Oral Answers to Questions
Saqib Bhatti Excerpts(3 days, 12 hours ago)
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The Deputy Prime Minister
Free speech and our press are incredibly important—they are part of our democracy—but in direct response to my hon. Friend’s question, the police are independent and it is a live investigation, so it would not be appropriate for me to comment on that. I believe that we should have a free press. It is part of our democracy, and we should have free speech, but with that comes responsibility for those who do it.
Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)
The Deputy Prime Minister
I say to the hon. Gentleman and to Duncan and Nicola that this Government have not declared war on farmers. The vast majority of farms will not pay any inheritance tax. We have protected them. We have been as generous as we can. The farmers rely on our public services, like everybody else. We inherited a £22 billion black hole from the Conservatives, who spent reserves three times over. We are investing in our schools, our hospitals, our public services and housing. If the hon. Gentleman does not agree with that, then, like the Leader of the Opposition, he should say what he would do differently .
Tourism: Northumberland
Saqib Bhatti Excerpts(4 days, 12 hours ago)
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Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)
It is a great privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. As I make my debut as the shadow Minister for DCMS, it is great that I am now shadowing my friend, the hon. Member for Rhondda and Ogmore (Chris Bryant), as he shadowed me in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. I hope we will have a constructive debate today and going forward.
I want to thank the hon. Member for Hexham (Joe Morris) for securing this debate and for his illuminating speech about what his constituency, and the whole of Northumberland, offers in the way of tourism. We should all aspire to nurture the tourism industry in our constituencies. I look forward to visiting his constituency in Northumberland in the near future.
We should all recognise the immense contribution of the tourism industry to our economy, our constituencies and our local communities. Tourism is a vital sector, contributing more than £70 billion to the UK economy annually and employing more than 1.6 million people directly, with millions more benefiting indirectly. Indeed, brand Britain depends on a thriving tourism industry.
The latest annual Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor report on the economic impact of tourism shows that the Northumberland visitor economy has experienced strong year-on-year growth. In 2023, it recorded its highest ever gross value contribution of £1.262 billion, a 7.9% increase from 2022, with Northumberland welcoming more than 10 million visitors. That demonstrates that Northumberland’s tourism industry is continuing its post-covid recovery, thanks in part to the support provided by the previous Government’s tourism recovery plan. I put on record my thanks to the former Members who contributed to that plan, Guy Opperman and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who are greatly missed on the Conservative side of the House.
However, it is now up to the new Government to demonstrate how they plan to support the tourism sector in sustaining its post-covid recovery. During the general election and throughout their time in power, we have seen no indication yet of a comprehensive, long-term strategy. Can the Minister outline when the Government will present a sector-wide support plan to help counties such as Northumberland, and the businesses that rely so heavily on tourism?
Many businesses in Northumberland are heavily dependent on seasonal tourism in particular, which poses significant challenges when it comes to retaining experienced staff and making long-term investment in their businesses. To truly support local economies such as Northumberland, it is crucial that we shift towards a year-round tourism model, which provides the stability and growth opportunities that our businesses need. Can the Minister confirm whether the Government’s tourism plan will consider specific support for businesses to operate year round, helping them to overcome the seasonal challenges that they face?
The increase in national insurance contributions for businesses, made by the Chancellor in the last Budget, will have a profound impact on the hospitality sector. The sector is vital for the success of tourism-dependent businesses, as we are continually hearing. As noted by many industry leaders, including UKHospitality, it could force many small, tourism-related businesses—including those independent ones previously mentioned—to close, reduce employees’ hours, or even scale back their expansion plans.
Tourism businesses, including hotels, restaurants and attractions, rely on part-time and seasonal workers to meet demand during peak times. The changes in NICs may make it more difficult for those businesses to retain or take on staff, limiting their capacity and ability to make a profit. That is especially concerning for Northumberland, where tourism clearly not only contributes to the local economy, but plays a key role in sustaining small businesses and preserving local jobs.
Given the ongoing recovery of the tourism sector following the pandemic, those additional financial challenges may well threaten to undo much-needed and well achieved progress, particularly for small businesses struggling with already thin margins. Therefore, it is essential that the Government consider how those new cost pressures will affect tourism and hospitality businesses, and that they work to provide support to help those businesses navigate the challenges in that sector successfully.
