Jim Shannon
MP for Strangford · Democratic Unionist Party · United Kingdom
“I thank the Minister for those answers. This has happened three times in three years. Normally, on the third strike, you are out. Instead, the chief executive gets an £871,000 bonus. For people in Northern Ireland, a flight to Great Britain is a basic utility. When NATS crashed, my constituents were entirely cut off.”
“When it comes to lobbying, Northern Ireland has a peculiar circumstance where one party can be involved in politics in Northern Ireland and at the same time be involved in politics in the Republic of Ireland. When it comes to the accountability that the hon.”
“Member for North East Fife referred to this—everybody knew every officer in the area where they lived. Different times mean different pressures and different needs, but I have always supported community policing in all my years as an elected representative, throughout my time on the council and in the Northern Ireland Assembly before comi…”
“I will say this to the Minister: although policing is a devolved matter for us back home, I want to make some comments, if I may, about the focus of the police, which means they sometimes do what is unnecessary. I will give an example.”
“The hon. Gentleman is a Leicester City supporter, as I am; we do not have to seek our sorrows at this moment in time, but that is by the way. More importantly, his comments underline the issues for local independent pharmacy owners. As the hon.”
“That is the reality for these people, who have consciences, feel compassion and want to care for their patients and customers. The impact is clear, because almost 90% of pharmacies in Northern Ireland were unable to pay their wholesaler bill in January. Think about what that means for a second: that is real pressure.”
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“Secondly, the Government must place palliative care at the centre of plans for neighbourhood health centres and ensure the inclusion of palliative care specialists. A key benefit of including palliative and end-of-life care in neighbourhood health centres will be the earlier identification of palliative care need and greater uptake of advance care planning. Thirdly, the Government implement models of emergency and urgent care that can minimise avoidable accident and emergency visits. That would provide financial savings for the NHS as well as giving better care in a better system. That also comes to the input of the families, which is the very thing we all wish to see. Fourthly, the Government need to strengthen the statutory guidance on the legal duty to commission palliative care services in the Health and Care Act 2022.”
“When someone is coming to their last days, many complex needs are involved—there are also the problems for the family—but they will have to deal with two things in particular: pain, and probably breathlessness. Almost two thirds of unpaid carers felt anxious most or all the time about the dying person’s illness or treatment. Shifting care from the hospital to the community would benefit older people, support the shift from hospital to community—analogue to digital—and prevent avoidable emergency care admissions. Those are all things that the Government must develop in a national strategy for palliative and end-of-life care. The strategy must deliver on these seven points. First, an integrated whole-system approach is needed enabling patients at the end of life to move seamlessly through services as their health changes.”
“The hon. Lady is absolutely right—by the way, that is one of my seven points. We have spoken, but not exactly about that. The debate brings us together with our requests for the Minister and the Government; we are thankful for that. Only 38% of those who died aged 85 or older received care from palliative care specialists, compared with 51.5% of those aged 65 to 84 and 59.3% of those aged 18 to 64. To the point made by the right hon. Member for New Forest East, most aged 18 to 64 spent most of their final months in a private home, but fewer than 50% of those aged 65 or older did so. One in seven people—15%—who died in hospital had been in there for less than 24 hours.”
“Not one of us in this Chamber will not welcome that plan; if it brings forward what our people want, it is the right plan. With that in mind, I thank the Minister and I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for your patience. Question put and agreed to. Resolved , That this House has considered the ageing community and end of life care.”
“I am very pleased, as always, to see the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans), in his place. I always look forward to the contributions he makes in debates and enjoy his company. He spoke about cuts across all hospice services and the impact of that, which cannot be ignored. He made a comment about how end-of-life care is provided in Japan. There are lessons we can learn from other countries, which is an important point that I had not thought of. I thank the Minister for his positive, heartfelt and honest response. He referred to moneys in his speech—some £100 million for hospices and some £26 million for children’s hospices, which the right hon. Member for New Forest East also mentioned. We are seeing palliative care and end-of-life care being central to the Government’s 10-year plan.”
“I thank all Members who have taken part in the debate, including the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), and the hon. Members for Carlisle (Ms Minns) and for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher). The hon. Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) brought her knowledge to the Chamber, as did the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (Dan Aldridge) and I thank him for that. It is good news that we are living longer, but there is a cost factor and we understand that. The hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare referred to hospices holding the community together, and he is absolutely right. They are always there and always available, and it is good to have that. The hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) reminded us that there is better care in our latter days, and that is what we all need to see.”
