Rebecca Smith

Con

119 parliamentary sessions on record in this archive

119 sessions page 5 of 5
Commons Proceedings 25 June 2025
Nuclear-certified Aircraft Procurement
I am sure the Minister recognises that in addition to this plan to diversify the deterrent launch method, the UK must ensure that our strategic CASD enterprise has an effective and productive industrial base, delivering faster maintenance times. Can she therefore confirm whether these aircraft will …
Commons Debate 24 June 2025 2 contributions
Department of Health and Social Care
We know that a key part of primary care is community pharmacy. Indeed, that was recognised in the Darzi report, which stated: “One of the great strengths of the health service in England has been the accessibility of community pharmacy.” The previous Government committed to community pharmacy thro…
I entirely agree with my right hon. Friend. Indeed, St Luke’s hospice in my constituency will be facing exactly the same issues. At risk of closure is Tubb pharmacy in Newton Ferrers in my constituency, which I have raised in this place before. Pharmacist Esi has been helped massively by an incredi…
Commons Debate 24 June 2025 2 contributions
Department for Education
I want to talk about the real-life impacts of the decisions in the education estimates, and specifically, due to the short amount of time, on school funding. There is a village in my constituency called Buckland Monachorum for whom school funding is a particularly pertinent issue. It is in the midd…
I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention. I agree that, and there are issues right across the country. The trust in my constituency is facing financial pressures: teacher pay awards, unfunded beyond 1.7%, mean a 4% increase, costing £359,330; support staff pay awards, unfunded beyond 0.9%,…
Commons Ministerial Statement 23 June 2025
UK Modern Industrial Strategy
I welcome the announcement of Plymouth’s defence cluster and the national centre for marine autonomy. I am proud that much of this work is being done in my constituency at Turnchapel Wharf and soon at Langage in the Plymouth and South Devon freeport, and that it includes Smart Sound, all of which we…
Commons Debate 17 June 2025 3 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
I rise to speak for new clause 106 and against new clauses 1 and 20. I am grateful for this opportunity to place on the record my grave concerns about this hurried attempt to significantly alter our nation’s abortion laws. It is my view that by doing so we risk creating a series of unintended conse…
I do not think it is a case of being corrected. I have significant concerns that, should the new clauses be passed, those are the next steps—it is a bit of a slippery slope. We may just have to disagree on that. Public opinion and professional advice are clear. Polling undertaken by ComRes reveals …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons Oral Questions Education 16 June 2025
Adoption: Children in Foster Care
Adoptive parents right across my constituency are rightly concerned about the impact of Labour’s recent cuts to the adoption and special guardianship support fund. Following last week’s spending review, what hope can be offered to families in my constituency and up and down the country who need the …
Commons Debate 13 June 2025 7 contributions
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
I rise to speak to amendment (a) to new clause 15, tabled in my name, which I hope hon. Members will support. Although it may seem technical, it is in fact a simple amendment with a significant impact. It will ensure that there is genuine protection against abuse, proper detection of coercion, and e…
On the first point, I do not believe that the Bill is strong enough as it stands. On the second point, we are already dealing with the fact that families are not even guaranteed knowledge of their loved one having an assisted death, so I do not think the hon. Lady’s point is entirely to be considere…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons Westminster Hall 11 June 2025
NHS Funding: South-west
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for Torbay (Steve Darling) for securing this debate. I am here to focus specifically on fertility treatment in Devon, which is one of the costs we have because of the atrocious funding situation to which the hon. Mem…
Commons Oral Questions Energy Security and Net Zero 10 June 2025
Topical Questions
T10. In 2026, Formula 1 will be using a fully sustainable drop-in fuel in all its cars. Does the Secretary of State agree that this provides an exciting opportunity for the UK to lead the world in using research and development from Formula 1 to support the pursuit of net zero for all motorists, and…
Commons Westminster Hall 10 June 2025 3 contributions
Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme: Capital Disregard
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I too congratulate the hon. Member for Beckenham and Penge (Liam Conlon) on securing this debate and on pursuing his private Member’s Bill. It is a pleasure to be here this afternoon. It is worth reflecting on the stories we have heard.…
An honour—yes, I like that. It is also great to see Jane and Joshua here. The hon. Member for Torbay (Steve Darling) always makes very good local connections and shares his own stories so well. This has been a really interesting debate and, although we had the break for the Division, we have been a…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons Debate 9 June 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
It sounds as though the hon. Member, like me, has a deep passion for ensuring that we maintain nature, so does he agree that a simple measure would be to accept new clause 30, which would extend permitted development rights for ponds of up to 0.2 hectares, providing vital freshwater habitats for up …
Commons Westminster Hall 4 June 2025
Swimming Facilities
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing the debate. He is spelling out the challenges that local councils face. Does he agree that we have a particularly big challenge coming down the road—albeit one that is already in front of us—in new towns? In Sherford in my constituency, a swimming pool and a…
Commons Debate 3 June 2025
Dementia Care
As a fellow South Hams representative, I wonder whether the hon. Lady would agree that the Government’s lack of focus and targets for dementia diagnosis is having a particular impact on rural constituencies such as ours, given that treatment is so dependent on diagnosis. Does she also agree that the…
Commons Westminster Hall 20 May 2025 5 contributions
Adoption and Kinship Placements
I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for children in adoptive and kinship placements. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Mrs Harris, and I thank so many hon. Members for being present in the Chamber. I will keep my speech as short as possible so th…
The hon. Gentleman takes the words right out of my mouth, and if he stays for the whole debate he will hear me say exactly that. He raises an important point: we are asking people to care for the most vulnerable children, and if we do not give them the tools to do that, they will not apply in the fi…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons Westminster Hall 20 May 2025
Pensions: Expatriates
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) on securing this important debate, and I thank everybody who is here to take part; it is heartening to see what is, to all intents and purposes, cross-party …
Commons Oral Questions Defence 19 May 2025
Topical Questions
The British defence company Babcock employs over 2,000 people from my constituency. The long-awaited strategic defence review is due any day now, so will the Secretary of State set out how the Government will do more to prioritise British defence jobs, and British firms that will not only provide tr…
Commons Debate 16 May 2025
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
I tabled amendment 102 in good faith, as I thought it might be workable. I want to reflect on what the Minister said at the beginning of his speech. I do not recall ever being offered an opportunity to pass my amendments to Government officials to ensure that they would be workable. Given the scope…
Commons Oral Questions Women and Equalities 7 May 2025
Violence against Women and Girls
My constituent Keith Levell was sexually abused at school, and was referred to as a number, not a name, during the investigations. He has been holding out for the redress scheme for victims of child sexual abuse, and for a written apology for the life-changing experiences to which he was subjected. …
Commons Oral Questions 6 May 2025
GPs: Time with Patients
My constituent Dr Toby Nelson, an NHS consultant dermatologist, has started a business that seeks to address the heavy demand on primary care for skin health screening. His business Map My Mole sends an image capture kit to patients to attach to their smartphones. The patients then send a high-resol…

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