Euratom Membership

Debate between Albert Owen and Antoinette Sandbach

Wednesday 12th July 2017 Westminster Hall

[Albert Owen]

I know that other right hon. and hon. Members want to make their pitch, so I will not repeat my opening remarks, but the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right and has made the point for me, and the Minister has heard it.

I have based my speech on evidence that I heard as a member of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, and I pay tribute to its previous Chair. I am making a bid for that position today, so I may as well take advantage of being on my feet for 20 minutes in this debate. The Committee did a serious piece of work on the pros and cons of exiting the European Union, whether for internal markets or supply.

[Antoinette Sandbach (Eddisbury) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Albert Owen]

Yes I will, because I am standing for election.

[Antoinette Sandbach]

I am grateful. The UK has been awarded £500 million of contracts in the nuclear fusion supply chain. Is not all of that put at risk if we leave Euratom?

[Albert Owen]

Absolutely. The hon. Lady was also a member of the Committee, and she knows the written and oral evidence we received that highlighted that point. It is important for a Select Committee to hold the Government to account, but it is also important to shape the framework and work with the Government. I urge the Minister to work with Parliament, the industry and all relevant sectors, so that we can go forwards, not backwards, and maintain the status of which we are all proud. The UK is a world leader. Let us put politics to one side and get the transitional arrangements right. Let us work together to ensure that the UK stays at the top.

NHS (Charitable Trusts Etc.) Bill

Debate between Albert Owen and Antoinette Sandbach

Friday 6th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Antoinette Sandbach]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that matter. He will be aware of the extensive issues at the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, where at times there have been appointments that could be characterised as highly political. Indeed, an individual described as “the axeman” was recently appointed. Given the threat to maternity services at the hospital—my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Clwyd (Dr Davies) and I have campaigned for them to be retained—I am well aware of those concerns.

[Albert Owen]

The hon. Lady is right to point to Alder Hey’s excellent record. It covers north Wales and my constituency, so I have been there on many occasions. There are trustees from Wales on English hospital boards, and the difficulty with recent legislation is that we do not know whether their role will continue. Welsh trustees on English boards and their Members of Parliament will have difficulty in future. Is she as concerned as I am about that, and does she agree that we need further clarification?

--- Later in debate ---

[Antoinette Sandbach]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that point, because one issue with the service reorganisation in north Wales is that the new SuRNICC centre—the sub-regional neonatal intensive care centre—has not yet been built. It was due to be completed by next March, but the first sod has not even been dug out of the ground. Instead, because of the threat to maternity services in north Wales, very sick babies are having to travel over the border to Leighton hospital in Cheshire in order to access the services they need.

The wonderful thing about an independent charity is that, when it comes to appointing trustees, there are no limitations based on where they live or anything of that nature. Trustees should be independent, free-thinking, able to provide good advice and genuinely committed to the charity for which they act, as they have heavy legal responsibilities. I certainly do not imagine that there would be any discrimination on the basis of nationality.

[Albert Owen]

The point I was making is that under English votes for English laws, Welsh Members of Parliament with constituents who are trustees on English boards will not be allowed to vote on legislation affecting them. It might be a technical point, but it is hugely important to my constituents.

[Antoinette Sandbach]

I am so grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making that point, because health services that my constituents access are affected by decisions taken in Wales. The threat to maternity services in north Wales will have a direct impact on the resources of the county of Cheshire and Leighton hospital, yet they have no say in those decisions—even the hon. Gentleman has no say—because they are taken in Cardiff.

English Votes for English Laws and North Wales

Debate between Albert Owen and Antoinette Sandbach

Wednesday 1st July 2015 Westminster Hall

[Albert Owen]

I am grateful for that intervention. I will develop my argument a little further, but my point is that devolution needs to be close to the people. In the original Welsh devolution settlement, the Assembly had regional bodies where we discussed many issues. I do not want devolution to be just a movement of powers from Westminster to Cardiff Bay: within Wales, I want it to go to Colwyn bay and Cardigan bay, and to Cemaes bay in my constituency. That is real devolution and that is what I am advocating. Devolution should not just be for one part of the UK. We need even distribution of devolution across the UK.

[Antoinette Sandbach (Eddisbury) (Con)]

Of course, the reality is that the decisions of the Assembly have led to power being centralised in Cardiff, out of the regions of Wales. That is a product of the very devolution that the hon. Gentleman professes to support, and it happened because of decisions taken in the Welsh Assembly by elected Welsh representatives. Is he arguing against the devolution that has happened in Cardiff?

[Albert Owen]

The hon. Lady was a North Wales Member of the Assembly. My criticism is not just about the institution or the Government in Cardiff Bay. North Wales Assembly Members should be making a stronger case for North Wales. That is what I am doing today, as a North Wales MP. I will argue, when I have a chance to develop my argument without interventions, that there needs to be representation from North Wales MPs in this debate.

The debate has gone a bit sterile post-Scottish referendum, partly because of the Prime Minister’s reaction on the morning after the referendum result, which I very much welcomed. Instead of being statesmanlike and trying to strengthen the Union after the referendum result, he chose to talk about one part of the UK: England. The Union is not strengthened by isolating and talking about one part of it. Unionism must be about the whole UK. That is why I am arguing for North Wales MPs having a strong voice and being equal in this UK Parliament. We are all elected under the same franchise and we should be allowed to debate and vote on the same rules and regulations that are before this House, and there should be no exemption. No Parliament will succeed if it has two tiers of representative. We all have the same mandate and we are here to represent our constituents and the UK, but we will not be able to do that if we go down the avenue proposed by the Conservatives. That is the gist of my argument. I will put some detail on it in the next seven or eight minutes, after which I will sit down and allow other hon. Members to contribute.

Devolution has to be more than just a theory: it has to be practical and real because it concerns services, such as health and transport, which are often provided east-west in the UK. Most decisions on transport that affect Wales are made here in the Department for Transport. The debacle over the west coast main line affects not just my constituents, but the whole of North Wales and the whole of England. It is an interconnector and a corridor between Ireland and London, going through North Wales. It would be crazy for North Wales MPs not to have a say or not to be able to question the Secretary of State when big decisions go wrong, such as when millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is squandered by errors in the franchise process. That affects my constituency and services to my constituents. I travel on that train every week, and I know the composition of its passengers: they are from North-West Wales, other parts of North Wales and England. We need to have a voice in this House when we debate such issues, so that we can express our views and vote on big decisions that affect our constituents.