Business of the House

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Thursday 9th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to the SNP spokesperson.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

It has been an interesting week, and certainly bumpy at the start, not just for the Leader of the House. There was much to-ing and fro-ing, pushing and pulling—and that was just the tug of war on Tuesday night. I congratulate him on his expert coaching of the men’s MP team in their success over the lords at the annual Macmillan tug of war. I also congratulate the women’s MP team on their success over the baronesses. Such events are often a bit of fun, but they give us an opportunity to support and highlight the extremely important work that groups such as Macmillan Cancer Support do and to do our wee bit to help with that.

I echo the comments of the shadow Leader of the House, the hon. Member for Bristol West (Thangam Debbonaire). After weeks of hold-ups and delays, we have constituents who are desperate to secure their passports but who are coming up against brick wall after brick wall. Members and their staff are doing everything they can to try to help and support them, including sitting in queues in Portcullis House for days on end to try to get answers. That is not good enough. We are quickly approaching the school holidays, which are only three weeks away in Scotland, and we expect demand for such things to be exceptionally high. Can we please have a further statement on what more can be done to address those delays? Folk have been waiting for years to get away and have a break. It is not too much to ask that they should be able to do that in a sensible way.

I agree with the hon. Member for Buckingham (Greg Smith) about the urgent need for further action to address the cost of living crisis. Prices are going in only one direction. I recognise that the Government have taken some action, but a lot more clearly needs to be done.

Finally, will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Allyson Dobson of Dalkeith High School, who was named headteacher of the year 2022 this week at the Scottish Education Awards? That is brilliant recognition of her work. Teachers across the board play such an important role in all our lives, as we grow up and beyond, so it is brilliant to see such recognition and I congratulate Allyson on that achievement.

[Mark Spencer]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support in the tug of war team; he is certainly a huge part of that team. [Interruption.] As am I, I hasten to add. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) says that he was sacked from the team, but other weighty individuals were available in his stead. As the hon. Member for Midlothian (Owen Thompson) said, it was important to support Macmillan Cancer Support. It was a cross-party event and it was great fun, as well as being for a very good cause.

The hon. Gentleman went on to talk about passports, which is another important issue. I understand that people are stressing about the summer holidays. They have a right to a summer holiday; we are coming out of covid and people want to get away. That is why we have employed 650 additional staff since April, with 550 more arriving by the summer. The good news is that the vast majority of passport applications—91.2%—are being processed within six weeks or less, but that does leave some people waiting. If he has individual cases that he needs me to highlight with the Home Office, of course I will do that.

The hon. Gentleman went on to mention that the Government have, I think he said, given some support to people with the cost of living challenge. I think £37 billion is some support, and I hope he would recognise that that is a huge package, brought forward by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to support people. We are in a global fight against inflation, following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and we will continue to wrap our arms around and support people through the challenges we face.

Finally, of course I join the hon. Gentleman in supporting his headteacher, Allyson Dobson. I pay tribute not only to her, but to teachers up and down the country who are doing great work to educate the next generation.

Business of the House

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Thursday 24th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Deputising as the SNP spokesperson, I call Owen Thompson.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

I echo the comments of the hon. Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden) in sending my best wishes to the shadow Leader of the House, the hon. Member for Bristol West (Thangam Debbonaire), and in remembering Keith Palmer and all those who keep us safe. The Facebook memories from five years ago that I saw a few days ago were quite something. I also echo the comments about on the ongoing tragedies in Ukraine.

The cost of living crisis is fast becoming a catastrophe for millions of families. The Resolution Foundation has found that the number of people in absolute poverty in the UK is expected to rise by 1.3 million next year. Having heard the Chancellor’s leadership pitch yesterday, can we now have a statement that actually details a financial package to offer meaningful support to pensioners, the disabled, people on benefits and those struggling on lower incomes who currently have to choose between heating and eating?

