Speeches by Milne.

“Good morning. In your 2022-23 annual report, you raised questions about the variable quality of the DWP’s impact assessments. Can you give us a bit of background on that observation?”

“Is there not a fundamental challenge in co-production—you were talking earlier about intentions and objectives—in that the objective is to save money by whatever percentage? It is a big ask to expect disabled people to go in there and come up with ways to cut their own benefit.”

“One would certainly hope that they did that before they proposed the policy in the first place. Anyway, moving on to winter fuel. In correspondence on the updated winter fuel payment regulations you express disappointment that DWP’s approach to impact assessments remains “narrowly analytical and data-driven, failing to…”

“The recent Welfare Bill had a rough passage through Parliament, to put it mildly. One of the biggest issues or controversies that it raised was that disability groups felt they were not consulted, yet they were the people most affected. They felt very cut out of the whole process. The Timms review is the outcome of tha…”

“What is your definition?”

“But at the moment they are sticking with that term?”

“As my hon. Friend says, sustainable aviation fuels are being used by the Government to justify major airport expansions. One such expansion would be at Gatwick, adjacent to my constituency. A target of 10% SAF by 2030 is optimistic in the extreme, as the Climate Change Committee said. If the Government’s own advisers d…”

“I pay tribute to all the moving speeches we have heard so far tonight. There are few losses in life more devastating than that of a child—it is every parent’s greatest fear—but when a baby dies just as life is beginning, at the very moment when joy and expectation are at their highest, the pain is all the harder to bea…”

“In my constituency, we have seen promises of new schools and clinics repeatedly broken, but in every case it was not the developer or local council that let people down but national bodies such as the Department for Education and integrated care boards. They do it to save money by cramming more kids into existing schoo…”

“I thank my hon. Friend and fellow Sussex MP for her intervention, and I very much agree with her. Donna is a midwife herself, and she has been personally involved with the families in Sussex.”

“I thank the hon. Member for his intervention, and yes, that sounds like a very similar situation. As I have said, this is all about trust. I understand that concerns have been raised about Donna’s workload and the risk of relying too heavily on one person, but Donna has indicated that she is willing to participate. I a…”

“4. What steps he plans to take to ensure that new housing developments have adequate access to infrastructure.”

“My hon. Friend is right to point out all the problems. We are going to hear a lot about problems; there are also solutions. In my constituency, we have a wonderful school called Muntham House, which teaches high-needs autistic boys, 40% of whom go on to hold down a job and to be able to sustain themselves. That is what…”

“12. What recent progress she has made on the development of policy on pavement parking.”

“Will the Minister assure us that any enforcement powers will be extended to local authorities, not just the police, in order to make any regulations effective? Alongside that, will he reassure us that local authorities will have the power to make exceptions in areas where such restrictions would be impractical, as is t…”

“I feel I ought also to thank everyone, and the Minister especially for a superb performance. I think we can all agree that this is a very good Bill, with lots of really good things in it. I am particularly interested in the investment side of it, with the greater resources to invest in UK plc, which we certainly do nee…”

“I thank the Minister for his words. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Clause, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 98 Regulations: general Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. The new clause would require the Secretary of State to report on the Velux pensions case. It would require him to report within 12 months on how occupational pension schemes exclude certain employees based on job classification or their start date. The report would …”

“I thank the Minister for his encouragement. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Clause, by leave, withdrawn. New Clause 47 Report on Pension Scheme Eligibility and Access “(1) The Secretary of State shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, lay before Parliament a report into the operation of occupatio…”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. The new clause would have the effect of making pension scheme trustees truly independent of the sponsoring companies so that they can protect scheme members’ interests without any conflict of interest. Trustees should act solely in the best interests of their member…”