Speeches by Anderson.

“White Ribbon Day this week marks the start of 16 days of activism against violence against women and girls. The scale of this violence in our country is unacceptable, and this Government is treating it as the national emergency that it is. Every woman and girl deserves to feel safe wherever she is. That is why the Labo…”

“I am horrified to hear of that online abuse, and I am horrified to hear of any abuse that any politicians receive. I commend Jay for his courage in saying, “Actually, this is not putting me off. I want to stand again.” The hon. Member is quite right to raise this matter, as we would all want to do, and to show support …”

“I recently met Lilian Seenoi Barr, the first mayor in Northern Ireland from an ethnic minority background, who is showing the way for others. I agree that people must see themselves represented, so I join my hon. Friend in urging all parties across Northern Ireland to look at their selection processes and their invitat…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. I would like to start by paying tribute to Anna Lo, who passed away earlier this month. As the first ethnic minority politician elected to the Assembly, she was a trailblazer, and I extend my sympathies to her family and friends. The Northern Ireland Assembly currently has…”

“I thank the hon. and learned Member for rightly singing the praises of Wrightbus. The transition to net zero presents huge opportunities, as he has identified, for businesses like Wrightbus in Ballymena. It is producing 1,000 low-carbon buses, securing 500 jobs in its factory and creating 1,500 additional jobs across t…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for raising that issue. This is an excellent opportunity to raise something that I have not yet looked at. I will go away and study it, because it sounds like a very important aspect of our joint working. We have many international business opportunities to work with our counterparts in th…”

“This Government are working across the whole of the UK to promote those businesses, and the industrial strategy provides an excellent opportunity to have this discussion. The UK Government are working with businesses, trade unions, local and devolved leaders, experts and international partners to develop that internati…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising the important aspect of business innovation and for mentioning those businesses, which are important to Northern Ireland’s economy. We are working with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure the best outcome for Short Brothers and its staff in relation to Spirit. The Department for …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point and the connection to Weston-super-Mare. There is a lot of work that we can do to support innovation across the whole country, including through the business innovation grant that I mentioned, which is especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. It offers grants of u…”

“It is fantastic to hear of those close links, which are so important for innovation and business growth, in combination with the university sector. Northern Ireland’s universities are key partners in boosting innovation and growth; for example, through the UK Government’s new deal for Northern Ireland, £11 million of f…”

“Happy Lancashire Day to you as well, Mr Speaker. The Secretary of State and I were deeply saddened by the recent passing of former UTV political editor Ken Reid, who was a close follower of Northern Ireland oral questions. Our thoughts are with his family and his many peers across journalism. I recently attended the la…”

“I am delighted to see so many men raising this issue today at Northern Ireland questions. Yesterday, I met with Tahnee McCorry from White Ribbon Northern Ireland, who is working with men in football and Gaelic Athletic Association teams and in prisons. We absolutely all have a role to play to have those difficult conve…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that question. Alongside the alarming femicide statistics, there are other factors that add to the complexity of gender-based violence in Northern Ireland, and it is important to recognise and take action to prevent these factors—paramilitarism is one of them. We need to tackle the gr…”

“It is being worked out. Great British Energy, despite the name, is actually to benefit all four nations. The money being spent on setting it up is for an energy company for the whole of the four nations. Exactly what that means is being worked out because, as the Secretary of State said, it is a different market. It is…”

“I would agree with you. As a parent, it is one of those areas in which I cannot know what they are seeing online. The Government have to step in. There has to be regulation to do this. You cannot expect parents to do that. You cannot expect teachers to do that. It has to be the Government’s position to do that. I am al…”

“I am really glad you have raised it. I know the Chair has raised this issue in the past and so have other members of the Committee. I really welcome that, because we need to talk about this issue. If we are not all talking about it, everywhere that we can—in this Committee, wherever I go, in every single space—then we …”

“In terms of how we are working with Ministers, I am working with Minister Nesbitt, going around to see some of the places that funding has been put in for and really understanding what is behind that bidding so that it is not just about that fund, as we say. That is what I am doing as well.”

“Thank you, Hilary. I will join you in welcoming all the Committee members to your positions. It will be an honour to work with you. Congratulations, Chair, on your role as well. Since my appointment 18 weeks ago, I have also counted up, and I have visited 15 times and held 70 external engagements. It is really importan…”

“Each of our missions maps in a different way. For the health service, it is clearly devolved. However, there is so much that we can learn together and I would describe it as an active partnership. What are the best ways in which health service transformation is happening across different parts of the UK? How can differ…”

“There are a couple of sides of it. There is who I meet, so my time and engagement, and ensuring that some of those communities that sometimes are not heard as much as others are listened to. That is going to the mosque in Belfast. I have been working with the African and Caribbean Support Organisation Northern Ireland.…”