Oral Answers to Questions

Martyn Day Excerpts

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Nicky Morgan]

As the hon. Lady also knows, we are the first Government in the world to appoint a Minister to lead work on tackling loneliness, and last year we published the world’s first Government strategy on loneliness and secured £20 million of new grant funding for projects run by charities and community groups to bring people together. We know that there are people who are not claiming the pension credit who would be entitled and would fall into the categories she has mentioned. I hope that she, like me, as a local MP, will work with all local agencies to make sure that everyone who is entitled to that support gets it.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

6. What recent steps she has taken to tackle incidences of media (a) intrusion and (b) violations of privacy.

[The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Nicky Morgan)]

The Government firmly believe in press freedom. Clearly, that freedom comes with a responsibility to ensure that it is not abused. It is not unreasonable to expect the press to act with understanding in relation to sensitive personal stories. It is not for Government to arbitrate, but it is important that we have systems in place so that individuals can take complaints to independent bodies to be assessed.

[Martyn Day]

Last month saw yet another example of a high-profile sports figure having to deal with tabloid newspapers publishing deeply personal and distressing information about his family’s private lifer. Leveson was supposed to change the way such publications operated. Does the Secretary of State agree that incidents such as that seem to suggest that it is just business as usual, with sales and profit being put before individuals’ rights to privacy?

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. All of us have complete empathy with the strong feelings of both Ben Stokes—I believe that is the story the hon. Gentleman is referring to—and Gareth Thomas, who experienced a similar invasion of privacy in the same week. Decisions on whether the press’s actions in those cases were in breach of its agreed standards should be made by the independent regulatory bodies. The press said it wanted to be self-regulated. I wait to see in these particular examples, if complaints are made, how that self-regulation works.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Attorney General]

My hon. Friend, as ever, from a background of practice in the law, feels, as I do, that those kinds of hearings—certainly US-style hearings—would be a regrettable step for us in our constitutional arrangements. The Government have no current plans to do so, but it is fair to say that the implications of the judgment and the continuing development of our constitutional arrangements will no doubt receive, properly, the intense scrutiny of this House.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

4. What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the judicial appointments process.

[The Attorney General (Mr Geoffrey Cox)]

The priorities of my office are set out in the published business plan for this year, but on the UK’s withdrawal—I beg your pardon, Mr Speaker, I am answering the wrong question. I also beg the hon. Gentleman’s pardon—[Interruption.] Nobody noticed probably, the answers being the same. I can only plead that I am getting your cold, Mr Speaker, and was up far too late this morning.

Again, I am not going to comment in detail on the content of Cabinet discussions, but the Supreme Court judgment undoubtedly represents a significant development in our constitutional arrangements. As I said the other day, it is important to take stock of the implications of that judgment not in the immediate aftermath of a ruling, but deliberately, carefully and thoughtfully. We should not jump to hasty conclusions. The UK’s exit from the EU will have profound ramifications for our constitutional arrangements. As I have said many times, I think that requires a coherent, careful examination, possibly through some formal channel, of the means by which we are to be governed after we leave the European Union. I am not enthusiastic about the prospect of parliamentary scrutiny of judicial appointments and, as I said in answer to an earlier question, the Government have no current plans to introduce such an appointment system.

[Mr Speaker]

I am glad that the Attorney General eventually reached the matter of judicial appointments. That was very reassuring, not least for the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Martyn Day).

[Martyn Day]

I am grateful for the Attorney General’s answer, and I heard his response to the previous question, but can he categorically rule out any changes that could result in a political appointment system, as I think that is an important point?

[The Attorney General]

The Government have no plans to introduce any such appointment system. The only thing I would say is that this House must have the right to determine the constitutional arrangements of this country, and of course parts of that will have to reflect on the role of the Supreme Court and its constitutional functions. But I agree with him that a US-style appointment system would be a wholly retrograde step.

Draft Mobile Roaming (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Martyn Day Excerpts

Tuesday 26th February 2019 General Committees

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray.

I am grateful for the Minister’s summary of the position. However, I find myself in complete agreement with the Opposition spokesperson, and I cannot support the draft instrument. It highlights the absolutely chaotic consequences of a no-deal situation. It will remove the requirement for UK mobile operators to guarantee surcharge-free roaming, and it gives some certainty to mobile operators, which are multinational conglomerates, but no certainty to our constituents.

