Speeches by Darling.

“I congratulate the right hon. Member South Holland and the Deepings (Sir John Hayes) on securing this really important debate. When one reflects on there being more WASPI women in the United Kingdom than the population of Wales, it demonstrates how this is a massive issue for this United Kingdom. In my constituency the…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairwomanship, Ms Furniss. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart) on securing this really important debate. I highlight to the Minister the adoption support fund; I would be grateful if he could talk about any long-term plans the Government may have t…”

“I echo the shadow Minister, who sits to my right—in more ways than one. Definitely, further clarity from the Minister would be welcome.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I welcome the clarity offered by the Government in the amendment.”

“I thank the Minister for that reassurance. In the light of that, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Clause, by leave, withdrawn. New Clause 19 Consultation on trade union legislation “(1) The Secretary of State must initiate a consultation on— (a) the operation of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolida…”

“Apologies, Ms Vaz; I was somewhat premature on the previous item. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham, who has highlighted this matter and proposed this new clause on kinship care. The kinship care APPG discussed this proposal and was mostly in favour of it. The number of children in our United Ki…”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.”

“I will just share with colleagues that this measure was part of the commitments in the Liberal Democrats’ fully costed manifesto. I thank the Minister for their reassurances. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Clause, by leave, withdrawn. New Clause 14 Kinship care leave “(1) The Employment Rights Act 1996 is a…”

“That is fine. As I said, the new clause is about supporting the family, and I hope the Minister will give serious consideration to our proposals. Apologies for misunderstanding, Ms Vaz.”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson) for assisting in tabling the new clause, which is about ensuring that we put the family at the heart of our society by doubling the rates of maternity, paternity, adoption, shared paternity and parenta…”

“I welcome the Minister’s reassurances and I beg to ask leave to withdraw the clause. Clause, by leave, withdrawn. New Clause 12 Substitution Clauses “(1) Any agreement, whether a contract or otherwise, between— (a) an employer or a contractor of services, and (b) an employee, worker or dependent contractor must not inc…”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. When I became an MP, I never thought that I would be standing before a Committee talking about clause 4. However, this is not about public ownership but is actually about non-disclosure agreements. Non-disclosure agreements were originally about keeping trade s…”

“I am sure that my residents would be horrified that these proposals are seeing the light of day in the Committee. I am shocked that Conservative Members are putting them out there. I expected us just to pass on by them, but I want to make sure that it is on the record that the Liberal Democrats do not support these rat…”

“It is important that we hear from the Minister about getting the balance right and supporting people’s rights, while not being too invasive to businesses. I look forward to hearing from him.”

“I am concerned about the heavy weather that colleagues on the Opposition Benches are making of this. For me, this measure is about driving a positive culture in employment, and the board’s balance is entirely appropriate. I welcome the clause.”

“I broadly welcome the proposals in the clauses, and I look forward to the Minister’s explanation of the issues outlined by the shadow Minister.”

“I know from my surgeries and casework in Torbay that discrimination is sadly alive and well. I ask the Minister to reflect on some of the evidence from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which talked about the provision leading to fragmentation and the possibility of some of its standard work falling between two…”

“It is a pleasure to work under your chairmanship, Mr Mundell. I broadly welcome the bringing together of powers under the fair work agency. I note that the Secretary of State is due to publish an annual report, but I am sure that businesses in Torbay would be interested to know where in the Bill the critical friend is …”

“I welcome the points made by the shadow Minister, and wait eagerly to hear from the Minister.”