Speeches by Edwards.

“Earlier this week, those of us on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee took evidence from the Cabinet Office on the significant issues with the administration of the civil service pension scheme—issues that are plaguing many of our constituents. It was quite clear that poor contract management…”

“I thank the Chair of the Defence Committee for securing this debate. There was a lot of focus in the House on the percentage of GDP that we spend on defence, and it is important to meet our NATO obligations. I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement that the Government will reach at least 4.1% of GDP being spent on defe…”

“Ultimately, then, you had to choose the least worst option of those that were presented to the Cabinet Office Minister. Obviously, there was progress made towards those milestones just before the go/no go decision. It sounds as though assurances were given by Capita senior leadership, but they do not seem to have been …”

“You spoke earlier about a shared agreement—that the taxpayers should not have to bear the burden of paying for this debacle. You mentioned potential fines for Capita, but from what you said earlier, it sounds as though there were significant issues in terms of the size of the backlog that you were dealing with from MyC…”

“You discussed with the Public Accounts Committee the robust contingency plans that would be in place in the event that Capita was not ready by December. Were there any contingency plans for the issues we are now seeing associated with the transfer that you were able to put into place when it was quite evident that thin…”

“I thank the Chancellor for her statement, and welcome the OBR forecast that unemployment will fall to 4.1% by the end of the current Parliament. No doubt that will have been driven by excellent policies such as the youth guarantee and the apprenticeship reforms. The NEET rate remains stubbornly high, though, so may I u…”

“We are all deeply concerned about the escalating situation in the Gulf. Following the Prime Minister’s statement yesterday, has the Secretary of State had any discussions with her counterparts in the US, Europe or Israel about measures to secure any nuclear or radiological material in Iran, in the light of the possibil…”

“T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.”

“We have rightly been looking at how we can fix this problem for all our constituents who are being affected by it, but I would also like to look at some of the issues around the transfer, the decision making and the preparedness, because that obviously has broader implications for how the civil service manages these ki…”

“I welcome the Bill, particularly the parts that will deliver on the Government’s manifesto commitment to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote, introduce automatic voter registration, and widen the list of accepted forms of voter ID. By taking those steps, the Government are improving the way in which our democrac…”

“I thank the Minister for the work he is doing in prisons to improve literacy, but last week the Government confirmed to the Justice Committee that core prison education provision has been cut by a quarter nationally under retendered contracts. The independent monitoring board recently raised concerns about the impact t…”

“6. What steps he is taking to ensure that education and training programmes support the rehabilitation of people leaving prison.”

“In a letter to the Committee in response to our ministerial statement inquiry, you told us that you consider your role as focusing “on the conduct of Ministers as individuals and not on the actions, policies and collective decisions of the Government”. How do you make that differentiation? To play devil’s advocate a li…”

“The interim chair of ACOBA, before it was abolished, told us that she had concerns about the Government’s transparency reporting. Do you feel that Ministers are sufficiently transparent about the meetings with those seeking to influence Government policy, or would you make any changes to the level of detail or the time…”

“You are commenting on the individual behaviours and decisions of Ministers as they relate to the ministerial code and nothing broader, in terms of the way the Government conduct themselves.”

“This Government have made a number of changes to your role, including the slightly Monty Python-esque changing of your title from the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards. What has this meant in practice, in terms of how you do your job?”

“Previously, you had the power to initiate an inquiry subject to the agreement of the PM, and now, as you have said, you have the power to launch regardless of the PM’s views, although it was normally given. You have talked a bit about the benefits; are there any risks of you having this new power that need to be manage…”

“What fundamental difference to your role does this power make?”

“You were also given the power of your own initiation. Have you had any cause to use this power yet?”

“Last week the Chief Secretary announced a new programme of change within the civil service—a sort of rewiring of Whitehall. Do you have any reflections or comments about that proposal?”