Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and Oliver Dowden

Thursday 18th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

T3. In light of the shocking revelation that only 2% of the tip-offs received by the Government’s covid fraud hotline are being actively pursued, can the Secretary of State explain to an increasingly despairing nation what steps the Government are taking to recover every single penny of that fraudulently claimed taxpayer money?

[Oliver Dowden]

That is precisely why we set up the Public Sector Fraud Authority and I can update the House that in its first year it met more than double its target. In addition, there are both civil and criminal investigations ongoing to bring every person responsible to justice if they have defrauded the taxpayer.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and Oliver Dowden

Thursday 23rd November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

1. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department during the covid-19 pandemic.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office (Oliver Dowden)]

The Cabinet Office played a crucial role in co-ordinating the cross-Government response to the pandemic, and we continue to learn lessons from it. Last year, the Cabinet Office published the resilience framework, an ambitious, wide-reaching and long-term plan that is already working to strengthen our national resilience.

[Mr Dhesi]

Those of us who lost loved ones during the pandemic have been left shocked and angered by the revelations being unearthed in the covid inquiry. They include quotes from the diary of the then Government chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, that the current Prime Minister thought

“just let people die and that’s OK”.

If that was not cruel enough, he was also overheard saying that Ministers should focus on

“handling the scientists and not the virus”.

Does the Secretary of State agree with me that this shows a shameful disregard for people’s lives and callous decision making at the heart of Government?

[Oliver Dowden]

I should say from the outset that I simply do not recognise that characterisation, but that is the whole point of the inquiry. This Government set up the inquiry, for the sake of the victims and the nation, to get to the bottom of what was an unprecedented crisis not just here, but around the world. We have been totally open and transparent with that inquiry. We have given it over 56,000 pieces of evidence. I would gently urge the hon. Gentleman to allow the inquiry to complete its investigations, to hear from all the witnesses and to produce its recommendations. As I have committed to that inquiry, the Government will respond fully to every single recommendation from Lady Justice Hallett.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and Oliver Dowden

Thursday 22nd June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

As ever, my hon. Friend is right. Indeed, the people of Lichfield deserve better and less industrial action. They are superbly represented by their Member of Parliament, who will continue to ensure that they get better than industrial action. I stand four- square with him.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

11. What recent assessment he has made of the reasons for which external consultants are used by the civil service.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and Oliver Dowden

Thursday 20th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to progress the fan-led review of football governance.

[The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Oliver Dowden)]

Football is nothing without fans, so it has been a joy to see them back cheering on their teams this week, and we stand unequivocally on the side of fans. Our manifesto committed to putting them front and centre of our review of football governance and we are delivering on that. That is why I appointed my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) as chair and, this weekend, I will announce the membership of the expert panel, which will include players, management, regulators and, of course, fans. This is a serious review; I know people want to see change and this review will deliver it.

--- Later in debate ---

[Oliver Dowden]

The hon. Lady mentions the governance structures in other countries. The terms of reference of the review explicitly say that we will be exploring

“governance structures in other countries, including ownership models, and whether any aspects could be beneficially translated to the English league system”.

The review will proceed at pace, as I set out in a previous answer, and we will then proceed at pace to implement any recommendations that follow from it.

[Mr Dhesi]

The greed of the super-rich club owners who wanted to destroy the football pyramid, which benefits everybody, and proceed with their botched plans for a European super league has been well and truly kicked into touch by the power and solidarity of football fans across our country, but this Government helped to create the crisis by ignoring Labour’s calls for years and by failing to progress with a fan-led review of football governance, so would the Secretary of State like to apologise on behalf of the Government for failures and missed opportunities and tell us exactly when the review will report back to this House?

[Oliver Dowden]

I do not intend to apologise. I would have expected the hon. Gentleman to welcome the robust action that this Government took, standing behind fans and standing alongside the nation, in stopping these outrageous proposals. On the fan-led review, while Labour has talked for years and years, it is this Government who are actually delivering on it.

Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Debate between Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and Oliver Dowden

Thursday 12th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

I am delighted to join the people of Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland in expressing that. This is the point about the jubilee: I hope that everyone across the nation will have their own way to show their thanks to Her Majesty, whether that is in street parties, celebrations or carnivals. Many ideas will come up through this process.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

I want to place on record my respect and admiration for the manner in which Her Majesty has served our country and beyond—her work ethic and sensibility in a life devoted to public service spanning an incredible seven decades, which puts the likes of me to shame. Given that our world-leading creative industries, including those in and around Slough, have been particularly hard hit by the covid pandemic, will the Secretary of State make every effort to ensure that they play a central role and that all their talents are utilised in celebrating the Queen’s platinum jubilee?

[Oliver Dowden]

I am very happy to give that commitment. I have been very mindful of the opportunities for the creative industries. Of course, it is not just the platinum jubilee. We also have the festival of the United Kingdom in 2022, on which I am working closely with Martin Green; that will also create many opportunities for the creative industries.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and Oliver Dowden

Wednesday 5th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

9. What progress the Government have made towards their target of spending 33% of central Government procurement with small and medium-sized enterprises by 2022.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Oliver Dowden)]

We are doing more than ever to encourage SMEs in public procurement. Recently published figures show an increase in spend from the previous year. Examples of measures that we have taken include streamlining procurement processes and improving transparency and, from September, we will be able to exclude suppliers that fail to pay subcontractors on time.

[Mr Dhesi]

Research from the Federation of Small Businesses shows that 25% of businesses that are in supply chains for public infrastructure projects experience late payment more than half the time. Along with the Government lagging dismally behind their target of spending 33% of central Government procurement with SMEs by 2022, is this not yet more evidence that they simply do not represent the interests of small businesses?

[Oliver Dowden]

I would have thought that the hon. Gentleman would welcome figures that show we are spending more with small businesses than ever before. On his point about prompt payment, we set a very challenging target of 90% of undisputed invoices from SMEs being paid within five days and we are meeting that for most Departments.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and Oliver Dowden

Wednesday 16th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Oliver Dowden)]

My hon. Friend raises a very important point. We are determined that the public sector uses technology to improve services. Indeed, just last week I announced the first GovTech challenges to help tech firms to create innovative, cutting-edge solutions to public service challenges. The first seeks to use artificial intelligence solutions to identify recruitment images that are created by Daesh and spread online.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

We are now in an unsustainable and inconsistent position whereby 16 and 17-year-olds in Scotland and Wales can be trusted to vote in local government elections, yet their counterparts in England and Northern Ireland are denied that right. Does the Minister agree that if we are to maintain the integrity of our electoral process, we must have equal voting rights across the UK?