Speeches by Rushworth.

“That is an excellent point that I had not considered, so I will tack it on to the end of my speech. I welcome that intervention. There will be a lot of interventions tonight, but I say to the Minister that perhaps we could have some sort of deal whereby if she gives in to my demands 30 minutes in, we will not take the …”

“I agree 100% with that assessment. It seems that it does not really matter who is in power; councillors do not seem to be listened to either. I think it is a problem for democracy that so many people are saying the same thing, only to be ignored over and over again, so I welcome that intervention. I am grateful that so…”

“I hear that same anecdote far too often for it not to be true. People are told, “Due to a lack of fatalities, we cannot intervene.” That is not how we risk assess. We do not wait for someone to die before we ascertain that there is a risk.”

“I give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Chris Vince).”

“Before I begin my speech, let me pay my respects to my constituent Curtis Davies, who was a resident of Shildon and worked for Durham police, who sadly died yesterday in difficult circumstances. I know that he will be missed by his colleagues in the police force and by his family. My thoughts and prayers are with them …”

“I thank the Minister for his balanced approach to this subject and for protecting the livelihoods of my constituents. I agree with him that we need to look after animal welfare. I do not think the economic arguments we have been making today apply to trail hunting. Will he confirm today that it is still the will of thi…”

“I thank the Minister for this announcement. As she will recall, we met back in September to discuss my concerns about fuel poverty in my constituency, including the number of children living in cold homes. We specifically talked about this measure. She has taken it away, done the hard graft and delivered, so I thank he…”

“Is it?”

“Are you comfortable with the amount of dividends that get paid to shareholders in this space?”

“I do not know if I have to declare an interest that I was once on the payroll of an organisation that was your subcontractor, and I have worked with Palladium, which is why I have some knowledge of what you are doing.”

“Which is more profitable, working for the UK or USAID?”

“Are you comfortable with the amount of dividends that get paid to shareholders in this space?”

“I do not know if I have to declare an interest that I was once on the payroll of an organisation that was your subcontractor, and I have worked with Palladium, which is why I have some knowledge of what you are doing.”

“I am speaking as somebody who has received ODA funding. Thinking about the FCDO’s approach to value for money, how effective do you feel the FCDO has been in communicating its approach to value for money, particularly with regard to how you would have to monitor and evaluate it?”

“Thank you for that. Your answer was very comprehensive and perfectly reflected my own experience; I have spent more of my life on your side of this relationship. You have segued perfectly into my next follow-up question, which is about inclusiveness. There is no doubt that a lot of people around the world will say that…”

“I appreciate your response, but before we move on can I ask a slightly more subversive question? In your lived experience of seeing development projects pan out on the ground, do you feel that this huge framework we have built up around the evaluation of value for money is leading to us funding projects that deliver it…”

“I saw Mark and Alex’s eyes twitch with this question. If you do not mind, Chair, I think we had better let them answer as well.”

“What are the circumstances where you think it would be more effective for the FCDO to engage private contractors rather than develop capability in-house?”

“The example you are giving is very much a third party as an on-the-ground actor, but where you have the big players taking more of the management functions of the FCDO, do you see any risk that that undermines in-house capacity?”

“I will turn to Sinead. Does the FCDO have an effective strategy for how it works in and through private contractors?”