Speeches by Baker.

“The debate about percentages of GDP is slightly irrelevant, because even if defence spending were raised to 3%, we have no ability to spend that money within the industrial base, as we do not have the capacity. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to look at a much more innovative approach to some of these things, wi…”

“Will the right hon. Member give way?”

“The challenge to that is this is supposed to be a costed plan. What we have seen in the last year are more commitments that cost money. You cannot have it both ways and say, “This is the right plan,” but also, “The envelope doesn’t meet the mark.””

“It will be interesting to see what is in that. I think every Government Minister should have their national security responsibilities laid out within their brief, so that it is clear what each and every role in Government is accountable for.”

“Lastly, I want to touch on the suggestion that the Government have reached the 1.5% NATO target on resilience spending. In your view, is that investment sufficient or is more needed?”

“I am interested in your determination that the SDR is still the right SDR for this time. You have listed a load of commitments that have been made since, such as the coalition of the willing. We also have commitments around the High North that we did not have when the SDR was written. How do you square the fact that th…”

“You told us that this was a costed plan. I asked you that.”

“I just want to touch on the defence readiness Bill, because obviously that was part of chapter 6 of the SDR. Various members of this Committee were disappointed that the King’s Speech did not have a defence readiness Bill in play in this Session. What do you want to see within that Bill when it is introduced?”

“I have the great pleasure of having Standing Joint Command in my patch—Aldershot. That is the three-star headquarters that is the national headquarters for homeland defence. I took particular interest in chapter 6 of the SDR and the focus on homeland defence, but when it comes to the DIP and the commitments on homeland…”

“You coming in as an independent team was a novel approach—it has never been done before. You sat independently of the MOD to deliver the SDR. The Government were very proud of that approach, but has it failed?”

“You talk about the whole-of-society approach, but my view is that we need to start with a total Government approach and work from there. I am doing a lot of work on NATO article 3 and our commitment to be prepared. Obviously, everyone knows NATO article 5, but nobody has much awareness of NATO article 3. How much aware…”

“But it does not meet the moment in terms of the things that we now need to do.”

“This weekend we had the pleasure of hosting the Nepal cup in Aldershot—a celebration of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Talking to some of the Gurkha veterans there, and hearing of their experiences, again underlined the urgent need for a resolution of long-standing issues such as Gurkha pensions. I pay tribute to the new Mini…”

“Today is a step forward and a down payment on the future of places like my towns of Aldershot and Farnborough. However, much as we wrangle over percentages of GDP, on the ground, we still lack the industrial capacity to spend this money and build more. Defence companies in my patch and across the supply chain cannot ac…”

“In Aldershot and Farnborough, thanks to this Labour Government, this week we are bringing the National Armed Forces Day celebrations back to the home of the British Army. However, in a week when we salute those who have served and are serving our country, elderly Gurkha veterans were assaulted in the park by our war me…”

“Like me, my hon. Friend will have many fantastic volunteers supporting veterans right across his community, and we are so indebted to them. We are able to deliver so much veteran support because people voluntarily give their time to make it happen. I was really proud to stand on a Labour manifesto that committed to rem…”

“Ultimately, a manifesto is delivered over the period that a Government serve—they do not deliver everything at once. It takes time to deliver these things over the course of a Parliament. These things look hard because they are hard. The previous Government made many things look hard when it came to defence, and I want…”

“May I begin by congratulating my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for North East Derbyshire (Louise Sandher-Jones) on being appointed the Minister for the Armed Forces? She did an outstanding job as the Minister for Veterans and People, and I pay particular tribute to her work with the Gurkha community. I saw at firs…”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“That is precisely what I am asking the Government to do. They should look at that, because judicial review cannot be the only option. We must have other options available to make sure that, when the covenant is not being delivered, we can hold those bodies to account. We need clearer guidance for how services can put t…”