“I find in my constituency, and I think the right hon. Gentleman will find the same, that the extra responsibility of filling in forms, such as for personal independence payments, universal credit, employment and support allowance and disability living allowance, falls on the GP. Has he found that providing the evidence for those benefits adds even more to the already large workloads of GPs?”
“I commend the hon. Lady for bringing this forward. She is right to mention the four regions. Back home in Northern Ireland, wet wipes are a major cause of what are referred to as fatbergs of non-biodegradable waste in local sewers, which leads to pollution and costly clean-ups. Although the regional Administrations should do something and legislate, there is also an onus on individuals and households to do something. Does the hon. Lady agree that a joint partnership is needed to address this issue?”
“There might be some law that prevents it, but she will clarify that when the time comes. My last comment will be to once again thank every volunteer, past and present, who gave their time and talent to fundraise and co-ordinate fundraising events, every person who so generously gives and every volunteer who gives their time and puts their life on the line to carry out the rescues. There is nothing quite as dramatic as those RNLI lifeboat adverts that come on between the films on a Sunday afternoon. If we need a reason for supporting them, seeing the drama of the rescues that they do will convince people to do that. To them, I say: we could not do without you, and we respect you as we respect all those who serve our communities in emergencies.”
“That offers great reassurance for me as the MP for the area, but also for those who want to mess about in the water. I think there is a song that goes along those lines. I probably can remember it very well. I can even sing it, but if I sing the rain comes so that would not be a good idea. The fact of the matter is that the lifeboat service really should be recognised as an emergency service and funded accordingly. Whether we are talking about the coastline in Scotland, England, Wales or beautiful Northern Ireland, as people have less disposable income to give to charities, the need for Government to step up will increase. I am pleased to see the Minister in her place; I wish her well. In her reply, maybe she can indicate what the possibilities are to help lifeboats.”
“Part of our tourism strategy for Strangford is to try to highlight the availability of great family fun on the water, and a lot of that is found on the beautiful waters of Strangford lough, in my constituency. I live just on the edge of it, so I am very privileged to be able to wake up in the morning and look out across the lough. The activities range from paddleboarding to standard sailing and from jet skis to canoes. Anyone who drives around our coastal areas will see people enjoying the lough in all seasons. However, with all that fun must come safety, and we know how much we rely on the good men and women who volunteer on the lifeboats. The availability of those crews means that we can welcome families to the lough and know that there will be help if the worst happens.”
“It is sad that the RNLI really is the last emergency service, yet—I say this very respectfully—the Government pay less than 1% of its funding. I believe that the service deserves more than that. As well as the RNLI, which I argue is basically independently funded, Northern Ireland has independent lifeboat services, such as Lagan Search and Rescue in Belfast and Lough Neagh Rescue. These services operate on inland waterways and estuaries and are not part of the RNLI, but are part of the focus that the hon. Member for Hamble Valley put forward at the beginning. Other independent groups, such as Foyle Search and Rescue, also provide water rescue services, and many are recognised by the coastguard as declared resources.”
“I am old enough to remember the first “Blue Peter” programme, and it has had a commitment to lifeboats ever since. In the last 10 years, the lifeboats of the charity’s 10 lifeboat stations in Northern Ireland have launched some 9,500 times. Their volunteers have saved 1,535 lives and come to the aid of thousands of other people. There is so much they have done and so much more they can do. In the last five years, there have been almost 3,000 incidents. The lifeboats have come to the aid of 3,500 people, and 47 lives were saved. If anyone wants a reason for backing this, that is what it is all about—the lives saved and the commitments given. The coastguard operates from Bangor marina, in the neighbouring constituency, but without charitably funded lifeboats, it simply could not handle the need and the load.”
“It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I commend and congratulate the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes) on bringing this debate to Westminster Hall and thereby giving us all a chance to participate. As the MP for a coastal constituency with a very large length of coast—the name of Strangford is the giveaway and tells the story—I am incredibly familiar with the role of lifeboats and the vital nature of having a well-trained and well-equipped lifeguard in post. We have lifeboat stations dotted throughout the coastline. Indeed, Portaferry—on the Ards peninsula, where I live—has one of seven RNLI lifeboat stations operating a lifeboat funded by viewers of the BBC television programme “Blue Peter”.”
