Business of the House

Mark Eastwood Excerpts

Thursday 25th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear about the situation and I thank the hon. Lady for her ongoing efforts on behalf of her constituents. I will certainly ensure that the Chancellor and relevant Ministers have heard her plea.

[Mark Eastwood (Dewsbury) (Con)]

To try to make up for its financial mismanagement, Labour-run Kirklees Council is looking to introduce new car parking charges, punishing hard-working families and destroying our high streets in our towns and villages. In a recent damning report, independent auditors said about Kirklees:

“We have been unable to satisfy ourselves that the Council has made proper arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources.”

Will my right hon. Friend agree to a debate on the failings of this shambolic Labour-run council?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sorry to hear about the situation in my hon. Friend’s constituency. When councils use motorists and people going about their daily business as some sort of cash cow to plug gaps in their budget due to their mismanagement, communities end up in a downward spiral. People cannot go to the shops, they do not use those services and it is a disaster. Whether in Kirklees, Sheffield, Nottingham, Birmingham or London, Labour is waging a war against working people, and motorists in particular. That has grave and dire consequences if we want vibrant communities. I encourage my hon. Friend to continue his campaign against the council and that particular initiative, and I urge everyone who has the opportunity to vote in a Conservative council.

Business of the House

Mark Eastwood Excerpts

Thursday 6th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

In a spirit of good will on Epiphany, may I say how much I agree with the hon. Gentleman? I cannot promise a debate, but we should certainly celebrate people who either through their own actions recover from a dependency or help others to recover. I am a great believer that people should have a second chance, a third chance and a fourth chance, and that everything that can be done by parts of the state or voluntary bodies to help that is worth celebrating. I am glad to see that the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee is still in his place, and the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) has asked once and been successful so, if we are keeping to the biblical theme:

“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find”.

[Mark Eastwood (Dewsbury) (Con)]

Since being elected, I have met a large number of parents and community organisations, including the West Yorkshire ADHD Support Group, asking for my help to improve special educational needs provision in our schools. Following those discussions and after much research, it is apparent that some schools offer far better SEN provision than others. That disparity should not exist. I therefore ask my right hon. Friend for a debate on SEN provision in our education system to ensure that all children, regardless of need, are provided with the same opportunities in life?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

This is so important—I am grateful to my hon. Friend. The recent spending review makes available £2.6 billion of new funding across the next three years for new school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities. That represents a transformational expenditure of taxpayers’ money in new high-needs provision and it will help to deliver tens of thousands of new places. What my hon. Friend is asking for is happening, but I will ensure that his comments are passed on to my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary.

Business of the House

Mark Eastwood Excerpts

Thursday 9th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

Following what I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers), the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown) is also somebody who always stands up for his constituents. On any number of occasions at business questions he has raised such issues on behalf of constituents who are seeking redress of grievance.

I cannot promise to change the policy of the DWP—it is not within my authority to do so—but I can promise to help the hon. Gentleman get an answer in relation to this specific constituent.

[Mark Eastwood (Dewsbury) (Con)]

At the Harron Homes Amberwood Chase development in Shaw Cross, Dewsbury, and at a site in Lindley located within the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney), home owners are experiencing major issues with the developer not completing the two sites, leaving roads and pavements unfinished and major snagging problems outstanding. Will my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House consider a debate on tackling rogue house builders who entice people to buy their dream home, only for it to become a nightmare as they are left abandoned once they have moved in?

Business of the House

Mark Eastwood Excerpts

Thursday 25th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I always wish to spread goodwill. The hon. Gentleman is pushing me a little bit far in wishing SNP candidates success in by-elections, but I do wish Neil Gray every personal success outside this House. He is a wonderful person to deal with. I was on the Joint Committee on restoration and renewal with him, and he was a voice of good sense, good humour and kindliness. He will be missed by this House. Unfortunately, I cannot wish my electoral opponents electoral success, but I hope he has every other success.

Jim Ralston sounds to have been a wonderful servant of the people in his work for the Boys’ Brigade. I am more than happy to congratulate him on his retirement and thank him on behalf of the Government. Our whole country depends on the voluntary work that so many millions undertake with enthusiasm and we have seen that particularly over the last year.

As regards fire and rehire, the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that BEIS has received the ACAS report. It is being considered by Ministers. It was received only a week ago. There will be the normal routine of questions to BEIS once the House is back after the Easter recess. The Government have been very clear that employers threatening to fire and rehire as a negotiating tactic are doing something that is quite wrong. Employers must treat employees fairly and in the spirit of partnership during contractual negotiations. The Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully) has had a number of meetings on this issue and has condemned the practice in the strongest possible terms in the House and elsewhere.

