Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Tuesday 8th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

First, I congratulate my hon. Friend on his campaigning on this issue. As I represent the neighbouring constituency, I declare that the project may have some indirect benefit for my constituents. I can confirm to the House that the project supports regional and national strategic objectives. The West of England is the most productive city region outside of London, and it is set to continue to grow. An efficient and reliable rail link between Bristol and Portishead will support a range of large and small sites for housing and employment across the region, halving journey times and opening a wide range of job and leisure opportunities for the residents of North Somerset.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

If steel production ceases or is curtailed at the Scunthorpe steelworks, there will be a massive impact on the wider economy in northern Lincolnshire. Can the Minister give an assurance that contingency plans, including improvements to transport infrastructure, are in place should the worst happen?

[Darren Jones]

We recognise how important this issue is for the hon. Member’s constituency, the region and, indeed, the national economy. My ministerial colleagues in the Department for Business and Trade are in discussions on this particular issue, but in our infrastructure strategy we are considering, as he would expect, the best value for aligning investments between housing, rail, energy and other types of infrastructure to deliver growth for everyone, in every region of the country.

Spring Statement

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Wednesday 26th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

Unlike the SNP, Labour supports investment and jobs in the defence sector in Scotland, which, in turn, supports people in Glasgow South West and across Scotland. There will be more good jobs for young people—more jobs paying decent wages— that will keep our country safe. That is what this party believes in. It is a shame that the SNP believes in something entirely different.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

A cloud hangs over the economy in northern Lincolnshire at the moment with potentially significant job losses at the Scunthorpe steelworks. In view of that, can the Chancellor assure us that funding will be available not only to look after any redundant workers, but to attract new business and provide retraining for existing workers?

[Rachel Reeves]

At the general election, we set out our plan for a steel fund as part of the National Wealth Fund. I understand the concern of hon. Members across the House about the future of the steel industry in this country. We were able to improve the deal for Tata, to protect more jobs in south Wales. We want a thriving steel sector right across the UK, and we will continue to work with the company and the trade unions to achieve just that.

Growing the UK Economy

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

That sounds like an excellent initiative that will benefit from the huge untapped potential in the Greater Manchester and regional economy, which we are trying to stimulate with our announcements today. I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend in due course to understand more of the detail.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

The Chief Secretary said that he wanted economic growth to spread to every town, city and community—something we can all agree with. I have been campaigning for many years to restore the direct train service between Cleethorpes, Grimsby and King’s Cross. That would boost the local economy and is supported by the Hull and Humber chamber of commerce, businesses up and down my constituency and, on the Government Benches, by my MP, the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn). All that is needed to provide the service at the next timetable change is the go-ahead from the Transport Secretary. Will the Chief Secretary urge her to do just that?

[Darren Jones]

I am sure that the Transport Secretary has heard the hon. Member’s request. As he will know from our announcements today and at the Budget, the investment that we seek to unlock in his region is a crucial part of our industrial plans, not least the investment in sustainable aviation fuel that I set out. If the transport project that he mentions will unlock investment, housing and opportunities in the region, I am sure that we will look at it closely.

UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Reeves]

Many of the benefits that we secured last week were for the financial services sector, and both Edinburgh and Glasgow are important hubs of financial services in the UK. Businesses such as Abrdn and Standard Chartered, which were on the delegation with me, have welcomed the tangible benefits, which will result in more jobs and more economic prosperity in Scotland and across the United Kingdom.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

It has been reported that the Chancellor was going to meet the owners of British Steel in China. Many of my constituents work at the Scunthorpe steelworks. While I appreciate that Ministers may not have reached a final decision on the steelworks, is she able to give reassurance to my constituents that she has had constructive engagement?

[Rachel Reeves]

My right hon. Friend the Business Secretary has met Mr Li, from Jingye, on a number of occasions. Talks are ongoing, but I am not able to provide an update on that today.