To unlock Northumberland’s full tourism potential, we must prioritise investment in key supply-side areas such as transport infrastructure, as rightly pointed out by the hon. Member for Hexham . Improved connectivity, whether by road or rail, is vital for attracting domestic and international visitors. Enhancing access to Northumberland’s iconic sites—from Hadrian’s wall to Alnwick castle—will enable more people to experience the county’s rich cultural and historical heritage.
In addition, strengthening digital infrastructure is crucial. Many rural areas in Northumberland suffer from limited broadband, which affects not only local businesses but tourists’ experience. Will the Minister clarify the Government’s commitment to improving Northern Rail and investing in digital infrastructure as part of its tourism strategy?
Northumberland’s tourism industry has demonstrated exceptional resilience in its recovery from the pandemic. However, the Government’s recent changes to national insurance contributions could push small tourism and hospitality businesses to the brink. It is crucial that the Government provide the necessary support to the tourism sector, particularly in counties such as Northumberland, to help them to absorb those additional financial pressures and work towards returning to pre-pandemic levels. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s plans for the future of tourism in the UK and in Northumberland, and for the communities that depend on the industry to thrive.
Draft Online Safety Act 2023 (Priority Offences) (Amendment) Regulations 2024
Saqib Bhatti Excerpts(2 weeks, 4 days ago)
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Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I am happy to confirm that the Opposition will support these regulations, not least because, as the Minister has said, they complement the previous Government’s work on the Online Safety Act, and I was the Minister responsible for implementing the Act from when it received Royal Assent until the general election.
I take great pride in having served in the Government that introduced and passed the Online Safety Act. It places significant new responsibilities and duties on social media companies, platforms and services to increase safety online. However, most importantly, this vital piece of legislation ensures that children are better protected online. Having just attended a roundtable where we listened to victims of online abuse, I know that that is more important than ever. The Minister will share my thoughts on that. I share his sentiment—the Opposition will work with the Government to make sure that victims of online abuse receive justice and are supported and protected.
It is worrying and sad that almost three quarters of teenagers between 13 and 17 have encountered one or more potential harms online, and that three in five secondary school-aged children have been contacted online in a way that potentially made them feel uncomfortable. It is for those reasons that we ensured that the strongest measures in the Online Safety Act protect children. For example, platforms are required to prevent children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content and to provide parents and children with clear and accessible ways to report problems online when they arise. Furthermore, the Act requires all in-scope services that allow pornography to use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from accessing it, including services that host user-generated content and services that publish pornography. Ofcom has robust enforcement powers available against companies that fail to fulfil their duties.
The Online Safety Act also includes provisions to protect adult users, as it ensures that major platforms are more transparent about which kinds of potentially harmful content they allow. It gives users more control over the types of content they want to see. I note that Ofcom expects the illegal harm safety duties to become enforceable around March 2025, following Ofcom’s publication of its illegal harm statement in December 2024. Does the Minister agree that platforms do not need to wait for those milestones, as I often said, and should already be taking action to improve safety on their sites? Can he confirm that he is encouraging platforms to take proactive action in advance of any deadlines?
Separately from the Online Safety Act, the last Government also launched the pornography review, which explores the effectiveness of regulation, legislation and the law enforcement response to pornography. Can the Minister provide a reassurance that the review’s final report is on schedule and will be published before the end of the year? Can he also clarify whether the review will consider the impact of violent and harmful pornography on women and girls? I would be grateful for the Minister’s comments on those points and for his co-operation throughout his tenure. I am happy to add our support to these regulations, and to see that the previous Government’s pivotal piece of legislation is making the UK the safest place in the world for a child to be online.
Oral Answers to Questions
Saqib Bhatti Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)
The Secretary of State, in one of his first acts in his new role, cut £1.3 billion-worth of funding that would have been transformative for enabling cutting-edge research and development in Britain. I note that he has also ditched our ambition to turn Britain into a science and technology superpower. We set a target of £20 billion for R&D, which we met, but he has set no such target. Will he be setting a target, and can he today promise that there will be no cuts to R&D expenditure?
