Richard Thomson: On 26 February, a private charter flight to Moscow was allowed to take off from Inverness airport, in an apparent breach of a UK ban on flights of that nature that had come into effect from midnight the day before. Air traffic control transcripts published this week in the newspaper have revealed that, despite being informed of the intended flight, no attempt was made by the UK Government or...
Richard Thomson: I thank the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of her statement. We have heard plenty about the alleged shortcomings of the protocol, but there should be acknowledgement of the Government’s role in negotiating it; that does not even seem to have reached the level of being limited and specific, from what we have heard today. Ultimately the problem this legislation purports to deal with is...
Richard Thomson: I am sure the hon. Gentleman would not want to inadvertently mislead the House, but the £700 million to which he refers is for options to develop. It completely ignores any future revenue streams, or indeed any royalties that might come. I am sure he would wish to correct the record.
Richard Thomson: What recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on food security in the UK.
Richard Thomson: The conflict in Ukraine shows the fragility of many of our supply lines, and it has certainly increased the cost of many inputs and is disrupting the sector considerably. In order to minimise these effects, will the Secretary of State look again with his colleagues at having a more flexible immigration strategy and at uniting again on our sanitary and phytosanitary approach with the European...
Richard Thomson: Another week, another rattle of the sabre by threatening to deploy article 16. I wonder who the Secretary of State imagines is impressed by such behaviour, apart from a number of hardliners in a Conservative and Unionist party that seems increasingly incapable of conserving or unifying anything, least of all itself.
Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many energy suppliers have been investigated by Ofgem under its financial responsibility principle to protect customers against mutualisation of costs in the event of failure.
Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps (a) his Department and (b) Ofgem have taken to mitigate the future risk of mutualisation of the cost of customer credit balances in the event of supplier failure.
Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of covering credit balances as a result of supplier failures over the last twelve months for which figures are available.
Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether any of the energy suppliers who exited the market over the last twelve months had protected customer credit balances.
Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what analysis (a) his Department and (b) Ofgem have made of the extent to which energy suppliers who exited the market over the last twelve months were using customer credit balances to support unsustainable tariffs.
Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what date Ofgem first consulted on protecting credit balances as part of its supplier licencing review; and what estimate he has made of the value of credit balances subsequently mutualised as a result of supplier failures since that date.
Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to require energy suppliers to protect customer credit balances.
Richard Thomson: The Prime Minister’s fundamental political problem at the moment is not about parties, or fixed penalty notices, or cake. It is about the lack of trust, integrity and credibility at the heart of Government, which he himself now personifies. When is the Prime Minister going to realise that people do not want to hear any more glib, half-hearted non-apologies, or hear him witter on about...
Richard Thomson: Mr Speaker, I withdraw that, but he packs his bags and goes.
Richard Thomson: I withdraw.
Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending (a) support the Acorn Project in northeast Scotland and (b) other carbon capture usage and storage projects.
Richard Thomson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will instruct HMRC to amend Excise Notice 75 to include charity tractor runs within the scope of activities eligible to use red diesel.
Richard Thomson: The SNP is generally supportive of all the amendments that have been tabled, and I echo the comments of the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), who made a number of points about the importance of understanding the intended purpose and impact of legislation before it takes effect. I made that point ad nauseam during the passage of two Finance Bills, but I keep...
Richard Thomson: I think the hon. Gentleman is confusing cause and effect with the complicated system for forecasting tax revenues and then balancing payments between the Treasury and the Scottish Government. Would he like to add that clarification to his remarks?