Contributions
1,451 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDefence ProcurementWe always try to use as much UK steel as possible where we can, and when we do not, it is often because we do not manufacture the type of steel that needs to be used in a certain…13 Mar 2023HANSARDDefence ProcurementWe are driving the delivery of capability in the frontline. Most of our programmes are delivering on time and on budget. For the second year in a row under my stewardship, the…13 Mar 2023HANSARDUK Military CapabilityAs an officer in a Scottish regiment, I remember distinctly not being allowed to recruit in towns or schools where SNP councillors ran those schools. I distinctly remember that…13 Mar 2023HANSARDUK Military CapabilityI am getting lessons from the SNP on procurement, when Ferguson shipyard is clinging on by its fingernails. When push comes to shove, Scotland buys its ferries from Turkey, not…13 Mar 2023HANSARDUK Military CapabilityIn defence of my colleagues in the Treasury, the Treasury is trying to balance an economic situation post covid that means we have to make sure that we cut our cloth and return to…13 Mar 2023HANSARDUK Military CapabilityIf people came to this House with real, genuine honesty about the track record of the Governments they were part of, the armed forces might be in a better position. What we should…13 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsToday’s questions have rightly focused on support for our friends in Ukraine, but it is important to remember that threats are growing elsewhere in the world. The middle east…13 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsOne part of the 77th Brigade’s role is to challenge disinformation, not opinion—its role is not to monitor or counter opinion, as that is about the freedom we all enjoy in our…13 Mar 2023HANSARDDefence ProcurementI recognise some of those characteristics of SMEs. For decades they have said that there is a challenge in engaging with wider Government procurement, whether it is in defence or…13 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his support for AUKUS, which is a decades-long commitment. People talk about procurement challenges, and when we start this journey…13 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI completely concur with my right hon. Friend. Defence is not a discretionary spend and not an add-on; it is a core function of any state and especially of this Government. I have…13 Mar 2023HANSARDDefence ProcurementI am grateful to my right hon. Friend, who served with me in the Department. I miss his time in the Department. One of the biggest drivers of cost overruns is a decision by the…13 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsFirst, I am not sure where the hon. Gentleman gets that we will not get the 3% to avoid the cuts. At the moment, it will be a decision on the balance of investments. He will see…13 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI do not need to do much more to convince the Treasury; the Chancellor and the Prime Minister said at the autumn statement that they recognised that Defence would need more…13 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI would point the hon. Lady’s constituents to the 2010 National Audit Office report on her Government which gave some really interesting clues about why procurement was so bad. It…13 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsMaybe the hon. Gentleman cannot hear: I did not say “13”; I said there had been “30” years of hollowing out, which includes his last Government, a Government I served under as a…13 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend is incredibly right to point out how important France is to us. It is our main partner in Europe. It has similar-sized armed forces, with a similar expeditionary…13 Mar 2023HANSARDDefence ProcurementAs my right hon. Friend will know, the Ajax was decided on in, I think, March 2010, under a Labour Government. As I have often said, it has been a troubled programme. Since I have…13 Mar 2023HANSARDUK Military CapabilityWhat I am going to do, which the right hon. Gentleman’s Government failed to do, is ensure that the Defence Command Paper reflects the budget I have. I have always been consistent…13 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsAs a Tory, you think about resigning most of the time—over the years. I am interested in trying to deliver for the men and women of our armed forces. I went into politics because…13 Mar 2023