Nick Smith
MP for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney · Labour · United Kingdom
“We had huge wildfires in the Welsh valleys last summer, so I welcome last week’s summit, which announced the UK’s first permanent military firefighting capability. When I met firefighters after the summer, I heard anecdotal reports that some fires were being started deliberately.”
House of Commons29 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Mr Speaker, I would like to add some words of thanks to the retiring Clerk of the House. I find Thomas Goldsmith to be a very sage official sitting at the heart of our organisation. It is my privilege to be a House of Commons Commissioner and Chair of the Administration Committee.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am happy to give my right hon. Friend a whiff, as we say in the valleys. Parliament is taking action to reduce single-use plastics across our estate. This includes removing plastic bottles of water from sale, eliminating about 120,000 of them each year.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“May I thank the Leader of the House and the shadow Leader of the House for their kind words highlighting the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan tragedy earlier this week? I welcome the Government’s commitment to creating employment opportunities for young people through the youth jobs grant.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As I have set out, Parliament has made significant progress in reducing single-use plastics across the estate. For example, to minimise the environmental impact, single-use plastic cups are now made from biodegradable material, and we do bags of stuff on composting.”
House of Commons22 October 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This summer, wildfires raged across south Wales and other parts of the UK. On one day alone, our emergency services received 1,000 telephone calls. Our South Wales fire and rescue service worked tirelessly alongside firefighters from across the UK.”
House of Commons3 September 2026Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
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“Paragraph 10 of the explanatory memorandum says: “No formal consultation has taken place on this measure.” The Minister said that there had been consultation in an earlier year with Guide Dogs and the RNIB. What did the RNIB ask the Government to do, and what have the Government done to support those organisations to help people to get around these obstacles on our pavements?”
House of Commons3 July 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Morpheus is a £3 billion next-generation defence communication programme. It is meant to replace the Bowman kit on Ajax vehicles and was originally set for introduction in 2025, but Ministers have recently said that a revised initial operating capability is “to be determined.” When can we please have a statement on the state of play and the delivery of Morpheus?”
House of Commons26 June 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Across our country, there is still the danger of millions like them being at risk of exploitation by bad actors in the financial sector. Financial inclusion should therefore be at the forefront of our regulatory framework. After all, consumers are our financial services sector. They need to have confidence in a regulatory framework that prioritises them and faith in our financial sector.”
House of Commons26 June 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I declare an interest: the Labour Treasury spokesperson in the other place is my wife, Baroness Chapman. I will speak in support of Lords amendment 10, which she moved in the other place. Financial inclusion is crucial to the regulation of financial services, so I urge the Government to reconsider their opposition to that amendment. The design, marketing and administration of financial products and the quality of financial advice have a direct impact on whether vulnerable groups are properly included in our financial system. Just last week, I met steelworkers who, once bitten, were twice shy about what to do next with their pension pots. They are smart and highly skilled, yet understandably they do not have the financial knowledge nor the right impartial support on their investment needs.”
House of Commons26 June 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“It is simple: the FCA faced the City of London, not the homes of vulnerable steelworkers in Ebbw Vale, Port Talbot and Scunthorpe. As parliamentarians, we found it hard to influence the dilatory regulator in support of our steelworker constituents, who deserved much better protection against the financial sharks. Having said that, amendment 27—in addition to the FCA’s new consumer duty—makes me a little bit hopeful that we will encourage the FCA to become more outward looking and capable of adapting to the changing needs of Britain’s consumers. I am more optimistic that there will be a different way of working; that oversight and scrutiny will be embraced; and that scandals such as the British Steel pension scheme will not happen so easily again. However, our fight for the proper protection of consumers does not stop there.”
House of Commons26 June 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I rise in support of Lords amendment 27. First, I thank the Ministers in this House and the other place for this important concession. I also express gratitude to those Members from all parties in this House and the other place who supported my campaign on this matter. We are all glad that there will be a mechanism for greater parliamentary oversight of our financial services regulators. The specialist insight from statutory panels on the performance of regulators will be invaluable, particularly on the Financial Conduct Authority’s fulfilment of its all-important consumer protection objective. To help take things further, I hope to meet the chair of the FCA consumer panel shortly. I will explain why the FCA’s handling of the British Steel pension scheme in 2017 was so very disappointing.”
