Online Harms Legislation

Debate between Greg Clark and Matt Warman

Thursday 13th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Warman]

I welcome the tone of the hon. Lady on this. These are hugely important issues that affect real people. We call them online harms, but they are profoundly real for the people affected. She is right that legislation is overdue; Parliament should have acted many years ago to address the issue. But the reality is that the duty of care that, in her opinion, social media companies have to their users will be put into law by this Parliament. That is progress, and I think we should welcome it.

We will bring forward the legislation in this Session. We will produce the full consultation response by the spring. We will be going as fast as possible. The hon. Lady wants us to go faster. I welcome the tone that she has struck, but I know that she would not want us to rush and then introduce half-formed legislation that would not work. If we committed to pre-legislative scrutiny, we would be introducing the legislation in the next Session, and that is too long a delay.

I will try to answer some of the many entirely legitimate questions that the hon. Lady asked. She is right that the NSPCC and Facebook have welcomed this. The industry is ready and ripe for regulation, and we should work together to deliver it. Like the Chair of the Select Committee, she asked what additional resources and enforcement powers Ofcom would have. We will ensure that Ofcom has the resources and the enforcement powers that it says are going to be the most effective. I hope that will be a transparent and open conversation.

The hon. Lady mentioned the internet of things, which is an important area. Harms that derive from being online are not limited to social media; they now extend to the doorbells she mentioned and a whole host of other things. She will know that this Government have already committed, through what we call “secure by design”, to legislate on that. I look forward to our bringing that forward by whatever vehicle as soon as we possibly can. That is why we have talked about it already.

The hon. Lady also mentioned the digital services regulation. Of course, we work in consultation with countries around the world. This is a global industry. Britain is taking the lead; it is right that an open and liberal democracy takes the lead on these difficult decisions. We will do this as fast as we possibly can. We will not be delayed by the activities of other countries, but we will work with them.

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)]

The Science and Technology Committee in the last Parliament conducted a significant inquiry into the impact of social media on young people’s health, so I welcome the fact that the Minister has committed to the principal recommendation of the Committee’s report—that Ofcom should be given the responsibility for regulation in this area. But may I press him on the timing of the statutory powers for Ofcom? There is no time to lose, as the Committee’s report and Members today have made clear. I welcome the fact that the legislation will be introduced in this Session. When it comes to pre-legislative scrutiny, I hope that he will take into account the precedent set by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee in relation to the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill, which was introduced very quickly within a Session and included all the recommendations of the Committee. There is a big opportunity for the work of both the Science and Technology Committee and the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee to inform rapid legislation that will give great comfort to our constituents.

[Matt Warman]

I have a great deal of time for the Science and Technology Committee, having served on it myself. This is an important area that cuts across a number of different Select Committees. If we are going to pay attention to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, it is right that we should also look at how we can work with others—while not slowing things down—because this is a very important issue. We will continue that conversation with my right hon. Friend as soon as possible. As I said earlier, we will work with Ofcom to ensure its powers are in legislation as quickly as possible, but also that those powers are developed enough to ensure that they are really effective and persist beyond the current generation of technology, because we surely try to make legislation that does not need to be remade every year.

Good Work Plan

Debate between Greg Clark and Matt Warman

Monday 17th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I completely agree with what the hon. Lady said at the end about her aspiration, and I am grateful for her endorsement of the reform. Of course, our vision for our economy is that we should see continually rising standards and opportunities for workers; that has been in our tradition and it is strategically in our interest as well. If we want to compete with other nations, that should be based on the quality and excellence of our work, rather than on a competition based on low standards. Now and in the future, we will look to build on these standards, but I am grateful that she recognises that this is a very important step forward today.

[Matt Warman (Boston and Skegness) (Con)]

The good work plan is, in many ways, the first Government document to really wrestle with the changes technology has brought about on workers. I welcome the fact that the Secretary of State has brought in meaningful changes, but he has not imposed things that would limit the future flexibility of both employers and employees, so this country can maximise the opportunities of that industrial revolution rather than have that done unto us by other countries.

Nuclear Power: Toshiba

Debate between Greg Clark and Matt Warman

Monday 12th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

It is an attractive market. That is one reason there is interest from several companies in the new nuclear opportunities available. Our market has always been open to overseas investment, and our commitments have attracted interest, not least in the next in the pipeline, which is Hitachi’s proposed investment in Wylfa in north Wales.

[Matt Warman (Boston and Skegness) (Con)]

Small nuclear reactors have already been mentioned briefly today. May I invite the Secretary of State to go fractionally further than he did in his previous answer and say that when it comes to these smaller, cheaper, more efficient reactors, we should be looking not just at existing nuclear sites, but at other sites being decommissioned in the near future?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the advantages of small modular reactors is that they can be deployed in a wider range of locations than the larger traditional reactors, and that is part of the attraction recognised in the sector deal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Greg Clark and Matt Warman

Tuesday 12th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Matt Warman (Boston and Skegness) (Con)]

T6. A recent report from Intel identified £2 trillion of global opportunities in artificial intelligence and driverless cars. Will the Minister outline what steps the Government are taking to invest in the skills that Britain will need to capitalise on that huge opportunity?

