Speeches by Wilson.

“We asked the other panel this question. Do you see how new technology can help to improve the outcomes from the activities of your industries?”

“In the information supplied to us, I did not see any comments made about there being too much regulation. I think the quote was the slow speed of the process was causing a huge constraint on economic growth. How do you see the process being speeded up to deal with the kind of issues that were raised in the comments tha…”

“Mr Russell, do you want to come back on that question?”

“Both of you have mentioned risk and the risks involved in working in the marine environment, but what risks do you see arising when marine planning is developed without meaningful stakeholder engagement? That includes you but also the communities that are affected by it and the environmental perspective. Mr Bell, maybe…”

“Moving on, both of your industries are regarded as having a big environmental impact and very often they are interpreted as having a detrimental environmental impact. What measures do you take to try to reduce that, and incorporate within your activities measures to be sure that your environmental impact is minimised?”

“Mr Bell, from your side of the whole issue, do you believe that the regulations are sufficient? As far as the practices that your organisation observes, do you believe that the regulations are sufficiently implemented by the likes of ports or the aggregates industry to deal with any environmental harm that may occur?”

“We asked the other panel this question. Do you see how new technology can help to improve the outcomes from the activities of your industries?”

“Despite the appalling abuse of the hostages who were released and the propaganda value made of them, in 42 days the Israeli Government have allowed 25,200 truckloads of aid into Gaza, which is enough to sustain the entire population for four months.”

“The Secretary of State says that the situation is unprecedented, and that unique arrangements have therefore been put in place. The Government recently recognised that the flow of trade from the Irish Republic through Northern Ireland into GB could cause a situation where goods had to be checked to safeguard the GB mar…”

“rose—”

“The hon. and learned Member talks about that trade being infinitesimal—0.4% of EU trade crosses that border, yet it accounts for 20% of checks. Does he agree that that will not be the story of the future? In my constituency, we are already building a £140 million EU control post on a 10-acre site. Once that is open, th…”

“You shouldn’t encourage him, Madam Deputy Speaker—he will take to 7.30 pm and beyond, because this is such an important subject. Does the hon. and learned Gentleman agree that the diversion of trade has not only political but economic implications for Northern Ireland? There are increased transport costs, because lorri…”

“It is a fact. The concern is that Hamas are now using aid as their major source of income and are seeking to control the billion-dollar aid industry there now is in Gaza. What assurances can the Minister give that UK aid will not be used to sustain that terrorist organisation or to control the local population?”

“May I, too, on behalf of my party, congratulate the Prime Minister on the work he has done this week, both in America and here in the United Kingdom. He has made a commitment to providing support to Ukraine to defend any peace agreement, but given the state of our armed forces and how overstretched they are, how sure i…”

“That was my next question, really. What do you believe needs to be done to address the monitoring gaps in relation to chemicals? How big a problem do you see this being, particularly when it comes to PFAS?”

“We do know that there is a capacity issue, because we read stories in the paper all the time in which waste is collected, it is sorted and then there is no market for it and it ends up being dumped, shipped abroad or whatever. You made a comment earlier about missing targets. Do you see a danger in setting targets that…”

“I want to concentrate on the area of the circular economy. One of the things your report said was that the Government were being far too slow in developing a strategy. Have you identified any particular reasons why? Is it because of the capacity for dealing with some of the waste? Is it because of fears of what the cos…”

“Many ministerial decisions are important in getting public services delivered, but so too is back-up by the civil service. There is some concern about the level of expertise in the civil service in Northern Ireland. In the inquiry into the renewable heat incentive, the permanent secretary admitted that the civil servic…”

“Would different EU targets or goals have implications for you, because you would be looking at, “Here is an EU target or goal; here is a UK target or goal”?”

“If there is regulatory divergence between the rest of the UK and Northern Ireland—I imagine that that will happen over time—does that complicate your work? Do you see where it may complicate your work?”