Oral Answers to Questions

Saqib Bhatti Excerpts

Tuesday 5th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[John Glen]

Dialogue is ongoing on this matter and I can confirm that we will continue to work on this in the coming weeks.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

Andy Haldane, the former Bank of England chief economist, recently said in a Sky News interview that the Bank of England kept on printing money for longer than it needed to. It is clear that central banks across the world have been addicted to cheap money and that this has contributed to inflation across the world. Does the Chancellor agree that printing cheap and easy money has not been without consequence, and instead our monetary policy must focus on important growth factors such as productivity?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I agree with what my hon. Friend says. The Bank of England itself has said there were problems with its inflation forecasting. It is learning the lessons from that and we must support it every step of the way as it brings down inflation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Saqib Bhatti Excerpts

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Cartlidge)]

The hon. Lady makes an excellent point. We have put in place a huge amount of support to help people through this immediate challenge with their energy bills, but we do need to think long term. That is why the Chancellor has put in place the 15% target to reduce energy consumption in both domestic and non-domestic buildings, but alongside that, and crucially, we have to increase the supply of UK energy, both renewables and in the North sea.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

Thanks to the quick thinking and quick moves by the Chancellor, the Prime Minister and the Treasury, the tech sector was saved from almost certain oblivion, and at no cost to the taxpayer. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that he is still ambitious for the tech sector, and can he confirm that the merger with HSBC will ensure that our fantastic tech sector, especially our start-ups, will have access to the funding they need?

[Jeremy Hunt]

My hon. Friend is right. We have a very good solution to the Silicon Valley bank issue with the HSBC takeover. In the long run, we would like our brilliant tech superstar companies to have more choice about how they finance their expansion, and we will bring forward plans to make sure that happens.

Oral Answers to Questions

Saqib Bhatti Excerpts

Tuesday 28th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

The right hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. As I said from this Dispatch Box at the time of the spring statement, we were unable to extend our VAT cut on energy-saving materials to Northern Ireland because of some of the provisions in the protocol. He will know that the legislation we have put before this House, which I am glad received support last night, will address exactly those issues.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

4. What fiscal steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

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

12. What fiscal steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

[Saqib Bhatti]

A couple of weeks ago, I met people from a number of hospitality businesses at Nailcote Hall. They expressed not only their gratitude for the support the Treasury gave during the pandemic, but their concerns about the cost of living and about supply-chain costs, which they cannot necessarily pass on to consumers. What assurances can my hon. Friend give the businesses in my constituency, especially those in the hospitality sector, that the Government will keep them in mind in terms of future support?

[Helen Whately]

It is good to hear that my hon. Friend has been speaking to the hospitality sector in his constituency, no doubt drawing on his expertise in those conversations. As he said, we provided substantial support to that sector during the pandemic. We recognise the ongoing challenges for businesses as we recover, which is why we are giving thousands of hospitality, leisure and retail businesses a 50% cut in business rates this financial year—worth up to £110,000 per business.

Economy Update

Saqib Bhatti Excerpts

Thursday 26th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

The warm home discount is an existing scheme that covers only 3 million households. It is also funded by other billpayers. What we are doing today is setting out Exchequer-funded support to all those on means-tested benefits, so that anyone on those benefits will benefit from the £650. Additionally, those in receipt of any other disability benefits, which are non-means-tested, will receive £150.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

I thank the Chancellor for this package. Clearly he is a Chancellor who listens and a Chancellor who does. Will he confirm that this Government will continue to focus on energy sector reform, so that we can meaningfully reduce the impact of energy costs on household bills in Meriden and across the country in the medium and long term?

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and that is why the Business Secretary and the Prime Minister announced the plan to reform the energy market so that we can reduce those bills over time and also double down on our initiatives to improve the energy efficiency of people’s homes, which can save them £200 or £300 relatively quickly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Saqib Bhatti Excerpts

Tuesday 17th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

Of course the Government recognise that energy bills are the single biggest challenge households face. That is why we have provided £9 billion-worth of support, including £150 for English households in the most recent month, with £200 more in support to come later this year.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

I believe the Conservatives are and ought to be the party of hard-working families. According to a report released yesterday by the Centre for Policy Studies, reducing the cost of childcare can increase GDP by 10% and increase access to opportunities for women in the workforce. Does my right hon. Friend the Chancellor agree that helping hard-working families with childcare costs is good for the economy and that it is the Conservative thing to do?