House of Commons26 June 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“For over five years, I have campaigned on behalf of steelworkers who were part of the British Steel pension scheme. Many were ripped off by sharks posing as financial advisers. While a redress scheme is now in place, legal advisers for steelworkers report claim processing delays of six months at the Financial Conduct Authority, 12 months at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and two years at the Financial Ombudsman Service, which suggests that all is not right. Delays to cases can have a big impact on possible payouts, so will the Minister please look into the performance of those organisations? Steelworkers and other financial consumers deserve much better than this.”
House of Commons20 June 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Clear, accessible pension schemes information was a priority for former Chancellor George Osborne in 2016, but the pensions dashboard programme has consistently missed its deadlines to go live. This month the Minister announced a further delay, with a new connection deadline of October 2026. Could she please explain this consistent failure to meet delivery dates?”
House of Commons19 June 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The value of mortgage arrears has risen by a troubling 10% in the past quarter, so what is the Minister’s assessment of the likely level of arrears in the next quarter?”
House of Commons13 June 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There is a huge gap between the Government’s rhetoric and reality. The Minister just said that the net migration figure would return to pre-pandemic levels in the medium term, so can he please say what his assessment is for the net migration figure for the year ahead?”
House of Commons25 May 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Government must take action to avoid accusations that concerns are being swept under the carpet—£650 million from the public purse is at stake.”
House of Commons25 May 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“As a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I really value the work undertaken by the National Audit Office on behalf of our Parliament. Now, despite genuine concerns of financial shenanigans on Teesside, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has stopped an NAO study into the development corporation there. People may ask, “What’s Gove got to do with it?” [Hon. Members: “Very good.”] Thank you. The Teesside Mayor has previously called on the NAO to undertake an investigation, so to address parliamentary concerns, can we have a statement on the Government’s alternative proposal, and can any appointment include independent voices such as Amyas Morse, the former Comptroller and Auditor General at the NAO?”
House of Commons25 May 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Some £7.9 billion was wasted on useless and overpriced personal protective equipment; meanwhile, opportunists who saw the Tories coming are now profiteering on the back of the public purse. Does the Minister regret that this money was not spent wisely? Nearly £8 billion could buy us 20 new hospitals.”
House of Commons9 May 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“For this set of elections, bearing in mind they are taking place only in England, the Electoral Commission tells me that 250,000 to 350,000 people should have applied for a voter ID certificate. At the deadline, just 85,000 had been issued, despite the estimated £4 million advertising spend. Given that less than a third of voters requiring voter ID applied for this certificate, does the Minister accept that voter suppression has already occurred?”
House of Commons27 April 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for his earlier response, but can he say what longer-range weapons the UK will provide to Ukraine and when they will be supplied?”
House of Commons27 April 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Home Office’s treatment of sectors employing large numbers of migrant workers has been hapless for years, so can I press the Minister: by when will we see the generous offer that she has talked about today?”
House of Commons20 April 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Financial Services and Markets Bill is setting new parameters for the Financial Conduct Authority, but we are waiting for its Report stage in the other place. When steelworkers were duped by financial sharks, the FCA was far too slow to act. I understand that the FCA is also now renewing the rules on its consumer duties, which is welcome. However, after years of campaigning it is clear that we need proper oversight of the FCA. So, for clarity, may we have a statement on how Parliament will gain better scrutiny of our financial regulator and its duty to protect consumers across our country?”
House of Commons20 April 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The Minister talks up energy security but fails to prioritise onshore wind, the best value renewable energy. By when will the Government remove the ban on onshore wind?”
House of Commons30 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Oxfam estimates that one person is likely to die every 36 seconds in east Africa owing to food insecurity, but the “Integrated Review Refresh”, published yesterday, failed to acknowledge this unfolding crisis. Drought and famine have displaced nearly 2 million people in Ethiopia and Somalia recently. What further action can the Government take to support people on the ground and ensure that they can return home safely?”
House of Commons14 March 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Just 1% of those who are eligible have signed up to the voter ID scheme. It will take 10 years to issue the new ID to those who need it, but, with local elections just 10 weeks away, would it not make more sense to go back to the drawing board? The Government must come up with plans to boost voter turnout, not suppress it.”
House of Commons21 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I have just been looking through the House of Lords Library paper, “Horn of Africa: Projections of a famine in 2023”. It states: “The Horn of Africa is experiencing its longest drought in 40 years. Compounded by high food prices and political instability, this has led to 36.4 million people suffering from hunger across the region…Although a famine has yet to be officially declared, it is projected to occur in 2023.” How will cutbacks in the IFAD contribution affect the UK’s support for the horn of Africa?”
