Speeches by Aquarone.

“The hon. Member makes an excellent point, for which I am grateful—I will address it in a moment, if I may. X-Road, described as the backbone of e-Estonia, is a secure data-exchange platform that allows smooth and seamless use of data between organisations. It carries out 2.2 billion transactions every year, and is esti…”

“All of us are guilty, I am sure, of being part of decisions that sometimes defy sense when it comes to usability. I can speak only on behalf of the citizens who contact me about having to go round in circles, sharing the same stories, digging out new and old reference numbers and wondering why nothing seems to want to …”

“I could not agree more. Some of the conclusions that are reached through the procurement of technology services by local councils defy sense and are utterly baffling. I am sure that all of us are guilty of that; I will not go any further than that—”

“I am enjoying the debate and feel regretful that I no longer have any disclosable interests in the creative industries. I am grateful to Members for sharing their powerful testimonies. I do have a couple of disclosable interests in relation to tech, and I want to address my comments to some of aspects of that. Over the…”

“And Bacton in North Norfolk, of course.”

“I am very interested to see that.”

“To your point, Chair, if we are to have growth in aviation, it means that the budget for carbon that we are increasing aviation’s share of has to come from somewhere else, and that could potentially harm economic growth in other sectors, surely.”

“I accept what you are saying about the fact that the industry is controlled by private companies more or less, and there is very little perhaps that we can do to direct what they do. Does that not rather undermine the claim that this is a big economic growth opportunity that is within our strategic grasp?”

“Maybe it is chicken and egg, as the Chair referred to earlier. If we were strategically interested in airport expansion for the purposes of economic growth, surely we would not just start with the assumption that, because Heathrow has the greatest restrictions on demand, we should expand that before we even come to loo…”

“Yes.”

“Minister, I am glad you brought up those economic statistics, because that is very much the focus of today’s rather sudden inquiry into these announcements. What do you say to the argument that this is not really about considered economic growth? It is just a nice big construction project that is easy to get funded, an…”

“We are talking about the economic case for airport expansion, not the valid economic case for improving bus connectivity, which I totally agree with. Are you saying there is a lot we can do strategically with policy to grow the economy through airport expansion, or are you saying that we just have to service and enable…”

“Heathrow has a problem. The third runway feels a little like a solution looking for a problem in that regard. Do you think the Government have been honest in looking at the comparative benefits of, say, a third runway at Heathrow versus serious regional airport expansion, or even something specific? If we are talking a…”

“I think that makes a number of fundamental assumptions about where economic growth can and cannot happen, but I will leave it there.”

“I speak today on behalf of the 392 signatories from North Norfolk, and our wider community as a whole. A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending Saturday morning with farmers outside a supermarket in my constituency; many people who might not have initially been supportive of their cause really appreciated t…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) for securing this debate. In North Norfolk, half of my constituents live in settlements of just a few hundred houses, or even fewer; the other half live in market towns, all but one of which have populations well under 10,000. The…”

“T3. In Norfolk and Waveney, 44% of women on the gynaecology waiting list have been waiting for treatment for longer than the 18-week NHS target, and one in 10 have been waiting over a year. They are the worst waiting time statistics in England, so will the Minister set out what conversations she has had with the Secret…”

“I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a Norfolk county councillor. The Conservatives leading Norfolk county council have nearly bankrupted our county, failed children with special educational needs and disabilities, penalised those with disabilities, blown £50 million on four mi…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing such an important debate, especially on World Cancer Day. In my constituency of North Norfolk, Radiotherapy UK found that nobody can access radiotherapy treatment within 75 minutes by public transport. Does he agree that we need a two-pronged approach to tackle this—to fix our …”

“I am very pleased to hear it. Thank you. You will be aware that the Public Accounts Committee recommended: “DfT and Active Travel England should, by April 2024, develop a clear and consistent approach for ensuring greater integration of active travel infrastructure with the public transport network.” The CEO is on seco…”