Speeches by Osborne.

“I am a south-east MP. The 2012 NAO report on High Speed 1 showed that the project had similar problems to those identified with this project. My question is in two parts. First, did you learn from the High Speed 1 experience, because that has turned out to be not such a success with operators? Secondly, has there been …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I want to discuss two aspects. First, I welcome the consideration of new clause 29. I absolutely believe it is correct for the Government to review and look into inequalities in the criminal justice system. I pay testament to the work done by my hon. Friend…”

“The point is that the premise of his inclination was that it is appropriate for thresholds to be changed. Although there will absolutely be principled disagreement between different advocates about where that threshold will be and the appropriateness of who will oversee those cases, be that a bench or a single judge, t…”

“The Chair adjourned the Committee without Question put (Standing Order No. 88).”

“I do not have the answer for the Callaghan reduction, but my point about the thresholds is that previous Governments of both colours have looked at thresholds, had conversations similar to those we are having today, and concluded that it was a sensible and necessary step—both under Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher. Sir …”

“Adjourned till this day at Two o’clock.”

“My contribution will be brief, as other colleagues said a lot this morning. Clause 3 is extremely pragmatic and proportionate to the challenges we face. As Sir Brian Leveson made clear in his oral testimony, it is necessary because financial investment and efficiency measures alone, while essential—no one present disag…”

“We are absolutely seeking to reduce the number of cases going before jury trials. It comes back to the thresholds. We have seen a long history of changes to thresholds, as well as changes to those serving on juries. In the early part of the 20th century, women were allowed to sit on juries for the first time, and it wa…”

“I am going to ask specifically about financial management skills and staffing within these organisations. I want to get your commentary on some bits of the Report. Paragraph 3.17 indicates that “financial management capability can contribute to breaches of financial controls.” I want to talk first about officers at boa…”

“To push back on that, you have just said that you are already supporting these teams very actively. Some organisations will have strong financial resilience internally, but some are already coming to you and borrowing members of your team. You mentioned that eight out of the 15 organisations had a change of chief finan…”

“Paragraph 1.14 of the Report indicates that the financial resilience of the organisations has significantly worsened since 2025. In addition, paragraph 1.16 indicates that strategic reserves have fallen in the period, and paragraph 2.8 identifies concerns about future costs. I suggest that the sector is showing you a y…”

“You described it as being in the beta stage. When do you expect it to be rolled out? If it is being used in a beta stage, what are you looking at in terms of the ratings, and how is each museum factored according to them? Which has appropriate risk appetite? Which has appropriate financial resilience? That sort of gran…”

“The Minister cited Scotland as a good example within the United Kingdom. Scotland has seen a significant drop in the backlog of cases over the last several years, partly as a result of the system that she has explained. Does she think that the modelling within our country—some of the best practice we have seen in Scotl…”

“One could make that point about any organisation, including those that support the hon. Member’s argument: they are, broadly speaking, representative bodies and they cannot speak for everyone within the organisation. In that case, do we accept any representation from anyone, on the basis that one person in any organisa…”

“Q My question concerns appeals. I am looking to see whether there is synergy here. Across your regions, 1% of cases that come from magistrates are appealed, so, accepting that the magistrates system is working, why do you not accept the principle of extending magistrates’ sentencing powers—as we have done in the past f…”

“Q My question concerns the potential issue of judges being identified and targeted because they are dealing with cases at a high level. Clearly, in your situation, judges are dealing with high-level cases and sentences. Have you seen any evidence that judges are particularly targeted if they hand down higher sentences?…”

“Q To pick up on Paul’s point about over-listing and capacity, looking at the Bill from an operational perspective, what one aspect of it would you say would make a material difference in reducing the capacity problem you have identified—over-listing and overcapacity making it difficult with staffing numbers? Daniel Flu…”

“Q Thank you for your testimony so far and for your bravery. Morwenna, you mentioned that you waited two and a half years before your court date. My apologies for going into the detail, but can you go through the stresses and strains of that wait and its impacts on your life and possibly on other victims as well? Morwen…”

“Medway Maritime hospital in my constituency is benefiting from a £25.9 million investment to introduce heat pumps and other measures. Does the Minister agree that we could invest in public sector provision to reduce bills in schools, hospitals and other buildings across the country?”

“I welcome the Minister to her new position and thank her predecessors for all the excellent work that they did in getting this legislation through Committee and in their representations in the House of Lords. As has rightly been said by Members across this Chamber, this is a seminal piece of legislation that puts Brita…”