It is nine months since the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman confirmed the WASPI women’s claim that the Department for Work and Pensions was guilty of maladministration, yet nothing has happened. Can we have a debate in Government time to detail a timetable to properly compensate the women affected? We have also heard reports that there are plans for further aid cuts through the international development strategy, so I would be grateful if the Leader of the House arranged for a statement to be made to clarify that position.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford) has been heavily involved in securing the safe passage of the Dnipro kids, who have gratefully made their way here, but many others have not been as helpfully supported. When can we have a statement from the Home Office to outline a change of direction that shows a generosity of spirit similar to that it managed to find with the Dnipro kids, so we can finally end the requirement for visas and make it far, far easier for others fleeing Ukraine, as has happened in other European countries?

Finally, with the change to Monday’s business, I am very grateful personally to the Leader of the House and to the Backbench Business Committee for the rescheduled debate on the armed forces compensation scheme war pension. It is indeed my own debate and I take this opportunity to encourage all Members to take part in it.

[Mark Spencer]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place. It is a pleasure to be able to accommodate him on Monday. He is twice the man of the usual SNP spokesman, I think the House will agree. I am grateful to him for his comments about Keith Palmer and for once again expressing the unity across the House in our response to Russia.

The hon. Gentleman talks about the Government’s approach to tackling poverty and he is right to do that. I hope he recognises that the best way out of poverty is through work and for that work to pay, and for those people who are in employment to pay as little tax as possible. That is what the Chancellor set out yesterday when he reduced the amount of tax for those in the lowest paid employment. In previous Budgets, he set out a reduction in the taper levels for universal credit, so people retain more of their income. That is the right approach to fiscal responsibility and to ensuring the economy continues to grow, so that we can afford to pay people who are in employment more money and they can retain more of their wages. That is the right way to approach people working their way out of poverty and we are making great progress in that direction.

The hon. Gentleman went on to talk about refugees and made reference to the airplane with the children on, which I hope has now landed. I congratulate him on his role in securing that safe flight for those individuals. Of course, there is more we can do and we continue to do more. We in the United Kingdom are actually one of the most generous nations in the world when it comes to supporting refugees. We have an excellent programme, which is available to support as many people as possible coming here. We are opening up to nearly 100,000 school- children, who will receive support through the education system. At the same time, we also have a great package of humanitarian support, as well as military support, going to Ukraine, and I think that is the right balance. We are playing our part and we are leading the international community in doing that.

The hon. Gentleman made reference to a debate on the armed forces on Monday, which I think we have granted. I thank him for his questions.

Business of the House

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

Yes, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that we will protect up to five hours for all stages of the Bill under the business motion. Second Reading will be brought to a conclusion after three hours, and remaining stages after a further two hours.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

I echo many of the comments of the shadow Deputy Leader of the House, the hon. Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden), particularly as I have an interest in this. I was very grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for allocating to me the debate on the war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme payments, so I have a personal interest in when that might be reallocated. I am sure we will find out in due course when the Backbench Business Committee will have that time reallocated, because the House will be looking to hear about both of those very important issues.

I am encouraged to hear that there will be sufficient time tomorrow, but I definitely want to hear more about how the Bill can be looked at in more detail and be amended, because that is not yet entirely clear.

[Mark Spencer]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions. As I say, the business of the House motion will be taken first thing tomorrow morning. It will set out how the Bill can be amended and the time allocation so that the Bill can be fully scrutinised in the House tomorrow.

Business of the House

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Monday 28th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

It is not for me to encourage my hon. Friend to amend Government business, but of course there will be a Bill coming very shortly which he will be able to scrutinise. He will understand that the House is making very rapid decisions on trying to tackle a very aggressive action in Ukraine by a very desperate leader in Russia.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

I echo the comments of the shadow Leader of the House, the hon. Member for Bristol West (Thangam Debbonaire), and the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone). I think everybody recognises that things are moving very, very quickly and at very short notice, but at the same time we all want to be constructive. Therefore, as much notice and as much sight as possible on any kind of sanctions and statutory instruments would be very much appreciated, I think, by all Members, if the Leader of the House could bear that in mind. I absolutely recognise the situation, but it is not a lot of time for Members to prepare for what they would hope to be very detailed scrutiny of such important sanctions.

