Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kirsten Oswald and Mark Spencer

Thursday 25th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I do not know whether the hon. Lady lives in a different universe, because the NFU welcomed the food summit. It requested it and it was grateful that it took place. It was a huge success, pulling together retailers, processers and primary producers to get under the skin of the challenges that we face as a country. We will solve those challenges by working together. Many people celebrated that Farm to Fork Summit, as should she, rather than criticising it.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

4. What recent assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the duty and customs regime following the UK’s exit from the EU on the fresh food and drinks sector.

Animal Welfare

Debate between Kirsten Oswald and Mark Spencer

Thursday 25th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

I am grateful for advance sight of the statement, and I do not dispute any of the actions referred to by the Minister. We always welcome any positive progress on animal welfare measures, but that is not entirely the point. We are evidently here to listen to a rolling back. Let us not kid ourselves that this is anything apart from that. There was a commitment to a kept animals Bill, but it has now been dropped like a stone, and on the afternoon of the last day before recess. We cannot be expected to be content to progress in that way. How can we believe the UK Government on animal welfare measures if that is how they behave? I am afraid the suggestion that this is happening because of some kind of scope-creep caused by Opposition Members stands up to no scrutiny at all.

I can see why it may suit the Government to say that, rather than pursuing the kept animals Bill, they will deal with individual issues. Of course, that is the same trick they did with the employment Bill. What that meant in reality was a lowering of standards, a cherry-picking of commitments to suit their own Back Benchers and an entirely unsatisfactory situation. We have the same worries here. I am very concerned about the evident lack of will from the UK Government to act decisively to ban foie gras, for instance, despite the unforgivably cruel way in which it is produced. Why on earth will they not commit to that? They seem to be missing in action, as far as I can see, on fur. I would certainly welcome a ramping-up of progress on puppy and kitten smuggling. When will that happen? I would like to hear from the Minister on all those issues and to know when we can expect to see action.

While the UK Government have been shilly-shallying on all these issues, the Scottish Government have pushed ahead with the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023, which closes loopholes that had permitted illegal hunters to use trail hunts as a fig leaf for their crimes. I ask the Minister, will the UK Government follow the Scottish Government’s example and ban the loopholes that have permitted English and Welsh hunters to continue their illegal and immoral blood sports?

[Mark Spencer]

I thank the hon. Lady for her questions, but also for her acknowledgement of the huge amount of progress we have already made. [Interruption.] Well, she acknowledged the list of things that we have delivered as a Government. The point is that we are still committed to delivering all of the measures in the kept animals Bill. I think that, with a number of the commitments we have made, we can actually go further and deliver these things faster than they would have been delivered by pursuing them through a single Bill. We remain committed to delivering them, and we will deliver them in good time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kirsten Oswald and Mark Spencer

Thursday 17th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

Obviously we want to set it up as soon as possible and we want it to assess all the available evidence. All interested parties want to make sure that we identify the challenge. A number of—if I can use the term—red herrings have been thrown into the mix, so establishing the true facts as rapidly as possible will be the ambition of this rapid inquiry.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

Some 80% of UK firms say that they are struggling to trade with the EU because of Tory Brexit red tape. Scots exports to the EU have been slashed by 13%. The cost to households in Scotland as a consequence of Brexit averages £900 a year. Additional Brexit checks for meat exports are being imposed on 14 December that will further hammer the agricultural sector. Where is the promised Brexit dividend for farmers? So far, all they can see from the Tories are restrictions and red tape.

[Mark Spencer]

One day, the hon. Lady will have to accept the result of the referendum and the fact that Brexit took place. We are embracing those opportunities in the Department. We are doing trade deals and promoting British products around the world. We are proud of what our British producers produce. We should get on the front foot and big them up, rather than being negative.

Business of the House

Debate between Kirsten Oswald and Mark Spencer

Thursday 23rd June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

My hon. Friend is right that the motion is now on the Order Paper. It is important that the House understands that what the two commissions of the Commons and the Lords are seeking on this occasion is to take the sponsor body function back in-house to make sure that we can get on with the job quickly. Members across the House can engage. There are some drop-in sessions taking place. In fact, I hope that I and the shadow Leader of the House will do a joint one next week; I think it is currently in the diary for 2.30 in Committee Room 12. I encourage Members to come along, engage and find out more information.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

The Leader of the House may be aware that a major pilot of a four-day working week, with no loss of pay for workers, has begun in the UK. A previous trial in Iceland was significant in finding improvements in terms of wellbeing and productivity, so a win-win for workers and for employers. The Scottish Government are committed to helping businesses to pilot a four-day week. Can we have a statement in Government time on whether the UK Government will also support exploring the benefits of flexible working, including a four-day working week?

[Mark Spencer]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. Clearly, this is something that the Government will observe and consider. I know that there are a number of pilots taking place up and down the country. It is an interesting concept, but we would need to understand all the implications before it was rolled out as a national policy. However, it is certainly an interesting area of debate.

Business of the House

Debate between Kirsten Oswald and Mark Spencer

Thursday 31st March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

The hon. Lady raises a very important issue. No one could be unmoved by seeing the tributes just across the river at the wall of hearts, and this is worthy of further consideration. In my constituency, I was able to attend the unveiling of a small memorial at Gedling crematorium to the people of Gedling and Nottingham who had lost their lives to covid. As a society, we should not forget the huge losses that we have experienced, and she is right to draw the House’s attention to this. I will make sure I write to the relevant Ministers and pass on her comments.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

One of the most regular causes of complaints that I receive is the failure of services that have been outsourced to private companies, including Capita, which now administers the Royal Mail pension scheme; it seems to do that very badly, if the case of my constituent whose pension should have been paid from September 2021 but still has not been is anything to go by. So may we have a debate in Government time about how the Government are supposed to hold these contractors to account, particularly when the systems are patently not working?

[Mark Spencer]

If the hon. Lady writes to me with the specific details about her constituent, I will make sure—[Interruption.] She says from a sedentary position that she already has. I will make sure that she gets a rapid response. I understand the stress that people undergo when they are concerned about whether they will get their pension, which they have rightly paid into. I will make sure that she gets a speedy answer.

Business of the House

Debate between Kirsten Oswald and Mark Spencer

Thursday 24th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I congratulate Bolsover Drama Group on its 40th anniversary. It really is a fantastic landmark to have reached, and I am sure it would not have been possible without the hard work of so many people, including Mick Whitehouse and Chris Peck. The arts play a vital role in bring local communities together, especially since the pandemic. I encourage my hon. Friend to apply for a Westminster Hall debate, and hope that today’s business concludes early enough for him to get home to Bolsover to be with his husband.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

I heard yesterday from the Bank of Scotland that it plans shortly to close its Clarkston branch, among a number of others. It will be the last bank branch in town—a situation faced by so many other East Renfrewshire communities. Our communities, and particularly those who are elderly or more vulnerable, need bank branches. May we have a debate in Government time about what the Government can do to support that need, support our local high streets and make sure that banking and access to cash are at the heart of our communities?

[Mark Spencer]

The Government recognise the importance of our high streets, which is why we have the levelling-up fund for colleagues to bid into. I recognise the challenge that people in rural communities face if their local banks disappear, and I encourage the hon. Lady to apply for either a Backbench Business debate or an Adjournment debate to continue to highlight that challenge.