Sir David Amess Summer Adjournment

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 21st July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the powerful and thoughtful contribution of my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Aaron Bell). I start by raising a number of issues on all things rail. We know that rail numbers are down by a fifth since the pandemic, and yet the Government persist in building High Speed 2, a topic on which I have spoken in opposition on multiple occasions since my election to this House. Indeed, it is good to see my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone) on the Front Bench. He was with me in the Lobby the other day when we voted against HS2 going further north.

The reality on the ground, accepting that the thing is being built, is that HS2 Ltd continues to be anything but a good neighbour. I have spoken in the Transport Committee, in this Chamber and in Westminster Hall giving countless examples of where HS2 is making people’s lives a misery. It is bringing in HGV movements through villages where they simply should not be going. It is closing roads at a moment’s notice. It is not dealing with landowners in a fair or proportionate way when it takes their land. The latest complaint to reach me over the past 24 hours is about land that HS2 has taken but done nothing with, where poisonous weeds such as ragwort are being allowed to take hold and bleed across as seed moves into land where cattle, sheep and other animals can be affected by it. HS2 has been apprised of that time and time again, and yet it has done nothing. I urge the Government to clamp down on HS2 Ltd and ensure that it becomes the good neighbour it purports to be.

Likewise, the construction of East West Rail continues to be a nightmare for my constituents. It is the railway we want—it will bring greater connectivity to Buckinghamshire with a new station at Winslow—but its construction brings similar misery to that of High Speed 2. It looks as though East West Rail will launch with entirely diesel rolling stock, to boot. I urge the Government to reconsider that urgently and to look at hybrid options, hydrogen or a newer, greener technology. It is simply preposterous in this day and age for a new railway to be built with diesel- only stock.

Likewise, I urge the Government to give us some clarity, because there has been some speculation in recent days that perhaps the whole of East West Rail will not be completed, and that the part that goes beyond Bletchley towards Cambridge may not be built. This House needs urgent clarity on that when we return in the autumn.

Moving on to a planning matter, the Ministry of Justice had proposed building a mega-prison in my constituency adjacent to HMP Grendon and HMP Springhill, on land that it partially owns but that also involves the compulsory purchase of a farm. Buckinghamshire Council’s strategic sites committee wisely rejected the proposal. It was not a technical rejection at planning; the proposal in fact breached policies BE1, BE2, I2, NE1, NE4, NE5 and S1 of the local plan, as well as paragraphs 7, 8, 57, 58, 99, 105, 174, 180 and section 16 of the national planning policy framework. It was by no means a technical refusal, yet unfortunately the Ministry of Justice is seeking to appeal that and to cost taxpayers probably hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal fees. It is simply not right or fair that that project continues to hang over my constituency and the villages of Edgcott, Grendon Underwood, Steeple Claydon and others around. I urge the Government to reconsider and to pull that appeal.

Business of the House

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 30th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

It is a question not of time, but of priority. The priority of the UK Government is supporting our constituents with the challenges of the cost of living, with improving our education service, and with investing in police officers. I understand why the SNP wants to distract people from its terrible record in Scotland. It wants to put ideology ahead of the needs of the Scottish people. It should be concentrating on making sure that the Scottish people get the level of service from their Government that they deserve.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

As we look forward to the UK’s largest sporting event, the British Grand Prix, this weekend, by your kind permission, Mr Speaker, Parliament came alive this week to the technologies that the motor sport sector has offered us over the years—from the examples of the Formula 1 turbo-hybrid era, to all-electric Extreme E, Formula E and the bambino karts and to a classic Jaguar E-Type that ran solely on sustainable fuels at Goodwood last weekend.

Where motorsport technology leads, other sectors follow. Can we have a debate to explore the full panoply of technologies being developed by the motorsport sector to ensure that, in terms of their future use, cars, aviation, shipping, agricultural machinery and beyond have a wide eclectic future, and not just a monotype battery electric future?

[Mark Spencer]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, because I think he is the chair of the all-party group on motorsport, and to you, Mr Speaker, for allowing the use of Speaker’s Court for some of that amazing technology and for those amazing cars. It was a true privilege to be able to see those motor vehicles.

My hon. Friend is right to pay tribute to the industry, which brings forward amazing technology here in the United Kingdom that is driving world investment and benefiting the UK economy. I do not know whether he had the opportunity to raise this in Transport questions this morning, but I will make sure that his comments are passed on to the Secretary of State.

Business of the House

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 9th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

We are looking at it. We will come back in due course on how we deliver and give the House the opportunity to debate and vote on it.

