Spring 2021 Covid-19 Road Map

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 22nd March 2021 Westminster Hall

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Mundell. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Nick Fletcher) on securing and opening the debate. I wish to speak particularly on the petitions before us that relate to gyms and fitness. It may be obvious to most that, unlike the hon. Member for Ilford South (Sam Tarry), I am not regularly found in a gym myself, but I know that they are very important to millions of Brits, not least the entrepreneurs who run them and the staff whose jobs depend on them.

All of us have appreciated the need for measures to control this virus and to save lives, not least our local gyms and fitness centres themselves. Across the board, they introduced comprehensive and robust covid-secure measures very early. Last October, I had the pleasure of visiting Intent 2 Improve, a gym in the town of Buckingham in my constituency, where I saw at first hand the measures that have been put in place to secure its members’ safety: hygiene, ventilation and social distancing measures.

However, as we all know, as part of the national lockdown restrictions that gym, and all other gyms and indoor and outdoor leisure facilities across our country, closed. Given their excellent track record on hygiene and safety, and the corresponding extremely low incidence of transmission of the virus in such settings, it was, I fear we must acknowledge, a bitter pill that such severe limitations were placed on opportunities for exercise in a safe environment.

I am sure that I am not alone in this House in saying that the consequences for the physical and mental health of my constituents of those closures has been significant. It has never been more important for the nation to take responsibility for its own health, thereby protecting the NHS. There is a clear correlation between covid complications, hospitalisations, the tragedy of losing life to the virus and obesity-related conditions. Even more concerningly, Office for National Statistics data shows that suicides have increased by some 20% since the first lockdown. It is indeed a tragedy that, alongside the pandemic, there is likely to be a mental health pandemic that, if left unaddressed, will have a long-term impact that is much more far-reaching and difficult to recover from.

It may once have been true that exercise was a leisure activity, but with covid and the mental health crisis this country now faces, gyms and leisure centres have become a lifeline for many people, including many constituents who have written to me to make that point and who have, equally, signed the petitions we debate this evening. The industry is one of the only sectors scientifically proven to be able to support our nation with underlying health conditions, mental health conditions and other physical conditions. It is and must be part of the covid solution. As such, I very much welcome the Government’s decision to prioritise the reopening of gyms on 12 April. However, I have become increasingly concerned that fitness studios are not being classified in the same band as gyms.

That has particularly impacted a small fitness studio in my constituency, The Energy Effect. Dozens of constituents have contacted me about their disappointment that this business will not be able to reopen on 12 April. Exercising together as a group brings immeasurable benefits to everyone—fun, laughter, friendship and health. I saw for myself last year the studio’s approach to mitigating the risk of covid transmission, with enhanced cleaning regimes, restricted numbers, clearly marked and spaced positions in which people do their exercises, and only ever personal equipment being used. Its model kept people as far apart, and as socially distanced and safe, as any other regular gym. In the time it was operating in person, there was not one confirmed case of covid transmission. The owner, Kirsty, has given everything to keep her clients going in these dark times. Day in, day out she has delivered online classes, with 24 a week to choose from. Her business has undoubtedly been a lifesaver for so many of her customers, but an online future is sadly not a sustainable future for that business. I put it to my hon. Friend the Minister that it surely cannot be fair that this fitness studio has to stay closed while a gym less than a mile away can reopen.

There has to be an equality of opportunity, and every small business must be given the opportunity to rebuild. The UK’s 7,000 gyms and leisure centres have been open only for very limited periods since the first lockdown. For that reason, I would also support a work out to help out scheme, as called for in one of the other petitions we debate today. A financial incentive would encourage people to renew long-lapsed gym memberships and to support their local gym and fitness centre. It could be via a tax incentive, a VAT cut or holiday, or something similar to the eat out to help out scheme that was so successful last summer. Some sort of grant on a pay per use basis would be good for those businesses as they make every effort to bounce back and good for our nation’s health. The alternative, I fear, would be swathes of gyms and fitness centres closing, thousands of jobs disappearing and more empty spaces in our towns and cities.

