Speeches by Paul.

“It is great to see you here, thank you so much for all your hard work on the code of practice; it is really helpful for everyone to have a better understanding of what the law means. I will start with a question on the practical implications of the Government not withdrawing the existing incorrect guidance and taking s…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart, and to be responding today on behalf of His Majesty’s Opposition. I begin by sincerely congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson) on securing this debate, and I thank all Members who have spoken so passionately about thei…”

“I agree with the hon. Gentleman, as I often do. Hospitality businesses are valued employers, community anchors and, for many young people, the first step on the career ladder. I think we all agree that such businesses should be supported right across the country—a point that the hon. Gentleman just eloquently made—but …”

“The good news is that we are very flexible about when to do it. We are also very comfortable about waiting. Our preference would be to do it in the Chamber. As you will see from the number of Members who support it, we made sure that we got seven Labour MPs to support it in order that we would qualify. But in a lot of …”

“Thank you for your time today. As you have said, we have put forward an application for a debate on protecting the green belt and farmland from inappropriate development. We think that it is particularly important at this time that we have a detailed debate, given the Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million homes. T…”

“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?”

“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…”

“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?”

“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 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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I do not support clause 7 or schedule 2. I welcome the debate on various amendments and the comments from the Minister. Clause 7 and schedule 2 would replace the current automatic right of appeal from the magistrates court to the Crown court with a much narrower…”

“For all those reasons, I oppose clause 7 and schedule 2. The current appeal route from the magistrates court exists for a reason. It is a vital safeguard used in a tiny proportion of cases, but succeeds at a strikingly high rate. The Government’s proposed replacement would introduce a narrower permission-based, paper-h…”