The hon. Member for Bristol West (Thangam Debbonaire) knows I am sympathetic to the plight of Back Benchers when it comes to written questions, but to use health service and Department of Health and Social Care data from the period of covid—[Interruption.] We are not in the period of covid today, but the statistics she quoted were from that period. It is easy to comprehend that at that time the Department was busy and focused on dealing with covid rather than other things. Now that we are out of that period, I expect the next set of statistics to prove that the Department is responding more quickly, and I will do all I can to make sure that Departments respond as quickly as possible.

I admire the hon. Lady. We do not agree on everything, but every week she comes here and presents her case with enthusiasm and supports her constituents. I can only imagine her frustration that the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Levelling-Up Secretary did not mention the unions that are about to cause misery to our constituents up and down the country. In fact, the shadow Levelling-Up Secretary, the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy), said that she is on the side of the unions. They are going to cause misery for commuters trying to get to work and students to their exams; they are risking empty shelves and chaos for the Great British public. We on this side of the House are on the side of commuters and hard-working people, not on the side of the big unions and their paymasters.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

The 5p reduction in fuel duty was very welcome, but a coach operator in my constituency contacted me yesterday to say that it has seen a 10p a litre increase this week, which makes their weekly fuel bill £3,500 more than in January. Can we have an urgent debate to ensure that this House has fully explored the impact on business of the unacceptably high proportion of tax on a tank of fuel, and look at ways to alleviate it?

[Mark Spencer]

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the fact that the global fight against inflation is causing huge challenges for our constituents, which is why at the spring statement, the Government cut fuel duty by 5p for 12 months—the largest ever cash-terms cut of fuel duty rates. Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco have all committed to passing on that tax cut. All taxes, including fuel duty, remain under review and I expect the Chancellor of the Exchequer to continue his enormous level of support for people as we battle global inflation.

Business of the House

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 31st March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

The hon. Lady is right to highlight Peter Hebblethwaite’s actions, and she joins the Secretary of State for Transport in calling for him to go. The way in which he has treated his staff and the employees of P&O is outrageous and, frankly, abhorrent. I think the topic is worthy of debate, and I am sure that the Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee would give due consideration to that, given the number of Members from across the House who have an interest in debating it further.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the news that six NHS hospitals are set to trial pheasant, partridge and venison on their menus is extremely welcome, and will he join me in congratulating British Game Assurance on its work to help to make that possible? Can we have a debate on the value of game as healthy, nutritious, flavoursome and sustainable meat that more parts of the public sector should seek to procure for menus in schools, hospitals and beyond?

[Mark Spencer]

I thank my hon. Friend for drawing the House’s attention to that fact. British game is, as he says, nutritious and of good value. It also has a very high welfare background, in that all the animals that reach the food chain are wild animals that lived in the natural environment. He is right to draw the House’s attention to the fact that game is now available in our NHS.

Business of the House

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments about Nazanin, and I join him in celebrating her safe return. I also join him in congratulating and paying tribute to his constituent who is assisting with the humanitarian support in Ukraine. I will pass on those comments to the Foreign Office and see if we can assist him in getting the information he requires.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

The freezes on fuel duty by Conservative Governments since 2010 have been the right thing to do and have saved motorists and businesses thousands of pounds. However, the cost of petrol and diesel remains disproportionately high compared with other countries because of fuel duty. The Government cannot buck the market, given global events effecting the price, but they can change the level of taxation. Will my right hon. Friend allow for an urgent debate ahead of the spring statement so that Members on both sides of the House can highlight how the high cost of petrol and diesel is affecting motorists and businesses?

[Mark Spencer]

We recognise that the global price of crude oil has been increasing in the past year, leading to a rise in petrol prices around the world. That is why we are supporting people by freezing fuel duty for the 12th year in a row. This is the longest sustained freeze in British history, saving drivers money every time they fill up their tank compared with pre-2010 prices. The 2022-23 fuel duty freeze will save consumers almost £8 billion over the next five years. However, the overall impact of energy price spikes on the public finances needs to be considered in the round, and the Office for Budget Responsibility will be setting out the overall fiscal position next week, when the Chancellor will be giving his spring statement.

Business of the House

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 16th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman. What he is asking for for the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) is not within my gift, but may I wish him particularly a very happy Christmas. He is a great sparring partner in this Chamber, even if somewhat grumpy at times. He is also very good company privately. I hope that he is in good health.

