Jim Shannon MP: speeches

Speeches

• 28 Apr 2026 · International Parental Child Abduction · Hansard source

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  It is always a pleasure to have you in the Chair, Dr Murrison. I thank the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) for bringing this very difficult matter to the House. It is as heartbreaking as it is complex, and she illustrated that very well. The wrongful removal of a child from their home and family—international parental child abduction—is not always a mere legal dispute. It is a profound violation of a child’s security and a parent’s rights. I am pleased to see the Minister in his place. I wish him well: he always seems able to encapsulate our thoughts, whether we are here or in the Chamber. We will thank him for his answers today and look for some direction. It is always a pleasure to see the shadow Minister, the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), and the Lib Dem spokesperson, the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), in their place. Over the years, there have been occasions, although not many, when I have been involved with families affected. I was a Member of the Legislative Assembly and am now in my 16th year as an MP. For the Democratic Unionist party, the protection of the family unit and the safety of our children have always been paramount and always will be. That is reinforced by seeing our own children growing up, and even more at the grandchildren stage: I am very much there now with six grandchildren. We believe in a society where the rule of law is respected and where those who seek to circumvent our courts, whether by crossing the Irish sea or an international border, are held to account. Everyone will know the film “The Equalizer”, with Denzel Washington. For anyone who has not seen it, it is definitely worth watching. I repeatedly watch it when it is on TV. It starts with a lady in New York whose daughter is missing after going on holiday with her dad, who had decided not to send her back. It is a film, of course, and not real life, but the character played by Denzel Washington was able to go on a train to convince the father to send his daughter back. Although the father had four burly bodyguards, Denzel Washington was able to dispatch all four of them with a sharp credit card. Sometimes we all wish we had a Denzel Washington in our corner—the man who can make things happen. Maybe I should not say this, but sometimes it is necessary to slip slightly aside of the rules to ensure a son or daughter can return home—and he did that. We welcome the progress of the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently moving through this place. I thank the Minister for Policing and Crime for all the hard work and effort that went in to making that happen. I need not say any more about all the amendments from the House of Lords that came back. Last night, none came back, so that is now laid to bed. Although it is a crime to take a child out of the country without consent, there is a gap in our law. It has always been a clear criminal offence to retain a child abroad after a permitted holiday or visit. The Bill would correct that injustice and ensure that wrongful retention is treated with the same seriousness as abduction. The hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead clearly illustrated that in her contribution setting the scene. It is a common-sense change that we wholeheartedly support. Families have been torn apart. Without naming names, a mother’s son was taken on holiday by his dad. This lady from Northern Ireland was married to a man from Lebanon, and the young boy was able to go on holiday there. We all know that Lebanon has been a country in crisis for many years. It was almost impossible to find out where the father lived and where the child was, in a society that closes ranks. There is a mother back home in Northern Ireland whose heart is breaking. That is a difficult situation to deal with. The consulate was able to give some assistance, but it was a tragically difficult case. Legislation alone is not enough. We must ensure that the 1980 Hague convention is not just a piece of paper, but a working reality. When a child from Northern Ireland is taken to a foreign jurisdiction, they should be returned promptly so that our local courts can decide what is in their best interests. We cannot have a situation in which foreign jurisdictions become a safe haven for those who defy Northern Ireland’s judicial orders. Although I call on the Northern Ireland Executive and the Department of Justice to ensure that our central authority for Northern Ireland is fully resourced, the issue is UK-wide—it clearly falls on the shoulders of the Minister who is here today—and I believe that we must see UK-wide protection. Families in these crises do not have weeks or months to wait. Every day in which a child is separated from their habitual home is a day of trauma. We all love our children and grandchildren. If someone’s child is away somewhere where they feel powerless, unable to do something, that must weigh heavily on their shoulders, both physically and emotionally. We need very swift and decisive action and seamless co-operation between the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Home Office and international partners such as Interpol. We must continue to press for a justice system that is responsive, a border that is secure against such activity and a law that puts the best interests of the child at the heart of everything we do. I look forward very much to the contributions from the shadow Minister, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson and the Minister in particular. I will conclude with this. Let us stand together to ensure that this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a place where every child is protected and where no parent ever has to face the agony of an empty bed because of a blatant disregard for our laws. Our laws have to be paramount, and they have to work for the people. Our duty today in this House is to ensure that our Government can provide that for them.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Dunmurry Police Station Attack · Hansard source

