Clive Efford MP: speeches

Speeches

• 12 Feb 2025 · Fuel Poverty: England · Hansard source

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  Order. Can I just say that I need to bring in the mover of the motion for a couple of minutes at the end? Thank you, Minister.

• 12 Feb 2025 · Fuel Poverty: England · Hansard source

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  Order. Before I call the next speaker, I inform Members that I have to impose a limit of four minutes if I am going to get everybody in by half past.

• 12 Feb 2025 · Fuel Poverty: England · Hansard source

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  In relation to England, you mean.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Airport Expansion · Hansard source

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  I voted against the framework for Heathrow airport in 2018 because I was not satisfied that the legislation before us would deal with air quality, noise, climate change and surface access issues. Does my hon. Friend agree that if we are to go ahead with a third runway at Heathrow, we must satisfy ourselves in this House that those issues have been addressed, and that they cannot be set aside by developers once they have permission to go ahead?

• 28 Jan 2025 · Extremism Review · Hansard source

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  I must be careful here, Mr Speaker, because I think you were right to allow this urgent question. However, can my hon. Friend the Minister explain just exactly why we are here? It seems to be—

• 28 Jan 2025 · Extremism Review · Hansard source

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  The shadow Home Secretary seems to have come here to ask questions about a document that is not Government policy and to stand there making indignant statements about issues that are not Government policy either. Does my hon. Friend not think that we should be taking a much more level-headed approach to this issue than that which has been displayed by the Conservative party?

• 23 Jan 2025 · ECO4 and Insulation Schemes · Hansard source

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  I welcome my hon. Friend’s statement, and congratulate her on the detail with which she is answering questions and on showing how much she is on top of her brief. Only on Friday, a constituent came to see me who had a new boiler fitted and insulation done under an ECO grant. The work had been subcontracted by the company that originally won the contract, and that something that exacerbates the problem. That company clearly was not up to the standard required to carry out the work, and lots of remedial work was required. How can we ensure that the people who win these contracts do not subcontract to companies that are not capable of carrying out the work, meaning that we end up with the situations the Minister has described?

• 23 Jan 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I have a 13-year-old constituent who suffers with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a muscle-wasting disease that he was diagnosed with at age 11, which is very late, due to what is called a spontaneous mutation. None the less, the condition has progressed rapidly. There is medication—givinostat—that can delay the advancement of the illness. It is being made available free to the NHS, but the hospitals that want to use it on their patients need some financial assistance to roll it out as part of an early access programme. May we have a statement from the Department of Health and Social Care on the issue, so that we can make representations on behalf of our constituents who suffer with Duchenne?

• 23 Jan 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  What progress has been made on improving engagement with those infected and affected by the contaminated blood scandal? As the Paymaster General is aware, there has been a great deal of concern among those people and the organisations that represent them. May I urge him to sit down with his opposite number in the Department of Health and Social Care, which is responsible for getting aid to the organisations that support those people who are infected and affected, because they are desperately in need of the resources?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Artificial Intelligence Opportunities Action Plan · Hansard source

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  I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Future AI will be essential to the future of our public services, particularly in improving productivity. Can he say exactly what the Government will do to assist our public services to take advantage of the opportunities that AI offers?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Gas Storage Levels · Hansard source

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  My understanding is that these notices are issued at times of high demand, and that they are evidence of the system working in order to prevent power cuts or the system breaking down. I would have thought the Conservatives would have learned their lesson from the spike in international gas prices that caused the crisis in people’s fuel bills and led to a cost of living crisis, but they have learned nothing from that. Does my hon. Friend the Minister agree that this really underlines our policy of ensuring that we have a secure provision of renewable energy, which leaves us less open to spikes in prices on the international market?

• 13 Jan 2025 · Live Events Ticketing: Resale and Pricing Practices · Hansard source

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  I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) for the doughty way in which she has fought this corner for many years. I remember how even back when I was the shadow sports Minister and this was my area, she was campaigning hard on it. This is very much legislation in favour of the fans. We have to remember that, in many cases, the artists realise that their own fans are being priced out of being able to go to their concerts by the practices of these online ticket touts, so legislation is well overdue if we want to make tickets affordable so that true fans can see their favourite bands and artists. I urge my hon. Friend to move ahead swiftly to bring it in.

