Police Uplift Programme

Debate between Henry Smith and Chris Philp

Wednesday 26th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Chris Philp]

We have regular discussions about this topic with the Attorney General’s Office and with the Director of Public Prosecutions, Max Hill. Some police officers feel that they would benefit from taking more charging decisions; some feel that DG6, the sixth edition of the director’s guidance, could be improved; some are concerned about the burdens that redaction places on police officers. Those are all matters that we are discussing actively with the Crown Prosecution Service. I would welcome a meeting with my hon. Friend to discuss in more detail how we can remove and reduce the bureaucratic burdens.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I welcome the Government’s remarkable achievement of a record number of police officers across England and Wales. In Sussex, the Government’s uplift since 2019 has resulted in an extra 429 police officers. Will the Minister join me in paying tribute to the Sussex police and crime commissioner, Katy Bourne? After 10 years of remarkable service, she has achieved an additional 250 police officers in Sussex, who have been recruited through a local initiative on top of the Government’s uplift.

[Chris Philp]

I thank my hon. Friend for his campaigning work for the police and the public in Sussex. Katy Bourne, the police and crime commissioner, does a fantastic job. I have met her many times to discuss policing in Sussex; indeed, I visited Brighton with her just a few months ago. She has done a great job of recruiting extra officers locally. More than that, she has exceeded her police uplift target, delivering 439 extra officers in Sussex—10 more than the target of 429. I send huge congratulations to Katy Bourne and her whole team.

Chinese Police Stations in UK

Debate between Henry Smith and Chris Philp

Wednesday 19th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Chris Philp]

I do not accept the suggestion that the Government have been asleep at the wheel. A whole range of actions are being taken to counter foreign state threats. I have mentioned the National Security and Investment Act 2021; the National Security Bill; the integrated review, which puts national security at its heart; and the defending democracy taskforce, which is chaired by the Security Minister. Those are all designed to keep safe not just BNOs, but others.

On the topic of BNOs, I think that illustrates the United Kingdom at its best. We sometimes hear Opposition Members saying that we do not have safe and legal routes, and that we do not extend a warm welcome. However, we have welcomed more than 100,000 with BNO passports with open arms. We have welcomed 25,000 people from Afghanistan via safe and legal routes. There are the 25,000 who came from Syria under the UK resettlement scheme and other schemes, and the more than 200,000 people who have come from Ukraine. They all illustrate what an open and welcoming country this is and the approach that this Government take to genuine and legitimate refugees.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

It is not just nefarious activity from the Chinese Communist party through the so-called police stations in this country and other parts of the world, but their commercial activities and activities in academia that are a threat to our national security. BGI is a company that is harvesting genomic information from people around the world, for example through prenatal tests. Can I have an assurance from the Government that the defending democracy taskforce will be looking not just at the so-called Chinese police stations operating in this country, but all those aggressive acts being carried out by the Communist Chinese state?

[Chris Philp]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to what the Chinese Government are doing in seeking to infiltrate academia and certain sensitive technologies. I saw that at first hand during my time as technology Minister, and I must say to the House that I was deeply concerned by what I saw. The machinery of government for dealing with that is the defending democracy taskforce, and there are various other arms of government dealing with that. The powers that exist under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 give the Government—in the first instance, I think it is through what used to be the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy—powers to take action. I can assure my hon. Friend that the Government are alive to that, and I saw that when I was tech Minister. I can assure him that the Government are vigilant and alert and that action is being taken.

Economic Situation

Debate between Henry Smith and Chris Philp

Wednesday 12th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Chris Philp]

If the hon. Lady objects so much to tax reductions, why did she vote for them yesterday?

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Yesterday, I spoke with business leaders in my Crawley constituency. They welcomed both the near record low unemployment levels and the International Monetary Fund outlook of 3.6% growth. Does the Chief Secretary to the Treasury agree that that is a direct consequence of the policies that the Government are enacting?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Henry Smith and Chris Philp

Monday 28th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Chris Philp)]

The Government are committed to ending completely these dangerous crossings facilitated by ruthless criminals. These crossings are also unnecessary because France is a safe country. Our clandestine channel threat commander, newly appointed, is working closely with his French colleagues to stop these embarkations in the first place, and we are also working tirelessly to return people who have made this journey.

[Henry Smith [V]]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that answer. Can he say when legislation will be brought forward to update immigration and asylum law, and whether it will contain provisions such as stopping those who enter the United Kingdom illegally subsequently applying to stay in this country?

[Chris Philp]

My hon. Friend is quite right to draw attention to the legal system. It is quite frankly not fit for purpose in this area when it comes to asylum and immigration enforcement matters. We are often frustrated by repeatedly vexatious legal claims, often made at the last minute with the express intention of frustrating the proper application of the law. I can confirm that we are working at pace on legislative options in the way that he describes, and that everything is on the table.

