Bernard Jenkin: I beg to move, That this House notes the Second Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee, The cost of complacency: illicit finance and the war in Ukraine, HC 168, and the other work by Committees of this House on the war in Ukraine; affirms UK support for the government and armed forces of Ukraine in the defence of their country against the illegal and unprovoked invasion by President...
Bernard Jenkin: My right hon. Friend will know that I have long taken an interest in strategic thinking in Government, where there is widely perceived to be a lack of capability and consistency. That is underlined by the ISC report that came out today. It states: “While we sought to examine whether the Government’s strategy for dealing with such a large adversary was up to the task, they”— that is,...
Bernard Jenkin: I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement, and congratulate him on contributing to what I think history will prove to have been one of the most significant summits in NATO’s history. Will he clarify what he understands is the intention with regard to Ukraine’s membership of NATO? What would be the purpose of delaying Ukraine’s membership beyond the end of hostilities in Ukraine and...
Bernard Jenkin: Many in the House and elsewhere are commenting on the opportunity provided to the Ukrainian armed forces to press home their advantage while the Russian command chain is in a shambles, but is it not a truism that the more help we can deliver to the Ukrainians now, and the quicker we can do it, the more likely it is that we will end the war quickly with a favourable outcome? What are we doing...
Bernard Jenkin: I very much welcome this debate on defence, in Government time. That is an exceptional thing these days. Ever since the implementation of the Backbench Business Committee, that has not been the case, so the Government are taking their responsibilities very seriously. I appreciate that it is about global military operations. The debate I asked for was one devoted solely to Ukraine. I hope we...
Bernard Jenkin: I believe the Minister is going to come back to the issue of the Balkans, and the United States is somewhat disengaged from what is developing there. Apparently—maybe he can confirm this—the USA has vetoed a reinforcement of the NATO headquarters in Kosovo. That is just encouraging the Russians to carry on fomenting instability. I would not be against the UK’s reinforcing EUFOR, or...
Bernard Jenkin: When are the Government planning to hold another debate on the situation in Ukraine? Does my right hon. Friend not agree that it is an important opportunity for the nation’s representatives to state their support for the Government’s policy—also supported by His Majesty’s Opposition—as a clear act of will that we are determined to see the Ukrainians reach a satisfactory outcome to...
Bernard Jenkin: I congratulate my right hon. Friend on putting Ukraine front and centre at the G7 summit. Will he make it clear that that is not just because we believe it is morally right to support Ukraine in her own self-defence, but is because the successful outcome of the war in Ukraine is intrinsically tied up with our own strategic and national interest, and that of the whole western world, upon which...
Bernard Jenkin: I apologise to my right hon. Friend and the Minister that I cannot stay, but I will read very carefully what the Minister says. Perhaps she could quantify what she thinks the VAT take from FE colleges is, so that we know what we are discussing. Does my right hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (George Eustice) agree that we are not discussing a free gift to FE colleges? Like...
Bernard Jenkin: I join the hon. Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) in inviting the Secretary of State to thank all our GPs for their incredible work. I very much welcome his statement. Will the Pharmacy First plan enable places such as Harwich and Dovercourt in my constituency to increase the out-of-hours cover that pharmacies provide? Otherwise people will have to travel miles just to get a...
Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will make an estimate of the cost of tackling environmental issues arising from (a) the East Anglia Green Energy Enablement project and (b) offshore alternatives to that project.
Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate he has made of when the review announced by the electricity system operator of the offshore alternative to the East Anglia Green Energy Enablement project will be (a) concluded and (b) published.
Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with ESO-National Grid on the timing of the next consultation on the East Anglia Green Energy Enablement project; and if he will make a statement.
Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate his Department has made of the level of electricity generating capacity that will be required in each year between 2023 and 2050; what the minimum generating margin will be in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.
Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is planning to take in response to Russia's capture of 14 Bulgarian sailors who were stranded in Mariupol as hostages; whether the Government has provided support to the government of Bulgaria to resist Russian demands; and if he will make a statement.
Bernard Jenkin: I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and for the presentation of this paper, which shows a far greater strategic awareness of the vulnerability that the whole of the west faces than we would have seen in any document just a few years ago. But is not the ghost at the feast still the money? I very much welcome his commitment to 2.5% of GDP for defence, but when are we going to see our...
Bernard Jenkin: Just to make the obvious point, the whole purpose of the buffer zones legislation is to create an exclusion zone around abortion clinics so that people with views they want to express about the subject of abortion clinics will not be in contact with people going to use those services. Amendment (a) would drive a coach and horses through that whole process. The way it is worded would mean that...
Bernard Jenkin: Will my right hon. Friend give way?
Bernard Jenkin: I utterly respect the sincerity with which amendment (a) to Lords amendment 5 was moved and why my hon. Friend is supporting it. I am pleased to hear that the hon. Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley) is against harassment, but that is the point of amendment (a). It does not say that any person engaged in consensual communication or silent prayer shall avoid harassment; it says that it...
