Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

7. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alister Jack)]

I have frequent conversations with Cabinet colleagues about maintaining and strengthening the devolution settlement and ensuring that the Government’s focus is on delivering for Scotland. It is important that all legislation clearly reflects the competence and roles of Scotland’s two Parliaments and two Governments.

[Greg Smith]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the key issue here is the need for the Scottish Government to exercise their existing powers more effectively, rather than asking for new powers or seeking to go outside the realms of the Scotland Act 1998?

[Mr Jack]

As my hon. Friend will know, we routinely engage with the Scottish Government on the use of devolved powers. It is in the interests of citizens across the UK for both Governments to operate within their respective powers, as set out in the Scotland Act. That is why I informed the Deputy First Minister back in March that I felt that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill and the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill contained clauses that were outside the competence of the Scottish Government. Sadly, our warnings and suggestions for changes to the Bills were ignored, so our Law Officers referred the relevant clauses to the Supreme Court. The Court agreed with our views on every count. I hope that the Scottish Government will in future work with us to ensure that their Bills respect the devolution settlement, so that we do not waste any more time and money when enacting important legislation.

G7 and NATO Summits

Greg Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 16th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will repeat the point I have made to many Opposition Members. This is an opportunity for UK farming and indeed for Welsh farmers. The right hon. Lady speaks with apprehension about 35,000 tonnes of Australian beef. We already import about 300,000 tonnes of EU beef. Australian farmers observe very, very high animal welfare standards, and they will only get completely tariff-free access after 15 years. After 15 years, we are going to give people in Australia the same rights of access as we give the 27 other EU countries.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

The recent agreements on cyber defence policy and technological co-operation announced at the NATO summit in Brussels will mean that the alliance remains as strong as ever when faced with new threats. Will my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister confirm that he remains utterly committed to NATO as the foundation of our collective security?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. NATO has protected the world, and particularly the European continent, for 72 years, and it was clear from the conversation around the table that it will continue to do so for decades to come.

His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

On behalf of everybody across the Buckingham constituency, I send my deepest condolences to Her Majesty and the whole royal family on the passing of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip.

I cannot add to the personal stories so eloquently told by right hon. and hon. Members, as I never had the pleasure of meeting His Royal Highness, but I want to put on the record my deep admiration for all that he achieved and sacrificed throughout his life—a life of service, charity and family. First and foremost, he will rightly be remembered for the incredible manner in which he has supported Her Majesty the Queen. In his own right, His Royal Highness completed 22,000 solo royal engagements. It has been wonderful to look through the collection of images from his various visits to Buckinghamshire published by the Bucks Free Press over the weekend. Likewise, constituents have been in touch with memories of the Duke attending the opening of the Anthony de Rothschild building at the University of Buckingham in 1996 and of a visit to Stowe in 2008.

Over his life, the Duke was associated with some 992 charities and organisations—too many to mention, but I highlight just a couple that I do not think have been brought out over the course of this afternoon. For 42 years, he served as president-in-chief of the British Racing Drivers Club, while his love of conservation led to his being patron of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation for more than half a century. While there have rightly been many references this afternoon to the wonderful Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, my constituent and Buckinghamshire councillor Sir Beville Stanier informed me of another scheme that he competed in that Prince Philip pioneered—the Duke of Edinburgh’s Trophy, a worldwide competition for service units, once more demonstrating how His Royal Highness sought to promote excellence and to encourage people to be the absolute best that they can be.

His Royal Highness was indeed a remarkable man, dedicated to public service. His passing is rightly mourned across the whole of our United Kingdom, overseas territories, the Commonwealth and worldwide. May he rest in peace, and God save the Queen.

Covid-19 Update

Greg Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 27th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Lady very much. I think it was Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, who put it best yesterday when he talked about the best thing that we can do for our NHS staff. She is absolutely right in what she says about the stress and the pressure that the NHS has been operating under in these past few weeks. The best thing that we can do is to keep this infection rate going down, to roll out the vaccination programme and, indeed, to make sure that all NHS staff are vaccinated. As she knows, they are in the JCVI 1 to 4 group and are our priority for 15 February.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

The roll-out of the vaccine has been a truly heroic effort by absolutely everybody involved, not least to remain on track to get the top four priority groups their first dose by the middle of February. Every vaccine brings hope, but there is also an incredible amount of anxiety in the country, not least among business owners unable to trade, and families juggling home learning with holding down jobs. I urge my right hon. Friend, as he looks at rightly lifting the restrictions, to be really clear with all our constituents precisely what “when the data permits” means, so that there can be absolute clarity on what needs to happen to lift each tier of restrictions.

