Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Ian C. Lucas

Thursday 16th May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I agree with my hon. Friend that we should have a debate about the Council of Europe. When we leave the European Union, it will become an even more important forum, enabling us to share in some of the activities and initiatives that are taking place around Europe in areas of common interest. I will take the request away and look again at when we can provide the time.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

May we have an urgent statement from the Cabinet Office on election funding? There is an outstanding investigation by the National Crime Agency into Arron Banks in respect of Leave.EU’s overseas funding and his close ally, Nigel Farage, is now campaigning for the European elections. Will the Leader of the House support my call—I have written to the Cabinet Office today—for the voluntary disclosure of donors by all political parties prior to the European elections, so that we know who is paying for the current campaigns?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman raises a specific question. He has probably tabled written questions on the matter to the Cabinet Office. He could also of course seek an Adjournment debate to raise the issue directly with Ministers.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Ian C. Lucas

Thursday 28th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady raises a very important point. I understand that, as a member of the Select Committee on Justice, she has played a full part in trying to get to the bottom of exactly what is going on in this sector. I encourage her to seek an Adjournment debate or a Westminster Hall debate, so that all hon. Members can share their views directly with Ministers.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

The regional prosperity fund is the Government’s regional investment policy for when Britain leaves the EU, but we do not know what it is. Will the Government please come to the House as a matter of urgency to make a statement so that we can begin to address the important issue of infrastructure investment across the UK?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman rightly says that that prosperity fund will replace some of the structural funds that we will no longer be party to once we have left the EU. There have been so many opportunities to debate our departure from the EU, and I am slightly surprised that he has not raised the issue in any of the debates we have had in recent weeks or at any of the Brexit questions, such as those we have just had. I encourage him to seek the next opportunity to debate the meaningful vote to raise his questions then.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Ian C. Lucas

Thursday 17th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend raises a point that concerns not just his constituents in Crawley, but many others around the country. Drivers expect NCP to play by the rules and erect clear signage, making them aware of any charges. The private Member’s Bill of my right hon. Friend the Member for East Yorkshire (Sir Greg Knight) has gathered support across the House and with industry trade bodies, creating a single code of practice that applies to all private parking operators. This will be a significant step towards greater fairness, and I look forward to its swift passage through the Lords.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

Can we have an urgent statement on the north Wales growth deal that was announced in the autumn Budget? This morning’s announcement by Hitachi concerning Wylfa power station takes away a £20 billion investment in north Wales and completely alters the premise on which the growth deal was introduced. We urgently need to discuss this, as it is a major infrastructure project not just for north Wales and north-west England, but right across the UK.

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise this issue. I was a big fan of that project and am disappointed to see what is happening now. He will appreciate that there is a statement following business questions and I encourage him to take this up with Ministers then.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Ian C. Lucas

Monday 10th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady will appreciate that there are discussions through the usual channels about exactly what the business motion of the House will look like. The question of calling speakers is a matter for the Chair.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has told us repeatedly today that there is no new deal and that the text of the deal will not be changed. Donald Tusk has confirmed that, so the deal will not change. She is preventing Members from speaking in a debate on the deal. What is the purpose of deferring the vote on the deal when the deal will not be changed?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The Prime Minister has been clear that the vote will take place when she believes she has the legal assurances that Parliament needs that the backstop will not be permanent.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Ian C. Lucas

Thursday 11th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am sorry to hear about that, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the matter in the Chamber. I obviously cannot comment on the specifics, but the Financial Ombudsman Service should provide proportionate and prompt resolution of any such case. It is vital that insurers treat customers fairly, and every firm is required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority rules, so he may like to take up this specific case directly with the FCA on his constituent’s behalf.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

May we have an urgent debate on predatory business takeovers? Until yesterday, constituents of mine had been taking forward a business called DTCC—originally called Avox—for 10 years, but a company called Refinitiv has taken over the business, immediately making 300 people redundant and offshoring the jobs to India. May we have an urgent discussion about appalling business practices that put people on the scrapheap when they have worked so hard for so many years?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am sorry to hear about the company in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. The situation is worrying, and I encourage him to take the matter up directly with Ministers from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy at BEIS questions next Tuesday to hear what more they can do to help support those who have been told that they are losing their jobs.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Ian C. Lucas

Thursday 7th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I always enjoy congratulating my hon. Friend on the amazing achievements of his constituents. It is fantastic that four voluntary organisations in Moray were honoured with the Queen’s award for voluntary service this year. I know that he was present at Morayvia on Saturday evening when the lord-lieutenant of Moray announced their success, and it is a great testament to the exceptional standard of volunteer services in Moray.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

Cabinet Office officials have been conducting surveys in Wrexham about Brexit and other issues. My named day question to the Cabinet Office on the matter—on the reason for these surveys—remains unanswered, despite being lodged on 16 May. Would the Leader of the House have a word with the Cabinet Office to answer my question and find out why the Conservative party are so interested in my constituency?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman will understand entirely why the Conservative party might be interested in all constituencies around the UK: in Government, we are always keen to provide the best possible service to all those who live in this great country of ours. We have Exiting the European Union questions on Thursday 14 June. That would be a good question to raise then, but if he wants to raise it with me separately, I can take it up for him.

