Speeches by Baker.

“I am interested in MHCLG’s lead in this. You usually think about the Cabinet Office being a place where cross-Government stuff is co-ordinated. What do you think MHCLG has been able to bring to this as the lead? Nona Buckley-Irvine: The Department has run a number of programmes over the past few years; we have moved fr…”

“Obviously, MHCLG is very engaged, but let us take the Department of Health. How engaged are the Department of Health in this conversation? Nona Buckley-Irvine: Really engaged. A key example is that we have been working with them on the neighbourhood health programme and making sure that Barrow has a place in that, and …”

“Which are those Departments? Sorry to put you on the spot. Nona Buckley-Irvine: We have DfE, DfT, Ministry of Defence and DWP. We are bringing in the Office for the Impact Economy to leverage investment. There are others too, but you have put me directly on the spot, so I can follow up.”

“Is that every Government Department? Nona Buckley-Irvine: It is every Government Department that we feel has a stake in delivery.”

“As the Member for another great defence area, Aldershot and Farnborough, I am slightly sceptical about how much progress we are making on this total society approach to defence—I would like us to start with a total Government approach to defence—but maybe you guys are bucking that trend. Tell us a bit about the journey…”

“You have given us a good overview of the issues you are facing, but we are also interested in the challenges. What challenges have you been through on this journey, probably from 2023 to now? What challenges do you foresee in the future?”

“I am interested in the sense of pride and how you can measure pride. I am also interested in what you have done in taking a place-based approach to talking about defence. Much of our defence sector does not talk about place. They talk about systems and things they deliver. How can you provide the hook that acts through…”

“I am proud to see this Government’s improvements to GP services making a real difference locally, with over 2,000 more GPs hired and new investment already reaching practices like Jenner House surgery in Farnborough. However, many of my older and more vulnerable constituents tell me they are still struggling to get thr…”

“1. What steps his Department is taking to improve patient access to GPs.”

“It has been part of your work to look at communications. What is your analysis of how the Government are communicating the narrative? What should the narrative look like and why is it important that they do that?”

“One of the challenges is that, ultimately, AUKUS is not just about Barrow or Derby. It is vital that those places feel the benefit, but pillar 2 is all about benefits beyond just building the submarines. How do we as MPs find out what is in our patch?”

“How much do you think the public actually know about AUKUS?”

“Sir Stephen, imagine you are one of my constituents living in Aldershot or Farnborough, the home of the British Army, and you are relatively au fait with defence. What should that person know about AUKUS?”

“One of the big challenges for AUKUS is that, even among MPs, there is not enough awareness. I come to this as someone who is in very much a defence seat, but I do not represent Barrow. Barrow’s role in AUKUS is clear, but I find it difficult to understand the contribution of my constituency when it comes to AUKUS. How …”

“I appreciate that. All I would say is that MPs are your best storytellers on this. Ultimately, if you can give us the stories to tell, we will go and talk to our people about why this is important.”

“We will endeavour to ask those questions.”

“That is interesting. You highlight the implications, beyond just the MoD getting this right, in terms of making it harder for all of us to do our jobs. If we all get to do our jobs, the MoD will probably get a better outcome out of this process. I have a final question. What questions do we need to ask the MoD to evalu…”

“Thank you, Sir Christopher. It is innovation with purpose—a partnership between Government, industry and the armed forces that strengthens both our national security and our national prosperity. And now, with the recent deal between the United Kingdom and Turkey for the sale of 20 Typhoon jets—the biggest fighter jet a…”

“Apologies for not being here at the beginning of the session. There was a Westminster Hall debate on Typhoons that I was speaking in. You have obviously covered a lot on the key measurement of success for defence reform. I am specifically interested in the process. We have become aware that there was an absence of a Co…”

“My hon. Friend is entirely right, and I will talk about radar shortly. Our heritage enables QinetiQ to work in deep and purposeful partnership with the MOD, the Royal Air Force and the Air and Space Warfare Centre to provide mission-critical engineering outcomes. Its engineers, scientists and analysts are not merely ma…”