Fixed Odds Betting Terminals

Alan Meale Excerpts

Tuesday 26th April 2016 Westminster Hall

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Sir Alan Meale (in the Chair)]

Eleven people have put their name down to speak in this debate. The subject is popular—or, depending on your perspective, unpopular. Many people want to speak. I will have to call the Front-Bench speakers at about 10.30 am, so that means approximately four minutes each for everyone else. Since Jim started the debate, people who have put their name down to speak have been bobbing up and down. That is unfair of them, because they can make their points in their four minutes. Perhaps Members will restrict themselves. Those who have not been able to write in to put their name down to speak can intervene to make their points. I ask speakers to be fair to one another, and to restrict their contributions to four minutes or under.

[Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)]

If it helps, Sir Alan, the Front-Bench speakers will be happy to take 10 minutes to allow Back Benchers more time.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr David Evennett)]

I would like to endorse that, Sir Alan.

[Sir Alan Meale (in the Chair)]

That is very kind of you. We will review that, depending on how Members progress.

--- Later in debate ---

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Sir Alan Meale (in the Chair)]

Order. May I again ask Members to be more succinct in their addresses? We have already run over the suggested time limit at an early point in our proceedings.

--- Later in debate ---

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Sir Alan Meale (in the Chair)]

Order. I again draw Members’ attention to the fact that we are overrunning. The time limit has been voluntary up to now, but we need to be fair to one another, and if people persist in overrunning I will have to impose one.

--- Later in debate ---

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Sir Alan Meale (in the Chair)]

Order. We still have six more Members wanting to speak. Unless hon. Members play fair with each other, they will not all get to speak.

Barnett Formula

Alan Meale Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2014 Westminster Hall

[Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)]

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the Barnett formula and, before he goes too far, I want to highlight its operation. About a fortnight ago, the Treasury gave out money because roads and health in England had a shout for that. Therefore, from that followed Barnett consequentials to Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

However, I notice that, if there is a need in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland for money for health or transport, the Treasury does not dip its hands in its pockets in the same way with Barnett consequentials running in the other direction. Barnett consequentials follow on from need in England. It is surely a governance problem when the Treasury responds only to health and transport needs in England and then we get consequentials. Should not the Treasury give money and have consequentials running in the other direction when need arises?

[Sir Alan Meale (in the Chair)]

Order. May I point out to Members that we have only a short time for the debate? If interventions are to be made, can they be questions to the speaker at that time rather than statements? Hopefully everyone will have an opportunity to speak.

[Iain Stewart]

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s intervention. If he bides his time a little, he will see that I will touch on some of those issues later on in my speech.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Gauke]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. I know that he has been very active in ensuring that the Welsh Government take advantage of the powers that may be available to them, and I know there is an issue of funding there. I hope that I did address his point by saying that the Government have agreed with the Welsh Government to review the process in the light of the tax and borrowing powers in the Wales Bill. I hope that process will satisfy him by shedding light on the issue that he raised.

I turn to the issue of the needs-based formula. I have heard it said that the Barnett formula does not take sufficient account of needs. The most basic issue here is that no one has been able to say how we would agree a needs-based assessment that would suit every part of the United Kingdom. However, far from being a static formula, the Barnett formula is regularly updated to take account of changes in population and levels of devolved responsibility.

The budgets of the devolved Administrations cover a very wide range of devolved spending programmes. It is, of course, for the devolved Administrations to decide how to allocate their overall budget to individual programmes, reflecting their own policies and their own assessment of the needs of each country. The Barnett formula allows them the freedom to do that.

However, we believe that financial accountability can be improved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as the devolution settlements evolve. The Government’s record on that speaks for itself. Both the Scotland Act 2012 and the Wales Bill currently in Parliament will devolve new tax and borrowing powers. We have also committed to implementing Lord Smith’s heads of agreement in full. As we devolve further powers, Scotland and Wales will be responsible for raising far more of their funding, so their block grants will become less important. The impact of the Barnett formula on overall levels of funding will decline.

Finally, in highlighting today’s debate in The Daily Telegraph, my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes South set out that the debate would be better informed if we had

“detailed and incontestable territorial public accounts”,

which is a point he made earlier. The Government do not disagree, but this is a complex matter. The Office for National Statistics is considering the development of sub-national accounts as part of its implementation of the European system of accounts, and it is also undertaking work on the comparability of official statistics across the United Kingdom.

It is right that a formula that has set out devolved spending for over a third of a century is continually kept under review to make it fit for the needs of the current day. The three main party leaders have stated that the Barnett formula will continue, and that is therefore what will happen. However, we continue to listen to the strong views on the formula from all parts of the United Kingdom, which have been represented in this debate this afternoon. In that spirit, I thank everyone for their contributions today. I particularly thank my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes South, who has brought to this debate careful, thorough and thoughtful analysis. He has succeeded in shedding some light on an important issue and has highlighted some matters that can often be lost in this important debate.

[Sir Alan Meale (in the Chair)]

Mr Stewart, would you like to add anything? We have a short period of time left.

[Iain Stewart]

I was not planning to, Sir Alan, but may I thank the Minister and other Members for their contributions? The debate has been helpful. I am particularly interested by the work of the Office for National Statistics on the development of sub-national accounts. I think that will help to inform the debate, but I am sure that this is not the last word on the subject.

