Business of the House

Gareth Snell Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising such an important issue, and for giving me notice that he was going to do so. The Ministry of Justice is working with the Victims’ Commissioner and others in the sector to explore how families in the situation he has described can be better supported with the information and financial assistance they need. I will ensure that the hon. Gentleman is updated on that work.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Minton tiles in our Central Lobby, the plates in our Tea Room, and even the chandelier in the Pugin guest room are all wonderful examples of Staffordshire craftsmanship, yet at the moment in this place, we are seeing creeping numbers of foreign ceramic imports in place of British products. Can the Leader of the House, in her capacity as the Government’s representative on the House of Commons Commission and the restoration and renewal board, say what the Government’s policy is for ensuring that artisans and creators from all corners of our nation are showcased in this place?

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend is a very strong advocate for the craftsmanship and ceramics of Stoke, and of Staffordshire more widely—he has given us some good examples. Sometimes I do not want to have dinner alongside my hon. Friend, because he inspects all the ceramics and all the things we are using to eat our dinner, rightly so. I will absolutely raise the points he has highlighted with the House authorities and ensure we are doing more to support the great craftsmanship that we have in this country.

Business of the House

Gareth Snell Excerpts

Thursday 19th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I am sorry—the deputy leader. He gave up his leadership role to someone else at some point, I recall. Anyway, the deputy leader.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

For now.

[Lucy Powell]

For now, yes. I think the hon. Member has made his point.

My hon. Friend will be aware that foreign donations are not permitted in our electoral system, and that is absolutely as it should be. Our democracy does face daily threats from rogue states, rogue actors and others who try to disrupt it and to spread myth and disinformation, and these are issues that we should be very alive to.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lucy Powell]

This Government support farmers and our rural communities. We have put in an extra £5 billion for the farming budget over two years, which is one of the biggest increases that farming has seen. I will, however, ensure that the hon. Lady’s question is heard by the relevant Minister, and that she gets a response.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Leader of the House arrange for either a statement or a debate in Government time on the regulation of houses in multiple occupancy? Without an article 4 direction in Stoke-on-Trent, we are at the mercy of developers who buy family homes or terraced properties and then convert them, using permitted development rights. That has a huge impact on amenities and on community feeling, and I think we could do a lot about that as a Government.

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We all see the impact of permitted development rights and houses in multiple occupation on our communities. Where they go unchecked, they can cause real problems, and also have a detrimental impact on the housing supply in an area. He will be aware that the Renters’ Rights Bill covers some of those issues, and we are due to consider the Bill on Report and in its final stages when we return from recess.

Business of the House

Gareth Snell Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on the granting of his urgent question. I can assure him that the Government are working apace to secure the future of British steel production, which is a key priority for us, and that when there are developments, Ministers will come to the House and ensure that the House hears about them first.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

BTecs provide a vital route to higher and further education for thousands of learners throughout the country, and it was welcome news that the Education Secretary has announced a pause and review of the ad hoc cancellation programme initiated by the last Government, but may I gently remind my right hon. Friend that colleges need to know now what qualifications they can offer next September? Could she, through her office, arrange for a statement to be made by the Education Secretary, and for a general debate to take place in Government time so that we can all celebrate the BTec courses that our young are people taking in our constituencies?

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend raises the important matter of BTecs and their future, which has also been raised with me as a constituency MP and, I am sure, with many other Members. If answers are not found at Education questions next week, I will ensure that the relevant Minister comes to the House to provide them.

Business of the House

Gareth Snell Excerpts

Monday 28th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we will be bringing forward a Bill tomorrow, and the House will have a chance to vote on it. We can then have a general election and bring forward lots more Bills—exciting Bills, new Bills and shiny Bills—delivering on what the British people vote for. Trust the people.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

It cannot have escaped the Leader of the House’s quite significant intellect that the amount of time the Government have used to avoid tabling a programme motion is actually longer than the time that most of us who voted for the Second Reading of the WAB were asking for scrutiny of it in the first place. Given that I understand his role constitutionally is to be this place’s representative in the Cabinet, may I ask the Leader of the House what representations he has made to Cabinet about the House’s desire to have another programme motion, and what discussions has he had? May I ask him, quite bluntly, why is he now blocking Brexit?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Oh, Mr Speaker, that was a great witticism at the end. I think we are all splitting our sides on the Government Benches. The point is that, from this very Dispatch Box and standing here, the colossus in front of the House of Commons, the Prime Minister himself, said that he would make as much time available as the Leader of the Opposition wanted—24 hours a day. Did the hon. Gentleman beg or beseech his leader to accept this offer? Did he knock on the door of the shadow Cabinet and say, “Please, sir, we want some more”? Or did the Labour party just spurn it and ignore it so that it could complain and stop Brexit, because it is a remain party, in spite of many of its Members—including the hon. Gentleman, who nobly voted for Second Reading—representing leave seats?

