Speeches by Frith.

“That is interesting. There has been comment in previous panels about the corporate spending review that is ongoing at the moment with joint bids between Departments to the Treasury, not least because money is tight. Presumably you would support a joint bid of Departments as a means to focus the minds on outputs and out…”

“Montell, what makes a good coach and how do we get more of those people involved in volunteering and coaching in our sports?”

“What do you think makes a good teacher or coach, someone to inspire that?”

“On the issue of workforce development for the athletes, what role do teachers and volunteers and coaches have, and what did they play in your own development and the relationship that you had with each of your sports? Anna, if you want to finish your contribution and let Alistair and Montell come in after.”

“Do you think that that could be changed as a model? You make the point about your own team’s expectations of availability, and team sport relies on the collective commitment of the individual members. Could you see a shift or a change that could be adopted to perhaps recognise the value in playing other sports as one o…”

“Why did you have to give up the others? Was it simply a time constraint with how long you are expected to be in the pool and therefore there is no time or energy to do other sports, or was it a predetermined expectation that it is all eyes on swimming?”

“Thank you very much. I bet that coach is still talking about you to his friends. It would be an absolute dream for a coach to have such a talent. Ali, a question on the matter of the Department or Government’s efforts. How effective has the Department for Culture, Media and Sport been in convening organisations and oth…”

“What were those other sports?”

“Thanks very much for your contributions. Anna, I was very taken by that account of your falling in and out of love with swimming. It makes your achievements that much more impressive that you had so much time out from it all. Were you active elsewhere in between? Did you go off and pursue other sports? Were you natural…”

“No—Bury, Manchester.”

“I want to come to you, Montell. Having been a parent at a sports day, I love this image of an eventual British record holder taking part in the school sports day. I can imagine the parents, the fellow parents, would have been treated to this vision of speed in front of them. It is a magnificent image. I am visiting the…”

“My wife and I regret ever getting a smartphone for our two eldest children. We have four, and we are wondering what to do when the third expects access to the same rights. Smartphone management is something we continually get wrong. My hon. Friend has talked about screen time. It cannot be beyond the wit of our smartph…”

“I thank the Minister; as ever, he has been very generous and is making excellent remarks. Away from the emergency—the toxicity and the worst aspects of this—the mundane sapping of hour after hour after hour is just as dangerous when we consider social media use and our ineffective guardrails for smartphone use. Yes, we…”

“Will the Minister give way?”

“I agree with everything my hon. Friend says, and I suspect he is a better musician than I am.”

“The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful case, as ever, and I agree with much of what he is saying. Does he agree with me that we should be ready to point out where those who contribute to this debate are proxies or funded by tech companies not appearing in public to make the case, but instead making arguments through s…”

“I know the hon. Member fancies himself as a bit of a tech bro, but he should recognise that much of the anxiety in the creative industries sector is caused by the dither and delay of the Conservatives’ time in Government and their failure to grasp the issue. As ever, we on the Government Benches are doing the hard work…”

“The Minister got the memo. AI is giving the creative sector indigestion, frankly, and this is the problem we are facing, so aiming for a smoother future through collaboration is absolutely right. As with previous technological shifts, such as the introduction of the internet or indeed the printing press, laws should be…”

“And cassettes.”

“I am a great admirer of the Secretary of State, and I admire his belief in his cause today. The creative sector will have heard his commitment to listen, and I thank him for ensuring the openness and engagement of his Ministers on this issue. In the spirit of listening, will he agree from the Dispatch Box today to meet…”