Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Hoban and Philip Davies

Monday 11th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

The hon. Lady should be commended for trying to trot out a policy that I thought the Opposition had dropped two or three weeks ago. When such a scheme was piloted under the previous Government, it demonstrated that it was not good value for money or good for the unemployed. The hon. Lady should welcome the measures the Government are taking to get people into work. That is why record numbers of people are in work and unemployment has continued to fall for 11 months in a row.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

Although the Labour party thinks that the benefit cap is too low, the majority of my constituents think it is far too high. May I urge the Secretary of State to ignore the left-wing bishops, who probably do not even speak for the majority of people who go to church each week, let alone the vast majority of the British people?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Hoban and Philip Davies

Tuesday 16th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and it just goes to show that credit rating agencies do not get it wrong all the time. In May, Standard & Poor’s put the UK’s credit rating on a “negative outlook”, as a consequence of the previous Government’s policies. However, in October it said that

“the coalition parties have shown a high degree of cohesion in putting the U.K.’s public finances onto what we view to be a more sustainable footing.”

We welcome those comments.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

9. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the outcome of the comprehensive spending review in reducing the budget deficit.

European Union Economic Governance

Debate between Mark Hoban and Philip Davies

Wednesday 10th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

I have not seen Mr Van Rompuy’s comments. As hon. Members will recognise, I have been rather tied up in the Chamber for most of this afternoon.

Let me continue to make the Government’s position clear. Will we have to present our Budget to Europe before we present it to the House? No. Will we have to give Europe access to information for budgetary surveillance that is not similarly shared with organisations such as the IMF, or that is not publicly available on the internet? Again, the answer is no. Will powers over our Budget be transferred from Westminster to Brussels? Again, the answer is no.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend understand that many people have lost confidence in assurances given whenever a new European treaty is discussed that there will be no loss of sovereignty? Ever since we went into the Common Market, the British public have been told at every stage along the way, “Actually, we’re not giving up any sovereignty. This new treaty doesn’t give anything away,” but people have found time and again that these treaties have done just that. Does my hon. Friend understand people’s concerns that although the powers in question do not apply to the UK at the moment, they may well do so in future, as the European Union is clearly looking at extending sanctions to non-eurozone countries as well?

[Mr Hoban]

Nothing in the documents before us today does what my hon. Friend suggests. People should listen and read the documents to which we have subscribed, and understand how firm and robust the Government have been in defending our economic sovereignty.

Economic Governance (EU)

Debate between Mark Hoban and Philip Davies

Wednesday 27th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

The hon. Lady makes some sensible points about this matter, but she needs to speak to some of her own colleagues in the European Parliament, because they voted against the freeze on the budget. And of course it was her right hon. and hon. Friends who gave away some of our rebate as well. That is part of the problem that this Government are trying to sort out.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

Whenever the Minister defends this country from a power grab and a cash grab by the European Union, he will have the enthusiastic support of Members on these Benches. Some of us are rather nervous, however, because when the Conservatives were in opposition, they opposed the European External Action Service, yet they sang its praises when introducing it in the House not long ago. They also opposed giving more money to the European Union, yet they recently rubber-stamped an increase through this House that had been agreed by the previous Government. Does the Minister agree that his Government should be judged on what they do, and not on what they say?

[Mr Hoban]

Absolutely. That is why I would encourage my hon. Friend to read this document. He will see the gains that we have managed to secure in Europe to defend our position.

Equitable Life (Payments) Bill

Debate between Mark Hoban and Philip Davies

Tuesday 14th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

I shall give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Philip Davies).

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

Nobody is keener than me for the Government to save money and get the finances back on track, and I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to give him some of my ideas about how we can do that. However, I hope that the Government, having made commitments to people while in opposition, will not use the argument that there is no money in order not to pay a fair settlement. After all, we all knew that there was no money when we were in opposition.

[Mr Hoban]

That is why, when the ombudsman published her report, we highlighted her recommendation that we need to consider the impact on the public purse of any compensation scheme. We made that point when she published her report, and it was in the Opposition day motions on which we voted prior to the election. It has been a consistent strand in our policy to recognise the impact on the public purse of this compensation pot.