Oral Answers to Questions

Brandon Lewis Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Gerald Jones (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney) (Lab)]

3. What steps she has taken in response to trends in the level of racially motivated incidents since the EU referendum.

[The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service (Brandon Lewis)]

I hope I can say on behalf of the entire House that all Members are clear that hate crime of any description should not and must not be tolerated. We have been working with the police, EU embassies and community groups to monitor the situation, to provide reassurance and to encourage reporting of racist incidents. Recorded hate crime has now fallen to pre-referendum levels. Police force areas continue to monitor racist incidents on an ongoing basis to ensure that any increases are addressed at the earliest opportunity.

[Gerald Jones]

I thank the Minister for that answer. Across the UK we saw a rise in hate crime and religiously aggravated offences following the referendum—it was 41% higher in July 2016 than in July 2015. Will he inform the House of what provisions have been put in place to avoid any repetition specifically in relation to the triggering of article 50?

[Brandon Lewis]

There are a couple of points to make to the hon. Gentleman. We have put in place the Government’s new hate crime action plan, which is taking a number of steps, for example, to boost reporting. There is also new guidance for prosecutors and a new fund to ensure that we have protective security measures and additional funding in place for community organisations so that they can tackle hate crime. I also gently say to him that the Labour party should look carefully at this morning’s CST report, which clearly indicates a 36% rise in totally unacceptable recorded anti-Semitic crime, related directly to the problems in the Labour party.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for mentioning the CST report. Clearly, the concern of the Jewish community in this country is that hate crime against Jews is on the rise. He has seen the report and the whole community wants to know what he is going to do about it, so that we stamp out anti-Semitism, once and for all.

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. As I have outlined, it is important that we stamp out all forms of hate crime, which is why that action plan was put in place in July by the Home Secretary. We also all need to look at ourselves. It is clear when we look at the CST report that although we should be pleased about people having the confidence to come forward to report crime—the increase in recording is good—a rise in hate crime of any description, particularly a 36% rise such as this one, is disgraceful. I hope Members from across this House will be doing all they can to stamp that out.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

The Minister will be aware that the European Union has been a beacon of hope and a key proponent of equality for citizens’ rights across the globe. Will he categorically confirm to the House not only that the discrimination laws and rights bestowed upon people across the UK will be upheld following a UK exit from the EU, but that citizens living in the UK will not be left behind and have their rights taken hostage by Brexit?

[Brandon Lewis]

We have been very clear all along that we want not only to stamp out hate crime, but to play an important part in this with our partners right across Europe. Indeed, in the autumn, I spoke at the EU Council on this very issue, and aside from the Commission, we were the only ones from any country to talk about it. We should be proud of the fact that this country has some of the toughest laws in the world on hate crime. Just a few weeks ago, on 19 January, we hosted some 19 countries’ embassies to talk to them about what we are doing and what can be done further to drive out hate crime.

[Oliver Colvile (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) (Con)]

4. If the Government will support Girlguiding UK’s campaign to reduce violence against women and girls.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

5. What discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the Government's plans to continue direct grant funding to support independent domestic violence advisers after March 2017.

[The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service (Brandon Lewis)]

The Home Office has engaged closely with other Government Departments, through the violence against women and girls inter-ministerial group, to oversee delivery of the violence against women and girls strategy, including the commitment of increased funding of £80 million for the services. We have also engaged closely with commissioners and voluntary sector partners on the support provided for independent domestic violence advisers and our move to support better local collaboration and early intervention through the VAWG service transformation fund.

[Mr Cunningham]

Some 84% of victims reported feeling safer with an independent domestic violence adviser, and just over 1,000 advisers are needed to support the current number of known victims, yet there are currently only half that number. What steps will the Minister be taking to increase the number of independent domestic violence advisers throughout the country?

[Brandon Lewis]

As I just said, we have increased the funding to VAWG services to £80 million, and we are working with commissioners in local areas to make sure they can deliver the services that they understand are correct for their area and the women who live there.