[Mark Spencer]

I am sure the House will recognise my enthusiasm to be here earlier was evident, but unfortunately business went on late, which is why we are doing it at this time.

Business of the House

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Thursday 3rd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

First of all, this Government is made up of a collection of the finest, best apples that has ever been seen anywhere in the world. They are the Beauty of Bath, the Cox’s Orange Pippins—the best and finest that a costermonger could ever have on his stall.

To come to the point about Russian money, as I said earlier, should a further Russian incursion into Ukraine happen, allies must enact swift, retributive responses, including unprecedented sanctions. We have very tough laws against dirty money, and they are enforced.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

I know that the Leader of the House places great importance on the honesty and integrity of Members. More than two years ago, during the election campaign, the Prime Minister gave a categoric assurance that members of the mine-workers’ pension scheme would receive the moneys back from that pension scheme, so could we now have a statement to tell us when that is going to happen, given the length of time they have had to wait and the importance of this issue for ex-miners in my constituency?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this point on behalf of his constituents. It has been raised before by other Members, and I have been following it up with the relevant Department.

Business of the House

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Thursday 27th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The provision of defence support to civil authorities in the UK is governed by a robust and well-defined set of principles, set out in a publicly available joint doctrine publication. Those principles ensure that defence assistance is the last rather than first resort when responding to operational challenges. That is essential in order to preserve defence capabilities for defence outputs wherever possible and to reduce the risk of legal challenge from commercial providers, which may otherwise have reasonably expected to tender for contracts from the requesting authority. Defence maintains a standing network of joint regional liaison officers across the country to maintain relationships with civil authorities, provide potential advice on defence assistance, and facilitate requests when they meet the required principles. Any request for defence assistance should be referred to the joint regional liaison office.

I fear that that is not an enormously helpful answer, because the issue is that defence assistance is a last resort. However, I hope that raising the issue in the House will put a little bit of extra pressure on Denbighshire County Council to get on with what it should be doing in relation to the bridge.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

Last week I raised with the Leader of the House issues relating to war pensions and the armed forces compensation scheme, and I thank him for his actions in support of the points I made. Since then I have been contacted by dozens of other veterans who find themselves in similar situations. In the past week I have also received from the Ministry of Defence an answer to my written question asking how many veterans are giving up on the process because of the situation in which they find themselves. Unfortunately, the answer was:

“This information is not held in the format requested”,

so the MOD does not even know how many veterans are giving up on the process of trying to get compensation or uplifts to their war pensions as a result of injuries or traumatic experiences from their time serving in the forces. May we have a statement on that and on how we can make sure that the MOD does in fact have accurate records of the situation of all veterans?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that point. It is important that written answers are as helpful as possible. It is always possible to seek the advice of the Table Office—it is exceptionally good at this—to work out how to rephrase a question in order to get around an initially unhelpful answer so as to get the information requested. If the hon. Gentleman is not able to do that, or is not successful in doing so, my office will be more than happy to seek fuller answers than he has got so far.

Business of the House

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Thursday 20th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am in entire agreement with my hon. Friend. It is noticeable that, under the covid provisions, an awful lot of bus lanes seem to have gone from being for set times to 24 hours a day, even when they are not being used for a large chunk of the day. What he says about 7,800 fines for 39 feet of bus lane raising more than £442,000 is a swindle. Once again, the poor, hard-pressed motorist is being abused by councils that dislike motoring. The Conservative party is the party of the motorist. Yes, bus lanes serve a role during peak hours, but opening them for 24 hours just to turn them into a milch cow seems quite wrong.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

