Speeches by Gilbert.

“The changes that the report proposes to the law suggest that the active period ceases at the point of the verdict or guilty plea. Why were those thresholds taken, rather than continuing until sentence has been handed down?”

“I think that the appeals process is due to be covered in part 2 of the Law Commission’s report. Do you think that the threshold for contempt should be lower on appeals, given that the risk to them is lower, as they are often based on a point of law rather than on the facts, and they are heard before more senior members…”

“The changes that the report proposes to the law suggest that the active period ceases at the point of the verdict or guilty plea. Why were those thresholds taken, rather than continuing until sentence has been handed down?”

“I want to turn to the UK-Nigeria strategic partnership. How could that be developed further and strengthened? Mary, you have referenced women, peace and security, and Evelyn gave some ideas around WASH, but, in addition to that, how do you think we could help?”

“Andrew, is there anything you want to add?”

“Arjun, I hope you can hear us now. You were talking about funding and the instability of that—we got half of that answer. Would you give us the rest?”

“How secure is the funding to your organisation and to other UN bodies in Nigeria and the wider region for the coming years?”

“This is a question for Arjun. Could you briefly summarise the UNHCR’s work across Nigeria?”

“Andrew, is there anything you want to add?”

“I want to turn to the UK-Nigeria strategic partnership. How could that be developed further and strengthened? Mary, you have referenced women, peace and security, and Evelyn gave some ideas around WASH, but, in addition to that, how do you think we could help?”

“Arjun, I hope you can hear us now. You were talking about funding and the instability of that—we got half of that answer. Would you give us the rest?”

“How secure is the funding to your organisation and to other UN bodies in Nigeria and the wider region for the coming years?”

“This is a question for Arjun. Could you briefly summarise the UNHCR’s work across Nigeria?”

“This Government are embarking on delivering the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, working to provide income security for many in my constituency. I am not surprised that Conservative peers are blocking that in the other place, but will my right hon. Friend share the shock of my constituents that the L…”

“Gideon, what risks are there to the UK’s ability to deliver effective humanitarian and development work from a 20% reduction in staff?”

“You have touched on some of the risks in this strategy. Could you give some specifics where you think there are risks to the accountability of UK ODA under the circumstances? How could we mitigate some of that if that goes ahead?”

“What are the potential impacts on the lives of the extremely poor, should these cuts materialise?”

“If they have announced the compulsory redundancy, potentially, of 1,885 staff, there is a legal requirement for them to share that information with you, and to give you the rationale for the business case, for the trade unions to agree it. Otherwise, you are in legal territory, which will ultimately be your fundamental…”

“It would be good to see that structure—where vacancies currently exist, what they have managed to fill and what is still available—so that we can at least get a sense of what whoever is making this vision intends.”

“And has that happened?”