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  I thank the Secretary of State for his answers. Police numbers, intelligence, CCTV, IRA infiltration, people sending information—those are all issues. It is beyond disappointing that this same New IRA was able to plan to hijack and deploy a second device in west Belfast without any prior interception. The Chief Constable of the PSNI and the Police Federation for Northern Ireland have continually highlighted a lack of resources for policing. Will the Secretary of State please explain whether the lack of ability to combat this group of murderous, terrorist thugs is due to failures in intelligence sharing—MI5, MI6, special branch—or to a lack of police service on the ground that affects patrolling in high-risk areas? More importantly, what steps will the Secretary of State undertake to address those issues?

• 27 Apr 2026 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill (Carry-over) · Hansard source

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  I spoke to the Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland before the debate started to check in on what he was putting forward. There is some indication that protections will be put forward that Ministers hope will support the armed forces, but there are no similar protections whatsoever being offered to personnel of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and other branches of service in Northern Ireland. Some 319 RUC members gave their lives during the troubles, while thousands were injured; they deserve the same protection and help. Can the Secretary of State indicate what protections will be offered to the RUC personnel who gave so much for us, for their freedom and liberty?

• 27 Apr 2026 · Northern Ireland Troubles Bill (Carry-over) · Hansard source

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  One thing that really concerns me is that this carry-over motion has been pressed by the Irish Government. That absolutely boggles my mind. The double standard is entirely shocking. The Irish Government need to be held to account for their role in protecting IRA murderers across the border. We think of all those ones who were murdered: Kenneth Smyth, my cousin; Daniel McCormick, his comrade; Lexie Cummings, and Stuart Montgomery. They were just four, but there were many, many more. Whenever there were murders, the murderers raced across the border. Does the hon. Gentleman share my anger on behalf of my constituents and my family, who want to know why the Irish Government have more say in this than the victims of Northern Ireland, my family and others?

• 27 Apr 2026 · Pension Schemes Bill · Hansard source

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  According to the Order Paper, “The Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru have approved Legislative Consent Resolutions”. Some of my colleagues in the Assembly back home have expressed some of the concerns that the Lords have expressed. I am conscious of where we are going and where we will end up. Can the Minister please give me some indication of the content of the discussions that took place with the Northern Ireland Assembly? Members of the Legislative Assembly tell me they expressed concern. I am trying to understand how a consent motion could be conveyed and agreed.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Ernest Bevin · Hansard source

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  I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing this debate. My Strangford constituency has a very proud military and industrial heritage. I believe Bevin’s role in founding NATO and his unwavering support for a strategic nuclear deterrent are just as vital to his legacy. Does the hon. Member agree that Bevin’s common sense, patriotic approach is something that all of us, on both sides of this House, stand to learn from today, especially when it comes to supporting our veterans and of course our national defence?

• 27 Apr 2026 · Public Office (Accountability) Bill (Carry-over) · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for bringing this forward. There is much in the Bill to be recognised and welcomed, but does she agree that this is not just about the Hillsborough tragedy, which was awful, but about my constituents in Strangford, who, when they seek the truth from public bodies, are met with a wall of silence or, worse, a culture of circling the wagons? Does she further agree that the legal duty of candour is not just about paperwork and that it must be about restoring the fundamental bond of trust between the Government and those who govern?

• 27 Apr 2026 · Public Office (Accountability) Bill (Carry-over) · Hansard source

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  It would be remiss of this House not to put on record our thanks to the hon. Gentleman and the hon. Member for Liverpool Wavertree (Paula Barker) for all their hard work to make this happen, and for their endurance, perseverance, determination, courage and commitment. We are all greatly moved by the efforts they have made over the years, and because of them, the Minister and this Government have brought forward a legislative change, with this carry-over motion tonight. This great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is better off for their collective efforts.

• 27 Apr 2026 · State Pension Age Changes: Compensation · Hansard source

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  I ask this question on behalf of the 6,000 WASPI women in Strangford. Given that the Department’s own 2007 evaluation raised serious doubts about the effectiveness of letters to pensioners, how can the Minister justify the decision that no direct financial loss occurred when thousands of women were deprived of the 28-month notice period required to adjust their life savings and retirement plans? In the light of the Scottish Parliament’s decision to again press this issue in February, will he please do the right thing, put actions before apologies, and deliver help and support? I say that respectfully, but I do want a good answer.

