Energy Prices: Support for Business

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 22nd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

There is a requirement for a study of that to be provided, and I believe a study on our energy security through the winter will be provided in early October.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Parts of Blaenau Gwent are 1,200 feet above sea level and our winters can be bitter. Will there be any extra help for families facing higher bills in constituencies with much colder weather than most, and will the Government also look again at the cold weather payment criteria as part of their upcoming review?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Cold weather payments are not a responsibility of my Department, but I will ensure that the hon. Gentleman’s comments are passed on to the relevant Secretary of State.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 24th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I look forward to my trip to Worthing and I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s invitation. He is absolutely right; this comes from the de-bureaucratisation—if that in itself is not a bureaucratic word—of the system, because it makes it easier for small companies to apply. The thing to remember is that large companies have departments that fill out tender documents, but small companies do not. We need to simplify the tender documents to bring the small companies in.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Over a year ago, at the Public Accounts Committee, I discovered that there were 10,000 shipping containers filled with millions of items of personal protective equipment costing billions of pounds, and I am afraid of waste. A few months later, I heard that there were 14,000 shipping containers full of unused PPE. I have put in a parliamentary question for an update, but so far it remains unanswered. Can the Minister please give us an update on how many shipping containers are still full of PPE this month?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

That is a matter for the Department of Health, but I would defend the procurement of PPE because we needed PPE urgently, as we needed a vaccine urgently. We have heard constant criticism from the Opposition of something that had to be done urgently and had to break through the slowness of normal procurement timescales. Normal procurement takes three to six months, but we needed PPE tomorrow so we had to act urgently, as we did.

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 27th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I would simply say that the Government are making an application to appeal the case and that the disabled strategy is a fundamentally important strategy brought forward by the Government to ensure the best possible support for disabled people. That is exactly what the Government are doing. The Government lost on a technicality, as I said earlier; that does not undermine our fundamental drive to help disabled people.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Today’s papers are full of briefings blaming the staff at No. 10 for the Prime Minister’s predicament. Is passing the buck to staff not the most irresponsible of defences?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

We are waiting for the report from Sue Gray. The Opposition still seem obsessed with these issues; I am still surprised that they are not using business questions to ask more about the really serious issues of the day, such as Ukraine and the build-up of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. As far as I can tell, they are interested in cake rather than in Russia.

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 20th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Government share the public’s concern, which is why the UK was the first major economy to legislate for net zero emissions through the Climate Change Act 2008. Her Majesty’s Government have continued to deliver on that commitment through the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution, making our energy system more diverse and secure, while creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs. It is also important that any new technology ensures that energy is affordable. Between 1990 and 2019, our economy grew by 78%, while emissions decreased by 44%. That is the fastest reduction in the G7. The fundamental point is that we need our economy to grow and we need to be richer, and that will allow us to afford to be greener at the same time.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

In October, I was pleased to support my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) when she brought forward her private Member’s Bill on the menopause. In response, the Government said they would look at combining the two hormone replacement therapy treatments into one prescription to make it more affordable. Can we please have a Government statement on when this important women’s health measure will be implemented?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Whenever the name of the hon. Member for Swansea East is mentioned in relation to a campaign, I always have a sneaking suspicion that it will be successful. I will take up what the hon. Gentleman has asked for. I know it is something that the Government are planning to do; it is merely a matter of timing. I hope we can find out a precise time for him and his hon. Friend.

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 13th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The hon. Lady is right to raise this. People ought to know what they are doing when they buy things online and ought to have consumer protections. There is a debate coming up later today on the draft Online Safety Bill, and that debate is entitled to cover these sorts of areas, so I encourage her to participate in it.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May we have a Government statement on improving internet access in the south-west? It appears that a notspot in Devon is the reason why the Chancellor was unable to contact the Prime Minister yesterday to offer his support.

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 9th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Once again, I thank the hon. Lady for raising a point that I think will concern many people across the House. Even when we know that these sites exist, when we are looking for a Government service it is quite easy to find the first one or two that are enormously expensive and have charges that the Government websites do not begin to have. It is easy even for people who are alert to these things and aware of them to be caught. She raises a really important point. Joint Committee scrutiny of the online harms Bill is just about drawing to an end and that Bill will come forward, so this issue will be discussed, but I will pass on her concerns immediately to the Secretary of State.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

In Blaenau Gwent and across the country, illegal off-road biking continues to be a scourge on our towns and countryside, intimidating local people and tearing up our environment. It must be stopped. In my area, Gwent police is doing good work on it, but given that this is crime week, can we have a statement outlining the Government’s plans to act on illegal off-roading?

