I know some of the witnesses through non-parliamentary activity. When they sit down, I will explain to the Committee my connection to them.

I declare that I am an unpaid parliamentary vice-president of the Local Government Association, which has supplied one of the witnesses for this panel.

In the interests of transparency, I have met various witnesses in other settings in my official capacity as shadow Minister.

I beg to move, That this House has considered the performance of Royal Mail. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I want to ask everyone to go along with me for a few seconds by closing their eyes a...

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. The timelines he is outlining have not been met, but that has coincided with a remarkable increase in the cost, particularly of first-class stamps, in the past five...

I have been looking at the numbers over the last few years, and Royal Mail has gone from significant losses of about £400 million three years ago, to £200 million losses, to making a £14 million profit last year. Becaus...

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of trail hunting to the rural economy.

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I refer the House to my interests as a landowner in Norfolk, over which trail-hunting has always taken place legally This in...

My Lords, the Government are committed to enacting a ban on trail-hunting, in line with our manifesto commitment, and will shortly be launching a consultation to seek views on how to deliver an effective, enforceable ba...

Q 56 Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us this afternoon, Mr Hughes and Mr Marshall, and thank you for what you do in your professional roles. I have two general questions. You obviously have a unique set of experie...

Q Most of our witnesses in this morning’s session share that viewpoint with you, and I understand your point on not wanting to comment on GB policy, Mr Marshall. Forgive me for asking that question. I also want to ask a...

Q Mr Marshall, is there anything you wish to add? David Marshall: Nothing substantial—just that I think the younger community here in Northern Ireland get it and accept it. The older community have been through that tra...

I remind hon. Members that they may make a speech only with the prior permission of the Member in charge and the Minister. As is the convention for 30-minute debates, there will not be an opportunity for the Member in c...

I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for domestic abuse survivors. It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship in this important debate, Mr Twigg. I thank all Members for attendin...

I commend the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate; he was absolutely right to do so. I am also very happy to see the Minister in her place and I look forward to hearing her response. Does the hon. Gentleman share my...

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages and the merits of introducing similar provision in the United Kingdom.

My Lords, as with other relevant EU directives, the Department for Business and Trade is monitoring the EU directive on adequate minimum wages. As we are no longer an EU member state, we are not obliged to transpose its...

I thank my noble friend for that reply, and I welcome this Government’s determination to deepen relations with the EU and ensure that UK workers’ rights do not fall behind those of their EU friends. This new directive h...

I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 (Amendment) Order 2026. The draft order flows from the legislation agreed by the House yesterday afternoon, and is a nec...

I am in the rather fortunate position of being able to stand here as an Opposition Whip and shadow Minister who does not receive a ministerial salary, so I cannot be accused of having any conflict of interest in support...

I thank the Opposition for their broad support. I will not be drawn too far on Whips’ salaries, if that is okay, but I thank the hon. Gentleman for the spirit in which that point was raised. As I said, although it is te...

1. What steps she is taking to help ensure reliable broadband services in hard-to-reach areas of rural constituencies.

By means of commercial and subsidised delivery, the Government are ensuring that gigabit-capable connections are available to 99% of UK premises by 2032 through, for instance, Project Gigabit. This is critical for all U...

Yesterday I spoke to my constituent Luca, who has spent months campaigning for the investment that is needed to secure a reliable internet and phone connection for his community in the village of Lambley. He has been pu...

I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for freedom of religion or belief in China. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Ms Jardine. I am grateful for the opport...

I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this important debate. With respect to the Uyghurs, does she agree that what we are witnessing in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China is not simply a matter of restricted religious f...

I do agree, and I will come to that later. I am glad that the hon. Gentleman has said more than I was going to say—I thought I was saying too much. Yes, he is absolutely right, and it is dangerous for us all. The situat...

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support councils to regenerate struggling high streets and towns.

My Lords, this Government recognise the very real pressures facing high streets and town centres, from long-term vacancy and rising costs to crime and changes in how people use town centres. That is why we are backing c...

My Lords, Pride in Place is a programme delivering to 300 communities over the next 10 years. In those next 10 years, what financial support will be available to those hundreds or maybe thousands of communities across t...

I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Further Education (Initial Teacher Training) Regulations 2026. Thank you, Dr Huq, for chairing this Committee. Teacher training quality is critical across all p...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. These regulations introduce four key obligations for institutions delivering specified initial teacher training for further educational courses. First, provider...

There is an opportunity here for a brief respite from what might be happening in the rest of the building and to share some cross-party agreement, so let me say that we were delighted that the previous Conservative Gove...