Speeches by Coleman.

“We are just going to confer among ourselves to give you more time to think about the question.”

“Did they not set out the health systems case? Fortunately, I think I now understand the broad point. If that was the case, you need to make the health systems case first and then everything flows from that. Did that not happen 15 years ago?”

“We have got that. That is very helpful, thank you. Lord Hutton, going back to PFI and the problems that there were initially, what do you think we can really learn from your experience? Looking back at what you did then, what would you advise people to do differently now?”

“What sort of counterparty do we need, then?”

“What has happened here that makes you think that?”

“I am going to put words in your mouth, and they may be the wrong ones. We used a procurement model that said we can get money for this, and therefore we should do that, because it is easier to get money for this than to do something else. Is that what we did, or am I misunderstanding what you are saying?”

“I would like to interrupt you. We are discussing the benefits of the neighbourhood approach. What is it that makes you think that there is a danger of the financing tail wagging the public policy dog, to use your analogy? What makes you think there is an actual danger of that?”

“Why did we do that?”

“That sounds sensible. NISTA is there. As somebody who, like a number of my colleagues, has been a local councillor for a long time, I certainly agree with you about the challenge in managing contracts, with housing repairs and all sorts of things. There is a serious capacity issue there. You are providing a solution. H…”

“Paulette has the pleasure of rounding off the session. What I really want to talk about are the lessons from PFI and where we go from here. We are talking about delivering neighbourhood infrastructure. What are the specific lessons that we need to learn from PFI?”

“Yes, you can. I have enjoyed reading your report.”

“Are you saying there is no future for PPP that is based on starting with the outcome that you want to achieve? It is always going to have to be adapted, twisted, whatever you want to say, to what the market will actually stump up for.”

“That is very helpful. I would like to come back on some of those. I just want to get other witnesses’ views as well on what the key learnings from PFI are.”

“It is very interesting that you say that. I asked the two previous witnesses we had on that, who were the permanent secretary in the Department of Health and Social Care and the chief executive of NHS England, if they had read your report. They had not. Does that surprise you?”

“How confident are you that sufficient resource is going to be allocated this time round to make the capacity of the public sector to negotiate and manage contracts what it needs to be?”

“Is it being held back?”

“Will the Secretary of State join me in welcoming the success of sickle cell bypass units in north-west London and across the country in reducing pressure on emergency departments, while improving care for sickle cell patients, who have historically been overlooked? Does my right hon. Friend recognise that the future of…”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“My hon. Friend makes a very good point. There has been talk about a beefed-up school complaints process. I do not think that will be sufficient, and I ask the Minister to consider extending the remit of the local government and social care ombudsman to provide a binding route—a statutory backstop—to resolution when sch…”

“I speak as one who, like many of my colleagues, has received many emails and other messages, and engaged in many conversations with parents of disabled children. I know that throughout the country parents are fighting battles to secure for their children the basic support that the law says they should already have. Thi…”