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 20th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that important point and for volunteering service—he is a model to us all in his public service and the service he provides to his constituents.

It is essential that everyone receives their second vaccine dose at the agreed time, and recent figures indicate that very large numbers of people are receiving their second vaccines at the right time. Established systems and procedures are in place to ensure that second doses can be booked easily. The national immunisation management system is the centralised service for the management of the covid-19 programme established by NHS England.

It is obviously concerning for patients if they fear a delay in their second dose. In some exceptional circumstances, people may not receive an invitation for their second dose from their GP practice. If a full 11 weeks have passed since the first dose, and no offer of a second appointment has come, people should arrange a jab through the national booking system on the NHS internet page or by calling 119. I will obviously pass my hon. Friend’s concerns on to the Vaccines Minister and the Health Secretary, but I suggest that he goes back to his constituents and says, “Go online or ring 119” if 11 weeks have elapsed.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

I am proud to chair the all-party group on parkrun. I bet every MP in this House has a successful community parkrun. We know that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of our constituents want to put on their running shoes on a Saturday morning at 9 o’clock, and see their friends and run a timed 5 km race come rain or shine. Our all-party group wrote to the Prime Minister yesterday asking him to bring down the barriers which parkrun UK says are holding back this brilliant public health initiative from beginning again in June. It was good that the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport supported parkrun from the Dispatch Box earlier, but may we please have an urgent update and a statement highlighting the practical actions in hand to get us all on the run again?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I get into terrible difficulties with these areas, because it is very much do as I say, not as I do—I am afraid I am not running three miles for all the tea in China. Talking of running shoes, I did actually discover, in an unopened cupboard, my old cricket boots from when I was a schoolboy. I am not even going to put those on. They are splendidly old-fashioned in the way of cricket boots of the late 1980s now are.

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. It is helpful for health reasons, and for fun, for people to get involved in sport as a collaborative and collective activity. He raises issues relating to the regulations that are making that difficult. I will take that up and get him a proper answer, rather than telling people to do things that I do not want to do.

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 18th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Government’s record on schooling is actually extremely good. There is a £1.7 billion covid catch-up fund for enhanced support and targeted tutoring, and Sir Kevan Collins has been appointed the education recovery commissioner to oversee our long-term plans to ensure pupils can make up any lost learning over the course of this Parliament. Schools have been a priority during the whole of the pandemic to keep them open as much as possible, because the Government recognise the importance of education. Getting back to normal and helping pupils get back to normal—providing additional funding and distributing many hundreds of thousands of computers to schoolchildren, plus the 57 million lateral flow test kits that have been delivered to schools and colleges as part of ensuring schools are really safe now—has been fundamentally important.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Workers at the LIBERTY steel company are really afraid for their jobs; 5,000 staff and others in the supply chain across the country need help. Can we please have a statement from the Business Secretary outlining what action the Government are taking to support these hard-working families and, after contact with the company and the trade unions, to stand behind the refinancing of the business? The Government accept this is a strategic industry that is crucial for our future growth. Parliament and my constituents at the LIBERTY plant in Tredegar need to hear exactly what the Government’s plans are.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point and I think everyone shares his concern for people working in the steel industry, but particularly in the Trinity Steel plant. The Government are following these developments extremely closely and are going to remain involved in looking at what is happening. The Secretary of State co-chaired the UK Steel Council on 5 March and met interested MPs on 15 March to have an update on developments. My noble Friend Lord Grimstone also met the sector and co-chaired the steel procurement taskforce on 12 March. I will take up the hon. Gentleman’s question with the Secretary of State so that he is informed of the concern within the House. The Government have helped the steel industry with the £500 million in relief for the steel sector since 2013 in relation to electricity costs, but this is an important issue and I understand the hon. Gentleman’s desire for further information.

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 26th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend raises a point also raised by an hon. Gentleman on the Opposition Benches, and it is something that the House is concerned about. Throughout the crisis, the Government have made huge efforts to support the economy’s structures and maintain as many people’s livelihoods as possible in an exceptional crisis. There has been unprecedented support offered to businesses, the employed, the self-employed and the unemployed through the benefits system. Throughout this crisis, the Government have sought to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods and support businesses and public services across the United Kingdom. The Government have spent over £280 billion of taxpayers’ money to do so this year. Our package will remain the same as we move out of the national lockdown and into a tiering system, and we will continue to provide a comprehensive economic support package to support jobs and businesses. We have prioritised helping the greatest number of people as quickly as possible, but I do accept that there are some businesses that have not benefited and that is an exceptional difficulty for them.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

I have asked a number of times, both in the Chamber and in letters, if the Government will amend bereavement support legislation to cover cohabitees with children. This is an important issue to help families to get through the worst of times. I am glad to say that it has been confirmed that a remedial order will be brought forward to do this, so will the Leader of the House please tell me when we can expect to see that order, which has been long awaited by many families?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

May I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on this campaign? It shows the House at its best when these issues that are very important for individual families are taken up by an individual MP and the Government then move to put things right. I do not have a specific date for him at the moment, but as soon as I do, I will notify him.