The key issue that the hon. Member for Midlothian (Owen Thompson) asks about is funding for Scotland. It is worth pointing out that there is: a £4.6 billion per year average funding boost to Scotland through the Barnett formula; the announcement of a more than £170 million levelling-up fund for eight Scottish projects; £42 million for Scottish fisheries; £1.9 billion for farmers and land managers over the next three years; £1.5 billion for 12 city and growth deals, including more than £500 million for Glasgow, £300 million for Edinburgh, £125 million for Aberdeen, and £53 million for Inverness and the highlands; and new funding for the British Business Bank to establish a £150 million fund for Scotland. This is really important in showing the strength of the United Kingdom together and the amount of money that, as a United Kingdom, we have been able to afford, which is in addition to the £1.7 billion that the Scottish economy has benefited from, dealing with 620,000 self-employment scheme claims and 910,000 jobs that have been on the furlough scheme. This country is better and stronger together. Working together, having the strength of the UK taxpayer, has been essential to the benefit of Scotland, but also to Wales, Northern Ireland and England. We all benefit through our United Kingdom.

As regards issues around the workings in this House, every effort is made to ensure that this House is working safely. We are in the same place as the nation at large. We are people who need to come to work, so we are therefore right to come to work. As the hon. Gentleman will remember, at the very beginning of the pandemic, when there was a total lockdown, we did things differently, but I do not think that that is the current situation.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Yesterday, we heard the sad news that Linda Whetstone had passed away. Linda dedicated her life to spreading the ideas and values of freedom and classical liberal economics around the world. She was not in frontline politics, but, through the Atlas Network, the Institute of Economic Affairs and Mont Pelerin Society, undoubtedly had a huge impact. As the director-general of the IEA said yesterday:

“We may not see her again, but we can be grateful for the incredible legacy she leaves us.”

Will my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House join me in sending condolences to Linda’s family and friends, particularly her brother, Mike Fisher, and pay tribute to this champion of freedom?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Yes, of course, I pass the condolences of the House and my own condolences via my hon. Friend to Mike Fisher. It is indeed with great sadness that we mark the passing of Linda Whetstone. She was chairman of the Atlas Network, an international association of free market think-tanks, and of the Network for a Free Society. She was the daughter of Sir Anthony Fisher, co-founder of the Institute of Economic Affairs, which has to be said is one of the finest think-tanks that there is and an absolute bastion of good sense and thoughtfulness. She followed his legacy as a dear friend of the IEA and member of its board of trustees. She has also served as a board member and president of the Mont Pelerin Society. My hon. Friend quoted what Mark Littlewood said about her, and that shows how greatly she was admired by an important institution in this country, and we pray for the repose of her soul.

Business of the House

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 25th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I can absolutely give the second commitment that the hon. Gentleman asks for. The Government are working closely with our partners in the region to ensure that Mr Symons is released and reunited with his family as soon as possible. We obviously do not have direct representation there. It may be helpful if I tell hon. and right hon. Members that after this session every week, I write to relevant Ministers with any issues that have been brought up, and obviously I particularly emphasise ones of this kind, because I think hon. and right hon. Members have a right to be kept informed about their constituents and to make representations for them. It is our basic obligation as Members to seek redress of grievance for those we represent, and I will always do anything I can to help in that regard.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Large-scale infrastructure projects place a huge burden on parish and town councils that cover the areas of construction of those projects. Parish councillors in my constituency tell me that dealing with local matters relating to projects such as HS2 and East West Rail has become something like a full-time job. Will my right hon. Friend join me in thanking our parish and town councils for all the work they do and find time for a debate in Government time to recognise the additional burden of big infrastructure on those local councils and to find a better way to support them?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

With projects of this scale, local effects will unfortunately be unavoidable. The Department for Transport encourages close co-operation and engagement between such projects and local councils, including parish councils. The HS2 Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Andrew Stephenson), has been looking at this issue closely and, as set out in detail in the parliamentary report published last week, has taken a number of further steps to improve HS2 Ltd’s approach. The Rail Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Chris Heaton-Harris), is also supportive of the recently introduced monthly meeting between the leaders of Buckinghamshire Council, East West Rail Company, Network Rail and the EWR Alliance, which can act as a point of escalation for construction issues if required. As regards a debate in Government time, I am sorry, but I cannot promise that. I do think that an issue concerning the councils, including parish councils, of my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Greg Smith) is ideal territory for an Adjournment debate.

