Speeches by Kohler.

“Mr Ridley, would it be useful for the Home Office to collect that data to make sure you are maximising the efficiency of this process?”

“I wrote to you in March about this issue and asked about the Home Office figures on sharing of rooms, and you said the Home Office does not record those figures. It only records the numbers in a hotel and not the number of shared rooms. If we want to cut down costs, we should work out whether or not we are sharing all …”

“So the Home Secretary has changed the position. Now sharing of rooms is a good thing, yes? I just want to establish that.”

“With respect, we know this, but I want to focus on the sharing of rooms. What is the position?”

“Ms Rowland, I would like to ask a question that came up in your answer earlier. When a subprime is terminated, as in Stay Belvedere, what happens to the accommodation? What has happened with Stay Belvedere’s accommodation?”

“I want to focus on Stay Belvedere for a couple of moments. When did Clearsprings start using Stay Belvedere, and when did the Home Office become aware of problems in relation to Stay Belvedere?”

“Can you tell us more?”

“So the problem with Stay Belvedere is not to do with performance. Is that what you are telling me?”

“But government is about making choices. You cannot describe this ODA money as a legacy issue because this Government have decided to continue using it.”

“You have made no attempt to stop using ODA money. You have stopped fighting, apparently.”

“Minister, you described the use of ODA money as a legacy issue, but you do accept you were not bound by that decision. This Government have decided to continue using ODA money.”

“Thank you.”

“There is even confusion—”

“That is not my question. My question was why the profit clause was not changed when the whole basis of the contract was different because so much more of it was hotel accommodation, which had a higher base cost and therefore percentage profits would make a lot more money for these providers? Why was the profit clause n…”

“I would like to know why that clause was not changed. We have had many contractual changes. Given that the whole basis of the contract changed because lots of it was hotel accommodation and far more expensive, why did you not change the profit share clause? Mr Ridley, any thoughts?”

“Is it a percentage or an actual amount? The National Audit Office says it is profit divided by cost. It is important, because the cost of dispersal accommodation is £20 per person and the cost of hotel accommodation is £160 per person. You set those contracts assuming most of it would be dispersal. Much of it was and s…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I congratulate the hon. Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton) on securing the debate and on her excellent speech. I once lived in Erdington, and her constituents have a wonderful advocate in her. I hope I can call her a friend. As all hon. Member…”

“Those are exactly the kinds of issues that must be addressed, and this Bill does not do enough to achieve that. I will come back to that in a moment. In rural areas, the story is often one of total disconnection, with communities cut off and people unable to get to work or hospital appointments, or to visit friends or …”

“As other Members have noted, buses are the most used form of public transport, and in much of the country they are the only option available. Outside London, however, bus use is in sharp decline, with more than 1 billion fewer passenger journeys in 2023 than in 2015. That is not because of insufficient demand, but beca…”

“I completely agree. The point is that this is about not only getting people out of poverty but growing the economy. People need access to bus routes; otherwise they are left with expensive and much more environmentally damaging private transport. Put simply, a poor or non-existent bus service is not just an inconvenien…”