Speeches by Madders.

“I want to follow up on the review. It is absolutely crystal clear from what you have said that this is potentially existential for the industry. What possible reason could there be for the Government wanting to wait until next year for the outcome of the review?”

“The Chair began to ask you about the impact on energy costs from the middle east conflict. Do you have a sense that the Government have either a short-term or a long-term plan to deal with the potential price shocks from that?”

“Some of the sectors that have had shutdowns and mothballing closures in recent times are chemicals, packaging, food, glass, automotive, ceramics, bricks, steel and many others. Is this a problem across everything in manufacturing? They have all cited, to some extent, energy costs as a reason for a downturn in activity.…”

“Very briefly, I am assuming your engagement with DBT is very good.”

“Can I come back to what both Murray and Matthew said? It was very interesting that you both gave similar answers—that to get to this target, we are going to need a new entrant into the market. Who in Government is leading the way in terms of attracting that new entrant? Is anyone doing anything to attract new entrants …”

“I start by thanking the Minister for her hard work and dedication in trying to get this Bill right. She has worked tirelessly to ensure that the voices of the campaigners have been heard and are reflected in the final provisions, and I know that she will continue to do so when the Bill returns in the next parliamentary…”

“Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting the Royal Mail depot in Ellesmere Port, where I went in one of its newly purchased vans from the Stellantis factory just down the road—a perfect example of how we should be supporting British industry. I urge the Minister to look further at this issue, because what he has annou…”

“10. What steps he is taking to reform public procurement.”

“When the Central England Co-operative announced that it was purchasing the Marquis pub in Great Sutton and the Saffron restaurant in Ellesmere Port, we were delighted that those old buildings were going to be brought back into use as convenience stores. However, five years on since those announcements, I am afraid that…”

“It is in my constituency.”

“You have touched on this already in terms of the reasons why certain supply chains might be more vulnerable than others, particularly because of the concentration of resources. I wonder whether you could say a little more about what the range of factors might be and how you evaluate that at each stage of the supply cha…”

“Can I push a little bit more on this suggestion that we do not need to worry about the source of it because there is enough to go around? You have mentioned already that it can be subject to monopolies and political influence. Is it not also the case that it is about how much physically you can get out at any one time,…”

“It certainly does, yes.”

“You have already talked about how reliant we are on certain supply chains and products. What if they just turned the tap off? What would happen then?”

“We have talked a lot about risks, so I will be brief. We have seen, with what has happened in the middle east recently, that a military conflict can very quickly be leveraged to create economic challenges. If there was a decision taken at some point in the future for some military dispute to use China’s economic levera…”

“Shaun and Julian, do you have any other perspectives on the level of guidance and support that you get from the UK Government?”

“In terms of that caution, where businesses do not feel emboldened to take that sort of risk, is that a very China-specific thing or does it apply to other countries?”

“Looking at it from the other end, in terms of UK manufacturers that are importing parts of their supply chain from China, how important is that to them? We have talked a little bit about some of the risks associated with that. What are your members doing to mitigate those risks?”

“I will come back to you, James. We had some discussion on the first panel about how helpful or otherwise the Government were in terms of giving you support and guidance about how to deal with China. You have talked a bit about what some of your members are doing. Do you feel that they are de-risking in response to Gove…”

“Would your members know where to go to get advice on those risks?”