Speeches by Caliskan.

“Parents and teachers in my constituency will welcome the statement, as will, in particular, Monteagle and Richard Alibon primary schools, which are part of the early roll-out. The Secretary of State referred briefly to the evidence-based relationship between those who attend breakfast clubs and attainment; that is part…”

“It is just an addition to the sound in the room. I want to probe a bit more about the relationship with PwC. In February 2023, DCMS appointed PwC to develop the data collection, as you have outlined, and a storage solution for loan management. Then, during 2023, you decided to increase the scope of PwC’s work. It is no…”

“How much?”

“Has there been a further cost to that?”

“Can I come in on that point? The NAO Report talks about “further improvements to functionality”, so presumably the system is still not fully functional in the way that you would like?”

“Led by PwC?”

“Which is what the additional £300,000 is delivering.”

“It is beyond just rectifying issues. There were additional things—”

“I thank the panel for their contributions and answers.”

“An extra £300,000 to avoid organisations having to use spreadsheets is quite surprising, given it should have been part of the original scope.”

“Finally, obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing. You have helpfully outlined why the decision to go with PwC from the Department’s perspective was the right one at the time. As the scope widened, and it was not much of an iterative process, you increased the contractual spend, and we are where we are. Do you think it…”

“I ask if you are comfortable with that additional cost because, when the loan management system was launched in June 2024, it did not go well. Borrowers, for example, were still reporting that they were not able to log on to the platform. The Arts Council reported that the loan management system did not provide certain…”

“You are comfortable with the additional £1 million it cost?”

“So, since June 2024, there have been no further improvements?”

“I ask that because the Report says that as of the start of December ’24, that work is yet to be agreed.”

“On Mr Betts’ point, you went with PwC knowing that they are consultants and are not experts in this field. I understand the point that, as things progress, as senior officials you may want the scope of the work to widen. But is it not reasonable that you could have anticipated that the scope of that work would widen? T…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. The families and young people in Barking and Dagenham are not short of aspiration or willingness to work hard, but the lack of opportunities means that a staggering 46% of 19-year-olds there lack qualifications, the second worst statistic in London. The sta…”

“That requires both parties to engage in the process and accept the final view, doesn’t it? The representations I have had from residents are that it is not working. That is why we have years and years of residents sat in properties that are unsafe, with developers and freeholders passing the buck. This is a genuine que…”

“Yes, but they are the two largest spends. Thank you very much, Chair. With your permission, I have to go. And thank you to the Committee members.”

“Is it therefore reasonable for Committee members to conclude that when local authorities are deciding whether they do work and whether they complete remediation works, they are therefore having to cut back on their commitments on new homes being built?”