Speeches by Roome.

“While you are in that discussion with the Secretary of State, could you ask him to be very courteous and ensure that Parliament gets to know about the defence investment plan before the newspapers do? They do not have a very good record of that.”

“Yes, it is impressive. However, there have been some issues with the Boxer in the time it has taken to come. The Boxer schedule was reporting green on the IPA’s 2022 annual report, but amber in 2024 and again in November this year. The report also noted that vehicle production and delivery has been delayed due to “glob…”

“We have received a lot of whistleblowing information about Ajax. We are saying that we put our people first, as we should, but are we listening to our people? We have received a multitude of evidence that Ajax is not fit for purpose—on the fact that it will be much harder mechanically to fit rubber tracks rather than m…”

“General Reilly, I want to ask you about the other capabilities and some of the gaps and issues with them. Can you assure us that there are no other issues with Challenger 3 or Boxer?”

“I went to the unveiling of Boxer at the Army expo in Edinburgh. There was music surrounding it as it came out.”

“Also, within the defence investment plan, are you aware of any cuts that may be happening, and any increases in budget that might take effect?”

“General, you are in the position of having procured a lot of equipment, and you know a lot about the programmes. What is your take on that question?”

“Mr Pearce, given your two months in position and fantastic portfolio, which was the reason for your being given the job—you are obviously a very intelligent man—what has been your greatest challenge to date?”

“Chair, it might be worth informing Mr Pearce that for CPD—professional development—the Committee has done an inquiry into defence reform. We had a one-off evidence session with experts. Please get that information, because culture was one of the biggest things that came out.”

“I left the Royal Air Force in Germany to be posted back to the UK in 1989, which signified the end of the cold war with the coming down of the Berlin wall. Fast forward to today, and we are told that the threat of war to the United Kingdom is at its highest level since that time. Given that threat, are we sufficiently …”

“The strategic defence review states that we need a 30% increase in cadet forces, from 140,000 to 180,000. However, I am informed that there is a severe shortage of adult instructors. What is the Minister going to do to address that problem?”

“We were told that the defence investment plan would be available before the Christmas recess. What day this week will it be announced?”

“We are talking about the experience of somebody being resettled. I have experience of that, because I have members on the ARAP scheme in my constituency. How do you feel that the Government has handled resettlement into some of the communities across the United Kingdom, in respect of some of the written evidence you ha…”

“David, you have been working in resettlement and with Afghans for a long time. How have you found the UK Government’s approach to resettlement since the data breach?”

“I want to talk about resettlement. For the record, since Operation Pitting we have had the ARAP scheme, the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme and the Afghanistan response route, all brought together into the Afghan resettlement programme in December 2024. Obviously, that has been closed since July. From the Afghan pe…”

“As the Government move to create a publicly owned Great British Railways, I want to speak on behalf of several thousand rail passengers in my constituency, and to say what they have suffered in recent weeks. We all want a rail network that delivers a fantastic service, supports the economy and protects the environment.…”

“Our evidence shows that in the early days, the support for people resettling into the United Kingdom was poor, or even non-existent. Would you say that is still the case, or do you think the Government have got better at helping to provide support from the early days, when people have arrived?”

“How do you think the Government could improve the resettlement process? I hear from you, even today, the frustration around the application process and the length of time. What is your understanding of the reasons for those delays?”

“On that point, what is the longest time between people applying and hearing that any decision has been made?”

“I am hearing about failures in the Government process where they have not thought the schemes all the way through. It would be interesting to see what your thoughts are on the practical support to get people into work.”