Bank Holidays in 2020

Julian Knight Excerpts

Tuesday 18th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Derek Thomas (St Ives) (Con)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to bring this important issue before the House; it concerns many of my constituents and many other people around the country. Since being elected in 2015 I have secured a number of debates in Parliament, all triggered by someone from west Cornwall and Scilly raising an issue with me that deserves proper scrutiny and representation. The issue of the early May bank holiday next year is no exception.

I am here to add my full support to the decision to make the 75th anniversary of VE Day on 8 May 2020 a bank holiday and a national day of celebration and commemoration. Victory in Europe Day, generally known as VE Day, is a day celebrating the formal acceptance by the allies of world war two of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on 8 May 1945.

It is worth remembering how we celebrated that momentous event all those years ago. At 11 am on 8 May church bells rang out across the nation signifying the end of the most destructive war Europe had ever seen. More than 1 million people took to the streets of London to celebrate. Crowds filled Trafalgar Square and up the Mall to Buckingham Palace, where King George, Queen Elizabeth and Winston Churchill stood on the palace balcony, waving and cheering the crowds on. Around the country, millions gathered in villages, towns and cities, marking the end of war in Europe with street parties, dances and parades. Social norms were abandoned as strangers hugged and danced with one another, and bonfires were lit in the street—I cannot imagine what local councillors would do about that these days. Despite rationing and years of economic strife, communities came together to cook sweet treats for children and shared meals with what food they had, and pub licensing hours were extended. Buildings and streets in major cities were illuminated for the first time since the start of the war, after years of blackouts to prevent German bombings.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate and add my support to the bank holiday idea. I recently read through the biography I wrote of my grandfather, who was a 17-year-old paratrooper—they used to lie about their age—in northern France and Germany in 1945; it addressed that time and when he came home. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is not unusual to mark the end of wars and major events in this way? For many years we marked Trafalgar Day and even the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth I.

[Derek Thomas]

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. The days that he has referenced are really good opportunities for MPs to take part in the commemorations that happen right across the country, which I enjoy. I make a point of taking part in them and taking my children along as well, so that they can learn about our great heritage and our great service.

Exiting the European Union (Consumer Protection)

Julian Knight Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson). I want to reflect his comments about the necessity of this statutory instrument, based on whether we have a no-deal outcome. This is effectively a no-deal prep piece of legislation. He is right that we want to avoid no deal. That is the preferred outcome of virtually no one in this House. Some hon. Members might be prepared to accept it if necessary. We cannot go into a negotiation saying, “I’m going to stay here until you finally force me to accept something.” That will never be a successful strategy.

There is an easy way for no deal to come off the table: to agree a withdrawal agreement. One of the ironies of last night’s debate is that there are only two outcomes that we could have without the withdrawal agreement, and the European Union has made its views clear. The first is no deal, and the second is no Brexit—the revocation of article 50. To be fair to Scottish National party Members, with whom I often exchange opinions across the Chamber, their view is that they will not vote for the withdrawal agreement because they would prefer to go for one of the options that does not require a withdrawal agreement—in other words, the revocation of article 50. It is therefore slightly strange to get a lecture from people saying that the deal will never go through but who last night voted predominantly for two options that are based on the withdrawal agreement going through as the divorce from the EU. They are arguing about what the future relationship should be, but the withdrawal agreement is the gateway to the future relationship.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is absolutely correct. There is bemusement in Brussels about why we are dealing with something that is downstream—the political declaration—rather than the withdrawal agreement itself. As he said, it is either no Brexit or the withdrawal agreement. Take your pick.

[Kevin Foster]

Absolutely. Members who do not want no deal and keep coming to the Chamber and telling us, “No to no deal”—a great soundbite, but not a solution—need the withdrawal agreement to go through, unless they are prepared to stand up and say, “I would revoke article 50.” That is not the position that I will take, because I do not think it is right—the referendum settled that matter—and I am sure it is not my hon. Friend’s position. We therefore need to look at how we get the withdrawal agreement through.

I very much welcome the constructive approach to looking for compromise taken by the hon. Members for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) and for Wigan (Lisa Nandy). Sadly, their amendment was not selected, but hopefully it will be incorporated into the Government Bill. I note the Prime Minister’s comments on that. That would ensure parliamentary scrutiny, and it would ensure that Parliament is not unhappy with what comes out in the future relationship. [Interruption.] I see that you want me to relate my comments to this statutory instrument, Madam Deputy Speaker. Putting the withdrawal agreement in place would mean that we would not have to enact this type of statutory instrument. This is a no-deal—in other words, a no-divorce-deal—statutory instrument, not just a no-future-relationship statutory instrument.

[Julian Knight]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Kevin Foster]

I will give way briefly, but I am conscious of time.

[Julian Knight]

My hon. Friend is being very generous in giving way. He is always conscious of the clock.

Does my hon. Friend agree that paragraph 2.4 of the explanatory memorandum emphasises how disadvantaged we could be by a no-deal Brexit in terms of consumer rights? It says:

“if we did not revoke the Geo-Blocking Regulation, UK traders would continue to have obligations to EU customers under the Regulation while UK customers are unlikely to receive any of its benefits.”

That seems like an absolutely ridiculous position to be in.

[Kevin Foster]

I have always been clear that 63% of my constituents voted for us to leave in the referendum, and ultimately we have to have no deal as a fall-back if all else fails. If Opposition Members are desperate to avoid that situation—if that is their absolute priority—they had an opportunity to do that on Friday, and I hope they will get another one in the near future. That is not ideal; having a transition period during which businesses can adapt is the right way forward.

If we do not pass something like this statutory instrument, we will end up in the rather unenviable position in which UK businesses will be required to follow a piece of legislation, yet businesses in the other 27 member states of the EU are not. In effect, they could have rules blocking access to their websites and portals based on the fact that we would no longer be part of the EU. Meanwhile, our law would say that—

[Julian Knight]

rose—

[Kevin Foster]

If my hon. Friend just gives me a moment, I will finish responding to his previous intervention before I take another one. We would still have to keep that access, and that is why we need to look at revocation of these measures. I will briefly take my hon. Friend’s intervention, but I am conscious that I need to move on to the main body of my argument in a minute.

[Julian Knight]

I thank my hon. Friend again for giving way. Does this not also emphasise the fact that there are also downstream consequences? I am not talking just about the one that I emphasised from paragraph 2.4 of the explanatory memorandum. Paragraph 2.3 also states:

“UK civil and commercial judgments would no longer be automatically enforced in EU member”

states. Does my hon. Friend agree that would have downstream consequences for the premier position of UK legal services as well?

[Kevin Foster]

I am conscious that I could probably expand this debate widely into legal services and the impact potentially from the recognition of judgments between different jurisdictions. A lot of people forget that the EU is not a sovereign state—I do not want it to be and nor does my hon. Friend. It is a creature of treaty, and its actions and rules are therefore effective only through the structures of member states—that is, recognition of court judgments that enforce EU law between different jurisdictions. He is right that if we go out under a no-deal scenario, from Brexit day plus one, that level of co-operation and recognition is unlikely. That is why this SI is needed. Bizarrely, the enforcement of these EU regulations could be pursued in courts across the EU, or even in our own courts, and meanwhile, a judgment looking to enforce to the benefit of a British company would not be recognised at all. It would basically be a bit of paper someone would get.

