John Pugh: The Minister is in danger of sounding complacent on this subject. Many small and medium-sized enterprises in my constituency fear the end of solar. Has she had a chance to consider the Solar Trade Association’s £1 rescue scheme, and what is her response to it?
John Pugh: If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
John Pugh: I thank the Secretary of State for that response. He will recall the 3 million lives telehealth programme. Since then, it has all gone rather quiet on telehealth. What is the Government’s current strategy on telehealth and what pump-priming funding is there for it?
John Pugh: A lot of local authorities, including my Sefton authority in the north-west, are seemingly confused about their role. Is there anything the Minister can do to add clarity and hurry things along?
John Pugh: This is absolutely currently the most appalling bit of the motorway network anywhere in England. Has the Minister factored into his plans further economic growth in the north and the need to shift freight to rail?
John Pugh: rose—
John Pugh: If things are being accelerated, is there any chance of Liverpool being properly linked to HS2 before 2033, if ever?
John Pugh: Recent Government figures show that there is a 50% recruitment shortfall in design and technology. Is not there a case for urgent and special attention?
John Pugh: If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
John Pugh: Local education authorities are Ofsted-inspected, which is a good and rigorous system. What plans are there to inspect academy chains, by Ofsted or any other means?
John Pugh: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government agreed a city region deal this week for Merseyside without including the tidal and barrage schemes that were part of the bid. It was said that the Department of Energy and Climate Change was pushing back against them. Is that true?
John Pugh: It is just as well that our Scottish nationalist colleagues have left us at this point and are no longer interested in the development of the debate. One has to feel sorry for the FE sector in the UK. This is a country—Tomlinson notwithstanding—that does not really value technical education. Technical is normally seen as the opposite to academic, and being academic is not seen to require...
John Pugh: The Minister will know of the case of one-year-old Layla Richards, who was saved from leukaemia by genome editing at Great Ormond Street hospital. What specific help does he give for such hands-on pioneering work?
John Pugh: May I ask the Minister why his Department is keeping further education and skills out of the Liverpool city region deal? They are crucial to the Liverpool city region.
John Pugh: As the Minister knows, there is a long-standing chronic shortage of good planners and an over-reliance on consultants. Has he found any real solution to that problem?
John Pugh: Lamb aside, and without being too specific, is there not a possible policy conflict between promoting some regional foods and the Government’s anti-obesity strategy?
John Pugh: Given the rising trend of suicide in prisons, what advice is being given to governors to allay this serious problem?
John Pugh: There is a lot of crying wolf and worried bleating from the banks on this subject of ring-fencing. Is the Minister aware of any banks that have decamped to foreign parts because of it?
John Pugh: The Minister said towards the end of his contribution that the policy is all about helping disadvantaged children, but the burden of the debate did not suggest that the parents of disadvantaged children are particularly the parents who are having difficulty with the regulation.
John Pugh: The hon. Lady made a good point about 15% to 20% absence. Is she familiar with the DFE report that said: “The proportions of pupils achieving the expected level stay relatively similar for increasing levels of absence due to authorised family holidays, religious observance and study leave”? In other words, leave makes precious little difference when we are not talking about 15% to 20% absence.