Oral Answers to Questions
Jim Shannon Excerpts(6 days, 6 hours ago)
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Mr Speaker
This will be a good example of a short question. I call Jim Shannon.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
Challenged already!
In the short time that the Minister has been in her role, she has shown quite clearly that she has a deep interest in Northern Ireland. Defence, light engineering and cyber-security are all vital to jobs and the economy in Northern Ireland, but what assessment has been made of the sustainability and efficiency of Northern Ireland’s agrifood sector, and will the Minister commit to promote the productivity of that industry across the United Kingdom and, indeed, across the world? That is as short as I can make it, Mr Speaker.
Hospitality Sector: Eastleigh
Jim Shannon Excerpts(2 weeks ago)
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Liz Jarvis (Eastleigh) (LD)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government support for the hospitality sector in Eastleigh.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. I am grateful to have the opportunity today to discuss the urgent challenges facing the hospitality sector in my constituency of Eastleigh and across the UK.
Hospitality is not only a significant economic driver, but the beating heart of our high streets and communities. From the pubs that act as social hubs to the restaurants and cafés that bring people together, the sector is central to our economy and way of life. My constituent, Lorraine, is the landlady of the Master Builder in West End in my constituency. Her heating costs are around £3,000 a week, placing an unsustainable strain on her business. Although December bookings provide some hope, she worries that the quieter months of January and February could push her pub to the brink. Despite the pressures, Lorraine’s commitment to her community is unwavering. Her pub hosts local care home residents for darts and meals and welcomes charities, including Southampton Sight, for Christmas dinners and Sunday carveries. As she says,
“it’s not just for coming in on a weekend and letting off some steam, it’s about friendship, kindness and community.”
Yet with rising costs Lorraine is questioning how much longer she can keep her doors open while working over 90 hours a week to make her business work.
In Eastleigh the hospitality industry contributes £114 million annually. It employs 1,805 people and encompasses 84 venues, including some fantastic cafés such as the Coffee Cabin, which recently celebrated its third birthday, many superb restaurants and 32 local pubs. Eastleigh is also home to Steam Town Brew Co., an independent brewery, and The Steel Tank Alehouse, an independent micropub in Chandler’s Ford, both of which embody the entrepreneurial spirit that drives our local hospitality sector. Our football club and world-class cricket ground attract visitors from across the UK and beyond, many of whom stay in our local hotels and enjoy local hospitality.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I commend the hon. Lady on securing this debate. I spoke to her beforehand and we share a similar concern in relation to national insurance contributions. The pressure on hospitality businesses is leaving the industry at breaking point. If the Government and the Minister do not provide some form of relief, we will face a lot of empty cafés and restaurants in the coming year. Does the hon. Lady share my concerns?
Liz Jarvis
Yes, I do share the hon. Gentleman’s concerns. Despite the remarkable community contribution that our hospitality generates, the sector is under immense pressure. Nationally, hospitality employs 3.5 million people. It generates £140 billion in economic activity and pays £54 billion in taxation. The Government’s Budget, however, introduced £3.4 billion of cost increases, including rises in employer national insurance contributions. Those measures disproportionately impact lower-paid and part-time workers, who form the backbone of the industry. The Office for Budget Responsibility has said that next year 60% of the employer national insurance contribution’s increase will be paid for by staff in reduced real wages.
According to UKHospitality, employer national insurance contributions for a part-time worker on 15 hours will increase by 73%. Combined with reductions in business rates relief from 75% to 40%, these policies are creating unsustainable pressures on businesses already operating on razor-thin margins.
The Steam Town Brew Co. is a local success story. David from Steam Town raised the issues of residual inflation in food and drink, the prices of raw ingredients for brewing and high interest rates. He wants to grow the business, but the current economic conditions and existing market restrictions, such as the lack of access to tied pubs for smaller breweries, have made it challenging. The situation is made worse by the surging costs of energy. Hospitality businesses are among the most energy-intensive sectors, with pubs and restaurants relying heavily on refrigeration, heating and cooking equipment. High energy costs have led to dramatic increases in operating expenses that are becoming too hard to bear.
