Speeches by Baker.

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I congratulate the hon. Member for Exmouth and Exeter East (David Reed) on securing this vital debate. I want to make three points about Royal Mail performance that are of particular concern to my constituents in Glenrothes and Mid Fife, and particularly in the …”

“I warmly welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement. This is exactly the kind of initiative to tackle youth unemployment that employers in Glenrothes in my constituency asked me for just a couple of weeks ago. Can he assure me that he will work with Scottish agencies and the Scotland Office to ensure that the scheme…”

“This perhaps reflects points that Professor Williams made earlier in terms of a referral mechanism. Committees have an important role, but they have to, at the very least, draw on the expertise that lies in bodies and agencies outwith Parliament and ensure that there is strong collaboration with them to make that proce…”

“You have talked about the positive example of the HCLG Committee and the Grenfell inquiry. Did that give you any insight into the work that Select Committees can do to follow up the recommendations of inquiries that perhaps other mechanisms would not be able to achieve, particularly in Parliament?”

“Professor Williams, on your point about bodies such as the EHRC or the PHSO making the referral to the Minister on a decision not to hold an inquiry, I am struggling to see how that would be more impactful in terms of pressure than the referral being done via a Select Committee. Is it not the reality that, given the de…”

“Rosanna, I want to return to questions about the role of Parliament in the scrutiny and monitoring of implementation of inquiries’ recommendations. I think you have pointed out in your evidence that relatively few public inquiries are followed up by Select Committees. In fact, of the 68 public inquiries that took place…”

“Absolutely, I understand that. But I do not think that equates to political pressure or impact in terms of the decision overall. That is my point. Of course, Committees can tap into that expertise as part of the process.”

“Following last week’s welcome announcement of defence investment in Scotland, will the Minister provide an update on the plan to take forward Programme Euston at Faslane? Does he agree that the skilled workforce at the Methil yard in my constituency, which was saved by this Government, will provide excellent capacity t…”

“I am pleased to hear about the Minister’s positive dialogue with Scottish Ministers ahead of the vital elections in May. On the collective responsibility of political parties to ensure fair and safe debate, does he agree that there should be no repeat of the racist advert published by Reform last year, which attacked A…”

“Perhaps I will follow that up with David. How will Cat’s reflections on using AI to improve the understanding of the data feed into what you are doing this year, and what structures are in place now to ensure you routinely reflect on how to improve delivery?”

“It is good to hear about that progress. You mentioned the importance of gathering data to develop the system further. Reflecting on what you know now, what things do you think the Cabinet Office might have done differently to improve the quality of its data?”

“I appreciate those points, Cat, but I am certainly in touch with people in my constituency who have been in the cohort of affected people and are concerned about the length of wait they face. Why has the scheme still only been open to so few people in each of the cohorts? That is 60 people who have never been compensat…”

“Good morning, everyone. Cat, you previously told the Committee in April 2025 that the Cabinet Office needs “to make more payments and to learn more about the uncertainties that we have” so that we can “forecast and estimates can improve.” If that is the case, why did it take until mid-December to open a scheme to decea…”

“It would be good if the Committee could be kept updated on that work as well.”

“Finally, the review also found that current methodology cannot be scaled up for future cohorts without substantial intervention across multiple lines of operation. Some of the response to that may have been what you have just described. What does a substantial intervention look like in practice?”

“Thank you. The final issue I wish to cover is the recommendations from the independent review of the compensation authority, which was carried out in October. It found that IBCA was “only in the foothills of the work required” to scope, build and test elements of the service in terms of some of the most uncertain eleme…”

“The brutality of the Iranian regime is unquestionable, but does the Prime Minister agree with many of our constituents still in the region, who will be deeply concerned at the indication from the United States today that it will increase its airstrikes on Iran? Can he assure us that he will redouble his efforts to take…”

“That is an important point. In Scotland, education did not happen to the extent that it should have, and the Institute for Public Policy Research has made some recommendations. I therefore very much welcome what the Secretary of State said, but does my right hon. Friend agree that it is vital that colleagues in the Edu…”

“The hon. Lady is making an important point about the accessibility of elections for disabled candidates and voters. Disability charities have made the point that there is some way to go in ensuring that our elections are truly accessible for disabled people. Does she agree that it is important that the Bill does that?”

“I associate myself with the remarks about Jeane Freeman. Does my right hon. Friend agree that while oil and gas will play a vital role in the UK for decades to come, we have great opportunities for Scottish businesses in renewables, including at the Methil yard in my constituency, which is ideally placed to deliver ren…”