Business of the House

Gareth Snell Excerpts

Thursday 24th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend is correct, but the Prime Minister got rid of the undemocratic backstop, which made the deal acceptable.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Can the Leader of the House confirm that if the House decides on Monday not to hold a general election, he will still bring forward a programme motion at some point thereafter?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

We hope that the House will vote for a general election on Monday, because we need to clear this up. We cannot go on endlessly, not making any decisions, and that seems to be the situation this House is in. It won’t say yes and it won’t say no; it won’t say stay and it won’t say go. We need to bring this to a conclusion and the hard stop of a general election may help focus minds, because nothing else seems to.

Business of the House

Gareth Snell Excerpts

Thursday 24th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will, I think, be here fairly shortly, and he is the right person to answer on rates—[Interruption.] He is in the Chamber already—how could I have missed my right hon. Friend? He is sitting quietly at the end of the Treasury Bench and will have heard that question. He may well include a response in his all-encompassing speech.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Given that, all too often, international humanitarian tragedies suffer from “out of sight, out of mind”, will the Leader of the House arrange for the Foreign Secretary to update the House on the ongoing issues in Kashmir, and specifically what actions we are taking as a permanent member of the UN Security Council? Warm words and solidarity are not having the effect that is needed in that part of the world.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise such an issue in the House. He is also right that “out of sight, out of mind” is a problem, and using all the available mechanisms within this House—no doubt you, Mr Speaker, will help him to do so—is the right way to go about addressing it. I urge him to use them all and to appeal for urgent questions, and for Adjournment and Backbench Business debates. That will ensure that the matter is in sight and in mind.

Business of the House

Gareth Snell Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I suppose we could repeal the Act that put us on the Gregorian rather than the Julian calendar, which might buy us a few extra days.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

I cannot hope to match the wit of Dante or the knowledge of Harry Potter, but might I suggest Monty Python? The injury inflicted this evening was a mere flesh wound, and if the Leader of the House is willing to bring forward a motion tomorrow with a more considered timetable for Committee, it would pass this House.

To correct the point made by the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies), who is no longer in his place, some of us voted for Second Reading precisely so we could get on to the next stage for more scrutiny, and we did not support the programme motion because we did not believe there was sufficient time. There is clearly good will in this House to progress this Bill to a point of conclusion, but to do so we need the appropriate time. I urge the Leader of the House to consider that this evening.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point and for his very reasonable suggestion on his motives for voting. I quite understand there is sometimes a conflict between wanting something to happen and feeling that the procedures for it are unduly truncated. I am a great believer that time in this House should be used for legislation, which is our primary purpose, and I rather like and rather have a hankering for the 19th-century timetabling, when we were able to go on at considerable length and were not reduced to four-minute speeches. However, there is a pressing deadline of 31 October, and this is where I part company with him, because I feel it is very urgent to get the Bill through by then.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

I am very happy to oblige. It is not my responsibility to explain or communicate Government actions, but I think that this matter has been covered in the media. All the Leader of the House was saying was that he did not believe that this was the Government’s request for an extension; it was Parliament’s request for an extension. The Prime Minister has sent a number of letters to the European Union. The one specifically relating to the request for the extension was not signed by the Prime Minister. I am sure that that was a conscious decision on his part. People have expressed their views, but I certainly do not wish to add to any controversy about that matter. The simple fact is that the request for the extension has been submitted. I do not want to cavil at what the Leader of the House said. It is, in a sense, Parliament’s request. I do not want to conduct an argument about that; it is not necessary. I hope that that is helpful to the hon. Gentleman. Parliament did want the extension. The Government did not want it. Parliament voted for the extension, so the Government passed it on as Parliament’s wish.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Clearly, by virtue of those who voted for the Government’s programme motion and those of us who did not but have expressed our desire to see a Committee stage, the House wishes to move to Committee stage. Can you advise me, Mr Speaker, if there is any procedure available to individual Members, or the House as a whole, that could take Committee stage forward even if the Leader of the House is resistant to doing so?