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I will of course set all this out in the course of the next few weeks. What I can tell the House are some obvious things that the House can see for itself. We need to be sure that the vaccine roll-out continues to go at the pace, and with the success, that it currently is. We need to ensure that we are targeting all those groups, reducing the overall level of vulnerability in the population.

We need to ensure, clearly, that the vaccine is working—or the vaccines are working, because there are at least two now—in the sense that they are driving down the mortality rate in those elderly and vulnerable groups. We need to start to see that. There are promising signs from Israel. In this country, we have not yet seen the data that would help us to be absolutely confident of that point.

Then, of course, there are the pressures on the NHS and other important considerations—to say nothing of the very important economic considerations that my hon. Friend raises. I assure him that we will set out much more in the course of the next weeks to give reassurance and certainty, as far as we can, to all our constituents.

EU Withdrawal Agreement

Greg Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 9th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Far be it from me to prevent Liberal Democrats talking about whatever they wish to talk about. As I recall, the first person in this House to argue for an in/out referendum was the former right hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, and people in the Liberal Democrats are still calling for referendums. I am a traditionalist; I love the fact that the Liberal Democrats are consistent in their determination to ensure that, however many referendums we have, we must have more. I am sure that Gladstone, Grey, Harcourt and Chamberlain would all salute the determination of the Liberal Democrats to stay true to their tradition and, when everyone else has settled the question, to say, “Let’s reopen it.”

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on securing this agreement. It is absolutely right that it must be only the UK authorities that perform any checks. When it comes to the EU authorities supervising or observing, will he confirm that they will be paying for that and that they do not expect UK taxpayers to pick up the bill for their presence?

[Michael Gove]

It is absolutely the case that the EU will be paying for it. I hope that while people from the EU’s agencies are in Northern Ireland, they will take advantage of Northern Ireland’s wonderful hospitality as well.

Public Health

Greg Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 1st December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

When we debated the second lockdown, I wrote in my local paper that I had never felt more conflicted when it came to choosing how to vote in that, for locking down the country, restricting people’s liberties, freedoms and ability to see their own families was categorically not what I, or I suspect any Member of this House, got into politics to do. But I was persuaded by the case that our national health service could not become overloaded and overstretched and voted with the Government for that lockdown.

I am pleased to say that, in Buckinghamshire—I checked with the chief executive of Buckinghamshire NHS Healthcare Trust this afternoon—there are currently only five covid patients in critical care beds across our two hospitals. It is with that in mind that I look upon the tiered restrictions that we have in front of us today with some scepticism.

I know that there are no easy answers. I know that whatever Ministers decide they will be criticised for that and that there will be tough decisions to be made. I see the Minister for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Charnwood (Edward Argar), on the Treasury Bench. He and I have known each other for a long time and I have no doubt that he takes every decision—as do all Health Ministers—with incredible seriousness, but I urge the Treasury Bench this evening to look particularly at how we can get greater granularity into the way that we put tiered restrictions in place.

My constituents in north Buckinghamshire find themselves in tier 2 having gone into lockdown from tier 1. When I look at the Government’s own interactive map, I see infection rates going down in every single part of my constituency bar one, and the one that has gone up is by only three cases. So my constituents find it very difficult to accept a tiered system where, in the county of Buckinghamshire—the south touches London and Slough with high infection rates—north Buckinghamshire should be treated the same as the south. I am really worried about the economic impact.

Over the weekend, I was with a business owner in my constituency who rents out units to micro-businesses, and he told me that of the seven or eight units that he has, four businesses in those units have gone bust as a result of coronavirus restrictions over the past year. Those are business losses that will not be seen in the data at the moment. I appeal to the Government: as we have this review, let us have greater local decision making and get these restrictions as small as they possibly can be.

Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 25th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Of course we are not going to extend the transition period, but we want to make practical arrangements to help businesses in Northern Ireland. We have agreed, for instance, a one-year adjustment period so there is no disruption to the flow of medicines, and we have already launched a £200 million trader support service to help agrifood businesses and others. More details will be announced shortly.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Flood risk from new development is a key concern for many of my constituents, as highlighted by a case in Ickford, where developers promised that flood risk would be a once-in- 100-year eventuality, yet the village has flooded three times this year alone. With that in mind, will my right hon. Friend commit to seriously beefing up the way flood risk is assessed and treated as part of the planning process?