We keep coming back to the fact that if people do not want this type of outcome, they have two choices. There is the Scottish National party’s choice, which is to revoke article 50—[Interruption.] We can hear the cheers coming from SNP Members. Or we can put through the withdrawal agreement. That is where we are. We can talk about whether we should be in a particular type of customs arrangement, what we would like on security and defence, and whatever. At the end of the day, the withdrawal agreement is the gateway to every relationship with the EU, other than revocation or no deal.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kevin Foster]

I hope that my hon. Friend will forgive me for turning my back on him while responding to his intervention. I need to address the House, rather than face him directly.

The English language is indeed one of our great tools. When we look at any regulations relating to online businesses, we should bear in mind that the base code of computers is effectively English, because of the history of computer developments between us and the United States. The first computer, as such, was of course developed here, following the amazing theoretical work done by Alan Turing, who, sadly, was treated abysmally by this nation after the second world war in connection with matters that were never a crime. He came up with the revolutionary 01, and set the philosophical basis that would result in the very trading systems that these regulations seek to address.

This is one of our key goals. It is important that we have an effective and competent system of law relating to online transactions, because if we do not we will lose one of our biggest opportunities. My hon. Friend touched on that. Many people go online and happily access information, services and opportunities. They are able to compare prices in a way that would not have been possible before the internet era, because English is pretty much common currency on many internet platforms—although, given that the regulations relate to online shopping opportunities, it is worth noting that people can now interact with the vast majority of online retailers in the language of their choice. There are also the well-known providers’ translation services that we can now use. I used to have a bit of fun when a former Wales Minister texted to ask if I was here: I would reply in Welsh, courtesy of Google Translate.

I will move on, because I know that other Members wish to speak, and that the debate is time-limited. Some other issues on which the Minister may wish to reflect when she sums up relate to Ireland. We have had a great many discussions about the backstop and how we can keep the Northern Ireland land border open, but in these unique circumstances, someone purchasing online in, for example, County Fermanagh can be only a couple of miles away from the online business—or the business behind the online entity—which is based in, for example, County Donegal. There would of course be a different boundary, particularly in the no-deal scenario for which this measure is intended, and I should like to know how we can ensure that some sort of interaction remains. I think it is safe to say that it would be rather controversial if we did not give clear access to Irish websites.

That, in fact, makes eminent sense. There are businesses, cultural links, and supply chains and delivery networks that work across the border. One road crosses the border 15 times in two miles. If something that I had ordered online was being delivered using that road, the farmhouse involved might be in the United Kingdom and the hay barn in the Irish Republic. We need regulations that could deal with the unique situation near the Irish land border.

The Minister rightly referred to the consent of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly, but Northern Ireland is beset by the fact its Assembly is not up and running and doing what those elected by the people of Northern Ireland should be doing. Although it is right that we are moving to ensure that Northern Ireland’s statute book is in order for a no-deal Brexit, it would be interesting to know what thought has been given to this aspect, given that the Northern Ireland Assembly is not working and that, sadly, it is unlikely to be up and running in the next couple of months, when we may see a no-deal exit. What thought is being given at Westminster to ensuring that there is appropriate legislation to cover online shopping and, bluntly, to ensure that legislation requires fairness between websites and fairness in online shopping between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland?

[Julian Knight]

It is really interesting to focus on Northern Ireland in this. Does my hon. Friend agree that it would be perverse if there were such barriers in the way, given that many of the major internet retailers are domiciled in the Republic of Ireland for tax reasons?

[Kevin Foster]

I thank my hon. Friend for his, as always, thoughtful intervention. I suspect many of us would not particularly want to rush to help them, shall we say, pay a lower rate of tax in the Irish Republic. During my time on the Public Accounts Committee, I had the joy of discovering that a “double Irish” was nothing to do with a whiskey order and a “Dutch sandwich” was not something I would eat with it—in terms of tax avoidance work.

For me, this is a question of how we can sensibly reflect in legislation the unique position on the island of Ireland. The current geo-blocking regulation provides protection, and there is reciprocity between the two jurisdictions, to ensure that each side’s shopping outlets and businesses may trade without discrimination. The purpose of the new regulations is to prevent the establishment of an operation that charges a different price—as in my CD example—or that blocks a customer living in a particular country from buying, or applies different terms and conditions to their transaction. It is worth noting, however, that there are some exemptions around items that are not permitted for sale. For example, in Germany and Austria there are strict denazification laws to prevent the sale of certain historical items. In addition, an item such as a toy train set from the era, if sold to the German or Austrian market, must not carry certain symbols from the disastrous Nazi regime that devastated those countries in the 1940s, along with most of western Europe. So there are some tweaks that rightly reflect the law in those nations, but in general the purpose of the regulations is to prevent unfairness.

I return to the point I was making earlier. For me, the regulations are about ensuring that the system in Ireland allows trade across the whole island of Ireland, where we would want to see that type of system in place, not just for sensible economic reasons but in view of the ongoing peace process—ensuring that the single market online across the whole of Ireland may continue. It would be bizarre if we agreed a workable set of alternative arrangements that released the backstop in years to come, but put a barrier around the sale of goods online.

In services, we may well look to move on—change our position to exploit our huge advantage, particularly in financial services, across the world, with trade deals. I am particularly excited at the prospect of a trade deal with the parties to the requests for a comprehensive agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership; there is very strong demand there. Given that we are revoking the current arrangement with the European Union on the basis of a potential no deal, I hope the Minister is considering how, if we do not have no deal, we could look at the type of regulation that might be of benefit and might allow insurance products and so on to be continued.

I am conscious that I have been speaking for a little while. I reassure hon. Members that I do not intend to break one of my records for length of contribution. I recognise that the Scottish National party spokesperson, the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Drew Hendry), wants to speak; I have no intention of talking him out.

There are a few reasons why we need to look at approving the regulations today. I am very much a fan of free trade. It brings prosperity. It brings down barriers, interlocking economies. Let us be candid—the reason that the European Coal and Steel Community was established was to interlink economies, and the geo-blocking regulations are part of doing online just what we did with coal and steel back in the 1950s. The idea then was that if the German steelworks were dependent on French coal, there would obviously be an issue if a conflict broke out. The theory was that creating a single market and having these types of regulations would ensure that that continued online and that consumers would benefit. They could buy from the best source in the cheapest and most efficient way, or perhaps in the way that provided the best quality, rather than finding themselves blocked out because of price differentials in the markets. In many ways, that might be a slightly unfair practice. I have used the example of CDs. Why should a CD cost more than others produced in the same factory—taking out distribution costs that are very similar—just because it happens to be sold in a different place? It often becomes clear that this is being done to milk consumers where choices are more limited.

This statutory instrument is necessary, but it is sad that it is necessary. Those who keep saying that they do not want no deal also seem not to want many of the deals that are on offer, or seem to want to propose a deal that is reliant on something that they keep voting against. That is not a logical position, but this statutory instrument represents a logical position. It would be absolute nonsense to impose a burden on British companies that is not shared by the other countries in the European Union. It would be bizarre, for example, if I had to comply with legislation ensuring that my website and online shopping offer were open across 27 countries when businesses in those countries were no longer obliged to do that.

