Armed Forces Bill

Debate between Marco Longhi and Peter Gibson

Committee stage
Wednesday 23rd June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Marco Longhi (Dudley North) (Con)]

I thank the Minister for the assurances he provided from the Dispatch Box in his opening remarks. I also pay special thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (James Sunderland) for the diligence with which he conducted the Bill Select Committee. I must also pay special tribute to my friend and colleague, my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton South West (Stuart Anderson). Whenever he recollects and provides details of his experiences, he never fails to move me and, I know, many other Members in this Chamber. Thanks are also clearly due to the Armed Forces Parliamentary Trust, particularly given the efforts it has put in, and, of course, all the military establishments that have continued with the armed forces parliamentary service during this difficult time of restrictions due to covid. It has been invaluable to me to be a member of the scheme, even with all the constraints that covid imposed.

One of the key messages that I take away from the last 18 months is that our military all do their job with a conviction that I find difficult to equal elsewhere. In fact, calling it a job is probably wrong: it is in fact a way of life. It is not a life of luxury. Indeed, it is not a life with many of the things that most of us take for granted. It is a life that they know might one day put them at risk. I thank all of them and their families and pay tribute to the veterans from my constituency of Dudley North and beyond.

Before I entered Parliament, I chaired an armed forces covenant committee in the Black Country, where I saw at first hand the difficulties faced by our brave personnel and their families—if they had any family—simply because of the nature of their jobs. At that point, the covenant was a voluntary commitment, with inconsistencies across the country. I am therefore delighted that this is being enshrined in law so that the support somebody receives in Dudley will be the same as that given in Portsmouth and, indeed, perhaps in Dover.

While I was chairing the covenant committee, I was never able to find the answer to one simple question: how many people had we helped and were we actually helping? I am a very outcome-focused person, and while I could not doubt the well-meaning and positive intentions of all the partners supporting the covenant—the local council, the local NHS trusts and so many more—I had a hard time quantifying the benefit, even though the covenant is clearly a great step forward. My plea to Ministers is therefore to seek ways to evidence what impact the covenant is having on veterans and their families. That will help partners to improve their offer together and demonstrate the great value in the armed forces covenant.

[Peter Gibson (Darlington) (Con) [V]]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Rosie. I wish to speak in opposition to new clauses 1, 2 and 3.

I thank my colleagues who served on the Select Committee for the Bill, which was so ably led by my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (James Sunderland). The Bill as it stands will protect our armed forces not only while they are serving, but once they have completed their service, delivering on the manifesto commitments on which we were elected.

It is fitting that we are debating the Bill during Armed Forces Week. Only this morning, on Reserves Day, I was privileged to attend a flag raising ceremony here in Darlington, attended by veterans, reservists-and youth trainees, in recognition of their service and to express the thanks of the people I represent. In my Second Reading speech, I reiterated the words of those armed forces veterans in Darlington, who support the Bill. The Bill will impose a legal duty on UK public bodies and local authorities to have due regard to the principles of the covenant, ensuring that armed forces personnel, veterans and their families are not disadvantaged because of or by their service when accessing key public services. I am satisfied that, with the Government new clauses, this Bill will right the wrongs of the past to provide the protection our armed forces personnel and veterans need and deserve. That being said, I welcome the Government’s acknowledgement that more can always be done.

With regard to new clauses 1 and 7, the Government have already stressed that they are aware that the current system places financial liability on non-UK service personnel and are currently consulting on a policy to waive fees for personnel at the conclusion of their military service. I look forward to the consultation’s end next month. Similarly, in regard to new clause 2, the Government have already set out their desire to provide gold standard provision for veterans and I am glad that Ministers have stressed the importance of that duty of care. In regard to new clause 3, the Government have outlined at length how the armed forces are adapting to new challenges that we face across the globe.

This Bill enshrines the armed forces covenant in law and impacts veterans in all our constituencies. I am proud to be supporting the Government this evening in delivering an important promise to those who are serving and those who have served us so well.

Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies (Environmentally Sustainable Investment) Bill

Debate between Marco Longhi and Peter Gibson

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 11th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Peter Gibson (Darlington) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow my neighbour and dear friend, my hon. Friend the Member for Sedgefield (Paul Howell).

I am grateful to be given the chance to speak in this debate. I share the passion of the hon. Member for Cardiff North (Anna McMorrin) and her commitment to ensuring that our green development is beneficial to our society, communities and constituents. Redeemable green shares to external investors are certainly an interesting prospect. In principle, I share the hon. Lady’s desire to support the mutual sector in the development of new green finance initiatives.

However, I remain unpersuaded about the merits of redeemable shares, and I am concerned that this Bill could open up risks for consumer protection and the integrity of the co-operative model. As we have heard from many on the Conservative Benches, green bonds have a tried and tested track record, and I pay tribute to the excellent insight provided my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford (Gareth Davies). I cannot in good conscience support a Bill that risks undermining the phenomenal work that co-operatives and mutuals do in my constituency and in the north-east.

I want to reassure the House that I support the work of the co-operatives, which have a strong track record on delivering across the UK. I understand the all-party parliamentary group on mutuals has found that they generate over £130 billion of income each year, supporting community-owned pubs, high street retail and fan-owned football clubs, which is a truly phenomenal achievement.

If you will allow me, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will first focus on the financial aspects of the Bill, before moving on to its environmental concerns. It is wholly necessary for companies and co-operatives to have access to capital and credit as the lifeblood of their entity, but green bonds would provide a much better model. In my constituency of Darlington, many co-operatives are run on a mutual ethos that in part came through the town’s Quaker heritage. From the Harrogate Club in the north to the Hummersknott Allotment Association in the south, the benefits of local co-operatives are clear locally.

Recently, I have engaged with many of my constituents from Darlington FC supporters’ group, who have lobbied me on behalf of their much-loved fan-owned mutual club. I am glad that in that case I was able to work constructively on their behalf with the National League to assist the club with the uncertainty ahead of the new season, and I wish them well for this Saturday’s friendly away game in Scarborough.

Across the north-east, clubs and pubs remain at the heart of communities. With the unprecedented challenges the hospitality sector has faced over the past few months, I am all too aware that co-operative clubs in Darlington need support now more than ever. The phenomenal eat out to help out scheme and the unprecedented level of government support have allowed many of these clubs and pubs in Darlington to bounce back from the impact of the lockdown. It is vital that the Government do not take drastic action at this point that risks undermining the position of these clubs at the heart of my Darlington community.

I am concerned that, if the Bill were to pass, businesses in the mutual sector might unwittingly enter into a situation where they are exploited as investment businesses. Beyond this, many co-operatives might be lured into exploitative schemes where they are put at great risk because of the ethical implications attached to these complex shares. I am aware that the Bill intends to include safeguards to prevent such issues by amending the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014; by introducing limits on the voting rights of investors in the event of liquidation; by limiting the ability to vote for demutualisation; and by enabling societies to remove the right to vote for conversion into a company. While I acknowledge these safeguards, introduced following the hon. Lady’s work with Co-operatives UK, I believe that the risk remains too high.

I am confident that the Government have already provided a firm, pragmatic approach to tackling climate change while protecting businesses, jobs and communities, as outlined in the Government’s green finance strategy 2019. In my short time in Parliament, I have had the privilege to support this Government as they have taken steps to support sustainable, community-led green economic growth, including by granting greater power to local authorities in this matter.

[Marco Longhi]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the green bonds that my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford (Gareth Davies) described would be a more targeted and risk-averse approach? Does he also agree that as we come out of this pandemic the House’s priority should be to do so in an inclusive and green way and that the plan that Andy Street, for example, has set out for the west midlands for inclusive growth with a green agenda is an example of that?

[Peter Gibson]

My hon. Friend raises an important point about the strength of communities represented by Conservative directly elected Mayors. I, too, represent a constituency that falls within a combined authority area that has an excellent Conservative Mayor leading the way on green initiatives.