Speeches by Slade.

“13. What discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on that country's military presence in the west bank.”

“It emerged today that a 17-year-old Palestinian boy who had been taken from the west bank has died in Israeli detention, having been held for 6 months without charge. Israel has been striking inside the west bank, and in doing so emboldening illegal settlers in their own violence. Given that Israel claims that it is ta…”

“Here we go again. This is very similar to what we spoke about last week, so I will again put on record my thanks to the noble Lords for their work in pushing forward the amendments from the other place. We welcome the business rates reform and look forward to a far more substantial overhaul of the system. However, we a…”

“My constituent Peter from Corfe Mullen has had numerous run-ins with e-scooters and off-road bikes. What consideration is the Home Secretary giving to the redefinition of electric bike so that it is genuinely an electric bike?”

“I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker—I ran all the way from the top floor of Derby Gate, but I was not fast enough. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests: I am an elected member of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council. The people of Birmingham have a right to receive decent s…”

“Thank you for calling me to speak, Ms Hobhouse. As the Committee knows, the Lib Dems are unhappy with the decision to cancel local elections in May. We think it is a denial of democracy. I have concerns about two specific things. The first relates to the examples that have been given of other places where elections hav…”

“For clarification, I do not think we would object to the process or intent of reorganisation— I have been through it as a local leader, but the process was quite different. I am thinking about the suddenness and the shortness, and my concern is about consultation in advance of the decision to take this particular route…”

“Canford Magna in my constituency is proposed as a site for a new energy-from-waste incinerator, which will burn 260,000 tonnes of waste a year—more than the whole of Dorset’s use. I am concerned that as we reduce our levels of waste with the brilliant new plans to recycle more, we will end up having to feed the monster…”

“Actually, the Liberal Democrats took over after a long time when the whole area had been run by the Conservatives, and so picked up a complete car crash.”

“We all want to stop the perilous channel crossings that are costing vulnerable people their lives, so what steps are the Government now taking to boost further co-operation with Europol so that we can smash the gangs that are profiting from misfortune?”

“The hon. Member is talking about productivity and growth. How does he square that with the additional tax on early years care? That care allows parents to work. If parents cannot work and employers cannot afford to bring young people through, how are we going to get the nation working? Nurseries are on their knees and …”

“I thank the hon. Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) for schooling me in maths—I am not very good at that. I begin by expressing my strong support for the Bill, particularly its efforts to enhance child protection and ensure better collaboration between professionals involved in children’s care. I welcome the measures in p…”

“Can the Secretary of State offer some reassurance to Sue from Wareham about her 45-year-old son, who is permanently disabled through childhood illness? She told me that he has great abilities and works part-time with support, but every time there is a change of circumstance, he has to prove his permanent disability aga…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention. In fact, Kathryn from my constituency wrote me a very long email talking about welfare versus education—two totally separate issues. People are really upset and would have been devastated and distraught to hear the hon. Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Col…”

“I think a lot of people who do not know anything about home education miss the fact that there is a whole community of home educators, and home-educated children spend plenty of time with their peers, but they are just different peers—others who prefer to have their education outside a school environment—and there is a…”

“8. What steps her Department is taking to help increase uptake of pension credit.”

“The rate of take-up for pension credit has traditionally been between 60% and 65%. If that rate were uplifted, it could take 400,000 people out of income poverty. In Dorset, the number of over-65s has increased by about 20% over the past decade. People say that their biggest concern is the paperwork they have to comple…”

“T7. My constituent Sarah left an abusive relationship but, after she applied for maintenance, her ex-partner denied parentage, putting the children through DNA tests; delayed matters; claimed special expenses; and then declared nil earnings, despite having just bought a house with a mortgage—all accepted with no invest…”

“I was contacted by members of the Great Big Dorset Hedge initiative three weeks ago, who told me that capital grants under SFI had already been frozen. Can the Minister confirm when the decision to close was actually made, whether applications submitted will be granted and how long applicants will have to wait? As farm…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Lewell-Buck. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) for securing this important debate. It was deeply disappointing to hear this week about the bodies being removed as statutory consultees. I completely agree with my hon. Friend the M…”