Britain in the World

Debate between Justine Greening and Albert Owen

Monday 1st June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

My hon. Friend is right to point out the challenges associated with continuing to invest to maintain our defence in future. The Prime Minister has been incredibly clear that we will meet our 2% commitment this coming year—[Interruption.] As my hon. Friend knows, we hosted the NATO summit in Wales. We hear chuntering from the Opposition Benches, but we need take no lectures from those whose Government left us with a hole of £38 billion in our defence budget. For that they should be truly ashamed of themselves. We have cleared up that mess. We are living within our means and at the same time we are investing in our military equipment—investing more than inflation and making sure we maintain our troops. We will continue to do that. My right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) and my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Richard Benyon) spoke passionately about how important that commitment is.

That requires us all to work effectively across government. Indeed, the days when one could look at the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development as separate Departments that tackle separate issues are over. A long-term, joined-up approach is absolutely essential, as my hon. Friends the Members for Reigate (Crispin Blunt) and for Gloucester (Richard Graham) said. The good news is that the UK Government have never worked together as seamlessly as we do today. On threats to our security, for example, DFID has worked hand in hand with the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Health to combat Ebola in Sierra Leone. Those efforts have not only saved countless lives in west Africa, but helped to prevent a global health crisis that could have been far deadlier than it was and even threatened the UK.

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of seeing at first hand some of our humanitarian work in Nepal. Britain’s outstanding team of diplomats, armed forces servicemen and women and DFID staff are working hand in hand to ensure that aid is reaching the most vulnerable people. I pay tribute to all of them and to the work they are doing. I also pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Sir Alan Duncan), who did life-saving work when a DFID Minister to ensure that Nepal was better prepared to withstand the impact of the earthquake. That work saved lives across that country, and we should be incredibly proud of that.

On economic opportunities, we have never had a more joined-up approach, with DFID and the Foreign Office launching key prosperity partnerships to strengthen our commercial links with emerging markets in Africa. I very much welcome UK Trade & Investment’s renewed willingness to do more to work alongside the Foreign Office to ensure that UK companies are well placed to do well in these new but fast-growing markets.

[Albert Owen]

Will DFID also work with the devolved Administrations? There have been some good bilateral agreements with African states, for example between the Scottish Parliament and Malawi and Lesotho, and with all-party groups in this House. It is important that those groups are given a bigger audience in international development.

[Justine Greening]

I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that I work very closely with all-party groups, which I think play a key role in this House by enabling so many parliamentarians with an interest in this area not only to express that interest, but to work with Ministers and help inform policy. That goes for the devolved Administrations as well. As we heard in some of the speeches from the SNP Benches, we should be proud of Scotland’s close links with Malawi. I look forward to working with hon. Members from that party, hopefully to pursue a united development strategy for the UK.

Protecting and promoting Britain’s place in the word means more than just working across government; it requires a two-pronged approach that takes action today and future-proofs our prospects for tomorrow. That means action on today’s problems and upstream work to tackle the root causes that drive issues such as migration. It means minimising the risks of instability as far as we reasonably can. The hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) made some important points about that. It means continuing our work to help the millions of refugees affected by the Syria crisis so that they can cope with the lives they are now leading in neighbouring countries such as Lebanon and Jordan. We are also helping countries such as Somalia and Nigeria to deal with terrorism and instability in their midst.

Future-proofing Britain’s prospects for tomorrow also means market-making. In the end, the best guarantor of stability and prosperity is development. We are working with the Foreign Office and UKTI to ensure that we play that constructive role in the next wave of emerging markets. That frontier economy strategy, led by DFID, is critical not only in helping to tackle poverty, but in securing the UK’s economic prospects for tomorrow.

Finally, all that work is underpinned by values; values that mean we will continue to be a world leader in campaigning for better rights for women and girls, for example. I am proud of the work that this Government have done. We will continue to do that, whether on dealing with female genital mutilation or child marriage. Britain should stand tall in the world not only because of our economic strength and military capacity, but because we have an approach that reflects more about us than just that. Britain has never been a country that buries its head in the sand; we have taken on global problems and made them our own. Others will try to talk us down, but we should never fall into the same trap. I think that today’s debate shows our democracy at its best. We should be proud of the work that this country is doing.

