Speeches by Foy.

“Recent analysis by Health Equity North shows that more than £13 million will be stripped out of the local economy in the City of Durham every year due to PIP changes. That comes on top of the already worsened health conditions for people in the north-east due to Tory austerity. Would it not be more constructive for the…”

“Ministers will recall the horrific attack on prison staff at HMP Frankland in Durham last month. While I was grateful for the Minister for Prisons’ reply to my correspondence, I noted the lack of commitment around the issuing of stab-proof vests on the high-security estate. That is a key ask from the Prison Officers As…”

“My question has probably been answered. I wanted to know what steps you had taken since the election in July to try to improve answers to questions. Is there anything you want to add on that?”

“Yes—the fully electronic system, where you can do remote voting if you are anywhere on the estate. That has been touched on by the Modernisation Committee.”

“First, before you took part, did you fully understand the single transferable vote system that was used in the election? Secondly, did other Members come to you to raise concerns about the system, or even to ask for advice about how it worked, just to ensure that their preferred candidate got across the line?”

“Did you also fully understand it?”

“I want to go back to the arrangements during the pandemic. But before that, I want to say in my defence that I was one of the intake who came in in 2019, so we had about 12 weeks of what seemed like normality and then it was changed to being online. I gave my maiden speech and then the next day, or the next week, it wa…”

“I remember the lines as well, when we went back into social distancing—”

“But for new people, it was all normal; it was all normal for us. Moving on from that, these measures were put in place during the pandemic. In the Division Lobbies, we had the pass readers, which of course we have kept. It is the Tellers’ count that provides the result to the House, but if the House were to move to a f…”

“I do not know how that would work if it did go fully electronic. What role would the Tellers have? How would they do it if you were not physically going through?”

“So it is actually not physical voting that is at stake here; it is what else happens in the voting Lobbies?”

“No, we have moved on. The pass readers remain, but say the House moved to a fully electronic system, which is one of the things that we have been looking at.”

“But for new people, it was all normal; it was all normal for us. Moving on from that, these measures were put in place during the pandemic. In the Division Lobbies, we had the pass readers, which of course we have kept. It is the Tellers’ count that provides the result to the House, but if the House were to move to a f…”

“I remember the lines as well, when we went back into social distancing—”

“I want to go back to the arrangements during the pandemic. But before that, I want to say in my defence that I was one of the intake who came in in 2019, so we had about 12 weeks of what seemed like normality and then it was changed to being online. I gave my maiden speech and then the next day, or the next week, it wa…”

“Did you also fully understand it?”

“First, before you took part, did you fully understand the single transferable vote system that was used in the election? Secondly, did other Members come to you to raise concerns about the system, or even to ask for advice about how it worked, just to ensure that their preferred candidate got across the line?”

“I do not know how that would work if it did go fully electronic. What role would the Tellers have? How would they do it if you were not physically going through?”

“So it is actually not physical voting that is at stake here; it is what else happens in the voting Lobbies?”

“Yes—the fully electronic system, where you can do remote voting if you are anywhere on the estate. That has been touched on by the Modernisation Committee.”