Speeches by Evans.

“I want to raise an issue as the Minister is the Minister responsible for prevention. One of the biggest and most shocking things we saw during the pandemic was the increase in eating disorders, which is a very difficult topic for any Government around the world to try to break down. We know that the impact of eating di…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely spot on. The cliff edges that exist in the NHS—and education and social services—cause a real problem, particularly for families, because at 18 someone does not just lose their diagnosis. It is important to pool those areas because it allows us to stratify the way that we use our limited re…”

“The former Member for Doncaster, who is now sadly not in this House, was a significant champion for men’s and boys’ health—suicide in particular, which has been mentioned here, is such a problem. My hon. Friend stated the case for mental health being a pan-Government policy area—does he believe that strengthens the arg…”

“Not quite yet.”

“I was also interested to hear that another major Scottish city—Glasgow—has been successful in getting the Commonwealth games. I believe the hon. Member for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh moved to Edinburgh from his home town of Glasgow. It is great to see that success in both those cities is supporting the UK as a cult…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your stewardship, Mr Efford. I hope you do not mind that I have taken off my collar to allow a bit of movement. If my head starts to wobble, please do intervene. Congratulations to the hon. Member for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (Chris Murray) on securing this debate. It is fantastic …”

“On petrol prices, for the past 11 years the Government froze fuel duty; they cut it in 2002 and then froze it again. The Government instructed the Competition and Markets Authority to carry out a review, and we came up with the pumpwatch scheme. A consultation was undertaken in January, but when I wrote to the Governme…”

“I am very grateful to the Minister for giving way. This is about children—and even the Prime Minister made a choice to better the education of his children—so putting this in place in January, halfway through a year, is going to have a significant emotional impact on families and children. That is why it should be dela…”

“There appear to be two parts to this debate: ideology and practicality. Fair play to the Labour Government—when they came in, they said that they intended to introduce this proposal. They told the public and put it in their manifesto, for which I respect them. That is important, especially when compared with their poli…”

“Absolutely. In this debate, health is a political football. It always strikes me that there is a rising tide across the western world, and at the four points of the nation. In Scotland, the NHS is run by the SNP; in Wales, it is run by Labour; in Northern Ireland, it is also separate; and we had the Conservatives, who …”

“rose—”

“Will my right hon. Friend give way?”

“It is interesting that Lord Darzi chose 2010, because there were some good points in what the Labour Government put in place, but there was also the problem of Mid Staffs. We had the Medical Training Application Service fiasco around medical careers, for which Patricia Hewitt had to apologise, and we had the £11 billio…”

“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have removed my neck collar, which I am allowed to do, but if Members see my head wobbling, I ask them to intervene and I will put it straight back on. I welcome the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) to his place. With the respect that he talks about and commands, I am …”

“I would be grateful for some help and advice from the Leader of the House. When the winter fuel announcement was made, I wrote to the Treasury and was told three times no, it was a Department for Work and Pensions issue. Following that logic, when it came to VAT on school fees, I wrote to the Department for Education, …”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has made some fantastic points. One of the key points is the Planning Inspectorate report. Many members of the public felt that the development was a done deal and something being done to them. Can I thank the Planning Inspectorate, which is now minded to refuse consent? Our communi…”

“Maybe in two minutes, this debate can best be summed up with a lesser-known fable: the farmer and the viper. A farmer was walking through his field. It was very cold in the winter, and he found a viper just under the bushes. The viper was cold, limp, and almost dead. The farmer knew it was poisonous, but he felt compas…”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance. I was under the impression that in the Chamber we should refer to Members, Friends or even the constituency. Is that correct?”

“I, too, have constituents who are grossly concerned about this matter. Although it is, I say cautiously, good news that the decision has been delayed, part of what the Secretary of State seems to be saying is that the impact locally outweighs the benefit to the nation. That is what I myself and all the organisations an…”