Speeches by Baker.

“We now have online registration for postal voting and more and more people seeking to vote by post. What do you think are the longer-term challenges in how we facilitate postal voting?”

“A diminishing number of suppliers who can provide a service is an structural problem that we are going to have to address. How can we make it easier for both suppliers and administrators? As you will have seen, the Electoral Commission has come forward with a number of recommendations around the current deadlines for p…”

“Do you think more reforms can be made, in addition to those already recommended by the Electoral Commission?”

“Finally, what do you feel has been the experience of the electoral administrators of Royal Mail’s role in the electoral system? We saw how Royal Mail took significant action to respond to the situation in Scotland, which I know was praised by the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, but clearly there may be differe…”

“8. What steps the Church has taken to respond to the recommendations set out in the Makin review, published on 18 October 2024.”

“The urgent need for independent scrutiny of the Church’s safeguarding procedures was highlighted both by the Makin report and by the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse. What are the current arrangements for independent scrutiny of safeguarding following the dismissal of the Church’s independent safeguarding bo…”

“Do you think there is good evidence that these changes will make the system more robust and effective in the future?”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. In my one minute, I will talk about a real opportunity for my constituents to boost our renewable sector through the investment that has been outlined in the Budget, and also through the crucial decision made by colleagues in Government—through the hard work of th…”

“Jackie was talking about reforming the timetable of elections. Your report on this election makes a number of proposals around making rules for reissuing postal votes more flexible, and other forms of early voting have been discussed today. How optimistic are you that these reforms can be brought in ahead of the next U…”

“Very quickly, I declare an interest in that I used to work for the learning disability charity, Enable, which worked with the commission to provide information to people with disabilities, particularly on requirements for voter ID. Vijay, you mentioned the work of the RNIB in this area, and their report, “Turned out”, …”

“Given the situation in Scotland, which affected John’s constituents, as he said earlier, and people in my constituency who, on polling day, did not have their postal ballot, I think that the Chair’s question is very important. You said that there was responsibility in government in Scotland to ensure that the contract …”

“Merry Christmas, Madam Deputy Speaker. This is a great Christmas for Methil. I thank the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, the Secretary of State for Scotland, and all those in Government who have worked so hard to secure this deal, which has saved 200 skilled jobs and apprenticeships at the Methil yard in my …”

“One of the weaknesses of the streaming companies is regional and national news coverage and programming. For BBC Scotland, at the moment 99% of the licence fee paid by Scots is invested in Scotland. That is a really important and positive aspect of the current licence fee arrangements that must be protected as we move …”

“It is indeed, thank you, Mr Chair.”

“There is a willingness there, anyway, to engage and ensure we have the right information?”

“Do you see the communiqués as providing enough information to Committees like us to scrutinise the operation of the structures?”

“I meant in the sense of what is being discussed at the meetings, and what the programme of deliberation is?”

“Do you think that the current system for intergovernmental relations has sufficient transparency to allow the Committees of Parliament to scrutinise its discussions and decisions? And would you commit to sharing agendas ahead of meetings with this Committee, and accounts of what was discussed, so that we can inform our…”

“Absolutely, but there will be issues where there are disputes and disagreements, I am sure. Over the last Parliament there were significant disagreements over the interpretation of the Equality Act, certainly with the Scottish Government, which ended up in the Supreme Court. There was great disagreement over the implem…”

“In terms of the frequency of meetings, do you think that these structures are meeting frequently enough, is it about right at the moment?”