Speeches by Chamberlain.

“T6. I have two constituents who have been awaiting work capability reassessments since July and September 2024. That is more than a year that they have been stuck in limbo, rather than preparing to get back to work. Will the Minister confirm what my team has been told—that extreme waiting times are now normal in the De…”

“As a former police officer, I have watched the roll-out of Police Scotland with some sadness because, despite best efforts, it has not delivered in Scotland what the Home Secretary hopes to achieve with her amalgamations. Communities feel that neighbourhood policing is further away from them, and that they do not have …”

“Business rates are crippling, particularly for the hospitality sector in my constituency, including hotels. We in Scotland have not seen the initiatives that have delivered business rates relief in other parts of the United Kingdom. The UK Government may be U-turning on this issue, but would they consider a cut in VAT …”

“The hon. Member always manages to touch in advance on the key topics that we will raise in the debate, and timescales in relation to ATAS is certainly one of the things that I will touch on. I turn to the time it takes for ATAS checks to be carried out. I am grateful that the Minister wrote to me last week confirming a…”

“The Minister has just mentioned the Home Office. I suppose part of our frustration as a team was that ATAS responsibility sits within the FCDO rather than the Home Office, and that there is a lack of knowledge and understanding. I am very pleased to hear that work is ongoing. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that t…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the Academic Technology Approval Scheme. It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher; I wish you a happy new year, although we are probably in the dregs of when we can say that. I welcome the Minister for what I hope will be a constructive half-ho…”

“I put my thanks on the record—it is great to hear that the case was expedited as a result of our actions—but what I have tried to illustrate today is that we had no real knowledge of that or of how to achieve it, so I am grateful to the Minister for that update.”

“I find it interesting that the Minister says that this is the right policy. That is what the Government said on 23 December, but not what they said at oral questions on 18 December—the day before we rose for recess. I have spoken to farmers who will now not be affected by the tax, but who have spent cashflow and hard-e…”

“The hon. Member and I are members and officers of the all-party parliamentary group on Afghan women and girls. On the point about education and access to healthcare for women, we hosted a meeting last year with Dr Feroz, a former Health Minister in Afghanistan. He spoke movingly about the case for medical care for Afgh…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for giving way again. She is speaking powerfully about aid and contributions. May I briefly mention the global polio eradication initiative? Polio could be eradicated in the next three years, which would be a historic milestone for the world, but to do that the UK Government need to commit £50 mil…”

“I know the Minister’s commitment to and experience of Afghanistan. Before Christmas, the APPG, including the hon. Member for Norwich North (Alice Macdonald), met the UNHCR Afghanistan representative. As we know, many people are returning to Afghanistan from Pakistan, Iran and elsewhere, and they are often from single f…”

“The Minister rightly mentions the Chevening scholarship scheme. I also commend the work of the Linda Norgrove Foundation in relation to the 19 female Afghan medical students who are brought to the UK to study at Scottish universities. That was really groundbreaking work between the UK and Scottish Governments on fundin…”

“Happy Christmas to you and your staff, Mr Speaker, and to everyone here. Despite the agricultural supply chain adjudicator having a remit over fair dealings for milk prices, it appears that contracts are essentially a one-way street, with milk processors dictating prices. A constituent of mine, a dairy farmer, has rece…”

“The child maintenance system presents a number of challenges for MPs. The fact that the Minister for the CMS is in the other place is one of those challenges, and it means that we have not debated the child maintenance system in Government time for some time. It is also a challenge from a Scottish perspective, because …”

“10. What steps she is taking to support dairy farmers.”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) on securing this debate. I am the Liberal Democrats’ Chief Whip, so I am not given to making speeches as a Liberal Democrat spokesperson, but I have chosen to speak in this debate because my degree is in English language and literature and—as other Members ha…”

“The hon. Member is making a very technical speech, but it is bringing to light the challenges in the planning process. Although the situation in Scotland is devolved, I recognise quite a lot of what he is saying. He is talking powerfully about the impact of air quality on people, but it also affects nature and wildlife…”

“My constituent fled Ukraine after Russia’s illegal invasion. She is now 89 and disabled after suffering a stroke here in the UK, and is therefore bed-bound and needs specialist care. She recently applied to renew her visa, but the Home Office told her that her existing documents were no longer recognised, she needed a …”

“I always appreciate the Minister’s optimism, but I was with my local chamber of commerce a few weeks ago and it did not have the same views on how the Government are doing with growing the economy. I heard from a hospitality business in my constituency that costs for next year will go up by £150,000. They will not make…”

“As the hon. Member for Dunfermline and Dollar (Graeme Downie) highlighted in his opening remarks, as the MP for North East Fife, I represent St Andrews, so I thought it was important to be here today. St Andrews was the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland until the Reformation, but it was not always a safe harbour for r…”