Speeches by Hobhouse.

“I hear what the Minister is saying, but the Metropolitan police and other forces tell us that it is incredibly difficult. The Bill gives us an extra opportunity to protect young children from a terrible pathway into addiction and crime. Is it not the task of this Government to stop that?”

“I rise to speak to new clause 1 in my name. It would strengthen the Bill by requiring the Secretary of State to conduct a review and publish a report on the impact of contaminated e-liquid and ways to reduce its prevalence. It would also give the Secretary of State power to make regulations to kerb the harm caused by c…”

“The hon. Lady is talking about refillable vapes. Does she agree that contaminated refills are a huge problem, and that the Government should take that seriously and amend the Bill further?”

“I congratulate all the petitioners on securing this important debate. More than 400 signatures came from my constituents alone, and I believe it is democratic to debate these important issues. Today is the start of a very important debate, and I hope the Government will listen. I say to the petitioners that I fought to…”

“Like people in Hartlepool, we in Bath recognise that the Conservative Government left our flood defences in a poor state, and we welcome the extra funding that the Bath flood defence scheme has received. However, we worry that it has come too late in a lot of cases. Is there a timeline for when my Bath constituents wil…”

“Many victims are so traumatised after an assault that it takes them some time to come forward. That causes delays and allows perpetrators to erase their traces. What more can we do to encourage any victim of assault to come forward as quickly as possible, knowing that they will have support as soon as they report somet…”

“I add my condolences to the shadow Leader of the House. I agree that at a time when boys and young men are lacking role models, the memory of his father is a powerful example of why dads matter. King Edward’s school in Bath came third in the national reading champions quiz. I am sure the Leader of the House will join m…”

“But it is often the customers who have the responsibility. It seems that there is an imbalance, because it is the customers who pick up that a bill is not accurate. They even have to query when something has been billed incorrectly.”

“Given the number of faulty smart meters, do you believe that they have reduced incidences of wrongful back billing, or simply introduced new technical errors?”

“If the display does not work, that is a transparency issue: if I think this is what I've consumed and the energy company records something entirely different, that is just not acceptable, is it?”

“That is a high number.”

“But it is often the customers who have the responsibility. It seems that there is an imbalance, because it is the customers who pick up that a bill is not accurate. They even have to query when something has been billed incorrectly.”

“As well as overt discrimination, there are many hidden ethnic disparities, particularly in healthcare. Mortality rates in maternity services are four times higher for black women and twice as high for Asian women. What discussions is the Minister having with the Department of Health and Social Care to address those hug…”

“Given the number of faulty smart meters, do you believe that they have reduced incidences of wrongful back billing, or simply introduced new technical errors?”

“That is a high number.”

“If the display does not work, that is a transparency issue: if I think this is what I've consumed and the energy company records something entirely different, that is just not acceptable, is it?”

“Do you think that it is because of the smart meters that companies can now back bill, when in the past they would have written the bills off?”

“Do you think that it is because of the smart meters that companies can now back bill, when in the past they would have written the bills off?”

“Thank you for coming to give evidence. We have already heard you say that the number of back billing is in the low thousands, but the impact on those who are at the other end and are being back billed is quite high, therefore it is important that we raise all these questions. Why do you think that so many energy suppli…”

“But it is often the customers who have the responsibility. It seems that there is an imbalance, because it is the customers who pick up that a bill is not accurate. They even have to query when something has been billed incorrectly.”