Oral Answers to Questions

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Alok Sharma]

We are working with the steel sector, as the hon. Member will know, and we continue to work closely with it. Of course I absolutely remain committed to supporting a sustainable UK steel sector. We have increased the amount of borrowing that can take place under the larger CBIL scheme but, as I said to the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) in answer to an earlier question, when individual companies approach us, we will of course enter into direct discussions with them.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

It is good news that our shops are gradually reopening across England, but they are in a delicate economic position. The good old British compromise of our Sunday trading laws allows a balance between the larger stores, the smaller shops, the interests of consumers and the interests of staff working in those shops. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the very last thing we should be doing is disturbing that compromise and potentially placing at risk the jobs and economic capabilities of our small shopkeepers across England?

[Alok Sharma]

Of course we keep all these matters under review, and I know that there is a range of views on this matter. I would just point out that we did temporarily relax Sunday trading during the London Olympics. That was to support consumers and, of course, the economy as well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Tuesday 21st January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Chris Skidmore]

I thank the hon. Lady for her work as the chair of the all-party group on photonics. She is absolutely right: the central belt across Scotland—centred on Glasgow, in particular, and the new Clyde waterfront innovation district—is absolutely critical for our national success in photonics. As part of our national quantum technologies programme, which the Secretary of State alluded to, some £50 million will be invested in a hub for quantum imaging at Glasgow University by 2024. On business involvement, I am determined, as the Science and Innovation Minister, that we not only look at how we protect future intellectual property in this area and attract foreign investment through our international research and innovation strategy but, at the same time, look at new forms of protection through our innovation and regulation White Paper.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

7. What steps the Government are taking to support the provision of small-scale modular nuclear reactors.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Nadhim Zahawi)]

It is delightful to see you in your place, Mr Speaker; this is the first opportunity I have had to congratulate you.

Small modular reactors have significant potential to reduce our carbon emissions, and help to achieve net zero by using advanced manufacturing techniques to unlock what is referred to as “fleet economics” and drive down costs in nuclear.

[Bob Blackman]

It is clearly very good news that Rolls-Royce, a world-renowned company, has taken up the challenge of developing small modular nuclear reactors for clean energy not only for the UK, but for export across the world. What assessment has my hon. Friend made of the opportunity for new jobs in the UK and for exports across the world?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

The Rolls-Royce consortium has proposed a significant public-private joint innovation programme worth more than £500 million to design a first-of-its-kind SMR. The consortium expects a working model to be up and running in the early 2030s, that the SMR programme would create high-value export opportunities and, at its peak, 40,000 jobs, and that each SMR would be capable of producing enough clean electricity to power 750,000 homes.

Oral Answers to Questions

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Tuesday 30th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Chris Skidmore]

Unfortunately, residents and households in Scotland still need to use gas, given that 85% of UK households use gas for heating, and it is right that we look at opportunities to meet our energy demand. Some 47% of gas was imported in 2017, but if we do not take action, this could rise to 72%. We want to increase our opportunities for generating electricity through renewables. In quarter 3 of 2018, just 2.5% of electricity was generated by coal, compared with 40% in 2010, so we are going in the right direction, but we cannot forget that people will be using gas in Scotland.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

8. What recent steps he has taken to promote international collaboration in the science sector.

[The Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation (Chris Skidmore)]

As announced in the spring statement, I have invited Professor Sir Adrian Smith to provide independent advice on potential future funding schemes in the context of the UK’s future ambitions for European and international collaboration on science and innovation. I also look forward to welcoming delegations from over 50 countries to the EUREKA global innovation summit in Manchester this May.

[Bob Blackman]

Our world-class scientists collaborate across the world, with the EU and beyond, and that collaboration is vital for further research and innovation in this country. Horizon 2020 is a ready-made platform for that collaboration. Will my hon. Friend commit to joining the Horizon 2020 programme as we leave the EU?

[Chris Skidmore]

The Government have committed to guaranteeing all existing Horizon 2020 projects before Brexit. That was issued in August 2016 and demonstrated the Government’s commitment early on to protecting our scientific partnerships. We then had the underwrite extension in July 2018 which said that even once we had left the European Union—for two years up until December 2020—we would commit to funding those projects for the lifetime of them. We are now moving into negotiations on Horizon Europe, which is the successor scheme to Horizon 2020. I took part in the EU Competitiveness Council in February—I hope also to attend on 28 May—and it is our ambition to associate into Horizon Europe. On investment, my hon. Friend will be well aware that through our world-class universities we put in £4 billion and got back £5.7 billion in investment.