For smaller businesses the increases are not sustainable and many businesses are at risk of closure. Will the Minister share the steps the Government are taking to help hospitality businesses to manage their energy costs in the coming months? Post-covid recovery remains a significant challenge for hospitality businesses. Many are grappling with debt, reduced footfall and the shift of consumers to online food shopping. Last year alone, 2,704 hospitality businesses went into insolvency, highlighting the fragility of the sector and the urgency for Government support.
The cost of living crisis has created a perfect storm for the hospitality sector, as households across the UK tighten their belts, reducing discretionary spending on dining out, hotel stays and social experiences. That squeeze on disposable income directly impacts the vibrancy of our high streets. Individual prosperity and high street prosperity are intrinsically linked. When families feel they cannot afford to participate in social activities, it is not just their individual wellbeing, but the fabric of our communities that suffers.
Critical Minerals: Domestic Production
Jim Shannon Excerpts(2 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I am sorry I missed you yesterday, but I am back in line today. It is really nice to be here.
I thank the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) for leading the debate. He made the case for critical minerals enthusiastically, with the evidential base that he clearly has from his constituency. This may not be the most sexy debate, but it is a vital one, because it raises important issues that are often forgotten or not acknowledged. The hon. Member has done the House a service in introducing the debate, and we thank him for that.
I am aware of the minerals within Cornwall, and the fact that a range of critical minerals are required for numerous industries within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Minerals such as lithium, cobalt and graphite, which have a high risk of supply disruption, are the centre of debates on this issue. It is truly great to be here to give a Northern Ireland perspective, to enable us to play our part as well. The hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth mentioned County Tyrone. He said beforehand that he would mention Northern Ireland, and he did. I will refer to Country Tyrone, and a few others, to add to the debate and hopefully enhance the scope of what we are trying to achieve.
The British Geological Survey published a report in 2023, which identified numerous areas around the UK as prospective areas for critical raw minerals. For Northern Ireland, those areas were in mid-County Tyrone. These critical minerals are essential for the transition to the green economy. Some people think we can ignore the green economy, but we cannot. It is important that it should be central to our policy as we move forward. It is essential for the creation of jobs in the tech, defence and automotive industries.
There are numerous critical minerals that are found in Northern Ireland and have been mined there historically, including iron ore and coal. In 2021, the Department for the Economy back home in Northern Ireland commissioned research into the economic, social and environmental impacts of mineral exploration and mining in Northern Ireland. I know that the Minister is assiduous in her job, so perhaps she would tell us whether there have been any discussions with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment back home, and if so, what they have been about. We can do this together, and it enhances our great Union when we do things together.
The research helped to provide key information on the mineral life cycle in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, it can allow us to work alongside partners in the mainland on the production of critical minerals, which are so important today. We need to exploit—I am loth to use that word, but it is possibly the best—or certainly take advantage of what we have. In addition, salt has been produced at the underground salt mine in County Antrim, and historically lead has been mined across Northern Ireland, including in the Newtownards area in my constituency of Strangford, which I have the pleasure and privilege to represent.
The regional, national and global demand for certain critical minerals has increased dramatically and rapidly, and we face ongoing challenges because of that. The hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth emphasised that clearly in his opening contribution. The extraction and processing of certain minerals has been highly challenging, and can lead to supply constraints and prices rapidly rising. The importance of the issue cannot be underlined enough. The hon. Gentleman mentioned the importance of mining in Cornwall, specifically lithium, which will be paramount to the UK’s transition to a better net zero policy and away from fossil fuels. The Minister responded to the hon. Gentleman’s question in the main Chamber by stating that the Government are currently looking at the critical mineral strategy. When the Minister responds today, perhaps she will indicate just what that strategy is, and how it encompasses all of this great United Kingdom.
It is understood that there are certain areas across the UK that are more prominent in relation to critical minerals, but I would be grateful if the Minister and relevant Departments committed to undertake discussion with their counterparts in the devolved institutions to ensure that areas with potential mineral production, such as mid Tyrone and others in Northern Ireland, can be used to increase UK production. We must do this together. Numerous companies have received Government support for the sector through the automotive transformation fund, and the UK supply chain has a share of up to £1 billion of funding, but the market for these industries remains increasingly competitive. I would be interested to hear from the Minister what could be done to enhance that.