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 5th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Considerable resources are being devoted to allowing more police officers to carry Tasers. My hon. Friend is absolutely right to emphasise this point, because ensuring that the police have the equipment they need—I am glad to say that Conservative police and crime commissioners are doing this across the country—will help to keep the country safe.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

In Blaenau Gwent 39% of ATMs charge people for accessing their own cash. The cashpoint network LINK says that without Government intervention, the system that allows free access to cash will collapse within two years. May we therefore have a statement on how the Government intend to protect free access to cash?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The issues surrounding bank closures and ATMs are raised regularly in the House. Banks have committed, since May 2017, to the access to banking standards, which commit them to working with customers and communities to minimise the impact of closures. The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and it will be discussed within the Government. I suggest that an Adjournment debate is the most suitable debate for specific constituency matters.

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 13th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I have the greatest admiration for taxi drivers. Disraeli called the London cab “the gondola of London”, and we should think of our taxi drivers as the gondoliers of London—not that they usually sing to us, but they send us merrily along our way with their incisive and well-informed conversation. [Laughter.] Well, I often find that I am in agreement with them—that is why I think their conversation is so well-informed and incisive. We should of course not bear down on them unduly with regulation—although I believe that the regulation that London taxis have to keep hay in their boot is no longer applicable.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Can we have a statement on the surprising news that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been sacked?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The hon. Gentleman is ahead of me on the news cycle.

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 6th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

It is obviously very important that flood defences are put in place. The Government have a programme of improving flood defences, including expenditure of considerable amounts of taxpayers’ money, but I will of course pass on my hon. Friend’s question to the relevant Secretary of State to ensure he receives a fuller answer.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Junk food adverts drive childhood obesity, but the Government still have not banned them from before the 9 o’clock watershed. May we have a statement from the Government confirming when they will bring in this common-sense change?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

There is always a balance with these things. By and large, people do not want the nanny state, however keen they may be on nannies. Before I get heckled by Opposition Members, let me say that nannies are splendid, the nanny state a little bit less so. There are Digital, Culture, Media and Sport questions next Thursday, but it is a balance between free speech and the ability of businesses to carry on their business, and protecting young people.

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 30th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

That is a manifesto commitment, and it will be introduced. I am afraid APCOA will get its come-uppance when that happens.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The Financial Times fears that there will be another pensions scandal, potentially affecting 160,000 people with defined benefit pension schemes. The Financial Conduct Authority thinks that there could be problems with the transfer advice given by 76% of firms. This is an £80 billion market, so can we have a statement from the Treasury to try to get to the bottom of this scandal?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Anything relating to pensions is extremely important. A pensions Bill will be introduced in the House of Lords fairly soon, so these matters will be discussed on the Floor of the House in due course.

Business of the House

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Thursday 5th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Department for International Development has sent a team of experts to help to deal with the devastation and destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. The team is working with the Bahamian Government to assess the situation and provide support. The Department for International Trade, the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence are monitoring the situation and getting support to those who need it. The Government are doing whatever they can, but my hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Constituents have contacted me regarding proposals for a breeding kennel in Blaenau Gwent. Many residents have emphasised the importance of good animal welfare, so may we have a statement from the Government explaining what action is being taken right now so that dogs get the best possible protection in the future?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I know that this issue concerns many people, and the Government have a particular concern for animal welfare. In the new Session of Parliament there may well be time to have a debate on it.

Bank of England (Appointment of Governor) Bill

Debate between Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nick Smith

Friday 6th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I know that he has been on his feet for close to an hour now, so he will not be aware that a Member from his own side, the hon. Member for Clacton (Mr Carswell), is saying on the Twittersphere that what is going on here is a Government ploy to talk out an attempt to make the Bank of England more democratically accountable. What does the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Matthew Hancock) say to that member of his own party?

[Jacob Rees-Mogg]

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Is it really a proper proceeding if hon. Gentlemen do not come to the House to make their points but make them via Twitter? My hon. Friend the Member for Clacton (Mr Carswell) can come to this House and speak, rather than electronically communicating with us.