Speeches by Freeman.

“I had one question for Mr Clifford before he goes.”

“Does the right hon. Gentleman agree with me, as a card-carrying advocate of industrial strategy, that this argument applies to some of our other key high-growth sectors, such as fusion, quantum and space? We have to accept that the days of easy globalisation are over and be a bit more strategic about how we support our…”

“That leads to my third question. If you could achieve that metric best and quickest by focusing on the golden triangle, would you say that that is not in itself sustainable enough and we have to nurture the clusters round the country as well? That is a tension in the system, is it not? I am keen to get your take on tha…”

“Tom, nice to see you, and congratulations. Later in the session we will talk a bit about Innovate as a system and your perspective on how it needs to change. I am interested in the interview process and the bonus. How much have you been able to shape a mission for change? When I was a Minister, I was trying to establis…”

“Knowing Ian and Patrick well, I completely agree. It is a big moment when you sign, and this is the pre-appointment hearing. Are you comfortable that you have agreed with Patrick and Ian the changes that you believe the system needs to see, and that they agree, so that the three of you are on the same ticket? My experi…”

“The point I was making is that the appointments process used to be very slow, and probably still is.”

“As Minister, my feeling was that, at the beginning, all we needed to do was agree what the organisation needs—three, four or five things. Is it in stable mode? Is it in reform mode? Agree that, write it down and then make sure the leader we appoint shares that view. My advice to you would be to get it in writing.”

“That is a very interesting point that you have made twice. On the jungle drums, there is talk—rumour or gossip—that maybe Innovate might be abolished and folded into UKRI, so its function will be across the UKRI mothership, as it were, as opposed to being a free-standing organisation. I am wondering whether your refere…”

“We are all going to start bidding now. Come to Norwich.”

“Tom, you have said some very interesting things that I want to follow up on. I have three questions. The first is about where you see Innovate UK in the UK innovation ecosystem. You have been quite clear that we need a stronger focus on outcomes. You have said in the past that you think it is pretty difficult for someo…”

“I get that point, but I want to go back to the bit you are responsible for, or will be responsible for. I get scale-up, the City and all that, but just on Innovate, you talked about speed. What are your one, two, three change metrics that internally you with your team are agreeing with Ministers? I would get it in writ…”

“I’ve got speed and impact metrics. You talked about the paperwork. In my experience, it is horrific, but it is largely because of the doctrine of market failure. The Treasury puts conditions on money when it allocates it to DSIT; DSIT puts conditions on money when it allocates it to UKRI; and UKRI puts conditions on mo…”

“I think I am hearing from that—which is very interesting—that a big metric for you would be: are we producing in the UK ecosystem enough companies that can scale up, subject to the City reforms and so on?”

“Do I take from that that one of your metrics would be the growth of genuinely world-class clusters, whether it is Manchester materials or Glasgow satellites, so that they start to produce scalable businesses as well?”

“That is very interesting. Can I ask about impact? As you look back at Innovate in the last few years, what is the best example, or examples, of something where Innovate made an intervention without which the company would not have succeeded and has gone on to be a real success story? A lot of people say Innovate just d…”

“I want to ask about the job and the structure. Innovate, as we know, is an arm of UKRI. You are called an executive chair, which means you are in the UKRI structure. There is a network of chairs of the research councils and you have a seat at that table. Innovate, as we all know, does a huge amount of work with other D…”

“Have you had a chance to sit down and meet the senior leadership team and talk through with them how you want to change things?”

“It is an interesting moment. The Government are about to launch the industrial strategy. We have missions. We have a big technology focus. Do you see the next few months, as all this rolls out, radically changing the way Innovate internally is structured, and as an exciting moment of change? Or do you see that Innovate…”

“Brilliant. Perhaps, assuming your appointment goes through, we can have you back in three months to hear your take. That is quite an exciting moment, isn’t it—your first three months as you set out your vision?”

“T7. Mid Norfolk is a proud rural and military constituency with many employees working at RAF Marham and Swanton Morley barracks, which is home to the Queen’s Dragoon Guards and many cadets and veterans. A few years ago, we managed to secure the extension of Swanton Morley barracks, which had been scheduled for closure…”