Speeches by Gardiner.

“Goodness me! It is very rare that I stand in this Chamber and get such immediate results from the Government. If this is a precedent, it is one that I wholeheartedly welcome. I am delighted to hear what my hon. Friend has just reported is the new Government policy. As I was saying about the Department for Work and Pens…”

“My hon. Friend gives an apposite example of some of the problems that can arise. I will not be so bold as to say I have the solution, but I will at least try to set out the problem with clarity, so that the Minister can ensure that his officers are able to provide a proper solution. The model details eight types of soc…”

“The hon. Gentleman is right, of course: cheapest is not always best. That is partly what the social value model is all about; it is designed to ensure that there is genuine social value, not simply the cheapest model. The 2025 version of the social value model extends the scope to all contracts of central Government De…”

“On 1 October, it became mandatory for Government contracting authorities to include social issues like jobs and skills in their procurement processes. That in itself is a good thing, but the social value model they have prepared is flawed. I welcome the consultation on further reforms to public procurement issued by th…”

“I am heartened. When some hon. Members approached me about this Adjournment debate, I said, “Look, it’s extremely boring—you won’t want to be in it,” but to have had three interventions that have been so apposite is really gratifying. An alternative approach would be for most social value requirements to be included in…”

“I joined the Labour party because I believe in equality and justice, and those are two of the values that I use to judge any Budget. Does it create a more equal society, and is the society that it creates more just? Therefore, there are aspects of the Budget that I welcome, such as the removal of policy costs from hous…”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. He is absolutely right, and that money gets recycled throughout our economy. I think it is a scandal that more than 60% of people in receipt of universal credit are actually in work—often working two jobs to make ends meet. That is a scandal because it means that t…”

“The Chief Secretary quoted the OBR review, which said: “The ultimate responsibility for the circumstances in which this vulnerability occurred” was “with the leadership of the OBR.” Has anyone in the OBR leadership offered their resignation, or has that gone out of fashion?”

“I will not. Parliament is supposed to be a gathering of the leaders of our community: rational and intelligent human beings capable of horizon scanning and guiding our country to a safe and sustainable future. Instead, it acts like the frog in the pan of gradually boiling water, delaying its escape until too late. The …”

“I thank my right hon. Friend for the leadership he has shown internationally and nationally over the past 20 years—it has been quite remarkable. I thank him for his statement today. He will have seen over the time that has elapsed since COP26 in Glasgow the change in the language that is used. In Glasgow, when discussi…”

“I welcome the assurance the Home Secretary has given to those who have achieved indefinite leave to remain and have settled status in this country. That certainty is really important. She will know that in my constituency I have many families from Syria and Afghanistan, who came under the Syrian programme and Operation…”

“The speedy passage of environmental legislation through this House is not often a feature, so I thank the Leader of the House for the speedy way in which the biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction treaty was dealt with by the Government. In contrast, I remind him that in 2023 our party said that we would bring forwa…”

“Finally, the coastal erosion assistance grant to support safe demolition of at-risk properties is only available to those properties before 2009. Do you think that that cut-off date is still justified?”

“Or should there be almost a moving cut-off date because, as you have pointed out, things change in this area? Areas that were previously deemed safe are no longer, so should there be flexibility on that?”

“It is that arbitrary fluctuation in people’s insurance that a wider scheme would manage and cope with?”

“The French have “catastrophe naturelle”, don’t they, which is a similar reinsurance scheme. But it is predicated on a very small premium being paid across the board by all householders. Again, would you like to see a recommendation from this Committee that there should be some form of wider insurance? You are all noddi…”

“The French have “catastrophe naturelle”, don’t they, which is a similar reinsurance scheme. But it is predicated on a very small premium being paid across the board by all householders. Again, would you like to see a recommendation from this Committee that there should be some form of wider insurance? You are all noddi…”

“I believe that, in the Isle of Wight, you have now a whole postcode after the Ventnor—”

“After the Ventnor incident, have they not now flagged the whole PO38 as a problem area?”

“Now those maps have been produced, do you believe that there should be a requirement at the conveyancing stage of a property to notify a potential purchaser, just as you would if it was on a floodplain and so on?”