Speeches by Cane.

“Is there anything we can build into the system to actively discourage people—I don’t know, doubling the punishment if you do not co-operate, or something like that?”

“With the current funding level—apart from research, which you have talked about—what are the key things that you think should be happening that are not happening?”

“You have both touched on my next question. Lord Evans has commented that the old CSPL had only five staff and that you lost your research budget and Sir Peter has talked about the need for more resource. Could you be a bit more specific about what capacity you think the new committee needs to carry out its role properl…”

“That is very useful and you answered my next question as well. I want to go in a bit to people coming under pressure, because I can see it is very useful having a peer group who can assist you with that, but are there any lessons we can learn on how the new committee will work to strongly discourage people from exertin…”

“You have also touched on the question of whether we should have a single regulator, which you did not think was a good idea, but you thought that formalising the co-ordinating role did make sense. What are the benefits and risks that you see from this formal role to co-ordinate a network of bodies?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) and the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Juliet Campbell) on securing this debate. I thank them for their excellent speeches, and I echo their calls for a national dyslexia strategy. Within six weeks of …”

“I thank the hon. Member for securing this debate. I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as an affiliate member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists. Cambridgeshire Scouts’ Archaeology Squad in my constituency gives children a chance to get involved in archaeology and hold…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) on securing this debate and on his excellent speech. As we have heard today, Britain’s aid budget supports international development in countries facing extreme poverty and conflict. We…”

“Our servicewomen urgently need investment in female-specific tactical equipment, particularly bras and body armour. What steps is the Minister taking to provide funding for research, development and implementation of kit for the female anatomy and to ensure that fitting services and task-appropriate provision are stand…”

“15. Whether he is taking steps to implement the outstanding recommendations of the Defence Committee’s report entitled “Protecting those who protect us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life”, published on 25 July 2021.”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing the debate. Students in my constituency are served by Impington Village college for the IB. They are deeply unhappy that the college received a letter from the Department announcing the change with no warning or consultation. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government decisi…”

“Yes. I trained as an auditor and there was always a permanent file, so you had a back history that you could go to. I often wonder if something like that would be useful to have.”

“You talk about the sponsorship teams knowing the ALB and what it does, and understanding that. Do you see any issues with people staying long enough to build up such experience, or with a good handover when new people come into the team?”

“Yes. You are asking the team to have quite a range of competencies, experience and understanding of the ALBs. Do you think that the sponsor teams are clear about that, and do they have the resources to do it?”

“In addition to lots of ALBs all doing different things, a range of them have not only their framework agreement, which is their governance from the sponsor Department, but another structure that gives them another set of governance—for example, they might be a registered company or charity, or have been set up by Parli…”

“That would be useful, thank you. What does good oversight from the sponsor team look like?”

“Is anything in place to have a cyclical review of the frameworks?”

“Earlier, you said that Departments take the management of their ALBs very seriously, but you also touched on the importance of the framework giving them access to information that allows them to do that. In practice, therefore, how seriously do you think they are taking the oversight of their public bodies?”

“Yes. I think you have already answered that it does vary between Departments. We have also touched on the oversight from the centre. There are now guidelines, but is anyone taking an overview of whether they are being followed? Should that be the Cabinet Office or do we wait for an audit report to see if it is being fo…”

“What tools do Ministers have to influence how the ALBs are run? And how mindful are the ALBs themselves of what the Minister wants?”