Speeches by Olney.

“I thank the hon. Member for that intervention, and I am so sad to hear Sam’s story. It is very encouraging to hear about the steps that Ben has taken to raise awareness of the issue. The hon. Member makes an important point about academia at schools and universities; that is another big risk factor for young people. Th…”

“May I say what a privilege it has been to have this debate today, not least because it has given me an opportunity to highlight the work of my friend and constituent Philip Pirie? It has been a wonderful tribute both to his hard work and to the memory of his son, Tom. It has also been a privilege to hear the contributi…”

“Dr Kerr, one of my big concerns as a London MP is that something like 90% of children in London are not placed in their home authority. You were talking about the various barriers to making sure we have the right providers at the right cost and in the right place. What more can be done to make sure we get homes where t…”

“So local authorities are currently not required to look at these kinds of financial indicators—the ones that are available and the ones that are not—in order to assess suitability?”

“A concern that has been raised with me locally about a home in my constituency is that the company running it is registered as dormant and does not have adequate share capital. That information is obviously publicly available through Companies House. Is that the sort of information that either the DfE or local authorit…”

“Just so I am clear—does that extend to local authorities as well? They cannot collect financial information?”

“Did you want to come in, Susan?”

“Sorry to interrupt, but are you not collecting that already?”

“I want to ask a bit more about the financial situation of some of the companies that are providing care homes. We know, for example, that some of the private equity-owned providers have much higher debt levels than other providers, which obviously gives rise to concerns about their sustainability. What information, Gil…”

“When you have completed the capital provision in London for secure places, even though you have talked about hoping not to need quite so much, do you think it will cover the gap that you anticipate you will have?”

“What will the capital programme that you are putting in place in London do to address the shortage of secure places? Will that make up all the gap or will it just go part of the way?”

“Reduce the need.”

“Thank you for that, but, Ms Acland-Hood, do you nevertheless accept that work remains to be done to ensure that, even when a secure place or a children’s home is needed, it is necessary to ensure that not quite so many children are having to go quite so far? If you do, what is happening to address that?”

“As I was explaining in the earlier session, I am concerned about the issue of young people being placed far from home. I accept that on some of the evidence we have had, just because it looks bad in London does not necessarily mean that it is. Nevertheless, a concerning number of children—at least half, from the data w…”

“I understand, thank you.”

“Would you mind explaining that? You said you would keep a bed free in response to a particular child. What does that mean?”

“In my constituency of Richmond Park, our policing force has been decimated. We used to have three police stations, and now we have none. The next nearest police station is facing the closure of its front counter, and the Royal Parks police force has been scrapped. People in my constituency have no faith that common cri…”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that interest rates shot up in the way he has just described as a direct result of that mini-Budget three years ago, and that that is precisely why the taxpayer is now paying such large interest rate payments to the banks? Is it not therefore right that the Conservative party should get behind…”

“There is a balance between the employer and the employee. If the fit is not right, it is better for both sides that the employment is brought to an end, and that the employee is free to seek more appropriate employment. There are very significant concerns. The lack of clarity about probation periods, which the Minister…”

“The point has been made on a number of occasions that it is always possible for employers to make mistakes in their hiring—for people to not be the right fit for the job. There should be a straightforward way for those employers to dismiss those people without being challenged on the basis that the dismissal was unfair…”