Speeches by Rhodes.

“Just so that I am clear on that, where you see divergence it is largely likely to be around the timing and the process of that implementation rather than a divergence from the end point to where you want to get to.”

“In terms of the development and the work here in the UK and how it might diverge and how you might advise us to do things differently, I think in your last answer there you were beginning to talk about that possibility. On what basis would you advise the Government that the UK should diverge from the European approach?”

“It a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. We have a health and social care system built on the commitment and skills of workers who are too often underpaid, overstretched and undervalued, yet they contribute not only to the wellbeing of our society, but to the strength of our economy. In December, I met w…”

“What impact has the OEP’s monitoring and reporting processes had on the Government’s progress against their environmental targets?”

“Finally, Dame Glenys, as you prepare to leave the OEP, what would your reflections be on what you think your biggest successes have been in the time you have been there and where do you feel there is still more work to do?”

“In essence, then, where you find it easier is at that final point about investigation, but other than that it is about whether it is more a dynamic policy area—whether it is things changing and, therefore, you can get more easily involved than where things are more entrenched?”

“Last year, you said that you thought your report could influence the Government in some areas and not others. First of all, do you think that is still the case? Have you any thoughts about which areas you are more able to influence? Is it particular types of policy where you might want types of recommendations, or is i…”

“You mentioned recommendations. If you go back to the 2023-24 report and think about those recommendations, are there areas where you would say the recommendations have been taken up and there have been improvements from that? Are there areas where you think recommendations are just being ignored or where they have been…”

“T3. In the light of the Government’s commitment to delivering employment and opportunities for young people of all backgrounds, will the Secretary of State set out what recent progress has been made on establishing the youth guarantee scheme in Scotland?”

“I recently visited Hawthorn Housing Co-operative in my constituency. It has been a registered social landlord since 1987, and it provides homes and services to around 364 tenant members. Given the Government’s strong support for the co-operative movement, and the work that housing co-operatives such as Hawthorn do in c…”

“We have been talking about Government Departments having to work together to deliver, but it is also about the interface of how farmers make contact with Government and who they make contact with. You are saying one stop—one point in. It is not just about them joining up; it is also how people communicate with them.”

“Mr Lines, how important is policy alignment? How should Government Departments be joining up on delivery? Where do you see any gaps in the set-up?”

“On the policy and the areas of delivery, to what extent is it necessary to join up between Government Departments to deliver? Do you see any particular gaps between Departments where things might get missed?”

“What do you think is the underlying reason for the difficulty in getting private finance coming in? Is it about the certainty of current funding? What are the issues that create that problem?”

“Ms Hayns, the same question to you about policy alignment, joined-up delivery, and where there might be gaps.”

“Overall there is obviously an issue about the level of funding, and the complexity of some of it, but there is also a key factor of the certainty that will attract other funding to come in from the private sector.”

“In the previous panel, there was quite a bit of discussion about policy alignments, and you have already made reference to it yourselves. Dr Mitchell, how important is alignment between the revised EIP and other current and forthcoming policies? The land use framework has been mentioned quite a bit; how important is it…”

“You mentioned certainty around funding, and Mr Lines previously mentioned the multiple funding schemes and so on, so there are obviously issues around funding. Is there enough funding for farming to deliver what is needed with the EIP? Mr Lines, do you want to answer that one?”

“Dr Mitchell or Mr Lines, do you want to say anything about DEFRA? Do you think it has the levers necessary to deliver?”

“You mentioned DEFRA’s role as the lead, and one of the things you said is support from us for the wider network and people interested in these sorts of issues, but does DEFRA have the necessary levers to deliver on the plan?”