Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Wednesday 29th April 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. I am glad to say that the health service is opening up for people to go back for continuation of treatments that were suspended and to have tests for potential new illnesses. That is important and was part of the whole strategy to ensure that the NHS could cope and that lives could be saved from other illnesses as well as the coronavirus.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con) [V]]

I would like to place on record my congratulations to the Prime Minister and his fiancée on the birth of their first baby.

The Treasury has done a remarkable job in coming forward with various schemes to help people through this terrible pandemic. However, some people have still been left behind. People who run a small business from home and people in professions, such as dentists, solicitors, accountants and others, have complained to me that they seem to be deliberately excluded from the Government’s schemes. May we have an updated statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what measures he will introduce to enable those key people, who are fundamental to our economy, to be supported through the crisis until the economy can recover?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Chancellor did make a statement on Monday. The schemes for small businesses are pretty comprehensive, including 100% loans, which have now been announced, the suspension of rate payments, the funding for entrepreneurs and the self-employed and so on. That Government are doing what they can, but those matters could be covered in the general debate on 11 May.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Wednesday 25th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Duke of Rothesay and the Lord of the Isles will, I am sure, appreciate the good wishes from the SNP. I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s point on the guidance from the Library. That is very useful, and the Library is a wonderful resource that we have. As regards questions, it is important that the Government are held to account, and I can assure the House that we are looking at ways in which questions may be continued. My only caveat is that Ministers are exceptionally busy at the moment, and it is important that people are reasonable in what they ask for.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

In these tough economic times for people, a number of our constituents will be tempted to take a payment holiday on their mortgage. Unfortunately, those holidays will not be paid holidays, but unpaid ones. The reality is that the interest on the mortgages will continue to accrue and will need to be paid when things return to normal.

The one area that does not seem to be offering any payment holidays whatsoever is our credit card companies, which are already charging exorbitant interest charges anyway, even though the Bank of England has slashed interest rates. Will my right hon. Friend arrange for the Treasury to do something about that to prevent many of our constituents falling into terrible debt from which they may take years, literally, to recover?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend is right that the usurious rates charged on credit cards can trap people into high levels of debt, as may the high overdraft fees and interest rates that have recently been introduced. It is a serious matter. I am sure that the banks are aware that the rest of the country is doing its best to help, and they will note that they received a lot of help in 2008. I am reminded of a parable about that, but time does not allow.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The hon. Lady is right to raise this point. The Chancellor has said he will do whatever it takes, which is an important commitment. The scale of the problem is one that, if just moved to the insurance companies, it would have an effect on the insurance companies. We therefore need to look at what the Government are doing and at their overall approach, and we need to take to heart the Chancellor’s word that he will do whatever it takes.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

The Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee, the hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns), is away on constituency business so, on behalf of the Committee, can I ask my right hon. Friend what provisions will be made for restarting Westminster Hall debates, which are a major part of the Committee’s allocation? Alternatively, will there be further time for debates in this Chamber?

Most of us did not use hand sanitisers until a few weeks ago. I have seen evidence of wholesalers trebling prices to retailers, but it is not clear that those increases have been passed on by manufacturers. Wholesalers are clearly profiteering from these hand sanitisers, and retailers are left with the unenviable choice of passing on the increases or having a small margin. Can we have a Government statement on what will be done to prevent such unfair profiteering at a time of national emergency?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I will answer both questions. We will have discussions about reopening Westminster Hall as soon as that is practicable. There is a commitment to reopen it, and the discussions about reopening Westminster Hall will be similar to the ones about closing it. Particularly at this time, with not all Ministers being available, the pressure has been greater than normal, but that will abate in due course.

My hon. Friend is right to raise the immoral practice of profiteering and racketeering, and I call on wholesalers to exercise better judgment. The Government are keeping a close eye on such activity, as I said earlier, and will act if necessary. Some people always feel the right thing to do in difficult times is to get involved in profiteering. They should think twice about that and not do it.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

This was referred to by the Chancellor in his statement yesterday and solutions are being brought forward. Department for Work and Pensions staff stand ready to support anyone affected. We encourage them to get in touch to discuss their situation. Universal credit will be paid up front to people who will need it: 100% of the first month’s payment may be made. Steps are being taken to help people who are self-employed. I think £1 billion extra is being devoted to the welfare budget, to help people who are in difficulties because of the coronavirus.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I apologise for not being present at Transport questions, due, ironically, to a delay on the Jubilee line. It is extremely welcome that the Budget announced that local authorities are going to be allowed to build more council homes and to borrow money at a cheap price from the Public Works Loan Board. However, local authorities up and down the country have used the very low interest rate to buy retail centres, which are high-risk ventures, in order to generate income for the future. Will my right hon. Friend arrange a debate or a statement to make sure that local authorities do not abuse their new powers and that, rather than buying retail centres, they get people the homes they need?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

That was why the Public Works Loan Board interest rate was raised earlier and is now being reduced for councils that will be building council houses. It is absolutely right to raise that in the Budget debate, but it is fair to say that the Government are conscious of the issue.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Could I just say that I am expecting to run business questions until 11.15 am?