• 27 Apr 2026 · State Pension Age Changes: Compensation · Hansard source

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  3. What recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing compensation to women born in the 1950s affected by changes to the state pension age.

• 27 Apr 2026 · Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response Update · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for his statement— he is a decent and honourable man. In phone calls to my office only this morning, Strangford constituents have expressed their dismay about Government cover-ups. Even my constituents’ bank account comings and goings are questioned, and when they make withdrawals, they are asked where their money is from and what it is for. There is a perception out there that there is one rule for the Government of the day and another for everyone else. How can the Minister begin to show people that we are all accountable to scrutiny?

• 27 Apr 2026 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  I think every one of us would welcome the Government’s movement on mobile phones. In Northern Ireland, we had a pilot scheme to start with. We all welcome this measure on the issue of social media. It is for England and Wales, I understand, but will the shadow Secretary of State—I wanted to ask this in an intervention on the Secretary of State—consider passing on the details of the legislative change, so that we in Northern Ireland can take advantage of some of the good things coming forward? We should share those good things.

• 23 Apr 2026 · UK Biobank Data · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister very much for his statement. As my party’s health spokesperson, I know that research on health is so important initially. UK Biobank is a critical part of that in finding the methods and drugs for cures. The disclosure of data is always a worrying issue, so will the Minister confirm that the breakdown and the data breach do not reach as far as Northern Ireland? For example, Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University are deeply involved in all sections of health research. Has their research been compromised in any way? We always ask for close co-operation with our universities as an integral part of the United Kingdom, and it is essential that opportunity and protection be afforded throughout the whole United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

• 23 Apr 2026 · Young Adult Carers: Education and Training · Hansard source

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  It is a real pleasure, as always, to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I thank the hon. Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) for requesting time to debate this vital topic. I do not think he ever makes a contribution without mentioning Harlow, and well done to him. Indeed, I have probably never made a contribution without mentioning Strangford, but that is by the way. It is important to remember who we represent and speak on behalf of in this Chamber. I commend the hon. Gentleman on his energy, his interest in this subject and his incredible speech, which was detailed and full of information we all need to consider. I am pleased to see the Minister in his place. In this debate, I suspect every one of us will be of the same mind, including the Minister. At the end of my speech, I will have a number of asks of him. The situation in Northern Ireland is no different from that in Harlow or anywhere else. Members from various constituencies are here to talk about a group of people who are the backbone of our society, but who often remain invisible. Their endeavours are perhaps not seen or talked about, but that is not why they do these things: as the hon. Gentleman said, they do it for the love of their siblings, their mum or their dad—whoever it is they are caring for. There are literally thousands of young people in Northern Ireland who, instead of focusing on their exams or their social lives, provide vital care for their loved ones. This debate is a chance to tell their story. Over my years as an elected representative, I have had many opportunities to speak to young carers and meet their families, and to understand their situations. Early in my time as an Assembly Member, I spoke to a young boy who looked after his mum in the West Winds estate in Newtownards. I remember the commitment that that young boy had to his mum and also to his siblings. His mum was a single parent, and she was housebound and, if I recall rightly, wheelchair-bound as well. That young boy gave great physical help to his mum, including by getting his siblings to school in the morning. Those are things the mum would have done, but he did them because she could not. It is very important that we remember that. The example of that young fella from way, way back always sticks in my mind. The scale of responsibility is staggering. According to the latest figures, there are some 17,500 child and young adult carers in Northern Ireland, representing roughly 8% of all unpaid carers in our region back home. The 2021 census highlights a very stark age profile: we have at least 2,500 carers under the age of 15. I know that this is not how they see it, but those young shoulders have to support a physical and an emotional burden. When they move into early adulthood, those numbers grow: over 5% of our 15 to 19-year-olds and more than 8% of our 20 to 24-year-olds are providing regular unpaid care. It is not just about the numbers. Although the stats are important to give the mathematical background, they do not fully explain the issues—it is about the intensity of that care. In Northern Ireland, more than 10% of young carers under 18 are providing over 50 hours of care every single week. I think of the intensity of that care and that young boy who I knew some years ago and whom I referred to—he is now an adult; he has married and moved on in his life. There is an intensity of care if someone is wheelchair bound, bed bound or unable to do things physically, and the duty falls on the shoulders of the daughter or the son to sometimes do things that are quite intimate, which is also a problem. Those 50 hours of care every single week are more than a full-time job, balanced on the shoulders of someone still in school or starting their career. That commitment comes at an incredibly high price. Research shows that young carers are 1.5 times more likely to experience educational difficulties than their peers because the pressures on their young shoulders are enormous. They are also facing a poverty penalty—a point on which the Minister could respond. People will ask what that means; it means that roughly one in four unpaid carers in Northern Ireland live in poverty. For many of our young carers, it also means missing out on school trips and socialising with their friends, because when they get home from school they are looking after their mum or the other children and making their tea, looking after their health needs and giving them their medications. Young carers are even missing out on basic essentials such as heating and food. One guy told me that they are often “one white good appliance away from destitution.” In other words, they are dependent on everything working in the house—the microwave, the toaster, the kettle and the lift up the stairs or into the shower—for those things that are otherwise impossible for someone who is severely disabled to do themselves. We know the value of this work. Unpaid carers save the Northern Ireland Executive, my Assembly, an estimated £5.8 billion every year. That is what those 17,500 young carers do every year, yet the support they receive does not ever reflect that contribution. It is time for our Government to move beyond Trojan work and—I say this with great respect—patronising praise. My first ask of the Minister is that there must be financial recognition through an uplift to the carer’s allowance. I know that these things will not necessarily be within the Minister’s remit, but I would appreciate him pushing for them following the debate today, ever mindful of what is happening.