Govia Thameslink Rail Service

Debate between Henry Smith and Chris Philp

Monday 12th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. She has been a firm campaigner on behalf of her constituents and others—[Interruption.] A doughty campaigner, as my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) says from a sedentary position. My hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Nusrat Ghani) has been a doughty campaigner on behalf of people across East Sussex and West Sussex too.

I was pleased to see the new rail Minister provide a written statement on GTR when Parliament reconvened earlier this month, and I hope that he will continue to update colleagues in writing and, of course, in person.

As part of the £20 million improvement fund, additional staff will be hired at all stations, including East Croydon and Gatwick Airport, which is in my constituency. I understand that £1 million will be spent on testing platform and dispatch staff infrastructure at these stations. Will the Minister please provide an update on a timetable for staff hire and equipment testing at Gatwick Airport station? I hope that these improvements will reduce the need for my constituents, with continuing exasperation, to use the Delay Repay system.

On compensation for passengers, as I mentioned in response to my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham, let me be clear: compensation is not a solution in itself, but improving the compensation procedure and making the process simpler for passengers are important in the short term.

I very much welcome the letter, which has been placed in the Library of the House, from the rail Minister to the Chair of the Transport Committee, the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman), dated 6 September 2016. The Minister wrote that

“rail customers should not be denied any consumer rights or protections even for a temporary period while the rail industry works to put in place more consistent compensation arrangements between train operators.”

The previous rail Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Claire Perry), stated in June that the Government

“are committed to improving compensation arrangements for passengers. . . We expect to make an announcement on this in the next few months.”

This followed a previous announcement in the 2015 autumn spending review that passengers would soon have access to compensation when trains are more than 15 minutes late. My constituents have described to me their frustration when they experience a delayed train and often miss out on compensation because their service is delayed, for example, by marginally less than the current 30-minute threshold. When can we expect further details from the Minister about the enhanced compensation measures?

Last week saw the all too familiar sight of Southern railway staff handing out leaflets to passengers, advising of the details of the latest RMT union strikes. Now, I have been clear that I have no hesitation in criticising GTR when necessary, and, as a regular commuter on the network, I doubt there will be a single Member here tonight who disagrees with me when I say that it is extremely necessary on far too many occasions to hold the company to account. However, we cannot allow the RMT union to escape blame either. Yes, we criticise GTR when its service does not run on time, but we must also question why the RMT union, having seen the issues affecting our constituents in getting to work, see this as an opportunity for industrial action and the creation of further misery and difficulty.

[Chris Philp (Croydon South) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the RMT strike is totally without justification? There are no pay cuts and no job losses, and there will still be two staff on all the trains. Will he also join me in condemning not just the official strike action, but the equally invidious unofficial strike action held via the very high levels of sickness we see daily?

[Henry Smith]

My hon. Friend has been an excellent representative since being elected to the House last year, particularly on the issue of Southern rail and Thameslink delays. We are seeing industrial action that is taking advantage of a very difficult situation, with infrastructure failures and a large franchise trying to cope, and that is unacceptable. On the issue of driver only-operated trains, we are not seeing any reduction in guard staff numbers. I appreciate that there are safety issues that need to be properly addressed, but passengers do not at all appreciate this sort of confrontation between unions and management when they are stuck, delayed on platforms.

Let me turn to the new timetable consultation. Last week, GTR was due to open the public consultation for its timetable from 2018. While I would urge my constituents to take part in that process, I ask my hon. Friend the Minister what discussions he has had with the company concerning its service going forward.

Rail fares are a further issue of consternation for commuters in my constituency. I know that I am not alone in calling for fares to be frozen and not put up in line with inflation, as a result of the issues that my constituents, and others across the south of England, have been experiencing for about a year now. The Government admit, obviously, that there is a problem, not least because they will be spending £20 million on the rapid upgrades. While the Government’s cap on fares will save season ticket holders an average of £425 through this Parliament, does the Minister not agree that it is right for the passengers who have endured such prolonged disruption to receive an exemption from this fare rise?

While we are seeing some benefits, such as the new rolling stock—the Thameslink class 700 trains, for example—things are not happening quickly enough. Passengers in Crawley and across London and the southern counties continue to be affected. They include a constituent of mine, for example, who works as a nurse. All she wishes to do is to get to work to serve her patients. However, because she travels by rail, that is becoming more and more difficult for her. On behalf of all passengers, commuters and staff who want a decent rail network, I urge the Government to ensure that GTR is held to account and that these improvements are realised.

The time is now 10.23 pm. I anticipate that the debate will conclude at about a quarter to 11. Normally, I should be able to rely on getting the tube to London Victoria station and a train back to Three Bridges. The reality today is that I have driven in to Westminster because I cannot be confident of getting home tonight unless I do that. The impact that these events are having on our broader transport congestion and infrastructure is unacceptable. What might seem quite a parochial issue is, I think, affecting the national economy and having a significant effect on people’s personal lives and on the strength, growth and environment of London and the south-east.