Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Tuesday 29th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I ask Members for one-sentence questions from now on.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Does the Health Secretary agree with the joint report produced by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee and the Health and Social Care Committee that the best way to fund adult social care is through a social care premium?

Speaker’s Statement

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Wednesday 23rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

That was a particularly gracious response by the hon. Lady, which resonated with colleagues, and I underline it. I also know the hon. Members for Wyre Forest (Mark Garnier) and for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake) very well. Both are very committed parliamentarians, and I thank them for putting themselves forward, for being here for the announcement of the result, and, I am sure, for their ready acceptance of the verdict of colleagues. I wish them well in everything they go on to do. I think that we will leave it there.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. This is my first ever point of order in the House for four years and what better occasion to use it than to thank my colleagues in this race, which was always conducted in the best of spirits. My congratulations go to my victorious right hon. Friend, the Member for Central Devon (Mel Stride). He will do a brilliant job of chairing that Treasury Committee and will do an important job at a very key time.

[Mr Speaker]

Would the hon. Member for Wyre Forest (Mark Garnier) also like to say something?

US Tariffs: Scotch Whisky

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Monday 7th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

As you know, Mr Speaker, not all whisky is Scotch. I happen to have with me a bottle of Filey Bay, Yorkshire’s first whisky. It was released on Saturday after the requisite three years and a day. It is from the Spirit of Yorkshire distillery in Hunmanby in my constituency. Will the Minister confirm that he will provide support for whisky producers wherever they are, whether from the great nation of Scotland or God’s own county of Yorkshire?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman loses no opportunity. Why will it not be a surprise to right hon. and hon. Members to be reminded that his successful business career was as an estate agent? [Laughter.]

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Tuesday 16th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Shorter questions and shorter answers are required.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

3. What recent steps his Department has taken to protect consumers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Tuesday 18th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am sure the Secretary of State means well, but I am not entirely sure that the hon. Lady’s joy at the endorsement from the right hon. Gentleman was undiluted.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State support one of the key recommendations of the joint report from the Health and Social Care Committee and the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee into the future funding of social care, which is for a German-style system of social insurance?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Tuesday 14th May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am keen to accommodate colleagues with very important inquiries. I hope they can help each other by being extremely brief.

[Kevin Hollinrake]

What representations has my right hon. Friend made to his counterparts about tackling the growing and potentially devastating problem of antimicrobial resistance?

Northern Ireland Backstop

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Tuesday 19th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The one disadvantage of that inquiry, as the Clerk, having consulted his scholarly cranium, has just pointed out to me, is that it was not about Government policy, and therefore it does not warrant an answer. The hon. Gentleman has made his point in his own way, but he was asking about Opposition policy, which he knows he should not do.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Rather than having to agree with the European Union whether we have met our obligations to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland, would it not be fair and reasonable to both sides to refer the matter to a process of arbitration?

Making Tax Digital

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Tuesday 19th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests about my continuing business interests. My right hon. Friend has taken a very considered approach to the threshold of eligibility and the pace of the roll-out. Will he confirm not only that he will continue that approach in the next phase of the roll-out, but that our default position should be to reduce rather than increase the bureaucratic burden on small businesses?

[Mr Speaker]

The nation will be pleased to know that the hon. Gentleman is a distinguished estate agent.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Monday 28th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake) knows all about houses as a whizz kid estate agent. Let us hear from the fellow.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

If you are ever thinking of moving, Mr Speaker, do let me know.

Councils across North Yorkshire, such as Richmondshire and Hambleton, are delivering more affordable housing to purchase through the category of discount market sale. What plans does the Secretary of State have to roll this policy out nationally?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Tuesday 11th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I think we should hear from my favourite estate agent. I call Mr Kevin Hollinrake.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Banks that are guilty of the scandalous mistreatment of small businesses are allowed to design and oversee their own redress schemes, including determining the level of compensation paid to the victims. Does the Minister agree that Parliament and the regulator should take control of those processes?

EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal Advice

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Tuesday 13th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Hollinrake]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek clarification, because presumably we are going to be asked to vote on the motion on the Humble Address, which clearly says,

“that the following papers be laid before Parliament: any legal advice in full”.

It says “any legal advice”, yet the shadow Secretary of State is now defining the legal advice that he wants to present. What are we to vote on, Mr Speaker?

[Mr Speaker]

How the Government respond to a motion, if it is passed by the House, is a matter for the Government. I do not think we need to invest this with greater complexity than is warranted. The motion is clear and people can make their assessment of it. The shadow Secretary of State has made it clear that it is the final advice that he is seeking. It is perfectly possible for a Member, in the course of a speech, to develop an argument. By definition, that speech and the development of that argument will involve the use of a greater number of words than are contained in a simple motion. How the Government respond to the motion, if it is passed, is then in the first instance a matter for the Government. It is probably best if we now proceed with the debate—

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Monday 12th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I have a feeling the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) might seek an Adjournment debate on the matter. Who knows, he might be successful.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

2. What steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of apprenticeships.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Monday 15th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to topical questions. Brevity is of the essence.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

3rd reading: House of Commons & Report stage: House of Commons
Monday 16th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Hollinrake]

My hon. Friend is making some very good points. I certainly do not argue that we should be members of customs union, but the Freight Transport Association recently gave the example of a situation whereby a trailer full of 40 different consignments goes from Birmingham to Belfast, and then goes into 40 different white vans in Belfast. How does my hon. Friend propose that we would meet our responsibility to pay customs in such a situation?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am immensely grateful. May I encourage the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Sir Bernard Jenkin) to draw his remarks to a close? He is within his time, but a lot of other people want to speak and I am being pressed by people who, quite understandably, want time. If the hon. Gentleman—with his brilliant eloquence and pithiness—could wrap up in a minute or two, that would be marvellous.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am extremely obliged to the hon. Gentleman, to whom I could always listen at length, but we must move on.

