Speeches by Yang.

“Minister Pollard, could you give us a situation report on the state of the current relationship between the MOD and the Treasury? How do you recommend that both sides manage any risks that might be inherent?”

“Chief Secretary, you have made many references to the changes in the new DIP that we had in July, versus the one that we had a few weeks ago. What has happened to change the terms of engagement so much between the two Departments?”

“Deadlines are very helpful. On procurement, for you to spend all the money that you are pitching for from the Treasury, Mr Pollard, it would be helpful for projects to be valued and assessed more quickly. The strategic defence review noted that, “for projects valued above £20m, it takes 6.5 years on average for a contr…”

“How would you improve the situation such that future Defence Secretaries would not have to resign to get to the conclusion they desire?”

“The panel is understandably being very diplomatic because you are colleagues, but in any military engagement you would want an accurate assessment of the risks that is fairly blunt and that outlines the problems we might face. That is what I seek from you, Chief Secretary.”

“In the specific week after his resignation?”

“Of the current problems in the relationship so that we can then remedy them. We can all agree that a close working relationship would be beneficial, but I presume that is not what has happened.”

“Yes. On the DIP.”

“What provoked those big changes you have seen?”

“Would you say that John Healey’s resignation put pressure on the Treasury to come to a resolution on the DIP?”

“But would you agree that there have been problems in that relationship, over the last month in particular?”

“So there have been tensions and those tensions have resulted in a Defence Secretary who is very well regarded across the House—as John Glen pointed out—resigning. How will you remedy that, so that in the future there will not be such tensions and they will not lead to such a situation?”

“You talk about a change in energy in the system. Will there be changes in structure and more concrete processes that will help deliver faster contracting?”

“Do you have a target for where you want that six and a half years to get to? Do you have numerical targets?”

“Minister Pollard, you are describing the improvement over the last two years; I assume you are referring to that period. However, would you agree that over the last month there has been mistrust between the two sides?”

“Chief Secretary, what is your view of the situation report that Minister Pollard has just given?”

“Putin’s war in Ukraine and Trump’s war in Iran have shown us the need to make Britain more resilient against global energy shocks. Can my hon. Friend set out what the Government are doing to ensure that domestic electricity prices are decoupled from global gas prices, so that my constituents can get the best out of che…”

“I thank the Housing Minister for all his tireless work on these landmark commonhold reforms—I only hope he finds my constant lobbying not too tiresome. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) for her leadership on this issue. My parents and grandparents are in the Ga…”

“One resident, June, said: “I’m afraid that all the years of bullying, alternating with being ignored by FirstPort on all levels, have finally taken their toll on my mental health”. It is time for better regulation.”

“Mr Townsend, I have almost the inverse of the problem that you have just described. I think that we can see this in all of our high streets. There are empty properties that are stood vacant for many years, often attracting graffiti and other kinds of antisocial behaviour around them. I can think of several properties e…”