Speeches by Blake.

“I want to follow up on the engagement with local authorities and whether there is a challenge around skills. Is it not also the case that there is a challenge around the scale of investment and what investors are particularly looking at? You started to allude to it in terms of regional mayors. Mr Dharampal-Hornby, you …”

“Are there any actual barriers to local authorities building those partnerships at the moment? What is standing in the way of that happening right now? Is it more the organic identification of projects that happens in that local space that is holding people back?”

“The UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association has talked about a risk of crowding out private finance if we do not get this right. Why would a big infrastructure project go to the National Wealth Fund rather than a bank in order to get finance?”

“You said that at the end there might have been too much Government investment into it. It is really important: this is public money. There are two big risks to it. One is a waste of public money, and the other is the opportunity cost for other schemes or public services that could be invested in. What is the moment at …”

“To pin you down on that, you think that there needs to be a national prospectus of investment opportunities.”

“In welcoming further clarity, who are the best people to communicate that to business? Is it that the National Wealth Fund, GB Energy and the British Business Bank need to be working more closely together, or are there opportunities across other Departments? Whose role should that be in terms of navigating those differ…”

“At the moment, with the organisations structured as they are, is there a risk of competition between these organisations for either business relationships or projects?”

“What does that clarity look like to you? Does it look like an individual who can combine the different opportunities, or does it look like a statement?”

“It sure is.”

“The National Wealth Fund does not in and of itself give policy certainty. A National Wealth Fund—you talked about signalling what the opportunities are—can also derisk. That is part of a portfolio approach. Are there examples of work that has been done so far, or things that you want to see happen, where derisking has …”

“Nothing would need to change policy-wise for that to happen.”

“Planning policy would need to change—”

“In terms of the operational processes of the National Wealth Fund, though, nothing would need to change.”

“At the point where we have this ideal world and this prospectus, and we can go out to attract business investment, is there clarity in the investor world about the different opportunities coming from the National Wealth Fund, GB Energy and the British Business Bank?”

“The Minister will have heard what the shadow Minister said about the Conservatives’ pride in Brexit. It seems to me that they are proud of the terrible Brexit deal that they delivered and completely unable to bring forward any constructive ideas. They have managed to set out five red lines, but does the Minister agree …”

“My constituency has the most leaseholders in the country. I commend this Government’s work to give leaseholders the accountability that they should have. Will the Leader of the House support me in inviting the Minister responsible to come and talk to the leasehold action group here in the Cities of London and Westminst…”

“3. Whether he is taking steps to limit increases to water bills.”

“Roberto, one of my constituents, has seen his water bill go up by nearly 45% in the last two years, and other constituents have contacted me to say that their bills have nearly doubled in that time. I am pleased by what the Minister said about holding the previous Government to account for their failure to invest in in…”

“In terms of the potential scale of harm, do you think that the platforms are taking proportionate action? If you think about that possible consumer who has experienced harm and has no current resource, do you think the platforms are taking proportionate action at the moment?”

“We have just seen how international this finfluencer phenomenon is. Someone could be a so-called finfluencer in another jurisdiction influencing behaviour in the UK, where FCA guidelines and rules are a factor. What powers do you have to take action on somebody who is operating from a jurisdiction outside the UK?”