Speeches by Munt.

“First, I should declare that my partner is a conservation farmer in Somerset. Having been Parliamentary Private Secretary to Vince Cable, the then Business Secretary who set up the Groceries Code Adjudicator, I recall his frustrations that the then Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer refused to grant the adj…”

“I really welcome the Secretary of State’s statement, and I am particularly keen that he looks at the multiple layers of sign-off and the bureaucracy that sometimes forgets patients are at the other end of it. Hospitals in England have had to rely on charitable fundraising to buy some of the most cutting-edge radiothera…”

“My constituent Jennifer, an American citizen, came here in 2018 on a spousal visa, which was renewed in 2022. She applied for indefinite leave to remain in May last year. The Government website says: “you’ll usually be told whether your application has been successful within 6 months.” It has been 10 months. Jennifer’s…”

“Could we check that, please? Do you know the answer?”

“I am the Member for Wells and Mendip Hills in Somerset, and all my declarations are on the website.”

“Are there courses that they then cannot take? That might be a question for Michala. I understand there are courses that prisoners may not study. What are those?”

“You are saying you need to find out where the dots are, and we do not even have that.”

“Is this just some prisoner officer going, “Can you read? Can you write? Can you add up?”?”

“I want to really understand, because I have misunderstood. I thought that an assessment was done by somebody who—you are shaking your heads; that is very alarming.”

“Could you write to the Chair about that?”

“I am checking my understanding of what was said in a previous session, which was, as prisoners enter the system, they are assessed. What does that mean? Is that just somebody going, “Well, I think you’ve got this; and I think you’ve got that?”, or are they professionals?”

“I want to reverse a little and go back to something you said about the assessment of special educational needs. If I am right, Victoria, you said that prisoners came in who had not been assessed but they told you what their experience was.”

“You are saying you need to find out where the dots are, and we do not even have that.”

“They can literally pick it up and take it with them, so they do not have the break.”

“You were talking about effectively gifting the kit—the equipment. Is that common, and can they take their equipment from one prison to another when they are moved? Does their kit go with them?”

“Is it free?”

“Not when you are in prison, when you are out.”

“You mentioned a helpline, do you run helplines that are free?”

“Might I assume that all three of you would want the lifting of that six-year rule?”

“I wanted to ask about the six-year rule, if I may. The previous Education Committee recommended the lifting of the six-year rule. Can I have your opinion on that—particularly yours, Michala?”