Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gavin Newlands and Oliver Dowden

Wednesday 7th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I totally agree with my right hon. Friend, and I know what a tireless campaigner she has been on this issue, both in and out of government. I am happy to confirm that the so-called digital red book will be rolled out, and we expect it to be delivered over the course of the next two years.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

Q12. The Deputy Prime Minister likes to call himself Mr Normal—he went to a normal school, and he understands normal people. We know that normal people are struggling in this Tory cost of living crisis, including nurses, for example, who he said had unreasonable wage demands. This is the same person who, on top of this £154,000 salary, charged two businesses more than £13,000 for just 20 hours’ work. That is £670 an hour. Does Mr Normal really think he is worth 65 times a band 2 nurse?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I am not quite sure what the question was aiming at, but I can say to the hon. Gentleman that this Government have provided more than £3,000 of support to help people with the cost of living. Why have we been able to do that? It is thanks to the strength of our economy and the strength of our Union. What is happening in Scotland? The SNP Government are putting taxes up on ordinary, hard- working people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gavin Newlands and Oliver Dowden

Wednesday 17th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important issue. I am afraid that, sadly, this is what one might expect from a Liberal Democrat-run council. I join my hon. Friend in thanking the Guildford Street Angels for all their efforts, and I am sure that they, and she, will continue to make those views known to Guildford Borough Council.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

Q4. Many of my constituents are struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table. Food prices have risen by more than 19% in the last year, while the cheapest infant formula is up by 45%, gas prices are up by 129%, and electricity prices are up by 67%. Many people report borrowing more money than they did this time last year. Car manufacturers are threatening to move production, the Office for Budget Responsibility says that £100 billion has been lost from the economy forever, and wages are falling further and further behind basic living expenses. Does the Deputy Prime Minister really still believe that his Government’s kamikaze Brexit is delivering for the people of these isles?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I certainly do believe that. Let me say to those on the SNP Benches that it is only because of the strength of our United Kingdom that we are able to afford interventions to deal with, for instance, the cost of living, providing more than £3,300 for every single family in our United Kingdom which was paid for by a 75% windfall tax on oil and gas companies. That is a United Kingdom delivering on the cost of living.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gavin Newlands and Oliver Dowden

Thursday 11th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

The hon. Lady raises an important point. Even under the existing test, we reached 93% of people, so the vast majority of people in the United Kingdom did receive that alert, and by the time we have dealt with the Three issues, it will be a much larger number. We continue to engage with relevant charities and other organisations to ensure that people who still do not have access to mobile phone technology are able to receive appropriate alerts. This sits alongside many other measures that we take to inform people of risks.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

8. Whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of the publication of the resignation honours lists of the right hon. Member for South West Norfolk and the right hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip on public trust in (a) politicians and (b) political institutions.

European Football Proposal

Debate between Gavin Newlands and Oliver Dowden

Finance (No. 2) Bill: (Freeports (Stamp Duty Land Tax)) (Ways and Means) & Ways and Means resolution
Monday 19th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

It is worth bearing in mind that there are two parts to this. In the medium term, we are working on the fan-led review that has been launched, but that should not prevent us from us taking action now to stop this proposal going ahead. My hon. Friend highlighted some of the measures that we might consider taking. I assure him that we are looking at all those options and at competition law. In essence, we are looking at what the Government do to facilitate matches and those clubs, and asking whether we should continue to provide that support, because it does not strike me that the Government should be providing that support in the face of this proposal.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP) [V]]

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. I think it is the first time that I have agreed with every single word of his statement—provided, of course, that he meant Scotland when he said, “We invented it.”

It must be made clear to the clubs and owners involved that no quarter will be given and that there will be no concessions whatever in the current arrangements. It is well past time that a line was drawn in the sand. There is already a huge and unhealthy imbalance in the game, with the big clubs in the big leagues with the big TV deals holding huge sums. This insatiable thirst for more—this greed—must not stand.