“I commend the right hon. Gentleman for securing the debate; he was right to do so. Although no win, no fee seems like the only reasonable option for those seeking compensation in the civil courts to fund their cases, they can be easily taken advantage of, so does he agree that we need a framework that allows for a reasonable exchange of risk and benefit to consumers, rather than putting the ability to fight for justice just beyond their reach?”
“He is doing his business this week, yesterday and today—two days running. Well done.”
“I understand that the Department for Transport’s research into glare for 2024-25 is studying how to incorporate practical glare tests into annual inspections. Perhaps the Minister can tell us what the Government are intending to bring about. Future MOT guidance may include brightness and levelling checks. I happen to have a four-wheel drive—it does not make me better than anybody else, but we are high up off the road. If someone lives in the countryside, they probably have one, but they have it because they use it, not because it is a status symbol. I look forward to seeing what more the Government can do to improve road safety collectively throughout the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the near future. I very much look forward to the Minister’s response.”
“I would argue that the actual number is much higher; that figure is based purely on personal reports and anecdotes, and not on the many motorists who experience this issue daily. It is evident that the issue affects many constituencies, but the narrow and unlit roads in rural areas, such as my constituency of Strangford, mean that beams and headlight glare stand out even more. As the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam) asked, are people safe on the road during the 30 seconds or 50 seconds afterwards, as their eyes try to adjust again? That is a question I ask as well. There is space for human consideration, too: we certainly can be more mindful of where we are driving and the impact we will have on others.”
“I know that some, on these country roads at night flash their main beam on, but perhaps do not turn it off when other cars approach. There is no doubt that that has a significant impact on public safety, and that is not to mention the fact that streetlight provision is next to nothing on these types of roads, so the spotlight glare of a headlight does not in any way increase safety. Indeed, it has the very opposite effect. A more general UK survey found that 61% of drivers who suffer headlight glare say the problem has worsened in the past year, and I believe it has as well—certainly based on the evidence I have seen. Some 26% say that they try to reduce night-time driving because of bright headlights. If someone is not sure of being safe on the road, that would be the right thing to do.”
“I recently read a news article back home about how the Fermanagh and Omagh district council on the west of the Province wrote to the Committee for Infrastructure at the Northern Ireland Assembly raising concerns that vehicle headlights are becoming an increasingly distressing and potentially dangerous aspect of driving at night. It has also been noted that the intensity and resulting glare from headlights are not currently tested. The hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley), who spoke before me, referred to the MOT test. We really need to include this as part of that. I know, from my experience living in rural areas, that there are safety concerns regarding vehicle glare. For example, on the roads leading down to my house, there are minor and major dips and hills. I live in the Ards Peninsula in a very rural part of Strangford.”
“It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I commend the hon. Member for Crawley (Peter Lamb) for setting the scene so very well. This is an important issue as road safety is important to us all. Keeping ourselves, as well as other motorists safe, is part of that. There have been reports of concerns from across the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland about the impact of vehicle headlight glare. Indeed, just this week BBC Breakfast had a story on this very issue.”
“I thank the Minister very much for his answers, his tone and his well-chosen words; we appreciate them. The moment that there were reports of shots fired at Israeli soldiers in Rafah and of an IDF soldier being murdered, my heart sank—as the hearts of many others probably did—because I knew that the tenuous peace had been broken by Hamas. Does the Minister accept that retaliation is inevitable? What role can the Government play, along with our allies, to rebuild the fragile peace process and disarm Hamas, remove their weapons and destroy them? Real and lasting peace can then actually happen.”
“I thank the Minister for his answers and his dedication to finding the answers that we need. While it was good to hear that there is a plan to house asylum seekers more cost-effectively, the Government must ensure that those areas do not become states within this state. What steps have been taken to ensure that law and order is upheld in any designated large areas, such as those proposed by the Minister?”
“It would have been untenable for the House of Commons to withhold information that might aid the inquiry’s understanding and assist the families in their quest for truth and justice.”
“I thank everyone involved in producing the report and the Leader of the House for bringing it to the House for us to consider. I recall very well where I was on that fateful day when the news came through. It has always been very important to me, and indeed to everyone in this House, to ensure that justice is done. I was born in Omagh—I remember little about it, because I was only there as a wee baby—so I always want to see justice done for all those who lost loved ones. I therefore warmly welcome the report, which is a positive step forward. My party leader—my right hon. Friend the Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson)—my party and I have encouraged full co-operation, which is what we want to see. I thank the Chair of the Committee for all the swift conclusions brought forward.”
