we need to do more to expose and have transparency…”

“I thought my hon. Friend was inviting me on a cross-country run there—the answer would have been a clear no. I join him in congratulating the cross-country club from Tredegar of which he is a member on winning the Welsh championships.”

“I join the hon. Lady in congratulating King Edward’s school. We discussed many of these issues last week, as it was World Book Day when we met in the Chamber—we shared powerful testimonies about the importance of reading, access to school libraries, book schemes, and all the literacy work that goes on. I absolutely sup…”

“Absolutely. I think we saw the Leader of the Opposition go to a whole other planet this week—Planet Zog, maybe, or I am sure there are many others. My hon. Friend is right that not only is tackling climate change important for the future of our climate, but it is vital to providing the jobs of the future that we need i…”

“I am sorry to hear about the hon. Lady’s constituent’s passing from that rare condition, and congratulate her on bringing this issue to the floor of the House on behalf of his wife. She is absolutely right: rare conditions, which are often raised with me at business questions, often do not get the attention or the sign…”

“I certainly join my hon. Friend in congratulating Paul and Cara on the work they do on rehabilitation in her constituency. She highlights once again the important role of prevention, early intervention and rehabilitation to ensure that people are healthy and successful in life in whatever way. Often those services are …”

“The right hon. Gentleman is right to say that our strength and security in this country, in Europe and across the world come from our very strong alliances with Europe and with America through NATO. Our commitment to that is unwavering, and that has been a critical component of peace and security around the world over …”

“My hon. Friend is right that this issue is being felt right across the country. We have called it fleecehold, and that is for a reason. It is why we want to end these leasehold estates for good. We have already ended leasehold for new housing, and we will be ending new leasehold for flats, too. We are bringing forward …”

“The hon. Lady raises an important matter, and I know that the building of new pylons is an issue of concern for local people in many constituencies. We need to build the energy infrastructure of the future, which includes new pylons, but we are bringing forward measures to ensure that those who live near new pylons wil…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Tackling violence against women and girls is a national emergency, which is why this Government have a really ambitious mission to halve the levels of violence against women and girls within a decade. That will take a huge effort. We have already taken a number of steps, such as bann…”

“Absolutely, and I thank the right hon. Gentleman for the invitation to his constituency. I have had many invitations to the region, and I hope to come good on them one day. This has become a very big issue in his constituency. I understand that a petition about this matter has garnered much support, and he is absolutel…”

“Well, Madam Deputy Speaker, I certainly do not feel like a spring chicken any more, that’s for sure. I am really pleased to hear that Bedworth is receiving £20 million from the Government’s plan for neighbourhoods. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that this is a really important scheme to make sure that our town cent…”

“I can absolutely encourage everyone to go to Blackpool, have fish and chips on the promenade, and perhaps go on the Big One, which I am too scared to go on. I look forward to joining my hon. Friend there soon.”

“I am happy to answer the question anyway, because the hon. Member raises a really important matter. This is a big Bill, with lots of good and important measures in it. It is one of my favourite Bills, not least because it will give the police the powers to seize quad bikes and off-road vehicles, which is very popular i…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, which I know he has campaigned on for a long time. I am sure he recognises that, certainly in recent years, the process has been too slow for many of those infected and affected by this terrible scandal. That is why we moved at pace after the general election, when we firs…”

“The right hon. Member raises a good point. Dementia gets raised a lot in business questions and, I know, in Health questions. We are committed to early diagnosis and to getting up the diagnosis rates. He raises a particular issue about access to pensions that I think requires further consideration, and I will certainly…”

“I think we were all touched by this tragic case last November. Following it, we updated our travel advice, and we continue to press the local authorities for a full investigation so that we can prevent contaminated alcohol from being sold in this way in the future. Since November, the Foreign Office has been communicat…”

“My hon. Friend has previously raised with me the importance of Cumbernauld theatre, which obviously is truly loved by her community. She will know that Creative Scotland and the cultural funds that it deploys are a devolved matter, and this is a shocking decision by the Scottish Government, for which they should be acc…”