Speeches by Anderson.

“I absolutely agree. Public service transformation is not just about funding; it is about how to spend the money that the Northern Ireland Executive has with the record £18.2 billion settlement. Health is devolved, but we work together to share best practice and expertise, as well as recently agreeing £61 million of fun…”

“Where the wind farms are positioned will be subject to the normal planning processes, but wind farms and solar power offer huge opportunities to Northern Ireland. Net zero is the future; reliance on expensive oil and gas is the past. Bills will come down and jobs will grow with the new technologies that we can bring fo…”

“Workforce challenges are a huge part of public service transformation. Workers across Northern Ireland do fantastic work in health, education and justice, and they need to be supported to do that and to be representative of the community. Workforce issues are devolved, but they are important, and supporting our workfor…”

“It is my pleasure to respond to this debate, which establishes the point that St Patrick’s is a season that goes on beyond St Patrick’s day. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for recognising the importance of allocating time to debate St Patrick’s day and Northern Ireland affairs, and I congratulate my hon. Frie…”

“I recognise that it is frustrating that, this long after Brexit, we are still trying to work this out but it is the reality of the situation. I am glad that the hon. Member secured this debate because it adds to the urgency that is clearly needed by businesses and consumers in Northern Ireland. I want to see a solution…”

“I thank the right hon. Member for raising the SPS veterinary agreement; it is an important part of the picture. Many issues need to be resolved soon, both through the processes that the right hon. Member mentioned and by resetting our relationship with the EU. I met deputy heads of missions from the EU last week to tal…”

“It is a great pleasure to respond to this debate and to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I thank the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) for bringing this important debate to the Chamber, and for raising the many issues that he talked about in his speech. It was a pleasure to work with him recently to he…”

“I thank the hon. Member for raising that. I would be very pleased to visit and talk about exactly what practical issues still exist. The label scheme should have enabled free movement from business to business, so we need to address the fact that it has not in the case she mentions. The horticultural working group need…”

“It is a pleasure to respond to this important debate this evening. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) on securing it and on speaking so eloquently and powerfully on what is for so many people a painful and difficult subject. As the right hon. Member described, acts of terrorism in th…”

“I am afraid I do not have time, because I want to respond to the issues that the right hon. Member for Belfast East raised. The right hon. Member rightly highlighted that a number of troubles-related cases have a cross-border dimension, including the Kingsmill murders, which are an appalling example of the pain and suf…”

“I agree, and I am glad that WAVE and SEFF have been mentioned this evening. NHS services are also vital for specialist trauma counselling, such as the regional trauma network, which I visited with Minister Nesbitt. On the legacy Act, acknowledging and addressing the suffering of victims of violence was an important aim…”

“I agree that the Windsor framework is a big improvement on the protocol. We are committed to implementing it at the same time as seeking to negotiate an SPS agreement that would provide further improvements in the movement of agrifood products, and we must pave the way to that by resetting our relationship with the EU …”

“The Secretary of State has met suppliers, and my officials meet regularly with horticultural industry representatives. The next meeting of the horticultural working group is in two days’ time, and the Government are committed to addressing the outstanding issues on horticultural products to ensure that these can move s…”

“We are working to narrow the range of products that involve a problem, but we are working in respect of each of them as well. The matter is being given consideration in the knowledge that, as the hon. Member has pointed out, the deadline is approaching.”

“I can provide more updates. The banned plants are being worked through species-by-species. There were 11 in 2023 and 10 in 2024, and we are working through each one of those. The working group is taking each of those on a case-by-case basis and working through each issue as it arises.”

“Officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are following up specifically with the companies that are most affected, such as seed shipping companies. Shipping seeds is allowed, using phytosanitary certificates, but business-to-business posting is currently smoother than business-to-consumer po…”

“It is a really helpful amount and I hope that it will be helpful not only for the money that is provided, but also for the conversation that is going to be had when the full board is set up. I hope that that will be by the end of this financial year. The full board of experts will be talking about public sector transfo…”

“It is a really good point. It is certainly something I have done in the different roles that I have had. It is important to do that. It is much harder in politics than it has been in previous roles that I have had in life, for sure, but it is really important. We need to have some honest discussions. The helpful way of…”

“I absolutely agree that trust is an essential part of this. This goes two ways. The UK Government working with the Executive, and the Prime Minister leading from the front and having a conversation with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister in his first couple of days of office, not only started off the way we w…”

“We need to look at every way in which we can improve outcomes for people. If anyone is on that long waiting list, however we can solve it, that is what we should work as politicians to achieve. Those examples of all-island health strategies should absolutely be built on. We recently had the British–Irish Intergovernmen…”