Draft Competition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Wednesday 5th December 2018 General Committees

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship once again, Sir Christopher. I am not a lawyer, but before I came to this place, I worked for BT for some 19 years. During that time, I developed the training for 100,000 people on the consequences of the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002 for the company.

The consideration I ask of my hon. Friend the Minister is twofold. The legislation should protect consumers from anti-competitive behaviour and also ensure that we do not get companies merging together to create monopolies that damage the rights of the consumer. As we leave the European Union, the companies involved in that potential behaviour are large corporate companies across the world. As we are passing this legislation, what is there to protect us? What rights will there be in our courts to prevent large companies across the world from damaging our economy? What protections will there be for consumers to prevent that from happening?

--- Later in debate ---

[Kelly Tolhurst]

The hon. Gentleman is right: if we enter a no-deal situation, we will not have a deal with the European Union. However, our world-respected bodies, such as the CMA and other regulators, are communicating on a daily and weekly basis with their counterparts in not only Europe but other parts of the world. There is nothing to suggest that that co-operation, communication and co-working would change, and we would seek for it to be continued. We still want to co-operate with our international partners, and I cannot foresee a situation, with or without a deal, where that would not happen. That is my understanding.

With regard to the hon. Gentleman’s question about whether it is right that we are debating this big SI in a short Committee, I highlight that the SI changes two big pieces of legislation. Remember that we are retaining EU law, so the SI is not a change in policy; it is about retaining what we have, to make it fit so that on day one, were we to leave the European Union without a deal, our statute book would function.

The first piece of legislation is the Competition Act 1998, and the SIs that sit under it. We have all sat through a number of SI Committees. In the years I have been a Member of Parliament, many small statutory instruments have altered larger pieces of legislation. The second piece of legislation is the Enterprise Act 2002, and other SIs that have been introduced that relate to the EU, and to the block exemption that I mentioned. The “etc.” refers to the other pieces of legislation, consideration of which we have all sat through. From looking at a hard copy of the Bill, a number of minor changes are clearly being made. That gives Members an idea of why we are discussing this matter in Committee, as opposed to having a wider debate.

With regard to whether the CMA is capable of continuing to do its job given the potential increase of work in a no-deal scenario, we expect that the CMA might have an increased case load of between five and seven antitrust cases in a year. We have also assessed—working with the CMA, obviously—that the CMA might have to deal with between 15 and 30 extra merger cases over a year.[Official Report, 17 December 2018, Vol. 651, c. 4MC.] The National Audit Office has looked at the CMA and believes that it has robust plans in place to operate and function after we leave the EU.

As Members will know, in 2017 in the spring statement the Chancellor put £3 billion aside over a two-year period for funding our EU exit. In the spring statement of this year, the Chancellor announced just under £24 million extra for the CMA. The CMA is going through a recruitment process to increase its number of workers. That will constitute a substantial increase in the size of the CMA, and I am reliably informed that the CMA is working to plan, and recruitment is on target at the moment.

State aid is not part of today’s SI, but I am sure that the hon. Member for Sefton Central will be pleased to hear that the Government will soon lay an SI on that issue. I look forward to having greater conversations with him about the merits—or not—of state aid, and what he would like to see in the future.

Regarding divergence, as the hon. Gentleman explained and as I understand it, post-exit decisions in the European courts will be notable by UK courts, but not binding on UK courts. The idea that previous case law becomes part of UK case law history has come about because businesses need certainty and decision makers need to be able to look at that: it is quite right that pre-exit case law remains the bank of case law. However, as we have determined, UK courts will not be bound by that case law, although they will obviously have regard to it. Going forward, we need businesses to have assurance that previous case law has set the precedent, but as we have outlined in the SI, UK courts can diverge from it.