It is right that we should pass this measure today and ensure that it becomes law, so that we have an orderly statute book, but there is a better option. Rather than saying, “I don’t like no-deal SIs because I don’t like no deal”, people should come up with a clear alternative that does not require the withdrawal agreement—[Interruption.] I hear the usual cheer from the Scottish National party Benches. SNP Members would like to revoke article 50 because they see that as the way round this, and they are correct in the sense that we would not need the withdrawal agreement. Members can be consistent in voting against the withdrawal agreement while saying that they do not want no deal if the outcome would be no Brexit, but they cannot keep turning up in the Chamber each day for a groundhog day debate and saying that the Prime Minister should do everything in her power to avoid no deal if they will not do the one thing in their power to prevent no deal, which is to walk through the Aye Lobby the next time the withdrawal agreement is put to the vote.

I will support this statutory instrument because in the end I would be prepared to accept no deal rather than no Brexit. However, I hope that in the very near future we will get an agreement through the House that provides the basis for a future relationship that makes sense and can be taken forward.

Young Carers Support

Julian Knight Excerpts

Tuesday 12th February 2019 Westminster Hall

[Paul Blomfield]

I certainly congratulate the group that the hon. Gentleman mentions for its work, and indeed groups across the country for their work, but that work is very patchy, and it is patchy in our schools, too.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for securing this crucial debate. I was a young carer in a lone parent family between the ages of 14 and 18. I looked after my mother, who had a debilitating back condition during those four years. At that time there was absolutely no help whatsoever and seemingly no information about any help. Nobody knew where to turn in that regard. Does he agree that when help is framed, it needs to be flexible? It can be as simple as an afternoon off, or as major as to be all encompassing in its scope, to help that person and their family.

[Paul Blomfield]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention and for sharing his personal experience as a young carer. I agree with his point about the flexibility of help needed for young carers, who face many different challenges. It needs to be tailored for individual need.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Bailey]

Absolutely. In fact, there was an earlier remark on the almost haphazard way in which young carer organisations can access funding. The fact is that to provide a proper, long-term service with the capacity to meet an area’s needs requires long-term, assured funding. The continual tendering process does not provide the degree of certainty necessary to plan services effectively for the long term.

In addition to the inspirational young people that I mentioned, there is the chief executive of SYC, Tracey Hawkins, whom I have known for many years. She brings absolute passion to the job—often in very trying financial circumstances—to sustain that service within my local authority. SYC has a record of raising awareness for professionals across the board within the borough to help them identify and support young carers, and it has a contract with the council to do so.

SYC provides lottery-funded academic support—through homework clubs—and educational support for young carers who, as my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central outlined, often face very difficult home circumstances, resulting in their low attainment, and sometimes low aspiration. It also provides publicity and communicates with other community groups and clubs to broaden young carers’ activities, which again is lottery-funded. The problem is that SYC has to continually try to find new or repeat sources of funds to go on providing those services.

The initial survey in Sandwell identified 2,000 potential young carers as needing support, but SYC has the funding and capacity to deal with only about 520 at any one time. SYC also makes an enormous contribution to supporting other public services in the area.

[Julian Knight]

As a fellow West Midlands MP, I concur with many things the hon. Gentleman says, including on the hand-to-mouth existence that these organisations seem to lead. Does he also recognise that this is not so much about social deprivation or the area of the country where someone lives? I understand from Solihull Young Carers that the wealthier south of my constituency has as many cases of young people in this plight as the north of the borough, which is much more economically deprived. It is actually a nationwide problem.

[Mr Bailey]

I certainly agree that this problem is not confined to what were historically called deprived areas. By its very nature, the role of a young carer is often so hidden from general view that it is very difficult to make accurate assessments and comparisons. Although I cannot speak up for Solihull, I can say that it is very important that a uniformity of service should exist around the country, because this problem is not confined to specific geographical areas.

I am conscious of time, so I will quickly come to my concluding questions. To repeat the thrust of the comments by my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Central, I ask the Minister what is being done to ensure that GPs and other health professionals identify, recognise and register young carers within their practice. The Department of Health and Social Care needs to take a more proactive role in raising awareness of this particular responsibility and ensuring that it is carried out. Similarly, what is being done to ensure that local authorities have pathways for young carers to access care and suitably trained, child-friendly staff with knowledge of the Acts covering young carers? What role do we envisage the voluntary-sector young carers projects playing in that pathway?

My hon. Friend also mentioned transport. Many young carers cite difficulties in accessing school transport and transport to young carers’ facilities, which are put on by charities and other community organisations to relieve some of the pressure of their everyday caring responsibilities. There is little point in having those facilities if the young carers who need them have not the wherewithal to get to them and enjoy them.

There is also an issue around the very welcome transitional arrangement policies for carers over 18 now being devised through a joint initiative of the Children’s Society and the Department of Health and Social Care. The 18-year-old barrier is often a sort of cliff-edge for young carers in their receiving care and advice, which needs to be overcome. I welcome the initiatives now being undertaken to address that problem.

However, my concern is that because many young carers organisations have historically not been involved in this particular area, it may provide a market opportunity for organisations that do not have the same community base, experience and sensitivity to actually fulfil that role. We do not want this to be regarded only as a business opportunity. We want to enable those organisations with a long history of providing this service for young carers in their local communities, and which know their local communities, to have the opportunity to build on that expertise and to develop it for the post-18 cohort of young carers.

Car Production: Solihull

Julian Knight Excerpts

Wednesday 16th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. We finally move to the main business of the day. Obviously, it is a great pleasure to follow the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and I am sure that my speech will be just as resounding as his. That fantastic oration is not at all a hard act to follow.

I secured this debate prior to the announcements of job reductions at Jaguar Land Rover in the west midlands. We have unfortunately seen a slow trend over the past year, with a drip, drip of job losses in the Jaguar Land Rover group, but the announcements that have just been made are much more substantial and have brought forward the Jaguar Land Rover development partnership. I know that my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Dame Caroline Spelman) is playing a leading part in that, as well as in the work being done in the House to promote the needs of the UK car industry, and of Jaguar Land Rover in particular. I am sure that all hon. Members, including the hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham), will join me in wishing that organisation great success.

I believe that in order to take the right action to support the British car industry, and the towns and families that depend on it, politicians must have an accurate understanding of the real drivers behind the current challenges, and not allow this issue to get caught up in the arguments over Brexit, for example. I therefore want to use my speech to set out why Jaguar Land Rover is so important to Solihull and the wider west midlands economy and the real reasons behind its current difficulties. I shall also set out my recommendations for what Ministers can do to support this crucial industry.

Solihull is rightly proud of that the fact that it is one of Britain’s great manufacturing towns. It is home to some of our country’s most popular global brands and, as I said in the House the other day, it is one of only a few constituencies to enjoy an actual trade surplus in goods with the European Union. As a consequence, thousands of local residents are employed in those industries, including at the JLR plant at Lode Lane, and they have played a big role in shaping the character of our town.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing forward this debate and I understand his reasons for doing so. It is also good to see other Members with a particular interest in the matter here in the Chamber. A similar situation in Northern Ireland is the Bombardier issue. Does he agree that consideration must be given to bringing work back from foreign plants—such as Slovakia in the case of Jaguar Land Rover—and to keeping jobs here in the United Kingdom? This is what should be happening with Bombardier. Does he agree that the Government should be looking at incentives to encourage the retention of jobs in the big manufacturing bases here in the United Kingdom?