[Chris Davies (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

I am proud that my local authority, Powys County Council, has become a white ribbon authority. Will my hon. Friend the Minister do all he can to encourage all local authorities to follow that example?

[Brandon Lewis]

My hon. Friend gives a really good example of where local work is delivering really good local results in a way that others can look at. We have to get better, throughout this country, at sharing best practice, and that is a really good example that others can look at.

[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

6. What progress the Government is making on reviewing the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the process relating to gender recognition certificates.

Oral Answers to Questions

Brandon Lewis Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

1. What recent progress he has made on the red tape challenge.

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

4. What recent progress he has made on the red tape challenge.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

5. What recent progress he has made on the red tape challenge.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Prisk]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: it is costs that businesses are focused on. I can tell him and the House that last year we were able to rein back planned regulations, which will save businesses more than £3.2 billion a year.

[Brandon Lewis]

Businesses across my constituency and elsewhere, and organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses, are making it clear that red tape and bureaucracy are the biggest blocks to growth and employment. After six new pieces of red tape or regulation a day under the Labour Government, will the Minister outline how many regulations have already been cut and what his ambitions are for the rest of this Parliament?

[Mr Prisk]

We inherited a scenario in which there was the equivalent of six new regulations every working day. I am therefore pleased to say that in the last year we have identified 600 regulations under the red tape challenge which we will either scrap or substantially overhaul, and we intend to ensure that we increase that number in the years to come.

Oral Answers to Questions

Brandon Lewis Excerpts

Monday 16th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Teather]

I agree with the premise of the hon. Gentleman’s question. Many child minders are of a high quality, so I would hesitate to sweep all child minders together. Unfortunately, there are issues of quality across the piece that we need to work on. We are consulting on a new basket of measures to ensure that, working with local authorities, we can raise quality. We are aware that there is a particular issue with disadvantaged areas, which often do not have as much choice or as good provision. It is a priority for us to ensure that the two-year-olds who really need this money benefit from it.

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

15. What progress his Department has made on work to reduce the administrative burden on teachers.

[The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes)]

The Government are committed to reducing the administrative burden on schools. We have removed the lengthy self-evaluation form, introduced a streamlined inspection framework, removed unnecessary duties and regulations in the Education Act 2011, and cut the volume of guidance issued to schools by a half. We are reviewing all requirements on schools so that they can focus on raising standards, rather than on unnecessary administrative tasks.

[Brandon Lewis]

Many young people study in FE colleges. Places such as Great Yarmouth college have made great strides forward with clear and decisive leadership. Will my hon. Friend therefore also outline what progress the Government are making in reducing the administrative burden for colleges?

[Mr Hayes]

I am always reluctant to list my achievements in this House, as you know, Mr Speaker, at least more than is necessary to keep the House informed of the scale and scope of the progress we are making. Suffice it to say that from June 2010, when I let colleges move funding between adult learner budgets, through the reduction in duties imposed on schools by the previous Government, up to the Education Act 2011, which gives still greater freedoms, we have sought to treat further education as grown up, after it was infantilised by the previous Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Brandon Lewis Excerpts

Thursday 8th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

2. What recent progress his Department has made on its employment law review being undertaken as part of the red tape challenge.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

13. What recent progress his Department has made on its employment law review being undertaken as part of the red tape challenge.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Edward Davey)]

We have made excellent progress with our employment law review. Our radical package includes streamlining the employment tribunals system, doubling the qualifying period for unfair dismissal, promoting early conciliation and mediation, and simplifying compromise agreements. We have also called for evidence on TUPE and collective redundancies as part of our wide reforms.

[Brandon Lewis]

For many years, small and medium-sized enterprises in particular have felt that they are caught in the stranglehold of gold-plated red tape when it comes to growing and employing more people. Will the Minister give grounds for optimism to companies that want the freedom to employ more people and grow, particularly with reference to TUPE, which he mentioned?

