Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gagan Mohindra and Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 3rd May 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Mr Speaker, 98% of people already possess a suitable form of voter ID, and the Government made available free alternative ID for those who do not have it. The pilots have demonstrated that it has not significantly impacted turnout, and indeed, this was a policy that was introduced by the Labour party in Northern Ireland all those years ago. It is common in European countries, it is common in Canada, and it is absolutely right that we introduce it here too.

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

Q14.   Ever since being elected in 2019, I have been inundated with correspondence from my constituents in South West Hertfordshire, rightly complaining about huge speculative developments on our beautiful green-belt land. Lib Dem-controlled Three Rivers District Council continues to dither and to delay its local plan. Does the Prime Minister agree that the choice tomorrow is simple: vote Conservative to protect our green belt, or vote Lib Dem for massive developments on unspoilt land?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. It is always the same with Liberal Democrats, saying one thing and doing the other—we have all seen it. It is the Conservatives that are the party of local decisions taken by local people, and it is only the Conservatives that will protect the green belt.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gagan Mohindra and Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 9th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The absolute best way to ensure that children do not grow up in poverty, which is something that none of us wants to see, is to ensure that they do not grow up in a workless household. The record under these Governments is that 700,000 fewer children are growing up in workless households. That is because Conservative Governments create jobs for people, and that is the best anti-poverty strategy that we have.

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

Q9. On Friday, I visited a bridging hotel in my constituency that currently houses 77 Afghan refugees as local organisations search for permanent accommodation for them following the success of Operation Pitting. Many of the refugees I met held highly skilled jobs back in Afghanistan, including a doctor, an international athlete and Government Ministers. Can the Prime Minister assure the House that our Government will do more to support those highly skilled individuals in entering the UK workforce?

[The Prime Minister]

It is nice to hear from my hon. Friend again this week. I can reassure him that we are completely committed to supporting Afghan refugees into the employment opportunities here in the UK. The Department for Work and Pensions has a full programme in place, and I can also tell him that our Refugee Leads Network brings together refugee organisations and the DWP to connect those refugees with employment opportunities. I look forward to seeing the fruits of that programme with him in the near future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gagan Mohindra and Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 2nd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman has raised the issue of the North sea. This is a point of significant difference between his party and ours. As Chancellor, I introduced a new levy on oil and gas companies because I believed that that was the right thing to do, but this is the point on which the right hon. Gentleman’s party and ours will always differ: we believe that our North sea producers do have an important role to play in our transition to net zero and are an important source of transition fuels, and we will ensure that we support them to enable them to invest in and exploit those resources for the British people.

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

Q8. Let me first welcome the Inter-Parliamentary Union delegation from Madagascar, whose members are in the Public Gallery. More locally, I am delighted that next year Openreach will roll out ultrafast broadband in Wigginton, in my constituency. However, other rural areas of south-west Hertfordshire, such as Dudswell, are still in dire need of better connectivity. Can the Prime Minister update the House on the progress of the £5 billion Project Gigabit?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to recognise the role of broadband in providing levelling-up opportunities across our economy. We invested £5 billion in Project Gigabit and 71% of UK premises now have access to it, up from just 5% when we came into office. I am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that we will be launching a procurement process to provide gigabit coverage for his area in the coming weeks.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gagan Mohindra and Rishi Sunak

Tuesday 2nd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

11. What steps his Department is taking to manage the public finances effectively.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rishi Sunak)]

The fiscal rules announced at Budget will ensure that the public finances remain on a sustainable path and support a strong economic recovery. The Government will borrow only to invest in future growth, so that future generations are not unfairly burdened, and I am pleased to say that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s analysis shows that the Government’s fiscal plan is working.

[Mr Mohindra]

I welcome the new fiscal rules set out by my right hon. Friend in his Budget last week, which will mean that the Government borrow only to invest and that they get the debt falling again by 2024. Does he agree that, unlike the Labour party, which has no plan to deliver responsible public finances, these rules show how it is only the Conservatives who can be trusted to manage our public finances responsibly, avoiding higher interest rates and even higher taxes in the future?

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The best foundation for our success as a country is a strong economy and responsible public finances. In contrast to the Labour party, which comes out with unfunded, reckless promises that would lead to our debt rising uncontrollably, it is this Government, and only this Government, who can be trusted to manage the nation’s economy responsibly.

Covid-19: Economy Update

Debate between Gagan Mohindra and Rishi Sunak

Thursday 22nd October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

We did put in place the temporary uplift of universal credit  but, as the hon. Gentleman says, it still has five or six months to run; it will be in place to support vulnerable families throughout the difficult winter period and is there all the way until next spring.

[Mr Gagan Mohindra (South West Hertfordshire) (Con)]

I welcome the measures announced today. As the Chancellor will be aware, 15,400 people have benefited from the furlough scheme in South West Hertfordshire, and I applaud the sustainable and affordable approach he has adopted. Does he agree that the approach needs to remain pragmatic, with an evolution of policy, to give more certainty to our communities?

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In the face of something we have never seen before—we are all grappling with how to deal with it—it is right that we remain pragmatic and flexible; it is not right to be wedded to dogma and be unwilling to change when the facts change. We will always do that, as we grapple with the health crisis and the economic crisis. We will remain flexible and nimble, but always with the same values and principles underlying what we do, which is to try to protect as many people’s jobs and livelihoods as we can.