Work and Pensions Committee
17 June 2026
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Committee House of Commons
00:04 - 00:37
Speaker 2
Welcome to this Work and Pensions Select Committee evidence session with the Secretary of State, Pat McFadden, and his Permanent Secretary, Peter Schofield. Good morning to both of you and thank you for coming in. I'm going to start questions and first of all, I'd like to ask you, two years on since the general election and considering the priorities that were set by the government then, how well do you think we're doing?
00:37 - 01:30
Speaker 3
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Before I come to your question, I should perhaps draw the committee's attention to the fact that this will be Sir Peter's last appearance before you as a committee. I'd like to begin today's session by placing on record my thanks to Sir Peter for his many years' service to the civil service as a whole, but in particular to the Department for Work and Pensions as Permanent Secretary for about eight years now. He's been an absolutely magnificent public servant. He has led the department through many challenges, perhaps most specifically the COVID period when the country really needed help from the systems that we run.
So before coming to your question, I just wanted to say that.
01:30 - 01:56
Speaker 4
Can I take the opportunity, I was actually going to do it at the end, but I would like on behalf of the committee, we've worked over several years now, Peter, since I was a member of the previous select committee, but thank you on behalf of the committee for all that you have done and for your correspondence and support in a number of areas. So thank you.
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