Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 11th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Jeremy Quin)]

One of the things that depressed me about leaving the Ministry of Defence was the fact that I would no longer be across the Dispatch Box from the right hon. Gentleman and his worthy campaign to make certain that, in defence in particular, orders go to UK companies. He is right, and the Government absolutely accept that many areas of our national life must, for defence and security reasons, be provided by UK companies. However, there are huge advantages to working internationally as well, including in the sphere of defence. He knows the answer: from Typhoon and F-35 to Type 31 orders, we can do both.

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

T7.   Government agencies such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the Passport Office, Natural England and the Environment Agency among many more take major decisions that affect the lives of our constituents and businesses based in our constituencies. Delays and inefficiency are causing no end of problems. Will the Minister outline what actions are being taken to improve the efficiency and accountability of Government agencies?

[Jeremy Quin]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We constantly have efficiency reviews, and those will continue, and we work closely with the Treasury to make certain that the customer on the ground gets the right service and that that happens as cost-effectively as is humanly possible. That is how we managed to get £3.4 billion of savings through the system last year. We will continue to work at it. It is a huge task, but we are absolutely committed to driving those savings and good service for the customer.