Speeches by Anderson.

“Does my hon. Friend agree that farmers across South Shropshire have been devastated by the family farm tax? It is going to impact them far beyond what the Government are even considering, and it will impact national food security.”

“Everybody knows that South Shropshire is the most beautiful rural constituency, but that rurality brings remoteness, which brings challenges with an ageing population, and with additional strikes there is concern about whether adequate healthcare will be provided this winter. Will the Secretary of State set out how tha…”

“I have unfortunately met constituents—women and girls—who have suffered extreme violence and sexual assault, and I have seen at first hand the devastating impact that it has on them. They have said to me that they want tougher sentences and that they want this issue dealt with, because it is destroying lives. Can the M…”

“The world is rearming and rebuilding the defence industrial base at a rapid pace, and it is fair to say that the UK is starting to fall behind some of our NATO allies. Does the Secretary of State believe that the spending planned for 2027 to 2030 and onwards meets our needs and prepares us for war, should it arise?”

“That is a great question. I always welcome it when a politician opens by saying, “Leaving the politics aside”. It is a very fair question and a question that we have to consider. We are always looking for any competitive advantage that we can get. When you look at the official objective figures for exports, the figures…”

“When it comes to the interaction between the Executive and central Government, there has been some really good work done, particularly around the restoration of the Executive. The five parties have come together around the interim fiscal framework. I know those conversations are ongoing. That is a positive indication o…”

“In Fermanagh.”

“I will come back to the initial question around where Northern Ireland is in terms of industrial strategy or economic strategy, call it what you will. It is our No.1 overall ask, as an organisation, of the Executive that they would develop an economic strategy with a long-term outlook. We really need to think about wha…”

“Yes, that is right: 40% higher energy costs.”

“As a cross-sectoral business organisation, you are under pressure from all the sectors to prioritise them. That is really apparent when we get into discussions around the industrial strategy. Northern Ireland is well known for what it can do in agrifood and professional services, and certainly those sectors should not …”

“You asked what we think would be helpful for this Committee to do and what would be helpful for the Government to do. You will see from our written submission that, aside from pressing for devolved representation on the various bodies that we mentioned, we would really like to delve into the unique competitiveness chal…”

“If I might, I want to pick up on Rob’s point around the role of Helen McCarthy. We have been very clear as an organisation for some time around the need for devolved representation on central Government ALBs and particularly, in this context, the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council. It is really important that we have…”

“Again, that is a very good question. It is a real issue in terms of accessing the guidance. The only difficulty we have is that there has to be a recognition that, while the arrangements we have are unique, they are also deeply complex. I have a bit of a reluctance around the notion of better guidance being put up as t…”

“Touching on the infrastructure challenges, I have outlined some of them. It is particularly instructive if you look at the reports that the Audit Office has done since 2019. You have the major infrastructure report that it did in 2019. Then you have had subsequent reports on planning, waste water and skills, and, more …”

“Thank you for the invitation to be here today. Our organisation is all about economic growth. We are cross-sectoral and cross-regional. About 47% of our members are Belfast-based and another 47% are outside and in the regions. We exist to help businesses to learn to promote what it is that they are doing to network. Pe…”

“It is interesting to follow the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth), who clearly has an ideology that he believes. As a Conservative, I believe in lower taxes, and that people have a better understanding than Governments of how to spend their own money. I want to see more South Shropshire constituents keep …”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for talking highly of my constituency—Ludlow is lovely. Does he realise that austerity started under the Labour Government when they were last in power? They started measures to make cuts in 2008-09.”

“I am delighted to speak in this debate, because this is such an important topic for many of my constituents across South Shropshire. Both individuals and businesses need energy prices to come down—the cost is not sustainable, and it is on the wrong trajectory—and we need to be honest with the British people about the r…”

“I will conclude with that. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.”