Speeches by Downie.

“They are moving towards the technical?”

“Susan, you mentioned difficulties with budgets up to this point, and given the focus on trying to create these new jobs in Aberdeen and the challenges that the city faces, has skills provision in colleges in the north-east been particularly hit by cuts to college budgets in Scotland?”

“I thank the Minister for his work and engagement on this issue over the last few weeks and months. I have been contacted by a range of defence and aerospace companies both in my constituency and across the UK—including some with a footprint in Northern Ireland—that are concerned that some of the quotas and exclusions d…”

“We have heard about—you mentioned it there—the divisiveness of the process and some of the delays inside the industry. Two questions are linked. Are there lessons for the Department about how they go about future consultation processes? Do you think there has been any damage done inside the industry through the lack of…”

“Chris, what does the wound that exists as a result of the process do to the evidence base that would be needed to be brought forward should a future Government want to reopen the decision? Presumably, it makes it much harder to do, and the evidence would have to be very strong indeed. Is there a risk that you end up wi…”

“Tom, on the same topic, I think you have expressed concerns in the past about the lack of transparency. Do you have any insight into what happened and why that limited analysis was published? Similar to the question I asked Katrina, do you have any concern about what that points to for the future, either inside the ind…”

“Do you think some of the evidence base has changed? Similarly to what I asked Chris, what evidence do you think would need to come to light, from where and when, and on what timescale, that would justify the discussion being reopened?”

“Helen, can you pick up the points Rob and Jason made, particularly on the issues in Scotland that arise from TNUoS and how that affects bids in Scotland?”

“Is the risk that they price higher because of that uncertainty?”

“Rob, you touched on this earlier; I want to come back to the impact of TNUoS costs on CfD bids and how that affects strike prices. We have seen increasing CfD bids as a result of TNUoS. Can you talk about your views on that and what impact in particular that is having on consumer costs?”

“Is that more of a market-based solution, rather than having price fixing, which you could almost call an excessive intervention in the market, or a strong intervention in the market?”

“Jason, what is your view on this? In particular, why is it so difficult for them to look at TNUoS as something to reform or change?”

“On alternative market designs, you mentioned, Katrina, that it was a very broad option. There were no options put forward. It was very much, “Give us your ideas, bring out your dead, see what happens.” What alternatives do you think could have been brought forward between RNP and LMP, and which ones should remain under…”

“We have heard from Octopus Energy, which has told us that the evidence base has actually improved since the decision was taken. What evidence do you think would need to come forward? What strength of evidence would need to come forward to justify reopening the debate or discussion in future, and where would it have to …”

“Chris, was the feeling about the process that there was no clear objective in mind? No one said, “This is what we are trying to achieve and let’s work towards it.” Am I being unfair?”

“You are not suggesting that devolution causes problems in energy markets?”

“Do you have any views on why other reform options were rejected, or perhaps not considered fully?”

“Chris, was the feeling about the process that there was no clear objective in mind? No one said, “This is what we are trying to achieve and let’s work towards it.” Am I being unfair?”

“Do you think some of the evidence base has changed? Similarly to what I asked Chris, what evidence do you think would need to come to light, from where and when, and on what timescale, that would justify the discussion being reopened?”

“I want to go back to something that Claire brought up and that you mentioned, Katrina, about the evidence base for REMA. You mentioned that there had been be no cost-benefit analysis published. I think you also mentioned that we needed a process that brought everyone along with us. Do you think some of the concerns abo…”