Speeches by Green.

“5. What steps she is taking to help support creative industries.”

“Communities such as Chalfont St Peter have suffered appalling circumstances in recent years, including flooding and sewage bubbling up through the drains. Thames Water has promised capital investment to address these issues. What assurances can the Secretary of State give that customers will not be asked to pay the pri…”

“Are you therefore saying that you feel that there are not any barriers to managing that flexibly, and that you are comfortable that you have the tools you mentioned?”

“So I should come back in two years’ time and ask you the same question.”

“My question is about long-term budgets. Paragraph 2.19 of the NAO Report notes: “DSIT recognises that, in some cases, setting long-term budgets” is the appropriate thing to do. Given that recognition, I am keen to understand why you have made such little use of long-term budgets so far.”

“Before I ask Alexandra to come in, is there a threshold that a project needs to meet, or were the criteria that you referred to widely known and widely understood?”

“May I ask UKRI a follow-up question? You have greater flexibility over how you use your budgets compared with other Government Departments. Are there any barriers stopping you managing that money on infrastructure more flexibly?”

“That is really helpful.”

“In the here and now, we have the five of you in front of us, who are working and collaborating. However, would an independent body not be a repository of institutional memory, in a way that what you are currently describing is not?”

“I would like to turn to trust and transparency. Carl and Gareth, based on the pre-panel session we had earlier in the week, we would be interested to hear what feedback you have received about the level of transparency in the claims process and what steps you are taking to address that feedback for your respective clai…”

“But you have looked into it.”

“I should declare an interest: I chair the cross-party group that is campaigning for redress for victims of surgical mesh and sodium valproate. It is important that I put that on the record. The Hughes report was commissioned in the previous Parliament by the Department of Health, which asked the Patient Safety Commissi…”

“What do you mean by allocations now happen within six weeks? I have submitted my claim—what does that mean?”

“I would really like to take you up on that. Thank you very much.”

“And that is an active conversation you are having at the moment?”

“Q8. Yesterday, at an event here in Parliament, I spoke to women whose children suffered avoidable harm after they continued taking the epilepsy drug sodium valproate during pregnancy. Doctors knew the risks and patients were not informed, and that has had devastating consequences. I am sure that the Prime Minister woul…”

“Not only are small businesses facing increasing energy bills, but they are dealing with prohibitive costs in connecting to the grid when they want to expand. These businesses want to grow, invest and create jobs, and we should be helping them, so what is the Department doing to bring down the cost of grid connection an…”

“20. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of providing further support to businesses with the cost of energy.”

“20. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of providing further support to businesses with the cost of energy.”

“Not only are small businesses facing increasing energy bills, but they are dealing with prohibitive costs in connecting to the grid when they want to expand. These businesses want to grow, invest and create jobs, and we should be helping them, so what is the Department doing to bring down the cost of grid connection an…”