Peter Kyle
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his appointment to his Front-Bench role. Let us just be honest about what this Government inherited. That £20 billion black hole affects every single Department across Government. My Department inherited a situation where the previous Government—including the former Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Jeremy Hunt), who is sitting on the Opposition Front Bench—committed at this Dispatch Box to an exascale project to which not one single penny had been committed. That was a fraud committed on the scientific community of our country by that Government, and I had to make the difficult decision to move forward—
Technology in Public Services
Saqib Bhatti Excerpts(2 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)
I would like to start by paying tribute to all the Members who made their maiden speeches. I congratulate each and every one of them on that nerve-racking experience. We may not always agree on many things or we may agree on a lot, but clearly they will all be formidable contributors to this House.
I would also like to welcome the ministerial team to their place—and the new Secretary of State. As the shadow Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith) said in his opening remarks, the Front Bench have my utmost respect for serving in public office. Being a Minister is a great privilege and we know that it also places burdens on those closest around us, so I genuinely wish them well. The civil servants I worked with in the Department, including those in my private office, were hard-working, dynamic and top notch. I am sure Ministers will have the same experience.
As His Majesty’s Opposition, we will of course hold the Government to account. We will challenge them where challenge is required, but let me be clear: our sole intention is only to ensure that the United Kingdom remains at the forefront of global innovation and technological advancement. Ministers may not believe me when I say it, but I do want them to be successful because their successes are the nation’s successes.
It is in that spirit that I welcome some of the announcements on enhancing technological use in the public sector, because, as has been said, productivity in the public sector lags behind that of the private sector. The private sector has largely recovered from the pandemic, but the public sector remains less efficient than it was before. That is important for two reasons. First, the public sector—our services that we are so privileged to have, whether the national health service or our police, to name just two—represents 20% of the national output. Improving technology in our services means improving the very services that the British public rely on. Secondly, public services are funded by taxpayers’ money. It is not our money or the Labour party’s money. Hard-working British people pay their taxes for these services, so it is morally right that we all do all we can to make our public services fit for purpose and as efficient as possible.
That is why the previous Conservative Government launched the comprehensive public service productivity review to address low levels of public sector productivity. In our national health service, we utilised AI to cut administration to keep more staff on the frontline and increase the speed of diagnosis, including better diagnoses of stroke, and lung and breast cancers. Our police officers were kept on the streets, rather than pushing pens, with the use of technology to speed up simple administrative tasks, which meant that crime fell in every part of the UK—except, of course, in Labour-run London. We see and welcome the value of better technological uses in the public sector.
I have some questions for the Minister and for the Secretary of State, which I hope the Minister will be able to answer on his behalf. First, over the summer we were all appalled by the riots that gripped the nation and the role that social media played. Digital accessibility for our most vulnerable people matters, and part of that must be that the public have trust in using social media and online platforms. Antisemitism and anti-Muslim incidents have seen a huge rise online. Ministers will have met social media companies, including X. Will the Minister please clarify what actions will now be taken, as we move forward, to ensure that social media is not used to perpetuate and amplify antisemitic and anti-Muslim hatred?
Secondly, one of my last acts as Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy was to instruct officials in the Department to start reviewing and refreshing the Government’s digital inclusion strategy, and to present options. The timing of the general election prevented that work from making progress, but there is no reason why it cannot continue now. Will the Minister confirm that she will continue that work? Will she commit to ensuring that the necessary funds are put aside, so our public services are more digitally inclusive? Conservatives recognise the importance of making our public services truly accessible. As the last review occurred 10 years ago, will she commit to ensuring that the review is carried out in a timely manner? If our public services are to be truly inclusive, they must be digitally inclusive, and I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.
I am also keen to know what happened to the AI Bill, the legislation that the Secretary of State promised so often when he was in opposition, and what he intends to do about AI regulation. Perhaps the Minister can tell us what assessment she has made of the number of AI companies that will be created as a result of his plans, how much investment will be generated, and how many new jobs there will be. Why was the AI Bill not ready for the King’s Speech?