In the light of the petitions before us today, I urge the Minister to do all he can to champion further our local gyms and fitness centres and to ensure that there is a level playing field and a fair playing field for all. If we can get this right, it will undoubtedly save lives and livelihoods.

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 8th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I rise to speak in support of the Budget, which is a trifold balancing act in respect of continuing covid support, stimulus for recovery and fixing the public finances.

Faced with £335 billion in borrowing from the covid support schemes, the Chancellor has a difficult task, but I can help him immediately with in excess of £100 billion of that: I would not be true to myself or my constituents if I did not urge him once more to cancel HS2, a project that had a flimsy business case to start with that has now been blown apart by projections that rail demand is down for the long term.

Critically, we need stimulus for growth. The capital gains tax increases are uncomfortable, but I very much trust that the Treasury modelling will show the new rates to be on the right side of the Laffer curve. Fundamentally, the Budget has many measures that will stimulate growth. I particularly welcome the super deduction measures to unlock investments; fuel duty freezes for families and businesses alike; the restart grants, along with the extension of the 5% VAT rate, to give retail, hospitality and others a fighting chance; frozen alcohol duties; freeports and Help to Grow; and the extension of furlough and the self-employment grants, to give businesses, particularly those with long lead times for new contracts, certainty as they plan ahead.

It remains a mystery to me why some of those who are self-employed and earn more than £50,000 and owner-directors of limited companies who pay themselves through dividends have not enjoyed the same support as those on furlough or the SEISS. Such micro and small businesses, many in the creative, cultural, tourism, events and hospitality sectors—entrepreneurs to the core—are essential to our recovery. We must find a fiscal way to get them to the other side of this crisis. I am proud that my local council, Buckinghamshire Council, has been able to support many such businesses through the additional restrictions grants, but I have heard, with enormous sadness, of far too many businesses in my constituency simply giving up.

I particularly urge the Treasury to look once more at a sector I have spoken about before: the coach industry. One firm in my constituency is shouldering over £30,000 a month in losses, serving debts that have been caused because the state has asked it to meet PSVAR and Euro 6 standards. More debt simply cannot be the answer for such firms.

To conclude, this is a very strong Budget, a Budget that is honest about the level of national borrowing, but which understands that the path to recovery must come from growth. If we can close the gaps and open up as soon as possible, this Budget will stand us in good stead for growth and prosperity.

Online Harms Consultation

Greg Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 15th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

This legislation is specifically aimed at harm caused to individuals, so of course, to the extent that there is harm to individuals, such material will fall within the scope of this legislation. But remember: this sits alongside other action by the Government. For example, the Cabinet Office is leading work on the cross-government defending democracy programme, to deal with the wider challenges to our democratic values.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement today. Organisations like the Internet Watch Foundation have over 24 years’ experience in tackling threats to children online; indeed, the foundation played a huge role in reducing the percentage of vile, indecent images of children from 18% of such images held on UK servers across the globe, down to 1% today. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that organisations like the foundation will be fully involved, so that we may harness their expertise in the regulatory framework that he brings forward?

[Oliver Dowden]

Yes, I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. I have, of course, met the Internet Watch Foundation. Ofcom will need to draw on expert advice, and I would expect that to include that of the foundation.

Gambling and Lotteries

Greg Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 8th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Huddleston]

The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that the online harms legislation was a commitment. It is absolutely a commitment. I know that it gets support on both sides of the Chamber, and we will be hearing more in due course.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I very much welcome my hon. Friend’s statement as a vital step in bringing up to date the provisions of the Gambling Act 2005, but may I ask him for some reassurance about how any test of balance will be weighted so that prevention of harm can rightly take centre stage, while we ensure at the same time that the millions of people who gamble responsibly are not in some way stigmatised, and, as others have said, that activities are not driven underground?

[Nigel Huddleston]

I thank my hon. Friend for pointing out the absolute necessity in this review for a balanced, evidence-led approach. I assure him that we will strike the right balance between giving individuals the freedom to choose how they spend their own money, and protecting vulnerable people and their families from gambling-related harm. It is a balancing act, and we take that responsibility very seriously.

