Speeches by Edwards.

“As a final question from me, with reference to the Chair’s earlier comments around preparation for government, mission-led Government is a relatively new idea. You have hundreds of years of siloed departmental approaches, and that culture within the civil service. With the benefit of hindsight, were you prepared for th…”

“Yes.”

“Why in particular were those additional KPIs for Government needed? Are you confident that they are all complementary?”

“Do you give a lot of thought to how some of the targets around immigration might have an adverse impact on economic growth, for example?”

“Good morning. You have been chairing HOLAC now for two years. What is your assessment of the role and of the appointments process?”

“Just a final question: you said you would like more than two for your nomination process for Cross Benchers. Do you have a particular figure in mind?”

“Looking forward, what will be the tasks and challenges for you in the remainder of your term?”

“In terms of your power to veto, my understanding is that you can ask a party to reconsider a nomination and you can provide advice to the Prime Minister, but that advice remains confidential; therefore, you have no veto powers. Is that something that you would like, or seek, to have? Or are you content with those arran…”

“Do you have any concerns about the Prime Minister’s exceptions being used for patronage rather than for people who are going to bring that expertise to the Second Chamber?”

“Did that letter detail any action the Government would be taking, or was it a letter indicating that it was the end of the conversation?”

“What was that?”

“Have those conversations stalled with the Government?”

“We can probably talk about the number of appointments allocated now. You referenced the fact that only being allocated two was a problem. Can you elaborate on that for us?”

“Around 600 young people in Rochester and Strood are claiming unemployment benefits; many more are NEETs—not in education, employment or training—and are not known to the Department for Work and Pensions. Does the Minister agree that the best way to improve their futures and reduce the welfare bill in the long term is t…”

“The Environment Agency budget was halved over the decade from 2010, and that contributed to the illegal waste sites that still blight our countryside today, including Brambletree Wharf in my constituency, which has been there since 2018. It is fantastic that the Government are doubling the budget for waste crime enforc…”

“It is helpful to know what other changes you think will have more of an impact. Is there anything that the Government are not doing or have not made a commitment to do that you think they should consider to improve the timeliness?”

“Good morning, Sir William. You referenced earlier what I would describe as a relatively minor change that the Government have made, changing something from an aim to an expectation around how long it will take to conclude these campaigns. You quite reasonably said that you think it should be a firm target. I note that …”

“Government having favoured candidates, whatever the political party, whatever the position around donations. The Government having favoured candidates and then, in what should be a fair and transparent process, exceptions being made to allow that favoured candidate to proceed.”

“When we look through this timeline we can see that exceptions have been made for a Government-favoured candidate. The process has been changed, which has affected all the candidates regardless of their merit. What impact do you then think that has on public perception about fair process for some of these key public app…”

“Do you think it is appropriate, then, for the recruitment processes to change to support a Government-favoured candidate to proceed?”