The Public Accounts Committee has today published a report on the Government's Progress in remediating dangerous cladding.
Three years after the Grenfell Tower disaster in which 72 people lost their lives, only a third (155 out of 455) of high-rise buildings with Grenfell-style flammable cladding due to be fixed by now have had their cladding replaced with a safe alternative.
The Public Accounts Committee published a report on the Government’s response and preparedness for the pandemic. I was astounded that the most senior civil servant (Permanent Secretary) at the Treasury, Tom Scholar, conceded that the economic implications of a pandemic were not considered during pandemic preparations in 2016.
Failure to plan is planning to fail. Read the full report here.
As Chair of the Public Accounts Committee it's my job to make sure the Government spends our money wisely and strategically.
See me explain my role and click here to find out more about the committee's work.
As Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, I’ve been raising concerns about the roll-out of Universal Credit.
Local authorities are spending millions cleaning up the Government’s Universal Credit mess.
As Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, I've repeatedly raised concerns over Ministry of Defence spending. See our most recent report by clicking here.
Today I again challenged the Government over its plans for yet another defence review.
The Government has announced that the management of all offenders will be transferred to the National Probation Service. This comes just five years after Chris Grayling introduced a programme of privatisation whilst Secretary of State for Justice.
The Public Accounts Committee, which I chair has repeatedly highlighted the flaws in the privatisation model, the management of the contracts and the lack of resilience.
The railway franchising model is broken, and passengers are paying the price
The PAC has repeatedly raised concerns about the current franchising model; it has been challenged in the courts and we see few bidders for each franchise. All clear signs that there is a problem.
Last week I spoke at a Guardian event on how we can protect the NHS from future cyberattacks, following the WannaCry attack in 2017.
The event brought together health service leaders and influencers to consider how best to protect vital NHS systems and services.
As many of you are aware, Universal Credit has rolled out in Hackney this month and replaces six other benefits with a single monthly payment. However, the introduction of Universal Credit is causing unacceptable hardship and difficulties for many people in Hackney and across the UK.
If you live in Hackney and need any advice on what Universal Credit will mean for you, visit the Hackney Council website https://www.hackney.gov.uk/universal-credit for useful advice.