Worryingly, it gives no certainty to our constituents who run small businesses, who have higher data use and who will be required to use their mobile phones while in Europe. It has been estimated that if the maximum costs prior to 2017—when roaming charges were scrapped —were brought in, they could be looking at additional costs of around £778 for a month in Europe. That would be catastrophic for a small business. The complication is even worse for people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, who may regularly work across the border. I cannot support that situation. I will be voting against the statutory instrument.

We heard earlier in the month that two of the 12 major mobile firms were committed to keeping roaming free, and the Minister made reference to four companies having no current plans to change their practices. I will sum that up by saying that I have no current plans for dinner tonight, but I am definitely having one, so I am not convinced by what they say.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martyn Day Excerpts

Thursday 13th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney General]

It would be unwise for me to think that any Act of Parliament could not benefit from review and subsequent improvement as time goes on, but I can assure the hon. Lady that this Government—and, I am sure, successive Governments—will be wedded to both the rule of law and human rights in this country.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

4. What implications the decision by the European Court of Justice on the revocability of article 50 has for his legal advice to the Government.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

9. What implications the decision by the European Court of Justice on the revocability of article 50 has for his legal advice to the Government.

[The Attorney General (Mr Geoffrey Cox)]

The decision of the European Court of Justice clarifies a question of EU law, and it does not in any way change the Government’s policy. The Government’s firm and long-standing policy is that we will not revoke the article 50 notice. The position has not changed and, as is well known, the case will now revert to the Scottish courts for the final decision.

[Martyn Day]

Will the Attorney General take this opportunity to confirm that he advised the Prime Minister that the ECJ’s ruling means that voting against her deal does not automatically mean a no-deal Brexit, and that revoking the article 50 notice and remaining in the EU under current terms and conditions is a third option?

[The Attorney General]

The Government’s policy is that we do not intend to revoke article 50. We intend to leave the European Union on 29 March, and the fact or otherwise of the irrevocability of article 50 is wholly irrelevant to that question. The truth, however, is that the giving of notice under article 50 would not just be an easy matter of pressing a button and the revocation taking effect.

Draft Digital Government (Disclosure Of Information) Regulations 2018; Draft Information Sharing Code Of Practice: Code Of Practice For Public Authorities Disclosing Information Under Chapters 1, 3 And 4 (Public Service Delivery, Debt And Fraud) Of Part 5 Of The Digital Economy Act 2017

Martyn Day Excerpts

Monday 25th June 2018 General Committees

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

I hold the view that it is essential to maximise the quality and impact of data to reduce the burden on individuals, particularly vulnerable individuals, and on businesses, and that data sharing, while beneficial, must be proportional to individuals and safeguard them. I am reasonably satisfied with what I have heard today and what I have read in both instruments, and on that basis I will not oppose them and am happy to support them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martyn Day Excerpts

Thursday 14th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney General]

My hon. Friend will be shocked to learn that I do not have that figure at my fingertips, but I will find it out for him. He will understand that these can often be complex investigations and prosecutions, as the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman) has just correctly said. There may not be uniformity of experience across the different regions; some regions may not have seen many of these cases, whereas others may have seen a great deal of them. So we will have to be cautious in the comparison he invites me to make, but I will have a look at the figures and see what I can sensibly tell him.

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

4. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the functioning of the different national legal systems in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

[The Solicitor General (Robert Buckland)]

The Ministry of Justice has had recent contact at ministerial and official level with counterparts in the devolved Administrations; they discussed how we work together on matters relating to Brexit that will affect the different legal systems in the devolved Administrations of Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Government have also engaged with Welsh counterparts to update them on matters affecting justice.

[Martyn Day]

The president of the Law Society of Scotland has said that there needs to be a “whole of governance” approach to the UK withdrawal from the EU that takes into account the devolved Administrations. Does the Solicitor General agree with that statement?

[The Solicitor General]

Yes, I do, which is why the Government are taking an approach that will ensure the required continuity and certainty, so that, where necessary, a UK-wide approach will be taken and, where appropriate, there will be devolution to the devolved Assemblies and Parliaments.