To conclude, it is all about maintaining and building sustainable industries across the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I spoke in the main Chamber on critical minerals before the general election. I very much look forward to hearing what commitments the Government can make to Northern Ireland to ensure that we all have equal opportunities to succeed. Perhaps the Minister will give consideration to engaging with counterparts back home in Northern Ireland on this issue within this governmental mandate. We in Northern Ireland can and wish to be part of this very exciting opportunity. It is potentially exciting for all of the great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. None of my Scots Gaelic cousins are here, but I can say honestly that we are always better together, and that is the truth.
Stellantis Luton
Jim Shannon Excerpts(3 weeks ago)
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Jonathan Reynolds
I agree that that is one concern that consumers have. The principal concern for consumers on EV take-up is the cost of the vehicle. The hon. Member will know from our constituencies that in some places, it is difficult to envisage the kind of infrastructure that people take for granted in areas that have more capacity to have it built into properties and driveways. There are about 70,000 public EV chargers in the United Kingdom, and there is not always equity across different parts of the country. A lot of people are surprised to learn that we have more public chargers than Norway, for instance, which is very much the leader in electric vehicle roll-out. There was money in the Budget to expand the roll-out of charge points and build on the 70,000 already in place, but the hon. Member is right to say that that is a key concern. We must consider not just the overall number of charging points, but the equity of those around the country, and I promise that the Department for Transport is interested in that.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement, and in particular for his honesty. It is important to have that when we look at the bleak things we have before us.
The Secretary of State will understand that with the cost of living crisis that our constituents are struggling through, the last thing on their minds is to afford—forgive me—an all-singing, all-dancing electric car; they are clearly struggling to pay their electric bills. The closure of the plant, which highlights the lack of passion for electric cars, can come as no surprise. What can the Government do to make electric cars affordable for everyone, which would enhance the need for car manufacturers once again?
Jonathan Reynolds
I am grateful to the hon. Member for his question and the way in which he put it. He is right that cost of living concerns are paramount. We have also got to recognise that the cost of petrol and diesel is often a key consideration in overall household finances.
The hon. Member asked specifically about what we can do to bring down the cost. It is about co-investing with industry in the most efficient forms of production. He mentioned an all-singing, all-dancing EV, but there is a whole range of vehicles available. Many of our producers have led on family cars. The Nissan Leaf is a great example of that, made by some of my former school friends in Sunderland. We should get behind that and talk about how great those products are. But, fundamentally, we need now to bring down not just the cost of the charging infrastructure but the unit cost. That can be done only by investment in efficient production and scale production. That is why the destination is so important. Working with industry on that destination is key to delivering the outcomes that I think he and I want.
Future of the Post Office
Jim Shannon Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Gareth Thomas
As I have said, we are clear about our continuing commitment to ensuring that every community, no matter where in the UK, has access to post office services. That commitment has not changed. Indeed, we want to improve the quality of the offer from the Post Office—hence my comments about banking services. However, if it would be helpful, I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss his concerns about his community.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I very much welcome the Minister’s commitment to the Post Office compensation—he laid out clearly the way forward, and we were all pleased to hear it. However, I must register my concern that post office branches in Newtownards in my constituency, and in Bangor in the neighbouring constituency of North Down, are poised to close, leaving more than 100,000 people in Northern Ireland with no main post office. That will do nothing but reduce services for the most vulnerable in Northern Ireland and must be strenuously opposed. What steps will be taken between now and the final decision to ensure that the Government do not leave tens of thousands of people without a full service? The Post Office acknowledges the limitations of post office hubs in garages and shops. They cannot cope, so big post offices must remain open.
