Speeches by Lamont.

“I want to improve rail performance in my constituency, and the extension of the Borders Railway from Tweedbank to Hawick and Newcastleton and on to Carlisle has strong local and cross-party support. Has the UK Government’s share of the funding for the feasibility study—secured as part of the Borderlands growth deal—bee…”

“Will the Leader of the House allow time for us to debate the importance of small businesses to the rural economy? The annual Countryside Alliance awards celebrate rural businesses, communities and individuals who make significant contributions to the countryside. This year, I am delighted to report that there are four …”

“What practical help are the Government providing to Ukraine’s legal system and judges to ensure the prosecution of war crimes?”

“My hon. Friend is speaking very well about the challenges that older people are facing. I note that there are no Labour Back Benchers here to contribute to the debate. We have the Minister and his Parliamentary Private Secretary, so the payroll are here, but despite all the rhetoric during the general election campaign…”

“My hon. Friend is being generous with his time. He is rightly highlighting the weaknesses of the Labour Government in supporting pensioners. Does he agree that in many communities, the voluntary and third sector is now stepping forward to provide that support? In my area we have the Borders Older People’s Forum, the wa…”

“I will come on to that.”

“Good morning, Minister. I want to ask you more about the summit in May. What are your ambitions for that summit and the outputs that you hope to achieve? Nick Thomas-Symonds: When we were first discussing this matter, I was in Brussels with President von der Leyen and the Prime Minister. Maroš Šefčovič and I were both …”

“It was not discussed—okay. Thank you.”

“On the devolution settlement—as a Scottish MP, I have a keen interest in this, and lots of these policy areas are in the devolved policy space—what discussions have you had with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament about the potential changes you are seeking to make? What consenting role will they have t…”

“At the time of the last Government’s trade and co-operation agreement, I think you were quoted as saying that there were holes that needed to be fixed. Can you give us a bit more detail about those holes and whether they might be some of the outputs that you might hope to achieve as part of the summit? Nick Thomas-Symo…”

“Although the UK Government have not published a detailed policy or strategy paper, the EU has drawn up a list of aspirations from this process, which I am sure you have seen, given that it has been quite widely leaked. Do you have any views on the contents of that document? Nick Thomas-Symonds: On the EU’s position, th…”

“That was not my question. Was there no discussion between you and the Home Office in terms of engagement?”

“T6. New research from Marie Curie has found that 85% of public expenditure on people in the final year of life in Scotland is spent in hospitals and only 14% on community care. The figures are very similar for England. What work is being done to ensure a minimum standard of community treatment for people in the final y…”

“You speak about the three pillars, but I do not think you have published a detailed strategy or policy paper on this. It is quite hard for Parliament to measure whether the summit in May is successful or not, isn’t it? Nick Thomas-Symonds: I don’t agree, because we have a manifesto that sets out clear examples of what …”

“Just to force the point on consent, as you will accept, the politics in Scotland is somewhat different from the rest of the UK. We have an SNP Administration. If they decide to be awkward and say that they do not like something that you have agreed to as part of this reset, do they have any ability to stop it happening…”

“There has been a lot of discussion about a national inquiry into grooming gangs. The Home Secretary has decided not to have the national inquiry, but to have an audit of some of the previous investigations. Could you outline your role in discussions with the Home Secretary and how she came to that decision? Nick Thomas…”

“Forgive me, but you are the Minister responsible for public inquiries policy and the Public Inquiry Response Unit. Was there no discussion between the Home Office and your team about this announcement? Nick Thomas-Symonds: That decision was a matter for the Home Secretary.”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“So that my constituents can better understand the Government’s priorities, which does the Minister think that we will achieve first: a deal to lease Diego Garcia for billions of pounds, or spending 2.5% of GDP on defence?”

“3. In which financial year he plans to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence.”