Speeches by Griffiths.

“I just wanted to go back to the point about the perception of policing in the modern day and how the police can better communicate what you are doing. You talked about the CCTV at the station and digital solutions. The general public do not understand any of that. It is about confidence and the fear that people feel ab…”

“On that, would your intention be that most small, rather than micro, businesses could just use an accountant once a year and the rest of the time they will be able to manage their affairs themselves using the software?”

“This is a question to each of you. Perhaps I will start with Alison Kerrey. If the Government could make just one change to the tax system for the benefit of small businesses, what would it be and how would it help SMEs?”

“On the House of Commons dashboard, the data for my constituency shows that universal credit claims increased dramatically by 20% in just one month. Claimants increased by over 2,000—from 10,344 to 12,415—from May to June this year. Given this recent increase in economic inactivity, what evidence does the Minister have …”

“1. What assessment she has made of trends in the level of unemployment.”

“Let’s move on to water. Why are bills rising so quickly? In my constituency, Southern Water raised bills by 53%. What is Ofwat doing about it?”

“The obvious next question is to Jo Nettleton of the EA: what was going on five years ago? Why were you not looking ahead to ensure that we managed our investment in infrastructure appropriately?”

“Why have you not pushed that in the previous five-year cycle? Why is it coming now? What could you have done to have prevented this huge hike?”

“Is there anything else that you would like to add from either an FCA or CMA perspective?”

“Are there metrics that you are trying to hit in year 1, year 2 or year 3, having implemented that?”

“Is there anything from a wider investment perspective that you are looking at? We are talking about a global market. We are losing scale-ups to international markets.”

“Is that for investors or firms?”

“We have heard at this Committee that UK firms struggle to access scale-up finance, and it is not a new issue. How can our regulators, and indeed the Bank of England, support UK scale-up businesses to grow?”

“How do you feel that Ofwat, the EA and the water companies are working together now? The thing that struck me when I first was elected was that there is no strategic overview of how water is used and produced in this country. Do you feel that we are moving to create that, or was my judgment incorrect in the first place…”

“Why should consumers have confidence that all this new investment, all these new people and this nice gravy train will necessarily provide cost-effectiveness and an increase in productivity? What are the measures in place to ensure that that happens?”

“I should not interrupt, but why did it take getting measures put in place that enabled consumers to be able to see what was happening? Why could the industry and the regulators not have managed that themselves without consumers having to monitor it for them?”

“What happened two or three years ago to cause that step change?”

“Hard-working families and business owners in Bognor Regis, Littlehampton and our villages are feeling the squeeze as never before. Labour stood on a manifesto promise not to raise taxes for hard-working people, yet at the very first opportunity, in the autumn Budget, they raised employers’ national insurance. This is a…”

“Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that if people are to contribute, the fundamental bedrock is having a job, and that the jobs tax is causing mass unemployment and business closures?”

“Will the hon. Member give way?”