Will the Minister then publish the amendments that the Government are seeking? He says, rightly, that he needs a very different treaty from the one that we see on offer. He needs to persuade other nations, so he should be making a public case; we would then not be so suspicious. There must be no new legal requirement imposed on the United Kingdom.
We voted in a referendum to end the rule of EU law throughout the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. Given the muddle that the courts are creating, is not the only way out of this an urgent, short piece of legislation that asserts beyond doubt that we control our own borders?
I am pleased that the Minister and the Prime Minister are keen on promoting more home-grown food. As the transition occurs, what proportion of total subsidies paid will be for promoting food? It still seems to be too small.
Is there not also a strong national security argument for procuring all defence items in Britain and creating a more competitive market at home to have honesty on prices?
It is difficult to come up with a good system that has the right balance, because the taxpayer’s interest is very much in favour of economies of scale and availability, while the small business struggles to meet the possible volumes of a successful bid for a contract and to satisfy all the criteria that the large company finds easy to manage. I am grateful for the fact that the Minister and...
There will be that bias. Sometimes it is right, and it is always understandable, but Ministers and, above all, the senior officials implementing this new policy will have to bear that in mind. They will have to try to correct for the ease of going for a large company solution, where all the boxes will be filled impeccably and all the right things will be ticked, although that can lead to a...
I entirely agree. That is where the more transparent and simpler system will be very good, and we should give that a good trial. I am concerned about someone who is genuinely self-employed struggling to prove that they are sufficiently self-employed, and whether the state would want to take less risk on that. Again, I would like the Minister to put a stronger case to the Treasury that,...
Does the Minister think the regulations are duly simplified so that it is feasible for the self-employed and very small businesses to have access to contracts? Is there any provision for breaking down contract sizes so that the self-employed and small businesses have more opportunity?
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much public money was allocated to the British Business Bank for the (a) 2023-4 and (b) 2024-5 financial years.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants on full-time contracts there were in each year since 2019.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of the average cost to the public purse of the (a) capital set-up and (b) revenue for the first five years for the provision of (i) a home, (ii) NHS care, (iii) school places and (iv) other public services for migrants paid below the national average wage.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to Gridwatch.co.uk figures, for what reason the proportion of imported energy was over 25% on 25 February 2024.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to (a) allow multiple train operating companies to operate on each rail line and (b) take other steps to help increase competition on regional lines.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether Ministers approved the contracts to implement the Horizon system in Post Offices.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make a comparative assessment of energy prices for steel production in (a) the UK, (b) China, (c) Germany and (d) the US.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2024 to Question 7768 on Oil: Refineries, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery on imports.