• 23 Apr 2026 · Young Adult Carers: Education and Training · Hansard source

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  It means we are thinking alike about what we need to do, and that is important. We have collectively understood the issues. My second ask is for what I would refer to as a carer’s essentials payment to cover the unavoidable extra costs of caring. There are things that creep up—I was going to say that we all know how the household works, but my wife knows more about it than I do—and there are exceptional cost issues for a carer looking after someone. My third ask is for the implementation of a new carers strategy. Again, if we understand the issue better, hopefully we can respond better. That should protect young carers under equality law because, with respect, sometimes the law falls short of the high standards we set and expect for our young carers. My fourth ask is that, as the hon. Member mentioned in his intervention—I thank him for that—there should be educational grants and a systematic approach to identifying carers in every school and college so that they never have to choose between their education and their family. The hon. Members present, the Minister and the Government all want to ensure that our young carers reach their goal or their vision of what they want in employment. I think about that young boy I referred to, who was my first introduction to a young carer many years ago when I was in the Assembly. He achieved his goals eventually; he was a strong young fella supported by his family. It is about the colleges, schools, teachers and education system wrapping their arms around young people and saying, “We know you’re under pressure at home, but can we help with some teaching there? If you’re not able to make it to school one day, we’ll understand and help you catch up.” It is about giving them full support. The hon. Member for Harlow made that specific point at the beginning. As the hon. Member said, we could go on and on because there are so many examples, but the bottom line is this: young carers are propping up a health system that would collapse without them, and we need to remember that. We recognise their good work, but we should also be there to support them. They deserve to have a childhood, an education and a future that is not defined by financial strain. I say this with great respect: let us stop closing our eyes to their struggle. It is time to see them, value them and, most importantly, support them.

• 23 Apr 2026 · Young Adult Carers: Education and Training · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member; that was going to be my fourth request, by the way, so well done.

• 23 Apr 2026 · Young Adult Carers: Education and Training · Hansard source

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  Not to interfere with the flow of the Minister’s reply—he is saying positive stuff, and I thank him for that—but perhaps the hon. Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) should be at that meeting and the follow-up, if that would be agreeable. The hon. Member could feed back to us, as participants in this debate, on how it went, if that is okay with the Minister.

• 23 Apr 2026 · Synthetic Chemicals · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chair of the Select Committee and all members of the Committee for their hard work and endeavours on synthetic chemicals and for highlighting the dangers to us all as citizens and to the environment. Environmental issues are a devolved matter, so what discussions or inquiries did the Select Committee and the Chair have with the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and perhaps the Health Minister at the Northern Ireland Assembly? Regulations are a necessity, and they will have an impact not just here, but in Northern Ireland. I ask that question to be helpful, and I hope the Chair can give us an answer.

