Speeches by Bool.

“5. What assessment he has made of the impact of the autumn Budget 2024 on Northern Ireland.”

“The Royal College of General Practitioners in Northern Ireland has said that the hike in national insurance contributions will be catastrophic for GP surgeries. With many practices teetering on the edge, why are Ministers not doing more to talk to their colleagues in the Treasury?”

“Today marks the 43rd anniversary of the start of the war in the Falklands—another key overseas territory. Government Members keep referring to the non-binding advisory judgment as the basis of the Chagos deal. If the Argentinians were to seek a similar judgment against the Falklands, would the Minister cede control?”

“Just finally, as well as setting quota and arrangements for access to waters, the EU-UK agreement requires co-operation on all aspects of fishery management. What further improvements could be made to help UK fishers?”

“What does that look like? My concern is that the French will be very keen to have a bit more of a relaxed or different arrangement than they currently have. What sort of guarantees or reassurances can you give us, other than that you want to get the best deal, that you will actually get the best deal for our fisheries …”

“The European Relations Minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds, has basically said that he would like to see “something more stable” than annual negotiations and that that “would be in the UK’s interests, going forward”. What sort of stable fishery arrangement is the UK looking to negotiate?”

“Thank you, Chair. With the potential reset that is coming up, there are obviously a lot of discussions about any proposals around fishery maybe being interdependent on defence, youth schemes or SPS arrangements—that is what I understand. What negotiations have you had already, and what is the state of the discussions?”

“This is a complete jump-back, to the new deal for farmers. Maybe it is more of a plug. I know you are very keen on introducing the breakfast clubs, so can I advocate that you use local farm produce and local produce in those breakfasts, because that is what our farmers are calling for.”

“What is envisaged with the tenant farming commissioner? Will they have a budget, or are they going to be like the Border Security Commander that is coming in, which is more of a title rather than actually effective?”

“I would love to share that optimism, but my farmers have said to me that they have diversified, and they have been penalised, so they are telling all their neighbours, “Don’t. Don’t start. Don’t even try. If you do, you are going to get hit.” There is also a slight fear when it comes to solar, for example. I have tenan…”

“But all the changes I just listed completely take away the optionality for that, don’t they? I know you have this new deal for farmers that you are coming out with. For example, one of the limbs is that you want to encourage diversifying income streams. You also want planning reforms, so that it is quicker for farmers …”

“It is a catastrophe for farmers, though, Minister.”

“It is nowhere near to this.”

“I struggle a little with the SFI and the fact that there was that six-week window. Although you say that people should have known, obviously a lot of people say that they were absolutely shocked and stunned. What I do not understand is that in any other business, when you see the budget getting close, you start to take…”

“The message I am getting there is that planning is absolutely key. We know that that is the case for farmers, but I feel that at this current moment in time they will all be shouting that there was no consultation about the changes to APR and BPR before they came into effect. They have had national insurance hikes, a t…”

“I am conscious, as you said, that it is coming to an end in June 2026. What sort of assurances can you give that all these discussions and arrangements with the EU will be finalised in time for setting the quotas for 2026?”

“During the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill Committee, we Conservatives proposed a new clause that would provide a mechanism for a binding annual cap on the number of non-visitor visas issued by the UK. That would have introduced accountability and transparency, but it was voted down decisively by Labour Me…”

“Susan, you have mentioned a few times that this is a listed company on the FTSE, but gearing levels in the Pennon Group are actually higher than are recommended by Ofwat, particularly for SES Water, which is spending over a fifth of its revenues on servicing debt. I understand its gearing is 79.1% when Ofwat says that …”

“Susan, you have mentioned a few times that this is a listed company on the FTSE, but gearing levels in the Pennon Group are actually higher than are recommended by Ofwat, particularly for SES Water, which is spending over a fifth of its revenues on servicing debt. I understand its gearing is 79.1% when Ofwat says that …”

“There is going to be this EU-UK reset, as it has been talked about, coming up in the future. From what you have been saying, it sounds like your sectors might welcome some form of SPS agreement. Is there anything in that agreement that you would be concerned about, if that were to be the case?”