Let me now turn to the Secretary of State. He has had a very busy summer, but whether it was productive is another question. Countries across the world are brimming with ambition, investing in some of the most exciting and transformative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, and ensuring that they are at the forefront of global technological innovation. Let there be no doubt that this is a global race, and I fear that in its first few months in office the Labour party may already have done enough to ensure that this great nation of ours never comes close to winning that race.
The previous Conservative Government set out an ambition to be a science and tech superpower by 2030. I note that the Secretary of State has not shared that ambition, so imagine my surprise when I saw that in one of the Government’s first big moments, one of their first big acts was to cut £1.3 billion of investment in supercomputer capability and related research funding. The Secretary of State talks about being a partner to the tech industry. Well, on hearing the news of the cutting of exascale funding, one tech entrepreneur said to me, “With friends like these, who needs enemies?”
Perhaps the Secretary of State—or the Minister, on his behalf—could clarify whether he fought against that decision or endorsed it. Was he able to stand up to the Chancellor, or was he so intimidated by her that he lost his voice? We know that the Prime Minister was unsettled by that portrait of Margaret Thatcher, so perhaps the Secretary of State was similarly unsettled by the Chancellor. Did he even bother to fight for Britain’s AI and tech entrepreneurs, or were the trappings of ministerial office so enticing that he forgot to defend the single most important investment that would have ensured that we maintained our top position in the global AI race for decades to come?
But let me offer the hand of friendship. [Laughter.] I assure the Secretary of State that the hand of friendship exists. If he is worried about standing up to the Chancellor, we on this side of the House will of course support him. He does not need to be afraid. We believe in economic growth, so we will help him to stand up to the Chancellor. After all, his successes will be the nation’s successes, and that is our priority.
Let me move on from exascale. Over the summer, it became clear that the Labour Government had capitulated to the junior doctors and given them inflation-busting pay rises without asking for any modernisation or efficiency improvements in return. Before that decision, did the Secretary of State meet the Health Secretary and insist on efficiency improvements or better use of technology, or was giving in to Labour’s trade union paymasters more important? He did say that they were joined at the hip, so perhaps he will be able to show what he did to fight for the tech entrepreneurs of this country. I note that my right hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Holden) asked him a question that he did not answer.
I also note that the Government have been silent on the NHS productivity review, which was backed by more than £3.4 billion. Again, he did not answer a question, asked on this occasion by my hon. Friend the Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans). Can the Minister now confirm that that funding is safe, or is it part of the Chancellor’s “black hole” calculations? Our plan and our review were backed by the NHS and would have saved 13 million clinician hours. What, actually, are the Labour party’s plans?
When the Transport Secretary capitulated to the transport unions, did this Secretary of State meet her? Did he insist on better use of technology to improve our transport system, so that he could benefit consumers and protect taxpayers, or did he just watch from the sidelines and drink the Kool-Aid? This may have passed him by, but so far, in its first two months in office, the Labour party has already handed out £14 billion to its trade union paymasters in no-strings-attached public sector pay deals. So it is all well and good for the Secretary of State to grandstand at the Dispatch Box, but the facts are painting a different picture. I just hope that he can find his voice and stand up for the tech sector before it is too late.
Let me explain why this is so important. We have already heard the Secretary of State repeat the farcical claims about the Chancellor’s “black hole”, having inherited a tech economy that was the third most valuable in the world; a tech economy that was being recognised across the world for its ability to nurture more tech unicorns—that is, more companies valued at £1 billion—than France, Germany and Sweden combined; a tech economy that was growing and creating millions of jobs annually, and attracting billions of pounds-worth of investment.
If the Secretary of State did make the decision to cut the £1.3 billion of exascale funding and now talks down that same tech economy, and in doing so undermines those very tech entrepreneurs who will help to fund our public services for decades to come and makes it less attractive for investors to invest, he cannot sincerely stand at the Dispatch Box and argue that he believes in economic growth—not if his first major economic act was one of economic mutilation. I implore him to go back to the Chancellor and challenge this decision. He should not let the Chancellor’s political games undermine him or the tech industry, which has so much potential. It is in his power to ensure that we nurture tech innovation so that the tech start-ups of today can become the tech giants of tomorrow. I say to the Secretary of State that he should not squander this opportunity. Otherwise, his legacy will be defined by what he did not do, rather than what he did do.