Speeches by Lamont.

“Is that over 80%?”

“Good morning, Lord Norton. The Statutory Inquiries Committee considered the format of inquiries and is in favour of a more flexible approach, including the use of non-statutory inquiries. What is your assessment of the balance of the different types of inquiries that are used?”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 740671 relating to personal allowance for state pensioners. It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dr Huq. I pay tribute to the petitioner, Tim Mason, and the 120,000 people who have signed the petition, including hundreds in my constituency in the Scottish Bo…”

“Sitting suspended.”

“I did not anticipate having 45 minutes to speak, but I will do my best to fill the time. I thank Mr Mason for starting this petition and the 120,000 people who signed it. I also thank the right hon. and hon. Members who have participated in the debate; there was perhaps more quality than quantity on this occasion, but …”

“Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business, please?”

“My thoughts, and I am sure those of the whole House, are with the man who was critically injured in the dreadful knife attack in Belfast on Monday evening. The bravery shown by members of the public who stepped in to help was nothing short of extraordinary. May I wish all those taking part in the common ridings and fes…”

“In a survey I conducted in the Borders about Network Rail’s new timetable changes, more than 70% of residents said they were now less likely to use Berwick-upon-Tweed station as a result. The timetable changes mean fewer direct services to London, with many passengers having to change trains. This is having a significa…”

“7. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of timetable changes on passengers using Berwick-upon-Tweed station.”

“Did that happen when you were chairing it?”

“I just want to follow up on Wendy’s point about using the main Chamber of the House of Commons for a Petitions Committee debate. I say this as a member of the Petitions Committee, but is it not the case that the Petitions Committee can bid into the Backbench Business Committee for Chamber time, and the expectation is t…”

“I think there is a misunderstanding that once you reach 100,000, there is automatically a debate, but the Committee has a discretion. We have an informal rule: if the Chair takes it, it is guaranteed there will be a debate.”

“”

“For my constituents in the Scottish Borders, accessing NHS treatment can sometimes be more complicated than it should be. Some residents in the Scottish Borders are registered with GP practices in Northumberland, but their medical records are not always shared properly between NHS services in England and Scotland. The …”

“9. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on improving cross-border healthcare.”

“T5. Immigration, especially non-EU migration, remains too high. Many of my constituents across the Scottish Borders want to see a cap on the number of people who can come into the United Kingdom. Will the Home Secretary introduce a binding cap, set by Parliament, to bring down immigration once and for all?”

“Do you use AI to draft questions or analyse responses?”

“Is that a policy decision that you have taken? Certainly, in the last six months, I have started using AI much more. I did not use it at all previously, but now I see the power of it, and I think it can be harnessed to good effect; it can perhaps make our work more efficient and help the Table Office as well. Have you …”

“Why don’t you use the Library for those types of research and casework queries? From my perspective, I might have contacted the Library to get a more immediate response. Sometimes you will also get a more candid response because, as you will know, the Library can get informal steers from the Department, while a written…”

“Well, I—”