Speeches by Wilson.

“Is there any danger that the concentration on expanding airports in the south-east will prevent or diminish economic growth opportunities for some of the regions of the United Kingdom? I can remember speaking to a councillor from Newcastle, who indicated that when Newcastle started its international—”

“No, Newcastle, Northern Ireland does not merit a place for flying a kite, let alone an aircraft. This councillor said that once Newcastle started international flights to Dubai the impact on economic growth in the area was enormous. If the aim is to get economic growth, is there a case for concentrating more on airport…”

“The evidence that we have had so far is that some people say, “Yes, there is going to be an increase in demand for air travel, but that can be better facilitated, as the Better Horizons report stated, by looking at existing facilities where there is unused capacity at present or opportunities to save regional airports,…”

“Is there any danger that the concentration on expanding airports in the south-east will prevent or diminish economic growth opportunities for some of the regions of the United Kingdom? I can remember speaking to a councillor from Newcastle, who indicated that when Newcastle started its international—”

“Has your Department done any estimates at all on the impact on airfares of the recommendation by the CCC that all of the costs of decarbonisation and the non-CO2 clean-up should be put on passenger tickets? Has any work been done on that? If work has been done on that, have you done any estimate on the impact that that…”

“Could I just go back to an answer that you gave me earlier on about regional connectivity? I take it that, when you are doing your economic assessment of the increase in capacity in the south-east and, say, a third runway at Heathrow, you will be able to build into that a figure for the benefits to regions, because you…”

“Since the Government have already stated that they are inviting applications for a third runway at Heathrow, I take it that it would be sensible to appoint somebody into your position so that you have someone in place to deal with it who has the right knowledge and background. It is not unusual ahead of the project tak…”

“No, Newcastle, Northern Ireland does not merit a place for flying a kite, let alone an aircraft. This councillor said that once Newcastle started international flights to Dubai the impact on economic growth in the area was enormous. If the aim is to get economic growth, is there a case for concentrating more on airport…”

“Minister, I am sure you are aware that there will be legal differences and personal differences as to how we reach the goal of clean transport. I am pleased to hear that you are not considering the demand management measures that have been outlined by the CCC, simply because, as you pointed out, they price people out o…”

“One of the arguments that you have made is about the connections. Coming from Northern Ireland, I fully understand the point that you are making about the connection between the regions and a good hub airport in the south-east. Businesses and tourists can flow between the hub airport and the regions, or vice versa. Thi…”

“Since the Government have already stated that they are inviting applications for a third runway at Heathrow, I take it that it would be sensible to appoint somebody into your position so that you have someone in place to deal with it who has the right knowledge and background. It is not unusual ahead of the project tak…”

“Will my hon. Friend accept that people being dragged to court, sometimes for the second or third time, is not about justice or accountability, but about harassment and an attempt to find ways of rewriting history, and that is why this is so wrong?”

“Will my hon. Friend take an intervention?”

“The real driver of this statement is the fact that the Secretary of State is losing the argument with his colleagues, who are now challenging the impact of his policies on economic growth. He is trying to cover up the cost, which the OBR revealed last week will be £30 billion per year and £800 billion over the period. …”

“Is there a full register of all of the anti-flood assets across all of the various bodies? If not, is there any work being done to achieve that?”

“That improves the situation, I suppose, for people where there are already flood defences, but they need to be strengthened or maintained or whatever. What does that do to your programme for the people who have no flood defence at present and have been promised flood defences? If there is that shift, what kind of cuts …”

“I realise that time is up, but there are questions about the Online Safety Act, which we had high hopes for. Maybe we do not have time for responses but if I put the questions, you could come back on them. First, the Act is now in place and phase 1 requirements are with you; what actions have you taken to comply with t…”

“Is the implication of that post not, “Here is someone who should finish up the same way as David Amess did”? That is the conclusion I would take from that.”

“One other way of improving the situation, of course, is to look at the whole picture. The EA is not the only body that has flood defences under its control. What collaboration do you have with other flood defence agencies—whether it is local authorities or whatever it happens to be—in ensuring that we get the best valu…”

“Mr Duffy, you have probably touched on this in one of the answers you gave to the Chairman, but you mentioned the need to change the balance between the capital spend and the revenue spend to maintain the structures we have now. Does that mean that you need your funding from the Government to change from capital to rev…”