Speeches by Carling.

“That is a useful perspective. I noticed on the EIC website that the terms of reference that set it up are very short, but also very broad. I suppose that gives you a lot of space. Do you think that gives you the flexibility to examine different issues or does it create a problem in focus?”

“That is useful. How do you approach considering wider issues where they are primarily within a particular body’s remit? As an example, there is a lot of concern sometimes around the appointment process to the House of Lords and whether that is working, whether there are enough independent Members coming through the HOL…”

“That network and those links, are they strong enough to mitigate the risk that, without the direct exposure to the types of issues that are coming up—either regularly or just those that are more topical based on the kind of current political situation or whatever it may be—the EIC could almost have a bit of a specific …”

“On those inquiries, given the status that we have just talked about and the EIC’s positioning, how are you able to make sure that recommendations are implemented? What mechanisms are available to the EIC to follow up, to track progress, and to challenge where the Government are not implementing recommendations? Where a…”

“To return to some of the topics we discussed earlier around the other bodies that the EIC interacts with, I just have a few more questions around the network and the way that that is working. First of all, the network of ethics bodies has been formalised now with the formation of the EIC from the CSPL. What change woul…”

“That is really helpful. Do you think there is scope for a wider range of bodies to be included in that network or is it about where it needs to be?”

“That leads me on to ask: is there a space, or a requirement almost, then, for Parliament to do more of their inquiry tracking type work, and looking at what you have recommended and what the Government have implemented and trying to dot the i’s and cross the t’s? Yes, that way around. I have your terms of reference her…”

“That is useful. Just one final question then for now. The Government have a broader agenda to try and reduce the number of public bodies and to streamline and have a more efficient and effective system. Of the regulators and standards bodies that we have, the one that always stands out to me quite a bit is the Registra…”

“Would my hon. Friend join me in commemorating the life and legacy of Alan Dowson? Until very recently, he was a councillor in my constituency. He was first elected in 1971, and served as a Labour councillor for most of the intervening years. He was 19 years old when he was on Christmas Island, and he was one of the vet…”

“I would like to move on to a couple of questions that have come up about AI. First, the use of the algorithmic transparency recording standard has recently been made mandatory across Government Departments and its arm’s length bodies. Although the PHSO is an independent body accountable to Parliament, I do not suppose …”

“Secondly, I refer to a point that Rebecca mentioned earlier about people who are dissatisfied with a complaint outcome and send you 20 pages of details. We get that too, so I can sympathise. How are you dealing with and getting around the impact of that? Are you going through it all, or are you saying, “Look, this clea…”

“In the meantime, how do you deal with cases where you get a huge dossier of information around why you need to revisit your decision or whatever it may be? Are you are going through that in great detail?”

“You have been very clear that demand for your service is continuing to rise; there are various reasons for that, and research is ongoing. Is there any sense that this could be due to a rise in the underlying problem of maladministration, or is that not the case?”

“I look forward to seeing that. If it is indeed the case that public services have seen more maladministration and more underlying problems despite all the recommendations you are giving them to improve, why is that happening? You can decline to answer if you think it is best to wait until after the research concludes.”

“We have just been talking about the public value model. How are you measuring the impact of that model on your service delivery and outcomes?”

“I, too, will start by agreeing with a member of the Opposition, specifically the former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. He was quoted as saying that under his own party, our armed forces had been “hollowed out”.”

“The shadow Secretary of State says, “Under successive Governments”—that includes his own, for 14 years. It is not often that I agree with Ministers from the last Government, but the former Defence Secretary was absolutely right. The smallest Army since the Napoleonic era, a record 13,000 complaints about defence housin…”

“The hon. Gentleman has just made a point about the concentration of defence investment in the south-east. Can he remind us where Trident is based?”

“I am not 100% sure what point the hon. Gentleman is trying to make, but he has put it on the record. There is a huge amount of drone activity going on, and a lot of ways in which that needs to be dealt with. I am heartened by what this Government have done so far, including, to name just a few achievements: the largest…”

“What I am very happy to say about defence spending is that when we last hit 2.5%, it was under a Labour Government. The right hon. Gentleman’s party failed to do so throughout their time in office. Although it has been quite entertaining in some respects watching old marital woes play out on the Opposition Benches toda…”