[Mr Speaker]

That is, at this point, hard to envisage. I will not say that there is no means by which that can be done; we have seen in recent times how the House can take ownership of matters, including of the Order Paper, and of scheduled business, including that leading to legislation. I do not say that there is no way that anything could be done, but I surmise from what has been said that, at present, the Government’s thinking is as the Leader of the House has explained, and the Opposition’s thinking is as has been outlined by the shadow Leader of the House, the supporting evidence for which is the point of order by the Leader of the Opposition and the apparent conversations between the usual channels—that is to say between the Opposition Whips Office and the Government Whips Office. I think that it is probably prudent and seemly to leave it there at this stage, though I appreciate the fertile and vivid imagination of the hon. Gentleman, which may avail the House at a later stage.

Business of the House

Gareth Snell Excerpts

Thursday 25th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

When will the House have a chance to vote on their Lordships’ amendment to the Trade Bill for participation in the customs union?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Why on earth would anybody want to do that?

Business of the House

Gareth Snell Excerpts

Thursday 27th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mel Stride]

The hon. Lady has put an enormous amount of work into the whole issue of infected blood and highlighting how important it is, and she should be congratulated on that. On compensation, the best way to take that forward would be a meeting with a Minister, and I would be very happy to facilitate a meeting with the appropriate Minister so that she can discuss those issues.

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The blistering incompetence of the independent members of Stoke-on-Trent City Council is becoming legendary across Staffordshire. Their most recent wheeze is to instruct a secondary school in my constituency, Birches Head high school, to increase the number of children that it takes but not to provide a single penny of capital funding to build the classrooms for the children to work in, forcing the school to cancel its in-house bus transportation scheme for the rest of the school to make budgets work. Can we have a statement at some point, perhaps from the Department for Education, on the sustainability of capital investment in school buildings, and perhaps a debate on a fit-and-proper-person test for cabinet members such as Ann James and Janine Bridges and whether they are fit to run cabinet, executive-level positions in any authority?

[Mel Stride]

I do not think I will get too drawn into the—how shall I put it?—cross-fire of the issues that the hon. Gentleman raised in respect of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, other than to say that if the hon. Gentleman writes to me about the general matter of capital investment in schools, I will be very happy to have a close look at whether a debate might be appropriate or whether I might suggest facilitating a meeting with an appropriate Minister.

Business of the House

Gareth Snell Excerpts

Monday 1st April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

I will do my best, Mr Speaker. I wish to touch on my amendment that was not selected. Of course, I pay ultimate deference to your decision, Mr Speaker, but I wonder whether, at some point before we vote on the motion, the right hon. Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin) could help me. When we discussed the business of the House motion last week, I asked him about the daisy-chaining process that he was involved in—the process of attaching another day to the business of the day we were discussing. We now have a motion that we passed on the 25th to have a debate on the 27th. The motion on the 27th gave us the 1st and the motion on the 1st would give us the 3rd. I have no issue with the House doing what it sees as necessary to find a way through this Brexit impasse, but I wonder whether the right hon. Gentleman, if he has a plan, can tell us what that is going forward.

There is a rumour that on Wednesday we may be asked to legislate for the outcome of this evening. I presume that on Wednesday’s business of the House motion, there will be another paragraph (2) to commandeer a day of the week after. If that is the case, I wonder whether a plan—if it exists somewhere—of how many days and what the days are to be used for can be shared with the House. That is not because I wish to impede the House from doing this. However, on Friday I was asked to vote against the withdrawal agreement on the basis of a blind Brexit, and I am now being asked to hand over days of parliamentary business with no idea of what will be tabled and discussed on those days. [Interruption.] As much as I thank Government Members for their support, I do not really want it. [Interruption.] I will take it, but I do not want it.

I mean to try to be helpful to the right hon. Member for West Dorset. If he has a plan of how many days and what those days are to be used for, could he share it with us? If we as a House are going to be asked to hand over day after day, we should know what we will be asked to vote on during those days.