As regards the guidance that we will be giving on that point, it is case law: obviously, it will be defined by judgments. As the hon. Gentleman knows, markets, competition and things are changing all the time, so the guidance will also change over time. At that point, if necessary, we will give guidance to the relevant individuals. The hon. Gentleman mentioned bringing claims in the UK for things happening within the jurisdiction of the European Union. That is true: they will be brought here in the UK. I believe we can do so under UK law in UK courts. Also on that point, there is an ability to bring a civil, private claim in the UK under foreign tort law anyway.

My hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East asked what we will do to make sure that the UK protects its consumers from the big corporate organisations that are perceived to potentially cause restrictions and competition issues in the UK. As I outlined, our competition law in the UK is world renowned; we are respected internationally for the way we deal with such cases, and we already have great co-operation with international organisations.

To give one example, in the Google investigation a UK market was one of the main ones being investigated, and most of the claimants came from the UK market. I hope that gives my hon. Friend some comfort that, even if we are in a no-deal situation, if this SI is agreed we will be more than ready to take on those challenges and we will continue to maintain co-operation with our international partners and the European Union to make sure that the protection of UK consumers is at the heart of what they are doing.

[Bob Blackman]

I thank my hon. Friend for the explanation she has given. One aspect of European competition law is the economic assessment of what constitutes a monopoly. We could be in a position where something would not constitute a monopoly in the UK, but would be a direct threat to UK consumer interests, and would still be a monopoly in the European Union. What would be the position under the SI for consumers to gain protection as a result?

[Kelly Tolhurst]

My hon. Friend is right when he talks about the thresholds. Obviously, for the UK to take a particular action, the monopoly would have to meet our threshold abilities. It would, however, be down to the CMA to take forward cases, based on a number of different assessments. We do not expect—I do not expect—that the regulations will put the UK in a worse place. In fact, we could argue that there are benefits: under the regulations, the UK will make those decisions directly for UK consumers, rather than the decisions being taken at a distance. I hope that reassures my hon. Friend.

I thank the Committee for its consideration of the regulations. I thank the hon. Member for Sefton Central for his contribution and for the questions that he has asked me. He is absolutely right to do so, because it is an important debate and we are talking about the protection of UK consumers.

The amendments in the regulations are essential. If they were not passed, businesses would lack clarity as to how to act, and the CMA’s decisions would face a considerable litigation risk. It is vital that consumers continue to be protected from anti-competitive behaviour in the event of no deal.

As I have outlined several times, the UK has a world-renowned competition system. The regulations make no change to that system beyond correcting the deficiencies in retained EU law. We can all agree that it is essential that the regulations are in place in the event of a no-deal outcome. The amendments will ensure legal clarity for businesses, reduce litigation and protect consumers. They will also provide a smooth transition from the current system in the EU to a stand-alone UK competition regime in the event of a no-deal exit. I trust that I have answered all the Committee’s questions and I hope the Committee approves the regulations.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That the Committee has considered the draft Competition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

Oral Answers to Questions

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Tuesday 20th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Kelly Tolhurst]

As I have said repeatedly during this questions session, we are not closing post offices. If the hon. Lady has a particular problem in her constituency, I am more than happy to hear her concerns about that individual case, but we are not closing post offices. We are taking a sustainable approach to make sure that we achieve and maintain those 11,500 branches throughout the UK.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

What action is the Minister taking to promote the development of small-scale modular nuclear reactors so that we can diversify the energy supply?

[Richard Harrington]

rose—

Public Holidays on Religious Occasions

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Monday 29th October 2018 Westminster Hall

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Main, and to follow the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Martyn Day). I congratulate him and the Petitions Committee on tabling this timely and important debate. I led the debate in this place in 2014 on behalf of the Backbench Business Committee, which was responsible for petitions before we wisely set up the Petitions Committee. I am pleased to see that there is a 400% increase in Back-Bench interest in the debate today; clearly, we are gaining ground. We have a new Minister and a new Opposition spokesman, whom we can possibly convince of the wisdom of seeking to increase the number of public holidays on a religious basis in this country.

It is often said that the costs of public holidays are damaging to the economy, but as the hon. Gentleman said in his introduction, we have the fewest public holidays among our neighbours. We have fewer public holidays than the United States of America, which is often seen as the great bastion of free enterprise and of driving forward and therefore as discouraging people from taking holidays.

