Speeches by Davies.

“You say you broadly were aligned to DEFRA’s findings. Is that from its November review?”

“One more question, if I may, Chair. Those Government Departments that have a wide estate of facilities around the country or that oversee arm’s-length bodies or quangos—the NHS is a good example—are they expected to apply EPPS principles in the decisions that they make?”

“That is very helpful. Could I ask you about specific Government Departments, because obviously they all have an obligation to implement the EPPS? Are there any specific Departments about which you have concerns and is that due to a lack of awareness within the Department of the importance of this suite of principles, o…”

“I hope this is not a flippant question, but do you feel the public know who you are?”

“Thank you to the witnesses for your insights today. I have some questions about the environmental principles policy statements, which I understand were introduced in 2023 as a suite of principles to guide Government Departments in managing our impact on the environment. I understand that they were welcomed by your orga…”

“When we had an urgent question on business rates last week, I raised the issue of grassroots music venues, so I am pleased that the Minister confirmed today that there will be 15% off business rates for pubs and grassroots music venues. As he seeks to build on the permanently lower multipliers and the excess of £4 bill…”

“On that point—and I will accept your guidance, Chairman, on whether this is appropriate, as you are a much longer-standing Member than I—would it lend itself well to an urgent question or asking a Minister to give a statement? I know this is a big issue: we all want to see Royal Mail succeed, and postal workers are gen…”

“When the revised environmental improvement plan was published in December, many stakeholders and people invested in these issues welcomed it warmly. However, there were some questions around delivery and implementation, and I think we have touched on some of those points. Ruth, to what extent do you share those concern…”

“I think that will be useful for our work on air quality, which is an upcoming Committee inquiry. Ruth, you talked quite specifically about some of the targets and measures to provide transparency and allow scrutiny. You talked about the marine aspect, for example. Is there anything that you would like to add to inform …”

“I think we have some good stuff coming forward in that space, and you are right to highlight the river walks. If you have any influence, please lean in and say the Derwent valley needs a report. That would be fantastic. Perhaps I could hear from you, Livi, about your thoughts on delivery and whether you share some of t…”

“Richard, to what extent do you share the concerns of the OEP regarding the delivery and implementation of the strategy?”

“On that, how well integrated do you think it is with other bits of Government strategy? We have the 25-year farming review and things around land use, and lots of different aspects. Do you feel this tessellates with those other strategies?”

“Leaning into your area of expertise, air quality, and the complicated web of different Government Departments that are involved in moving the dial on that issue, the OEP questions whether in some areas of the revised EIP there were the necessary targets to measure progress, provide transparency and allow scrutiny. Do y…”

“I very much welcome the publication of this £15 billion warm homes plan, which will get people’s bills down and reduce our impact on the environment. I was particularly interested to hear of the £90 million that has been set aside for the development of heat pumps, because Vaillant—one of the world’s leading manufactur…”

“Richard, I suspect from listening to you that you share the view of the OEP that there are questions over whether the revised EIP has the necessary targets to measure progress, provide transparency and allow scrutiny. Do you perhaps want to be specific about which areas the Government should look at to focus on for pro…”

“The scenes from Iran are barbaric, and those executions that we are aware of are an affront to human dignity. Wherever we look around the world, we can see the malign influence of Iran, including here. Our national security strategy, published in June last year, highlighted that. Can the Minister assure me that our law…”

“I welcome the assurance that half of businesses will see their business rates flat or falling, and that is even after the end of the covid-era support and the post-pandemic review initiated by the previous Government. Research by the Music Venue Trust estimates that 600 grassroots music venues may see quite significant…”

“I very much welcome this generational investment, which will benefit not just rail in the north of England but the whole country through economic growth and regeneration. I particularly welcome the investment going to Sheffield, which is a city used by my constituents not just as a destination but as a connection to el…”

“Do you wish to have a specific motion, or do you wish it to be a general debate?”

“Thank you. That is very helpful.”