Speeches by Barclay.

“The hon. Gentleman is a champion of the farming community. He and I, in my previous role, often discussed farming issues, and we both hugely support the importance of food production as a key part of our food security. He is right to draw attention to the fact—I will come to this—that gene editing and gene modification…”

“Hiding in plain sight, but not discussed in this Chamber since the general election, is the spending of millions of pounds on the repair of this building, with Members expected to commit later this year to spending billions of pounds into the future. The lack of debate or any meaningful transparency comes despite the m…”

“The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and that builds on the earlier intervention on public support. One of the sweet spots of this area of policy is that it is beneficial to farming—because it cuts costs on things like pesticides and increases yield—but it is also hugely beneficial to nature, in terms of climate cha…”

“The hon. Lady raises an important point. By embracing innovation in the technology, we can lead and, by leading, show the benefits to farming and nature that the EU may wish to follow. The EU regulation is cumbersome. It brings gene editing within the fold of gene modification. The pace of change is slow and its scope …”

“I very much agree. I will come on to public sentiment towards gene editing, which is extremely favourable, but it is helpful to have cross-party support because this is a win-win, as I have said. It boosts yields, helps farmers and reduces the cost of pesticide. It is also a huge benefit to nature. The hon. Member is r…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the future of gene editing. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I secured this debate as gene editing provides immense opportunities to the United Kingdom in boosting growth in our agricultural sector, in supporting our world-leading life science indu…”

“Would you accept the size of the gap we are talking about is more than mere fluctuations?”

“What I am interested in is decisions you have taken, for example on welfare, where the IFS put the figure at, I think, over £3 billion, and on winter fuel, where your own Government figures put the cost as an additional £1 billion. There will be known pressures from decisions that you have taken, which will be coming i…”

“The OBR found that of the 21 forecasts that they have done since 2010, all but one was overly optimistic. Are you confident that the OBR forecast at the Budget will not be over-optimistic this time?”

“Okay, so even though the headroom in the Budget was insufficient, and you—in my view rightly—took measures in the spring statement to restore it, the OECD were wrong in what they said last month, pointing to how thin the fiscal headroom is. Again, you feel that the industry analysis is incorrect, and you see warnings f…”

“You took measures to restore the headroom in the spring statement. Was that because the fiscal headroom you put in in place at the Budget was insufficient?”

“Tomorrow we will get both the June figure and the figure for your first year in government of how much you have borrowed. Are you expecting that to be in line with what was set out in the Budget?”

“Prime Minister, you have just been at pains to point out to Mr Byrne how much you are spending on different things. In May, the Government borrowed the second highest amount—£17.7 billion—since records began, with only peak covid in May 2020 being higher. Do you expect borrowing this year to be higher or in line with f…”

“People would expect slight variations; what I am trying to tease out is whether there is a trend. You are rejecting, for example, pretty widely accepted industry analysis that there is an expected further deterioration. For example, ING has predicted a further £14 billion. You are saying that is quite wide of the mark.”

“In terms of consistency, then, given that other things change, is it reasonable to say, with regard to the fiscal headroom that you set out, that as a point of principle you feel that there should be a reasonable amount of fiscal headroom?”

“It has been consistent in a deteriorating line. That is the concern. It has not been fluctuating and getting better for some of the time; it has been consistently deteriorating.”

“Well, the spending decisions we are talking about were not global factors; they are national decisions. At the spring statement, the OBR found that there was a £14 billion deterioration in the fiscal forecast—the fiscal outlook—between the Budget and the spring statement. Industry analysts are predicting a similar amou…”

“If it is the Minister’s argument, as he has just set out, that it is not for Government to dictate the territory that would be covered, why do two different Government Departments appear to be dictating two different things? On ICBs, there is one geography, and then from his Department there are three options that cove…”

“My neighbour and hon. Friend is making an extremely effective case illustrating just how cosmetic the consultation is. His councillors’ concerns are shared by councillors in Fenland. Specifically, there is no detail on the different assets of local authorities, and no detail on key services that matter hugely. In Fenla…”

“Will the Secretary of State agree to write to me, as a matter of urgency, regarding the frankly bizarre decision by the Government to twice turn down funding for a new heating system for Meadowgate academy, a special educational needs academy, rated outstanding, that provides places to 182 pupils, which is at risk of h…”