There is a clear issue here. The Chancellor today stressed the importance of improving Britain’s productivity. Providing people with a holiday increases their productivity, because people rest, recharge their batteries and come back to work far better off, rather than being forced to work long hours. I think it is the Leader of the Opposition who has been speaking about having a four-day week across the UK. I would not go as far as that, but it is important that, as we drive forward as a country, we should look at having potentially more public holidays, where people can take time off with their families and have the opportunity of some leisure time to gain the benefits of an advanced economy.

The hon. Gentleman has set out the position on public holidays now. If we look at them throughout the year, we have, broadly speaking, the Easter holidays, which are around March and April—by the way, they are not fixed; they change from year to year as well. We have public holidays on the first and last Monday in May, to go with some decent weather—[Laughter.] Well, hopefully we will have some decent weather, but I know that is tempting fate most years. Then there is the last Monday in August, which also shifts around each year. Then we have Christmas and Boxing day in December and, finally, the new year’s break.

The reality is that, when those fall at weekends, the public holidays shift accordingly, to fall within the working week. It is not the case that we have public holidays specified on particular dates. One of the objections that has been suggested is that, because religious festivals may fall on days other than working days and are not necessarily completely predictable—although I would argue that they are—we could not have a public holiday during the week to celebrate the religious holidays when they fall at weekends.

One important issue is that, while Eid advances each year with the end of Ramadan, generally speaking it falls at the end of June or thereabouts. That is quite helpful to break up the year during the summer. Equally, Diwali is between October and November, as has been said, and breaks up the period between the August bank holiday and Christmas. I would go further, because the hon. Gentleman mentioned many of the great religions of the world, but not Judaism. I think we should have a holiday based around Judaism as well. That could fall on either Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, both of which tend to occur in September.

In our much more diverse country, as it is now, we have great adherence to religious faith, particularly among the great religions, but it is concentrated in particular areas. We are coming up to Diwali; indeed, the big holiday will not be Diwali itself, but the day after, which is the Hindu new year. That is when people of the Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist faiths will all go to their temples to pray for health, wealth and happiness in the new year, and will meet their families in the afternoon—a day when the people of those religions will, frankly, not be working anyway. Why not recognise that fact and give everyone the opportunity to have a day off and recharge on that basis?

Equally, at Eid, when we come to the end of Ramadan and people are exhausted from the days of fasting, there is a day of prayer. Why should that not also be a public holiday, particularly given the range of Muslims now in this country? We should recognise that fact and lead on to it.

I have mentioned Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, and I think a consultation with the Jewish community would be well received. It is a requirement among people of the Jewish faith to fast, go to the synagogue and pray, breaking their fast at the end—funnily enough, there are many similarities between the Muslim and Jewish faiths on that particular issue. During those times, it is fundamental that someone who is Jewish observes both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, even if they do not follow all the rest of the religious holidays.

I suggest that the three dates I have put forward—both in 2014, when I led the debate here, and now—fit what we seek to do, which is to increase the number of public holidays in the United Kingdom, spread them across the year and build them around religious faith, so that those who are of religious faith can celebrate their faith and not be forced to work or, indeed, to compete for opportunities to take time off. That is one of the fundamental things that are vital in terms of fairness and opportunity for everyone. There is certainly a case for extra public holidays based on faith, and I strongly support it.

I notice that the hon. Member for Harrow West (Gareth Thomas), my constituency neighbour, is here. The London Borough of Harrow has the greatest adherence to religious faith of any place in the country. People celebrate their religion and follow it strongly, and I invite colleagues to come and visit during a faith day, because they will see people celebrating their faith and taking time off work to be with their families, as they should. It is right that we should enshrine that in legislation, giving people the opportunity to celebrate the faith of their choice.

I know that there are objections to proposals such as this, be it from secularists or even the Government, based on the cost of providing such holidays. However, I suggest that the cost to industry of disruption from people of religious faith taking time off work is far greater than if those days were given as public holidays, with everybody then knowing when those days will be. Some people would object, saying that we cannot predict when Eid or Diwali will fall, but actually we can, because as was rightly said, they are decided by the phase of the moon. In times gone by, astronomers studied that very carefully. We can now, with a certain conviction, predict when the holidays will fall and set the public holidays far in advance.