Gareth Thomas
I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s comments, as ever, and I recognise the concerns of his constituents. As I said, we remain absolutely committed to ensuring that every community has good access to post office services going forward, and no decision has been made about directly managed branch closures. If we are to achieve the objective of putting the Post Office on a genuinely sustainable footing and increasing sub-postmaster pay, we must consider all Post Office costs and how we can genuinely deliver, to all communities, a better future for the Post Office. We are doing that, but I am conscious of the strong point that he has made about his constituents.
Pubs Code: Guest Beers
Jim Shannon Excerpts(1 month ago)
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Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I commend the hon. Lady for bringing forward this debate. I spoke to her beforehand to ascertain what she was trying to achieve. Strangford has had a resurgence of alcohol production, including the microbrewer Ards Brewing Company, just a few minutes away from me on the Carrowdore Road in Greyabbey. It is a necessity that small brewers can sell in their local pub, and I believe it was a mistake not to allow exemptions for smaller breweries. I support the calls to allow these exceptions. Does she not agree that we must do what we can to let the wonderful craft breweries have a shot in the local market?
Budget Resolutions
Jim Shannon Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Jonathan Reynolds
I am sorry but, again, the right hon. Gentleman is wrong. I agree with part of his assessment, such as that a strong and thriving private sector is crucial to growth, but I find his analysis a little simplistic. Private firms will say that they also need skilled workers, and that they need a decent transport system so they can get to work.
Under the last Government, I would often get up in the morning and check my phone for updates from people using the trans-Pennine line I just mentioned—the one we are upgrading—and it would be full of people saying, “I cannot get to work.” I need the right hon. Gentleman to make a slightly broader analysis.
Despite the previous Government leaving us with a raging skip fire in many areas—we have to raise money, not to deliver our pledges but to deliver their pledges that they did not properly fund—we have had a regard and a heed for the level of competitiveness in the UK economy. For instance, on the rise in employers’ national insurance contributions, over half of all firms with national insurance liabilities will actually pay less or the same, not only because of the changes to the employment allowance but because of how we have removed the threshold so that all firms now qualify.
Despite the frankly terrible inheritance bequeathed to us, we have done our best to meet those needs and to deliver a long-term focus on the future.
Jonathan Reynolds
I was going to move on, but I cannot resist the hon. Gentleman.
Jim Shannon
I hope the Minister will not be disappointed.
There are many good things in what the Government have brought forward, but what is missing, unfortunately, is support for farmers on inheritance tax. Farmers are the backbone of Britain, and they produce almost all the food we eat across this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Farmers will be impacted greatly.
I declare an interest as a member of the Ulster Farmers Union and the National Farmers’ Union, and all the farmers I talk to in Northern Ireland have indicated that every farmer in Northern Ireland will be affected by inheritance tax. If the Government want to get it right, the threshold needs to be raised, and it is not too late. Raise the threshold to £4 million or £5 million so that family farms, the backbone of Britain, can continue.
Jonathan Reynolds
I always listen to the hon. Gentleman because he is genuine and conscientious in representing his constituency’s interests. I will always listen to what he has to say. We can judge the exact impact of these changes by looking at the value of claims to date. The Conservative party’s analysis has forgotten to aggregate the impact of the changes to those allowances, such as agricultural property relief, alongside the existing nil-rate band and the ability to transfer the allowances between spouses in all cases. The total number of farms across the UK that will be affected by this change is actually only 500 for the 2026-27 financial year. That has been missed, and I remind colleagues that any inheritance tax liability has a 10-year, interest-free payment period. To be frank, there has been some scaremongering from the Opposition, and we have to be clear with people.
We have had to restore economic stability to deliver that investment, and we should not shy away from explaining why this has been so necessary. The previous Government’s scattergun approach to growth left our country starved of investment, economically divided and struggling to maintain a competitive edge in the global economy.
The previous Government’s claim to have delivered the fastest-growing economy in the G7, based on its performance in the first half of this year, is laughably false. I believe that The Sunday Times likened it to someone walking a marathon in six hours but, because they ran the last 100 yards, claiming to be the fastest runner in the world. The truth is that consistency and stability have been sorely lacking. We have had seven growth strategies since 2010 and 11 Business Secretaries in as many years, to say nothing of the UK’s revolving door of Prime Ministers.
