Speeches by Aquarone.

“Let me be clear: I am not advocating a reduction in core staffing costs for the sake of it. I am interested in what the business plan is. How do those high-level objectives translate into team-based objectives? Are those teams held to account based on the right measures, given those objectives? There should not be anyo…”

“Just on one of those specific price points in particular, I accept the point you have made about not making an announcement about them, but when the outgoing chief executive of the DVSA was before us we put the case that the driving test was essentially too cheap to cancel. It is not worth cancelling it, because in som…”

“Who should we be asking, and what should we be asking, as a Committee, if we want to understand how the Department is organising itself in respect of those objectives that you have just stated?”

“It all feels a bit high level, if you do not mind me saying. Since March, we have been asking, in different ways, for something to show us where that is translated into practical actions, such as a business plan, rather than big objectives.”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that the documentation often exists to prove ultimate beneficial ownership, where it suits the individuals concerned? In some cases, we have a perverse situation where respectable UK financial institutions obtain that information in confidence when carrying out their required “know your custom…”

“Yes, I am frighteningly aware, because I have tried to access these registers myself, and I have relied upon reports by other organisations to tell me what is really going on. When a country’s wealth in savings is a multi-hundred-times multiple of its GDP, that brings all this into sharp focus. But to get back to my fo…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell) on the way he has framed this discussion, because we are debating the impact of these tax arrangements in the overseas territories on UK communities. Every penny being shielded from paying the fair share in these places is a penny that is not getting into o…”

“Stalham, a beautiful market town in North Norfolk, is one of the places receiving support from the high streets taskforce to revitalise its high street, and local businesses are enthusiastically getting involved. However, to support businesses to thrive, we have to equip them with skills and expertise. Will she join me…”

“Dozens of my constituents have contacted me to express their frustration with the training patterns of both RAF and American fighter jets over North Norfolk’s towns and villages. It makes it hard to work, it traumatises pets, and in the case of one of my constituents it has left them with permanent hearing damage. They…”

“9. What steps he is taking to reduce the potential impact of low-flying military aircraft on people living in North Norfolk constituency.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I am delighted to respond to this debate on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, and congratulate the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes) on securing it. In coastal communities such as North Norfolk, independent lifeboats are not just a valued community as…”

“But we have the tech and the IP.”

“Jamie, are we sitting on a huge economic growth opportunity that could be transformative if we solve the skills issue?”

“That is counterintuitive isn’t it? I would have thought that if there was a huge economic opportunity, it is because we have all the shiny new stuff and we just do not have the people to use it. Or have I misunderstood your answer?”

“Am I right in thinking that if you solve some of those problems, that is up-front economic growth?”

“But if you have 15 years’ worth of stuff that you could bring forward, in my maths that is a pretty good way of delivering economic growth. Is there another problem caused if you solve the skills problem, or is this an easy win?”

“That is not just distorting the order book.”

“How good are we at encouraging young people into manufacturing?”

“I believe one of my colleagues will come back to gender balance in a moment. Benjamin, you said you would not want to fix my car, but you might have been able to fix my tractor at some point in your past career. Clearly, losing Massey to the French was unhelpful in encouraging automotive careers in Coventry, but are we…”

“It is not that we are not switching them on, we are just switching them off.”