Speeches by Murray.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for bringing this important debate to the Minister. The situation in Palestine has been the single most pressing issue raised with me by my constituents in Mid Dunbartonshire. What possible …”

“T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.”

“I, too, welcome the right hon. Member to her place. Her predecessor, the right hon. Member for Hove and Portslade (Peter Kyle), warned that losing control of artificial general intelligence would be catastrophic, yet he failed to deliver legislation to protect the public. Will the new Secretary of State deliver on an a…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire (Charlotte Cane) for raising this important topic. As we have heard, if we want to improve employment opportunities for neurodivergent people, we must start in schools. Too many children an…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) for raising this important issue and for highlighting that every day in the United Kingdom, people suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and do not survive, when they might have been saved by access…”

“14. What recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of operating costs for SMEs.”

“In my constituency and across Scotland, small and medium-sized businesses have taken blow after blow. The Conservatives bungled Brexit, increasing import costs, and energy costs are soaring. Most recently, the hike in national insurance contributions is decimating job opportunities in small and medium-sized businesses.…”

“That sounds really promising. The Scottish Government are funding this £14.2 million, and they have said they will fund it over two years. How is that progressing? How much have they funded so far?”

“The UK maritime decarbonisation report noted that access to capital is a critical hurdle to reaching net zero. What are the main financial barriers that hinder investment in green technologies in Scottish shipbuilding?”

“How effective has the Shipbuilding Credit Guarantee Scheme been in helping the civilian side of the industry?”

“What more can Government do to help shipbuilders with better finance and guarantees, and is there any opportunity for policy and regulation changes to help? You mentioned some of the novel fuels that are coming through, but is the industry looking forward to technology like nuclear power for maritime vehicles, and is t…”

“Do you think that that is an opportunity for both Governments—UK and Scottish—to help us?”

“Would that give us an international competitive edge?”

“Moving to the shipyard itself, Holyrood's Public Audit Committee has said that Ferguson Marine needs £25 million of investment to modernise the shipyard. Do you think that that is an accurate figure?”

“What you quite clearly said is that you are going to start the investment, work towards increasing that and produce a plan that justifies that further investment going forward.”

“I thank the hon. Member for Stroud (Dr Opher) for bringing such an important debate. I feel strongly about this matter, having trained as a dietician, and I understand the implications that a poor diet in early life can have for a child’s future. From health outcomes to educational outcomes, poor nutrition has a seriou…”

“I thank the hon. Member for Salford (Rebecca Long Bailey) for championing the cause of WASPI women, who have been utterly failed by successive Governments. I will not repeat what others have said, but it is clear that the Government should act on the ombudsman’s report after the maladministration of the DWP. I have spo…”

“T9. Following the Pensions Minister’s response to me about pensioner living standards, what specific measures announced in the Government’s pensions reforms will support pre-1997 defined benefit pensioners, who currently receive a minimal or no annual uplift?”

“To some extent you have answered the next question, but do you see it as part of your role to secure a settlement that meets Scotland’s longer-term and structural fiscal challenges?”

“The increase in employer’s national insurance is not just hitting small businesses; it is hitting the charitable sector as well, where they are not employing people, and where they are losing jobs. That sector is the sector that, broadly, will help people back into jobs. You are creating a perfect storm where small loc…”