Speeches by Edwards.

“Will it be the case that you are allowing consultation on the broad principles for those people who might have concerns, or is it going to be more of a narrow and technical “how we do it” kind of consultation?”

“As a final question from me, with reference to the Chair’s earlier comments around preparation for government, mission-led Government is a relatively new idea. You have hundreds of years of siloed departmental approaches, and that culture within the civil service. With the benefit of hindsight, were you prepared for th…”

“Are there any particularly innovative new mechanisms to consult that you want to highlight today?”

“Good afternoon, Minister. It is fair to say, probably for people outside, but maybe even for some people who are in Westminster, that mission-led Government is a bit of a black box. How do you understand mission Government, and is this still a mission-led Government?”

“The technical consultation to clarify the details of the digital ID scheme was promised before the end of 2025. We are hearing that it is going to be pushed to the new year. Can you confirm that that is the case, and why the delay?”

“Yes.”

“Do you give a lot of thought to how some of the targets around immigration might have an adverse impact on economic growth, for example?”

“Why in particular were those additional KPIs for Government needed? Are you confident that they are all complementary?”

“Are Government doing a good job of setting out that narrative?”

“Yes, indeed. Even as a Labour MP, being completely transparent, I do not necessarily know whether I could name the vast majority of them.”

“We have talked about the five missions, but the Government have subsequently also announced six milestones and three foundations, as well as quite a few targets.”

“Just sticking with the spending review, a lot of us noticed that explicit references to the mission were quite absent in the Chancellor’s speech and in some of the accompanying documents. Is it your position that things were happening behind the scenes, but that the Government have not been particularly good at articul…”

“Yes.”

“What does that mean, Minister, in terms of how Departments engage with each other, particularly on, for instance, the five priorities that have been set out in mission-led Government?”

“Since taking office, the Prime Minister has said that successful mission Government would require nothing less than a “complete rewiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reform”. From your earlier comment, it does not sound like too much progress has been made. What else needs to happen, and…”

“Do they meet monthly or less frequently?”

“How often do these Cabinet Sub-Committees meet? Can you provide an example of where they have driven the kind of delivery that you were just talking about?”

“Just a final question: you said you would like more than two for your nomination process for Cross Benchers. Do you have a particular figure in mind?”

“In terms of your power to veto, my understanding is that you can ask a party to reconsider a nomination and you can provide advice to the Prime Minister, but that advice remains confidential; therefore, you have no veto powers. Is that something that you would like, or seek, to have? Or are you content with those arran…”

“Looking forward, what will be the tasks and challenges for you in the remainder of your term?”