Oral Answers to Questions

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 5th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Maude]

I must start by saying that we inherited a complete lack of transparency about Government contracts. It was impossible for potential suppliers to the Government to find out what contracts were available. We are gradually reaching a stage at which more and more contracts will be made available transparently, but provisions relating to confidentiality are built into many of the contracts with suppliers that we inherited. We will seek to avoid that in future, but I think the hon. Gentleman will find that many of the Atos contracts stem from the time when his own party was in government.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

14. I welcome the savings that my right hon. Friend has already found, but what more can he do to reduce the burden of excess in Whitehall which has existed over the last few years and which was fostered by the Labour party?

[Mr Maude]

The longer we stick at this task, the more possibilities of saving yet more money we will find. It is important to protect spending on the front-line services on which the public depend, and we will continue to do that. I am delighted to welcome my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Miss Smith) to her post: she will give huge support to me in my role of seeking out wasteful spending and driving efficiency through central Government.

G20 Summit

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Monday 25th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

If we expanded trade between Britain and America as part of the EU expanding its trade with America, the benefits would be more goods and services and more jobs in the UK, and more opportunities to export. We might find particular advantages to Britain in some of the services fields, where we have very good companies that do not always get full access to US markets. In that way my hon. Friend’s constituents would benefit.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

Despite the economic headwinds of the eurozone crisis, in the west midlands in the past year 4,000 jobs were lost in the public sector, but 81,000 jobs were created in the private sector. Does that not vindicate the Government’s strategy of reducing the deficit and keeping interest rates low?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. As I said, there are 400,000 more people in work than there were in May 2010. Of course we have seen some job reductions in the public sector, but they have been more than made up—several times made up—by the jobs that have increased in the private sector. That is the sort of rebalancing that our economy needs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd November 2011 Commons Chamber

The Prime Minister was asked—

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 2 November.

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others and, in addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

[Mr Jones]

With the average 60-year-old living 10 years longer than in the 1970s, public sector pension reform is essential. Will the Prime Minister ensure that reform is fair for my constituents, both in terms of taxpayers and public sector workers?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will be making a full statement to the House. It seems to me to be absolutely vital that we do something that is fair to both taxpayers and public sector workers. The cost of our public sector pensions system is up by a third in the last decade. It is not fair to go on as we are, but the new arrangements must be fair to people who work hard in the public sector and on whom we all rely. I can tell the House that low and middle-income earners will actually get more from their public sector pensions, everyone will keep what they have built up so far, anyone within 10 years of retirement will see no change to their pension arrangements and, at the end of all this, people in the public sector will still get far better pensions than people in the private sector. I really think it is time that the Labour party was clear that it does not support strikes later this month.

Public Disorder

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Thursday 11th August 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We will certainly do that. What method we use is less important than the intent of looking at ways to ensure that, if social media are used for violent purposes, we are able to intervene.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

I join right hon. and hon. Members from all parts of the House who have commended the brave work of West Midlands police officers. Will the Prime Minister join me in commending the brave work of Warwickshire officers, who have also given mutual aid, and will he tell us whether the Government will compensate smaller forces, such as Warwickshire, for that work?

[The Prime Minister]

This is how the system works. ACPO has established the police national information co-ordination centre, or PNICC, through which forces work together to make sure that officers get to the places where they are needed, and we should allow those arrangements to work.

Public Confidence in the Media and Police

Marcus Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As the House knows, Andy Coulson came to stay with me in March. I have not spoken to him for weeks. While he worked for me, that obviously was discussed on an ongoing basis. Just to repeat: if I had had evidence that he knew about the hacking, I would not have employed him, and if I had had some while he was working for me, I would have relieved him of the appointment.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

The Prime Minister’s predecessor, the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown), said that he wanted to hold a public inquiry into this matter. Can the Prime Minister tell the House what detailed preparations on these important issues were left behind in No. 10 for him on taking office?