Speeches by Scrogham.

“16. What fiscal reforms she has made to help increase economic growth in Cumbria.”

“At the autumn Budget, the Government announced a range of support measures for small businesses, including vital support for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. Will the Minister confirm the measures being taken to support the independent and important craft brewing and distillery sector in Cumbria?”

“T10. The previous Government’s mismanagement has left our flood defences unfit for purpose, which has a huge impact on my constituents. Will the Chancellor set out what the Government are doing to increase community resilience against flooding and coastal erosion?”

“How do we compare to our allies and partners in terms of the depth and scale of our defence industry? How important is that industry to the UK as a whole?”

“On the tech in particular, what world-leading capabilities do we have in our defence sector in the UK?”

“Barrow and Furness has always been ahead of the times in high-skilled engineering. In the light of the Prime Minister’s historic commitment to raise defence spending—the biggest increase since the end of the cold war—I invite him to visit and see the many small and medium-sized enterprises who can support this vital su…”

“Turning to health services—this is directed specifically to Kate—how can the Government support those services to be more responsive to and aware of the needs of armed forces personnel.”

“Would expanding the covenant into social care address some of these issues?”

“Would it be more efficient if this were led centrally, then, and you were not reinventing the wheel in every single authority?”

“We have heard that the covenant is being delivered very differently from one area to the next, whether it is within local authorities or trusts. We are trying to get to the bottom of the reason for that. Do you think there are any examples where the covenant is being delivered particularly well that could be emulated a…”

“It would be the framework.”

“What could be done to make sure it is applied consistently, then?”

“We have evidence saying that things are different across all the local authorities and within the devolved Parliaments. What effect is that having on service personnel?”

“We are touching on exactly where we were going next. We know that the nature of the service means that people move around an awful lot; they are very mobile. What sort of challenges does that throw up for people in the service? Has the Covenant addressed that?”

“Like me, my hon. Friend is a passionate advocate for apprenticeships, which play a huge role in Barrow and Furness and are vital for the workforce needed for the defence sector. BAE has an incredible 94% completion rate, whereas the national average is 51%. Does he agree that the Government’s much-needed reforms are vi…”

“You touched on the Armed Forces champions there. What value is placed on that nationally? Does that also differ from area to area?”

“We have many multilateral and bilateral agreements. Do you feel that that ecosystem works well or are any of those agreements actually hindering and getting in the way of one another?”

“My constituent, Sharron Huddleston, has been campaigning after tragically losing her daughter Caitlin in 2017. She was one of those children on rural roads who tragically lost her life as a passenger in a young novice’s car. Sharon founded the Forget-me-not Families Uniting group. They campaign for restrictions on the …”

“I am specifically looking at where those relationships complement each other or where there are tensions. Which of those relationships do you see as complementary? Where do you see other relationships where there could be tension within that? Armida van Rij: On the complementarity front, the existing gap is the UK-EU r…”

“Thank you both for your time today. You have touched on some of those relationships. What do you see as being the key British relationships and their contribution to the European security? Armida van Rij: It is very much the ones that we have talked about so far. I reiterate the point that these are cumulative. They ar…”