Speeches by Green.

“Setting aside the trade union question, how often do procurement guidelines get reviewed and updated, or looked at? Annually? When there is a crisis? How often are they looked at in general?”

“On Friday, I met primary schools in my constituency that are accommodating in their classrooms children who they are not set up for. One school had to convert its library for two children for whom the main classroom setting is overwhelming, and a second had to do the same for its IT department. What reassurance can the…”

“May I draw you in, Matthew, if I may, about roles and responsibilities, in terms of who is responsible for what? What is the Department doing to clarify who is expected to do what in this process?”

“Yes. I have a quick question for Tim Moss, if I may. It is around those who have revoked their driving licence for medical reasons and are trying to renew it but waiting an unreasonable amount of time to get their licence renewed. Are you able to give the Committee an update on what the DVLA is doing to shorten the amo…”

“I wanted to follow up with Farhad and Tim, if I may. What are the other challenges in setting fees accurately? The NAO Report is very clear that His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has an estimated £8.4 million that could be claimed in refunds. I am keen to tease out, in your respective agencies, what the other …”

“You mentioned access to justice. Are there any trade-offs in the DVLA that you have to factor in?”

“May I ask you, James Bowler, for your reflections on how well the Treasury manages its function in overseeing how Departments are managing their charging?”

“I would be interested to hear from Farhad and Tim their reflections on how that interaction with the Treasury works in practice at present in terms of the guidance that they provide, whether they challenge what you say, or whether they provide any best practice or any templates to follow at present.”

“Nick, looking forward, what is the Treasury looking to do to help strengthen the arrangements to improve oversight of fee setting?”

“Is that not the case at present?”

“2. What plans he has to assess land use changes in applications for new energy infrastructure.”

“Residents in my constituency are concerned about a proposed site for a battery energy storage system on agricultural land in the green belt. With tales of similar storage systems catching fire, there is understandable fear in the community. Would the Minister meet me to discuss making local fire services statutory cons…”

“I have one last question, about the value of the BBC brand and how you leverage that. It must be nigh on impossible to put a value next to something as ephemeral as a brand. How do you leverage that brand in your commercial—”

“Going back a step, is that £1.5 billion target ambitious enough? If BBC Studios is doing as well as it seems it is, are you being ambitious enough?”

“I have quite a specific question for you, Tim. Will you commit to publishing the returns value from the commercial group each year, along with an explanation of how you calculate that figure?”

“Are you on track to hit that?”

“If trying to be the coolest is not the strategy, which may be a very sensible move, what practical steps are you taking?”

“Is there anything that you want to add to that, Leigh?”

“Can I ask about BBC Studios, Leigh? What does a five-year financial returns target of £1.5 billion mean in practice, and how is it measured?”

“What is your metric? How will you measure whether those actions are successful? They are quite targeted.”