Speeches by Baker.

“I have a couple of questions related to some points that you have just been making. I am interested to hear about the business planning process, because you have previously suggested that the Cabinet Office should attempt to exert less control over the Department than has been the case and focus only on those things th…”

“Lord Maude has made specific recommendations along these lines in his Independent Review of Governance and Accountability in the Civil Service, which was published last year. In terms of the accountability of Departments around spending, he suggested the creation of an Office of Budget and Management to integrate cross…”

“As you say, it was not only Lord Maude who came forward with these recommendations. The IfG found that institutions like the Cabinet Office are bloated, unfocused and poorly co-ordinated, while No. 10 is underpowered, yet overly involved in operational details. It suggested structural change as well but you are pushing…”

“What advice would you give them in making that kind of structural change?”

“Okay, fair enough.”

“It was worth a go, Chair.”

“Clearly, there is a huge investment in, for example, the UK Statistics Authority and improving availability of data. To realise the full value of that, I imagine it is important for that remaining 30% investment required in addressing the remediation and the legacy data issues you mentioned. Are plans in place to compl…”

“You mentioned the importance of sharing data standards across Departments, and presumably trying as best as possible to ensure the alignment of data systems as well. I imagine that is a huge task within government, as well as for public bodies and devolved Administrations, and our predecessor committee identified some …”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that it is unacceptable that only 7% of people with a disability in our country are in paid employment when so many more want to work? Does she also agree that it is vital that, as the Government look to get more people into work, we have equal opportunities and equal access to the workplace f…”

“2. What steps she is taking to improve the accessibility of aviation for disabled people.”

“I associate myself with the tributes to Lord Prescott. As a sponsor of the Aviation (Accessibility) Bill, introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis), I welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement of the new expert group to break down the barriers to air travel that are still…”

“The hon. Member has rightly mentioned the importance of Access to Work and how it can make a real difference in supporting disabled people, including blind and partially sighted people, to secure and retain employment. One of the challenges is ensuring that there is enough provision and that enough employers are aware …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova) not only on securing this debate on such an important topic, but on her skill and commitment in leading the all-party parliamentary group on eye health and visual impairment. The APPG is su…”

“18. What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to NHS dentists.”

“Does the Minister agree that it is unacceptable that more than 40,000 people in Fife are not registered with an NHS dentist? Will he share any learning from this Government’s action to increase access to dentistry with his colleagues in the Scottish Government, and urge them to fulfil their responsibilities so that peo…”

“My hon. Friend makes an excellent point—I could not agree more. It risks derailing the Bill and the potential to make urgent progress on this particular issue, which it is so important that we as a House deal with this evening. As other Members have said—I want to make this point very clearly—this reform is about princ…”

“There are many ways to achieve the balanced representation that I have spoken about. The right hon. Gentleman has shown that he is passionate on these issues too. I hope that he would participate in further debates, which will go much more broadly into the issue of reform of the second Chamber. I am sure that we will h…”

“This is a fundamental issue of principle. It is important that we in this House recognise that the presence of the hereditary principle within our second Chamber is outdated and indefensible. As other Members on the Government Benches have rightly pointed out, the UK is one of only two countries that still has a heredi…”

“It has been a long afternoon, Madam Chair. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship. May I say how much I enjoyed, as I always do, the witty and skilful speech of the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart)? He has perhaps fired an early starting gun on his own campaign for election to an elected s…”

“The hon. Gentleman’s party has long talks about constitutional change in this country, but it is our party that delivered devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as a Mayor for London and the London Assembly. His party has only talked about it. Is that not the reality of our party delivering on cons…”