“I spoke to the hon. Lady before the debate and explained the connection between her constituency and mine, and why it is so important. I also want to encourage the hon. Lady, who has been a great friend of mine in the House in all the time I have been here. We share many things, including an interest in this subject matter, but we also share our faith. It is important that we have that relationship across the Chamber. Does she not agree that while Tyneside is a major hub for offshore wind supply, we must continue to invest in new and better methodology in renewable energy, such as harnessing tidal energy through Strangford lough and Newcastle University’s wave energy device, which contributes to the area’s role in marine energy innovation? These are things that we can do better together.”
“I welcome the Minister to her place and wish her every success and happiness in her role. I will try not to be too hard with my questions. She referred for the contracts for difference scheme. I know it is something that Northern Ireland has to do itself, but at this early stage will she please engage with the relevant Minister in the Assembly, and perhaps help us to move our scheme forward?”
“Liver disease is a growing cause of premature mortality and lost years of working life in all four nations of the United Kingdom. It has been estimated that some 4,878 potential years of life were lost due to chronic liver disease in Northern Ireland. It is clear that the UK is in the midst of a liver disease crisis, to which the hon. Lady referred. It is as serious as that, and we should all take note. While premature mortality rates from other major diseases have fallen over the past two generations, deaths from liver disease have risen 400% since the 1970s. There are more than 18,000 deaths from liver disease and liver cancer each year in the United Kingdom.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I thank the hon. Member for Worthing West (Dr Cooper), who is co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on liver disease and liver cancer, for setting the scene incredibly well. I thank her for the detail and for her requests to the Minister. It is, as always, a pleasure to see the Minister in her place. I wish her well and I look forward to her answers. I also thank the British Liver Trust and the Foundation for Liver Research, which supplied me with a briefing that made clear the excellent work at the Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies, which continues to drive world-leading research into metabolic liver disease to shape how it is diagnosed and treated.”
“A new nationally endorsed pathology pathway to improve early diagnosis of liver disease is essential. Every community diagnostic centre should also have a fibroscan to assess fibrosis. Finally, I say to the Minister that patients with advanced liver disease and cancer need access to weight management services in line with access for people with type 2 diabetes. This is a ticking timebomb, but there are scientific breakthroughs there to address it. I believe in my heart that the Government need to cut that wire and stop that timebomb now.”
“Those new drugs—some of which improve liver function and some of which enable weight loss—can reverse fatty liver disease and must be made available in a timely fashion to save lives. The NHS needs to ensure that services are ready to support that, as previously no treatment has been available for those patients. The UK faces a very challenging commercial environment for drug pricing. Lilly recently announced that it will increase the price of Mounjaro by as much as 170% in response to pressure from the US Government and historic pricing inconsistencies. My second question to the Minister is about what has been done to ensure that the price of drugs is reduced or kept controlled in a way that can make a difference. Thirdly, I say to the Minister that ICBs must have an effective pathway for the early detection of liver disease.”
“Newly released weight-management drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro have been shown to reduce the weight of patients by an average of 5%, reducing the risk of a variety of health effects, including fatty liver disease. However, although those drugs are available for those who obesity and type 2 diabetes, they are not for those with fatty liver disease. Making that happen would be my one request of the Minister. If someone has a body mass index of over 40, and does not yet have those comorbidities, unfortunately they will not qualify. There is a new generation of drugs targeting advanced fatty liver disease. Resmetirom has recently been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and is expected to be approved in the UK within 12 to 18 months. Could the Minister give us an indication of where those drugs are in the system?”
“That just does not work; when it is added up, you just get fatter and fatter. I took that away and tried to reduce my chocolate intake. My hon. Friend the Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) has said that he is reducing his sugar intake—well done to him; he does not need to, but it is definitely a good purpose to have. The point I am making is that not everyone can. For those who cannot, it is important to look towards the weight-reduction injections, to which I will refer in a moment. I have been able to control my diabetes for the last 10 years by tablets. I take nine tablets in the morning and five at night to keep everything under control.”
“The NHS alone is expected to shoulder an estimated £10 billion per year obesity bill by 2050, with obese patients costing twice as much as those of a healthy weight. Reducing obesity prevalence by 10% could save £6 billion per year in the UK economy. Let me tell a personal story. I am a type 2 diabetic. Some 16 or 17 years ago, I realised that I needed to drastically change my eating habits. I was 17 stone. To be honest, to put it very starkly, I was a big fat pudding. I realised that if I did not lose weight for my diabetes, I was going to be in trouble, so I reduced my weight quite substantially, by 4 stone. I have managed, by and large, to keep at that reduced level. First, it was down to stress but, secondly, it was down to Chinese takeaways five nights a week with two bottles of Coca Cola.”
