Speeches by Edwards.

“Have those conversations stalled with the Government?”

“Do you have any concerns about the Prime Minister’s exceptions being used for patronage rather than for people who are going to bring that expertise to the Second Chamber?”

“Did that letter detail any action the Government would be taking, or was it a letter indicating that it was the end of the conversation?”

“We can probably talk about the number of appointments allocated now. You referenced the fact that only being allocated two was a problem. Can you elaborate on that for us?”

“What was that?”

“Good morning. You have been chairing HOLAC now for two years. What is your assessment of the role and of the appointments process?”

“Around 600 young people in Rochester and Strood are claiming unemployment benefits; many more are NEETs—not in education, employment or training—and are not known to the Department for Work and Pensions. Does the Minister agree that the best way to improve their futures and reduce the welfare bill in the long term is t…”

“The Environment Agency budget was halved over the decade from 2010, and that contributed to the illegal waste sites that still blight our countryside today, including Brambletree Wharf in my constituency, which has been there since 2018. It is fantastic that the Government are doubling the budget for waste crime enforc…”

“Good morning, Sir William. You referenced earlier what I would describe as a relatively minor change that the Government have made, changing something from an aim to an expectation around how long it will take to conclude these campaigns. You quite reasonably said that you think it should be a firm target. I note that …”

“You discussed earlier the Government accepting a recommendation to publish the list of appointments the Prime Minister has an interest in. The involvement of the Prime Minister in an appointment process was cited as one of the main factors that extended the length of campaigns. Do you think this change will address tha…”

“It is helpful to know what other changes you think will have more of an impact. Is there anything that the Government are not doing or have not made a commitment to do that you think they should consider to improve the timeliness?”

“When we look through this timeline we can see that exceptions have been made for a Government-favoured candidate. The process has been changed, which has affected all the candidates regardless of their merit. What impact do you then think that has on public perception about fair process for some of these key public app…”

“Do you think it is appropriate, then, for the recruitment processes to change to support a Government-favoured candidate to proceed?”

“Government having favoured candidates, whatever the political party, whatever the position around donations. The Government having favoured candidates and then, in what should be a fair and transparent process, exceptions being made to allow that favoured candidate to proceed.”

“Could I come in briefly on one of Peter Lamb’s points? Putting aside the issue around the donations, it relates to concerns I have in general about the processes for some of these public appointments where there are perhaps Government-favoured candidates. If we look at the timeline back to May 2024, as Peter Lamb said,…”

“Thank you. I think we would be interested even in advance of the publication if you could provide us with an overview of the public appointments for the last year since that 2023-24 report.”

“Moving on to the annual report, we were expecting to be able to question you about the 2024-25 report at this session but unfortunately that has not been published yet. Can you explain for us why that is the case?”

“T3. I understand that the 1,000 careers advisers the Government committed to introduce will now sit within jobcentres. Will the Minister outline how the Department will work with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that improving careers advice in schools remains a priority? Reaching children in primary scho…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) for securing the debate. As co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for skills, careers and employment, I have chaired several evidence sessions over the last year of a skill…”

“Brambletree wharf in Borstal in my constituency has been blighted by an illegal tip for years. A council enforcement notice recently expired without the site being cleared, yet I have recently been informed that unfortunately the Environment Agency will not be prosecuting those responsible but will instead leave it to …”