IMF Economic Outlook

Debate between Chi Onwurah and James Cartlidge

Tuesday 31st January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

Wages in the north-east are 3% lower than when Labour left office, and households have lost £11,000 in wage growth under the Conservatives. Now, according to the IMF forecast, we will get poorer still, as prices rise and the economy contracts because the Conservatives have crashed it. Did the Minister come into politics to make people poorer? If not, is it not time for a Labour Government to deliver prosperity for the British people?

[James Cartlidge]

I am not sure whether the hon. Lady was here for my maiden speech—I entirely recognise that she may not have been—but I said:

“I am a one nation Conservative,”

because I believe in

“not going back to dark and divisive days of high unemployment.”—[Official Report, 3 June 2015; Vol. 596, c. 636.]

And here we are, with the lowest unemployment in almost 50 years.

On regional earnings specifically, I can confirm that pay has grown faster in every region outside London since 2010. That shows that we are succeeding in our levelling-up agenda.

Wagner Group: Sanctions Regime

Debate between Chi Onwurah and James Cartlidge

Wednesday 25th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[James Cartlidge]

My hon. Friend has considerable experience as a Foreign Office Minister. He will be aware of how these things work. I am happy to give that reply. I believe that the decision would be for the Foreign Office, but he is right that we must work across Government, and I will write to him on that point.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

As well as the Wagner Group’s murderous activities in Ukraine, I am aware, as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Africa, of its activities across that continent. It has mercenaries in Mali, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Mozambique and Libya. It is targeting civilians, actively spreading disinformation and propping up autocratic regimes, all to defend Putin’s footprint and ambitions in the continent. Is the Minister saying that it is acceptable for someone to make money from those evil activities, be sanctioned and then get a licence from the British Government to evade those sanctions in order to defend themselves legally? Regardless of what he is saying, what message does that send to our allies across the world?

[James Cartlidge]

Of course we are not saying that. We are saying that, whether we like it or not, there is a principle under democracy and the rule of law of the right to a defence. Therefore, we have a system in place under the sanctions regime to consider applications for legal fees to be paid from frozen assets. That is a statement of fact on how the system works.

Non-domestic Energy Support

Debate between Chi Onwurah and James Cartlidge

Monday 9th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[James Cartlidge]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise the points made by his constituents. As I said to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas), we do understand that the way in which prices have risen has caused great anxiety. In Government, however, we have a duty to consider not only what support we can provide, but the cost to the Exchequer. We have to take that balanced approach. The £18 billion six-month scheme that is currently operational is extremely expensive, and, as I said earlier, stakeholders to whom I have spoken, including those in our major industrial lobbying organisations, did not expect support to remain at its former level because of the huge cost. We have to balance this continued support—which will help the businesses and institutions to which the hon. Gentleman has referred—with the need for fiscal prudence.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

On Friday I visited Gills convenience store, which provides essential services for constituents in Brakelaw and Fenham. The owners told me that the No. 1 threat to their business was spiralling energy costs, and that message is being echoed by pubs, the hospitality sector, charities, and small businesses across Newcastle. The Minister says that this support will be limited to £400 because, he says, it is not for Government to pay the bills of business. Will he at least agree with me that it is for Government to deliver a sustainable, secure energy market which works for small businesses, and that his Government are entirely failing to do that?

[James Cartlidge]

One of the reasons for the Ofgem review that I have referred to several times is precisely to ensure that we have a non-domestic market that works as effectively as possible for businesses. A situation such as this will bring to the surface problems that businesses would not experience to the same degree in normal times.

Let me make this point to the hon. Lady: not a single Opposition Member has stood up at any point and acknowledged to any degree that we have to consider the cost of these schemes. Of course we have to consider the impact of rising energy prices on businesses, but it was only a few days ago that the leader of the Labour party said that the era of the “big Government chequebook” was over—those were his words. We have to take a balanced approach. We are continuing to provide universal support for businesses, charities and the public sector, and targeted additional support for internationally trading sectors, particularly manufacturing. At the same time, we have to consider fiscal prudence if we are to run a stable and growing economy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chi Onwurah and James Cartlidge

Tuesday 20th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[James Cartlidge]

I am happy to confirm that that levy will raise £40 billion. As I said earlier—and this is very important—the support that the hon. Lady’s constituents, and indeed all our constituents, will receive this winter has to be paid for somehow. A key purpose of the levy is to help fund support for businesses and for our constituents, with higher cost of living payments for the most vulnerable and those on benefits. It is extremely generous, and, as I have said, it is bringing down inflation for the whole country.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

Over the weekend, an anonymous Conservative MP admitted to a newspaper:

“We’ve got no ideas and people feel abandoned.”

This was an

“economy that’s in recession with 10 per cent inflation”

and

“possibly one of the least successful governments in modern Europe.”

My constituents are going into Christmas poorer as a consequence of 12 years of Conservative government. Is the Chancellor proud of that?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chi Onwurah and James Cartlidge

Tuesday 24th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

21. What recent assessment he has made of the impact of the court backlog on the wellbeing of victims of (a) sexual and (b) violent offences.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (James Cartlidge)]

We are taking action across all jurisdictions to bring backlogs down and improve waiting times for those who use our courts. I can confirm that the number of days taken for an adult rape case to progress from Crown Prosecution Service charge to completion has fallen by 38 days since the peak in June 2021. That is encouraging.

[Chi Onwurah]

Under the leadership of Kim McGuinness, our police and crime commissioner, Northumbria police have invested heavily in victim support. But they cannot make up for the wholesale failure of the justice system, with victims telling us that they feel revictimised by the length of delays and the complexity of the process. Does the Minister acknowledge that his plan to get the backlog down to 53,000—still a huge number—will not significantly address the delays? What additional support is he putting in place for the mental health of victims during these long, long delays?

[James Cartlidge]

The hon. Lady asks about what supports are in place; I am grateful to hear from her police and crime commissioner about the role that independent sexual violence advisers are playing. I confirm that we are investing further in victim support services by increasing funding to £185 million by 2024-25.

[Chi Onwurah]

And the delays in the courts?

[James Cartlidge]

I am coming to those. Of course we want to reduce delays as far as possible, but, to give a sense of the progress that we are making, I should say that in March there were 124,000 disposals in the magistrates courts and 9,280 in the Crown courts. Those are the highest figures for both since the pandemic. They show that output is increasing. That is why the backlog is now falling; we expect it to continue falling further.