[Kevin Hollinrake]

I want to speak against new clause 1, which my right hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry) tabled.

Among many points my constituents have made to me in the past few weeks, they have asked why the House cannot work together on Brexit. I suppose the simple answer is that our biggest challenge—what divides us most—is not acceptance of the result of the referendum on 23 June 2016, but its practical interpretation as the basis for our future relationship with the EU.

Parliament is bound by our promise on Brexit, but perhaps it also needs to accept some key principles, which reflect the promises that were made during the referendum campaign. Where better to look for those promises than the voice of the official body that argued for Brexit—Vote Leave? On trade, the Vote Leave manifesto was clear:

“We take back the power to make our own trade deals”.

On that basis, it is clear that we must not remain part of a customs union as that would prevent us from directly negotiating and implementing trade deals. It is therefore strange that being part of a customs union seems to be Labour party policy, which goes right against the clear mandate that the people gave us.

There were other commitments in the Vote Leave manifesto, for example,

“one thing which won’t change is our ability to trade freely with Europe.”

On that basis, it is fair for businesses, and the people whose jobs rely on those businesses, to assume that nothing will change. Of course, Members have made the point that other countries manage to have just-in-time supply chains when they have a customs border, but most countries have not been part of a trading environment for 44 years in which they have not carried the burden of those complexities.

We know from Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage that businesses have a choice to station themselves here or move jobs to other parts of the EU because extra costs will ensue if they do not: costs for customs checks and for checks on standards. I believe that staying part of a customs union is not consistent with the mandate that the people gave us, but that the White Paper, as articulated by the Prime Minister, deals with our obligation to leave the EU while also minimising the costs of comparative advantage. The House should support it.

[Mr Speaker]

Two minutes are preferable to three.

Construction Sector Deal

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Thursday 5th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We are immensely grateful to the Minister, from whom we had a Cook’s tour of his personal experiences as a constituency representative. We are deeply indebted to the Minister, although I was wondering at one point whether his response to the shadow Minister would be longer than his original statement, but there we go. I call Mr Kevin Hollinrake, whose beaming countenance is most suitable.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

I welcome the statement. It mentions the patient capital review, which aims to increase the availability of long-term finance for innovative firms, so will the Minister confirm that that will be targeted at small and medium-sized construction companies?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Tuesday 3rd July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We are very short of time. I will take two more: Kevin Hollinrake; and then Helen Goodman.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

The all-party parliamentary group on fair business banking is undertaking an important body of work on dispute resolution between banks and business. We will give it a parliamentary launch next week. Once the Minister has had time to digest the contents of that report, will he meet us to see how we can take the recommendations forward?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Thursday 21st June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

On the subject of the north of England, let us hear from north Yorkshire. Mr Kevin Hollinrake.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

My report “Solutions for the fifteen per cent”, which I have sent to the Secretary of State, makes a compelling case for the use of fixed wireless to deliver broadband to the hardest-to-reach areas. Will the Secretary of State meet me and colleagues to discuss how those initiatives might be implemented?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Tuesday 19th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We have been so brief that we must now include Mr Hollinrake.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Probably the most important recommendation in the new O’Neill review into antimicrobial resistance was the requirement for diagnostics prior to the prescription of antibiotics by 2020. Will the Minister update the House on progress towards that goal, and will he agree to meet me and colleagues, including Lord O’Neill, to discuss the establishment of an antibiotic diagnostics fund?

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Tuesday 12th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor General]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. I want to reiterate the commitment that I have given at the Despatch Box on behalf of the Government to further discuss the matter with my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield and others. I am particularly interested in new subsections (5A) and (5B) of his proposals and want to use that as the basis of a structured discussion as we reach the Lords amendments.

[Mr Speaker]

I advise the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton that others wish to speak.

[Kevin Hollinrake]

I am about to conclude, Mr Speaker.

The amendment would hand over the negotiating advantage to the EU and raise the prospect, whether Members intend it or not, that we may never leave. Opposition Members should not support it.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Thursday 26th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

May I draw the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests? I welcome the Minister’s statement, and express my support for stamp duty relief for first-time buyers. That measure exists to reverse the trend of declining home ownership that began in 2003, and it is the right thing to do. Will the Minister confirm the commitment made in the autumn Budget to increase the amount of housing supply delivered by small and medium-sized developers, as they are a crucial part of solving the housing crisis in the UK?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman should not undersell himself; he is an illustrious estate agent, and I have now drawn wider attention to that important fact.

Syria

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Monday 16th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

That is characteristically solicitous of the right hon. and learned Gentleman; we would expect nothing less of him.

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Without the support of the Kremlin, it is unlikely that Assad would have been in a position to carry out this and many other atrocities on his own people, but according to a leaked EU report last week, Russia is using its gas supplies to the EU to further its foreign policy ambitions. Does the Prime Minister agree that every nation should seek to reduce its reliance on Russian oil and gas supplies?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kevin Hollinrake and John Bercow

Monday 9th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

If the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake), who has a similar inquiry at Question 17, were standing, I would call him, but if he is not, I will not—

[Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

He is now, so I will.

[Kevin Hollinrake]

17. Many of my constituents get paid weekly, and real cash-flow problems can be caused if they move from a weekly payment to a monthly payment cycle. Will the Minister set out what we are doing to help deal with these cash-flow problems? Will we keep these measures under review to make sure we provide a workable solution?