Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Karl Turner

Thursday 7th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

In January 2022, the then Chancellor said that, clearly, criminals have sought to exploit our covid support schemes, and

“We’re going to do everything we can to get that money back and go after those who took advantage of the pandemic.”

What proportion of that money has been recovered so far? How many of those who took advantage have been sent to jail?

P&O Ferries

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Karl Turner

Wednesday 30th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

For the grand finale, I call Karl Turner.

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker, for accommodating me. I want to thank the Secretary of State. This campaign has gone on not just for the 12 years I have been in this House; this campaign has existed since the 1966 seamen’s strike. I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman and the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Witney (Robert Courts), on getting over all the hurdles that must have been appearing in front of them, and I want to work with my hon. Friend the shadow Secretary of State to ensure that what the Secretary of State proposes will work and ensure that the minimum wage applies.

My concern is that these companies employ terribly bad practice, and I fear that they will find other ways to exploit seafarers. Safety is my big concern, so if conditions change or if rotas change—if seafarers are required to work five months on and a month off, for example—we will not be very far from disasters such as the Herald of Free Enterprise, in which passengers lost their lives due to crew fatigue. Can the Secretary of State assure the House that he is looking at ensuring that cannot happen in this case?

Caravan Industry: Hull and East Riding

Debate between Baroness Laing of Elderslie and Karl Turner

Monday 15th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Karl Turner (Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Emma Hardy) on securing this incredibly important debate. I want to reiterate some of the points she made.

We are incredibly proud of the caravan manufacturing industry in our neck of the woods. Those jobs are incredibly good jobs and they pay very well. In 2008-09, despite the previous Labour Government’s interventions to mitigate the damage from the economic crash, we saw tens of thousands of job losses in our region. The reality is this: most of those jobs have not been replaced. We have had investment from Siemens, and a massive £350 million investment in offshore wind turbine manufacturing, which we are incredibly grateful for as well, but the reality is that once those jobs are lost, we often never see them replaced. The frank truth is that we simply cannot afford to lose these incredibly good, well-paid, skilled manufacturing jobs in our region. As my hon. Friend has said, 90% of all static caravans are manufactured in Hull and the East Riding, 50% of all tourer caravans are manufactured in our area, and 30% of all motor homes as well.

We have got not much of an ask for the Minister. We need support, and we are very grateful to the Government for the support and the interventions they have made already, but we need that flexibility in the job retention scheme to be extended for this unique and specific industry, and we need the Government to think carefully about the business rate relief grants as well.

We will get over this, with support from the Government. We only need to get into next year and then the industry will absolutely be booming once again. My wife mentioned to me earlier today that she does not intend going abroad on holiday for quite some time, and it is true that staycations are going to be the thing in the next year or two. So, Minister, I finish with a plea—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. The hon. Gentleman must not say, “So, Minister”; the hon. Gentleman has to say, through the Chair, “Will the Minister”. I am sorry to stop the hon. Gentleman in his tracks just as he was about to make his plea, but if I do not get this right from Members with experience in this Chamber, we will lose the rules whereby we keep order here, and it is very important that that should be done, especially for new Members to understand how things are done properly. I would be grateful if the hon. Gentleman would just address the Chair.

[Karl Turner]

Madam Deputy Speaker, you are absolutely right of course, and I take your advice on board, and apologise indeed.

Madam Deputy Speaker, I finish, as I was saying, on a plea to the Minister: if the Government support us now, that will be repaid tenfold in this manufacturing industry. Thank you very much indeed, Madam Deputy Speaker.