Speeches by Roome.

“I know that 48 hours seems a long time to some Ministers, but does he agree that having a shift cancelled at short notice would be bad news for many workers across the country? This Bill should be amended to specify an acceptable notice period.”

“There is no standard requirement for most companies to have a whistleblowing policy. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Bill would be a good opportunity to put in place real protections for whistleblowers who try to highlight crime, danger and malpractice in the workplace?”

“Given the time, I will go straight into my next area, which is a quote from a member of techUK, who argued, “Despite broad agreement on what needs attention, the how, when and who remain vague”. We have heard that pillar 2 is rapidly losing a bit of credibility due to a lack of tangible progress. Do you agree? What sho…”

“I would like to start with an article on the Center for Strategic and International Studies website, which states: “If Pillar One was historic, then Pillar Two promises to be revolutionary.” In some of our meetings with the defence industry, they have said that they are looking at what this actually means—what does pil…”

“I think we will come to that a bit more. You said earlier that AUKUS is about giving us a long-term strategic advantage. Do you think it will give us an advantage over China and its capabilities?”

“I thank the hon. Member for securing this debate. Does he agree with me about the extra pressures on people living in remote rural coastal communities, such as Ilfracombe in Devon? The life expectancy there is 10 years lower than in other parts of Devon. The integrated care board needs to be funded for the costs of sup…”

“Following the recent news that Norway will purchase Type 26 frigates, the speculation in the media before the weekend was that the Danish navy might also be about to place a significant order for the Type 31. Will the Secretary of State soon be able to give the UK additional good news?”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I thank the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) for bringing this important debate to Westminster Hall. I concur with the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois): the Liberal Democrats also welcome Air Marshal Harv Smyt…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend, and I am sure that the Minister will reply. Unfortunately, Sentry’s intended replacement, the Wedgetail programme, has already been through some major turbulence during its early years, from questions over the fairness of the MOD’s procurement decision in 2018 to a two-year production delay…”

“Will the Minister also join the Worshipful Company of Engineers in congratulating Sir Rich Knighton on being the first engineer to become the chief of the Royal Air Force? Being ex-RAF, it is nice to have an engineer who has never been a pilot as the chief of the Royal Air Force.”

“I, too, welcome the statement given by the Secretary of State today. As a member of the Defence Committee, I look forward to giving this matter the scrutiny it deserves. I will not go into the detail of the report, but I think it is important to clarify, if the Secretary of State is able to do so, whether the data brea…”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that a reduction in beer duty would help hard-working publicans like Simon and Alison from a micropub in Barnstaple called Beer Matters, who have just won the CAMRA award for North Devon, to continue in business? Not only is it a fantastic micropub, but it serves as a good social hub in the co…”

“Q11. In the past few weeks, I have spoken to five people from my rural North Devon constituency who have been forced to remove their own teeth with pliers or with amateur surgical kits bought online because they are unable to find an NHS dentist. What would the Prime Minister say to those people, and when will the Gove…”

“Just to wrap up, the point that I was making was exactly what Mr Twigg was saying: do you think that some of our NATO vacancies are due to people thinking that the roles are going to affect their career progression? How do you propose to make those postings more attractive and prioritise them, so that people know that …”

“Minister, NATO is mentioned over 180 times throughout the SDR; it is like a golden thread through everything that we are doing. Are we really, truly committed to the principle of NATO first for our personnel? If we are, when will we recognise and actively promote NATO service as a career-enhancing opportunity, rather t…”

“So what steps are being taken to ensure that serving with NATO is seen as an asset for promotion, professional development and leadership, and that it is properly valued in promotion and career progression decisions? There are not so many high-ranking officers in all the services who have spent a great deal of time in …”

“I do not mean how they would see it. I am just asking how we are addressing it in the meantime so we will not be like that in two years’ time.”

“Defence Secretary, you never said that when you were in Wakefield. I know you were born in Wakefield; what would your father have said to you if you came back and said that to him? He would have said, “Hang on, that is not an answer, son.” Would you say before recess or not? Will we get it before recess? Can you be bol…”

“Perhaps we should have talked about this first; I am very passionate about it. We can talk about all the capabilities, readiness and everything else, but at the heart of this are our people—the people who serve, and those in the defence industry. That is very important. Last time you appeared before the Committee, in N…”

“I look forward to getting some data from you—if you could tell us where you are on the statistics—so that when the Secretary of State is back in front of us in future, we have some metrics to work with.”