Business of the House

Dave Doogan Excerpts

Thursday 17th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)]

Scotland is a dynamic, forward-looking nation and is ambitious to retake its position on the world stage by adherence to the international rules-based order. When it makes an agreement with a future ally, it will stick to it, by contrast to the way that the Government are behaving this week with the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill and their ambitions to break international law. Does the Leader of the House agree that the Scottish Government would be perfectly within their rights if, in seeking a section 30 order in preparation for our upcoming referendum, one is not forthcoming, they just decide to carry on regardless?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

There is an incongruity in the hon. Gentleman’s comments. He says, quite rightly, that Scotland is a forward-looking, fine, upstanding nation, but then he wants to kow-tow to the European Union, and take Scotland’s fish and give them all away to the fisherfolk of the European Union. He cannot have it both ways. Either he maintains his pride in Scotland, shared with the United Kingdom, or else he wants to go and be a vassal of the European Union.

Business of the House

Dave Doogan Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that point. I have a particular affection for Bentleys, as I have both a 1936 and a 1968 version, and they are the most wonderful cars. Bentley is a great company, of which the country can be very proud, and of which he, as its representative in his constituency, can be very proud. We have to try to restore our economy to full health, and there is a range of support that I have already mentioned. There is a debate this afternoon on the support being offered to UK industries during the pandemic, and it will be worth bringing up at that point how things will need to evolve and how the economy will change fundamentally because of this crisis.

[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP) [V]]

The Leader of the House will be aware of the support group Excluded, which has been established to assist the 3 million self-employed people and personal services companies in the UK that have been left without any Government support during this pandemic. The Prime Minister said to me on Tuesday in this place:

“There are some people who perhaps have not got the support that they felt they needed, because of the difficulties in identifying what is appropriate and because of technical difficulties of all kinds.”—[Official Report, 23 June 2020; Vol. 677, c. 1192.]

There are not “some people” left behind. There are 3 million construction workers, cleaners, caterers, photographers, sound engineers, architects and consultants, including many in my Angus constituency, and there is not a constituency on these islands that has not been so affected. It is not too late to put this right, so may we have a debate to establish how and when the Government can assist these people to ensure that their businesses trade into the future?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I think the debate later on will cover this subject, but I would point out how much the Government have done: 9.1 million people are in the furloughing scheme; 2.6 million self-employed people are receiving help; 2.3 million people have got on to universal credit since 12 March; 49,000—nearly 50,000—loans to the value of £10 billion have been made to small and medium-sized enterprises; 279 loans, with a value of nearly £2 billion, have been given to larger businesses; and there have been 860,000 bounce-back loans to the value of £26.3 billion. These are enormous sums that have been provided by taxpayers to support businesses through these difficult times. I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point that some people have not benefited from all or any of these schemes, but what has been done is the most enormous package produced by any British Government at any point in our history, and it will ensure that the chances of an economic bounce-back are as high as possible.

Business of the House

Dave Doogan Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The House has adjusted its programme to allow Members to be updated at unusual times. Thanks to Mr Speaker’s flexibility, statements have been coming on at times when other business was taking place, and the Opposition graciously allowed their Opposition day to be interrupted yesterday at an early time for a statement to be made, so I think our procedures are being adapted. As I look around the Chamber, I notice that social distancing is being pretty well practised, with broadly the only exception being my opposite number, the right hon. Member for Walsall South (Valerie Vaz)—[Interruption.] And a couple of Government Ministers, too.

We are trying to get the balance right and understand the Government’s message. What is the Government’s message? It is that social distancing is advised for all of us and strongly advised for those over 70 or with certain serious medical conditions, but the Government have not said that businesses should not carry on, and our business carries on in this Chamber. That is in line with Government advice—there is no contradiction between social distancing and continuing with business, as the other half of the hon. Gentleman’s question points towards.

Right hon. and hon. Members want to hold the Government to account, and that means we need to be here to do that, but there again, a balance needs to be struck. My right hon. Friend the Health Secretary has come to update the House often, but he also has considerable ministerial responsibilities—particularly heavy ones at the moment—and I think the House ought to be reasonable in what it asks of him. If he were to be here every day for two or three hours, that would be two or three hours when he was not able to attend to his ministerial business. Getting that balance right is important. In terms of my role, I recognise that I must look at it from both directions—from the point of view not only of the House, with the House being informed so that it can hold to account, but of what it is reasonable to ask of Ministers.

[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)]

May I give the Leader of the House an opportunity to clarify his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Deidre Brock), when we talked about repatriating citizens to the UK? The Leader of the House said that the Government would do whatever they can, and I am slightly concerned that that contrasts with the Prime Minister’s rhetoric, which is that we will do “Whatever it takes.” I think we should be looking to do whatever it takes to get our people back home to this country.

In addition to that, we heard a litany of challenges facing small and large businesses in our constituencies this morning during the urgent question. Businesses in in Angus and Arbroath in my constituency are facing challenging situations in getting their brokers, their insurers and, crucially, their reinsurers to face up straightforwardly to what the obligations are under business continuity claims. May we have a statement setting out what the Government’s expectations of the insurance industry are? Is this being done in tandem with the Association of British Insurers?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I reiterate that the Government and, in particular, the Foreign Secretary are working hard on the repatriation issue, but may I add that I will report to him after this session the widespread concern of so many Members? This is not just one of those things that has come up from one Member with a particular case; it seems to be a concern across the House—I see nodding and even hands going up—so I will pass that on in an underlined fashion.

There are indeed a litany of challenges faced by businesses, which is why the Economic Secretary to the Treasury was here for an urgent question earlier, and I understand the point that is being made about insurers. It is difficult for the Government to make a single statement on what will be a variety of contractual obligations, but insurers, thanks to the intervention of the Economic Secretary, have already behaved well in relation to businesses that have not been formally told to close but have de facto had to close, and there was a helpful announcement made by the Chancellor a couple of days ago. The insurance industry, very much criticised, is in some cases already behaving well.

Business of the House

Dave Doogan Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[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.

[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)]

The very high standards of agricultural production in Angus, Scotland and the UK do not come for free; they come with significant costs of production. Those costs are not borne by foreign imports. What will this Government do to protect agriculture after Brexit from very cheap, lower standards of production from foreign producers of food?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

May I begin by saying how much I enjoy Angus beef and commend the hon. Gentleman’s constituency for the wonderful food it produces? He is absolutely right that the UK has the very highest food standards—higher often than those of the EU. Not only did the UK ban veal crates fully 16 years before the EU; we also want to go further than the EU in banning the live shipment of animals. The UK already ensures that, without exception, all imports of food meet our stringent food safety standards. Our independent Food Standards Agency will ensure that that will remain the case, regardless of trade arrangements. In all negotiations the Government will ensure that any future trade deals live up to the value of farmers and consumers across the United Kingdom.

Business of the House

Dave Doogan Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am not sure that there is going to be time for a debate in Government time, but £29 billion is going to be spent on road projects, and I think there is a general desire to get over the inertia that has affected so many projects across the country.

[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)]

The changes planned for the IR35 regime raise major issues of uncertainty for contractors in the construction, IT and training sectors, and many others, in my constituency of Angus and, I am certain, right across the United Kingdom. May we have a statement on what steps the Government will take to protect the economy and industry from the very real threat of offshoring as a result of these changes, and on what support the Treasury will provide to contractors who face being driven out of business?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

We will have the Budget on 11 March, but as I have said in answers to previous questions, it is of great importance that people know what tax they are expected to pay before the tax year in which they are expected to pay it. The Government are very conscious of that. A review of IR35 is under way, but I think we need answers relatively quickly.