Speeches by Hoare.

“I want to touch on intergovernmental relations. You referenced in your opening remarks a renewed relationship of trust—I think that is how you described—between Westminster and Cardiff. That is to be welcomed. I wondered whether you wanted to highlight any potential areas of tension that this Committee needs to keep a …”

“Would you agree that—it will not be the sole driver—one major contributory factor will be energy costs? Are you working with Secretary of State Miliband on any initiatives there? This is an argument that is being deployed, as you know, in the ceramics industry around Stoke and in the cement and the wider chemical indus…”

“The hon. Member makes an incredibly powerful and telling point about the disincentive of trying to get into work for people who have a varying and fluctuating condition, such as MS. That is an unanswerable point and I will listen with interest to what the Minister has to say in response. Does he agree with me that in c…”

“With the greatest respect, the hon. Lady is putting the cart before the horse, as are the Government. You do your review first, you find out what it says, and you tailor your policies and your response to it. Is that not the best way of making policy? This half-baked idea satisfies no one.”

“The House knows that not only is the Minister an honourable man, but he has spent the largest proportion of his parliamentary career looking at these issues. He must surely understand, however, that the confusion that has been expressed in this place is now being felt and expressed in the country at large. I have never…”

“The hon. Gentleman is making a most correct and powerful point, which is that this is not the best way of making law and it is hugely disrespectful to Members on all sides of the House, irrespective of position. Does he agree that that is compounded by the woefully inadequate time that is being set aside for Committee …”

“Given the rather botched way in which the Government have dealt with this issue and the U-turn that is proving to be unsatisfactory, and given the scale of the changes that need to be made, does my hon. Friend agree that the Government will just move away from any meaningful reform, deeming it to be too difficult or to…”

“No, I just wanted to test the appetite for commitment.”

“The Assembly’s committee, which you have worked with, has said, “We have a suite of proposals here. We are agreed on 65% of them. There is a bit of to-ing and fro-ing on them. We are not quite sure where they will land. Some of them may require additional—", you know, whatever. Would you say no unless they came up with…”

“Well, if you have a chart, we are in safe territory. We always need a chart.”

“Excellent. That is encouraging, thank you. We have all three strands of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement in operation, which is a relief to many of us. I know you will share that relief. There is a tendency, which has gone on for years, of feeling, when the Executive has been resurrected, almost like it is a delicate …”

“That is an understandable answer. It would be lovely to think that this was realistic, but it is probably unrealistic to expect a unanimous consensus on reform. You are right to point to the work within the Assembly on this. Do you see a convening role for the NIO—with others—to try to move things forward? Different pa…”

“Would the NIO be prepared to step in and use convening powers, or convening influence? I would have to say to them that the Secretary of State answered my question, but I am not entirely sure whether it was a yes or a no. If those circumstances were to arise and there were clear benefits, as agreed, to seeing reforms i…”

“Yet.”

“Secretary of State, do you still intend to take forward the outstanding non-Windsor framework commitments from the “Safeguarding the Union” agreement?”

“Secretary of State, predecessor Committees have spent considerable time hearing evidence and thinking about the role of Libya in IRA-sponsored terrorism. What is the current Government’s position on the issue?”

“No, it is not about taking the lead; it is about responding to and convening, or harnessing and driving forward an initiative that has been authored in Belfast—the genesis of which sits in Belfast.”

“If one of my three daughters asked me what your answer was—“Daddy, did he say yes or did he say no?”—”

“I welcome the fact that Minister Falconer is going to meet them—that is good news. I slightly challenge your assertion that the Foreign Office leads on this, because the Foreign Office has never led on it. It has only ever responded, and over several years in the most lazy and supine way imaginable. There is the potent…”

“I am not disputing your assertion that it is an FCDO lead. It is undoubtedly true that that is where the ministerial responsibility lies. Predecessor Committees and previous Parliaments have seen precious little leadership on the issue from the Department. The nub of my question is, given the fact that there is increas…”