Speeches by Chamberlain.

“Paul, I have a clarification query. When you were in your previous role as Clerk of the Backbench Business Committee, was the Petitions Committee in existence? Would you have looked at what the Petitions Committee and the Backbench Business Committee were doing to ensure that there was a lack of duplication?”

“There is absolutely no doubt that sometimes, if people are only engaging with Parliament through Petitions Committee debates, having signed a petition, the bottom line is that beyond the Minister’s response, there is no requirement for further Government action. The public expectation on that can be quite difficult to …”

“If I can just make an observation, the other challenge is the reduced numbers of Members putting in to speak in the substantive Government business. That is, first, because they wonder whether they will get any time at all; and secondly, because if they do get any time, it will be much reduced because a time limit will…”

“Like other Members, I have met businesses in my constituency that will be severely impacted by what is being proposed in agriculture, and they do not want to put additional costs on farmers, who are already struggling. In one of his earlier answers, the Minister said that the overall strategy of trying to increase stee…”

“T8. I understand that the FCDO sent representatives to Afghanistan to meet women’s organisations a few weeks ago, so may I seek assurances about the safety of those women’s organisations going forward, and ask for a written statement on the outcomes and context of that meeting?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. Some people, both in this place and outside of it, say that politicians are out of touch, that they do not care and that they do not bring their lived experience to the Chamber. I want to thank the hon. Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) for everythin…”

“I associate myself with the remarks of the Leader of the House and the shadow deputy Leader of the House on the knife attack in Belfast this week. I also thank the Leader of the House for the business. I need to put on the record that this is a momentous weekend, with Scotland’s first world cup match since 1998. I had …”

“I did not serve in this Parliament at the same time as Jo Cox, but I have served here at the same time as my friend, the hon. Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater). I recognise on my behalf, and that of a number of MPs who she and I engage with cross-party, that she really embodies the legacy of her sister—that, cros…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg, and to speak on behalf of the Liberal Democrats today. As the Chief Whip of my party, I seldom get the opportunity to do so, but when the opportunity arose to talk about the Commonwealth games coming to Glasgow, I was keen to participate. I assure Members—jus…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg, and to speak on behalf of the Liberal Democrats today. As the Chief Whip of my party, I seldom get the opportunity to do so, but when the opportunity arose to talk about the Commonwealth games coming to Glasgow, I was keen to participate. I assure Members—jus…”

“Which is not quite the same. Natascha, what are your views?”

“This question is to you both. What, if any, challenges are there in terms of how the Backbench Business Committee operates and should look to operate, going forward?”

“Ian, you were Chair of the Committee in more recent years. What are your reflections on the aims of the Committee that you chaired?”

“Well, we are getting updates on compensation and the scheme, and I am sure we are all hearing from constituents as well. When the Committee came to a conclusion in 2015 with the general election, what were your reflections on whether your three rules had been achieved?”

“Which is still a live topic today.”

“Thank you both for being here today. Natascha, having been on the Wright Committee, do you feel that those early aims that you outlined met the spirit of what the Wright Committee was looking at? How did you approach that?”

“I am hearing from you both quite strongly that giving just some petition debates Chamber time is not the answer, and that it needs to be considered in the round. As I said, I think I know your answer to this, Natascha, but should the Petitions Committee have its own allocation, if that were to be the case, or should it…”

“It could be the speed of numbers, for example, because I suppose that would increase the topicality. Natascha, do you have any thoughts?”

“On the topic of better managing expectations, there is absolutely no doubt that some petitions, particularly those with over 100,000 signatures, are very popular. That is not only in terms of attendance by MPs because of the high numbers, but also by attendance of people who come to see the debate in Westminster Hall, …”

“Alongside the hon. Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson), I was present at the meeting with the Prime Minister last week. I welcome the Minister to her place and thank her for her time at the meeting. We have heard consistently from survivors that they were trafficked in many locations by many different people. Given t…”