Speeches by Bool.

“I was in Brussels yesterday actually and I was asking the Minister about SPS and things, so it is something that as a Committee we are doing a lot of work on. That was with my other hat on, as part of the EU-UK PPA, but it is something that we need to keep the pressure on about, so I note that point. You have had the r…”

“Yes. Thank you very much for your time here today. It is a pleasure to be here with you. We have just been talking particularly about the domestic market of vets. I wanted to explore a bit more about the international recruitment of vets. Perhaps, Rob, I might start with you on this first question—but don’t panic. You …”

“Focusing particularly on the international vets, we know that in January 2024 the RCVS voted to end the mutual recognition of European veterinary degrees within five years. Do you think that is going to have a big impact on attracting and retaining any of the European vets here?”

“One of the questions we were going to ask was about the impact of that skilled worker visa on domestic pay structures. Are you seeing a downward pressure on that at all or not in reality?”

“So you can see it across the board. What more do you think the Government or the RCVS could do differently to make it more attractive for international vets to come into the UK?”

“That is understood. But you also told the EAC that you may need to rely on local planning authorities to address capacity issues. How realistic is that, given that local authorities also have severe resource constraints?”

“On that point of capacity and resources, I understand that Natural England stated an intention to cut 200 jobs in their action plan for 2025-26. We are supposed to find out this month. Have you achieved that yet?”

“Yes, of course. We also understand that the Minister for Nature, Mary Creagh, said that Natural England is looking to use more automated services in order to maintain its functions, as it reduces its headcount. But what would be the trade-offs of this approach of using more automated services?”

“I understand about trying to smooth the process, but in terms of maintaining the independence level, Natural England really should be there as a means of stress testing. How are you going to address that in terms of the developers? For example, I have to go to a hearing this afternoon on an NSIP for a solar farm that i…”

“Talking of sharing that expertise, Nature England obviously has limited resources. How do you envisage the sharing of the expertise with the local planners, and so on?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I start by paying tribute to Lyla Story, a little girl whose death, aged two, from undiagnosed type 1 diabetes has brought us here today. I wish I could have been giving her a tour of Parliament rather than talking in this capacity, but her name will go down …”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right that 90% of cases are actually type 2. That is probably also why we fail to understand the true signs of type 1, because there is real confusion and conflation of the two. I think it would actually give clarity if they were named slightly differently. My hon. Friend is also right that…”

“Thank you very much for being with us. I just wanted to go back to the level of consultation and the involvement you had when they were creating this concept of the Defence Housing Service. I am delighted that you are having these ongoing discussions, but in the early stages, what was your involvement?”

“Just a quick question on the pivot, because obviously single living accommodation is going to remain with the frontline commands. Do you have any fears about that, or has there been any discussion about those in single living accommodation? Obviously, you are looking from the families’ perspective, but I do not want th…”

“You have mentioned concerns about fitness. Obviously, it is not just about being able to run with a bayonet, but about cyber. Do you have any other concerns about increasing the Reserves’ age limit to 65, which is equalising between all the forces?”

“The Strategic Defence Review has a recommendation to increase the active Reserve by 20% and to increase the armed forces’ readiness. But if people are able to opt out of the new arrangements, how much of a quick increase in the armed forces’ mass and mobilisation are we likely to see?”

“Even if our military personnel are not deployed in offensive strikes, the additional air policing that the RAF is being committed to across the middle east means that it now has to do double the work, with no extra resources. What additional resources is the RAF being given to protect our service personnel in undertaki…”

“I share the concern that the expansion is going to have a huge impact. Sometimes, there is an element of getting back to basics and making sure that is working first. I hear those concerns, particularly on funding. As was raised in yesterday’s session, the statutory guidance is going to become very important in seeing …”

“There is the national transition event next Monday—2 March—at Silverstone, which is in my constituency, and I will be attending. I know there is a big focus on trying to help. I know that you were there last year, Al. That is where I feel that there is greater knowledge, but as you said, perhaps not at the early stage.”

“I want to ask a bit more about how well the Covenant is understood among the forces community. Do you think there is an equal application of everyone not understanding, or do you think there are pockets that do understand a little bit better? If not, which ones are those?”