Emergency Workers (Protection) Bill

I start by thanking the Father of the House for giving us the opportunity to demonstrate the consensus that exists among hon. Members on both sides of the House in our admiration of and support for emergency services workers, who risk their lives for us all regularly. The emergency services represent a powerful statement of the way in which we in society care for one another. It is an important symbol of our civilisation that they provide a platform of security on which we can depend when we face an emergency, thus helping us to work better as a society and the individual members of society to feel more secure in facing the challenges that we face. We have had a classic Second Reading debate. We have demonstrated broad consent about the issues. We have raised queries about the precise way in which the Bill might deal with the issues about which hon. Members are concerned. I hope to be able to deal fully with two fundamental issues—first, how we deal with assaults on emergency workers, and secondly, how we deal with those who impede emergency workers.