Speeches by Lamb.

“Do you think all public bodies should be categorised and possibly standardised rather than just arm’s-length bodies?”

“We will get into the question of taxonomy and definitions later. It seems like you have set out a very broad potential definition, and we have to accept that there is potentially a greater range of reasons as to why an arm’s-length body might exist. In terms of the much narrower perception, so bodies directly reporting…”

“Excellent, I am glad we agree.”

“We should take a moment just to reflect on the fact that there are many people who work for this Government in those roles who are doing fantastic work on behalf of the public. The challenge here is how that interfaces with the Government in general, particularly with democratic oversight, and this idea that Ministers …”

“The issue is not necessarily about having a border between Northern Ireland and southern Ireland; a border has in effect been put in the Irish sea by the Windsor framework. However, the SNP appears to be calling for a border between Scotland and England, without Scotland re-entering the European Union, leaving Scotland…”

“In the debate, any number of challenges relating to practicality and principle have been raised about the Bill, and we have repeatedly had SNP Members shouting out, “Put the Bill to a vote, then!” Every time they say that, everyone else in the Chamber hears, “We don’t have any answers to the questions and points that y…”

“We have talked a lot about demographic challenges in Scotland over the course of the debate, and I do not doubt the concerns about the demography—I have a lot of concerns myself about it. But the biggest factors that affect having children—many couples desperately do want to have more children—are lack of housing, lack…”

“My hon. Friend, by talking about the minutiae, is doing a fantastic job of showing the vast complexity of one aspect of the SNP trying to cut off the connection between Scotland and the rest of the UK. Does she accept that this is an existential problem for the SNP? Every time they make an argument about the damage cau…”

“5. What steps he is taking to reform the civil service.”

“I thank the Minister for his response and I am perfectly happy to accept the diligence of the civil service. Regardless, every two years a third of the civil service change their Department and countless more change to unrelated policy roles within each Department. Under the previous Government, policy expertise was co…”

“Do you have any concerns about resourcing any of the initial tasks?”

“What could be done to maximise the PHSO’s impact across the organisations being investigated, particularly in areas like spreading best practice and compliance?”

“Clearly, the PHSO relies upon organisations choosing to accept its findings. Government is highly visible, and this is a highly visible case. Do you have any concerns about the potential wider impacts of non-compliance in this case upon PHSO recommendations?”

“You will be aware of the various interactions between the PHSO and the Government over the last couple of years relating to WASPI. I believe there was a general problem with trying to get the DWP to engage with the ombudsman to start with. The final report was put down before Parliament. I am not aware of any other occ…”

“Can the Minister give an assessment of the potential merits of restricting triable either-way offences to summary trial, except for sentencing?”

“I am very grateful to the Minister for outlining the investment made in the line historically. Indeed, in Gatwick’s case, a very large portion of the investment was made directly by the airport, rather than by the Department for Transport. This debate is about the fact that in shortly over a decade, the line will be co…”

“Despite the many fine contributions made by Members so far and no doubt many yet to come, planning is quite a dreary subject for many. Indeed, I heard some senior Members of this House privately describe it as such. I can well remember as a young Labour member sitting through constituency party meetings wondering why w…”

“My hon. Friend must be reading ahead. The impact on escalating costs and viability as a result of the delays is hard to overstate. The capacity issues do not stem from laziness or as a covert form of development suppression; they stem from one issue and one issue only: the absence of sufficient numbers of planners in t…”

“I have learned over the years not to look a gift house in the mouth. This is a positive step forward. No doubt other steps could be taken in future, but this is significant in enabling the system to be far more sustainable than it has been of late. There must always be a role for local expertise and knowledge in planni…”

“T2. What consideration has been given to the introduction of safe leave for employees experiencing domestic abuse?”