Extract from pre-recess
debate (Commons)
(Swansea East)
(Lab):...With households across the area feeling the pinch,
demand is higher than ever, but, throughout the holidays,
Everyone Deserves will be providing lunch for some fantastic free
activities to ease the burden for parents who are struggling with
the extra costs that school holidays incur. I thought that, as we
head into the summer recess, it would be a perfect opportunity to
thank everybody who has played a part in making Everyone Deserves
the success that it is. There are the companies that readily
donate funds and resources every time I pick up the phone and
ask—I apologise to anyone I forget: Budget Carpets, Hygrove
Homes, Low Cost Vans, Coastal Housing, Greggs, Warburtons,
Morrisons, the solicitors Peter Lynn and
Partners, Morganstone, JCR Wealth, ADS Ltd, Dawsons and AB Glass;
the wholesalers, Bidfood and Castell Howell, who go out of their
way not just to process and deliver our initial orders, but to
accommodate my ever changing last-minute requests; the Swans, the
Ospreys, the Evening Post, Rob Stewart and Swansea City Council,
which we could not do this without. I thank, too, Huw Cooze from
Visions Creative for volunteering his time to design our posters
and advertising, and my friend since childhood, the hugely
talented Mal Pope, for recording his music and donating the
proceeds from his album sales to the campaign...
Extract from report
stage (Lords) of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab):...The number of pubs in
England and Wales continues to fall, hitting its lowest level on
record. According to new research by the Altus Group, there were
39,970 pubs in June, down by more than 7,000 since 2012. After
struggling through Covid, when it received welcome support from
the Government, the industry is now facing soaring prices and
higher energy costs. Over the past decade, thousands of pubs have
closed as younger people tend to drink less—they do not all drink
less; they tend to—supermarkets sell cheaper
alcohol and the industry complains of being too heavily taxed.
According to Altus, 400 pubs in England and Wales closed in 2021
and some 200 shut in the first half of 2022 as inflation started
to eat into their profits. That brought the total number of pubs
down to its lowest since its records began in 2005...