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Helen Whately)]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. In fact, we do support families with the cost of childcare. One thing we do is to provide families with access to tax-free childcare, which means they can get a 20% reduction on the cost of childcare, up to a cap of £2,000 a year.

Economic Update

Saqib Bhatti Excerpts

Thursday 3rd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

We have had this debate. Conservatives believe in more investment in our domestic energy sector. We want to support British jobs and British energy security and we believe in doing the right, responsible thing. That is what a responsible Conservative Government do.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for these packages, which will help my constituents across my constituency. On the issue of a windfall tax, will my right hon. Friend confirm that the Labour party’s call for a windfall tax would undermine competition in the market, reduce investment and kill off jobs? Ultimately it would mean that energy prices were likely to be higher for longer and hit the poorest the hardest.

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. Some 200,000 jobs are supported in that industry, and as I pointed out earlier, there are £11 billion-worth of projects waiting to get going. I would like to see those projects go ahead, which will be good for the country’s energy security, good for our economy and good for jobs. I know that the Energy Minister and I share that ambition.

Oral Answers to Questions

Saqib Bhatti Excerpts

Tuesday 7th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

It is simply not right to say that we have forgotten anyone. We remain committed to supporting all the most vulnerable in our society. I have mentioned previously the various different mechanisms that we have to help people with energy bills, and indeed the recent increase in the local housing allowance.

The hon. Lady says that we talk a good game. Those of us on the Government Benches believe fundamentally in the power and ability of work to transform people’s lives. We want to make sure that people have great jobs, and we want to make sure that those jobs are well paid. The cut in the universal credit taper rate will ensure that there is a £2.2 billion tax cut for those on the lowest incomes, and we are insanely proud of that.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

4. What progress his Department has made on supporting young people into high-skilled jobs.

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Lucy Frazer)]

Through our plan for jobs, more than 100,000 young people have started kickstart jobs, including more than 9,300 in the west midlands, but that is not all that we have done. The spending review provides for investment of £1.6 billion in high-quality education, £554 million in the national skills fund, £2.7 billion in apprenticeships, and £60 million in the youth offer to help young jobseekers find lasting work.

[Saqib Bhatti]

Last month when I presented awards at the Crimson Academy apprenticeship awards event, I met some incredibly talented apprentices who were raring to go and get into the world of work. Will my right hon. and learned Friend join me in congratulating them, and will she confirm that apprenticeships are a great way for young people to obtain high-skilled jobs that can help to bridge the UK skills gap?

[Lucy Frazer]

I do of course join my hon. Friend in congratulating those apprentices. The Government are continuing to invest in high-quality technical education and to reform the skills system so that it is employer-led, to give young people the right skills and training to enable them to succeed in life. More than 100,000 apprentices have been hired under our new incentive payment scheme, 75% of whom were under 25. Skills boot camps are upskilling people into high-growth sectors, including the digital sector.

Oral Answers to Questions

Saqib Bhatti Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[John Glen]

The hon. Lady must have missed a number of measures announced by the Chancellor in the Budget last week in which significant investment was made to support families through the household recovery fund and support for women in particular to get back into the labour market, alongside a whole range of other interventions.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con)]

One issue concerning me at the moment is the lack of access to cash in the north of my constituency, which suffers from significant degrees of inequality. I was pleased to be at the opening of Kingshurst post office, which will restore some cash services, but the issue remains a problem as retail banks reduce their estate. Does my hon. Friend agree that shared banking hubs are a good way forward? Will he highlight to the House what work is being done to increase access to cash?

[John Glen]

Banking hubs will absolutely be a part of the solution, alongside a whole range of other interventions. The Government have committed to legislate on this matter, but in the meantime, I am very hopeful that industry will come forward with meaningful proposals for a range of options to deal with the declining use of cash and ensure access is available everywhere.

Contingencies Fund (No. 2) Bill

Saqib Bhatti Excerpts

Committee of the whole House & Committee stage
Thursday 11th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con) [V]]

I cannot support the Opposition’s new clause 1 because, in my view, it would do nothing but introduce an additional layer of bureaucracy where, frankly, sufficient and robust transparency and accountability systems are already in place.