Uyghur and Turkic Muslims: Forced Labour in China
Jim Shannon Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
Thank you for the opportunity to speak, Mr Dowd. I thank the hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Blair McDougall) for setting the scene so well and with such compassion, understanding and detail. There is no one in this House or outside it who would say that he does not understand the issue very well. We look to the Minister to respond to our requests. I wish him well in his position—it is nice to see him back—and hope that he can give us reassurance. I am pretty sure we will be unanimous, requesting the same thing with one voice.
I congratulate the hon. Member for East Renfrewshire on his unwavering support for the Uyghur people. In my role as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief, it is my duty and responsibility to speak on behalf of all those who face persecution on account of their faith, their beliefs or simply their right to exist. That is what we are really talking about here: the right to exist.
In recent years, the situation for the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province has intensified to a level that is almost incomprehensible. International human rights organisations, survivor testimony and investigative journalism have documented alarming reports of abuses encompassing forced labour, torture, arbitrary detention, cultural erasure and much more. Evidence from credible sources suggests that since 2017 up to 3 million Uyghur Muslims may have been detained in what Chinese authorities term “re-education camps”. What a term! That is so wrong.
The vastness of the detention camps indicates an industrial-scale operation. Detainees are stripped of legal recourse, are often held without charge and are separated indefinitely from their families. The hon. Gentleman referred to children being taken away from their mum and dad. It must be incredibly difficult for someone to deal with not knowing where their children are or whether they will ever see them again.
Disturbingly, reports indicate that detainees are forced to abandon their cultural practices and religious observances under the guise of re-education. Many have been detained for so-called infractions as minor as possessing the Koran or praying at home—imagine being imprisoned for praying in your own house where nobody can see you. Somebody must have seen those people and told on them. Such charges reveal a policy not of reform but of deliberate, state-sanctioned erasure.
An estimated 80,000 Uyghurs have been forcibly moved from Xinjiang province to work in factories across China in conditions that indicate forced labour. Investigations have implicated prominent global brands—the hon. Gentleman referred to many of them; Apple, Nike and Volkswagen are just three—in benefiting from that exploitative system. Those companies need to be accountable. It is not all about profit, how much they can make for their shareholders or what they can do; it is about what is right. Human rights abuses are not right. No company that does that should think that it can get away with it. We in the west should make companies that sell in the west accountable for the process.
In 2023, a coalition of human rights groups urged global supply chains to sever ties with any forced labour practices in Xinjiang province, yet companies continue to engage in such transactions on opaque terms. In the light of that, I will ask the Minister some questions. What measures are the Government taking to enforce stricter import regulations to prevent products from those supply chains entering the United Kingdom? The hon. Gentleman gave three times at which those products are arriving in Great Britain. If we know what time they will arrive, we should be able to do something about that. It is essential that our economy does not implicitly endorse such abuses. I know that the Minister and the Government will not do that, but we need action to follow up the words in today’s debate.
The surveillance infrastructure in Xinjiang province is one of the most technologically advanced in the world. Reports from 2022 indicate that companies such as Hikvision and SenseTime have supplied facial recognition technology specifically designed to identify Uyghurs. The level to which the Chinese Communist party will go to identify Uyghurs is incredible. I do not begin to understand technology—I am from a different generation —but I understand that that is wrong. That facial profiling extends beyond Xinjiang, infiltrating public places and tracking individuals across the country, wherever they may be.
In a troubling parallel, the use of artificial intelligence by the Chinese authorities has expanded to track behaviours deemed to be suspicious. What is meant by behaviours? Is it walking down the street on the wrong side, talking to somebody or bumping into somebody by accident? What does “behaviour” mean, and who decides what behaviour is incorrect? We seem to be talking about behaviours ranging from owning certain apps to communicating with overseas contacts. That digital repression is paired with a social credit system that penalises Uyghurs and other minorities for perceived infractions, curtailing their freedom of movement and employment opportunities.