[Mr Davey]

The Government’s strategy is to ensure that we are not gold-plating. I am sure that my hon. Friend will have been pleased that on 23 November we published a call for evidence on the TUPE regulations, which he mentioned. It is available on the Department’s website and I encourage all right hon. and hon. Members to respond.

Academies (Funding)

Brandon Lewis Excerpts

Thursday 16th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gibb]

We are not denying responsibility. We are taking action to simplify the over-complex funding system that we inherited, which led to problems such as these in previous years.

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

In Great Yarmouth, we have seen the benefit and freedom resulting from the transformation of schools such as the Ormiston academy. Does the Minister agree that it is that freedom and the potential for transformation that are encouraging at least one in three secondary schools to apply for academy status?

[Mr Gibb]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He will know, as I am sure the Opposition do, that academies are improving at twice the pace of the rest of the schools system. That is why we are so determined to expedite the process of conversion to academy status.

Oral Answers to Questions

Brandon Lewis Excerpts

Thursday 9th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

We were delighted to be able to announce yesterday the decision on a new Humber estuary local enterprise partnership, which I am sure will play a positive role. I am sure that my hon. Friend would not expect me to say whether the enterprise zone will be awarded, but clearly the taskforce and the LEP are in a good position to represent that area.

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

14. What steps he is taking to help young unemployed people find apprenticeship places.

[The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes)]

In the Budget, we announced a further 40,000 apprenticeship places targeted at young unemployed people. That will be the catalyst for sustained joint working by the National Apprenticeship Service and Jobcentre Plus to maximise apprenticeship opportunities through contact with employers and client referral.

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

With business organisations and colleges in Great Yarmouth and Norwich doing their best for people in Norfolk and Great Yarmouth, what can the Minister do to ensure that the most disadvantaged people there continue to have good access to community learning?

[Mr Hayes]

I am pleased to be able to tell my hon. Friend in the House that the National Apprenticeship Service will be delivering training on apprenticeships to Jobcentre Plus staff in Great Yarmouth on 22 June. I would like to invite him to be there on that occasion to see just how we can make available to people the kind of opportunities that he has championed with such vehemence.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Performance)

Brandon Lewis Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

Over the last few years, the thing that I have heard most from business—whether it be from the Federation of Small Businesses, the chambers of commerce or individual businesses that I have dealt with in my own business, as a parliamentary candidate or, for the past 10 months or so, as an MP—is that there is too much regulation. My hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South (Mr Binley) made the point extremely well earlier, and just how much of a predicament that poses for business growth cannot be underestimated. It really does hamper too many business men, particularly those in small businesses, who spend too much of their time dealing with regulation. They spend more time dealing with that and feeding back data than they ever do developing and selling their businesses. That has got to stop. I congratulate the Government on taking steps to deal with it.

Business is unlikely to thank the Labour party or Opposition Members for tabling this motion. When business people look through it, they will find that it contains nothing positive about either this country’s business or what the Labour party suggests should be done about it. Perhaps we are back to the original blank sheet of paper; I suspect that it will stay like that for some time yet.

What business is more interested in is not the clunking fist of Whitehall that pulls a lever and delivers a box that it has to fit into—through some fictionally created regional development agency that was simply not delivering—but the opportunity to develop its own destiny. In my area, for example, the New Anglia local enterprise partnership is excited about the opportunities available for Norfolk and Suffolk businesses to work together. It is something that they desired, which they brought forward themselves, and it is led by the business community. This is not a Government quango or something directed from Whitehall, but something that the businesses want, working on issues that they want to work on. That is hugely important to the LEP. It is why organisations ranging from Adnams and the Federation of Small Businesses to the energy industry and companies such as Lotus are excited about what this can deliver. It has been fantastic to see businesses working together, and with local authorities, to deliver the LEP for our area.

