Speeches by Hoare.

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. My point relates to the point of order from the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas), which he did not quite finish. The hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) has in the published register of interests significant monthly payments from X Corp, headquartered in Ca…”

“For clarity, can I check whether those rather encouraging figures of north-south, or inter-island, trade were for specifically the value of the trade from north to south, and not two-way figures?”

“Does the hon. and learned Gentleman agree that there may be some considerable merit in both the European Commission and the European Parliament looking over their paperwork to see precisely where these things link up and whether Peter Mandelson breached rules when he was serving as Commissioner?”

“What is your view on how Northern Irish businesses can better leverage their position on the island of Ireland to support growth? I am thinking particularly, but not exclusively, about the access to two very distinct and lucrative markets.”

“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. This relates to the point the Minister made about the Metropolitan police asking that certain documents not be released, in case they prejudice a trial or investigation. You know as well as I do, Sir, the importance of privilege to this place. Will your office and counsel work with the …”

“Conscious of that, Mr Speaker, let me say that I agree with my hon. Friend, and then conclude with two asks of the Government. First, will they confirm when a Bill will be introduced and that it will be passed speedily in both Houses before the Easter recess; and, secondly, although it is not my job to speak on behalf …”

“I have one final question; it is very brief. Is enough being done to exploit the Celtic fringe of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales? One automatically defaults to what Westminster is doing, but is there sufficient business focus to support growing collaboration between the devolved regions?”

“Good morning. Could you set out for the Committee—bullet-point form might be helpful, for clarity—the challenges and opportunities as you see them that the all-island economy presents for those doing business or looking to do business in Northern Ireland?”

“My right hon. Friend is right, but if this motion is passed unamended this afternoon, all those papers will be available either to this place or to the ISC, and then we will know. We are all aware of these sorts of things. Somebody will set a hare running at some point and we will say that we think this, that and the o…”

“Is it your hope that the creation of the one-stop shop will, cumulatively, maximise the bang for the buck?”

“I think my colleagues on the Committee and I would welcome your assessment of the effectiveness of UK Government policy in supporting NI businesses to operate cross-border and, allied to that, your assessment of whether the UK Government, the Executive and indeed the Irish Government are providing enough effective and—…”

“I appreciate that. The question is: are people saying, “This is a very fluid situation. We think we know what the direction of travel and the landing spot is. Let’s hold off on investing in kit, software, whatever, for overcoming ‘barriers’ that will, hopefully, be temporary”?”

“Yes, so we can see if there is a dramatic tilt. Obviously, Nick Thomas-Symonds and the wider Government are looking at SPS and developing relationships with the EU. Do you pick up any sense, commercially, of pressing the pause button on initiatives to see how that settles down, when it might be delivered and what, if a…”

“That would be helpful to see what the balance is.”

“For clarity, can I check whether those rather encouraging figures of north-south, or inter-island, trade were for specifically the value of the trade from north to south, and not two-way figures?”

“What is your view on how Northern Irish businesses can better leverage their position on the island of Ireland to support growth? I am thinking particularly, but not exclusively, about the access to two very distinct and lucrative markets.”

“Do you have a split for what the value is of trade from north to south?”

“Picking up on Mr Tufnell’s point, there is a chicken-and-egg problem there. You go out and talk to people who say, “Yes, we’d love to come to the UK.” Then a basic table stake is power, water, qualified and enthusiastic staff and so on. Then you fall at a basic hurdle because there is not enough stuff on the grid to po…”

“If I could just finish with the Minister, I would encourage him. The civil service, Whitehall and everything else have a wonderful way of getting their claws into people from business and moulding them into the perfect Whitehall creature. In fact, however, having that entrepreneurial—I do not use this in a rude sense—b…”

“My final question follows on from the strategy—[Interruption.]”