The Chinese state is taking over the very life and blood and breathing of the Uyghur people. One of the most horrifying allegations to emerge in recent years is that of forced organ harvesting. Some years ago —I believe it may have been prior to 2015—I brought forward a debate about organ transplants taking place among the Falun Gong, another religious group. There was a report that the Chinese Government were doing organ transplantation on an industrial scale. They are at it again, only this time it is not the Falun Gong but the Uyghurs, so we really need to step up.
The China tribunal chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice found credible evidence to suggest that Uyghurs, alongside other minorities such as Falun Gong practitioners, have been killed for their organs—killed for their organs. The Government remove them on an industrial scale, showing total disrespect for the people who lose their organs. In 2022, the UN Human Rights Council called for greater transparency and accountability from China and demanded clarity on how organs are sourced. Despite those international calls, there has been no co-operation whatever from the Chinese authorities. That is no surprise, given that it is an autocratic state that does not believe in human rights or liberties, or the right for people to have their own religious views and freedoms.
In the light of those grave allegations, I again urge the Minister to adopt stronger legislative measures to prevent UK citizens—citizens from this country—from engaging in transplant tourism. I understand that the previous Government took some action on that, but I am keen to hear what has been done and to get an update on where we are.
Another area of grave concern is the extensive use of biometric and DNA data collection. Since 2021, every Uyghur in Xinjiang province has been required to undergo biometric registration, including facial scans, fingerprints and even voice samples—my goodness! Alarming questions are raised about that mass data collection and its potential uses, which include heightened monitoring and the suppression of an entire ethnic group. What is it for? Repression is already there, but with the rise of sophisticated AI-driven tools, such databases could further enable targeted repression that is even more subjective, violent and difficult. I again call on the Government to press for an independent investigation by international human rights bodies and to seek accountability for that systematic abuse.
Beyond physical oppression, an insidious campaign aims to erase Uyghur culture, their language and their right to practise their religion as they wish, which is a right that I uphold and support across this great world. Xinjiang’s mosques have been destroyed or repurposed —my goodness, a mosque repurposed—when their sole objective is to let people worship their God and follow their religious viewpoints. Uyghur language schools have also been shut down and traditional practices have been banned.
In 2022, UNESCO expressed concern about the cultural genocide unfolding in Xinjiang province, yet China continues to stifle cultural expression with impunity, seeming to think that it can do whatever it wants and get away with it. Those responsible may think that they can get away with it in this world, but I believe that they will be held accountable to God in the next world for what they do wrong. I would also like to see them accountable in this world, so they get it in both places. Whatever the Government can do to make that happen would be helpful.
We are not talking about a mere matter of policy; it is a deliberate attempt to erase people’s identity, their history and their place within China’s fabric. This great nation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland champions the freedom of belief and cultural expression. The UK must therefore continue to voice its condemnation.
In 2023, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a detailed report condemning the abuses in Xinjiang province, describing the situation as “crimes against humanity”. Those are not just words; they explain implicitly and fully what it means to be a Uyghur Muslim in China. Numerous countries have since imposed sanctions against Chinese officials involved in the abuses. Will the Minister say whether we have done likewise where we can? The UK’s response has been measured, but we now have a new Government and an opportunity to do better. I look to the Minister and our Government to do better if we can.
I call on the Government to consider imposing Magnitsky sanctions on individuals and entities proven to be complicit in the abuses. In this debate, we must send a very clear message that the United Kingdom will not tolerate human rights violations by any power in this world, no matter how great it thinks it is. I believe in a God who can strike those people down. This is a call to action: the horrors faced by Uyghur Muslims must not be met with silence or passive disapproval. The Government have an opportunity—indeed, I believe they have a responsibility —to stand with the persecuted, uphold justice and affirm our commitment to human rights.
I will conclude with this: the Chinese Government are guilty of genocide. The evidence is enormous. The cries of the Uyghurs and Turkic Muslims have to be addressed and the Chinese Communist party must be held accountable. I urge the Minister, on behalf of the House, to address the issue with clarity, conviction and above all a steadfast commitment to justice. The world is watching, and history will remember how we responded to this dark chapter and the role that we played.
