Speeches by Kirkham.

“I do. Second homes are a whole other debate. Every parish should be able to identify a community hub that residents can go to in an emergency. It should have a generator, battery packs, blankets, food, and a pre-registered list of volunteers. I know that parishes in Cornwall are considering that, but it could be encour…”

“Will Natural England have a specific definition, then, or will it be more on a case-by-case basis?”

“Really quickly.”

“The work on the EDPs is a very big job. Thinking of Cornwall particularly, because that is where I am from, we have a very strong local nature recovery strategy. Some places have those, some places less so. When you are working on EDPs, are you managing to take local areas’ pre-existing plans into account? One of the c…”

“Absolutely. You are answering it a little, but the Environmental Audit Committee warned of a potential conflict if Natural England is the creator, executor and regulator of EDPs. What other steps are you taking to minimise those kinds of risks?”

“I agree. A better way of sharing data must be found. Different utility companies and the council had different lists, and the parishes could not get hold of them at all. That is a really important issue.”

“Are you happy that environmental standards are being maintained through that process?”

“Do you think it will be self-funding?”

“The Secretary of State will know that working in the visitor economy is so good for young people’s confidence. The extensive Cornish hospitality sector would like to be part of the youth guarantee pilot. Will he consider meeting us to discuss that?”

“As I understand it, it is almost like social housing. You have your main contractor and then subcontractors underneath. The subcontractors do one little job, and the main contractor does not really check or do much about it—they have a contract until 2029—so on the ground we are trying to get the housing officers to ma…”

“Just briefly, this money is going to change the entire housing service. It is fantastic. I can see why you are looking at this with housing. Does that put the housing service in a position where it will essentially be a developer as well as a landlord? How will the service balance those different roles?”

“There is a recommendation, isn’t there, that families of all shapes and sizes need to be accommodated?”

“So it is more disposal than development?”

“So your strategy will set what will be for sale as private homes and what will be for military use.”

“I just have a few questions about that. I know this has been considered before, but of course families are not the same as they used to be—I have some personal experience of that. We have single parents who are not living with their children all the time, and people in long-term relationships who are not living with th…”

“I welcome the changes to the Green Book to support investment in coastal and rural areas. Can the Chancellor confirm that they will lead to investment in transport infrastructure in places like Cornwall, to support the investment being made in our industries, particularly the £50 million going into our critical mineral…”

“You’ll be working until you are 80, won’t you?”

“The ONS is considering taking out the veteran question in 2031, thinking that it might be able to rely on the MOD service leavers database. Do you think it should keep the question or take it out? Would it help to leave it?”

“My question now is about housing. Considering you were involved in the Kerslake Commission on armed forces housing, do you support the Bill’s establishment of a Defence Housing Service, and do you think it could and should lead to improvements in armed forces housing, which has not always been of the best standard?”

“Thinking about the difficulty that we now know we have of getting in touch with people who were in the forces, do you think that something like a national database would help, with people’s names, addresses and skills? Do we need something that large, or is it more down to people having a duty to get in touch, and for …”