Contributions
259 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDErasmus+ ProgrammeAs I have just said, this is about apprenticeships as well as universities. The hon. Gentleman should write to me and the Minister for the Cabinet Office about how we can roll…22 Jan 2026HANSARDErasmus+ ProgrammeI know that the scheme has been welcomed at many universities, including Reading. I know that my hon. Friend has campaigned on this for a long time. In my constituency, Sussex…22 Jan 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI absolutely do. As I have said previously, Britain should become Britain’s biggest customer. We have a procurement budget of £400 billion a year. In my opinion, we do not use…22 Jan 2026HANSARDDraft Local Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments and the spirit in which they were intended. I think that there is good agreement on this issue, and I will discuss each of his four…13 Jan 2026HANSARDDraft Local Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Local Government (Exclusion of Non-commercial Considerations) (England) Order 2026. This order has a simple but…13 Jan 2026HANSARDTopical QuestionsI recognise the importance of this issue to my hon. Friend’s constituents. Amendments to Schengen rules are predominantly a matter for member states, but the Minister for the…04 Dec 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsSmall and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of our economy, and we are looking at reforming procurement rules to do everything we can to make sure that the £400 billion a…04 Dec 2025HANSARDTopical QuestionsAs I said in response to an earlier question, we are in the process of negotiating the EU youth experience scheme, which came out of the agreement secured earlier in the year. We…04 Dec 2025HANSARDEU Youth Experience SchemeAs I said, one of the tragedies of the deal the last Government did was that it excluded opportunities for cultural exchange, particularly for young people. We are going to change…04 Dec 2025HANSARDEU Youth Experience SchemeYes, I can. This agreement will make a real difference to jobs, maximising opportunities for young people and for cultural exchange. That is why we are working so hard on it, and…04 Dec 2025HANSARDEU Youth Experience SchemeMe again—it is not going to be all me, don’t worry! I am delighted to say that we have held several rounds of negotiations with the EU about a youth experience scheme, which will…04 Dec 2025HANSARDPublic Contracts: Trade Union RecognitionWe are going to bring forward plans, hopefully in the next Session, to reform procurement rules. A big part of that, as the Chancellor has said many times, is to help people to…04 Dec 2025HANSARDPublic Contracts: Trade Union RecognitionI personally think all businesses should recognise and work with trade unions. Our social value model, which we are reforming and will shortly strengthen, allows contracting…04 Dec 2025HANSARDPublic Contracts: Trade Union RecognitionThe Government’s social value model provides opportunities to reward suppliers that recognise a trade union or other forms of worker representation. We are looking at further…04 Dec 2025HANSARDEU SPS AgreementI understand that the Minister for the Cabinet Office has offered to meet directly with the right hon. Gentleman, the Chair of the Committee, on this—he will get back to the…04 Dec 2025HANSARDEU SPS AgreementAs you are aware, Mr Speaker, the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office is at a funeral today and is therefore unable to attend this session, so he has asked me to…04 Dec 2025HANSARD Government ProcurementI thank my hon. Friend the Member for Brent West (Barry Gardiner) for securing the debate. He raised a number of important and specific points, which I will answer shortly. If he…02 Dec 2025HANSARD Government ProcurementAs my hon. Friend knows, the Budget announced progress on that with the Motability scheme, and the Chancellor has spoken many times about the need to buy British. Hopefully, we…02 Dec 2025HANSARD Government Transparency and AccountabilityI was going to come to that. The hon. Lady has raised that point before, including on Monday.27 Nov 2025HANSARD Government Transparency and AccountabilityThat is true; the Department of Health and Social Care is the Department with the largest number of PQs submitted. It is taking action to improve its PQ performance, but it…27 Nov 2025