Contributions
2,495 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Government AnnouncementsIt is vital that MPs, whether they are from Eastbourne or from elsewhere, are able to question and scrutinise Ministers on major Government announcements. That is exactly what we…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsAs I have said in previous answers, I am sorry that members of the media were given a reading room space to look at the SDR before it was laid before the House. That should not…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI think I have made all those things clear. We are doing a statement today on the SDR; we were always doing a statement today on the SDR. We are laying the report before the…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsSome aspects of the SDR were trailed ahead of time, but not the one to which the hon. Gentleman refers; that was not something that the Government were designing to put into the…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI do apologise to Mr Speaker regularly, I have to say—usually in private, but I am happy to extend that apology to him today if he has not heard me apologise. I have the utmost…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI know this is a matter of great concern to the hon. Lady, and something that she raises often in this House. I will ensure that she and the House are updated on the timings for…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI was on the Opposition Benches for many years—many more years than the right hon. Gentleman has been—and I recognise that it is a challenge to properly scrutinise big reviews…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsMy understanding is that we offered to brief the Chair of the Defence Committee, but I will stand corrected if that is not the case. I hear what the hon. Member says, and I think…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsIssues relating to decisions about ICBs and NHS reorganisation are regularly raised with me at business questions. The hon. Lady is right to say that there was a statement in the…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI am certainly sorry if members of the media have been given sight of the SDR ahead of Members of this House. My understanding is that it is being published for the first time in…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI thank my hon. Friend for all the work he does on the Modernisation Committee. He will know that one of the remits we have set out for the Committee is to ensure more time for…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsTo reiterate—the Minister for the Armed Forces is sitting next to me—Members from the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties were offered briefings this morning.…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind words at the beginning of his question. He is absolutely right that part of my job, which I take incredibly seriously, is to uphold…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI thank the hon. Lady for raising that issue; I think she is talking about the pay review recommendations and the Government’s response. They are issues that I take incredibly…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI thank the hon. Member for that. I will make no apology for the fact that we are doing lots of things—we are making lots of announcements, and we are delivering the change the…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI thank my hon. Friend for that question, and I do find it slightly strange that Conservative Members seem to think that they are somehow now the upholders of parliamentary…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI think I was responding to suggestions that they were briefed, and to some articles and so on that were read out. As I say, these matters should be coming to the House first;…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsIf we were not doing a statement today, I would agree with the hon. Member, but we are doing a statement on the strategic defence review. The review is 150 pages long and will be…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsI hear your statement, Mr Speaker. I responded to an urgent question on a similar matter on 14 May. I reiterate the commitments I gave then. The “Ministerial Code” is clear: “When…02 Jun 2025HANSARD Government AnnouncementsAs I have said, the Defence Secretary will make a statement this afternoon, and I am satisfied. I recognise that there are times when we make a judgment on when an oral statement…02 Jun 2025