Nick Smith MP: speeches

Speeches

• 17 Dec 2024 · Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme: Living Standards · Hansard source

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  In Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, 1,600 miners received the biggest number of increased payments from the mineworkers’ pension scheme in Wales. All of my uncles on my mum’s side were miners. Dessie Winter, who is alive and well, will benefit from the MPS changes, but my uncles Georgie and Jackie were pit supervisors who paid into the separate National Coal Board staff pension scheme. They have sadly passed, but their colleagues deserve fairness. Since 1994, the Government have received £3.1 billion from the BCSSS. Will the Secretary of State say if he will look again at the staff side’s surplus payments to benefit our pensioners?

• 5 Dec 2024 · Cyber-security · Hansard source

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  8. What recent progress his Department has made on strengthening cyber-security.

• 5 Dec 2024 · Cyber-security · Hansard source

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  The college in Ebbw Vale has a brilliant cyber security course training young people for jobs in this growing sector. However, the national cyber-security chief says there is a “widening gap” between the UK’s defences and the threats posed by hostile nations, so can the Minister confirm what is being done to scale up the workforce to defend our crucial infrastructure?

• 27 Nov 2024 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Last weekend in Cwmtillery, torrential rain caused a landslip. Slurry, even boulders, poured down streets—people were afraid. The Chancellor just agreed a welcome £25 million for coal tip maintenance in Wales. Given the impact of extreme weather events, will the Prime Minister continue to prioritise coal tips, in order to keep our communities safe?

• 25 Nov 2024 · Storm Bert · Hansard source

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  Storm Bert has been devastating for my constituents. In Cwmtillery, with its disused coal tips, 160 mm of rain fell in just 48 hours. Across Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, homes have been washed out, children’s Christmas presents have been ruined and families without insurance are counting the cost. I hugely welcome the £25 million in the Budget for Welsh coalfield tip maintenance and safety measures; that makes a big difference. Given, though, the extraordinary weather that we saw on the weekend, will the Secretary of State please look again to see if further support will be available for coal tips in the future?

• 17 Oct 2024 · Access to Period Products · Hansard source

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  May I say how glad I am to give my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova) a break this morning? I also praise the former Chair of the Administration Committee, Sir Charles Walker; he has been a great friend and a great champion for this House. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for City of Durham (Mary Kelly Foy) for asking this important question. The House of Commons Administration is committed to providing period products for emergency use; they are available free of charge in selected toilets across the parliamentary estate. No one should be put in an uncomfortable situation due to lack of access to emergency period products.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Access to Period Products · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a great point. The House service was asked a year ago to provide period products for emergency use, and it engages with groups, such as our workplace equality networks, to ensure accessible products throughout our House. On constituency offices, as Members of Parliament we are responsible for our staff, and away from this estate I would expect a Member, as an employer, to decide on what provision to arrange for their teams. However, I am happy to take that point back to the Administration Committee for further consideration of take-up and distribution, and I will contact my hon. Friend in good time on the matter.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Restoration and Renewal · Hansard source

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  I know that my hon. Friend has been an advocate for this programme for many years. Together, as members of the Public Accounts Committee, we sought safety for all of us here on the estate, the modernisation of our facilities and value for money. Detailed designs are being developed and surveys continue. The work of the R and R programme has been continuing at pace over the past six months, following the work of the client board and the programme board. We will work together on this.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Restoration and Renewal · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is right about the importance of moving faster and reducing costs on this important programme. I do not know the detailed answer to the question he asks, but I will get back to him.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Restoration and Renewal · Hansard source

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  Earlier this year, the Restoration and Renewal Client Board published the strategic case for the R and R programme, which sets out how to deliver the R and R works that will be developed in detail over the next year. This detailed work, which will include robust cost, timescale and risk estimates for all three options, is expected to be presented to the House in 2025 to enable an evidence-based decision on how best to restore our lovely Palace.

• 16 Oct 2024 · Project Gigabit: Chester South and Eddisbury · Hansard source

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  The Minister knows that improved connectivity is important to the economy of our south Wales valleys. However, it has been hard for me to get definitive information on the roll-out of Project Gigabit to Trefil, just north of Tredegar, in my constituency. Will he please look into this so that my constituents in Trefil, and across the rest of Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, know when their broadband service will improve?

• 10 Oct 2024 · City Regions: Connectivity · Hansard source

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  I was reading the Treasury’s “Fixing the foundations” document, and I understand that because of the need to restore control over public spending, the Government have had to cancel the restoring your railway programme. However, I note that individual projects will be reconsidered in the Transport Secretary’s review. Will the Minister please look at the development of the Abertillery spur on the Ebbw Vale to Cardiff line, as he considers good-value investment and connectivity in our railways infrastructure?

• 9 Oct 2024 · Film Industry · Hansard source

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  I welcome the statement. As a recent chair of the all-party parliamentary group for film and broader screen, I applaud the work of the British Film Institute, which does a great job as a champion of this fantastic sector. In Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, we have the brilliant Cymru Creations, a local film company that helps young people to produce great films and learn a brilliant trade. What more can the Secretary of State do to support small and medium-sized enterprises in this sector? It is vital that we get behind them.

• 12 Sept 2024 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  May I say how good it is to see my right hon. Friend in her role as Leader of the House? The Competition and Markets Authority, backed by the Court of Appeal, found that pharmaceutical firms Auden McKenzie and Actavis UK charged excessive and unfair prices for hydrocortisone tablets. NHS spending on those products rose from around £500,000 to over £80 million a year. Producers gaming the system to gouge the NHS is a bad look. Tens of thousands of people depend on those tablets to treat conditions such as Addison’s disease. May we have a statement on NHS procurement? Our new plan for procurement must prevent bad actors from ripping off our NHS.

• 12 Sept 2024 · NHS: Independent Investigation · Hansard source

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  Pharmaceutical producers Auden Mckenzie and Actavis UK charged excessive and unfair prices for hydrocortisone tablets. NHS spending on those products rocketed because producers gamed the system. How will my right hon. Friend ensure that future procurement processes deter the rigging of drug prices?

• 12 Sept 2024 · Funding for Farming · Hansard source

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  May I support your thanks to Terry Wiggins, Mr Speaker? He has been a great servant of this House and is a lovely bloke. The Conservative complaints about support for farmers are a bit lame. Has the Secretary of State had the opportunity yet to work out why there was an underspend of over £100 million in the agricultural budget last year?

• 11 Sept 2024 · Clean Energy Projects · Hansard source

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  1. What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for clean energy projects in Wales.

• 11 Sept 2024 · Clean Energy Projects · Hansard source

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  I support my right hon. Friend’s sentiments, and wish her well in her job. In advance of the statement, what can she say about jobs and investment in this crucial sector?