Private Members’ Bills: Money Resolutions

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Ian C. Lucas

Monday 21st May 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Andrea Leadsom)]

I welcomed the opportunity to respond to the urgent question asked by the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Afzal Khan) two weeks ago, when I set out the Government’s approach to money resolutions. I welcome the opportunity to respond again today.

First, I take my responsibilities to this House very seriously. As you said last week, Mr Speaker, we have a responsibility to safeguard the rights of the House and, as Leader of the House, I seek to do exactly that, treating all Members of Parliament with courtesy and respect. I hope and expect that all right hon. and hon. Members will do likewise. I seek to demonstrate day in, day out that my role as Parliament’s representative in the Government is a duty that is at the heart of all I do. Following the many requests I have received from across the House during this Session, the Government have scheduled debates on vital subjects such as baby loss awareness, housing and anti-Semitism. This week, I am making time available for a debate on serious violence following many calls to debate that vital issue.

We have scheduled more negative statutory instruments for debate on the Floor of the House than any Government in any Session since 1997. We continue to provide Opposition and Back-Bench days in line with Standing Orders. We are providing support to more than 20 very important private Members’ Bills that will make a difference to the lives of people across the country, including the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Bill introduced by the hon. Member for Croydon North (Mr Reed); and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation and Liability for Housing Standards) Bill, introduced by the hon. Member for Westminster North (Ms Buck). I have been working hard with colleagues right across the House to bring forward proposals on a new, independent complaints and grievances policy, safeguarding parliamentarians and staff alike to make this a Parliament that we can all be proud to work in, and to ensure that this is a place where people are treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

When Parliament votes, why do the Government feel at liberty to ignore those votes?

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman will fully appreciate that the Government never ignore the resolutions of this House. I will come to the specifics of the reason for not allowing a money resolution on the private Member’s Bill of the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Ian C. Lucas

Monday 16th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I appreciate that the Leader of the House is trying to respond to the question that she has been asked, but it is extremely important that the procedural position is understood.

First, it is a fact that applications for debates under Standing Order No. 24 are applications in the first instance to me and then to the House. I have invested in me by the House the power to grant the right for the application to be made, and if support exists in the House, such a debate, with my approval, can go ahead.

Secondly, however, the Government control the Order Paper for future days. It is therefore open to the Government to table a motion—a substantive motion or a take-note motion and if a substantive motion, an amendable motion—on any matter that they choose.

I know that the Leader of the House, whom I have known for a long time, would not seek to misrepresent the position—she was just trying honestly to answer the question of the right hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper)—but it is important to be clear that I am not an obstacle to an amendable Government motion. If the Government had wanted to table such a motion, they could have done so. If they had told me that they were going to do so, that would have been fine, but they did no such thing. I am simply discharging my obligations to allow SO24 applications and to adjudicate on them. The waters must not be muddied.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

If the Government wanted to have a debate earlier today and had pursued an SO24 application in order to secure it, why do they not want a debate now, and why do they not table a motion now in order to have a debate tomorrow? It is within their power. Why should they be using powers that are available for Back Benchers to call on the Government when they have the power to do so themselves?

[Andrea Leadsom]

We are now awaiting an SO24 emergency debate on the subject of Syria.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Ian C. Lucas

Thursday 26th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

As I have said to a number of hon. Members, it is absolutely right that we all focus on the specific health issues in our own constituencies and that, where necessary, we defend them. The hon. Lady will be aware that NHS funding will be more than half a trillion pounds from 2015 to 2020, that the overwhelming majority of patients continue to be seen within four hours, and that the Government are investing more money in doctors, GP surgeries, nursing training and so on. On the specific issues for York, she should certainly seek to raise them in an Adjournment debate.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

The citizens advice bureau in Wrexham is doing an excellent job at the moment, providing advice on universal credit and debt pressures, but, unfortunately, the local authority is proposing to withdraw funding for the CAB in Wrexham at the end of this financial year. Can we have an urgent debate on advice and the importance of funding advice for people who are under financial pressure?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I take this opportunity to thank citizens advice bureaux for all the excellent work they do in all of our constituencies. The hon. Gentleman raises the important point that they are very often largely volunteer funded—although they do a lot of their own fundraising—and we should all defend the budgets for those citizens advice bureaux as well as the budgets for other advisers who provide a lot of volunteer work to help people to stay out of debt.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Ian C. Lucas

Thursday 17th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The Government are actively seeking EU state aid approval to ensure that we can treat remote island wind as a separate technology to onshore and offshore wind, as they operate in high wind areas with very challenging conditions. We are awaiting that approval, and, as the hon. Lady knows, we will be making announcements about CfD rounds later this year.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

Amendment of the Law

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Ian C. Lucas

Monday 26th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

This has been a great Budget for business growth, for work incentives and, as the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey) rightly says, for technology, too. However, I shall focus my comments on a huge potential opportunity for growth by using technology, which would transform the banking system, put people and small businesses first, and shatter the comfortable oligopoly of the big banks in our banking sector.

