Business of the House

Tom Brake Excerpts

Tuesday 18th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

My hon. Friend makes a cogent point. It will, of course, be for this House in the first place to decide whether to approve the motion that we will debate tomorrow. If the Government’s motion is carried, we will then put our case to the people.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

The Prime Minister was not for calling a snap general election, but now she is, perhaps sensing a political opportunity. The choice to go for an election now is hers and hers alone, as was the choice of a hard Brexit. Will the Leader of the House make time available before the general election campaign starts for this House to discuss the party of government’s failure on the NHS, tackling violent crime, and dealing with people with disabilities and their benefits?

[Mr Lidington]

I am astonished that the right hon. Gentleman, on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, was able to talk about political opportunism with a straight face. The Prime Minister alone has to take the decision to put forward the motion tomorrow, but it will be a decision for every Member of the House of Commons when we meet tomorrow to decide whether that motion is approved.

Business of the House

Tom Brake Excerpts

Thursday 30th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

That is a very fair summary.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

Will the Leader of the House make time available for a series of debates, which I think it would be appropriate for the Cabinet Office to respond to, so that it can update us on the progress on the £350 million a week for the NHS, the reduction in immigration and the cut in VAT on fuel? It would also be able to update us on the increased costs associated with setting up parallel organisations to the European Court of Justice, Euratom and REACH.

[Mr Lidington]

The Cabinet Office is very active in seeking to ensure that the pledges given in the manifesto on which this Government were elected are delivered, whether through legislation or through other means. The points to which the right hon. Gentleman referred have not been part of the Government’s manifesto.

Business of the House

Tom Brake Excerpts

Thursday 9th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

I stress that the consultation on the proposed new funding formula has not yet closed. When the results are in, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education will want to consider them before deciding on the way forward.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

Last week there was speculation about your showering habits, Mr Speaker. Today, I would like to query your shopping habits. I do not know whether you have been to the supermarket recently, but if you have, you will have noticed that food prices are rising sharply and that “buy one get one free” offers and own-brand products are disappearing from the shelves. Will the Leader of the House make time available for a debate on those price rises and their impact on low and middle-income families, many of whom have just been hard hit by the Government dumping their pledge not to increase national insurance?

[Mr Lidington]

On that last point, if the right hon. Gentleman looks at what the Chancellor actually announced, he will see that people on low incomes will not be affected at all. Sixty per cent. of self-employed people will be better off, taking account of the abolition of class 2 contributions and the changes to class 4 contributions that were announced in the Budget yesterday.

The prices in supermarkets clearly vary depending on market prices, which depend in part on things such as currency movements. The price of certain vegetables depends on the weather in vegetable-producing areas this winter. The most important thing for the Government is that we maintain an economy with low inflation, high employment and vigorous economic growth, which is the best way to ensure good living standards for the right hon. Gentleman’s constituents.

Business of the House

Tom Brake Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

With all those growth deal rounds, there have been more bids from local enterprise partnerships and local authorities than could possibly be met, given that funds are finite, however generous they may be. I suggest that if the hon. Gentleman seeks an Adjournment debate, he would have the opportunity to extract a detailed ministerial reply.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

Will the Leader of the House make Government time available for a debate on the impact that Brexit has already had on some of my local businesses and others? They include a business that is having to scale back on expansion because it has been hard hit by the drop in the pound, one that is losing EU employees and another that is worried about the increasing skills shortages among teachers, doctors and engineers. Such a debate would also enable the Government to set out what their analysis of the impact of coming out of the single market will be on British jobs.

[Mr Lidington]

There will be opportunities next week, and certainly when the repeal Bill is introduced after the Queen’s Speech later this year, for all those issues to be explored. The Government’s objective, following the decision that the people took in the referendum, is to make sure that British businesses have the greatest possible freedom of access to, and freedom to operate within, the single European market, and that European businesses have the same opportunities here.

Business of the House

Tom Brake Excerpts

Thursday 26th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

My hon. Friend draws attention to the deep connection between Brecon in his constituency and the 24th Regiment of Foot. I understand that the regimental museum of the Royal Welsh is at Brecon barracks, and I hope that the commemoration went well and that he will seek other parliamentary opportunities, such as an Adjournment debate, to highlight it further.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

The Leader of the House would not want to constrain the debate on the article 50 Bill, so will he bring forward a money resolution to allow the widest possible range of amendments to be tabled?

