Speeches by Billington.

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the way that she has approached this incident, particularly for pointing out that South East Water has one job. Unfortunately, the company is accountable to its shareholders more than to the people who it is supposed to serve. Notwithstanding the reforms to the water industry that th…”

“I was privileged to open our new youth hub in Thanet last week. It is a perfect example of how the DWP is working with third sector and private sector organisations to offer that wraparound help for young people, which of course we need desperately in places such as Thanet, where unemployment is 12%—among the highest i…”

“Where does the energy crisis we are currently in with the situation in the strait of Hormuz sit on the national risk register?”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend and the team on reducing the cost of energy, including with recent efforts to break the link between the volatile gas price and electricity prices. However, every witness before the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, when we ask how to decarbonise and reduce bills, tells us, “Make ele…”

“Often when we are talking about building confidence among the public, we tend to think about it at the moment of crisis, rather than making sure that we explain the causes of the crisis that we need to prepare for. Particularly in the context of the energy crisis that we are living through, it is more important than ev…”

“I was privileged to open our new youth hub in Thanet last week. It is a perfect example of how the DWP is working with third sector and private sector organisations to offer that wraparound help for young people, which of course we need desperately in places such as Thanet, where unemployment is 12%—among the highest i…”

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“I congratulate my hon. Friend and the team on reducing the cost of energy, including with recent efforts to break the link between the volatile gas price and electricity prices. However, every witness before the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, when we ask how to decarbonise and reduce bills, tells us, “Make ele…”

“It is very important that coastal communities are recognised for our role in the overall identity of the country, but we are also a vital way of developing economic growth in this country. As co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for coastal communities, what I am asking for, along with many Back-Bench colleagu…”

“I am sure my hon. Friend acknowledges the frustration that he can hear from Members from across the whole House. Let me make some suggestions on what he could do to make a difference: take action against companies bidding to build the E1 settlement of 3,400 homes on Palestinian soil; introduce a trade ban on settlement…”

“I am grateful for the clarity my hon. Friend provides for us on this issue, because it has been of extreme concern for a number of colleagues. Does he think that wider global insecurity around energy requires global co-operation and collaboration, and that the UK Government could lead on that? We are hosting the G20 ne…”

“Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?”

“Will the right hon. Lady give way?”

“Will the hon. Member give way?”

“I am comfortable with accepting that there has been a growing consensus about decarbonising our energy system over a period of time, starting with the Climate Change Act 2008, which only a handful of Conservative MPs voted against. However, I am puzzled that hon. Member thinks that the last Tory Government did that wit…”

“Specifically on the Southampton point, it was under the Tory Government that the Labour-run Southampton council wanted to clean up and install that grid connection to be able to decarbonise shipping in that port and specifically to tackle air quality in that city. The Tories had 14 years, and they did nothing.”

“I am interested to hear the Minister explain how we can ensure that town and parish councils, particularly existing ones, are integrated into the new local government settlement. They are particularly important when unitarisation is happening, increasing efficiencies of scale and enabling more strategic deployment at t…”

“I welcome the Government amendment to include a competence covering coastal communities, in addition to the existing Lords amendments on rural areas. As many Members have already mentioned, coastal communities have lagged behind the rest of the country when it comes to economic growth since the great financial crash. O…”

“I want to reaffirm on the record what my hon. Friend has said. This is an important way of ensuring that we have a place-led way of shaping our communities; without that, we will not be able to get the homes that people desperately need in the places where they need them. Furthermore, we will not be able to ensure that…”

“The specific issue of licensing is important. Small venues in my constituency are vital for our visitor economy and in being part of the pipeline for developing enormous amounts of talent. It is worth pointing out that the UK representative at the Eurovision song contest comes from Ramsgate. If it were not for strong m…”