Speeches by Freeman.

“For the record, I and my constituents are proud of the southern North sea development—the largest wind farm in the world, begun under the last Government. However, we are not happy about this Government’s rush to force our consumers to pay higher bills; to see, as a result of vast subsidies, farmers in a very important…”

“I rise as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on science and technology in agriculture, the deputy Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, and a former Minister for agritech and UK trade envoy. I am also from a farming family and I have no interests to declare other than a deep interest in…”

“Across the 46 schools in Mid Norfolk, SEND provision is the No. 1 issue for parents, teachers and staff. Contrary to the party political broadcast from Ministers, in the last 14 years I was lucky to secure £7 million from the Conservative coalition for a new school and Conservative county council funding for a new scho…”

“I add my voice to those congratulating the Prime Minister on the way he has conducted the last week and on the policy, which I think enjoys if not unanimous then largely unanimous support in this House. I gently point out to the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) that our enemies watch this Chamber, and that speaki…”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Morning, Patrick and Alex. This is a linked question, on the science and technology framework. First, may I say, Patrick, what a joy it is to see you in post and the continuity that it brings? As you know, I tried to do the job in a cross-party, long-term way. This agenda and this Committee are very focused on long-ter…”

“Thank you. I painfully agree. The question, having tried to do the job, is who leads it. Inevitably in Whitehall, you get departmental fiefdoms and competitiveness. Is it the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister? Is it you? Who in Government bangs the table and says, “Action 14, has it been done?””

“Patrick, I know that you understand that the space sector is one of the sectors that is key to so many of the other priorities. It is key for blue sky science, a great experimental testbed for health, quantum effect, research on the moon, driving the regeneration of Glasgow, and pulling through strategic sat comms. It …”

“As well as racial and gender diversity, can I suggest that private sector career diversity is key as well in harnessing science for economic impact? In the data you might be able to come back to us with, I do not know if there is any data on how many DSIT staff have private sector and industry experience. Perhaps offli…”

“Thank you. SR2 timing?”

“It is an old and vexed issue, Patrick, as you well know, about the landscape and the UKRI debate and how it adds value to the research councils. We commissioned, as you know, two or three years ago a major review of UKRI by David Grant. It was excellent, very thorough and detailed, and highlighted quite a lot of system…”

“I have three specific little questions. One is on Biobank, which I know you have been a great champion of. I saw some data the other day on patents out of Biobank that have been commercially exploited, and they were nearly all in America. There were very few in the UK. I wonder whether we are using that infrastructure …”

“Thank you. Back in the coalition, when there were some pharma closures, and you were in the industry, we successfully set up the life sciences opportunity zones like Alderley Park and Sandwich. We struggled with Charnwood. A lot of the old pharma sites, it seemed to me, could be turned into incubators quite successfull…”

“Can I put in a plea for co-creation? I think each cluster would love to fill in their own and say, “No, you’ve misunderstood the Cheltenham-Gloucester cyber corridor.” If we co-create, it could be very powerful. I want to ask about infrastructure in the context of the regional and national mission. We know that public …”

“On that point, I looked forward as a trade envoy to helping support the global messaging about our clusters. I want to make an observation and ask a question. We set up a regional cluster digital mapping tool, and I was trying to help tell a global story about how fast they are growing. We used the wrong technology. We…”

“A hydrogen helicopter.”

“Will the judgments about where to regulate fast and slow and how to get that balance sit with the new chair of the innovative regulatory unit?”

“To go back to the S&T framework and regulation, you are making an important point about regulating by use. AI in healthcare, which is widely used for drug discovery, is important but rather different from AI in the creative industries. In that regulatory matrix, how are those tensions resolved? How does a Government wh…”

“Thank you. Chair, I am conscious that there are lots of questions.”