• 6 Jan 2025 · Health and Adult Social Care Reform · Hansard source

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  When I raise concerns about GP appointments, GPs tell me that they have difficulty recruiting to posts in their practices. Too few newly qualified doctors choose general practice as their profession. What can we do to get those doctors in place, so that we can make diagnostics in the community work?

• 19 Dec 2024 · Hospice Funding · Hansard source

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  This is a very welcome announcement and I am sure the hospices are breathing a sigh of relief after the level of funding they endured for 14 years under the Tories. If we are to move palliative care out of hospitals and into care situations or people’s homes, the money needs to be passported to the hospice sector for it to play its part. Integrated care boards have been charged under the Health and Care Act 2022 to provide that funding. Will the money go through ICBs or will it be passported straight to the hospice sector?

• 19 Dec 2024 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I welcome my hon. Friend’s statement, and I urge him onwards. I rise to demonstrate my support for the stand we are taking in supporting Ukraine. My thoughts are with the people of Ukraine, who are entering their third Christmas in this conflict. Europe has learned the harsh lessons from dealing with dictators in the past. Does he agree that at a time when there is potential for change in America’s policy towards Ukraine, Europe needs to stand together, and to make sure that we do not allow Putin to succeed in any way, because the consequences of that for future generations could be damaging indeed?

• 19 Dec 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Will my right hon. Friend arrange a debate in Government time in the new year on the funding of political parties? I wonder what it means when a party talks about sovereignty and is then willing to sell itself entirely to a foreign-owned entity, while using slogans like “Take back control”. We have seen the controversy of the Conservative party’s fondness for taking a few bob from Putin’s oligarchs, and we have seen the recent scandals involving the Chinese trying to influence politics in this country. I think that we, as this Government, must make sure that we are saying that our politics is not up for sale, and I think we should have a debate about it in the House.

• 18 Dec 2024 · Post Office Redress and Funding · Hansard source

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  I welcome my hon. Friend’s statement and the fact that he is putting more resources and manpower into processing people’s claims. But I wonder where the complexity of these claims is coming from. Are we asking for too much information from people in the first place? I watched the evidence of Sir Alan Bates at the Business and Trade Committee, and I have read some of the cases in the news. In one case, a person with breast cancer had their compensation reduced and I thought, hang on a minute, this may be going too far and is a bit churlish. Just how much information is being gone through in order to process these cases? I wonder if we may want to go back and look at that. I have spoken to the Minister about this, and I know that he wants to speed the process up as much as possible. Is it possible that we could streamline the process?

• 17 Dec 2024 · Old Oak Common Station · Hansard source

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  Order. Mr Amos, you were not here at the opening; I must remind you that you should be here for the opening speech. However, as we have made good time, I will allow you to speak, because I appreciate how important the issues are to our constituents.

• 17 Dec 2024 · Old Oak Common Station · Hansard source

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  We have 14 minutes left, but that is not an invitation for a long speech from Max Wilkinson. I call him to sum up.

• 17 Dec 2024 · Old Oak Common Station · Hansard source

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  Order. I remind hon. Members who wish to speak to stand, so that I know you wish to speak. When a speech ends, you must stand. I note that there are a number of people who want to intervene. I am happy for that to take place, but interventions must be brief. I will not put a hard time limit on speeches, but five minutes is about the right length of time to get everybody in. If you could stick to that timescale, it would be very helpful.

• 17 Dec 2024 · Old Oak Common Station · Hansard source

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  I call Ann Davies.

• 17 Dec 2024 · Musculoskeletal Conditions · Hansard source

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  I understand that Sonia Kumar has agreed that another hon. Member can make a contribution. I will then go straight to the Minister. As is the convention with half-hour debates, there will be no opportunity for the mover to sum up at the end.

• 17 Dec 2024 · Musculoskeletal Conditions · Hansard source

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  I was told that it had been arranged for you to speak.

• 17 Dec 2024 · Musculoskeletal Conditions · Hansard source

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  I call Lizzi Collinge.

• 12 Dec 2024 · Floating Offshore Wind: Celtic Sea · Hansard source

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  We have plenty of time for this debate. I remind Members to bob in their places if they intend to speak, so I have some idea of who will contribute.