Speeches by Osborne.

“I have one further follow-up. Other jurisdictions have an ombudsman-style approach to redress schemes for lower value claims—a dual-track approach. Wales does not have that approach but other nations in Europe do. Is it being considered? It would seem sensible to consider it, given the legal fees that we have been talk…”

“You mentioned the tort legal system that we have. Without getting into the realms of policy decisions, do you think that is a financially sustainable model at this lower end, sub-£25,000?”

“As part of phase 2, you are announcing the potential restructures and new boundaries from April 2027. Can I just get some clarity? You are going through the redundancy rounds now, but in some cases, you will not know the new boundaries for some of these organisations until two years in the future, because there might b…”

“I am going to talk specifically about the general practice schemes, looking at paragraph 1.15. My colleagues have dealt with the medium to the top end; I will be looking specifically at GPs. The new CNSGP scheme was introduced in 2019. There has been an indication that the numbers have significantly risen from 273 to 2…”

“Thank you very much. It would be helpful. On transparency, on these low-volume cases, we know that there is a lack of transparency around claimant compensation—the NAO reports that. But we also know that the legal costs are 3.7 times higher than the damages awarded—that is in the table on the back. There is a question …”

“So we will not be seeing people waiting 18 months.”

“Ninety-three per cent of homes in the private sector claim to cater for complex needs. In specific terms, how are we focusing with the registration process? We heard that it takes 18 months to register some homes. Can you give us an average wait time for someone looking to register a home for special, complex needs?”

“The top 15 providers, which provide a significant proportion of care, are making a profit of 22.6%, and they take a significant chunk of SEN and EHC funding, which also suggests that there is price gouging. On future provision and recommendations for the short term, obviously you are building extra capacity, but what m…”

“I will be asking specifically about the cost implications of vulnerabilities. We know that three quarters of children going into care homes—including registered and unregistered homes—have an SEN or an EHC need. In my local area, the cost to the local council alone has gone up by £4.1 million in one year, and the cost …”

“I am conscious of time, but in Scotland at the moment they are considering stopping profit-making entirely in the sector, and in Wales, as part of the Health and Social Care (Wales) Act, they are also looking to make profit in children’s homes and fostering. Do you feel that we should be following that approach?”

“I declare an interest as a former member of Medway council, which has made a submission as part of this inquiry. Eighty-four per cent of children’s homes are privately owned, and one third of those are owned by private equity firms, which have significantly high levels of debt. I know the Government have recently looke…”

“How long will the non-specific pathway take?”

“10. What steps she is taking to help increase prosecution rates in cases of violence against women and girls.”

“Prosecutions and convictions for domestic abuse dramatically fell under the last Government, which impacted constituents across all of our areas, including in Chatham and Aylesford. What steps are the Government taking to increase the level of prosecutions and convictions for this heinous crime?”

“Q4. The leader of my local council, Kent county council, has said that they are a “shop window” for Reform UK. With councillors facing criminal charges, inappropriate conduct and behaviour, a defection, five expulsions, a failed DOGE-inspired cost-cutting drive and an authoritarian leader who shouts and swears at colle…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. As my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Steve Yemm) has said, we should be looking to create streets in which our residents can live, work and thrive together. However, it is indeed the case that the in-boxes of Members in this Chamber are full of messages…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I thank the Minister for stepping in and for reviewing the outstanding contributions of previous Environment Ministers. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice for her work, and my hon. Friend the Member for Putne…”

“Thank you, Chair, and thank you, Sir Peter, for your contributions. I am new, so forgive me if you have previously answered some of these questions. I have done some research and I have a few quick questions about your responses to my colleague. Are the 200 change staff you mentioned specifically focused on change in t…”

“Sorry, I am new to the Committee.”

“Can I follow up on one point? I understand that 57% took this up initially and it is now being rolled out. You mentioned that the initial 57% might have chosen to use it to allow their staff to cope with demand. Were particular locations or demographics picked up in that initial 57%? That is to say, were they in more s…”