Speeches by McEvoy.

“The right hon. Member knows where I stand and my views on this issue. Will he outline what has changed since February 2024, when he said no to a ban on phones in schools, but reserved the right to issue statutory guidance—”

“On that point, you came in in June 2024. In your previous role, people were lobbying for this decision to be taken, but you did not recommend it when the Government asked, “What is your view on your organisation?””

“Ms Walsh, you have been in since February 2023, so forgive me, because this is a bit before your time, but when it was set up, what was the purpose of the organisation? Why was it not just put into the Financial Conduct Authority in the first place?”

“Are you confident that this move will be better for consumers?”

“Can I come in on that point? Forgive me, because this is not my area. With other regulators and this overhaul, is it not the done thing to put a proposal forward to say, “We would merge with another regulator or move in a Department”? Is that not something that you would advocate for, or anyone would advocate for in yo…”

“On that, what do you think are the big successes of the organisation over the last 10 years? What are the things that have shaped the national landscape? Will you continue to have successes if this happens?”

“Plain speaking, please.”

“Mr Geale, I wanted to pick up on something. When you were doing your risk analysis of this happening, you said that you thought, as an organisation, that there was a high likelihood that this decision would be taken. Can you elaborate a little bit more on why you thought that?”

“My hon. Friend, who has great expertise in this area, is making an eloquent speech. Does she agree that dismissals of pregnant women or new mothers are dramatically under-reported because of the use of non-disclosure agreements in a lot of companies while they are taking action against them?”

“I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am a proud trade union member and in my career, I have campaigned for more rights for support staff and teaching assistants in schools, for better bargaining rights for care workers, for people to have contracts that affect the hours they …”

“Will the shadow Minister give way?”

“I pay tribute to the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister). It has been an honour to work alongside him on this crucial issue. Tackling children’s online safety in our country is a diamond issue—it is rare, it is popular, it is tough—and getting it right will deliver on what …”

“The online world has lots of moving parts, and it is really hard for legislators to keep up. We are already lagging way behind where we need to be. What we need—I will address this later in my speech—is a dynamic risk assessment, so that when new innovations come online and we see children using them, they will be risk…”

“It has been very interesting to be part of this campaign, and I think there is a lot more to do. There are other areas that we must urgently take action on, from going forwards with the second iteration of the children’s code to ensure that functionalities are included, to upgrading the requirement for risk assessments…”

“That is exactly the case. Being 14 is hard. Being at school is tough. There has always been bullying, and it is unreasonable and unrealistic to say that we, as legislators, will completely eradicate it. But children used to be able to go home and be protected from what was going on at school, and that is no longer the …”

“Do you have anything else that you want to elaborate on or are desperate to say to this Committee on the supply point?”

“In the Monetary Policy Report, you mention productivity. I am fascinated by this. All of you have mentioned productivity in the economy. I would really love to get a straight answer about what is going on. We have asked several witnesses over the course of this Committee, and we would really like your professional view…”

“Let us leave health to one side, because you have said that you are not the expert, but it is very interesting to hear. From what you have said, since we are no longer in a pandemic and people are getting their appointments now, we should see a rebalancing of those measurements that were previously calculated. If we pa…”

“You have said that it has helped mitigate the external shock episode this time. As we navigate uncertain times, will having the 2% target help with investor confidence?”

“Hello, everyone. It is nice to see you again. Welcome, Dr Pill. Just to go back on the 2% point, can you tell us a little bit more about your views on the 2% target? Are we still on track? What is your broader view on having an arbitrary target and how it is improving disinflation?”