Club football in countries beyond England, Spain and Italy faces being left even further behind. Clubs in Scotland—such as Rangers, Celtic, and league cup winners and Scotland’s second most successful club in the last decade, St Johnstone—are not involved, but this has not stopped the widespread condemnation. Scottish Professional Football League chief exec Neil Doncaster said:

“These proposals, or any like them, would have an enormously damaging impact on the very fabric of our sport at all levels… We believe that any such ‘competition’ would dramatically undermine the global appeal of football and would be financially catastrophic for all but a very tiny minority. The proposals…assembled by a small, self-selected group of very wealthy clubs, appear to be a cynical and very worrying attempt to thwart the core principle of sporting merit which rightly underpins European football. They represent a clear and present danger to the sport we all love.”

The public are exhausted by the sleaze and greed associated with the elites at the top of our society. How do this Tory Government plan to eradicate greed and corruption at the heart of politics and business, and, in doing so, to protect football for the fans? Or does the Secretary of State agree with the Prime Minister that greed is good? Some overseas owners are from countries with concerning human rights records and links to dubious regimes, and may use their ownership of popular teams to sportswash their image. What actions do the Government plan to counter this?

[Oliver Dowden]

I am tempted to thank the hon. Gentleman for the first line of his question and then to stop there; from my perspective, it all went a bit downhill after that. He is absolutely right to say that we should—and the Government will—stand up to greed and stand up for the fans, and to identify that even though it is English teams that are proposed for this league, it will have a severely damaging effect on all clubs in all parts of our United Kingdom. The game is, of course, as central to Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish identity as it is to English identity. It is a sport for the whole of our United Kingdom and it is right that we work together as a United Kingdom to stop this dreadful proposal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gavin Newlands and Oliver Dowden

Thursday 4th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Oliver Dowden)]

The UK’s creative industries are the finest in the world, and this Government are, of course, determined to support them. I deeply regret that the EU rejected our proposals, which would have enabled performers, artists and support staff to work freely across Europe. In recent weeks, I have discussed our approach with leading voices from music, including the head of Universal Music globally and, yesterday, Sir Elton John and his manager, David Furnish. We are working urgently to develop a plan to make it easier to tour across all of Europe.

[Gavin Newlands [V]]

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer, such as it was. This Government’s Brexit reality has the live music industry staring into the abyss and sports such as Formula 1 unable to operate sufficiently. Mark Davyd, CEO of the Music Venue Trust, has said that his industry has been dealt a no-deal Brexit due to the UK Government’s refusal to get a deal on touring visas with the EU. Will the Secretary of State assure the music industry, F1 and others that he will put their livelihoods before anti-free movement platitudes and go back to the negotiating table with the EU?

[Oliver Dowden]

Of course we continue to engage with the EU. As I say, I deeply regret that it rejected our offer. It is worth noting that what we put forward was what the music industry had asked for. We will continue to engage with the music industry, and there are opportunities both with individual member states and with the Commission directly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gavin Newlands and Oliver Dowden

Thursday 4th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

Yes. I thank my hon. Friend for that suggestion. That is an excellent proposal. One of the challenges we will have is getting the sector up and running as strongly as possible in the summer and extending it for as long as we can. This is a matter that I am discussing with my colleague, the Business Secretary.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

Does the Secretary of State agree with the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, who warns that the tourism industry, which is already deprived of vital foreign workers due to visa restrictions and which supports more than 200,000 jobs and contributes over £7 billion to the Scottish economy, now faces the double whammy of a no-deal Brexit combined with the ongoing impact of covid-19? Does this not justify a further extension of the job retention scheme to support the sector, and an extension of the transition period to avoid a deeply damaging no-deal scenario, compounding the horrendous coronavirus circumstances?

[Oliver Dowden]

We have already extended the job retention scheme through to October. On the hon. Gentleman’s point about a further extension of the transition period, I think the British people have been pretty clear about this. They just want us to get on and leave, and we will not be extending again.