Living Standards (North Wales)

Alan Meale Excerpts

Wednesday 16th October 2013 Westminster Hall

[Stephen Crabb]

We have had many opportunities to discuss the availability of certain types of housing in Wales. The housing stock differs between different areas, and I do not deny that shortages exist in certain parts of Wales. That is why we are making more than £7 million available to Welsh local authorities through discretionary housing payments to ease the transition to the implementation of our housing benefit reforms. [Interruption.] Opposition Members may want to chunter and mumble as we discuss such matters, but I am yet to see one of them stand up and give me a credible plan for how they will bring order back to our housing benefit expenditure, while tackling the unfairness of tens of thousands of people in Wales living in overcrowded accommodation or waiting for access to social housing while many people—let me absolutely blunt about it—are able to live in houses with extra space and more rooms than they strictly need.

The hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd mentioned food banks and was absolutely incorrect to say that Conservatives have refused to visit them. I regularly visit my local food bank. In fact, I was a trustee of the charity that runs it, so I know exactly what food banks do. I know what they do well and what they do not do so well. From speaking to colleagues right across the House, I know that Conservatives have no fear at all about going to visit food banks. He made the point that Jobcentre Plus has been referring people to food banks since 2011, but what happened before 2011 under the previous Labour Government? They banned jobcentres from advertising the availability of food banks. They tried to cover up the fact that food banks were increasing in number on their watch. They did not want to acknowledge that food banks existed and were growing. We are not taking that approach. We see food banks as a vital part of the social economy at this difficult time, and we are working in close partnership with them.

In conclusion, I have the huge privilege of being able to get out and about around Wales. I see so many good things happening in north Wales. I will say it again for the record that north Wales remains a fantastic place to live, work and invest.

[Sir Alan Meale (in the Chair)]

Before we move on to the next debate, I want to remind hon. Members of the rules. If Members want to make a speech during a half-hour debate, they should seek the permission of the Member who secured the debate and the Minister. Members can, however, make interventions as long as the initiator or the Minister is willing to give way. I urge hon. Members to keep that in mind. Members are also supposed to write in before speaking in such debates, but so far only one Member has done so. I mention those rules because the attendance showed this topic to be extraordinarily popular, but the debates are only 30 minutes long, so please bear with us.

Beer Duty Escalator

Alan Meale Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Gilbert]

The hon. Lady is, as ever, a firm advocate for her local brewer, just as I am for mine. I take on board the point she makes; she is entirely right.

I will not detain the House for too long, but it must be recognised that beer tax in the United Kingdom is high compared with that of equivalent countries in the European Union. Ours is nine times higher than France’s and 13 times higher than Germany’s. British consumers pay 40% of the total EU beer duty, and beer duty has increased by 42% since 2008. Of course, I share my right hon. Friend the Chancellor’s view that we are all in it together, but we need to redress the balance and ensure fairness.

[Sir Alan Meale (Mansfield) (Lab)]

Drinkers in Britain pay 40% of the EU beer tax bill, but consume only 13% of the beer.

[Stephen Gilbert]

The hon. Gentleman cites a stark contrast. When he makes the point in that way, the uneven spread becomes even more apparent and visible.

I support the motion, because we need to protect pubs, which are at the heart of our communities, not only in Cornwall, but across the country. We need to make sure that we are doing all we can to drive down youth unemployment, and the beer and pub sector plays a key part in that.

Equitable Life

Alan Meale Excerpts

Wednesday 4th May 2011 Westminster Hall

[Neil Parish]

The manifesto referred to compensating people who had policies with Equitable Life and lost money, and what we are now introducing is a package of measures to compensate them. Whether we can compensate them 100% or not is a difficult question, especially in the financial circumstances that we inherited from the previous Government. I made the point at the beginning of my speech that the hon. Gentleman’s party had the opportunity, when tax receipts were flowing into the Treasury and when there was plenty more money sloshing around in the economy, to make those payments. That was a much less painful time than now, when we have to take into account the financial situation in which we find ourselves. The Minister will explain exactly what we are doing.

I agree with the hon. Gentleman that people want to know exactly when they will receive compensation. I hope that we will hear about that from the Minister. Many of us would like to see as much compensation as possible. In fact, we would like to see greater compensation, but we have to realise that the funds are competing against everything else for which the Government have to find money, at a time when we have inherited such incredible debts. I am sorry to say it, but I find it almost unbelievable that the hon. Gentleman can stand up and accuse this Government of not honouring their pledges when, as I have said, the previous Government had plenty of time to do something about the issue. What we have done is to put together a package of measures that will find ways of compensating people.

This is about when and on what date the policies were sold. Some of those issues are sensitive and I imagine that people who bought policies before 1992 are concerned, because they were also mis-sold policies. The issue has been painful for many of my constituents and many others throughout the country because of the money they have lost, but the one thing we have failed to talk about in this debate is that we have to be absolutely certain that this will never happen again. Lessons must be learnt, because this has caused so much suffering for people who were putting money away for their retirement. Do not forget that all Governments—Conservative Governments in particular—always want people to save for their retirement in order to look after themselves. In this case, people lost money, which is to be regretted.

I am happy to have spoken in the debate and will be interested to hear what the Minister has to say. The coalition Government have introduced a package of measures that will give people compensation after 13 years of a Labour Government who failed.

[Mr Alan Meale (in the Chair)]

Before I call the Minister, I apologise to you, Mr Donohoe, because I presumed you had given permission to the last speaker to speak. I tell the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Neil Parish) that it was wrong of me to bring you in. Having said that, at least in the latter part of your speech, you joined Mr Donohoe in hoping that we will get clarity on this issue.

[Neil Parish]

I apologise. I did not realise that I had to do that. I did not do it on purpose.