Speeches by Griffiths.

“I have a final question to all of you. I will go to Tom Evans on it first, so that you do not get a surprise. To what extent is the Tropical Forest Forever Facility a game changer as an innovative financial instrument to support forests?”

“Rachel, is there anything you would like to add?”

“Tom Evans, was there anything you wanted to add on that subject? No? Thank you. The next question is specifically to WWF and Aldersgate. How important is it that the EU and the UK move swiftly to implement their respective forest risk commodities legislation, and what challenges does it present?”

“I will come in and ask a separate question on that. Perhaps hold your horses on that for a second.”

“What role should blended finance or public-private partnerships play in accelerating grid investment, and how easy do you think it will be to achieve this?”

“How well has the UK’s approach to regulating the energy grid traditionally supported long-term, patient investment?”

“Can I jump in on that quickly?”

“I just wanted to dig into the energy cost piece. What precisely have you asked for from the Chancellor that will make a difference to businesses? It is a subject close to my heart.”

“On your point about the four-year timescale and interest rates, are you basically saying that it was four years prior, when interest rates started going up, that was the point at which investors started shifting capital, or was there another event?”

“I sense James was about to chip in, and I would love to hear his thoughts.”

“Is there a specific ask to the Chancellor within that?”

“Going back to Stephen’s point about confidence and fragility, I am keen to hear your thoughts, but I often listen to—usually smaller—businesses expressing real concern about the business environment right now, and how hard it is for businesses with increased regulation, taxes and demands on them. I know we are talking …”

“Can the Minister tell us whether the Attorney General shares the concern of the CPS that there is not enough evidence to prosecute?”

“The whole thing becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Vacancies are down; unemployment is up; people are concerned about their jobs. They are less likely to spend in a discretionary way.”

“I mean your customers. If people have less money themselves, they are not going to be spending the money in your stores.”

“Is it affecting the number people coming through your doors? You rely on people coming through your doors.”

“My apologies, I have to be out of here in five minutes, so hopefully you will be able to give me very short snappy answers. First of all, Lydia, I worked in hospitality in Leamington as a student. It is great to have you here. From listening to you, and in fact to all of you, what struck me is that this is not a cost o…”

“Following on from the Chair’s point there, Mr McGinty, when you were talking about what you were doing in Gloucester, it did strike me that you are a decent-sized city. I really want to re-emphasise the same point that the Chair was making. In my constituency of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, we have two much smaller …”

“Two nights ago, a man in his 30s was stabbed in the centre of Bognor Regis, and that follows a fatal stabbing earlier this year. Will the Government bring forward a debate to consider how to make high streets safer and tackle the increasing prevalence of knife crime in small seaside towns such as Bognor Regis?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) for securing this important and increasingly pressing issue. I also thank the hon. Members for Putney (Fleur Anderson), for Strangford (Jim Shannon), for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn) an…”