Speeches by Paul.

“You have already touched on some of this, so I do not expect you to repeat yourself, but could you talk about the training and professional development that currently exists for teachers on reading for pleasure? I am particularly interested in what is available to support those who are teaching children with SEND.”

“Will you talk in a little more detail about the training that early years practitioners receive with respect to reading-for-pleasure approaches and the steps that you are taking to improve that? It would also be helpful to understand a bit more about the training and development that is offered by Stronger Practice hub…”

“School libraries are not currently statutory. Are you happy with that? Are you considering putting them on a statutory footing? I also have a question about data collection on the schools that have libraries. Have you looked at Ofsted reporting on that? That is another approach to getting more transparency about which …”

“Can you talk about the impact of the “Transforming your school’s reading culture” programme? Do you have plans to expand it beyond the 2,000 participating schools?”

“There were concerning reports at the weekend about the global combat air programme’s being delayed. We know the funding for Edgewing, agreed in April, is due to run out this month. Can the Minister guarantee that a new deal will be signed and in place before the end of June?”

“This is definitely better late than never, and after listening to the Lib Dem spokesperson—I cannot believe I am going to say this—I am actually grateful that we have a Labour Government and not a Lib Dem Government, because what the Lib Dems have just said is absolutely shocking. They do not respect the rule of law at…”

“Would the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Jenny Rayner MBE? She has managed to raise an amazing £2 million for a new wellbeing centre locally to support young people with mental health issues and get them the support they need before a crisis is reached. We in Reigate, Redhill, Banstead and our villages a…”

“I would be grateful if the Minister could confirm exactly what conversion practices she plans to ban.”

“It is wonderful to hear the Minister’s enthusiasm for the changes, but if she is so confident that they will deliver that benefit, why was she not willing to start with a pilot, or even agree to a sunset clause?”

“Taken together, these new clauses appear useful and constructive. They are aligned with the Opposition’s stance that we need practical reform, greater capacity, better monitoring and a more honest assessment of what is actually driving delay. That is the sort of work that the Government should have done before they leg…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir John. I speak in support of amendments 59, 35 and 36 tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle, and the new clauses tabled by the hon. Member for Chichester. Those new clauses are constructive, and the Government should engage with them seriously. …”

“New clause 13 would require a report on the Bill’s effect on public trust and participation in the criminal justice system, including witness participation, public confidence, and black, Asian and minority ethnic engagement with and trust in the system. That is to be seriously considered, especially in the light of the…”

“New clause 22 would require a strategy for the use of remote proceedings to reduce the backlog while preserving open justice. Again, we need to be careful with that. Remote proceedings are not a silver bullet, and can create their own problems of communication, seriousness, access and public scrutiny. Some hearings are…”

“The introduction of a paper application with no right to an oral hearing is a flaw. Even in appeals from the Crown court to the Court of Appeal, a refused paper application may be renewed orally. The Bar Council is clear that, where a decision is made on paper, there should be a safeguard in the form of a right to rene…”

““The Law Commission…considered and…rejected a leave requirement, citing the low number of appeals, lack of evidence of abuse, and the importance of correcting wrongful outcomes”.”

“I also oppose schedule 2, which would insert proposed new sections 108A to 108V into the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980. This is a comprehensive replacement framework. It is what introduces the permission requirement, the new grounds test, the single judge model, the new retrial provisions and the narrowing of what the ap…”

“The clause cannot be viewed in isolation from clause 6. As we have covered already in our proceedings, the Law Society expressly opposes the increase in magistrates’ sentencing powers in clause 6, particularly when combined with the restrictions on appeals in clause 7. That is understandable because, taken together, th…”

“It would be for the Crown court to decide whether to hold a hearing to determine permission. In other words, the initial stages of the process will play out entirely on paper, without any oral hearing at all. That is a serious change.”

“There is a final and wider point here about confidence in the system. It seems obvious that restricting appeals will undermine confidence in jury-less justice. The magistrates court already lacks the democratic legitimacy and public reassurance that comes from jury trial. The answer to that deficit is not to make appel…”

“That matters politically and substantively. If the Government want magistrates courts to do more serious work, to keep more serious cases and, potentially, to impose longer prison terms, it is perverse to at the same time make it harder to challenge the outcomes of that expanded jurisdiction. One might have thought tha…”