Speeches by Tufnell.

“The reason why I am pushing this point is that the report talks about groupthink. As the chair and non-executive directors, it is your responsibility to guard against that; it is concerning that you do not seem to be doing your job properly.”

“Is there a power in this country that you feel you have to adhere to? You dispute the judges; you do not take seriously what the Prime Minister says; you do not take seriously what the Secretary of State says. You seem to hold Parliament— What power in this country do you feel that you, as a company, can adhere to?”

“You did not do a jar testing until 28 November.”

“Yes.”

“The numbers are quite startling. In 2013, independent practices were 89% of the UK veterinary industry, but by 2021, this was at 45%. If we talk about pet care, it is worth £2 billion—you basically have a load of private equity or listed companies suddenly dominating this market. I appreciate that you identified all th…”

“What about the levy? Is there a proposal about you having a levy so that you can—”

“Could you give us a couple of words about the role that you would be expected to play? I caveat that question with the fact that we are not expecting to see this, I think, until May. Then there will obviously be a period of adaptation.”

“Does anyone want to add anything before I go on? Okay. That is really helpful. Thank you, Tim; I appreciate that. I just wanted to start off with a broad question about how you feel about what the CMA has been doing, essentially. We could start with Rob.”

“Do you think it will have a disproportionate impact on those smaller practices because of the amount of stuff that the CMA will be demanding?”

“Therefore, do you think that what the CMA has proposed will have any impact on the pricing point?”

“It seems that there is a shortfall between the funding you are getting from Government and the funding that it costs you to put an individual through vet school. For much of the time, you have been using international students to plug that shortfall. In the context of what the Home Office has been doing—we have touched…”

“But in terms of the dramatic rise?”

“Okay.”

“I guess the point is about inflation. If you look at the cost, vet prices for domestic pets have gone up by 63% since 2016, which is considerably higher than CPI inflation. In terms of undermining the credibility or that relationship with your customers as an industry, is that not concerning to you?”

“Do you want to add anything, Matt, to the discussion we have just had?”

“Can I ask one quick question on what we have just been discussing?”

“I welcome the introduction of the carbon border adjustment mechanism in the Bill. It shows a commitment from this Government to supporting British industry, which underpins the fabric of local economies and communities across the country, including Mid and South Pembrokeshire. For British industries included in its sco…”

“rose—”

“I thank my hon. Friend for giving way, and for his excellent speech. In the light of our departure from the European Union, the intractable nature of our discussions with the EU, and our being unable to get a better deal than any other member state has, does he agree that we should look to benefit both his constituents…”

“The right to a fair trial is fundamental to our democracy. For certain offences, a fair trial will always be a trial by jury. However, it has been long been the case that the right to a trial by jury is contingent on the offence. The Interpretation Act 1978 set out the three-tier classification of criminal offences, an…”