Coronation Street: 60th Anniversary

Greg Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I thank the hon. Member for Batley and Spen (Tracy Brabin) for securing this debate. We should also thank my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House, because clearly he set the business for this week and ensured that the debates on the motions before us this afternoon were going to be fairly short so that we could have a substantial, longer than usual Adjournment debate to celebrate the 60th anniversary of “Coronation Street”.

I have been a fan of “Coronation Street” since I was about seven or eight years old. It was always on in our house: my parents loved it and my grandparents loved it—and as they get through their 90s in residential care together, after 70 years of marriage, they still watch “Coronation Street” every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It is very much a family thing that we love and enjoy the nation’s favourite street.

One of the early storylines that I can remember was the murder of Brian Tilsley in the ’80s. I may have been seven at the time and I remember not fully comprehending the storyline—the brutality of it and how a father could be taken from a family, leaving the character we know as Nick Tilsley without a father. I remember that really struck me as a young boy.

I now like to see “Coronation Street” as escapism: after a busy day in this place, I can often be found on the train back to Buckinghamshire watching “Corrie” on my iPad. My doing so also maintains domestic harmony, because I must confess that I have married into an “EastEnders” family. Often, when we have “Coronation Street” on at home, my wife finds a reason to do something else. She is very appreciative that I watch it on my iPad on the way home. I like to try to ensure that that bit of escapism is available to me at the end of a busy day.

I have had the great honour and privilege of visiting the old set and the new set on a number of occasions, each time with my right hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West (Conor Burns). It is a privilege not only to meet so many cast members and see them filming their scenes, but to see the incredible crew and writers—everybody who works so hard to produce six episodes a week. In television, it is no mean feat to produce six episodes a week and get them ready on time for ITV to broadcast them.

As everybody else who has spoken in this debate has said, “Coronation Street” offers us that wonderful breadth— not only the laugh-out-loud moments, the entertainment and the comedy gold, but those very serious storylines. There have been storylines, as my parliamentary neighbour and hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Rob Butler) said, that break taboos and raise awareness of things that the country is not necessarily as aware of as it could or should be. One that struck home with me—before I was elected to this House, I did some work with the UK Sepsis Trust in raising awareness of sepsis in this country—was the story of Jack Webster, who lost his leg. That really helped to raise public awareness of sepsis, to the point that, almost around the same time that that the storyline was airing, we saw in virtually every hospital and GP surgery up and down the land the “Just Ask: ‘Could it be Sepsis?’” poster going up, so it really is very powerful.

As the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) said, the Oliver storyline in the past few days was really difficult to watch, and the performances, particularly, of Jane Danson, Simon Gregson and Ben Price, really paid proper service to ensuring a greater awareness not only of mitochondrial disease, but of the absolute devastation that any family who loses a child must go through. As I say, it was difficult but important to watch as part of that storyline.

There have been so many other storylines. I do not want to repeat previous speeches, but the wonderful Mikey North’s portrayal of Gary Windass in the loan shark storyline over the last couple of years brought home the brutality of what can happen if people borrow money from loan sharks. Other stories include the coercive control storyline with Geoff and Yasmeen, which was so powerfully portrayed, and the David Platt male rape storyline, not yet complete in the court. We have seen domestic abuse storylines, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West mentioned, going back to Rita and Alan Bradley, and more recently, with Tyrone Dobbs. These are all highly serious issues that “Coronation Street” has helped to raise awareness of in the country, and there are so many more that I will not repeat.

As we look forward to another 60 years—hopefully more—of “Coronation Street”, there are also questions, to be serious for a moment, about the way we look at public service broadcasting. ITV is a public service broadcaster and we need to ensure that there is fairness for our public service broadcasters, particularly as they compete in advertising space with some online platforms going forward, to ensure that ITV is a strong channel that remains not only on our televisions, but on our iPads, computers and all the other ways that we are going to consume entertainment—a competitive player in that marketplace that is not disadvantaged by online programming. I urge my right hon. Friend the Minister, who is far more versed in these matters than me, to consider that going forward, and I know that the Public Service Broadcasting Advisory Panel has now launched.

