Speeches by Law.

“The right hon. Gentleman raises an interesting point about the nature of coalition building, which takes place in both systems.”

“Does the hon. Lady agree that apprenticeships are a critical feature of any mobility scheme, as the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) suggested? We need to ensure not only that the businesses that the hon. Lady describes get the staff they need in specific sectors, but that the scheme is not an elitist one.”

“Will my hon. Friend give way?”

“I thank you for your chairship, Dr Allin-Khan, and I thank the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) for securing the debate. The need to improve rail services across the south-west—particularly in Cornwall, which is at the sharp end of our problems—cannot be overstated. Connectivity is the backbone of our econ…”

“Will the Chief Secretary outline the steps that this Government have already taken to fix the fiscal foundations and put this country on a stronger footing for growth?”

“This weekend, grassroots campaigners in Newquay will meet to oppose the privatisation of car park charge enforcement in Newquay and Cornwall more widely. Will the Secretary of State and colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government meet me to discuss how councils can retain more of that profit…”

“I welcome the debate secured by my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan) on this important topic. The warm homes plan currently being rolled out by the Government is particularly welcome for those of us in Cornwall with poor energy-efficient homes. Can the Minister outline the steps that she is …”

“We can touch briefly on that again. This question is to Nick and Corin, I think. You are the ODA spender of last resort, so do you think that this hinders the Department’s ability to formulate and deliver long‑term development programmes?”

“Finally, I appreciate this is something you may have to come back in writing about but, if you could get us a number as to how much reclassification of existing ODA is required to meet that standard, we would be very grateful.”

“Perhaps drawing very briefly, if you can, on the question that David asked earlier, as many others have, do you think we are articulating that clearly enough to the public?”

“Which areas of ODA spend do you think have to be de-prioritised for us to meet those commitments? I will press you on this. I know that you said that they are so very linked but, ultimately, this is a standalone fund or commitment that we are making. If it is detracting, perhaps, from ODA as a whole, what has to give?”

“This is probably something that the public are quite concerned about as well. I certainly receive a lot of correspondence about this number. Am I correct in understanding what you are saying? This is something of a fungible number, rather than a standalone commitment. It is very much being met via commitments made else…”

“Do you think those in-donor refugee costs—was it 27.9% in 2023 of ODA?—are an effective way of addressing the sustainable development goals?”

“We can touch briefly on that again. This question is to Nick and Corin, I think. You are the ODA spender of last resort, so do you think that this hinders the Department’s ability to formulate and deliver long‑term development programmes?”

“Finally, I appreciate this is something you may have to come back in writing about but, if you could get us a number as to how much reclassification of existing ODA is required to meet that standard, we would be very grateful.”

“Perhaps drawing very briefly, if you can, on the question that David asked earlier, as many others have, do you think we are articulating that clearly enough to the public?”

“Which areas of ODA spend do you think have to be de-prioritised for us to meet those commitments? I will press you on this. I know that you said that they are so very linked but, ultimately, this is a standalone fund or commitment that we are making. If it is detracting, perhaps, from ODA as a whole, what has to give?”

“This is probably something that the public are quite concerned about as well. I certainly receive a lot of correspondence about this number. Am I correct in understanding what you are saying? This is something of a fungible number, rather than a standalone commitment. It is very much being met via commitments made else…”

“Do you think those in-donor refugee costs—was it 27.9% in 2023 of ODA?—are an effective way of addressing the sustainable development goals?”

“Moving to another big topic with a big number attached, for the UK to meet our £11.6 billion International Climate Finance commitments, the Government need to deliver £3.4 billion in 2025-26 alone. Is the FCDO currently on track to deliver this?”