Speeches by Cross.

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“Is the hon. Member therefore suggesting that the previous ambassador was not capable?”

“Does the Minister think it fair that someone who is £1 or £10 over the limit will have to pay for someone who is £1 or £10 under the limit? This redistribution is penalising people near the limit to such an extent that those who are just outside it will end up worse off than those who are just inside.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. As the Minister has outlined, the draft regulations set out provision for the continuation of the warm home discount in Scotland through to 2031. The Conservatives will not oppose them: with a few changes, they will simply extend to 31 March 2031 the curre…”

“We can. This is an alternative to the warm home discount, Sir Desmond.”

“The warm home discount, as I say, moves bill payers’ and taxpayers’ money around; it does not reduce the cost, and it does not take money off bills. People are still paying it, but in a different place. People who can just manage are paying it for those who just cannot. It is an unfair mechanism that penalises those wh…”

“The shadow Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster has asked today and previously, as have other Conservative Members, about the existence or not of a declaration of interests form for Mandelson. Does that form exist?”

“It is per year. Does that fall completely on the Scottish Government’s budget, or is it shared between the Governments of Westminster and Holyrood? Given that there is an alternative, via the cheap power plan, that would eliminate the costs rather than moving them, and given that the Government have already addressed s…”

“I thank the Minister for that update. The scheme is long overdue, but of course it does not go far enough. Let us take, for example, the case of Brodie Mitchell, who was suspended from Royal Holloway for a spat at a freshers fair. Under the new guidelines, he would not be able to complain directly to the Office for Stu…”

“16. What recent progress her Department has made on implementing the complaints scheme provided for in the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.”

“In response to the Chair’s question about the effect that expanding North sea production would have on supply and price, your answer was “no difference whatever”; those were the words you started with. You focused very much on the price element, so I want to go back to supply. As you know, and I am sure you agree, over…”

“Will there be thousands working for GB Energy in Aberdeen?”

“In November, when we had GB Energy’s CEO in, he said that there were nine permanent jobs and 15 jobs on loan in GB Energy. What are those figures now?”

“Will those employees be employed by the private companies in which GB Energy takes a stake, or will they be GB Energy employees?”

“I appreciate that we need to move on, but to summarise, what you have just said is that because the contention is that there is not going to be masses—the amount is up for negotiation—of new gas production from the North sea, you and DESNZ say that it is not worth it. Therefore, we would prefer to increase our imports …”

“Are they permanent positions, or are they on loan from other Departments?”

“A strong job and business market is key for economic growth, but Labour’s huge rise in national insurance is a direct jobs tax, and the SNP’s huge increase in business rates is a direct tax on our businesses. Scottish Conservatives have a plan to revitalise our high streets, support jobs and get businesses investing. D…”

“On the more practical side of delivering the funding, how will you strike the balance between devolved and reserved matters? Obviously, you will be working with the Scottish Government in some areas and not in others, so how is that being balanced and managed to make sure there is accountability where there needs to be…”

“What can GB Energy do that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero cannot?”

“Minister, I am not pretending anything. I am not pretending about any of this, and I am sure that is not what you mean. As you know, I live in the north-east of Scotland, and I speak to the industry very regularly. I live next to people in my constituency who are losing their jobs every single day. More job losses were…”