I conclude by repeating my hearty congratulations to everybody involved in “Coronation Street” on this momentous anniversary of 60 years on our television screens. I look forward, hopefully, to visiting the set on many more occasions, but until then, it is my iPad on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday night—my escapism. I wish them all a very happy birthday and 60 more years to come.

UK Telecommunications

Greg Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 14th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

Today’s announcement relates principally to the imposition of sanctions by the US Government and the consequences of that. The wider points the hon. Gentleman raises are likely to be addressed through the investment security Bill, which will come before the House.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

I add my voice to the welcome for this vital decision in the interests of national security. Building on the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mark Fletcher), although for many of my constituents in rural Buckinghamshire 5G will be game-changing, to put it bluntly, any reliable mobile signal will be life-changing. What assurance can my right hon. Friend give me that the incredible shared rural network can be pushed up the agenda and delivered faster than currently scheduled?

[Oliver Dowden]

As my hon. Friend knows, we signed the deal for the shared rural network just a few months ago. That was incredible progress and we will continue to challenge it to go further and faster. In addition, I am aware when we talk about getting full fibre to the premises that many people are still struggling with getting superfast, so we also need to make sure we get superfast to the remaining 4% of households in the UK.

Covid-19: Support for UK Industries

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Having spoken to businesses across my constituency, where some 11,900 people have been furloughed and 4,300 people have been in receipt of the self-employed income support scheme, it is clear to me that many jobs have been saved —livelihoods, as well as businesses that have been built up with dedication and passion over years and decades. That is all due to the unprecedented support made available by this Government.

However, as the numbers of signatures on the petitions we are debating today show, some sectors do remain in need of particular support. In the time available, I cannot cover all of them, but as someone who has previously been a trustee of a theatre and an arts centre, I know how difficult the current situation is for everyone in the arts, and I very much hope we can find a way to assure the future of British theatre and music.

It would be remiss of me, as a member of the Transport Committee, not to mention aviation. It is imperative for the very survival of our airlines, airports and the businesses that support them, and the thousands of jobs that depend on them, that we are able to get aviation up and running again soon. I will not repeat the findings of the Committee’s recent report, but I will briefly mention freight. With 40% of air freight going in the belly hold of passenger aircraft, if the passenger planes are not flying, the freight is not flying either. As the UK recovery depends, to a large part, on new free trade deals around the globe, we need aviation. I encourage the Government to focus on freight, as well, as part of the recovery plan.

From the perspective of the events sector, I wish to focus particularly on the coach industry.

I have spoken to coach operators in my constituency, such as Masons in Cheddington. The sector at large employs 42,000 people and contributes nearly £7 million to the leisure sector. The drop in income that the coach sector has seen during lockdown, with six-figure losses, is unprecedented. The reduction in social distancing is very positive, but coach companies tell me that with 1 metre-plus, they can only get 25 people on a 53-seater coach and that is not viable. To put it bluntly, with that capacity they will barely cover the fuel to keep the wheels rolling.

Loans have been good news, but with many operators having spent considerable money through debt on ensuring their fleet complies with the regulations on public service vehicle accessibility earlier this year, they are left financially exposed to taking on further debt. If we want to get people back to the tourism locations and museums and to help people who have been isolated for so long get about again, my plea to the Government is that we need support for the coach sector, to help it bounce back.

BBC Licence Fee

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nigel Adams]

I do not agree on that point with the hon. Lady. The broadcasting landscape is constantly changing—she is right about that—and this is only going to get faster. Ofcom research found that more children recognise the names Netflix and YouTube than they do the BBC, which should be an eye-opener for all of us. Conservative Members believe that the BBC is a beacon of British values, but we should be alive to the changes in the way people are consuming television.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the nub of this is about fairness and proportionality? If we are to have a free and open market in television, non-payment of the licence fee should be treated no differently from that of any other service?

[Nigel Adams]

My hon. Friend is right: this whole consultation is about whether criminal sanctions are a fair and proportionate system in the current world in which we live.