Christina McKelvie: I am delighted to join Marie McNair in praising the commitment of Thomas Cox and Linda-Jane Paterson, and the Clydebank writers group, for their dedication to the art of creative writing. Funding for writers is available through the Creative Scotland open fund for individuals, which can support a period of research or development and/or delivery of a creative activity for up to 24 months....
Julian Lewis: ...the then Leader of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset (Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg), from whom we heard at length this afternoon, in the run-up to the debate about Owen Paterson. At that time, the Privileges Committee had produced a report with a very strong sanction. I had been shocked that that process had continued after Owen Paterson’s wife had committed...
Baroness Scott of Bybrook: ...up with the leading educational charity, Speakers for Schools, to organise a series of school talks by inspirational public figures with Windrush connections, such as Basil Watson and the actor Paterson Joseph. Available in person and online, these have the potential to reach of thousands of pupils across the country. As we moved through the debate, starting with the noble Baroness, Lady...
Florence Eshalomi: ...that taxpayers’ money is spent in the right way. We cannot and must not have a repeat of the back-room deals that we saw during the covid pandemic. The public expect their money to be spent in an open and transparent way, and they expect the value for money that comes with openness and transparency. We know what happens when that is not the case. I have referred to this figure before,...
Wendy Chamberlain: ...to the Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, as she departs her role at the end of the year, and thank her and her team for their efforts to date. Several hon. Members have brought up the Owen Paterson vote in November last year. Part of my own compunction to table the application under Standing Order No. 24 after that debate was driven by the importance of understanding—given that...
Maria Caulfield: ...championing the value of listening to patients to seek improvements to patient safety around the use of medicines and medical devices. Pelvic mesh In April 2022, the ninth specialist mesh centre opened in Bristol. Women from every region now have access to the specialist support services they need, including pain management, psychological support and surgical mesh removal. As of October...
Brendan O'Hara: ...correspondence and all the communication between Ministers and special advisers relating to the awarding of that contract is that they do not want to create a precedent that would require them to open the Pandora’s box that is the VIP lane for PPE procurement. However, the Minister would do well to remember that there is another precedent here. The similarities between today’s motion...
Chris Bryant: .... Obviously, I would have preferred it if we were dealing with the whole of our report. She referred to how she wants to achieve consensus. We on the Committee think that we have done so, we are open to discussion, but there are some issues I want to raise. First, we want to ban the provision of paid parliamentary advice, including providing or agreeing to “provide services as a...
Chris Bryant: ...I said, “You’re mistaken—it is not the servility in public life award that I got.” I want to talk about three things today: first, the independent adviser on the ministerial code; secondly, openness, which is just one of the seven principles of public life; and thirdly, the new code of conduct recommended by the Committee on Standards, which I chair. I have always thought that the...
Aaron Bell: ...and it could threaten our families, so we must set an example in this place. I will touch on standards briefly, because I made my views known on this in the debate that we had after the Owen Paterson affair. We cannot have one rule for us and another for everybody else. We must do better. We need a clean start on estate culture. There have been exposés in the papers about staffers getting...
Margaret Hodge: ...who wants to uphold democracy, defend integrity and restore trust. It is not just about partygate, dreadful though that was, nor the failed attempt to defend the indefensible behaviour of Owen Paterson, nor the abhorrent culture of tolerating bullying and sexual harassment from political allies; these contribute to a loss of confidence, but they do not stand alone. There is also the...
Wendy Chamberlain: ...so well and given us all a history lesson. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Wirral West (Margaret Greenwood), who is no longer in her place, for rightly noting next year’s event, when the Open goes to England, to Royal Liverpool. I am also grateful to the SNP spokesperson, the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands). I got more history—Paterson is my...
Maria Caulfield: ...we aim to do that. It is also important to learn the lessons when things go wrong. We want to make, and are making, changes to the culture of the NHS, to learn from mistakes and to be honest and open when mistakes happen. There are legal requirements in place. All regulated healthcare professionals in the UK must hold adequate and appropriate indemnity to be able to practise. Healthcare...
Fleur Anderson: ...PM too.” The second focus of the motion is the endorsing of the report by the Committee on Standards in Public Life and its 34 recommendations. Back in September 2020, the committee’s review opened with the publication of terms of reference. The starting point was that the existing systems were not fit for purpose and were being increasingly scrutinised and criticised. They were not...
Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate: ...politics. It is manifestly clear that the Home Secretary should fight the police’s corner, but unfortunately many officers feel that she has let them down. The Police Federation recently wrote an open letter expressing a lack of confidence in the Home Secretary, which shows how strained relations have become. There is an understandable and strong belief that the police are not valued by...
Pete Wishart: ...account what the electors expect of us as Members of Parliament. The hon. Member for Rhondda was right that our code of conduct and standards have never been so much in the heat of public light and open to such inspection and even controversy. I congratulate the Committee on dealing with the issue in the heat that has been turned on it just now. I suppose we know exactly the moment, day...
Paula Barker: ...Government, that when it comes to actual good governance they fall short of that marker. Perhaps it is as a result of the cumulative effect of those scandals— certainly on the back of the Owen Paterson debacle—that these issues are starting to pick up traction. The issues of waste, fraud, fast-track procurement processes and contracts that did not deliver are all interconnected. They...
Matt Western: ...of politics. For that reason, the Nolan principles, established in 1995, serve as a fundamental, concrete basis for everything that we do. Selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership were and should be our guiding principles. Put simply, “we need all in positions of trust to set an example.” Those are not my words, but the words of every...
Owen Thompson: ...a global pandemic steps need to be taken and everybody recognised that steps needed to be taken that are not necessarily in line with the normal process, but the UK Government employed a VIP lane open to Government Ministers and members of the Government party that was not open to anybody else. Contracts were handed out through personal contacts, WhatsApp exchanges and paid lobbyists for...
Chris Bryant: ...land, we considered the matter, as judges would and as many tribunals would. I would just say to the right hon. Member that he voted for a motion that, I am afraid, did not close the matter on Mr Paterson. It left it completely and utterly open—deliberately so—and, indeed, Mr Paterson still asserts that he is innocent and that, if he were a Member, he would do the whole thing all over...