[Mr Lidington]

I do not think that the Prime Minister needs any additional resources to trigger article 50 once the authority has been given.

Business of the House

Tom Brake Excerpts

Thursday 3rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

There are important constitutional questions that need to be resolved definitively one way or the other, but I take careful note of what my right hon. Friend says on article 50.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

Will the Leader of the House make time available for a debate about the fate of Andy Tsege, with whom many Members of the House will be familiar, who is on death row in Ethiopia? There are concerns about his safety and the safety of the cell he is sharing, and there has been no consular access since August.

[Mr Lidington]

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, Foreign Office Ministers have made frequent representations to the Ethiopian authorities about Mr Tsege. I shall draw the right hon. Gentleman’s continuing concern to the attention of the Foreign Secretary at the earliest possible opportunity.

Business of the House

Tom Brake Excerpts

Thursday 20th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

The Government’s national planning policy framework makes it clear that green-belt land should be used for development only in the most exceptional circumstances. If a local authority wants to make such a case for exceptionalism, it has to provide the justification for that when it submits its draft local plan for examination in public, at which point an independent inspector tests rigorously the arguments that the local authority has made. These matters are, rightly, dealt with at arm’s length from central Government Ministers, but that is the procedure that my hon. Friend and his constituents might want to look at.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate or possibly a ministerial correction on the subject of how difficult, or otherwise, it is for EU countries to export to Norway? In an earlier exchange, the Brexit Secretary said that it was very easy for Sweden to export to Norway. However, I am indebted to L. Alan Winters, professor of economics, who has said that one of the messages from a conference held in Sweden earlier this week was that

“Swedish exporters find exporting to Norway far more troublesome than exporting within the EU.”

[Mr Lidington]

The right hon. Gentleman will have other opportunities to challenge my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. I must say that I may be responsible for many things, but commercial relations between Sweden and Norway are not one of them.

Business of the House

Tom Brake Excerpts

Thursday 14th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I am sorry that my hon. Friend is so pessimistic about his prospects in the reshuffle. I think we would all value his contributions were he to appear at this Dispatch Box.

Questions to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will take place on Monday, and my hon. Friend will then have an opportunity to raise an issue that I know is important to him and his constituents. As ever, he is a powerful advocate for Yorkshire and will continue to be so, even if it is still from the Back Benches.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

Has the Leader of the House received a request from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills for him to provide Government time for a debate on the fantastic contribution that the leisure industries make to the UK economy? Such a debate would allow Ministers to tell us how UK manufacturers will fulfil demand for major new infrastructure: a transcontinental network of zip wires to enable our new Foreign Secretary to travel around the world cheaply, with low environmental impact, and in the style to which he is accustomed.

Business of the House

Tom Brake Excerpts

Thursday 30th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I understand my hon. Friend’s concerns and I will make sure that they are passed on to the Business Secretary today. It would be most helpful for him and other MPs who represent steel-producing areas to get an update from the Department as quickly as possible, and I will see if that can be done.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

Chilcot should provide closure for families of armed forces personnel on a sad and murky chapter of our recent history, as well as further vindication of the stance adopted by my then leader, Charles Kennedy. I am convinced that hundreds of Members will want an extended debate on the report. Will the Leader of the House therefore ensure that two consecutive days are made available to debate Chilcot before the summer recess?

[Chris Grayling]

I understand the desire to debate Chilcot in the House. We are discussing that at the moment and we will set out plans shortly. I have announced business until only Monday week and I am aware of the issues raised by the right hon. Gentleman.

Business of the House

Tom Brake Excerpts

Thursday 26th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

That is the first time that I have heard a request for a new Select Committee. It would perhaps be more appropriate for the Health Committee to investigate that issue further, so I will pass the matter on to its Chair, our hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Dr Wollaston).

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

I apologise for labouring this point with the Deputy Leader of the House, but following the difficulties that some MPs seem to have landed themselves in over election expenses, will the Government invite the Electoral Commission to produce updated regulations covering local and national election expenses? That would help to clear up some of the uncertainties about accounting for election expenses, so will she make Government time available to debate that issue?

[Dr Coffey]

The Electoral Commission is, rightly, independent of the Government. The right hon. Gentleman raises an interesting point. I am sure the Electoral Commission will not be shy in coming forward with potential for discussion, but it is important that the Government do not interfere in any investigation.