Speeches by Kane.

“Much has rightly been said about Sir David Amess’s enthusiasm for using this occasion to celebrate the people and organisations that make our communities stronger. Many Members will recognise that some of the communities facing the greatest challenges often have the biggest hearts. In my constituency, that spirit has b…”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance following remarks made outside this House by the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) that have caused profound offence to the community I represent. To describe the Dunblane tragedy as “one murder” diminishes what happened to 16 children and their…”

“In the highland games season, there are gatherings across my constituency in Blackford, Balquhidder, Lochearnhead and Strathyre, Bridge of Allan, Killin and Stirling. These games celebrate Scottish culture, boost local economies, and bring communities together, and no gathering would be complete without Scotland’s rema…”

“UK Government funding is transforming a former Ministry of Defence site in Stirling into a major film studio, creating opportunities for skilled jobs, innovation and growth across Scotland’s screen sector. As this industry is international and relies on a skilled workforce to thrive, a joined-up approach across Governm…”

“1. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Scotland.”

“You do, but the nervousness is—I recognise that this is not fair, and I would not in any way expect you to do it—that you could just draw a massive red line that goes even further.”

“Thank you.”

“It absolutely would not be an appropriate thing to do, but I am saying we need clarification that that cannot happen. You are telling me that you will not do that, but we need to know how you are not going to do it.”

“I was not asking you that; I was asking you how you will measure how many houses have been built. I do not want to change it to be a different measure of success.”

“Who is drawing the red line? Where does the responsibility lie for doing the work? Is it one person? Is it multiple people?”

“If you can find a simpler option that delivers what you need, you will do it.”

“But if the complex option is the only option you have, you will reluctantly go with that. Dame Sarah Healey indicated assent.”

“That is sort of what I heard earlier, but I am not getting a specific figure. I like what I am hearing—it is powerful and it sounds good—so please do not take this as a complaint, but you have an understanding of success that I am struggling to understand. I am trying to get a shared understanding of what success looks…”

“But can you see the nervousness of the Committee? The nervousness is that you are using your judgment rather than a quantifiable target—”

“There are times when it would be appropriate to flex, and there are times when you would say, “No, come on, you’re not doing that.””

“We would hope you would do that anyway.”

“I have another question that goes back to something you said earlier. You mentioned that you do not want to burden developers with more reporting duties. When I was running a local authority, we used to get really annoyed when the Scottish Government would give us another duty but would not give us the resource to unde…”

“So how are you ensuring that the flex is appropriate?”

“We have talked an awful lot about measuring success and targets. I suspect some of these questions have been answered over the last hour and a half, but I am going to bring us back to them because it is worth getting a little clarity. On measuring the success of the national housing delivery fund, paragraph 16 of the R…”

“Bringing all these individual contracts together for a forward gaze as to what is working, what evaluation have you got planned for the projects funded by the NHDF to ensure that you understand what is actually working so that you can then disseminate it around other projects?”