Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Tuesday 7th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

The only productivity improvement we have seen from this Government is the awarding of wasteful contracts. On top of all the PPE waste that my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Clive Efford) referred to, there are still £1 billion-worth of unresolved PPE contracts that this Government awarded, but that have not been delivered on. Only one company, PPE Medpro, is facing legal action. Why are the Government not taking legal action against the other companies that have not delivered on their contract with members of the public?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Tuesday 19th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

Why does the Treasury Minister think people feel worse off after 14 years of Conservative Government?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Tuesday 6th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

The Labour party has set out clear proposals to close tax loopholes on non-doms, private schools and private equity to give a much-needed boost to our public services. Will the Treasury Minister confirm whether the Government have assessed, or plan to assess, the merits of such a policy?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Tuesday 19th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

Merry Christmas to you and to the House, Mr Speaker. Let me start by thanking the Chancellor for his kind words about the late Lord Darling, which I think show the gratitude of Members from across the House for his lifetime of public service.

The public have a right to know why so many billions of pounds of their taxes have been wasted by this Government. Baroness Mone has claimed today that Conservative Ministers knew about her personal connections to the company PPE Medpro from the very beginning. So why did the Government not correct the record when a misleading picture was being painted in the media about Baroness Mone’s personal connection to PPE Medpro in the first place?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Tuesday 14th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

I welcome the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Laura Trott) to her place. I look forward to holding her to account.

Last month, the Chancellor’s National Infrastructure Commission said that in order to unlock the billions of pounds of private investment that is available to get our economy growing, we need a Government who can “make good decisions, fast.” Why does the Chancellor think his Government have been making bad decisions slowly for quite so long?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Tuesday 5th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I welcome Darren Jones, the new shadow Minister.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

It is estimated that 140,000 households will face a rise in their mortgage bills this month. If someone in a random constituency, say Mid Bedfordshire, were to remortgage their house in the next six months, they could pay an average of £300 more per month compared with before the disastrous Tory mini-Budget this time last year. What can the Chancellor and his team do to reassure the country that, if the Conservatives were to win the next election, they would not just mess up the economy all over again?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Thursday 29th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

Last year it was the energy companies; this year it is the water companies. The sectors have changed but the taxpayers are still on the hook. So will the Secretary of State commit to undertaking a review of the financial resilience of all companies in each regulated sector and to present her findings to the House?

UK Car Industry

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Wednesday 17th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

The story overnight came from written submissions to my Committee’s inquiry on the future of battery manufacturing in the UK. Stellantis will be here in Parliament next Tuesday to give further evidence. The Minister will know two things: that she and her departmental officials are in ongoing negotiations with other car manufacturers in the UK beyond Stellantis, and that all the car companies are raising exactly the same issues and are asking for a step up in activity from the Government and an end-to-end industrial strategy to show that the UK is serious about the future of UK production of electric vehicles. Will the Minister confirm for the record that those assertions—that the Department is in negotiations right now with other car manufacturing companies and that they are raising exactly the same issues as Stellantis—are indeed correct?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Thursday 23rd March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Select Committee.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

The Minister knows that the steel industry is an important customer for critical minerals in this country, so will she confirm for the House the status of the Steel Council in her Department and whether it is actively meeting?

[Ms Ghani]

I served with the hon. Gentleman on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee for many years. He will be very familiar with the fact that I meet the steel sector and the unions, and I have all the regular meetings, including those with the all-party parliamentary group for steel and metal related industries, which is chaired by the hon. Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock). The meetings are most definitely taking place.

Electric Vehicle Battery Production

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Wednesday 18th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

The Americans have announced significant subsidies for industry under the Inflation Reduction Act, and the European Union is responding by streamlining state aid rules and announcing its own subsidies for industry in the European Union. Surely the Minister must recognise that businesses are being attracted to the US and the EU, away from the UK. What is he going to do about it?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Tuesday 17th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

Britishvolt, the once valued £3.8 billion site of national importance for the production of electric vehicle batteries in our country, is today going into administration. Does the Minister agree with me that the future of UK car manufacturing relies on UK battery production? If so, what is he going to do about it?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Tuesday 29th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

The Government announced this week that £1 billion will go towards energy efficiency to reduce energy bills. Will the Minister confirm how many new homes will be covered by that £1 billion?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Tuesday 25th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

British researchers are desperately waiting for an update on the UK’s association to Horizon Europe. The former science Minister pledged to publish the details for the replacement scheme, should our association not be concluded, before the summer recess, but they have still not been published. When will they be?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Tuesday 21st July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Select Committee, Darren Jones.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

Hospitality workers who, in normal times, rely on tips as a significant part of their income have been especially hit, not just because their workplaces have been shut but because furlough payments have not recognised tip-based income. The Government have committed to bringing forward legislation to ensure that hospitality staff can keep their tips; indeed, it was a Conservative party manifesto commitment. When will that legislation be brought to the House?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Darren Jones

Tuesday 16th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, Darren Jones.

[Darren Jones (Bristol North West) (Lab)]

UK-EU research collaboration contributes £2 billion to British research and development and accounts for at least 5,000 researchers in British universities, as well as its contributions to covid research and vaccination research. Will the Secretary of State make a commitment that, irrespective of the free trade agreement negotiations with the EU, the UK will seek third country full associate membership of Horizon Europe to keep that money coming into British R&D?