Speeches by Naish.

“It is estimated that 11.7 million civilians have been forcibly displaced. Of those, 840,000 are in Chad, which of course has its own issues. What support is being provided to Chad and neighbouring countries that are housing refugees from Sudan?”

“Assuming you agree that it is stronger to have that as an independent voice, as opposed to one linked to Parliament, what are the advantages? Why do you think that ICAI should play the role that it is playing and that it is not a duplication of the work of this Committee, as an example?”

“You may contribute to the learning, in terms of sharing and imparting your view, but to what extent do you think there is genuine evidence that that learning is subsequently adopted?”

“Why do you think it is important that ICAI remains independent, acts independently and plays the role that it does, as opposed to it being a role that a parliamentary Committee or others could be strongly directing?”

“rose—”

“Yes, that would be absolutely fine.”

“Thank you, Chair, and good evening, Committee. Thank you very much for hearing me today. I am here to present an application for a Backbench Business debate specifically on the east midlands and grasping opportunities to boost productivity and economic growth. I am pleased to have the support of 15 other Members in app…”

“Yes. Obviously, there is a cross-departmental requirement to get the economy really moving in this particular location, but I believe the Treasury would ultimately be the best Department to answer.”

“I thought you were having a private audience with Noah there for a moment. As you were having that conversation, I was just thinking: if we went back in time to pre-ICAI, what would you describe the risks as being that ICAI has helped the Government to address?”

“The East Midlands freeport is split over three sites at Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, East Midlands airport and the Toyota site near Derby. The freeport is unusual in being split over multiple sites, but it carries about £160 million-worth of tax incentives with a view to sparking the local economy. There are some p…”

“Yes—so prior to ICAI existing, if there was a risk register, what risks has ICAI helped to close over the past decade?”

“I recently met with my constituents Ally and Jemma, who founded We Are Repairs, an online community of 3,000 business members bringing repairers together to combat throwaway culture. Will the Leader of the House join me in commending them for that work and commit to ensuring that the House receives an update on the pro…”

“I thank the Minister for the update, especially on behalf of my constituent Robert, who lost his brother aged 31, and who has been in regular contact with me on this issue. The Government previously announced that they were allocating funding to charities; that was a recommendation of the inquiry. Will the Minister con…”

“You were talking about getting more funds down to the ground. Why is it taking so long for that shift in thinking or approach?”

“Starting to think about learnings from what you have seen, what do you think the UK needs to do and what lessons need to be learned about how it can effectively mobilise and co-ordinate in response to an international situation such as the one in Sudan?”

“Yes. You worked through the first three—the political, the coherent whole-of-Government approach and the region—and you were getting on to the other aspects.”

“Yes, the next question is on your assessment of how the Government are doing. That is a very sensible list of things that you would expect to see, so I am interested in your assessment of how the Government are performing.”

“Thank you, Liz, for coming to give us evidence. As we have just been hearing, the Government have described the crisis in Sudan as a priority for the UK. What would you expect to see from the Government, given that formal commitment?”

“But it is an extremely complex brief.”

“In that case, how can we have confidence that you are able to do everything that you have just described?”