Speeches by Carling.

“That makes a lot of sense. I was going to ask about churn being a problem; are you able to give a picture of what good oversight looks like from your perspective?”

“Okay, but they are taking it seriously enough. That is useful.”

“May I take this opportunity to put on the record my thanks to the first responders, the police and everyone on the train who put their lives at risk to protect others? So many people from the communities I represent in both Peterborough and Huntingdonshire have written to me today in absolute fear, shock and confusion …”

“That is useful.”

“That is useful as well. Just moving back to the board briefly, the Cabinet Office obviously has a really important role to play in the appointment of non-executive directors on the UKSA board. We have been told that the Cabinet Office set aside some of the advice from the UKSA on several reappointments to that board. D…”

“That is helpful. Just to move to a slightly different post, we have an understanding that as a former director general for data capability, somebody called Alison Pritchard commenced quite a lengthy leave of absence in 2024. Has the Cabinet Office been involved in discussion around that post and potentially filling it?”

“Finally from me, we have also been told that there were issues around the UKSA chair being prevented from providing written advice directly to Ministers and that there was some concern around the board’s recommendation to appoint a deputy chair not being taken up until Sir Robert’s resignation forced something to happe…”

“That is helpful. It all ties into this situation around the independence of the ONS versus the accountability, and how Cabinet Office appointments skew that balance and potentially almost create extra centres of power, and the various implications that might have. Do you agree with that point about some of these appoin…”

“Okay. And did the Cabinet Office conduct an evaluation of how that post-holder had performed in the role following their departure?”

“It might be useful if there is anything you can find on that letter that we could have in writing, just to help better contextualise some of this. Are you able to shed any light on why the role was not advertised?”

“When was Sir Ian asked about whether he would want that position? Or was he told that he needed to have it?”

“Thank you—that is really helpful. I have some broader questions about the Cabinet Office’s approach to appointments within the UKSA and the ONS. Can we start by talking about Sam Beckett, who was appointed as second permanent secretary at the ONS? Could you give me an indication of why and when Cabinet Office officials…”

“I am going to start with a brief question on the board. We talked a bit about board effectiveness. Has there been a more detailed consideration of the structure of the board? The UKSA board oversees both the Office for National Statistics and the regulator of that body, which seems to me a bizarre governance set-up. Co…”

“Last month, I raised the case of my constituents in ex-Ministry of Defence housing in Wittering, who face huge backdated gas bills because their supplier will not take them off a Ministry of Defence contract. Things have escalated; TotalEnergies will not engage, and sends only stock replies, telling residents to fill i…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her work on this issue on the Treasury Committee. In my speech, I raised an insurance issue that my constituents have gone to the Financial Ombudsman Service about, but they are having problems about whether it is a FOS issue or a property ombudsman issue, and it is just not very clear. Would…”

“My hon. Friend makes a very useful point. I should have clarified that the figure I gave does not include the private roads that were not supposed to be adopted; it was purely the ones that are having this issue. As my hon. Friend says, councils are in a difficult financial situation. The precarious state of local gove…”

“I am passionate about ensuring that older people in medical settings are not subjected to coercion over their medical decisions. I have recently been contacted by a whistleblower from the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who has expressed concern that some of the religious assistants who come in to support patients with their deci…”

“I am so pleased that we are taking the time today to debate property service charges in depth. Across my constituency, residents are drowning in soaring bills, deferred maintenance, opaque accounts and a carousel of management companies passing the buck. These charges do not exist in a vacuum; they sit alongside dodgy …”

“The hon. Lady highlights the problem of residents being charged late payment fees. I have a number of constituents who never received an original letter demanding payment, but who are then charged late payment fees despite not knowing a payment was due. Does she agree with me that the lack of communication is another c…”

“When I was a council cabinet member, I had responsibility for allotments. We are talking about strategic authorities, and the hon. Lady is talking about powers for them. I can see a duty in the new clause; I cannot see how it would help councillors who have responsibility for allotments to improve the situation, and I …”