As I said on Second Reading, of course accountability and transparency matter. The Bill does not take away the usual mechanisms already in place to ensure that expenditure met through the Contingencies Fund is scrutinised. Requiring private sector procurement to be referred to the National Audit Office would do exactly what businesses cry out against time and again when it comes to procurement practices. They want less bureaucracy and less burden, not more unnecessary red tape that would hinder engagement from the private sector.

To me, the new clause speaks to the intent of the Opposition and their general attitude to the private sector. It does not recognise the crucial role that business has played over the last 12 months in helping to tackle one of the greatest public health crises of our times. It does not recognise the businesses that otherwise would have been shut down—Formula 1 teams such as McLaren, for example—that adapted their processes to make ventilators; the companies, such as Burberry, that retooled to make personal protective equipment; or the companies, such as the National Exhibition Centre in my constituency, that gave up part of their business to build Nightingale hospitals to ensure that the national health service was not overwhelmed.

The new clause does not recognise, either, the big pharma companies that came up with new drugs at unprecedented rates, using innovative methods that only the private sector can come up with to vaccinate and protect the most vulnerable in our society. Frankly, it is time that the Opposition recognised the role that the private sector played in overcoming this crisis. While it is not yet done, we on the Government side of the House certainly will not forget that role.

While I am on the subject of intent, I commend the Government for their aspiration to reform procurement rules. The Green Paper put forward by the Government puts value for money and transparency right at the heart of the United Kingdom’s procurement rules. The Government buy around £292 billion-worth of services from the private sector. Their proposed reforms will allow UK procurement rules to be more modern and flexible, allowing the Government to consider things such as social value, including economic, social and environmental factors.

These new measures will also allow competition for Government contracts under £4.7 million for public works and £122,000 for goods and services to be limited to small businesses, whether they are voluntary, community or social enterprises. Fundamentally, that will improve the quality of suppliers’ output, and it will also increase competition, ensuring that taxpayers get a better deal while our small and medium-sized businesses have greater access to Government procurement contracts.

That intent can only be applauded, in contrast to the Opposition’s desire to make the process clunkier, more difficult and less accessible.

On accountability, as has been said, Ministers cannot choose to use the Contingencies Fund. That is managed entirely by Treasury officials, and the accounting officer must ensure that advances are given in line with strict rules agreed between Parliament, the National Audit Office, and the Treasury. Such rules can be found in the Estimates Manual. Finally, business is and can be a force for good. We would do well to recognise that.

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

I rise to speak in favour of the amendment tabled by the Leader of the Opposition, which hopes to improve the transparency behind emergency spending that we are being asked to sign off. When the Conservative party took office 11 years ago, it promised people transparency and responsible spending. The Prime Minister’s predecessor even told us that sunlight was the best disinfectant—could we not do with some disinfectant to rid us of the stench of cronyism right now?

One hundred and eight million pounds to a pest control firm to make PPE; £60 million on antibody tests that did not work. To top it off, a £37 billion test and trace system that at times did not test and did not trace. It was run not by clinicians or the NHS, but by a failed phone company executive, who just so happened to be one of the Prime Minister’s mates from the other place.

Cronyism, irresponsible spending and sweetheart deals that handed the public’s taxes to their mates are what this Government are all about—a £133 million testing contract to a Tory donor, £108 million to Serco, and a £40,000 pay rise to Dominic Cummings. Under this Government, someone who breaks the rules and fails at their job gets a pay rise; those who save people’s lives get a pay cut. If the Conservative party cannot be trusted to spend people’s taxes wisely, it does not deserve to serve our country.

The Minister asked for questions, and I am sure we all look forward to some answers. Will he tell the House why as much as £11 million was spent on the initial trial version of the NHS Test and Trace app before it was abandoned? Will he confirm whether he personally played any part in recommending contractors to the Government over the past year? We are often told by the party of Government that money cannot be found to feed hungry schoolkids, or that the healthcare heroes who looked after our loved ones during the pandemic cannot have a pay rise. We are told by Conservative peers that nurses should be grateful for the job security they have.