--- Later in debate ---

[Julian Knight]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. The way to bring jobs into the UK is to create a business environment in which investment can flourish, and that is basically the point of my speech.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this timely debate. He is right that not a lot can be said about the meetings we have had with Jaguar Land Rover, because that information is confidential, but Jaguar Land Rover is in a totally different situation from Bombardier. We want to support the hon. Gentleman, as he knows, in ensuring that Jaguar Land Rover goes on to create more jobs, and I am sure that he will want to touch on the question of the supply line. I have had a number of letters from small companies that are a bit concerned about the situation, although we have had some reassurances and there will be further discussions. I wish the hon. Gentleman all the best.

[Julian Knight]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I wonder whether he has seen my speech, because I am just about to mention Jaguar Land Rover’s successes, which are manifest. I mentioned employment at the start of my speech, and the reality is that we have gone back to the situation that we were in in 2016.

[Mr Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. I have a feeling that I know what he is going to say, and he will have huge and strong support from my constituents in the royal town of Sutton Coldfield due to Jaguar Land Rover’s critical importance in our region.

[Julian Knight]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention. I know for a fact that many people who work at Jaguar Land Rover live in his constituency, and the royal town of Sutton Coldfield is a close partner with Solihull in many respects, so I welcome his comment.

JLR faces serious challenges, but it is important not to allow them to eclipse what is still an encouraging picture overall. In 2010, it employed just 12,000 people in the UK. However, even after the latest reductions, it will still employ over 38,000 workers across the country, including 10,000 in Solihull—a more than threefold increase nationwide. The past eight years have also seen substantial revenue growth, from £6 billion a year to £25 billion a year—a more than fourfold increase. Over the past five years, JLR has invested some £80 billion in the UK, which is basically the same as the defence and education budgets put together. It is an enormous investment, and a further round of investment was announced alongside the job news last week.

Overall, the UK continues to enjoy the most productive automotive manufacturing sector in Europe, and productivity remains about 50% higher than the British manufacturing average. In short, Solihull remains a great place for British manufacturers and exporters, and I will do everything I can to help them succeed as part of the new Jaguar Land Rover development partnership, to which I will return later.

We must ensure that the details of this important issue are not confused or obscured. There is no doubt that our relationship with the European Union is a matter of serious concern to JLR and every other manufacturer that depends on international just-in-time supply chains, but JLR’s management has been clear that the driving forces behind the current reductions are twofold: a serious fall in demand in China and a slump in demand for diesel cars in the aftermath of the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Exposure to downturns in foreign markets is part and parcel of being an exporter, but the second reason—the fallout from the VW emissions scandal—is a problem made in Wolfsburg that is threatening jobs and investment in the UK.

For years, Governments of both parties encouraged Britons to buy diesel and, by extension, encouraged British car makers to service that need. According to Professor David Bailey, more than 90% of JLR’s domestic sales are diesels. But after Volkswagen was found to have been fiddling its emissions scores, we suddenly saw a scramble to be seen to crack down on diesel, which has had predictable results. Jaguar sales are down 26% so far this year, and that pattern has been repeated across the UK car industry, where overall diesel registrations have plunged by a third since January to March 2017.

Respected economists from the Centre for Economics and Business Research have shown that such policies are hugely detrimental to the economy. Many such policies also fail to account for the huge differences between old-fashioned diesel engines and so-called cleaner diesel alternatives of the sort manufactured by Jaguar Land Rover in my constituency. Those cars are just as clean as petrol alternatives. In fact, What Car? recently named a diesel as its car of the year, saying that it combined the low CO2 for which diesels are known with lower NOx output than many petrol alternatives. What is worse—this is perverse in many respects—many people are now switching to petrol without realising that they could be buying a more polluting vehicle than the diesel that they could have bought instead, perhaps at a good discount.

[Dame Caroline Spelman (Meriden) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. He is doing a great job of trying to rehabilitate the truth about new diesel engines, which will help to justify the huge investment that both JLR and the Government have put into developing them. I hope that this debate will help to disabuse people of the myths about the differences between petrol and diesel.

[Julian Knight]

I was recently diagnosed as asthmatic, which, for someone who cycled up mountains less than two years ago, is a frightening and life-altering experience in many respects. I am very conscious of the fact my right hon. Friend raises, but we need to get it right so that we do not end up ensuring that older polluting diesels are kept on the roads longer because people are afraid to change them as they will lose money. We need to encourage people to transition to new technology, but at the same time, we need to fill that gap with cleaner diesel until the capacity is there.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for bringing this important and timely debate before us. Having worked with him and other colleagues on the automotive industry and Jaguar Land Rover, I know he shares my passion.

I think the hon. Gentleman agrees with me that the transition he describes is critical and that the Government must work with manufacturers to ensure that we get a co-ordinated, managed transition away from diesel and petrol towards cleaner fuels. Will he speak about diesel taxation and how we should not penalise consumers but support them in the transition? That would particularly help Jaguar Land Rover.

[Julian Knight]

The hon. Gentleman has put his thoughts on the record. He is correct about the transition, and we cannot ask car manufacturers to move at pace to those new technologies and then take EU policy that could potentially damage the income streams that allow them to invest. We need to be nuanced and thoughtful about that while protecting our environment.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is making some excellent points. Jaguar Land Rover has invested a huge amount of money in south Staffordshire, on the border with Wolverhampton, precisely to build those engines at its engine plant. That has brought huge numbers of excellent job opportunities to both Wolverhampton and Staffordshire. Will he join me in paying tribute to its foresight on those clean engines?

[Julian Knight]

I certainly will, and I know the impact that investment has had on my hon. Friend’s local community and on the wider west midlands economy. Those jobs are fantastic. The pay is much higher than the national average wage, which creates jobs in the local economy through the multiplier effect. They are jobs that we have to keep and develop. The key word is “transition.”

[Mr Jim Cunningham]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Julian Knight]

I am conscious of time. Sorry.

Jaguar Land Rover has announced that all new models will be electrified from 2020, and I have no doubt that other manufacturers will follow suit. It is a simple fact that we do not yet have the infrastructure to handle a wholesale shift towards electric vehicles in the near future.

As I told the House during the passage of the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018, the current capacity for public charging points does not come close to that provided by traditional filling stations. It will take time to put the necessary infrastructure in place and, until it is ready, our environmental goals are best served by encouraging motorists to switch to cleaner, modern vehicles of all types before we get rid of the internal combustion engine by 2040.

As the MP for a car-making town, and as a former chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for fair fuel for UK motorists and UK hauliers, I am grateful for the Government’s proactive approach to the sector. The previously mentioned sector deal is welcome, and I am proud to have the opportunity to serve on the new JLR development partnership, which will give the company, firms in its supply chain, trade union officials and others the opportunity to liaise directly with the Business Secretary, the Mayor of the West Midlands and other local politicians.

