Speeches by Smith.

“Young Devon provides essential services for young people across Devon, including supported accommodation and mental health provision. When I met Young Devon staff on Friday, they told me the increased employers’ national insurance contributions will cost the charity at least £90,000 just to stand still—that means 100 f…”

“Last Thursday, the Prime Minister implied that the new wind energy project in Hull would result in lower energy bills for my constituents, but he refused to say by when. When can my constituents and others across the country expect to see the £300 reduction in their bills that the Labour party promised?”

“Given the Prime Minister’s optimism on his return from COP29, can he tell the House how the deals that he signed there will uphold his promise to cut energy bills by £300 for constituents such as mine, and when can they expect to see that promise become a reality?”

“While it is deeply disappointing to hear the decisions around Devonport’s surface fleet today, in particular as the MP for a proud home to the Royal Marines and 42 Commando, it does provide, as has been alluded to by some colleagues on the Labour Benches, an opportunity to raise again the need for a Devonport deal, and…”

“In 2013, the previous Government introduced a rebate of £50 per household on the water bills of customers in the far south-west. With 3% of the country’s population paying to keep a third of our bathing beaches clean on lower-than-average salaries, will the Secretary of State please reconsider the decision to scrap tha…”

“This is potentially a bit granular, but it keeps coming up and has sat with me for a number of years. I have done a lot of work in planning in the past. We obviously want to encourage as many people as possible to use electric vehicles. I do not know what my colleagues found, but over the election period I found that m…”

“You previously stated that the Government would invest “unprecedented levels of funding” in active travel. When do you anticipate that unprecedented funding being allocated, and how? For example, I am interested in whether there will be a focus on plugging the gaps that exist at the moment, where funding has often come…”

“That answers my supplementary question as well.”

“Secretary of State, the Department’s 2024 annual report states that there have been “challenging” workforce capacity pressures and staff turnover has been “significantly higher” than 10 years ago. How do you plan to address those issues facing your Department?”

“I have two questions. One is shorter than the other, so I will do the short one first. Obviously, this is the biggest transformation we have seen of the railways. How long do you anticipate that taking, particularly in terms of what the public are going to see? Are we going to see change in the next five years, or is i…”

“How much of the previous Government’s work on rail reform, which had got as far as publishing a draft Bill, are you able to repurpose, or are you starting from scratch?”

“Obviously linked to the HS2 development is the impact on Old Oak Common. Changes to journey times from the south-west start this weekend. The Rail Minister heard quite strongly earlier this week that that has not been communicated to enough passengers in the south-west, but that is an aside. What thinking has been done…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I congratulate the hon. Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord) on securing this vital debate about NHS dentistry in the south-west. My constituents know the issues with access to NHS dentists only too well. Since 2020, the number of dentists in the…”

“It has recently been brought to my attention that in Great Western Railway, which serves my constituency in Devon, drivers do not have contracts that ensure a seven-day-a-week service—the contracts do not include Sundays, so trains are regularly cancelled. In fact, four trains were cancelled yesterday, so one lady had …”

“21. If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the eligibility criteria for the winter fuel payment on trends in the level of pensioner poverty.”

“Ninety-seven-year-old Joyce from my constituency was worried about losing her winter fuel payment, so she contacted my office. It sounds like the Minister has had a similar experience. Fortunately, my team was able to assist Joyce. We ran a full benefits check, and helped her to secure pension credit, and therefore her…”

“Given that secure housing on release has a proven positive impact on the recidivism rate of ex-offenders, which is something we all welcome, how many prisoners released early by this Government are being housed in hotels?”

“17. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent changes to the early release scheme on the demand for housing provided by local authorities.”

“I wonder—forgive me, because this is also my first Public Bill Committee—how this will work in a house in multiple occupation compared with a dwelling house, and who will have to have the insurance. If a HMO is operated on a joint-licence basis, who is responsible for the insurance and the indemnity that goes with it? …”

“I want to build on the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner has just made. It may not quite fit at this point in the consideration of the Bill, but it has come to mind while we have been talking about this. I am sure that we all have been contacted by a tenant and then found out that t…”