Agricultural and Business Property Relief

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Graham Stuart]

Once that farmland is lost, it is gone forever. It is certainly gone forever from the families who, generation after generation, have been prepared to invest their all—their time and their money—into an asset which they never seek to realise, but merely use for a very low return on capital employed, in order to feed the nation.

As somebody said to me, of all the groups that one might possibly target, of all the profit-maximising people it could be assumed might have the broad shoulders to pay more, why pick people who sit on a multimillion-pound asset, take a derisory income from it, and get up at four in the morning to feed us? Of all the groups to target, this is the most absurd. I hope the Minister, who has until 2026, can start to realise this.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

I met a farmer a couple of weeks ago in my constituency who is 80 years old and has made arrangements for passing his farm on to the next generation. However, the seven-year rule is unlikely to affect someone of that age. Does my right hon. Friend agree that a modest compromise could be made by the Government to allow for those sorts of situations?

[Graham Stuart]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I spoke to another farmer in my constituency and his farm is owned by three people, one of whom is his father—who has a third of it—and who has been in ill health lately, is in his early 80s and is highly unlikely to live for the next seven years. All the planning that they responsibly put into ensuring that that farm continues to contribute to waterways, the environment, and the nation’s food security has been cast aside and turned over by this Government’s ill thought-out plans.

Christmas Adjournment

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Thursday 19th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

Earlier this year, I initiated a Westminster Hall debate on headlight glare and the increasing road safety risks resulting from modern vehicle headlights. I did so having read an article in my local newspaper, the Grimsby Telegraph, reporting on a study carried out by the Royal Automobile Club, and it emerged from the debate that the Department for Transport is undertaking research. Last week, in business questions, I raised the matter with the Leader of the House, and I appreciated her reply saying that she would get the Minister to follow up. I was planning on raising the matter in this debate anyway. I look forward to receiving that update, but I hope that mentioning it yet again today will keep it on the Department’s agenda.

We all know that lighting technology has changed considerably in the past decade or so. Clearly it is to everyone’s advantage that vehicles are well lit, particularly for pedestrians, but there can be no doubt that the amount of glare has increased, and the Minister who responded to my May debate acknowledged that he was receiving far more correspondence on this matter. Dr John Lincoln of LightAware, a charity that explores these issues, explains that although the human eye can adapt to a wide range of light levels, from bright sunlight to almost total darkness, it cannot do so in a short space of time. He went on to detail the various scientific issues involved. I appreciate that the issue is complex and that the Department will have to do much research before introducing any regulations, but it is important. It is not just that the lights are much brighter, but that some vehicles seem to have far more than required. There is also the issue of street furniture, such as where vehicles passing over road humps can glare oncoming drivers.

Last January, the RAC published the results of its research, showing that 89% of drivers think that some or most headlights on the roads are too bright. Some 74% said that they were regularly dazzled. That might result in part from the fact that we have many more larger vehicles on the roads, and they sit higher off the road. LightAware has carried out extensive research on that, and I hope the Department will soon conclude its own research. The College of Optometrists has suggested that as many as half of motorists over the age of 60 may have early-stage cataracts in both eyes. That makes them even more vulnerable to glare from oncoming vehicles. I hope that we can fairly rapidly conclude that research and bring forward new regulations to improve road safety.

I will touch on one or two constituency issues. I am sorry to bore Members about this issue, but I can tell new Members that the only way to get success in this place often is to bore Front Benchers so that they eventually take action. In 2011, I first raised the issue of direct train services from my constituency—then called Cleethorpes—to King’s Cross, which were withdrawn by British Rail in 1992. I am still campaigning. Along with my friend the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn), we now await a meeting with yet another Minister from the Department for Transport to hopefully restore that service. As I have mentioned to many Transport Secretaries over the years, my constituency has 10 railway stations, an international airport and the largest port in the country, yet we still cannot have a direct train service to London. That is crucial to the development of industry in the area and is fully supported by big business. The Hull and Humber chamber of commerce has done much research on it. I very much hope that it will be brought forward in the not-too-distant future.

