Speeches by Cane.

“Okay. Why do you think the commission needed to take into account the failure to report and the holding of the requiem mass in deciding whether to close the case?”

“I want to talk about the PHSO’s conclusion that the commission’s review of Mr Murray’s case was not compliant with the recommendation. The reviewer did not themselves refer to the commission’s approach to the failure to report abuse since 1993 as an “error”, and the commission has disputed that categorisation, so why d…”

“So they hadn’t fully documented the process they had gone through in making the decision.”

“To some extent, you have answered this, but I don’t know whether you want to add anything. Why do you think the commission did not give sufficient weight to the interests of victims and beneficiaries in deciding to close the case?”

“Right, so you were saying that the commission hadn’t set out its criteria well enough, and therefore there was no way, under the commission’s rule, of making a judgment on that.”

“There was a review, and that review did not say that the failure to report abuse since 1993 was an error. The commission doesn’t think it is an error, but you do. I am trying to understand the grounds for that.”

“So who does have responsibility for delivering justice for past failures?”

“The Charity Commission does not regard its role as simply identifying misconduct and mismanagement. It considers that its role is to determine what impact any potential misconduct or mismanagement might have on the charity, and other charities, in the present and the future, rather than delivering justice for past fail…”

“You seem to be saying that there is a mix—that their procedures were not clear enough, because they did not have clear enough criteria, but also they were not following their procedures.”

“Are you confident that you are going to get a positive answer?”

“Good morning. I am going to be looking at resources. Starting with what level of staffing and funding do you need in order to carry out the full scope of your remit?”

“You said that you are hoping to get the independent commissioners in place soon. Do you have an idea of a rough date for that?”

“What about the process for appointing the vacancy—it is the parties who do it?”

“Effectively, you take what you are given.”

“However, as you say, you have a part in the process, even though not the ultimate decision. Whereas with the political one, you have no part at all. Then a more personal question. You are Master of Emmanuel College, a full-time job. Are you really confident that you have the time to devote to the EIC to make sure that …”

“There is always going to be a balance with any organisation, with having enough people to have them on each of the inquiries, but not having too big a group to actually work together collectively. How have you satisfied yourself that you have that balance right?”

“The political commissioners, how are you getting on with those?”

“One of the things that shocked me most when I was elected was how much we are failing children with special educational needs. We all get those emails in our inbox, and they are heartrending. When we meet those parents, we can see the stress and the strain etched in their faces, and we can only imagine what it is like …”

“I agree; we must not set things up in competition. I would like to ask the Minister three questions. First, what is she going to do to make sure that every school in every area has the specialist resources it needs to deliver for its children? How is she going to make sure that rural areas such as mine in Ely and East …”

“Once somebody is answered, are any of those calls dropped partway through—do you measure that?”