Northern Ireland Protocol

Debate between Geraint Davies and Rishi Sunak

Monday 27th February 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend. He is right: there is a lot in the agreement. That is because it is a comprehensive agreement that addresses a wide range of issues that were raised with me and my colleagues on the implementation of the protocol. That is why we have something as substantive. It is because of the hard work of my colleagues and the engagement of the European Union. It is why I can say with conviction that it does address the issues that were raised, and that it does secure Northern Ireland’s place in the Union and safeguard sovereignty. As people engage with the detail, I hope they come to the same conclusion.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

I very much welcome the statement, in particular the sentence:

“we will take further steps to avoid regulatory divergence in future.”

Can we take that to mean that in the EU law revocation Bill we will maximise the reassimilation of EU law and minimise divergence to take full advantage of the economic opportunities for growth in Northern Ireland and in the UK moving forward?

[The Prime Minister]

Actually, there are opportunities to do things differently across the UK to drive growth and prosperity, whether in life sciences, financial services, fintech or other areas. We will fully take advantage of those opportunities across the UK. What that refers to very specifically is the work of the Office for the Internal Market, which we have strengthened as a result of the agreement and provided some extra detail about what we do in the Command Paper. That is the right thing to do and I think it will be warmly welcomed in Northern Ireland, particularly in the business community.

G20

Debate between Geraint Davies and Rishi Sunak

Thursday 17th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I encourage all members of NATO to make their way towards the 2% target—something that we have proudly done in this country for some years. Our co-operation with Canada is deep. Prime Minister Trudeau was pleased to announce an extension of Canadian support for our programme to train Ukrainian soldiers here—something on which we are working closely together. I would be happy to pick up the conversation on the High North. Again, that would be a feature of our refreshed integrated review.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister knows that the energy charter treaty enables fossil fuel companies to sue Governments that pass legislation undermining their future profits in the name of stopping climate change. That is why Germany and France have announced they are withdrawing from it, as are Poland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain. When does he anticipate the UK withdrawing from the energy charter treaty, or does he put fossil fuel profits ahead of climate change? Will he raise that within World Trade Organisation reform?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman mentions a range of other countries in relation to fossil fuels, but it was the United Kingdom that led through COP last year in ensuring that we end climate finance for coal plants—something that other countries need to catch up with us on. We will continue to champion that in all these forums, because it is the right thing to do and it was a commitment we made at Glasgow that needs to be upheld.

COP27

Debate between Geraint Davies and Rishi Sunak

Wednesday 9th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes; my hon. Friend makes a very good point. We need a broader approach, and that is what we will take as a Government. The UK is leading on a broad range of things when it comes to sustainability standards, and I look forward to getting his input on how best we can take that agenda forward.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

As the Prime Minister will know, 8 million people die every year from air pollution—63,000 die in Britain—and by 2050 there will be as much plastic in the sea as there are fish. First, will he invoke World Health Organisation air quality standards in Britain as legally enforceable and encourage that at COP27? Will he also look at my Plastics (Recycling, Sustainability and Pollution Reduction) Bill, which is on today’s Order Paper? The Bill suggests that we should not export plastics, that manufacturers should pay the cost of recycling and that we should forge ahead with a global plastics treaty in COP27.

[The Prime Minister]

I am pleased that air pollution has fallen significantly since 2010, which includes about a 40% reduction in nitrogen dioxide. Our Environment Act 2021 has new targets in place and we have supported local authorities with about £800 million in funding for that. On plastics, that Act means that we will ban more single-use plastics, charge for others and have a new enhanced producer responsibility and a deposit return scheme. It is an incredibly ambitious agenda to reduce the amount of plastic in our system.

Economic Update

Debate between Geraint Davies and Rishi Sunak

Thursday 3rd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, which he also made the other day in Treasury questions, when we committed to looking at how best we could take up his suggestions. I think I am right in saying—the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my right hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne (Kwasi Kwarteng) will correct me if I am wrong—that the warm home discount is already moving to a more automatic system for that rebate for those on pension credit, but we will of course take his suggestions on board and figure out how best to improve what we do.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Each week, the Prime Minister tells us that there are 420,000 more people in work than there were before the pandemic, yet the Office for National Statistics tells us that there are 506,000 fewer people in work than before the pandemic. The reason for that, as the Chancellor knows, is that the Prime Minister excludes the self-employed. Will the Chancellor correct the record to show that there are in fact half a million fewer people in work, and explain why, in the circumstances, he is imposing a massive national insurance tax on jobs?

[Rishi Sunak]

If the hon. Gentleman looks at the remarks I made earlier, he will see that I was clear that there are 400,000 more people on payroll, and that is the right use of that statistic. It is obviously harder to track those in self-employment because we have real-time information numbers from HMRC for those on payroll. We are proud of our track record on jobs. Unemployment in this country was forecast to reach 12%, with millions of people unemployed, but unemployment has now fallen for almost 10 straight months. It is almost back to the record lows we saw pre-pandemic, and we have record job vacancies and record low redundancies. That is all evidence that our plan for jobs is working.

Future of Financial Services

Debate between Geraint Davies and Rishi Sunak

Monday 9th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

As my hon. Friend knows well from his own private sector experience, we absolutely need to attract private capital alongside public capital to deliver on all our ambitions. That is why a sovereign bond is so important—it can help to catalyse a domestic private sector industry for corporates and other institutions that issue on the back of a Government issuance. All of that will leverage private sector capital and expertise to build the infrastructure that we need.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op) [V]]

Talking of private capital, Barclays has moved €200 billion out of the UK—€3,000 per person; J.P. Morgan has moved €200 billion out of the UK; HSBC has moved 1,000 jobs to Paris; the Government have abolished the Green Investment Bank; and we are leaving the European Investment Bank. If the Chancellor is serious about investment in green infrastructure, will he look at the Development Bank of Wales as a mechanism for focusing on green infrastructure in a knowledgeable way, as happened with the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, so that taxpayers’ money can be deployed effectively to grow and green our economy?

[Rishi Sunak]

Last year, we had the infrastructure financing review, which contemplated these specific questions. We will issue a response alongside the national infrastructure strategy, which I think will adequately address the hon. Gentleman’s questions.