Speeches by Baker.

“What have we lost?”

“Barely, from what I can see. There are huge tax incentives for using the NSPA, yet we do not use it, and then we are creating our own version of it.”

“What does that actually mean?”

“Okay. Can we come on to the supplementary estimate that we obviously saw in February? We saw that the capital DEL budget for single-use military equipment for this financial year had been reduced by more than £1.3 billion, or 25%. What is the reason for that?”

“And the OCCAR. Does the Treasury even know that we pay for these solutions, which from what I can see, we are not using, yet we are putting all this money into now setting up a new mechanism? I think that is a bit of an insult to NATO. Germany is using the NSPA. Major nations like the US are using the NSPA, yet the UK—”

“Can you assure us that we will not have these problems in the next round of accounts?”

“But these are not to be compared and contrasted; they solve different problems.”

“As the Member of Parliament for the home of the British Army, I thank the Chancellor for her support for our armed forces. My constituency is also home to innovative defence and aerospace businesses, many of which are ambitious to expand and to play their part in strengthening our national security, but that depends on…”

“I thank the Secretary of State for everything he is doing to support all my constituents in the region and to keep them safe. I know that he and I share the priority of getting our serving personnel the capabilities that they need. In the light of the movements we have seen today in the gilt and bond markets, which und…”

“It is a huge privilege to speak in this debate. I want to use my time to highlight why the UK must join the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank as a critical part of our defence strategy. I have been campaigning for this for over a year, and I feel that this is a moment for us to think about how we support and financ…”

“Dr De Vore, I want to ask you about the growth agenda that could come from our work in the High North. The Government are talking a lot about defence growth, and dangling the opportunities of export deals to industry. What are the opportunities that you think can come from a growth perspective from our High North work?”

“Dr De Vore, how will Russia interpret our trip to the High North with the carrier strike group?”

“All the other things Russia is thinking about at the moment.”

“Do you have any thoughts on using this trip as a distraction technique?”

“What would be the best message it could send? We have an opportunity to do this. What is the best version of this message?”

“I have another question, but I think it relates more to the next topic.”

“A lot of the focus has been on the SDR. In the absence of not having a DIP, industry is being pointed to the SDR as the signal setter. How much of an issue is it that our main commitments around the High North have come beyond the SDR?”

“I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and for his leadership. My thoughts are with serving personnel in the region. May I also mention our armed forces families in Cyprus, some of whom are my constituents? Clear communications from the Ministry of Defence will be crucial in reassuring these families, who are fee…”

“In Aldershot and Farnborough, we have a brilliant police team, but recruitment of officers is difficult because of the pay difference along the Hampshire-Surrey border. Officers can earn more by working just a few miles away, leaving our local police team understaffed and overstretched. What steps is the Secretary of S…”

“Q6. This year in Aldershot and Farnborough, we are looking forward to hosting the national celebrations for Armed Forces Day in the home of the British Army. Businesses in my community welcome this Government’s record investment in defence in the years ahead, but our banks still struggle to lend to defence companies be…”