"As the Minister has acknowledged, the places most in need of levelling up are those suffering most from this Tory cost of living crisis, yet it was the Levelling Up Secretary who was cheerleader-in-chief for a mini-Budget that prioritised the welfare of the south-east over everyone and everywhere else. The …..." Stuart C McDonald - View Speech
"22. What recent discussions he has had with elected members in the devolved Administrations on the (a) equity and (b) transparency of the (i) levelling-up fund and (ii) UK shared prosperity fund. ..." Stuart C McDonald - View Speech
"Almost 200,000 volunteers is of course absolutely brilliant, but the fact that only 2,000 or 3,000 people have yet benefited from it is obviously far from that. Can I encourage the Government to keep working to simplify the process, but also to raise awareness of this scheme? We have had …..." Stuart C McDonald - View Speech
"I, too, start by thanking people across the UK who have come forward with incredibly generous offers of accommodation and support for Ukrainians. Of course, we will do what we can to support the initiative. We regret, however, that this is only phase one; things are still not going fast …..." Stuart C McDonald - View Speech
"I, too, thank the right hon. Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) for having secured this urgent question, which offers us an opportunity to unite in unequivocal opposition to, and condemnation of, antisemitism. There is never any excuse or justification for it, and hatred expressed here helps absolutely nobody, anywhere. The …..." Stuart C McDonald - View Speech
"Can the Secretary of State confirm that his new Everyone In policy announced last week includes people with no recourse to public funds, without exceptions or caveats? And will he listen to calls from the Local Government Association and others for no recourse to public funds conditions to be …..." Stuart C McDonald - View Speech
"To present this appalling Bill to the House once was outrageous, showing contempt for our European friends and neighbours, trampling all over international law and riding roughshod over devolution. To push it through for a second time, deliberately putting back in place all the same flaws as before, is therefore …..." Stuart C McDonald - View Speech
"Waiting until autumn for details of the shared prosperity fund means huge uncertainty for recipients of structural funds, loss of staff and expertise, and near impossible transition planning. So I ask again: why not just guarantee, as a minimum, existing EU funding allocations for next year—and do it now?..." Stuart C McDonald - View Speech