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Further to the question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Theresa Villiers) on violent crime, last year, in the London Borough of Harrow, the number of notifiable offences rose to 17,329, up from 14,897 the year before. Meanwhile, our do-nothing Mayor spends his money, which he is given by the Government, on public relations and spin doctors. He has been given £5 billion to build 116,000 new homes across the capital, and has failed to do that, and yesterday a third of tube trains were running late because of faulty trains. Could we have a debate on the failures of this do-nothing Mayor?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend makes a compelling case for the failure of the do-nothing Mayor, but fortunately the people of London will have the opportunity to vote for Shaun Bailey in May.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to what I said earlier about vetting. However, I would say that my own view about eugenics—as far as I am aware, this is the Prime Minister’s view too, as he stated yesterday—is that it is the most dreadful belief and, to my mind, fundamentally ungodly.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

On 19 April, we will commemorate the 101st anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in the Punjab in India. Last year, I led a debate in Westminster Hall, as we approached the centenary, and asked the Government to apologise. May we now have a debate in Government time and an opportunity for the Government to apologise on behalf of the British people for the massacre in India?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

From memory, Winston Churchill was himself very clear at the time about the appallingness of what happened 101 years ago. A debate was held last year, and the 100th anniversary was the right time to do it. I urge my hon. Friend to raise this matter in Foreign Office questions next month.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Let me help the House by saying that I am expecting to run business questions for 45 minutes or thereabouts.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House arrange for a debate on pension funds, particularly those in the local government sector? Evidence has emerged this week that in London there is a £17.98 billion deficit between the assets and the liabilities. Clearly the concern is that this is unsustainable, right across the piece. This ranges from Bromley Council having a £59.1 million deficit to Brent Council having an eye-watering £925.7 million deficit. Clearly there is a problem, and we should have a debate in Government time to expose this scandal and make sure that our hard-working public sector employees have their pensions protected.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Obviously, this is a very important point, affecting pension funds across the country, not just public sector ones. Fortunately, there is an opportunity to debate it, because we have a local government finance debate on 24 February. I advise my hon. Friend to take the matter up then. I will be more than happy to take it up with Ministers in advance of the debate, so that they are briefed and ready for his comments. The Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee is sitting poised, ready to ask me a question, and may no doubt have heard my hon. Friend’s request for a debate.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I was unaware of Vauxhall’s history in that regard, so I am better informed thanks to the hon. Lady. Vauxhall is not a million miles from here, but I am grateful to her for raising that point. I would have thought that as it relates specifically to one area—to her constituency—it is worth making an application to Mr Speaker and raising it in an Adjournment debate.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I can assure the shadow Leader of the House that we are taking the responsibility of getting our Select Committee nominees very seriously—but we have such a huge number of colleagues to satisfy.

Could we have a debate in Government time on the Government’s decisions on the London plan? There are serious objections in relation to the green belt, parking issues, industrial land, density of housing, and back-garden developments. This does not just affect London; it affects the whole of the south-east. So could we have a debate in Government time on this pernicious plan put forward by the do-nothing Mayor of London?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I think we may be getting into the London mayoral elections in that question, and not unreasonably so. It is quite right that all levels of government, local as well as national, are held to account via this Parliament. I am sure that the Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee has heard my hon. Friend’s request, as I think it is more suitable to Back-Bench business time than to Government time.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I was not present for that exchange. We are lucky that in this House, we have a first-class Library service, which is phenomenally good at checking statistics. It may well be worth while asking the Library experts to dig into these statistics to see what the accurate figures are.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

One of the more popular measures in our manifesto was the abolition of some hospital car parking charges. It therefore came as a great shock to me to hear that APCOA, which runs the parking control at Northwick Park Hospital, is without notice or consultation dramatically increasing the parking charges, especially for staff, and taking away many of the staff permits that are available to them. May we have a debate in Government time about abolishing car parking charges? That would be popular across the country.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

That is a manifesto commitment, and it will be introduced. I am afraid APCOA will get its come-uppance when that happens.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Government, or at least this part of the Government, were unaware of this terrific anniversary until this moment, but I am all in favour of marking anniversaries. I will pass it on to the relevant ministry and see if we can have something exciting like Big Ben bonging to celebrate it.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Last August, on Indian Independence Day, and then again on 2 October last year, violent protests were held outside the Indian high commission by pro-Pakistani groups. Following the intervention of the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister, policing was put in place to prevent those groups getting anywhere near the Indian high commission. A week on Sunday, we have India Republic Day and the self-same groups are threatening violent demonstrations outside the Indian high commission. May we therefore have a statement from the Home Secretary on what action can be taken to ensure we not only safeguard the Indian high commission, but all embassies and commissions against violent demonstrators?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I think this is primarily an operational matter for the Metropolitan police. There is always a balance to be struck between allowing non-violent protest, which is a legitimate activity in a democracy, and preventing violence from taking place, but I will ensure that my hon. Friend’s question is passed on to the Home Secretary so that she is aware of his concern.