I also note the £500 million investment in the new advanced propulsion centre, which is intended to research, develop and industrialise new low-carbon automotive technologies, and in other initiatives such as the Faraday battery challenge and the supplier competitiveness and productivity programme. The car industry has proven itself more than willing to collaborate with Ministers in this field, match-funding not just the advanced propulsion centre but also another £225 million for R&D investment.

We face a period of economic uncertainty, especially for exporters, as we negotiate our future relationship with the European Union and start to pursue our own independent trade policy. It is vital to the wellbeing of constituencies such as mine and the entire British economy, not to mention the Government’s own long-term environmental and technological ambitions, that we do everything we can to offer stability and certainty to companies such as Jaguar Land Rover. Only then will they be able to make the investment needed to protect jobs, drive growth and make our eventual transition to electric cars a reality.

--- Later in debate ---

[Richard Harrington]

The hon. Gentleman certainly did. The lives of people throughout the UK are affected. As my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull said, these are not just jobs: they are well-paid, highly skilled, well-respected jobs, and long should they continue. Jaguar Land Rover seems positive about the future. Last week, I met Steve Turner, one of the trade union representatives, and I have to say, without betraying Steve’s confidence, that I asked him what the management is really like—I have dealt with the chief executive and so on—and he said it is absolutely very good. I believe that, and I think everyone involved has confirmed that, so I am confident for the future.

Let me turn to the specific points. Jaguar has confirmed that the next-generation electric drive units will be produced at the company’s engine manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton, from later this year. The units will be powered by batteries assembled at a new JLR battery centre located at Hams Hall in Birmingham. That clearly reinforces the company’s commitment to the west midlands.

Over the past year, Jaguar Land Rover has announced investment in its key plants in Solihull and Halewood, to build the next generation of models, including electric vehicles. For Solihull in particular, in June 2018 the company announced hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in a technology upgrade to accommodate the next generation of flagship Land Rover models. Hopefully—this is certainly the intention—that will future-proof the site.

We are determined to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the most competitive locations in the world for automotive and other advanced manufacturing. My hon. Friend mentioned the automotive sector deal, which was published just over a year ago. The Government are working with industry to invest in the future. This includes a £1 billion commitment over 10 years through the Advanced Propulsion Centre, which is very impressive. Jaguar Land Rover has benefited from this support; most recently as part of a £4.4 million project through the Advanced Propulsion Centre, and a £11.2 million one through the connected and autonomous vehicles intelligent mobility fund.

I now want to turn to other arguments made by my hon. Friend. As he rightly points out, while Jaguar Land Rover has had great success over the past decade, the number of challenges facing the company are significant. Falling sales in China has been a major factor and it has had an impact on many global automotive companies. In addition, the broad trend of declining consumer demand for diesel has had an impact.

I make no apology for the Government’s bold vision on ultra low emissions vehicles, which we set out in our road to zero strategy. I am sure that, in the long run, Jaguar will be a major beneficiary of that strategy, as, of course, will be the environment of this country, Europe and, I hope, the world. We want to be at the forefront of this and aim for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040. Hopefully, by 2050 and beyond, every car will be zero emission. I agree with the critical point made by my hon. Friend: diesel plays an important role in reducing CO₂ emissions from road transport during the transition and it will continue to have an important role for years to come. We need to be clear on this point, both in our own minds and in our communication with industry, and I believe that we have been.

The Government’s road to zero strategy is clear that diesel, particularly the new generation of diesel engines, is a perfectly acceptable choice environmentally and economically. For those Members who are not familiar with this document, I suggest that they look at it. There has been much talk of the Government playing a role in destroying diesel and talking it down.

[Julian Knight]

I am really encouraged by what the Minister has said in that regard. The reality is that the collapse in diesel is a Europe-wide issue; we know that. It is just that we need this nuance—this idea that cleaner diesel does play a role—shouted from the rooftops, provided that the industry can show that this clean diesel does not harm the environment.

[Richard Harrington]

I do not have it within my power to shout from the rooftops, but I will shout from this Chamber for those people who are listening. The new clean diesels are really, really good. I confess to having a penchant for this particular kind of vehicle.

Nuclear Sector Deal

Julian Knight Excerpts

Thursday 28th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

We have become accustomed in this House to Scottish National party MPs doing one thing north of the border and saying a different thing south of the border. The former Member for Gordon, when he was First Minister, backed the life extension of the nuclear plants in Scotland, so I am surprised that faced with this deal they are not welcoming the jobs in the supply chain from which Scotland will benefit. Yes, we are focused on nuclear, but as part of a balanced approach to ensure that we have the energy sources we need for the future.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

This announcement is very welcome indeed, particularly in relation to the under-representation of women in the nuclear industry. Has there been any scoping as to the positive impact on emissions of this new investment?

[Mr Gyimah]

My hon. Friend is right to point out the commitment to women. Currently, the percentage of women in the sector is 22%. We believe that is far too low. Forty per cent. is an ambition we intend to meet and build on, although that does not seem to be enough for the Opposition. The impact on emissions has been considered. I draw the attention of Members to the nuclear deal, which is in the House of Commons Library.

Oral Answers to Questions

Julian Knight Excerpts

Tuesday 12th June 2018 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

1. What steps he is taking to support economic growth while decreasing emissions.

[Colin Clark (Gordon) (Con)]

8. What steps he is taking to support economic growth while decreasing emissions.

[The Minister for Energy and Clean Growth (Claire Perry)]

My hon Friends and the House will agree that we should be proud of the UK’s progress in cutting emissions while driving economic growth. Since 1990, we have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by over 40% while growing the economy by over two thirds—the best performance per capita in the G7. And we will, as part of our modern industrial strategy, continue to exploit the opportunities for future growth across the UK through our clean growth grand challenge.

[Julian Knight]

As we rightly move towards eliminating the internal combustion engine in all new cars from 2040, does the Minister agree that, in the short to medium term, it is important to jobs and growth that we recognise the role of clean diesel engines such as those in the cars that roll off the production in my local car plant?

[Claire Perry]

My hon. Friend rightly champions the incredible employer in his constituency. He knows that we are right to move towards eliminating internal combustion engines from our roads, but we must do it in a managed way and ensure that we preserve those jobs and particularly the investment in clean diesel during the transition to zero-emission vehicles. I know that there have been announcements today of job losses in his constituency, which will be concerning. However, they are part of the manufacturing plan that has been announced.

Dagenham Diesel Engine Production

Julian Knight Excerpts

Friday 27th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Jon Cruddas (Dagenham and Rainham) (Lab)]

It is good to see you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

I rise to make the case for modern diesel engine production at the Ford Dagenham plant and to support the men and women who work there. The Dagenham plant has a proud history. It was built in 1929 and proved vital to our war effort. The factory was turned over to producing Bren gun carriers, vans, Army trucks and winches. It produced 34,000 Merlin aero engines and 95% of British tractors.

