Speeches by Hobhouse.

“Is it also a possibility to give the Committee more information ahead of the media?”

“The Department’s letters to the Committee are often simply a rehash of written ministerial statements. Given that we are a more informed audience, could you consider providing a bit more detail or analysis in these letters?”

“And here comes the slightly harder question.”

“Thank you. I am sure we can co-operate on this. I want to ask about this Committee. We obviously see the value of this Committee—we spend a lot of our time on it, and it is interesting—but we obviously want to be of value to the whole system. Secretary of State, what is the value of the Committee to you and your Depart…”

“Secretary of State, I hope you will look at the proposals from our leader, Ed Davey, about—”

“Very quickly—I will come to my set of questions—I want to raise what our leader, Ed Davey, pointed out last week. I totally agree with what you are saying about the need to get away from our reliance on fossil fuels, and therefore the Government’s strategy is to have more renewables. I absolute agree with that, but in …”

“In January you refused to publish the minutes of the clean energy mission board, saying that it was not practice for Government committees to do so. Might you commit to publishing the membership of the mission board, like Cabinet Committees do?”

“Another little softball is coming your way.”

“Maybe after this session you could get the comms guys on your mission board on the case to package that up for the public—we all hear the public crying out for some good news stories—and also to address the Richard Tices of this world.”

“Since we need more good news stories, is there anything—even if the detail cannot be published—that would allow the public to share a little bit in some of the success stories?”

“You are pointing to the fact that mission-led Government is about getting out of the silo in Government. What is the biggest disconnect in Government? You have mentioned the MOD, MHCLG—”

“It is so well known how damaging formal assessment can be for some children; their wellbeing should be at the forefront of our minds. I know that from primary school teachers in my Bath constituency. Is it not time that we completely scrapped SATs?”

“I warmly congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing this important debate, and I thank all Members who have contributed. Rarely do I have the privilege of being part of a debate in which there is such consensus, though we have not heard from the Conservative Front B…”

“I had to talk about cricket the other day and could not quite remember what bowling is, so instead I said, “throw a ball”! One of my young constituents has had virtually no meaningful education since year 1. Now nearly at the end of his primary education, he cannot cope with being at school at all, as he is traumatised…”

“I, too, wish Robert a happy next new adventure, Mr Speaker, and I wish Her Majesty the Queen a happy birthday. The removal of anti-dumping duties on e-bikes from China has raised serious concerns for UK cycle manufacturers, which are mainly small and medium-sized businesses. With similar duties on standard bikes and pa…”

“1. What steps he is taking to support small and medium cycle manufacturers.”

“The hydrogen debate, I think, is very much alive, particularly in aviation. You have not said anything about hydrogen in aviation, but you could ultimately be at odds with the industry. I know that Airbus, for example, is trying to develop a hydrogen plane. They have put off the decision a little bit, but they are stil…”

“Despite the growing need for green jobs—obviously, we are all in favour of making sure we have green jobs—fewer than one in 10 employees receive any dedicated green skills training, according to an OVO Energy survey. What can we do to support businesses, and what can the Government do to accelerate that important train…”

“Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, although beer duty seems to target large brewers, it quickly trickles down and hits the much smaller venues and brewers disproportionately hard?”

“Pubs such as The Grapes free house in Bath provide so much more than just being somewhere to drink or meet. They host cultural events and all sorts of things that otherwise could not take place, and that would be a loss to our community and cultural life. Does my hon. Friend agree that the small loss in beer duty would…”