I am very interested in what the hon. Gentleman says about the possibility of using mines for geothermal energy. I cannot claim to be an expert in geothermal energy, but we should always be looking to find new and clean ways of providing energy.

[Mark Eastwood (Dewsbury) (Con) [V]]

At football stadiums in Germany and Scotland, safe standing has been successfully trialled and found to be safe, according to a report by England’s Sports Grounds Safety Authority. The Conservative manifesto committed to working with fans and clubs towards introducing safe standing at football. Will my right hon. Friend provide an update to the House on when the Government will bring it forward?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

That is an important question and I know that many football supporters have a great interest in it and in the atmosphere created by safe standing. The Government are committed to working towards a return of standing areas for football spectators. Obviously, the immediate priority are the preparations for the return of fans to stadiums, as set out in the road map for stage 3—although it is not football, dare I say that I have my tickets for the test matches at Lord’s later on in the year, and that I am hoping the New Zealand one is open to spectators, but we shall see—and the work of the events research programme to consider how we may, among other things, increase the number of spectators. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will then, in due course, return to the pledge made in our manifesto. It has not been forgotten, but there are other things going on at the moment—I suppose that is my message to my hon. Friend.

Business of the House

Mark Eastwood Excerpts

Thursday 10th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

An oven-ready debate sounds like a very tempting idea. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: the forthcoming Adjournment debate will be in Government time. He is also right that this does allow for flexibility. It is important to recognise that there is a balance to be struck when providing time for debates where Members may do a great deal of preparation and a great deal of work beforehand, and then find that Government business has to supersede them, potentially, at relatively short notice—be that statements, debates or even legislation in the event of a deal. Therefore, I hope the House will understand that next week particularly we need to maintain flexibility, but I am well aware of the Standing Order requirements to provide Backbench Business debates.

The hon. Gentleman mentions the hospitality sector. There is not a great deal for me to add to what I said to my right hon. Friend the Member for East Yorkshire (Sir Greg Knight), but it is something the Government are concerned about. Its being raised by so many Members is a reminder of this House’s facility to seek redress of grievance for the constituent, and that is a proper thing for this House to be doing.

[Mark Eastwood (Dewsbury) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend once revealed to the House that he likes

“a good, proper, plain, British banger.”—[Official Report, 1 April 2011; Vol. 526, c. 703.]

However, proposals to restrict the online advertising of certain foods are currently under consultation. If accepted, they would ban farm shops, butchers, restaurants and pubs—from North East Somerset to Dewsbury—advertising their delicious bangers via social media, local newspaper websites and even email newsletters. Given the pervasive impacts of the proposals and the flimsy evidence base, will my right hon. Friend commit to holding a debate before any proposals are taken forward?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

My hon. Friend raises an exceptionally important point. In 2020, of all years, I think it is right that we do all we can to support small businesses in our food and hospitality sectors. I must confess that I would not hold up my own diet as being a model for anybody else, child or otherwise. I have a predilection for Creme Eggs that is probably not to be encouraged, and I did even once have a deep-fried Mars bar, which was absolutely delicious.

Business of the House

Mark Eastwood Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

The Government unquestionably owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the brave men and women of the RUC and the PSNI for their incredible work in keeping the people of Northern Ireland safe. The hon. Gentleman should be commended for his efforts to ensure that the victims of terrorist violence should receive the justice and support to which they are entitled. The sacrifice of those who have paid the ultimate price in the performance of their duties must not be forgotten. Criminal justice is, of course, devolved in Northern Ireland, but we are aware that under the Northern Ireland Executive’s tackling paramilitarism programme, the Department of Justice has committed to a review of sentencing policy. I urge him to get involved with that review and make his views known.

[Mark Eastwood (Dewsbury) (Con)]

I represent a football-mad constituency with the majority being Leeds United and Huddersfield Town supporters. In Germany, France, Italy and Spain, fans have been allowed back into their stadiums, albeit in a much smaller numbers to allow for social distancing in an outdoor environment. I am a proud Leeds United supporter. Will my right hon. Friend consider allowing a debate on getting fans back into football stadiums safely, which would help football clubs at all levels that are struggling financially from the pandemic?

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

This is clearly an important issue for many Members of Parliament, and the Government are committed to getting spectators back into stadiums as soon as it is safe to do so. We will continue to work with a range of sports to understand how spectators may be allowed back safely. That does include the creation of a new sports technology and innovation group with sporting bodies and health experts to analyse new technologies that might support that. The Government appreciate that more must be done to allow fans back to stadiums safely, and there is good news that the Premier League is spending £50 million to support grassroots football throughout the crisis. I remind my hon. Friend about 5 November when the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will be at the Dispatch Box.