In order to fulfil that, we may have to change the day of the week on which a public holiday falls, but that should not be a distraction in any case. Why should we limit ourselves to having public holidays only on Mondays? We do not do that for Christmas. When Christmas falls on a Saturday or Sunday, we will have Boxing day and then a public holiday, or possibly two, after. We unnaturally limit ourselves by only holding bank holidays on Mondays.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for putting forward a powerful argument and request for special days for different religious sects. The hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Martyn Day) referred, as did I in my intervention, to the greater capacity of employers to work with employees, but the hon. Gentleman has not referred to that yet. Does he feel that there is a halfway house towards that, with employers playing their part for employees who need those extra days off? Does he feel that that is the way forward?

[Bob Blackman]

There are clearly two issues. There are private employers and there are public sector bodies. We would clearly require people, as we do currently, to work in hospitals, the fire brigade and the police—I could continue naming other public services—on bank holidays or public holidays. However, I see no reason at all why appropriate arrangements should not be made to enable people of different faiths to work on different public holidays, flexing the workforce according to the requirements of a particular company or service. What is wrong with that?

I strongly support the principle of providing more public holidays—we have far too few in this country—and I strongly believe that we should base them around the major religions, to demonstrate that we celebrate all religions. We should consult with those communities, and particularly their leaderships, on when such public holidays should be held, whether they should be on the particular day of the week that the religious holiday falls on, and how they should be implemented, together with how firms and public services should operate. This idea would certainly meet with great enthusiasm among the general public and would give great certainty to employers, who would know what the position would be with their employees. We could predict these things in advance, so they could be planned in the calendar, rather than having people who celebrate particular faiths taking days off.

When I was a councillor in the London Borough of Brent, every religious holiday was programmed out of our calendars so that no meetings could take place on those days. Many days were declared as unacceptable for holding committee meetings or full council meetings or such like. If a London borough can do that, so can this country.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Kelly Tolhurst)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Mrs Main. It is also a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Justin Madders) as Opposition spokesperson for the first time. It is good to be here.

I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Martyn Day) not only for introducing the debate on behalf of the Petitions Committee, but for his thoughtful and informative speech. I thank the other hon. Members who have taken part, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman). It was great to hear how he led the charge for a similar debate in 2014. He is a big champion of the diverse community in Harrow East. I am also grateful to the people who signed the e-petitions that have brought us here today.

I am proud that we are one of the world’s most successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith societies. We should all be proud of that diversity, which is at the heart of our economic success. It has made us the strong, vibrant nation we are today.

The Government welcome the celebration of Diwali, Eid and other religious festivals. This year, the festival of Diwali will take place on 7 November and I send my best wishes to everyone who will be celebrating in Britain and around the world. Downing Street will host its Diwali celebration on 15 November.

[Bob Blackman]

I am sorry to interrupt the Minister, who is rightly extolling the virtues of Diwali. We will be celebrating Diwali in Parliament on Wednesday. I have the honour of hosting the event on the Terrace. She and all hon. Members are welcome to join us between 4 o’clock and 6 o’clock. Equally, as she is keen to understand the importance of these days, I invite her to join me on Hindu new year’s day, when I shall be visiting no fewer than 11 temples and celebrating with the people who are celebrating that key day.

[Kelly Tolhurst]

I thank my hon. Friend for the invite. Last year or the year before, I attended a similar event, so I look forward to attending this year. I also thank him very much for his invitation to visit 11 different temples; I am not too sure whether I can agree to that at this point, but—

[Bob Blackman]

One is enough.

[Kelly Tolhurst]

One is enough, but I thank my hon. Friend for his invitation. As he highlighted earlier, many parliamentarians throughout the country will celebrate that day with their constituents, as he will, and they will ensure that they are present at a lot of these events.

As Members will know, the current pattern of bank holidays is well established. There are eight permanent bank and public holidays in England and Wales. Scotland has nine and Northern Ireland has 10. The Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 allows for dates to be changed or other holidays to be declared. This allows for holidays to be declared to celebrate special occasions or one-off events.

The Government regularly receive requests for additional bank and public holidays to celebrate a wide variety of occasions. Recent requests have included public holidays to commemorate our armed forces, to mark particular royal events and to celebrate certain sporting successes. We carefully consider every request that we receive.

