Personal Independence Payments

Debate between Justin Tomlinson and John Bercow

Tuesday 28th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. That is quite sufficient. No further explanation is required. I am very grateful to the Secretary of State, and deeply obliged to him.

[Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon) (Con)]

I welcome the fact that the Government are now, rightly, spending a record amount to support those with long-term health conditions and disabilities. If the Government were to decide to increase that amount yet further, surely that should be done in conjunction with charities and stakeholders, utilising their expertise, rather than on an ad hoc basis dictated by the courts?

Personal Statement

Debate between Justin Tomlinson and John Bercow

Thursday 15th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon) (Con)]

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I would like to make a personal statement. In response to the report published by the Privileges Committee today and the report published by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, I wanted to take this opportunity to make a full and unreserved apology to you and to the House.

In 2013, I breached the rules of conduct by sharing a draft report by the Committee of Public Accounts regarding the regulation of consumer credit. An investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards was initiated in 2015, following a complaint made by Wonga. I completely accept the findings of the report published today by the Privileges Committee and the report submitted by the Commissioner for Standards. I accept that my actions in sharing the report constitute an interference in the work of the Committee of Public Accounts, and for this I am truly sorry. This was never my intention.

These actions came as a result of my own naiveté, driven by a desire to strengthen regulations on payday lenders and protect vulnerable consumers. The Commissioner for Standards confirmed this as my motivation, based on evidence that I have worked on cross-party campaigns to protect consumers and that I had long argued for tighter regulation of the payday lending industry. I welcome the report’s conclusion that my actions were not motivated by financial gain, and the report states that I did not act in the way I did for financial gain, nor with the intention of reflecting the views of the company concerned. I also appreciate the acknowledgment that the national newspaper story following the start of the investigation was unsubstantiated.

I have accepted full responsibility since the very beginning of this process and, as acknowledged in the report, I have provided an unreserved acceptance of the findings of the commissioner and have co-operated fully throughout three different inquiries. I would like to add my thanks to the Privileges Committee, the Clerk of that Committee and the Commissioner for Standards for their diligent work throughout this process.

I reiterate my apology today, Mr Speaker, and I am very grateful that the House has allowed me to make this apology at the earliest opportunity.

[Mr Speaker]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for what he has said and, indeed, for the way in which he has said it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justin Tomlinson and John Bercow

Monday 11th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I would never have done anything like what the hon. Gentleman has just done when I was a Back Bencher.

[Justin Tomlinson]

As a Government, we recognise that 45% of private sector jobs are created by small businesses, and so such businesses are key to the success of creating new opportunities. This will be very much at the heart of the Green Paper, making sure that they are aware of initiatives, particularly the commitment to have 3 million more apprentices by 2020.

--- Later in debate ---

[Justin Tomlinson]

I would like to thank you, Mr Speaker, for hosting the announcement of the tennis Paralympic team for Rio. I pay tribute to Channel 4, which will be showing over 700 hours of the Paralympics, with 75% of the presenters having a disability. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase people’s abilities, and we are all in for a real treat next Friday, when Channel 4 launches its fantastic video promoting the opportunities offered by the Paralympics.

[Mr Speaker]

I am extraordinarily grateful to the Minister for giving me my cue. First, let me take this opportunity on behalf of the House warmly to congratulate Gordon Reid on his great success at Wimbledon yesterday. Secondly, I am sure the whole House will want to join me in congratulating most warmly Andy Murray on an outstanding performance in winning his second Wimbledon title and his third grand slam so far.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justin Tomlinson and John Bercow

Monday 14th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Justin Tomlinson]

I thank my hon. Friend for agreeing to host her own Disability Confident event. More than 50 MPs from all parties are doing that, supporting our work to halve the disability employment gap, and promoting services such as access to work, where we now have funding for an additional 25,000 places on top of the near-record 38,000 that we are currently helping.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Naz Shah.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justin Tomlinson and John Bercow

Monday 22nd June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Justin Tomlinson]

As I said in response to the previous question, we will work with the Treasury, the FCA and the Pensions Regulator to monitor that closely. We have also brought in a 0.75% cap on charges, which in time will allow an extra £200 million to remain in pension savings.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Adrian Bailey. Not here.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

The Minister could put an answer in the Library of the House, which might be quicker.

[Justin Tomlinson]

I totally agree with my hon. Friend. Thirteen MPs have already held events in their constituencies. We can all play a vital role in promoting opportunities for the wealth of talent that is available and willing to go into work.

[Mr Speaker]

Last but not least, I call Peter Grant.