Road Fuel Market
Jim Shannon Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)
The topic for this, my first Adjournment debate, is fair fuel pricing, an issue that has been raised repeatedly with me by residents of Dunfermline and Dollar since I was elected in July, and that has been examined by previous Governments of all colours and by the Competition and Markets Authority.
In July this year, the CMA said that weakened competition in the fuel sector is negatively impacting drivers’ wallets. Its examination found that, in 2023 alone, high prices cost motorists a staggering amount of money. In the midst of a cost of living crisis, that seems especially egregious. The CMA’s warning was not, however, the first or even the second significant warning on fuel pricing. After launching a market study in July 2022, which reported a year later and made a series of recommendations to protect consumers, the CMA has issued three interim reports. In those reports, the CMA found that drivers were overcharged at the petrol pump by £900 million in 2022 and a further £1.6 billion in 2023. That means that, in just two years, drivers were overcharged by some £2.5 billion on their fuel in the midst of a cost of living crisis. That is shameful profiteering, which we know hits lower-paid workers and families the hardest. The cost of living crisis has meant that changes in the prices of utilities and fuel have been sorely felt.
We have long understood the argument that rural drivers might pay more for fuel due to the increased logistical costs and additional staffing costs. I do not always find such arguments convincing, but they at least have a perceived logic to them. However, fuel is not a luxury; it is a lifeline. It enables people to commute to work, take their children to school, and provide care and support to loved ones.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing the debate forward. I spoke to him beforehand; he and I share the same concerns in relation to fuel. Drivers in rural constituencies, such as ours of Strangford and Dunfermline and Dollar, are very much at the mercy of those who seek to charge more for fuel. Some have to travel far to get cheaper fuel, and it is debatable whether that is competitive or even logical. Does he agree that when it comes to competitiveness, we must have fairness and equality for every postcode, and recognise that prices in Kircubbin, the Ards peninsula and Dunfermline are similar, yet in Manchester fuel is almost 8p a litre cheaper?
Graeme Downie
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention; I believe that taking an intervention from him is a rite of passage in this House. I could not agree more, particularly in relation to constituencies such as my own, where there is a mix of urban and rural areas and the rural pricing hits particularly hard. Those are often areas that have poorer public transport as well, so the impact is felt even more.
Most small businesses rely on efficient and cost-effective transport for their deliveries, staff and customers, and that often means running and fuelling a car or van. High prices at the pumps have a direct impact on small businesses and squeeze already thin margins in the ongoing crisis in the cost of living and of doing business. Research by the Federation of Small Businesses shows that more than three quarters of small businesses saw their costs go up in the last quarter, and of those more than a quarter said that the increased price of fuel was one of the main reasons for that rise.
My constituency is just 20 miles from Scotland’s oil refinery in Grangemouth, yet residents in Dunfermline consistently pay a full 5p a litre more than those nearby in Glasgow, Stirling, Glenrothes or Kirkcaldy. That is despite the local supermarkets Tesco and Asda, as well as a host of other outlets in the city such as BP, all supposedly competing to be the driver’s choice. What we see in Dunfermline is a cluster of prices around the same level within the city, and price clustering around Dunfermline as well, with all supermarkets and suppliers at roughly the same price. That is not local competition; that is a local cartel. Even worse, my constituents are paying 134.7p per litre at Asda in Dunfermline, whereas in the Asda Bridge of Dee store in Aberdeen, 112 miles further north, they pay just 121.7p at the pump. Never mind 5p—that is a difference of 13p per litre.
In rural and semi-rural areas, as was said earlier, where public transport infrastructure is less entrenched—certainly in my constituency, where the train service is frequently short-formed, delayed or cancelled at short notice—fuel is not a choice; it is a necessity. My Dunfermline and Dollar constituents rely on their vehicles more heavily, yet often face the highest prices. That is an issue of basic fairness. I am all in favour of market forces being used to shape prices, but not where the market is demonstrably broken, and fuel pricing has all the signs of a broken market mechanism.