Post-war employment at the plant peaked at some 40,000 workers in 1953. The plant doubled its capacity in 1959, becoming the biggest factory in Europe. Unfortunately, vehicle assembly stopped in 2002, by which point nearly 11 million cars, trucks and tractors had been built at the plant. The decision was made to diversify into diesel technology—this move was very much in line with Government industrial and environmental strategy at the time. The Dagenham Diesel Centre, where the engines are both designed and manufactured, was opened by Tony Blair in 2003. Today, Dagenham produces 1 million engines annually, which is more than 50% of Ford’s global diesel requirement. The engine plant and the diesel centre cover some 2.5 million square feet. We have nearly 1,800 engine plant employees, plus 650 in transport operations and 600 other contractors —this makes more than 3,000 in total.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate, and what he is saying rings a bell. In Solihull, we have just lost 1,000 diesel engine jobs. Does he agree that cleaner diesels are much less polluting than petrols and that the potential targeting of these vehicles by some councils with so-called “pollution charges” is wrong-headed?

[Jon Cruddas]

I support precisely what the hon. Gentleman has said; indeed, I was going to mention those 1,000 job losses and cover some of the issues he has raised in my remarks.

The number of 3,000 at the Dagenham plant sits alongside 1,500 UK engineers dedicated to the development of Ford’s latest and future clean powertrain technology. The total turnover stands at some £1.75 billion. Dagenham is a strong export story for this country, as 89% of these engines leave our shores, and customers include Jaguar Land Rover, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat. In 2014, Ford invested £490 million in the next generation of clean diesel engines, specifically designed to meet the new Euro 6 emissions standards. The engines will also satisfy Transport for London’s ultra-low emissions zone. All Dagenham diesel engines will comply with the next phase of Euro 6 emissions standards—these will include “real driving emissions” requirements, not factory-based testing. Put simply, the plant is at the cutting edge of diesel technology and produces engines that comply with the most stringent emissions standards on the planet.

Today, however, there is a crisis of confidence in diesel vehicles and diesel technology, with many arguing that we are witnessing the demonisation of the technology. In the current climate, there is little or no separation between old and new diesel technology: between dirty engines and state-of-the-art diesel technology. If this is allowed to continue, it will have disastrous consequences. Yesterday, it was widely reported that the number of cars built in UK factories in March fell by some 13%. The current debate—or, rather, panic—lacks both facts and nuance. The danger is that this will lead to unfair criticism of the engines built in Dagenham; will threaten many thousands of high-quality jobs in my constituency, and in others across our economy and our country; and will undermine the managed transition to 2040 and a world beyond the combustion engine.

So today I speak up on behalf of Dagenham diesel engine production. Over the past months, I have been in talks with the company, the unions the Mayor’s office and council leaders, and we all stand united on the need for new arguments for modern diesel—to push back against some of the current hostility to this technology—and to make the case for the Dagenham plant and the managed transition to 2040. This is not about defending the indefensible in terms of the older engines, which, paradoxically, the present debate might simply ensure stay on our roads for longer; it is about arguing for the most efficient modern diesel technology. Today I am just asking the Government to join this new partnership to push back against the demonisation of diesel.

In truth, Volkswagen has not done us many favours. Diesel appears to have become a dirty word since it emerged that Volkswagen had cheated regulators and misled customers by using software to suppress nitrogen oxide emissions during testing. In 2015, VW admitted it had fitted “defeat devices” in some 11 million of its cars worldwide, with about 1.2 million of those being in the UK. This cost Volkswagen £22.5 billion. What worries me is the collateral damage now being played out across the whole sector.

Today, there is a real danger that Britain’s auto industry is on a cliff edge, with collapsing sales of diesel and the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs and dealerships. Consumer confidence is vital and Government have a key role to play in that. In Dagenham, for example, plans to recruit for 150 new jobs in 2017-18 were shelved due to the fall in demand. Over the past few weeks we have heard more bad news, with Vauxhall revealing plans to slash UK dealerships, Nissan preparing to cut hundreds of jobs due to falling demand, and, as we have heard, Jaguar Land Rover cutting 1,000 jobs as it seeks to offset falling diesel sales. European diesel share continues to decline, now at 33% of sales compared with 50% in 2011.

[Jon Cruddas]

That shows the cross-party agreement on some of the points I am making today. The trouble is that in the UK, Germany, France and Spain—the markets where anti-diesel rhetoric is highest—diesel consumption is declining fastest. Sales of diesel cars have slumped as regulators and politicians announce plans for bans, levies and additional taxes in many cities.

In truth, we in Dagenham fear that diesel has become a bit of a political football. In 2001, Gordon Brown introduced a new system of car tax aimed at protecting the environment—a sliding scale to make it cheaper for cars with lower CO₂ emissions. That helped stimulate a dash for diesel after its introduction in 2001 and its extension in subsequent years. There are now some 12 million diesel cars on British roads, while back in 2000 there were only 3 million.

In recent years, diesel has accounted for around half of the new car market. In 2000, by comparison, only one in seven new cars was a diesel model, yet following a 2017 BBC report on the dangers of diesel, the Environment Secretary jumped into the debate to make political capital:

“The dash for diesel was pursued under a Labour government…This is yet another example of a Conservative government having to clean up Labour’s mess…We are taking action…ending the sale of new diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2040.”

Political game playing should have no role, given the challenges facing the sector, as reflected in the comments made by colleagues across the House today.

Since the 2015 VW revelations, cities have taken the lead over national Governments. Berlin banned the oldest, highest-polluting diesel cars from its centre, Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centres by 2025, and Sadiq Khan ordered the replacement of the capital’s diesel bus fleet and enforced a £10 toxicity charge, or T-charge, on the highest-polluting cars as of October. The measures are part of a wider plan to create an ultra-low emissions zone in central London from April 2019. I do not dispute the push back against older diesel vehicles—it has to be the right way to proceed—but the danger is that we throw the baby out with the bathwater and fail to challenge the wholesale demonisation of the technology.

[Julian Knight]

The hon. Gentleman is being very kind in giving way. He talks about older diesel, but actually this is about very recent diesel—my own diesel, for instance, is from 2013. It has fallen in value by 70%, which will probably mean that it is more sensible to run it into the ground, effectively meaning that a more polluting car will stay on the road.

[Jon Cruddas]

That is precisely the point that I will make, and I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman about the paradoxes that create incentives to retain older, dirtier diesel technology on our roads, resulting in great harm to our economy, possibly to our future consumers, and to British workforces.

Given all this, what do we actually know? Overall, the CO₂ emissions of a diesel car tend to be lower, diesel fuel contains more energy per litre than petrol and diesel engines are more efficient than petrol engines, especially in rural environments. Modern Euro 6 diesel cars are the cleanest in history: they capture 99% of particulates and emit 84% fewer NOx emissions than in 2000. So, we know that new diesels do not compare to the older ones.

We also know from data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders that average CO₂ emissions from cars sold in 2017 were higher than in 2016, reversing a near 20-year decline. They blame that increase on the demonisation of diesel since 2015, which means that we cannot take for granted the progress made in reducing CO₂ emissions since 2000. We are heading in the wrong direction, as diesel sales have fallen by 37% since last year.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, criticised the autumn Budget, which increased taxes on sales of new diesels. He commented that people were concerned about these tax increases and were

“holding off buying new diesel cars because of the confusion and that means older, dirtier diesels are staying on the roads.”

That is precisely the point made by the hon. Member for Solihull (Julian Knight).