I see that my time is running out, so I will restrict myself to just one other railway issue. It was interesting to hear the hon. Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) talk about the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington railway. As chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on rail, I hope that we can all join in marking that occasion. It will not be marked in Brigg, though. The rail service between Gainsborough, Brigg, Grimsby and Cleethorpes has one train a day and allows people only 90 minutes to enjoy the sunny sands of Cleethorpes or the excellent shopping in Grimsby. It is pointless to run one service a day and give people only 90 minutes at their destination. The service is run for the convenience of Northern Trains, rather than for passengers. I see the Lord Commissioner of His Majesty’s Treasury, the hon. Member for Redcar (Anna Turley), nodding; I hope that the message will get through to the Department for Transport.

I could go on for much longer, but I conclude by saying happy Christmas to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and to all Members and staff, and a prosperous and safe new year.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

We are appointing a fixed-term covid fraud commissioner through an open competition that is now running as of this morning. The commissioner will make sure everything is done to return money owed to the taxpayer. It will report to the Chancellor, working with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and will report to Parliament in due course.

[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

The economic potential of the Brigg and Immingham constituency and the wider Humber region is heavily dependent on the renewable energy sector. However, there is a cloud on the horizon, with the future of Scunthorpe steelworks in doubt. Can the Chancellor give an assurance that if there are redundancies at Scunthorpe, there will be a generous package of support for workers and investment through the local authority to redevelop the area?

[Rachel Reeves]

The hon. Gentleman speaks powerfully about the huge opportunities at Immingham and on the whole east coast through renewable energy and carbon capture and storage. Part of the reason for the national wealth fund is to invest in industries such as CCS, but also in our crucial steel sector, which is important to so many of the other Government ambitions on growing our economy. We are determined to support the steel sector through that investment from the national wealth fund.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Tuesday 7th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Davies]

I am very sorry to hear of the circumstances that the hon. Lady has described. My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary, in whose portfolio this issue sits, will meet with her.

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

For many years, coastal communities have suffered economic inequalities, and we all know that the best way of changing that is to create the conditions for investment and the jobs that go with them. Despite the good work that the Government have done, we still need more funding in areas such as Cleethorpes. Could the Minister outline what plans the Government may have for bringing forward further schemes in the near future?

[Gareth Davies]

It is right to acknowledge that funding has gone in. I completely appreciate the specific challenges that coastal communities face, but it is important to look at the package of measures to level up—not just funding such as the shared prosperity fund, levelling-up fund and towns fund, but the 13 devolution deals, 13 investment zones and 12 freeports. These are all packages and measures that will help areas such as my hon. Friend’s, but I will always keep his area in mind.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Tuesday 6th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Bim Afolami]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Indeed, the Chancellor announced at the autumn statement last year that, over the next 12 months, the Government will consider selling shares in NatWest. That is all subject to value-for-money concerns and other matters, as he will appreciate, and it is market sensitive. Of course value for money will be at the heart of any consideration of the sale of shares, and the House will be kept fully informed over the coming weeks and months.

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend and his colleagues will be aware of the challenges that businesses and households face in coastal communities. As the Budget approaches, may I urge him to be ever mindful of how we maintain the vitality of the economies in our coastal areas?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I absolutely will; that is a core part of the levelling-up agenda, and my hon. Friend will be pleased to know that, since we started on that agenda, two thirds of all new jobs created have been outside London and the south-east. We will continue to look at any proposals he may have in that respect.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Vickers Excerpts

Tuesday 19th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Laura Trott]

My hon. Friend is a brilliant advocate for his constituency. I hear what he has to say and I am happy to meet him to talk about it.

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend is well aware of the threat to thousands of jobs at Scunthorpe steelworks and many more in the supply chain that supports it, all of which would have a devastating effect on the economy of northern Lincolnshire. Can he and his colleagues in the Department for Business and Trade bring a speedy conclusion to the negotiations and lift the cloud over Scunthorpe?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for his campaigning on that issue and reassure him that we in the Treasury completely understand how vital steel is to the future of his area and to his constituents. We will continue to do everything we can to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.