Cost of Living

Debate between Justine Greening and Albert Owen

Wednesday 16th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Albert Owen]

I understand what has come from the Government Whips—I have seen copies of it, and it says that all the time; indeed, it has probably got into the psyche. However, let us look at proper economics. When we have low interest rates—and we have had historically low interest rates—it is during a recession. That is what happens; it is a natural phenomenon. Since January 2009, interest rates have been at an historic low. That did not start when this Government came in; it started in January 2009. Gilts and bonds are low as well, which gives us a golden opportunity to borrow at lower rates. That is how we got out of recessions in the past across the world. Pure austerity measures have never worked. People should look at economic history. Austerity is part of the package, but unless we get growth and jobs, we will not get out of the double-dip recession we are in.

We sometimes get accused of being deficit deniers. I am neither a deficit denier nor a deficit extremist. It is extremism that gets us into trouble, and I have to say that there are many people in this House who are recession deniers—they are denying the fact that we are going down. Many people are paying the price, and that is why the cost of living is so important.

Let me move on to energy and electricity market reform. I support reform in principle, although we do not know the details, so it would be a little naive to support it fully until it is implemented. I am a member of the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change, and we have looked at the principle of electricity market reform. We produced a report highlighting some of our concerns. There has been a White Paper for a long time, but we are only going to get pre-legislative scrutiny. We need to know what is in the Bill in order to deal with the issue properly and provide the certainty needed to invest in our infrastructure.

The Government have missed an opportunity in this Queen’s Speech. On one side, yes, there should be incentives for investment—that is very important—but there is very little protection for consumers. I have long argued in this House that Ofgem, the energy regulator, should have more teeth. It should be standing up. It is a damned cheek for the new Energy Secretary—whom I welcome to his place today—to try to claim some credit for the fact that energy companies are providing greater transparency in their bills. It is campaigns by the likes of Which? and Consumer Focus and so on that have highlighted the problems and embarrassed the energy companies, while the Government stood by and watched. Ofgem should have greater teeth. I make a plea to the Government to take that on board, because energy costs are hurting people, in peripheral areas in particular. Many are off the gas mains and off the grid. I want Ofgem, the regulator, to have the same powers to protect customers who are not on the gas mains as it enjoys in protecting those who are on the gas mains.

Finally, let me move on to the subject of transport. I welcome the concept of High Speed 2, but I want to see it up and running. The Transport Secretary is quoted as saying, “Well, we’re preparing for legislation.” The legislation is vital, so can she give some indication of when it is likely to be introduced? We have done the consultation and the matter has been agreed by this House, although it is not popular with certain sections.

[Justine Greening]

The hon. Gentleman is right that there is an awful lot of preparatory work to be done to ensure that the hybrid Bill contains the information that this House needs to scrutinise the proposal properly. We expect that preparatory work to be done through the course of this year and next, and for a hybrid Bill to be introduced by the end of next year.

[Albert Owen]

I appreciate that. A hybrid Bill in itself will take a long time, so we are unlikely to see anything soon. However, I support the main thrust of high-speed rail. We saw benefits under the previous Government in north-west Wales, north-west England and Scotland after we invested in faster line speeds. High-speed rail is important.

My final point is about VAT on fuel duty. Every time people spend £1 on petrol, they have to pay an extra 2.5p. That really hurts people. It is wrong, and it should be reversed.

We needed a Queen’s Speech that set out proposals for jobs and growth. This has been a missed opportunity, on top of a botched Budget which has led us into a double-dip recession. That is damaging the living standards of my constituents and those across the United Kingdom.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justine Greening and Albert Owen

Tuesday 22nd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Justine Greening)]

The VAT forecast is estimated on an aggregate basis, as registered traders are not required to record in their VAT return the type of goods or services on which VAT has been collected.

[Albert Owen]

I agree with the Prime Minister that VAT is a regressive tax that hits the poorest hardest. Today’s figures show that the rise has also pushed up inflation, hitting people in their pockets and at the pumps. Will the Treasury team look again at the VAT rise on fuel—which is hurting motorists, hauliers, businesses and families across the country—and reverse it?

[Justine Greening]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s concern for motorists. However, I note that when the VAT rise passed through Parliament on 13 July 2010, he did not vote against it. I assure him that the Government are looking at what we can do to support motorists, hauliers and businesses with the cost of fuel, but I have to say that his party’s proposal on VAT is illegal, unworkable and unfunded.