House of Commons20 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for her response. Will she tell me in detail why there has been, or what has happened, with the 44% reduction in the UK’s pledge to IFAD, and about its possible effect on what is going on with a probable drought in the horn of Africa?”
House of Commons20 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“This is my last contribution, and I thank the Minister for her response. I said “drought”, but I meant famine. I would be really grateful if the Minister could outline what resources are being made available to help with the famine in the horn of Africa.”
House of Commons20 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for giving way. I am just going through the explanatory memorandum to the draft Tax Credits, Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance Up-rating Regulations 2023. The consultation outcome on page 3, paragraph 10 says that there was no consultation because of the Treasury reviewing the rates. Families in these circumstances faced particularly high energy costs last year, so would it not be valuable, for fairness, for the Treasury or the Department for Work and Pensions to look at the other measures tackling high energy costs and their impact on families to ensure a fairer outcome for families from this important measure?”
House of Commons6 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I accept that there have been extra measures on families’ energy costs, and I welcome the increase by CPI, or 10%. My point is that there are other inflationary measures, including the higher energy costs, that this group in particular faces. Could those measures be looked at as part of the consultation, either now or in the future, given the extraordinarily high energy costs for such families?”
House of Commons6 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“There have been too many examples of misogyny and sexism in public services in recent times, so can the Home Secretary reassure the House that sufficient resources will be provided to clear out the worst offenders and help change the culture so we can once again have confidence in our important police services?”
House of Commons6 February 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Unboxed was a £120 million investment to celebrate the best of Britain. The Department reported in November that the figure for audience engagement was just over 18 million. That sounds a reasonable reach, but it turns out that a one- hour “Countryfile” TV special was doing the heavy lifting with 5 million viewers—nearly a third of the total. I understand that a wider evaluation is in hand, but does the Minister think that the festival made the impact that his Department intended it to, and can he ensure that this point is considered in the wider evaluation?”
House of Commons26 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“My hon. Friend the Member for Croydon North (Steve Reed) identified the issue of poor data management of high-risk former offenders. What are the Government doing about that?”
House of Commons24 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for giving way; it is very generous of her. I was interested in what she said about free face-to-face advice on improving water quality. Can she tell us more about exactly who will be able to provide that advice and how many advisers there will be across the country? We would like some understanding of the important public service support for this initiative.”
House of Commons23 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I asked the Minister for an idea of the number of face-to-face staff who would be able to help our farmers across the country produce good-quality water, but she was not able to answer. Does my hon. Friend agree that it would be good to have an assessment from the Department of the number of people who would be needed to support our farmers across the country to prevent poor-quality run-off and ensure that we have better water for the future?”
House of Commons23 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“New onshore wind has been stymied since 2015, even though it is our cheapest renewable. Shire-counties conservatism has been put ahead of our national interest; weak policy has undermined the UK’s energy security, leaving us wide open to international shocks. Does the Minister not accept that all this has helped to cause family bills to skyrocket?”
House of Commons17 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“On possibly tweaking the scheme, last week I visited a housing scheme for older people in Blaenau, where constituents with private pensions were complaining of increased energy costs of 400%, or £50 a week, just for heating the common social areas. The housing association complained that none of the Government’s energy schemes is of help to the organisation, so it had to pass on the costs. Will the Minister please meet me to hear those important concerns?”
House of Commons9 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“The British people also deserve to know the profits, commissions, dividends and big bosses’ bonuses being made on the back of public money. We need measures that financially penalise those who benefited from the public contractors’ PPE super-profits, but when a company changes its identity multiple times, that is made much harder, and the other route—recovering money through the courts—is very expensive and hugely time consuming. What measures will the Government bring forward to deal with those PPE profiteers and their like? We need a Bill that mandates open accounting of public contracts and shines a light on the vultures that prey on the public purse. We need a Bill that allows us to properly follow the money.”
House of Commons9 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“For example, payments from the Department of Health and Social Care were made to Unispace Global Ltd, but in 2021, it transferred its contracts to a new company, Unispace Health Products LLP, which now trades as Sante Global LLP. Private Eye says, however, that the companies’ accounts do not feature anywhere near the £600 million paid to them, which begs the question: why this chicanery? Will the Bill deal with such shenanigans? I welcome the introduction of a single central Cabinet Office online platform—that is quite a mouthful—but it should go further and include a publicly accessible dashboard for Government contracts. In that way, we can track delivery and performance, make contractors truly accountable to the people, and close the loopholes that profiteers enjoyed.”