Nick Molden, chief executive of testing company Emissions Analytics, agreed that, rather than impose higher taxes on new cars, the oldest cars and dirtiest diesel cars should be targeted instead. His company’s real-world driving tests has shown that some of the newest diesels produced less pollution overall than petrol vehicles. He said:

“The most efficient diesel engines continue to improve while some of the worst remain on the market, meaning the confusion for consumers increases rather than diminishes. Diesel sales are falling as a result, and this may lead to cities and governments over-compensating and restricting diesels more than is justified by our evidence. The danger is that motorists who bought genuinely clean diesels—together with the manufacturers who made them—suffer the consequences of the general confusion and loss of confidence.”

I know that the Government recognise the need to act quickly to improve the UK’s air quality, but they must also accept that we cannot do so at the expense of increasing our carbon dioxide emissions. Surely, therefore, the most effective way to achieve both aims is by encouraging consumers to adopt new technologies or to update to the cleanest specifications. Clearly modern diesel has a role to play here, and, with help, we can get the old diesels off the road. For example, Ford’s “new for old” scrappage scheme enables drivers to trade in any passenger car or commercial vehicle registered before 1 January 2011. It guarantees to take every pre-2011 vehicle off the road permanently by scrapping them.

Modern Euro 6 diesel cars are the cleanest in history, and the latest generation of diesel engines have a crucial role to play in improving air quality and reducing CO₂ emissions, particularly in the commercial vehicle market. London is facing a challenge in its air quality, and it is here in London that we make the latest Euro 6 diesel engines—just down the road in Dagenham. These engines comply with the world’s toughest ever real driving emissions standards. Recent correspondence with the Mayor of London has confirmed that he gets this and that he supports the modern case for Dagenham.

Dagenham-built engines are powering the UK’s best-selling and cleanest ever Transit commercial vehicles and developing the next generation of commercial vehicles. Today I make the case for Dagenham modern diesel technology. We have to push back against the demonisation of diesel. As have I said, the Mayor of London is responding positively, and I ask for the Government’s support in making the case for Dagenham diesel. To date they have been too quiet, thereby endangering the country’s industrial performance and the lives of my constituents. This is about planning for the future. The combustion engine will not last forever. I want to help transition the Dagenham plant to embrace future technologies, but to do so we require stability today and in the near future, and that has to be based around the most efficient diesel technology ever produced.

Speaking of the future, Ford has announced a global investment of some $11 billion to produce 40 different types of electrified vehicle by 2022. We all need to secure Dagenham’s future by transitioning into new technologies—a future beyond both petrol and diesel. To do that, we need to resist the wholesale demonisation of technologies and make the case for modern diesel.

Let me put this simply. We have made significant progress recently in reducing CO₂ emissions. The danger is that, in the current climate, we will panic, hit the rewind button, ignore the facts, harm our economic base and undermine a successful transition to the technologies of the future. Dagenham has as much of a role to play in our industrial future as it has in our past, and the Government have a role in helping to secure that future. I ask for their help today.

Nuclear Safeguards Bill

Julian Knight Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons
Monday 16th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mims Davies (Eastleigh) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Ben Bradley), and to be called to participate in this fascinating and wide-ranging debate. We have heard tonight about gramophones, “Dr Strangelove”, beefing up, belts and braces, “blah blah blah”, and the “neverendum”, but we did hear a lot of sense in the contributions of my hon. Friends the Members for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse) and for Copeland (Trudy Harrison).

Security of our energy is paramount—on a daily basis in our lives, for every one of us in our hospitals and schools, and in terms of our daily safety. Securing the position of the UK as an international nuclear state is therefore vital as we pave our way out of the EU.

As we heard from the Secretary of State at the start of the debate, this is a simple and prudent Bill whose message is timely. This evening, the fact that the Government are actively working through this Bill to ensure that the UK continues to meet our international obligations for nuclear safeguards while also continuing the UK’s reputation as a responsible nuclear state has been warmly welcomed. Let us be clear: the UK will continue to support Euratom, and in the meantime we will seek, through this Bill, continuity on co-operation and standards.

I believe the Bill will bolster the roles and responsibilities of the UK’s existing nuclear regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation, once we leave Euratom. Despite “Project Fear”, which we have heard a lot about tonight, the collaboration between scientists and those in the nuclear sector is vitally important to all aspects of our co-operation. The Government want, and, more importantly, intend, to see this continue. It is clear at the outset that the industrial strategy includes nuclear and supports the scientific community through this, and builds on that through Brexit. While the Opposition refuse to accept the public’s decision to leave the European Union, the Government continue to get on with the job of ensuring a responsible withdrawal.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is highly appropriate that this should be the first piece of oven-ready Brexit legislation, as that shows the importance of this industry and of safeguards in it?

[Mims Davies]

So we can add “oven-ready” to “boil in the bag” Brexit, perhaps; yes, it is the latest example of that important vote. As we heard this evening from my hon. Friend the Member for Corby (Tom Pursglove), what we are doing as we leave the EU really matters in terms of the message we give to our constituents. Those on both sides of the argument are seeing us preparing for what is going to happen.

Let us make no mistake about this: the Opposition have no care for the nuclear industry, they do not support the vital role that it plays within our energy mix, and they do not respect the jobs and communities that rely on it. We heard that this evening from my hon. Friend the Member for Copeland: in an excellent and rounded speech on the industry and what it means to her constituency, we heard a lot about what the impact on her community would be if we got this wrong, and that applies across the UK. In stark contrast to the Opposition, the Government stand ready to take up the important role of protecting our world-leading nuclear industry during and before Brexit, so we can enable the UK to continue to meet its international nuclear obligations as it leaves Euratom.

I will therefore be strongly supporting this Bill this evening, and hope that all Opposition Members will follow Conservatives in doing so.

Tuition Fees

Julian Knight Excerpts

Wednesday 19th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Joseph Johnson]

That goes to show the extent to which the Labour party misled the country in the run-up to the general election, and I think my hon. Friend’s constituents are owed an apology.

Let us not forget that it was a Labour Government under Prime Minister Tony Blair who sensibly put in place these legal powers, which we used some six months ago, to uprate fees in line with inflation through a negative procedure. However, under the regulations we are debating today, rather than increasing fees for everyone, we are only allowing providers to maintain their fees in line with inflation if they can demonstrate that they are using these resources well in terms of providing high-quality teaching and good outcomes for their students. Universities UK and GuildHE, the two main representative bodies that collectively represent over 170 higher education providers, have made it clear that allowing the value of fees to be maintained in real terms is essential if our providers are to continue to deliver high-quality teaching. Gordon McKenzie, the chief executive of GuildHE, made it clear that

“fees had to rise by inflation at some point and it was fairer for students if those rises were linked to an assessment of quality”,

as the Government are doing.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

University education is also a route to higher earnings, worth up to a quarter of a million pounds over a lifetime. If we go forward with Labour’s policy to abolish tuition fees, it would have a damaging effect on those from disadvantaged backgrounds, as we have seen in Scotland, where there is a fall in the number of people from disadvantaged communities applying to university.

[Joseph Johnson]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Labour’s policies would do the opposite of what it says they would do; they would represent a huge step backwards for social mobility in this country, they would be bad for taxpayers, who would be left shouldering the entire cost of the higher education system, and they would leave the finances of our university system in tatters.

