Speeches by Lamb.

“I thank the right hon. Lady for the points she is making. Does she share my concern that much as in the US, where rhetoric has shifted through a sudden strategy away from explicit conversation about race to coded references about race, we should be concerned by the change in rhetoric? We no longer see racial terms bein…”

“Staring at their own shoes.”

“I think the previous three Governments have entered office committing to do some variation of a bonfire of the quangos, and each time it has been little more than a wastepaper basket fire, while new arm’s length bodies are being set up all the time. Why haven’t Governments closed more public bodies, in your opinion?”

“You didn’t sound as though there were specific challenges or problems associated with merger, as long as you can get the continuity plans in place.”

“There are no specific reasons you can think of why we haven’t seen more Governments following through on their commitments in this area.”

“Grassroots boxing clubs do fantastic work with young people and provide a pipeline of future talent for our communities. Crawley has provided such leading lights in the boxing world as Alan Minter. Will the Secretary of State meet me and representatives of the sector to see what more can be done to support grassroots b…”

“17. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the length of time for cases to go to trial.”

“I have met constituents who have been victims of some of the most serious offences and were waiting for years before the general election to have access to justice. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how I can ensure that my constituents have timely access to justice?”

“T2. What conversations have taken place with UK Research and Innovation on the support and development of new sustainable transport technologies, and on how they might benefit constituencies such as mine, Crawley?”

“Did your feeling that you were reporting to Government, as opposed to other institutions, drive the way in which you undertook the role?”

“The Government have split the post of National Statistician. Could you give us your view of that and what the positives or negatives might be?”

“There are other chief executive positions in the country that require a combination of leadership, managerial and technical skills. Do you see the role as being similar to them, or do you view it as having significant differences?”

“The Office for National Statistics is an unusual one, with lots of different accountabilities. Who would you say that you thought you were ultimately accountable to?”

“To Government?”

“It is incredibly unfortunate that the Chagossians have not been given that opportunity—that is my view. Had we given them that opportunity, whatever the outcome, I would have had no problem honouring that because we are talking about their land; it is not our land.”

“There is an enormous challenge, as I am sure the right hon. Member is aware of from his many years working with the group, in the number of disparate voices. Crawley borough council had taken it on itself to work with the different community groups, helping them to come together and form a coherent voice, out of the be…”

“I congratulate the Minister on his appointment, and thank Ministers for the time they have given me to raise with them matters in relation to this Bill and for the responses they have provided to my questions. I can see no logical reason why the Government would go through the painful process of bringing this Bill to t…”

“I do not think Mr Baker was saying that the Ministerial Code ought to be handed over the House. The Ministerial Code has existed only since 1992. The expectation has been there for much longer; it predates anything that the PM may have in place. It is perfectly fine for it to remain with the PM, but ultimately we have …”

“I do not believe that either the Speaker or any member of this Committee has given any indication that we believe that a subsequent statement to the House means in any way that the failure to make the first announcement to the House is forgiven.”

“On that point, I do not see the relevance of the fact that the Ministers have a press conference organised or that they have gone off to visit somewhere. The convention is that the House has to be informed first. If the House has not been informed, in those circumstances, they should not hold the press conference or th…”