It is nothing short of outrageous that the most essential aspects of daily life are subject to broken competition, a non-functioning market and what appears to be price clustering by retailers. Across the constituency, small businesses and sole traders such as plumbers, builders, florists and taxi drivers, along with families, are paying the price. As we might say in Scotland, small businesses are being pumped at the pumps. Like many fellow Members of this House, I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement in the Budget, which we passed this evening, on freezing fuel duty, which will help people who are still feeling the impact of out-of-control inflation on their take-home pay. However, while this pricing behaviour by retailers continues, I am concerned that the full benefit of the Government’s efforts to keep down fuel costs will not be passed on to my constituents.
To help the House understand fully the consequences of this kind of price clustering and the effects of a broken market, I will share the experience of one of my constituents, Aimee, a 20-year-old apprentice who wrote to me last month. Aimee was proud to secure her apprenticeship, which she started this autumn, earning the apprentice minimum wage of £6.40 an hour. With just over £1,000 a month to live on, Aimee uses £200 a month of her hard-earned wages on fuel. She gets her petrol at Asda in Dunfermline where, as I mentioned, unleaded was 134.7p per litre yesterday. Her £200 is buying her 148.48 litres of fuel. However, if Aimee was buying her petrol at Asda Bridge of Dee in Aberdeen, where unleaded was 121.7p a litre yesterday, she would have paid just £180 for the same amount of fuel. That is a full £20 a month difference. Over the course of a year, Aimee would have to work an additional 36 hours just to pay for the difference in price of petrol for her to get to and from work. That is not justifiable. Aimee, who is learning while earning, is experiencing a real-terms pay cut differential due not to anything she has done, but to the effects of this broken market.
We encourage the use of greener transport, but we have seen the failures of the SNP Government and ScotRail to provide Fife with a reliable service, so that is not an option for people such as Aimee, with short trains and unreliable service, particularly in West Fife. One step that the SNP-Green coalition at Holyrood did take was to remove peak fares, which saw a 6.8% increase in train usage. However, that encouragement of behavioural change was swiftly removed—just like the Scottish Greens from the coalition—when the financial incentive of fairer train fares was also removed.
Behavioural change of a positive nature does not happen overnight, but the switch back to the car from the train does, and has. That short-sighted decision—like the short-formed trains that often serve the region—has put people off using green transport. Having been let down by the Scottish Government, commuters in Dunfermline are being taken advantage of by fuel retailers and market competition in my constituency.
Oral Answers to Questions
Jim Shannon Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Gareth Thomas
I gently suggest to the hon. Lady that those making up the anti-growth coalition are sat on her side of the House, and I gently point out to her that the highest number of businesses to go bust for 30 years was under the Conservative party last year. I would also happily ask her to use her influence with the Conservative-led council in my constituency, which is bringing in parking charges that will certainly damage the night-time economy.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I welcome some things that the Minister has referred to regarding high street businesses, and I thank him for that, but there are many other matters. For example, in Newtownards family businesses make up a great many of the attractive high street businesses, such as Wardens, Knotts Bakery and the family butcher, and they are important, as they are in Ballynahinch. Has the Minister had the opportunity to talk to the chamber of trade in Newtownards, which is working well? Other chambers of trade in my constituency can also contribute, so has there been an opportunity to speak to them to get their ideas about the way forward?
Gareth Thomas
The hon. Gentleman is an assiduous champion for his constituency in this House. If he wants to bring his chamber of commerce to meet me to discuss issues in his constituency in more detail, I will happily make time to meet him and them.
Sarah Jones
I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend often and regularly, as we do, to talk about these matters. Of course, the offshore wind supply chain is incredibly important. We have two big announcements to that end, which she mentioned, in relation to Orsted and Greenvolt, and there is much more that we can do through the industrial strategy to keep that area growing.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
What discussions have there been with Invest NI in relation to supporting small Northern Ireland businesses in the digital evolution, to help them adapt and make improvements with digital technology to ensure the smooth running of their businesses?
Gareth Thomas
We have held discussions with a range of organisations on exactly that issue. I promised the hon. Gentleman earlier that I would meet him. If he wants to add that to the list of subjects that we talk about, I am happy for him to do so.