Contributions
401 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDFinancial Risk Checks for GamblingOkay. I think I answered that earlier. Look, we all want to protect vulnerable people. The analogy I always use is that a pub makes its money from selling alcoholic drinks to…26 Feb 2024HANSARDFinancial Risk Checks for GamblingIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I refer hon. Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests; I am also proud to be the Member…26 Feb 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsT4. I understand that the Government are looking to further restrict the ability of sex offenders to change their name. Should we not impose at least the same restrictions, or…26 Feb 2024HANSARDFinancial Risk Checks for GamblingThey are very different. Someone with more experience may correct me, but I think I am right in saying that across the world, horseracing is funded by gambling companies. I am not…26 Feb 2024HANSARDFinancial Risk Checks for GamblingMy hon. Friend is absolutely right that the black market is a real threat. The tobacco industry may have made a lot of it, but it was because people were turning to the black…26 Feb 2024HANSARDFinancial Risk Checks for GamblingMy hon. Friend tempts me to go down a road that I am not quite sure I want to go down. The SNP is capable of speaking for itself.26 Feb 2024HANSARDDefence Manufacturing: Employment11. What assessment he has made of trends in levels of employment in the defence manufacturing sector in the next 12 months.19 Feb 2024HANSARDDefence Manufacturing: EmploymentMy Tewkesbury constituency contains a lot of aerospace manufacturing, particularly for the defence sectors, but those companies have long complained to me that they cannot attract…19 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingI am going to say why it is important to have both national and local strategies.06 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingI beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of flooding. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Sharma. In 2007, Tewkesbury and many other areas of the…06 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingAbsolutely. The hon. Lady makes a very good point. It is important that we are able to do that, for all sorts of reasons. Farms also flood. Although there is compensation for…06 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingMy hon. Friend and neighbour makes several good points. I am sure that the Minister has heard that and we can take up those issues. This issue is not going to go away. If…06 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingBy all means.06 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingI entirely agree. That is a very good point. Making it available is one thing; enabling people to access it is something else. I entirely agree with the hon. Lady.06 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingAbsolutely. That is why rivers run to the sea. It is a very good point. One of the arguments made against dredging—I am afraid it is on the Government’s website—is that clearing…06 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingYes. My right hon. Friend has anticipated a point that I am about to make, so I thank him for that intervention. As I said, schemes have been put in place and grants have been…06 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingI agree with my hon. Friend, and I am very glad she made that point—there certainly should be that responsibility for the infrastructure. Building is sometimes allowed on appeal,…06 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingThat is certainly is what we should do. I ask the hon. Member’s forgiveness for not going into her point in more detail, as I will have to wind up in just a minute. In closing, I…06 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingAbsolutely. That is right. Business rates are one of those strange things; businesses pay without having made a profit. It is an unusual tax, so I certainly think that a lot of…06 Feb 2024HANSARD FloodingMy hon. Friend is right, and makes a good point I will touch on. Although some flooding is occasionally inevitable, we can take action to avoid some of the worst excesses. Since…06 Feb 2024