As Professor Steve Smith, vice-chancellor of Exeter University, has said:

“The Teaching Excellence Framework presents us with an opportunity to invest in our students’ futures and the long-term economic success of our country, and to be recognised for outstanding teaching at the same time…The Government rightly wants ‘something for something’, for the economy and for students.”

--- Later in debate ---

[Robert Halfon]

I have a lot of sympathy with my hon. Friend’s point.

We need to look carefully at the salaries of the senior management of universities. Something is going wrong if there are significant increases in the salaries of top management but poor destinations for graduates. To be honest, I do not mind what management figures earn if every single person who leaves that university gets a good job at the end. If they do not, I cannot understand why some vice-chancellors receive huge increases in their pay but fail to provide good outcomes. I am not going to name those universities today, but we need to take a hard look at this.

[Julian Knight]

My right hon. Friend is making a powerful and considered speech. Does he agree that we should also look at the length of university courses? Three years seems a little long for some courses, considering the smaller number of teaching hours.

[Robert Halfon]

Yes. My hon. Friend makes a point that I will come to, which relates to business rates. This is about not just the length of courses, but the way in which terms are structured. I said at the beginning of my remarks that the burden on the taxpayer needs to be fair, but we also need to ensure that the burden on the student is fair.

A constituent of mine entered university during the first year of £9,000 tuition fees, and her debt is now around £45,000 including the maintenance loan. I am not against student loans. It is not fair for working people in my constituency to bear the full burden of paying for all students to go to university. However, value for money also involves interest rates. Interest rate levels are much lower in the United States and, as I understand it, there are quite a few months in the year when students have more opportunities to work so they can pay back their loans. That relates to what my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull (Julian Knight) just said. The interest rate here, which the Minister knows is quite high, puts people off. I urge him to look into what can be done to have a system similar to that in the United States.

Of course, not all courses or institutions offer the same opportunities for employment after graduating. A history degree from a Russell Group university could, after five years, see someone earning double what they would have earned had they received the same degree from a less prestigious institution. University graduates have traditionally out-earned their non-graduate peers, but the gap appears to be narrowing. The value of a degree has begun to decline as the supply of graduates has outstripped demand. The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently warned that further increases in the number of graduates could lessen the financial gains of a degree.

The Minister knows that I am passionate about and strongly believe in apprenticeships, and he is a huge supporter of degree apprenticeships. It is important that all students know that there is a choice. There is a chance that we can offer every young person an apprenticeship, all the way from level 2 right up to degree level. We need as much investment as possible in degree apprenticeships, for which there is no loan. Apprentices earn while they learn, are virtually guaranteed to get a job afterwards, and get the skills and training they need. That would be a huge boon to people from disadvantaged to backgrounds. The levy must be used to fund degree apprenticeships as much as possible, as this will transform the nature of the debate, particularly for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

--- Later in debate ---

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

At the general election, the Labour party managed to rally an extraordinary number of young people to its cause—in one constituency, it even had young people standing on roundabouts with “Vote Labour” signs. I am sure many Labour Members will concede that they have those votes to thank for their place in this House today.

It is not difficult to see why students were tempted: not only did Labour promise to abolish tuition fees, but there was even talk of forgiving all student loan debt—an extraordinary, expensive undertaking. I wonder what those young voters must think now, barely a month on from the election, as they see Labour desperately trying to downgrade that promise to an aspiration, or as they see Wales—the only corner of the kingdom where the Labour party is in power—actually increasing fees, despite Labour’s having attacked them during the campaign.

What goes around comes around. I should inform the House that the film of the Labour party, effectively, backtracking on this promise has been shared 1.3 million times, so perhaps those roundabouts will not be quite so full of young students holding up signs for the Labour party at the next general election.

Perhaps the Labour party, including in Wales, now realises that there are very progressive elements to the tuition fee system.

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Julian Knight]

I am not going to give way at the moment.

Loans are available in this progressive system to everybody. They are paid back only when the student is earning enough to afford it, and the amount to be repaid scales up with income. Effectively, student loans are a type of graduate tax, rather than a tax on everyone, including everyone who does not go to university. No bailiffs are sent out to collect on student loans, and after 30 years any outstanding debt is forgiven by the Government. No other loan has so many protections built in for low earners.

However, to focus narrowly on the repayment structure is to ignore so much of what makes the current system a good deal for less-advantaged students. It secures more places and higher-quality teaching.

I know there is a lot of nostalgia in some circles for the days when university was free, but too often those people fail to acknowledge that this was only possible because the proportion of school leavers who went on to higher education was tiny. I was the first member of my family to go to university. I come from a council house background and a lone-parent family. It was a really unusual event at my school to go to university, to such an extent that when people found out that I had a place, I and a few others at my school were called on stage. When I went to university, only one in 10 were able to take up the advantages that I had, and I do not want us to go back there, under any circumstances.

When the previous Labour Government decided to massively expand higher education, the costs for universities ballooned, and it was rightly decided that those who stood to benefit should shoulder a share of the cost. The alternative was to fund the entire cost from general taxation—shifting the burden to millions of people who have never had higher education—or to leave it to universities to fill in the gaps in their budgets themselves. Scotland illustrates the dangers of that approach. Local students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, have been consistently squeezed out of Scottish universities in favour of fee-paying international students.

[Marion Fellows]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Julian Knight]

I am not going to give way, I am afraid.

[Marion Fellows]

rose—

[Julian Knight]

Actually, I will.

[Marion Fellows]

indicated dissent.

[Julian Knight]

Scotland used to say to the rest of the United Kingdom, “We have a gold standard in education.” I think it is a matter of shame that the SNP has presided over the collapse of Scottish education in the way that it has.

[Marion Fellows]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Julian Knight]

No—you had your chance.

As all studies show, the introduction of fees in England has seen an increase in the number of students from poorer backgrounds. Tuition fees have opened up the opportunity to study, and the repayment structure shelters them if they do not get the graduate dividend that they hoped for.

Of course, the current system is not perfect. There are legitimate questions over the interest levied on loans, and especially about the fact that nearly every university charges the maximum amount of fees. Price signals should be an important way for students to gauge the actual value of a degree course. I also think that some courses may be too long, and if they were to be time-limited, that would bring down the costs for all. But abolishing fees and forgiving debts that will only ever be repaid by high earners, and replacing the current system with one that taxes those who do not benefit or leaves universities fighting over high-income applicants, would be a huge transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich, and a ferocious attack on opportunity and social mobility.

Energy Price Cap

Julian Knight Excerpts

Monday 3rd July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Julian Smith. I mean Julian Knight.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

I did not think that I could have been behind someone else, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

You are not a senior Government Whip, Sir, but at least you are a Knight.

[Julian Knight]

I was a BBC News consumer affairs reporter for five years, and during that time I saw the havoc that can be wrought by pre-payment metering. Does my right hon. Friend agree that practices such as rip-off emergency credit, which makes a payday loan look reasonable, need to be brought to heel, and that we should welcome Ofgem’s proposal to extend the current safeguard tariff for consumers on pre-payment meters?

[Greg Clark]

It can only be a matter of time before my hon. Friend enjoys the position to which you referred, Mr Speaker.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It has been the practice of this Government to intervene when there are abuses, especially of vulnerable people in the way in which he describes. That has happened with pre-payment meters, but the approach needs to go much further.