• 23 Apr 2026 · Public Procurement · Hansard source

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  Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for his answers and for his endeavours to try to do better. The Minister and this House must recognise that public confidence is incredibly low due to repeated failures by the Government, I say respectfully, to do the right thing. How can the Government and the Minister ensure that changes take effect that restore confidence and remove any shade from areas of government? We have an obligation as elected representatives to openness and transparency.

• 23 Apr 2026 · Gambling Advertising · Hansard source

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  I spoke to the hon. Member about this beforehand, but problem gambling is a critical issue for us in Northern Ireland, where rate is 3%, compared with 2.7% here on the mainland. A recent survey found that 65% of adults in Northern Ireland felt there were “too many gambling advertisements”, 71% supported a watershed for gambling advertising and 42% said gambling advertising should be banned altogether. Does the hon. Member not agree that this House can and must work with the Northern Ireland Assembly back home to ensure that immediate protections are enshrined in law?

• 23 Apr 2026 · Gambling Advertising · Hansard source

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  I have already apologised to you, Mrs Harris, to the hon. Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) and to the Minister for the fact that, because of the strikes, I need to take a taxi to catch my plane, so I cannot, unfortunately, be here for the whole debate. However, I spoke to the hon. Member for Halesowen before the debate about Northern Ireland’s gambling laws, and although I think he is already aware of this, I would like to put on record that those laws predate the internet, meaning that remote or online gambling is completely unregulated in Northern Ireland. Gambling operators can advertise in Northern Ireland if they hold a licence from the Gambling Commission. However, it is notable that the Gambling Commission does not have jurisdiction in Northern Ireland, meaning that the Advertising Standards Authority cannot refer operators that commit multiple breaches of its codes there to the Gambling Commission. Does the hon. Member agree that that lack of regulation must be rectified urgently? I suppose that that is also a question for the Minister to respond to at the end.

• 23 Apr 2026 · Housing Conditions in Temporary Accommodation · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chair of the Select Committee for a truly excellent report and for highlighting the issues of temporary housing. In Northern Ireland, the pressure for housing is critical, and temporary accommodation has therefore become more important and sought after. The hon. Lady is to be congratulated on this report. Will she also share it with the Northern Ireland Minister for Communities, my colleague Gordon Lyons? It has highlighted some matters that are very important to my people back home, and it is so important that when we learn something, we share it.

• 22 Apr 2026 · Junior Doctors’ Foundation Programme · Hansard source

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  From this morning’s papers—perhaps the hon. Member will wish to refer to this—it seems that the Health Secretary had engaged with the British Medical Association and had an agreement with its leader. Does the hon. Member share my disappointment that even with that agreement, it went ahead with the strikes? When it had agreed a wage packet for doctors that could be anything from £50,000 as a starting wage to £100,000, it seemed that we had the recipe for an agreement, yet it was all thrown away by, it seems, the BMA.

• 22 Apr 2026 · Junior Doctors’ Foundation Programme · Hansard source

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  It certainly is. To be fair, I do not know of any doctors who have made the journey, but I know that they are certainly aware of the bigger wage packets available in, for instance, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, where they can go for two or three years. The problem is that if they go away for two or three years, they may never come back. It is not just a matter of going to earn big money to pay off student fees and move forward—it is more than that. It is a critical issue, so the hon. Member is right to mention it. I wonder whether the Minister would consider in his response the option of having student doctors sign a retainer that would keep them in the NHS, and consider providing a bursary for their fees. I understand that Wales does that; I know it is a regional matter for us in Northern Ireland, but if Wales can do it, there are certainly points for us to consider. I have constituents who have gone to Wales from Northern Ireland for the purpose of going away for two or three years—I think of one young lady in particular whose family I know well. She went to Wales and completed her full studies there at university and in the hospitals. Then, of course, what happens? She meets a young Welsh guy and he sweeps her off her feet and the next thing we know, she is engaged, she is married—she is never coming home. We will not have the advantage of that young lady’s expertise, but Wales will. I am very pleased that Wales will have that expertise, because she is an excellent student and person. I am sure there are many other people for whom the same thing has happened, because love is a funny thing, is it not? When it gets you, you cannot get off it. You are caught forever. From my point of view, my wife has stuck with me for 39 years—my goodness, she needs a medal. I have spoken at length about intelligent, capable young people who feel overworked and underappreciated but who, most importantly, feel overwhelmed. That can change with support—support that must echo from here not with words, but with appropriate pay and staffing. If we do that, we will retain the best of the best within the NHS. I do not doubt that that is the desire of the Minister and this Government, and of every hon. Member here.