[Greg Clark]

I am delighted that my hon. Friend draws attention to this area, and he is a great expert in it. He will know that, in the industrial strategy, we established as one of the four grand challenges leadership in the world in artificial intelligence and the analysis of big data. A crucial part of that is making sure that our young people and people retraining have the skills to take up those jobs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Greg Clark and Matt Warman

Tuesday 7th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Greg Clark)]

Our industrial strategy capitalises on our strengths as we build the next generation of motor vehicles. In July, we committed £246 million to the Faraday Battery Challenge to make Britain a centre for the development of battery storage. I have also announced £51 million to fund automated vehicle testbeds across the country. I am delighted to say that in October Ford opened its new European Mobility headquarters in Britain.

[Matt Warman]

Whether lorries or tractors, it is in rural areas where autonomous vehicles have the potential to make a particularly profound impact. Will my right hon. Friend assure me that the research that he is funding will look in particular at rural areas rather than simply focusing on our very well connected cities?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. He is right in saying that, if this is to apply right across the country, the opportunities in rural areas are very important not just for the vehicles he describes, but for public transport. He will know that at the University of Lincoln, not far from him, excellent work is being done through the Centre for Autonomous Systems on the future of mobility. I hope that it will be a participant in this great wave across the country of research and development in the technologies of the future.

Industrial Strategy Consultation

Debate between Greg Clark and Matt Warman

Monday 23rd January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. I will certainly bear in mind what he said and will read closely the APPG report that he mentions.

[Matt Warman (Boston and Skegness) (Con)]

Any industrial or digital strategy must rely on transformative investment in broadband infrastructure. Can the Secretary of State reassure us that this is a strategy that will address not only the problems of the last 10 years, but those of the next 20 and 30 years, so we can plan for a world web with an internet of things and the fourth industrial revolution, which my hon. Friend the Member for Havant (Mr Mak) mentioned a few moments ago?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Our strategy must, of course, be forward looking and must be able to create the conditions in which investors and firms can make commitments now that are going to lead to our prosperity in the future. My hon. Friend’s frame of reference is absolutely right.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Greg Clark and Matt Warman

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

It is always a pleasure to come to Bromley, and I hope I will be able to do so again with my hon. Friend in the future. We will make sure that Bromley benefits from around £2 million in transitional grants for each of the next two years. I know from looking at the representations that have been made by London boroughs that that will be a big help in helping them to manage the more difficult first two years of the settlement.

[Matt Warman (Boston and Skegness) (Con)]

May I thank the Secretary of State for listening to the vocal representations from across Lincolnshire, including from my neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins)? At those meetings, he heard that it is not just rurality but sparsity of population that is important. Will he confirm that the new, revised settlement takes those conditions into account and tell us what it means for Lincolnshire?

[Greg Clark]

I will indeed. Lincolnshire is in a particularly ambitious phase of its history, and it is looking to negotiate a substantial devolution deal. As a rural and sparsely populated county, as he said, it faces particular pressures, so the additional funding it will receive is in the order of £5 million during the year ahead, and that will be widely welcomed across the county.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Greg Clark and Matt Warman

Thursday 17th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

If the hon. Gentleman believes councils should be in charge of their own destiny and count on their own resources, he will need to understand that we are moving into a world in which councils are financed locally, not centrally. He will want, I am sure, to discuss with his council how it is going to make spending decisions.

On the new homes bonus, the good news for councils across the country is that we are continuing that very successful policy. We are consulting on some possible changes, and one option is to reduce the period from six years to four for new developments. Councils will continue to receive the funding that they have expected for developments they have approved. If we do go with that option, the funds that are released will be invested in social care.

[Matt Warman (Boston and Skegness) (Con)]

The people of Lincolnshire will particularly welcome increased funding for rural, sparsely populated areas, but may I ask the Secretary to State to continue—he has done this previously—to bear in mind that in areas such as Fenside in Boston and Skegness there is also genuine deprivation? Can he tell us a little more about what he will be able to do for those areas of deprivation through means such as the attendance allowance?

[Greg Clark]

One of the things we will be doing over the years ahead is looking at what services and responsibilities can be devolved to local councils, recognising the fact that if we are going to devolve 100% of business rates, it is an opportunity to devolve some functions that have previously been in central Government. Attendance allowance has been suggested, and we will consult on that, alongside other services that could potentially be in the hands of local councils.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Greg Clark and Matt Warman

Monday 14th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

It is important that local authorities should take their local welfare responsibilities seriously. When we have the local government financial settlement, I am sure that the hon. Lady will be pleased to see that that continues to be recognised.

[Matt Warman (Boston and Skegness) (Con)]

T5. The people of Lincolnshire know what is best for the people of Lincolnshire. Will my right hon. Friend outline the benefits on offer in the current devolution deal and tell me how the Lincolnshire bid is going?