Bank balance sheets in Britain amount to 500% of our GDP, which compares with about 300% in Germany and France, and only 100% in the US. Britain is uniquely at risk from this highly profitable sector. Financial services employ 1 million people in the UK, including 250,000 in Birmingham alone, and generate 11% of our total tax take. However, banks in the UK are so highly concentrated that four or five players have 80% of the small and medium-sized enterprises lending market and 80% of the personal current account market, and only about 2% of that on their vast balance sheets is lent into the real economy—the bit that gives us our jobs and helps businesses to grow. We saw in 2008 how the crisis in banking could bring our economy to its knees. Our unique British dilemma is in deciding what to do about this critical industry which has the ability to make or break us. The Chancellor was right to set up the Independent Commission on Banking to look at how to improve the industry, but it missed a big opportunity, as it did not address the massive barriers to entry into the UK economy for new challenger banks.

When I was director of Barclays Financial Institutions Group in the 1990s, an incredible consolidation took place in the financial sector. Banks merged with fund managers, broker dealers, private banks and building societies, creating today’s oligopoly of banks that are simply too big to fail.

[Ian Lucas]

The hon. Lady is making an interesting speech, and she is talking about the 1990s, when she was at Barclays. Does she agree that one of the major errors of the late 1980s was the incredible centralisation that took place through the privatisations and the ending of local building societies, and that that is a major reason why it is impossible to get local access to finance now? That issue needs to be addressed.

[Andrea Leadsom]

I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman.

Before Virgin took over Northern Rock, Metro Bank was the only company to have been granted a full banking licence in 100 years. I have met entrepreneurs who would love to finance and set up new banks, and we have seen the launch of some new financial services products through the likes of Tesco and Marks and Spencer, but competition remains woeful. At the latest meeting of my business breakfast club, members made it clear to me that switching their business between banks is nearly impossible. Banks that lend money to SMEs require that their customers also do their everyday banking and personal current account banking with them. Some banks even require businesses to switch from a floating-rate loan to a fixed-rate one—that is profitable for the banks, but it forces the business into a loan that it cannot pay back early without enormous expense.

One specific policy would be a game changer for Britain, radically transforming our banking sector in terms of choice and competition, for business and personal accounts alike. We should introduce full bank account portability; we should be able to change banking provider at the flick of a switch. As with mobile telephones, when we change our bank we should be able, if we so wish, to take our account details with us. The ICB has proposed a costly seven-day switching service, where banks undertake to assist customers to move their banking within seven days but customers will still have to change all their direct debits, cheque books and debit cards, and all their documentation. Instead, we could insist on the creation of a shared payments clearing system, where all banks participate and customers have a unique bank account number with a code that simply identifies which bank holds the account. Switching would then be simple because nothing, other than the identifier code, would need to change when someone changes banks. This would vastly transform competition in the sector. Of course the big banks will resist it, arguing that the costs outweigh the benefits, but I want to highlight five very real advantages of full account portability.

First, it would cut barriers to entry for new challenger banks. Increased competition would force banks to differentiate themselves to retain customers. This would lead to enormous improvements in customer service and differentiation of bank offerings. Secondly, new challengers would mean more banks and, over time, a reduction in the risk of banks being too big to fail. The US has more than 3,000 banks and when a retail bank fails there is hardly a ripple. We need diversity of financial services providers, and this would enable it.

Thirdly, industry experts claim that the impact of creating a new shared clearing infrastructure would mean the banks sorting out the problem of their multiple legacy systems that date back to the consolidation of the 1990s. New systems could lead to a reduction of up to 40% in the bank fraud that costs the sector billions each year and is passed on to customers.

Fourthly, multiple legacy systems within banks make it hard properly to evaluate business ideas. Banking is essentially a technology business and improving the single customer view would have a positive impact on banks’ ability to evaluate credit risks and lend more successfully.

Finally, account portability offers the potential for orderly resolution of a failed bank. The potential to close down a bank and move accounts overnight to a solvent bank could be a valuable tool in a future financial crisis. The Chancellor has been kind enough to tell the Treasury Committee that he would consider full account portability if the ICB’s preferred option of a seven-day switching service fails to improve the current low switching levels. I urge him to grasp the nettle now. Technology has the potential to drive a fundamental change in our banking system.