• 22 Apr 2026 · Junior Doctors’ Foundation Programme · Hansard source

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  As always, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank the hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley) for setting the scene incredibly well. We all appreciate his in-depth portrayal of the issues. I thank him for his 40 years, as I understand, of service to the NHS. It probably does not seem that long but, on paper and statistically, it clearly is. The hon. Member has forgotten more than I will ever know about the procedures, as I speak from a layman’s point of view. I can, however, outline what young doctors have told me, which certainly bears repeating. They work through their F1 and F2 years in fight-or-flight response. They work unsociable hours without a support network. They make life and death decisions, then return home from that night or day on duty and wonder whether they made the right decision. They wonder whether they missed something and they worry about their patients. Doctors are empathic with their patients, they are compassionate and they understand the issues incredibly well. They follow shift patterns that on paper look like a different week but, in reality, they are working 80 hours over seven days. Off days on call keep them on tenterhooks waiting to know if they will be called in to do more work, which they will respond to out of duty and compassion. They are scheduled to finish work at 8 o’clock and on a regular basis they only leave at 9.30 pm. They start work before 8 am and take their first break at 2.45 pm, and that is not a one-off on a busy day—every day is a busy day. It is almost like “Groundhog Day”—that film where the alarm goes off at 6 am, he gets up, he does all the things, he goes back to bed and the next day starts the same—but for doctors, it is life and death. When I asked how they function on that lack of sleep and sustenance, one 23-year-old doctor told me: “I keep sweets in my pocket and pray for guidance.” It needs to be more than that. I carry sweets in my pocket because, as a diabetic, if I feel myself going down, I have a chew on one and it brings me back up again, but for them, it is to ensure their concentration. Christians always pray for guidance in everything they do. They need wisdom in all the work that they do. When I asked that 23-year-old doctor what was next for her in life, what she wanted to specialise in and what her hopes were for the future, she said: “I am so exhausted that I don’t think anything is next.” The exhaustion takes over. The workload is overwhelming. Put simply, she is burnt out and feels unsupported and uncertain—not because she is not a confident person, but because the workload and all that she has done have overtaken her. That is replicated numerous times, in too many doctors for us to attribute it to personality. It is not her personality, because she is a lovely young lady; it is the current procedure. I am very pleased to see the Minister in his place. He has empathy and understanding of what we need for our doctors. I am confident that his reply will encourage and hearten us. Hopefully, it will also help with the expectations on young doctors from families and with the paperwork—that has never been more onerous, yet there is no time for them to set aside to do it because they are overwhelmed by the workload in wards and A&E and surgical work supporting doctors. If their placement is in a smaller hospital, they do not have the support of house doctors or consultants during evening shifts, and the pressure is immense. I said earlier that it is overwhelming, and it is, to the extent that they sometimes just say to themselves, “My goodness me, how am I going to keep going?” We all understand that medicine, by its very nature, is highly pressured and that skills are learned not only in books, but in practice. For the junior doctors I met back home, it is a physical practice—they learn by what happens in the ward. Home-grown students are not being retained, however, so changes to the system must take place, and take place soon. In his introduction, the hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket referred to one doctor who went from Norwich to Belfast and another who went from Belfast to Norwich. It is unreal, and it seems idiotic—I use that word in a very gentle way—that that should take place. Training a doctor in the UK costs the taxpayer roughly £230,000 to £327,000 per student from medical school through foundation training. That is a big sum of money, but we are training someone on whom we depend to be the best in a critical situation in hospital. Who of us, when we have a chat with our doctor and ask for their opinion, will not accept what the doctor tells us as gospel? We trust that we can depend on that doctor’s diagnosis of the disease, so that money must result in qualified, capable doctors and not just young people who could have made a difference if they had been given the support and reasonable working hours with reasonable pay to make all the on-calls and missed sleeping patterns worth it.