Speeches by Kumar.

“—and when there will be peaks and troughs. That would be built in. Is this Bill something that you would be happy to fully adopt?”

“You are talking about seasonality, but you would already know this. You have the data, so year on year you know when there are going to be busy periods in your industry—”

“With this now low level of guaranteed hours, would you say it would be 16 hours, then, that you would be offering to your employees?”

“In what circumstances would you give someone just one week’s notice?”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of parking in town centres. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. I rise to voice concerns about increased parking fees. Local authorities across the country are trying to claw their way out of financial difficulties by increasing parking…”

“For businesses, how easily implemented do you think the Bill’s proposed forms of zero-hour contract and low-hour contracts are? Do you think it will be difficult? Do you think it will be quite an easy implementation process for businesses?”

“Do you think that SMEs in particular may struggle with the implementation of the Bill?”

“The same question to you, Neil Carberry. How do you feel that businesses can implement these zero-hours and low-hour contracts?”

“Coming to Frasers Group, it committed to end zero-hours contracts in 2016. Why did you break the promise?”

“What are the safeguards?”

“Do you think there should be compensation?”

“Yes, I do, and a long-standing trader in my constituency, Christine Bosworth, also agrees. She has been operating for the last 13 years in a craft shop and she shared with me some really poignant points that I would like to share. Christine said that there has been a really big drop in footfall in the constituency and …”

“I agree 100% with my hon. Friend, whose opinions I really respect. Parking charges have become a cash cow. It is absolutely absurd that councils across the country, including Dudley council, have implemented them. We need to think about how to drive footfall, not reduce it, in our town centres. I feel like we are robbi…”

“An hour’s free parking is one of the proposals that I have put forward to the leader of my local council. If somebody wants to grab a coffee in the town centre, they do not want to pay a parking charge, then get their coffee and leave. That is only driving business out. As I was saying, Bruno and a number of traders ar…”

“Just generally?”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. The contractors need to look at what they are doing in the town centres and where that money is going—back into the economy, local businesses and to residents. The future of the high street relies on the ability to adapt and offer a range of experiences that draw people in—not just through …”

“I agree with my hon. Friend, because town centre accessibility is really quite difficult. We do not have a tram system or any local trains; we only have a bus service, which can be ad hoc at times. Consequently, I welcome the new consultation period that Richard Parker, our Labour mayor, has suggested. This is not the …”

“I thank all those who have contributed to this powerful debate. Violence against women and girls is a grave issue that urgently demands our attention and action. It is a distressing reality that countless women and girls across the UK continue to live in fear and face unacceptable violence. However, the digital era has…”

“Following on from there, what improvements would you like to see to the Modern Slavery Act? That question is for everybody.”

“What timeframe?”