Speeches by Blake.

“Thank you, Chair. It is useful to clarify that. Moving on then to pollution, which is the other issue we have been highlighting today, our predecessor Committee’s recommendations on water quality in rivers focused on accelerating improvements to highway drainage and the Government accepted that a level of increased amb…”

“So you are doing good contract management, in your opinion.”

“Is that true for all the trees that you have?”

“I just want to pick up on what all this has cost in terms of the A14. In particular, what has so far been spent on putting this issue right? Going forward, what are the estimated costs of keeping on putting it right, if that makes sense?”

“I could talk to you about this all day, but I will bring Ms Hillier in. Is there enough monitoring in the years following development to ensure planting is successful and remedied? That is the key thing for me. Should there be more focus on remedying, if there is not?”

“That is really helpful. Just quickly, do you think that nurseries are prepared for the needs that climate will bring in terms of what they are currently cultivating?”

“Do you think that we need to educate the public about the fact that the trees that they are used to seeing might be replaced, or new trees that come into an area might be different, and the reasons why, so that people can understand that a bit better?”

“Mr Martin, we have already covered this, but I wanted to explore it a little more thoroughly. What policies could be encouraged to make sure that the right tree is planted in the right place, rather than just the largest number of trees or whips, for example, and that climate resilience is also involved in that policy?”

“I mean specifically on maintaining the mitigations that you have.”

“Finally, we have spoken about getting the mitigations in place, but, once they are in place, do you have the resources to maintain these, given that you are probably going to have to deal with more things to maintain?”

“I welcome the Bill and commend the Deputy Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner), for her leadership in bringing it forward. For too long, decisions about our communities have been made far from the people they affect. This Bill signals a profound shift, putting trust back…”

“I thank the Minister for her action. Steel remains a key part of the South Yorkshire industrial and economic strategies. Can she reassure the House that workers’ wages and livelihoods will continue to be prioritised throughout the whole process, and will she join me in thanking our hon. Friends the Members for Peniston…”

“It is a privilege to be in the Chamber today to hear that we are finally getting the inquiry that has long been campaigned for by the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, the NUM and many in my community and across South Yorkshire. They are simply asking for the truth. The shadow Minister has just said that the inquiry…”

“I think that we have all been very distracted by that mouse, haven’t we? But thank you for that answer. We have heard the word “strategic” a lot. Who is going to have oversight of that “strategic” level. Is it going to be DEFRA, or is it going to be—”

“You are thinking about it and making sure that it is embedded. That is fine. This question is probably for you, Minister Creagh. How will you ensure that DEFRA is confident that the nature restoration fund does not start to undermine BNG, or how you can prevent it from undermining BNG?”

“I have a couple more questions on biodiversity net gain. One may have been for Minister Pennycook, so I wonder if he could write to us with an answer, if possible. We have heard evidence that small sites have a really good benefit on BNG. There is concern from some that excluding small sites will have quite a damaging …”

“Beyond that—”

“That is helpful. In the revised NPPF, the term “vision-led” development was used. Can you give a clearer and more practical definition of what “vision-led” means, beyond what is currently set out within the framework?”

“It sounds quite complicated when you layer it all up, however. Would you welcome recommendations on tightening some of the relationships between the different plans, strategies, networks and all the rest of it?”

“Which one is top trump at the moment, as it were?”