Speeches by Edwards.

“Okay—my apologies. I can do that.”

“Martin, did you want to comment as well?”

“Just following up on that, I have heard in a couple of ways about a speeding-up of the process or identifying less risky categories. Is there something like a fast-track lane that some other countries use that you think is a good idea? Again, take the good things from other places and apply them to what we have, which …”

“Building on this discussion around framework, perhaps I will ask Francesca first and then other panel members might like to comment. The last Government had quite a lot of different approaches to economic security. We know that we have different Departments responsible for different elements. The Cabinet Office is look…”

“It would be interesting if anybody else had anything to add to that. It was just to understand whether you had come to a clear conclusion or whether there were other thoughts around what we could be doing. For example, do we need to look at a prioritisation? We have already spoken about Japan having a categorisation of…”

“Mike, you just indicated that you wanted to come back on that.”

“Perhaps following on from that discussion that we are having around the scope, who is covered, whether they should be and that debate, does the National Security and Investment Act get the balance right between our national security and the ease of investing in companies? Can you speak to that? Do you have any thoughts…”

“Picking up on what you have been saying, there is a bit more clarity for businesses and there has been an improvement around the investment screening regime. Do you think it would help to have a formal definition of economic security? Do you think that would help the private sector to better understand the Government’s…”

“Could I just follow up on the point that you made about UK-to-UK investment? Given how complex many companies are, and the subsidiaries within subsidiaries within whatever complex umbrella structure that you like, does that data reflect that that is what we are seeing or is there an extra level that maybe was not analy…”

“Mike, did you want to comment on the scope? You obviously have some experience.”

“To pick up on that point, we have about £70 billion given in the UK in tax relief for pensions. Building on my colleague’s point and your earlier point about prospectuses, if we have 70% of DC funds investing overseas and only 2% of DB schemes investing in the UK, how can we better direct that investment and not impact…”

“It is really important and interesting to hear from all of you as mayors, but, before I move on to my question, at the moment we have quite a lot of constituencies that are not covered by the devolution plans at all. That is coming but, given the time that it might take to get there, I am concerned that the growth that…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) on securing this important debate. This week, we are celebrating Staffordshire Day, which gives us the perfect opportunity to reflect on the cultural contributions of our towns and cities. In …”

“I just wanted to ask a bit about how it is that we are going to move there. I know you are saying that there are these plans, but I just wonder why it has taken so long to get there, to connect to the grid. We have heard from companies up and down the country about how impossible it is for them to look at their own gro…”

“I just wanted to make reference to my register of interests as a former employee of Unite the Union. Just to pick up on energy costs, this is one of the things that I am most concerned about for all businesses, not just automotive. We have a real problem in this country, and it is something that is talked about all the…”

“I just want to come in on some of the points that you have made. In particular, I have heard about this issue around the deficit in the amount of funding available for apprenticeships. The Road Haulage Association has mechanics who are helping to train people to work on electric rigs, but there is a deficit. Again, we …”

“My question links quite neatly into some of what we have just discussed. Do you have some thoughts on the current funding that the Government have provided? Over the course of the Parliament, £2 billion is allocated for automotive, £975 million for the aerospace sector and £520 million for life sciences manufacturing. …”

“Is there enough of a risk appetite in this country?”

“The Business and Trade Committee, of which I am a member, has heard evidence about the importance of the steel industry, and about the need for primary steelmaking to be retained as a key pillar of UK industrial sovereignty. We have heard that blast furnaces still play a critical role in strategic and high-grade steel …”

“How will the UK’s involvement in the Global Combat Air Programme, also known as GCAP, AUKUS or the Five Power Defence Alliance boost UK trade in the Asia-Pacific region? I will start with Douglas Barrie and work backwards.”