The key is the “L” in “LEP”—local. The LEP can look at what Norfolk and Suffolk want and need. That is why it is able to focus correctly on tourism, for example, or other industries that can create jobs and develop the economy more quickly and more cheaply than almost anything else. Energy, as I say, is also hugely important to our region. The energy industry in our area is represented largely by an organisation called the East of England Energy Group, which brings together private companies, which fund it, support it and work together within it. The LEP has recognised that and is working with the energy industry.

One important shortage is skills. There is a huge gap between the demand for skills in the energy industry—we have a burgeoning energy industry, with even more to come from renewable energy and wind farms—and what is currently available. That is why I congratulate the Department and the Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning on the great work already done. As we have just heard, they are now delivering more than 100,000 apprenticeships for various ages. Potentially even more important is the fact that colleges will have the freedom to develop the skill sets that people need in their local areas to deliver for business.

The energy industry in my region has been screaming out for some time, but it has not been telling me about the great work that the RDAs were doing or thanking the previous Government for what they did. It has been saying, “We need freedom from regulation, and we need to be able to develop skills for the future.” I urge the Minister and his Department to view carefully and sympathetically the bid from Norfolk and Suffolk for a skills centre that would focus particularly on the delivery of skills for the energy industry.

The Government’s moves to free up colleges, create apprenticeships and invest money are enabling us to develop the skill sets that our country, and in particular my region, needs. It is that development of skill sets that will deliver growth, and it is that education and those apprentices that will enable our economy to develop. I congratulate the Department, and our Government as a whole, on the fantastic work it is doing in that regard. It is just a shame that the Opposition seem to have no ideas of their own to take us forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Brandon Lewis Excerpts

Monday 15th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Tim Loughton]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s new-found interest in sport from the Opposition Front Bench, because he had not asked any questions about it in his five years in the House previously. Since 2003, when the school sports partnership was introduced, £2.4 billion has been added to expenditure on sport in schools, and yet still, barely one in five students in secondary schools are involved in competitive sports against other schools. We think that we can get a much better deal by adjusting the way we do things.

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

19. What recent representations he has received on standards of attainment in secondary schools in (a) Great Yarmouth constituency and (b) England.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Mr Nick Gibb)]

No representations have been received on standards of attainment in secondary schools in Great Yarmouth. We have, of course, received many representations about standards in schools nationally. In 2009, 46.8% of pupils in maintained schools in Great Yarmouth achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including English and maths, compared with 50.9% in England as a whole.

[Brandon Lewis]

I thank the Minister for that answer. Can he give some reassurance to the head teachers and teachers in Great Yarmouth? Those I have spoken to have expressed huge frustration over the past decade or so at having to manage tick-box, centrally controlled systems, rather than being able to focus on their pupils. The new freedoms and choices that this Government are giving will allow teachers to go back to focusing on pupils’ needs.

[Mr Gibb]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Indeed, evidence from the OECD shows that the most successful education jurisdictions in the world are those with high levels of autonomy combined with clear external testing and accountability. Reducing the bureaucratic burden on teachers and heads is part and parcel of delivering that autonomy, as is the expansion of the academies programme. We are determined to push ahead with both.

Oral Answers to Questions

Brandon Lewis Excerpts

Thursday 8th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Edward Davey)]

I have met representatives of Citizens Advice England and Citizens Advice Scotland to discuss any difficulties they might have in implementing in-year cuts, as I have with all partner organisations of the Department. They have given me their assurance that they are managing, and they are working with my officials to try to ensure that those cuts can be made without hitting the front line in the way that the hon. Lady describes.

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

T6. Learners at colleges across England such as Great Yarmouth college have contributed something like £28 billion to our economy over the past 15 years. Does the Minister agree that those colleges need the support of our Government? What freedoms can we give them to ensure that they develop even further in the future?

[Mr Hayes]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. He is right to raise that issue in those terms, because it is through freedom that colleges will be able to innovate and excel. It is vital that colleges become more responsive to learner demand and to employers. That is why I have already announced certain important freedoms that they want and that were denied to them by the Labour Government.