Speeches by Wilson.

“Does the hon. and learned Member accept that the situation is even worse than that? If goods that are subsidised or get state aid in GB have a tenuous connection with markets in Northern Ireland, the EU can again limit the amount of state aid given, disadvantaging some producers even here in GB.”

“Yesterday I met two apprentices who were engaged in firms delivering defence contracts in Northern Ireland and were enthusiastic about the skills and their prospects, but Northern Ireland benefits minimally from defence contracts across the United Kingdom. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that more contracts…”

“Last week the Government pushed through the imposition of the emissions trading scheme on domestic shipping. That will have a huge impact on Northern Ireland, because so many goods are brought into Northern Ireland from GB, or sent there, on ferries. What assessment has the Minister made of the impact this will have on…”

“Of course we need a commissioner who has the power and ability to expose corruption and deal with it, but today’s statement was not required. We already knew that the Prime Minister made a bad judgment. What the public want to know is how he will be held to account for the things that he knew but ignored. Will the Mini…”

“I draw Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. The question was asked at the start of this debate, “Whose side are we on?” Let me make something very clear: I am on the side of the people who suffered one of the most horrendous terrorist attacks on 7 October 2023, when their citi…”

“No, I will not give way. This demand will be used to justify the intimidatory marches that we see week after week throughout the United Kingdom. It will be used to justify the barricading of Jewish businesses, the banning of Jewish students and academics from universities, and even the banning of Israeli sports fans fr…”

“Hamas would disagree with the hon. Member, because Hamas boasted that the killing of civilians would help to increase the resistance and put some fire into it. Before accusations are made against Israel, let us look at the record of Hamas on putting civilians in harm’s way, and basing their rockets and firing points in…”

“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…”

“I suppose the Committee would want to know what weight would be given, for example, to the environmental implications of diverging and not putting restrictions on as opposed to trade, employment or whatever. That was really what I was trying to get at. What would be the main criteria that would be applied when deciding…”

“Yes, but what would the criteria be simply on the outcome of the consultation? Would it be what industry said or what came back from whatever source of information you used? Surely there would be a criterion that you would apply. What factors would be included in that criterion?”

“In an earlier answer the Minister did say that where it was in the interests of the UK, the Government would consider divergence and, indeed, mentioned a couple of industries—pharmaceuticals and aerospace, I think. What criteria would be used for deciding whether we were going to diverge from the EU on these issues?”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“”

“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…”

“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…”

“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 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?”