Speeches by Campbell-Savours.

“Yes.”

“That was a sanction under the old regime, was it not?”

“It is something that came out of the much earlier reforms, and a question as to whether we should return to it. Should failure to declare pecuniary interests be a criminal offence?”

“I should just add that he was cleared by the adjudication panel at the end of that investigation.”

“I just wondered if we could drill into that last point a little further, in terms of what constitutes personal and what constitutes people working in their capacity as a councillor. I have witnessed a situation where what I consider to be a fairly libellous post was posted online, by a councillor, talking about the inn…”

“I have indeed.”

“Are whistleblowing rules sufficient? I come into this discussion remembering a councillor by the name of Paul Dimoldenberg, who was pushed through a standards system after calling out the Westminster city council on its failure to get money back following the famous gerrymandering case. There was a huge injustice in th…”

“Minister, you have been in post for about 18 months. Given your responsibilities, what are the advantages and disadvantages of you being based within the Cabinet Office?”

“Returning to the concerns raised by the EFRA Committee, can you provide any reassurances, especially with sensitivities around agriculture? You may have noticed that those have been enhanced in recent months. Are there any additional reassurances we can give that there will be good scrutiny on those areas relevant to a…”

“Can you commit to ensuring that there will be an opportunity for pre-legislative scrutiny of any arrangements for implementing the SPS agreements with the EU or other agreements with the EU ahead of the introduction to Parliament of any Bill?”

“Are there currently limitations that restrict the UK Government’s ability to engage proactively with EU legislative developments on new genomic technologies or animal welfare reforms, prior to us completing the SPS negotiations?”

“Thank you. To the Minister, will this country be required to comply with EU regulations on plant protection products—pesticides and herbicides—or mycotoxin levels that have been devised, without considering UK scientific evidence or the unique climate conditions? Some may have concerns that they are not appropriate for…”

“Does Hermione want to come in on that point?”

“So expectations management. What should we expect to see published in advance of the negotiations?”

“How soon will the scope of the SPS negotiations be known and published?”

“If I were to bump into a member of the EFRA Committee in the corridor later on and they wanted to know how they could scrutinise the “trade-off decisions” that you described, what is the best way for them to do that?”

“I would like to return to the issue of the SPS agreement, and in particular the role of Parliament. Last year, you told the Committee that on something like the SPS agreement, although DEFRA holds responsibility for the detail of the negotiation, the “ultimate trade-off decisions”—I think those are the words that you u…”

“On that sense of working with the full authority of the Prime Minister, are there lessons for other Departments, where you feel that may be lacking?”

“Good morning, Baroness Stuart. The Civil Service Commission has now taken over the administration of the business appointment rules following the abolition of ACOBA. Could you set out to us how you are carrying out this function?”

“Is there an appetite for suggesting changes already?”