Speeches by Davies.

“We know that climate change and the loss of biodiversity will be a driver of conflict and that it will change our access to natural resources. I will come to you first, if I may, General. Why does this not sit more prominently in the strategic defence review that was published last year?”

“I think there are two direct mentions of climate change in the SDR, and it generally talks about the melting of ice in the High North. Are conversations happening at NATO about the threat of climate change and the loss of biodiversity, and how that might drive conflict? You also talked a bit about tipping points, which…”

“Through NATO, how engaged is the United States—or not—on the threats that climate change and the loss of biodiversity will have on national security?”

“Are there any particular Government Departments that you feel acknowledge that this is a risk and threat, but just put it in the “too difficult” box, and therefore it does not foster the cross-governmental work in the particular corners of Government that we should be looking at in respect of this?”

“If the report that we are discussing today had come before the SDR, do you think that climate change and the loss of biodiversity would sit more prominently within it?”

“Thank you very much for your answers—they are very enlightening. I will turn to you, Mr Laybourn. I am very keen to find some tangible actions that the Government should take in response to what has come to light through this intelligence-led report. Do you think there are appropriate governance structures in place to …”

“Do you have a view on whether the National Security Council (Resilience) is helping to bring that together? I know it is chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and DEFRA sits within it. Can you see if it is making an impact at all?”

“Thank you, Chair. Compared to a great many regulators, the OEP is held in quite high regard by its stakeholders, including environmental groups. That is perhaps its leadership has been willing to push back where it has felt necessary. Having a change of chair may present an uncertain time for some of those stakeholders…”

“In terms of the public, my perception is that many of them will not know about the Office for Environmental Protection, its remit, its role, or how they might be able to engage with it. Do you have any thoughts or plans about how you might engage the wider public in the Office's work?”

“Compared to some other regulatory bodies, where the public can engage them to raise an issue, can you think of anywhere you might want to draw upon good examples from other similar organisations? Similarly, are there other regulators that are falling short in that space that you might identify as ones that you would no…”

“We are moving to this mandatory food waste recycling and a lot of that will go into anaerobic digestion. Should we expect to see that increase then?”

“Do you think farmers and the agricultural community would welcome the opportunity to do more of that? Did you say it is thinner?”

“Thank you for all the information that you have provided. You have articulated something that the public probably do not see. They see air pollution as being an urban problem, but it is a huge problem in rural areas too. Just leaning into that, you talked a little bit about how ammonia is 84% of those emissions from ag…”

“I very much welcome what the Minister has said about the principles behind how we will use £400 billion of Government procurement to back companies up and down this country, and the workers behind them, by buying British. However, of course, many billions of pounds more are spent across the wider public sector, includi…”

“Is there an additional cost to the farmer with the low-emission technique?”

“At the moment we are somewhat dependent on voluntary measures to reduce ammonia emissions through fertiliser use. If we created the climate where more farmers were minded to adopt the approach that you have described, do you think they would buy in?”

“T6. I have previously raised the case of the Ada Belfield care centre in Belper with my hon. Friend the Minister. At the moment, it has an uncertain future, because the Reform-led Derbyshire county council may sell the home. May I ask her to take an interest in this case to make sure that we have adequate adult social …”

“I join the Minister in thanking our armed forces personnel who identified this threat and allowed us to take the action he has described. I note that real-terms defence spending fell by 22% in the eight years or so prior to 2017. It is this Government that are turning that around with fresh investment and more co-opera…”

“My hon. Friend makes an important point. I am glad that the Government have begun to address this shortfall. The investment of £2 billion into the East Midlands combined authority under Mayor Claire Ward specifically to be used for transport will go some way towards addressing that, but there is a lot more to do becaus…”

“I am pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury (Julia Buckley) has secured this debate about connections between London and rural towns by rail because many of the issues on which she touched apply to my own constituency in Derbyshire. This morning I was at Broomfield Hall college, an agricultural college w…”