Speeches by Mundell.

“Last summer, the Prime Minister and his family holidayed in my constituency. Now that he has more time on his hands, he would be very welcome back—as are all hon. Members. If the Leader of the House finds himself unexpectedly with some spare time towards the end of the month, may I invite him to join me on the last Fri…”

“Does the Minister hold any sway with the bus operator Stagecoach? If so, can he convey the concerns of my constituents about the reliability of the X74 service, which operates between Dumfries and Glasgow? Stagecoach has put older buses on this route, leading to poorer reliability and more cancellations. Given that mos…”

“I will not be overly effusive about the Secretary of State or the Minister, because that might not be helpful for them in the next few days; when there was a previous change of Prime Minister, as soon as Anna Soubry stood up and said that I had done a good job at the Scotland Office, I knew I was doomed! Will the Secre…”

“Are there any resources or attempts to pursue food security initiatives to ensure that the Yemeni population can shift from this dependency model to a more self-sufficient model?”

“You have touched on the fact that, given the Houthi’s previous and probably ongoing relationship with Iran, the current Iran conflict means that a dialogue with the Houthis is more difficult.”

“We have considered and taken evidence on other conflicts, for example in Sudan, which is a hugely complex conflict. Even if there was a will to resolve that, it would be incredibly difficult. Do you think that if there was a will to resolve this conflict it could be done?”

“Do you think that is achievable?”

“What are the main barriers to tackling food insecurity? Have you just set out what you see as the main barriers to tackling it, outwith the conflict itself?”

“You have essentially been talking about the southern part of Yemen and what is happening there. How or to what extent are you or others able to operate in the northern Houthi-controlled territories?”

“Helen, do you think the static situation that you have described over the last short number of years has led to international actors being more concerned with managing the situation than trying to resolve it?”

“Do you feel you have an accurate picture of the food insecurity position in the north?”

“The Minister and I have a shared interest in Yemen, and I am sure he will welcome the fact that next week, the International Development Committee is holding a focused inquiry into the current situation in Yemen, particularly the issue of malnutrition. More generally, can the Minister give us confidence that contingenc…”

“I associate myself with the tributes to Lord Mackay of Clashfern. He was a giant of the Scottish legal profession, Lord Chancellor in two Governments, and a strong voice for Scotland and the Union in the other place. I benefited immensely from his wise counsel during my time in the Scotland Office. My thoughts are with…”

“I encourage the Secretary of State to visit the Roslin Institute, just outside Edinburgh. It is most famous, of course, for the cloning of Dolly the sheep, and it is one of the world’s leading agri-tech centres. Although it is in Scotland, it is extremely important that it is regarded as a UK asset, and I hope that she…”

“I recognise the Foreign Secretary’s personal commitment to Sudan, and I am very pleased that she is shining a spotlight on El Obeid. However, although I recognise how difficult it is to work closely with our Gulf allies on the situation in Iran while at the same time having to condemn them for their activities behind t…”

“I echo the point made previously about the Scottish holidays having already begun and the need to focus on holiday hotspots, if I can use that expression, such as the Spanish and Greek islands, to ensure that travel is made as easy as possible for Scottish travellers. May I raise the issue of coach travel? Many people …”

“I commend the hon. Lady for raising the issue: the Carlisle-Settle railway line is so important, and Carlisle is a great railway town with such a strong tradition. Does she agree that the points that she makes about the campaign for the Carlisle-Settle line are also applicable to the Borders railway extension from Carl…”

“I thank the Minister for his response, which is a picture from the current Government. This is a moment for reset, which I hope the incoming Prime Minister will take on board along with many of the things said in this debate, as well as the International Development Committee’s recent report on the future of internatio…”

“Is there no local Taliban resistance to that in terms of support being given to people who are in that vulnerable situation? Homa Nader In Afghanistan, there has always been an issue of access. We have seen this with the Afghan Red Crescent Society, with this regime and previously in the last five decades, when there h…”

“You have set out five reasons for why these circumstances are prevailing, but are there any other circumstances apart from the underlying approach of the Taliban Government more generally that exacerbate this situation or that otherwise would have been preventable?”