My constituent Garry McDermott has been trying to resolve issues with his war pension for a decade, having sent crucial documents to the Ministry of Defence 50 times, but they repeatedly go missing. I understand there are 1,500 pages missing from his evidence bundle. Garry is just one of thousands of veterans facing similar issues, which are driving many into poverty and increasing the risk of suicide. I know all hon. Members have huge respect for veterans, so does the Leader of the House share my anger that the current system for claiming war pensions and armed forces compensation payments is far too complex and non-transparent and is driving veterans to give up altogether? May we have a debate in Government time to consider fully the need for an independent inquiry into the failings of the current process?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

It is not always right to draw conclusions about a whole system from one case. The hon. Gentleman raises the case of Garry McDermott, who has sent in his papers 50 times over 10 years, with 1,500 pages going missing. I will certainly take up the case with the Ministry of Defence if he sends me more information, as it is important that systems work well not just in theory but in practice for individual constituents. I view it as very much the role of the Leader of the House to try to facilitate redress of grievance, where that is possible.

Business of the House

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Thursday 16th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Before I bring in the SNP spokesperson, may I also wish everybody all the best for Christmas and a peaceful new year? I thank all the staff of the House for the tremendous job that they have done. Without them, the House would not work, so it really is appreciated. I must also put on record a big thank you to my team in Speaker’s House. I hope that the Speaker’s secretary is soon fit and well and back at my side, but I have certainly got good cover at the moment. Just to gently tease the Leader of the House—I have a very good working relationship with him—he is absolutely right that this House matters, so let us make sure that Ministers come here to be held to account.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

I join the shadow Leader of the House and the Leader of the House in sending Christmas wishes to all staff of the House, all Members and, in particular, my team in Midlothian and the SNP Whips Office, who have done a remarkable job over the past year. It has been a difficult time for many, and we are lucky to have so many willing staff really looking to go that extra mile to support all of us in everything that we do. So many in this place and beyond—I think of all the public services and local government—have done so much over the period. With that, I wish everyone a happy Christmas and a guid new year.

On how this place works, though, I agree with the shadow Leader of the House that we must look at how we can take account of the current covid situation. I know the Leader of the House’s views about the need for us to be here, but we must look very closely at how we work, because having so many Members in one place at decision time while trying to maintain the highest possible level of safety for Members is challenging. Beyond that, with the rise in cases of the new covid-19 variant, a number of Members will have to be isolating because of either contact or having tested positive. This week alone, a significant number of Members have had to withdraw questions—three SNP Members had to withdraw questions from Prime Minister’s questions—so an extraordinary number of Members will be affected. Apart from my personal thought that it would be far better if we were much more flexible anyway, we need to look closely at that, given that Members will have to isolate and the significant impact that that will have on how the business of the House can be conducted, even with testing in place.

The earlier Treasury statement seems to have caused a wee bit of confusion. My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens) asked about the questions sent by the Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes to the Chancellor to get clarity about Scottish Government funding, and he did not receive a sensible answer, if I can put it that way. If the Leader of the House can do anything to encourage a response from the Chancellor to Kate Forbes, that would be very much appreciated.

Finally, let me take advantage of the season’s goodwill to make a pitch for my hon. Friend the Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart). Come on! He should be the right hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire. Can we please do what we can about that? With that, I wish the Leader of the House all the very best in the inevitable leadership contest that is upcoming.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman. What he is asking for for the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) is not within my gift, but may I wish him particularly a very happy Christmas. He is a great sparring partner in this Chamber, even if somewhat grumpy at times. He is also very good company privately. I hope that he is in good health.

The key issue that the hon. Member for Midlothian (Owen Thompson) asks about is funding for Scotland. It is worth pointing out that there is: a £4.6 billion per year average funding boost to Scotland through the Barnett formula; the announcement of a more than £170 million levelling-up fund for eight Scottish projects; £42 million for Scottish fisheries; £1.9 billion for farmers and land managers over the next three years; £1.5 billion for 12 city and growth deals, including more than £500 million for Glasgow, £300 million for Edinburgh, £125 million for Aberdeen, and £53 million for Inverness and the highlands; and new funding for the British Business Bank to establish a £150 million fund for Scotland. This is really important in showing the strength of the United Kingdom together and the amount of money that, as a United Kingdom, we have been able to afford, which is in addition to the £1.7 billion that the Scottish economy has benefited from, dealing with 620,000 self-employment scheme claims and 910,000 jobs that have been on the furlough scheme. This country is better and stronger together. Working together, having the strength of the UK taxpayer, has been essential to the benefit of Scotland, but also to Wales, Northern Ireland and England. We all benefit through our United Kingdom.

