Speeches by Kane.

“How much of a difference does instant access versus next day access make?”

“Paragraph 1.5 of the NAO Report says: “On leaving the European Union (EU), the UK lost access to the Animal Diseases Information System”. Christine, to what extent, if any, has losing access to the EU surveillance information made it harder to spot disease risks early?”

“If APHA is moving to a risk-based approach, will that get out of kilter with local authorities, which tend to do things by the book as the book is written, if they can?”

“I am heartened to hear that local authorities have the capacity to step up if there is an outbreak, but given that we are talking about the surveillance in particular, can we just concentrate on that? In local authorities, as in many services, if you are constantly in crisis mode, you will deal with the crisis; you wil…”

“Paragraph 13 of the NAO Report talks about partners, including local authorities. It says, “Defra and APHA also told us there is a mixed picture at local level in how well local authorities are discharging their duties, most often because animal diseases are competing with other priorities and statutory responsibilitie…”

“I take the point that you are new, that you are putting new systems and that there is change coming, but maybe you can speak to the disconnect between setting a target of which you are in complete control and not meeting it. I would expect that you would want to meet any targets you set. What is happening to mean that …”

“I would like to talk about surveillance activities. Paragraph 2.9 of the Report says, “In recent years, some key surveillance activities have reduced or are not taking place as planned”, and some corporate key performance targets have been missed—for example, visiting animal markets and inspecting animal by-products. R…”

“It has always been there?”

“You say that there is a problem, but do you understand what the problem is and how it affects training and recruiting vets? Do you have a sense of that? Do you know what the problem is?”

“Do you act as a critical friend to each other? One thing we are doing here is checking your preparedness to deal with a major outbreak. You could be the best-prepared part of the UK to deal with this, but if the other parts are not at the same level as you, it could be problematic.”

“I go on quite a lot, as a Scottish MP, about how there are devolved nations, and sometimes we are the United Kingdom and sometimes we are the component nation parts. This seems to be a topic where having an incredibly robust and good relationship with the devolved nations is crucial to your work. Can you talk to that, …”

“I entirely agree that we must do all we can to protect digital terrestrial television for as long as it is needed. As a former radio presenter, I would argue that free radio could do with the same future protection. Colleagues have rightly made the case for the broadcasting medium; I want to make the case for the retai…”

“In my constituency of Stirling and Strathallan, castles and scenery may draw tourists, but it is the people in our pubs, cafés, restaurants, clubs and hotels who make them feel welcome. In my constituency, we have no shortage of world-class heritage, picturesque rural communities, scenery, and pubs, restaurants and caf…”

“Does the Minister share my surprise that a Member of the party responsible for more than a decade of rising poverty, record benefit delays, and billions lost to fraud and error is now suddenly concerned about tackling that? Across the House, while we recognise the need to tackle fraud in our welfare system, we should a…”

“Sometimes, when the puns keep coming, you just have to “Roll With It”. In my constituency, Braehead community garden is a remarkable 2-acre, community-led project where residents grow fruit and vegetables in raised beds and polytunnels. It also has an apiary, a workshop and a 30 kW solar array. It hosts pumpkin festiva…”

“In Scotland, where we have votes for 16 and 17-year-olds in council and Scottish Parliament elections, I have found that some of the most engaging, respectful and searching questions have come from those in that age group, whereas in general elections a 16 or 17-year-old’s response is often, “I’ll go and see if my mum …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch (Katrina Murray) on securing this important debate. At a time when we are all looking for practical ways to support our communities, a simple but powerful action stands out to me in re…”

“When we talk about military recruiting, the military are aware that they have to figure out a way to let people leave and come back. Do you think, as the civil service, that you are doing that well anyway? Will this strategy help you keep people for longer? Will you also have that ability to let them leave and come bac…”

“Are you losing them out of the profession? Do you think they are going sideways to—”

“What is your instinct about what is happening at the moment? I am curious about this. If you are in Edinburgh, Newcastle or wherever, is it your instinct that you have a lot of people who are incredibly frustrated in their jobs, because they cannot get on and they are stuck there? Would you surmise that those who have …”