Contributions
1,451 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDepartmental Spending: High-skilled Jobs and UK EconomyI think the best news for Boltonians and fellow Lancashire constituents such as mine is that the Government’s record defence spending commitments for the integrated review mean…07 Dec 2020HANSARDDepartmental Spending: High-skilled Jobs and UK EconomyThe Government are using the opportunity offered by leaving the EU to develop defence and security procurement regulations tailored to better meet the UK’s needs. We have embarked…07 Dec 2020HANSARDDepartmental Spending: High-skilled Jobs and UK EconomyThe Ministry of Defence is one of the largest providers of apprenticeships in the United Kingdom, with around 20,000 on a programme at any one time. We are investing in…07 Dec 2020HANSARDMilitary and Security Co-operation: European UnionMy right hon. Friend raises a worrying spectre. First, we are very grateful to the Germans, who have tried very hard to get a proper third-party agreement with PESCO, although we…07 Dec 2020HANSARDMilitary and Security Co-operation: European UnionMy right hon. Friend obviously urges us to make a deal. I think that right now, as we speak, members of the Government are trying to make a deal with the European Union to enforce…07 Dec 2020HANSARDMilitary and Security Co-operation: European UnionThe leader in the field of standardisation has always been NATO, with the setting of NATO standards, which have let us interoperate with our allies the United States and all the…07 Dec 2020HANSARDMilitary and Security Co-operation: European UnionAlthough we are leaving the EU defence structures, we remain committed to the security of Europe and will continue to co-operate with the EU and European nations on a bilateral or…07 Dec 2020HANSARDArmed Forces Covenant: Annual ReportToday, I am laying before Parliament the Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report 2020. The pandemic has seen our armed forces once again step onto the frontline to protect our nation,…07 Dec 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsOnly recently, I hosted my colleague the Defence Minister of Qatar who came to see the joint Typhoon squadron that we operate in the United Kingdom. That squadron, obviously, uses…07 Dec 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsUkraine is incredibly important to the United Kingdom, not only as an ally, but hopefully as a future member of NATO, and it is important that we help those people defend…07 Dec 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Lady is making a brilliant argument for why we do not want to put borders between countries. Perhaps she could join our campaign to save the Union at the next referendum.07 Dec 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thank the hon. Lady for bringing this matter to my attention. I would be delighted to meet her to discuss it, and then we can discuss it with the Department and the commission.07 Dec 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsIt means an end to an era in which successive Governments, both Labour and Conservative, over-promised and underfunded. What is absolutely key is that the Prime Minister…07 Dec 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe decision to grant a public inquiry in the case of Pat Finucane is a decision for the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; as Secretary of State for…07 Dec 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsIf the hon. Member has been an avid attender of Defence questions, she will have heard me say on a number of occasions that the lessons of the past for both Governments—including…07 Dec 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsI would be troubled if fewer were being helped by it. That is not our intention and, indeed, one of the early things I did when I took this office was to extend the Help to Buy…07 Dec 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsI had better not cross that, then. My hon. Friend has rightly championed the Army Foundation College, which was assessed as outstanding during its most recent Ofsted inspection.…07 Dec 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsOn 21 September, I made a statement to the House on allegations that the Ministry of Defence had blacklisted the media outlet Declassified UK. An independent review that I ordered…07 Dec 2020HANSARDProcurement Policies: Green Book ChangesMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right, especially in that last observation, and I congratulate him on his prosperity report. He was clearly thinking ahead of the Treasury at…07 Dec 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsI will write to my hon. Friend. Obviously, defence co-operation with a range of countries benefits our mutual interests. For example, we often, even unofficially, in that we do…07 Dec 2020