As regards issues around the workings in this House, every effort is made to ensure that this House is working safely. We are in the same place as the nation at large. We are people who need to come to work, so we are therefore right to come to work. As the hon. Gentleman will remember, at the very beginning of the pandemic, when there was a total lockdown, we did things differently, but I do not think that that is the current situation.

Business of the House

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Thursday 9th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

May I join the hon. Lady is paying tribute to those who helped, particularly the Riverview Bakery? The mere thought of the cakes they may provide is making me hungry. The point she raises is very serious. As it happens, one of my oldest friends was caught by this storm and had no power for over 10 days —he was made my oldest and coldest friend, I think, during that period. Electricity companies have a very serious responsibility to get power back to people who have been affected. That is what electricity charges are paid for: to ensure there is a robust system of repair when things go wrong. Everyone knows that from time to time storms come in and cause damage to power lines. The service that was provided was simply not good enough. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has made a statement and there was an urgent question.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

The Leader of the House will know that on a number of occasions I have asked him questions on transparency. Today, I want to ask him from a slightly different angle. I recognise that local government is devolved, but we have a situation in Midlothian where the Labour-led Midlothian Council has overturned years of community consultation over the siting of a new Beeslack High School—my old high school, as it happens. In June, a document was made public and taken down within minutes. At three subsequent meetings, private reports have been taken and no indication has been given to any public member about the site of the new school. May we have a debate in Government time on the importance of transparency at all levels of government?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I find myself in considerable agreement with the hon. Gentleman. Local councils must be transparent about what they are doing. Transparency is beneficial for government most of the time. Obviously, we cannot give away the nuclear codes, but beyond that the more people know and the more people understand, the more we get better government. Also, the more people know, the more willing they are to support things. Midlothian Council may have found the best site possible and it may be supported by everybody, but if it is not willing to tell people, it will never know that. On the other hand, it may have made an awful blunder.

[Owen Thompson]

indicated assent.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

From the head movements of the hon. Gentleman, I think that that is what he thinks. I do not know how Hansard reports head movements, but there was a distinct head movement to a bungling by the council. But, yes, of course: the council should reveal all the information it is required to reveal under freedom of information requests and otherwise by law.

Business of the House

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Thursday 2nd December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Again, I am grateful to the hon. Lady because I know what a burden it is for parents to have to buy the new strip every year. The club keeping its strip will be welcomed by fans and particularly young fans’ parents, who will have a significant saving in the run-up to Christmas. I congratulate Brentford FC and encourage it to continue its community activities. It is very impressive that it is doing good environmental work as well, possibly with a small hit to its bottom line, which makes it even more impressive.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

Paragraph 8.14 of the ministerial code states that, when Ministers meet external organisations, private secretaries or civil servants must be present and details must be taken down. Recently, we had a debate on the Randox contracts, where there was some confusion from the Minister about exactly whether or not minutes were available. Following that, I wrote to each Department asking how it dealt with such a thing and I received a variety of replies, most of which said that not all meetings needed to be minuted. Will the Leader of the House arrange for a debate in Government time on this issue, so that we can actually get some clarity on this very important matter?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I think it is clear that external meetings that relate to Government business are minuted and that is routine civil service practice. But I think the hon. Gentleman has received replies from a large number of Ministers, including from my own office, although I am afraid that my office said that we followed the practice of the Cabinet Office because the Office of the Leader of the House technically comes under the Cabinet Office. But we do take minutes. It is what the civil service does and does very effectively.