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592 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD High Street RetailersWould the hon. Gentleman agree that the Government “high street rental auctions” approach, in which councils can auction the retail rights of an empty shop, is valuable, but that…05 Feb 2025HANSARDApprenticeshipsAnother key development site, similar to the projects my hon. Friend has mentioned, is Tata’s Agratas gigafactory near Taunton. It is important that colleges can set up…04 Feb 2025HANSARDPension Credit Take-upThose on the guaranteed element of pension credit receive the warm home discount, but many do not. Following the changes made a couple of years ago, linking the warm home discount…03 Feb 2025HANSARD Local Post OfficesThe hon. Lady makes a very good point, and I am extremely grateful to her for helping us to secure this debate. Post offices act as hubs for a whole range of services, and they…30 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Post OfficesI have learned today from the hon. Member for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard (Alex Mayer) that Postman Pat is the model to follow, and just like Postman Pat himself, post office…30 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Post OfficesThe right hon. Member is quite right. I know Billericay and its post office, and I certainly support his remarks. Post offices are simply too important to be lost, and we have to…30 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Post OfficesI agree with the right hon. Gentleman. There is a risk that the statistics are somewhat skewed by the fact that a parcel drop-off point or a van that visits occasionally may be…30 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Post OfficesI agree with my hon. Friend. I will comment on that aspect of banking later. I pay tribute to the friendly and hard-working staff in my local post offices on Station Road and in…30 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Post OfficesIndeed. I think the hon. Member had read the next sentence of my speech, which was about the post office branch housed in WHSmith on Fore Street in Taunton. That business is…30 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Post OfficesThe hon. Member is absolutely right, and I will emphasise that point later, because the destiny of banking hubs is wrapped up with that of post offices. Post offices are the…30 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Post OfficesI beg to move, That this House has considered the future of local Post Office services. I am grateful to everyone for attending this debate on a Thursday afternoon on post offices…30 Jan 2025HANSARD Local Post OfficesI agree. I am sure that the Government will say in due course that, whatever its exact business model, a viable post office is what matters, and there would be some truth in that,…30 Jan 2025HANSARD Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords]Does my hon. Friend agree that one kind of support that such community groups need is water restoration grants? Those are vital and will flow from the water restoration fund,…28 Jan 2025HANSARD Creative IndustriesI know my hon. Friend has been to the cultural mecca of Taunton in Somerset, so will she credit the town council? She talks about long-term funding, and Taunton town council is…27 Jan 2025HANSARDClimate and Nature BillSome have queried the urgency or indeed the need to reduce emissions from fossil fuels, but does my hon. Friend not agree that, with 250 people in Somerset alone estimated to die…24 Jan 2025HANSARDListed Places of Worship SchemeIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Western. I congratulate the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) on securing this debate. In Taunton and Wellington, we…22 Jan 2025HANSARDListed Places of Worship SchemeI am very grateful to the Minister for giving way. He said £25 million. Is it correct that there was £42 million of funding in the past? Is this a cut of £20-odd million?22 Jan 2025HANSARDListed Places of Worship SchemeWill the Minister give way?22 Jan 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill—the sunshine Bill—received a sunny disposition from all sides of the House among the private Members’ Bills we debated on Friday. In the…20 Jan 2025HANSARDNew Homes (Solar Generation) BillDoes the hon. Gentleman agree that it was a shocking dereliction of duty when the previous Government cancelled the zero-carbon home programme, which would have allowed for the…17 Jan 2025