Sorcha Eastwood

I will try to get my words correct this time, Madam Deputy Speaker—the second time. I simply want to say, Minister, that I really do believe that we in Northern Ireland have a huge role to play—not just in Northern Ireland, but across the UK—for many, many reasons. Other Members have mentioned a number of things including R&D tax credits and the skills ecosystem, which is really relevant to all this. I am perfectly well aware that we in Northern Ireland are obviously part of a devolved settlement, but there is an opportunity to re-engage how we drive forward opportunities for skilling people for these sectors through the likes of apprenticeships and how we interface with businesses. This might sound a bit left-field, but I genuinely believe that this sector is hugely significant in terms of national resilience, national security and national propriety of our own intellectual property within the UK. This is a huge sector and it has the potential to make sure that we are self-sustaining and that we also work with companies over a long and sustained period of time to ensure that, in an era of antimicrobial resistance for example, we have the tools at our disposal should—God forbid—anything ever come down the tracks again in terms of pandemics or challenges to our supply chain. I know that that was probably a lot to take in. I just reiterate our potential in Northern Ireland. We have a huge heritage that goes back decades and we stand ready. Others have mentioned the headwinds coming down the line, not just in the UK but as we try and navigate our way through this global turmoil of tariffs and trade and what that means. We now have a golden opportunity to get this right.