Speeches by Powell.

“I will pick up on a couple of the Backbench Business issues. I put on record my thanks to the Chair of the Committee; it is great that he announces some of those debates. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency debate next week, which I am pleased we have found further time for, will come after a statut…”

“Yet again, my hon. Friend raises the important matter of Doncaster royal infirmary in her constituency. I know that she is doing great work to highlight the problems that it faces. She will be aware that the so-called new hospital programme—the previous Government’s capital investment programme—was a work of fiction. T…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for raising this important matter. Indeed, it was raised in stark terms at Prime Minister’s questions yesterday by one of her colleagues. What she describes happening in our community pharmacies as well as in other parts of the broader healthcare sector is a crisis. We are dealing with difficult c…”

“I know that this matter is of great importance to the Sikh community across the UK, so my hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise it today and to continue to do so on behalf of the Sikh community and others. We need to get to the bottom of what happened, and I will ensure that the Ministers responsible are in touch wi…”

“The business for the week commencing 13 January includes: Monday 13 January—General debate on hospice and palliative care, followed by a general debate on the impact of food and diet on obesity. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee. Tuesday 14 January—Remaining stages of th…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, and for writing to me and to the Modernisation Committee about it. I absolutely understand her motivation —to ensure that the House of Commons and, indeed, the wider Parliament is a safe place for people to work, and that our constituents and others can feel safe in their …”

“I also express our deepest condolences to Jordan’s family and friends. I know that consular officials are in touch and supporting his family. While I would not want to encourage people to go to Ukraine in that way, I absolutely share this Government’s commitment to ensuring that Ukraine wins in this war against Putin’s…”

“I am sure that the whole House will take a moment, 95 years on, to remember all those who were killed in the Glen cinema tragedy, as my hon. Friend reminds us on behalf of her constituents. She will be aware that things have moved on, and in recent years we have learned the lessons and ensured that our public places ar…”

“The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the green belt is, and remains, protected. The Government plan to unlock what we describe as “grey belt” —not particularly good-quality green belt—and we want a policy of “brownfield first” in planning decisions. He raises the issue of different aspects, including energy supply, in…”

“Jubilee 2025 is a great campaign. The hon. Gentleman may wish to raise those issues with the Foreign Secretary and his team at Foreign Office questions next week. The matter would make an excellent Backbench Business debate, and I know that the Backbench Business Committee has granted debates on it before. While I am a…”

“The hon. Lady raises an important point. As was set out in that statement, our White Paper contains major reforms to deliver on the devolution agenda and put power back into communities, which we said we would do. There have been knock-on consequences, but I assure her that we will consider postponing elections only wh…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise those issues, and that is why the Government are bringing forward a major piece of legislation, the planning and infrastructure Bill, which will make sure that developers play their role in ensuring that we have the local services and infrastructure that is needed to sit alon…”

“I thank the hon. Member for raising the plight of young people who have cancer and face difficult challenges in their lives. He raised an important issue about the timely awarding of disability living allowance and other benefits, and described Hugh’s law. I will ensure that he gets a full ministerial reply and, if tha…”

“I am well aware of this issue and the legislative time that would be required. The Government are completely committed to ratifying the BBNJ agreement, and work is already under way to implement provisions in the agreement before we can ratify it. My hon. Friend will be aware that we have a heavy legislative agenda—one…”

“I recognise the issue the right hon. Member raises. Of course, temperatures are very cold at the moment right across the country. She will know that, in addition to the support that is there for pensioners—the increased state pension this year; the record increase in applications for pension credit, which are being pro…”

“I will relay my hon. Friend’s concerns about what Hillingdon council is proposing for special educational needs and support for schools. This Government have allocated an extra £1 billion for special educational needs. We have also allocated significant extra money for local councils. There really is no excuse for Hill…”

“As ever, my hon. Friend raises important issues for his constituents in Cornwall. I am sorry to hear of what is happening with rugby in his constituency. He might want to raise that next week at Department for Culture, Media and Sport questions, but if he does not get a good reply, I will make sure that the Minister ge…”

“I am really sorry to hear that Jacob has yet again been affected by flooding. As my hon. Friend will be aware, flooding incidents are becoming more extreme and occurring more often. The flood defences that we inherited were pretty shocking, but we are turning that around. We have the flood resilience taskforce and extr…”

“That avenue in my hon. Friend’s constituency is becoming famous in Parliament. He is right that fixing potholes is a priority for this Government. That is why we have announced record levels of investment. The equivalent of an extra 7 million potholes could be filled just this year, if councils spend that money quickly…”

“As ever, the hon. Gentleman raises an important matter. We have been very clear in our discussions with the interim Government in Bangladesh about the importance of political consensus and stability, and the need for national reconciliation in the country.”