"I do not know whether the Secretary of State has any plans to speak to the hon. Member for Clacton (Douglas Carswell), but if he does will he ask him why he now supports a party that would decimate the UK’s aid budget? Does the Secretary of State, like me, …..." Fiona O'Donnell - View Speech
"I apologise for my late arrival. I congratulate the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Andrea Leadsom) on securing, with her friends and colleagues, such an important debate. It is excellent to have the opportunity to debate these important matters at length under your chairmanship, Mr Weir.
"I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. It is so distressing—no child chooses where it is born. No child is born bad; bad things happen to children. It is really depressing to face the idea that a child’s outcomes should be determined by the streets they were born between. …..." Fiona O'Donnell - View Speech
"I absolutely agree, and I am grateful to the hon. Lady for making that point. It is unacceptable that there should be a postcode lottery when there could not be a more vital time to intervene.
I return to my point about the importance of breastfeeding and supporting mothers in …..." Fiona O'Donnell - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman may not be aware of work undertaken by the chief medical officer of Scotland, Harry Burns, on brain development in children from families with generations of economic deprivation. It showed that their brains were developing differently: the fight-or-flight part of the brain was overdeveloped. That shows that …..." Fiona O'Donnell - View Speech
"Will the hon. Gentleman also pay tribute to Mumsnet? Mumsnet is a safe, non-judgmental and anonymous place where mothers can chat and seek advice and information...." Fiona O'Donnell - View Speech
"I join the hon. Gentleman in praising Home-Start. I have experience of using its services in Banbury and it was the only group that came and said to me, “What do you need? What can we do for you?” Every other service said, “This is what we do. Is it …..." Fiona O'Donnell - View Speech
"The Minister speaks about bonding between mother, father and baby in the early days. May I draw her out on the issue of maternity and paternity pay being included in the cap on benefit spending announced by the Chancellor in his autumn statement? Will she give an undertaking that that …..." Fiona O'Donnell - View Speech
"Does my right hon. Friend not find it incredible that after a pause, two Bill Committees and all the debates in this place and the other place, we still do not have answers on a matter that is so important to patients?..." Fiona O'Donnell - View Speech
"I feel as if I have been here before, in that I agree with some of what Government Members are saying. Will the hon. Gentleman therefore vote with us tonight?..." Fiona O'Donnell - View Speech