“Some 64% of adults in Northern Ireland were overweight or obese, a marked increase from 23% in 2010-11. My goodness me—if ever we needed a reality check, that is one for us. Shockingly, Northern Ireland has the highest rate of overweight or obese primary 1 children in the UK, with 25.3% of children fitting that category. In my constituency of Strangford, 27% of year 8 children were overweight or obese. It is estimated that 70% of adults and 40% of children who are overweight or obese have fatty liver disease, so urgent work must be done to prevent this health crisis in the making. Shockingly, 37 million extra sick days are estimated to be taken by people living with obesity, harming economic output on a massive scale—a figure of 1% to 2% of UK GDP as estimated by the Institute for Government.”
“That has never been a problem in the past, Mr Efford. Do I need to lift it up to my mouth? I thought it was good enough to carry my voice; apologies if it is not. This would be the first time it has not worked. Two thirds of adults are overweight or living with obesity, and one in three children are classified as overweight or obese when they leave primary school. Sadly, four in 10 children with obesity may already have liver disease. One in five people are affected by liver disease and liver cancer in the UK, and as many as 12% of those—more than 1 million people—go on to develop the more severe form of fatty liver disease. The stats for Northern Ireland are unreal. That is not the Minister’s responsibility, but it gives a flavour for the debate.”
“I commend my hon. Friend for that point. She is absolutely right to underline the impact on family farms of the Chancellor’s proposals. In tandem with decisions being made by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister in Northern Ireland, they will leave many farmers feeling that their generational family farms have no future. My hon. Friend will probably have seen “Countryfile” on Sunday. It highlighted two things for farmers: first, the mental health impact and that there have been suicides; secondly, the generational loss of the farms. If farms are not working, they are not viable, do not produce the food and the impact is great. The Government really need to sit down, take account of where we are and change the decision.”
“Lady is right to bring this to us for consideration. There is a need for technology and a need to move forward. My son, who has an electric car and is not afraid of the future—unlike his dad, perhaps—is willing to consider the technology that there will be. Someday there will be driverless cars; I am sure of that. One thing that I would love to see in the future—this is not about cars—is something like the device in “Star Trek” where they say, “Beam me up, Scotty.” The day they do that will be the day I would be convinced that is the right way to go, because I could be in my office at 9 o’clock on a Tuesday morning, and then be over here at five past 9—”
“It is as always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. It is nice to see you again and catch up. I thank the hon. Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes) for leading today’s debate and I congratulate her for doing well. I am not a petrolhead but I love a gear stick—I love going through the gears, one to six. I love the smell of the car and the roar of a diesel engine. The hon. Member for West Bromwich is right to bring this matter to the House for consideration, but I am afraid I will never get an electric car. That is just me. A driverless car? I like to be in charge of the steering wheel. I am not sure I could sit in a car like the one Arnold Schwarzenegger sits in in that film, where a wee model thing, with a head that spins round, tells him where he is going. I do not think I could ever do that, but the hon.”
“A recent survey carried out by CompareNI highlighted that out of 800 motorists, some 75% would not feel safe travelling in a driverless vehicle—I am probably one of that 75%. I am in the majority, by the way; at least in Northern Ireland. The lack of public trust must be looked at. If this is the future, more must be done to instil public trust as that could be a barrier to progression.”
“It is always a joy to see the Minister in his place, and we look forward to some clarification on what it would mean if a self-driving vehicle from the mainland or the Republic of Ireland came to Northern Ireland, where we do not have any legislation in place. If it works, it has to work everywhere, so my question to the Minister would be about how that might happen. Some pilot schemes are emerging back home. For example, there was an eight-seater Harlander shuttle bus operating in the Titanic quarter in Belfast. There was always a safety operator, of course, but it did give a little taste of the future of driverless vehicles in Northern Ireland. Sometimes it is a step into the unknown that people are a wee bit concerned about.”
“Now, will that ever happen? Who knows? But we are talking about driverless cars. I want to refer to Northern Ireland, of course. First, the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 does not apply to Northern Ireland and, furthermore, there is as of yet no comprehensive legislative framework in Northern Ireland for automated vehicles. I believe it will come, because technology is moving on, the future is moving on, and people will want to be part of that. That situation means that there is some confusion about the use of a self-driving vehicle authorised under the GB regime in Northern Ireland; the hon. Member for West Bromwich is right about that. There would also be implications for those coming across the border from the Republic of Ireland, as the vehicle would be operating without clear legal responsibility.”
