Speeches by Powell.

“I simply wanted to ask for a clarification. Surely the issue, which was raised earlier, is that there is a conflict of interests when you are paying to have your product assessed. As we know from Sir Martin’s report, there was a cover-up of testing results. If you accept that, how do you get around the “conflict of int…”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Lloyd Hatton) for securing this important debate. I declare an interest, as I spent more than a decade working on open government transparency and accountability around the world, supporting journalists and civil society to hold Governments to account, often in countr…”

“Joe Powell, the Labour MP for Kensington and Bayswater.”

“Minister, we could not let you go without asking this. Millions of leaseholders have been promised reform for many years and are anxiously waiting to understand your timeline for implementing the existing Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act and consulting on the draft leasehold and commonhold reform Bill. For us, one par…”

“I want to follow up on the Budget and the consultation that was announced on increasing social rents by CPI plus 1% for five years. How would you assess that in terms of the ability of registered providers and housing associations to contribute to this target for social housing?”

“That is reassuring to hear. You might have seen that a group of MPs have written to one particular managing agent who has a very troubling track record. I am just curious. That is a short-term ask around accountability, but in the system we hope that we will shift to, managing agents are still going to play a really im…”

“I have a brief follow-up on the last two topics. Minister, you mentioned objections. Has the Department thought about how to get the voices of people on housing waiting lists or in overcrowded properties who might benefit from some of these large-scale developments into planning decisions more centrally? They often see…”

“I have met some of the big housing associations since the Budget, and one of the things they have said to me is that they feel like this will help stabilise, as you said, and give some certainty, but that if they are going to play a major contribution in the 1.5 million, this might not be sufficient. There are two fact…”

“I thank my right hon. Friend for his personal and relentless leadership on sanctions against those aiding and abetting Russia’s illegal invasion. He will agree that it is vital that those sanctions are well enforced. In his review, will he include the credible allegations of sanctions evasion via Hong Kong? Closer to h…”

“I was pleased to sign the letter from parliamentarians of 24 countries that the hon. Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns) just mentioned, and I thank the Minister for confirming that a meeting took place with Sebastien and the Foreign Secretary. Can the Minister outline how we will work with other countries …”

“4. What steps her Department is taking to support the Serious Fraud Office in tackling economic crime.”

“I welcome the additional money for the Serious Fraud Office. My hon. and learned Friend will know that Transparency International has assessed the UK as having reduced enforcement of foreign bribery measures for the first time, and the last bribery investigation to be publicly confirmed was in 2020. What steps are bein…”

“I know that the Minister is a strong friend of our overseas territories. Could he explain the importance of putting the US base on a legal footing, and give us a bit more detail about how that will enable us to work with our allies in countering any potential Chinese threat in the region?”

“I have a quick question. How do you engage homeless people to understand better how these services could be organised? It is quite tricky, but it is really important that they have a voice.”

“To link to the previous discussion, I have a final question for Adam. You mentioned an example where mental health in-patient beds were closed. Do you have evidence that that has led to increases in rough sleeping? Considering this whole discussion about how the health service is involved, how can we better link up to …”

“Throughout these two sessions we have heard a lot about the challenges around measuring what is effective, who is affected and so on. Do you any of you have any ideas about how we could improve the data collection around this topic?”

“How do you engage them to design the services and to access the services better?”

“I am Joe Powell, Labour Member for Kensington and Bayswater.”

“Yes. How do they have a voice? Obviously, policy across Government tends to be set with the users of a service. I am just curious because you are talking about all these offers that are quite difficult to access. I am trying to understand how, from their perspective, they can get that support.”

“T8. I have worked for many years with London School of Economics academic and UK resident Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, who has been arbitrarily detained in Azerbaijan since July 2023 for uncovering corruption in the fossil fuel industry, despite a severe medical condition. During COP29, will Ministers meet their Azerbaijani cou…”