Speeches by Wilson.

“The Minister has said that we are not rejoining the EU. I think earlier on she made that comment, but you are saying there is a choice here between either going through the long, complicated process that you described in the first part of your answer or starting to take a lot of the EU regulations, decisions and so on …”

“Minister, you have already maybe touched on some of the answers to the first question I wanted to ask, but the plan states that UK REACH will be reformed by 2028 to be “more aligned with our closest trading partners” and that the UK will use trusted jurisdiction decisions as starting points. How exactly will those comm…”

“Have you considered the trade implications—although that is probably not your Department—of divergence? Already, for example, Northern Ireland faces a situation where it has to abide by EU REACH regulations. That already applies to fire extinguishers and so on. There will be new regulations that will apply from April o…”

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“The impact of the measure will have a disproportionate cost, especially in Northern Ireland, which relies on sea transport for the import of goods from GB, and for the export of goods from Northern Ireland to GB. Although the order is regarded as a domestic measure, it nevertheless affects an important part of our econ…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“If you are asking for new data, which is a flow of information that has to come to you eventually—I am trying to think of an example of where you may ask for new information. You mentioned soils, for example, that you want more information about soils. In the discussion with the Department, would there ever be any talk…”

“I will turn to planning and infrastructure. In your report you made a number of comments. Initially, you took the approach that the strategic approach was commendable and well implemented and beneficial, though it concluded then that to practise it could reduce the level of environmental protection. Then after the amen…”

“On the last point, while not trying to defend the Prime Minister, do you also recognise that in some cases, because of regulations and the way regulations have been applied and the practical consequence of them, he does have a point? Examples can be quoted of where it would seem that regulations have been either overly…”

“I have a practical question on the data collection. Data do not come out of thin air. They require a lot of work and sometimes right down to individual levels where forms have to be filled in, information has to be given and then fed up, analysed and presented in a form that eventually is useful to you. Seeing the cons…”

“Given what you have said about aligning with the land-use priorities and the lack of development of the land-use priorities and the slowness on deciding on some of that, do you have any concerns that it might not achieve the goals set out?”

“The report indicates that EDPs and the nature restoration fund could support or damage environmental protection. One of the things that you pointed out was that if the nature restoration fund is not well aligned with land use priorities and so on, it could have a detrimental effect. Given what you have said about the l…”

“You have identified the risks of the new legislation, bank sheets, the width and so on. It is one of the themes that we have had in other presentations that we have had recently, the implementation and monitoring. There is no point in passing laws and not paying any heed to the implementation or the monitoring of them.…”

“I welcome the statement. It is a pity that it does not include hotels and restaurants, because the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland is under massive pressure due to taxes and the regulations that have been imposed. The Minister has confirmed that this will be new money and therefore there will be a Barnett conseq…”

“Unusually, the Minister has resorted to bluster today, accusing those of us who are opposed to the treaty of being “irresponsible” and “toying with” the security of the country. Does he not accept that it is the Government who are toying with the security of this country by ignoring the views of the Americans who use t…”

“Despite the fact that the plan will not apply to Northern Ireland, I welcome the aspect that applies to rented accommodation. Could the Secretary of State confirm whether there will be a Barnett consequential for Northern Ireland? Does he recognise that, even with this plan, there will still be an up-front cost, so low…”

“It is not about the rule of law. This is about the terrorist organisations seeking to rewrite the history of the troubles on an industrial scale, using the fact that the Army and the forces of law and order in Northern Ireland have all the records, and they have none. This is therefore a one-sided operation.”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“The figures given by the Secretary of State bear out the right hon. Gentleman’s argument. Of the 200 additional civil cases, 120 are directed towards the Ministry of Defence. Does that not bear out his point that this will be a one-sided outcome and a one-sided operation?”

“Veterans will have heard the honeyed words of the Secretary of State at the start of his speech today, when he talked about the debt of gratitude we owe to those who served in Northern Ireland in very difficult circumstances. Yet this order is all about removing protections that would have been available to those very …”