Speeches by Chope.

“My next question will be much shorter, but perhaps the Minister would like to comment on that one first.”

“May I express my appreciation to the Minister for her constructive and full response? My last question is slightly off-piste, but the figures we have been given by the Clerks to the Committee show that almost all the people who are working in the industry that we have been discussing this afternoon are men. What is the…”

“I am sorry, Chairman, but that is what happens if you have been waiting for two hours to ask a question.”

“I sympathise with you, Minister, because you are trying to champion consumer confidence and you have some real problems. One of the first that you have to overcome is the fact that consumers were promised that their bills would go down by £300 and you have not got anywhere towards achieving that yet. Similarly, you hav…”

“May I express my appreciation to the Minister for her constructive and full response? My last question is slightly off-piste, but the figures we have been given by the Clerks to the Committee show that almost all the people who are working in the industry that we have been discussing this afternoon are men. What is the…”

“I do not think my Bill would make any of that harder. What I am saying is that if the Government wish to abolish these arm’s length bodies, or some of them, and to create a more direct relationship between the activities of those bodies when they are under direct Government control and this House, I welcome that. I hav…”

“Although I was educated at university in Scotland, I will not get drawn into Scottish politics, but there is a lot to be said for having a United Kingdom approach to all these issues. In some respects, we have probably devolved too much power to the Scottish Government for things that should more properly be dealt with…”

“I am not going to give way any more, but I will just make this comment: the hon. Gentleman seems to be intent on finding a reason for not taking action in this area and to block progress. May I suggest that he pursue an alternative career in the civil service, because that is exactly the sort of role that he would be w…”

“Quangos are not directly responsible to Parliament, which is why I have brought forward the Bill.”

“My hon. Friend takes me back to the content of my Bill, which seeks to achieve exactly what she requests. Clause 1 states: “House of Commons approval of relevant documents (1) Within a period of forty days starting on the day on which a relevant document is laid before the House of Commons by, or on behalf of, a qualif…”

“That is the difference between the words and the reality. Strictly speaking—I was coming on to this—they have to produce annual reports and accounts, which go to what are described as their sponsoring Departments. In most cases, the sponsoring Department lays those accounts before the House. With Natural England, for e…”

“I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on introducing a Bill on this important subject. He mentions research. Can he explain why the extent of clauses 2 and 3 is limited to England and Wales? What is happening in Scotland in relation to the research issues?”

“The Environment Agency as an arm’s length body is found wanting in many respects, not least that it argues that it has a lack of resource to introduce the necessary prosecutions and enforcement of the regulations that it is meant to be in charge of. Just to illustrate that point—this also relates to Natural England, ac…”

“The hon. Lady tempts me to move on to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.”

“I am not insisting that anybody should pay attention to what I am saying. All I am putting forward is a proposition that these arm’s length bodies, of which there are far too many, should be brought to account more than they are at the moment. I have just given an example of the NHS Business Services Authority. Another…”

“I was probably in one of my less rebellious periods at that stage, but the hon. Gentleman is right to chide me, because I think it was a big mistake.”

“Absolutely; that is why, although the term “independent” sounds seductive to people outside, it quite often means a lack of control by elected representatives over the body in question. I am not going to spend all my time talking about NHS Dorset, but I must offer one other illustration of my concerns. I have a letter …”

“I hear the hon. Gentleman’s cautionary tale, and I am not suggesting that anything will be a panacea. My Bill is just a tentative step to try to introduce a little more accountability.”

“I am more interested, actually, in looking at the number of people in the civil service. There was a low point during the Blair years, but I am sorry to report that under the last Conservative Government and in the time that this Government have been in office, the number of civil servants has continued to increase exp…”

“I am just coming to that—I have to say that I am absolutely delighted. I am not ambivalent about it; it is really good news, and I will give some examples of how frustrating it has been in my constituency to try to engage with the organisation called NHS Dorset —it used to be called the integrated care board—and how di…”