Speeches by Thomas-Symonds.

“It is not my decision; it was the decision of the British people at the last general election in supporting our manifesto. If the Bill gets on to the statute book, hereditary peers will leave at the end of this parliamentary Session. I repeat the point we have heard throughout the debate: there is no barrier to them be…”

“Fine, let me put it this way: the hon. Gentleman is supporting the position that his peers are taking, which is in breach of that convention. I will give the hon. Gentleman another chance, because he is trying to put a defence up on that particular precedent. He supported the closing down of Parliament in 2019, and now…”

“Let me just repeat that point to the hon. Gentleman, because it is important. He claims to respect precedent and the rights of Parliament, but the position he takes in supporting Lords amendment 1 runs a coach and horses through that.”

“With the leave of the House, I will close the debate, and it is a privilege to close this wide-ranging and well-natured debate. The shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Alex Burghart), has been treated somewhat unfairly in the course of the debate. The hon. Member for Pe…”

“It is a consequence of the interaction between the existing statute and this statute. I was not arguing for that; I was saying that that would be the effect of the Lords amendment.”

“Quite simply, the amendment is trying to create the title as an honour without the actual membership. That is the difference. I had an exchange earlier about there being no barriers to life peerage; that is not saying no barrier to the title. The life peerage, if granted, obviously confers both the title and the partic…”

“The right hon. Gentleman raises the issue of Treloar’s, which is in his constituency. He speaks very powerfully. I have also spoken in recent weeks to a former Treloar’s student. Hearing about the experiences there never fails to move people. I am pleased to have appointed Clive Smith—that has already been done—and I a…”

“I thank the shadow Minister for his contribution and, in particular, for its tone. The cross-party way in which this has been approached has been crucial—I took that approach in opposition. I pay tribute to my predecessor as Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen), for the work he did in driv…”

“The infected blood inquiry’s additional report was published on 9 July, and today I would like to provide the House with an initial response. I am grateful to Sir Brian Langstaff for seeking justice for victims and for the inquiry’s constructive additional report. His ambition was to ensure that fair compensation is pr…”

“The 2027 and 2029 dates were backstops. My determination was for payments to be made as soon as possible. I hope that what I have said to the House about offers of payment, and indeed payments starting, to affected people this year is an indication of that speeding up.”

“In relation to transparency on the expert group established under my predecessor, I entirely acknowledge Sir Brian Langstaff’s criticisms and points on that. The Government are now going to have to create new sets of regulations, and clearly I will have to reconstitute an expert group, but I give the House an undertaki…”

“I say to my hon. Friend, who has raised her constituent’s case before, that IBCA is operationally independent, but I stand ready to give any support that is required to speed up claims, which I think is crucial. There is absolutely no deliberate delay from the Government in terms of the money being paid. Some £11.8 bil…”

“I agree entirely with the right hon. Gentleman about that risk. I have been very conscious of that, which is why the Government have signed off financial support for both legal advice and financial advice. For the reason that he said, that is crucial.”

“My hon. Friend speaks very powerfully about his own personal experience. He is entirely right about a consistent failure on behalf of the state over many decades on many scandals that have been debated in this House and on which we have listened to victims. Getting the consultation right and ensuring that we hear the v…”

“I entirely agree on the need for a Hillsborough law, and I say to my hon. Friend that this Government are absolutely determined to get it right and to lead that culture of change that we need across public service so that people are not putting their own reputations or the reputation of institutions above public servic…”

“I just give my hon. Friend the reassurance that the Government have said that they will pay what it takes to fund the scheme. We will then update the forecast costs at the autumn Budget this year.”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that is why I have changed the scheme in respect of affected estates. Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendation was for those who sadly pass away between May 2024 and 2029, and I have extended that by two years to 2031 for precisely the reason that she raises.”

“On the first point, as I have just said, we have acknowledged Sir Brian Langstaff’s criticisms on the special category mechanism. That is why I am taking action on that and announcing that today. In relation to the very specific condition that the hon. Gentleman talked about—I think he is referring back to Sir Robert F…”

“My hon. Friend makes a very good point. In the first instance, as I have said, payments to the affected will start by the end of the year; that remains the case. There has been concern about the affected estates, and I hope that my hon. Friend will have seen that I not only accepted the recommendation, but extended it …”

“The hon. Gentleman makes a perfectly reasonable point. I spoke on Thursday to the Health Ministers of all three of the devolved Administrations, including Minister Nesbitt in the Northern Ireland Executive. The hon. Gentleman is right that the schemes for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will stay open for a furthe…”