Speeches by Mohamed.

“Are there any specific Government policies towards China that were initiated or altered after the publication of the strategy?”

“Like my Sheffield colleagues, I strongly welcome the Government commitment to upgrading our Sheffield station and putting in place faster and more frequent trains to Leeds and Manchester. This will increase our city centre regeneration, and will be of strong benefit to our universities and students who commute into the…”

“Q13. England is the only country in the world with a fully privatised and monopolised water system, and it is broken. My constituents in Sheffield Central, like many across the country, continue to face burst water pipes, polluted rivers and rising bills—all while the chief executive of Yorkshire Water has taken £1.3 m…”

“Does that mean that the process is going to be paused in line with the protocol? The protocol requires that discussions would pause any further restructure until the dispute is resolved.”

“Last week, we had the permanent under-secretary talk to us about the restructure of the FCDO. Some of the questions I have are in relation to that. Were you aware that the PCS union were in dispute with the FCDO?”

“Does that mean that UK business should not be investing in settlements?”

“Are any interventions taking place to prevent UK-based businesses or charities from investing in the expansion of settlements in the west bank?”

“That follows on from the comment that Nick made last week, when he said “we are a little bit stuck” on the issue of bullying. Foreign Secretary, is that really an acceptable position for a Government Department?”

“Thank you. Foreign Secretary, last week, we also discussed the fact that the FCDO has the highest rate of bullying, discrimination and harassment—almost double the civil service average. Why is there such a toxic culture at the FCDO?”

“It feels like an incredibly rushed process, to do all this in four months. What steps will you take to ensure that you involve the union in this very tight timescale?”

“So by April, you will presumably have made the decisions about the numbers of staff and jobs that may have to go.”

“What kind of timescales are you looking at to complete that?”

“It sounds to me as if there is some sort of restructure taking place. I’m not sure whether it is just semantics. Is there a strategic overview in terms of deciding where staff are going to go? I am not sure whether this question is for the Foreign Secretary. Are you looking at things as a whole, rather than deciding bi…”

“I want to expand on the issue of settlement trade. As the Chair said, the Committee suggested a comprehensive ban on imports from illegal settlements. The response from the Department was that “guidance equips individuals and businesses to make their own informed choices regarding such…activities”. What evidence do we …”

“Sorry, but people have received an “at risk” notice, so presumably there has been some discussions in relation to restructuring, otherwise staff members would not have received those letters.”

“What is the difference between reshaping and restructuring?”

“I commend my hon. Friend on his continued advocacy on this subject. Does he agree that international humanitarian law is clear that the protection of civilians is not optional, that the UK has deep and historic ties to Kashmir and its people, and that we are therefore not fulfilling our obligations? Given that context,…”

“I want to take us back to staffing and restructuring. In our previous meeting in June, you referenced that potentially 500 members of staff would be lost through a voluntary exit scheme. Can you give us an update on where we are with voluntary severance?”

“Are they at all levels of the organisation?”

“Okay. How are we making sure that we do not lose the required skillsets? Have you undertaken a skills audit?”