House of Commons9 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“That meant that the Department for Health and Social Care could not fully understand the contract management risks it was exposing itself to. Therefore, the sheer scale of Government waste is not just explained by global markets pressures; the UK Government’s failures must also be acknowledged. After all, the PPE scandal has seen £4 billion of taxpayers’ money wasted on unusable equipment and now £2.6 billion-worth of disputed contracts. I am specifically concerned about contracts awarded to Unispace Global Ltd, which won more than £600 million of PPE contracts during the pandemic. It is extremely difficult to follow the financial paper trail: a look at its manoeuvres, and the chopping and changing of its directors, raises big questions.”
House of Commons9 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome this Bill’s aims of openness, effectiveness and transparency. A third of public expenditure—£300 billion—goes on public procurement, so we must get this right. Unfortunately, though, the Government’s record here has been undermined by the PPE scandal. I do understand that exposure to fraud was a risk during the panic of the pandemic and that the global PPE market was highly competitive. However, big mistakes were made, and billions have been wasted. The National Audit Office has done brilliant work on tracking the Government’s covid spending. Its investigation into the management of covid contracts in March 2022 found that 46 of the 115 contracts awarded to the Government’s VIP lane did not go through the Government’s due diligence process.”
House of Commons9 January 2023Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I congratulate the Minister on his earlier remarks about seeking to improve the performance of the FCA. Many people on both sides of the House want that to happen. It is pleasing that the Treasury Committee will hear information on reporting from the consumer panel of the FCA; however, a number of financial scandals have affected the constituents of Members across the House in recent years. While I hear what the Minister says, I am really looking for a greater opportunity to challenge the FCA through its consumer panel than he has so far suggested, but I hope that we can work together to strengthen that point.”
House of Commons7 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“New clause 10 would require the FCA’s consumer panel to lay an official report before Parliament. We could then judge whether the regulator is fulfilling its duty to protect consumers. During my 12 years in this House, I have learned many things, but one thing stands out: parliamentary scrutiny matters. I am pleased to have support from across the House for the new clause—from our Labour Treasury team, senior Conservative Members, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, Treasury Committee members, other colleagues and fellow members of the Public Accounts Committee. By supporting our new clause, Britain’s consumers could be better heard, and our financial services sector would be all the better for it.”
House of Commons7 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We found that: “The FCA failed to take swift and effective action at all stages of the BSPS case.” It failed “to prevent consumers from being harmed”, which makes clear the “limitations with the FCA’s supervisory approach”. The point is that the FCA took proper notice of this injustice only when Parliament, through the NAO and eventually the Public Accounts Committee, dug deep to investigate. Of course, the BSPS case is not the only example of the FCA’s failure to protect consumers in recent years; I have heard many complaints from Members across the House. The scandals surrounding Blackmore Bond, Dolphin and Azure come to mind. Consumers are our financial sector. As long as the FCA fails to exercise its powers to protect ordinary workers, it will continue to fail our constituents.”
House of Commons7 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Friend the Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) and other campaigners, I continued to press the FCA. In 2020, I wrote to its newly appointed chief executive, however Mr Rathi did not want to meet. He asked one of his directors to meet us instead. Later, in 2021, frustrated with the FCA giving us the cold shoulder, I wrote to the Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office. I asked if it would please investigate the FCA’s oversight of this terrible scandal. Fair do’s, the NAO did that, and it published its full report in March this year. It observed that in the summer of 2017: “The FCA had limited insight into…what was happening in the BSPS at the time of its restructure.” There were terrible things going on. Even more damning were the conclusions of the Public Accounts Committee.”
House of Commons7 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I rise in support of new clause 10, and I am pleased to have worked alongside the hon. Member for The Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) on it, as fellow members of the Public Accounts Committee. Since 2017, I have worked with others supporting steelworker pensioners across Blaenau Gwent and the United Kingdom. Thousands of them fell victim to financial sharks. They were wrongly advised to move out of their defined benefit British Steel pension scheme. It took until last Monday, five years later, for the Financial Conduct Authority to announce a redress scheme. It was about time. The FCA righted those wrongs, but I think too late. Early on in the campaign, I remember meeting the then chief executive of the FCA, now the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, where I was met with a lacklustre response. Along with my hon.”
