Speeches by Darlington.

“2. What the fiscal circumstances are that would allow official development assistance to return to 0.7% of gross national income.”

“Marianna, that wasn’t my question. My question is what the responsibility of mainstream media is to fact-check before they spread the misinformation further, as we saw during the riots.”

“I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement on this 100-year partnership with such an important European ally. We absolutely understand how our futures are linked. I want to recognise the Ukrainian community in Milton Keynes, which has established the Sunflower school and held the first Holodomor memorial event. These …”

“First, I say happy birthday to the Secretary of State for tomorrow. I cannot think of a better birthday present than to give the people of Milton Keynes a new women’s and children’s hospital. We are a growing city, and nowhere is it more needed in terms of population per bed. Will he reassure my constituents that the m…”

“That is what I am trying to challenge you on. Particularly in the west midlands and Manchester, which have been there for longer than most in that sense, but not a very long time, how do you create the devolution framework and the funding framework that allows you to drive that innovation? Rather than doing a top-down …”

“I am very happy to bring to the Committee, and to others watching the Committee, the story of Starship Technologies. It is a UK success story. It is also a Milton Keynes success story, and it fits in very well with today’s theme of how regional and local authorities can work with companies to create innovation right ac…”

“I have a couple of questions about catapults and their role in driving growth and innovation in the UK. The first is simple, but maybe not that simple. There are nine catapults and that has been pretty stable for a long time. The areas have been stable for a long time. Have we identified the right areas? Are there any …”

“I want to pick up on something you said, Professor Tracey, on how there is a real opportunity around our spin-outs having British values and innovating things that create solutions for the UK population. We know that many universities are overly exposed and overly reliant on Chinese funds. How much risk—this is a quest…”

“Yes, it leads very well to my next question. Focusing particularly on areas where we are missing catapults, do you have any suggestions on areas where it would be good to have them?”

“It is written right here. Absolutely, I agree. Having been the special adviser who was there when we created catapults and Innovate UK, or as it was known then the Technology Strategy Board, there were specific ambitions for it. I have two questions that are linked. How good have catapults been in reinforcing and growi…”

“No, it is on the issue of local authorities.”

“We saw the presentation from Starship Technologies at the beginning. I hope you were able to be here for that. It was very clear about the role of local authorities and combined authorities. There was a challenge put to us by the previous panel about what the innovation and growth challenge and funding should be to com…”

“And how they become less risk-averse to new technologies like Starship.”

“Isn’t its need also to promote the local economy?”

“It is not necessarily about bad risk profile for local authorities and for combined authorities to take something like Starship robots and say, “Actually, let’s try it out. Let’s be co-developers on this. Let’s give you the access to the disability groups.” It is not really profiled in the devolution White Paper in the…”

“Sexual violence is growing as a weapon of war and oppression, as was discussed last Thursday in Westminster Hall. Can the Minister reassure the House that despite the previous Government’s cuts to the aid budget, she will do as much as she can to protect the women and girls in Sudan, seeking additional funds from the T…”

“I am equally excited by the opportunities that being a leader in AI can bring to the people of the UK. As my right hon. Friend will know, Milton Keynes has been a leader from its outset. We have Bletchley Park, the birthplace of machine learning and AI, but Milton Keynes businesses are leading as well, especially in ar…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Alice Macdonald) for securing this debate. I also thank the Minister—who I know feels very strongly about these issues, and has done for many years. I will try and refrain from repeating anything that has been said by other hon. Members—there have been some fantastic…”

“Before I begin, I want to remind everyone that every woman—and some men—has a story. Some are awful; many are devastating, including those of women in this House, like myself. If anyone is feeling affected by this debate and the issues raised, either in the House or watching online, please reach out to the many amazing…”

“I am back now.”