Speeches by Davies.

“Let me build on that, because I think you make a very good point on the issue about fixed payments versus tiers and tariffs. My reflection, particularly after watching the evidence session, is that—obviously—different claimants will have different views about how they want to be treated. Some will want to be heard, hav…”

“I will give you a couple of reflections from my time being responsible before I pass to Carl. As the report set out, these schemes are trying to do three things. They are trying to provide accurate redress for the individuals, so there is something about being specific; do it with a sense of speed and pace, given the i…”

“On the first point, about the scope and scale of the Post Office schemes, what surprised me when I came into the role in 2023 was the lack of grip on the data in the Post Office, which partly reflected the problems with the underlying Horizon scheme—the IT platform. Their ability to produce accurate estimates of the sc…”

“I am Gareth Davies. I am permanent secretary at the Home Office, and I have been here for six weeks. Prior to that, I was in the Department for Business and Trade, where I was permanent secretary and responsible for the Post Office redress schemes with Carl.”

“Yes.”

“The Government’s strategic defence review recommended an increase in the Army Reserve by 20%, but at the very same time the Government are closing Grantham’s Prince William of Gloucester barracks, which trains 70% of all Army reservists in the country. Will the Minister review that decision so that we have the capacity…”

“The Government’s industrial strategy rightly states that improving skills in the construction sector is essential to keeping our country building. In fact, on page 44, there is a commitment to invest “£625 million to train…60,000 more skilled workers”. It has been one year since publication, so how many more skilled wo…”

“I am grateful for the update on the Minister’s tiling skills, but I did not hear a number showing how he is making progress on the £625 million commitment. Perhaps he can write to me on how they are making progress. One of the existing schemes that supports training is the Construction Industry Training Board, but many…”

“As you say, it is clearly worded and it is agreed with the Department as well, so this is a factually accurate summary of the position.”

“I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement, and for coming to the House proactively this morning. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and my former career in asset management. I very much welcome the Government’s recognition that industrial energy bills r…”

“Can the Minister clarify whether she has met any businesses since taking office in this specific industry, and not just relied on the 2023 piece of work?”

“It is a great pleasure to see you in the Chair presiding over us, Mr Twigg. I am very grateful to the Government Whip for setting out the regulations. It is clear that this is a matter of great importance across Government, and it is an important matter for the Opposition, too. In fact, the regulations carry on work th…”

“Apologies.”

“In 2022, Grantham saw the opening of one of the country’s first community diagnostic centres; since then, more than 100,000 tests have been completed for the local population. Now, I want the same for the town of Bourne. Will the Minister meet me, so that I can make the case for a new community diagnostic centre in Bou…”

“Can I just bring that to life by referring to the decisions that the Government have made on the minimum wage? Increasing the minimum wage is a policy decision for Ministers. They said that they wanted to focus on the cost of administering the minimum wage—not the transfer from businesses to workers. That is what we me…”

“Yes, I am very happy to. Of course, we will crystallise a lot of this in the update that we have planned for before the summer recess.”

“In terms of quantified numbers?”

“That is definitely a risk. The main way in which we are focused there is through the use of things such as the sector councils, where we get some of the largest investors around the table with Ministers so that they can give feedback about what is making a difference and what is not. The feedback from what is happening…”

“They need to help their sectors flourish and grow. If you look at the work of the Civil Aviation Authority, which, when I worked in the Department for Transport, was led ably by Richard Moriarty, it obviously focuses on safety—that is an absolutely core role—but also on how new technologies can be introduced into that …”

“Yes, I was really struck by your question. I hanker after a single model where you can put all the options in, score them all on a consistent basis and see the impact on GDP clearly. It goes back to your question at the start, Mr Lowe; the connection between some of the reforms we are doing and the ultimate GDP impact …”