House of Commons7 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“We should support the motion as long as the long tail of covid costs continues. The covid contracts need to be cleared up, and the Department of Health must come clean.”
House of Commons6 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“In my experience, in recent months they have been trying to dodge questions on the continuing cost of PPE. Last month, I asked the Secretary of State for Health how much unused PPE had been donated, sold, recycled and incinerated since the start of the pandemic—no answer yet. I also asked when he planned to publish the forecast of the cost of resolving the ongoing contractual disputes we have heard a lot about today—again, no answer yet. There are disputed contracts worth £2.6 billion with 176 companies. That amount could buy us seven new hospitals. It is important that the Government pursue this money, so all power to their elbow. However, I think transparency on their processes could help this cause, because the more we all understand, the better we can hold the bad actors to account.”
House of Commons6 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“Reports suggest that it has accounted for its profits through different companies from those known to the Department, so it is impossible to see how much money it has made. That information is shrouded in secrecy due to our feeble accountancy laws, but the taxpayer deserves to know who is profiting from contracts awarded by the Government with public money for the public benefit. It is high time that this PPE treasure hunt came to an end. We need full, open accounting for covid-19 contracts. These companies should be made to publish full details of their income, profits, commissions, dividends and big boss bonuses. The Chancellor should then consider a windfall tax on their super-profits. The Government could also learn a lesson in transparency.”
House of Commons6 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I was going to go on to some other data, but we just heard an update on that that still works out at, I think, about £128 million a year if we round it up over the year ahead, which is half the cost of a brand-spanking new hospital. That is a disgrace. We have heard about the modern-day pirates whose business accounts have been almost impossible to trace and track. Thanks to The Sunday Times , we know about a network of companies with connections to Conservative lobbyists, one of which is Sante Global, formerly Unispace Health. Private Eye deserves a medal for digging deeper: its “Profits of Doom” special highlighted how Unispace Global won PPE contracts worth nearly £700 million—Richard Brooks is a fantastic journalist.”
House of Commons6 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I rise to support the motion on PPE, which has become a terrible tail of waste for our country. First, having purchased so much PPE, the taxpayer is now paying to store and, as I have discovered, burn a great deal of it. Secondly, a band of profiteers, some of whom took advantage of their political links, exploited our country’s desperation. Many of those opportunists used chicanery and secrecy to make eye-watering profits. Now, the UK Department of Health and Social Care is withholding information on the cost of staffing its contractual battles with some of those PPE suppliers. I will address the continuing cost of PPE storage. A Government response to questions I asked last month said that the Department currently holds 13.2 billion items of PPE and the cost of storing that is a staggering £770,000 a day.”
House of Commons6 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for giving way. He attributed comments to me that I did not make, and I just want to put that on the record. I do have a question for him: does he accept that excessive profits have been made on the back of some of these PPE contracts?”
House of Commons6 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I am pleased for Cumbria, Mr Speaker, but just 10% of Blaenau Gwent has access to gigabit broadband, compared with a 72% UK average. The swift roll-out of Project Gigabit will be essential for levelling up across our local economy, so will the Minister please ensure that areas with the least coverage, such as Blaenau Gwent, are prioritised first?”
House of Commons1 December 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I thank the Minister for giving way. I wonder whether he could talk a little more about why the report on the geographic spread of businesses would not be of value to our country. There was a very good National Audit Office report on the creation of the UK Infrastructure Bank published in June this year. One of its recommendations was that the bank should “further develop its understanding of where infrastructure needs are greatest so that it routinely informs investment decisions and prioritises them.” Surely such geographical reporting would help the bank with its work.”
House of Commons22 November 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗
“I welcome the Minister’s undertaking to come back with a different date for the laying of a report before Parliament. It is the reporting to and scrutiny of Parliament that is important in this instance, not least because, these days, recent Parliaments have rarely run to four years, although that used to be the average for a Parliament. I hope that the Government will look at a date that will allow each Parliament in the realm to consider the work of the bank. In the very good NAO report that was published in June, as one of its key findings, it said that “At the end of May 2022, the Bank had made five deals”. Can the Minister update us on how many deals had been made by the bank up until, say, October this year?”
House of Commons22 November 2022Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0Source ↗