Speeches by Hobhouse.

“Again, that only goes to show that it is a system that is not really fit for purpose and does not serve the consumer.”

“The Chair knows that I am always getting very impatient on the last question. I want to go back to investment costs in the network. You have ultimately already answered earlier in the session that we are now paying for the lack of investment in previous years, mainly because they often did not want the bills to be high…”

“Another very small question, but maybe it is a big question. The decentralised and flexible system that is required for the energy future that you mentioned earlier, is the market able under the current system to cope with that?”

“I also have a question of understanding relating exactly to the two paragraphs or now three paragraphs before. Were you suggesting that we hold something like 5% of gas in storage for a windless and sunless day and then we can bring it in? The problem with nuclear of course is it has to run—you cannot turn it on and of…”

“Surely improving our railways should include the ambition of making our public transport cleaner and greener. In Bath, dirty diesel trains are still running through the city. Surely one of our first steps should be an ambitious electrification plan, reversing or addressing the years of failure of the previous Conservat…”

“May I give the Minister another example in which the numbers simply do not stack up? Mr B’s independent bookshop in Bath will see its business rates bill rise by more than 70% after factoring in changes to rateable value. The changes were packaged as a move away from short-term fixes, yet vital discounts have been scra…”

“20. What steps she is taking through the tax system to help reduce costs for small and medium-sized businesses.”

“In October, more than 200 UK and EU cultural and creative organisations issued a joint statement calling for the UK to rejoin Creative Europe and take part in its proposed successor, AgoraEU, giving lots of young people access to grants and cultural exchanges. What assessment have the Government made of rejoining Creat…”

“I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. I congratulate her branch of Headway on its wonderful work and the award it is about to receive. What would we do without local charities leading the way and, often, guiding us? In Bath, North East Fife and other constituencies across the country, Headway provides day service…”

“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dame Siobhain. I congratulate the right hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Sir John Hayes) on securing this important debate. Every 90 seconds, someone in the UK is admitted to hospital with an acquired brain injury. Participation in sport carries some of th…”

“When you were engaging with the public in your citizens’ assemblies, did you find that it was easier to engage with the public on nature issues rather than on electrification and energy transition?”

“Is it not asking the consumer ultimately too much, saying that they are responsible for it? It is for the Government and industry, for example, to pick up, then government incentives or government policy certainly, all these sorts of things, where ultimately the responsibility and the burden is not on the consumer and …”

“Winding up on what you have just been saying, your citizens’ assemblies, for years I was a member of the Electoral Reform Society. They were always saying citizens’ assemblies are so effective in engaging, but it is a weigh-up for Government how much money and resource you want to invest in that. I would say informatio…”

“If something is cheap, easy and affordable, which consumer would not make that decision?”

“It is a discussion and it is also feeding back to what we heard and that is the co-benefit with nature. Nature is to one effect also very much affected by climate change so a lot of species loss, a lot of habitat loss, but at the same time nature can also be a saviour of a lot of things. How would you see that relation…”

“So climate action and nature protection are not running against each other but very much work together?”

“In Bath, our economy depends on highly skilled workers in engineering, the creative industries and the digital sector. Employers tell me time and again that the current apprenticeship system simply does not deliver the pipeline they need. Will the Government be serious about growth by replacing the broken apprenticeshi…”

“While the detail of whether the Treasury was dealing with a fiscal black hole or a fiscal lack of headroom will be rather lost on most of my Bath constituents, does the Minister agree that the weeks of speculation leading up to the Budget were very damaging, particularly to businesses, and that his Department could hav…”

“I would be happy with either.”

“Thank you, Chair and members of the Committee, for letting me speak to my application this afternoon. For many years now, this Committee has kindly allocated a debate for Eating Disorders Awareness Week. It is something that the eating disorder charity Beat asks Parliament to do as part of Eating Disorders Awareness We…”