Speeches by Carling.

“If you were going to appoint an interim, three months seems like quite a big gap?”

“The gap was what, about three months?”

“At what point in 2024?”

“About nine months, okay, and when did the previous incumbent step down from that role? I think it was Alison Pritchard. Again, rough is fine.”

“Mrs Rourke, I have a few questions for you around the structure of the organisation. To lay out our understanding at the moment: the National Statistician has been supported by three deputy national statisticians previously, and you are currently acting in the national statistician role. The economic statistics post ha…”

“Mine will not take long.”

“I begin by once again welcoming the Bill. It will deliver so much for my constituents by protecting people from crime and enabling tough action on antisocial behaviour, including in areas that have too long been labelled “low level” and ignored, such as the illegal off-road bikes that constituents so often raise with m…”

“I thank the hon. Member for that intervention. I am very pleased that other hon. Members in the House are aware of that issue, which is something I am trying to do some work on separately. It is certainly relevant to what I am discussing. To give the House a little more context on that, through the act of disfellowship…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“I thank the Home Secretary for the robust measures she has laid out. Can she reaffirm the commitment that the Government made in January that the IICSA recommendations relevant to the Home Office will be implemented in full?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards) and for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Collinge) and the hon. Member for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo), who secured this debate. It has been worth it for all the puns, if nothing else.…”

“That is really helpful. Does ACoBA play any role in ensuring the rules are applied properly for those grades that you are not directly responsible for?”

“Thank you. Just one final question if I may, which is to do with enforceability. Do you think the kind of measures you have just outlined are helpful in terms of ensuring the rules are adhered to, or is there something else we need to do to make them more legally enforceable?”

“Has there been much progress in making the same apply to Ministers in terms of having some sort of deed of undertaking?”

“As in when civil servants are coming in, if they are in particularly relevant areas, having something in their initial contracts?”

“That is a really useful point you have raised. Just to move on slightly, the previous Government committed to developing new contracts for civil servants that would incorporate restrictions on future employment at an earlier stage. Do you know if much progress had been made on that by the time you stepped down in March…”

“Are we tracking that in any way?”

“It was essentially where you think the major issues are within the Department. First, is there consistency across them? Are there capacity issues? Is it just that it is not getting the attention it needs? What is giving rise to your concerns?”

“Actually my first question was going to be exactly on that point of whether there is an issue with the grades that are below ACoBA level, which you have very much just covered. My substitute first question is, what is giving rise to your concerns in terms of the different Departments? Is there a particular area you thi…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I want to focus on import standards, which the hon. Member for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay) began to talk about. Farmers in my constituency of North West Cambridgeshire play by the rules and abide by the regulations. For example, since 1999 they have stop…”