House of Commons – May 18, 2022 – 3

Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 33), That the amendment be made. Amendment: Amendment proposed: (m), at the end of the Question to add: “but respectfully regret that the Gracious Speech fails to support unpaid carers despite a Bill having been prepared, fails to tackle issues in SEND education provision and does nothing to ensure pupils affected by the pandemic get extra support to catch up missed education, is not sufficiently ambitious in tackling the cost of living crisis and should include provision for an emergency tax cut cutting the top rate of VAT from 20 per cent to 17.5 per cent;

further regret that the Gracious Speech fails to tackle violence against women and girls, nor does it tackle fraud and scams, does nothing to provide safe and legal routes to sanctuary for refugees fleeing war and persecution, does nothing to tackle the chronic shortage of dentists and GPs which results in long waiting times for patients requiring essential treatment, ignores the growing waiting times for ambulances, does not reverse the misguided cut to the armed forces of up to 10,000 troops, and fails to restore with immediate effect the 0.7 per cent target of GNI for international development spending.”—(Ed Davey.)