“We do not yet have a dedicated legal framework for automated vehicles, which is the big question for the Minister. I asked him at the beginning, but I will ask him again: will the Minister ensure that when we move forward, all the regions come together? There are implications for drivers from the Republic of Ireland coming across the border, so will the Minister ensure that we are all on the same page? Although it could create uncertainty, it also gives us the chance to design a system that reflects our needs. The hon. Member for West Bromwich passionately put that case forward. I look forward to engaging on this issue further in the future, and I hope that the views of the general public can also be taken into consideration. Once again, I say well done to the hon. Member for West Bromwich.”
“It could give people who have been prohibited from driving manually, or are unable to obtain a driving licence because of their disability, the independence, flexibility and opportunity to have a life outside of the home. I see the advantages of that, and I hope the Minister will reply on that point. It will be interesting to see how this progresses over time, and whether we can do more to support it. As Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom look to the future of transport, driverless vehicles present both a challenge and an opportunity. It is only fair for me to give my opinion, but there is an opportunity—and I am not against opportunity or technology moving forward. It may not be what I want to do, but the opportunity has to be there for everyone else.”
“Friend the Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) was referring to that, and the stats probably do as well. However, there is just the unknown question of where we are moving to. Whether it is about ill-judgment, drink driving, fatigue or distraction, there is perhaps an argument for the introduction of driverless cars on the grounds that it will be safer but, personally, I think it is the loss of control that worries people. How do we instil confidence into those who, like me, want to ensure that it is completely safe to drive a car? There have also been reports that the introduction of driverless cars will be pivotal in transforming mobility for elderly people and the disabled. That is obviously a plus factor as well.”
“My hon. Friend always brings pertinent points to the debate. Insurance in Northern Ireland is more expensive than it is anywhere else in the United Kingdom, so we would love to see those advantages. The big question that many people have about insurance is who would be liable in the case of a crash or a road traffic accident? Would it be the driver, manufacturer or software provider? One of the three has to be accountable. On the other hand, human error causes a large percentage of road traffic accidents. Although I have said I like to be in charge of the steering wheel, if there is driver error or something goes wrong, it is the driver at the wheel who is to blame, and perhaps with a driverless car, the chances of an accident will be reduced dramatically. I think my hon.”
“I commend the hon. Gentleman for all his hard work in the House. I do not think anybody in this House is not impressed by his dedication, interests and commitment, and this debate is another example. In Northern Ireland, the enduring power of attorney is a legal document that lets us choose someone to make decisions about our property and financial affairs if we lose mental capacity. Unlike in England and Wales, there is no equivalent of the lasting power of attorney for health and welfare in Northern Ireland. Instead, a separate process is available, through the Royal Courts of Justice, to appoint a controller if no EPA exists. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the processes both here and back home must be streamlined and accessible, while still ensuring that safeguards are in place to protect people from the abuse of power?”
“I thank the Secretary of State very much for her responses. The peace plan can succeed only if Hamas are not part of it. Hamas need to return the dead hostages to the families, and they need to be disarmed. We also need to ensure that they are not carrying out summary executions of fellow Gazans, as they are currently doing. If we are going to have a peace plan that lasts, Hamas need to be removed from the situation—we can then have peace.”
“Two thirds of people who survive a stroke find themselves living with a disability and six in 10 survivors rely on the help of a carer, often a family member or friend. This year, World Stroke Day aims to focus on the truth surrounding post-stroke recovery. Whether it is a short-term or long-term process of physical, behavioural or emotional rehabilitation, it begins in hospital, but can be lifelong, requiring support for months or even years in the community through carers and family.”
“World Stroke Day is a day that sticks out for so many people—we would struggle to find someone who does not know an individual affected by the impact of stroke. Of course there is more to be done, and I am very pleased to be here today to discuss that. I welcome the Minister to his place; I understand that this might be the first Westminster Hall debate as a Minister. Last night, he was in an Adjournment debate in the main Chamber; today, he is in Westminster Hall, so he is seeing great things on the tour of Westminster, and I wish him well in all that he does. Statistics from the Stroke Association highlight that every day in the UK another 240 people suffer the catastrophic impact of a stroke.”