Speeches by Goldman.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank the hon. Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt) for introducing this really interesting debate. I have not been in a debate that has brought such a lovely smile to my face in a long time. We are celebrating diversity, which is what regional accents ar…”

“There are so many lovely stories to tell about this subject, and that is why this has been such a lovely debate. We genuinely should be continuing to encourage the retention of regional phrases, stories and poems, and I thank the hon. Gentleman very much for bringing us that poem. In conclusion, my Liberal Democrat col…”

“The hon. Member reminds me that my aunt sadly lost her partner a few months ago. He was three days off his 90th birthday, and he was a true Cornishman. He had lived in Cornwall his entire life—in a very small area of Cornwall, in fact. He was incredibly well known, and I had the privilege of being able to love spending…”

“On the point about communicating with the public, there is a way to do it. I visited Norway recently, and it has communicated with its population incredibly well, to the extent that it has this concept of total defence and civil preparedness, where everybody in the entire nation recognises that they have a role to play…”

“Since October last year, I have been taking part in the parliamentary knowledge scheme that relates specifically to frontline services, under the auspices of Mr Speaker. As part of the scheme, we visited the MCA and met CROs. I took part in a training exercise about rescues from muddy situations, so I know at first han…”

“Thank you, everyone, for being here today. It is really helpful and interesting to listen to what you have to say. It has been suggested—I am a bit nervous about saying this in front of you—that it might be beneficial to have an initial pool of staff to help Members with administrative support when they are first elect…”

“Briefly, the Liberal Democrats are supportive of this statutory instrument. We wanted to make the case that having fairness in the system through legal means is all very well, but the problem is that if there are not enough duty providers to provide legal advice, it is almost pointless; we are not actually serving just…”

“The Government’s recently announced social media ban for under-16s will play an important role in tackling violence against women and girls and the online spread of misogyny, but social media bans by themselves are not enough. While we welcome steps to address online harm, the Government’s proscriptive approach simply …”

“indicated assent.”

“It is deeply disheartening that, a year on from Baroness Casey’s audit, the Government have not made greater progress. The victims have already been failed once; they must not be failed again. Previous inquiries have produced more than 800 recommendations, most of which have not been implemented. We see this over and o…”

“Perhaps if there was some very good training.”

“Fair enough.”

“Perhaps if there was some very good training.”

“We have already heard quite a bit about email accounts, laptops and computer usage. Sarah, you touched on it a little as well. You heard the previous session; do you want to add anything about the deluge of emails you have received and the importance of having a laptop early—or not, as the case may be?”

“Yes, writing a maiden speech or searching for accommodation. There are so many things you need to do with your laptop, so I can understand why it is helpful, including with being able to connect more easily to the parliamentary networks, which are secure. I think that is really important. But what do you think about th…”

“We have already heard quite a bit about email accounts, laptops and computer usage. Sarah, you touched on it a little as well. You heard the previous session; do you want to add anything about the deluge of emails you have received and the importance of having a laptop early—or not, as the case may be?”

“If I may follow up on that, I take your point about constituents needing to be able to contact you, and I totally take your point about, ideally, lobbyists not being able to contact you in that time. I remember having to play whack-a-mole with my own inbox, and it was impossible without staff. But you do need your lapt…”

“Yes, writing a maiden speech or searching for accommodation. There are so many things you need to do with your laptop, so I can understand why it is helpful, including with being able to connect more easily to the parliamentary networks, which are secure. I think that is really important. But what do you think about th…”

“In the focus groups conducted not long ago, some Members expressed frustration—as you have touched on—at the volume of emails that came in without any staff to respond. They said it might be helpful for those emails not to be switched on until later. What do you think about that? While you are thinking about that, can …”

“Can I ask a quick follow-up? Do you think there is a danger that, by not providing the support that has been asked for in this way in those early days, some constituents might be put at risk because of the things they might contact you about, which might get buried in the inbox because you are not getting the support y…”