Speeches by Olney.

“I just want to highlight that part of my pitch was that we could do more to encourage that voluntary take up. Anything compulsory would be very much a last resort. We should be encouraging voluntary take up in the first instance.”

“I entirely agree that we need to do more to bridge that gap. I am delighted to hear about some of the efforts already being made towards that goal in Northern Ireland. In 2022, 10% of first-time equity deals went to all-ethnic minority teams, with 19% of total investment value. However, while I welcome the broadly repr…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered access to venture capital for people from ethnic minority and other underrepresented backgrounds. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. Venture capital in the United Kingdom is a unique and valuable industry that supports many smaller innovating com…”

“I would be very grateful. Thank you.”

“The Victims and Prisoners Act that was passed at the very end of the last Parliament included within it putting on a statutory footing Operation Encompass, which is a requirement on police forces to inform schools if they have attended a domestic abuse incident and there are children involved. Concerns have been raised…”

“I was glad to add my name to new clauses 1 to 6, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted (Victoria Collins). I speak to new clause 1 on the age of data consent. Currently in the UK, the minimum age of digital consent—the age at which children can consent to having their data processed—is 13. T…”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Financial Times reported this morning that the Paymaster General has confirmed that the UK is looking to set up a youth mobility scheme with the EU. This directly contradicts the answer he gave in response to a question I asked in this Chamber just 13 days ago. On that occ…”

“Sheen Uncovered is a clothing business in my constituency that the Secretary of State is welcome to visit any time. It has been significantly affected by the need to pay import duty up front, thanks to the Conservatives’ terrible Brexit deal, and that duty ranges between 6% and 12% and greatly impacts its cash flow. Wh…”

“Under the previous Conservative Government, fraudsters got away with claiming billions of pounds of covid support funds, as an eyewatering £39.8 billion went uncollected due to tax evasion and other criminal activity. While vulnerable members of our society have seen their benefits cut and our public services are in ne…”

“Excellent. Thank you. Admiral Radakin, is there anything you want to add in terms of what has proved successful in speeding up the timelines and has that got wider application across the MoD?”

“Thank you so much. I found that really inspiring. Could you elaborate slightly on the different aspects that you mentioned in terms of the ability to procure at pace and to really increase or speed up the timescales? That is the part of the procurement process that the report really highlights: the Ukraine conflict and…”

“Mr Williams, we obviously covered this quite a bit before the break, but could you be more specific about some of the lessons you have learned from procuring equipment for Ukraine?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. I congratulate the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Andrew Lewin) on his work in securing this debate. We have seen over the past few months the extent to which the current US Administration is no longer a reliable ally. We can see the extraordinary damage …”

“I have listened with a great deal of interest to what the right hon. Gentleman has had to say on the Government’s plans to make Whitehall more efficient and to make significant reforms to service delivery, and we on these Benches very much welcome the intention behind that statement. However, announcements have been ma…”

“Warm words about a reset in UK-EU relations are no longer enough. The summit that will take place in London on 19 May is an opportunity for real action. Will the Minister take the opportunity that the summit presents to commit to bringing in a UK-EU youth mobility scheme that will boost economic growth and enhance chan…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Luke Taylor) for securing this debate and for his stirring opening remarks. The Government have repeatedly referenced the £22 billion black hole that they inherited, but there has been far less referenc…”

“My constituents in Ham and north Kingston on the opposite bank of the river from my hon. Friend’s constituency in Twickenham are particularly concerned about how the construction impacts will affect the Ham Lands nature reserve. We have not heard enough from Thames Water about exactly what its plans are for that. Does …”

“The use of hazardous chemical flame retardants in domestic furniture has been criticised by the Association of Master Upholsterers and Soft Furnishers and in a 2019 Environmental Audit Committee report, because those chemicals have been shown to cause more toxic smoke, increase the production of carbon monoxide and hyd…”

“During their time in government, the Conservatives broke our apprenticeship system and betrayed young people. The Liberal Democrats are thus calling on the Government, if they are serious about growth, to fix the apprenticeship sector by investing in education and training, including by increasing the availability of a…”

“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that point, because it provides a comparison. We are talking about there potentially being a market for end-of-life services. I do not think that is the way we should be going.”