Speeches by Roome.

“The SDR says that people are the essential part and project of defence transformation. It talks about transformation in the SDR. What kinds of skills will the Armed Forces need more of in the decade to come—and what will they need less of?”

“Secretary of State, from one Yorkshireman to another—you know how we talk bold—can you be bold in your reply, and tell me the date that the defence industrial strategy will be published? Lots of people and businesses out there want it to say things that will improve the internal workings of the Ministry of Defence, aro…”

“I was not going to ask you a question on that, Secretary of State, but you mentioned it. We offered the RAF engineers something like £15,000 one year and £15,000 the next year to retain them. That is a sticking plaster, isn’t it? Long term, what is the MOD doing so that we can actually retain those skills and attract p…”

“I am really happy to join this debate, which is not only amusing, but very educational. For me, it is a matter of great concern for this country to conserve the water supply we have. Does the hon. Member therefore agree with me that floating solar stops the evaporation of water because it avoids direct sunlight hitting…”

“I welcome the Minister’s opening speech; as a member of the Defence Committee, I look forward to scrutinising the detail of his remarks. I wish to say a brief word of thanks to the Royal Marines Association, the Royal British Legion, SSAFA, the Veterans Charity and many others that all do good work in my constituency o…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. Patients in Lynton, one of the remotest communities in North Devon, will soon have access to a GP, but that only happened because of a spirited campaign by local patients. Does he agree that if we are relying on an active community to highlight gaps in provision, it will …”

“I thank the Minister for agreeing to visit North Devon district hospital very shortly, and I look forward to welcoming her to my constituency. Despite some welcome extra repairs under the estates safety fund, that hospital now faces many years of make do and mend. What provision have the Government put aside for those …”

“I thank the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson) for securing this debate, which is important to my constituents in North Devon. I will briefly raise the case of a brave young man from North Devon. His name is Oscar, he is 14 years old, and he recently saved the life of a man who got into trouble in the s…”

“And potential grey zone activities as well, which we see with the sub-threshold?”

“Let us turn to the elephant in the room. I would love your synopsis. How critical is the role of the United States in shaping NATO’s strategy and security operations in the High North? How do you see the US’s defence posture shaping what is happening, particularly in that region?”

“As part of that diplomacy we have the Arctic Council, to which you alluded earlier. How important is that in this context?”

“Finally, I turn to Dr Rogers for a one-minute answer, if possible, because we will finish at 12.30 pm.”

“First, to focus on defence and security in the Arctic and the High North, the SDR obviously put its spin on that yesterday and mentioned Atlantic Bastion—our version, not the Russian one. Could you elaborate on the main defence and security challenges you see in the High North?”

“Much of the new hardware pledged today will not be delivered for some years and will not be effective without the personnel to operate it. What more will the Government do right now, not in 2034, to ensure that our armed forces recruit the service personnel who these long-term plans will rely on?”

“Last week, I visited many retail businesses in North Devon that are suffering from prolific shoplifting. This is a big problem across the country. Will the Home Secretary explain what she is doing to help police forces resource the tackling of shoplifting and dealing with antisocial behaviour?”

“I am sure the Sunday papers would like to thank the Government for advance sight of their upcoming statement. I am a member of the Defence Committee and I ask the Leader of the House to acknowledge that this urgent question is actually wasting all our time. Mr Speaker is quite right in granting it, but if procedure had…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Derbyshire (Jonathan Davies) for securing this important debate, and all hon. Members for their passionate contributions. The Liberal Democrats believe in keeping libraries well funded and accessible, recognising their role in p…”

“At the beginning of March, MoD procurement announced the start of the SME hub. What would you particularly like to see around the defence industrial strategy regarding support for SMEs? How do you want that to develop?”

“One thing about being on this Committee that I have found really exciting, as we have gone round on visits and gone to various conferences and exhibitions, is how much innovation there is in our SMEs. My question alludes to what you were saying earlier, Alastair. How much of that innovation gets stifled by the primes? …”

“Could you say something about the defence industrial strategy and how you want to see that develop?”