[The Prime Minister]

I have deep sympathy for Ickford in my hon. Friend’s constituency and the flooding it has suffered; I know Ickford. It is very important that local authorities follow the rules in making their planning decisions, as I am sure he would agree, and we are making a huge investment—£5.2 billion—in flood defences to protect the 300,000 homes at risk across the country.

Covid-19 Update

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As I have said several times today, Scotland has, at the moment, a slightly different approach. It retains a tiered approach, but furlough remains a UK scheme and available across the whole country.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Professor Karol Sikora of the University of Buckingham Medical School concluded about the first lockdown:

“Many seriously ill people stayed at home, they protected the NHS, but it didn’t save their lives.”

This week, with Macmillan reporting up to 50,000 people with undiagnosed cancer due to covid restrictions, what reassurances can my right hon. Friend give me that, if this House does vote for a second lockdown on Wednesday, the Government will do absolutely everything necessary to avoid a repeat of Professor Sikora’s devastating conclusion from the first lockdown?

[The Prime Minister]

I understand the point that Professor Sikora makes, and I also understand the concerns of everybody who has cancer or who has a family member who suffers from cancer or any other life-threatening disease. It is precisely to protect those non-covid patients and to give them access to the NHS that we cannot allow our health service to be overwhelmed, as it would be on the current projections. That is why we must take the action that we are taking now. I hope that he sees the point and why it is precisely because we want to help cancer patients that we need to take this action now.

Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2020 Commons Chamber

[David Duguid]

Yes, I can indeed confirm that. For the first time in 40 years, we will be free to decide who can access our waters and on what terms. Any access by non-UK vessels to fish in UK waters will be negotiated annually, as is standard practice in many cases between independent coastal states such as Norway, the Faroes or Iceland. We continue to engage with the EU constructively, but we will be making sure our position is understood. We will always defend our rights under international law, just as any other independent coastal state does.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on the ending of the transition period in relation to Scotland.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alister Jack)]

I have regular discussions with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on EU transition matters, including the end of the transition period and the benefits to Scotland of once again being able to control our own laws, our own trade and our own fishing waters.

[Greg Smith]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Does he agree that while it is outrageous that even last month the Scottish Government were wasting resources on fighting the battles of the past with regard to the transition period, the UK Government are focused on delivering the benefits of free trade not just for Scottish businesses but for all businesses in our United Kingdom?

[Mr Jack]

Yes, I agree. I think Scottish Ministers need to wake up to the fact that we have left the European Union and we will leave the transition period on 31 December. I know that the Scottish Government do not like the outcomes of referendums when they do not go their way, but this is another one we are delivering on.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

I passionately support the objective of making sure that there is IT fairness and that all kids have access to the technology that they need. We have rolled out huge numbers of laptops across the country to pupils on free school meals. But the most important thing that I think should happen now is that all pupils in year 6 should now be back in school, and it is still very disappointing that we have not had an unequivocal declaration of support for the safety of schools from the Labour party.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Enterprise zone status at Silverstone Park and Westcott in my constituency has been critical in bringing high-tech innovators to Buckinghamshire across 5G, rocketry, automotive and motorsport. Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating those wealth creators, innovators and entrepreneurs, and commit to extending their enterprise zone status and business rates relief period from 2021 to 2024 to ensure that they continue to be an engine of economic growth?

[The Prime Minister]

I will certainly look at the proposal that my hon. Friend makes, and I am sure my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will want to study it, but I also congratulate everybody involved with the Aylesbury Vale enterprise zone on the cutting-edge technology that exemplifies the very best of this country and shows the way to our future.

Veterans’ Mental Health

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Johnny Mercer]

I thank my hon. Friend for his contribution. I cherish any opportunity to get away from London—I was going to say this place, but that is too much—and I would be delighted to come on a visit and see that good work. There is some wonderful practice going on across the country, and I am absolutely determined to champion it.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I very much welcome all the work that my hon. Friend is doing in this field. Given what he said about strengthening the armed forces covenant, what steps is he taking to encourage universities to sign up to the covenant, so that our veterans do not face barriers when they apply for education?

[Johnny Mercer]

I want to be clear with my hon. Friend: there is no reason why any organisation in this country that takes public money cannot sign up to the armed forces covenant. There is no reason why somebody who has served or their family should suffer any disadvantage because of their service. Where that is happening, I urge people to get in touch with me. We are legislating to ensure that that cannot be the case, to put the power of the armed forces covenant into individuals’ hands and to make it really mean something.