The public have a right to know how their money is being spent. Covid contracts handed out to Tory friends and donors have now risen to almost £2 billion. Such money could have provided free school meals to each of the 1.4 million children in poverty, including nearly 4,000 children in Luton North. If there is money for the Prime Minister’s mates, there is money to feed hungry kids. If we can find £30 million for the bloke down the pub, we can find money to give nurses, and every other healthcare worker, a pay increase.

Conservative Members will say there was no choice at the start of the crisis and that it was an emergency, as it was. However, there is always a choice. Instead of turning to established PPE providers from the UK safety industry, Ministers chose a deal that handed £30 million to the Health and Social Care Secretary’s mate from down the pub. That is a cruel and blatant failure by this Government. The Bill asks us to sign off up to £266 billion in emergency loans by the Government. That might be necessary, but it is unnecessary for such a number to go unchecked.

It is our job as MPs across the House to hold the Government to account. The public expect better and for us to spend their money properly, which is why Labour has tabled this amendment. We are not saying that the Government should not do everything in their power to help people in an emergency; we are saying that they must never forget whose money they are spending, and who they need to answer to in the end: the British people.

Contingencies Fund (No. 2) Bill

Saqib Bhatti Excerpts

2nd reading
Thursday 11th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden) (Con) [V]]

I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I also take note of your indication to limit our contributions, Mr Deputy Speaker. I could speak for hours on the Bill, but I will refrain from doing so.

I want to speak in favour of the Bill because, quite frankly, if there was ever a time when we needed a contingencies Bill it would be during a pandemic, and we are still in a pandemic. As the Financial Secretary said, for those members of the public who will be watching today, the Contingencies Fund Act 2020 enabled Government Departments to increase their percentage of spending at a time when the country needed it most. It was vital to make sure that the Government could act in a timely manner to safeguard the people of our country.

This is, of course, a contingency. It is not additional spending. It is there to ensure that Departments have access to funds if needed. If there is one takeaway from the past 12 months, it is that we should be prepared for every eventuality. It is appropriate that the percentage of the total supply expenditure is reduced to 12%, as opposed to the 50% it was last year. Of course, last year, when the previous Bill was passed, we knew we had a crisis, but it would have been near impossible to estimate the full cost of Departments’ needs at that time.

Today, we know more. We have a world-leading vaccination programme, which means we have vaccinated over 22 million people. We know that infection rates are falling and, thankfully, the Prime Minister has laid out a road map as to how the economy will open up. In the light of that, it is correct to reduce the contingency need while not yet returning to the normal 2%. We are, after all, not in normal times, so the normal 2% cannot apply. I would go further. This Bill, in my view, represents strong leadership, as the previous one did at the start of the pandemic.

We should not forget what the previous Bill allowed Government Departments to do. The urgent procurement of contracts allowed the Government to be swift in their response. It allowed us to deliver 32 billion items of personal protective equipment—32 billion, Mr Deputy Speaker—and 22,000 ventilators, when at the start of the pandemic there was an acute need. Those were quite literally matters of life and death. In such instances, the Government have but one duty: to take every possible measure to provide security and safety for their citizens. Since then, we have also completed 96 million tests. That is a phenomenal achievement and we should not downplay that.

As we look to the Bill, it is correct to think about how the resources will be applied until the supply and appropriation Bill is voted on in this House. The Chancellor last week set out a characteristically world-leading Budget, ensuring, to name just a few: the furlough scheme, which has been a lifeline for so many, continues until September; more money for apprenticeships and restart grants to get our worst-hit businesses back up and running; and the extension of universal credit. There are also infrastructure spends across the country, which are a testament to my right hon. Friend’s focus on the next stage of dealing with this pandemic. As we emerge from the public health crisis, we must look to the economic recovery stage.

Accountability and transparency matter, of course, and the Bill does not take away the usual mechanisms that have been in place for ensuring that expenditure is met through the contingency fund and that it is scrutinised. Advances made in this way are presented in the usual way in the estimates booklet and the memorandums that Parliament can scrutinise and vote on.

To hinder the Bill would in my view seriously hinder the Government’s response in dealing with the pandemic. It would risk undermining the measures by the Government to help those who need our urgent support. That is why I am supporting the Bill.