Although the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk has made a powerful case today, the Government do not believe that it is necessary for such extra bank holidays to be declared, for reasons that I will now outline. First, the costs to the economy of introducing new public holidays are considerable. The most recent assessment of an additional holiday for the diamond jubilee, which has been spoken about today, showed a total cost to employers of around £1.2 billion. Depending on the nature of the holiday that is being proposed, costs may be partially offset by increased revenues for businesses in the leisure and tourism sectors, and by a boost in retail spending. However, it is not expected that public holidays for Eid or Diwali would result in an increase in tourism.

Although bank holidays have become widely observed, workers do not have a legal right to take time off for specific bank holidays or to receive extra pay for them; that depends on the terms of their employment agreement and contract. In the UK, full-time workers receive a minimum annual leave entitlement of 28 days. That is a combination of eight days to represent bank holidays and the EU minimum annual leave of 20 days. The extra eight days of leave do not need to be taken on bank holidays themselves, giving workers flexibility. Many employers offer extra leave entitlement on top of the statutory minimum.

It is at the heart of the Government’s quality of work agenda to encourage employers to respond flexibly and sympathetically to any requests for leave, including for religious holidays. The relationship between the worker and the manager is a key aspect of good quality work. Part of a sound relationship is mutual respect and a willingness to accommodate a worker’s religious or cultural commitments.

I will now touch on a few points that the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk made. Discrimination in the workplace is not tolerated and is completely unacceptable, so I was very sad to hear about some of the issues that he raised and about some of the feelings that individuals have expressed, which he referred to in his speech.

The hon. Gentleman made an interesting point about swapping religious festivals, but, as I outlined earlier, people do not necessarily have to take bank holidays off, so there is flexibility with the annual leave entitlement for people to make use of that time on their own particular religious holidays.

However, the heart of the argument is around making sure that we do all we can, as a Government, to ensure that employers are sympathetic to the needs of their workers. As everyone who has spoken here today has outlined, the key to the success of companies and businesses is the happiness of their employees. As a Government, we will continue to encourage business to respect people’s views and meet their needs.

The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) raised the issue of education, which is an important part of this debate. I can only speak about my own experience from when I was at school. Even then, in the ’70s—well, in the ’80s, I should say—[Interruption.] Yes, I was at school in the ’80s. Actually, I benefited at my comprehensive school from a really good religious education, which did not just focus on Christianity; it covered all the other major religions that are present in this country, too. So I found that, both at school and after I left school, I was in an environment that was very multicultural, even in the ’80s, and I believe that I left school with a good understanding of many of the religions that we have spoken about today. Nevertheless, that is something that we must keep abreast of, and I am sure that the Department for Education will welcome the questions that have been put to it today.

I will just mention a couple of points that my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East made. He is a strong champion for his constituency and it was great to hear him also talking about Jewish holidays and his constituency. He mentioned the need for employers to understand and to be sympathetic to the needs of particular individuals, and we will continue to monitor that.

I thank the hon. Member for Harrow West (Gareth Thomas), who is another strong champion for his constituency, for his contribution. However, even though he was very determined that he wants to increase the number of public holidays, I am yet to be convinced about the type of extension that he suggested. Nevertheless, it was great that he was able to make his point.

Finally, I will touch on the contribution by the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston. As I have outlined, we receive a lot of requests for different holidays. We have had requests for St George’s day and an “EU independence” day, and very recently there was a request regarding Harry and Meghan’s wedding. I am sure that the requests for new bank holidays will continue as time goes on, and I am also sure that all the constituents out there would always relish the thought of another day off work. The hon. Gentleman also talked about employers’ awareness of religion, and that is key to what I will come on to later.

I noticed that the hon. Gentleman mentioned that bank holidays could be directly relatable to the productivity of employees, and I think that is a theory that might be tested. However, he also mentioned that with our move to new technology, such as artificial intelligence and robots, there will definitely be job losses. The Government are committed to ensuring that we can provide an economy, a workplace and the skills and jobs that will keep people employed. I am not yet convinced that we need to establish more bank holidays on the back of that change, but he probably has a counterargument.

I will make two quick points to address some of the hon. Gentleman’s other comments. First, I understand that he has asked some questions around the assessment of the cost of bank holidays. Since I became the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, I have not done that assessment, but it would be an interesting area to consider. However, I would always argue that the costs that have been established could be, in reality, potentially higher, so it would be interesting to see who was right and who was wrong on that point.

