Business of the House Debate

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Department: Leader of the House

Business of the House

Colleen Fletcher Excerpts
Thursday 4th April 2019

(5 years, 7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Andrea Leadsom Portrait Andrea Leadsom
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I completely agree that the countryside is every bit as important as towns, and we need to do everything possible to ensure that our rural communities thrive. We have Housing, Communities and Local Government questions on Monday, and I encourage my hon. Friend to raise with Ministers what more can be done to support rural communities.

Colleen Fletcher Portrait Colleen Fletcher (Coventry North East) (Lab)
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The Duke of Edinburgh’s volunteering achievement award has been presented to pupils in Coventry to celebrate 9,360 hours of voluntary service by the city’s young people over the past 12 months. We know that such volunteering efforts help young people to develop, build confidence and gain important life skills, while improving the health and wellbeing of the local community around them. Will the Leader of the House join me in commending Coventry’s young volunteers, and will she arrange a debate in Government time on the importance of volunteering and how it can inspire a generation of young people who care about where they live and are willing to make a commitment to improve society?

Andrea Leadsom Portrait Andrea Leadsom
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The hon. Lady always speaks up for Coventry, and she is right to do so. I definitely join her in congratulating all those young people. I think she quoted a figure of 9,360 hours of volunteering in the past 12 months. That is a superb record of which they can be very proud.