Office for the Impact Economy

Debate between Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury and Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent

Wednesday 17th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury (Con)]

My Lords, I did not quite understand the Answer the Minister gave to the noble Lord, Lord Rook. I have gone to the website and I understand that the Office for the Impact Economy is going to act

“as a ‘front door’ for … impact economy relationships and general strategic relationships and … delivery relationships”,

all through a “huband spoke model”. Can the Minister explain in plain English what it is going to do?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, I praise the civil servants that are genuinely communicating well in this space. With regard to the hub-and-spoke model, the Office for the Impact Economy is based in the Cabinet Office, working with civil servants across the departments that will be able to help deliver it. We are trying to create a one-stop shop for philanthropists, social enterprises and social purpose-driven businesses so they know one place to come, and then it is up to government to be able to facilitate what they need. We are talking about potential investment— as was established by the report published last month— of £106 billion of assets; £42 billion is already being spent on government priorities. This is to make sure everyone is swimming in the right direction by providing a one-stop shop. I hope that provides a level of basic English for the noble Lord.

Ministerial Code

Debate between Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury and Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent

Wednesday 26th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for his question. I seem to remember that, when the previous Government were in government and since, they have accepted donations from supporters. It seems to be normal that people would want to support a political party; it is a normal part of our politics. My noble friend is absolutely right: to my knowledge, there has been no such representations from the Conservative Front Bench criticising Mr Kogan’s appointment based on his ability to do the role.

[Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury (Con)]

My Lords, is there not in place an automatic system within government that, when a public appointment is being made by a Minister, checks whether a donation has been made to that Minister or to their political party in general?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, there is a system in place. The Commissioner for Public Appointments undertook a report to find out what has happened in this case and found that the Secretary of State acted in good faith. However, the processes have since been strengthened.