Regarding our leaving Europe, we have been clear on workers’ rights. As we leave Europe, this Government have been clear that we will not make any concessions in relation to the workers’ rights that we already have, and that we want to ensure that our workers’ rights are protected and built upon. I think that the Prime Minister has been very clear on that.

On the hon. Gentleman’s comment about self-employment, and self-employed people not necessarily being able to benefit from bank holidays, the whole essence of being self-employed is around the flexibility of work; self-employed people are not subjected to the same restraints as full-time employees with regard to their holiday entitlement. So, although he makes a point around self-employment, self-employed individuals actually have a lot more flexibility than others do, particularly to enjoy the religious festivals that they may want to observe.

Oral Answers to Questions

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Tuesday 16th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Kelly Tolhurst]

As I have outlined, a number of stores are going into franchise agreements. It is important that we have a post office network that is fit for purpose and serves consumers as they currently are being. As Post Office Minister, I take that very seriously, but I am always happy to meet with the hon. Gentleman to discuss any particular concerns in his constituency.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

T10. As we embark on a new nuclear future, it is vital that we have a workforce that is able to deliver the skills and capability. What action is my hon. Friend taking to ensure that young people in particular get the training and opportunities for a career in this wonderful industry?

[Richard Harrington]

I thank my hon. Friend for this question because it is absolutely relevant to our nuclear sector deal, which concentrates very much on the development of skills particularly for young people. I was most impressed on a recent visit to Hinkley Point C by how many young people are in training, particularly the increase in the number of young women involved in nuclear, and I know that will continue.

Student Loan Book: Sale

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 11th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

The sale remains subject to market conditions and a value-for-money assessment, but I will not be taking lessons from the Scottish National party on student finance. The SNP has created a system that actively works against the disadvantaged in Scotland. We have a system that is funding our universities well and helping the disadvantaged.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his answers. Can he give me and my constituents, either students or borrowers, an assurance that whoever buys this loan book will have no access to personal data and no contact or involvement in setting the rates for the loans?

[Mr Gyimah]

My hon. Friend has my categorical assurance that that will not happen.

Nuclear Sector Deal

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 28th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

On the contrary. Since 1990, the UK has cut emissions by 43%, while our economy has grown by more than two thirds. We have reduced emissions faster than any other G7 nation, while leading the G7 countries in growth in national income per person. We are actually increasing our economic growth, while at the same time ensuring that we are doing what we need to do for the environment by promoting clean growth.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Given the good news that the Minister has announced, I am surprised that it took an urgent question from the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock) to secure a Government response.

Will my hon. Friend update us on what will be done to enable small modular reactors to be spread across the United Kingdom, so that we can cease to rely on fossil fuels?

[Mr Gyimah]

The Government do not intend to hide their light under a bushel in terms of the good news. My hon. Friend can find the paper on the sector deal in the House of Commons Library. As for the promotion of small modular reactors across the UK, it is part of our industrial strategy, but the nuclear sector deal and our work with the industry will help in a specific way.

Rolls-Royce Redundancies

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 14th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The announcement was made at 7 o’clock this morning that there is a proposal to reduce the headcount. Rolls-Royce has specified that the reduction will be in the management and support functions, rather than in the engineering and operational aspect. When further information is made available, I will make sure the hon. Gentleman, as the Member for a constituency with a great interest in the matter, shares in that information.

It is important to emphasise that the aerospace sector is characterised by growth. The proposed redundancies at Rolls-Royce—I make no bones about it—are clearly devastating news for those who may be affected but, overall, aerospace, including Rolls-Royce in this country, is enjoying higher order books. We will work together to make sure that, including in the test beds we have established together, we are at the forefront of the latest technologies in the future, as we have been to date.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Rolls-Royce is a worldwide brand of which our competitors are clearly jealous. What extra assistance can my right hon. Friend or the Department for International Trade provide, as we leave the European Union, to increase the opportunities for Rolls-Royce worldwide?

[Greg Clark]

Rolls-Royce is already one of our most successful exporters. All around the world, my Department and the Department for International Trade work closely to support the company’s export push. The industry is very competitive, and there is a requirement to be at the cutting edge of technology, so our investment in research and development is an important boost to that future international competitiveness. When it comes to trade promotional support, there is already a close relationship between the company and the Government.