Business of the House

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 21st January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Ensuring that the workplace is covid secure is very important, and is a duty on employers—indeed, it is a legal responsibility. The Health and Safety Executive has powers to enforce, and local councils have certain powers of inspection. Companies have spent many millions of pounds to make their workplaces covid secure, and although nobody would say that this is perfect, I think that the work that has been done around our own workplace is a model for other employers.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Throughout the pandemic, rail use has been down. More significantly, it is widely projected to remain down. Yet, with increasing costs, destruction and disruption, High Speed 2 continues to be built. A new petition calling on this House to debate High Speed 2 in the light of the new circumstances reached over 100,000 signatures in just a few days. With Westminster Hall currently not operating, will my right hon. Friend provide time in this Chamber for that important debate?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I will try to answer the broader question on Petitions Committee debates. I did undertake to try to find time for Petitions Committee debates, and that is a commitment I take seriously. I am liaising with others to try to find a suitable slot for that, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this point.

Business of the House

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 19th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

As I have set out before, I and the whole House have the greatest sympathy for people who are extremely clinically vulnerable and are advised not to come into work and for making provisions for them to participate. I have sympathy with people who are in difficult circumstances that do not fall into that category, even if the guidelines do not actually provide them with the security that they may be asking for. I have much less sympathy for members of the Scottish National party who do not actually like coming to Parliament in the first place.

As regards what the Prime Minister said about devolution, let us look at the SNP Government’s record, because it is a tragic record of failure. Schools were once the pride of Scotland, but schooling in Scotland has gone down under the SNP’s reign. Scotland has fallen to 15th in reading, from sixth in 2000. For maths, it is 31st—nine places lower than England—and down from 17th in 2006 and fifth in 2000. They have therefore failed in terms of schools. They have also failed in terms of the economy; before the pandemic, Scotland’s economy was forecast to trail the UK for the foreseeable future. They have failed in terms of policing; crime is on the rise, and most areas of Scotland have fewer police officers on the frontline since the SNP forced the police merger through.

Before the crisis, the SNP was causing the NHS to suffer. The £850 million waiting times improvement plan was a failure; Scotland’s public sector watchdog said that the NHS was under increasing pressure in 2019; and the SNP has failed to tackle Scotland’s chronic shortage of GPs. After years and years of SNP grandstanding on welfare, the party is failing to deliver on its own welfare promises, and SNP Ministers even had to hand back responsibility for one benefit to the Department for Work and Pensions.

The failure of devolution is the failure of the Scottish National party, and—just to add to the fun of it—its members are also mired in some discussion about who can remember who sent texts to whom, but it might be ungracious of me to delve into the inner workings of the relationship between very fishy Scottish figures.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

As was referenced earlier, lifting our spirits from the gloom of lockdown, on Sunday, Lewis Hamilton secured his seventh Formula 1 world championship, having smashed through all the other records, with 94 race wins—seven of which were here at home, at Silverstone—and 97 pole positions. He is without doubt the most successful British sportsman. As he won the Turkish Grand Prix, he said:

“That’s for all the kids out there that dream the impossible. You can do it too”.

With that in mind, will my right hon. Friend join me in sending the congratulations of this House to Lewis Hamilton for all that he has achieved, agree that it is high time that he was honoured with a knighthood and schedule a debate on ensuring that children are encouraged to take up science, technology, engineering and maths subjects to become the engineers of the future and take up motorsport in Lewis Hamilton’s tyre tracks?

[Mr Speaker]

May I just say that knighthoods are not a matter for the Leader of the House? He has many duties, but that is not one of them.

Business of the House

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 17th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

It is very important that we have roads and that people can get about the country. The road building plan will help the economy. It will be a boost to the economy and a boost to jobs. The last thing we should be doing in the current crisis is making it harder for people to get jobs and for the economy to grow. However, the Government have a very good record on dealing with environmental matters. They have committed to the net zero target by 2050. Perhaps most importantly, we will take back control of our agricultural policy from 1 January and will be able to ensure that expenditure in that area goes towards protecting diversity and the environment, rather than being squandered on EU-sponsored schemes we are not in favour of and burdening our farmers with bureaucracy. Things are getting very much better thanks to the Conservatives and Brexit.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Residents in the village of Long Crendon in my constituency currently face the prospect of losing their GP surgery and being asked to go to a village poorly served by public transport that is at least an £11 taxi ride away. May I therefore ask my right hon. Friend for a debate in Government time to explore the provision of rural GP services, so that, as the Government deliver on our commitment for 50 million extra GP appointments, rural communities keep local, village-based GP services?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Living as I do in a small village, I am well aware of the importance of rural GP services and the need for them to be accessible by people living in rural areas who do not necessarily have any public transport and need to be within reasonable distance of a surgery. However, there are countervailing arguments about having larger centres which may be able to provide a higher level of service and more appointments. There is a balance within that. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the issue, which is very suitable for a Backbench Business debate, because it may well be of interest across the House.